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34 votes
6 answers
4k views

Why study finite topological spaces?

In rereading Thurston's essay On Proof and Progress in Mathematics I ran across this passage: … this means that some concepts that I use freely and naturally in my personal thinking are foreign to ...
Wahome's user avatar
  • 737
17 votes
6 answers
24k views

How to understand the concept of compact space [closed]

the definition of compact space is: A subset K of a metric space X is said to be compact if every open cover of K contains finite subcovers. What is the meaning of defining a space is "compact". I ...
jkjium's user avatar
  • 181
3 votes
0 answers
440 views

Motivation for studying group of homeomorphisms of topological spaces [closed]

Currently I am reading a paper titled "On the Group of Homeomorphisms of an Arc" by N.J Fine and G.E. Schweigert, that was published by Annals of Mathematics in 1955. This paper talks about the group ...
Riju's user avatar
  • 428
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

motivation for compactness [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How to understand the concept of compact space Hello, I am learning some analysis on my own and what is the motivation to consider compactness? eg. I do not understand why ...
Alex Anderson's user avatar