this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
650 points (97.0% liked)

Science Memes

10515 readers
2141 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.


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
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 56 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The word theory has become (or at best is becoming) a clusterfuck of whatever, much like the word literally.

And we don't even have (normal/easy/exact) replacements for those words.
Those words were already the scientific terms for nerds. But normies normied them into normedom, literally theorised into a fuck.

(Also unfortunately Im a normie, but that doesn't mean I can't bitch about it)

[–] Zwiebel@feddit.org 25 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I like the word "model", I think it's a better fit even. We're modeling reality. Some models turn out to be shit, while others are well tested giving confidence that they mimic reality well.

[–] Ranger@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 month ago

But isn't model used differently in different disciplines?

[–] hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

~~Some~~ Most models turn out to be shit

Ftfy

[–] lostme@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

All models are shit. Some of them are useful tho

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Like my model of fecal matter.

[–] Malgas@beehaw.org 6 points 1 month ago

Every model is wrong. Some are useful.

Yeah I like that.

I use "theory" for theoretical things, like theoretical physics and math, that can be proven (in a mathematical way).

I use the word "model" for practical things, like practical physics. Models don't need to be proven, but their accuracy can be more or less helpful, depending on the context.

[–] kaffiene@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Yes I agree entirely.

[–] kaffiene@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

The word predates science