The Two Statements Are Equivalent! Is Light Conscious?

Imagine spending decades mastering chemistry, building particle accelerators worth billions, and then your crowning achievement exists for 0.000002 seconds before vanishing forever. Yet chemists are still like "WE NEED TO NAME IT!" The superheavy elements in the periodic table are basically chemical ghosts - they show up, wave hello, and disintegrate before anyone can even offer them a cup of coffee. The naming rights are basically for an element's obituary rather than its biography. "Here lies Flerovium, it existed for a fraction of a heartbeat, but we're pretty sure it would have had fascinating electron configurations if it stuck around long enough for us to check."

The brutal honesty of theoretical physics in stick figure form! String theory—one of the most complex frameworks in modern physics—reduced to "I had an awesome idea about vibrating strings" followed by a complete inability to explain the implications. This perfectly captures how even the most brilliant scientific concepts can sometimes outpace our ability to fully comprehend them. Theoretical physicists have spent decades developing mathematical models with 10+ dimensions that most can't visualize, yet the fundamental question remains: "So what does that actually mean for reality?" The shrug response is physics in its purest form.

Chemistry textbooks could never explain states of matter this perfectly! The meme brilliantly compares molecular behavior to human interaction. In gases, molecules move freely with minimal interaction (just like those distant figures floating around). Liquids have molecules closer together but still flowing (represented by the casual group huddle). And solids? Those tightly-packed, vibrating-in-place molecules are perfectly captured by that desperate group hug where nobody's going anywhere. Next time you're freezing something, just imagine forcing those molecules into an awkward family reunion embrace they can't escape from!

Whoever created this has completely broken physics in the most delightful way possible. Instead of actual elementary particles, we've got quarks labeled as "Boomer," "Millennial," and "Gen Z" with corresponding prices like "$1B" and "$800M." The force carriers? Just "mental illnesses" including "glueon" (with actual glue), "Hugs" (with an emoji!), and my personal favorite—"photo" with a camera icon. This is what happens when you let Reddit redesign fundamental physics. The Standard Model is challenging enough for my first-year students without turning bosons into "W bozo" and "Γ bozo" or replacing leptons with "negatron neutrino" and "mewtrino." I've spent 30 years teaching this stuff, and now I have to explain why "love" is apparently a fundamental force with a price tag of $1.5M. Feynman would be rolling in his grave... or perhaps laughing hysterically. Either way, this is what theoretical physics looks like after you've had too much coffee and not enough sleep for 23 consecutive days.

The eternal physics vs. engineering divide in one image. Physicists get all worked up about conventional current (positive to negative) versus electron flow (negative to positive), while electrical engineers just shrug and keep building circuits that work regardless. It's like debating which direction water flows while someone's busy building a functioning dam. Engineers don't have time for theoretical correctness—they're too busy making things that don't explode.

Engineering students vs. Mechanical Engineering students in their natural habitat! On the left, Electrical Engineers (EE) see resistors—those zigzaggy components that fight against current flow. Meanwhile, Mechanical Engineers (ME) look at the exact same squiggle and see springs with their constant k! Two disciplines, same symbol, completely different worlds. It's like they're speaking different languages while drawing the same doodle. Next time you see a squiggly line, just remember—your interpretation reveals which science tribe you belong to!