Harry Beck designed the first London Underground map in 1933. In doing so, he broke the most hallowed rule of the time that geographical accuracy is fundamental to a map. But what does a Tube passenger actually need to know? Certainly whether or not two stations are linked. The order of stations on a line is also helpful. You may be able to think of others. Beck produced a map which is very easy to read, and which contains all the information the traveller needs. Topology is a branch of mathematics sometimes known as ‘rubber sheet geometry’. Shapes which can be stretched, one to the other, are said to be equivalent. Thus exact shape and distance become irrelevant here.
