Algorithms Meme

Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

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My friend and I were in class and we were bored by the professor and she found this meme. We almost got in trouble for laughing during class. When she showed me the meme she said, “I bet this is way better than our current lecture.” It is common knowledge that MIT is an incredible school for many majors, especially engineering majors. This meme is popular with current music. This version pretends that the algorithms lecture is the “hottest” track out there. My friend found this meme on the internet and it has many forms. Its origin is unknown. This version was most likely developed by someone in the computer science or engineering field. Not many people outside the field would understand it or find it funny.

My friend is a computer science major with a game development emphasis. As part of the computer science community she collects and forwards a myriad of folklore specific to this unique group. Computer science folklore is unique and reflects the beliefs and the culture of the group. Per my informant, as well as personal experience, computer science majors have a unique sense of humor that develops from the difficult coursework, the long hours spent on the computer coding, and the group dynamic required to get through the major. This humor is often expressed through memes and jokes only members of this group can understand and appreciate.

I find this meme and ones like it funny because they are incredibly relatable. Memes are able to adapt to different groups. I find that really interesting. I believe that is the main reason that memes are so popular. Every group can find or create memes specific to their folklore (i.e. jokes, tales, inside knowledge). As a result memes can seem personal and specific to the group.