˙ ˙dn ʎɐʍ ʇɥƃıɹ ǝɥʇ ǝpɐɯ ǝɹɐ ʇɐɥʇ sɹɐɔ ʎluo ǝɥʇ ǝɹ’ʎǝɥʇ :suǝploH ʎnq ǝʍ ʎɥʍ s’ʇɐɥ┴ ˙sɹɐɔ pǝʇɹodɯı uʍop-ǝpısdn pıdnʇs ɹnoʎ ƃuıʌıɹp puɐ 'sǝɹnʇɔıd uʍop-ǝpısdn ɹnoʎ ʇɐ ƃuıʞool puɐ ʇxǝʇ uʍop-ǝpısdn pıdnʇs ɹnoʎ ƃuıpɐǝɹ ɯoɹɟ sʞɔǝu ǝɹos ǝʌɐɥ ʎlʇuɐʇsuoɔ ǝM ˙ǝɹǝɥ uʍop sn ɹoɟ sı ǝɟıl ʇlnɔıɟɟıp ʍoɥ ǝǝs uɐɔ noʎ ʍoN ˙sʞuɐɥ┴
Yeah, that's the trouble with the Mercator Projection, which is the world map we use most often. It's good for navigation, but it wildly misrepresents land areas, and makes Canada, Russia and Europe look far bigger than they are. The Peters Projection gives a much more accurate idea of land mass. In particular, it gives a more accurate idea of the relative sizes of Europe and Africa. Peters said that the Mercator Projection reflected colonialist prejudices; I'm not sure that that's true, but it may actually diminish the importance of Africa in people's minds. Here's the Peters Projection. And here's a comparison between the Mercator and Peters Projections. (Peters on the left, Mercator on the right). Here's a quick introduction lifted from the Peters website. Which is bigger, Greenland or China? With the traditional Mercator map (circa 1569, and still in use in many schoolrooms and boardrooms today), Greenland and China look the same size. But in reality China is almost 4 times larger! In response to such discrepancies, Dr. Arno Peters created a new world map that dramatically improves the accuracy of how we see the Earth. Mercator's projection (created at a time when navigators were sailing on the oceans in wooden ships, powered by the wind, and navigating by the stars) was particularly useful because straight lines on his projection were lines of constant compass bearing. Today the Mercator projection still remains useful for navigational purposes and is referred to by seafarers and airline pilots. The Mercator is also a "conformal" map projection. This means that it shows shapes pretty much the way they appear on the globe. The mapmaker's dilemma is that you cannot show both shape and size accurately. If you want a true shape for the land masses you will necessarily sacrifice proportionality, i.e., the relative sizes will be distorted.
I don't know why it's not more popular, but there is a map that is accurate in both shape and size. Buckminster Fuller invented what he called the Dymaxion Map and is also known as 'The Fuller Projection'. I think it's the best projection of all, yet it seems rare and relatively unknown. I've never seen a map of this type in a classroom, yet the educational opportunities are extensive. There's no 'right' way to orient the map, so we can dispense with the 'Australia's upside down' nonsense. It can also be rearranged to show either continuous land mass, or continuous ocean, and it makes a great jigsaw puzzle. Here's a starter.
