2015-02-04
Explanation
The Joke
A person offers another person a choice: they can either experience "real life" or step into a box that provides "wonderful but unreal pleasure." The second person initially takes the noble philosophical stance, declaring they would choose real life over simulated pleasure. The first person clarifies that no, this is just a regular box -- not a pleasure simulator at all. But when the second person steps inside and discovers there is "no email in here, in fact there's no one at all," they immediately decide they prefer the empty box to real life, declaring "Leave me here."
The Humor
The comic sets up an allusion to philosopher Robert Nozick's famous "Experience Machine" thought experiment, which asks whether people would choose to plug into a machine that simulates a perfect life over living in reality. Most people instinctively say they would choose real life, valuing authenticity over simulated pleasure. The punchline subverts this by revealing that the person does not need simulated pleasure to prefer the box -- the mere absence of the annoyances of modern life (email, other people) is enough to make an empty box more appealing than reality. The joke plays on the relatable modern feeling that solitude and disconnection from digital communication is itself a form of bliss.
References
The comic references Robert Nozick's "Experience Machine" thought experiment from his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia, a classic argument in philosophy used to challenge hedonism and utilitarianism by suggesting that people value more than just pleasurable experiences.