Comics about mathematics, science, and the student life.

Existence

In the first panel, a mathematician shows their friend what they think is a treasure map. The friend confirms that it is a map, and wants to go find it. The mathematician just shakes their head and says they are satisfied with knowing it exists.

“I bet you’re one of those people who enjoy being the “team player” instead of getting to be the star, huh?”

Overgeneralizing

A student keeps on ramping up the generality of the problem until it gets away from the point.

I’ve been known to do this, and I have yet to impress anyone by it.

Sudden Free Time

A student forgets that they need to be studying during the week before exams, not lounging around.

When the semester ends, it’s like an abrupt switch in pace. I don’t think I would forget about an upcoming test (I would be stressed out), but I know there are many who would be a bit too care-free.

Incorrectly Correct

A student makes a mistake while simplifying sin(x) = sin(2) by "cancelling" the "sin".

If you don’t handle this well, students will start thinking there’s a conspiracy against them.

Maturity of Field

A graph depicting when it is the optimal time for a student to enter a field. The optimal point occurs when the number of textbooks is low and the potential for contributions is high.

As soon as that textbook market saturates, you’re toast.

Search History

A search history for a physics student, including a lot of trigonometric identities and electromagnetism textbook answers.

Sooner or later, I’ll probably commit those identities to memory.

Field Horizon

After a certain number of years, the speed at which the "edge" of a field recedes from view exceeds the speed at which a student can catch up.

Maybe then we will start dropping students into the middle of a field without making them learn all of the history.

Deadlines

A student tells their professor that they are not good with deadlines, and follows this up by getting something done way earlier than expected.

I may be the only one who really follows this pattern.

Simple Case

A student looks for the full treatment of a subject, but every resource they consult only deals with the easy case.

If only someone already did the research for me but hasn’t taken the time to publish, I could then get this done a lot faster!

Putting In Numbers

Two students discuss their homework. One complains that they needed to do a lot, but the other says that they needed to to actually put in numbers, which is infinitely worse.

What are we, barbarians?