Circular definition Memes

The circular definition strikes again! Nothing quite like asking what a vector is and getting the mathematical equivalent of "it's a thing that's a thing." That confused Mike Wazowski face perfectly captures the existential crisis of every student encountering math definitions for the first time. The definition is technically correct—vectors are indeed elements of vector spaces—but it's about as helpful as defining water as "the wet stuff that makes things wet." This is why mathematicians shouldn't write dictionaries.