Science Memes
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.

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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.
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This is called "bolting" in gardening terms, when a plant goes to flower or seed.
Not exactly. It is bolting when it starts sending up a flowering stem, the very beginning of flowering. Every broccoli I've ever eaten has bolted, but not many of them have bolted and flowered.
Huh, I've only heard bolting used when plants start flowering too early, before they've produced. Like lettuces or basil flowering before there are more than a couple leaves. Usually because they're too crowded or otherwise stressed.
Yeah, it usually used to indicate unwanted flowering, but in lettuces (and to a lesser extent, basil) it indicates the beginning of the flowering attempt by the plant. Most people will cull their lettuce after it bolts (stem starts to elongate into an inflorescence), but way before there are any open flowers or even buds.
Broccoli is weird though. We want it to bolt, but not really flower. That's an odd thing for most plants.