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How Many Holes Does a Human Have?

Vsauce3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
16.2M views · explainer · evergreen · Uploaded 2020-02-17

Vsauce asks how many holes a human has and uses topology to show the answer depends on what counts as a hole, with animations and expert input.

Pointed to as a fun, light introduction to topology and to answer the human-holes question.

Pure mathematicsRecreational & visual math

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6 comments from Hacker News

@thearrow2021 · in “Topology 101: How Mathematicians Study Holes”

If you'd like a fun, light, video introduction to this topic, this Vsauce video is worth a watch: [VIDEO]

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@dsamarin2021 · in “The anus is an evolutionary marvel”

It depends on the minimum size of the what you will consider a hole. Check out the video from VSauce on YouTube about how many holes a human has. [VIDEO]

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@ravi-delia2021 · in “The Math of Hunting Lions”

This vsauce video is about humans, but I imagine pretty much every mammal will be just about topologically equivalent. As it turns out we humans have quite a few more holes than fleshy donuts would. [VIDEO]

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@karmakaze2022 · in “Let's Settle This”

The Vsauce video in sibling comment at 12:59 shows an animation from the two-rings to the T-shaped pipe, or even a better animation at 15:59. 12:59 [VIDEO] 15:59 [VIDEO]

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@davkan2024 · in “'Entropy bagels' and other complex structures emerge from simple rules”

Vsauce has an interesting video regarding topology[0]. Probably a bit rudimentary for anyone already familiar with the math, but still entertaining in the typical vsauce way. [0] [VIDEO]

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@7256862024 · in “Fish have a brain microbiome – could humans have one too?”

Michael Stevens of VSauce fame has you covered with his "How Many Holes Does a Human Have?" video: [VIDEO]

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