Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The Joke

A professor-like figure (identified in the caption as "Professor Plait") states: "According to the no-communication theorem, information cannot travel faster than light. It follows that non-information can move at any speed." The caption below reads: "Professor Plait proved that campaign speeches are capable of superluminal velocity."

The comic takes a real theorem from quantum physics -- the no-communication theorem, which states that quantum entanglement cannot be used to transmit information faster than the speed of light -- and constructs a logical inversion. If information is bound by the speed of light, then things that contain zero information face no such constraint. Campaign speeches, the joke argues, contain so little actual information that they qualify as "non-information" and can therefore travel faster than light.

The Humor

The joke operates as a syllogism that is logically silly but emotionally satisfying. It is a compact, elegant insult aimed at the emptiness of political rhetoric, delivered in the authoritative tone of a physics lecture. The name "Professor Plait" is likely a reference to Phil Plait, the astronomer and science communicator known as the "Bad Astronomer," which adds a layer for readers who recognize the real-world figure being depicted in Weinersmith's signature style. The comic also plays on the common SMBC theme of finding unexpected real-world applications for abstract physics theorems.

References

The no-communication theorem is a real result in quantum information theory, proven in 1982, which establishes that quantum entanglement alone cannot be used to send messages faster than light. Phil Plait is a real astronomer, author, and blogger who writes about science and skepticism.