emotion-2
Original: emotion-2 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (caption): THE HUMAN BRAIN HAS A SIMPLE EQUATION FOR EMOTIONAL REACTIONS.
Equation breakdown:
E = EMOTIONAL POWER OF AN EVENT
C = YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE EVENT
P = STRENGTH OF YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTION
E/C = P
Panel 2 (caption): DEEP DOWN WE ALL RECOGNIZE THIS.
(A man with flame-like red hair stands in a kitchen by the refrigerator.)
Panel 3 (caption): BUT IT SOUNDS REALLY WEIRD WHEN YOU VERBALIZE IT.
Man (holding a phone, with chopsticks and a takeout container in hand): WELL, THERE WAS THAT EARTHQUAKE THAT DESTROYED NEW YORK BUT I REALIZED I HAVE LEFTOVER CHINESE FOOD SO I'M FEELING PRETTY GOOD.
Votey:
Speech bubble from off-panel (the phone caller, audible from the receiver): No survivors were found in the wreckage of the...
(The red-haired man sits in an armchair, eating from a takeout container with chopsticks, holding the phone to his ear, looking content.)
Equation breakdown:
E = EMOTIONAL POWER OF AN EVENT
C = YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE EVENT
P = STRENGTH OF YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTION
E/C = P
Panel 2 (caption): DEEP DOWN WE ALL RECOGNIZE THIS.
(A man with flame-like red hair stands in a kitchen by the refrigerator.)
Panel 3 (caption): BUT IT SOUNDS REALLY WEIRD WHEN YOU VERBALIZE IT.
Man (holding a phone, with chopsticks and a takeout container in hand): WELL, THERE WAS THAT EARTHQUAKE THAT DESTROYED NEW YORK BUT I REALIZED I HAVE LEFTOVER CHINESE FOOD SO I'M FEELING PRETTY GOOD.
Votey:
Speech bubble from off-panel (the phone caller, audible from the receiver): No survivors were found in the wreckage of the...
(The red-haired man sits in an armchair, eating from a takeout container with chopsticks, holding the phone to his ear, looking content.)
Alt text
A three-panel SMBC comic explaining a formula for emotional reactions. Panel 1, a yellow chart reads: 'The human brain has a simple equation for emotional reactions,' then defines E = emotional power of an event, C = your distance from the event, P = strength of your emotional reaction, and the formula E divided by C equals P. Panel 2 shows a red-haired man standing in a kitchen, captioned 'Deep down we all recognize this.' Panel 3 (caption: 'But it sounds really weird when you verbalize it') shows the man on the phone holding takeout and chopsticks, saying: 'Well, there was that earthquake that destroyed New York but I realized I have leftover Chinese food so I'm feeling pretty good.' In the votey aftercomic, the man sits in an armchair calmly eating Chinese takeout while the voice on the phone reports, 'No survivors were found in the wreckage of the...' He looks perfectly content, the distant catastrophe outweighed by his nearby leftovers.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.