Science Memes

20640 readers

1669 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.

Meta Post Tags

Rules

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

If you are here asking: "Is this a science meme?"

Probably, yes. We use the Dawkins definition of meme: a replicating idea, not just an image macro with a fact on it. A good post here doesn't need to teach you something. It needs to make you ask something: who, what, where, when, and especially why or how.

Science isn't a filing cabinet of facts, it's a conversation. For example, a photo of an eel or other localized wildlife counts because most people never see one, and wonder is the first step of inquiry. A car meme counts if it makes you curious about what's under the bonnet. If you want to talk about something you noticed in the world, chances are someone else wants to talk about it too.

We moderate for vibe, not category. Pruning is light, especially where a post creates interesting discussion. Experimenting is encouraged.

See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.

Research Committee

!spiders@lemmy.world

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

Sal@mander.xyz

fossilesque@mander.xyz

SciBot@mander.xyz

fossilesque@lemmy.dbzer0.com

628

Ant warhammer (mander.xyz)

submitted 2 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 69 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Around the time of the SimCity games, Maxis released a game called SimAnt. It's pretty much this.

[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Fun fact, many of the Sim* games originated because Will Wright read a book on the subject.

Most of the games he worked on resulted from his academic interest in a field of study, and simulation development was "almost an excuse to do years of research on a subject." SimAnt was largely based on the research of Harvard University biologist E. O. Wilson, specifically his 1990 zoology textbook The Ants. Written with colleague Bert Hölldobler, the book details the behavior of ants and the intricacies of their colonies. Wright was particularly interested in Wilson's explorations of emergence whereby individual ants performing basic tasks can collectively accomplish very complex goals.

Previously:

While working on the game Raid on Bungeling Bay, in which the player flies a helicopter dropping bombs on islands, Wright found he enjoyed designing the islands in the level editor rather than playing the actual game. This led him to develop increasingly sophisticated level editors. At the same time, Wright was cultivating a love of the intricacies and theories of urban planning and acknowledges the influence of System Dynamics which was developed by Jay Wright Forrester and whose book on the subject laid the foundations for what would become SimCity.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 months ago

There's a great French novel about the life of an ant warrior who suspects a rival colony has developed a secret weapon. The original French title is The Ants but whoever brought it to the English market thought that wasn't dramatic enough and so retitled it Empire of the Ants

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Amazing. I'd love to be able to see inside his brain.

[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

I mean, the games sorta provide that. =)

[–] fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vip 4 points 2 months ago

sim copter was awesome