Maps shape our geographic thinking

Michael BentleyHESIT 2012

Pictures are worth a thousand words

• Most people in the U.S. have grown up learning geography from the Mercator projection of the world map

• Every two-dimensional projection of 3-D space sacrifices distorting either shape or area of land masses

• These distortions can lead to misconceptions about the way the world actually is

Mercator Projection

Mercator Projection

Peters Projection

FullerProjection

Africa bigger thanyou think!

Africa bigger thanyou think!

Geography misconceptions: http://librarytech.org/learningzone/geography1.html

Cartographic misconceptions: http://www.gisnet.com/notebook/unusual.php#2