What is a Map? Crash Course Geography #2

From navigating a cross-country road trip (or just finding the nearest coffee shop), to analyzing election results, maps play a huge role in how we interpret the world! Today, we're going to talk about the differences between reference maps and thematic maps, take a closer look at how projections play a part in how we perceive maps, and discuss the role of the cartographer (or map maker) in all of this. Maps are incredibly powerful tools and play a crucial role in how we understand the world, but they are also made by people, so it is our job to think critically about how these stories are being presented to us.
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[@stulog]

I took a catography course when I was in college. The first thing we were asked on the first day of class was, "what do all maps have in common?" After some students gave answers guessing about keys or map colors or such, the teacher gave up and she told us, "WRONG! The only thing that all maps have in common is that they lie!" To emphasize the point she wrote "MAPS LIE!!!" in huge letters on the dry erase board. She then spent the rest of the class period showing us a large variety of maps she had collected over the years and explaining to us how each and every one was lying to us. I took that class 14 years ago now, but I still remember that entire lesson like I had just gotten it yesterday.

[@radagastwiz]

As a GIS student this was very cool to see. A lot of the key areas in the field were made straightforward and accessible - great job!

[@angharadstone4779]

Yeah GIS! Hoping for a GIS episode

[@katelynekowalsky]

I've been a cartographer for years and always struggle to find great intro material to explaining what I do. Thanks CC, I'm so excited to share what I do in a really simple explanation. Remember y'all- all maps lie!

[@maxosall6972]

This course is exciting, I'm loving it

[@nebulavortexhd8007]

It is I swear if this comes up in class and I see this

[@kellykerr5225]

Me too! I always look forward to the next episode since it’s new.

[@nirui.o]

Badabababa. Sorry I just can't resist

[@nutshellexplains8076]

What is a map? Me who’s watched Dora... it’s the map it’s the map 🗺

[@s731s]

I'm obsessed with maps all over my house, how can I get a print of that "coffee map" at the beginning of this video? I seriously need that in my kitchen 😩

[@tulsaTMR]

Hey friend, google "coffee belt" ... you will find many maps that depict this region of the earth. Fun faqct: only the US state of Hawaii falls in that geographic region!

[@bleankdallas2924]

Now I'm going to become a cartographer and for my first project I'll make a map of the distribution of crash course fans all around the world

[@CAD6343]

It's really surprising when someone finds out the practical value of a map, and how are they present in almost every way on our lives. And that almost everyting can be mapped! I pretty much make my living doing maps on GIS, and teaching cartography, It's really interesting and "colorfull", specially today when you can map everything anywhere thanks to satellite imagery, from one way of the world to the other, in your own house. What a wonderfull age to be a geographer with all those tools just a click away

[@thomaspalazzolo5902]

"What is a map? A miserable little pile of secrets!"

[@pdreding]

But enough talk! Have at you!

[@elihinze3161]

I love maps so, so much. They're one of my favorite topics, and they can be so deceptive and informative all at once! So happy to see the series talk about this.

[@TristanDoingGood]

"A miserable little pile of secrets" Dracula 1997.

[@illerac84]

But enough talk.

[@MarcusWolfWanders]

this opened my eyes a bit more to the ways people influence our view of the world with the most mundane of things/concepts

[@GeographyGeek]

Will definitely use this for my 8th grade geography class as a review.

[@regetonkevin2]

I’ve been waiting so long for this one. I’m glad it’s finally out. :)

[@MysticVokkai]

I'm loving this series so far! I wonder if she'll discuss mental maps that govern our perceptions of reality and others

[@ParadymShiftVegan]

Brilliant episode once again CC. Thanks so much for this *GOLD!* I'll join your patreon community once I have a job again (; I was really impressed with this episode all around once again! y'all definitely have some of the best teaching content online, bar none. I'm super thankful to have access to such in-depth and valuable information. sending all the good vibes your way 😁✌️☮️🌍💯

[@FlesHBoX]

The graphic of someone rowing a sailing boat backwards broke my brain, lol

[@Ranger_Omar]

I will love this series just as much as astronomy. Also I did a lot of research on coffee bean production is being affected by climate change. I thought I would not see any more coffee bean maps anymore, I was wrong lol. Great video

[@TheMattastic]

I have a great world map from the year I was born on my wall which I rescued when my parents were clearing out some old junk. The USSR is extremely prominent on it, but it also has some other interesting Cold War choices, like Germany being displayed as a singular country (same colour for both halves and a singular label, and the division marked with a dotted line).

