The type of space that underlies most modern algebraic geometry is even more general than Weil's abstract algebraic varieties. It was introduced by Alexander Grothendieck and is called a scheme. One of the motivations for scheme theory is that polynomials are unusually structured among functions, and algebraic varieties are consequently rigid. This presents problems when attempting to study degenerate situations. For example, almost any pair of points on a circle determines a unique line called the secant line, and as the two points move around the circle, the secant line varies continuously. However, when the two points collide, the secant line degenerates to a tangent line. The tangent line is unique, but the geometry of this configuration—a single point on a circle—is not expressive enough to determine a unique line. Studying situations like this requires a theory capable of assigning extra data to degenerate situations.