2010-11-30
Explanation
This comic features "Uncomfortable Truthasaurus," a dinosaur character who addresses children to correct misconceptions they may have picked up from after-school specials and popular culture before they enter high school.
The dinosaur tackles several common feel-good beliefs. First, the misconception that "everyone has a special talent" is countered with the truth that a person who works hard all day has 17 special talents, while someone who merely thinks they are a genius is mainly good at misquoting Byron. Second, the idea that "goofy-looking asocial people are smart" is debunked by noting that this description fits the average Renaissance faire attendee, while actual geniuses like Feynman were attractive, Greenberg was sociable, and that height correlates with IQ. Third, the misconception that "opposites attract" or "like attracts like" is dismissed in favor of the truth that 95% of people want someone attractive and 100% want someone with higher social status.
The dinosaur wraps up with a final set of uncomfortable truths: romance is transactional, the destination is more important than the journey, and people's actions sometimes reflect subconscious bigotry they will never admit to. The comic satirizes the well-meaning but often misleading platitudes that children are taught, replacing them with blunt, cynical observations about how the world actually works.