The test the ladder asked for, and it refutes the conjecture
How much better the best asymmetric projection is than the best symmetric one, under weightings of four different symmetries, with every symmetric map allowed to re-aim its axis at twelve candidate poles. The conjecture rung eight recorded was that the seven earn their place by PLACING distortion where a symmetric map cannot, so their advantage should collapse under a criterion with no place preference. It does the opposite: the advantage is largest at 1.343 under the uniform weighting and smallest at 1.144 under a band, with the fully asymmetric concentration at 1.204 in between. The winner is named on each row and the map it beat is Equirectangular throughout. The seven are simply better maps.
It is drawn by projection-figure with
show: "symmetry-criterion" — one member of a family of
16 figures
that share a generator, so the drawing above is what that generator returns when it is asked
for this one and given nothing else.
1 essay calls it. Every call below passes it something, because a placement that passes nothing draws whichever member of the family the generator happens to default to rather than the one its essay argues about.
Where it is called
Changing this changes every one of these figures.