So true. But honestly the Pew Charitable Trusts example he uses is just plain bad cartography/design. There are so many better ways to lie - I mean, 'support any position' - with maps. Plus, easy ways to avoid the problems he points out are taught as 'rules' in any entry-level university cartography course. So the folks at PCT who made the map either knew the rules and broke them for no apparent good reason, or just had no idea how to display data effectively on a map. I suspect it was the latter and I think the author does too, though he didn't come out and say it.
So true. But honestly the Pew Charitable Trusts example he uses is just plain bad cartography/design. There are so many better ways to lie - I mean, 'support any position' - with maps. Plus, easy ways to avoid the problems he points out are taught as 'rules' in any entry-level university cartography course. So the folks at PCT who made the map either knew the rules and broke them for no apparent good reason, or just had no idea how to display data effectively on a map. I suspect it was the latter and I think the author does too, though he didn't come out and say it.