Mercator map distortion: Africa is way bigger than most people think
Afrika ist viel gröĂer als die Meisten denken. Das Problem ist die Projektion der OberflĂ€che der dreidimensionalen Erde auf eine 2D-Landkarte.
Die vorherrschende Projektion ist eine einfache Zylinderprojektion, die ins 16. Jahrhundert zurĂŒckgeht 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 â wichtig fĂŒr die Seefahrt â Winkel erhalten blieben, aber es gibt eine Verzerrung in Richtung Nord- und SĂŒdpol. Je weiter man vom Ăquator weg geht, desto gröĂer wird alles dargestellt, sowohl in der x- als auch in der y-Koordinate.
Konsequenz ist, dass Afrika im VerhÀltnis zu Nordamerika, Europa und Nordasien viel kleiner dargestellt wird, als es tatsÀchlich ist.
Im Internetzeitalter könnte man dahinter sogar eine Verschwöhrungtheorie vermuten đ Die Marcator-Projektion begĂŒnstige die USA und Europa, da der globale Norden gröĂer dargestellt wird. US-Zentrismus.
Was sagt ihr dazu? Denkt ihr, dass Afrika unterschÀtzt 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 đ 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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But it's so obvious that Africa is bigger than America...lol.
Itâs crazy how Iâm in Africa but donât know these facts
Really amazing!
I don't know. Are South America and Australia also too small? If they are all undersized that would be interesting!
I'm very certain that Africa is bigger than America
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. đ
wow, i never realized it, but yea.. so weird... :P
Nein, Afrika wird nicht unterschĂ€tzt, es gibt auch andere MaĂstĂ€be als die geografische Breite, z.B. die Wirtschaftsleistung, den Korruptionsindex, die KriminalitĂ€tsrate oder die Anzahl der NobelpreistrĂ€ger.
Afrika hat auch ein enormes und unglaubliches Bevölkerungswachstum, wÀhrend 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/
I knew of the distortion but didn't know it's so far off :o
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.
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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
Africa is pretty large but because of the corruption there, I don't think it really fits as an strong economic power.
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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und zum GlĂŒck sofort alle weiteren Unwissenden aufgeklĂ€rt
Ein GlĂŒck !
Really? This is the first I've heard of it
I didn't know it was such a big country before, after reading today's post, my knowledge has increased.