to want to change the maps.

[moxon]

I love this West Wing clip .
I've always been a Peters projection gal - for scientific and humanistic reasons -, even though I love looking at old (Mercator) maps. And at old old old maps even more, and they are ridiculously wonky. But if I want to look at a geopolitical map of today, I want to look at an accurate one. I want my kids to know what the world looks like when mapped out. There is enough crap around to covertly influence them on economics, race, power, gender, etc. without the basic maps they'll encounter in primary and high school adding to the tally.
I understand and love historical value. And I also understand the practical implications of actually changing the type of map we use as standard around the world.
That said, I keep thinking that if it were Europe or North America who were on the receiving end of subtly entrenching negative economic and cultural stereotypes, they would have amended the standard maps years ago already! And while I realise that there are millions of maps out there, you have to start somewhere, and at some point, right?
So: why are we still producing Mercator maps? Why don't we just bite the bullet and start a long-term replacement programme?

Do people really think Greenland is the same size as Africa just from looking at Mercator maps? Surely most people can work out that the earth is a globe and gets narrower at the top and the bottom, hence daylight hours vary! And if they can't, they can just look at the area square of the respective areas...or use a globe...can there really be many people who never come across a globe?!

And now we have googlemaps, which offers all sorts of perspectives including satellite images, for those who do!

I think Mercator maps are quite a good starting point for children, in terms of roughly explaining where they are in relation to the rest of the world. Then theres nothing to stop them looking at all sorts of other maps.

The main difficulty now is that so many people seem unable to use a map at all - delivery drivers for example to whom an OS map is an alien concept.

Surely most people can work out that the earth is a globe and gets narrower at the top and the bottom, hence daylight hours vary!

You have so much faith in humanity Chelsy!
Also, mistletoe

I'd happily blame Mercator for being part of the Middle-American problem of 'oh, you're from Kenya? Africa? I met a guy called Ben from Cape Town, maybe you know him?'

I'm not sure I buy the argument. The Mercator projection shows Africa as being larger than the USA, in every direction, and shows the distance from the Mediterranean coast of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope as being about three times the distance from the Canadian border to the Mexican border of the USA. No one could be in any doubt that Africa is larger than the USA.

The Peters projection makes that same ratio of distance (not area, distance) about five times. Which isn't true: it's about 5000 miles from Tunis to the Cape of Good Hope, and it's about 1400 miles from Winnipeg (yeah, just over the border, so kill me) to Houston. Three slightly understates it, five wildly overstates it. Do you really think that people from the USA are driven to believe that everyone in Africa knows each other by a map showing it as being three times the size of the USA from end to end, when in fact it's about four times, and would have that perception radically altered by a map that makes it five times?

The issue is that mid-Westerners live in states which are the size of large European countries but have the population of small European cities, mostly clustered into a small number of population centres. The problem, if problem is it, isn't their maps, it's that they come from cultures where everyone does, indeed, know everyone else. Fiddling with maps won't change that. The same people also ask "hey, you're from London, do you know...?" (or, perhaps "hey, you're from Manchester, do you know ... in London?" Do you think we need to change the A-Z too?

Quite Chelsey.

This might have been a thing fifty years ago, where the only map people saw was the one on the wall in their school classroom.

Today? Not so much.

I bought a Peter projection map solely as a result of seeing that episode of the West Wing! I use it with my primary class at every opportunity. Always gets the children, and quite a few of the more observant parents, talking!

I'd happily blame Mercator for being part of the Middle-American problem of 'oh, you're from Kenya? Africa? I met a guy called Ben from Cape Town, maybe you know him?'
If only it were that simple.
I once had quite an argument (online) with a person from Missouri who insisted that the Yakima Valley, where I was living at the time, was a suburb of Seattle. Because apparently the entire state of Washington is Greater Seattle. Despite the fact that they're roughly 200 miles apart he wouldn't be convinced, even with a map.

And it's not unheard of for people from the UK smallish European countries to think that Portland is close to LA because it's on the same coast. In fact it's roughly the same distance as London to Venice, Italy.

Mistletoe - wishful thinking

Ps - you must watch the West Wing! (when you have a spare six months or so! )

And it's not unheard of for people from the UK smallish European countries to think that Portland is close to LA because it's on the same coast.

It's instructive to overlay a map of Great Britain over a map of California. Failing that, mid-western states.

4.bp.blogspot.com/_cyCg6QtW9_c/TT1wFMXYrTI/AAAAAAAABG4/AFDePIA1oqY/s1600/uk_usa_central_extract.png

A bit off topic, but a South African friend sent this to me because she knows I like maps, and I remembered this thread. It's a map of Africa vs Ebola.
www.sapeople.com/2014/11/05/ebola-map-viral-hit-africa-970/

I know fuck all about maps but my dp will love that book linked upthread! Then ill read it and learn some stuff.