# Are these maps of Africa optical illusions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879 "2012-07-30T18:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/61 "2012-07-31T15:44:27Z")
Does anyone here remember in the 1990s when the Peters projection was suddenly being pushed by a huge PR campaign as being “more accurate” and “less discriminatory”? There are several points to be made: 1. No flat map can accurately portray shape, area, direction, and distance all at the same time. 2. The Mercator projection, which is the map most of us are used to seeing, portrays directions at straight lines and reasonably preserves shape, but significantly distorts area the further that one gets from the equator 3. The Peters projection preserves relative area, but significantly distorts shape. Compare both the Mercator and Peters maps to a globe and you’ll see that all this hoopla is really much ado about nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/62 "2012-07-31T15:48:33Z")
Peters was assassinated in 1979 by eskimos from Greenland. His map lives on, but if you own one, the eskimos will hunt you down too. And they’ll burn your map. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/63 "2012-07-31T15:51:21Z")
The Mercator projection is clearly a political plot to make America and Europe look more important. It’s a conspiracy! ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/64 "2012-07-31T16:15:56Z")
They screwed up, though, in putting Africa in the center. Morons. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/65 "2012-07-31T18:02:01Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > They screwed up, though, in putting Africa in the center. Morons. At least they got Europe near the center. Eurocentric, don’t ya know. Here is the only really accurate view of Africa: [![](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/TV2004/Earth-Egress1a.JPG) ](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/TV2004/Earth-Egress1a.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/66 "2012-07-31T18:37:35Z")
Anyone who gets pissed off by Mercator would really have a heart attack if he saw this: [World Map Sized by GDP Per Capita](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=world+map+according+to+gdp&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=1uTy_cJF-IYf2M:&imgrefurl=http://agtfsumaps.blogspot.com/2010/11/cartogram-gdp-per-capita-of-world.html&docid=gRs2_O4kbDw0_M&imgurl=http://ibgeog2009.wikispaces.com/file/view/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg/33437479/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg&w=550&h=493&ei=tSMYUPjxBKrX6wG36YGIDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=438&vpy=252&dur=1000&hovh=213&hovw=237&tx=134&ty=81&sig=115846671590101403289&page=1&tbnh=123&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:113) Seriously I would like to know why Greenland rates to be so big yet again. Maybe those Eskimos have some kind of dynamite lobbyists working for them. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/67 "2012-07-31T18:39:47Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Seriously I would like to know why Greenland rates to be so big yet again. What are you talking about? I can hardly even find Greenland on that map (the upside down rabbit ears?). Are you confusing Great Britain with Greenland? I must say, I’m surprised to see Australia looking so ragged and scrawny. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/68 "2012-07-31T18:59:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What are you talking about? I can hardly even find Greenland on that map (the upside down rabbit ears?). Are you confusing Great Britain with Greenland? Pardon me, you are absolutely right. > [@Acsenray](#): > > I must say, I’m surprised to see Australia looking so ragged and scrawny. According to the Wiki article on the subject you are right here too-- Australia’s per capita GDP at PPP is about 30% greater than the EU average, and is virtually the same as Canada’s. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/69 "2012-07-31T23:43:58Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > … my point stands that no flat map will ever portray areas and distances accurately for every part of the planet. And my statement that it will be the polar areas that are distorted most holds true, I’d aver, for 99.9999 percent of all the flat maps of the globe ever made and displayed where people see them. > > BTW, there is bias and distortion to some degree in sociology… Completely agreed: every flat map makes some compromise. The point that the sociologist might have is that the decision of what gets compromised and what does not reveals something about what is important to the mapmaker and/or the user of the map. Maps represent what matters to the mapmaker at the expense of what does not. For example, Mercator maps are evidence of the importance of European to New World sea routes to the mapmakers and users of the era that gave them birth. Relative land area … not so important. The poles … usually not so important. But when they are maps exist to emphasize accuracy for them. Every map therefore reveals a bias. Just not the stupid conclusion implied by that blogger. And agreed that sociology is also full of biases. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/70 "2012-08-01T00:38:50Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > ETA: There is actually no such thing as an actual equal-area projection, except (as **california jobcase** seems to be obliquely saying) a globe. Polar regions will be distorted on any flat map. There will always be distortions of distance (and, equivalently, distortion of angles), but there are 100% accurate equal-area projections, the simplest being cylindrical equal-area projections, including Gall-Peters. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > Okay, fine; but my point stands that no flat map will ever portray areas and distances accurately for every part of the planet. No flat map portrays distances accurately on even any tiny part of the planet. For example, on any tiny region of any flat map, you can tile 6 equilateral triangles into a hexagon. You cannot do this on a globe, at any scale. