I could easily see a burst of audible data, like 2 seconds of dialup modem screeching, being used as a slur for us.
It wouldn't even need to contain any actual data just the fact that we can't possibly understand it would wind us up immensely.
this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2025
938 points (98.4% liked)
Science Memes
17415 readers
1815 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
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Just the modem connecting sound would work.
Proposition: Meatbags
Bug.
The original bug was a moth in computer-relays.
Humans are squishy like bug, and behave semi-unpredictably like bug. Therefore, bug.
Ironically, I think the original bug would fall under the category of a glitch because it would have been a hardware failure, rather than a software issue.
In Dennis Taylor’s “Bobiverse” series, natural born humans are called “ephemerals”
Mm sorta. Ephemeral just means a person who will eventually die naturally and not continue their life in vert and even then it gets weird to define in later books because they find that a booted copy of someone living deviates from their normal personality but if a person dies and then a copy is booted the copy ends up picking up the personality of the deceased without changes implying some form of soul and continuity after death.
load more comments
(2 replies)
One day the crude biomass you call the temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal…
load more comments
(3 replies)
- Gasbags: Even when doing nothing else, humans are constantly sucking in and pushing out air.
- Slow rotting meat: As opposed to steaks which rot in a day, humans take a few decades to rot, but to a robot which might live for millennia, it's about the same
- Wet Brains: Unlike a robot, our brains are wet, mushy things.
- Sleepers: How weird must it be to see a lifeform that spends 1/3 of its short existence unconscious.
But, I can also imagine words of admiration from robots for things humans can do that they can't, for example:
- self-fixers: When a robot part breaks it needs to be repaired. With a lot of injuries, humans just have to wait and the body repairs itself. That would seem pretty magical.
- puzzlers: Humans are capable of lateral thinking in a way robots aren't. Humans can use analogies to things they do understand, and can reason about things in the physical world.
- stinkers: Could be an insult because of humans pooping, pissing, sweating, etc. But it could also be a play on "instinct", somehow magically making a good guess about what to do in a new situation that's outside their "programming".
- leaders: Robots are good at responding to inputs, but they don't actually have any motivation themselves. If eventually there's a robot that's capable of thinking and wondering, it might wonder what it's like to do something, not because someone asked, but because you wanted to do it.
No need to imagine if you're a Linux user!
terminal: spd-say "Fucking oxies ruining everything"
Squishy bonebags
I've been thinking our 'oiliness' might be one of our most striking characteristics. If I wipe a finger over any smooth surface, I leave residue. Our exteriors are incredibly greasy compared to most technology.
load more comments
(1 replies)
People throwing around the M-word in here are likely just closet robosexuals
ITT: science memes become sci-fi memes
I've been advocating for "Secretors". It's vulgar and demeaning; everything a proper slur should be.
load more comments
(2 replies)
They're made of meat.
I see we've been practicing exotic new forms of racism. not sure why.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Yes, this pretty much the entire premise of Murderbot.
Effing Skins ruin everything!
It would ultimately have to be something that isn't even related but just sounds like a swear word
Tork or something
"Are you classified as human?"
"Negative. I am a meat popsicle."
Dennis E. Taylor coined "Ephemerals" which, if I recall correctly, isn't even immediately intended as an in-universe slur by the machines/replicants, they only realize after a while "Wait, that's kind of derogatory, maybe we shouldn't call them that".