The UN challenges five centuries of cartography
A UN General Assembly vote to promote the Equal Earth map projection over the long-dominant Mercator has reignited debate over how world maps shape perceptions of power, size, and colonial legacies. Commenters contrast Mercator’s technical advantages for navigation and web tiling with its severe area distortions, especially near the poles, and argue over whether the UN move is meaningful “cognitive justice” or largely symbolic virtue signaling. Many note that different projections serve different purposes and that digital globes or alternative projections like Winkel Tripel, Robinson, or Dymaxion may be better suited for education and general use.
Scope of the UN decision
- Resolution promotes Equal Earth as the UN’s default world map projection; it is non‑binding.
- Many note the UN can’t dictate what states, navies, schools, or companies use; this is about the UN’s own materials and a recommended default.
- Some argue this fits the UN’s role: mostly symbolic coordination rather than enforceable policy.
Symbolism, “decolonization,” and geopolitics
- Supporters say correcting area distortion is “cognitive justice” and a small act of reparation, especially for Africa.
- Critics see it as performative “decolonization” and identity politics with little practical impact.
- Debate over whether map size distortions have “clearly” affected geopolitics; skeptics demand evidence.
- Some emphasize that symbols strongly shape perceptions; others counter that wars and power politics dominate.
Mercator vs Equal Earth and other projections
- Mercator: preserves angles and rhumb lines, excellent for marine navigation, UTM, tiled web maps; terrible for area and high‑latitude size.
- Equal Earth: equal‑area, visually similar to Robinson but mathematically cleaner; better for honest area comparison, worse for angles and distances.
- Several alternatives discussed: Robinson, Winkel Tripel, Goode homolosine, Boggs, Dymaxion, AuthaGraph, oblique projections. No single “best” map; all are compromises.
- Some argue the comparison should be to modern compromise projections, not to Mercator straw‑man.
Perception, education, and “size”
- Many recount learning late that Greenland is tiny vs Africa and seeing Mercator everywhere in school or on the web.
- Others (especially in Europe) say Mercator is rarely used in education; schools use compromise or equal‑area projections and globes.
- Disagreement over whether emphasizing Africa’s relative size meaningfully changes self‑image of African vs European children.
UN process and politics
- Discussion over whether “the world agreed”: GA votes are symbolic; 1‑country‑1‑vote gives micro‑states equal weight.
- Some see US opposition as stubborn unilateralism; others say cartographers, not diplomats, should drive standards.
- Confusion noted around Ukraine’s abstention, tied to a separate political map of Crimea, not the projection itself.
Digital maps and globes
- Several argue screens should default to interactive globes or locally optimized projections, making a single global 2D standard less relevant.