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The relevant meta-meme is the "programming sock". A humorous screenshot of an Amazon recommendation that said one of those knee-high socks with pink stripes was

The relevant meta-meme is the "programming sock". A humorous screenshot of an Amazon recommendation that said one of those knee-high socks with pink stripes was often bought together with a nerdy book like "The C Programming Language". People started referring to those kinds of socks ironically as "programming socks". I don't know if the screenshot was doctored, or if the Amazon recommendation engine found a real cluster of customers who are interested in both programming books and programming socks. In any case, I suppose it doesn't really matter because when people spread funny memes ironically it's only a matter of time before people join in sincerely without the irony. In short the answer to your question is "both".

Quikinterp 4y ago
Perhaps it's a self-fulfilling meme at this point, but searching "programming socks" on Amazon right now still only recommends socks like that. Definitely not doctored
hu3 4y ago
Thanks for clarifying it! Here's a NSFW link about the meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/programming-socks https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/programming-socks (NSFW)
_k9eq 4y ago
I don't think so, "programming socks" is a LGBT-adjacent meme to my knowledge, while this is related to https://github.com/cat-milk/Anime-Girls-Holding-Programming-Books https://github.com/cat-milk/Anime-Girls-Holding-Programming-... and image board culture.
- saint_fiasco 4y ago
  That repo and the programming sock screenshot are both from 2017. They might have a common ancestor, or refer to the same subculture. Notice that an anime girl holding a programming book is in itself a (mild) subversion of gender roles. The stereotypical programmer is male, and the stereotypical programmer is not cute.
  - daptaq 4y ago
    > Notice that an anime girl holding a programming book is in itself a (mild) subversion of gender roles. The stereotypical programmer is male, and the stereotypical programmer is not cute. I don't think that is going on here, you have to consider that the anime girl is holding the book towards the viewer, my guess is that the implication is supposed to be "Will you explain it to me".
    - Morgawr 4y ago
      > that the implication is supposed to be "Will you explain it to me". This is not correct. It's hard to explain if you've never seen them in context but rather than "will you explain it to me" they are actually saying "won't you read this?" or "will you learn this language for me?" kinda note. They used to be commonly posted as OP image in programming threads on /g/ with lines like "have you read sicp today /g/?" or similar. There's also another very common variation of this meme for gamedev communities on 4chan with the girl from the anime New Game (see this[0] clip, I couldn't find the meme itself) with a similar vibe. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyZDulr8msg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyZDulr8msg
      - daptaq 4y ago
        I have seen it, but I think that "won't you read this?" or "will you learn this language for me?" is just a front for "explain this to me", especially when considering the body language.
        Morgawr 4y ago
        > is just a front for "explain this to me", especially when considering the body language. ? Why? There's nothing that indicates this, the history behind these images shows the clear opposite. This to me sounds more like your (unconscious?) biases are showing more than it actually being a thing. Trust me, it's not really how this meme works. If you actually look at most images in that repo the girls are either reading the book, explaining the book, or clearly pushing it (often aggressively) towards the viewer to make them read it. EDIT: Are you familiar with Serial Experiments Lain? I think that was one of the first ones to pop up with these.

Quikinterp 4y ago

Perhaps it's a self-fulfilling meme at this point, but searching "programming socks" on Amazon right now still only recommends socks like that. Definitely not doctored

hu3 4y ago

Thanks for clarifying it! Here's a NSFW link about the meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/programming-socks https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/programming-socks (NSFW)

_k9eq 4y ago

I don't think so, "programming socks" is a LGBT-adjacent meme to my knowledge, while this is related to https://github.com/cat-milk/Anime-Girls-Holding-Programming-Books https://github.com/cat-milk/Anime-Girls-Holding-Programming-... and image board culture.

saint_fiasco 4y ago
That repo and the programming sock screenshot are both from 2017. They might have a common ancestor, or refer to the same subculture. Notice that an anime girl holding a programming book is in itself a (mild) subversion of gender roles. The stereotypical programmer is male, and the stereotypical programmer is not cute.
- daptaq 4y ago
  > Notice that an anime girl holding a programming book is in itself a (mild) subversion of gender roles. The stereotypical programmer is male, and the stereotypical programmer is not cute. I don't think that is going on here, you have to consider that the anime girl is holding the book towards the viewer, my guess is that the implication is supposed to be "Will you explain it to me".
  - Morgawr 4y ago
    > that the implication is supposed to be "Will you explain it to me". This is not correct. It's hard to explain if you've never seen them in context but rather than "will you explain it to me" they are actually saying "won't you read this?" or "will you learn this language for me?" kinda note. They used to be commonly posted as OP image in programming threads on /g/ with lines like "have you read sicp today /g/?" or similar. There's also another very common variation of this meme for gamedev communities on 4chan with the girl from the anime New Game (see this[0] clip, I couldn't find the meme itself) with a similar vibe. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyZDulr8msg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyZDulr8msg
    - daptaq 4y ago
      I have seen it, but I think that "won't you read this?" or "will you learn this language for me?" is just a front for "explain this to me", especially when considering the body language.
      - Morgawr 4y ago
        > is just a front for "explain this to me", especially when considering the body language. ? Why? There's nothing that indicates this, the history behind these images shows the clear opposite. This to me sounds more like your (unconscious?) biases are showing more than it actually being a thing. Trust me, it's not really how this meme works. If you actually look at most images in that repo the girls are either reading the book, explaining the book, or clearly pushing it (often aggressively) towards the viewer to make them read it. EDIT: Are you familiar with Serial Experiments Lain? I think that was one of the first ones to pop up with these.