2010-01-16
Original: 2010-01-16 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Title banner: THE PERCEPTION PROBLEM
The comic is split into two side-by-side columns with colored header labels.
Left column header (red): SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE
Right column header (green): SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE
Left panel (Socially Unacceptable):
Off-panel adult (only an arm/shoulder visible): "Billy, why haven't you finished your homework."
Billy (a young boy with curly orange/red hair, blue shirt, looking sheepish): "Laziness."
Right panel (Socially Acceptable):
Off-panel adult (only an arm/shoulder visible): "Billy, why haven't you finished your homework."
Billy (same boy, now grinning confidently): "Laziness SYNDROME!"
Votey:
A close-up of a woman's face, sympathetic expression.
Woman: "You poor baby!"
The comic is split into two side-by-side columns with colored header labels.
Left column header (red): SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE
Right column header (green): SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE
Left panel (Socially Unacceptable):
Off-panel adult (only an arm/shoulder visible): "Billy, why haven't you finished your homework."
Billy (a young boy with curly orange/red hair, blue shirt, looking sheepish): "Laziness."
Right panel (Socially Acceptable):
Off-panel adult (only an arm/shoulder visible): "Billy, why haven't you finished your homework."
Billy (same boy, now grinning confidently): "Laziness SYNDROME!"
Votey:
A close-up of a woman's face, sympathetic expression.
Woman: "You poor baby!"
Alt text
A two-panel SMBC comic titled THE PERCEPTION PROBLEM, divided into a left column labeled SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE (red) and a right column labeled SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE (green). In both panels, an off-panel adult asks a curly red-haired boy in a blue shirt, "Billy, why haven't you finished your homework." In the left panel Billy looks sheepish and answers "Laziness." In the right panel Billy grins confidently and answers "Laziness SYNDROME!" The joke: framing laziness as a medical-sounding syndrome makes the same admission socially acceptable. Votey: a close-up of a sympathetic woman's face saying "You poor baby!"
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.