2014-12-09
Explanation
The Joke
The comic is titled "Never Sleep With a Physics Professor." In bed, one partner asks "You're done?! Already?" and the physics professor smugly replies, "The remainder of sex is left as an exercise for the student."
The Humor
This is a play on the infamous phrase found in math and physics textbooks: "The remainder of the proof is left as an exercise for the reader (or student)." This phrase is notoriously used by textbook authors and professors to skip over tedious or difficult derivations, leaving the hard work to the student. The comic applies this academic laziness to the bedroom, where the professor uses it as an excuse for finishing too quickly during sex. The joke works on multiple levels: it satirizes the stereotype of the lazy or self-important professor, it plays on the sexual innuendo of "finishing early," and it highlights how absurd the "left as an exercise" trope is when applied outside of academia -- revealing that it was always a bit of a cop-out.