We’re all doughnuts: the human body is just a torus when you simplify the topology (2024)

More options

Who Replied?

Lord Pachelbel

Ars Praefectus

Subscriptor++

    I said that to some people at work one day a few years ago and they all looked at me like I was crazy. (Granted, though, that at the time I only said something like “our bodies are doughnuts,” with no further explanation.)

    In case I’m still not being understood (which is probably likely), I’m saying that the human body is like a doughnut where the GI tract is the doughnut hole.

    In mathematics, topology deals with the properties of an object that are preserved no matter how deformed, stretched, twisted, folded, etc. the object gets. And so if you deform the human body and its inner (GI tract) and outer (skin) surfaces into the simplest possible shape, you end up with a doughnut-shaped object, a torus.

    All the other openings into the body that aren’t part of the GI tract aren’t holes, topologically/mathematically speaking, they’re cavities. A hole has to go all the way through.

    dredphul

    Ars Praefectus

    Subscriptor++

      It gets more interesting when you explain people have an inside-outside and inside-inside.

      The inside-outside is your mouth, esophagus, interior of lungs, your stomach, small intestines, large intestines, and your anus.

      You then have the inside-inside spaces where your heart, liver, and other organs occupy.

      The inside-outside is a continuation of the outside of the doughnut. The inside-inside is the space actually inside the outside skin of the doughnut.

      TigerAway

      Ars Tribunus Militum

      Subscriptor

        We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;
        But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends.

        -DaoDeJing

        (The axle.)

        In Tai Ji the body is represented by a wheel. The waist is the axle, and the wheel is Qi. Legs and arms are like spokes.

        In other words, this supports your doughnut theory.

        Lt_Storm

        Ars Praefectus

        Subscriptor++

          Well played, but we were talking about the toroidal kind.

          Actually, we're triple-connected toroids because nostrils. If you get a piercing, you change your topology.

          Or, if you look at things a little smaller (around half a micrometer), we're 7-toroids because of our tear duct openings... Also, while people's sinuses generally contain no holes, they sometimes do, which means it's really hard to be sure how many holes you actually have.

          (see, I did watch the vsauce video.... squirrel... what?)

          We’re all doughnuts: the human body is just a torus when you simplify the topology (2024)

          FAQs

          Are humans topologically equivalent to a donut? ›

          Topologically speaking, the human body and a ring doughnut have exactly the same shape. The reason why a superficially ridiculous comparison with a sugary comestible is possible is all to do with the gut.

          Are humans topologically torus? ›

          Topologically speaking, a human is a torus. Your digestive system is the hole in the doughnut. Interestingly, this means in a two-dimensional world, an organism couldn't have a similar structure, since the digestive system would completely separate the animal into two halves.

          Is a donut a torus? ›

          In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle.

          What topology is a human? ›

          It talks about topology in the beginning, then it starts to answer the question “how many through holes does a human have". But if you want the straight up answer, a human is topologicaly equivalent to a 7 hole donut.

          Is a donut world possible? ›

          A planet in the shape of a donut, or toroid, as it's called in mathematics, could technically exist, but it would have to jump some steep physics hurdles to get there. Planets are round because gravity pulls inward.

          Was there an animal shaped like a donut? ›

          The doughnut creatures are called “flummels”, and they exist on a remote Galápagos island, rolling around like wheels and picking flowers. But the entire species is wiped out in the 19th century, just moments before Charles Darwin arrives to discover them.

          What is a donut shape called? ›

          A torus is a surface formed by revolving a circle about a line. Often, tori (the plural of "torus) are doughnut shaped, as in the main image here. It is formed by revolving a circle about the z-axis. It can also be described as a ring-shaped surface with a hole.

          Why are humans shaped the way they are? ›

          As early humans spread to different environments, they evolved body shapes that helped them survive in hot and cold climates. Changing diets also led to changes in body shape. The bodies of early humans were adapted to very active lifestyles. Their bones were thicker and stronger than ours.

          What does a torus look like? ›

          The usual torus embedded in three-dimensional space is shaped like a donut, but the concept of the torus is extremely useful in higher dimensional space as well.

          Why is the donut called torus? ›

          It is a surface of an object formed by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that lies in the same plane as the circle. If the axis of revolution does not touch the circle, the surface forms a ring shape known as ring torus or simply torus if the ring shape is implicit.

          What does torus stand for? ›

          New Latin, from Latin, protuberance, bulge, torus molding.

          Why is it called torus? ›

          A torus, in geometry, is a doughnut-shaped, three-dimensional figure formed when a circle is rotated through 360° about a line in its plane, but not passing through the circle itself. The word torus is derived from a Latin word meaning bulge. The plural of torus is tori.

          What structure is a human? ›

          The human body is a single structure but it is made up of billions of smaller structures of four major kinds: cells, tissues, organs, and systems. An organ is an organization of several different kinds of tissues so arranged that together they can perform a special function.

          Can a human be defined? ›

          Etymology and definition

          The word human can refer to all members of the hom*o genus, although in common usage it generally just refers to hom*o sapiens, the only extant species. The name "hom*o sapiens" means 'wise man' or 'knowledgeable man'.

