Comics about mathematics, science, and the student life.

Basic Definitions

A physicist tells a biologist that their field is ridiculous in that it can't even properly define "life". The biologist fires back by asking the physicist what time is, and other important open questions.

I love biology. Perhaps in another life I would be working within mathematical biology, since I think there is some important work being done there.

27 Mar 2019

Arithmetic Skills

A teacher works on a problem on the board. They apologize for their bad arithmetic skills, but they turn out to be quite good.

Seriously, teachers are the epitome of self-deprecation.

25 Mar 2019

Arbitrary Memorization

A student asks if they can have an equation sheet for the final exam. The professor says no, and that they must be memorized. The student says that they could just memorize them in the two minutes before the test and the professor replies that this is exactly what they want.

I understand the need to remember some things, but this tends to come from using the equations, not cramming them into your head right before an exam. I’ve literally made sure I can remember the equations before I enter the room, so that I can write them down immediately. Should students be punished if they can’t do this?

22 Mar 2019

Brevity

A student presents a slide on Dirac matrices, which look like 2x2 matrices but are actually 4x4 matrices.

Sometimes it gets so bad that the general public might be fooled into thinking the work we do is easy!

20 Mar 2019

Edge Effects

A student presents the data from their experiment. Someone asks why the data doesn't seem to fit the curve, and the student dismisses the error as "edge effects".

“Edge effects” is one of the quintessential examples of handwaving in physics students.

18 Mar 2019

Academic Grunt

A researcher finishes a calculation at their desk and hands it off to their student assistant to make sure there aren't any mistakes.

I actually like going through calculations, but there’s no doubt that this can definitely be classified as “grunt work”.

15 Mar 2019

Delicate Balance

In the first panel, a student presents their data and comments on how it's almost perfect. In the second, they talk about how even the Big Bang might have contributed some error.

I love how a student’s job in the class is to convince the professor that they got really accurate results while also finding a bunch of sources of error that actually contribute in a significant way.

13 Mar 2019

Abelian Group

A student tries to put their socks on before their shoes, and concludes that they can't form an abelian group with them.

“Maybe there’s an opportunity for a lucrative invention here?”

11 Mar 2019

Elementary

A person asks their mathematically inclined friend if this "elementary" book on mathematics is a good place to start. The friend replies, "Sure..."

“Wow, so that’s what “elementary” means? I don’t even want to think about what an advanced textbook looks like then!”

08 Mar 2019

Thought Experiments

A theoretical physicist begins to explain their thought experiment, but is interrupted by an experimental physicist who says that they could fund an actual experiment if they got a dime for each thought experiment that was cooked up.

“Oh come on, my other ideas weren’t as good as this one…”

06 Mar 2019