Struggle Memes

The gradual deterioration of handwriting during a calculus exam is directly proportional to the difficulty of the derivatives being solved. Started with careful notation, ended with hieroglyphics that would baffle archaeologists. The final fraction isn't even mathematically valid—it's just a desperate cry for help from a brain that's given up on proper notation. In my 15 years of grading papers, I've developed a special skill: translating mathematical chicken scratch into what students meant to write.

The calculus betrayal is real! Left side shows differentiation as this beautiful, organized flowchart where you just apply some rules and—boom—you're done. Meanwhile, integration is this chaotic nightmare maze that eventually leads to "BURN THE EVIDENCE" and desperate "PHONE CALLS TO MATHEMATICIANS." Every math student knows this pain. Differentiation: "Here's your answer, have a nice day!" Integration: "What's a Bessel function? Should I install Mathematica? Is this partial fractions or some Riemann voodoo?" No wonder we all tried working backwards from the multiple choice answers on exams! Pro tip: if your integration strategy includes "burn the evidence," you're doing authentic mathematics.