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Everybody Hates Mathematics: Difference between revisions
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Algebra! Calculus! Geometry! Arithmetic! Unspeakable words and numbers guaranteed to strike fear, anxiety, [[Paranoia Fuel|paranoia]], [[Go Mad from the Revelation|madness]], and [[Heroic BSOD|paralysis]] into the hearts of everyone. Mathematics, especially the more advanced courses, easily appears to be terrifying, largely theoretical, [[Mind Screw|mindscrewy]], or just downright [[Mind Rape|mind-rapingly]] [[Eldritch Abomination|eldritch]]. Most people claim to be bad at it, even though some of them are good at math, they just fear it. If anybody is ever going to skip a class, it'll be math (or gym, although that one's pretty much simply and entirely down to the [[Jerk Jock]]s, [[Sadist Teacher]], or the students just being [[Brilliant but Lazy]]).
Irrational and sometimes even complex and [[
Probably occurs because [[Writers Cannot Do Math]]. Alternatively, the boredom and hatred the writer had for math may ''cause'' [[Writers Cannot Do Math]]. Even more alternatively, people who show talent and interest for math tend to be drawn into lucrative maths-needing careers, leaving the next generation of writers to be drawn from the set of people who Cannot Do Math.
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* The protagonist of ''[[The Confusions of Young Törless]]'' is actually quite intrigued by some mathematical concepts but finds his actual math teacher drab and disappointing.
* In a non-fiction example, this trope helps explain why actress-turned-mathematician Danica McKeller(yes, [[Hey, It's That Guy!|Winnie Cooper]] from ''[[The Wonder Years]]'') authored three books aimed at middle-school-aged girls to encourage developing their mats skills; "Math Doesn't Suck", "Kiss My Math" and "Hot X: Algebra Exposed".
* ''[[
* Averted by Stacey McGill in the ''[[Babysitters Club]]'' series, who actually enjoys math and is very good at it. In opposition to the Mean Girls example above, she even makes herself appear SMARTER in math than she really is (or at least
* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' has a mental block when it comes to math. She's actually quite capable when she has to make an intuitive, off-the-cuff course change in the middle of combat, but her performance anxiety in lower-pressure environments leaves her with a justified dislike of astrogation.
* Sansa Stark from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is good at everything a lady ought to be good at—except for the math necessary to keep track of the household accounts.
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* [[Wizarding School]] in the [[The Wheel of Time]] has an abandoned and unused section of the library that no one ever uses. It contains math books.
== Live
* Young Ned in ''[[Pushing Daisies]]''{{context}}
* In an episode of ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', Dick was severely disheartened to discover his students didn't actually like physics.
* ''[[Numb3rs]]'' plays with, inverts, and subverts this trope. Several characters, including lead Charlie Epps, love math, and those who don't love math are dependent on those who do.
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''There are numbers to big to be named''
''Numerical precision is a science with a mission''
''And I think
* Moosebutter's song "Uncle Earl's Hairpiece", which mostly contains lyrics about various bad things that have happened to the singer, contains the lyric: "My poor brain was pureed when I tried to do math..."
* [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-LJI4w1tk&list=RDAMVMg1-LJI4w1tk "Wake Me Up When This Math Class Ends"] by Project Sisyphus, a parody of "Wake Me Up When September ends" by [[Green Day]].
== Newspaper Comics ==
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* The ''[[Star Wars Customizable Card Game]]'' gives us Brainiac.<ref>[[Continuity Porn|His canon name is Pons Lomboc]], but who cares?</ref> Brainiac's destiny number is pi. And his power is sqrt(3(x-y)+2(a-b)+pi), where x is the cards in your opponent's hand, y is the cards in your hand, a is the number of Force icons on your opponent's side, and b is the number of Force icons on your side. And this in a game where life totals are always integers!
** The fact that you're taking the square root makes this card effectively useless, especially if you're in the lead by an amount such that 3(x-y) + 2(a-b) < -pi; That gives him ''imaginary'' power.
* The ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (Tabletop Game)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' Trap Card [https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Linear_Equation_Cannon Linear Equation Cannon] (an obvious [[Joke Item]] card) was likely released simply to troll players who don't like math. Or maybe troll critics who scoff at the idea of a "Children's Card Game" as [[Serious Business]], seeing how it doubtful anyone without at least a high school education is even going to ''try'' to use this Trap.
