Time feels natural, but the way we measure it is entirely human-made. From Mesopotamian star charts and Egyptian solar calendars to Roman reforms, medieval clock towers, and modern atomic precision, this episode explores how we constructed the framework of time itself.

3 Timeless Takeaways:

1. How ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt laid the foundations for calendars and timekeeping.
2. Why the Babylonians chose base-60 and how it still shapes our clocks today.
3. How mechanical clocks, trains, and atomic physics transformed time into the precise system we live by.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• More on the Sexagesimal System: My eponymic contribution to Sexagesimal math - Math! Science! History!™
• Leap Year, Caesar’s Propaganda, and a New Calendar: Leap Year, Caesar's propaganda, and a new calendar - Math! Science! History!™
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Atomic Time: https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!
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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
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• Music:
  All music is public domain and has no copyright and rights reserved.
• Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
• Travelling and Discovering by Musinova from Pixabay
• Lake of Light by Vinsvept from Pixabay
• Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Galliard à3, for Treble & Bass Viols with Great Bass,
• Dr. Phillip W. Serna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  
• Deafening Bounce Groove by Rockot from Pixabay

Until next time, carpe diem!

We use maps all day, including Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps. We use them without even noticing that every one of them distorts reality. In this episode, Gabrielle explains why flattening a round Earth always bends the truth, how classic projections (like Mercator) live inside today’s apps, and why those distortions shape our mental picture of the world. Practical, visual, and myth-busting, this is cartography you can feel on your daily commute.

To hear the podcast on Marie Tharp, visit: Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

Three Coordinates to Remember

1. Why distortion is unavoidable when projecting a 3D globe onto a flat screen (thanks, Gauss).
2. How Web Mercator powers Google Maps/Waze, great for street-level navigation, misleading at global scales.
3. How projection choices shape perception, from Greenland vs. Africa to who appears “big” or “central” on a map.

Resources & Visuals

• Gall–Peters (equal-area) projection:
  Peters Projection Map: Everything Your Ever Wanted To Know
• Compare Map Projections:
  https://map-projections.net/compare.php
• Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion map (unfolded globe):
  https://www.bfi.org/about-fuller/dymaxion-map
• “The True Size Of…” (drag countries to compare real sizes):
  https://thetruesize.com

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory

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🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Until next time, carpe diem!

In this Flashcards Friday, Gabrielle shows how you already think like a scientist. Using three simple ideas from microscopy: magnification, illumination, and focus, she connects everyday phone habits (zooming, finding good light, tapping to focus) to centuries of scientific practice.

Three Flashcards

Magnification: How “zooming in” reveals hidden detail, and why that mindset matters in science and daily life.

Illumination: How changing the light transforms what you can see, from selfies to specimens.

Focus: Why patience and fine-tuning bring true clarity (on your phone and under a lens).

Links to Resources

· Microscope Basics (Britannica): https://www.britannica.com/technology/microscope

· Illumination & Contrast (Nikon MicroscopyU): https://www.microscopyu.com/techniques

· Optics Primer: Lenses & Light (HyperPhysics): http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geoopt/lenscon.html

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

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🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
On Matters of Consequence from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

First crafted in the late 16th century, the microscope forever changed science by revealing worlds hidden from the naked eye. In this special repost from 2020, Gabrielle takes you through centuries of innovation—from glass lenses to high-tech marvels—and explores how this transformative tool shaped medicine, biology, and our understanding of life itself.

Three key topics

The origins of the microscope, including its earliest inventors and the coining of its name in 1625.

How microscopes evolved from simple lenses to electron and cryo-electron imaging.

The ways microscopes continue to impact scientific discovery today.

Links to Resources

Luke Jerram’s Glass Microbe Sculptures: https://www.lukejerram.com/

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – COVID-19 Images: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/novel-coronavirus-sarscov2-images

History of Microscopy – Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/technology/microscope

Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal

Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
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🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

In this episode of Math! Science! History!, we explore the ethics of exploration through three lenses: the protests over modern overtourism, the historical insights of early scientific explorers, and the fictional moral compass of Star Trek’s Prime Directive. From 18th-century expeditions to the 23rd-century starship Enterprise, we examine how curiosity, respect, and humility can guide how we move through the world, whether on cobblestone streets or alien worlds.

Three Things Listeners Will Learn

The origins and real-world inspiration behind Star Trek’s Prime Directive.

How early scientific explorers approached discovery with respect for cultures and environments.

Practical ways to travel ethically in an age of overtourism.

Links to Resources

Louvre Museum staff strike over overcrowding: Louvre shut down by spontaneous staff strike over 'untenable' working conditions

Venice overtourism measures: Venice Doubles Last-Minute 'Tourist Tax' , Other Cities Watch Closely - Business Insider

Star Trek “The Return of the Archons” episode summary: The Return of the Archons (episode) | Memory Alpha | Fandom

Star Trek Prime Directive overview: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Directive

Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal

🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
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🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
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YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
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🛍 Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

This episode bridges the ancient and the cutting-edge, tracing the legacy of 7th-century mathematician Brahmagupta, who formalized the concept of zero, to today’s quantum computing revolution. We explore how his foundational work in numerical systems underpins binary logic and, ultimately, the qubits powering modern quantum processors like Microsoft’s Majorana 1 and Google’s Willow. From historical insight to the promise of quantum-driven solutions for climate change, medicine, and cybersecurity, this episode is a testament to how human innovation builds across centuries.

The key points include

How Brahmagupta’s introduction of zero and rules for numbers shaped the foundation of binary and quantum logic.

The latest breakthroughs in quantum computing, including Microsoft’s Majorana 1 and Google’s Willow processor.

Why quantum computing could transform fields from medicine and climate modeling to global logistics and encryption.

· Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 chip

· Google’s Willow Processor Overview

· History of Brahmagupta

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!

Website: mathsciencehistory.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:
🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
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🛍 Checking out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!!

Construction noise outside Gabrielle’s studio becomes the perfect backdrop to this week’s Flashcard Friday episode. From ancient geometry and Pythagorean ropes to Brunelleschi’s Renaissance dome and today’s AI-assisted architecture, this episode explores how math and science have always been at the heart of building human civilization. Whether it's the silent symmetry of Islamic domes or the loud clatter of skyscrapers rising, construction is the sound of applied mathematics — past and present.

1. How ancient builders used geometry, Pythagorean triples, and astronomy to align massive structures like the pyramids.
2. The mathematical innovations behind historical architectural marvels like Brunelleschi’s dome and the Roman Pantheon.
3. How modern construction relies on physics, calculus, AI, and computer simulations — and what those sounds mean today.

Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory
Enjoying the Podcast?

If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:
Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform

☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal

Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers