To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 15:00:05 -0400 Subject: [WSFA] Fw: topology From: ronkean at juno.com Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net> --------- Forwarded message ---------- A World of Doughnuts and Spheres NYT April 20, 2003 By GEORGE JOHNSON Though you might not guess it from trying to read some of the research papers, the whole point of mathematics is to make things simpler. No one has taken this more seriously than the topologists, a rarefied breed of thinkers who insist that the world, however messy and diverse it may appear, is really made of just two basic shapes, the doughnut and the sphere. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/20/weekinreview/20JOHN.html . ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!