EconTalk The Deceptive Power of Maps (with Paulina Rowinska)
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Jun 30, 2025 
Join mathematician Paulina Rowinska, author of *Mapmatics: A Mathematician's Guide to Navigating the World*, as she unveils the fascinating world of maps. Discover why Colorado can have nearly 700 sides and how coastlines can stretch infinitely. Rowinska discusses the deceptive nature of map projections like the Mercator, the evolution of subway maps into user-friendly designs, and the intricate balance of optimizing delivery routes. She also sheds light on how mathematics and innovation can impact public health and crime prevention.
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Maps Distort Reality by Design
- The Earth is spherical but maps are flat, forcing unavoidable distortions in distances or angles due to mathematical constraints.
- Different map projections balance these distortions for various purposes, like navigation versus accurate size representation.
Coastline Length Depends on Scale
- The length of a coastline is not a fixed number but depends on the measurement scale used.
- The smaller the measuring stick, the more detail you capture, increasing the coastline's measured length to potentially infinite.
Colorado Has 697 Sides
- Colorado appears rectangular on maps but actually has about 697 sides due to measurement methods and the Earth's curvature.
- This complex shape arises from real-world terrain and survey imperfections, not a simple geometric polygon.