2011-04-11
Explanation
Titled "The Human Irony," this comic shows a man at his desk having a philosophical epiphany. He reasons that if Heisenberg uncertainty is true, the universe may not be deterministic, which means free will could be possible. He grows increasingly rapturous, declaring that every action he takes is his own choice, "a new note added to the music of the cosmos."
Just as he reaches peak exaltation, his boss interrupts with "HEY!" and scolds him for looking away from his monitor during work hours. The man immediately cowers and apologizes. The irony is that in the very moment he was celebrating his free will and autonomy, he is revealed to be completely under someone else's control -- a worker who cannot even look away from a screen without permission. The comic highlights the gap between the grand philosophical concept of free will and the mundane reality of modern workplace life, where most people's "choices" are tightly constrained.