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2012 : WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DEEP, ELEGANT, OR BEAUTIFUL EXPLANATION? [1]

In the News [ 27 ] [2]
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Contributors [ 194 ] [3]   |   View All Responses [ 192 ] [4]
[5]
Shing-Tung Yau [5]
Mathematician, Harvard; Co-author, The Shape of Inner Space

A Sphere

Most scientific facts are based on things that we cannot see with the naked eye or hear by our ears or feel by our hands. Many of them are described and guided by mathematical theory. In the end, it becomes difficult to distinguish a mathematical object from objects in nature.

One example is the concept of a sphere. Is the sphere part of nature or it is a mathematical artifact? That is difficult for a mathematician to say. Perhaps the abstract mathematical concept is actually a part of nature. And it is not surprising that this abstract concept actually describes nature quite accurately.

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Links:
[1] https://www.edge.org/annual-question/what-is-your-favorite-deep-elegant-or-beautiful-explanation
[2] https://www.edge.org/inthenews/what-is-your-favorite-deep-elegant-or-beautiful-explanation
[3] https://www.edge.org/contributors/what-is-your-favorite-deep-elegant-or-beautiful-explanation
[4] https://www.edge.org/responses/what-is-your-favorite-deep-elegant-or-beautiful-explanation
[5] https://www.edge.org/memberbio/shing_tung_yau