I cheated at 8/15.
Viewed source and got all rest of countries names.
Mercator Puzzle
51–60 of 96 posts
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#52Does anyone know why Google insists on Mercator projection? I guess that it makes the implementation bit simpler, but on the other hand you'd imagine that if anyone then Google would have the resources to use some more reasonable projection for greater good.
I think this is an externally visible link: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/maps/A2ygEJ5eG... . It's the answer I received when I filed an internal bug on this. "Hi John - Thanks for the feedback. Maps uses Mercator because it preserves angles. The first launch of Maps actually did not use Mercator, and streets in high latitude places like Stockholm did not meet at right angles on the map the way they d…
Also, the math required to convert lat/lon to web Mercator is fairly light and not resource intensive.
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#53Does anyone know why Google insists on Mercator projection? I guess that it makes the implementation bit simpler, but on the other hand you'd imagine that if anyone then Google would have the resources to use some more reasonable projection for greater good.
The thing is, Mercator was never actually intended to be used as a map, per se. What it was supposed to be used for was a navigation chart, and it's extremely useful in that context: straight lines on the map correspond to straight lines in the real world, the compass directions are the same no matter where you look, and so on. Other projections distort these things, and there can be good reasons to do that depending on what exactly one wants to do. If you're trying to find single points, it really doesn't matter so much. But when the reason you're using the map is to find a route between Point A and Point B, Mercator really is the most reasonable projection for the job.
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is an externally visible link: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/maps/A2ygEJ5eG... . It's the answer I received when I filed an internal bug on this. "Hi John - Thanks for the feedback. Maps uses Mercator because it preserves angles. The first launch of Maps actually did not use Mercator, and streets in high latitude places like Stockholm did not meet at right angles on the map the way they d…
Not sure if this makes sense, but couldn't they have different projections for different zoom levels?
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#55Does anyone know why Google insists on Mercator projection? I guess that it makes the implementation bit simpler, but on the other hand you'd imagine that if anyone then Google would have the resources to use some more reasonable projection for greater good.
I understand that Mercator isn't the most accurate representation, but seriously, "greater good?" There are a lot of things that I think Google can do "for greater good," and changing how they show a map isn't even in the first hundred pages.
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#56This reminds me of this great segment from the West Wing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8zBC2dvERM
Seriously, I need to watch West Wing I think someone posts an awesome and politically relevant clip on HN once a month (that I see and watch).
Yes, The West Wing is worth watching in its entirety.
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#57I'm partially ashamed to admit that I got all of them but one: a piece that had straight eastern and southern sides. It looked like a Canadian or Australian state/territory (large and having flat edges), but I couldn't place it. Also I had a hard time placing Brazil.
It was Mauritania. But I also zoomed in after like half of them so that's kinda cheating.
I did that too, after 10 pieces (Mauritania was one of the hardest).
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#58Wonderful: just spent quite some time playing it.
It would be amazingly lovely if you could also display simultaneously other mappings than the Mercator one. Say a sphere in 3D in the upper right corner, with the "figures" moving / showing on both mappings.
It's interesting to see that if you take the eight biggest countries by size (well, ok, Antartica ain't a country), they all are very placed in term of GDP:
Russia: 10th (GDP), 1 (size) Antartica: ---, 2 (size) Canada: 11 (GDP), 3 (size) China: 2 (GDP), 4 (size) U.S.A.: 1st (GDP), 5 (size) Brazil: 6 (GDP), 6 (size) Australia: 12 (GDP), 7 (size) India: 9 (GDP), 8 (size)
You then have Argentina and Kazakhstan lacking quite a bit behind:
Argentina: 26 (GDP), 9 (size) Kazakhstan: 49 (GDP), 10 (size)
Re: Mercator Puzzle
#59Re: Mercator Puzzle
#60I would really like to see it with random selection of countries every time your reload the page - and then to see it in primary schools during geography lessons - that would be a killer!
There's an educational game like that, 'Stack the countries'. It's loads of fun. (Available for iPhone, iPad, and Windows Phone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzzw4ohq-o
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stack-the-countries/id407838...