3 ms·

Can someone explain the introductory story? Why is it significant that the spaces were finite?

• g33n 12y ago
  From my recollection of topology, finite spaces are mostly useful as demonstrations or counter-examples. So, to illustrate a point about why something isn't true, you might break out a finite space to provide an easy-to-understand means of grasping the counter-example (there's an entire book called Counterexamples in Topology for this purpose). "Real work" in topology generally involves infinite spaces, though.