2012-08-19
Explanation
This comic takes on the classic philosophical question "If a tree falls and no one is present, does it make a sound?" A person with glasses is talking to a Buddhist monk and gives the straightforward physics answer: "Yes, of course. Conservation of energy." The monk exclaims "FINALLY! Finally someone got that right. Please proceed to the Dalai Lama to collect your prize money." Below the panel, text repeats the question for context.
The humor comes from treating this famous philosophical thought experiment as if it has a definitive correct answer -- and a prize for getting it right. The question is traditionally used to explore deep issues in philosophy of mind (does "sound" require a listener?) and metaphysics (does unobserved reality exist?). By having the monk enthusiastically validate the simple physics answer -- sound is just pressure waves caused by energy transfer, which happens regardless of whether anyone is there to hear it -- the comic deflates centuries of philosophical hand-wringing. The implication is that monks and philosophers have been waiting ages for someone to just give the obvious scientific answer instead of getting lost in epistemological tangles.
The votey panel reads: "FACT: The answer to every rhetorical question is '''yes.'''" This is itself a joke that works on multiple levels -- it'''s both a comedic overstatement and a sly reference to Betteridge'''s Law of Headlines (which states that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered "no"), flipping it on its head.