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      The Plus advent calendar door #18: Telescope topology

      15 December, 2023

      Jeremy Hahn

      Tomer Schlank

      Behind today's door we bring you breaking news from the world of topology! Four mathematicians, all in earlier stages of their career, have resolved the long-standing telescope conjecture which explores holes in spheres – of any dimension!

      The result was announced this summer at a conference organised by Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge (INI).

      We talk to two of these mathematicians, Tomer Schlank and Jeremy Hahn, to get a gist of this high-powered result in pure mathematics, which is nevertheless wonderfully intuitive. So fasten your seatbelt and join us on a trip into the wonderful world of homotopy theory!

      To read an article exploring the telescope conjecture and for some background reading, see here.

      You can listen to the podcast using the player above, and you can subscribe to our podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and through most other podcast providers via podbean.

      Return to the Plus advent calendar 2023.


      This content was produced as part of our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI). The INI is an international research centre in Cambridge which attracts leading mathematicians from all over the world. You can find all the content from the collaboration here.

      INI logo

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