Decoding the World Map: Exploring Accuracy and Distortions

 

Summary of this Article

• The article discusses the accuracy of the world maps we commonly see.
• It explains that the world is actually spherical, but maps are flat representations.
• The earliest known maps were made by the Babylonians in 600 BC.
• Mercator's Projection, created in 1569, is a famous world map projection.
• Mercator's map has distortions due to its 2D representation, making some areas appear larger or smaller than they are.
• Some countries, like Greenland, appear much larger than they actually are.
• Critics argue that Mercator's map favors certain countries and distorts the perception of their size and importance.
• Google Maps still use Mercator's map, but some schools have switched to the Gall Peters' map, which aims to correct distortions.
• The article mentions the Autha Graph Map, considered one of the most reliable maps, and a historical example of maps with North and South switched.
• It concludes by emphasizing the importance of accurate maps for understanding the world correctly and facilitating travel.

Welcome to Historical Horizons. You must have seen the map of the world in your classroom or in your text books. or in newspaper and TV. If you close your eyes for a moment and think about the world, this is the first picture that comes to your mind. But did you ever think about who made this map? Or when was this map made? Did its creator have to travel the whole world first? After all it is quite possible that this map may have some errors and so far they went unnoticed.

Here's the question: 'Is the World Map that we know and remember correct?' Are there any other versions of world map? These are the questions that we are going to discuss in this article.

What is this World?

What do we mean when we say 'World'? Let's start by discussing what is meant by 'World'. It's a very basic question and the first thing that comes to mind is that the world is round. More appropriately, the world is spherical. Some people mistake the world with the universe. But this world is much more than we think it is. Precisely speaking, World (or Earth) is the name we give to the planet we live in. One can say that all the countries spread across different continents make up our world.

When was the first World Map designed?

Normally we see the world map in two forms. One is in the form of a spherical globe. Since our world is actually spherical in shape, this form of map is a more accurate depiction. The other form of world map is in a plane form like that in a book or on a wall. The Babylonians, from the South Eastern Mesopotamia, between Euphrates and Tigris, in 600 BC, made some primitive maps of different parts of earth on clay tablets.

These are believed to be the oldest maps ever. As compared to the maps of today, those were more like an ordinary drawing of some sort. However, the attempts to translate the world in a map form continued after that. In 150 BC, a Greek philosopher made a 3D representation of the world in the form of a globe.

That globe was the first of many more to follow. None of them was completely accurate. And all of them had a certain degree of inaccuracy. A German geographer, Martin Behaim designed another globe in 1492. It was way better than all the other ones before it. The form of world map that we know today is called Mercator's Projection. It was designed by G Mercator in 1569.

What is Mercator's Projection?

G Mercator was born in modern day Belgium in 1512. His father was a shoe maker. He graduated in Geography, Mathematics and Astronomy before he started working as a geographer. He travelled extensively and prepared maps of different parts of the world.

He prepared a map in 1569 with the help of an existing globe map. A spherical globe was a bit difficult for sailors to follow. That's because according to the laws of mathematics, it's almost impossible to trace a straight line on a spherical globe. Mercator translated that 3D globe to a 2D plane figure. It was meant to help sailors navigate easily. In common terms, it can be said that Mercator in fact opened up the globe and spread it like a sheet of paper.

How Accurate is Mercator's Projection?

Mercator's map has been quite famous as it's in use for no less than 500 years. But as it's just a projection of a globe in 2D, it has not found to be error free.

It was not possible to correct those errors in old times due to lack of technology. But today we can raise a lot of questions on its accuracy. To be honest, mapping a 3D globe in 2D is quite a job. Mercator's attempt to achieve this feat introduces a stretch in the map. You must have read it before while studying about equator.

Equator is the line that divides the earth into two equal parts. Because of Mercator's transformation, the countries near equator appeared smaller in size. And the same stretch caused the countries away from equator to appear larger than they actually are. It's probably because of this stretch that the countries near the equator are sometimes given less importance because of their apparent small size.

These countries include Ecuador, Colombia, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Indonesia. However, the countries lying on the equator weren't quite affected. Let's understand this using a simple example. Pakistan's total size, including Kashmir, 984,000 km sq. Whereas, that of Finland is 304,000 km sq. But Finland appears even bigger than Pakistan on the map. That's because Pakistan is closer to the equator as compared to Finland. Hence, because of its distance from the equator, Finland appears bigger on a flat map than it actually is.

Change in Size

Let’s talk a bit more about some of the countries that got seriously affected by this stretch. The foremost example is North America which appears way bigger than it actually is. Whereas, South America appears much smaller than its actual size. Although if we compare their actual sizes, South America is only slightly smaller than North America. Same goes for Antarctica which looks really large, although it's the 3rd smallest continent.

If this transformation were only limited to a few countries, it would still have been a reliable map. But the thing is Greenland appears approximately the same size as Africa. Although Africa is no less than 14 times as large as Greenland. Africa is a gigantic continent whereas Greenland is just a much smaller island.

Likewise, South America is almost 8 times larger than Greenland but both of them appear to be of similar sizes on the map. Same is true for the UK and Madagascar. In case you were wondering what difference could this change in size mean, as it's just a map. It's an undeniable fact that the size of any country is an important contributor in the might of a country.

If you show this map to a kid, he will start believing that Greenland is quite bigger than Africa. It will lead him to the obvious conclusion that Greenland must be more powerful than Africa. This conclusion does not have the support of any evidence, rather it's based solely on what appears on the world map.

That's why these maps are really important. After all, size and location are two very important factors for a country. Another interesting case is that of Russia and Canada. Both of them appear so enlarged on the map that they appear to be one quarter of the whole world. In reality, both these countries combine only constitute 5% of the world.

Some More Objections

Mercator is sometimes blamed for having done that deliberately. Because this change in size benefits some resourceful countries. His map shows the western countries to be lying along a very viable trade route. He is said to have changed even the position of equator. The map portrays Europe as the center of the world, even though that's quite far fetched.

Some people believe Mecca to be the center of the world while others believe it to be Jerusalem. Some even consider Turkey to be the world center. But Europe has never been the center of the world. Speaking in geographical terms, it's not ..... not even today. However, there's a strong theory that Mercator only developed this map to help in traveling by sea. It was never meant for educational or any other purpose.

World Reaction

Mercator's map is widely used today. Even Google Maps use this map. However, Google has started the satellite mapping using the latest technology. It has introduced 3D Globe which is quite reliable. All over the schools in Boston, Mercator's map has now been replaced by Gall Peters' map.

The administration of these schools believe that Mercator's map appear to be prejudiced in favor of some countries over some others. It sort of brain washes the students. However, the only short coming in Mercator's map is that it was a partially successful attempt to map a 3D figure into a 2D figure.

Recently some students in a Tokyo university presented a map in 2016, which can safely be assumed to be the most reliable map ever. Although not error free, yet it's error count is really small. It's called Autha Graph Map. To state an interesting fact, a Muslim cartographer Al-Idrisi wrote a book in the 12th century, which contained maps of different parts of the world.

Interestingly, all of the maps had their Norths and Souths switched. Those maps remained in use all over the Muslim world for centuries. Dear friends, maps are designed to understand our world and make our traveling easy. They serve the purpose of helping us have a better understanding of our world.

What if these maps are inaccurate? Won't it be portraying a wrong picture of the world? Do share your opinion on this matter in the comment section. Thank you!