science

ROFLCon

ROFLCon is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ROFLCon rather than just read about it. In short: ROFLCon was a biennial convention of internet memes that took place in 2008, 2010 and 2012, featuring various internet celebrities. All three events were at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Key takeaways

ROFLCon belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ROFLCon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ROFLCon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ROFLCon was a biennial convention of internet memes that took place in 2008, 2010 and 2012, featuring various internet celebrities. All three events were at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ROFLCon was first organized by a group of students from Harvard University led by Tim Hwang. According to Hwang, the inspiration for the conference was the September 23, 2007 meetup of fans of xkcd with its creator, Randall Munroe, in a park in North Cambridge, Massachusetts. The name "ROFLCon" comes from the internet slang "ROFL", short for "rolling on the floor laughing", and "con", short for "convention".

The original ROFLCon The first ROFLCon was first announced in late 2007, and took place on April 25–26, 2008. Various internet celebrities attended, such as the authors of the webcomics xkcd, Questionable Content and Dinosaur comics, Jay Maynard "The Tron Guy", Christopher "moot" Poole, Leeroy Jenkins, The Brothers Chaps, and many others. Attendance was open to the public after pre-registration and a fee. The primary events of ROFLCon were moderated panel discussions with the Internet celebrities, and question and answer sessions with the audience. Several guest speakers gave talks on issues pertaining to internet culture. The convention ended with the "ROFLConcert", featuring live performances by Group X, Leslie Hall, Lemon Demon, Trocadero and Denny Blaze.

Subsequent events ROFLCon II took place from April 30 to May 1 at MIT. Passes were available from $45 for a student to $500 for a "Mystery Pass." ROFLCon III took place on May 4–5, 2012, announced as the final ROFLCon.

Gallery

References

External links

Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-04-26) "ROFLCon final session: Cult leaders". The Guardian. April 27, 2008. "ROFLCon Live Stream". Los Angeles Times Funny Pages. April 25, 2008. "ROFLCon: Welcome to the Fame Revolution". Wired. April 25, 2008. "My ROFLCon Weekend: Breakfast with Tron Guy". NPR. April 28, 2008 The new fame: Internet celebrity. CNN. May 1, 2008. "Bostonist Went To ROFLCon And All We Got Was This Brawndo Hangover". Bostonist. April 30, 2008.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ROFLCon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ROFLCon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ROFLCon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ROFLCon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ROFLCon

In research: ROFLCon appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ROFLCon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ROFLCon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Conventions in Massachusetts, Internet culture, Recurring events disestablished in 2012, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ROFLCon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ROFLCon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ROFLCon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ROFLCon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ROFLCon in simple terms?

ROFLCon was a biennial convention of internet memes that took place in 2008, 2010 and 2012, featuring various internet celebrities. All three events were at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Why does ROFLCon matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ROFLCon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ROFLCon.