Definitions Memes

The recursive mathematical definition rabbit hole strikes again! This meme perfectly captures the mathematician's version of explaining something simple with something even more complicated. For the uninitiated: a semigroup is indeed an associative magma (a set with a binary operation), and a monoid is literally a semigroup with identity. So answering these questions this way is technically correct—the best kind of correct—but hilariously unhelpful! The emotional journey from smug satisfaction (top left) to confused crying (top right) to exasperated explanation (bottom left) to smug satisfaction again (bottom right) is the exact cycle mathematicians go through when they realize they've explained something using terms that require even more explanation. It's abstract algebra inception!

The eternal divide between pure mathematicians and physicists captured perfectly! Mathematicians define tensors with rigorous precision—"an element of a tensor algebra"—complete with abstract structures and formal properties (and apparently bodybuilder physiques). Meanwhile, physicists take the pragmatic approach—"something that transforms like a tensor"—focusing only on how it behaves in calculations rather than what it fundamentally is . This is basically the mathematical equivalent of asking "but what is a tensor?" and getting two completely different answers depending on which department you're in. The buffed Doge vs. regular Doge format perfectly captures how mathematicians think their definition is inherently superior while physicists are just trying to get their equations to work before lunch.

Welcome to the mathematical hellscape where definitions eat their own tails! This SpongeBob meme perfectly captures the existential crisis every math student faces when trying to understand vectors. First, we learn a vector is "an element of a vector space." Great! But what's a vector space? "A set of objects called vectors." Wait... did we just go in a circle? This circular reasoning is the bread and butter of mathematics – where we define things using the very concepts we're trying to define. It's like trying to explain what a chair is by saying "it's a thing you sit on" and then defining sitting as "what you do on a chair." The punchline hits hard: sometimes the definition is just the starting point, not the explanation. That's math for you – crystal clear until you actually think about it.

Mathematicians breaking reality since 300 BCE! The ultimate mathematical plot twist - a straight line is just a curve having an existential crisis! It's like calling a bald person "someone with zero hair" instead of "hairless." Pure mathematical galaxy brain moment right here. Next up: circles are just polygons with infinite sides, and I'm just "temporarily vertically challenged" rather than short!

Mathematicians having the most unnecessarily complicated conversation ever! 😂 When someone says "connected space" in topology, they're basically saying "you can get from any point to any other point without teleporting." But instead of just saying "line," this person's going with "extended long line" - which is literally just saying "line" with extra steps! The best part? The look of absolute defeat when they keep repeating the obvious. Yes, in a connected space there IS a path between any two points - that's literally the definition! It's like defining a circle as "a round shape that's circular." Pure math-speak at its finest!

Behold! Mathematical tautology at its finest! This professor just defined a straight line as "a curve which is uncurved" — essentially saying "this thing without curvature has no curvature." It's like defining water as "liquid that's wet" or calling sleep "unconsciousness where you're not conscious." Mathematicians love these circular definitions almost as much as they love pretending that π equals exactly 3 when the calculation gets too complicated! Next up: "A circle is just a polygon with infinite sides that forgot how to have corners."

The mathematical equivalent of "water is just boneless ice." Only a professor who's been teaching for 30+ years would deliver this kind of circular definition with complete confidence. It's technically correct—the best kind of correct—while being utterly useless for anyone trying to understand geometry. Next up: "A circle is just a polygon with infinite sides" and "zero is just a number that equals nothing." Pure mathematical dad joke energy from someone who's definitely tenured enough not to care anymore.

Ever asked a mathematician to define a vector? PREPARE FOR MATHEMATICAL CHAOS! The bell curve shows the hilarious spectrum of responses - from the simplified "it transforms like a vector" (looking at you, physicists) to the middle-ground normal people, all the way to the math purists with their "tangent bundles" and "transition functions." It's that moment when you realize math people aren't speaking English anymore but some eldritch language designed to make your brain melt. The "Checkmate Atheists" title is the chef's kiss - as if proving God exists because only divine intervention could explain why we need 17 different definitions for the same concept!