Thread by @stevenstrogatz

"I am not content with algebra, in that it yields neither the shortest proofs nor the most beautiful constructions of
geometry. Consequently, in view of this, I consider that we need yet another kind of analysis [...] which deals directly with position" - Leibniz, 1679 #topology

"On the geometry of position, which Leibniz initiated and to which only two geometers, Euler and Vandermonde, have given a feeble glance, we know and possess, after a century and a half, very little more than nothing.” - Gauss, 1833, in his note that introduced the linking number

I'm trying to learn about the beginnings of knot theory, and have gone down a fascinating rabbit hole :-) My current guide is "Classical roots of knot theory," by Józef H. Przytycki [PDF] maths.ed.ac.uk/~v1ranick/pape…