Expanding Brain Meme Template

Also called Galaxy Brain, this four-stage exploitable was documented by Know Your Meme as emerging from the “Whomst” meme. An early widely shared example was posted by janskishimanski to Reddit’s r/dankmemes on January 31, 2017. Captions rank options or versions of an idea alongside increasingly expanded brains. Though the visual implies greater intelligence or insight at each step, the format is often ironic: the final “enlightened” option may be absurd, overcomplicated, or less sensible than the basic one. The format also works sincerely for a playful progression from ordinary to genuinely clever. The sheet says early 2017 on Twitter; the documented early example is Reddit, so avoid attributing the origin specifically to Twitter.

Four vertically stacked panels each show a left-facing head with a brain that becomes progressively larger and brighter, ending in a radiant, glowing head. In the active asset, the left half of each panel is blank for text. Slot 1 is the top, least luminous brain; slot 4 is the bottom, most radiant brain.

Put four comparable options, interpretations, methods, or levels of commitment in the slots from top to bottom. Slot 1 is the simplest or most ordinary; each following slot should escalate on the same dimension, with slot 4 as the most elaborate, supposedly profound, or humorously extreme endpoint. For ironic use, make the final stage reveal overthinking, absurdity, or a knowingly questionable “genius” solution. Keep each caption concise and parallel enough to compare. Do not rely on the image alone to make unrelated items feel like a progression.

1. Top panel: simplest, most conventional, or lowest-intensity option on the comparison scale.
2. Second panel: a recognizable step up in complexity, commitment, or supposed insight.
3. Third panel: a stronger escalation that remains on the same comparison axis.
4. Bottom panel: the most expanded endpoint, often an absurd, overthought, or mock-profound payoff.

• ranking increasingly elaborate approaches to one everyday task
• contrasting a basic preference with progressively niche or overengineered versions
• mocking overthinking by ending on an absurdly complex solution
• showing a sincere but playful progression toward a clever insight

• Do not use four unrelated statements; all panels need to compare versions of the same idea or choice.
• Do not make the progression flat or reverse it accidentally; each step should intensify along a clear shared scale.
• Do not assume the biggest brain must express a genuinely smarter or factually correct idea; irony is common.
• Avoid making the humor depend on mocking real cognitive disabilities or treating intelligence as a measure of human worth.
• Do not crowd panels with long explanations that obscure the comparison.