this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
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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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[–] morrowind@lemmy.ml 112 points 2 years ago (2 children)

physics majors when they're asked to apply their knowledge (they've never been outside of the lab)

[–] wizzor@sopuli.xyz 104 points 2 years ago

They can design the chicken coop, but only for spherical chickens in a vacuum.

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 78 points 2 years ago (2 children)

If you ask a scientist what pi is, they will tell you it equals 3.14159. If you ask a mathematician, they will tell you pi equals the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter. If you ask an engineer, they will say “about 3, but let's round it up to 5 to be safe.”

[–] oce@jlai.lu 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I'd replace scientist to something more precise like physicist because usually people consider mathematicians as scientists even if it depends on definitions.

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago (5 children)

usually people consider mathematicians as scientists

Yikes!

... Wait, does this mean I can call a historian an artist? Then I'm game.

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Feel free! I actually just googled it because I couldn't exactly remember it. I'd use contractions too and make it less formal sounding.

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[–] skybreaker@lemmy.world 71 points 2 years ago (2 children)

As someone with a degree in physics who ended up in an engineering role, I approve of this meme.

[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 43 points 2 years ago (1 children)

As an engineer, I don't believe in any of that mind reading mumbo jumbo.

[–] rh4c6f@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago

Astronomy is one of the many tools of the devil.

[–] beneeney@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Fr, what can you do with a physics degree except teach people physics

[–] dalekcaan@lemm.ee 14 points 2 years ago

Come up with new physics to teach people?

[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Applied physics is a thing. Lots of jobs there. Geophysics, biophysics, engineering physics (yes, that's a thing...)

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[–] skybreaker@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

So true, lol

[–] Zorque@kbin.social 45 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is the date a perfect sphere in a vacuum with no friction?

[–] Elektrotechnik@feddit.de 6 points 2 years ago

Aww, he doesn't understand physics and has a small dick? :(

[–] NeuronautML@lemmy.ml 41 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

What's the first indicator a scientist tried to build their own experiment using the soldering station ?

The smell of burnt fingers.

What's the scientist waiting for sitting in front of their own experiment ?

Waiting for the infinite loop they coded to finish after they claimed they didn't need the engineer's help to write the code in their experiment.

How many scientists do you need to change a light bulb ?

Theoretically just one, but it can take several until one of them can call an engineer and admit they only know how to change light bulbs theoretically.

What does a scientist call an electrolytic capacitor ?

Acid distribution subsystem.

[–] mctoasterson@reddthat.com 39 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Her: "No I meant I'm a software engineer."

Him: "Oh. I also hate myself and want to die."

[–] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 9 points 2 years ago

"Can I lick the science?"

"Nothing else has made the code work so ya might as well!"

[–] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 34 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Ask a ~~physician~~ physicist to build a bridge, it collapse but he knows exactly how and why it collapsed.

Ask an engineer to do it, it holds but he has no idea how it's holding together.

[–] lemmyseikai@lemmy.world 35 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Wow med school has really upped their game.

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)
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[–] Hobo@lemmy.world 27 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I think the word you're looking for is physicist. A physician is a medical doctor (as in a person that treats sick people). A physicist is a person that studies physics (as in a person that knows how to solve word problems involving pool tables).

[–] oce@jlai.lu 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's a classic French speaker mistake because physicist is "physicien" and physician is "médecin", very different.

[–] vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 years ago

(And Russian)

[–] user1234@lemmynsfw.com 34 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Engineering is just physics with real numbers.

[–] Chais@sh.itjust.works 36 points 2 years ago (4 children)

You can have loads of imaginary numbers in EE.

[–] bisby@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] nicoweio@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

He has the capacity to.

[–] user1234@lemmynsfw.com 18 points 2 years ago

Which is why I stay away from EE.

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[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Isn't physics a pretty integral part of engineering?

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 72 points 2 years ago

No, integrals are mathematics

[–] Zacryon@feddit.de 16 points 2 years ago

Depends on the specific engineering branch. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes nothing at all. But all engineering branches share one thing with physics: math.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

For structural analysts it's very important.

[–] AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca 25 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I think the joke is you don't understand enough physics to make that your gig, so you go engineering as the backup plan. Source: am IT, we're everyone's backup plan when their initial goals fall through

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

As a former engineering student who now works in IT.... I resent your comment.

[–] Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

About to graduate in physics and I've definitely scrolled through IT job postings when anxious about not getting a PhD position

[–] AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Don't worry, when IT students get those moments they look at construction ads. It's turtles all the way down.

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[–] Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

i didn’t get a degree until I was almost thirty, from an online college at that. I’m a complete idiot and somehow earning a bit over $200k a year in the Midwest at forty years old. Sometimes I have to meet with people and I’m like man, just let me back in my hole, wtf am I doing here, I can barely understand what these people are talking about let alone process any of the shit they are saying. I talk, ask questions, sometimes get answers I can understand but always make an idiot out of myself but I keep talking. Everyone says it’s better to keep your mouth shut and be assumed to be an idiot instead of opening your mouth and removing all doubt but I swear I’ve made a career out of being an idiot. If it wasn’t for IT I would be cleaning shit off guys dicks in a brothel somewhere to feed myself.

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[–] pigup@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I have worked with guys who got physics undergrad and mech E masters. They are both awful engineers who don't really get it. I take this joke too personally because I know it's bs from experience.

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[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 22 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Who said she's a mechanical engineer?

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

She probably drives a train

[–] SolarMech@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 years ago (5 children)

IIRC they all learn some physics at engineering school. Even the software engineers.

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[–] Darkonion@kbin.social 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Engineering is more like accounting, but for objects instead of money. Tables, rule books, and lobbyists.

[–] supercriticalcheese@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

And writing reports, calculations and such...even manuals if there is time

[–] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Hey we understand plenty! Well the parts we have to to make the thing not go boom anyways....

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[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)
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[–] tslnox@reddthat.com 5 points 2 years ago
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