• Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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    6 hours ago

    And yet each indentation could hold something, like cheese or a kitten, so each indentation in functionally different from a smooth surface.

    Deforming a shape changes it, thus topology is a special case of specifically ignoring most aspects of a shape.

    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      But more importantly, calling any indentation a “hole” is a case of specifically ignoring the special significance of actual holes. You can’t pass through an indentation.

      • aMockTie@piefed.world
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        4 hours ago

        If you were to tell an average English speaker that you were going to dig an indentation, chances are high that they would misinterpret your meaning.

        On the other hand, if you told them that you were going to dig a “blind hole,” I imagine they would have a much better understanding of your meaning and you would still be technically correct.

      • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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        5 hours ago

        That’s why we have the compound word “through-hole”.

        90% of important parts on living things are pockets and manipulations of surface area, two things completely ignored by topology. Topology is interesting mathematically, and has meaning for traversal and knot problems, but it’s not really useful to describe reality.

        • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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          5 hours ago

          That’s why we have a diverse set of words such as “divot,” “indentation,” “pit,” “well,” and so much more!

          Topology is a component of the language called “mathematics” we use to understand, describe, and model reality in concrete terms.