All the pictures of all of the surfaces
OTHER MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT EVENTS: MATH TABLE, SEMINARS: OPEN NEIGHBORHOOD
You’ve probably seen pictures drawn on the chalkboard of a torus (the surface of a donut) or the Klein bottle, a torus with many holes, and perhaps other surfaces. In this talk we will take up the question of whether or not it is possible to make a list of all of the possible pictures of surfaces. The question turns out to have a surprising and beautiful answer, but it takes some real insights to make it into an actual question in mathematics. The story here is not only one of a striking theorem, but also one about mathematicians find, ask, and refine questions.
via Zoom Video Conferencing: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/96759150216
email vcollins@math.harvard.edu or deg@math.harvard.edu for the Password