this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2026
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Science Memes
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A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
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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.
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See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.
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i'd argue that the actual problem is that parents lied about the tooth fairy to their kids. how can kids trust their parents if parents just make stuff up occasionally? the world is full enough of wonder, no need to make stuff up.
Social reasons. It's easier to just do it than have a 5 year old not understand why they're the only one that misses out, or explain the whole thing and expect a 5 year old to keep it secret from their friends, pissing off all the other parents when they tell them, all to avoid doing something that's just a bit of fun anyway and isn't likely to destroy your kids trust in you for life by itself.