Apr 16, 2026, 6:56 AMhas anyone topologically analyzed all of the unicode characters to determine how many topologically unique characters there are
- Apr 16, 2026, 6:56 AM
Replies
- Apr 16, 2026, 6:57 AM
what is the most common topology for unicode characters?
- Apr 16, 2026, 6:57 AM
do some alphabets prefer certain topologies?
- Apr 16, 2026, 7:03 AM
is this even worth studying?
quinnquinn@chaos.socialApr 16, 2026, 7:05 AM@alyx it's probably just silly but i went from "wait what" to "that's fascinating questions" in seconds.
pinecone (nc)pinecone460@social.seattle.wa.usApr 16, 2026, 4:01 PM@alyx you'd probably have to narrow the question, likely to a single font -- some characters have multiple distinct and interchangable variants, and i'd imagine some have variants with differing topologies.
pouncepounce@nyan.networkApr 16, 2026, 7:18 AM@alyx i think this definitely depends on script and regional variation (e.g. the genus/number of connected components for 直)
Apr 16, 2026, 12:14 PM@alyx this is such a cool question
mhoyemhoye@cosocial.caApr 16, 2026, 2:48 PM@alyx If I understand your meaning, this sounds like the unicode "confusables" list of characters whose glyphs are very similar.
https://www.unicode.org/Public/security/8.0.0/confusables.txt
- Apr 16, 2026, 4:17 PM
@mhoye nope! have you ever seen the meme about how topologically a mug and a donut are the same shape?