# Geometry: point, line, plane--then what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210 "2003-03-30T13:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210/21 "2003-03-31T05:05:25Z")
I’m not even a mathematician, but my topology teacher said that there was a movement to stop calling people topologists and just call them geometers. I think it’s a good idea. That old-time topology is boring. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210/22 "2003-03-31T05:10:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > \*\*Polytope? Then what’s a polychoron? I always figured the polychoron was the next dimensional construct. \*\* A polychoron is a polytope in four dimensions. If you like math, you’ll love [this site](http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Polychoron.html). ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210/23 "2003-03-31T05:29:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Achernar \* > \*\*I’m not even a mathematician, but my topology teacher said that there was a movement to stop calling people topologists and just call them geometers. I think it’s a good idea. That old-time topology is boring. \*\* Sorry to continue the hijack, but I can’t take that lying down. Quickly then: Within the broad subject of Geometry/Topology there is still a useful distinction to be made between geometers and topologists. And if, by old-time topology, you’re referring to point-set topology, I tend to agree with you, but I find algebraic topology anything but boring. If we want to continue this conversation, though, I’ll have to ask you to step outside… ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210/24 "2003-03-31T05:48:35Z")
While I would certainly adore an IMHO thread called “Which math is the suckiest?!” I can probably clear this up with a quick statement about the context I was in when I came to that conclusion. I had little to no idea what topology was about before taking that course, so I went to the library to pick up a text on it. 90% of the ones available were called _Topology_, and the other 10% had titles approximately as imaginative as _A Book on Topology_. But I got one anyway, and read through the first two pages, and it was your standard, dense, formula-free, diagram-free, murky, 1960s point-set topology gobbledygook. So I gave it up and waited for the class to start. And there we learned about Mobius strips and the travelling salesman and classifications of 2-D manifolds and all the wonders of introductory geometric topology, and the instructor had an excellent sense of humor and passion for the subject. So, my views of the two subfields are pretty biased, but I think you can see where I’m coming from. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-point-line-plane-then-what/165210.md?page=1)