          How many holes does a human body have topology? ›

          For a normal human male, discounting pores, we have 9 holes. So our skin homeomorphic to a disk with 8 holes and has fundamental group the free group on 8 generators.

          Is the universe a 3 torus? ›

          Gluing only one pair of opposite faces produces a solid torus while gluing two of these pairs produces the solid space between two nested tori. In 1984, Alexei Starobinsky and Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich at the Landau Institute in Moscow proposed a cosmological model where the shape of the universe is a 3-torus.

          Are donut holes real? ›

          In truth, though, many doughnuts with holes don't actually have any dough cut out of them to make their shape. Instead, special machines spray dough into a fryer in a circular pattern. The donut holes you buy at the bakery or grocery store are usually made out of dough simply cut into small squares.

          Did Ariana lick donuts? ›

          I hate Americans. I hate America," she says in security camera footage obtained by TMZ, as she and her squad dare each other to lick the plein air pastries. The brief clip went hugely viral, partly for Grande's erratic behavior, and partly for her derogatory comments about the U.S. People were offended.

          What animal is a torus? ›

          Kolopsis torus was a mid-sized diprotodontoid. Like many herbivores in this size range, it was probably prey to large carnivores. At Alcoota, these included two large thylacine species (Thylacinus megiriani and T. potens) as well as Wakaleo alcootensis, a marsupial 'lion'.

          Has donut been unmasked? ›

          Davina revealed Doughnuts was to be unmasked and was revealed as footballing legend Michael Owen as guessed by Mo and Jonathan. Had you watched The Masked Singer before?

          What is a donut a metaphor for? ›

          The Donut Metaphor

          way to understand how to get into that sweet spot where you are truly engaged and challenged but not overly stressed. Life inside the donut hole is our comfort zone. It is safe, familiar, comfortable, and potentially a little boring. Life on the donut is our learning zone.

          Is the Universe A torus? ›

          Most scientists believe that the universe is flat and open, not curved and closed (like a torus is), but that could just be a matter of scale. After all, the earth seems to be flat from our everyday perspective, even though it is actually a giant curved sphere.

          Why is it called a donut? ›

          They were originally called "oily cakes."

          The early Americans took the fact that the treats were fried in oil quite literally, naming them olykoeks, translating to "oily cakes." The word 'donut' came soon after when a woman is said to have put nuts in the dough before frying it.

          What is a 2D torus called? ›

          1D torus example, a circle. 2D torus example, a donut.

          Who was the first human? ›

          hom*o sapiens, the first modern humans, evolved from their early hominid predecessors between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. They developed a capacity for language about 50,000 years ago. The first modern humans began moving outside of Africa starting about 70,000-100,000 years ago.

          Are humans designed with one person? ›

          As time passed, primates as a whole became more social and evolved to live together in groups, but only humans became truly monogamous. Today, other primate species such as bonobos and chimps mate with multiple individuals in their groups.

          Why are humans so unique? ›

          Humanity's place in the evolutionary tree of life is beyond question. But our ability to think, learn, communicate and control our environment makes humanity genuinely different from all other animals.

          Can a torus hurt? ›

          When the torus is large, it is subject to irritation and ulceration from repeated trauma. Once injured, these growths can be slow to heal because of the limited number of blood vessels on their thin tissue surface. They can also become infected and very painful, making it difficult to eat and drink.

          Can tori be painful? ›

          Mandibular tori can be a painful condition that causes your throat and jaw to hurt, your gums to get inflamed, and even your teeth to come loose. Typically, these bony growths appear inside your mouth on the lower jaw.

          Can tori get bigger? ›

          Tori are simply an abnormality; a random bone growth. They do not pose any immediate threat or harm once they have been identified in the mouth, though they do continue to grow over time, and have the potential to cause pain or discomfort if they become too large.

          Is a torus a shape? ›

          A 3d shape made by revolving a small circle (radius r) along a line made by a bigger circle (radius R). It usually looks like a ring.

          How do you make a torus? ›

          A torus is generated by sweeping a circle around an axis in the same plane as the circle. This means that any plane containing the axis inter- sects the torus in two circles.

          How many holes does a torus have? ›

          In layman's terms, it's the number of "holes" an object has ("holes" interpreted in the sense of doughnut holes; a hollow sphere would be considered as having zero holes in this sense). A torus has 1 such hole, while a sphere has 0. The green surface pictured above has 2 holes of the relevant sort.

          Whats DIO Stand called? ›

          The World (ザ・ワールド(世界), Za Wārudo) is the Stand of DIO, featured in Stardust Crusaders.

          When was the torus discovered? ›

          The first torus torc found was the Netherurd terminal and was discovered, close to Peebles, by a shepherd boy in 1806.

          Is a torus flat? ›

          That's because it's positively curved, and the plane is flat. There are also negatively curved surfaces, and they also can't be flattened onto the plane without some distortion either. The rectangle picture of the torus is a demonstration of the fact that the torus is flat.

