{"id":285,"title":"Why all world maps are wrong","description":"This video explains the fundamental problem of cartography: it's impossible to represent the spherical Earth on a flat map without distortion. The host demonstrates this by physically cutting and trying to flatten an inflatable globe. The video then delves into the concept of map projections, which are different algorithms for translating the globe's surface, each with its own tradeoffs between preserving shape, size, distance, or direction. It specifically compares the widely-used Mercator projection, which preserves shape but distorts size, with the Gall-Peters projection, which preserves size but distorts shape, and concludes by showing how modern cartography uses various projections like the Winkel Tripel to find a balance.","slug":"why-all-world-maps-are-wrong","creator":"Vox","duration":360.002177,"tags":["cartography","map projection","geography","Mercator projection","Gall-Peters projection","Winkel Tripel","map distortion","Vox","Johnny Harris","data visualization","history of science"],"transcription":"Alright, here we go. If I want to turn this globe into a flat map, I'm going to have to cut it open. In order to get this globe to look anything close to a rectangle lying flat, I've had to cut it in several places. I've had to stretch it so that the countries are starting to look all wonky. And even still it's almost impossible to get it to lay flat. And that right there is the eternal dilemma of mapmakers. The surface of a sphere cannot be represented as a plane without some form of distortion. That was mathematically proved by this guy long time ago. Since around the 1500s, mathematicians have set about creating algorithms that would translate the globe into something flat. And to do this, they use a process called projection. Popular rectangular maps use a cylindrical projection. Imagine putting a theoretical cylinder over the globe and projecting each of the points of the sphere onto the cylinder's surface. Unroll the cylinder and you have a flat rectangular map. But you could also project the globe onto other objects. And the math used by mapmakers to project the globe will affect the way the map looks once it's all flattened out. And here's the big problem. Every one of these projections comes with tradeoffs in shape, distance, direction, and land area. Certain map projections can either be misleading or very helpful depending on what you're using them for. Here's an example. This map is called the Mercator projection. If you're American, you probably studied this map in school. It's also the projection that Google Maps uses. The Mercator projection is popular for a couple of reasons. First, it generally preserves the shape of countries. Brazil on the globe has the same shape as Brazil on the Mercator projection. But the original purpose of the Mercator projection was navigation. It preserves direction, which is a big deal if you're trying to navigate the ocean with only a compass. It was designed so that a line drawn between two points on the map would provide the exact angle to follow on a compass to travel between those two points. If we go back to the globe, you can see that this line is not the shortest route, but at least it provides a simple, reliable way to navigate across the ocean. Gerardus Mercator, who created the projection in the 16th century, was able to preserve direction by varying the distance between the latitude lines and also making them straight, creating a grid of right angles. But that created some other problems. Where the Mercator fails is its representation of size. Look at the size of Africa as compared to Greenland. On the Mercator map, they look about the same size. But if you look at a globe for Greenland's true size, you'll see that it's way smaller than Africa, by a factor of 14 in fact. If we put a bunch of dots onto the globe that are all the same size, and then project that onto the Mercator map, we will end up with this. The circles retain their round shape but are enlarged as they get closer to the poles. One modern critique of this is that the distortion perpetuates imperialist attitude of European domination over the Southern Hemisphere. The Mercator projection has fostered European imperialist attitudes for centuries and created an ethnic bias against the third world. Really? So if you want to see a map that more accurately displays land area, you can use the Gall-Peters projection. This is called an equal-area map. Look at Greenland and Africa now. The size comparison is accurate, much better than the Mercator. But it's obvious now that the country shapes are totally distorted. Here are those dots again so that we can see how the projection preserves area while totally distorting shape. Something happened in the late 60s that would change the whole purpose of mapping and the way that we think about projections. Satellites orbiting our planet started sending location and navigation data to little receiver units all around the world. Today, orbiting satellites of the Navy navigation satellite system provide round-the-clock, ultra-precise position fixes from space to units everywhere in any kind of weather. This global positioning system wiped out the need for paper maps as a means of navigating both the sea and the sky. Map projection choices became less about navigational imperatives and more about aesthetic, design, and presentation. The Mercator projection, that once-vital tool of pre-GPS navigation, was shunned by cartographers who now saw it as misleading. But even still, most web mapping tools like Google Maps use the Mercator. This is because the Mercator's ability to preserve shape and angles makes close-up views of cities