Math Is Math

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Part of a series on The Incredibles. [View Related Entries]

About

"Math Is Math" refers to a memorable quote said by the character Mr. Incredible in the 2018 animated film Incredibles 2. Online, the scene gained popularity in memes, particularly as X Is X snowclone in posts which emphasize the perceived lack of difference between two things.

Origin

On February 14th, 2018, the first trailer for the animated film Incredibles 2 premiered.^[1] In one scene of the trailer, the character Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr), voiced by Craig T. Nelson, assists his son Dash with homework and gets agitated when Dash points out that he is not solving a problem the way the math textbook recommends. On June 15th, 2018, Incredibles 2 premiered in the United States.^[2]

- That's not the way you're supposed to do it, dad. They want us to do it this way.
- I don't know that way. Why would they change math? Math is math. Math. Is. Math!

On February 16th, 2018, Redditor^[3] digbuster posted a used a still of Mr. Incredible pointing captioned "Math is Math!" in a meme posted to /r/dankmemes subreddit. The post received over 4,900 upvotes in six months (shown below). On the same day, digbuster reposted the meme to /r/MemeEconomy,^[4] where it gained over 640 upvotes in the same period.

Spread

On February 17th, 2018, an unknown 9GAG^[5] user posted a viral meme based on the format (shown below). The post received over 17,600 points in two years and has been frequently reposted on Reddit^[6]^[7] in the following years.

In 2018 and 2019, the format saw a moderate spread on Reddit. For example, a December 5th, 2018, post by Redditor^[8] The-Dank-Memer received over 10,800 upvotes in six months (shown below, left). A March 10th, 2019, post by Redditor^[9] xX_mackjuicebox_Xx gained over 17,100 upvotes in six months (shown below, right).

On November 18th, 2019, Redditor^[10] iigamer2006 posted a snowclone meme utilizing the format to /r/memes, where it gained over 32,300 upvotes in one month (shown below). Following the post, the format saw a surge in popularity on Reddit, with notable memes posted in /r/memes,^[11] /r/dankmemes,^[12] /r/historymemes^[13] and other subreddits.