The Mathematical Food Chain

The ultimate mathematical flex! In Von Neumann's ordinal construction, the empty set represents zero, and then each subsequent number contains all previous numbers. So the second panel shows Von Neumann himself excitedly pointing out that he has TWO desserts - not just by counting them, but because in his notation system, the number 2 is literally represented as {∅, {∅}}. Meanwhile, the regular person is jealous because their ordinal (just a plain empty set) is "way better than mine." Nothing says mathematical dominance like having your dessert and eating it too... while simultaneously proving it's cardinality with set theory.

Ever notice how science used to be a full-contact sport? Historical physicists were out there conquering multiple disciplines like it was nothing—inventing calculus over breakfast and revolutionizing theology before lunch. Meanwhile, modern physicists are so specialized they can visit their friend's lab and have a whole conversation without either person understanding what the other actually studies! Hyper-specialization has turned us from renaissance scholars into confused dogs nodding along while secretly thinking "I should probably know what a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is by now..." Newton would be so disappointed in us. But hey, at least we have memes!

Kid asks an innocent question about bridge load limits, and Dad unleashes the full artillery of structural engineering matrices. Those equations? Just the casual finite element analysis that engineers use to model stress distribution across bridge structures. The colorful simulation in the third panel shows exactly how much math goes into making sure you don't plunge into the river below. The kid's "Oh, I should've guessed" response is the universal reaction of anyone who's ever asked an engineer to explain something "simply." Next time you see a "10 TONS" sign, remember there's an engineer somewhere with 47 pages of calculations who'd be thrilled to explain it to you in excruciating detail.

Four years of differential equations and quantum mechanics, and now you're a glorified sandwich artist with a pivot table. That engineering degree prepared you to calculate the optimal trajectory of a submarine through the ocean—but instead you're calculating how many sandwiches fit in a display case. The universe has a twisted sense of humor when your biggest flex at work is knowing the VLOOKUP function that Barbara from accounting thinks is "basically magic." The gap between education and application is so vast you could fit the entire Standard Model in it.

The most scientifically accurate Venn diagram doesn't exi— Oh wait, here it is! Nothing unites the STEM fields quite like their mutual disdain for each other. Physicists mock engineers who can't win Nobel Prizes, mathematicians scoff at both while being utterly incomprehensible to normal humans, and everyone agrees chemists are inferior (except chemists, who are too busy making things explode to notice). The beautiful irony? They all desperately need each other to make actual scientific progress. It's like a dysfunctional academic family where everyone thinks they're the smart one.

Ever wonder how different species of humans write division? 🤓 The evolution gets wilder as you go down! Regular folks use A/B, but scientists? They're too sophisticated for that slash nonsense. They prefer the elegant fraction bar. And those fancy scientists with their superscripts? Pure mathematical peacocking! But when you see F(A,B) with that summation symbol... that's your cue to flee the building. That's not division anymore—that's math having an existential crisis!