I didn't know these kinds of maps existed.

ChickenWrap·1/27/2018, 8:20:27 AM·6 votes·1,049 views

My brain hurts. Ow.

https://i.imgur.com/eYxHErG.jpg

These maps are sometimes used in Australian schools, apparently.

14 Comments

Rester1/27/2018, 8:30:38 AM6 votes

So this is what inverted controls in real life feels like.

SEKAI1/27/2018, 11:47:34 AM5 votes

Remember, out there in the space, there is no concept of "up" and "down", and "north" and "south" are mere names to refer to the poles of the Earth but gives no priority between the 2.

Orientation therefore does not matter and is mostly a matter of subjectivity, nothing different to having a ball with 2 differently coloured hemispheres stand in a particular way with whichever side you prefer on top. It's mere preference.

Maps are only depicted with northern hemisphere on top because most countries are stationed in the northern hemisphere, that's all.

That and, it's also partially put like that due to national or cultural superiority games by some map makers. It's not hard to go back to some of the earlier maps, where you will find all sorts of different orientations (such as with east on top, south on top etc) based on the personal, cultural, or national beliefs the maker(s) of the map had held. For the recent history, accurate maps from Europe and America were more well-known, where they place themselves at the top because they believe they're superior and the focus of the world, and given they also have held the monopoly on the media representation game globally (and still do), people today who grew up reading these maps are thus conditioned to believe that north is supposed to be at the top of the map when it really doesn't matter.