Seattle’s position as the city that is most nearly equidistant between historic centers of eastern and western cultures, becomes clear when one looks at distances between Seattle and these centers. Parts of the Seattle metropolitan area are exactly equidistant between the most northeasterly centers of eastern culture and the most northwesterly centers of western culture, (though Vancouver is also very close to being equidistant between these centers). The nearest large historic center of Eastern Culture to Seattle is Tokyo, and the nearest large historic center of Western Culture to Seattle is London. Parts of the Western edge of Seattle’s near Eastern suburbs are exactly the same distance form the downtowns of each of these cities (a line that runs nearly north to south with a slight tilt to northwest to southeast that is approximately 6.8K east by northeast of downtown Seattle at it’s nearest point to downtown Seattle, that is app. 7,720.5 kilometers from the downtown of each of these cities at this point.), when the area of the greatest recent development in London is chosen as London’s downtown, and parts of Lake Washington, and Mercer Island, just east of Seattle are exactly the same distance from downtown Tokyo and London, (app. 5K east by northeast of DT Seattle, and app. 7,718K from each at it’s nearest point to DT Seattle), when more traditional locations are chosen as downtown London. Different parts of the Seattle metropolitan area are also exactly the same distance from downtown Hamburg and Nagoya, (again a line tilted slightly to northwest to southeast that comes closest to downtown Seattle at a point approximately 4 K West by southwest of downtown Seattle, located approximately 7,931 K from each of these downtowns probably located near Seattle in Puget Sound), from Essen, Germany and Kyoto, (a line located approximately 2.5k west by southwest of Downtown Seattle, located approximately 8,018 K from each downtown, and also probably in Puget Sound, from Koln, (also called Cologne) and Osaka, (a line tilted slightly to northwest to southeast that comes nearest to Seattle’s downtown at a point approximately 1 k east by northeast of downtown Seattle, that is app. 8,061 from each city at that point), from Osaka and Paris, (again a line tilted slightly to northwest to southeast as all lines that are equidistant between historical centers of eastern and western culture are tilted slightly to northwest to southeast, that comes nearest to Seattle’s downtown at a point approximately five eighths of a K east by northeast of downtown Seattle, that is app. 8,063k from each city at that point), From downtown Berlin and Okayama, (with a line running app. 11.5k west by northwest of DT Seattle being located approximately app. 8,154k from each city at it’s nearest point to downtown Seattle), from Okayama and Frankfurt, ( a line running app. 19..5k east by northeast of DT Seattle at its nearest point to DT Seattle that is app 8,184k from each city at this point, from downtown Hiroshima and Dresden (parts of Seattle’s eastern suburbs app. 10 K east by northeast of DT Seattle at their nearest point to DT Seattle, and app. 8287 K from each city at that point, with downtown Vilna, (also called Vilnius) being app. 10.5 K closer to downtown Seattle than downtown Hiroshima is, with Pyongyang being approximately 11 K farther from downtown Seattle than downtown Hiroshima is, and being approximately 8k closer to downtown Seattle than downtown Dresden, and with Seoul being approximately 47K farther from downtown Seattle than downtown Dresden is), from Lisboa, (also called Lisbon), and Busan, (formerly called Pusan), (a line app. 20.5K west by southwest of downtown Seattle at its nearest point, that is located approximately 8,407 k from each city at that point), from Moscow, and Busan, (a line app. 16K west by southwest of downtown Seattle, that is located approximately 8,412 k from each city at that point), from Minsk, and Busan, (a line 12.5K west by southwest of downtown Seattle at its nearest point, that is located approximately 8,415 k from each city at that point), from Warszawa, (also called Warsaw), and Busan, (a line approximately 10K west by southwest of downtown Seattle, that is located approximately 8,418 k from each city at that point), from Praha, (also called Prague), and Busan, (a line app. 7.4k west by southwest of downtown Seattle at its nearest point that is located approximately 8,420.5 k from each city at that point), r from downtown Nagasaki and Auschwitz, (a line tilted slightly to northwest to southeast that comes nearest to Seattle’s downtown about 1 tenth of a K west of Seattle’s downtown being located app. 8, 573 k from each of these places.
