* Deformation: The spherical shape of the globe would undergo significant deformation and stretching to become a flat surface. This process would involve pulling and tearing the material of the globe, resulting in breaks, cracks, and distortions.
* Loss of Proportions: Different regions of the globe would disproportionately expand or contract to fit the flat surface. The flattening process would distort the relative sizes and shapes of countries, continents, and oceans. As a result, the map scale would vary between different locations, compromising geographical accuracy.
* Distortion of Distances: Measuring distances on a flattened globe would become inaccurate. Straight lines drawn on the flat map may not represent the shortest paths or great circle routes between locations on the spherical Earth. Distances and proportions between different parts of the world would be distorted, which can mislead users about navigational and geographical relationships.
* Polar and Equatorial Regions: Flattening the globe would distort the representation of the polar regions, particularly the North and South Poles. It would be challenging to display both poles simultaneously without further distorting their relative locations and distances to other regions. Additionally, the representation of equator or other latitudes may stretch or squeeze, altering their proportions relative to the rest of the map.
* Map Projections: Cartographers often use mathematical techniques called map projections to convert the three-dimensional Earth into a two-dimensional surface. Different projections are suited for various purposes, but all involve distortions depending on the projection method chosen. Using a particular projection, instead of physically flattening the globe, ensures some degree of accuracy while still simplifying the spherical Earth for practical purposes.