Galaxy Brain became a popular internet meme through image macros showing an expanding, glowing brain to mock supposedly enlightened thinking. Audio versions of the format spread later in short meme edits on YouTube, TikTok, and soundboards, where creators used dramatic music or stings to heighten each step of the joke. The format is still common because it instantly signals escalating irony: each new panel is framed as more advanced, even when the conclusion is clearly nonsense.