# Explain this math joke **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-math-joke/773928 "2016-12-05T15:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-math-joke/773928/21 "2016-12-05T23:29:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But if you go the web site and see the original way it was written, you’ll see that it’s not like that. But that’s the only way to write it if you’re a mathematician. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-math-joke/773928/22 "2016-12-06T02:40:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > But that’s the only way to write it if you’re a mathematician. Mathematicians aren’t locked into one type of notation. But that’s missing the point. I was pointing out that any explanation that relies on the way the OP wrote the joke is most likely wrong, since that’s not the way the joke was written originally (in the OP’s linked-to site). ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-math-joke/773928/23 "2016-12-06T07:14:33Z")
Negative i Negative as in “bad”. A bad eye. The evil eye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-math-joke/773928.md?page=1)