Mercator map distortion: Africa is way bigger than most people think
Afrika ist viel größer als die Meisten denken. Das Problem ist die Projektion der Oberfläche der dreidimensionalen Erde auf eine 2D-Landkarte.
Die vorherrschende Projektion ist eine einfache Zylinderprojektion, die ins 16. Jahrhundert zurückgeht und nach dem Katografen Gerardus Mercator bennant ist, der unter anderem diese Projektion verwendet hat.
Vorteil der Mercator-Projektion ist, dass die Form der Kontinente und – wichtig für die Seefahrt – Winkel erhalten blieben, aber es gibt eine Verzerrung in Richtung Nord- und Südpol. Je weiter man vom Äquator weg geht, desto größer wird alles dargestellt, sowohl in der x- als auch in der y-Koordinate.
Konsequenz ist, dass Afrika im Verhältnis zu Nordamerika, Europa und Nordasien viel kleiner dargestellt wird, als es tatsächlich ist.
Im Internetzeitalter könnte man dahinter sogar eine Verschwöhrungtheorie vermuten 😂 Die Marcator-Projektion begünstige die USA und Europa, da der globale Norden größer dargestellt wird. US-Zentrismus.
Was sagt ihr dazu? Denkt ihr, dass Afrika unterschätzt wird?
Mercator Projection
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1785699411814686932
True size of Africa
https://twitter.com/Civixplorer/status/1785699906537050391
US vs Africa
https://twitter.com/grandcasino_al/status/1785951964083159549
English
Africa is much bigger than most people think. The problem is the projection of the surface of the three-dimensional Earth onto a 2D map.
The predominant projection is a simple cylindrical projection, which dates back to the 16th century and is named after the catographer Gerardus Mercator, who used this projection, among others.
The advantage of the Mercator projection is that the shape of the continents and - important for seafaring - angles are retained, but there is a distortion in the direction of the North and South Poles. The further away from the equator you go, the larger everything is shown, both in the x and y coordinates.
As a result, Africa is shown much smaller than it actually is in relation to North America, Europe and North Asia.
In the internet age, one could even suspect a conspiracy theory behind this 😂 The Marcator projection favors the USA and Europe, as the global North is depicted larger. US centrism.
What do you think? Do you think Africa is being underestimated?
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The short line is 7200 km, the big line is 6400 km. It is also possible, ha ha ha.
The big line is not entirely accurate, it depicts the shortest distance, but a land line would be way bigger:
https://twitter.com/opticteadrop/status/1785822934252106144
To be fair, Africa is less distorted than most other places. Many people don't know this but many do know. However, even those who know, it can be difficult to visualize since we're so used to seeing the world map like this.
If that happens with other parts of the world.
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wow, das hast du ja früh mitbekommen
und zum Glück sofort alle weiteren Unwissenden aufgeklärt
Ein Glück !
Nein, Afrika wird nicht unterschätzt, es gibt auch andere Maßstäbe als die geografische Breite, z.B. die Wirtschaftsleistung, den Korruptionsindex, die Kriminalitätsrate oder die Anzahl der Nobelpreisträger.
Afrika hat auch ein enormes und unglaubliches Bevölkerungswachstum, während die Bevölkerung im globalen Westen und China schrumpft oder stagniert. Bin gespannt wie sich das Wachstum auf den Wohlstand auswirken wird.
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/
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I've seen this so many times and every time I'm still mind blown by how huge Africa is compared to what it looks like on the map.
It’s crazy how I’m in Africa but don’t know these facts
Really amazing!
I think that the reason why people believe North America, Europe, and North Asia is bigger is bec they are highly urbanized as compared to Africa. Just my opinion tho.
I still understand the Math which teaches that 6400 is bigger than 7200.
The 6400 line is not completely accurate, would be more like 8000-ish km if measured going through the land.
https://twitter.com/opticteadrop/status/1785822934252106144
It's rather confusing, there should be more precision. 😊
But it's so obvious that Africa is bigger than America...lol.
I'm very certain that Africa is bigger than America
I don't know. Are South America and Australia also too small? If they are all undersized that would be interesting!
Really? This is the first I've heard of it
I knew of the distortion but didn't know it's so far off :o
Africa is pretty large but because of the corruption there, I don't think it really fits as an strong economic power.
I didn't know it was such a big country before, after reading today's post, my knowledge has increased.
wow, i never realized it, but yea.. so weird... :P