Everybody Hates Mathematics: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"Math class is tough!"''|'''Teen Talk [[Barbie]]''' puts it succinctly.}}

 

Contrast [[Good With Numbers]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* There exists a book called ''I Hate Mathematics!'' written specifically to deal with the [[Real Life|real life]] examples.

* The protagonist of ''[[The Confusions of Young Torless]]'' is actually quite intrigued by some mathematical concepts but finds his actual math teacher drab and disappointing.

* ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Science of Discworld|The Science of Discworld]]'' parodies ''[[A Brief History Of Time]]'', which notes the editor's belief that each equation halves a book's sales. The Discworld book chooses ''not'' to include a specific equation, and thus doubles its sales.

* 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 AS SMART as she really is, as opposed to dumbing herself down to attract a guy) to try and attract the attention of her Student Teacher Math Teacher, Wes Ellenburg. The BSC Series plays the trope terrifically straight with Claudia Kishi.

* ''[[Honor Harrington (Literature)|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.

* [[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.

 

* Deconstructed in ''[[The Wire]]''. While most of the low-level criminals do think that math is boring, they do acknowledge its importance: Failing to maintain a proper count of his merchandise and income can land a drug dealer in big trouble with his boss. Likewise, detectives Freamon and Pryzbylewski show how to crack codes, detect patterns and track down the criminals' money using math. When Pryzbylewski pursues a career in education, he initially has problems keeping his class interested in math. He gains his students' interest when he shows how to use probability math to gain an advantage in gambling (which gets him in a bit of trouble when his superiors find out). And while drug kingpin Russel Bell puts his evening lessons in economics to good use during the day, his enthusiasm fails to rub off to his underlings or his partner-in-crime, Avon Barksdale.

* In ''[[Saved By the Bell]]'', Jessie Spano's famous [[Very Special Episode|road to destruction]] all started with a geometry midterm.

** Which may have been the one that really got her, because in later seasons, she was quite economically minded.

* The title character of ''[[Everybody Hates Chris]]'' (as well as the other kid characters) are examples of this trope. [[Omnipresent Tropes|This in itself is unremarkable]], but the opening credits in some seasons depict a textbook cover that reads "Everybody Hates Trigonometry." Additionally, one episode of the series even bears the title of "Everybody Hates Math".

 

== Web Original ==

* 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.

** You're forgetting [[Eldritch Abomination|Carmilla]] who created a theory of mutant powers based on post-doctorate level mathematics.

* ''[[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.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==