5 ms·
It's a matter of people imputing notions of "special" where they don't belong. Hence the importance of "proof" in math. ETA: People are surprised that they can
by ctdonath 15y ago
It's a matter of people imputing notions of "special" where they don't belong. Hence the importance of "proof" in math.
ETA: People are surprised that they can turn a sweater inside-out thru a sleeve or neck hole ONLY because they've imputed a "special" ability to the largest hole in the garment. The mathematical concept of "proof" strips away such imputations, leaving surprisingly unsurprising results - in this case, you can reverse a garment by pulling it thru one of its holes, be it the largest, smallest, or even a tear, because they're all just holes with nothing inherently topologically special about them. In a larger social concept: people tend to impute special attributes to various things where such attribution is not warranted; people who understand the concept of mathematical proof are less likely to get caught up in such incorrect imputation.
- xyzzyz 15y agoI didn't quite get your comment (I'm a non-native speaker). Could you please be more elaborate?
- karamazov 15y agoIt's not because you're a non-native speaker - that comment doesn't make sense.
- wging 15y agoThe comment is basically saying that the size of a hole in a surface is irrelevant, but people incorrectly assume it matters.
- jacobolus 15y agoCtdonath was claiming that many people notice that a shirt can be turned inside-out through the main hole at the bottom, or a glove through the wrist hole. Far fewer people try turning a shirt inside-out through a sleeve or neck hole, or a pair of pants through a rip in the knee. They then abstract the wrong way from this experience, inventing the idea that the size of the hole is important (or maybe just that the “main” hole is special). I’m not sure how prevalent these misconceptions are. It would be interesting to do surveys of the general public to see what kinds of mental models people have here.
- philwelch 15y agoIf you actually tried to turn a pair of pants inside out through a rip in the knee, the rip might get bigger. In fact, it almost certainly would. Likewise for turning a sweater inside-out through the neck hole, it would stretch it out a bit. Yes, it's mathematically possible but there are real reasons people don't treat their clothes that way even if they know they can.
- Aloisius 15y agoWho are these people who are surprised that you can turn a sweater inside-out through other holes? To verify, I just went around my office and asked a couple people if they thought you could. Every person answered yes.
- olavk 15y agoA kid, according to the story.
- primecommenter 15y ago... who, according to the story, asked why, expressing approval and amusement, but not surprise.
- raverbashing 15y agoActually, in real clothes it would be difficult to turn it inside out through a small tear Topologically possible, but with a physical constraint (or more likely, you increase the tear trying to do it)
- psyconn 15y agoI would further argue that there is a special size of the hole beyond which turning a thing inside out takes less than optimal time. I don't know the math, but empirical data seems to confirm the hypothesis so maybe someone can provide the math name of the special hole.
- olavk 15y agoYou cant turn a pair of trousers inside out through the belt loops though.
- jcitme 15y agoYes you can, provided the belt loop is big enough.