Everyday proximity has nothing in common with pure geometric distance.

Evidence

From this point of view, what differentiates between a close proximity of two bodies and a great distance between them is the richness of the combined dimensions of co-presence. He was there at the station platform and I could speak to him and embrace him one last time, but the train moves away and now I can only see him in the distance. The co-presence that was rich and multidimensional has been impoverished and reduced solely to the optical range. The notion of a certain range, when limited in certain respects, determines our notions of distance and closeness. The closest proximity is when all the various ranges correspond. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 948 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

It is obvious, surely, that they cannot be, since earthquakes and eclipses are not mathematical concepts. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 256 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Distance and closeness are qualitative richnesses of co-presence, not metric lengths. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 948; Pure geometries depict no physical reality of the world — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 256

Broader Connections

• Distance and closeness are qualitative richnesses of co-presence, not metric lengths. #corroborates (0.95) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 948
• Pure geometries depict no physical reality of the world #expands (0.75) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 256