{"id":550,"date":"2018-08-01T20:23:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T20:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geteach.com\/blog\/?p=550"},"modified":"2025-07-01T16:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T16:27:48","slug":"authoritative-bias-of-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geteach.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/01\/authoritative-bias-of-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Authoritative Bias of Maps (Updated 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s context it is bit of a challenge writing a post about the authoritative bias of maps. After all, how can maps be both accurate and tendentious. Kuby, Harner, and Gober\u2019s book Human Geography in Action (Amazon Link:\u00a0http:\/\/a.co\/2C1hF9s<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em>attributes this authoritative bias to five critical decisions cartographer must make in creating and conveying visual information: maps projections, simplification, map scale, aggregation, and type of map.[1]<\/a> Below are a couple of ways Google\u2019s Geo tools can be used to demonstrate these choices.<\/p>\n

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1. Maps Projection<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As discussed in a previous post (link<\/a>), Google Maps, Google\u2019s Maps API, and Google\u2019s My Maps uses a Mercator projection. Projections are chosen for a purpose; in this case probably navigation. The easiest way to demonstrate the impact of this choice simply draw the ring around Greenland in My Maps<\/a>, or geteach.com<\/a>, and drag the polygon to the equator.<\/p>\n

Student Activity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In class, I give students time to draw and drag polygons on their own. They\u2019re often curious about the size of Russia and enjoy moving the African continent northward toward the pole to see how dramatically it expands. Being from Texas, I like to challenge students to trace Alaska and drag it south over the continental U.S.\u2014a humbling comparison that usually sparks great discussion.<\/p>\n

Map Projection\u00a0geteach.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n