Abstractions of Abstractions
A mathematician who 'only does abstractions, not numbers' clarifies, when told numbers are abstractions: abstractions of abstractions of abstractions.
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Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2017-01-11-abstractions-of-abstractions/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
A: "Sorry, I only do abstractions, not numbers." B: "But numbers are abstractions." A: "Let me clarify: I only do abstractions of abstractions of abstractions."