          What is horn torus? ›

          The geometrical horn torus model is a proposal for a different approach to physical questions by the attempts to describe fundamental physical processes graphically, namely in the form of dynamically interlaced horn tori.

          What is the smallest unit of life? ›

          The cell is the smallest structural and functional unit of living organisms, which can exist on its own. Therefore, it is sometimes called the building block of life. Some organisms, such as bacteria or yeast, are unicellular—consisting only of a single cell—while others, for instance, mammalians, are multicellular.

          What is the human shape called? ›

          somatotype, in psychology, the discredited idea that human body shape and physique type are associated with personality traits, forming the basis of constitutional psychology.

          What is human built of? ›

          The four most abundant elements in the human body – hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen – account for more than 99 per cent of the atoms inside you. They are found throughout your body, mostly as water but also as components of biomolecules such as proteins, fats, DNA and carbohydrates.

          Can you be non-human? ›

          Non-human (also spelled nonhuman) is any entity displaying some, but not enough, human characteristics to be considered a human. The term has been used in a variety of contexts and may refer to objects that have been developed with human intelligence, such as robots or vehicles.

          Can a person be not human? ›

          According to the law, person has never been synonymous with human. Non-human entities like corporations are legal persons, and for a long time, many humans didn't qualify as persons. The law divides everything into two legal categories–person or thing. These days, if you are not a human or legal entity, you're a thing.

          What is the true meaning of human? ›

          : a bipedal primate mammal (hom*o sapiens) : a person : man sense 1c. usually plural.

          What are the 9 holes in human body? ›

          There is a vedic story wherein which the body is compared to a city, a city consisting of 9 gates (entrance/exits). Two eyes, two ears, your mouth, your nostrils, your anus and genitals.

          How many holes does a donut have? ›

          How many holes does a donut have? That's pretty easy: one.

          Is a straw a torus? ›

          Topologically a straw is a deformed solid torus, which is a body with a single hole.

          How many holes do humans have topologically? ›

          For a normal human male, discounting pores, we have 9 holes. So our skin homeomorphic to a disk with 8 holes and has fundamental group the free group on 8 generators.

          How many holes does a donut have topology? ›

          A donut has one continuous hole through it, and so do you (it starts at your mouth and finishes at the other end).

          What if the earth was shaped like a donut? ›

          The overall climate on donut Earth would be similar to what we currently have on our round Earth. It would be colder in the polar regions, and warmer at the equator. But the weather would be a little more extreme, and could even make some parts of the planet inhospitable, due to storms and hurricanes.

          What would a donut planet be like? ›

          A donut planet would resemble a toroid, or a donut, as it would have a hole in the middle of its body. While it is impossible for planets of other shapes, such as a cube or diamond to exist without violating the laws of physics, a donut planet would be physically possible.

          Do humans have 9 holes? ›

          There are nine natural openings in the human body: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, the urethra, and the anus. There are many openings or "holes" in the human body, including the mouth, nose, ears, eyes, anus, and urethra.

          What is the equation of a donut? ›

          y = R + r sin θ. It is worth noting that when π<θ< 2π, sin θ < 0 so we get y<R as expected— this is the inner part of the doughnut, nearer the hole, which is swept out by the half of the circle which is nearer the x-axis and thus has y values less than R.

          What if Earth had a ring instead of a moon? ›

          Just as the moon currently does, the rings would reflect sunlight back to Earth at night and appear to glow in the night sky. The rings would probably reflect so much sunlight that the planet would never fully plunge into darkness, but remain in a gentle twilight even in the depth of night.

          What happens if we fall into the inner circle of the doughnut in the doughnut economics model? ›

          Falling through the social foundation and into the doughnut hole means that vulnerable communities are food insecure, houseless, receiving an inadequate education, or susceptible to disease and famine.

          What happens if the Earth spins the wrong way? ›

          An Earth spinning in the opposite direction would have very different atmospheric and ocean currents. Although the global mean temperature would remain almost the same, the major ocean currents would switch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, changing the planet's climate drastically.

          Can a planet be pink? ›

          Named GJ 504b, the planet is made of pink gas. It's similar to Jupiter, a giant gas planet in our own solar system. But GJ 504b is four times more massive. At 460°F, it's the temperature of a hot oven, and it's the planet's intense heat that causes it to glow.

          Is Earth planet rare? ›

          "The Earth is undoubtedly rare in the solarsystem," said Don Brownlee, a professor of Astronomy at the University ofWashington in Seattle, during the panel. "If you think of the universe asa whole, it's almost a totally hostile place."

          What planet looks like a cookie? ›

          Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, was named in honor of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it in 2017 and has fascinated astronomers ever since.

          Top Articles
          Latest Posts
          Article information

          Author: Patricia Veum II

          Last Updated:

          Views: 6018

          Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

          Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

          Author information

          Name: Patricia Veum II

          Birthday: 1994-12-16

          Address: 2064 Little Summit, Goldieton, MS 97651-0862

          Phone: +6873952696715

          Job: Principal Officer

          Hobby: Rafting, Cabaret, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Inline skating, Magic, Graffiti

          Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.