quantified-self
Original: quantified-self on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (two characters in silhouette/profile, a small figure with rounded head reclining and a standing figure):
Small figure: Should humans pursue success in life for pleasure, or for fulfillment?
Standing figure: That's a math question, not a philosophy question.
Panel 2 (the standing figure explaining, gesturing):
Life of pleasure: probability of success is 50%. Life satisfaction if success is 5 (on a scale from 0 to 10). Probability-weighted value is 0.5 x 5 = 4.
Panel 3 (continuing the explanation):
Life of fulfillment: probability of success is 20%. Life satisfaction if success is 10. Probability-weighted value is 0.2 x 10 = 2.
Panel 4 (small figure responding):
So, no life strategy gets you even halfway to the maximum value?
Standing figure: There is one.
Panel 5:
Standing figure: Muddle through. Probability of success is 100%. Life satisfaction if success is 1. 1 x 1 = 1.
Panel 6 (the small figure exasperated):
Small figure: I tell you, we are the only ones on earth to find that around-- hurt Vonnegut!
Standing figure: Did you know we tried as a scientist before writing books?
Votey:
A single character (a person with curly/wavy hair, looking pensive) says:
"Wait, why are we allowed to read Vonnegut? We're just kids for Christ's sake."
Small figure: Should humans pursue success in life for pleasure, or for fulfillment?
Standing figure: That's a math question, not a philosophy question.
Panel 2 (the standing figure explaining, gesturing):
Life of pleasure: probability of success is 50%. Life satisfaction if success is 5 (on a scale from 0 to 10). Probability-weighted value is 0.5 x 5 = 4.
Panel 3 (continuing the explanation):
Life of fulfillment: probability of success is 20%. Life satisfaction if success is 10. Probability-weighted value is 0.2 x 10 = 2.
Panel 4 (small figure responding):
So, no life strategy gets you even halfway to the maximum value?
Standing figure: There is one.
Panel 5:
Standing figure: Muddle through. Probability of success is 100%. Life satisfaction if success is 1. 1 x 1 = 1.
Panel 6 (the small figure exasperated):
Small figure: I tell you, we are the only ones on earth to find that around-- hurt Vonnegut!
Standing figure: Did you know we tried as a scientist before writing books?
Votey:
A single character (a person with curly/wavy hair, looking pensive) says:
"Wait, why are we allowed to read Vonnegut? We're just kids for Christ's sake."
Alt text
A black-and-white SMBC comic. A small rounded-headed figure, reclining, asks a standing figure whether humans should pursue success in life for pleasure or for fulfillment. The standing figure replies that it's a math question, not a philosophy question, and lays out probability-weighted calculations: a life of pleasure has a 50% chance of success with a satisfaction of 5, giving 0.5 x 5; a life of fulfillment has a 20% chance of success with satisfaction of 10, giving 0.2 x 10. The small figure protests that no strategy gets even halfway to the maximum value. The standing figure says there is one: 'muddle through,' which has a 100% probability of success but a satisfaction of only 1, so 1 x 1 = 1 -- guaranteed but mediocre. The exchange references Kurt Vonnegut. In the votey aftercomic, a single curly-haired person looks pensive and says, 'Wait, why are we allowed to read Vonnegut? We're just kids for Christ's sake.' The joke: optimizing life mathematically points toward a guaranteed but joyless 'muddle through,' and the kids are reading existentialist literature they're arguably too young for.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.