2011-10-12
Explanation
This comic plays with the well-known analogy "Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation," which is traditionally used to argue that physics is the more applied and fulfilling discipline while math is a solitary, self-referential pursuit. A physics professor writes "Physics 101" on the board and quotes this saying to his class. A student offers a charitable interpretation: "So, you're saying both fields are good, but without an attempt to understand the universe, the search for deeper mathematical truth is empty?" The professor's actual meaning is far more blunt: "I'm saying you'll spend most of undergrad doing math" -- and then the chalkboard reveals "CS 101," implying the student is actually in a computer science class, not physics.
The joke works on several levels. First, the student tries to extract a deep philosophical meaning from the analogy, but the professor's real point is purely practical -- physics majors end up doing enormous amounts of math. Second, the reveal that this is actually a CS class adds another layer: computer science students also spend most of their time doing math, making the analogy apply even more broadly than intended. The implication is that no matter what technical field you enter, you're mostly just doing math.
The votey simply shows the professor's smug face with the text "PHYSICS BURN," treating the whole exchange as a sick burn delivered by physics against both math and computer science.