Mathematical conventions Memes

Behold the mathematical horror show! The children represent psychopaths and serial killers, but the true monster lurking at the bottom is anyone who writes integrals as ∫dx f(x) instead of the civilized ∫f(x)dx. Twenty years of teaching calculus and I've seen this crime against notation drive perfectly sane mathematicians to twitch uncontrollably. It's like eating cereal with a fork – technically possible but fundamentally wrong on every level. Next they'll be writing cosines before the angle! The mathematical community has standards, people!

The eternal struggle between math students and their teachers! Poor guy just wants to use π as a variable, but his teacher's having none of it. What he doesn't realize is that mathematicians have an unspoken agreement: π is sacred territory, reserved exclusively for that magical 3.14159... ratio. Using π as a variable would be like putting ketchup on a fine steak—technically possible but morally reprehensible. And that correction from "letter" to "glyph" is the chef's kiss of mathematical pedantry. Next time, just use x like a normal person and save yourself the drama!

The mathematical community: civilized and orderly when discussing addition (one universally accepted symbol), but complete chaos when it comes to multiplication notation. Nothing triggers mathematicians quite like notation wars! The top image shows a formal, dignified meeting with everyone in perfect agreement on A+B. Meanwhile, the bottom is pure anarchy with five different multiplication symbols (A·B, A*B, A×B, AB, A(B)) and everyone fighting like they're defending their PhD thesis. The real irony? Mathematicians who spend careers seeking elegant proofs can't agree on something as basic as how to write "times." And they wonder why students get confused...