more accurate. A 90-degree left turn on the map is a 90-degree left turn on the street that you're driving down. The distortion is minimal when you're close up. But on a world map scale, cartographers rarely use the Mercator. Most modern cartographers have settled on a variety of non-rectangular projections that split the difference between distorting either size or shape. In 1998, the National Geographic Society adopted the Winkel Tripel projection because of its pleasant balance between size and shape accuracy. But the fact remains that there's no right projection. Cartographers and mathematicians have created a huge library of available projections, each with a new perspective on the planet and each useful for a different task. The best way to see the Earth is to look at a globe. But as long as we use flat maps, we'll have to deal with the tradeoffs of projections. And just remember, there's no right answer. If you yourself want to poke fun at the Mercator projection, you can do so by going to thetruesize.com, which is a fun tool that allows you to drag around whatever country you want around the map and see how it is distorted depending on where it is. I also want to say a big thanks to Mike Bostock, whose open-source project on map projections was a huge help in this video. I'll put a link for both of those things down in the description.","timeline":[{"t":4,"speech":"If I want to turn this globe into a flat map, I'm going to have to cut it open.","visual":{"action":"A man holds a large, inflatable globe in a studio setting, explaining his intention to flatten it.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["blue","white","green","gray","yellow"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The man and the globe","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"inquisitive","objects":[{"color":"blue, green, yellow","name":"inflatable globe","position":"center, held by the man","state":"inflated"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"gold-colored watch","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots (visible later)","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"bearded, focused expression","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"holding the globe","pose":"standing","position":"center frame"}],"setting":{"background":"white photography backdrop","lighting":"bright, even studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Vox","location":"center","style":"white and yellow serif font"}]}},{"t":12,"speech":"","visual":{"action":"The man stabs the top of the inflatable globe with an orange-handled knife, causing it to deflate rapidly.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["blue","gray","green","white","orange"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The knife puncturing the globe","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"dramatic","objects":[{"color":"blue, green, yellow","name":"inflatable globe","position":"center floor","state":"deflating"},{"color":"orange","name":"knife","position":"in the man's hand, puncturing the globe","state":"in use"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"gold-colored watch","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"not visible","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"holding the knife, pressing down on the globe","pose":"bending over","position":"center frame"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":22,"speech":"In order to get this globe to look anything close to a rectangle lying flat, I've had to cut it in several places.","visual":{"action":"The man is kneeling on the floor, struggling to unfold and flatten the deflated globe, cutting it further with the knife.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["blue","gray","green","yellow","brown"]},"composition":{"angle":"high angle","focus":"The man's hands working on the deflated globe","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"frustrated","objects":[{"color":"blue, green, yellow","name":"deflated globe","position":"on the floor","state":"wrinkled, being cut and stretched"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"gold-colored watch","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"partially visible, concentrated","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"pulling and cutting the plastic globe material","pose":"kneeling on the floor","position":"center frame"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor with a white backdrop in the distance","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":35,"speech":"And that right there is the eternal dilemma of mapmakers.","visual":{"action":"The man continues to try and flatten the globe, stepping on it and pulling it, but it remains wrinkled and uneven. The narrator begins to explain the core problem.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["blue","gray","green","yellow","brown"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The man and the distorted, flattened globe","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"explanatory","objects":[{"color":"blue, green, yellow","name":"deflated globe","position":"on the floor","state":"wrinkled and distorted"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"gold-colored watch","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"not visible","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"pulling at the globe's edges","pose":"kneeling over the globe","position":"center frame"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":44,"speech":"That was mathematically proved by this guy long time ago.","visual":{"action":"A historical portrait of Carl Friedrich Gauss appears in an oval frame, surrounded by complex mathematical equations and diagrams related to spherical geometry.