FLASHCARDS! Google Maps, Waze, and the Science of Map Distortion

Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

A tartalmat a Gabrielle Birchak biztosítja. Az összes podcast-tartalmat, beleértve az epizódokat, grafikákat és podcast-leírásokat, közvetlenül a Gabrielle Birchak vagy a podcast platform partnere tölti fel és biztosítja. Ha úgy gondolja, hogy valaki az Ön engedélye nélkül használja fel a szerzői joggal védett művét, kövesse az itt leírt folyamatot https://hu.player.fm/legal.

13d ago 7:13

MP3•Epizód kép

We use maps all day, including Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps. We use them without even noticing that every one of them distorts reality. In this episode, Gabrielle explains why flattening a round Earth always bends the truth, how classic projections (like Mercator) live inside today’s apps, and why those distortions shape our mental picture of the world. Practical, visual, and myth-busting, this is cartography you can feel on your daily commute.

To hear the podcast on Marie Tharp, visit: Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

Three Coordinates to Remember

Why distortion is unavoidable when projecting a 3D globe onto a flat screen (thanks, Gauss).
How Web Mercator powers Google Maps/Waze, great for street-level navigation, misleading at global scales.
How projection choices shape perception, from Greenland vs. Africa to who appears “big” or “central” on a map.

Resources & Visuals

Gall–Peters (equal-area) projection: Peters Projection Map: Everything Your Ever Wanted To Know
Compare Map Projections: https://map-projections.net/compare.php
Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion map (unfolded globe): https://www.bfi.org/about-fuller/dymaxion-map
“The True Size Of…” (drag countries to compare real sizes): https://thetruesize.com

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

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