Dynamics Memes

The innocent phrase "It's just two pendulums in a row - how complicated could it be?" belongs in the physics hall of fame for famous last words. What starts as a simple harmonic motion problem rapidly descends into chaos theory, differential equations, and enough variables to make your calculator file for emotional distress. The double pendulum is literally the textbook example of chaotic systems—predictable in theory, completely unpredictable in practice. Just like my career trajectory after grad school.

The eternal struggle of physics students vs. physics professors in one royal meme! In introductory physics, we're told to "ignore air resistance" and "assume friction is negligible" to simplify problems. Then real life hits and suddenly those forces are causing dramatic drag on everything from projectile motion to family dynamics. No wonder engineers look at physicists with suspicion—those "negligible" forces are what make actual rockets work and actual relatives complain!