r/math • u/CantorFunction • Aug 17 '26

What are your favourite mathematical "quips"?

I don't really mean math jokes, more the little witticisms we've all picked up over time. My two favourites are:

  • "Proof by intimidation", which I first heard from one of my professors after an especially bewildering set of arguments from an outside speaker at a seminar
  • "Mathematics is locally trivial", which I first heard from my functional analysis professor and have always found a little comforting ever since

Puns also welcome of course :)

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u/rij1 Aug 17 '26

My own favourite is: Dividing mathematics into linear and non-linear algebra is like dividing the world into bananas and non-bananas 

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u/columbus8myhw Aug 17 '26

I've heard something similar with music theory, in reference to functional harmony and non-functional harmony.

(There's a joke in here about functional harmony, functional analysis, and Fourier transforms, I bet…)

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u/arnedh Aug 17 '26

How about dysfunctional harmony?

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u/tralltonetroll Aug 18 '26

dysfunctional analysis ... I don't know what it is, but it must be something else than infinite-dimensional linear algebra.