2012-06-17
Explanation
Two people are having what seems like an erudite conversation about Sherlock Holmes, discussing how Arthur Conan Doyle's original character famously knew nothing of philosophy or astronomy, and also had gaps in other areas like geology. Mid-sentence, one of them has a horrifying realization and trails off: "In fact, he... oh God. Oh God wait." The caption below defines a new word: "Wipipiphany -- The realization that the 'intellectual' conversation you're having is based entirely on each of you having read the same Wikipedia article."
The humor comes from the painful moment of self-awareness when you realize that what felt like a spontaneous, knowledgeable discussion was actually just two people regurgitating facts they both absorbed from the same easily-accessible source. The Sherlock Holmes example is perfect because the detail about Holmes's deliberate ignorance of certain subjects (like astronomy and philosophy) is one of the most commonly cited facts on Holmes's Wikipedia page. The comic satirizes the modern illusion of expertise -- in the age of Wikipedia, anyone can sound knowledgeable about almost anything, but that shallow familiarity can masquerade as genuine understanding until the awkward moment when you realize neither of you actually knows more than the article told you.