this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
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Crazy how much more of the world is closer to Georgia than Georgia
Nah, exactly 50% "of the world" is closer to Georgia than Georgia because the dividing line forms two perfect hemispheres. It just doesn't seem like it because more of the world's land area is closer to Georgia.
The fact that the map fails to color in the oceans doesn't help, of course.
Well no, Georgia is bigger than Georgia so slightly more of the world is closer to Georgia than Georgia. If we were to shrink both Georgia and Georgia, the two regions would approach perfect hemispheres as Georgia and Georgia both approach a single point.
Well played.
Is it because of the Mercator projection?
I'm just as annoyed by the overuse of the Mercator projection as the next guy, but no, I don't think we can blame it in this particular instance. Consider the similar case of a day/night map, which pretty clearly reads as 50/50 even when it's Mercator:
(Upon further scrutiny comparing these two maps, I think the missing Antarctica might be a factor too.)
Also, relevant XKCD.
That day/night map is not Mercator though
(Nor is the map in OP)
My argument applies to any cylindrical projection.