Mathematical amusement

[leonerd]

While waiting for the tube train this evening, it suddenly struck me as amusing from a mathematical perspective, the way it is advertised as CIRCLE LINE. As if to compound my observation, the next station we stopped at was "Sloane Square; Circle Line".

I had to smile at that one.

Comments

[gerald_duck]

Who said a line had to be straight?

[leonerd]

Oh, nobody. But I do believe a line ought to have unbounded length, to be a line. Otherwise it is merely a line segment.

No, the one that really got me was the "square circle line", in fact.

[azron]

but an (infintely long, straight) line is just a circle of infinite radius, so all infinitely long, straight lines are circle lines, or something (the trouble with maths is the moment you start qualifying statements to make them accurate they don't sound quite so profound...)

[gerald_duck]

Well, colloquially, a line needn't be straight, and can have finite length, so I don't see the problem.

The moment you go into formal mathematical definitions, a line does have to be straight and have infinite extent; the other kind of thing colloquially called a line is referred to as a curve.

I fully agree that "square circle line" sounds a little odd, though. (-8

[stevolteon]

Sloane Square fascinates me because there's a pipe suspended above the station which carries the Westchester, a tributary of the Thames. I just love the way it used to be an essential part of life and then the city just consumed it, took it underground and forgot about it.

[harlequeen]

And who said that a square in the circle is impossible?

[huskion]

"This station is barking".

HA