Four Colors Suffice: How the Map Problem Was Solved - Revised Color Edition
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Four Colors Suffice: How the Map Problem Was Solved - Revised Color Edition

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Four Colors Suffice: How the Map Problem Was Solved - Revised Color EditionOn October 23, 1852, Professor Augustus De Morgan wrote a letter to a colleague, unaware that he was launching one of the most famous mathematical conundrums in history one that would confound thousands of puzzlers for more than a century. This is the amazing story of how the map problem was solved. The problem posed in the letter came from a former student: What is the least possible number of colors needed to fill in any map (real or invented) so

On October 23, 1852, Professor Augustus De Morgan wrote a letter to a colleague, unaware that he was launching one of the most famous mathematical conundrums in history--one that would confound thousands of puzzlers for more than a century. This is the amazing story of how the map problem was solved.

The problem posed in the letter came from a former student: What is the least possible number of colors needed to fill in any map (real or invented) so that neighboring counties are always colored differently? This deceptively simple question was of minimal interest to cartographers, who saw little need to limit how many colors they used. But the problem set off a frenzy among professional mathematicians and amateur problem solvers, among them Lewis Carroll, an astronomer, a botanist, an obsessive golfer, the Bishop of London, a man who set his watch only once a year, a California traffic cop, and a bridegroom who spent his honeymoon coloring maps. In their pursuit of the solution, mathematicians painted maps on doughnuts and horseshoes and played with patterned soccer balls and the great rhombicuboctahedron.

It would be more than one hundred years (and countless colored maps) later before the result was finally established. Even then, difficult questions remained, and the intricate solution--which involved no fewer than 1,200 hours of computer time--was greeted with as much dismay as enthusiasm.

Providing a clear and elegant explanation of the problem and the proof, Robin Wilson tells how a seemingly innocuous question baffled great minds and stimulated exciting mathematics with far-flung applications. This is the entertaining story of those who failed to prove, and those who ultimately did prove, that four colors do indeed suffice to color any map.

This new edition features many color illustrations. It also includes a new foreword by Ian Stewart on the importance of the map problem and how it was solved.-- "Booklist"

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 11/10/2013
ISBN: 9780691158228
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.33h x 6.13w x 0.47d
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SKU: 8803066326

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Long review: TLDR; it’s cute, pretty durable, tiny but spacious, and handy! First, I feel I should mention—it’s very tiny! I didn’t look at the dimensions, so that’s my fault, haha, not taking points off for it lol. It’s not big enough to fit, say an iPad Pro, but maybe a mini! It’s height is probably enough for a small book, and it’s width is definitely enough for a regular sized book. Also the length from back to front of the bag: it’s very thick! So it fits a lot for the size. It fits my about 1.5 inch thick wallet (about 5-6 inches long), my keys, a mini hairbrush, and a bag I use with toiletries like pads/tampons, mini body spray, mini hand cream, a tiny metal wallet with bandaids, hair ties, q-tips, and cotton rounds, and a couple chapsticks. The front pocket is pretty spacious too, as it fits my AirPods with a case and a bunch of keychains and dangly things on it. The straps are long and adjustable. It looks easy to clean but I haven’t spilled anything or gotten anything on it so it’s a little hard to say. I’ve included a video and pictures for reference! It came pretty smushed and squashed into a flat little pancake but it only took a little while to go to it’s intended shape. I left it full of stuff to mold it overnight (like if you stuff it gently/loosely with, say, a t-shirt or two overnight, it’ll morph into the right shape) The puff ball is cute, and it’s staying on pretty well, but the elastic thing holding it on is slowly stretching a little so it doesn’t look like it’s glued on like I liked at first, but it still looks good! It’s lasted a while now, probably a few months with no issues. Basically, I like it and it’s handy for going to the mall or store, or if you bring very small stuff to the amusement park. (It won’t fit a water bottle, but it’ll fit smaller stuff) In the video, I showed me unpacking all the stuff it can fit, and in the first picture is all that stuff. In the second picture I show the size of my 12.9 inch iPad Pro to as comparison, and in the third picture I show how it barely doesn’t fit. Hope this helps!!
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