maxdevjs ๐Ÿง๐Ÿ๏ธ๐ŸŽจ๐Ÿ–•๐Ÿ›‘โ˜ข๏ธNov 14, 2024
Osma A ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ
As good a day as any to remind myself that the way most of us has been taught the size of countries is misleading as hell.
Nov 13, 2024 at 3:16pmWeb
Show threadOsma A ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆNov 20, 2024
meta: This post from one week ago is still getting likes and boosts even though it never was mega viral (140+ likes, 170+ boosts at this point). Not nearly the same level as in the beginning of course, but not a day goes by without at least a few notifications about it. Platforms where visibility is algorithmic don't behave this way.
https://mas.to/@osma/113476303643935426
Osma A (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image As good a day as any to remind myself that the way most of us has been taught the size of countries is misleading as hell.

mas.to
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDNov 20, 2024
@osma It's nice! This is discussed at some length in our book 'Map of the World', including the somewhat hilarious story of the Gall-Peters projฬection...
Show threadTim RichardsNov 13, 2024
@osma @pootriarch Yeah Africa is huge
Show threadquangobaudNov 14, 2024

@timrichards @osma @pootriarch
Inkorrekt. ๐Ÿง

Africa is HUWUGE! ๐Ÿ‘

Show threadFunky BobNov 13, 2024
@osma Damn you, Mercator!
Show threadcerementNov 13, 2024

@osma

relevant xkcd:
https://xkcd.com/977/

and Waterman Butterfly Projection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterman_butterfly_projection

Map Projections

xkcd
Show threadnight duck Nov 14, 2024
@osma Greenland sitting in a throne of lies!
Show threadeconadsNov 14, 2024
@farah @osma it's still pretty big though.
Show threadSiguzaNov 14, 2024
@osma the way it says "Switzerland" over the entirety of Europe though ๐Ÿ˜…
Show threadj_bertolottiNov 14, 2024
@osma Mercator projection has its uses (largely if you are the navigator of a 17-century ship in the middle of the ocean), but the moment you center it on a different point you see how much it distorts everything.
Show threadMichael SumnerNov 14, 2024
@j_bertolotti @osma that's excellent
Show threadMichael SumnerNov 14, 2024

@j_bertolotti @osma some time ago ... I tried similar with explicit 3D, basically as I figured out how for different families ... try the interactive plots

https://mdsumner.github.io/2016/01/26/Three_Projections.html

I think your approach is a lot better and I'm going to steal it ;)

Illustrating Three Map Projections

Show threadj_bertolottiNov 14, 2024
@mdsumner If I may give a suggestion from the visualization point of view: the only real problem your images have is that they are a bit cluttered.Apart from that (and maybe the colour choice) they are great!
Show threadMichael SumnerNov 14, 2024
@j_bertolotti thanks yeah I was on the edge of my ability to get anything, it's inspiring seeing your really nice anim ๐Ÿ™
Show threadj_bertolottiNov 14, 2024
@mdsumner You are a step away from a seriously good one, don't get discouraged ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
Show threadMichael SumnerNov 14, 2024

@j_bertolotti is yours done in python ??

funnily enough I was experimenting again with orthographic plots today!

Show threadj_bertolottiNov 14, 2024
@mdsumner Mathematica (only language I can use)
Show threadJavier Jimenez ShawNov 15, 2024
@j_bertolotti @osma is the initial image centered at the equator? If it is, it doesn't look like a Mercator projection. Africa is too much "compressed"
Show threadj_bertolottiNov 15, 2024
@jjimenezshaw
There is an extra degree of freedom in plotting the Mercator projection, which is how much of the North and the South are you cropping away (given how the projection is done, the south pole is infinitely down). I just included a bit more stuff at the top and the bottom than usual, so everything in the middle appears a little bit more compressed. But it is a Mercator projection.
@osma
Show threadJavier Jimenez ShawNov 15, 2024

@j_bertolotti @osma If you "compress" any projection, its properties change. In the case of Mercator, it become not conformal, for instance... so it is not a Mercator projection anymore. Distorting any projection when you want to show how it distorts itself is not fair.

You can add more map in the north and south, as in https://mapstodon.space/@jjimenezshaw/112168427319567417
but not distorting the map. Just adding that area.

It would be nice also to point how the "globe" projection in the left is also distorting.

Javier Jimenez Shaw (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Mercator projection is not a conspiracy of northern countries. It is a conspiracy of the southern penguins! Look at the size of Antarctica. It is HUGE! (actually it is infinite) Somehow they convinced the mapmakers to remove most of it from those maps, saying that a square map is ... nicer? #gischat #mercatorprojection

Mapstodon.space
Show threadj_bertolottiNov 15, 2024

@jjimenezshaw Feel free to make your own animation. I am not stopping you.

Anyway, I used the foirmulas here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection#Derivation to generate the projection.

Mercator projection - Wikipedia

Show threadHendiNov 14, 2024
@osma only those which are not aware that there is more than Mercator, e.g. globes
Show threadrail [see pinned posts]Nov 14, 2024

@osma yeah more people should own and look at globes

globes are cool as heck

merkator projection is just eeeeeeeee

Show threadsunflowerinrainNov 14, 2024
@osma My family had an Oxfam map on the wall, which gave a better idea than Mercator. When my children were small I searched for a globe: the only sensible way to show geography. Couldn't find one, at least not a reasonable size and price, not a small desktoy with questionable artwork nor an expensive mock-antique.
I wonder if a return to teaching "use of the globes" would help counter flat-earthism too?
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderNov 14, 2024

@osma

I really like this.

Show threadthe gripe ibisNov 14, 2024
@osma i am going back in time to punch gerardus mercator in the taint.
Show threadxs4me2Nov 15, 2024

@osma

It is a matter of projection ;)

As so much in life...

Show threadANov 19, 2024
@osma this is a GREAT map. Don't think I have ever seen it done that way - even at school.