Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The Joke

The comic presents three facts formatted like a math problem on a chalkboard: the average cost of private university tuition is about $17,000 per semester, the median salary of an adjunct professor is about $12,000 per course per semester, and the cost of a baby tiger is about $7,500. A professor at the chalkboard starts connecting the dots -- the numbers suggest that something is deeply broken about higher education economics. The punchline comes when a student realizes: "Son, you can either have a semi-qualified stranger lecture you on Hamlet, or I can pay for 3 pubs, a year's supply of cereal, a year-plus subscription, and a selection of exotic cats."

The comic uses simple arithmetic to highlight the absurd economics of American higher education. By comparing the astronomical cost of tuition against what adjunct professors actually earn and what you could buy instead, it makes the case that the value proposition of college has become questionable -- especially when the same money could buy you exotic pets and a comfortable lifestyle.

The Humor

The humor comes from applying mathematical reasoning -- the very thing you would learn in college -- to demonstrate that college itself might not be worth the money. There is an irony in using "college-level mathematics" to undermine the case for attending college. The specific juxtaposition of tuition costs against baby tiger prices adds an absurdist element that makes the economic critique more entertaining than a dry policy argument. The implication that exotic cat ownership might be a better investment than a degree is delivered with deadpan mathematical certainty.

References

The comic references the well-documented crisis in American higher education economics, where tuition has risen dramatically while adjunct professors -- who teach a large percentage of college courses -- are often paid poverty-level wages. The gap between what students pay and what instructors receive is a major point of contention in academic labor discussions.