I See Nothing (But New Nomenclature)

Poor John Dalton thought he was revolutionizing chemistry with his element symbols, only to have Berzelius swoop in with a better system! In 1803, Dalton created circular symbols for elements in his atomic theory work, feeling super proud. Then Jöns Jacob Berzelius came along in 1813 with those one or two-letter abbreviations we all know today (H, O, Na, etc.) and BOOM—Dalton's symbols became chemistry's equivalent of Betamax tapes. Chemistry's greatest ghosting story! The scientific equivalent of spending hours on your outfit only to have someone else show up in something way cooler. 💔

Classic physics hierarchy in action! What looks like simple chemistry on the surface is actually quantum mechanics pulling the strings behind the scenes. It's the scientific equivalent of finding out your favorite indie band is secretly owned by a massive corporation. Chemistry thinks it's all about electron orbitals and bond angles until quantum mechanics shows up and says, "Cute model you've got there... shame if someone were to introduce some uncertainty principles and wave functions." Physics departments have been smugly pointing this out at interdepartmental mixers for decades.

Scientists: *discover cis-trans isomerism* Nature: "I've been doing that for billions of years." From chemistry with double-bonded molecules where groups are on same/opposite sides, to biology with healthy fats vs. trans fats, to mathematics with trig functions and geometric transformations—the cis/trans dichotomy is universal. Just like that one grad student who keeps "transforming" the communal coffee from full to empty without making a new pot.

The eternal tragedy of organic synthesis! You start with a mountain of raw material, perform 17 different reactions, purify until your hands fall off, and what do you get? A SPECK of product that you need an electron microscope to see! 🧪 The look of pure horror on SpongeBob's face is every grad student realizing their 3-month synthesis yielded just enough product to disappoint their advisor. The real miracle of organic chemistry isn't the reactions—it's somehow maintaining your sanity when your 0.01% yield is considered "a success worthy of publication." 🤣

Chemistry folks opening a physics textbook and immediately panicking is peak academic tribalism! While chemists worship the hexagon (benzene ring supremacy!), physicists are over there with their differential equations and quantum field theories looking like ancient hieroglyphics. The hexagon joke is brilliant because benzene's structure is literally the chemist's comfort zone - a perfect six-carbon hug in a world of chaos. Meanwhile, physics notation might as well be written in Klingon. The disciplinary culture clash is real - one person's elegant formula is another's nightmare fuel!

Behold the eternal struggle of every organic chemistry student! Luigi here represents the poor soul trapped between two massive textbooks (or exams) that might as well be labeled "Pain" and "More Pain." Just like carbon's ability to form multiple bonds, students form multiple mental breakdowns during this course. The only difference? Carbon actually enjoys making those connections. Trust me, I've seen brilliant minds reduced to mumbling about chair conformations while drawing hexagons in their sleep. Organic chemistry doesn't just break bonds—it breaks spirits. And just like this meme, there's always a part 2 waiting to finish what part 1 couldn't.