Mathematician's Answer: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|'''Monty:''' Dad, is there a word to describe answers that are ''completely correct'' but ''entirely useless'' under the circumstances?

If you ask someone a question, and he gives you an entirely accurate answer that is of no practical use whatsoever, he has just given you a Mathematician's Answer.

 

 

Examples include questions involving "can you do ''[favor]''...?" being interpreted as a hypothetical "are you ''capable of'' doing ''[favor]''?" instead of its more common intent as a request to actually do it (this is a favorite of English teachers and [[Grammar Nazi]], frequently going through something similar to "Can I come in?" "I don't know, ''are you able to''?" "Uh, '''may''' I come in?") Another common form is when a character is asked "Is it A or B?" they will respond, "Yes" as if it was a question of Boolean logic rather than clarifying which specific one is the case (though this can also occur if the responder does not know the answer, or considers both answers correct. This crops up a lot in [[Real Life]], especially in the world of computers.)

 

 

Can overlap with [[Shaped Like Itself]] when the question is seeking a description, and with [[Captain Obvious]], as these answers tend to be self-evident for anyone with a brain. Usually doubles as a [[Cryptically Unhelpful Answer]], when the "mathematician" is deliberately trying to confound the questioner. Compare [[Non-Answer]], which is a vague "answer" which does not answer the question at all. Mildly related to [[What's a Henway?]] and [[Not Actually the Ultimate Question]]. And don't forget that the person giving the Mathematician's Answer is [[Futurama|"technically correct ... the best kind of correct."]]

Compare with [[Non-Answer]].

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