Constructing arcs from paths using Zorn's Lemma

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that every path-connected Hausdorff space is arcwise connected. Typically, this result is viewed as a consequence of a sequence of fairly technical results from continuum theory. In this note, we exhibit a direct and simple proof of this statement, which makes explicit use of Zorn's Lemma. Additionally, by carefully breaking down the proof, we identify a modest improvement to a class of spaces relevant to algebraic topology.