Abstract
We set out to find the shortest closed curve that connects three objects — each of which is a point, a line or a circle — on a plane. The solution is sometimes trivial, sometimes easy, sometimes hard and sometimes impossible. We hope readers will be inspired to provide alternative justifications/answers.
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We are thankful for available technology which enabled us to smoothly continue research collaboration in spite of mandatory physical distancing during the global pandemic.
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Jyotirmoy Sarkar is a Professor working at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. His research areas include enumeration, probability, statistics, and reliability theory. He enjoys reading,’ riting,’ rithmetic and R-coding.
Collin Tully graduated from Purdue University majoring in computer science and mathematics. He enjoys finding new musicians to listen to, and has been studying functional analysis. He wishes to become a mathematician.
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Sarkar, J., Tully, C. The Shortest Connector. Reson 27, 1881–1901 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-022-1486-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-022-1486-z