A good article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about a professor at Tufts University who is applying her understanding of 'metric geometry' to the issue of gerrymandering; specifically using it to help develop a more objective definition of "compactness" that might clarify that meaning in the courts.
She has taken the initiative to create 5-day summer course that focuses hoe mathematicians can better prepare to be expert witnesses. "The first three days of the program will be open to the public and
available online, with lessons that put redistricting in legal,
historical, civil-rights, and mathematical contexts. Attendees of the
program’s final two days will participate in one of three specialized
tracks on giving expert testimony, teaching, and working with
geographic-information systems."
I think this article is a powerful instrument to share with students to illustrate the "real world" application of school subjects and the value of overlapping disciplines, so am sharing it with our math and Social Studies departments.
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