• NeilNuggetstrong@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    I’m so sick of this shit. You want an accurate map? Buy a globe. There is no accurate flat map projections. All are wrong. Different projections have different flaws and serve different purposes.

    • Axolotl@feddit.it
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      13 hours ago

      Maps are especially used in education, i see it very hard to include a globe with every book and set up a big ass globe in every classroom but whatever

      • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        i remember during the breakup of yugoslavia our history teachers, who thought it important that we not only were familiar with but had memorized the capitals, names and locations of all the countries in the world and states in the us (literally that’s all we did one year for history. memorize locations and names and blah blah. that damn animaniacs song was a godsend to anyone who had a vcr). so they were bitching and moaning that they were having to buy new map rolls what seemed like every year because another country was declaring independence.

        i was too young to tell whether he was being sardonic, like “they had to fight for independence and all i gotta do is get a new map pack woe is me” or if he was really complaining. but they have the good projectors now. should be a lot easier.

        • Axolotl@feddit.it
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          20 minutes ago

          The problem with projectors is that then kids can’t see the globe at home, unless you ask them to see it online but a 8 years old kid hardly will be able do it (and i assure you, depending on parents being able to do it is a BAD idea, there is lots of parents who can’t or that will simply show the wrong thing) and it also means that you have to depend on internet access, what if internet access is down or electricity got fucked? (those projectors or smart whiteboards are so shitty that they would not be able to have an offline version)

    • merc@sh.itjust.works
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      14 hours ago

      Also, unless you’re using a paper map, you should never have to see a flat map projection.

      We all carry around supercomputers in our pockets that can easily do the math to render a globe. If we want to use a bigger screen, they have even more powerful processors.

      Does anybody actually use paper maps at all anymore? I guess sometimes people mount them on the wall and point at them, but I mean using a map to calculate distance, find a path, etc.

      What’s ridiculous is that even though computers should be rendering the world as a globe, some websites (even Google Maps) still sometimes use Mercator. It’s especially ridiculous when it’s something like a flight-tracking website where the flight is going in a straight line on the globe, but is rendered as a curved path on a stupid map projection.

      • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        For most navigation people are going less than 50 miles projecting it onto a virtual globe would be pointless and not in any way shape or form beneficial.

      • hegus@lemmy.world
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        12 hours ago

        I mean the good thing about a flat projection is that you can see everything at once. When you’re comparing data points of different countries it is nice to see them on a flat map. Neither the actual size nor the angles really matter in that case.

        • merc@sh.itjust.works
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          9 hours ago

          When you’re comparing data points of different countries

          Why would you need a map for that? That seems like something where a table is more useful.

          • Axolotl@feddit.it
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            1 minute ago

            It’s more appealing visually and generally easier to navigate because you don’t need to search a country on the list, it’s easier to find it on a map

            To be noted: usually those maps are paired with a table and aren’t made to give precise information

      • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        Does anybody actually use paper maps at all anymore

        if i’m going hiking, yes. i don’t trust the phone to maintain a connection in the wild.