Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Changing Perspectives

Through a random conversation during the meetings held the last day of school, I was made aware of THIS. Or visually, this:


Whoa! Was I the only one that didn't know about this? I guess whoever was "first" in creating maps had a lead on others and decided the "normal" way for world maps to be drawn. Now it's convention (or maybe only in various northern hemisphere countries), and this way of seeing the world is unsettling.

Maybe we need to see more unsettling things in our lives to get us out of our rut, and maybe we need to interact with people who don't think and live like we do - even if it is unsettling, or maybe especially if it is unsettling.

2 comments:

  1. I love this map. I used to have it in my office. People would do a double take, and I'd act like I didn't understand their confusion. (So mean!)

    "What do you mean, North is supposed to be on top? I don't understand."

    It takes many people some time to realize that there's not really an up or down in space.

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  2. That's funny! It DOES make you stop and think about conventions and why you believe what you think is "right".

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