2013-05-23
Original: 2013-05-23 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Woman (red hair): It's called "Zahavi handicapping." Basically, an animal will have a trait or behavior that is burdensome in order to show potential mates that it is high quality.
Panel 2:
Woman (red hair): For example, a high quality peacock can afford to put lots of calories into beautiful plumage. It has to eat more and be more conspicuous to predators, but this signals to peahens that it is a superior mate.
Panel 3:
Woman (red hair): Ha! Animals are weird.
Panel 4:
Man (yellow shirt): Yeah. Hey, did I mention I took on $200,000 in debt for a degree in psychology?
Woman (red hair): That is so hot.
Votey:
First person (wearing glasses): Is that an ecology joke?
Second person: Do me.
First person: Yep.
Woman (red hair): It's called "Zahavi handicapping." Basically, an animal will have a trait or behavior that is burdensome in order to show potential mates that it is high quality.
Panel 2:
Woman (red hair): For example, a high quality peacock can afford to put lots of calories into beautiful plumage. It has to eat more and be more conspicuous to predators, but this signals to peahens that it is a superior mate.
Panel 3:
Woman (red hair): Ha! Animals are weird.
Panel 4:
Man (yellow shirt): Yeah. Hey, did I mention I took on $200,000 in debt for a degree in psychology?
Woman (red hair): That is so hot.
Votey:
First person (wearing glasses): Is that an ecology joke?
Second person: Do me.
First person: Yep.
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic. In panels 1 and 2, a red-haired woman explains evolutionary biology to a man in a yellow shirt: she describes "Zahavi handicapping," where an animal takes on a burdensome trait to signal to mates that it is high quality, using a peacock's costly beautiful plumage as an example of a signal to peahens. Panel 3: the woman laughs, saying "Ha! Animals are weird." Panel 4: the man replies, "Yeah. Hey, did I mention I took on $200,000 in debt for a degree in psychology?" The woman, seen smiling in profile, responds, "That is so hot." The joke is that the man's huge costly student debt is itself a handicap-principle signal of mate quality. Votey aftercomic (sketchy black-and-white): two people in bed; one in glasses asks "Is that an ecology joke?", the other says "Do me," and the first answers "Yep."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.