Can we settle this: how many holes does a straw have?
At work we somehow landed on the topic of how many holes a human has, which then evolved into a heated discussion on the classic question of how many holes does a straw have.
I think it's two, but some people are convinced that it's one, which I just don't understand. What are your thoughts?
You are viewing a single comment
Classic topology question. Absolutely one hole; it goes all the way through.
Of course, connotatively, two is a fine assessment, but not in topology.
How many holes does a donut have? Now just try to image the real difference between a straw and a donut. Is there one, aside from deliciousness?
Deliciousness here is only limited by bravery.
That's nice but topology is quite removed from everyday language. A hole in the ground is a hole.
A hole that goes all the way through earth is still one hole
I completely agree. That’s what I’m saying. Topologically if you dig into the earth with a shovel, it hasn’t changed at all; there is no hole, but connotatively there clearly is.
And what I'm saying is that answering this with topology is quite misplaced because topology explicitly doesn't deal with physical objects, ever. It uses very specific abstract definitions which cannot apply to everyday life.
That is not to say it isn't useful. It's an amazing discipline with wide applications, but answering questions about the properties of physical objects is not its intended use.
I was explicit that there are two topics here. You seem to agree. Why you think bringing up topology when asking a famous topology question that people like Riemann have been talking about for a few hundred years is just weird. That's like saying you can't talk about geometry when asking how many sides a house has. Feels very akshually.