I did not say a piece of paper was a rectangle. I said a rectangle has 4 sides. If a rectangle has 4 sides then a piece of paper would have to have an additional 2. Front and back making it 6 sides.

Ahh, I see. So we were both still in agreement.

 

Also consider the infinite tangents to a circle, this applies to tangential planes in 3D.

Another excellent point.

 

Ahh, I see. So we were both still in agreement.

Of course. Would you expect any other?

 

I love how we start at radioshack and end up on the fringes of particle physics and conceptual mathematics.

That's why this thread is called "off-topic", everything seems to veer off topic.

 

Actually I was speaking about a piece of paper. It has four sides. You could say it has 3. The outside edge and each face.
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Well actually you said the "piece of paper has 6 sides" and "as do ALL pieces of paper".

Specific to my earlier post I reminded you that a mobius strip or whatever they call that trick these days, as a 3D object has 2 sides. And it is a piece of paper. You said ALL pieces of paper have 6 sides. So that was my point, that not all pieces of paper have size sides. A circular piece would have 3 sides, as you later said.


Re the circle, I like the idea that a circle has infinite sides, that makes sense. But a circle also has one side.

So DerStrom8 just proved that infinity = 1.

Since infinity doesn't exist I suppose it can equal anything we like. It can be our own little imaginary friend... Shhhh!

 

Re the circle, I like the idea that a circle has infinite sides, that makes sense. But a circle also has one side.

So DerStrom8 just proved that infinity = 1.

Not sure I follow your logic. How does a circle have one side? If you're referring to the face (what's within the outline) then that doesn't count as a side in this case.

Since infinity doesn't exist I suppose it can equal anything we like.

Infinity may not be a defined value, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

What a bunch of nerds! Haha, I love you guys. Nobody else could turn a discussion about a superbowl commercial into a heated debate about how many sides a circle has.

 

Not sure I follow your logic. How does a circle have one side? If you're referring to the face (what's within the outline) then that doesn't count as a side in this case.
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A "side" does not have to conform to 100% straightness.

So the term "side" must encompass sides that have curvature, and if that is true then a circle has one curved "side".

A triangle has three straight sides. But if the triangle had 3 slightly curved sides it would still match the description of "triangle".

(edit) Actually thinking further I'm going to argue that earlier concept that a circle has an infinite number straight sides.

A straight side must conform to three or more points at different locations along a mathematical line. That situation does not occur at any place around the outline of a circle. There cannot be any straight lines there.

And if you argue that the lines are infinitely short (just pre-empting the responses) that does not hold true as an infinitely short "line" cannot have 3 points at different places along a mathematical line, it can only have 3 points occupying the same point. That is not a line, it is a point.

So a circle has ONE side, which is curved, made from an infinite number of POINTS.