When Physicists Summon Eldritch Horrors

Ever notice how physics PhDs summon eldritch abominations like "Time Dependent Degenerate Perturbation Theory" with a straight face? This is what theoretical physicists sound like to normal humans when they casually drop their research topics at dinner parties.

The meme perfectly captures that moment when a physicist unleashes terminology so complex it might as well be a spell to summon cosmic horror. The tiny physics PhD is just standing there like "yeah, this is totally normal" while the rest of us back away slowly wondering if we should've paid more attention in science class.

For the curious nerds: Time-dependent degenerate perturbation theory is actually a real mathematical framework used to approximate solutions for quantum systems where multiple states have the same energy (that's the "degenerate" part) and the system changes over time. But honestly, it sounds more like what happens when you let a physicist name your death metal band.