01 / In focus
Perception & researchDistorted maps. Distorted worldviews?
What research says about our sense of country size, and why a simple Mercator-effect story is incomplete.
Read the article ↗NEWMAP.WORLD / The map journal
Read the world anew.
What maps show. What they change. And how they shape the way we see the world.
All topics
12 articles
No matching articles. Try another search term or topic.
Maps in everyday life
Why the shortest flight route looks curved on a map.
A straight line on a world map is not automatically the shortest journey. Great circles and rhumb lines explain the difference.
Read the article ↗
Understanding projections
How to see and measure map distortion.
Equal circles, three metrics and an essential distinction: a map can preserve area while changing shape.
Read the article ↗Perception & research
Distorted maps. Distorted worldviews?
What research says about our sense of country size, and why a simple Mercator-effect story is incomplete.
Read the article ↗
Perception & research
Africa and Greenland: the size behind the image.
A famous comparison, carefully calculated. Why about 14:1 works and one latitude is not enough.
Read the article ↗
Perspectives
Why is north at the top?
Rotate the world and move its centre: a change of perspective between geometry, habit and psychology.
Read the article ↗
Maps in everyday life
When maps tell data stories: area is not enough.
Population, climate and elections: how projection, denominator and legend work together.
Read the article ↗
Understanding projections
Equal Earth, explained.
What an equal-area map preserves, what it changes, and why both matter.
Read the article ↗
Understanding projections
Mercator and Equal Earth: two different jobs.
One preserves local angles. The other preserves area. Choose the property your question needs.
Read the article ↗
Perspectives
“Correct the Map”: examining the claim.
What the Mercator critique gets mathematically right, and which claims need additional evidence.
Read the article ↗
Maps in everyday life
Choose the world map you will actually use.
Five decisions: subject, labels, centre, paper size and readable detail.
Read the article ↗
Maps in everyday life
A lesson in perspective.
A free 30-minute activity for comparing projections, asking better questions and reading a map critically.
Read the article ↗
Understanding projections
Same Earth. Different proportions.
Move away from the equator and see how two equal patches behave on two projections.
Read the article ↗