I don't agree with mathematics; the sum total of zeros is a frightening figure.

Lec’s aphorism plays on the paradox that “nothing” can become terrifying when accumulated. In arithmetic, a string of zeros can represent an enormous number once attached to a leading digit; socially, a mass of “nobodies,” empty slogans, or moral vacuums can produce formidable power. The quip also mocks the false comfort of quantification: mathematics seems objective, yet it can be used to inflate emptiness into impressive-looking totals—statistics, bureaucratic tallies, or propaganda that turns absence of value into a “frightening figure.” Typical of Lec, the joke is a warning about how systems of measurement can disguise hollowness and how collective nullity can still have real consequences.