In geometry, curvature is a measure of how much a curve deviates from being a straight line, or a surface deviates from being a plane. For surfaces, the concept of curvature is more nuanced and includes both Gaussian Curvature, which is intrinsic to the surface and independent of its embedding in space, and Extrinsic Curvature, which depends on how the surface is embedded in the surrounding space. Gaussian curvature at a point on a surface intuitively measures the product of the maximum and minimum bending of the surface at that point.

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