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The science world is in constant motion. Whether we're talking about sudden breakthroughs or meticulous and consistent efforts with incremental progress, there's always something new to uncover.

So the social media project 'Science is Fun' has set out to show everyone just how engaging these adventures can be. Run by Tomas Rosko, it shares memes that illustrate difficult equations and theories through relatable everyday scenarios.

Even the most abstract concepts can feel surprisingly familiar if you're willing to let them in!

More info: Instagram | X | YouTube

#2

Text message exchange about math, highlighting a funny discrepancy with decimals, featuring science meme humor.

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Interestingly, you could make a case that as we're seeing an increase in science memes, we see fewer innovative papers.

Yes, there are more scientists than ever, there are more publications than ever, and there's much more funding than ever before.

In fact, federal funding for research and development has grown from $3.5 billion in 1955 to $137.8 billion in 2020, which equates to a more than tenfold increase even after you adjust for inflation.


#3

A humorous science meme comparing philosophy, metaphysics, theology, and science to looking for a black cat in a dark room.

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But outside of a few specific areas, like AI and biotechnology, does it really feel like we're in a golden age of science?

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Writer Kelsey Piper thinks that we're not. As she pointed out, the early 20th century saw discovery after discovery that radically changed our comprehension of the world we lived in and upended industry: nitrogen fixation (which made it possible to feed billions), the structure of the atom and DNA, rocketry, plate tectonics, radio, computing, antibiotics, general relativity, nuclear chain reactions, quantum mechanics...

There might be more science now, but it feels like the current trends can't compare to the 20th century in terms of discoveries that change the world.


#8

Hilarious science meme compares a clear planet image with a blurry bank security camera image.

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#9

Funny science meme: a sign questions artificial intelligence vs. natural stupidity, paired with a cartoon character agreeing.

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One study that looked at patents and papers to measure how much future research was built on a given publication, or how much a given piece of work served to "push science and technology in new directions" supports the idea that there are fewer radical innovations than there used to be.

As researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Arizona noted, previous data also indicates there's "declining research productivity in semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and other fields. Papers, patents, and even grant applications have become less novel relative to prior work and less likely to connect disparate areas of knowledge, both of which are precursors of innovation. The gap between the year of discovery and the awarding of a Nobel Prize has also increased, suggesting that today's contributions do not measure up to the past."


#10

Funny science meme about theory and practice combination in a lab setting.

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The authors of the study analyzed 25 million papers (1945–2010) and 3.9 million patents (1976–2010) according to a new metric, the so-called "CD index," which determines whether papers are mostly "consolidating" (or building on) knowledge in the field, or whether they’re “disrupting” the field and pointing toward new, fresh avenues of research.

The idea is that if a paper builds on previous work, citations of that paper will generally also cite previous work, but if a paper blazes a new research direction, then citations of that paper are less likely to cite previous work. The lower the CD score, the less disruptive the research.

For example, the 1953 paper on the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick scores very high as "disrupting" on the CD index — it proposed a new view of DNA, and papers citing it didn't bother citing the old, wrong models of DNA that it corrected.


#14

Hilarious science meme about the size comparison of Earth and Uranus from "Science Is Fun."

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Cat Chat
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, not possible until it's renamed. It's round... let's go with Urballs.

BeesEelsAndPups
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read it to my 90 year old father and he chuckled. Signs are not looking good for my eventually maturity.

Auntriarch
Community Member
2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In case your father hasn't heard this one: if your head lay on the sun, and your feet on Pluto, Uranus is exactly where you would expect to find it...

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Joanne Mendonza-Earle
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Uranus, Missouri is an absolute MUST SEE. Puns and jokes abound! They, of course, make fudge.

any rei
Community Member
1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It took me forever to get the joke cuz I never heard how English speaking people pronounce the planet and now I can't unhear it even in my own language

Jenn Olges
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only problem is, that much gas in one space is going to need a way out - and I DON'T want to be on the receiving end! LOL

Bruce Wollen
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For further enlightenment, you can investigate "The Secrets of Uranus", by Thomas K. Adamson.

Maudelin
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a place in Missouri called Uranus Fudge Factory; look it up for more laughs like this one. "The Best Fudge Comes From Uranus".

