Mountains are usually measured by their height, but should height be measured from the center of the earth, from sea level (not possible on Mars), or from the surrounding terrain? Besides, a mountain's height is not its only quality. As a Yale mathematics and computer science student, Kai Xu wanted to measure the impressiveness of mountains, or their magnificence to the person looking at them. He came up with a metric that measures a quality he calls a mountain's "jut." It takes into account how steeply a mountain rises from the surrounding terrain, and other factors.
The measure of jut has been gaining respect over the past few years. People are planning trips around a mountain's jut. You can see rankings of jut in this database. Strangely, Mount Everest doesn't rank high at all, although many of the highest rankings can be found in Nepal. You can explore the jut of mountains near you with this interactive map.
Still, "magnificence" is in the eye of the beholder. A visitor's experience can be affected by many things, like the psychological experience of high altitude when viewing Everest. Mount Fuji is familiar, iconic, and beautiful, but it doesn't rank high in jut. Yet sightseers can find wonderful new places to visit by seeking out mountains with high jut rankings. -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Drouyn Cambridge)