Pioneered by Menelaus of Alexandria in the first century CE, spherical geometry can be a little disconcerting. It is two-dimensional: for example, longitude and latitude are enough to locate any point on the sphere's surface.
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The best-known maps are based on the famous Mercator projection, named after its Flemish creator, who worked in the early Renaissance. Yet this projection relies on mathematical concepts developed well after the scholar’s death! So how could he have constructed his world map?
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