# The Four-Color Map Problem

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-color-map-problem/139091>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [November 27, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-color-map-problem/139091 "2002-11-27T12:45:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![elestat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@elestat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elestat)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-color-map-problem/139091/41 "2003-04-04T17:15:45Z")

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(I know this is old stuff but…)

There is a profound misunderstanding among participants here.  
They use the word “map” in a different meaning. To the mathies and the theorem, it means a topological concept, a kind of graph.  
To the laymen, it means the depiction of a geographical layout of countries.

There is an overlap between the two concepts. The metropolitan US map is one example of both concepts.

But, of course, as soon as one deviate from these common features, people do not understand each other.

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