this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2024
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Math Memes

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Memes related to mathematics.

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1: Memes must be related to mathematics in some way.
2: No bigotry of any kind.

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[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 23 points 10 months ago (2 children)

While I know this is supposed to be a joke, surely the angles of a shape must be on the inside of the shape.

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Eh, going back when I was learning proofs in high school...

A square was 4 equal length sides arranged in two sets of parallel lines with four 90° right angles.

Two sets of parallel lines are necessary to make a rectangle, and a square is just a rectangle with equal sides.

Proofs are all about working the way through each step to getting to a distinct shape defined by those smaller steps. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Technically if in remembering correctly, rectangles are also trapezoids, just with 90° right angles.

[–] TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Parallelograms, not trapezoids. Kind of. Maybe. Or maybe trapeziums.

See… some define trapezoid as specifically one set of parallel sides (originally trapezium). Some as no parallel sides (originally trapezoid) Those two were swapped by some asshole, and then swapped back in England but not in America.

Though most now just say a trapezoid (or trapezium in England) is at least one set of parallel sides, which makes parallelograms a type of trapezoid. Which does make a rectangle a type of trapezoid.

They call only one pair of parallel sides a proper trapezoid instead.

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I totally forgot that parallelograms were a thing in all that. And I never even considered naming differences over time.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 12 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Lol

I just read another comment here pointing out that square is a polygon, which requires having only straight lines.

I think this would be a stronger argument.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

I'm not aware of any shape that is defined by the angles of its outsides.

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I think what the previous poster is saying is that the image does not have four 90° angles, but instead it has two 90° and two 270° angles.

...I have no idea if that's an actual deal breaker, but the logic is sound.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

requires having only straight lines.

[–] deaf_fish@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

I suspect these lines are straight on a sphere. What we're seeing is a square on a projected sphere.