this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
772 points (96.8% liked)
Memes
45619 readers
1288 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Is it because of the Mercator projection?
I'm just as annoyed by the overuse of the Mercator projection as the next guy, but no, I don't think we can blame it in this particular instance. Consider the similar case of a day/night map, which pretty clearly reads as 50/50 even when it's Mercator:
(Upon further scrutiny comparing these two maps, I think the missing Antarctica might be a factor too.)
Also, relevant XKCD.
That day/night map is not Mercator though
(Nor is the map in OP)
My argument applies to any cylindrical projection.