buggery: Geeky fun with maths (with extra comics-geekiness)

Geeky fun with maths (with extra comics-geekiness)
Why yes, another post! And I still haven't got round to posting my belated report on Friday's delightful adventure -- possibly I am constitutionally incapable of reporting on fangatherings until well after the fact.

So, today's xkcd:
The full analysis is of course much more complicated, but I can't stay to talk about it because I have a date.

The full analysis is of course much more complicated, but I can't stay to talk about it because I have a date.

Gosh, I love reposting things that are under Creative Commons license.
Like pretty much all xkcd strips, it's awesomely, geektastically funny. But I'd like to draw your attention to the little visual aid in panel two which reads 'Standard Creepiness Rule: Don't date under (age/2 + 7)'.

This rule explains rather a lot about Batman/Robin and Superman/Robin pairings ...if you take into account the way many people have trouble remembering mathematical formulae correctly. (Don't believe me? What's the formula for the circumference of a circle?¹ How about for the area of a right triangle?²) Here's what I think happened.

In Bruce's head, it's 'Don't date under (age/7 + 2)'; so, if he's 35 -- and canonically, he's always 35 except when otherwise specified such as in Batman: Year One or 'The Lesson' -- this yields a don't-date-under age of seven years old. Perfect for Bruce, who in ever so many ways is still an eight-year-old boy in a man's body.

In Clark's head, the Standard Creepiness Rule is 'Don't date under (age/2 - 7)'; so, if his default canon age is 30 -- which, officially, it's either 29 or 30, but I don't want to clutter up this post with tedious remainders -- this yields a don't-date-under age of eight. Perfect for ...Clark's tendency to fixate on Robins from the moment he first lays eyes on them in uniform. Especially when one takes into consideration that, while modern canon has adjusted Dick Grayson's age at the time of his parents' death to thirteen, in the Golden Age Dick went to live with Bruce and fight crime in short pants before he was even ten years old (the number of birthday candles on the cake in this issue was frighteningly small, but unfortunately the internets failed to provide me with any scans showing the post-spanking panels).

See? It ALL MAKES SENSE NOW.
___
1. Hint: *not* πr².
2. Hint: *not* A²+B²=C².

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	ratcreature 2007-09-10 04:14 pm UTC (link)
	Um, actually I'm fairly sure the area of a circle is πr^2 if r is the radius. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	buggery 2007-09-10 09:32 pm UTC (link)
	Man, I don't know how I mixed that up -- it was supposed to read circumference of a circle and area of a right triangle (rather than area of a circle and perimeter of a right triangle). Fixed. I'm going to attribute it to my having difficulty writing something incorrect on purpose, rather than to my being a dumbass. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sockich 2007-09-10 07:09 pm UTC (link)
	Ahahahahahahahahaha, oh fuck, this is absolutely brilliant. Also, makes a terrifying amount of sense. :D (Reply to this) (Thread)

	buggery 2007-09-10 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	So it isn't just me? Maybe we all have a little bit of scary bat god in us... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	cmshaw 2007-09-10 07:51 pm UTC (link)
	See? It ALL MAKES SENSE NOW. eep. yes, yes it does. math is always the answer! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	buggery 2007-09-10 09:38 pm UTC (link)
	Mathematics 4TW! (Also, deep and abiding icon <3.) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cmshaw 2007-09-11 04:44 pm UTC (link)
	math makes everything ~~better~~ ~~scarier~~ better! i have to wonder whether tim and barbara have a pact to not tutor dick in math.... :) (aw, thank you! the jay canon, she is delicious! <3) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	minoanmiss 2007-09-13 03:52 pm UTC (link)
	Math for the WIN! cheers, giggling (Reply to this)

	rabican 2007-09-13 05:48 pm UTC (link)
	Batman: fails at numeracy! giggles like a loon (Reply to this)

vassilissa.livejournal.com
2007-09-14 12:07 am UTC (link)

*checks footnotes* Shit. It wasn't πr²? *types in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumference* Oh.

At least I got the area of a right angled triangle right... didn't I? AB/2 for a triangle ABC where C is the hypotenuse? *checks wikipedia* *gets confused*

In Bruce's head, it's 'Don't date under (age/7 + 2)

Ahahahahahahahahahaha.

the way many people have trouble remembering mathematical formulae correctly.

Not just mathematical formulae. According to Mark Twain, whenever an American schoolboy is in doubt about an historical date, he pulls out his 1492. Declaration of Independence? 1492. Civil war? 1492. Circumference of the earth? 1492 miles.

(Reply to this)