Chaos and Math

What more could a girl ask for

[mathgirlchaos]

Happy stabby, stabby day to those who celebrate! And if you don't, you are missing out on the best of Tumblr....

[radishnt]

which one of u was going to tell me that tea tastes different if u put it in hot water?

[mothman-misato]

y- you were putting it in cold water?????

[boimgfrog]

Radish. Answer the question radish.

[radishnt]

yeah??? i thought for like. 5 years that ppl just put it in hot water 2 speed up the tea-ification process didn’t realize there was an actual reason

[boimgfrog]

You dont have the patience to microwave water for 3 minutes???

[catsnraincoats]

[ID: Tags reading “u think i have the patience to boil water wtf ?????” /End ID]

why are you. putting it in the microwave to boil it

[boimgfrog]

Do you think I have the patience to boil water on the stove

[catsnraincoats]

Its takes less than a minute

[boimgfrog]

Bestie is ur stovetop powered by the fucking sun

[catsnraincoats]

How long does it take you to boil a cup of water on the stove

[boimgfrog]

Like seven minutes

[catsnraincoats]

Just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat n it boils in like two minutes… less than that is u use a saucepan…

[boimgfrog]

Crying you’re putting the whole mug on the stove ???? On medium heat???? Ur stove is enchanted

[pidoop]

Every single person in this post is a fucking lunatic

[silverjirachi]

Yet another post that reads like four shakespeare characters who come out in the middle of the play to talk about something completely unrelated for comic relief

[wizardlyghost]

(Enter RADISHN’T, MOTHMAN MISATO, BOIMG FROG and CATS'N RAINCOATS, stage left. They are having a HEATED DISCUSSION.)

RADISHN’T: Prithee, which one of you had planned to tell

Of diff'rent flavours gained by simple act

Of brewing tea with water hot, not cold?

MOTHMAN: Egad! you poured the water cold? Wherefore?!

FROG: An answer from you, Radish, I must beg.

RADISHN’T: Indeed I did, dear friends - why does this shock?

Without the guide of others I assumed

That heat was merely added for the sake

Of expediting this solution’s brewing!

Half a decade I have spent, or more,

Not questioning this worldview I had made.

In fact, I am myself a bit surprised

That you might think that I, your dearest friend,

Might have a patience of sufficient stock

To wait until a pot of water boils.

FROG: Three minutes overtaxes patience so?

The microwave will beep when it is done!

CATS'N: My friend, this answer vexes me the more!

Can it be true that thou dost boil by nuke?!

FROG: Are you in turn, my friend, so shocked to know

That I have not the patience, like our Root,

To boil upon the stove our favour’d drink?

CATS'N: It takes less than a minute!

FROG: On what plate?

Perhaps your dinner cooks atop the sun?

CATS'N: How long can take your stove to fill the task

Of boiling but a single cup alone?

FROG: In minutes?

CATS'N: Yes!

FROG: I counted seven, once.

CATS'N: Perhaps you ought to have your timepiece checked!

If on a middle heat you place the cup

You soon will have the scalding drink you crave.

Two minutes, in a mug upon the plate

Or even less, if you should have a pot.

FROG: You cause me tears - is this how thou dost live?

You place upon the iron stove a mug?

A mug, ceramic, filled with water cold?

How do these flames, though medium in height,

Not shatter like a glass this fragile thing?

Surely, then, your kitchen is bewitched

With magicks far beyond the mortal ken!

(The FOUR realise they have wandered into the THRONE ROOM. The ROYAL COURT watches with fascination.)

KING: Ev'ry single person in this group must be a fucking lunatic, it seems.

[elodieunderglass]

[dustyxoverture]

I’m sorry but the THOUGHT that has been put into this, I actually CAN’T—

The fact that nearly every line is so metrically considered- near perfect iambic pentameter witb the occasional trochee for emphasis, but usually retaining a strong sense of rhythm nonetheless. And then the king comes in at the end, so wound in his disbelief that his response is reduced to prose.

And the even better thing about this is how easy it would have been to structure the king’s line into iambic pentameter: it is effectively already said as such because of the way wizardlyghost has phrased it, yet they haven’t!! They did not break the line, rendering what, by all typically of both Shakespearean canon and other periods context should be the character with the most command and authority in the whole play. If there was ever a more effective way to convey a genuine “what the fuck??”, I know of it not.

