For many symmetry readers, it would be an insult to introduce you to xkcd comics. But, we thought we’d point out the cartoon-off between xkcd illustrator Randall Munroe and The New Yorker cartoonist Farley Katz. And, if you missed it, the New York Times featured a story on xkcd last May.
The stick-figure comic strip about life and love in the digital age, from the point of view of the hopelessly scientific, won’t appear in your local funny pages, and tends to go over the heads of folks with no science background (or anyone who hasn’t done software coding in a while). Yet it is precisely this unapologetic commitment to the scientific, computer-centered lifestyle that has earned xkcd hoards of dedicated fans.
Randall Munroe's entry in The New Yorker cartoon-off: string theory round
For the friendly competition (no winner was actually declared), Munroe didn’t shy away from his usual style or subject matter, and slipped in a fairly obscure physics reference. The cartoon features one of xkcd’s signature stick figures tied up in a string-theory bondage apparatus, which happens to be a tesseract, or a 4-dimensional cube (the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square). Needless to say, most people won’t get that. The comic is still funny without catching the reference, just like the strip “What if,” which is lovely on its own, but is even cooler if you recognize the Apollonian gasket being used. The playful competition also featured an interview with Munroe, revealing his casual approach to the now cult classic.
The complex math, science and computer references in xkcd are obscure, but only to people outside of these fields, and Munroe makes no effort to pander to that audience. It is this complete insider attitude that might make the comic so beloved. The characters don’t wear pocket protectors and glasses; they aren’t all men; they don’t always turn to goop when talking to members of the opposite sex, (in fact, many of the strips are dedicated to romance). The comic doesn’t deny the nerdiness and social awkwardness of the computer-obsessed, but inside the world of xkcd these traits are the norm. People work in laboratories and they do programming in their spare time, and in such a lifestyle, humor arises in unique places. Art reflects life and xkcd is no exception, it’s just a life that many people will never know. About half the time, anyone can understand the comics, and their wit competes with those of The New Yorker. But what may be harder for outsiders to get than the references to computing languages and resistors, is the enthusiasm for raptor attacks and Firefly, and the thought process of a scientist in everyday situations. What outsiders and insiders alike should appreciate is the unique touch that science knowledge adds to a humorous perspective on life (the strips “height”--the poster of which adorns the symmetry editor's office wall--and “depth” are great examples, as is “cat proximity”).
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