JK
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone gets a shout out for good science anatomy jokes. One suggestion. Urballis.

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#16

Hilarious science meme featuring a humorous AI-generated obituary.

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The researchers suspected that "disrupting" papers, ones that change the field and point in new research directions, are on the decline. And that was exactly what they found.

In the "social sciences," "the average CD5 dropped from 0.52 in 1945 to 0.04 in 2010."

In "physical sciences," "the average CD5 decreased from 0.36 in 1945 to 0 in 2010."

For "drugs and medical" patents, "the average CD5 decreased from 0.38 in 1980 to 0.03 in 2010."

And for "computer and communications" patents, "the average CD5 decreased from 0.30 in 1980 to 0.06 in 2010."

#20

Comparison meme of diplococcus and diplodocus with humorous science captions.

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#21

Engineer meme showing a humorous sign about engineers in their natural habitat, behind glass in a classroom.

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So why aren't scientists discovering new things? Have we already discovered all the transformative and crucial things?

Not necessarily. Piper, for example, believes that it's possible the slowdown is not an inevitable natural law, but a result of policy choices.

"The way we hand out scientific grants is flawed," she explained. "Despite the record level of funding, we know that visionaries with transformative ideas — like Katalin Karikó, who did crucial early work to invent mRNA vaccines — struggled for years to get grant money. And getting money requires jumping through a growing number of hoops — many leading scientists now spend 50 percent of their time writing grant proposals so they can spend the other 50 percent ... doing science."


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#25

Person struggling to separate stacked 5-gallon buckets with a science meme caption about the strongest force on Earth.

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Nowadays, scientists have to publish to keep their jobs. "Saying that the science slowdown is inevitable because our predecessors already grabbed all the good ideas might blind us to the possibility that science is slowing down because we're actively mismanaging it, directing researchers away from the best uses of their time and the most crucial research and toward small incremental papers that keep funders — and tenure review committees — happy," Piper added.

#26

Einstein and Darwin in a science meme with quotes about relativity and relatives, adding humor to scientific ideas.

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#27

Cartoon bacteria taking a "cellfie" with a microscope, a hilarious science meme.

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#28

Hilarious science meme featuring historical figures with captioned jokes.

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#29

Chart showing wheel running by species; mouse, slug. Funny science meme from "A Place Where Science Is Cool."

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Disruptive papers often correlate with innovations that increase productivity, improve quality of life, raise wages, and save lives. Some have even speculated that the drop in productivity and wages in the US is driven by the slowing of scientific innovation. Not to mention there's less content for memes!

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If you want to see more, check out Bored Panda's earlier article on 'Science is Fun.'


#31

Dinosaur wishing on a falling star, becoming a museum skeleton. Science memes humor.

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#32

Googly eyes on an "Earthquake Detection Kit" sign on a wall from science memes collection.

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#34

Funny science meme about Shakespeare predicting SSL errors, highlighting humor and creativity in science.

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#35

Hilarious science meme about the universe in a glass jar as an alien child's science project.

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#36

Funny science meme showing carbon and diamond on a date with humorous dialogue.

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#37

Hilarious science meme about perspective, featuring two characters debating a number as 6 or 9.

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#38

A funny science meme comparing the moon and sun with a character in a graduation gown holding Earth.

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#40

Bar chart meme humorously illustrating mitochondria as the main source of power, over money and status, from a science meme page.

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#41

A hilarious science meme featuring cats as sodium and chlorine, humorously explaining their reaction forming salt.

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#42

Person walking diagonally on grass path next to sidewalk, humorously using Pythagoras' theorem in real-life context.

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#43

Humorous science meme featuring chemistry joke about argon, shared by "Science Is Fun" on social media.

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#45

Hilarious science meme about a mathematician being asked to prove their expertise during a medical emergency.

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#46

Hilarious science meme with a doctor asking a patient to name their rare disease, featuring a surprised monkey puppet.

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#47

Funny science meme showing a cereal box labeled as a source of iridium.

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#49

Hilarious science meme with a sarcastic comment about baking bread faster by increasing temperature.

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#50

Creative science meme showing an inventive straw setup to cool down hot tea, demonstrating thermodynamics humor.

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