A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
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This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
I had no idea that people struggled with this so much and have come up with such crazy (to me) ways of figuring it out.
Most of the world, if asked to write down numbers 1-100 on a line, would do so left to right. The < and > symbols are arrows pointing left and right. To the left the numbers decrease (less than) and to the right the numbers increase (greater than).
All this stuff about crocodiles and ducks seems like such a bizarre way to remember it!
I think about it the same way I think about + and -. I don't think at all. I just know.
Maybe it's because I'm a programmer and I encounter comparators more than addition and subtraction.
I know that you can pronounce the emoticon <3 as less than three and it has for whatever reason replaced the crocodile mnemonic.
I got a zero on a math test in second grade because I said "the bigger number is on the bigger side" instead of "the crocodile wants to eat the bigger number", fuck you 2nd grade math teacher who made me hate math by being the thought police.
I never understood why so many people seemingly struggle with these signs to the point they need a mnemonic. The big side points to the big number and the small side to the small one. What even is there to remember?
Yeah, the symbol is the mnemonic. What does the crocodile even explain? Why doesn't the bigger number eat the smaller numbers?
Yeah. It would be like saying "Oh, when I see a stop sign, I think to myself they're the same colour a traffic light turns to when you're supposed to stop, so I remember to stop"
Look at Dr. Postdoc here
That's Mr. Dr. Professor Postdoc to you!
My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush
big side, big number
Directions are one of the most confusing aspect tbh. Bounding is difficult..
I earned it as the larger part being on the side of the bigger number
.<:
<3 is "less than three", and 3 is "three" so logically < is "less than"
Also < looks like an L at an angle
I try this, but I always get <3 mixed up with Ɛ>
#cursed
aww love you too bro <3
MesseR Rechts, GabeL Links.
Every single time when setting up dishes on the table.
It's a thing that I've always thought that people over-complicate. It's just there, the small side with the small number the big side with the big number...
"The entirety of the small number constitutes a relatively smaller portion of the big number. Thus, the open side of > points to the smaller number to indicate that it's a magnified view within the larger number."
I hope this helps overcomplicate things for you. We must all return to crocodile.
Surely in theoretical physics, the most common use of > is in a ket (eg. |ψ>).
arguably, it's |ψ〉, which is not the same as >
wow that's a big difference (I have no idea what you are talking about)
It is just a notation for linear algebra and linear operators on complex vector spaces together with their dual space both in the finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional case. Really quite simple stuff actually...
smiles and nods, smiles and nods...
I think 〉 means a very hungry (or at least large mouthed) crocodile, and > is just a normal one.
Crocodile want to eat cactus ?
That cactus is the devil!
No? Not everyone's doing work on quantum systems. Far from it. Most people do not need to use Dirac notation.
I guess not. Its just that when I hear 'theoretical physics' I immediately think of particle physics (and related fields). I have this idea that in most branches of physics people just say the topic, eg. astronomy, material sciences, or whatever; and don't usually specify whether they are doing theoretical work or experimental/empirical work. But in particle physics ... my impression is that people are more likely to specify. Anyway, that's just my own bias I guess.
I don't think I've ever been taught a mnemonic with animals
The small number is on the small side of the symbol, the large number is on the large side, it seems pretty intuitive to me, to be honest.
The teacher who first taught me told me “Pac Man wants to get the most points” and that stuck with me
Say it in English grammar "GREATER than" means greater number first. And vice versa.
Crocodile eats bigger number is way easier to remember
I feel you.
How does this help me remember which symbol means greater than and which one means less than?
The bigger side of the symbol is greater. The small side is less.
We read left to right.
That make sense?
"Points at the smaller thing"
Every time I watch a student stall out on inequalities I ask "it's the crocodile isn't it?". Without fail, they've got confused by it and as soon as they hear "points at the smaller thing" they have no issues.
yeah its literally a graph. the bigger side is the bigger number. the smaller, surprise, smaller number.
I've always been a fan of using > and < but in the general use of lesser than or greater than, however, the symbols were always interchangeable to me since it always depends on where you put the defined integer, correct?
If I want to say something is less than 37. It can either be 37 > or < 37.
Because in that scenario the imaginary integer n is always on the opposite side of the symbol.
37 > n
n < 37
So why did > ever become greater and < be less than? Doesn't it also depend on how your text is written? If people reading from right to left or down to up vs left to right and up to down, means it's reversed.
The open part of the caret is where the bigger number is, the opposite side is where the lesser number is.
37 > n
"37 is greater than n."
n < 37
"n is less than 37."
Obviously both sentences have the same meaning, but the symbols are named that way because people usually read left to right... (in English that is)