2011-05-23
Explanation
This two-panel comic skewers the self-congratulatory nature of people who pride themselves on being introspective. In the first panel, a man thinks to himself, "I wish other people were as self aware and introspective as me." In the second panel, the same thought is revealed to be shared by every single person in a crowded room, each one thinking, "It's hard being this special."
The joke highlights a fundamental paradox: truly self-aware people would recognize that believing yourself to be uniquely self-aware is itself a form of self-delusion. The comic points out that almost everyone considers themselves more thoughtful and introspective than those around them, which is statistically impossible -- most people cannot be above average in self-awareness. The irony is that the very act of thinking you are more self-aware than others demonstrates a lack of the self-awareness you are claiming to possess.