Math with Bad DrawingsCartoon Archive

The Trivial Case

February 26, 2018

An elf personifying 'the trivial case' answers a question about a⁴ + b⁴ = c⁴ with the useless solution a = b = c = 0.

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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.

Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2018-02-26-the-trivial-case/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Transcript

A: "Ugh. Here comes that evil old elf, the Trivial Case." B: "Aww. It looks friendly." A: "No! It's a false prophet that answers your question without providing the least shred of insight."

B: "Hey, are there any integers for which a⁴ + b⁴ = c⁴?" Elf: "Sure. a = b = c = 0."

B: "It's not wrong..." A: "I despise that creature. You don't have to be wrong to be the absolute worst."

Topics
Number Theory › Fermat's Last TheoremLogic & Proof › Trivial CasesLogic & Proof › Proofs & TheoremsNumber & Arithmetic › Zero
Level
High SchoolCollege
Themes
Literature & MythMathematicians