The sun is shining and the world is open to you – the road awaits and you maybe off on a road trip, did you look at a map before you leave? Most people do, unless they are planning on going the same way as they did before. Have you ever thought about the map or atlas? who drew them? who was the first? what skills were needed? what was going on in the world and did the person actually have to travel around the world to know? The book Mercator – the Man who mapped the planet by Nicolas Crane first published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (paperback by Phoenix in 2003) London UK, 2002. Many of the above questions are answered and the story is very interesting. Gerard Mercator was the gentleman’s name, born in modern-day Belgium, a cobbler’s son was able to go to university  to study mathematics. His gift was to use the skills to map making from which font the print should be and works best on the globes of the world. In the 1500’s the globe has still an unknown because the travelled areas of the world were the trade routes from Europe south to Asia with North and South American only recently discovered or at least the Atlantic side known, the Pacific side was thought to be closer to Asia than is reality.

One of the hardest aspects of being a map maker in those times is whatever we are, we believe we are in the center of the universe (or least our universe), one can easily imagine a king who commissions the work of a globe expecting to see his country larger than what it really is. One can also easily imagine the institutions of the day not wanting to see too much change from their perspectives for it was not so long ago people believed the world was flat, now they were finding out the world is round. Also who was to pay for the time and effort needed to make a globe? who was the patron or as long as the state was in good standing, things were fine.

In the years that followed the globes became better because errors become clearer with the knowledge of magnetism. Mercator had increasingly absorbed by the nature and location of the magnetic pole and the behaviour of the compass needle at various points of the earth’s surface. It changes and if you were on a sailing ship and did not take it account, you would miss your mark.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, when you do make your investments you need a map, but which type of map are you using? Is your map updated? is it leading you astray? things change in the world and economic cycles changes communities in the area. It is why sticking to the best companies often makes you the most money in the long-term.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.