Obvious Memes

The classic professorial cop-out in its natural habitat! Nothing says "I don't want to explain this again" like directing students to a textbook that uses the word "obviously" more times than a teenager uses their phone in a day. What's truly magical about math and physics textbooks is how they skip the most crucial steps with a casual "it is trivial to show" or "obviously" — as if the proof that took the author three whiteboards and a nervous breakdown is somehow instantly clear to a sleep-deprived undergrad surviving on ramen and desperation. Pro tip: When a textbook says "obviously," prepare for at least two hours of confused scribbling and possibly an existential crisis about your career choices.

The eternal academic gaslighting in its natural habitat! Nothing says "I don't want to explain this properly" like a textbook riddled with the word "obviously" before every incomprehensible equation. That magical moment when the professor smugly tells you "it's in the book" and the book essentially says "duh, figure it out yourself, dummy." Meanwhile, you're left wondering if you're the only one who doesn't see why "Σᵢ kᵢ = k" is somehow more obvious than the fact that we're all slowly being crushed by student debt. Next time someone says "it's obvious," just remember—if it were actually obvious, they wouldn't need to say it 47 times per page.