Portraits of the earth - Timothy G. Feeman
a mathematician looks at maps
KORTE INHOUD
``Every map is a tool, a product of human effort and creativity, that represents some aspects of our world or universe ... [This] course was powered by the belief that by exploring the mathematical ideas involved in creating and analyzing maps, students would see how mathematics could help them to understand and explain their world.'' -from the Preface Portraits of the Earth exemplifies the AMS's mission to bring the power and vitality of mathematical thought to the nonexpert. It isdesigned to teach students to think logically and to analyze the technical information that they so readily encounter every day. Maps are exciting, visual tools that we encounter on a daily basis: from street maps to maps of the world accompanying news stories to geologic maps depicting theunderground structure of the earth. This book explores the mathematical ideas involved in creating and analyzing maps, a topic that is rarely discussed in undergraduate courses. It is the first modern book to present the famous problem of mapping...