grant
tho this huge first try of yours at a complete topological model of the sovereign world still eludes my reception of it
i do stand in awe of what i imagine you have wrought here
& am also still mystified enough to ask how there can be so many as 324 fragments producing so few as 267 perforations
does this apparent discrepancy occur merely because 57 of the fragments dont perforate anything
also
i think i can see how the 160 shapes of the 160 unfragmented countries plus the 324 shapes formed by the 33 fragmented countries will produce a total of 484 shapes
not counting everyones lands
&
i think i can see how the 193 shapes of the major areas of the 193 countries plus the 267 shapes embedded within the 22 countries that have perforations will produce a total of 460 shapes
again not counting everyones lands
but are the missing 24 shapes here again just nonperforating fragments
& if so why have they diminished from the 57 above to these 24
or are there greater complexities such as compound claves etc that would further wreck any try at a double entry bookkeeping system
& finally
shouldnt everyones lands be treated as part of the topological mosaic rather than as gaps in it
indeed couldnt that adjustment alone account for all the apparently missing pieces
or are all such arithmetical rationalizations vain
for i agree it would be best if one could somehow double check that one hadnt messed up somewhere
m
--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., "Grant Hutchison" <granthutchison@c...> wrote:
> I've just uploaded a file called Perfs&Frags.xls to the files area.
> It's a two-sheet workbook containing my first attempt to list all the
> national bits and pieces that make up the world at the EEZ level.
> I look at 193 countries (I've included East Timor). Most of them
> coalesce into single cohesive units surrounded by land borders and
> Exclusive Economic Zones: I don't list these.
> Some of them are perforated by bits of other countries, or by areas
> of high seas within their EEZ: these are listed on the "Perforations"
> sheet (22 countries with 267 perforations).
> Others are found to consist of a parent unit and several detached
> bits and pieces: these bits and pieces are listed on the "Fragments"
> sheet (33 countries with 324 fragments).
> The information on Indian/Bangladeshi exclaves is the latest I have
> from Brendan.
> Inevitably I'll have messed up somewhere, so all comments are welcome.
>
> Grant