But it gets better!! Shakespeare regularly uses meter in order to represent class divide; the nobility usually speak in iambic pentameter, save for a few particularly chosen moments (e.g. Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness, Othello’s realisation of Desdemona’s “betrayal”) or just lines where Shakespeare needs to suggest high emotion or when a character is lost in thought. Supernatural characters like the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Witches in Macbeth usually speak in trochaic tetrameter, an inversion of iambic pentameter. Lower class characters, particularly those used for comic relief (usually under the influence of alcohol), speak with no structure at all: their language is plain prose. Therefore, if this is a conversation between these types of characters, as the prompt from silvergirachi suggests, why the hell are the characters speaking so eloquently???

Now, this is Tumblr. It is subsequently logical to assume that this may have merely been a humorous recreation (and a very good one at that) of the Shakespearean style in a way that is widely recognisable to an audience that may or may not have read a great deal of Shakespeare, which is understandable. However, logic is boring so I’m going to probe further into this to the point where future historians will look to this as an example of overanalysing.

The inherent eloquence of the characters here suggests an unusual subversion of the roles typically assumed in Shakespearean comedy. This could be interpreted along two major avenues: firstly, that the rhetoric displayed by the speakers is fundamentally representative of how truth can be expected even from the most seemingly pointless or ludicrous discussions. Furthermore, it could suggest that it matters not how well constructed your speeches are: if you talk bullshit, it’s going to sound that way despite your attempts to hide it.

This is similar but not identical to the second avenue of interpretation: there is the implication that the noblemen in the play are in fact the comic relief characters, therefore implying that the “common people” of the play are the ones whose influence, though not expressed in such a highly spoken manner, makes a lot more sense than whatever the hell this is. If this was a real Shakespeare play, I would call it a subtle exploration into the innate corruption of the rich and powerful. Well done, op.

Now, I doubt any of this is actually grounded analysis in any way, shape or form, but if someone else can take this to the extremes of writing a Shakespearean scene, why can I not analyse it as such? And where else to do so than Tumblr?

[wizardlyghost]

im in tears i didnt think anyone would put this much analysis into this‚ thank you so much

[whetstonefires]

i also like that everyone else gets a version of their handle and then tumblr user pidoop is promoted to king

[writethebirds]

[mathgirlchaos]

Epic!

[jennaflare]

I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not fine

Song: Fine Not Fine by Spector

[beautifulduckweed]

In case you haven't seen this vid, please consider this reblog me taking you gently by the shoulders, pushing your ass down onto the nearest seat, and playing this for you until you've watched it all the way through. If you've watched it already--same thing, actually. Sit down, pal, it's time for your daily re-watch of Fine Not Fine.

It's perfectly edited; every lyric is synced up with the exact correct scene/character beat, and it's sustained through the entire song instead of 30 seconds to a minute. It tells a coherent story; it reveals painful things that the characters hold as true. All of this takes serious skill and effort.

I know this has thousands of reblogs and likes but I will personally not rest until it's in the hundreds of thousands. This is hands-down the best vid I've seen for this show so far and I've seen some absolutely bonkers edits.

[mathgirlchaos]

This is awesome

[microsff]

"Listen," one guard said, "I know we have only just met-"

"No," the other guard said, "we've worked together for years!"

"-but you can trust me when I say-"

"I can't, you have the curse that's opposite from mine!"

"I don't care for you at all."

"Well, I… oh… I love you too."

[hb-not-the-pencil]

i dont make comics often but this was too cute.

[zerenta-mrraow]

proof by it came to me in a dream

proof by magic orb

proof by go ask chthulu

proof by just trust me :3333

proof by blackmail

proof by mom said it's my turn with the proof you don't get to see it

proof by mind control

[mathgirlchaos]

My favorite is proof by professor. You asked me to prove it, therefore it is true. QED

[rederiswrites]

History will remember you today, Minnesota. Well done.

[leebrontide]

IN NEGATIVE TWENTY DEGREES!!!!!

Please spread this around. Don't let ANYONE lie and say my community is anything but ASTONISHINGLY UNITED in rejection of ICE's behavior. This crosses generations, race lines, party lines, class lines. THAT is how bad ICE is. THAT is how bad we want them gone.

THAT is how loudly we are DEMANDING they leave!

Do you understand what a crowd like this means in a small city like Minneapolis??? In weather that hurts to breathe???

Can you imagine what that takes?

[ralfmaximus]

Bigger turnout than his inauguration!

[mathgirlchaos]

I live outside the cities (minneapolis and st paul), but we were out in that cold, too. In a cold that was so cold schools were closed (because kids waiting for a school bus could get frostbite in under 10 minutes). I'm from a sleepy little town only near other sleepy little towns (and ice is here too causing trouble) and everyone I know is pissed at ice amd those in the administation ostensibly over ice. The shooting today is only going to make it worse. But this isn't just an urban rural divide issue here in MN - no matter what you see in the media.

