The definition of a straight line as being the shortest distance between two points is a very useful ideal, but in the real universe there is always curvature of space and, when one gets small enough, unevenness in the atoms that make up the line.
I'm proposing a solution to this problem by specifying a straight line to be the distance between two points that cannot physically get any closer.
This would mean that the smallest thing in the universe is a straight line, and that the universe is made up of lots and lots of straight lines.
Since I am neither physicist nor philosopher, I would like to hear if this has already been thought of, and if it is of any use.
I'm proposing a solution to this problem by specifying a straight line to be the distance between two points that cannot physically get any closer.
This would mean that the smallest thing in the universe is a straight line, and that the universe is made up of lots and lots of straight lines.
Since I am neither physicist nor philosopher, I would like to hear if this has already been thought of, and if it is of any use.