447: Too Old For This Shit

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Too Old For This Shit
They say if a mathematician doesn't do their great work by age eleven, they never will.
Title text: They say if a mathematician doesn't do their great work by age eleven, they never will.

Explanation

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This comic makes fun of the fact that most mathematical geniuses have their exceptional work done in their early years (for which they eventually become famous) by exaggerating it. But at an age of thirteen they never have the knowledge to understand all that "Shit". So this is more a joke about a young boy ignoring his real world. "Too Old For This Shit" is a sentence done by people in their fifties or even older.

Trivia

A striking example is Carl Friedrich Gauss the famous mathematician, who wrote his exceptional masterpiece Disquisitiones Arithmeticae at the early age of 21. At least in "Measuring the World" he admitted having trouble understanding it when he got older because of his age.

Transcript

[Cueball and friend and standing somewhere.]
Cueball: I wish I could do math like when i was young.
Friend: Huh?
Cueball: It doesn't come easy like it once did.
Friend: Uh huh.
Cueball: Math is a game for the young. I need to sit back and let the future happen.
Friend: You're thirteen.
Cueball: Yes, and it's time I accept that.


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Discussion

For example Fields Medal is given to mathematicians not over 40 years of age --JakubNarebski (talk) 20:47, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

Yet Sir Andrew Wiles was 41 when he found the proof for Fermats Last Theorum... I'm glad he didn't give up at age 11. Personally I never stood a chance as I only got interested in maths after leaving school (and yes I do struggle even though I'm 42! and am envious of everyone who's good at it ;) ) Squirreltape (talk) 16:45, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

One of few xkcd strips where the characters being stick figures actually helps comedy... Mumiemonstret (talk) 15:50, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

I can't help but feel that there's another joke here. Namely, the 13 year old claiming that maths isn't as easy as it used to be might be reffering to the fact that he used to do arithmetic, but now has to deal with stuff like algebra and graphs. (Hey, someone put my IP address here for identification).

It's actually a common misconception Einstein didn't believe quantum theory, he only rejected the parts that went against common physics.Hiihaveanaccount (talk) 17:47, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

And he developed general relativity long after his annus mirabilis. Not all great work is done while young. Nitpicking (talk) 03:22, 26 August 2021 (UTC)