Maths and Geography are different disciplines that meet in multiple places, like different countries that share a border.
I’ve always been fascinated by Geography (in particular, maps) and maths, and so the release of a new book about both excited me.
Paulina Rowińska’s Mapmatics is an intriguing and entertaining read.
This fascinating book leads us through the connections between these two disciplines, in an engaging and illuminating way.
In a pleasingly personable style, Rowińska takes us on a journey through centuries of Mapmatical history; from Eratosthenes estimating the circumference of the Earth more than 2,000 years ago, to how maps and GPS is key to the future of self-drive cars.
The book explains with clarity and depth all the various (and ultimately flawed) attempts cartographers have made to represent the surface of the globe on a flat surface. But we also go far beyond the Earth’s surface and learn how maths is used to help map the Earth’s interior, the depths of the ocean and even inform our understanding of Mars.
Via the medium of maps, Rowińska introduces the reader to a wide range of mathematics. We learn about the topologically accurate (but not geographically accurate) tube map (fit for purpose because when travelling by tube we care more about connections than locations), and how using the space-filling curve from fractal maths allowed some Meals on Wheels drivers in the US to deliver their hot meals in a relatively efficient way, whilst eliminating time spent deciding on the routes.
The book is as thought-provoking as it is informative; Rowińska demonstrates how different map projections might change the way we think about different parts of the world, which can have social and political consequences. The reader is encouraged to be a ‘conscious map consumer’ aware of ‘what the map’s author wants us to see and what she prefers to hide’.
And on Gerrymandering – we see examples of how the drawing of boundaries for school attendance zones in the US had played a part in systematically segregating different groups, but also how some districts had begun to actively redraw boundaries to ‘promote integration rather than segregation’.
The power of maps clearly goes much further than just showing us where stuff is, and Rowińska does a fantastic job revealing all, whilst also delighting in the mathematics involved at every turn.
I’d highly recommend giving Mapmatics a read.