Part 2 Misconceptions programmers have about maps
Tags: misconceptionsaboutmaps, webdev
Published: 2022-10-03 06:48:39

<h3>Misconception 6. The shortest segment between two points looks like a line</h3>
<p><br /> An orthodroma is the shortest distance on curved objects. Particular cases of orthodromes are meridians and equator. Most often, orthodromes look like a curve when projected on a map.<img src="https://habrastorage.org/r/w1560/webt/5a/9h/ww/5a9hwwhaklfmd4jini-gbu8jtco.png" data-src="https://habrastorage.org/webt/5a/9h/ww/5a9hwwhaklfmd4jini-gbu8jtco.png"><br /> <br /><img src="https://habrastorage.org/r/w1560/webt/az/pc/r5/azpcr59bxz95yc0emeilvwejp_u.png" data-src="https://habrastorage.org/webt/az/pc/r5/azpcr59bxz95yc0emeilvwejp_u.png"> <br /> <br /> <em>A flight to Madrid from New York on a flat map looks too long, but in reality it takes longer to fly in a "straight line. Only the globe shows what's really going on. Of course, in real life, planes move along regulated air routes, which are dictated by the technical characteristics of the aircraft, weather conditions, geopolitics and social problems. The actual trajectory of a typical flight may differ from the orthodromes. </em><a href="https://gisgeography.com/great-circle-geodesic-line-shortest-flight-path/"><em>GIS Geography</em></a><br /> <br /> </p>
<h3>Delusion 7. The coordinates of stationary objects do not change</h3>
<p><br /> Objects move, tilt, and experience shrinkage. A building can move, with its occupants, <a href="https://realty.rbc.ru/news/5f47ae699a7947fb782d5339">without water and light being cut off</a>.<img src="https://habrastorage.org/r/w1560/webt/xs/he/0b/xshe0bq-zaaaylptfzhbipa7lzs.png" data-src="https://habrastorage.org/webt/xs/he/0b/xshe0bq-zaaaylptfzhbipa7lzs.png"><br /> <br /> Similarly, continents shift and rotate a few centimeters a year. For example, from 1994 to 2017, Australia suddenly <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/news-events/news/latest-news/australia-officially-moves-1.8-metres-northeast">shifted</a> a lot to the northeast. This means that after the datum update, streets and entire cities suddenly <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw-and-victoria-just-jumped-1-8-metres-north-20200102-p53ocx.html">shifted</a> by 1.8 meters.<br /> <br /> </p>
<h3>Misconception 8: Territory always belongs to someone</h3>
<p><br /> An obvious counterexample to this is the entire continent of Antarctica, which formally, under the 1959 treaty, does not belong to any state. Nevertheless, the same treaty indefinitely fixes territorial claims of several countries: Argentina, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, France, and Chile. No one has territorial claims to a fragment of the continent - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Byrd_Land">Mary Baird Land</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> However, there are huge chunks of no man's land north of latitude 60&deg;S. For example, the Bir Tawil area between Egypt and Sudan has been left without an owner as a result of territorial disputes. The area of Bir Tawil is more than 2,000 km&sup2;, it is a hot desert where no one lives. Due to the difficult natural conditions of the territory, the international community does not take seriously external attempts to claim Bir Tawil.<br /> <br /> The territory may not have an owner or a national top-level domain.<br /> <br /> </p>
<h3>Delusion 9. Territory belongs to one person</h3>
<p><br /> From the time the first states were formed, territorial disputes began to be resolved by diplomacy or war. Conflicts last for tens, hundreds of years. Any self-respecting state has claims on its neighbor's territory.<img src="https://habrastorage.org/r/w1560/webt/vj/ay/j2/vjayj2lys9loaxyouztuag12ywg.png" data-src="https://habrastorage.org/webt/vj/ay/j2/vjayj2lys9loaxyouztuag12ywg.png"><br /> <br /> <br /> <em>The countries with unresolved territorial disputes from </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes"><em>the</em></a><em> relevant Wikipedia </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes"><em>list</em></a><em> are highlighted in red. </em><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/vcyedm/countries_involved_in_ongoing_territorial/"><em>/u/whymostnamesaretaken</em></a><br /> <br /> Interestingly, a dispute can arise over more than just what a state wants to own territory. On rare occasions, two parties attribute territory to a neighbor.<br /> <br /> <br /> <em>Territorial disputes on the Croatian-Serbian border. Both Croatia and Serbia claim the yellow areas, neither side claims the green</em><br /> <br /> The Gornja Sig area on the Croatian-Serbian border is formally controlled by Croatia. However, Croatia considers the area to be Serbian, although Serbia does not claim it. In 2015, the Czech Vit Jedlicka took advantage of the complex legal status of the area and proclaimed the state of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberland">Liberland</a> there. However, no one took this prank seriously.<br /> <br /> </p>
<h3>Delusion 10. A little dotted line and I have a one-size-fits-all map</h3>
<p><br /> It only seems that if one disagrees, all one has to do is draw a few dotted lines instead of one continuous border.<br /> <br /> India's 2016 law <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/All-you-need-to-know-about-the-draft-Geospatial-Information-Regulation-Bill/article60512716.ece">bans</a> to depict a country's borders in a way other than the official one. The range of penalties for violation ranges from fines to imprisonment. The law is enforced: India even <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/weather-diplomacy-imd-subtly-includes-pok-gilgit-baltistan-in-its-weather-forecasts/588281">issues</a> weather forecasts for territories over which it has no control but considers its own.<br /> <br /> This law will have to be enforced, including for Kashmir, which Pakistan, India and China want to own in various configurations. These are countries with hundreds of millions, billions of people. Your potential users are sure to be found there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <em>This is how Google Maps gets out of the uncomfortable "whose Kashmir?" situation. </em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/02/14/google-maps-political-borders/"><em>Washington &nbsp;Post</em></a><br /> <br /> Moreover, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China">certain countries.</a> do not recognize <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan">other countries</a> at all and react painfully even at the mention of their name. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel">A country</a> may not recognize <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip">a territory</a> as part of itself, or as part of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestine">a separate neighboring country</a>, because it has difficulty recognizing that neighbor. Also, some countries may not recognize <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem">a city</a> as the capital of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel">a country</a>.<br /> <br /> If so "lucky", you will have to make several different versions of your product for each specific country. You have to geolocate visitor's country by IP or account registration country. Errors in the GeoIP database can lead to legal prosecution in that country.<br /> <br /> On the other hand, sometimes an error is not so critical. Whatever the position of European politicians, but if you show the visitor from Western Europe Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, there will be no outcry to the tech support. But if a resident of Jordan orders airline tickets from you, you better be careful.</p>