Comment on The UN has backed a new world map that makes Africa bigger and the US smaller
Dimand@aussie.zone 5 hours ago
High time we boycott all 2d map projections and embrace globes as the only valid form of world map.
I would argue that said globes should also physically adhere to the EGM2008 geoid. But that’s probably unreasonable, WGS 84 is passable as a minimum standard here.
blind3rdeye@aussie.zone 4 hours ago
Well, we can’t really do that unless we abandon looking at maps on computer screens, TVs, and phones. And I don’t think we’re going to do that. Communicating the weather, for example, is best done with a map - and probably we’re going to be looking at a flat map to do it.
(Of course, for most maps the projection is not particularly important because they are only showing a small area. The distortions only really show up when you try to show most of the world at once. So probably we could abandon those kinds of maps.)
Dimand@aussie.zone 3 hours ago
I wasn’t genuinely serious. I find the politics over what is simply projection maths rather funny, both because of the actual impact it has and the stupidity of that impact. I bet Trump truly thinks Greenland is bigger than it is.
Counter point though. Screens TVs and phones are perfectly capable of displaying true scale globes. Google maps used to do this when you zoomed out enough. I think it still does with the right settings.
You do need to spin the globe to see the other side of the planet though.
It is basically only printed media that is forced into projections.
blind3rdeye@aussie.zone 3 hours ago
Projecting a picture of a globe into a screen is still a projection though. And that kind of projection will make the land around the edges appear smaller than they otherwise would. Obviously when you spin it, it will look different - but it is a projection nevertheless!
Dimand@aussie.zone 1 hour ago
What bugs me is how things look smaller when they are further away. Completely unacceptable. Where is the equity. But that’s just my perspective.