Challenging Our "Worldview"

All maps are not created equal. Cartographers, or mapmakers, face a number of challenges when trying to fit a round Earth onto a flat image. Thus, all maps are distorted in one way or another. And how we see the world can vary depending on which map we're looking at.

Some maps are intentionally deceptive -- meant to emphasize a fact or idea through distortions. For example, this map we showed in class this week illustrates the differences in population sizes among various countries by relating them to country size.


Other maps, however, are less blatantly distorted. The Mercator Projection, which is widely used in schools, accurately represents shapes of landforms, but distorts their sizes. This is why small islands and borders are so detailed. The Peters Projection, on the other hand, distorts shape, but preserves relative sizes of landforms. We are less familiar with this map, which makes Africa and South America appear stretched.

After acknowledging that the Peters Projection indirectly emphasizes the developing world, students in classes this week agreed that residents of places in Africa or South America would probably prefer the map over the Mercator Projection. While neither projection is more accurate than the other, certainly the Peters Projection implores that we take a second look at our world. While the sizes of countries does not relate to their value, seeing an accurate depiction of country sizes brings places we often ignore to the forefront.

Would you favor the Peters Projection if you lived in Africa? Why or why not?