Inventions Memes

Imagine trying to count your inventory before the concept of zero existed! Ancient merchants just standing there like "I had some apples... now I have... uh... fewer apples? No apples? Something-that-isn't-apples?" The mathematical void before zero was invented is both hilarious and terrifying. Next time you're annoyed by basic arithmetic, remember that for thousands of years, humanity was just vibing without the numerical concept of nothing. Zero wasn't widely used until around 500 CE, meaning entire civilizations built pyramids and aqueducts while essentially missing a fundamental digit. That's not just a skill issue—that's playing math on hard mode.

The eternal dichotomy between application and theory! Engineers smugly smirk when their inventions go unused—"hahaha nobody applies your invention"—while mathematicians sob uncontrollably at the same fate. But flip the script with pure mathematicians, and you'll find they're playing 4D chess. One says "Nobody will apply your theorem ever" while the other responds "I hope so" with galaxy-brain energy. Pure mathematicians secretly want their work to remain theoretical forever—the moment someone finds a practical application, some government agency will classify it and they'll never see their beautiful equations again. Nothing ruins a mathematician's day like learning their abstract number theory just became the foundation of modern cryptography!