How we represent and see the world (maps and projection) – Understanding other cultures and outlooks

[Boyd Roberts]

How we represent and see the world – Understanding other cultures and outlooks

 

The earth is a sphere, but it is very helpful to have flat representations of the earth, or parts of it.

Flattening out parts of a spherical object into two dimensions creates difficulties and all our maps have shortcomings of various kinds.

 

The most commonly used world map is that developed by the Flemish map maker Mercator in 1569. Among the problems with this map is that Greenland (area 0.8m sq miles) appears larger than the continent of Africa (area 11.6m sq miles). Being European, Mercator’s map places Europe near the centre and in the top half of the map.

Some people, particularly those living in the southern hemisphere, have produced south up maps, sometimes called upside down maps (what attitude does that reveal?).

 

According to Wikipedia “Research suggests that north-south positions on maps have psychological consequences. In general, north is associated with richer people, more expensive real estate, and higher altitude, while south is associated with poorer people, cheaper prices, and lower altitude (the "north-south bias"). When participants were presented with south-up oriented maps, this north-south bias disappeared.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South-up_map_orientation#CITEREFNelso...

 

The most recent new projection is by Tokyo-based architect and artist Hajime Narukawa, who created the AuthaGraph map. His method gives much more accurate representations of the areas of different land masses. The map is now used in Japanese schools.

Note that the map makes Japan and Australia more prominent because of where they are placed in the map. It is an interesting corrective to Mercator’s map that gives prominence to Europe in position and scale.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/authagraph-world-map

 

 

This is all relevant to IGCA section Understanding other cultures and outlooks. We may often think of maps of the world as neutral or objective. But they represent the views and priorities of the person producing them. They can also shape the views and outlook of their users. So generations of students have seen the UK area over-represented in Mercator’s map, and the area of Africa under-represented. Who knows what impact this has on attitudes and how those students come to view the world? 

See also: What Maps Get Wrong About The World — And How It Happened

https://allthatsinteresting.com/authagraph-world-map