Re: The real size of Africa

> Next to distorted geometry there are other things that flat world maps 
> just don't show, for example how big the pacific ocean really is, how 
> close Russia and the USA are to each other, how aircraft and ships 
> move from one place to the other...

You are absolutely right! My point was rather that we still need flat 
map projections for many important reasons. One of them is the ability 
to see the entire world at once but there are even more important 
reasons like being able to print a map on a piece of paper, be it in a 
scientific paper on changing ocean temperatures or an emergency map for 
firefighters and rescue teams.

Cheers,
Krzysztof



On 09/23/2016 01:15 AM, Frans Knibbe wrote:
>
>
> On 15 September 2016 at 21:06, Krzysztof Janowicz <janowicz@ucsb.edu 
> <mailto:janowicz@ucsb.edu>> wrote:
>
>>     Something like this
>>     <https://cesiumjs.org/Cesium/Apps/HelloWorld.html> is what should
>>     hang on the wall in school classes.
>
>     Hmm, I guess I have to disagree. The problem with such a 'globe'
>     view (compared to flat map projections) is that you cannot see all
>     of Earth at once and this is often an important task.
>
>
> I see the point. Although the globe can be rotated, you can't see all 
> land at once. So yes, there are reasons for having all land in one 
> view. Perhaps both methods can somehow coexist. The globe view should 
> at least get more prominence, I think. Next to distorted geometry 
> there are other things that flat world maps just don't show, for 
> example how big the pacific ocean really is, how close Russia and the 
> USA are to each other, how aircraft and ships move from one place to 
> the other...
>
> Regards,
> Frans
>
>
>
>     On 09/15/2016 04:52 AM, Frans Knibbe wrote:
>>     Fortunately with modern techniques for displaying geographic data
>>     in a web browser there is no need for projection on a flat plane
>>     any longer. Something like this
>>     <https://cesiumjs.org/Cesium/Apps/HelloWorld.html> is what should
>>     hang on the wall in school classes.
>>
>>     Regards,
>>     Frans
>>
>>     On 15 September 2016 at 13:06, Linda van den Brink
>>     <l.vandenbrink@geonovum.nl <mailto:l.vandenbrink@geonovum.nl>> wrote:
>>
>>         http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/18/africa/real-size-of-africa/
>>         <http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/18/africa/real-size-of-africa/>
>>
>>         A nice article with very helpful illustrations to explain the
>>         problem of projections, in particular Mercator.
>>
>>         *______________________________________*
>>
>>         *Geonovum*
>>
>>         *Linda van den Brink*
>>
>>         /Adviseur Geo-standaarden/
>>
>>         *a*: Barchman Wuytierslaan 10, 3818 LH Amersfoort **
>>
>>         *p*: Postbus 508, 3800 AM Amersfoort
>>
>>         *t*: + 31 (0)33 46041 00
>>
>>         *m*: + 31 (0)6 1355 57 92
>>
>>         *e: *l.vandenbrink@geonovum.nl <mailto:r.beltman@geonovum.nl>
>>
>>         *i*: www.geonovum.nl <http://www.geonovum.nl/>
>>
>>         *tw*: @brinkwoman
>>
>>
>
>
>     -- 
>     Krzysztof Janowicz
>
>     Geography Department, University of California, Santa Barbara
>     4830 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060
>
>     Email:jano@geog.ucsb.edu <mailto:jano@geog.ucsb.edu>
>     Webpage:http://geog.ucsb.edu/~jano/ <http://geog.ucsb.edu/%7Ejano/>
>     Semantic Web Journal:http://www.semantic-web-journal.net
>     <http://www.semantic-web-journal.net>
>
-- 
Krzysztof Janowicz

Geography Department, University of California, Santa Barbara
4830 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060

Email: jano@geog.ucsb.edu
Webpage: http://geog.ucsb.edu/~jano/
Semantic Web Journal: http://www.semantic-web-journal.net