I think the Wikipedia on Gall-Peters explains a lot here.
As a small child, I had a small, low-quality globe of which I was very fond. It makes clear, unlike all of these projections, that one entire hemisphere is 99% covered in water; it has no projection issues*. Obviously you combine with atlases, but the requirement for a 'world map' you can hang on the wall has never been completely compelling to me.
However, we need a projection that can be used for social diagrams and charts to illustrate a wide variety of issues. For that I think the arguments for equal area are very strong because of the emotional distortion issues of Euro-centric projections. Of this set, Hobo-Dyer probably has the edge for this purpose. I would only use the South-at-the-top version if I was absolutely determined to make a point.
In that way of parents, I bought my kids an expensive toy globe, which has languished unloved ever since.
Finally, I remember a party, sometime in the late 80s, at a house with a Peters map on the wall. An animated discussion broke out about the variety of mathematical approaches to projection and the inherent difficulties and compromises. The host meandered over. "That map was supposed to be a conversation piece," he remarked. "But this is not the conversation it was supposed to start...".
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Date: 2011-11-15 10:22 am (UTC)As a small child, I had a small, low-quality globe of which I was very fond. It makes clear, unlike all of these projections, that one entire hemisphere is 99% covered in water; it has no projection issues*. Obviously you combine with atlases, but the requirement for a 'world map' you can hang on the wall has never been completely compelling to me.
However, we need a projection that can be used for social diagrams and charts to illustrate a wide variety of issues. For that I think the arguments for equal area are very strong because of the emotional distortion issues of Euro-centric projections. Of this set, Hobo-Dyer probably has the edge for this purpose. I would only use the South-at-the-top version if I was absolutely determined to make a point.
In that way of parents, I bought my kids an expensive toy globe, which has languished unloved ever since.
Finally, I remember a party, sometime in the late 80s, at a house with a Peters map on the wall. An animated discussion broke out about the variety of mathematical approaches to projection and the inherent difficulties and compromises. The host meandered over. "That map was supposed to be a conversation piece," he remarked. "But this is not the conversation it was supposed to start...".
*except it is significantly miniaturised...