2010-08-13
Explanation
This comic presents "The Law of Futurology," a satirical equation: y - t = 0, where y is the approximate number of years left in a futurist's life and t is the number of years the futurist thinks it will be until immortality is discovered. The joke is that futurists always predict that revolutionary life-extending technology will arrive just in time to save them personally from death.
The bottom half of the comic illustrates this principle with three futurists of different ages. A young man cheerfully predicts things will change in 60-70 years, a middle-aged man says 30-40 years, and a very old man insists things will change by 3 PM tomorrow. Each prediction conveniently aligns with roughly how much time they each have left to live, exposing the self-serving bias underlying many futurist predictions.
The votey panel shows the cartoonist (Zach) writing at his desk saying "Take THAT, hopeful people!" This is a self-aware acknowledgment that the comic is essentially dunking on optimistic futurists and transhumanists who believe technological immortality is just around the corner -- always conveniently within their own expected lifespan.