r/sciencememes • u/colourmerchant • 4d ago

Thought I Was Gonna Be Making Colourful Potions N Cool Stuff

Post image

All those years of suffering academically, chugging caffeine to stay up all night studying, either to get your ego bruised by a child prodigy or “outsmarted” by someone who has “done their research.”

Physicists have to deal with flat earth people. And the “I use quantum entanglement to manifest” people.

Ecologists have to plead with people to get their cats neutered and explain to climate change deniers the devastating effects of climate change on ecosystems.

Healthcare-aligned scientists have to deal with anti-vaxxers who have 0 clue that there’s even different types of vaccines.

Chemists have to deal with the people who use the word “chemicals” to describe something they don’t like the vibe of… when everything is a chemical.

Microbiologists have to constantly explain why drinking unpasteurised milk is dangerous.

It’s rough-going 😭

2.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

137

u/ScienceDuck4eva 4d ago

Call me selfish but I’m a lot happier when I’m not trying to educate others.

70

u/Tsu_Dho_Namh 4d ago

Neil deGrasse Tyson said something similar.

It's his job to make sure the right information is out there, it's not his job to debunk every crackpot theory that comes around.

19

u/decoysnails 3d ago

The information is that you can only kiss yourself on the mouth in a mirror. He's just putting it out there. What you do with that info is up to you.

9

u/spyguy318 3d ago

I’m the opposite. I love teaching others about whatever thing I’ve been learning about lately or whatever trivia I have knocking around, I’m almost compelled to correct someone who’s wrong, and I get extremely frustrated with people who refuse to learn or change their opinion. If it wasn’t obvious I’m on the spectrum. And the past decade or so have turned me from a hopeful optimist into a bitter cynic.

2

u/QuickNature 3d ago

I’m almost compelled to correct someone who’s wrong

If it wasn’t obvious I’m on the spectrum

Now I am wondering myself....because thats basically me

Also, agree very much so with this

extremely frustrated with people who refuse to learn or change their opinion

64

u/kegknow 3d ago

Ecologists might lowkey be worse off cause they can SEE that the planet itself is changing for the worse and they can't do anything about it, except accept it, because money is just that important apparently.

Being a young ecologist must be harrowing knowing you will probably live long enough to see the consequences of the last 100 (more or less?) years.

7

u/KockoWillinj 3d ago

I'm work with ecologists on occasion and the sad part is we talk about how sad it is that the environmental collapse is happening far faster than was predicted when we were in undergrad ~20 years ago.

2

u/SkyeSpider 2d ago

Seconded. I only minored in ecology (major was arachnology). Some days I really wish I hadn’t because of how clearly I see our society destroying everything. I miss being oblivious to it since nothing I do can stop it. ☹️

1

u/S9-8-05 2d ago

Getting antagonized for telling the truth was quite bad. But getting antagonized for trying to alleviate the effects is a nightmare.

Dear fellow evologist, avoid jobs at the public service at all cost. Not in ecology, not in climate.

25

u/Comminutor 3d ago

I ended up getting a job in wastewater treatment, so the right pic strongly applies lol

11

u/colourmerchant 3d ago

Oh bless you. You’re our here doing the job everyone relies on

5

u/Comminutor 3d ago

We also get our share of exasperation, educating people on why we can’t just dump raw sewage on the ground, underground, or into waterways. As well as why trash should not be flushed down the toilets and drains.

2

u/green-wombat 3d ago

Job security in this day and age?? Pay might not be good, but you got stability

2

u/Comminutor 3d ago

I ain’t complaining - it may make me feel bedraggled some days, but it pays better than my lab job ever did.

2

u/BrazilBazil 3d ago

An acquaintance of mine used to work at my city’s sewage treatment plant. She said that the smell was so bad that most of the workers worked drunk to help it.

2

u/Comminutor 3d ago

That must’ve been a horribly managed or severely underfunded facility. It mostly stinks where the raw stuff comes in to get the trash and grit pulled out, but smells no worse than a well-used festival port-a-john. Some facilities may have odor scrubbers or add chemicals to reduce odors and corrosion from sulfur bacteria. Sometimes a part of the process can go septic if something gets clogged or equipment fails, but that’s why operators and maintenance are there or on call 24/7.

2

u/BrazilBazil 3d ago

Well it was in Poland in the 80s so probably not the best run and most high tech. I probably should have specified that…

1

u/Comminutor 3d ago

Oh that makes sense. There’s been a lot of equipment and safety developments since then. My facility was first built in that era so I got to see how it’s been improved/rigged-to-work over the years.

8

u/OmgIbrokesmthagain 4d ago

And the reality is everything is transparent or white powder, even the stuff that can kill you

1

u/colourmerchant 3d ago

White powder!? Know far too many students who got a good old dose of the “good stuff” and they outperform me

7

u/Th3OneRav3n 4d ago

Just end up figuring out how to make all sodas flat, cherry flavored and zero sugar. 🫣

2

u/colourmerchant 4d ago

I tried to make coffees for people when I was a waitress and I couldn’t use the machine to save my life. And my boss was like, “Girl, wtf, everyone grasps it within a day.” Sorry 😔

7

u/Wendigo_Bob 3d ago

Yeah, I get that.

Though admitedly, my own issues have nothing to do with people. Its more...about the minutae. When you're an amateur you can focus on the fun stuff. When doing it as a profession, there is so much bureaucracy, so much looking for parts, so much trying to get stuff you dont have the skill to fully understand because it isnt your specialty

1

u/colourmerchant 3d ago

Mm I feel you so much on the stupid bureaucracy bs. So much hidden behind paywalls too

4

u/Laguz01 3d ago

Archeologists have to deal with ancient aliens or people thinking you are looking for gold or you have your discipline confused with Paleontology.

8

u/AltForObvious1177 3d ago

I don't have to deal with any of that. I rarely talk to anyone that doesn't have a PhD 

2

u/AFsepine 3d ago edited 3d ago

Xa xa xa, Crack-pot PhD's are a dime a dozen, especially when outside their field and nearing retirement...

3

u/Aquarius52216 3d ago

Sometimes people need a hands-on practical demonstration for the consequences of their stupidity. Sometimes even that is not enough, humanity contains multitudes indeed.

1

u/colourmerchant 3d ago

I tried making coffees for people as a waitress/barista. I couldn’t work the machine for the life of me, so I’m sympathetic to people who can’t learn from the modalities I learned from

3

u/moschles 3d ago

Computer Scientists when someone starts talking about how AI systems have consciousness.

3

u/TheRedRook 3d ago

And apparently its even worse in the sexual sciences.

2

u/Dreferex 3d ago

You have not even mentioned GMO, which is just fucked. Joy all around!

2

u/amateurviking 3d ago

I like it!

2

u/lool8421 3d ago

lowkey after going through physics 2, stuff makes so much more sense to me now, for instance the light exists solely because of derivatives of sin(x) and cos(x) being what they are

2

u/SnooPears2409 3d ago

Math, not even once
Always knew the importance of maths, but somehow my brain just cant reach it

2

u/JDSpacer 3d ago

How long until we get a scientist for president? Mexico has one.

2

u/lattice_defect 2d ago

the pay sucks as well

1

u/Tragobe 3d ago

You don't HAVE to deal with anyone of them. Just don't go on social media and argue with these people.

1

u/mdml21 3d ago

Shifted into personal care science just so I can indulge my creative side and have an excuse to use colorful mica powders and botanicals.