Mathematics has been developed at many different places of the world. It has themes in common with both philosophy tourism and science tourism. This article includes attractions that will stretch, entertain, and challenge your brain with mathematical thinking, as well as sites of importance to the history of math.
Mathematically interesting destinations
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Map of Mathematics tourism
- 1 The Alhambra (Granada, Spain). Islamic art is famous for its extensive use of geometric patterns and symmetry groups, and this palace especially so: its intricately tiled designs are said to include all 17 of the mathematically distinct wallpaper patterns. This accomplishment, possibly unique in world architecture, attracted M.C. Escher to Granada to see it.
- 2 Mathematikum (Giessen, Germany). An interactive museum of math and physics just down the road from the main train station.
- 3 National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) (Manhattan/Gramercy Flatiron, New York City, United States). Don't be turned off by the name: this museum isn't trying to teach you arithmetic or algebra, but is instead about exploring the fun side of math, with interactive artistic and mechanical exhibits and puzzles. Knowledgeable staff are happy to explain the mathematical underpinnings if you're interested, but if not, you can enjoy the surprises, creativity, and beauty of the structures and insights on display.
- 4 National Cryptologic Museum (Annapolis Junction, Maryland). Codes and encryption are at the heart of America's most secretive spy agency, which is said to have the most powerful computer network in the world, monitoring international communications and securing national interests. See Enigma machines from WWII, supercomputers from the 1970s, puzzles and mathematical brain teasers. Guided tours are free. Very close to BWI airport.
History of mathematics
[edit]- 5 Great Pyramid of Giza (Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops) (Giza, Egypt). The last surviving representative of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was built around 2500 BC. It was built to a height of 146 m (479 ft), but is now slightly reduced to a still towering 137 m (449 ft). Over 2 million blocks of stone were used to construct it, all through manual labour. While the pyramids and other monuments of ancient Egypt have marvelled posterity, the exact construction methods have been forgotten. Modern scientists have had many hypotheses about how the Pyramids were built, with much evidence that advanced geometry and mechanical devices were applied already in the 3rd millennium BC.
- 6 Pythagoras' cave (Samos, Greece). It was used by Pythagoras as part of initiation of students at an early stage, where they were standing a test. According to local legend, he sought refuge there when he was chased by the tyrant Polycrates prior to his final departure for the Doric city of Croton, in Sicily.
- 7 Ortygia (Siracusa, Italy). Home of Archimedes.
- 8 Museo Galileo (Florence, Italy). This museum shows the evolution of the instruments used in various scientific fields such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy. The room of Galileo Galilei shows some of his original instruments as well as models from his drawings. The room of Spheres and Globes houses an excellent cartographic collection. In a rather macabre twist the museum also has the middle finger of Galileo's right hand on display.
- 9 The Seven Bridges of Königsberg (Kaliningrad, Russia.). In the 17th century, seven bridges traversed the river Pregel in a manner that challenged the citizens to walk across each bridge exactly once. By 1736, Leonhard Euler proved this impossible, calling into question the Aristotelian view that mathematics is the "science of quantity", and inspiring new mathematical fields of graph theory and topology. With only five bridges left as of the 2020s, you can cross each one exactly once, thus completing an Eulerian path.
- 10 Betchley Park (Bletchley, United Kingdom). During World War II this country estate was the headquarters of a code-breaking project named ULTRA. This was a huge triumph for British Intelligence; they broke nearly all the codes used by the Germans and Italians and read most of their supposedly secret communications throughout the war.
See also
[edit]- Astronomy
- Computers
- Gambling
- Golden Age of Modern Physics
- Hacker tourism
- Navigation
- Spies and secrets, concerning cryptography, signals intelligence and other applications of mathematics for national security
- Study abroad
- Touring prestigious and notable universities in the U.S.