Many documentaries seem to agree that the world map we currently use is far from accurate, and it’s misrepresenting the size (and even shape) of many continents, islands and countries. It’s using an outdated projection technique called ” Mercator projection ” that was mainly used for sailing back in the 16th century. Why aren’t we using a map that’s more up to date? Can maps like “thetruesize” website be relied upon?
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There is no 2D representation of the world that doesn’t employ some form of distortion because – spoiler alert – the world isn’t flat. It turns out it is mathematically impossible to represent something curved (like the world) on a flat space without distorting some aspect.
So the choice here isn’t between “distortion” and “no distortion” it’s about choosing what kind of distortion you want. The Mercator projection is old, but it’s not “out dated.” Yes, it does distort sizes, but it preserves angles and direction. In general the properties maps preserve or distort are:
* Direction
* Local shapes
* Areas
* Distances
* Shortest routes
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