precise
Original: precise on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
First person (silhouetted figures standing on a mountaintop / dramatic landscape): "I love mathematics. Isn't it astonishing how it just works in so many areas? How can one field of study apply everywhere from the scale of infinite multiverses to the behavior of quarks?!"
Second figure: "BAH!"
Panel 2:
Second person (a woman with reddish-brown hair, glasses): "How about instead of calling it 'mathematics' we called it what it is: 'talking precisely about precise things.'"
Panel 3:
The woman with glasses (gesturing, exasperated): "'Isn't it a MIRACLE that talking precisely about precise things is useful in astronomy AND economics?' 'Isn't it UNCANNY how talking precisely about precise things helps with physics AND cell biology?'"
Panel 4:
The woman with glasses: "See how stupid you sound?"
First person (silhouetted figures on the landscape): "I'm gonna become a poet."
Votey:
A man with flame-like / spiky hair making a disgusted, sour face. A speech bubble quotes mockingly: "Hey, isn't it amazing how engineering is good for making computers and toothbrushes?" Then, in large emphatic letters: "STUPID!"
First person (silhouetted figures standing on a mountaintop / dramatic landscape): "I love mathematics. Isn't it astonishing how it just works in so many areas? How can one field of study apply everywhere from the scale of infinite multiverses to the behavior of quarks?!"
Second figure: "BAH!"
Panel 2:
Second person (a woman with reddish-brown hair, glasses): "How about instead of calling it 'mathematics' we called it what it is: 'talking precisely about precise things.'"
Panel 3:
The woman with glasses (gesturing, exasperated): "'Isn't it a MIRACLE that talking precisely about precise things is useful in astronomy AND economics?' 'Isn't it UNCANNY how talking precisely about precise things helps with physics AND cell biology?'"
Panel 4:
The woman with glasses: "See how stupid you sound?"
First person (silhouetted figures on the landscape): "I'm gonna become a poet."
Votey:
A man with flame-like / spiky hair making a disgusted, sour face. A speech bubble quotes mockingly: "Hey, isn't it amazing how engineering is good for making computers and toothbrushes?" Then, in large emphatic letters: "STUPID!"
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic. Panel 1: Two tiny silhouetted figures stand on a dramatic mountaintop landscape. One says, "I love mathematics. Isn't it astonishing how it just works in so many areas? How can one field of study apply everywhere from the scale of infinite multiverses to the behavior of quarks?!" The other replies, "BAH!" Panel 2: A woman with reddish-brown hair and glasses, deadpan, says, "How about instead of calling it 'mathematics' we called it what it is: 'talking precisely about precise things.'" Panel 3: The same woman, now animated and exasperated, mocks: "'Isn't it a MIRACLE that talking precisely about precise things is useful in astronomy AND economics?' 'Isn't it UNCANNY how talking precisely about precise things helps with physics AND cell biology?'" Panel 4: Back on the mountaintop, the woman says, "See how stupid you sound?" and the silhouetted figure replies, "I'm gonna become a poet." The joke deflates the wonder at math's "unreasonable effectiveness" by renaming it as just precise talk about precise things. Votey (aftercomic): A man with spiky, flame-like hair makes a sour, disgusted face. A speech bubble mockingly quotes, "Hey, isn't it amazing how engineering is good for making computers and toothbrushes?" followed by a large "STUPID!" — applying the same deflating logic to engineering.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.