Self-citation Memes

The academic equivalent of giving yourself a high five. Nothing quite like watching a professor smugly reference "et al., 2018" when they're the "et al." Bonus points when they casually mention "as shown in my groundbreaking research" for the seventh time in one lecture. The citation section of their syllabus is basically their CV with extra steps.

The ultimate academic flex: citing yourself! Nothing screams "intellectual narcissism" quite like a researcher who's created their own little citation circle of trust. It's basically the academic equivalent of high-fiving yourself in the mirror while whispering "you're brilliant" five times. The publish-or-perish culture has created this beautiful phenomenon where researchers can boost their h-index by becoming their own biggest fan. "As I brilliantly stated in my 2021 paper, which built upon my groundbreaking 2020 paper, which referenced my seminal 2019 paper..." Fun fact: Some journals now limit self-citations because apparently some researchers were getting a bit too comfortable with their academic self-love!

The academic equivalent of giving yourself a high five. Nothing says "I'm the authority on this subject" like professors smugly awarding themselves a medal for their own research. The citation counts technically go up, and nobody can question your interpretation of your own data. It's academic inception – publishing papers just to cite them in lectures later. The scientific method at its most... circular.