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Think you know how big the US is? Check out the Mercator misconception...

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/3740064944

November 11, 2018, 02:59 PM
.38supersig
Think you know how big the US is? Check out the Mercator misconception...
There were other map in use at the time:

  • Piri Rhis in 1513.
  • Ribeiro maps of the 1520s and 1530s.
  • Ortelius map of 1570.
  • Wright-Molyneux map of 1599.

    Mercator's map became more prevalent because the areas with the most ports and navigation were closer to the poles and therefore enlarged using his projection.



    • November 11, 2018, 09:57 PM
    phydough
    The Earth is still flat though, right?

    I grew up with a globe in the house, so I learned early on the differences of 2d and 3d maps. Do globes in schools not exist anymore?
    November 12, 2018, 06:23 AM
    Rey HRH
    I knew the difference. I understand intellectually.

    But my mind gets screwed up and refuses to accept the actual sizes depicted.


    "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
    November 12, 2018, 01:14 PM
    46and2
    If one is curious about the relative size of the various countries and continents and islands, just compare the Area of each measured in Square Miles rather than the visual approach.