[saints3angels]

obsessed with this poor guy who gets dragged away from his takeout menu so his evil bisexual roommate can go have the worst club experience of his life

[bigneonglitter]

OKAY WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO HERE IS TALK ABOUT WHO THIS MAN IS. BUCKLE THE FUCK UP.

This is Harrison Browne. He's a trans man, activist, actor, former pro, and the first openly transgender athlete in professional hockey. He came out in 2016 when he played for the now-defunct NWHL's Buffalo Beauts. The same season he came out, he went on to win the NWHL's Isobel Cup championship. A year later, he did it again. When he retired in order to medically transition, he retired as a champion.

In 2025 he and his sister Rachel Browne wrote a book everyone should read called Let Us Play: Winning The Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes. He's an icon, a trailblazer, and a goddamned delight. Hockey is better for having him anywhere near it.

[mobydickering]

He's also written and directed an autobiographical film that premiered last year at TIFF!

[mathgirlchaos]

Ok. Everyone with heated rivalry obsession right now should definitely know this bit of of very cool trivia!

[the-venereal-bede-deactivated20]

THE advantage of memorizing poetry is that when somethings happening, maybe even you’re in a situation or a location, you can just go “ok. lady of shallott time” and boom. you reclaimed your mental space and attention for YOU for the next ten minutes

[rosenbraut]

Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes, and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator.

— Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

[snarklordofthesith]

i know this is humorous but! i learned from one of my college friends (who learned from a therapist) that reciting a poem you have memorized is a great grounding & focusing technique when you’re spiraling into anxiety or panic. i can personally attest that The Tyger has staved off several panic attacks.

so like if said “situation or location” is freaking you out really badly, “lady of shallott time” can help reclaim your mental health too

[ariaste]

Ok everybody share what poems you can recite in case we’re trapped in an elevator.

I’ve got the first 42 lines of The Canterbury Tales in Middle English, the first 10 lines of Beowulf in Old English, the first canto of Tolkien’s Lay of Beren and Luthien, and Sonnet XVI by Pablo Neruda (“I love the handful of the earth you are”). I used to have the Proem of the Kalevala but I’m a bit shaky on it it now and I think i’ve only got the first two sentences. Anda handful of others I half-remember which i could probably do if I were with someone else who half-remembered the same ones and we could prompt each other back and forth.

[mathgirlchaos]

Ooooo. 'The Cremation of Sam McGee'. Memorized it in 6th grade and still know it!

[oh-good]

this is a Christmas post for you to like and unlike over and over to see the little snowy animation they have rn

[mathgirlchaos]

Adorable!

[mathgirlchaos]

Both my math and teacher parts appreciate this one....

[rozanovshane]

the world may seem sad and bleak right now so in the tags tell me one good thing that’s happened to you this year so far

[algebraic-dumbass]

im much better than computers at math. for instance, i can make floating point errors even when working with integers

[mathgirlchaos]

Humorous math always gets reblogged

[thebighhh]

[mathgirlchaos]

Math laugh for the day

[vigilantsycamore]

Least surprising thing I've ever learned from a Wikipedia article

[jewishpangolin]

[rainstormyday]

Me: "I like [topic]. [Topic] is my life's biggest passion. In fact, I am a [topic] major."

Them: "oh ew. I hate [topic] why would you ever subject yourself to that torture? I could never spend my life doing [topic]."

*the twilight zone narrator voice* this interaction you have just witnessed may seem inhumane and just cruel, nethertheless it is an interaction that math majors must experience every day of their apparently torturous lives.

[mathgirlchaos]

I used to get 'you must enjoy balancing your checkbook.' Like, no. That's accounting. Totally different subject. No dissing accounting for those who like that, but math lovers are into something much closer to poetry than organizing numbers. And if that seems like a strange statement, then despite what you thought, you haven't actually studied math. You've studied arithmetic.

[jarenka]

Multi billion dollar corporations: We make crap AI ads because we rather hang ourselves than pay an extra cent for a quality work.

Midsize art supply manufacturer: We commissioned a watercolor artist to make an illustration for every color of our watercolor palette and make it into an art book with swatches.

(Ekaterina Goland for "Old master" watercolors by Gamma)

[mathgirlchaos]

This is so cool! Beautiful, too

[theatrekidenergy]

Did anyone else have the opposite of the “I liked math until they added letters” experience because the second they added letters I was ALL over my work. Reason I fell in love with math was the letters. Peak hobby I had (and srill do kinda have) was just finding algebra problems for the funsies.

[rainstormyday]

YEP! You're not alone here

[mathgirlchaos]

Definitely not alone. In my house, we say 'I love math, but not arithmetic'. And don't ever ask me to do balance your checking account. It won't go well.....