• affiliate@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    a sphere is a plane folded in on itself, and spheres have no (one-dimensional) holes. but spheres do have a two-dimensional hole, which is basically a way of saying they’re hollow.

    a circle is a line folded in on itself, and circles have one (one-dimensional) hole.

    edit: the claim that circles and straws are homotopic is basically a fancy way of saying: “if you place a straw upright on a table and flatten it by smashing your hand down on it, you will end up with a circle.”