A map that shows mountains and roads in Xigu Cheng

Maps, Power, and Identity

The Ancient East Asian Maps Collection at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology demonstrates the power held and discursive work done by mapmakers.
A hand holding a magnifying glass looking at pages with different fonts

The Font Detectives

For typography experts like Thomas Phinney, the history of the printed word is crucial to weeding out fraud.
Book of Curiosities

Ancient Maps Are Mirrors for the Ancient Psyche

The Book of Curiosities of the Sciences, and Marvels for the Eyes, an eleventh-century Arabic geography, is still a wonder.
Pokemon Gym at the peak of Zion Observation Point

Mapping the Future with Pokémon Go

Is Pokémon Go is preparing us for a world without cartography?
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Caption: Alfred McEwen

The Canals of Mars

We now know there's liquid water on Mars, according to NASA. But at the turn of the 20th century, we believed something else: that Mars had canals.