Ordinals Memes

When mathematicians play "spot the difference" games! On the left, we have the integer 4, while on the right we have the set notation for 4 in von Neumann ordinals where each number is represented as the set of all smaller ordinals. Mathematical equality doesn't care about your superficial differences—they're fundamentally identical despite looking completely different. Only a mathematician would create a puzzle where the answer is simultaneously "they're completely different" and "they're exactly the same thing."

The ultimate mathematical flex! In Von Neumann's ordinal construction, the empty set represents zero, and then each subsequent number contains all previous numbers. So the second panel shows Von Neumann himself excitedly pointing out that he has TWO desserts - not just by counting them, but because in his notation system, the number 2 is literally represented as {∅, {∅}}. Meanwhile, the regular person is jealous because their ordinal (just a plain empty set) is "way better than mine." Nothing says mathematical dominance like having your dessert and eating it too... while simultaneously proving it's cardinality with set theory.

Welcome to advanced mathematics, where normal human intuition goes to die. In topology, we've decided that objects with holes are basically identical, so your coffee mug and donut are mathematical twins. And yes, 5 is enormous when you're working at the right scale. Ramsey theorists casually use numbers larger than atoms in the universe just to prove something "straightforward." It's like using a nuclear bomb to kill a spider. And in set theory, we counted past infinity, reached another infinity, and then apparently triggered an existential crisis. Just another Tuesday in the math department.