2014-02-21
Original: 2014-02-21 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A man with long dark hair, a mustache, a small pointed beard, and a wide white collar (resembling the philosopher Rene Descartes) raises a finger and declares.
Descartes-like man: "I THINK, THEREFORE I AM."
Panel 2: A close-up of the same man's face, looking pleased.
Panel 3: The man stands behind an orange armchair/couch, leaning on its back with one arm, looking content.
Panel 4: A television set is switched on, glowing yellow. The screen reads "CABLE NEWS NETWORK" with the CNN-style swoosh logo. The back of the orange couch is in the foreground, with the man's shadow visible.
Panel 5: The orange couch is now empty. A yellow cartoon burst in the middle reads "poof!" — the man has vanished.
Votey: A hand-drawn note panel reads: "+10 POINTS IF YOU JUST SHOUTED "DENYING THE ANTECEDENT!""
Descartes-like man: "I THINK, THEREFORE I AM."
Panel 2: A close-up of the same man's face, looking pleased.
Panel 3: The man stands behind an orange armchair/couch, leaning on its back with one arm, looking content.
Panel 4: A television set is switched on, glowing yellow. The screen reads "CABLE NEWS NETWORK" with the CNN-style swoosh logo. The back of the orange couch is in the foreground, with the man's shadow visible.
Panel 5: The orange couch is now empty. A yellow cartoon burst in the middle reads "poof!" — the man has vanished.
Votey: A hand-drawn note panel reads: "+10 POINTS IF YOU JUST SHOUTED "DENYING THE ANTECEDENT!""
Alt text
A five-panel comic riffing on Descartes' "I think, therefore I am." Panel 1: A man drawn to look like Rene Descartes (long dark hair, mustache, pointed beard, wide white collar) raises a finger and proclaims, "I THINK, THEREFORE I AM." Panel 2: A satisfied close-up of his face. Panel 3: He leans contentedly on the back of an orange couch. Panel 4: A television flicks on, its yellow screen reading "CABLE NEWS NETWORK" with the CNN swoosh logo; his shadow looms over the couch. Panel 5: The couch is now empty with a yellow "poof!" burst where he was — implying that watching cable news stopped him thinking, so by his own logic he ceased to exist. Votey (a hand-drawn note): "+10 POINTS IF YOU JUST SHOUTED 'DENYING THE ANTECEDENT!'" — a nod to the logical fallacy of inferring 'not thinking, therefore not being' from 'thinking, therefore being.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.