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Given that almost all maps are now viewed on electronic devices, why bother using any projection? We can now show the entire earth with no distortion by letting
by yummypaint 4y ago
Given that almost all maps are now viewed on electronic devices, why bother using any projection? We can now show the entire earth with no distortion by letting users rotate a virtual globe. Zooming in and out has already solved the core problem of globes being bulky and undetailed relative to maps. I would argue that for laypeople use of projections is still largely a historical artifact that we haven't aged out of yet. There are only a relative handful of people who might actually navigate using the old ways, but in practice thats's just a failsafe for computer assisted planning which considers the true shape of the earth already.
- fabrika 4y agoWhat if you want to see Australia and Greenland at the same time? Globes have their limitations.
- jameshart 4y agoAs long as the screen you’re viewing it on is flat you’re going to need some kind of projection. If it’s a perspective or orthographic view of a centered sphere it will be some sort of polar projection.
- Double_a_92 4y agoYeah but you can dynamically recalculate that projection as you want. That's like saying that a physical globe is still a kind of projection because you can only look at it from one side with your eyes.
- ajsnigrutin 4y agoYou cannot visualize a router between two countries on the opposite sides, without manually rotating the 3d globe (projected on a 2d screen).