4 ms·

I don't think I've ever seen a map that places United States in the center. Is that really a thing?

by WhyNott 6y ago

TeMPOraL 6y ago
Drawings of the globe used to, quite frequently, show the Americas.
- rbg246 6y ago
  I've noticed a lot printing it with UK /Europe at the centre I guess it depends on what sphere of influence you live in. Now there's a map printing shop idea, centering the map on any country you choose.
  - pmachinery 6y ago
    Centring on GMT is conventional and probably makes more sense than anywhere else. Australians may beg to differ though: http://img.memecdn.com/australian-world-map_o_1081710.jpg http://img.memecdn.com/australian-world-map_o_1081710.jpg (I quite like that map, actually.)
    - rbg246 6y ago
      I love it as well so interesting to see the world 'upside down',ales everything so unrecognisable. But GMT is still Eurocentric and unimportant from the perspective of an individual looking at a map, I do wonder if that will ever change?
    - nicwilson 6y ago
      It still dilates the northern hemisphere and squashes the southern hemisphere though.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- dvcrn 6y ago
  Everyone country puts themselves in the center. If you live in America, then the maps you see have America in the center of the globe
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    My point (and probably my parent's too) is that America has dominated the shared culture for the past 100+ years (in good part thanks to Hollywood). Most people experience world maps and globes in two places: in schools, where they will be local-oriented, and in movies, which will be predominantly American. (And if you're into science fiction, you've likely internalized the American view of Earth from space without even realizing it.) I'm not passing judgement here - just saying that cultural influence isn't equal.
    - nicoburns 6y ago
      Eh, I'm not sure how much influence movies have over maps. I live in the UK which has a very significant cultural influence from the US, but the vast majority of maps I see are centered on the UK.
      - TeMPOraL 6y ago
        The movies won't affect your printed maps, or maps you see in serious contexts (like in classroom, or in a BBC article). But I'm willing to bet that in your day-to-day experience, you see a roughly equivalent number of maps in movies and videogames. Which, unless you have non-average watching habits, will most likely be US-made.
        nicoburns 6y ago
        I probably do see a fair number of those maps, but the context matters. Such maps are usually in the background and not what I'm paying attention to. If I'm actively using a map then it's a UK centered one 99% of the time.
        6y ago
pmachinery 6y ago
Search map with United States in the center.
rendall 6y ago
If you were schooled in the US, you would absolutely have seen such a map nearly every day. Edit: Sorry I offended someone! If you were educated in the US and had another experience, I'm not invalidating that. I was in HS a few decades back, and I think they've probably reformed those maps these days
- pvaldes 6y ago
  (I wonder if in Australian schools the maps are upside-down. That would be sublime)
  - iso947 6y ago
    New Zealand often complain they are left off maps of the world (it happens more than you think). I do wonder if NZ maps leave off other countries (say the UK) in response.
- boomboomsubban 6y ago
  The map of America, sure. World maps have the Atlantic in the center. How would you even make a world map with the US in the center, split up Asia?
  - rendall 6y ago
    The upstream reply asked "I don't think I've ever seen a map that places United States in the center. Is that really a thing?" So, your question is different. But yes, to answer your question, in school we also had global maps that centered the Americas and split Asia so that China was on the left and Europe and Africa was to the right I think it was split somewhere to the west of India, as I recall. The projection may have been over the US, but Im not positive. It was awhile ago Edit: here you go: https://crosscultcomm.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/compart_world_physical_na_centered_lg.jpg https://crosscultcomm.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/compart_wo...
    - boomboomsubban 6y ago

I don't think I've ever seen a map that places United States in the center. Is that really a thing?

TeMPOraL 6y ago

Drawings of the globe used to, quite frequently, show the Americas.

rbg246 6y ago
I've noticed a lot printing it with UK /Europe at the centre I guess it depends on what sphere of influence you live in. Now there's a map printing shop idea, centering the map on any country you choose.
- pmachinery 6y ago
  Centring on GMT is conventional and probably makes more sense than anywhere else. Australians may beg to differ though: http://img.memecdn.com/australian-world-map_o_1081710.jpg http://img.memecdn.com/australian-world-map_o_1081710.jpg (I quite like that map, actually.)
  - rbg246 6y ago
    I love it as well so interesting to see the world 'upside down',ales everything so unrecognisable. But GMT is still Eurocentric and unimportant from the perspective of an individual looking at a map, I do wonder if that will ever change?
  - nicwilson 6y ago
    It still dilates the northern hemisphere and squashes the southern hemisphere though.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
dvcrn 6y ago
Everyone country puts themselves in the center. If you live in America, then the maps you see have America in the center of the globe
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  My point (and probably my parent's too) is that America has dominated the shared culture for the past 100+ years (in good part thanks to Hollywood). Most people experience world maps and globes in two places: in schools, where they will be local-oriented, and in movies, which will be predominantly American. (And if you're into science fiction, you've likely internalized the American view of Earth from space without even realizing it.) I'm not passing judgement here - just saying that cultural influence isn't equal.
  - nicoburns 6y ago
    Eh, I'm not sure how much influence movies have over maps. I live in the UK which has a very significant cultural influence from the US, but the vast majority of maps I see are centered on the UK.
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      The movies won't affect your printed maps, or maps you see in serious contexts (like in classroom, or in a BBC article). But I'm willing to bet that in your day-to-day experience, you see a roughly equivalent number of maps in movies and videogames. Which, unless you have non-average watching habits, will most likely be US-made.
      - nicoburns 6y ago
        I probably do see a fair number of those maps, but the context matters. Such maps are usually in the background and not what I'm paying attention to. If I'm actively using a map then it's a UK centered one 99% of the time.
        6y ago

pmachinery 6y ago

Search map with United States in the center.

rendall 6y ago

If you were schooled in the US, you would absolutely have seen such a map nearly every day. Edit: Sorry I offended someone! If you were educated in the US and had another experience, I'm not invalidating that. I was in HS a few decades back, and I think they've probably reformed those maps these days

pvaldes 6y ago
(I wonder if in Australian schools the maps are upside-down. That would be sublime)
- iso947 6y ago
  New Zealand often complain they are left off maps of the world (it happens more than you think). I do wonder if NZ maps leave off other countries (say the UK) in response.
boomboomsubban 6y ago
The map of America, sure. World maps have the Atlantic in the center. How would you even make a world map with the US in the center, split up Asia?
- rendall 6y ago
  The upstream reply asked "I don't think I've ever seen a map that places United States in the center. Is that really a thing?" So, your question is different. But yes, to answer your question, in school we also had global maps that centered the Americas and split Asia so that China was on the left and Europe and Africa was to the right I think it was split somewhere to the west of India, as I recall. The projection may have been over the US, but Im not positive. It was awhile ago Edit: here you go: https://crosscultcomm.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/compart_world_physical_na_centered_lg.jpg https://crosscultcomm.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/compart_wo...
  - boomboomsubban 6y ago