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","sepia","blue","gray"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The portrait of Gauss","framing":"medium close-up"},"mood":"academic","objects":[],"people":[{"age_range":"50-60","clothing":{"accessories":"academic robes, white collar","bottom":"","footwear":"","top":"dark academic robe"},"face":"serious, looking slightly to the side","hair":"graying, receding","hands":"not visible","pose":"seated portrait","position":"center"}],"setting":{"background":"white background with black mathematical text and diagrams","lighting":"n/a (illustration)","location":"n/a (graphical overlay)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Gauss' Theorema Egregium","location":"top left","style":"serif font"},{"content":"Carl Friedrich Gauss","location":"bottom center","style":"serif font on a black bar"}]}},{"t":54,"speech":"And to do this, they use a process called projection.","visual":{"action":"The man stands on the still-inflated globe, and the word 'Projection' appears over it with graphical elements.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["blue","white","green","gray","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"low angle","focus":"The globe and the text","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"illustrative","objects":[{"color":"blue, green","name":"inflatable globe","position":"center floor","state":"inflated"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":""},"face":"not visible (only legs)","hair":"","hands":"","pose":"standing on the globe","position":"center frame"}],"setting":{"background":"white studio backdrop","lighting":"bright studio light","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Projection","location":"center","style":"white serif font in a black rectangle"}]}},{"t":59,"speech":"Imagine putting a theoretical cylinder over the globe and projecting each of the points of the sphere onto the cylinder's surface.","visual":{"action":"A man places a large white paper cylinder over the inflatable globe. Animated lines then project from the globe's surface outward onto the inside of the cylinder.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","blue","gray","green","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The globe inside the cylinder","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"demonstrative","objects":[{"color":"blue, green","name":"inflatable globe","position":"center, inside cylinder","state":"inflated"},{"color":"white","name":"paper cylinder","position":"surrounding the globe","state":"stationary"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"gold-colored watch","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"not visible","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"holding the paper cylinder","pose":"bending over","position":"center"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":108,"speech":"Unroll the cylinder and you have a flat rectangular map.","visual":{"action":"The man unrolls a large sheet of white paper on the floor, revealing a black outline of a world map.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["gray","white","black","brown"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The unrolled map","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"conclusive","objects":[{"color":"white with black lines","name":"paper map outline","position":"center floor","state":"unrolled, flat"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":""},"face":"not visible (only feet)","hair":"","hands":"","pose":"standing at the top of the map","position":"top center"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":121,"speech":"And here's the big problem.","visual":{"action":"Text appears on screen over a rapidly changing background of many different distorted map projections.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The text on screen","framing":"close-up"},"mood":"problematic","objects":[],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"animated montage of black and white map projections","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Here's the BIG problem:","location":"center","style":"black serif and sans-serif font in a white box with a black border"}]}},{"t":135,"speech":"This map is called the Mercator projection.","visual":{"action":"A black silhouette of a Mercator projection map appears on a white background.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The map","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"Mercator map silhouette","position":"center","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white, with small black specks","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"MERCATOR","location":"top center","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":142,"speech":"It's also the projection that Google Maps uses.","visual":{"action":"A screenshot of the Google Maps interface is shown, displaying the world with the Mercator projection.","colors":{"dominant":"blue","palette":["light blue","green","tan","white","gray"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The world map on Google Maps","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"relatable","objects":[{"color":"various","name":"Google Maps interface","position":"full screen","state":"static image"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"","lighting":"n/a (screenshot)","location":"n/a (digital interface)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"United States, Canada, Mexico, etc.","location":"on the map","style":"standard map labels"}]}},{"t":151,"speech":"Brazil on the globe has the same shape as Brazil on the Mercator projection.","visual":{"action":"An animation shows the outline of South America next to a 3D globe. The outline of Brazil is extracted from the globe and shown to match the shape on the flat outline, highlighting its preservation of shape.