2011-01-11
Explanation
This comic is set at "Engineer-Con 42," where an inventor is presenting a device that embeds into a person's molar and automatically corrects their use of "who" and "whom" by adding or subtracting the letter "m." An audience member raises his hand and enthusiastically asks a question that reveals his real concern: people could be "thinking wrong," and if he cannot hear their thoughts, how can he express his disdain for their failure to master indirect object use?
The presenter's suggestion -- "Maybe you could talk to them like human beings?" -- is met with exasperation: "I'm being serious!" The comic satirizes a particular type of grammar pedant who is less interested in clear communication than in feeling superior to others over minor linguistic rules. The "who/whom" distinction is a classic example of a grammatical rule that many people find confusing and that rarely causes genuine misunderstanding, making the engineer's obsessive need to police even people's private thoughts all the more absurd.