Mercator projection Projections Loxodromes Commentary

Gerardus Mercator cartography

Mercator projection

• Gerardus Mercator printed the first map of the world that represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines.
• This map featured orthogonal, evenly spaced lines of longitude, and lines of latitude spaced farther apart as they neared the poles
• so that the north-south stretching exactly matches the east-west stretching, making the projection conformal.
• Exaggerating the sizes of land near the poles, it caused generations of children to think Greenland was bigger than Australia.

Projections

• The world has always been larger
• than the view from your window.
• You might never go to Timbuctoo
• except with a map in your mind. In your mind,
• the world can assume the shape
• of the angel or demon that possesses you.
• The mountains her body, the rivers her voice,
• the oceans her soul. But a map
• pulls back the curtains and opens the window.
• It makes the world larger and less personal,
• more mysterious and more loving.

Loxodromes

• One’s straight lines
• are another’s slow curves. A soft ball
• spins and weaves the distance
• over and over from mound to home
• until it is caught or hit. Here,
• I would talk about art.
• I would say how I feel
• about appearing to spiral out of control.
• It’s not bad in retrospect.
• Even at the time, when the alternatives
• were not imaginable, one wondered
• whether loving oneself would be enough.
• A pattern eventually fills the space
• following a simple rule of thumb.
• The thumb fits into a glove. The outfielder
• makes the catch out in left field.