Science Memes
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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- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
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.
We moderate for vibe, not category. Pruning is light, especially where a post creates interesting discussion. Experimenting is encouraged.
See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.
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Well, from someone who studied electrical theory in a 'normal' university, the author isn't completely off base in that we know what electricity is but not why electricity is.
to be fair, we don't know why anything is, but that's something for philosophy so ponder, not science where you seek answers
science doesn't determine why, it determines how to the best of our abilities. why implies purpose and/or intent, which isn't something science measures.
Oh we do measure why's, that's the point of social sciences. You just have to accept that purpose and intent don't exist in a vacuum and are the result of human perception and expression then study it as such. As a human phenomenon. From philosophy to psychology, there's a vast body of analysis on the why of many things. Cultural artifacts for example are the equivalent of batteries, where meaning is concentrated, captured and can be measured, studied and analysed.
With Griffith it stops being a mystery... It goes back to one with Jackson.