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Tattoos For the Math and Science Geek?

An anonymous reader writes "I've been thinking of getting a sleeve of math and science tattoos for quite a while now. With the money saved up, the only question remaining is, what equations/ideas should I get? I know for certain that I'm going to include some of Maxwell's equations, and definitely Ohm's Law. So, if you were going to put a tribute to the great math and science minds on your body forever, which ones would you choose?"

32 of 1,186 comments (clear)

  1. Before you do it by mangu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Think twice. Do you *really* think this will be so important to you forever?

    1. Re:Before you do it by TheKidWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even worse, what if we find out the laws are wrong?

    2. Re:Before you do it by mabersold · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Indeed. Remember, tastes change, but tattoos are permanent. Think that over a few times before getting one.

    3. Re:Before you do it by TheCarp · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, if he saved up the money for a whole sleeve either a) he is paid ridiculously (or rather well with exceptionally few expenses) or b) he has thought about it for at least a few weeks.

      I mean, if he was going for a big cock on his forhead, maybe $60 or so, then I would agree but... a person saving up for a whole sleeve has at least found out how much that costs and been saving up. I guess I am assuming that its a decent artist and going to be a bit more flourish than just written equations in a standard font (I would guess just having some guy scroll a whole bunch of equations on your arm would be pretty cheap overall if you agreed not to tell anyone who did it)

      I have a small tatoo that I want to get, I don't need to save up cash for it, but, I have been thinking about it on and off for about 3 years, and havn't found an artist or posted on slashdot for advice... I imagine this one has been stewing a while.

      -Steve

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    4. Re:Before you do it by nedgofast · · Score: 3, Insightful

      FICKS LAW OF DIFFUSION. That is what is going to happen to your tattoo as you age, until it looks like a bruise.

    5. Re:Before you do it by Peach+Rings · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In that case, definitely the most beautiful and famous theorem you can come up with is Euler's identity. e^(i*Pi) = -1.

    6. Re:Before you do it by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They ARE wrong, especially Ohm's Law. They're very, very good approximations for most cases, but they're not exactly correct. Even Einstein's equations are probably wrong, and don't agree with actual results in navigation of space probes: see the Pioneer Anomaly.

      If you want equations that are exactly correct, stick to proven mathematical theorems, like a^2 + b^2 = c^2, not equations describing physics.

    7. Re:Before you do it by LoRdTAW · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Asking Slashdot alone for ink advice means he/she is still not sure what to get. I have a bunch of friends with ink. Each of them thought the whole thing through and two have even gone as far as mocking up the art in Photoshop. If you are unsure of what to get you need to give it more thought, PERIOD.

      He/she also better hope that they have a competent artist. It never hurts to search out reputable tattoo shops or ask people who you see with great ink work (they should be more than happy to tell you). I know people who have been victim of just going to any old shop and getting crap work done. And avoid the friend of a friend who does his/her work out of their home or apartment. Either they suck, are slow as hell or disappear before they even start to fill it in and have some or all of the money (I know one case of each). Find a reputable shop with a reputable artist. Sometimes you have to wait a long time (weeks/months/years) before you get in the chair. But if its going to stick with you for the rest of your life you better know the quality of the artist.

    8. Re:Before you do it by daeley · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We're supposed to be logical and have superior reasoning abilities, and there's absolutely nothing logical or reasonable about getting ink permanently injected into your skin.

      Yes, because making snap, blanket statements about people's lifestyle choices is the epitome of logic and reason.

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    9. Re:Before you do it by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Think twice. Do you *really* think this will be so important to you forever?

      A good test is to think about your favorite thing when you were one half your current age. If you had that tatooed on you today, would you be happy about it? Your future self may feel the same about your current fashion interests.

      --
      "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
    10. Re:Before you do it by jedrek · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We're supposed to be logical and have superior reasoning abilities, and there's absolutely nothing logical or reasonable about getting ink permanently injected into your skin.

