Maps Show North On Top for a Surprising Reason
Why are maps always drawn with north at the top? Most people think it’s because north is where Polaris, the North Star, sits in the sky, but that’s actually an old wives’ tale. The actual reason has to do with how early mapmakers drew their maps. It all started with Ptolemy, who was born around 85 A.D., and lived in Alexandria, Egypt during the time of the Roman Empire. He created a book called Geographia that was essentially the first modern atlas and geography textbook ever made.
What are maps and why do we need them?
We use maps to locate ourselves and learn about the layout of the world around us. Maps are essentially visual representations of Earth that show important information such as landmasses, political boundaries, natural resources, or other key elements of geography. They are not to be confused with globes or other tools that show a 3D projection of the Earth, but focus on just how things look from above. They provide an understanding of what we see in two dimensions instead of three. Maps help us communicate our exact location and pinpoint other areas we may want to visit if they are within our means; they also provide clues as to whether or not an area may contain something valuable such as natural resources like minerals, energy sources, fossil fuels, etc. So how do maps know which way is up? It has to do with how these different types of documents were first created. It's a result of using the Mercator Projection (named after Gerardus Mercator), which was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. By rotating the map so that it shows north at the top, he eliminated distortion caused by projecting the round surface of Earth onto a flat plane while simultaneously creating parallels and meridians that could help sailors plot courses more accurately by avoiding reliance on their compass alone. The distortion occurs because when you project the curved Earth onto a flat plane, lines of latitude near the poles become squished into curves while those near the equator become stretched out and distorted. The problem is even worse when you're dealing with polar regions where there are no parallels or meridians to help measure distances between places. For example, it would be very difficult to know how far apart London and Moscow are without any true reference points. That's why, in order to make sure sailors have all the necessary information available, Mercator rotated his map so that people looking at the projections would think they were looking down on Earth from space. He adjusted his scale to account for how the earth gets smaller towards either pole making them easier to measure than their counterparts closer to the equators. In this case both Russia and London can be found near each other despite being drastically different distances away geographically speaking. And of course now we all get used to thinking that maps should have north at the top! But even though we’ve come to accept this idea, there are still some areas of the world who don’t believe that orientation should be flipped. What do you think? Which direction should maps face? It's hard to say, but the United States Geological Survey does mention that some countries use maps that are oriented with south at the top. This includes Greenland, Australia, Indonesia, and Chile. One reason may be due to convenience in terms of navigating during the southern hemisphere's summer months. Some scientists theorize that it comes down to your perspective - someone living south of the equator might view a map oriented north-up as upside-down and backwards. The USGS article concludes by stating that while maps typically face north-up and west-right, a lot of variation exists internationally and in our own country. For example, street signs are usually oriented east-to-west because most roads travel east to west and people generally read left to right.
How was Earth's axis determined during the time of early explorers?
The earth's axis was determined during the time of early explorers by tracking how the sun and stars moved across the sky. Early explorers used maps to keep track of where they were. These maps typically place north on top, because in the Northern Hemisphere, this makes it easier to orient yourself as you look up at the sky. The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere- if you are looking north at a map, then south will be on top. When European cartographers started making maps of the Americas, they needed to make them in accordance with Western standards (i.e., north on top). Maps made by indigenous people often had their own systems for showing directions. For example, the Maya civilization developed a lizard or maya sign that shows west as being at the bottom and east being at the top. Inuit peoples from Greenland drew maps from an upside down perspective, but with all the other directional features inverted. East became west, and north became south. Likewise, many cultures have historically been oriented around landmarks like rivers, so these can sometimes appear on the bottom rather than the top of maps. Of course, today we use GPS and satellites to figure out exactly where we are anywhere on Earth. But old habits die hard- most modern maps still show north on top. As long as we continue to read left to right and up to down, the standard orientation remains unchanged. If you find yourself traveling through another hemisphere, remember that your map might need a little adjusting! The reason why the earth’s axis wasn’t determined until ancient times is because there weren’t really any sources telling us what direction things should go. There weren’t any guidebooks or instruments telling us which way to go. It was completely up to intuition, which led some people to believe that there could be more than one world up above our heads, spinning and turning independently of each other- even though we know now that isn’t true.
Early explorers also found themselves needing to study how the sun and stars would move across the sky when they would walk into new territory; there were no high buildings or mountains with arrows pointing upwards in order for them to know where they were going. They would use maps to help keep track of where they were, and since most maps are oriented towards the northern hemisphere, this means that north usually goes on top. The opposite is true in the southern hemisphere- if you're looking at a map from Australia or New Zealand, then south will be on top.
When Europeans came to create American maps, they had to take into account how much land existed in the northern hemisphere (northern America) as opposed to how much land existed in the southern hemisphere (Latin America). Even though Americans live mostly in northern America and speak English, most US maps are designed with north on top anyway- largely due to tradition rather than necessity.
