Great Things Happening At MIT

The eternal struggle of scientists being overshadowed by their creations. Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster. And Schrödinger? His "monster" isn't a cat in a box—it's the Schrödinger equation, that terrifying wave function that haunts physics students' nightmares. The equation describes quantum states that exist in superpositions until observed, much like how this meme exists in a superposition of being both scientifically accurate and a painful reminder of how pop culture butchers scientific concepts. At least the equation doesn't need to be fed or have its litter box changed.

This is what happens when you take Physics 101! The meme shows Atlas holding up the world, but instead of just bearing the weight of the Earth, he's also carrying the burden of physics approximations. At the top, we've got the pendulum equation (T = 2π√(L/g)) which only works for small angles. Below, poor Atlas is struggling with the small-angle approximations that physicists use to simplify trigonometric functions: sin θ ≈ θ, cos θ ≈ 1 - θ²/2, and tan θ ≈ θ. Every physics student knows the pain of being told "just assume it's a perfect sphere in a vacuum" or "friction is negligible." Atlas isn't just holding up the world—he's holding up all those shortcuts that make physics problems solvable on exams!

Physics students having an existential meltdown when told they suck at math, while engineering students just casually nodding in agreement is the most accurate representation of academic hierarchy I've ever seen. Physics majors spend years convincing themselves they're mathematical geniuses only to have their identity shattered by a single insult. Meanwhile, engineers already embraced their mathematical mediocrity and built entire bridges with it. The stoic "We know" is engineering in a nutshell—practical enough to admit their limitations and still confident enough to design nuclear reactors. That's not imposter syndrome, that's self-awareness!

The quantum particles are playing hard to get! This meme perfectly captures the bizarre reality of quantum mechanics - particles literally behave differently when we're not looking at them! The famous observer effect means that subatomic particles exist in multiple states simultaneously (superposition) until measured, then *poof* they pick just one state. It's like they're saying "Stop spying on us, humans!" The last comment nails it - this IS how quantum physics is studied! Scientists literally have to set up experiments and then pretend they're not looking to catch particles in their natural state. Quantum physics: where particles are basically teenagers who only do cool stuff when adults aren't watching!

That textbook introduction is the most metal thing I've ever seen in physics. Nothing says "welcome to thermodynamics" quite like casually mentioning that the pioneers of the field literally died by suicide after staring into the statistical abyss. The highlighted "Now it is our turn" reads like a horror movie tagline! Imagine opening Chapter 1 expecting equations and getting an existential warning instead. Statistical mechanics: so mind-bending it might just be hazardous to your health. Maybe that's why the title says "I'm not studying it anymore" - smart move, buddy. Statistical mechanics: where entropy increases and mental stability decreases.

Two ants on a sphere confidently declared "their trajectories will never cross," forgetting they live on a curved surface, not a flat plane. Classic non-Euclidean geometry fail! This is basically what happens when you apply flat-space thinking to our curved universe. Einstein's rolling in his grave while these ants are about to have their tiny minds blown when they inevitably collide. Next time someone tells you parallel lines never meet, just hand them a globe and watch their existential crisis unfold.