It’s one of those days of the year where everyone makes a big deal out of something that is not normally appreciated on a daily basis. That’s right I’m talking about Cardioid Appreciation Day. Every year on the 14th of February this particular type of limaçon is reproduced countless times; from chocolate boxes to cards to doodles on scraps of paper. But why should this one mathematical curve be the only one to get all the attention?

Cardioids are the best you may argue. But let me tell you, fellow uninformed reader, there are many other equally romantic curves and functions that can easily rival the cardioid! Here are a couple that deserve mention:

Rose:
Elegant, beautiful and best of all uses polar coordinates. A rose is better at expressing one’s love than a simple old cardioid any day.

Mandelbrot Set:
What if you are a complex individual; hearts and roses are not profound enough. Then this series of points in the complex plane is just what you need. Sure it may look like a cardioid from afar, but it goes on much deeper than that, forever even. Imagine all the metaphors you can make with it!

Psychrometric Chart:
So maybe you are a little different, like two dimensional graphs with more than four axes and enjoy logical units (Celsius). It’s not much of a mathematical function, but you can impress people who like many curved lines, or a climatologist. And look colourful lines!

Water Temperature-Enthalpy Diagram:
Okay this one is actually a trick and doesn’t deserve a day of its own. If you want a sure way to destroy any potential relationship, then use this deadly weapon. Though it may look like a psychometric chart, it is for more deceiving. It has been scientifically proven to be six times more confusing to use than it is to look at. A favourite among sadists, anti-Valentiners and thermodynamics professors.

So the next time you celebrate February 14th, consider your other options instead of settling for a standard cardioid. Make use of a rose or Mandelbrot set, or if you are really outgoing a psychometric chart! But exercise caution around water phase-diagrams as they bare only bad news and suffering!