this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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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?

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[–] candybrie@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago (8 children)

The answer depends on the context. Topologically, it's one. I personally like zero. If I say "There's a hole in my straw!" You'll not think all straws have holes. You'll think there's something wrong with it.

[–] papalonian@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

A cup is essentially a self-contained hole that we pour stuff in, but if I say there's a hole in my cup you'd know what I meant

[–] motsu@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

From a topology perspective, a cup does not have a hole. A mug does, but its the hole that the handle makes, not the area containing liquid.

[–] Badass_panda@lemmy.fmhy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

I see a lot of folks referencing topology, but clearly topology is not a particularly good go-to for how to talk about holes.

  • From a topological perspective, a hole in the ground isn't a hole... But you can still fall into it.

  • From a topological perspective, a hole in your logic isn't a hole -- but you can still have one.

Clearly we're talking linguistically, not topologically.

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