Math with Bad DrawingsCartoon Archive

Six Ways to Drive a Mathematician to an Early Grave

January 22, 2019

A list of notation abuses (N as a fraction, negative epsilon, x as a function of f, an integral 'dn'), titled 'six ways' but listing only five.

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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/2019-01-22-six-ways-to-drive-a-mathematician-to-an-early-grave/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Transcript

[Title] "Six Ways to Drive a Mathematician to an Early Grave"

1. Let N be a number between 0 and 1.

2. Let ε < 0.

3. Let x be a function of f.

4. Let O be a function of omicron.

5. Take an integral dn.

Mathematician: "WHYYYYYYY"

Topics
Math Culture › NotationCalculus › Limits › Epsilon-DeltaCalculus › IntegralsFunctions › Function Notation
Level
High SchoolCalculusCollege
Themes
Math CultureCommon MistakesSelf-Reference