Authorship Memes

The scientific paper hierarchy in its natural habitat! The professor laughs maniacally while getting all the credit, while that wide-eyed grad student who spent 3 years in the lab, sacrificed weekends, and survived on ramen noodles gets demoted to "et al." – academic speak for "those other people who did everything but don't get their names on the PowerPoint slide." Next time you see "et al." in a citation, pour one out for the sleep-deprived souls behind the scenes. The scientific community's version of "and the rest" from Gilligan's Island theme song!