If you’ve never been naturally drawn to science yourself, you might be wondering how anyone in the world could possibly want to dedicate their life to this field. But as it turns out, many scientists are quite passionate about what they do and don’t take their career paths lightly. According to a study from the Pew Research Center, when it comes to why working PhD scientists were inspired to pursue their specific fields, 32% of them reported being influenced by the “intellectual challenge”, a “lifelong curiosity”, and/or a “love of science or nature”. 27% of these scientists were inspired by mentors, professors or teachers, and 17% said they were inspired by labs, fieldwork, internships and science fairs. 12% received family encouragement, 9% were inspired by a childhood experience of natural world or science museums, and 8% became scientists to contribute to society.
One passionate, 50-year-old microbiologist told Pew Research that she’s had a passion for science for as long as she can remember, from about age 4. “My second grade teacher was a big influence on building that passion,” she shared. “She was an amateur naturalist and taught us a lot about ecology and the natural world. In high school, I discovered my passion for molecular biology. I remember learning of the [Meseleson-Stahl] experiment in my AP Biology class, and I remember thinking, ‘Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing I want to understand.’”
And as with almost anything else, there is room for humor and comedy in science as well. Your high school biology teacher might not have been cracking too many jokes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t today! According to Courtney Adams at Lifeology, “Science memes can do much more than make someone laugh; they can help engage people in learning—in a fun way! More specifically, humor can be a useful tool for science communication. Humor can trigger someone’s initial interest in a subject and encourage further engagement. It can also raise awareness or encourage a positive perception of a topic.”
Is this list making you miss your old days back in the chemistry lab, pandas? Or maybe you were more partial to biology and getting to dissect frogs? Regardless of which field of science was your personal favorite, we hope you’re enjoying these hilarious scientific memes. Keep upvoting the ones that teach you something new, or that your fellow science nerds would appreciate, and then if you’re interested in checking out even more memes that Bill Nye would appreciate, you can find another Bored Panda article featuring science memes right here!
