2013-06-16
Explanation
This comic is a long-form visual gag titled "How to Solve a Physics Problem," which takes the reader through an increasingly painful and relatable 15-step journey of working through a physics calculation. It begins sensibly enough: step 1 is writing out all the equations and facts, step 2 is drawing a free body diagram, and step 3 is solving. But step 4 is "get wrong answer," and from there the process spirals into a comedic cycle of recalculating, getting new wrong answers, engaging in "special pleading" (wondering if the answer might be right if it is a different unit), and checking for errata.
The middle steps are particularly funny for anyone who has struggled with physics homework. After finding nothing helpful, the student locates an algebra error, gets a fourth wrong answer, locates seventeen more algebra errors, and finally arrives at the right answer. The specific calculations shown (like "2 - 3 = 5" crossed out, or "10 = Zebra") are deliberately absurd, emphasizing the kind of ridiculous mistakes one makes under pressure.
The final steps deliver the emotional payoff: step 13 is "feel intelligent" (a brief moment of triumph), step 14 is "realize problem has six more parts," and step 15 is "become poet" -- the student giving up on physics entirely and switching to a humanities career. This is a classic SMBC joke about the difficulty of STEM fields driving people to the arts.
The votey panel features Zach Weinersmith himself (the red-haired author avatar) saying "Today'''s comic brought to you by hand cramps!" -- a meta joke referencing how labor-intensive drawing this unusually long, 15-panel comic must have been.