Parts of the Seattle metropolitan area are also located at exactly the same distance from Haerbin (also Harbin) China, and Birmingham England, ( a line that comes nearest to downtown Seattle at a point app. 26.8k east by northeast of downtown Seattle, and that is app. 7,535k from each city, while the nearest ‘Old World’ city to Seattle, Sapporo is located 7053.19 k from to Seattle. Seattle is also close to being located at the same distance, from Milano (also called Milan), Wien (also called Vienna), Beijing, and Venezia (also Venice), (an average distance of 8706.2 k from these cities with the closest of these cities, with Milano at app 8665.7 k, Wien being located app 8664.3k from Seattle, Beijing at app. 8712.5k distance, and Venice at app 8790.2 distance), from Roma (also called Rome), Shanghai, Nanjng (also called Nanking), and Napoli (also called Naples), Hangzhou (an average distance of approximately 9239.3 from these cities with each city in order located at distances of app. 9141 K, 9213 K, 9289K, and 9314),
And Seattle is close to being located at the same distance, from to S, Istanbul, Dakar 9894.369 k to S, Athhinai (also Athens), Toshkent (also Tashkent), Chongqing, Chengdu Shantou Guangzhou (formerly called canton), Shenzhen, and Xiang Gang, (also called Hong Kong), Dongguan 10392.559 k to S, (app. an average of 10,168K from each of these cities with these cities in order at app, 9789 9870.145k, 9946, 10093, 10167, 10411, 10415, and 10360 k)
9669.916 kTehran 35.6962, 51.423,
10763.2,
Dimashq (also called Damascus and “Ash-Sham ) 33.513, Kunming Nazareth 32d42m07s, 35d18m12s, 1 , 11866.405 k to s.f. Yerushallayim (also Jerusalem), 31d47m, 35d13m, Bethlehem, 31d42m11s, 35d11m44s, Baghdad, 33d20m, 44d26m, ,Al-Qāhirah (also called Cairo) 30.058, , 12010.154 k to s.f., 11229.286 k to Portl Lahore 31d35m, 74d21m, to s.f., 11295.305 k to port,31° 24' 38" N, 73° 5' 19" O 11117.871 k to s, Delhi 28.61, 77.23, 11339.222 k to S 11144.629 k to V, 12375.392 k to s.f., 11553.364 k to Port, Bodh Gaya 24.695102, 84.991275, Kolkatta, (formerly called Calcutta), 22.5697d n, 88.3697d e,
, Al-Mukarramah, Makkah province, also called Mecca) , Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) ,
Karachi , Ho Chi Minh City, (formerly Saigon), , Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (formerly called Bangkok)
Addis Abeba
Djakarta ,, Kinshasa , Luanda 14024.057 k to s, , 14168.14 k to S 14039.805 k to V
Dt Seattle – app 47.611, -122.337, Westlake Park (not space needle 47.62042360, -122.3489 not app. 35.6758 d N, 139.745 d E (National Diet), and not 35.6847528 d N, 139.7524583 d E (Imperial Palace), DT London probably app 51.5036111d N, 0.0183333 d W,(Canary Wharf) 7727.455 k to dt S, (not 7723.17 k to DT S), probably 7602.882 k to DT V), (not app. 51.513866, d N 0.09825 d W (St. Paul’s) , not 51.514903, 0.082316 not app 51.5, -0.125 ), Dt Vancouver app 49.2805, -123.12564, 53° 34′ N, 10° 2′ 7926.751 k to S 7789.153 k to V, 35° 10′ N, 136° 54′ O 7934.852 k to S V to V 35n10, 136e55 7933.79 k to S, 7787.046 k to V E 35° 00′ N, 135° 46′ O 8020.142 k to S 7872.066 k to V, Osaka app. 34d41m, 135d30m, 8062.372 k to S, 7914.428 k to V (not Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library 34°41'37"N 135°30'11"E 8060.495 k to U of W Suzz Brary, Bibliothèque nationale de France app. 34° 41′ N, 135° 11′ O 8082.425 k to S, 7934.041 k to V, , Pyongyang (39.0333, 125.75). 8289.154 k to S V, to V,52° 13' N, 21° 02' O32° 45′ N, 129° 52′ 8573.144 k to S 8420.267 k to V 50°04', 19°57'45° 27′ 50.56′′ N, 9° 11′ 29.64′′ E, 8665.737 k (not 45.49115009495849, 9.163049845422094 arco della pace, , a , , (39.905556,116.391389N, 45° 26′ 3′′ N, 12° 20′ 20′′ E, Kiev) 36° 05' N, 120° 20' O 8844.665 k to S,
to S, Taibei (also Taipei) Istanbul , Fuzhou 26° 4' 16" N, 119° 18' 13" O 9791.225 k to S,
Beograd (also Belgrade) Roma (also called Rome) , Za He (also called Shanghai) , Odessa , 9099.381 k to V, Nanjing (formerly called Nanking) 9122.541 k to V, Napoli (also called Naples and Napule) , Zhengzhou Bucuresti (also Bucharest) Hangzhou 9669.916 kDakar 40° 23' N 49° 52' E 10226.352 k to s, Guang Zhou, (formerly known as Canton) 23d06m32s , Shenzhen 22d33m, 114d06m, 10414.743 k to S, Dongguan 10392.559 k to S, Xiang Gang (also known as Hong Kong) 22d11m00s, 114d96m00s, 10360.482 k to S, Guiyang
9894.369 k to S, 9866.6365, Athhinai (also Athens) Tbilisi Chongqing , Chengdu Shantou Yerevan, 40d10m11s, 44d31m12s, 10194.218 k to S, Baku
35° 26′ N, 139° 38′ O, 7736.122 k to S34° 58′ N, 138° 22′ O,
60° 10' N; 24° 56' O 7695.322 k to s59°26' N 24°45' E, 7767.253 k to S, Copenhagen 55° 40' N, 12° 34' O 7811.312 k to s, 43° 54' N, 125° 12' O 7910.334 k to S, Haerbin (also Harbin) China 45d45m, 126d38m, 7681.54 k to s, Niigata 37° 54′ N, 139° 02′ O 7585.555 k to S, Birmingham England 52d28m59s, -01d53m37s, 7562.174 kSendai 38° 16′ N, 140° 52′ O 7441.061 k to s, 59° 54' 36" N, 10° 45' 00" O 7352.088 k to s, Baile Atha Cliath (also called Dublin) Edinburgh (also Embra, Embro, Edinburrie, and Dun Eidann) 55° 57' 00" N, 3° 13' 12" W 7210.16 k to s, Béal Feirste (also Bilfawst and Belfast) 7209.687 k to s, , Glesca (also Glesgae, Glaschu, and 55° 52' 12" N, 4° 16' 12" W 7173.831 k to s, 43° 03′ N, 141° 21′ O 7053.19 k to S 6898.852 k to V.
