symbols-2
Explanation
The comic presents a mysterious, almost cosmic declaration: "There exists a sequence of symbols, rather short, that would grant to you a perfect understanding of the universe, but which you will never get to see." The speaker is wearing a shirt that reads "Friend of Wagner." The second line, set apart at the bottom, delivers the punchline: "There is however a known sequence of symbols that will make a physicist cry."
The joke operates on two levels. First, it plays on the tantalizing idea from mathematics and physics that there might be some elegant, compact "theory of everything" -- a short formula or set of equations that perfectly describes all of reality. The comic teases the reader with this romantic notion and then cruelly adds that you will never see it.
The punchline pivots to a related but more practical observation: while the perfect sequence of symbols remains unknown, there are known sequences of symbols (such as particularly ugly equations, failed proofs, or perhaps the phrase "your grant has been denied") that reliably make physicists cry. The humor lies in the contrast between the sublime and the mundane -- between the unattainable beauty of ultimate truth and the very attainable misery of academic life. The "Friend of Wagner" shirt subtly reinforces the theme of grandiose, unreachable artistic/intellectual ideals.