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What Is The '17 Squares In A Larger Square' Meme? The 'Ugly Math' Problem Explained

17 Squares In A Larger Square meme.

3861 views
Published February 22, 2023

Published February 22, 2023

Either you love math or absolutely hate everything related to it. Whether you're still in school or have graduated a long time ago, the memory of sleepless nights before exams can still be there to haunt you. That said, this article will fumble its way about a certain viral math theory that shows the most efficient and compact way to fit 17 squares in a larger square.

Bored yet? Let me tell you how the internet did its magic and transformed this subject into a series of funny memes on Twitter.

What Is The '17 Squares In A Larger Square'?

Before we discuss this meme, we have to take a detour back to 1998, when John Bidwell, an undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii, solved a math problem on how to pack equal squares in a larger square. This solution inspired Twitter user @KangarooPhysics to post a series of tweets (see below) in 2021 about "The best known packings of N equal circles into a square and a circle."

How Did '17 Squares In A Larger Square' Become A Meme On Twitter?

Aesthetics is everything, especially on the internet. So when Twitter users discovered the image of non-organized squares inside a larger square with the text "best known packings of square," it caused an uproar of memes on the platform. Twitter user @eigenrobot was one of the first to rise against the math problem with a quote tweet from 2021 saying, "vaguely offensive act by God if this holds up."

The image was then left untouched for a few years until @KangarooPhysics decided to repost the subject on February 2023, bringing back hoards of unsatisfied people with the lack of aesthetics in the math solution. Twitter user @NathanpmYoung declared that "God is dead and the most efficient way to pack 17 squares into a square killed him."

Well, if you're still here and want to learn more about the optimal packing of 17 equal squares into larger square warfare, TikToker @saxxie.dev delves a bit further into why this math solution is considered "ugly math."

@saxxie.dev #stitch with @lili0235wm8 If u like packing problems hmu #math #categorytheory #compositionality ♬ Paradise – Ikson


For the full history of the quote, be sure to check out our entry on the 17 squares in a larger square for even more information.

Tags: math memes, mathematics, meme, twitter, 17 squares in a larger square, optimal way to arrange 17 squares,



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