Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The Joke

The comic is formatted as a reference table titled "Mathematical Sequences to Think About in Order to Delay Orgasm." It lists five mathematical sequences -- Fibonacci, Look-and-Say, Lazy Caterer's, Grandi's Series, and the Geometric Sequence -- with columns for their description, pros, and cons as distraction techniques during sex.

Each entry pairs a real mathematical concept with absurd sexual commentary. For example, the Fibonacci sequence's "pro" is that its closed-form expression is difficult to memorize, but its "con" is that it is useful for calculating population growth, which may remind you of sex. The Look-and-Say sequence might cause you to "accidentally say 'three ones then two threes'" aloud. The Lazy Caterer's sequence involves drawing diagrams, which your partner will think is cute. Grandi's series was once thought to prove God's existence, buying you one minute of contemplation. And the geometric sequence is "easy to remember" but its con is that approaching but never reaching a limit reminds you of the uncrossable chasm between two people in love.

The Humor

The comic is a masterclass in escalating absurdity within a deadpan, instructional format. It treats the deeply personal act of delaying orgasm with the clinical detachment of a math textbook, which is inherently funny. Each entry manages to connect a mathematical property to a sexual scenario in a way that is both logically coherent and completely ridiculous. The final entry on the geometric sequence takes a surprising emotional turn, ending on a genuinely melancholic note about the impossibility of fully knowing another person -- which is an unexpectedly philosophical conclusion for a joke about math-based sexual distraction techniques.

References

• Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...): Each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. Its closed-form involves the golden ratio.
• Look-and-Say sequence (1, 11, 21, 1211...): Each term describes the previous term's digits. Invented by John Conway.
• Lazy Caterer's sequence (1, 2, 4, 7...): The maximum number of pieces a disk can be cut into with n straight cuts.
• Grandi's series (1 - 1 + 1 - 1 + 1...): A famous divergent series. The Italian monk Guido Grandi argued it proved God could create something from nothing.
• Geometric sequence (1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8...): A sequence where each term is a fixed fraction of the previous. Its sum converges but never reaches the limit.