Nom nom

And then here's me having to have my wife help my daughter with her middle school math assignments because they entirely mystify me.

I had no idea that people struggled with this so much and have come up with such crazy (to me) ways of figuring it out.

Most of the world, if asked to write down numbers 1-100 on a line, would do so left to right. The < and > symbols are arrows pointing left and right. To the left the numbers decrease (less than) and to the right the numbers increase (greater than).

All this stuff about crocodiles and ducks seems like such a bizarre way to remember it!

I know that you can pronounce the emoticon <3 as less than three and it has for whatever reason replaced the crocodile mnemonic.

I got a zero on a math test in second grade because I said "the bigger number is on the bigger side" instead of "the crocodile wants to eat the bigger number", fuck you 2nd grade math teacher who made me hate math by being the thought police.

I never understood why so many people seemingly struggle with these signs to the point they need a mnemonic. The big side points to the big number and the small side to the small one. What even is there to remember?

My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush

big side, big number

I earned it as the larger part being on the side of the bigger number

.<:

Directions are one of the most confusing aspect tbh. Bounding is difficult..

It's a thing that I've always thought that people over-complicate. It's just there, the small side with the small number the big side with the big number...

<3 is "less than three", and 3 is "three" so logically < is "less than"

Surely in theoretical physics, the most common use of > is in a ket (eg. |ψ>).

MesseR Rechts, GabeL Links.

Every single time when setting up dishes on the table.

I don't think I've ever been taught a mnemonic with animals

The small number is on the small side of the symbol, the large number is on the large side, it seems pretty intuitive to me, to be honest.

The teacher who first taught me told me “Pac Man wants to get the most points” and that stuck with me

"Points at the smaller thing"

Every time I watch a student stall out on inequalities I ask "it's the crocodile isn't it?". Without fail, they've got confused by it and as soon as they hear "points at the smaller thing" they have no issues.

Say it in English grammar "GREATER than" means greater number first. And vice versa.

< is part of a K. The K stands for Kleiner which means smaller in German/Dutch

I've always been a fan of using > and < but in the general use of lesser than or greater than, however, the symbols were always interchangeable to me since it always depends on where you put the defined integer, correct?

If I want to say something is less than 37. It can either be 37 > or < 37.

Because in that scenario the imaginary integer n is always on the opposite side of the symbol.

37 > n

n < 37

So why did > ever become greater and < be less than? Doesn't it also depend on how your text is written? If people reading from right to left or down to up vs left to right and up to down, means it's reversed.

The open part of the caret is where the bigger number is, the opposite side is where the lesser number is.

One of my favorite teachers taught computers and pointed out that the less than symbol is towards the side of the keyboard with smaller numbers.

I am 54, and still every fucking time.

i feel like i’ve been using latex for so long that at this point my brain has been rewired to see ≤ as ‘\le’ (less than or equal to) and ≥ as ‘\ge’ (greater than or equal to), and then this dictates how i view < and > as well

I also have a theoretical degree in physics

I still sometimes think of pillars of one building when I think of concept of "tomorrow" because seeing those pillars was supposedly the first time in my childhood when I heard about "tomorrow".

Once I saw a (tailless) cow wearing uniform.

I was being disruptive in first grade and kicked out of class then we learned this (ADHD and boredom). I tried to peak through the window and do the crocodile arms to learn it, but my teacher saw me and came out and told me to stand at the end of the hall. I didn’t really learn this until 3rd grade. Ironically, math was my favorite subject for all of k-12.

I'm a mechanical engineer, and I often have to do a double thumbs up with my hands like b_d. It's the only way I can remember what comes first in the alphabet. In danish you spell boat båd, and if you mess up the order the b and d will be on the outside of the boat and drown, like dåb. Still works 20 years later

Crocodile want to eat cactus ?

What the bird beak pecks is meek.

Taught in Florida. It was an alligator.

when you hold your hands with your fingers spread out in front of you the L is on the left

Another way to remember is that < is like a squished L, for "Less than"

I see nothing wrong with this.

Sooo, does the crocodile face to the left or to the right?

The version I got taught was gobbledy monster!

According the old joke, and with no offence to scholars, the answer is :

“They’ll fucking tell you”

“How do you know if someone is doing a phd in physics?”

That is exactly how it is taught. Goog job.

Me, who has to make a pew pew hand pistol to tell left from right: this is not helping, both are crocodiles.

That's exactly the same level as the crocodile mnemonic.

Indicative of the fact this approach is counterintuitive to our thinking, but we're too stupid to adopt a new way to show it.

some ppl shouldn't have degrees