If you are the type of person who enjoyed volcano eruptions and potato battery experiments in high school, chances are you still love science even if you aren't working in the field.
But whether you read the magazine Scientific American or watch the YouTube channel Veritasium, we at Bored Panda have something else you'll probably enjoy. The “Science Memes” Facebook group.
Brought to the internet and managed by a collective known online as LabRule, this community unites 936K members who constantly share the best science memes they find.
This post may include affiliate links.
The Best Word
Flat Earthers
Interestingly, science memes can be just what the world needs right now. According to wildlife biologist Michael Barnes, much of science has lost its curiosity.
As a result, Barnes thinks that the scientific community has created an exclusive club where your entry into it is a publication, and to stay in it, you must continue to do so at the expense of integrity, new and exciting knowledge, and trust from the public.
This exclusivity, he believes, has created a rift.
He Had A Pen
Let Me Hear
That's Right Tho
“By being overly technical, esoteric, and pedantic, the scientific community has made it virtually impossible for the layperson to understand the information being presented to them, resulting in animosity and divisiveness that has led us to this current anti-science movement,” Barnes writes.
“We look down on and condescend those who don't understand the process and then act surprised when people reject the knowledge gained from hard, credible science. For example, the current environment of climate change denial is one of the larger issues of our time.”
Poor Referee
True Af
My Blanket At 3 Am
About to go suffer this, wish me luck EDIT: thank you for wishing me luck, it helped some!
Science Lab In A Movie
Therefore, Barnes thinks that it's time for a change, and that includes funny science memes. “It's not enough to throw complicated jargon at the public. There needs to be better and more meaningful communication,” he says.
“We've come to the apex of an 'us vs. them' dichotomy where it doesn't matter what is said. 'We' are right and 'they' are wrong, and that's final. Communication needs to be more open and transparent. Both for the sake of those conducting research and those it's being communicated to, i.e., the public.”
Big Sad
6 Fries Per Serving
Guardian Of The Galaxy
While Barnes believes that researchers need to be more precise and transparent in their research, I'll try to argue that science memes can actually facilitate all sorts of dialogues about the sciences.
After all, as writer Helen Brown pointed out, they aren't just entertainment but also have a serious side. According to researchers looking at modern forms of communication, these funniest science memes are a language in themselves, with a capacity to transcend cultures and construct collective identities between people. Not to mention that memes can also be powerful tools for self-expression, connection, social influence, and even political subversion.
Trying To Prank
Harmacist
They Misunderstood
Venn Diagrams
Why is there a cat with only one ear and only roughly 2/3 of its head? A bit abnormal but 10/10 would still give pets and pspspspspspspspspss
Paolo Gerbaudo, a reader in digital politics and director of the Centre for Digital Culture at King's College London, describes funny science memes as a “sort of a ready-made language with many kinds of stereotypes, symbols, situations. A palette that people can use, much like emojis, in a way, to convey content.”
Interior Designer
Very Angry
Please Help
Soup Too Salty
Researchers at Facebook, for example, showed in a 2014 study just how widely science memes posted on the social media site can spread and evolve. In one example, they found 121,605 different variants of one particular meme posted across 1.14 million status updates.
Accurate Af
But... but... I need the stars and planets to align in a particular way so I can find true love and great wealth. I cannot do these things on my own!! /s
Almost didn't see the starcasm switch there. ;)
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The only way stars several lightyears away can effect you is if they go supernova within 30-100 light years away from you but I’m pretty sure that not that many stars went supernova 30 years ago
With around 200 billion trillion stars in the universe (https://www.astronomy.com/science/astro-for-kids-how-many-stars-are-there-in-space/) ...you never know
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It’s like hearing a psychic say, did your great great great grandmother passed away? , and the recipient, oh my gosh how did you know?!!
No, she's a vampire. Only the stake keeps her away!
