Priors

An eight-panel SMBC comic. Panel 1: a red-haired child asks his mother, "Mommy, where do priors come from?" Panel 2: an off-panel reply, "Oh gosh. Is it already time for that talk?" Panel 3: the blonde mother, walking outdoors with the child, answers nervously, "Well, uh... you know what sweetie, priors come... from... a magical field where factuality flowers grow on great big truth trees!" Panel 4: a close-up of the mother looking uneasy. Panel 5: the child beams, "Wowie! Thanks Mommy!" Panel 6: a close-up of the mother in profile, biting her lip, clearly troubled by the lie she just told. A caption reads, "But later... as night falls." Final panel: the mother lies in bed beside a sleeping bearded man and whispers, "Wanna form worldviews based on Facebook posts and misremembered middle-school history?" then adds, "I'll lock the door." The joke plays on Bayesian "priors" being treated like a birds-and-the-bees talk, with the mother's real method of forming beliefs being something secret and embarrassing. Votey aftercomic: a person lying in bed asks a partner, "Can I update your posterior tonight?" — a flirtatious pun on the Bayesian term "posterior" (the updated belief after seeing evidence).