In topology, an open set is an abstract concept generalizing the idea of an open interval in the real line. The simplest example is in metric spaces, where open sets can be defined as those sets which contain an open ball around each of their points (or, equivalently, a set is open if it doesn't contain any of its boundary points); however, an open set, in general, can be very abstract: any collection of sets can be called open, as long as the union of an arbitrary number of open sets is open, the intersection of a finite number of open sets is open, and the space itself is open. These conditions are very loose, and they allow enormous flexibility in the choice of open sets. In the two extremes, every set can be open (called the discrete topology), or no set can be open but the space itself (the indiscrete topology).