      That's the most common FUD you hear about geeks and nerds. In reality, geeks characterize themselves with poor social skills, a simple single-mindedness that often misses the forest for the trees and an inability to treat viewpoints other than their own as valid.

      Your post is symptomatic of that kind of thinking. There are logical reasons to get tattoos, your inability to realize is pathetic.

    11. Re:Before you do it by spazdor · · Score: 3, Insightful

      mark of sub-average intellect

      You mean, like, it identifies him as the type of person to go around making dumb assumptions about people whose choices are different from his?

      --
      DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
    12. Re:Before you do it by mea37 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you fire a cannon, measure where the projectile lands, and conclude that the difference between that and the value calculated by Newton's equations has anythnig to do with relativity, then you have either a very powerful cannon or a very powerful imagination.

    13. Re:Before you do it by BJ_Covert_Action · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ...but he's going to have a lot more work than the guy with short hair and a suit.

      You've obviously never met a business major...

  2. Euler's identity by butterflysrage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    0=e^(i*pi)+1

    --
    the preceding post was not spell checked... suck it.
  3. Don't ask for other people's opinions. by Ed+Bugg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you don't know what you want then just wait until you do. One of the worst things you can do for a tattoo is ask what other people think you should get. You'll end up with something that they want and it may be cool now but years down the road it won't mean anything to you.

    Tattoo's are suppose to be for life. If it's something that you foresee down the road that you'll not be interested in and go "why did I ever do that, ugh that's so yesterday" it wasn't a very good idea.

    --
    -- Ed Bugg --You have freedom of choice, but not of consequences.--
    1. Re:Don't ask for other people's opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Do you discount ever asking people's opinions on non-technical issues? Sure, the semi-permanence is a factor, but your argument applies to pretty much anything. When I went to buy a house -- which is a fairly big commitment -- I liked having my dad's (and others') opinion; when I go clothes shopping, it's much better having friend along whose tastes you trust; if I want to get a tattoo, there's nothing wrong with asking for ideas. I don't think asking slashdot is going to lead to him feeling peer pressure to get certain tattoos suggested here, which seems to be what you're getting at.

      In fact, I've been thinking of getting a math related tattoo for a while now and just haven't had the perfect thing come up. My two ideas that I've been trying to develop are something involving the unit circle -- and perhaps its relationship to the Fourier transform, or waveforms and therefore music -- and maybe a diagram related to harmonic partitioning.

  4. the empty set by Saint+Stephen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The coolest math tattoo you could get would be nothing at all. Just hold up your arm and say "it's the empty set" and have them marvel at your coolness.

    Seriously, tattoos are lame. Resist the urge. It's going to be an ugly green smear you will regrat.

    1. Re:the empty set by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously, tattoos are lame.

      Tattoos aren't in and of themselves lame. People get all sort of lame tattoos, however. There's an awful lot of really beautiful stuff out there too.

      It's going to be an ugly green smear you will regrat (sic).

      You're largely thinking of low-quality ones done in pen ink by some guy in a back room. Those tend to be real crap jobs that over time look like shit.

      Modern tattoos done by a qualified artist are an entirely different animal in terms of how they look, and how they hold up over time.

      And, really, if the sum total you have to add is "tattoos are lame", why are you even bothering to comment? You obviously have nothing better to contribute to the topic.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:the empty set by xednieht · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nothing screams (or bleats) "I'm a sheep" like getting a tatto in 2010. Want to do something more rewarding personally and socially... sponsor a child's education in a third world country. Bring math to another mind.

      --

      Hope is the currency of fools
  5. Seriously? by sean_nestor · · Score: 5, Insightful
    In what way will having these tattoos enhance your existence? Do you really foresee finding it "cool" ten years from now? Or twenty? If you have to ask what it is you want tattooed, that should be sign enough that it isn't something you want permanently engraved into your skin.

