The true size of Africa

[Bavaria]

LAST month Kai Krause, a computer-graphics guru, caused a stir with a map entitled "The True Size of Africa", which showed the outlines of other countries crammed into the outline of the African continent.

His aim was to make "a small contribution in the fight against rampant Immappancy"-in particular, the fact that most people do not realise how much the ubiquitous Mercator projection distorts the relative sizes of countries.

A sphere cannot be represented on a flat plane without distortion, which means all map projections distort in one way or another. Some projections show areas accurately but distort distances or scales, for example; others preserve the shapes of countries but misrepresent their areas.

Gerardus Mercator's projection, published in 1569, was immediately useful because it depicts a line of constant bearing as a straight line, which is handy for marine navigation. The drawback is that it distorts the shapes and areas of large land masses, and the distortion gets progressively worse as you get closer to the poles. (Africa looks about the same size as Greenland under the Mercator projection, for example, even though it is in fact 14 times bigger.)

This was not a big problem for 16th-century sailors, of course, and the Mercator projection remains popular to this day.

In Mr Krause's map (above) he seems to have used the shapes of the countries from a Mercator projection, but has scaled up the outline of Africa, without changing its shape, to show the appropriate area.

An alternative and arguably more rigorous approach would be to repeat the exercise using an "equal area" projection that shows the countries' areas correctly while minimising shape distortion.

These two properties are the hardest to balance when showing the whole world on one map.

I decided to rework Mr Krause's map using Gall's Stereographic Cylindrical Projection (1855) with two standard parallels at 45°N and 45°S. Distortions are still evident at the poles, but for most countries shape is maintained, and their areas are shown correctly.

As you can see (below), the results are distinct from Mr Krause's map.

But however you look at it, his point is a good one: Africa is much bigger than it looks on most maps.

\


Source:economist

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/cartography

 

[JustDoItNow]

That sounds good. After china is we African ndo tutatawala. Sasa hivi US anamalizia duru lake. Hata History inasema. Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids. Waarabu wa Egpty, Libya, Tunisia. Hao ni waamiaji tu. Sehemu hizo zilikuwa ni za ma Black people.

 

[Bavaria]

That sounds good. After china is we African ndo tutatawala. Sasa hivi US anamalizia duru lake. Hata History inasema. Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids. Waarabu wa Egpty, Libya, Tunisia. Hao ni waamiaji tu. Sehemu hizo zilikuwa ni za ma Black people.

Shida inakuja kwamba, mnatumia strategies gan kupambana nao?

 

[Ramesses II]

That sounds good. After china is we African ndo tutatawala. Sasa hivi US anamalizia duru lake. Hata History inasema. Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids. Waarabu wa Egpty, Libya, Tunisia. Hao ni waamiaji tu. Sehemu hizo zilikuwa ni za ma Black people.

Source!

 

[JustDoItNow]

Source!

Source is your general knowledge and research.

 

[Ramesses II]

Source is your general knowledge and research.

No data No right to speak.

 

[JustDoItNow]

No data No right to speak.

No evidence no right to challenge! Challenge my comments with evidence

 

[Amir]

i afrreeeI Agree,We Have Been Misled By Map Of The World For 500 Years

i agree,correct

1)Africa is bigger than the actual size
2)Africa is top on the north and europe is down on the south.that was the original map.i dont know what happened we come down,maybe is psychological war to make us think we down

Al-Idrisi was born and raised in Ceuta. At an early age he traveled to Islamic Spain, Portugal, France and England, and visited Anatolia when he was barely 16. Because of conflict and instability in Al-Andalus al-Idrisi joined contemporaries such as Abu al-Salt in Sicily, where the Normans had overthrown Arabs formerly loyal to the Fatimids.Al-Idrisi incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by Islamic merchants and explorers and recorded on Islamic maps with the information brought by the Norman voyagers to create the most accurate map of the world in pre-modern times,[SUP][4][/SUP] which served as a concrete illustration of his Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq, (Latin: Opus Geographicum), which may be translated A Diversion for the Man Longing to Travel to Far-Off Places.[SUP][5][/SUP]

image attachement 2


The Upsidedown Map Page - World Maps with South at the Top

Hard to believe that I'd not only been educated into one stereotype about maps, but even after learning that stereotype had failed to spot the other one.
I'm interested in Upsidedown Maps because they make me rethink the world. It's important to remember that there are people all over it. Since hanging one on my wall I've learnt geography again. You can reevaluate the world from scratch, as if it was a brand new alien landscape.
Indonesia looks like by far the most interesting place from orbit.

image attachement 1

 

[TUJITEGEMEE]

hii ni comment niliyoichukua kutoka huko ulipotoa habari hii...! Jamaa alikuwa anamjadili aliyeleta mada hiyo. Nimeipenda mada hiyo,


By @yUW9SAfnzB,


Next time compare the income of your family with Bill Gate.
The inequality of nations has always been that way and is demographic, territorial or economy.
History doesn't begin nor end with Chicago or any other Western big city having the equivalent of the GDP of one billion Africans or one billion Indians or one billion Chinese a decade ago.
I invite you to say the same thing in 2050 and ask you what the Romans, Greeks or Egyptians would have said a few millenniums ago about those wealthy places that you worship.