Minneapolis
Most of us have a very poor sense of distances in our world, because we usually see a distorted projection of our world in the maps we use. It is important for us to correct this because a large part of the story of our world’s history is determined by the geography of our world, with certain cultures spreading to certain areas primarily because they were closer to those areas, than other cultures were. In spite of the great advantages in mobility that traditionally western and especially European cultures enjoyed in the historic period in which they spread their culture through colonization, The spread of their culture was still greatly influenced by the fact that Europe was closer to most of the areas it’s culture spread to, (including South America, Africa, and most of North America), than were areas of traditionally eastern culture, including the area of Northeast Asia, which is historically most analogous to Europe, because with regard to written civilization, and with regard to organized religions that have many followers today, it is the younger area of historically eastern culture in the same way that that Europe is the younger area of historically western culture, and it has inherited these things from people from the older area of historically eastern civilization in the same way that Europe has inherited these thing from the older area of historically western civilization. In the areas that are the same distance from Europe and Northeast Asia, we see a different story, with historically eastern culture having had a much greater influence on these areas than on other areas, and with the current extent to which historically western cultures have had a greater influence on these areas, possibly being a temporary phenomenon because these areas are still very young and because their cultures are not close to being fixed yet. This region is the western coast of North America, and, though until this point in time these areas have been most influenced by historically western civilizations, the next large city we find going west from this area is the city of Honolulu, and this city seems to have been more influenced by traditionally eastern cultures than by traditionally western cultures, (with this assessment being based in part on the fact that most of the people in the Honolulu urban area are descended from people from Northeast Asia). Honolulu is closer to being located at the same distance from Europe and Northeast Asia, than are nearly all areas European culture has spread to (including South America, Africa, and Eastern North America), and in terms of global distances is not far from the Western coast of North America.
We should not try to make distances on our maps accurate by making directions inaccurate on those maps, though many people have tried to do this. We should instead make both distances and directions accurate by using sinusoidal equal-area projection maps with longitude lines drawn on them. These maps can be accurate because they will not try to show the surface of our globe as a rectangle, (a practice that will always lead to inaccuracy), but will instead show the circumference of our world becoming smaller the farther we get from the equator until it finally becomes 0 at the poles, and in this way will show our world as it truly is. This is achieved by sinusoidal maps because this narrowing is described by the sine function (hence the name sinusoidal), as the circumference of our world does not get smaller at a constant rate as we move away from the equator, but instead gets smaller at a slower rate at first, with this rate increasing as we get further from the equator. If we want north and south to be straight up or down on our maps as often as possible, more than we want maps that show our world as being as connected as a flat map can show it, we can achieve this by making our maps interrupted projections that show blank spaces between different sections of the map, though we will not need to do this to see what direction is north or south at any point, so long as we draw enough longitude lines on our map, and always remember that north and south follow these lines, and that on our map north and south follow curved lines, just as most of these lines will be curved even if our map is an uninterrupted projection. The desire to straighten these curved lines is the desire that has led us into the error of drawing rectangularly shaped maps.
World maps should usually be drawn with the line that we currently call 113 degrees west, (or a line slightly west of this line), as their center line, to focus our attention on the point 180 degrees from the line that best divides historically eastern cultures from historically western cultures, that should be near the place where these cultures will first come together to form a new culture that is stronger than either eastern or western culture can be separately. If we choose to make our maps interrupted projections of our world with the line that we currently call 113 degrees west as their center line, then the first two interruptions we make should occur at the lines we currently call 33 degrees west and 163 degrees west, because these lines pass through oceans and through sparsely populated areas, and because they come closer than most other lines that do this, to dividing our world into three parts of equal area.
1 comment:
Good words.
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