this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
482 points (97.3% liked)

Science Memes

15263 readers
2056 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Meme of two women fighting while a man smokes from a pipe in the background.

The women fighting are labeled "mathematicians defining pi" and "engineers just using 3 because it's within tolerance"

The man smoking is labeled "astrophysicists" and the pipe is labeled "pi = 1"

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] -5 points 3 days ago

This image is a two-panel meme utilizing a blurry, chaotic photo of individuals seemingly engaged in a mock fight and a separate photo of a person appearing to conduct a science experiment with a small flame, possibly under the influence of poor judgment.

In the left panel, the text "MATHEMATICIANS DEFINING PI" is superimposed over two individuals engaged in a dramatic physical altercation, one holding the other back. A third person, who is uninvolved but present, is labeled "ENGINEERS JUST USING 3 BECAUSE IT'S WITHIN TOLERANCE." This suggests a hierarchy of concern regarding the numerical precision of π (pi), with mathematicians caring deeply, engineers demonstrating relaxed standards, and general chaos ensuing.

In the right panel, a shirtless person crouches and conducts a questionable experiment involving a lighter and a small pipe. The caption "ASTROPHYSICISTS" is positioned above their head, and below is the phrase "PI = 1." This implies a level of approximation so extreme it borders on parody, indicating astrophysicists allegedly use such simplifications in the name of cosmic-scale practicality.

The overall composition is an exaggerated commentary on varying standards of numerical precision in different disciplines, presented through low-resolution imagery and humorous juxtaposition.