Editing Robinson projection (section)

{{Short description|Pseudocylindrical compromise map projection}}
[[File:Robinson projection SW.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Robinson projection of the world]]
[[Image:Robinson with Tissot's Indicatrices of Distortion.svg|thumb|350px|The Robinson projection with [[Tissot's indicatrix]] of deformation]]
[[File:CIA World Factbook 2016 physical world map.svg|thumb|right|350px|Map of the world created by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], with [[Map projection#Notable lines|standard parallels]] 38°N and 38°S]]
The '''Robinson projection''' is a [[map projection]] of a [[world map]] that shows the entire world at once. It was specifically created in an attempt to find a good compromise to the problem of readily showing the whole globe as a flat image.<ref name="impossible">{{cite news |title=The Impossible Quest for the Perfect Map |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/25/science/the-impossible-quest-for-the-perfect-map.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=1 May 2012 |author=John Noble Wilford |date=October 25, 1988}}</ref>

The Robinson projection was devised by [[Arthur H. Robinson]] in 1963 in response to an appeal from the [[Rand McNally]] company, which has used the projection in general-purpose world maps since that time. Robinson published details of the projection's construction in 1974. The [[National Geographic Society]] (NGS) began using the Robinson projection for general-purpose world maps in 1988, replacing the [[Van der Grinten projection]].<ref name="Snyder">
{{cite book
|title = Flattening the Earth: 2000 Years of Map Projections
|first = John P.
|last = Snyder
|year = 1993
|publisher = University of Chicago Press
|page = 214
|isbn = 0226767469
}}</ref> In 1998, the NGS abandoned the Robinson projection for that use in favor of the [[Winkel tripel projection]], as the latter "reduces the distortion of land masses as they near the poles".<ref>{{cite web |title=National Geographic Maps – Wall Maps – World Classic (Enlarged) |url=https://www.natgeomaps.com/re-world-classic-enlarged |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=2019-02-17 |quote=This map features the Winkel Tripel projection to reduce distortion of land masses as they near the poles.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Selecting a Map Projection |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/selecting-map-projection/ |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=2019-02-17}}</ref>