The Science of Game of Thrones

Valar more-curious!

↓ More info and sources below ↓

WINTER:
Why those other reasons are wrong:

GEOLOGY:

VALYRIAN STEEL:

DRAGON FIRE:

DRAGON FLIGHT:

WILDFIRE:

MILK OF POPPY:

THE WALL:

DIRE WOLVES:

REAL-LIFE CHARACTERS:

Joe Hanson - Host and writer
Joe Nicolosi - Director
Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
Katie Graham - Director of Photography
Edited by Stephanie Noone and Kirby Conn from Arts & Labor
John Knudsen - Gaffer

Music:
"Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod

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[heartfthedragn]

I think I saw a theory on dragons once, that proposed a very interesting and plausible solution to the 'too heavy to fly problem'. It basically said that dragons have a large side section of their stomachs (similar to fish with their air bladder), that is filled with methane, built by bacteria, while processing their food. 
Because methane is lighter than air, it would provide lift for them, as long as their floatation bladders are full. 
They can then, in need, expel (burp out) the methane and ignite it from a spark in their mouths and create the 'breathing fire' thing. 
Side note: That would mean that, if they breathe fire too much, they would use up their methane and would be unable to fly until they eat again and let the bacteria refill their supplies.

[Swift_LN]

Bran (The first Stark) the Builder who built the wall and all the holds in the north requested from the dying race of the children of the forest to enchant the wall with magic so it would never melt and repel evil creatures.

So yeah the Wall is magicks.

[nundalatacama]

“There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other. Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous."
- Raymond Chandler.

[haibigboy]

While we see dragons as ridiculous, people of Westeros are laughing at the idea of making a steel bird that flies.

[Chemson]

There is only one god and his name is GRRM, we only say one thing to GRRM, "finish your next book"

[manband]

There is a logical explanation as to why the seasons last as long as they do. Its a very simple form of magic that can cast a great shadow over everything in the GoT universe. It's name? Plot device! :D

[RobbieBackpacking]

Mars is going to have to take a seat. We're going to planet Hodor first lol.

[MeepChangeling]

For a show whose tagline is "Its OK to be smart" you sure did make a big mistake about Damascus steel. We know how to make it, I have several knives made from it, I have made it myself in my little hobbyist forge. You take three rods of crucible steel and two rods of plane old iron, tie them together with some wire, heat them up to white hot and then twist them all together much like steel cable, you then forge weld the twisted rods into a single bar or billet and BOOM Damascus steel. If you want the pretty pattern after all other forging steps you wash the blade in a mild acid.

[DrowseProductions]

One thing I found interesting that not too many people have brought up about the world in Game of Thrones is how the continent of Westeros is oriented vertically.

To my understanding Westeros and the civilizations that live there are based off of Europe. In Jared Diamonds book Guns, Germs, and Steel he talks about one of the reasons why European societies were successful was do to the horizontal orientation of Europe which gave the whole continent a very similar climate throughout. This allowed for easy trade and more importantly the spread of agriculture.

If we look at the Americas which are vertically oriented like Westeros we see that agricultural goods were rarely traded between the civilisations of North and South America because of the different climates which separated them.

Climate is for the most part based on latitude and since Europe is horizontal in a climate zone that is relatively mild this allowed for the easy cultivation and spread of crops. Less effort it takes to grow food the more time and energy a civilization can put into other aspects such as infrastructure and trade. 

Going up and down on longitude we see many different climate zones in the Americas such as deserts, tropical jungles and mild grasslands. Trading crops through these different climates would be difficult for a pre-industrial civilization and even if Native American societies were able to many tropical plants won't grow in the milder climates of North America such bananas and pineapples.

My point is that the same natural obstacles that inhibited the Native Americans from creating large kingdoms in the Americas would also inhibit the inhabitants of Westeros from doing the same.

[ArcaneEther]

From reading the books, I've always thought that "Winter is coming" and "Lasting Summer" were simply metaphors for times war and times of peace, respectively. I never gave it much thought that they were actual seasonal shifts.

[arfived]

Martin has confirmed that the seasons thing has a magical explanation, and the geological history assumes that planet Hodor has the same geological processes as Earth, something that I don't believe Mars or Venus have.

In terms of the "science" of GoT, it would be useful to treat magic as a substance with certain qualities, rather than a get-out-of-jail-free card for writers.

[Borzogo]

For the people turning away upon the spoiler alert: The Spoilers aren't plot related. They are minor and don't spoil anything beyond season 1. They are related to the environment, objects and creatures, not the characters.

[Klespyrian]

Science doesn't have a place in full-on fantasy shows that don't take place in worlds like ours, but adding science of our world to a show like Game of Thrones makes the experience more rich because a reason why, and answers to how will always make something a lot more real and immersive.

[MessiahComing]

Martin has been very clear that the seasons are magical and that there are reports of regular seasons in the ancient past.

[joelb]

PLANET HODOR

That needs to be cannonized

[sepioify]

The wall is protected by a magical spells that's why it doesn't collapse

[pollytheparrot]

0:36
Oh man. the thought of George R. R. Martin as the only god in your universe is terrifying.

[rahuldhargalkar]

That was an amazing video! Thank you PBS Studios and Mr Hanson (I don't know your first name as of now). I knew 40-50% of the info that you mentioned before watching this video but the way it was presented, the humor and the scientific angles, made this video worth watching and more importantly, it makes you THINK. I'm glad to know that there is something good out there. kudos to the last quote!

[saysHotdogs]

I totally agree. References to real history and science in fantasy fiction makes the story so much better and more relatable. I like to look at the maps and compare each area to one in the real world. For example, Westeros looks a lot like England. It was also divided into 7 kingdoms before Alfred the Great, just like Westeros. It was East Anglia, Northumberland, Essex, Kent, Mercia and Sussex. Essos is like Eurasia, Sothoyros is like Africa and Ulthos like Australia (though I have no idea what's going on with Ulthos and it might be more like Africa in just going by animals and location. Sothoryos and Ultos fascinate the hell out of me.
Anyway I could blather on but yes, real life science and history behind fantasy is great

[LaughingMan]

The cool thing is that all the aspects of the universe in the books that aren't scientifically possible ARE magical in nature within said universe. Dragons are fire bound to stone by magic, the wall is a magical barrier to the North etc etc. I think it works nicely, it also explains the Maester's hatred of magic as ''fairy-tales''.