This open problem taught me what topology is

Video Description

The inscribed square/rectangle problem, solved using Möbius strips and Klein bottles. Playlist with more neat proofs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHQObOWTQDPSKntUcMArGheySM4gL7wS Instead of sponsored ad reads, these lessons are funded directly by viewers: https://3b1b.co/support An equally valuable form of support is to simply share the videos. This argument was originally by Herbert Vaughan, appearing for examples in this issue of the Topology Proceedings. https://topology.nipissingu.ca/tp/reprints/v06/tp06107.pdf The on-screen argument for why all closed non-orientable surfaces must intersect themselves in 3d is a slight variation on one I heard from Dan Asimov. 2020 Paper by Greene and Lobb: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.09193 Nice Quanta article about this result: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-geometric-perspective-cracks-old-problem-about-rectangles-20200625/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Inscribed squares 1:00 - Preface to the second edition 3:04 - The main surface 10:47 - The secret surface 16:45 - Klein bottles 22:38 - Why are squares harder? 25:10 - What is topology? ------------------ These animations are largely made using a custom Python library, manim. See the FAQ comments here: https://3b1b.co/faq#manim https://github.com/3b1b/manim https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim/ All code for specific videos is visible here: https://github.com/3b1b/videos/ The music is by Vincent Rubinetti. https://www.vincentrubinetti.com https://vincerubinetti.bandcamp.com/album/the-music-of-3blue1brown https://open.spotify.com/album/1dVyjwS8FBqXhRunaG5W5u ------------------ 3blue1brown is a channel about animating math, in all senses of the word animate. If you're reading the bottom of a video description, I'm guessing you're more interested than the average viewer in lessons here. It would mean a lot to me if you chose to stay up to date on new ones, either by subscribing here on YouTube or otherwise following on whichever platform below you check most regularly. Mailing list: https://3blue1brown.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/3blue1brown Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3blue1brown Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/3blue1brown Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3blue1brown Patreon: https://patreon.com/3blue1brown Website: https://www.3blue1brown.com