2015-01-25
Explanation
The Joke
A student enters a professor'''s office and asks if they can use the 4th edition of the textbook instead of the new 5th edition, claiming they can get a copy from another student. The professor, wearing a sinister hooded robe, questions whether the student really believes the workings of the American public sector have changed meaningfully in the last twelve months. The student concedes the point, but the professor reveals there is one matter to consider: "I have altered the given values in two of the homework problems." This reveals the real reason new editions exist -- not to update content, but to make trivially small changes that force students to buy expensive new copies.
In the final panel, the student decides to just download the textbook illegally, and the professor objects that it'''s unethical -- despite the professor'''s own practice of forcing students to buy near-identical new editions being arguably far more unethical.
The Humor
The comic satirizes the widely despised practice in academic publishing of releasing new textbook editions with minimal content changes, primarily to kill the used textbook market and force students to purchase expensive new copies. The professor is depicted as a sinister, hooded figure -- almost like a Sith Lord -- highlighting how this practice is a form of institutional villainy dressed up as academic necessity. The punchline lands on the hypocrisy of the professor calling piracy "unethical" when the entire new-edition racket is itself a form of exploitation. The Yoda-like character laughing in the background adds to the Star Wars parody element, with the professor as the dark lord of textbook publishing.
References
The professor'''s hooded appearance and the student'''s line "Truly you are a glorious master" parody the Sith Lord / apprentice dynamic from Star Wars, with the small green laughing figure resembling Yoda.