Mercator Projection

http://go.owu.edu/~jbkrygie/krygier_html/geog_222/geog_222_lo/geog_222_lo13.html

This map is one most individuals are familiar with, other than the circles this map is used to educate youth about may geocentric subjects. The Mercator Projection has become a skewed view of the world that most people now see as accurate. This projection depicts the Earth's continents true to shape, but with a horribly irregular area. Greenland, the landmass to the north-east of North America, is not nearly that large. The circles depicted over the projection show the inconsistency of area measurements between equatorial regions and the polar regions, enclosing the same amount of area in each circle shown.

http://www.pratham.name/mercator-projection-africa-vs-greenland.html

This image shows the vast difference in area between the Mercator projected Greenland and its actual size. Most individuals would be shocked to learn Greenland is a tiny fraction of the size of Africa.

Mental Maps

http://go.owu.edu/~jbkrygie/krygier_html/geog_222/geog_222_lo/geog_222_lo13.html

This map isn't very large, but for most people this image is instantly identifiable. A Thai student has drawn this map from memory, and while it has very little detail, it would still be very useful to someone unfamiliar with the layout of our continents. All maps are essentially tools designed to make visualization of something on a grand scale more accessible. A "birds eye view" of the landscape was not possible until very recently in history, especially photographic reproduction. Before these technological marvels, it was not as important to have an exactly precise or accurate map as much as it was important to have a map that the user could understand and familiarize with. Mental maps can be some of the most basic maps, but a simple map is no less useful than a complex one.