In our last issue, we opened with presidential Press Secretary C.J. Cregg from the TV show "The West Wing," who was "freaked out" when representatives of the fictional group "Cartographers for Social Equality" presented her with a world map with the southern hemisphere on top. Her reaction shows how shocking seeing a world different from our expectations can be. Last time, we concentrated on how this aspect of maps can get you into trouble in cross-cultural communications. In this article, we'll look at the many ways that maps have been creatively used to present new perspectives.

Most Americans are used to seeing a world map that looks something like this:

This map uses a system of projection developed by cartographer Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century to depict the globe on a flat surface. When the Mercator projection was introduced, it was a major aid to European navigators because it ensured that each point on the map corresponds to its proper latitude and longitude. On the other hand, though, these maps greatly distort the relative sizes of land masses, especially ones closer to the poles. For instance, the island of Greenland seems to rival the entire African continent in size.

There are other features of this map that fit well with the view of the world from the perspective of the European colonial powers: the choice of North as the top; the centrality of Europe; and the large size of western Europe compared to its actual relative size in the world.

Although maps like the one above are still pretty standard, in the post-World War II period, many cartographers have developed maps that intentionally present rival pictures of the world. Right after the war, Henry Luce, founder of Time-Life publishing empire, did his part to help change American perceptions of the international arena and their place in it by bringing out a map that showed the US at the center of the world. The use of the Mercator projection in this context had the added benefit of making the Soviet Union look like an enormous looming presence surrounding us.

Map using the Peters Projection

New maps really took off as the world recovered from the war, more and more colonies gained independence, and challenges to the power of Europe and the US increased. A major development was Arno Peters introduction, in 1973, of a new method of projecting the globe on to a flat surface. The Peters projection preserved the correct placement of latitude and longitude, while still showing the correct relative sizes of all land masses. The map was controversial when it was introduced, not least because it challenged perceptions of the relative size and centrality of the US and Europe. Other methods of projection aiming at the same results followed; the Hobo-Dyer projection, created by British cartographer Mick Dyer, is probably the most popular.

The first modern "upside-down" map was designed by Australian Stuart McArthur, who was tired of being told that he came from the bottom of the world. Not surprisingly, the upside-down map was also popular in other countries in the southern hemisphere. Yet other maps were created showing the Pacific, rather than the Atlantic as the central ocean.

The map below combines approaches, using the Hobo-Dyer projection to show a world with the south at the top and the Pacific in the middle.

Notice how prominent Australia, South America and Africa become and how the enormous size of the Pacific is emphasized.

Other alternative maps aren't concerned with accurately depicting geography at all. They show a world with countries sized according to population, GDP, or some other characteristic, in order to make points about overpopulation, skewed concentration of wealth, etc. What they all have in common is taking the world map that we often take for granted and using it to try to shake up our perspectives on the world we all live in and our place in it.

Many more examples of alternative maps can be found at ODT Maps. There's also a blog, appropriately called Strange Maps, devoted to the subject of different, sometimes humorous, maps.