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Well, that's not exactly true in every case. If you're for example an astronomer they're making you a living. And if you're operating a romantic restaurant on the edge off a cliff, stars and planets being visible in a clear night will definitely elevate your income. And even if you're just a common person walking home in a clear night, seeing those beautiful sights in the sky will make your walk more enjoyable and give you happiness. So I'd say, this sentence is completely bogus and just as false as any horoscope.
Not entirely true. There's anecdotal evidence that the phases of the moon can affect human behaviour and mood.
The moon is neither star nor planet. Also anecdotal 'evidence' is usually (but not always) not considered evidence by scientists because it is so wildly unreliable.
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And yet, the moon moves the oceans and we are mostly water... just sayin'
Moon- not a planet, not a star. Just sayin'.
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Should have had one that just said oh yeah uou? You're screwed
Wow! I'm a taurus and it's like this was written just for me.
Except that the moon effects the tides and gravity, and the sun has solar flares and effects electrical fields...
Then how come whenever it’s a full moon crazy stuff around me starts to happen 😭
The moon affects people, but that isn't a star or a planet is it? The poor moon is just a "celestial body"
Astrology is a living example of manifest destiny. This chart is subjective.
Stars & planets do not dictate they indicate possibilities & opportunities dispel our ignorance
They have no impact whatsoever on how your day is going to go - unless you're paranoid and believe astrologers, in which case it may at best be self-fulfilling.
Load More Replies...What Dream?
I wish you could like… see your brain’s search history but with dreams
You Pick The Name
Holographic Meatloaf
Memes tap into our collective consciousness and have been referred to as digital folklore – or “Netlore.” “We can see not just the new ways people do things or the new ways people express themselves in public but also some of the themes, some of the anxieties or desires people have. All of these complex issues are reflected in things like memes,” says Gerbaudo.
So if the scientific community really is stagnant in the way it communicates, isn't an intuitive and quick-spreading format of science memes exactly what could remedy the problem?
If you agree with us, continue checking out the awesome “Science Memes” Facebook group finds we still have on this list!
He Is Cheating On Potassium
When You're A Teacher
Blowing My Mind
Uranus In Front Of A New Generation
If people would just pronounce it correctly it wouldn't be a problem! Say it with me, Yur-a-nus.
When You Got A Geography Test
I’m neurodivergent (according to the recent literature and evaluations) and I have a weird thing of being able to recreate entire maps, geospatial areas, and the globe in my imagination. But the freaky (deaky) bit is that I can follow entire historical narratives across the maps like I’m watching a film. And then focus on specific groups of people or individuals to follow them. It’s interesting but extremely intense. Sometimes I have to try to turn it off when it gets too much. Especially as I’m a war historian. Unfortunately, my condition includes being ultra-empathetic which means I have the tendency to take on others’ pain. Not great in my profession.
He Has Been Waiting
Thank U
Just 50 Years
Getting Into Science
Cats Are Liquid
Cats are jello! They’re solids that also take the shape of whatever container they’re in! Cats are jello!
We Do It At 7am
Biochemist And Gym Bro
It Was By Us In Another Paper
Writing In Heartbeats
Run As Administrator
We Walk Today
Talk Dirty
The Enjoyment Of Childhood Humor
Detect Photoshop
NASA is always upfront about the colorizing it does, so I'm guessing this is a "moon landing was faked" conspiracy theory reference?
So Basically I Just Passed A Science Scholarship Exam And I'm Still Single So
Maybe I'm Quantum Physics
Find GF
Real
in our paper classes there is a specific time period where hands go up and try to remember whether it is the right hand rule or left hand rule and wondering why the f**k do we have 2 of them
Note: this post originally had 107 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
My son is a university student in America, and having grown up in Japan, he sometimes has trouble with some of the academic language. He sent me a scientific paper last years that totally blew my mind and changed the way I see a particular thing. You're never too old to learn science.
My son is a university student in America, and having grown up in Japan, he sometimes has trouble with some of the academic language. He sent me a scientific paper last years that totally blew my mind and changed the way I see a particular thing. You're never too old to learn science.
