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1 answer
378 views

Bridges between geometry and combinatorics

Geometry and combinatorics are two different branches of mathematics. Does there exist any connection between them? In many cases, mathematicians solve some geometric problems by reducing them to a ...
KAK's user avatar
  • 613
2 votes
1 answer
143 views

Triangles and convex hulls in high dimensions

Given a set $S_n$ of $n$ points $\mathbf{x}_1, \mathbf{x}_2, \ldots, \mathbf{x}_n\in\mathbb{R}^d$, such that every $(d+1)$-tuple in $S_n$ is affinely independent, and let $C(S_n)$ be the convex hull ...
Penelope Benenati's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
39 views

Homology of the subcomplexes of the "diamond shaped" sphere under 1-norm in $R^n$ as a simplicial complex

The 1-norm on $\mathbb{R}^n$ is defined by $\|v\| = |v_1| + |v_2| + \cdots + |v_n|$ for a vector $v = (v_1, \ldots, v_n) \in \mathbb R^n$. The unit sphere $S^{n-1}_1$ under the 1-norm is a simplicial ...
SorcererofDM's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Fold-and-cut problem in three dimensions

The fold-and-cut theory states that "Any shape with straight sides can be cut from a single (idealized) sheet of paper by folding it flat and making a single straight complete cut. Such shapes include ...
ARi's user avatar
  • 851
24 votes
1 answer
2k views

Building a genus-$n$ torus from cubes

I wonder if this has been studied: What is the fewest number of unit cubes from which one can build an $n$-toroid? The cubes must be glued face-to-face, and the boundary of the resulting object ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
1k views

Random Reidemeister moves to unknot

Suppose one has a link diagram of the unknot, and applies random Reidemeister moves until the unknot is reached. Surely it requires an exponential number of moves, exponential in, say, the crossing ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
45 votes
1 answer
2k views

Pach's "Animals": What if the genus is positive?

Janos Pach asked a deep question 23 years ago (1988) that remains unsolved today: Can every animal—a topological ball in $\mathbb{R^3}$ composed of unit cubes glued face-to-face—be ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar