In the real world, cartography is the study and practice and making and using maps. It’s a complex blend of art and science, and has been practiced since very ancient times. Archaeologists have discovered carvings on mammoth tusks that date back to the 25th millennium BC which could be interpreted as maps, and we’ve definitely been using them since the first millennium BC.
North is almost always at the top of maps today, but for most of human history that wasn’t the case. To ancient humans, the north was where the darkness came from. So the Ancient Egyptians and early Christians put east at the top – where the Sun rises, while early Islamic maps had south at the top. It wasn’t until cartographer Gerardus Mercator created his famous world map in 1569 that north became the default.
This “north-at-the-top-by-default” approach has shaped the way we think in more ways than you probably imagine. When people are shown a map of a fake city and asked where they’d like to live, they’re more likely to choose an area in the north of the city. And when people are asked to choose places on a map where imaginary groups of people should live, they tend to put the richest in the north and the poorest in the south.
But here’s the thing – if you think about the Earth as a ball floating in space, then it doesn’t really make sense for maps to be any particular way up. Should a map of the solar system have the Sun at the top, or bottom, or left or right? Where should a map of the galaxy put the Earth? Space doesn’t have a north, south, east, west, up, or down. Everything is relative to something else.
So next time you get lost in Minecraft, don’t feel too bad. Remember that location is relative. Find a tree, punch it, make a crafting table and start a new life in your new centre of the universe.
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