[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Oh fuck all this noise over the Mercator projection.

This is the one field where I can say I really know what I am talking about. (SFU GIS graduate)

There is no great conspiracy to make Africa looks small / racial conspiracy etc...

Simple fact is the Earth is geoid. It is impossible to represent a 3D object on a 2D image without distortion.

Now, there are many projection, as demonstrated above, but every projection must distort one (or two) of the following: direction, shape, scale.

The Mercator projection has been preferred because it retains direction and to an extent shape. This is by far the most important for most industries. Try navigating the seas with a map that distorts direction, especially prior to GPS.

That’s it, that’s why it is such a common map.

Tired of this fucking conspiracy argument.

It does look like there is a deliberate magnification of the Northern hemisphere. My guess is to make European nations more visible.