** To specify, when the Trap is used, the player states a number between 1 and 6 (''must'' be a whole number, the card specified) then choose an effect monster your opponent controls. Then you multiple the stated number by the monster's Level, then add to that the number of cards your opponent controls. Finally, compare that number to the number of cards in his Graveyard. If the numbers are equal, you get to send a number of cards equal to the original stated number from your deck to ''your'' Graveyard and then an equal number from your opponent's side of the field to your deck (likely winning the duel) but if not, you lose life points equal to 500 times the originally stated number. (Better bring a calculator for this.)
== Toys ==
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'''Aya''': Ack!
'''Ran''': And here is the proof.
'''Aya''': Ughhhhh.
* The talking teen Barbie is parodied in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' with the Apathetic Lizardman doll. "Math is kinda hard. But, y'know, it doesn't matter." Also in the "Hobopolis Zone," When you choose not to enter the Marketplace you get the message, "You don't feel like going shopping. Perhaps it's because you find math so easy."
* A few ''[[Professor Layton]]'' puzzles can be solved by algebra instead of riddles, but the hints point out it won't be fun and you should figure out the riddle instead. It is also a common trick for a puzzle to make algebra an immediate source of an answer, but make the real answer quickly found by wording snag.
** Other puzzles, however, ''do'' require mathematics to solve, such as trigonometry, calculating the area of a circle, and algebra.
{{quote|'''Miki''': Screw math. It's boring as hell.}}
* ''[[Escape From St. Mary's
▲** Miki is the most blunt about it, but no one else in the cast especially likes mathematics. Hisao's teacher Mutou prefers science, as does Hisao himself, Lilly's main interest is in English and Rin and Nomiya have a passion for art.
▲* ''[[Escape From St. Mary's|Escape From St Marys]]'': Your hatred of math class sets you off on your adventure.
== Web Comics ==
* A [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Drowtales]]'' is Ariel's dislike of math.
* Inverted in ''[[
* Secret, of ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'', when told she is going to face one of her fears, looks at the [[Summoning Ritual|summoning]] [[Geometric Magic|circle]] and wonders if that fear will be geometry.
== Web Original ==
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The
* At [[Super-Hero School|Whateley Academy]] in the [[Whateley Universe]], math is [[Person of Mass Destruction|Tennyo's]] worst subject. She dreads her genius brother finding out. On the other hand, Phase is a freshman and is taking trigonometry with the juniors and seniors. And there are the [[Mad Scientist]] types who have already placed out of all high school math.
**
* Possibly Adverted in ''[[Tankmen]]'' when they are running for their lives and challenge their enemy to a game of shoot between the buildings. When they miss, one of the tankmen
* The Geometric Simplification Act, which will reduce pi to 0 decimal places.
* ''[[Leo and Satan
* ''[[Team Starkid
== Western Animation ==
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* ''[[Daria]]'': Math, Jane Lane's least favorite and worst subject ever.
* The edutainment short ''[[Donald Duck]] in Mathemagic Land'' plays this straight at the beginning, when Donald insists that math is for "eggheads". The Spirit of Adventure manages to convince him otherwise... by showing him how he can use it to shoot pool.
* Applejack of [[My Little Pony:
* In the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short ''From A to Z-Z-Z-Z'', Ralph's teacher tells him to solve the problem on the board; he clearly doesn't understand it, and starts to fantasize about the numbers laughing at him, and then of him fighting them.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* In England you pick four or five A Levels to study at 16
* People who prefer the arts to math and science are called "right-brained
* [[Stephen Hawking]] was advised by his editor that every equation in a book cuts the sales in half, so he included [[E=MC Hammer|only one]] in ''A Brief History Of Time''.
* A popular mathematicians' quote is, "Mathematics is hard. If it isn't hard, you're not progressing fast enough
* This is true
* There's also a joke among snipers that a lot of people join sniper school because how awesome being a [[Cold Sniper]] seems... then drop out when they find out the sheer complexity of the math involved.
* Everybody Hates ''Grade-School'' Mathematics: In 1971, McDonalds introduced the Quarter Pounder, named after the pre-cooked weight of the beef patty in the sandwich. It was a hit. In the 1980s, A&W introduced the "Third-of-a-Pound Burger" for the same price. [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/how-failing-at-fractions-saved-the-quarter-pounder-1.5979468 It flopped]. People thought 1/3 was less than 1/4, because 3 is less than 4.
{{reflist}}
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