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

Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

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.

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Three Coordinates to Remember

1. Why distortion is unavoidable when projecting a 3D globe onto a flat screen (thanks, Gauss).
2. How Web Mercator powers Google Maps/Waze, great for street-level navigation, misleading at global scales.
3. 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

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