this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2026
618 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

19408 readers
762 users here now

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.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

From his textbook “Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring The Equations of Life.” In the last sentence of the preface, after a couple dozen acknowledgements that are literally just a list of names, he has one last special thanks that gets its own paragraph:

“I thank Jeffrey Epstein for many ideas and for letting me participate in his passionate pursuit of knowledge in all its forms”

Email Source: EFTA00984937

Harvard Places Math Professor Martin Nowak on Paid Administrative Leave Over Epstein Ties: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/2/25/nowak-leave-epstein/

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 9 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Oh no, I get paid for NOT WORKING.

the horror

the horror

the horror

i have learned my lesson

p.s. in the USA, most employees can be fired at ANY time, for any reason, you don't have to be found guilty, you can even be really good at your job and a great employee. It doesn't matter.

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 4 points 17 hours ago

Dumb LIBRULS! Can't even RAPE CHILDREN anymore without you Throwing a Fit!

-Your Republican Family!

[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

"in all its forms"

[ vomits violently ]

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 138 points 2 days ago (3 children)

What in the French fried fuck, he gave a fucking shoutout to Epstein in the dedication of his textbook…?

[–] zout@fedia.io 53 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Not to be that guy, but Epstein wasn't always known to be the bad guy to the general public, and this professor might not have known about the not public stuff he was doing. I haven't read the article though, so maybe not.

Edit: read the article, Harvard only put the guy on leave because everything became public with the release of the Epstein files. It seems to be that this professor was in on it, and Harvard had taken action against him before but lifted the sanctions because of reasons.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 45 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

The title image literally quotes him asking "did you torture her"

[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That’s Epstein asking Nowak

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Ah true, but still a good example to show that Nowak should have known that Epstein had a screw loose.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The book was published in October 2006.

In May 2006, Palm Beach police filed a probable cause affidavit that Epstein should be charged with four counts of unlawful sex with minors and one count of sexual abuse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein#Alleged_trafficking_ring_and_blackmail_tapes

So, um...

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 18 hours ago

Maybe the draft was from before May and they didn't change it? lol.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] entropiclyclaude@lemmy.wtf 30 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Harvard punishes child rapists with a paid vacation?

[–] HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Administrative Leave starts when a formal investigation begins. You're basically calling for Chapter 10 of a book to be over when Chapter 1 barely started.

In other words, your question amounts to:

"An investigation started? Why isn't it over?"

[–] MunkyNutts@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

Now, as Devil's Advocate arguing against you and me, Harvard could choose to drop him at the mere hint of an accusation. You don't have a right to a job and not getting fired without proven cause in any state but I want to say Montana? The rest are "Right to Work."

Back on Team "Give them a second for crying out loud," we're talking about Harvard, allegedly one of the best colleges in the world. We can expect them to do right by probably investigating this properly, and we'd hope any employer we'd ever work for would bother to take more than a femtosecond to figure out if there's evidence supporting an accusation against us.

Obviously a lot of countries do have Big R "Rights" as far as labor goes, but the US is not one of them.

[–] eru@mouse.chitanda.moe 4 points 1 day ago

he hasn't been investigated yet

[–] modus@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It was just a little statutory torture. I don't see what the problem is.

[–] Mossheart@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Statutorture? Sorry, can't help a good wordsmush

[–] modus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's a delightful portmanteau.

[–] Valorie12@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Delightmanteau, if you will.

[–] modus@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Bruh, you can't portmanteau a portmanteau. That's like dividing by zero.

[–] ParadoxSeahorse@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

Except for bromance, bruh, that’s a portmanbro

[–] Mossheart@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

I feel seen and appreciated. Thank you.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Punishing people for things you can't know they did means hurting people to gratify your feelings. Which is exactly what they did to make you feel that way. So...how does that work?

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

I'm a generally forgiving and understanding person but it's hard to argue these people shouldn't simply be shot.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 97 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I love how shitty people get paid vacations for being shitty.

[–] raman_klogius@ani.social 22 points 2 days ago

He got the jeevacations 💀💀

[–] protist@mander.xyz 4 points 1 day ago

If you just fire someone who can afford an attorney without going through the proper process, you're opening your organization up to a lawsuit

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Well I am sure Harvard benefited from all the money he brought to the department via Epstein. So the only way Harvard can come clean is to donate a similar amount of money to independent charities that fight against child slavery, human trafficking etc.

Btw, here is the full context for the email:

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

Why would you torture your own spy?

The plot makes no sense.

[–] neuromorph@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

knowledge in all its forms.... gross

[–] Gathorall@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Massaschuttes is an at-will state. Was "rich pedophile" added as a protected class at some point or why does does he get a paid vacation for this?

[–] nBodyProblem@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago

He certainly has tenure:

[–] Arcka@midwest.social 5 points 1 day ago

He may have an employment contract in place which gives additional protections. It's much more likely for a Harvard professor than your average worker.

[–] quoll@lemmy.sdf.org 58 points 2 days ago (2 children)

really impressed with the constant stream of high profile people that knew this was coming, having seen countless other epstein associates fall... but still just stayed in their public high profile roles.

like.... you could have got out ahead of this... or better yet faded into obscurity, changed your name and move to SE asia... but nope.

guess if you are fucked in the head enough to associate with pedo's you are fucked in the head enough to put up with this 🤷

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 26 points 2 days ago (3 children)

you could have got out ahead of this… or better yet faded into obscurity, changed your name and move to SE asia… but nope.

Why would he? The worst thing that has happened to him is that he's getting a paid vacation.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 51 points 2 days ago (1 children)

These people need to be put underneath the school.

Yes, I sound "barbaric" and we're a society of laws and all that, but it seems we're obviously not. This information was just sat on, fucking disgusting people.

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 30 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The united states has not been a society of laws since at least 2020, and anyone telling you otherwise is either blind, stupid, lying, or some combination of the three

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 29 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Anyone telling you the US was a society of laws before 2020 was a white cishet middle or upper class male.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 61 points 2 days ago

Fucking gross

[–] epicshepich@programming.dev 10 points 2 days ago

From Wiktionary:

knowledge: (archaic or law) Sexual intimacy or intercourse (now usually in phrase carnal knowledge). [from 15th c.]

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 12 points 2 days ago

paid administrative leave

We disapprove of your paedophilia, and to demonstrate that we wanted to give you lots of money and no work commitments to keep you tied to one place.

[–] anotherspinelessdem@lemmy.ml 29 points 2 days ago

Those who join the Epstein class relinquish their humanity.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

of courses its harvard, these top university often produces Elitist, or some wierd psychopath. the same university that dint want ASIANs in the school, because there is not enough white people there.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›