Trig Functions Tier List: The Math Hierarchy

The classic engineering bait-and-switch! High school: "I'm pretty good at math and science, engineering seems logical!" First semester of university: *drowning in differential equations while surviving on ramen and caffeine* That moment when you realize your high school physics teacher conveniently forgot to mention that "solving for x" would become "solving for your will to live." The clown makeup isn't applied—it's earned through sleepless nights of wondering why you didn't just major in business like your parents suggested.

The cognitive dissonance of mathematical ability is a universal experience in STEM fields. One moment you're navigating complex calculus and differential equations with the smug confidence of a tenured professor, and the next you're staring blankly at basic arithmetic like it's written in hieroglyphics. The brain that can solve for eigenvalues somehow short-circuits when asked what 77+33 equals. It's almost as if the neural pathways responsible for advanced mathematics and simple addition are mutually exclusive. The struggle isn't in understanding the concept—it's in the humbling realization that even the most sophisticated computational organ in the known universe occasionally needs a reboot for tasks a $5 calculator could handle.

The hierarchy of scientific existential dread on full display. Social scientists fretting about replication issues while physicists casually mention they can't explain 95% of the universe (dark matter and dark energy, no big deal). Meanwhile, mathematicians are just sweating nervously, hoping nobody discovers that most mathematical concepts exist purely in abstract realms humans can't even visualize. The monkey meme perfectly captures that "just keep looking away and maybe no one will notice our field is built on abstractions that make dark matter look straightforward." Pure mathematical anxiety in primate form.

When your physics professor says "it's a simple problem" but then hits you with "remember to take air resistance into consideration." That's when your soul leaves your body! What started as a basic kinematics problem suddenly transforms into a differential equation nightmare with drag coefficients. Physics students know that "simple" is code for "I'm about to ruin your weekend with fluid dynamics." The facial expression captures that moment of realization when F=ma becomes F=ma-bv² and your calculator starts sweating.

The mathematical function T: ℝ² → ℝ³ is literally transforming SpongeBob's 2D beach into a 3D paradise! This is what mathematicians dream about when they hit the beach—mapping functions that take flat coordinates and give them depth. The transformation function is basically saying "2D is boring, let's add another dimension to this party!" Next-level vacation planning requires advanced linear algebra, obviously.

Content Mathematicians: So what's Avogadro's number? Chemists: made with mematic It's big!