The distance between two places can amount to a lot, depending upon the projection used. In this assignment we illustrate this by creating multiple map projections, and measure the distance between two points. Washington D.C. and Kabul are anywhere from 10,112 miles apart, to 5,061 depending on if you are using the Mercator or the Equidistant Cylindrical projection.
This is highly problematic, and highly misleading. A good lesson here might be that minor differences in calculations at short distance add up to extraordinary changes at larger distances.
The production of the maps was actually great practice, I was able to move through it fairly quickly and by the end I was warming up to the tools on the bar, menus and exporting the files. All basic skills in the program, and an assignment that integrates just enough repetition that it leaves you feeling confidant and not bored.
I am really fascinated by the massive differences in distance, we look at whatever map is in front of us and think "This is correct, this is fact," When in reality, this is not the case. The projection can manipulate our ideas of space. For that matter it manipulates our ideas of importance, (for instance look at the tiny size of Africa in a Mercator projection), and of course this is a symptom of Imperialism. Maps are subjective, just as anything made by man is subjective.
Mercator:
10,112 Miles
WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere):
10,113 Miles
Eckert IV:
7,835 Miles
Eckert VI:
7,520 Miles
Azimuthal:
8,341 Miles
Equidistant Cylindrical:
5,061 Miles