[@Krustenkaese92]

4:10 "But it's a simplification that could mislead someone if they're not paying close attention... like we are." Oh wow, she described all my high school years in one sentence :O

[@camiloiribarren1450]

This is so good to learn. Thank you so much

[@emitain8408]

Lol Canada is of the darkest countries for the coffee map. We stand on guard for coffee! Jk

[@Sw-qc1zo]

Excited for this series! Just think it's unfair to say paiting the USSR as red on a map is propaganda as red was their national color.

[@chrissiek8706]

Reminded me of West Wing episode, where Josh and CG meets cartographers for social equality society, and CG reaction at the end 😅

[@stefanexplores]

I love geography

[@lhfirex]

I remember being surprised the first time I saw a world map when I was living in Japan, but then realizing why it was different. Instead of the UK at the center of the map, it's Japan. Makes sense, really. I imagine most countries would use a world map that doesn't subtly imply the British are the center of the world.

[@PaulaBean]

It's more like the traditional maps depict Europe as the center. Perhaps because the Roman Empire was located in Europe?

[@nahnan2278]

oh I love this so much!!!! I almost skipped this video bc maps seem so self-explanatory but this was actually very enlightening :)

[@kristinaluginina3437]

I love you so much guys, thank you for what you do.

[@evster7flick]

Well this is a strange episode of Map Men

[@semaj_5022]

I love this! I love geography period and I really like the way this course is presented. I can't wait for each new episode :)

[@joshuawalker7054]

Umm, the hammer and sickle was to show unification of the farmer and the working class. -- However, as an 80s kid the symbol was used by media to look "scary" to Americans, so I see were you were coming from, but the presentation seemed a little glib.

[@mikeroni]

This episode got me thinking, I’d love to see a crash course on Data Analysis at some point! It’s becoming an essential skill for the workforce, especially after the pandemic. Let me know if I can help!

[@miguelangelguevara1586]

Very nice episode! But i would have liked a little more info about the types of projections.

[@koenn]

A miserable pile of secrets. But enough talk, have at you!

[@danhorus]

"A miserable little pile of folded paper"

[@alexwixom4599]

No, you won't be going bananas, you'll be going chom-choms!

[@brainwashed8174]

I love this course.

[@OmarOmar-up9yb]

There is a lot of vocabulary in the video which will be very helpful thanks

[@rownrown]

This was very eye-opening. The most important thing I learned is to never forget that maps are merely "representations" or just "ways of looking at the world" and therefore we shouldn't confuse a representation for reality itself - which I really have done being as geographically illiterate as I am. And HOW a certain aspect of reality is represented depends upon the goal of the cartographer with the map. They will often end up distorting other aspects of reality in their representation in order to emphasize the aspect they want to. Therefore when looking at a map also never forget what goal that particular map was made for. Because if I end up ignorantly repurposing that map for a different goal - for example using that population cartogram to inform myself of the physical size of a country - then I'll be grossly misled in my understanding. The mercator projection was made with goal of navigation in mind. But it so happened that people ended up using it ignorantly for education instead - and now we have all been misled about the true size of countries near the poles. In the end its a good idea to look at a variety of different maps or "representations" of a place so that we don't repeat the same mistakes like in the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Its somewhat like Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Adichie say about needing "a balance of stories" to not have a incomplete or distorted view of a place and its people

[@littleman25]

I enjoy this

[@TheNoladrummer]

I’m loving this course so much. I’m glad that CC was able to reboot it. Maps and geography shape our perceptions and our perceptions also shape our maps and geography. So much to unpack!

[@karolinamikesova]

What is map? Baby, don't lost me Don't lost me No more

[@MrCaboose]

Truly, humour is subjective. Eugh...

[@yodathedog55]

This is actually good

[@rownrown]

Also interesting that the coffee belt is pretty much just the tropics huh? I guess it again has to to do with how the geography of places inside the tropics (all of the direct, concentrated sunlight and decent rainfall from convection of the hot humid air) encourages coffee growth

[@makssrodionovs5887]

We should just get rid of maps and use globes which are far superior. Down with maps! -this post was made by Globe Gang

[@joostvanrens]

Agreed, now I just need a spherical smart phone to use my navigation app

[@TheMagicOfReality1]

good job u guys

[@erickyariikechukwu9399]

it helped me understand maps better

[@sshshsddhxhd4122]

Who is that guy disliking crash course. Guys I love this channel .Its best for poor students . Don't dislike plz.

[@kevinconrad6156]

I also don't understand the dislikes on channels like this. However, my understanding is that a dislike and a like are the same to the YT algorithm.

[@unkknown89]

Very informative, user friendly and entertaining. Loved the gesture made at the end of the video

[@ltaylor9704]

Winkel-triple projection for the win!

[@billytrespassers3123]

Just so we're all on the same page, the hammer and sickle represent industry and agriculture respectively.

[@Ullmannite]

When is Crash Course Geology coming?

[@MrARock001]

Interesting choice for a geography course to use a Mercator projection.

