The superlatives have been flying thick and fast. "Discovery of the century" and "stunning discovery" are among the most common ones.
On Thursday, a "scientific breakthrough" was announced. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory announced that it has detected the existence of gravitational waves, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916. Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space-time, which is the very fabric of the universe. These waves are actual physical ripples that move away from each other and closer together, thus stretching and squeezing the space they exist in.
The science world has been buzzing since this announcement. Gravitational waves have been making waves on the Internet for the last 24 hours. There have been Facebook likes and re-tweets galore.
But does everyone understand the significance of the discovery? This is complex science after all. Not everyone can be expected to comprehend it. But then it's embarrassing to pretend otherwise. Simply put, it's like pretending to understand and enjoy Christopher Nolan's magnum opi Interstellar and Inception. No amount of explainers and memes can make a difference.
But some were willing to accept defeat. Here's a selection:
terrified that i'll stumble into a conversation about the discovery of gravitational waves & have to pretend to understand any of it at all
— Ollie MN (@OllieMcKendrick) February 12, 2016
Two black holes that look like a pig snout. That's all I can see. #gravitationalwaves #why
— BrockTheDesigner (@brockkowalsky) February 12, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump #trump #Einsteinwasright #gravitationalwaves #usa pic.twitter.com/m82l18MtJC
— Jen Holland (@JenLovesLollies) February 12, 2016
Gravitational waves were first mentioned in the Vedas. (We don’t know exactly where it, but we’re on it.)
— Prasanto K Roy (@prasanto) February 12, 2016
This is the sound of #gravitationalwaves. Does it sound like Aum? https://t.co/BMZcEbpbiu
— Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) February 12, 2016
What's the big deal about gravitational waves, hasn't anyone seen Event Horizon? https://t.co/FcaKirCi6U pic.twitter.com/CuVbBXL3SD
— Arun (@arunmsukumar) February 12, 2016
Quoted sources:
— Kamlesh Singh (@kamleshksingh) February 12, 2016
Sura Ya-Sin
Brahm Vaivart Puran
Claiming Gravitational Waves already mentioned in them. I am surepic.twitter.com/GCiocbLf37
If the earth was under our control, we could have detected the gravitational waves longback.
— Sarcastic Tongue (@sarcasmopedia) February 12, 2016
- Arvind Kejriwal
I don't have the knowledge to truly appreciate the significance of its discovery, but I get that this is awesome #gravitationalwaves
— Sonny Rex (@wackysonny) February 12, 2016
the gravitational waves thing rubbed off on me in that i dreamt of the earth cloning itself and appropriating the moon's place in the sky
— Al-Avalathi (@vanwynkle) February 12, 2016