Using max() and min() to find extrema

The max() and min() functions have a dual life. They are simple functions that apply to collections. They are also higher-order functions. We can see their default behavior as follows:

>>> max(1, 2, 3)
3
>>> max((1,2,3,4))
4

Both functions will accept an indefinite number of arguments. The functions are designed to also accept a sequence or an iterable as the only argument and locate the max (or min) of that iterable.

They also do something more sophisticated. Let's say we have our trip data from the examples in Chapter 4, Working with Collections. We have a function that will generate a sequence of tuples that looks as follows:

(((37.54901619777347, -76.33029518659048), (37.840832, -76.273834), 17.7246), ((37.840832, -76.273834), (38.331501, -76.459503), 30.7382), ((38.331501, -76.459503), (38.845501, -76.537331), 31.0756), ((36.843334, -76.298668), (37.549, -76.331169), 42.3962), ((37.549, -76.331169), (38.330166, -76.458504...