5 ms·

Mercator distortion has nothing to do with the anecdote in the parent post. There the allegation was of deliberate inaccuracy, which renders a map non-function

Mercator distortion has nothing to do with the anecdote in the parent post. There the allegation was of deliberate inaccuracy, which renders a map non-functional for most purposes. All 2D map projections produce either distortion or discontinuity. Neither of these affects a map's functionality in the way that outright inaccuracy does.

rmc 15y ago
Oh yes, I agree that this is an example of purely the geometry, not a political attempt. But I know people who , upon seeing the distortion, were surprised at how many maps were "wrong". This shows that you can't rely on the market to weed out inaccurate maps. After all, a map that had the south at the top (rather than the bottom) would be viewed as "wrong" and would be penalized with poor sales. The idea that the market will always produce the best map is not true.
- nate_meurer 15y ago
  I see what you're saying. I agree. As an aside, I have often wondered at the way North=up became, and remains, completely universal. An upside-down globe "looks" as wrong to me as an upside-down portrait. Obviously there's no reason this must be so; it's nothing more than familiarity with the shapes of the continents from a particular perspective. Some day, I'd like to have a globe or a big mercator-type map with South at the top (i.e. with the written labels upside-down from normal), and see how long it would take to become accustomed to it.
  - rmc 15y ago
    In early times, east was up and north to the right. Apparently an Australian group made a south is up map
    - waqf 15y ago
      Isn't that backwards? If east were up, north would be to the left. Unless you're making a celestial map.
      - rmc 15y ago
        Yes, you're right, my mistake. I was thinking of an old map I saw that had west up and north right.
- pekk 15y ago
  "you can't rely on the market to weed out inaccurate maps" is a misleading statement, particularly in the context where people are contending that the size of Taiwan has intentionally been inflated worldwide for political reasons. THAT kind of inaccuracy bears almost no resemblance to gripes which emerge about the tradeoffs in 2d map projections regarding inevitable (as opposed to highly arbitrary, political) shape and area distortions. Maps which have south at the top ARE sold and do just fine in the Southern Hemisphere. The point actually remains that the market has not rewarded any maps which have the kind of distortions which would be required to specifically and artificially inflate the size of Taiwan relative to China, without much affecting anything else.

rmc 15y ago

Oh yes, I agree that this is an example of purely the geometry, not a political attempt. But I know people who , upon seeing the distortion, were surprised at how many maps were "wrong". This shows that you can't rely on the market to weed out inaccurate maps. After all, a map that had the south at the top (rather than the bottom) would be viewed as "wrong" and would be penalized with poor sales. The idea that the market will always produce the best map is not true.

nate_meurer 15y ago
I see what you're saying. I agree. As an aside, I have often wondered at the way North=up became, and remains, completely universal. An upside-down globe "looks" as wrong to me as an upside-down portrait. Obviously there's no reason this must be so; it's nothing more than familiarity with the shapes of the continents from a particular perspective. Some day, I'd like to have a globe or a big mercator-type map with South at the top (i.e. with the written labels upside-down from normal), and see how long it would take to become accustomed to it.
- rmc 15y ago
  In early times, east was up and north to the right. Apparently an Australian group made a south is up map
  - waqf 15y ago
    Isn't that backwards? If east were up, north would be to the left. Unless you're making a celestial map.
    - rmc 15y ago
      Yes, you're right, my mistake. I was thinking of an old map I saw that had west up and north right.
pekk 15y ago
"you can't rely on the market to weed out inaccurate maps" is a misleading statement, particularly in the context where people are contending that the size of Taiwan has intentionally been inflated worldwide for political reasons. THAT kind of inaccuracy bears almost no resemblance to gripes which emerge about the tradeoffs in 2d map projections regarding inevitable (as opposed to highly arbitrary, political) shape and area distortions. Maps which have south at the top ARE sold and do just fine in the Southern Hemisphere. The point actually remains that the market has not rewarded any maps which have the kind of distortions which would be required to specifically and artificially inflate the size of Taiwan relative to China, without much affecting anything else.