Something Strange Happens When You Flatten the Earth…

Thank you to Squarespace for supporting PBS. Go to https://www.squarespace.com/besmart for a free trial and use code BESMART to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Follow me to @pbsterra and watch Overview to celebrate Earth Month with PBS: https://youtu.be/ivoV1rwiYJk PBS Earth Month Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1F8ofFm4H9UTrHxqU8zngK4 Imprisoned for heresy, Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever. We explore why his projection distorts the world, how it solved a deadly problem for sailors, and the astonishing mystery of how he used math that hadn’t even been invented yet to do it all. Be Smart explores science questions you didn’t even know you wondered about. It is hosted and produced by Joe Hanson, PhD. We post new videos all the time, so please subscribe! If you enjoyed this video, hit the ‘like’ button, leave a comment, or watch another of our videos! References: https://sites.google.com/view/mercator-mystery-references/home 0:00 A Prisoner of the Inquisition 1:52 The Navigation Crisis 4:22 Who Was This Mercator Guy, Anyway? 8:02 Globes & Heresy 10:45 Why Flat Maps Are Mathematically Impossible 13:27 The Math Mystery Behind the Mercator Map 16:11 How Mercator Used Math That Didn't Exist Yet 19:40 You're Using This Map Right Now 22:56 Is This Map Harmful? CONNECT WITH ME ____________________________________ Website: https://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart/ https://www.instagram.com/drjoehanson/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/itsokaytobesmart A big thanks to our Brain Trust patrons: Baerbel Winkler, Brent Lopez, dani bowman, David Johnston, Ed Eyden, Eric Meer, Greg Olson, Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion, Jaap Westera, Karen Haskell, Marcus Pingel, Mike and Patty Loftis, Paul Weir, Reuben Brewer SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES ____________________________________ Please email biz@itsokaytobesmart.com Stock video and images provided by Shutterstock, Artlist, and MotionArray Music provided by APM Written Joe Hanson Edited by Steven Simone Produced by Least Square Media and Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices