Axiom of choice vs multiple choice
The axiom of choice is a mathematical axiom that states that from every set of non empty sets one can choose a representative from every single one of them.
The above image is a proof for the fact that german bueraucracy — while being aware of the axiom of choice — wildly misanderstood the concept of multiple choice:
here is a rough translation of the question(s) and choices on the form displayed above:
is your spouse:
employed, unemployed, in maternity leave, furloughed, I don’t know, no, no longer, since…,
Yes, since…, fullemployment, part time, …days a week, ….%,
as:
employee, appointee, apprentice, self-employed, civil servant (two otions),
at (give exact name and address of employer):…
You will not guess what the correct answer in my case was (I had to phone them and ask) but it involved checking none of them and writing something else across it. The philosophical implications of this solution are still unclear to me…