• Zwiebel@feddit.org
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      15 hours ago

      This comes from a math problem where the squares size is fixed and you try to minimize the area they fit in

      • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Yeah I know, but it’s terrible waffle design, there’s big flat chunks without syrup squares. It’s a huge amount of wasted area unable to hold syrup in any meaningful volume. It’s sad, really.

        Edit: not to mention the waffle in the picture is clearly big enough to hold 25 squares the same size as those pictured! I thought these memes were supposed to be scientific…

        • my_hat_stinks@programming.dev
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          13 hours ago

          You can’t fit 25 squares of the same size in that space. If you check the top row there’s 4 squares and space for slightly less than one more square, you can’t fit a 5x5 grid there unless you have smaller squares or a bigger waffle

          • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
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            5 hours ago

            Maybe you couldn’t, I absolutely could. The space just looks smaller because there’s a diagonal square butting into it. Doesn’t matter anyway, making the squares smaller was my original comment that sparked this conversation, so I’m right both ways.

            • my_hat_stinks@programming.dev
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              4 hours ago

              No, you’re not. It’s square packing, this is the optimal arrangement of 17 squares inside another square as far as we’re currently aware with a side length of 4.6756 inner squares. You cannot fit 5 squares in the space of 4.7 squares of the same size.

              It’s also a well-known meme and this is a science meme community.

      • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        Idk what you mean about constant grid line thickness, but if that’s your sticking point, stop assuming it. The waffle in the post certainly doesn’t have it. Regardless, you’re incorrect, more squares = more surface area, smaller squares = more squares. If you shrunk a billiards ball to the size of a golf ball, which one would have more surface area?

      • kazerniel@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        Unrelated, but as a Hungarian, this association of waffles with syrup is so odd to see. Syrup is basically just sugar and water, isn’t it? Sounds pretty boring. As a kid we always put nutella on waffles 🤷

      • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        Good point. Pesky square-cube law gets me again. Having done three minutes of research on Wikipedia pages I didn’t fully understand, I think changing the square divots to spherical ones will give us the smallest surface area-to-volume ratio.