Aliens Think Math Is Witchcraft

cc: So nobody on your planet uses math? Say, what is math anyway? just writing these weird, freaky symbols? Math is the language of the universe. How did your kind achieve space travel, You blow some stuff up, and it shoots you into space! Todays Lecture Laws of motion 1. F=ka 2. F=ma 3. Action=Reaction You do this in front of kids?!

A bearded man in a lab coat explains mathematics and space travel in a classroom while another man, tinted bright pink, reacts with bewilderment. The joke is that the skeptical character treats ordinary mathematics and Newtonian physics as bizarre occult symbols, then reduces rocket science to blowing things up; the final outrage at teaching children highlights his absurd alien-like misunderstanding. It is used as a reaction to anti-intellectual takes or someone acting confused by basic science.

So nobody on your planet uses math? Nope, never heard of it. Okay, say what is math anyway? Well, okay, so let me get this straight. You guys spend all day just writing these weird freaky symbols? Are you an occult? No, it's for science. Math is the language of the universe. Well, apparently the universe had a stroke because this is nonsense. How did your kind achieve space travel without performing the necessary calculations? It's a rocket. You blow some stuff up and it shoots you into space! It's not that hard! Oh my god, you even write it on the wall! Like a psycho! Well, that's a whiteboard. We use it so we can teach children. You do this in front of kids?!

• @ithueti / 6815 2022-06-24