The Importance of Maps Today
Since the invention of the navigation system and map, people have been perplexed as to why maps show north on top. However, that's because when you're looking at it in real life, the map is oriented so that north is at the top. Not only are most car dashboards set up this way (usually with an arrow pointing towards it), but so are mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This orientation helps in ensuring we can always identify where north is in relation to where we are located. Furthermore, countries around the world choose this orientation for their maps since it follows one of two main systems: latitude or longitude. In the Latitude System, south is at the bottom of a map, while in Longitude System east is on the left side and west is on the right side. The northern hemisphere follows either Latitude System or Longitude System; both hemispheres follow whichever system they started out following from their conception point. For example, if a country starts off using the Latitude System then it will continue to use the Latitude System throughout its history. And if they start off using the Longitude System then they will also keep using that system throughout their history. But there are exceptions: some countries such as France changed systems in order to make more sense geographically and ensure smoother operation of international trade agreements. The power of mapping has increased exponentially over time as new technologies are being used in conjunction with mapping. Maps provide different levels of detail about a location depending on how much information is given about it. There are many types of maps that can be made, including topographic maps which depict features like mountains and valleys and satellite images which provide details like buildings. Mapping services like Google Maps and Apple Maps can pinpoint your exact location down to the square foot through GPS technology which makes them helpful in emergencies or simply determining your location while traveling. While there are advantages to navigating by maps, sometimes our reliance on them causes us to forget what's important. Recently, Air Canada pilots were grounded after reportedly putting airplane passengers' lives at risk by relying too heavily on onboard electronics and neglecting other important parts of flying such as identifying visual landmarks. Many professionals in the aviation industry agree that computers should not replace all flight functions - human pilots need to maintain control during certain circumstances. Flying without instruments would not only be dangerous but would probably mean going against federal law. Air traffic controllers rely heavily on maps in order to guide planes safely between one another without incident - relying too heavily on these electronic signals could lead to disaster.
How does a map's orientation affect us today and in the future?
There are several reasons why north is typically at the top of maps. These include navigation, eliminating distortion in map data, and conforms to commonly used perspective. As map use changes, so does the need for maps that show south on top or any other direction. With more digital map data being available to everyone, maps will evolve to be interactive and move from 2D to 3D representations. Overall, mapping directions are arbitrary and what's important is understanding how this knowledge can be applied.
The world would seem quite different if one were to go out and view it upside down or sideways as opposed to right-side up because our brain is accustomed to viewing things in a certain orientation based on its past experiences with viewing images and objects oriented this way while we grow up. Some people might argue that since we experience the world upright and thus know which direction is up, there is no need to orientate maps in any other way; however this argument has been contradicted by neuroscientists who have found that people who grew up experiencing stimuli upside down or sideways still perceive these stimuli right side up. Experiments involving people living deep inside caves without daylight also revealed that they had no problem perceiving depth when shown a range of images presented upside down and could even tell when an image was showing an object from below instead of above when shown on a monitor inverted. These experiments suggest that perception (as well as memory) operates irrespective of input orientation, which means maps don't need to be oriented upright either. We're currently seeing many examples of innovations in cartography including maps that represent ground differently than sky (i.e., shows Earth rather than heaven), ones that present navigational information spatially, as well as ones displaying multi-perspectives, such as isometric projections. These developments are paving the way for new types of cartographic representation where anything goes—maps may not always be oriented north up anymore but there will always be a sense of direction—whether left or right, backwards or forwards—to make sense of our surroundings. The final sentence of this continuation should be:
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What Are We To Do with all These New Technological Gadgets Overwhelming Us All?
Technology these days is all anyone can seem to talk about. There are new inventions and discoveries being made every day that are quickly taking over our lives, or at least playing a much larger role in them than ever before. It's hard to see the forest for the trees, so to speak, because there's just so much information coming at us from every angle: it's literally all around us. But you don't have to accept this as reality - what you need is perspective. It doesn't matter how much stuff there is out there - you are not just one person! You're not the only one here on earth, either; you're among billions of people who will be affected by these decisions and inventions alike. So why should your opinions count more than theirs? Why should you spend time thinking about things that might never happen? The world has been doing just fine without any major technological advances for centuries, and it would probably continue to do so even if we stopped advancing altogether. Let's face it: we live in an amazing time with lots of exciting possibilities, but we also live with incredible potential risks. In order to avoid getting lost in the maze of technology today, I think it's important that we take some time to step back and get some perspective. We must think critically about which advancements are worth pursuing, which ones are worth investing our time into now while still keeping an eye on those long-term goals like sustainability, efficiency and happiness (which I'll discuss next week). Doing this could mean avoiding certain technologies altogether, waiting until they've matured enough before integrating them into our lives or, maybe most importantly, learning how to regulate ourselves so that we use new technologies appropriately. Some may say Hey, wait - wasn't the point of progress supposed to be making life easier? Sure, it does make life easier sometimes - but sometimes progress makes life harder too. Think about it: change is uncomfortable sometimes because change means stepping out of your comfort zone and confronting something new. And isn't that always when we learn the most valuable lessons? When we challenge ourselves and try something new? That's what progress was designed for in the first place, after all. Isn't that what life is all about? If we don't evolve, then what good are we?
Conclusion - What Should We Make Of This?
No one can definitively answer this question, and any explanations people come up with may be no more than guesses. However, there are at least three theories about why maps show north on top. First, many early cartographers were European and probably oriented their maps to the north. This is also what Ptolemy did when he created his map of the world in AD 150. Second, it could have been to reduce mistakes when reading maps from east to west because ancient people used slightly different methods of keeping time than we do today (looking at shadows instead of using clocks). Lastly, putting the north at the top might have been just easier for mapmakers. If you are drawing a large-scale map that spans across an entire hemisphere, then it makes sense to put the northern part of your map at the top so that you can see all of it. In contrast, if you're drawing a small-scale map on paper then you will most likely draw south at the top since that's where most land masses reside. Whatever explanation turns out to be true or most likely true, we still don't know how old our habit of mapping north on top really is - even older than Ptolemy! We may never know exactly why, but luckily we don't need to worry about it too much. As long as we continue to use maps and orient them northward on a horizontal plane, they will always help us find our way through the world. This text is unfinished
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