How long are the Indus and Brahmaputra (Was re: question)

[Gunthard Mueller]

That was a very thoughtful message.

On a more flippant note: I thought the Indus kept changing its bed,
thus creating continuous political and military upheaval where
it is considered the political border...

Mathematically, I think one way of doing it would be to decide
on a common resolution (or fractal scale) for both rivers
(assuming that rivers have comparable curving properties),
then vectorize.
I would venture a guess that there is probably a geometrical
standard for this type of resolution, because otherwise relative
geometry would be difficult.

I promise I won't produce any more silly input on this issue...
Yours,
Gunthard

gm at e-ternals.com

Harry Spier wrote:

> Rajesh Kochhar wrote:
>
> Of the two Himalayan rivers Indus and Brahmaputra ( both about 1800miles /
> 2900km ) which one is  the longer and by how much?
>
> Allen Thrasher wrote:
>
> This question should be answerable by a consultation of an
> encyclopedia, a world almanac, or a visit to your university or public
> library.  It is an easy one by that route ...
>
> I thought the mathematicians on the list would jump on this.  The question
> of how long is a river is not that simple a question.  Because the shape of
> a river is whats known as a "fractal" the length of the river depends on the
> scale at which the measurement is taken (in a much more fundamental way than
> just the accuracy of the measuring device).  I.e. a river curves back and
> forth and as you go to finer and finer scales it still curves back and forth
> so the length keeps increasing.
>
> See  http://life.csu.edu.au/complex/tutorials/tutorial3.html
> (For "How long is the coast of Britain?" substitute "How long is the Indus
> river?".)
>
> Or better yet see "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" by Mandelbrot .
>
> Best,
>
> Harry Spier
> 371 Brickman Rd.
> Hurleyville, New York
> USA 12747
>
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