this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] JuliaSuraez@lemmy.world 57 points 3 days ago (2 children)

As a joke it’s perfect πŸ˜‚ but also: please don’t actually do thisβ€”finishing antibiotics as prescribed (or calling your doc if you’re having side effects) is the real pro tip.

[–] Bubs12@lemmy.cafe 54 points 3 days ago

Looks like we found the pharmacist.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Recent research has found that the recommended length of a course of antibiotics is basically just a guess and doesn't have any hard science backing it.

I've even seen research that suggests that not finishing the full course if you feel better helps prevent resistant bacteria from taking over (because the antibiotics are killing the bacteria that are outcompeting them).

[–] Garbagio@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 days ago (2 children)

See, the logic I heard re: resistance is the opposite. An infection is only an infection when the bacterial levels are high enough to cause symptoms. Anything below that is definitionally at a level where your body can at worst manage those bacteria without triggering symptoms. You can still be contagious, though.

So, when you don't finish your antibacterial regimen but instead stop when you feel better, you are maximizing the culture size of bacteria with some resistance, creating maximal chance for some resistant bacteria to spread. Finishing your regimen kills the most amount of bacteria; yes, the surviving ones at this point are the most resistant, but are at a small enough number that propagation and spread are far less probable.

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[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 44 points 3 days ago (3 children)

If you're ever lost in a forest, and you want to be rescued, just start building a house. Someone will magically appear to ask if you have a building permit.

[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Put on a pair of headphones and start listening to something. Then set about to making shelter or building a fire or something. You'll be rescued as soon as your hands are full because someone will come along to ask you the single most inane question of your life.

If you're in the desert, start mixing a Dry Martini, an Englishman will appear to tell your recipe is wrong and his is the correct one.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

In telecoma version is take a fibre optic cable with you and burry it. A backhoe will promptly arrive to dig it up.

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.today 131 points 4 days ago (5 children)

I worked at a hospital for 20 years... in IT, I wanna start scolding just reading this!

this gets more then just pharmacists excited!

Fr! Not even pharmacist, just anyone with a passive knowledge of germ theory!

[–] Landless2029@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (3 children)

My elderly parents showing me clearly AI videos of a $30 robot puppy...

I couldn't convince them it was AI. I tried to explain CGI with shit like Pixar and Disney movies but it didn't work. NICOO puppy

That shit should be illegal.

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[–] RiceMunk@sopuli.xyz 95 points 4 days ago (1 children)

One of the best ways to get information out of people who are hoarding knowledge is to say something so blatantly false to them that they can't help but lecture you on why you're wrong.

[–] peppy@lemmy.ml 73 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] Ethanol@pawb.social 53 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Uhm actually, that is Cunningham's law after Howard Cunningham, developer of the first wiki!

Murphy's law states that "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" smhmh.

[–] ignotum@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Um actually you're wrong, what you're referencing is Poe's law,
Cunninghams law is "whoever smelt it, dealt it"

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[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 32 points 4 days ago

ΰ² _ΰ² 

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 79 points 4 days ago (8 children)

Or of they are a nurse, ask them which home remedy is best for burns: toothpaste or powder coffee?

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Course lengths for antibiotics isn't well studied. From this article:

In fact, the optimal length of treatment in many common infections is not well studied and may be more than a little arbitrary. One infectious diseases doctor has suggested, somewhat satirically, that most of our current rules for antibiotic administration have more to do with the number of days in the week than they do with robust scientific evidence.

We have a growing and, frankly, terrifying issue of antibiotic resistant bacteria from over prescribing and longer than necessary courses.

[–] GhostedIC@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

What the fuck. They told me that antibiotic resistant bacteria was caused by taking too little antibiotics. Who can I trust now????

[–] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Realistically, most of the antibiotic resistance issues actually arise from antibiotic usage in farm animals. Turns out you get better and fatter growth if you microdose animals with antibiotics. Plus there's the added benefit that you don't need to care as much about animal hygiene or illnesses if they're just always on antibiotics. Of course, that's the perfect circumstance for promoting antibiotic resistance. And at the current massive scale of animal farming, antibiotic resistance spreads quickly.

But, you know, that's an acceptable cost when you consider all the shareholder value that you create by having slightly fatter animals.

Funny thing is, antibiotic resistance is an energetically costly adaptation, and studies show that as long as you drop antibiotic usage below a certain amount, evolution would actually favor deleting antibiotic resistance genes. In other words, if we stopped using antibiotics on farm animals, a large amount of antibiotic resistance would just evaporate basically overnight. Then realize that that would never happen with our current governments

Over, under, and misuse have resulted in adaptations by bacteria. Which is to say, life evolves. Its too bad, and there is still a role for antibiotics in our world, but we have to trim our use of it.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 24 points 4 days ago (27 children)

I just had a thought, do they still put a shitload of antibiotics into animal feeds on factory farms? Doesn't that contribute to antibiotic resistance?

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[–] fuentessaige208@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] Sculptor9157@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We can't say that for sure until the rest of the results return

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 27 points 4 days ago (9 children)

We need one of these for every field.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (9 children)

I bet optometrists have opinions about people who have bad enough vision that it causes them daily problems that they complain about regularly, but don't want to wear glasses for vanity reasons.

contacts exist, but y'know ...understandably many people don't want to use them either - as someone who wore contacts daily for a couple of years, learning to put in contacts was kinda similar to learning to deepthroat.

[–] janja@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Saving for

learning to put in contacts was kinda similar to learning to deepthroat

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[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 17 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (10 children)

"OK, I unplugged the computer. ... No, I still hear air moving. ... What? You mean the footrest? Why would I unplug that?"

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[–] Draegur@lemmy.zip 18 points 4 days ago (5 children)

i wonder if hearing people talk about radiation as though it's an infection that can spread from person to person makes other nuclear enthusiasts twitch as much as it makes me...

or hearing someone imply that any nuclear reactor can explode in exactly the same manner that an atomic bomb does "by accident".

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[–] joe_archer@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

This is exactly the same as saying to a software developer: "I was going to ask you to write me some software to do this, but I'll just get AI to do it instead"

[–] Kuinox@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

No, because we wont be compelled to answer...
Good for ya if you solved one of your problem with AI.
Good luck tho.

β€œI used to do programming when you could put code on your MySpace page”

[–] AlboTheGuy@feddit.nl 9 points 3 days ago

Works great with your local autistic friend too, or anyone with any semblance of common sense

Better yet, tell them you were taking antibiotics for a "viral" infection, like a cold.

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