We are now more than used to using applications like Google Maps on a daily basis, either to find the fastest route to a place or simply to visit places virtually. And what would you think if we told you that this and other similar apps are cheating us? The maps they show are not real. Or not at least 100%.
And far from being a world plot that hides a dark plot worthy of conspiracy theories, they do it for a justified reason. In fact it is not something new, but map updates like those of Engaging Data have once again highlighted the difference between the maps and the reality of the planet.
Why the maps we see are not 100% real
As much as some insist on trying to convince and demonstrate that the Earth is flat, the truth is that it is not. Our planet is in the shape of a sphere -it is really an ellipse- and hence its representation on a flat map not only is it a highly complicated task, but it is also impractical to create a map that is proportionally practical to use.
And since there is no better sample than an image, here is a photograph taken from the maps of the aforementioned Engaging Data in which you can see that there is a considerable size difference between what the maps show us and realitybeing the blue color what we see in apps like Google Maps and the red color the real proportion.
Map comparing the real size of the territories
As you may have seen, the countries of the southern hemisphere, including Spain, have real proportions that appear to be quite close to those we see on maps, despite the fact that in the case of our country a 23 .7% smaller. Nevertheless, there are amazing differences with territories of the northern hemisphere. See if not Greenland, Canada, Alaska or Russia.
The maps that we usually use come from the well-known Mercator projection, named after the 16th-century Flemish geographer and cartographer who “made fashion” this type of view. And the reason, as we said before, is none other than to offer a view that for practical purposes is easier to handle.
Peter’s Map
However, you should know that Mercator’s is not the only distorted representation that we have seen, since there are others just as interesting. See if not the Peters Map, which tries to create a grid in which each area is identical in proportion to the others.
If we wanted to have a flat map as realistic as possible we would have to resort to one like the one in the previous image. It would still not be exactly accurate due to the complexity of representing the areas in 2D, but it would be more realistic. However, we are able to predict a complete disaster if this were used by Google Maps and company.
