this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
53 points (84.4% liked)

Geography

2016 readers
1 users here now

Welcome to c/Geography @ Mander.xyz!


Geography is just physics slowed down, with a couple of trees stuck in it. - Terry Pratchett



Notice Board



Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time. Read more...

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.


Quick Links

-

Links

News & Publications

Resources


Similar Communities


Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Plants & Gardening

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Memes


Find us on Reddit!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] dogsnest@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All those countries are in-continent.

[–] ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

Except for the one with Europe. It's semi-continent in-continent

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

www.thetruesize.com is a fun interactive website for seeing how Mercator maps lie.

[–] NaibofTabr 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What's your preferred projection?

To say that Mercator "lies" is to misrepresent the complications of projecting a 3 dimensional object onto a 2 dimensional surface. All projections "lie" in this sense because they're simplifications of reality - that's what a map is.

[–] grubberfly@mander.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

this video is based on the comic: it's an animation on how each projection would change when shifted.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A globe, Apple Maps, or Google Earth

[–] NaibofTabr 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, you're very clever.

This isn't an answer, it's a dodge.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Mercator is the most accessible paper map. The Authagraph is the most accurate due to low distortion. It’s not listed in the comic, and can be confusing to use as a learning tool.

The real question is why are you so committed to flat maps in the digital age? I don’t even understand why Google Maps doesn’t correct to a spheroid when zoomed out like Apple Maps, requiring users to download Google Earth for accurate representation of land mass size comparison.

[–] Zehzin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think the contiguous US like in the picture is more like 8m km² isn't it? 9.8 must be counting Alaska, Hawaii and maybe the territories.

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I don't like that Russia looks like they just took a Mercator projection and shrank to scale. Because of its shape and location, Russia is especially distorted by the Equatorial-centred Mercator.

Also what's with the "excluding Russia" footnote?

[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Europe without the part of russia that lies on the continent.

But true, Russia at the equator looks like this:

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

A galloping sheep.

[–] towerful@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago

Ah, I see. It's Europe *

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As opposed to the False Size of Africa

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Literally what the Mercator projection is

[–] Patrizsche@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

I mean, it's a continent