Do you think you know what the world looks like? If you like maps you have to, I don't use the term lightly, look at map projections and the Gall-Peters projection. I find it amazing that our maps are so wrong in terms of relative size.

We generally use the Mercator projection:

"The Mercator projection increasingly inflates the sizes of regions according to their distance from the equator. This inflation results, for example, in a representation of Greenland that is larger than Africa, whereas in reality Africa is 14 times as large. Since much of the technologically underdeveloped world lies near the equator, these countries appear smaller on a Mercator, and therefore, according to Peters, seem less significant. On Peters's projection, by contrast, areas of equal size on the globe are also equally sized on the map. By using his "new" projection, poorer, less powerful nations could be restored to their rightful proportions. This reasoning has been picked up by many educational and religious bodies, leading to adoption of the Gall–Peters projection among some socially concerned groups, including Oxfam,[6] National Council of Churches,[7] New Internationalist magazine,[8] and the Mennonite Central Committee.[7]"

From the wikipedia link.

The Gall-Peters is more clear on actual relative size.




Here's a good bit from TV on it:

http://www.upworthy.com/we-have-been...-for-500-years

Here's some info about the actual Projection:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall%E2...ers_projection