• Jimbob0i0@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    No, it’s not possible to take a 3D surface and to transpose it onto a 2D plane without any distortion.

    • snowsuit2654@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      This is true. There are some projections that show area more accurately, or shape of landmasses, etc.

      For example:

      Many map projections do one thing well at the cost of sacrificing others. For example, the popular Mercator projection (which you’ll see in many US schools and textbooks) is well suited for marine navigation but is exceptionally distorted the closer you get to the poles.

      • Gabu@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        is well suited for marine navigation but is exceptionally distorted the closer you get to the poles.

        Which makes perfect sense for its use case - navigating from Belgium, Portugal and Spain to Africa, India and Central and South America.

    • PopOfAfrica@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You can easily do it without distortion. The issue is continuity. You’d have to make cuts and effectively unwraped the globe like you would a 3D sphere. Some countries might literally be cut in half, but it would at least be accurate

      • candybrie@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There will still be distortion, just less. The more cuts, the less distortion. But you can’t make an unwrapped sphere lay perfectly flat.