2012-02-27
Explanation
This comic depicts a clash between a physicist and a group of Buddhist monks over the classic philosophical koan, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one'''s around to hear, does it make a sound?" The comic is structured in reverse chronological order: it opens with the aftermath and then flashes back to "Earlier..." to show how the conflict started.
In the opening panels, the physicist confidently answers the koan with "Yes. Conservation of energy." The monks protest, "That'''s not the point!" and the physicist fires back, "Is this serious to you people? Where'''s all that potential energy gonna go? Huh?" The middle panel shows the physicist being physically restrained or beaten up by the monks, who have apparently had enough of his literal-minded approach to their philosophical question.
The humor comes from the collision between two entirely different ways of understanding the question. The monks are asking a deep philosophical question about the nature of perception and reality -- whether "sound" exists without an observer. The physicist, however, treats it as a straightforward physics problem: of course the falling tree converts potential energy to kinetic energy and produces sound waves, regardless of whether anyone is there to perceive them. Both are technically correct within their own frameworks, but the physicist'''s stubborn refusal to engage with the philosophical dimension drives the monks to violence.
The votey adds a final layer, with someone (likely the physicist) saying, "Specifically, the sound would be '''whump'''" -- doubling down on the literal interpretation even after being beaten up, and adding an absurdly specific detail that further misses the monks''' philosophical point.