    Think of how dignified those tattoos will look when you age and your whole body looks like Reagan's neck. Do you really want to explain to your grandkids why you thought a math equation or Mighty Mouse or a kanji character that means "desk" was something that held enough meaning that it required you to permanently scar your body with it?

    This applies to everyone who resolves to get a tattoo before deciding what it is of, btw.

  6. Indeed. by IANAAC · · Score: 3, Insightful
    And not only that, he's only got a "theme", not the content. If you have to ask for ideas, it's probably not something you've completely thought through.

    But then again, I'm an old coot that never got the tattoo thing.

  7. Re:Let me see. by MightyYar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think by "superficial", he means that they are purely decorative - even if of some sentimental value to the wearer.

    And this is true, but I wouldn't tell someone not to wear their wedding ring just because it is superficial.

    I'd be much more concerned about the expense of laser removal once the tattoo fad passes.

    And if you don't think that this is a fashion fad, may I interest you in some vintage mid-90s facial piercings? You'll never need cosmetic earlobe repair surgery, because giant, comical rings embedded in your earlobes will be cool forever.

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  8. Re:Smith Chart by Peach+Rings · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't mod me for flamebait but I think that really looks bad. Tattoos rarely look good in their prime, and always end up faded and smudged. They don't make you look tough or interesting, just trashy.

  9. Be unique... by Rooked_One · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't get any tattoos. I can only name 2 people that I know that don't have something...

    The older I get, the older that the "hip" crowd gets, and it just looks plain pathetic to be 30+ and have all these tattoos... Just think how bad the population is going to look 20 years from now - you'll have all these 40 yr olds that have way too much "ink" and you'll have none. I can't wait to be one of the very very few people who can say "I didn't get a tattoo because I wanted to be unique" at my 20 yr high school reunion.

  10. Re:No. Tattoos look like trash. by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's a fad.

    Well, it's thousands of years old. At the moment, I would agree, it is a bit of a fad. But, again, in and of themselves, tattoos aren't the problem, it's bad choices on what to get, and where to get it. Admittedly, it's a lot more prevalent.

    It's really hard to take some seriously when there's shit sticking out of their eyebrows, ear lobe things that make one look like a yuppie Bush tribesmen, and a tongue piercing.

    I actually understand what you're saying, I just don't understand the bile -- it's not like it has anything to do with you. Yes, I see kids getting their neck done, or getting the big ear-lobe thing, and I worry that in a few years those are going to be career-limiters. Because, even as someone involved with tattoo culture, there's certain things I am aware of will give the average person the willies.

    People make snap judgments about others. Get over it. That's why you show up for an interview in a suit.

    When I show up in a suit, you don't see any ink. My eyebrow piercing is long gone, and nobody seems to even notice my earrings anymore. By choice, I don't have anything more extreme that is visible to anybody unless I want it to be.

    tattoos are about to look REAL dated

    Well, then 40% of Gen-X is about to look REAL dated. Probably a higher percentage of Gen-Next is well on their way to getting ink. And, shockingly, an increasing amount of boomers are getting inked.

    Hell, I know school teachers with tattoos. Typically discrete things that would never actually be shown at school.

    You're over-generalizing to all of the "in your face" (literally and figuratively) stuff that people get done, and extrapolating that everybody who has ever gotten a tattoo. Why you're venting this much spleen at the concept of tattoo is hard to guess.

    Seriously, it's not your damned lawn, grandpa. Get over it.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  11. Re:Smith Chart by JWSmythe · · Score: 4, Insightful

        It really depends on the tattoo, and how it was intended to look. Other factors include how the person takes care of themselves. A lot of people don't consider, "how will this look in 30 years." The same goes for body piercings. How will it all look when you're collecting your kids from school, when your grandkids are born, or when you're 90+ years old in a nursing home. Likewise, a sleeve (like the article asks) it may seem like a great idea, until you get a job somewhere in the Southern US, at a company with a strict policy about visible tattoos.

