this post was submitted on 04 Jun 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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  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
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  4. 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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[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Ducks are avians, thus descended from dinosaurs.

Anatomically, the hoof of a horse is equivalent to a human middle fingernail.

There are "sea bees" tiny crustaceans that are pollinators of underwater plants. Both crustaceans and "bugs" are arthropods.

Not sure about the pterodactyl fish reference.

Redwoods and all plants really descend from photosynthetic algae.

About 8% of the human genome is composed of ancient viral DNA from viruses that integrated into DNA...

[–] wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I believe the pterodactyl, like most (all?) dinos descended from aquatic life forms. Dunno, though.

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yeah, all life from the ocean but its a bit more of a stretch to say pterodactyl are fishes.

[–] wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

No argument there 🤣

[–] icanbrewmushrooms@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Any scientific definition of 'fish' which includes all the things we commonly consider to be fish also includes basically all animal life on earth (including humans and, presumably, pterodactyls).

Edit: Though generally this is avoided by declaring that 'fish' is not an evolutionary category.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago

Well everything is a fish or fish don't exist.