bleeding edge math and computer graphics

[mr. iknoweverything]

i recently stumbled over the Poincare conjecture as a mathematical problem, and it struck me that the famous problem of the terrain manager capable of handling cases with overhanging terrain and tunnels, and such was in fact just a topological problem, which, of course, is an absolutely awesome realization. i mean, the thought never crossed my mind that trying to implement something like this means you`re doing fancy topology, and having realized this, im wondering how many hackers hacking away in their basements unknowingly managed to prove some deep mathematical theorem. not to mention that knowing that you can approach these problems from a topological point of view, it allows you to draw from a richness of literature. Now, i`ve just glanced over the proof of the Poincare conjecture, but it really looks like THE way to go at terrains. at least in principle. not that it`s much different from existing approaches, just see how familiar parts of it look
did anybody here ever have a similar experience in different areas?