# Is There a Name for This Type of Diagram? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716 "2010-08-09T15:10:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/1 "2010-08-09T15:10:42Z")
Imagine _x_ number of points marked on a two-dimensional plane. Now imagine a line going from every point to every other point. Can’t visualize it? Take a look at [Dikjsta’s Algorithm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dijksta_Anim.gif). Imagine the current diagram, but also with lines from point 5 to points 3, 1, and 2; from point 4 to points 6 and 1; _etc._. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/2 "2010-08-09T15:26:05Z")
Mesh? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/3 "2010-08-09T15:31:47Z")
Mess? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/4 "2010-08-09T15:34:31Z")
That’s a [complete graph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_graph). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/5 "2010-08-09T17:07:21Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > That’s a [complete graph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_graph). That’s exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/6 "2010-08-09T20:21:06Z")
Wow, I made one of those when I was a kid, with a ruling pen on illustration board . . . with 100 points. I never knew what it was called. (Yes, I have mild OCD.) ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/7 "2010-08-09T23:01:16Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Wow, I made one of those when I was a kid, with a ruling pen on illustration board . . . with 100 points. I never knew what it was called. > > (Yes, I have mild OCD.) You drew 100 points and 4,950 lines connecting them? That’s fairly impressive. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/8 "2010-08-10T05:31:01Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > > [@panache45](#): > > > > Wow, I made one of those when I was a kid, with a ruling pen on illustration board . . . with 100 points. I never knew what it was called. > > > > (Yes, I have mild OCD.) > > You drew 100 points and 4,950 lines connecting them? That’s fairly impressive. Yes. My concentration and eyesight were a lot better back then. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/9 "2010-08-10T05:47:49Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > You drew 100 points and 4,950 lines connecting them? That’s fairly impressive. It’s not so bad if you put them all in a line… ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/10 "2010-08-11T05:56:07Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > > [@RadicalPi](#): > > > > You drew 100 points and 4,950 lines connecting them? That’s fairly impressive. > > It’s not so bad if you put them all in a line… That’s just nasty. (And to anyone reading the graph it might just look like some information had been lost.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/11 "2010-08-11T07:16:52Z")
I’m surprised that the lines would even be distinct, after you’d drawn that many. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/12 "2010-08-11T08:47:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m surprised that the lines would even be distinct, after you’d drawn that many. I did it on a large sheet of illustration board, with a very fine ruling pen. The result appeared to have a lot of black concentric circles, separated by areas where some of the white showed. The hardest part was the placement of the 100 points. After that, the rest was just OCD run amok. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-diagram/549716/13 "2010-08-11T15:49:45Z")
You don’t, by chance, have it lying around somewhere, do you? I’d like to see that. Morbid curiosity.