Infinitesimals Memes

Engineers: "We made the world's smallest computer! Smaller than a grain of rice!" Mathematicians: *points at epsilon* "Hold my infinitesimals." The race to miniaturization never ends! While engineers celebrate microscopic computers, mathematicians are over here using the epsilon symbol (ε) which represents infinitely small values. In calculus, epsilon is basically the mathematical way of saying "as tiny as you need it to be, and then even smaller." Talk about winning the size competition on a technicality!

The eternal mathematical showdown between Patrick and his infinitely frustrated friend! Patrick's blissfully showing off that 10 raised to infinity equals infinity, which is technically correct. But then things get spicy when our blue friend tries to prove that 1 minus 1/∞ equals 0.999... therefore 1/∞ equals 0. Patrick's having NONE of that mathematical heresy! He's ready to throw hands over the fact that 1/∞ is infinitesimal (super duper tiny) but definitely not zero. It's that classic mathematical tension between practical calculations (where we often treat infinitesimals as zero) and theoretical purity (where they're distinct concepts). The beauty is that they're both kinda right depending on context! In standard analysis, limits help us handle these cases, but in non-standard analysis, infinitesimals are legitimate numbers. No wonder mathematicians have existential crises!