        I've known folks who had needed to wear long sleeves year round, because they loved the idea of getting a tattoo that everyone would see and appreciate, a decade before. It's all fun and games until it's 110+ degrees outside, and you wish you could toss off the shirt before getting into the oven previously known as "your car", except the office "no visible tattoo" policy extends to everywhere "office" including the parking lot and anywhere visible from the parking lot.

        That's not to say don't get one. Just consider what the future results could be. Folks do all kinds of crazy things to themselves. There are a whole bunch of body modifications that can be (and are) done. Is a face tattoo, or even math equations from your ears to your fingertips really the best way to express yourself?

    --
    Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  12. No it isn't by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The "no visible tattoo" policy is the antithesis of the 1st Amendment.

    Please people, read the first amendment and try to understand it.

    "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

    It starts - and pay attention - "Congress shall make no law".

    Do you see anywhere that Congress has made a law that says visible tattoos are bad?

    This is a corporate policy. If you are hired, they are welcoming you in the door onto their property - on their terms. If they say you have to wear purple underwear to work here, guess what? YOU DO.

    Employment is optional. Nobody has to give you a job. If they don't like your tattoos they don't have to hire you. It is really as simple as that. You have to do what the boss says - it's a job. It is not a right.

    So back OT, to the guy who wants a sleeve of math equations, my advice would be DON'T. It's fun, it's nerdy, I can see the appeal. But you are limiting your options.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:No it isn't by Weaselmancer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the question here isn't of law, it's of whether something is right or wrong.

      Ah, but it *is* a question of law. That was my whole point.

      OP said that the First Amendment somehow made it okay for him to have tattoos and get any job he wants. Which is absolutely silly if you've ever taken the time to read it. The First Amendment only prohibits Congress from making laws that abridge free speech.

      The morality of it is a different conversation, and one that has absolutely nothing to do with the First Amendment.

      --
      Weaselmancer
      rediculous.
  13. How to pick a tattoo by ari_j · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Here is my rule for tattoos: Select the exact design and location you want to have. If you still want that exact design and location in ten years, then get it. Otherwise, or if you change the tattoo or its location even in some minute point within those ten years, the clock starts over.

  14. Re:No. Tattoos look like trash. by Achra · · Score: 5, Insightful

    By the gods, I wish that I had modpoints today. Protip: Don't argue against tattoos to the tattoo'd. They are maniacally pro-ink (and they MUST be! They'll be inked for the rest of their lives!). As the saying goes: If you have no tattoos, don't get any tattoos. If you HAVE tattoos, get MORE tattoos. It used to be that tattoos and body modifications were mostly used as a mechanism to show membership in a particular group. Nowadays, it seems that people get ink to show that they are a member of the "people who have ink" group. Not sure what to make of that, tempted to think "fad", just as you stated. I'm sure I'll be flamed for this, just like you were. I was a US Marine (am, I suppose. Once/Always, etc.) and I saw more young marines getting inked than NOT getting inked. They wanted to show that they were part of a group, that they belonged. I managed to avoid getting inked back then, and I figure if I didn't get inked in the Marines, then I might as well skip it going forward. I'm not against a tasteful tattoo on a man, think tattoos on women are gross, and think that all of the "people who judge me based on my tattoos are wrong." crowd are naive. People judge me based on my face and appearance all day long. As a people, we look at a face and body and make a snap decision about that person. It is how we've evolved to survive. and to be honest, I know that the in-your-face tattoo crowd are making snap judgements about my face when they see it, too.

    --
    Each processor would proceed sequentially as if it had been better for them not to rise against Saul.
  15. Re:Smith Chart by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Being discharged from a company for being a bigot is a consequence of your speech.

    Having to wear long sleeves at work is elimination of your right to speak, no matter what you have to say.

    Being discharged from a company for [saying something] is a consequence of your speech.
    Being discharged from a company for [displaying something] is a consequence of your "speech".
    Having to wear long sleeves at work is good sense if displaying tattoos get you discharged.