History Main / AppliedMathematics

* The title of Creator/BobDylan's song [[Music/BringingItAllBackHome "Love Minus Zero/No Limit"]] is an equation ("Love - 0 / ∞").

** Underpants Gnomes. Step 1: [[MissingStepPlan Collect underpants. Step 2: '''?''' Step 3: Profit!]]

** In the episode "Simpsons Already Did It": Cartman's explanation for how adding semen to his tank of "Sea People" (brine shrimp) caused them to develop a civilisation: Sea-People + Sea-Men = Sea-Ciety.
** Underpants Gnomes. Step 1: Collect underpants. Step 2: '''?''' Step 3: Profit!

* In ''KenanAndKel'', Kenan uses this trope to explain Kel his plan, Kel then tells him he can't add things that aren't numbers.
* Used in ''{{Numb3rs}}''.

* ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'': The Don Rosa version of Uncle Scrooge sometimes assembles these in his thought balloons.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* The Don Rosa version of ''UncleScrooge'' sometimes assembles these in his thought balloons.

* Benito Jacovitti, an Italian comic artist, used to draw little comic strips of this type as a gag aside of a main story. Sometimes they were related with verbal jokes (in Italian), sometimes more logical, sometimes nonsenses as in the picture of this entry (bull + lyre = bull with musical strings in the horns). Sometimes he used operations different form the sum: for instance, \sqrt{man}= skeleton.

* In ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', the Brain tries to mathematically deduce the reason his plans usually fail. He ends up with a portrait of Pinky. Later, Pinky is made smarter and finds several mistakes in Brain's calculations. Correcting them results in a portrait of Brain.

* In the ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Out to Launch," Phineas and Ferb are trying to get a rocket to launch using a scientific equation (You can see it starting at [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0Nso-mm20 3:18 here]]), and with each new attempt, Phineas modifies one of the terms. After a few false starts, Ferb points out the problem: the equation equals the square root of a bomb. Phineas changes it to a smiley face, and their next launch is successful.

* In ''Mickey Mania'', when you fight the Mad Doctor, there is a nonsensical equation - featuring Pluto - in the background.

* ''KeychainOfCreation'' brings us [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0285.html this]].

* ''TheBoondocks'': Nigga Moment + Nigga Synthesis = [[CrowningMomentOfFunny COMPLETE]] [[BrickJoke DISASTER]]

* It's probably closer to MemeticMutation, but Franchise/{{Batman}} + HumongousMecha = ''Anime/TheBigO''
** By the same token, ''Manga/DeathNote'' + HumongousMecha = ''Anime/CodeGeass''.

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

* [[http://flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/theories/calculus.htm Tolkien as Calculus]]
** Where's the calculus? Inequalities, yes, but no calculus...

* Puck has a moment of this in {{Berserk}} when he sees Guts collapse. He rushes over to him as he's getting swarmed by weak ghosts, and his wild flailing drives them off. Guts < Monsters, Monsters < Puck, so Puck > Guts.

* ''DuckDodgers'': Daffy draws a complicated navigation chart to navigate to Planet X, and then Porky suggests they just follow the letters on the planets.
* ''TheSimpsons'', when Homer is an inventor. During a montage, he's shown writing equations on a blackboard. After he's done, the camera moves to shot of the house ? where there's a massive explosion. Cut back to Homer: who examines his equation and crosses out the offending section, a drawing of a stick of dynamite, which he then replaces with something else. This results in another, ''bigger'' explosion.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels (but also referring to the real world, and why time can be lost in bookshops): Libraries are collections of books and books contain knowledge. Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass. "[[Discworld/GuardsGuards A good bookshop is a genteel black hole that knows how to read.]]"
** Camel mathematicians also think in these terms.
--->Let legs equal four....
** The eighth son of an eighth son will always be a wizard. The eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son is a wizard squared (and a Sourcerer). Even though FridgeLogic points out that if that's going to be any power of a wizard, it ought to be 3/2. But WritersCannotDoMath.
*** This is a bit like the old question about a double hat-trick: do 4 successive whatevers count as a double hat-trick because there's the first one made up of the first, second and third examples, and a second consisting of the second, third and fourth ones? If so, then the Sourcerer = Wizard^2 argument holds up. An 8th son is just that; it's only when he has an 8th son that said son is a wizard. So it's the extra generation and power of 8 that counts. Doing that ''again'' -- that is, the wizard having an 8th son -- is what makes him a Sourcerer. Put numbers to it: Original 8th son = 1 (un-magical); his 8th son = 8 (wizard); ''his'' 8th son = 64 (Sourcerer, and wizard squared).

* [[Webvideo/Whatthefuckiswrongwithyou Nash]] does this sometimes, when talking about a complete and stupid disaster. "Once again, it's time to do the math: This + this equals [[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]] THIS!"

* Puck has a moment of this in {{Berserk}} when he sees Guts collapse. He rushes over to him as he's getting swarmed by weak ghosts, and his wild flailing drives them off. Guts < Monsters, Monsters < Puck, so Puck < Guts.

* In ''TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', Jack puts a number of these "equations" on a blackboard to try and understand Christmas.

** The eighth son of an eighth son will always be a wizard. The eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son is a wizard squared (and a sourcerer). Even though FridgeLogic points out that if that's going to be any power of a wizard, it ought to be 3/2. But WritersCannotDoMath.

** Pretty Sure Einstein said that first.

** Underpants Gnomes. Step 1: Collect underpants. Step 2: '''?''' StepThreeProfit!

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in the episode "Simpsons Already Did It": Cartman's explanation for how adding semen to his tank of "Sea People" (brine shrimp) caused them to develop a civilisation: Sea-People + Sea-Men = Sea-Ciety