ABSTRACT
Maps can change the world because it is through maps that the world is imagined in the minds of those who change it. Cartography is about making sense of the world. It can be conducted without conventional images, or simply by painting pictures using words or sounds. On a standard map of the world the 'Earth at night' image appears to show where people are and where there are no people, or where there are people shedding little light. On the equal-population cartogram of the world there are people everywhere, in exactly equal density. Cartography is both art and science, but also a part of the humanities and of popular culture, of new technology and of ancient history. More new maps and charts will have been made in our lifetimes than over the course of the lives of every human who has ever lived. Maps both change the world and show a changing world. Sometimes they can do both.