[@mizterlj3168]

Haven't been on this channel in a min

[@metasamsara]

I really enjoyed this video. I think covering map making history for video games/world design would be really interesting. Like how it's been approached throughout gaming history, but also what makes a good world and what doesn't, and how it can be used to influence the experience. I'm not sure it's within the scope of this channel but I would very much enjoy it personally. I see you have videos about AI and also engineering so maybe there's hope :3

[@kryptid348]

I have never been more excited for a crash course series! Thank you for the inclusion

[@amasulem]

Yellow nails are awesome.

[@ecantrell983]

Thank you Crash Course for more awesome content!

[@alias7237]

This is the cuttest Banana I've ever seen.

[@qwertyman1511]

don't you mean chomchom?

[@ioan_jivan]

Man, I just love maps

[@hrcnhntr613]

"So this blue part is obviously the land" -Buster Bluth

[@babluprasad813]

Wait why can't we see the playlist of crashcourse psychology, sociology, artificial intelligence, etc on the playlist tab of the channel. Is this some error?

[@jeremiasrobinson]

I love this channel. Too bad that no matter what someone says about it they get attacked in the comment section.

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

Coffee is awesome and I check where my coffee comes 4rm.

[@bullrun2772]

What about fictional maps just wondering

[@elenasimon1270]

Your maps remind me of graphs. Can you explain the difference?

[@chriselectric2883]

I like the map that showed the bean belt

[@ArtofHacksCentral]

Crash course is awesome 👍 interesting learning contents ever..

[@RexyOp-ts1yd]

Who here is here for school

[@patrickmeehan6856]

Thanks for this! How about a video about China's idea of which country 'belongs' to it and which doesn't? Odds are, that video would never be shown in China!

[@ahorrell]

You wanna talk about political maps - google Nine Dash Line. Who knew that nine little dashes could cause so much trouble

[@shannilam9382]

5th!

[@JanetPhoenix]

Wow I learned a lot 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@davidlalremruata]

Latte matte datte...just boil milk and mix it with Nescafe. That's the only coffee the world ever needs😃

[@joefoster5669]

Nice Mongols use @1.54

[@rbnumbs5853]

more videos like that

[@mathfincoding]

Anyone remember the chom chom days?

[@crystalward1444]

This was great, thanks for slowing the pace a bit. The dots representing populations was a good point, because there's not 100,000 people living in Prince Rupert.

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

thank you nice people.

[@BasementRuthie]

I think my favourite maps are topographical maps. I love being able to "see" the steepness and shape of the mountains and landscape in 2D.

[@awilnour3658]

Map is 🌏

[@fesimco4339]

The hammer and sickle in USSR iconography had nothing to do with weapons or the scythe of death. They were the tools of the proletariat and a symbol of their victory over the bourgeois.

[@docvideo93]

If this series talks about in detail about human geography, I'll cry of happiness

[@johnkappel63]

What is a map? A miserable pile of secrets!

[@cidnep]

re Antártica: Nothing contained in the present treaty shall be interpreted as: (a) a renunciation by any Contracting Party of previously asserted rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;

[@Phoenix-Handle]

What is a map? How is a map? Who is a map? Why is a map? Where is the map?

[@mejrimouhamedali1011]

Make your life easier

[@OrenLikes]

why are you taking the long route? turn left when you leave your house (then right at the T, left at the X and the rest like your original longer route)...

[@crystalward1444]

maybe she likes the cat and flowers?

[@ReverendMeat51]

Maps can lie sometimes. For population density you may get the idea Australia is mostly empty but according to all my Australian friends they are in fact quite full

[@isabelasabbatini4431]

The scythe is a symbol of death to strike fear in Americans?? I thought it was, you know, an utensil peasants used in their daily lives, and so a symbol of work and workers taking over the means of production...?

[@dentescare]

Peru being inside the bean belt and having a very low coffee consumption: stonks

[@sceptre1067]

reminds me of the map showing Napoleon’s 1812 march to Russia - www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/posters - done as an anti war message

[@urooj09]

I don't really mind but the population density map was wrong as per Indian standards because it shows Kashmir as part of pakistan whereas it is a disputed territory. You can correct it if you want but i don't think many Indians like us would have a problem.

[@_DiJiT]

All i know is people really really hate them on Twitter

[@red__guy]

Here is the girl and here is the map: 🎵 Map girl map girl map map map girl girl🎵

[@mikelemancuso4642]

The world needed a geography crash course

[@jamesnowak13]

A graphical representation of a portion of the earths surface as seen from above. Boom. Saved you some time.

[@LuisAldamiz]

1:05 - What city is in that map? It looks a lot like mine, Bilbao, but it's not quite right in the details.

[@user-sb7bo2ez7f]

its very fantastic