General Case

“You’re never going to teach him how to drive without my supervision.”

Naming

This doesn’t just apply to group names. I see crazy acronyms on the arXiv all the time.

Perhaps the best instance of this though is in the comments section of this article, by “NJBiologist”:

Much like how Src is activated by Srcasm? (No, I am not making that up: see Seykora et al, J Biol Chem. 2002 Jan25;277(4):2812-22.)

You can find a paper on srcasm here.

Middle Steps

It’s a time-honoured tradition of professors in mathematics and physics.

(This comic was inspired by Sidney Harris and his wonderful comics. In particular, the top-right one on this page.)

Squiggle

Seriously, the number of physics professors that default to using ξ or ζ as their symbol of choice makes me think that there’s some collective brainwashing going on.

Project Progress

Corollary: Your folder of started projects is overflowing.

Fast Start

The inability for us to estimate how much content is too little for people viewing our work for the first time is probably one of the key reasons I don’t like most presentations.

Correction Key

Ah, do I ever love the RG one. It’s my go-to strategy when trying to finish an assignment where I don’t understand all the steps.

Exponent

This is absolutely based on a true story, and it makes me aware of every single footnote I write. I spent so much time trying to figure out how in the world the author arrived at the equation!

Title Filter

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but only barely. It really does boggle the mind at times when I browse the arXiv.

Potholes

“Can’t we fix all of these terrible roads so people actually want to ride on them?”

“If they are really motivated, they will persevere.”