Thursday, May 27, 2010

Maps that changed the world

Peter Barber, the Head of Map Collections at the British Library, compiled a list of 10 maps that changed the world. Number five on the list is Google Earth. As Barber puts it,
Google Earth presents a world in which the area of most concern to you ... can be at the centre, and which - with mapped content overlaid - can contain whatever you think is important.
He correctly points out that the power of Google Earth is in the ability to display what you want, how you want it. No printed map can compete with that. On top of that, Google has made the highly capable basic version free. Anyone with a decent computer and internet connection can use it.

The remainder of the list is equally, if not more, interesting. One of my personal favorites is the Peters Projection World Map which I first learned about watching one of my favorite scenes in the TV series West Wing.

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