Approximations Memes

Posts tagged with Approximations

The STEM Dating Profile

The STEM Dating Profile
This Venn diagram is basically a dating profile for STEM fields. Physicists are out here assuming penguins are perfect cylinders because apparently reality is just too messy. Engineers decided π=3 because who needs those pesky decimals anyway? And mathematicians are defining 'e' with limits that make normal people's brains melt. The overlap zones are pure gold - physicists and engineers bonding over "sin x = x" (which is only true for tiny angles, but why let accuracy get in the way of a good approximation?). Meanwhile, everyone's using random units and gravity is just "about 10" because who has time for 9.8? And programmers? Off in their own little world with "x = x + 1" which makes mathematicians scream internally. The chemists got a tiny circle because they're too busy making things explode to participate in these shenanigans. Notice how "single" sits right in the middle of physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. Coincidence? I think not.

The Physicist's Household Commandments

The Physicist's Household Commandments
The ultimate physicist's home decor manifesto! This brilliant sign showcases the sacred assumptions that keep theoretical physics from collapsing into chaos. From the cosmic significance of black holes to those perfectly spherical cows that populate every physics problem (because real cow shapes are just too mainstream), it's the ultimate nerd creed! The small-angle approximation (sin(x)=x) and that cheeky exponential approximation are the secret weapons physicists use to make math behave. And let's not forget the scandalous hot take on Schrödinger's cat – turns out it wasn't simultaneously alive AND dead... someone just committed felony feline homicide! 🐱⚰️

The Dark Side Of Theoretical Physics

The Dark Side Of Theoretical Physics
The eternal battle between physics and mathematics, reimagined as a galactic lesson! Physics isn't stronger than math—it's just the shortcut everyone secretly wants to take. Every physicist knows that behind our elegant equations and hand-wavy approximations lurks the dark side of rigorous mathematical proofs we conveniently ignore. "Just assume a spherical cow in vacuum" is basically our version of Force powers. Meanwhile, mathematicians are sitting there proving the existence of the cow in n-dimensional space.

When One Electron Is Your Only Friend

When One Electron Is Your Only Friend
The crushing reality of quantum mechanics in four panels! First we see our happy physicist solving the Schrödinger equation for one electron—piece of cake! But then comes the fatal question: "Great, now we can do two electrons, right?" Poor soul doesn't realize they've just stepped into the quantum many-body problem—where exact solutions vanish faster than funding opportunities. The two-electron helium atom? Mathematically unsolvable without approximations! That desperate "How do I break it to them gently?" thought bubble is every professor watching their grad student's optimism before it gets quantum-entangled with despair. The final panel's suggestion to study the positively charged helium ion instead is the equivalent of saying "Have you considered a simpler dissertation topic?" Classic academic bait-and-switch!

The Physics Meme Admin's Daily Dilemma

The Physics Meme Admin's Daily Dilemma
The eternal struggle of physics meme creators brilliantly captured! That yellow hand hovering over buttons of increasingly chaotic physics "facts" is pure genius. From the small sin approximation (sin(x) ≈ x for small angles) stretched to absurdity, to casually declaring e = 3 = π (numbers that differ by ~17%), to the classic Schrödinger's cat reference—it's a masterclass in triggering physics students. The "neglect air resistance" button is particularly savage since it's the first approximation in basically every mechanics problem ever. Whoever made this clearly understands the deep satisfaction of watching physicists twitch uncontrollably when confronted with mathematical blasphemy.

The Negligible Genius

The Negligible Genius
Einstein says intelligent people ignore, and chemistry students took that advice too literally! The meme brilliantly captures that moment in chemistry calculations when you decide intermolecular forces are just... optional. Big brain energy until your professor marks your answer wrong because those "negligible" forces actually determine whether something's a gas, liquid, or solid at room temperature. Whoops! It's basically the chemistry equivalent of saying "friction doesn't exist" and then wondering why your car won't stop. Those tiny attractions between molecules might seem insignificant, but ignore them and suddenly your calculations are as accurate as a meteorologist predicting sunshine during a hurricane!

Kids On This Sub When They Realize Approximations Are Everywhere In Physics

Kids On This Sub When They Realize Approximations Are Everywhere In Physics
The existential crisis every physics student inevitably faces. That moment when you realize the Taylor series in the meme is just the mathematical way of saying "yeah, we're just guessing with extra steps." First-year students enter thinking physics offers perfect models of reality, then discover we're all just truncating infinite series and pretending air resistance doesn't exist. The astronaut with the gun is just enforcing what senior physicists have known for decades—it's approximations all the way down. Spherical cows in vacuum, anyone?

Air Resistance Basically Turns You Into An Engineer

Air Resistance Basically Turns You Into An Engineer
Theoretical physicists boldly claim to "fear no man" until air resistance enters the chat. Nothing ruins a beautiful equation faster than drag coefficients. Suddenly your elegant free-fall calculation needs seventeen new terms and three differential equations. The perfect sphere becomes "approximately spherical" and your homework takes twice as long. Real-world physics is just theoretical physics with disappointment built in.

Ideal Conditions And Pi=3 Only

Ideal Conditions And Pi=3 Only
Every physics student knows the euphoria of seeing "assume ideal conditions" on an exam question. It's basically code for "we're ignoring all the messy real-world complications!" But when the professor hits you with "you cannot assume ideal conditions," that's when your soul leaves your body. Suddenly you're accounting for air resistance, friction, non-uniform density, and probably the butterfly effect in Madagascar. It's like going from "spherical cow in vacuum" paradise to "calculate the exact trajectory of this irregularly shaped cow falling through a hurricane" nightmare.

Draw 25 Or Admit Physicists Use Approximations

Draw 25 Or Admit Physicists Use Approximations
The eternal dilemma of physics! On one hand, you could admit that physicists basically play the "close enough" game with approximations to solve impossible equations. On the other hand... *draws 25 cards* 😂 This perfectly captures how physicists would rather complicate their lives with ridiculous workarounds than admit their elegant equations are actually just glorified guesswork. The UNO card is basically saying "confess your mathematical sins or suffer the consequences!" Next time your physicist friend acts superior, just whisper "spherical cow" and watch them break into a cold sweat.

Engineering: Where Reality Is Optional

Engineering: Where Reality Is Optional
Engineering education: where reality is optional and math is negotiable! This alignment chart brilliantly categorizes the lies we tell ourselves to make calculations easier. From the classic "no air resistance" (because wind is just a social construct) to the mathematical blasphemy of "π=3" (mathematicians are screaming somewhere). The small approximation sin(x)≈x is practically a gateway drug to the dark arts of engineering. And let's not forget the student's prayer: "The pop quiz probably isn't today" – the most chaotic evil assumption that has destroyed countless GPAs. My personal favorite? "The professor must have made a mistake." The rallying cry of every student who got different answers than their classmates but is too stubborn to admit they're wrong. Engineering: where we build bridges on assumptions and hope for the best!

Euler's Collection Of Mathematical Blasphemy

Euler's Collection Of Mathematical Blasphemy
Behold the ultimate mathematical shitpost! This collection of deliberately wrong math statements would make any mathematician cry tears of blood. From the blasphemous "π = e = 3" (both transcendental numbers reduced to an integer!) to the small angle approximation sin(x) ≈ x being presented as an equality. The division by zero, claiming 0.999... ≠ 1, and that absurd i² + 1² = 0² would make Euler roll in his grave faster than a quantum particle. The "proof is trivial" and "won't fit in the margins" references perfectly capture that professor who skips steps and leaves students confused. It's mathematical chaos theory visualized - except there's no underlying order, just pure mathematical anarchy!