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/71 "2012-08-01T00:49:44Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Anyone who gets pissed off by Mercator would really have a heart attack if he saw this: > > [World Map Sized by GDP Per Capita](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=world+map+according+to+gdp&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=1uTy_cJF-IYf2M:&imgrefurl=http://agtfsumaps.blogspot.com/2010/11/cartogram-gdp-per-capita-of-world.html&docid=gRs2_O4kbDw0_M&imgurl=http://ibgeog2009.wikispaces.com/file/view/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg/33437479/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg&w=550&h=493&ei=tSMYUPjxBKrX6wG36YGIDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=438&vpy=252&dur=1000&hovh=213&hovw=237&tx=134&ty=81&sig=115846671590101403289&page=1&tbnh=123&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:113) > > Seriously I would like to know why Greenland rates to be so big yet again. Maybe those Eskimos > have some kind of dynamite lobbyists working for them. I believe that Greenland also has fewer people per square mile. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/72 "2012-08-01T01:23:59Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Anyone who gets pissed off by Mercator would really have a heart attack if he saw this: > > [World Map Sized by GDP Per Capita](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=world+map+according+to+gdp&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=1uTy_cJF-IYf2M:&imgrefurl=http://agtfsumaps.blogspot.com/2010/11/cartogram-gdp-per-capita-of-world.html&docid=gRs2_O4kbDw0_M&imgurl=http://ibgeog2009.wikispaces.com/file/view/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg/33437479/world_economy_cartogram_001.jpg&w=550&h=493&ei=tSMYUPjxBKrX6wG36YGIDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=438&vpy=252&dur=1000&hovh=213&hovw=237&tx=134&ty=81&sig=115846671590101403289&page=1&tbnh=123&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:113) > > Seriously I would like to know why Greenland rates to be so big yet again. Maybe those Eskimos > have some kind of dynamite lobbyists working for them. Greenland? Where? I think you are confusing the U.K. with Greenland, which is one of those little specks to the northeast of Canada, which makes sense since Greenland’s [GDP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Greenland) is less than $2 billion (although at $36,500 per capita, and in 2008/9 dollars, while the map uses 2000 dollars, but probably not much different, as the square in the lower right is $100 billion per that area). ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/73 "2012-08-01T02:20:45Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Greenland? Where? I think you are confusing the U.K. with Greenland, which is one of those little specks to the northeast of Canada, which makes sense since Greenland’s [GDP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Greenland) is less than $2 billion (although at $36,500 per capita, and in 2008/9 dollars, while the map uses 2000 dollars, but probably not much different, as the square in the lower right is $100 billion per that area). I believe **colonial** already acknowledged that error in post #68. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/74 "2012-08-01T06:34:14Z")
I think there is a valid issue here because of how common the Mercator projection is, I just asked 3 people today what size Africa is and they all said the same size as the USA or around that! I myself never realized just how large Africa was, I knew it was distorted on Mercator but my gode the distortion is amazing! It makes me wonder about the rest of the world, Africa gets the press but what other countries are totally warped in my mind because of that damn Mercator?! It is worrying. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/75 "2012-08-01T06:53:03Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > For example, on any tiny region of any flat map, you can tile 6 equilateral triangles into a hexagon. You cannot do this on a globe, at any scale. What about 1:1 scale? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/76 "2012-08-01T11:54:13Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I think there is a valid issue here because of how common the Mercator projection is, I just asked 3 people today what size Africa is and they all said the same size as the USA or around that! Oh c’mon - it isn’t the average American even knows [Sudan is in Africa](http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1068259.html) … seriously we Americans are not famous for looking at world maps of any kind. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/77 "2012-08-01T12:12:42Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I think there is a valid issue here because of how common the Mercator projection is, I just asked 3 people today what size Africa is and they all said the same size as the USA or around that! Even on the mercator projection Africa is noticeably larger than the US, unless the person thinks that all of north America (US, Canada and a large chunk of Mexico) is the US. ---
**Author:** ![griffon502](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@griffon502](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffon502)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/78 "2012-08-01T12:22:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Oh c’mon - it isn’t the average American even knows [Sudan is in Africa](http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1068259.html) … seriously we Americans are not famous for looking at world maps of any kind. Neither do people of other country know the world map any better. The myth that Americans are somehow specially stupid is just a myth. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/79 "2012-08-01T12:27:53Z")
Apparently we are not so good at reading links either. From the link: > [@](#): > > the United States came in second-to-last place, followed by Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/80 "2012-08-01T12:31:50Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Oh c’mon - it isn’t the average American even knows [Sudan is in Africa](http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1068259.html) … seriously we Americans are not famous for looking at world maps of any kind. “War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.” ~ Ambrose Bierce [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879.md?page=5)