Not everyone sees the world in the same way. Map Bias / Point of View Not everyone sees the world in the same way.

All maps have distortion All maps have distortion. It is impossible to take a 3-D sphere and make it flat without having to distort (change) shapes, sizes, distances, or directions.

This Mercator Map has great detail near the Equator, but the Poles are distorted.

This is a Peter’s World Map – it shows the world’s land masses in correct size. Notice Greenland – it really is only 1/6 the size of South America. However direction is distorted on this map.

This is a Watterman Butterfly map This is a Watterman Butterfly map. Obviously this map is great for size and shape, but sailing using this map would be difficult.

As well as distortion, there is also Point of View… As well as distortion, there is also Point of View…. for many years, the US was the main publisher of maps. It was not unusual to find maps (especially in textbooks) with the US in the middle. This American view is not seen as much today.

Most of our mental maps look something like this… Most of our mental maps look something like this…. That is because the Prime Meridian is often in the middle. The Greenwich Meridian was chosen as the Prime Meridian of the World in 1884. Forty-one delegates from 25 nations met in Washington DC for the International Meridian Conference. By the end of the conference, Greenwich (London, England, UK) had won the prize of Longitude 0º by a vote of 22 to 1 against (San Domingo), with 2 abstentions (France and Brazil). Greenwich was widely used as zero prior to this conference because of Britain’s power, but this is when it became official.

What if we centered the world near where most of the people live What if we centered the world near where most of the people live? This is the Asian view of the world.

What if you lived in Australia?

Similar to Australia – this is the African view of the world.

This was a map showing an acoustic wave travel in the ocean is centered on Heard Island where the test was administered. In January-February 1991 an acoustic source lowered from a ship near Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean was used to transmit coded signals that were detected throughout the world's oceans. This test was the Heard Island Feasibility Test. Click on the image for a better view of the map. The Experiment: The location of Heard Island was chosen for a number of reasons. First, a location in the southern Indian ocean was desirable in order for the acoustic signals to reach all the world's major ocean basins. In particular, both east and west coasts of the United States were "illuminated" by acoustic transmissions from Heard Island. Second, Heard Island is a territory of Australia, which offered logistical advantages. Third, Heard Island is south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current where the sound channel axis is near the surface. Acoustic sources could be deployed to a shallow depth, yet still be near the sound channel axis. Finally, last but not least, the notion of this experiment from "Heard" Island appealed to the poet in Walter Munk. © Copyright 2007 by the University of Washington. All rights reserved.

Look at these projections – weird!

Is this your mental map of the world?

Why would a cartographer center a map this way???? This would be a great map projection for showing the slave trade.

Who makes the final decisions on borders, etc Who makes the final decisions on borders, etc? National Geographic would be a good idea, but they have no real authority. That is why some countries borders look different. And then there is the area in yellow where there are oil deposits – this is Abyei. It is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. This is South Sudan. The world’s newest country, but…. Sudan doesn’t agree.

Korean point of view Japanese point of view ?

This is a map of Israel from the Israeli point of view. This is the Palestinian point of view. These orange areas are “Occupied Territories”

Iran, Iraq, Turkey and parts of Syria have swallowed up this region that was once an area ruled by the Kurds. Here is the country of Kurdistan – the only problem…… No country recognizes them as independent.

This is Western Sahara. The only problem This is Western Sahara. The only problem? Morocco invaded in 1976 and continues to occupy the country. Morocco says it annexed the area for the people’s best interest….

Slovenia wants access to international waters…. Italy says, “too bad!”

That’s right… China claims Taiwan is the 23rd province (state) of China. Taiwan believes it is an independent nation – the Republic of China This is an English version of a Chinese map. Notice all of the provinces…..

Kosovo became an independent and recognized country in 2008, but Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence. Serbian point of view Kosovar point of view

The Falkland Islands. In fact, when Argentina invaded in 1982 the British went to war over ownership of these islands. Britain won. These are the Islas Malvina. They belong to Argentina…… According to Argentina. The people that live there are British descendants. They believe they live in….

Indian point of view…. Pakistani point of view…..

Kashmir & Jammu would like to be independent of both Pakistan and India.

location. This is Gibraltar. It is owned by the UK location. This is Gibraltar. It is owned by the UK. This gives them access to the Strait of Gibraltar and the possibility of blocking the strait. Military control of chokepoints is of strategic importance. Spain claims this land.

All the borders of Eritrea and Ethiopia are disputed.

AND the US? Cuba, Mexico, and the US all claim the continental shelf. This is especially important for oil Wake Island – Marshall Islands claim this atoll used by our air force. Serranilla is disputed between Colombia, Nicaragua, US & Honduras Bajo Nuevo Bank is disputed between US, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Jamaica Navassa Island is claimed by Haiti

OK – so those are little island disputes…. No big deal…… OK – so those are little island disputes…. No big deal……. It’s not like it’s part of the 50 states…….

So, you are making the map… So, you are making the map….. The Kuril Islands are disputed between Russia and Japan. Who do you give them to on your map???

What about here? These islands are disputed between Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Vietnam, and China

And last, but not least….. Who owns Mt. Everest? Nepal or China?