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","blue","green","yellow"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The comparison of Brazil's shape","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"analytical","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"outline of South America","position":"left","state":"static"},{"color":"blue and green","name":"3D globe","position":"right","state":"rotating"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":165,"speech":"It preserves direction, which is a big deal if you're trying to navigate the ocean with only a compass.","visual":{"action":"A colorful animated Mercator map is shown. A line is drawn from northern South America to the UK. An inset shows an old drawing of a sailing ship on a navigational chart.","colors":{"dominant":"cyan","palette":["cyan","yellow","orange","green","purple"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The animated map and navigational line","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"historical","objects":[{"color":"multi-colored","name":"animated world map","position":"full screen","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":180,"speech":"But that created some other problems. Where the Mercator fails is its representation of size.","visual":{"action":"An animation shows the grid of a Mercator map, with red lines indicating the increasing distance between latitude lines as they move away from the equator.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","red","gray"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The expanding grid","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"critical","objects":[{"color":"black and red","name":"map grid","position":"center","state":"animated"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":190,"speech":"Look at the size of Africa as compared to Greenland. On the Mercator map, they look about the same size.","visual":{"action":"On a black and white Mercator map, the landmasses of Greenland and Africa are highlighted and boxed, showing their similar apparent sizes.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"Greenland and Africa","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"comparative","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"Mercator map silhouette","position":"center","state":"static with highlighted areas"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"MERCATOR","location":"top center","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":200,"speech":"by a factor of 14 in fact.","visual":{"action":"A side-by-side comparison. On the left, a realistic 3D globe shows Greenland is much smaller than Africa. On the right, an animation shows Greenland's landmass stretched to cover almost the entirety of Africa, illustrating the 14x size distortion.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","blue","tan","green","gray"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The size comparison","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"revelatory","objects":[{"color":"blue, tan, green","name":"3D globe","position":"left","state":"static"},{"color":"tan, white","name":"distorted map of Africa/Greenland","position":"right","state":"animated"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"REALITY","location":"top left","style":"black sans-serif font"},{"content":"MERCATOR","location":"top right","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":210,"speech":"The circles retain their round shape but are enlarged as they get closer to the poles.","visual":{"action":"An animation shows equally sized yellow circles on a globe being projected onto a flat Mercator map. The circles near the equator stay small, while the circles near the poles become massively enlarged.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","yellow-green"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The distorted circles","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"illustrative","objects":[{"color":"black and yellow-green","name":"Mercator map with circles","position":"center","state":"animated"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background with a grid","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":218,"speech":"The Mercator projection has fostered European imperialist attitudes for centuries and created an ethnic bias against the third world. Really?","visual":{"action":"A clip from the TV show 'The West Wing' plays inside a frame on the Mercator map with yellow dots. A woman explains the political implications of the map's distortion.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","yellow-green","brown","beige"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The TV show clip","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"political","objects":[],"people":[{"age_range":"40-50","clothing":{"accessories":"glasses","bottom":"","footwear":"","top":"tan blazer over a gray top"},"face":"serious, speaking","hair":"reddish-brown, shoulder-length","hands":"gesturing slightly","pose":"standing","position":"center of the inset clip"}],"setting":{"background":"The Mercator map with yellow dots","lighting":"dim, indoor lighting (in clip)","location":"An office or presentation room (in clip)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":225,"speech":"So if you want to see a map that more accurately displays land area, you can use the Gall-Peters projection.","visual":{"action":"A black silhouette of a Gall-Peters projection map appears. It is noticeably taller and more stretched vertically than the Mercator.