Mapmatics - BookWyrm

English language

Published 2024 by Pan Macmillan.

ISBN:: 978-1-0350-0705-9

(2 reviews)

How does a delivery driver distribute hundreds of packages in a single working day? Why does remote Alaska have such a large airport? Where should we look for elusive serial killers? The answers lie in the crucial connection between maps and maths.

In Mapmatics, Dr Paulina Rowińska embarks on a fascinating journey to discover the mathematical foundations of cartography and cartographical influences on mathematics. From a sixteenth-century map that remains an indispensable navigation tool despite emphasizing the North-South divide, and maps of voting districts that can empower or silence whole communities, to public transport maps that both guide and mislead passengers, she reveals how maps and maths shape not only our sense of space and time but also our worldview.

Through entertaining stories, surprising real-world examples and a cast of unforgettable characters, Mapmatics helps us to appreciate the mathematical methods and ideas behind maps. And, by illuminating how our world …

How does a delivery driver distribute hundreds of packages in a single working day? Why does remote Alaska have such a large airport? Where should we look for elusive serial killers? The answers lie in the crucial connection between maps and maths.

In Mapmatics, Dr Paulina Rowińska embarks on a fascinating journey to discover the mathematical foundations of cartography and cartographical influences on mathematics. From a sixteenth-century map that remains an indispensable navigation tool despite emphasizing the North-South divide, and maps of voting districts that can empower or silence whole communities, to public transport maps that both guide and mislead passengers, she reveals how maps and maths shape not only our sense of space and time but also our worldview.

Through entertaining stories, surprising real-world examples and a cast of unforgettable characters, Mapmatics helps us to appreciate the mathematical methods and ideas behind maps. And, by illuminating how our world works, leaves us better equipped to understand and look after it.

2 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Mapmatics by Paulina Rowinska

An Engaging Ride Through the Development of Geographic Maps

4 stars

This book is an incredible journey for how maps have been conceptualized and developed throughout history, eventually getting to more abstract map types and applications of map-based visualization and analysis. Rowinska does a great job grounding why certain map types were created and how their acceptance can warp societal activities when their methodology is misunderstood. I did find the sections on applications of maps to be a bit extraneous, I would've preferred more time on different kinds of maps that weren't examined here. Still highly recommend

Ben Waber

rated it

July 4

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