not sure one is distortion though! look read this...A mapmaker must first decide what is to be highlighted on a particular map, and then choose a projection that distorts those highlighted features...
Distortions are a bit hard to explain but the general idea is that the world is like an orange skin - if you peel off the skin and spread it out (in one piece), then you have the world and the...
Try taking the peel of an orange and laying it out flat so that all the edges meet up - you can't! Well the earth is also a ball and when you try and represent the curved surface on a flat piece of...