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The Gall-Peters map","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"Gall-Peters map silhouette","position":"center","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background with a grid","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"GALL-PETERS","location":"top center","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":231,"speech":"The size comparison is accurate, much better than the Mercator. But it's obvious now that the country shapes are totally distorted.","visual":{"action":"A side-by-side comparison of the Gall-Peters and Mercator projections, focusing on the relative sizes of Greenland and Africa on each.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The two maps","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"comparative","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"Gall-Peters map shapes","position":"left","state":"static"},{"color":"black","name":"Mercator map shapes","position":"right","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"GALL-PETERS","location":"top left","style":"black sans-serif font"},{"content":"MERCATOR","location":"top right","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":240,"speech":"Here are those dots again so that we can see how the projection preserves area while totally distorting shape.","visual":{"action":"The yellow dot animation is shown on the Gall-Peters map. The dots all remain the same size (area) but are stretched into vertical ovals, especially near the equator and poles.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black","yellow-green"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The distorted oval dots","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"illustrative","objects":[{"color":"black and yellow-green","name":"Gall-Peters map with dots","position":"center","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background with a grid","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":250,"speech":"Satellites orbiting our planet started sending location and navigation data to little receiver units all around the world.","visual":{"action":"Archival footage of a rocket launching, followed by an animation of a satellite orbiting the Earth and sending signals.","colors":{"dominant":"green","palette":["dark green","yellow","orange","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The satellite and Earth","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"technological","objects":[{"color":"yellow","name":"animated satellite","position":"orbiting Earth","state":"in motion"},{"color":"green and orange","name":"animated Earth","position":"center","state":"rotating"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"black space with white stars","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"space"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":265,"speech":"This global positioning system wiped out the need for paper maps as a means of navigating both the sea and the sky.","visual":{"action":"Archival footage shows two men in uniform working at a drafting table, using tools to draw on a paper map.","colors":{"dominant":"yellow-green","palette":["yellow-green","khaki","brown","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The men drawing on the map","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"nostalgic","objects":[{"color":"beige","name":"paper map","position":"on a table","state":"being drawn on"},{"color":"brass","name":"drafting compass","position":"in a man's hands","state":"in use"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20-30","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"","footwear":"","top":"khaki uniforms"},"face":"concentrated, looking down","hair":"short dark hair","hands":"using drafting tools","pose":"standing at a table","position":"center"}],"setting":{"background":"a workshop or office","lighting":"warm, slightly dim","location":"indoor military or technical setting"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":275,"speech":"The Mercator projection, that once-vital tool of pre-GPS navigation, was shunned by cartographers who now saw it as misleading.","visual":{"action":"An old, sepia-toned Mercator map is shown. It then appears to burn away from the edges, dissolving into a white background.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["gray","beige","white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The burning map","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"transitional","objects":[{"color":"sepia and gray","name":"old Mercator map","position":"center","state":"dissolving/burning"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":285,"speech":"This is because the Mercator's ability to preserve shape and angles makes close-up views of cities more accurate.","visual":{"action":"A view of Google Maps zooms from a world view down to a country view (USA), and then into a close-up street-level view.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["light gray","white","green","light blue"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The map interface","framing":"close-up"},"mood":"practical","objects":[{"color":"various","name":"Google Maps interface","position":"full screen","state":"zooming in"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"","lighting":"n/a (screen capture)","location":"n/a (digital interface)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"S 88th Ave, 103rd St","location":"on the map","style":"standard map labels"}]}},{"t":298,"speech":"Most modern cartographers have settled on a variety of non-rectangular projections that split the difference between distorting either size or shape.","visual":{"action":"A rapid montage of various modern, non-rectangular, black and white map projections flashes on the screen.