<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><channel><title>Topology on My Hugo Project</title><link>https://ostensible-paradox.pages.dev/en/tags/topology/</link><description>Recent content in Topology on My Hugo Project</description><generator>Hugo</generator><language>en</language><lastBuildDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0800</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://ostensible-paradox.pages.dev/en/tags/topology/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title>College Math Difficulty Tier List: From NPC to Eldritch Horror 💀</title><link>https://ostensible-paradox.pages.dev/en/posts/math_tier_list_english/</link><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0800</pubDate><guid>https://ostensible-paradox.pages.dev/en/posts/math_tier_list_english/</guid><description>&lt;h1 id="college-math-difficulty-tier-list-from-npc-to-eldritch-horror-">College Math Difficulty Tier List: From NPC to Eldritch Horror 💀&lt;/h1>
&lt;blockquote>
&lt;p>&lt;strong>Undergrad trauma edition.&lt;/strong>
Grad-level probability not included because that is no longer a course, that is a lifestyle disease.&lt;/p>&lt;/blockquote>
&lt;p>&lt;img alt="Ghibli Math TV Kitten" loading="lazy" src="https://ostensible-paradox.pages.dev/images/math_tier_list/ghibli_math_tv_kitten.png">&lt;/p>
&lt;hr>
&lt;h2 id="-1-calculus-i">🧮 1. Calculus I&lt;/h2>
&lt;p>&lt;em>Limits, derivatives, basic integrals.&lt;/em>&lt;/p>
&lt;p>The first boss of STEM. It feels scary because everyone tells you it is scary. Then you realize half the class is just learning how not to drop a minus sign.&lt;/p></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 id="college-math-difficulty-tier-list-from-npc-to-eldritch-horror-">College Math Difficulty Tier List: From NPC to Eldritch Horror 💀</h1>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Undergrad trauma edition.</strong>
Grad-level probability not included because that is no longer a course, that is a lifestyle disease.</p></blockquote>
<p><img alt="Ghibli Math TV Kitten" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/ghibli_math_tv_kitten.png"></p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-1-calculus-i">🧮 1. Calculus I</h2>
<p><em>Limits, derivatives, basic integrals.</em></p>
<p>The first boss of STEM. It feels scary because everyone tells you it is scary. Then you realize half the class is just learning how not to drop a minus sign.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{NPC with a graphing calculator}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-2-intro-statistics">📊 2. Intro Statistics</h2>
<p><img alt="Intro Stats Kitty" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_tapping_calculator_on_TV_202606032210.jpeg">
<em>Mean, variance, normal distribution, confidence intervals, p-values.</em></p>
<p>Mostly button-pressing, formula-matching, and pretending you know what a p-value means.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{cooked, but microwave cooked}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-3-linear-algebra">📐 3. Linear Algebra</h2>
<p><img alt="Linear Algebra Kitty" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_staring_at_retro_television_202606032212.jpeg">
<em>Matrices, determinants, eigenvalues, diagonalization.</em></p>
<p>At first it looks like arithmetic with rectangles. Then one day someone says “vector space” and the floor quietly disappears.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{NPC until it suddenly isn’t}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-4-calculus-ii">🔄 4. Calculus II</h2>
<p><img alt="Calculus II Avalanche" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_buried_under_paper_avalanche_202606032216.jpeg">
<em>Integration techniques, series, polar coordinates.</em></p>
<p>This is where many pre-meds meet the reaper. Not because it is the deepest course, but because it is a bag of tricks wearing a trench coat.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{weed-out boss}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-5-multivariable-calculus">🌪️ 5. Multivariable Calculus</h2>
<p><em>Grad, div, curl, surface integrals, Stokes’ theorem.</em></p>
<p>Looks like Calculus I got a third dimension and started doing CrossFit.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{cooked in 3D}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-6-discrete-math">🧩 6. Discrete Math</h2>
<p><img alt="Discrete Math Yarn" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_tangled_in_yarn_watching_202606032220.jpeg">
<em>Logic, sets, induction, graphs, combinatorics.</em></p>
<p>This is where computer science students discover that “obvious” is not a proof.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{proof tutorial hell}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-7-differential-equations">⚙️ 7. Differential Equations</h2>
<p><img alt="Differential Equations Kitty" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_watching_retro_television_202606032220.jpeg">
<em>Solve this equation. Now solve this system. Now solve this thing that models a spring, a circuit, a plague, or your GPA.</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Bonus note:</strong><br>
$\text{ODE}$ = still human<br>
$\text{PDE}$ = the room gets cold</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{engineer boss fight}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-8-real-analysis">⚖️ 8. Real Analysis</h2>
<p><img alt="Real Analysis Kitty" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Tired_kitten_watching_TV_202606032218.jpeg">
<em>Calculus, but the instructor removes all vibes and demands legal documentation for every sentence.</em></p>
<p>You thought limits were intuitive. Analysis says: prove it.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{canon event}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-9-abstract-algebra">🌀 9. Abstract Algebra</h2>
<p><img alt="Abstract Algebra Kitty" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/abstract.png">
<em>Groups, rings, fields, modules.</em></p>
<p>No numbers. No graphs. No mercy. Just structure staring back at you.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{major character development}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-10-topology">🍩 10. Topology</h2>
<p><img alt="Topology Illusion" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Kitten_staring_at_morphing_TV_202606032227.jpeg">
<em>Open sets, compactness, connectedness, quotient spaces.</em></p>
<p>The course where a coffee mug and a donut become relatives, and somehow that is your problem.</p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{geometry after taking psychedelics}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-11-measure-theory--functional-analysis">🌌 11. Measure Theory / Functional Analysis</h2>
<p><em>Measure theory asks: what even is size?</em><br>
<em>Functional analysis asks: what if linear algebra happened in infinite dimensions and all your instincts were illegal?</em></p>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{eldritch DLC}} $$</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="-12-measure-theoretic-probability--stochastic-analysis">☠️ 12. Measure-Theoretic Probability / Stochastic Analysis</h2>
<p><img alt="Stochastic Cosmic TV" loading="lazy" src="/images/math_tier_list/Traumatized_kitten_inside_TV_202606032230.jpeg">
<em>This is not “probability and statistics.” This is probability after it joined a monastery, studied analysis for ten years, and came back speaking in filtrations.</em></p>
<p><strong>Intro probability:</strong>
$$ P(A\mid B)=\frac{P(A\cap B)}{P(B)} $$</p>
<p><strong>Measure-theoretic probability:</strong>
$$ \text{conditional expectation as an } L^2 \text{ projection modulo null sets} $$</p>
<p><strong>Stochastic analysis:</strong>
$$ dX_t=b(X_t)dt+\sigma(X_t)dW_t $$</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Translation:</strong><br>
The Brownian motion is driving and you are in the trunk.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Rating:</strong>
$$ \boxed{\text{Probably dead}} $$</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>[!NOTE]
<strong>Easter Egg:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Intro Probability:</strong> <em>I know what a coin flip is.</em></li>
<li><strong>Annals of Probability:</strong> <em>The coin flip lives in a Polish space and no longer answers your emails.</em></li>
</ul></blockquote>
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