At a party, all mathematical functions are having fun, except the exponential, which is standing lonely in one corner. Another function approaches it and says: why don't you integrate? And it: oh, because it's the same...
Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
41–50 of 139 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#42There are two hard problems in computer science. Naming, cache invalidation, and off-by-one errors.
Make that 10 hard problems.
Similar to - There are 10 kinds on people. Those who understand binary and those who don't.
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#43A physicist, a biologist, and a mathematician see two people walk into an empty building. Five minutes later, 4 people walk out.
The physicist says "Obviously our initial observation was wrong."
The biologist says "They must have multiplied while they were in the building!"
The mathematician says "However you look at it, if two more people walk into that building it will be empty again."
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#44Q: What the integral of (1/cabin)dCabin? A: Beach Hut (Log Cabin + C) [Maybe just the formula would fit on a T Shirt, and you get to explain it to people who ask?]
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#45If you do it in groups, you'd better be discrete. (Related: Analysts do it continuously, and almost everywhere.)
Materials scientists do it with latex. Biochemists do it with animals. When civil engineers do it, the earth moves. Software engineers do it all night long.
Mathematicians do it with LaTeX
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#46Q: What the integral of (1/cabin)dCabin? A: Beach Hut (Log Cabin + C) [Maybe just the formula would fit on a T Shirt, and you get to explain it to people who ask?]
Q: Integral dCabin/Cabin?
A: natural log cabin
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#47Not sure you can copy it, but I've always wanted this shirt (not sure why, but I found it hilarious):
http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/generic/60f5...
It reads:
2 + 2 = 5
(For extremely large values of 2)
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#48There's always the old donut and coffee mug being topologically equivalent. Or the integral of e^X (write it down) Or Pi telling i to be real and i telling Pi to be rational. Or your mom so ugly I had to use the Fourier transform to solve her (just made that one up, probably doesn't make any sense ;p)
+1 for Pi telling i to be real and i telling Pi to be rational
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#49Below is my favorite math joke (copied it from http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/math-jokes-calculus.html as I didn't remember the exact wording). It's a bit long for a T-shirt, but a simple comic strip version could be made.
--
A constant function and e^x are walking on Broadway. Then suddenly the constant function sees a differential operator approaching and runs away. So e^x follows him and asks why the hurry. "Well, you see, there's this differential operator coming this way, and when we meet, he'll differentiate me and nothing will be left of me...!" "Ah," says ex, "he won't bother ME, I'm e to the x!" and he walks on. Of course he meets the differential operator after a short distance.
e^x: "Hi, I'm e^x"
diff.op.: "Hi, I'm d/dy"
Re: Ask HN: Any good math jokes?
#50Q: What the integral of (1/cabin)dCabin? A: Beach Hut (Log Cabin + C) [Maybe just the formula would fit on a T Shirt, and you get to explain it to people who ask?]
I always heard "houseboat".