Information Is Beautifulinfobeautiful@vis.social
Jul 31, 2026, 5:55 PMAnother reasons to tut at the Mercator Map projection - how a circle with a radius of 5,000km, centred on Paris, looks according the Mercator map
Replies
Glynglynd@mastodon.worldJul 31, 2026, 6:04 PM@infobeautiful As a sailor it has a specific use… I guess sailing was the main use for charts back then anyway!
Linda Rose Smitlindarosesmit@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 10:36 PM@glynd @infobeautiful that is exactely what it was ment for. As our teacher used to say: equal square miles is for farmers.
JackMexJackMexa4@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 11:00 PM@lindarosesmit @glynd @infobeautiful
Yeah, zero ideological implications.
It’s just the natural order.
- Linda Rose Smitlindarosesmit@mastodon.socialAug 1, 2026, 6:20 AM
@JackMexa4 @glynd @infobeautiful no. It gives you straight course lines across oceans. That was Mercators purpose. For details beautiful drawings of coastlines where used. Nobody blames Harrison for inventing his clock.
Petra van CronenburgNatureMC@mastodon.onlineAug 1, 2026, 11:04 AM@lindarosesmit Thank you for the context! @JackMexa4 @glynd @infobeautiful
Gilgwathgilgwath@social.tchncs.deJul 31, 2026, 6:05 PM@infobeautiful If this projection was invented today, everybody would say it's AI slopp 🫣
Jul 31, 2026, 7:10 PM@infobeautiful what projection should i have on my wall then? (my wall is a flat surface)
Chtixof 🦊🚲🌻🐝Chtixof@mamot.frJul 31, 2026, 8:20 PM@quite @infobeautiful
Consider a Peirce projection.
Cf. https://planispherecarre.org/
François @JuraFrancoisPrague@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 7:10 PM
xs4me2xs4me2@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 7:37 PM
Kevin Ashworthkevinashworth@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 8:47 PM@infobeautiful
Mercator is a scam perpetuated by Big Guitar Pick.
MakakuMakaku@pouet.chapril.orgJul 31, 2026, 8:58 PM@infobeautiful
Do you have the source of the image ?I was a little bit disturb by the triangle shape of the cercle and doing my own research i found something like that :
https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php?circles=%5B%5B4978948.47%2C48.8521033%2C2.3298956%2C%22%23AAAAAA%22%2C%22%23000000%22%2C0%5D%5DThat seem to me more realistic for the projection from a globe to a cylinder : the cercle should look like an ellipse
themagicsquidthemagicsquid@mastodon.socialJul 31, 2026, 11:10 PM@infobeautiful this is incorrect 🙂
Toni Aittoniemigimulnautti@mastodon.greenJul 31, 2026, 11:15 PM@infobeautiful pure imperial bullshit map. should be illegal to teach this ro children.
CarstenCspan@tuebingen.networkAug 1, 2026, 7:19 PM@infobeautiful The purpose of a Mercator map is to measure correct angles, not correct lengths or areas. For this there are different projections.
John Butler :verified:johnbutler@typo.socialAug 2, 2026, 12:45 AM@infobeautiful @colinmford here comes your Mercator
