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It is time to 'Correct the Map'

correctthemap.org

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Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#31

Post by bpt3 »

floppyd wrote: post #5

This is a very weird sounding pretense. Why does it matter if Africa in particular is bigger on the map compared to other countries and continents? How does area matter in general? It's not like we can infer anything useful from area comparisons. Also the map that is proposed (with the kinda-oval shape) is a map that I've seen a lot in school right next to now more common Mercator, and I'm from now here close to Afri…

Yes, this is one of the most bizarre arguments I've seen in some time.

Are Americans afraid of Canada or Greenland because it appears quite large on a Mercator map? Are we more likely to send aid to Asia because it is in fact a larger continent than Africa?

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#32

Post by bpt3 »

Is there a single argument in favor of this claim that is backed up in the references on this site? It doesn't look like it to me. The only secondary citation is on a website that is down and doesn't seem to be peer reviewed.

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#33

Post by robinhouston »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #20
robinhouston wrote: post #12

This sort of strident campaigning language is such an unhelpful framing in which to discuss the relative merits of different map projections. Every world map must trade off between different types of distortion. There's no principled reason to demand a map perfectly respect relative area at the expense of other characteristics. Personally for general world maps I typically prefer so-called ‘compromise’ pseudocylindri…

P.S. The "Equal Earth" projection they're promoting is very similar to the Robinson projection you prefer.

It’s similar in the sense that it’s a pseudocylindrical projection. Unlike Robinson it opts for a strict equal-area property at the expense of less accurate direction and distance. In that respect it’s more similar to Eckert IV. Another interesting pseudocylindrical projection is Winkel Tripel, which explicitly tries to balance three types of distortion.

I’m not objecting to the Equal Earth projection, which is a perfectly respectable contribution to the pseudocylindrical repertoire, but to the language this site is using to promote it.

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#34

Post by bediger4000 »

bpt3 wrote: post #23
bitmasher9 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It matters, especially for the perception of the less educated and less traveled (that happen to vote).

It matters how? You think voters will increase support for Africa (whatever that means) if their perceived size of the continent is increased?

Look at Trump and his first term Electoral College map. He was sincerely butthurt about winning an overwhelming majority of the USA by square foot, and losing the popular vote.

You're not going to get a rational answer to the question.

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#35

Post by bpt3 »

bediger4000 wrote: post #34
bpt3 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It matters how? You think voters will increase support for Africa (whatever that means) if their perceived size of the continent is increased?

Look at Trump and his first term Electoral College map. He was sincerely butthurt about winning an overwhelming majority of the USA by square foot, and losing the popular vote. You're not going to get a rational answer to the question.

I agree that's the level of rational thought that has gone into this argument.

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#37

Post by bitparadox »

alanbernstein wrote: post #10
bitparadox wrote: post #2

I assume it's my colorblindness, but on mobile when I move that slider back and forth I just see blue outlines appear around the countries with no other distinguishable changes.

The colors and the sliders are both a bit extraneous to the point of the visualization, they're supposed to help but they kind of obscure the point. For the northern landmasses, Greenland for example, the smaller outline is the equal-earth-projection, and the larger outline is the conventional Mercator projection. That's all there is to it.

I just viewed it on desktop, and here I can see the inner and outer outlines. On my phone I studied the diagram closely, but can't see the inner map outlines. Perhaps just a color profile thing on my phone.

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#38

Post by grues-dinner »

rsynnott wrote: post #25
ertgbnm wrote: post #7

Everyone knows Greenland is the real proponent of the Mercator projection. Using the unfair influence of their massive perceived size on the map to unfairly inflate their importance in global politics and economics. It's time to put Greenland back in its place.

I am now wondering if Trump's Greenland obsession is because he thinks it's very bigly, due to Mercator (it appears larger than the US in a Mercator projection).

Maybe they should put Roosevelt's massive 50-inch globe back in the Oval Office.

Assuming there's a place for more Big Balls in federal government?

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#39

Post by rsynnott »

xnx wrote: post #29
rsynnott wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am now wondering if Trump's Greenland obsession is because he thinks it's very bigly, due to Mercator (it appears larger than the US in a Mercator projection).

You're not the only one who has wondered this: https://www.newsweek.com/mercator-projection-greenland-donal...

> "I love maps. And I always said: 'Look at the size of this. It's massive. That should be part of the United States.'"

Oh, huh, I was joking, but actually based on this he probably _does_ think that (unless he was looking at equal-area maps, which is unlikely).

Re: It is time to 'Correct the Map'

#40

Post by rsynnott »

floppyd wrote: post #5

This is a very weird sounding pretense. Why does it matter if Africa in particular is bigger on the map compared to other countries and continents? How does area matter in general? It's not like we can infer anything useful from area comparisons. Also the map that is proposed (with the kinda-oval shape) is a map that I've seen a lot in school right next to now more common Mercator, and I'm from now here close to Afri…

So, whatever about Africa, it does seem like maybe this distortion has real consequences.

Noted very stable genius Donald Trump: "I love maps. And I always said: 'Look at the size of this. It's massive. That should be part of the United States.'"

It's not totally implausible that the grossly oversized depiction of Greenland on Mercator (it's shown as being larger than the US) actually had some impact on his asinine desire to annex Greenland.

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