Maps! Maps! Maps!

Maps convey so much about the world. They have the power to shape our world view. Through maps we gain a sense of the world and where things are. Like most Americans I have a vague sense of where everything is, but I would have trouble telling you where every country on the map was in relation to other countries. 

Looking at the maps above, they are both maps of the modern world (the peters map is lacking South Sudan, but the idea is there), yet they are very different. The Peters map (bottom) shows an accurate area of each country projection of the world, where as the Mercator map shows the world as countries fit together with each other. For more information and a brief history of maps: click here.

There are inherent problems with both of these types of maps. 

First of all, neither map shows a true depiction of the world. The Mercator map shows where countries are in the world, communicating a warped view of what the word really looks like. The countries further away from the equator are warped to be larger than they actually are. Greenland for example looks larger than all of South America, when, in reality, it is much much smaller.

The Peters map doesn't show an accurate depiction of the world either because while all the countries have the appropriate area, the Peters map doesn't show their correct spacing in the world. All the countries are lengthened near the equator and shortened near the poles. It's just overall not a great picture of what the world is. 

Maps have to power to shape our world view, and it is important to remember that flat maps are not the truth and there is going to be something warped about them. Cartographers have the responsibility to create the best possible representation of a round world on a flat surface, and that is a difficult task. It is very impressive that the earliest world maps (including the Americas) date back to the early 1500s.

Introvert vs. Extrovert

What does it mean to be an introvert? Dictionary.com defines it as: a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings. Being an introvert does not mean being quiet or lacking confidence. As an extrovert with an introverted father, it was always hard to communicate and find a common ground in what we would talk about and how we would talk about it.

Our first shared interest: baseball. He would take me to Wrigley Field and we would talk about the cubs and who the best players were. Then we were able to share comedy. As I got older and was able to watch actual stand-up comedy and understand the jokes, and my dad and I gained a report and were able to talk to each other as never before.

When I was younger, I didn't know what the difference between an introvert and an extrovert was. To learn the difference click here.

Communication between an introvert and an extrovert  can be difficult if both parties are not looking out for the other's interest. For an extrovert, be careful to give an introvert time to think and respond about what they are going to say because that's important to them. For an introvert, understand that an extrovert often acts or speaks before thinking and can run into a lot of problems because of that. For introverts and extroverts to communicate effectively each party needs to be forgiving and understanding.

Introvert and extroverts are nearly opposites, but it is true what they say: opposites attract. The best relationships or friendships between people I have witnessed have been between introverts and extroverts. Both need each other for the relationship to work.

One is not better than the other, each are just very different from the other. It is also important to recognize that being an intro or extrovert isn't a dichotomy, it's a spectrum. A spectrum that would often look like the one below.

Whether you identify for as an introvert or more as an extrovert, remember that other types of people exist in the world and their perspectives matter. Communicating with them doesn't come naturally, but in the end gaining their knowledge and their perspective is worth the uncomfortably felt.

Between my father and I, we have figured out many different things we can talk about while satisfying both our needs in communication and otherwise. It has taken me seventeen years, but I'm finally able to have a long standing and healthy relationship with my father.