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Why All World Maps Are Wrong | 12am News
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Jun 2, 2025
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the traditional world map a familiar
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site in countless classrooms and offices
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is an enduring image of our
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planet yet this portrayal primarily
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based on the merer projection is
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fundamentally
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flawed garders Mercator a Flemish
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cartographer introduced this projection
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in 1569 revolutionizing navigation it
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allowed Sailors to chart their courses
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in straight lines crucial advancement
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and Maritime travel
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however this benefit came with a
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significant compromise in geographical
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accuracy understanding why the map is
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wrong requires delving into the
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challenges of cartography the Earth is
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not flat but an oplate spheroid slightly
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flattened at the poles and bulging at
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the
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equator translating this
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three-dimensional shape into a
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two-dimensional representation is
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inherently problematic Matthew Edney a
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geography and cartography historian at
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the University of Southern Maine
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emphasizes that every world map is
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distorted in some way the key question
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is whether the projection prioritizes
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the correct shape or size of land masses
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and different projections make different
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compromises the Mercator Projection is
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conformal maintaining the shapes of land
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masses but at the expense of their
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relative sizes it stretches the poles
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into lines as long as the equator
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resulting in significant aerial
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Distortion Regions near the the poles
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like Greenland and Alaska appear much
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larger than they are while equatorial
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regions like Africa and India are
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substantially
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minimized for instance Greenland appears
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almost the same size as Africa on a
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merkator map but in reality Africa is
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nearly 14 times
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larger this Distortion edne explains
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arises from the projections attempt to
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render great circles at straight lines
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to achieve this the marcor pro ction
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exponentially increases the separation
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of parallels as one moves toward the
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poles leading to increased vertical
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stretching in these
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regions given these inaccuracies
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alternatives to the Mercator Projection
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have been proposed the gulpers
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projection popular in the 1970s and
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1980s is an equal area map but it
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significantly distorts the shapes of
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land
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masses land masses are stretched
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horizontally near the poles and vertic
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at the equator though it corrects size
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discrepancies the Distortion of shapes
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LED Arthur Robinson a renowned
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cartographer to liken it to long
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underwear hung on a line to dry another
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notable attempt is the Winkle triple
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projection adopted by the National
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Geographic Society in
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1998 created in 1921 it's a compromise
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projection striving to minimize
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distortions in area direction and
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distance while it doesn't eliminate
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these distortions entirely it reduces
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them more effectively than other small
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scale
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Maps however even this projection has
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its shortcomings particularly in
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representing the Pacific Ocean which
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appears larger than it is in 2021 a new
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approach emerged devised by
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astrophysicists this method presents
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Earth in two pancake Maps viewed either
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side by side or back to back this now
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representation differs significantly
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from traditional flat maps and might
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offer a more accurate depiction although
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its adoption in educational and
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professional settings remains to be seen
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ultimately the choice of projection
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depends on the map's intended use and
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the priorities of accuracy whether in
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size shape or Direction edne advocates
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for equal area projections for
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educational proposes aligning with the
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idea that understanding the real sizes
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of countries and continents is crucial
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however the decision often boils down to
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Market preference in summary the world
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map as we know it predominantly based on
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the Mercator Projection is wrong in
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terms of size and distance accuracy this
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stems from the inherent challenge of
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depicting a spherical object on a flat
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surface while various projections
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attempt to address these distortions
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each has its own set of compromises
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making the perfect flat map of the Earth
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and elusive goal
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#Maps