2014-07-17
Original: 2014-07-17 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man: Smart, attractive, reliable. Pick two.
Woman: Pfft. That's a simple optimization problem. Desirability = smart + attractive + reliable.
Panel 2:
Woman: Although... some of the factors may be correlated positively or negatively, which limits the possibility space... though, on the other hand, one factor might predict future change in another...
Panel 3 (caption): 12 HOURS LATER
Woman: After 2^N simulations it is clear that you should assign 0.71 to intelligence, 0.83 to reliability, and 0.46 to attractiveness.
Panel 4:
Man: Wow. What a waste of time.
Woman: You must be really attractive and reliable.
Votey:
Woman (pointing/looking smug): Seriously, check the math.
Man: Smart, attractive, reliable. Pick two.
Woman: Pfft. That's a simple optimization problem. Desirability = smart + attractive + reliable.
Panel 2:
Woman: Although... some of the factors may be correlated positively or negatively, which limits the possibility space... though, on the other hand, one factor might predict future change in another...
Panel 3 (caption): 12 HOURS LATER
Woman: After 2^N simulations it is clear that you should assign 0.71 to intelligence, 0.83 to reliability, and 0.46 to attractiveness.
Panel 4:
Man: Wow. What a waste of time.
Woman: You must be really attractive and reliable.
Votey:
Woman (pointing/looking smug): Seriously, check the math.
Alt text
A four-panel comic. A man tells a woman the classic line: "Smart, attractive, reliable. Pick two." She brushes it off, calling it a simple optimization problem where desirability equals smart plus attractive plus reliable. In the next panel she spirals into deeper math, muttering that the factors might be correlated positively or negatively, limiting the possibility space, and that one factor might predict future change in another. A caption reads "12 HOURS LATER." Now exhausted-looking, she declares that after 2^N simulations you should assign 0.71 to intelligence, 0.83 to reliability, and 0.46 to attractiveness. In the final panel the man says, "Wow. What a waste of time." The woman shoots back, "You must be really attractive and reliable" — implying he scored low on intelligence. In the votey aftercomic, a close-up of the smug woman adds, "Seriously, check the math."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.