Math Geek With Too Much Free Time Draws Adorably Sad Dog With 181 Math Functions

Math geek draws a dog with math function tool

For many students struggling with math, the subject is a group of complex concepts and formulas that rarely comes in handy in everyday life.

While math has played an irreplaceable role in the advancement of science since the dawn of civilization, it is never really considered an interesting or entertaining subject.

Debunking the stereotype that math is boring and math geeks lack visual creativity, a Danang high school student has used 181 math functions to draw a cute crying dog.

Student uses 181 math functions to draw a sad doggo

The Vietnamese student’s Desmos art
Image adapted from: Desmos

In a photo posted by user Trung Thành Nguyễn on his Facebook page on 3rd February that soon went viral, an adorably sad dog was drawn standing under a cloud crying his eyeballs out. The lines, angles, and elements of the object fit together perfectly, while the essence of the dog’s expression is also beautifully captured.

While this picture is a lovely work of art itself, what made waves with netizens is that it was not created by a pen or photo editing tool, but with math functions.

Drawn on desmos.com, an online graphing tool for math learning and teaching, the picture was created with the lines produced by 181 math functions.

Some of the student’s 181 functions
Image adapted from: Desmos

While the ability of Desmos to run multiple functions until the graph matches the drawing is remarkable, the author’s patience and skills in separating every single curve of the drawing and converting it into math functions are no less praiseworthy.

According to Trung, the author of this jaw-dropping work of Desmos art, he came up with the idea for this work while in grade 8, and took a few years to devise and complete it.

Netizens are impressed

The Desmos art has garnered tremendous attention from netizens, drawing over 3,000 likes and hundreds of comments at the time of writing.

Image adapted from: Trung Thành Nguyễn

Facebook user Nguyễn Khánh Vy lavished her praise on Trung’s work in the comment section, “Math professor Trung is amazing. Millions of likes [for your work]. Incredible.”

Image adapted from: Trung Thành Nguyễn

“This is what you do when you’re good at math,” Facebook user Kamishiro Miyu left a cheeky comment.

The relationship between math and art

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Leonardo da Vinci

For centuries, math has had an underrated connection with art, through the use of concepts such as symmetry, angles, proportions, and perspective that appear in masterpieces, and are indeed validated by math principles.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic works Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are cases in point which both showcase the deft use of the mathematical golden ratio formula.

Student draws a dog with math functions

The student’s artwork goes to show that every academic subject, including math, has a wealth of fun aspects that every student can tap into to enhance their learning experience.

Even the advanced graphing tool Desmos, that wasn’t designed to create art in the first place, can become one of many fantastic tools to help students find joy in learning and boost their creativity.

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Cover image adapted from: Desmos, Trung Thành Nguyễn

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