Tell them apart

1.3.5 — the 6 pairs that get mixed up

Most mix-ups happen when two words sit next to each other. These are the 6 pairs worth practicing apart. The 4 marked most confused are the ones the course itself flags, or that sit closest together.

Cover the right-hand column with your hand, read the left definition, and say which term it is out loud before you look. Then swap sides.

most confused
bias

A lean. Unavoidable on a map. Not always harmful.

vs
validity

Does the map do the job it was made for?

How to tell A biased map can still be valid. The Surrealist map leans hard and is still valid for its purpose. A perfect-looking world map is invalid as a city street finder.
most confused
bias

Any leaning, including ordinary choices of color, center, and what to leave out.

vs
prejudice

A hostile or unfair prejudgment. One possible source of bias, not the definition.

How to tell The course's definition does not require bad intent. If a question says maps are biased only when the maker is prejudiced, it is wrong.
most confused
land-area election map

Each state drawn at true size. Empty land looks loud.

vs
population cartogram

States resized by people. The picture of who voted changes.

How to tell Same 2004 votes. Different job, different lean. This is 1.3.1's cartogram, used as a bias example.
conventional world map

North up, Atlantic in the middle, Europe looking central. Feels "normal."

vs
unconventional map

South up, Pacific-centered, or missing a country on purpose.

How to tell The unusual one is how you notice the habits of the usual one.
most confused
world map

Purpose: a view of the world as a whole.

vs
city street map

Purpose: get you from James Street to Washington Avenue.

How to tell The dishwasher test. Each is valid for its own job and invalid if you use it for the other.
centering

What sits in the middle. The part your eye goes to first.

vs
orientation

Which way is up. North-at-the-top is a habit.

How to tell Study sheet lists them together. Upper left still gets the most attention either way.
If you only remember one thing Demography is the study; demographics are the data. Population is how many; density is how packed. Deviance is society rejecting you; a counterculture is a group rejecting society. Culture shock is the feeling; acculturation is the adjusting.