Earth and maps?

**Gustaf** · November 28th, 2018, 10:04 AM

So i'm 16 and studying economics and therefore no physics or alike. I might just be uneducated or simply dumb but here my question comes.
So i was thinking about nothing like we all do from time to time and the question of why maps show for example north america over south america came to mind (I'd like to point out i'm not american).
Why shouldn't or can't maps be flipped upside down? Or can they?
Who, where and when was this decided? Or is it even decided, did someone make a map one way and everyone else copied?
Why isn't north south and south north?

If this question isn't as dumb as i think i'd appreciate links or alike so i can educate myself aswell.
Thanks in advance for letting me (potentially) waste some of your time

**geordief** · November 28th, 2018, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Gustaf

So i'm 16 and studying economics and therefore no physics or alike. I might just be uneducated or simply dumb but here my question comes.
So i was thinking about nothing like we all do from time to time and the question of why maps show for example north america over south america came to mind (I'd like to point out i'm not american).
Why shouldn't or can't maps be flipped upside down? Or can they?
Who, where and when was this decided? Or is it even decided, did someone make a map one way and everyone else copied?
Why isn't north south and south north?

If this question isn't as dumb as i think i'd appreciate links or alike so i can educate myself aswell.
Thanks in advance for letting me (potentially) waste some of your time

I think it is called a convention.

Fr example some languages write from right to left.

Once someone starts to do something one way it is easier to follow suit unless there is a good reason not to.

North/South could as easily be South/ North.

I think there may have been experiments where guinea pig volunteers were give upside down lenses in their glasses until they got used to it (not 100% sure about that)