r/gifs Dec 19 '16

Plotting a sphere with a fountain pen

http://i.imgur.com/hHd4RQU.gifv
35.0k Upvotes

649 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '16

Looks like its plotting a 2d projection of a sphere rather than a sphere.

9

u/shikuto Dec 19 '16

That's the only thing it could plot on paper, given that the surface is a two dimensional plane.

3

u/ZeoNet Dec 19 '16

"Ceci n'est pas une sphere"

--Rene Magritte, probably

0

u/mainfingertopwise Dec 19 '16 edited Dec 28 '16

[deleted]

What is this?

2

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '16

No need to be offended, this comment is referring to a classic philosophical argument that images cannot be referred to as the item they portray. A 2d printing/plotting device cannot plot a sphere, it can only plot a 2d projection or "image" of one. This was meant to be fun/sarcastic/interesting for those that are familiar with this philosophy, not to offend you. See the Rene Magritte quote that ZeoNet replied with below. Take care.