RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 1 day ago
By signing the petition you take a stand against a false narrative that downplays Africa’s vast size and diversity as the second-largest continent, reducing its perceived importance in global politics and economics. You can correct the narrative.
I’ll be real here, I have no idea what these people are talking about. The way Africa looked on maps has never had any bearing on my or probably anyone’s thinking of how important the country is in global politics or economics. If someone thinks “country looks small so they must be unimportant,” they are either a child or a fool. Or both.
The way Africa looked on maps has never had any bearing on my or probably anyone’s thinking of how important the country is in global politics or economics.
Africa isn’t a country though, it’s a continent. And one possible impact of the continent being represented much smaller than it really is, is people thinking of Africa as a country
I meant continent. My bad.
No worries - the general point still stands though I think 👍
The fact that you say Africa is a country kind of speaks against your argument here, wouldn’t you say?
I mean continent, it was a mistake.
Fair enough. Could’ve been a Freudian? Cause it looks so small?? 😀
it’s a pretty common talking point.
it’s a pretty common talking point.
Not common enough, apparently.
I have never in my life ever heard anyone equate the size of a country on a map to its importance to global politics and economics. And I am old enough to remember when you had to hang up the phone before you could use the internet.
let me rephase; it’s a pretty common talking point when discussing map projections. has been since the 50s.
This is a subconscious thing, not an explicit belief.
drmoose@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I somewhat agree, Africa never looked small imo. However Russia, Greenland, Canada etc are so comically oversized that it absolutely makes a difference imo.
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Its a distorted representation of what the Earth looks like, and regardless of the way the sphere of our Earth is displayed on a 2D plane, it will always be distorted.
I don’t see any tangible benefit from changing what has already worked and is globally accepted for many decades. It seems kinda nitpicky, or like these people are clout chasing or something.
drmoose@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Worked for whom? The countries that are over-represented in the current map?
StarMerchant938@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Uhh… everybody.