Formalism Memes

The age-old philosophical crisis that's caused more existential breakdowns than failed grant applications. Is math discovered or invented? Platonists sweat profusely while contemplating whether 2+2=4 existed before humans did. Meanwhile, formalists are smugly certain we just made it all up. Nothing like the mathematical foundations debate to turn a perfectly normal conference dinner into three hours of increasingly desperate hand gestures and napkin equations.

Pure math enthusiasts in their natural habitat! The 20-year-old prover is that special breed who writes 10-page LaTeX documents for problems that could be solved on a napkin, while simultaneously looking down on engineers for doing something practical. They're convinced that asking "Have you seen the proof that 1+1=2?" is the height of intellectual conversation at parties. The superiority complex is strong with this one—studying category theory not because it's useful, but because it sounds impressive. Meanwhile, they haven't done an ounce of manual labor in their life but will gladly spend hours creating the most elegant, useless proof that nobody asked for. The ultimate academic flex!

The recursive nightmare that is mathematics in a nutshell! You innocently open one definition only to discover it's built on five more definitions, which themselves contain even more definitions. It's like mathematical Russian nesting dolls. The wide-eyed panic of the cat perfectly captures that moment when you realize your "quick review" before an exam just turned into an existential crisis. Fun fact: In formal mathematics, this definitional rabbit hole is actually necessary for rigor—each concept must be built on previously established foundations. Still doesn't make it any less terrifying when you're cramming at 2AM!

The age-old philosophical question gets a brilliant visual metaphor! Our intrepid mathematician is literally hunting for mathematical formulas in the wild, magnifying glass in hand, as if math were some exotic species hiding in nature waiting to be discovered. Meanwhile, mathematical symbols and equations are literally growing from the ground and hanging from trees like they've always been there. The Platonists would say "See! Math exists independently of humans!" while the formalists are screaming "But WE created the notation!" This is basically the mathematical version of stepping on a rake in the philosophical garden.

The eternal philosophical war that keeps mathematicians up at night! This quadrant chart perfectly captures the existential crisis of number nerds everywhere. Are you a Platonist who believes math exists independently in some ethereal realm waiting to be "discovered"? Or do you think we just made up these torture devices called equations and convinced ourselves they're real? The best part is how we pretend this debate matters while the rest of humanity just wants to know if they calculated their tip correctly. Trust mathematicians to create a political compass for something that has zero practical impact on daily life. Next up: a 7-dimensional chart explaining why some people prefer parentheses over brackets.