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The changing map shapes","framing":"full screen"},"mood":"informative","objects":[],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":307,"speech":"In 1998, the National Geographic Society adopted the Winkel Tripel projection because of its pleasant balance between size and shape accuracy.","visual":{"action":"A black and white map using the Winkel Tripel projection is shown. It has curved longitude lines and a rounded, less rectangular shape.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The Winkel Tripel map","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"authoritative","objects":[{"color":"black","name":"Winkel Tripel map","position":"center","state":"static"}],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white background","lighting":"n/a (graphic)","location":"n/a (graphic)"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"WINKEL TRIPEL","location":"top center","style":"black sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":318,"speech":"But the fact remains that there's no right projection.","visual":{"action":"A rapid montage of different map projections continues, emphasizing the variety and lack of a single correct answer.","colors":{"dominant":"white","palette":["white","black"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The variety of maps","framing":"full screen"},"mood":"philosophical","objects":[],"people":[],"setting":{"background":"white","lighting":"n/a (animation)","location":"n/a (animation)"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":330,"speech":"But as long as we use flat maps, we'll have to deal with the tradeoffs of projections. And just remember, there's no right answer.","visual":{"action":"The video cuts back to the man on the studio floor, still wrestling with the wrinkled, deflated globe, unable to make it perfectly flat.","colors":{"dominant":"gray","palette":["blue","gray","green","yellow","brown"]},"composition":{"angle":"overhead","focus":"The man's futile effort","framing":"wide shot"},"mood":"conclusive","objects":[{"color":"blue, green, yellow","name":"deflated globe","position":"on the floor","state":"wrinkled and distorted"}],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown boots","top":"light blue button-down shirt"},"face":"not visible","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"pulling and pressing the globe","pose":"kneeling on the floor","position":"center"}],"setting":{"background":"gray carpeted floor","lighting":"bright studio lighting","location":"photography studio"},"text_on_screen":[]}},{"t":345,"speech":"If you yourself want to poke fun at the Mercator projection, you can do so by going to thetruesize.com, which is a fun tool that allows you to drag around whatever country you want around the map and see how it is distorted depending on where it is.","visual":{"action":"The narrator, Johnny Harris, appears in a close-up shot, speaking directly to the camera. The screen shows credits and a demonstration of thetruesize.com website.","colors":{"dominant":"black","palette":["black","yellow","white","gray","skin tone"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The narrator's face","framing":"close-up"},"mood":"engaging","objects":[],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"","footwear":"","top":"gray knit sweater"},"face":"bearded, speaking to camera","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"not visible","pose":"head and shoulders shot","position":"center of inset video"}],"setting":{"background":"black screen with credits and a screen recording of a website","lighting":"soft, frontal lighting","location":"indoor setting"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"VIDEO BY\nJOHNNY HARRIS\nGINA BARTON\nALVIN CHANG\nPHIL EDWARDS","location":"right side","style":"yellow sans-serif font"}]}},{"t":355,"speech":"I also want to say a big thanks to Mike Bostock, whose open-source project on map projections was a huge help in this video. I'll put a link for both of those things down in the description.","visual":{"action":"The narrator continues speaking to the camera while credits and a screen recording of Mike Bostock's project are displayed.","colors":{"dominant":"black","palette":["black","yellow","white","gray","skin tone"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"The narrator's face","framing":"close-up"},"mood":"appreciative","objects":[],"people":[{"age_range":"25-35","clothing":{"accessories":"","bottom":"","footwear":"","top":"gray knit sweater"},"face":"bearded, speaking to camera","hair":"short brown hair","hands":"not visible","pose":"head and shoulders shot","position":"center of inset video"}],"setting":{"background":"black screen with credits and a screen recording of a website","lighting":"soft, frontal lighting","location":"indoor setting"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"SPECIAL THANKS\nSTEPHEN SMITH\nMIKE BOSTOCK (PROJECTION TRANSITIONS)\nALEX TAIT (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)\nBOJAN SAVRIC","location":"right side","style":"yellow sans-serif font"}]}}],"created_at":"2026-04-11 18:31:05","processed_at":"2026-04-11 18:33:34","view_count":1,"thumbnail":"/data/videos/406fae87-8346-4d64-b9a5-de7b47af7620/thumbnail.jpg","video":"/data/videos/406fae87-8346-4d64-b9a5-de7b47af7620/web.mp4","urls":{"page":"/v/why-all-world-maps-are-wrong","api":"/api/v1/videos/why-all-world-maps-are-wrong","timeline_file":"/data/videos/406fae87-8346-4d64-b9a5-de7b47af7620/timeline.json"}}