 

[Ramesses II]

No evidence no right to challenge! Challenge my comments with evidence

Tatizo lipo hapa: Umesema "Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids". So, You are the one who is supposed to give us the evidence to support your argument that The Farao were black people and not Arab.

 

[JustDoItNow]

Tatizo lipo hapa: Umesema "Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids". So, You are the one who is supposed to give us the evidence to support your argument that The Farao were black people and not Arab.

Ok, The arab descendant never found in Africa, till the defeat of old african empires and kings. You can do it yourself by wikipedia. Or just ask anyone among the mentioned countries eg Egypt if they have any connection with farao. They will strong disapprove....
You can google search the key words and get this thing. Am sorry that i do not have time to chew all these things for you to swallow.
I can help you finding the following key words in any search engine especially google.
>Invasion of arabs in northern africa
>Relationship between farao and arabs
>The fall of farao empires
Thanks. Enjoy JF

 

[Swat]

Hapana mkuu,namtetea huyo uliyemuuliza. Inasemekana waarabu pale Egypt walikuja baadae. Hata wakati wa Musa wenyeji wa Egyp walikua ni ma black wa rangi ya shaba nyeusi-ebony,au kama wanubi.Tafiti kadhaa zinasemawatu wa asili ya Egypt niweusi. Hata mafarao wa enzi za Nabii Musa walikua weusiWachimbuzi wamechimbua fossils nyingi zikiwamo mifupa ya mafarao ambao wanaonekana ni wa asili ya black origin. Fuatilia mitandao.

Tatizo lipo hapa: Umesema "Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids". So, You are the one who is supposed to give us the evidence to support your argument that The Farao were black people and not Arab.

 

[JustDoItNow]

hii ni comment niliyoichukua kutoka huko ulipotoa habari hii...! Jamaa alikuwa anamjadili aliyeleta mada hiyo. Nimeipenda mada hiyo,


By @yUW9SAfnzB,


Next time compare the income of your family with Bill Gate.
The inequality of nations has always been that way and is demographic, territorial or economy.
History doesn't begin nor end with Chicago or any other Western big city having the equivalent of the GDP of one billion Africans or one billion Indians or one billion Chinese a decade ago.
I invite you to say the same thing in 2050 and ask you what the Romans, Greeks or Egyptians would have said a few millenniums ago about those wealthy places that you worship.

Size matters. When you have big and consumable with lot of minerals land, the country should be rich and powerful. Unless otherwise the leadership and solidarity is poor.
Huyo aliye comment hivyo atakuwa anatoka europe kwani wanajua wazi they have exhausted their land, and they are greedily looking for our land........

 

[124 Ali]

Tatizo lipo hapa: Umesema "Waliokuwa wanatawala Dunia ni Farao waliokuwa misri. Hao walikuwa ni typical black African. Ndo waliowatawala wayahudi wakajenga pyramids". So, You are the one who is supposed to give us the evidence to support your argument that The Farao were black people and not Arab.

I am not that they are blackor African altogether but i am sure the Egyptians and their man -god kings(pharaoh) were not Arabs and i read some where that their origin is from Greece(the pharaos)

 

[Zamiluni Zamiluni]

Bara la Afrika ni bara la wenyewe !!

 

[Mzee2000]

I am not that they are blackor African altogether but i am sure the Egyptians and their man -god kings(pharaoh) were not Arabs and i read some where that their origin is from Greece(the pharaos)

Umetoa wapi hii habari kuwa mafarao walitoka Greece? Naomba unijulishe.

 

[Mzee2000]

Ok, The arab descendant never found in Africa, till the defeat of old african empires and kings. You can do it yourself by wikipedia. Or just ask anyone among the mentioned countries eg Egypt if they have any connection with farao. They will strong disapprove....
You can google search the key words and get this thing. Am sorry that i do not have time to chew all these things for you to swallow.
I can help you finding the following key words in any search engine especially google.
>Invasion of arabs in northern africa
>Relationship between farao and arabs
>The fall of farao empires
Thanks. Enjoy JF

justdoitnow

Tatizo ukiwapa hizi habari wabongo watabisha, waafrika tumedumaa sana kimawazo, sijui ni okoloni sijui nini, ebu tembea DAR kama utaona duka la vitabu la maana. Ni kwamba hatusomi vitabu, ndio maana ni rahisi kudanganywa na yoyote yule awe mzungu au viongozi wetu.

Waafrika tuna hali mbaya.

 

[124 Ali]

Umetoa wapi hii habari kuwa mafarao walitoka Greece? Naomba unijulishe.

I either read or watched some documentary long time ago that the pharos were not originaly from egypt ,they descend some were in greece,they dont identify themselve the same as common egyptans but man-gods.iam not sure and i may be wrong but i am going to delve onto it once more and come back!

 

[Mzee2000]

124 Ali,

Try to get your knowledge from books were arguments and counter arguments are properly expounded. Snippets of TV programmes here and there will at best confuse you.

 

[124 Ali]

124 Ali,

Try to get your knowledge from books were arguments and counter arguments are properly expounded. Snippets of TV programmes here and there will at best confuse you.

Rings true as it is evidently that is what is happening to me! thanks mkuu!