QUESTION OF THE DAY- WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

Submitted by Hardscrabble farmer

If you haven’t been paying attention there has been a movement afoot to “redraw” the map of the world in order to accord the proper size of landmasses to each continent/country. According to those behind this push, the traditional maps of the Earth are racist as they were drawn by Europeans. Europeans being inherently racist, intentionally misled the world by making Europe- as well as other European controlled land masses- appear larger than continents with darker colored populations. Therefore, everything you know about how the planet looks is not only racist, but incorrect.

You would think that NASA could easily solve this problem by showing us the photographic evidence of the continents of Earth in their proper locations and scale, but of course NASA and all of their optics are also inherently racist so they must also be perpetuating a fraud upon the darker colored people of the world.

Photo of Earth and the United States of America (systemically racist nation) taken by NASA from space (allegedly).

Compare the scale of the US in the map in the article to the clear photographs taken from space by NASA and there appears to be a huge discrepancy, enough to confuse most people with even modest powers of visual perception.

So here’s the question. What do you believe? The creators of drawn maps or the photographs taken by NASA from space? The anti-racists that challenge the orthodoxy or those who question everything? What is the size and shape of the land masses covering the planet and why does it seem so difficult after all this time to map a relatively small planet, accurately?

Are maps and photographs inherently racist in order to make Africans feel oppressed? Are the things we have been told about the shape and size of Earth true or are they false and how could we possibly know, being not only inherently racist, but by not having access to those great cameras and space craft NASA has that can reach space and also alter the scale of the landmasses they photograph in order to maintain systemic racism against people who look at maps and photos from space.

As the author of the article states-

“In a more globally connected world, geographic literacy is more important than ever. As people become more accustomed to equal area maps and seeing the Earth in its spherical form, misconceptions about the size of continents may become a thing of the past.”

Unless, of course, we’re talking about genuine photographs taken by NASA from space which seem to intentionally distort the size of these landmasses in order to perpetuate global illiteracy about Earth in its spherical form.

Discuss.

Via ZeroHedge

Mercator Misconceptions: Clever Map Shows The True Size Of Countries

Maps are hugely important tools in our everyday life, whether it’s guiding our journeys from point A to B, or shaping our big picture perceptions about geopolitics and the environment.

For many people though, as Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley shows below, the Earth as they know it is heavily informed by the Mercator projection – a tool used for nautical navigation that eventually became the world’s most widely recognized map.

Mercator’s Rise to the Top

With any map projection style, the big challenge lies in depicting a spherical object as a 2D graphic. There are various trade-offs with any map style, and those trade-offs can vary depending on how the map is meant to be used.

In 1569, the great cartographer, Gerardus Mercator, created a revolutionary new map based on a cylindrical projection. The new map was well-suited to nautical navigation since every line on the sphere is a constant course, or loxodrome.

Geographic Inflation

The vast majority of us aren’t using paper maps to chart our course across the ocean anymore, so critics of the Mercator projection argue that the continued use of this style of map gives users a warped sense of the true size of countries—particularly in the case of the African continent.

Mercator’s map inadvertently also pumps up the sizes of Europe and North America. Visually speaking, Canada and Russia appear to take up approximately 25% of the Earth’s surface, when in reality they occupy a mere 5%.

As the animated GIF below—created by Reddit user, neilrkaye – demonstrates, northern nations such as Canada and Russia have been artificially “pumped up” in the minds of many people around the world.

Greenland, which appears as a massive icy landmass in Mercator projection, shrinks way down. The continent of Africa takes a much more prominent position in this new, correctly-scaled map.

This visualization also highlights how distorted neighboring countries can look in Mercator projection. In the GIF above, Scandinavian countries no longer loom imposingly over their European neighbors, and Canada deflates to a size similar to the United States.

Despite inaccurate visual features—or perhaps because of them—the Mercator projection has achieved widespread adoption around the world. This includes in the classroom, where young minds are first learning about geography and forming opinions on the relationships between countries.

Getting Reacquainted with Globes

Google, whose map app is used by approximately 150 million people per month, took the bold step of using different projections for different purposes in 2018.

The Earth is depicted as a globe at further zoom levels, sidestepping map projection issues completely and displaying the world as it actually is: round. The result is a more accurate depiction of countries and landmasses.

At closer zoom levels, users are typically using maps for things like navigation, which the Mercator projection was designed for. The exact angles of roads and borders are preserved in this projection.

In the Right Direction

In a more globally connected world, geographic literacy is more important than ever. As people become more accustomed to equal area maps and seeing the Earth in its spherical form, misconceptions about the size of continents may become a thing of the past.

-----------------------------------------------------
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal

-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)

Click to visit the TBP Store for Great TBP Merchandise