Back to topics

Can a map contain a point directly above the place it represents?

Lay a smaller map entirely inside the region it represents. Under the right continuity assumptions, at least one point on the map must sit directly above its real location, even when the rest is shifted or rotated.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • Why do tearing the map or moving it outside the represented region change the mathematical question?

Start reading

Ready to try your ideas aloud?

Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.

Maths and statistics

When one long wait changes the average

An average wait can sound straightforward until one person waits much longer than everyone else. The mean and median offer two ways to summarize that same group. Their different responses to an unusually large value raise a practical question: what do we want an average to tell us?

5–7 min
Maths and statistics

How is random sampling different from random assignment?

A study can choose people at random, assign them to groups at random, do both, or do neither. Those choices answer different problems: who the findings may describe, and how fairly the study compares conditions.

3–5 min
Can a map contain a point directly above the place it represents? | Speech Topic | speaking.app