Arwyn writes: “Even though psychology is a soft science. I present Sigmund Freud. The tattoo is part of a sleeve that I call ‘Freud’s Dream,’ hence the little thought bubbles.”
Ego, Id, Tattoo
About The Loom
Carl Zimmer writes about science regularly for the New York Times and magazines such as Discover, where he is a contributing editor and columnist.
He is the author of seven books, the most recent of which is The Tangled Bank: An Introduction To Evolution. His website is carlzimmer.com and his address is [ blog at carlzimmer dot com ].
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I once wondered aloud if scientists had tattoos of their science. The answer was yes, and this ever-growing collection is the evidence. If you want to share your own scientific ink, send it to me with some explanation.
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January 14th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
I gotta say, that’s pretty badass. Well-done and striking. A very cool tattoo.
But, I have two big problems with what Arwyn writes. First, I don’t consider psychological science to be “soft”. Remember, science is a method, not a particular topic area. It is possible to study behavior using the scientific method, and that’s what psychology is. And Freud? Well, he ain’t science. To be fair to Freud, he never claimed that his ideas were scientific.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Freudian interpretation is related to interplay between the id and the ego. Unfortunately, this interpretation holds that the tattoo is a symbol of masculine protest. Taken to its fullest pathology, then, it is a determined effort to undermine homosexual tendencies. There are sociocultural implications but the reality holds that the Freudians relate the tattoo to strong masculine fullfillment.