2014-08-16
Explanation
The Joke
A person confronts the head of a "Science Channel" about why most of their programming is about ghosts, aliens, and other nonsense rather than actual science. The channel executive explains that they actually DO use science -- they introduce shows, hypothesize that certain combinations of topics result in higher ratings, compare new shows to a "control show" in a similar time slot, collect ratings data, and perform statistical analysis to determine which characteristics are most relevant to observed differences.
The questioner is taken aback: "Wait, I thought 'science channel' meant you were a channel ABOUT science, not a channel WHERE you do science." The executive responds with surprise that anyone would think otherwise. The final panel shows a TV displaying "Dinosaurs of Atlantis" -- the absurd result of their scientific optimization of programming.
The Humor
The comedy works on multiple levels. First, there's the real-world frustration that channels like Discovery, History, and Science Channel have drifted from educational programming toward sensationalized pseudoscience content. The comic then cleverly reframes this by having the network executives claim they ARE doing science -- just not science content. They're using the scientific method (hypothesis, control groups, data collection, statistical analysis) to determine what garbage programming gets the best ratings. The joke is that rigorous application of science to maximize ratings leads to the most unscientific content possible. The final panel showing "Dinosaurs of Atlantis" is the perfect absurd capstone.
References
This comic satirizes the well-documented phenomenon of cable networks like the Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Science Channel gradually replacing educational content with reality TV, pseudoscience, and sensationalized programming in pursuit of higher ratings.