Why Don't Math People Just Do This Instead? Are They Stupid?

Someone just discovered that differentiating π² with respect to π equals 2π, which equals approximately 6.28... That's τ (tau), the rival constant to π that represents a full circle instead of half. Desmos just casually proving why some mathematicians believe τ is the superior constant. The calculator didn't have to flex that hard on the π gang.

The graph perfectly captures that special moment in math class when someone asks you to prove the most ridiculously self-evident statement imaginable. "Prove that a set of elements contains the elements it contains" is like asking you to prove water is wet or that your coffee mug contains what your coffee mug contains. Yet somehow, the more obvious something is, the more pages of dense notation your professor expects. I once had a student turn in a proof like this with just "Because it does" written on it. I gave him an A for efficiency and a D for academic survival skills.

The pinnacle of mathematical rigor: Googling something and accepting the first result as gospel truth! This meme beautifully captures the absurdity of claiming 23 isn't a natural number "because it's a fraction" - which is mathematically nonsensical since 23 is as whole and natural as numbers get. It's the mathematical equivalent of confidently stating that giraffes are reptiles because you misread a Wikipedia article. This is what happens when you skip the peer review process and go straight to publishing your "groundbreaking" mathematical discoveries based on whatever random website pops up first. Mathematicians everywhere are either crying or laughing hysterically.

The perfect quantum mechanics meme doesn't exi— collapses into a superposition of laughter Schrödinger's famous thought experiment: expectation vs reality in its purest form. On the left, the popular explanation where the cat is simultaneously "ALIVE" and "DEAD" (or should I say "ALIEADVE" with those strategically superimposed letters). On the right, the actual mathematical nightmare that physicists deal with daily. This is quantum mechanics in a nutshell - the public thinks it's about quirky half-dead cats, while physicists are drowning in partial differential equations that make calculus look like kindergarten arithmetic. Next time someone at a party says "I totally get quantum physics," just show them the right side of this image and watch their confidence function rapidly approach zero.

Calculus students know the struggle. You spend weeks learning to take derivatives "with respect to x" like a proper mathematician, then suddenly your professor expects you to differentiate with complete disregard for y's feelings. The audacity. Next thing you know, you're in a tuxedo calculating partial derivatives while insulting variables left and right. "Your coefficient is so small it's practically negligible, y!"

Behold the infamous 3 AM blanket topology problem! What should be a simple rectangle somehow transforms into a non-Euclidean nightmare that would make Einstein question his field equations. The colorful 3D graph perfectly captures that half-asleep moment when your blanket seems to have secretly studied advanced topology and decided to exist in multiple dimensions simultaneously. It's like trying to solve a differential equation while your brain is operating at 2% capacity. The mathematical representation is too accurate—your blanket really does become a hyperbolic paraboloid when all you wanted was the long edge to cover your cold feet!