Mercator is not garbage, it just has a specific use: straight lines on the map correspond to the direction you travel if you maintain a constant bearing. Its still used for naval and avation charts for that exact reason, but it not a good general purpose map.
Well not really true size but closer.
All projections have distortion since you are placing a 3-D sphere (not even a true sphere) onto a flat surface.
Mercator is a garbage projection though
Mercator is not garbage, it just has a specific use: straight lines on the map correspond to the direction you travel if you maintain a constant bearing. Its still used for naval and avation charts for that exact reason, but it not a good general purpose map.