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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
This comic imagines which {{w|List of mathematical symbols|mathematical symbols}} would be good in a fight if they were made corporeal in two (or three) dimensions.  
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This comic imagines which {{w|List of mathematical symbols|mathematical symbols}} would be good in a fight if they were made corporeal in two (or three) dimensions. Generally, objects with longer reach and pointier ends wind up on the right ("more useful") side of the scale, and symbols with less reach and more curves tend towards the left ("less useful") side.  
 
 
Generally, objects with longer reach and pointier ends wound up on the right ("more useful") side of the scale, and symbols with less reach and more curves wound towards the left ("less useful") side. A straight line is farthest to the "more dangerous" side; however, the straight line does not appear to be any thicker or thinner, or pointier, than any of the other lines that would make it more "useful" (It should be noted that this chart seems to fall afoul of what {{w|Eliezer Yudkowsky}} (who also wrote HPMoR) calls the ''intent to kill'': that humans tend to define "winning a fight" and "useful" as causing some form of bodily harm on their opponent despite survival and purely defensive strategies being an equally valid goals.).
 
  
 
Below the chart, with the symbols listed in order of usefulness, eight characters wield eight of the symbols. See the [[#Table of symbols|table]] below for the meaning of each symbol.
 
Below the chart, with the symbols listed in order of usefulness, eight characters wield eight of the symbols. See the [[#Table of symbols|table]] below for the meaning of each symbol.
  
 
The comic invokes {{w|Surreal humour|surreal humor}} by suggesting that mathematical symbols could be handled as physical objects in the real world. Another component of the humor is the implication that it is useful to prepare to use mathematical symbols in a fight, even though mathematicians, who use mathematical symbols, usually do not conduct their debates violently (though some stories suggest that {{w|Hippasus}} was killed by his fellow Pythagoreans for his proof that irrational numbers exist), and even if they did, they wouldn't use large reproductions of their symbols as weapons.
 
The comic invokes {{w|Surreal humour|surreal humor}} by suggesting that mathematical symbols could be handled as physical objects in the real world. Another component of the humor is the implication that it is useful to prepare to use mathematical symbols in a fight, even though mathematicians, who use mathematical symbols, usually do not conduct their debates violently (though some stories suggest that {{w|Hippasus}} was killed by his fellow Pythagoreans for his proof that irrational numbers exist), and even if they did, they wouldn't use large reproductions of their symbols as weapons.
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A straight line is farthest to the "more dangerous" side. However, the straight line does not appear to be any thicker or thinner, or pointier, than any of the other lines. 
  
 
The title text refers to a {{w|Treble clef}}, which is not a mathematical symbol but rather a {{w|List of musical symbols|musical symbol}}. The note of concern in the text suggests musical symbols may be viewed in such fights as exotic or especially dangerous. See also the last entry in the table below.
 
The title text refers to a {{w|Treble clef}}, which is not a mathematical symbol but rather a {{w|List of musical symbols|musical symbol}}. The note of concern in the text suggests musical symbols may be viewed in such fights as exotic or especially dangerous. See also the last entry in the table below.

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