How the compass unlocked the world | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

"Everything that we think of as world history would not have taken place without the compass." TED science curator David Biello explains how the device changed our relationship to the world.

Small Thing Big Idea, a TED original series, celebrates the lasting genius of everyday objects so perfectly designed that they changed the world around them.

[Madderthanjoker]

Producer: "Can you edit this video interestingly?"
Editor: *Finishing a line of Colombian Coke - "Yes"

[honkitonki]

Who ever edited this video needs to calm down.

[juliogarcia]

Love this format. Wouldnt mind seeing more like this.

[pyschologygeek]

i hope in 2020 u

learn to love yourself
learn u r worth loving
have more good days than bad
pet a lot of dogs

[christiansoldier]

People still traveled by the sun and moon. The compass just made it easier and more refined

[OldFliersGroup]

The prismatic compass was our tool to navigate through the bush when we were in Air Force cadets. That tool, plus counting steps, generally got us to our destination.

[deanwcampbell]

Got to love those wish, bang, boom sound effects!
I almost lost lost my attention and moved onto a different video, but thank god they kept me staying here.

[joy]

These three minutes clearly shine the spotlight on one of the things we often neglect; allowing us to appreciate their significance in the past and present. Keep bringing more, 👌

[jordanpond]

people knew the earth was a globe before the compass...
since the 5th century BCE, people thought it might be a globe, but then in the 3rd century BCE it was widely considered to be true, and in ~240 BCE Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of this globe

[ecrusch]

Love these 2 or 3 minute videos.
Thank you.

[biggus]

I have a small compass attached to my wrist watch. I don’t do much navigation but I enjoy referencing to it is a move about to know what direction things are from my position. Pretty fun

[jukejeff]

Because a compass magnet's north end points to the north, the north magnetic pole is a south magnet. The south magnetic pole is a north magnet. It couldn't be any other way.

[gutsy]

The compass was at the center of European prosperity. It is the single most valuable device on a ship.

[sailsouthpacific]

The video editing causes me anxiety. I couldn't watch it.

[tomaslopes]

This guy is an incredible professional. He is so good... At pretending he knows anything about eletromagnetism

[bravomike]

Now I know how PewDiePiew keeps finding his house in minecraft whereas I get lost.

[MrEricSir]

Format's a little strange but I'm glad to see a TED navigate away from pre-taped "live." Lectures don't need audience applause to be engaging.

[MirorRflction]

Cool, but isn't electromagnetism the best understood fundamental force tho? Also as others have pointed out, ppl navigated by the sun before compasses

[SageThyme]

compass allowed better navigation but people knew the directions based on the stars and sun long before and after the compass. plus the compass had literally nothing to do with knowing the earth is a globe

[evolvedcopper]

I was reading some school level magnetism and the compass and the earth's magnetic field today and felt like pulling my hair out. This gets uploaded today... right time to put tape over my selfie cam from now on