FLASHCARDS! Google Maps, Waze, and the Science of Map Distortion
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
Release Date: 08/29/2025
REPOST: Pumpkin Spiced
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
I'm diving deep into the chemistry of flavor, the history of spices, and the math behind crafting the perfect pumpkin spice latte. So go grab your cup of pumpkin spice whatever, get cozy, and let's explore! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at . You can buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon at Until next time, carpe diem! Show music by Lloyd Rodgers has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Other music by Georgetown Cafe, George Popoi, Free Music Archive, CC 4.0 https://popoi.bandcamp.com/track/georgetown-cafe Solace...
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FLASHCARDS! Imagination is the Engine of Science
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
In this Flashcard Friday follow-up to Tuesday’s interview with theoretical physicist Dr. Ronald L. Mallett, Gabrielle explores Einstein’s famous claim that imagination is more important than knowledge. From Marie Curie’s invisible rays to Johannes Kepler’s celestial harmonies, this episode traces how imagination transforms human emotion, grief, wonder, curiosity, into world-changing discovery. Listeners will hear how Dr. Mallett’s childhood heartbreak became the seed for his groundbreaking work on time travel, and how imagination continues to link science and humanity. Three...
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Dr. Ronald Mallett and the Love That Bends Time
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
In this fascinating conversation, I interview theoretical physicist Dr. Ronald Mallett to explore one of humanity’s most extraordinary scientific pursuits: time travel. From the influence of Einstein’s general theory of relativity to quantum mechanics and parallel universes, Dr. Mallett shares the story of how his personal loss inspired a lifetime of discovery. Listeners will hear how his work connects the geometry of spacetime, wormholes, and cosmic strings to the real mathematics of time loops, and how time travel to the past is theoretically possible. The discussion also takes an...
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FLASHCARDS! Saving Time: The Math and Science of Efficiency
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
Subscribe to Math! Science! History! wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you love learning how math and science make everyday life better, leave a review and share this episode with a friend who’s always running out of time! In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak explores how mathematics and science can help us master the one resource we can’t manufacture, time. From the Shortest Path Problem in geometry to the Pareto Principle in physics and productivity, Gabrielle uncovers how optimization, energy management, and practical habits can transform the way we work,...
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The Truth about Time Travel
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
What if you could bend time like taffy, stretching moments, collapsing centuries, and stepping through the folds of history itself? In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle explores the myths, literature, and scientific breakthroughs that brought time travel from ancient dreams to modern equations. From the Mahabharata to H.G. Wells, from Einstein’s relativity to Ronald Mallett’s laser loop, we uncover how humanity’s yearning to rewrite the past or glimpse the future evolved into one of science’s most mind-bending pursuits. Join Gabrielle for a journey through paradoxes,...
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FLASHCARDS! The Science of Spirits
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
Raise your glass, and your curiosity. In this Math! Science! History! Flashcard Friday, Gabrielle Birchak takes you into a haunted pub where chemistry and folklore share the same barstool. You’ll uncover how distillation mirrors transformation, why vapor behaves like a ghost, and how the energy that fuels both whiskey and legend never truly disappears. This is science told by firelight, a story of matter, energy, and the invisible bonds that tie us to everything that changes form. Three Ponderable Things How spirits are born: The chemistry of distillation, evaporation, condensation,...
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Haunted Machines: The Engineer Proximity Effect and Pauli’s Curse
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
In this Halloween-special episode of Math! Science! History!, your host Gabrielle Birchak explores the strange world where superstition meets science. We dive into why machines sometimes bow to the mere presence of an engineer (the “Engineer Proximity Effect”) and how one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, Wolfgang Pauli, became the subject of an odd legend: wherever he went, lab equipment failed (the “Pauli Effect”). Join us for a spooky, fun, and surprisingly rational journey into the magical aura of tech support and haunted machines. Three Take-aways Why machines...
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FLASHCARDS! Conserving Our Oceans
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
In this Flashcard Friday episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle explores how everyday choices can make a real difference for our oceans. From reducing single-use plastics to supporting sustainable seafood and climate-friendly habits, this episode uncovers the math, science, and history behind ocean conservation, and the powerful impact of small changes. Plastic pollution isn’t just a problem for sea turtles and coral reefs, it’s a problem for us. Every year, about 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean, leaching chemicals and breaking down into microplastics that end up...
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Interview with Gillen D’Arcy Wood - The Wake of HMS Challenger
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak speaks with Professor Gillen D’Arcy Wood, author of . Together, they uncover how a nineteenth-century Royal Navy warship transformed into a floating laboratory and gave humanity its first global snapshot of the oceans. From discovering thousands of new species to inspiring NASA’s Challenger shuttle, the expedition shaped modern oceanography and continues to inform today’s conservation science. Wood’s biocentric storytelling reminds us that to save our planet, we must first fall in love with it again, to be, as he says,...
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FLASHCARDS: Science Paw-thorship
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
Publish or Purrish: The Cat Who Co-Authored Physics Episode Overview: In this episode of Math! Science! History!, we uncover the remarkable story of F.D.C. Willard, the Siamese cat who became a published co-author in a world-renowned physics journal. What began as a workaround for rigid authorship conventions turned into a beloved legend in science history. But Willard wasn’t alone. We also take a closer look at other non-human co-authors, from a dog in immunology, to a hamster in physics, and even bonobos in language research, while exploring what these unusual stories reveal about the...
info_outlineWe 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
- Why distortion is unavoidable when projecting a 3D globe onto a flat screen (thanks, Gauss).
- How Web Mercator powers Google Maps/Waze, great for street-level navigation, misleading at global scales.
- 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
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Until next time, carpe diem!