| json_metadata | "{"appTitle":"Is there an implication of racism really existing in mercer world map?","appBody":"<p>RACISM IN THE MAP<\/p>\n<p>I was unable to find anything relating to a Mercer world map, but I did find something relating to racism and the Mercator map projection.<\/p>\n<p>Because it's principle function is ship navigation, Mercator does distort the size of areas a lot. Countries in the northern hemisphere are generally seen as larger and more prominently placed than those in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>As stated, this is so that when ships head in a constant direction based on their compasses, the Mercator map projection will show it moving in a straight line, even though, that's basically impossible, given the actual curvature of the Earth.<\/p>\n<p>TO BE RACIST<\/p>\n<p>For the map projection to be considered racist, it would have to be proven that it was done with:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If we take a look at the Mercator map projection with the equator drawn in, we get this:<\/p>\n<p><br><\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmZvuWh5yAwXZjb6TLrZMiP8e45rKjuU1DbCE549kVcE9M\/mercator-equator.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Map image\u2014http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/metrocosm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/mercator-equator.png<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While the land masses are distorted, the vast majority of them in view are above the equator, What's being cut off here in great measure is Antarctica.<\/p>\n<p>Does this show racism, or is it merely trying to show as much of the inhabited world as possible, while providing practical navigational ability to anyone following a compass? If anything, someone might be able to cry, \"Nationalism!\" for countries like Greenland and Russia that do appear larger than they really are. I'm not even going to claim that, however, since that's not anywhere near the intent of the map projection's purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Anywhere you go in the world, you can see maps where that part of the world is centralized. And why not? Where people live and most frequently travel to will be the most important areas on the map, and most travel is from home to work, or home to entertainment, or home to relatives, and mostly, that is within a relatively short area when compared to worldwide distances.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of other map projections that a person can look at if they want to get a sense of proportion. There be no need to go looking for racist intent where there never was one to begin with.<\/p>","musingPostType":"answer","musingAppId":"aU2p3C3a8N","appDepth":2,"app":"Musing","appCategory":"Musing","appParentPermlink":"f35ur8h45","musingAppVersion":"1.1","appParentAuthor":"zayedsakib","appTags":["Musing"]}" |
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