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Today, the United Nations voted to adopt a new world map that reflects countries’ true relative sizes (programming.dev)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world
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https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/04/world/un-vote-new-world-map-intl-scli

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[–] 7 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Most navigation software doesn’t show the map from the top, but from behind looking forward

only when navigating, not when looking at the map

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Do you really think that the distortion over the short distance shown while navigating matters? I don't know many drivers that actually use their geometry kit when using a navigation app.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    People use digital maps for all kinds of purposes, not just navigating while driving.

    For example I often look at digital maps as a pedestrian in order to know which direction to walk (even without actually entering navigation mode), or in order to find out where places of interest are around me, and there it definitely helps that the angles are the same in reality as on the map.

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  • [–] -5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    I didn't know you live so close to the arctic that you can't identify the direction you need to go when looking at a paper map.

    With navigation software that simply uses your current position for the center of the projection all corners stay so close to reality that i dare you to see the difference (we are not living on a globe the size of a tangerine). There's also the hint you get from the small arrow pointing out the direction you are currently facing.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    I'm fairly sure the software care a great deal about projections and which chart datum is used. Just because it's abstracted and invisible for the user I'm fairly sure you would notice if google maps stopped accepting wgs-84 positions or if they changed into an inverted projection. So yes it matters a great deal even on local levels.

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