this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Science Memes

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Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



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If you are here asking: "Is this a science meme?"

Probably, yes. We use the Dawkins definition of meme: a replicating idea, not just an image macro with a fact on it. A good post here doesn't need to teach you something. It needs to make you ask something: who, what, where, when, and especially why or how.

Science isn't a filing cabinet of facts, it's a conversation. For example, a photo of an eel or other localized wildlife counts because most people never see one, and wonder is the first step of inquiry. A car meme counts if it makes you curious about what's under the bonnet. If you want to talk about something you noticed in the world, chances are someone else wants to talk about it too.

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See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.



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[โ€“] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 44 points 4 months ago (2 children)

What distinguishes zebras from horses is that zebras live in anonymous herds.

says a lot about 4chan, the penny arcade GIFT theory, etc

[โ€“] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 61 points 4 months ago (2 children)

With how Facebook forces real names, the idea that being anonymous has any influence where or not someone is a fuckwad had been debunked.

[โ€“] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@piefed.social 55 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's not the anonimity that makes people fuckwads. It's the lack of immediate consequences. A fuckwad won't get a punch in the face for what they say on facebook, hence they feel they can say anything and be a fuckwad.

[โ€“] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 49 points 4 months ago

"Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it", Mike Tyson

Regardless of how you feel about Tyson, Truth is Truth.

[โ€“] tempest@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 months ago

In a large enough group there is still anonymity even if your face and name are on there.

[โ€“] Sundiata@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

4chan blocks commenting with vpn, and /pol/ is a federal honeypot waiting for the next entraptment.

not so anonymous

[โ€“] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

yes, but that's not shown to other users.