What Makes XKCD a Must-See for Science and Math Geeks?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the webcomic XKCD and its appeal to those interested in science, mathematics, and technology. Participants share their opinions on the comic's content, humor, and relevance to the academic and geek communities.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express admiration for XKCD, highlighting its humor and cleverness, particularly for those in STEM fields.
  • Others note that the comic occasionally features strong language and advanced mathematics, which may not appeal to all audiences.
  • A participant mentions a perceived decline in the quality of recent comics, suggesting they have become more superficial and less intellectually engaging.
  • Another participant agrees that recent comics lack the depth of earlier ones and proposes the idea of separating science-themed content from other themes.
  • Some express a general disinterest in XKCD, finding it overly geeky or not funny, while others prefer alternatives like PhD Comics.
  • One participant appreciates the artistic quality of XKCD, despite their criticisms of its recent content.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a range of opinions about XKCD, with some expressing strong support and others voicing criticism or indifference. There is no consensus on the comic's quality or relevance.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference personal preferences and experiences with the comic, indicating that opinions may vary widely based on individual tastes and backgrounds in science and mathematics.

Wallace
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For anyone not aware of the absolute genius of the webcomic XKCD, I think http://www.xkcd.com/438//" comic should resonate with many of the members here :smile:

Seriously, if you are a maths/science/physics/computer science/dinosaur geek check out the archives, there are some very funny comics there.

Edit: oh make sure you 'mouse over' the comic image and red the alt text that pops up. There is always an extra punch line in that for XKCD.
 
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LOL, just got it bookmarked.

Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).
:smile:
 
I think Hurkyl links to this in his signature. Or at least he used to if not now.
 
I'm actually becoming less impressed with xkcd over time. I think the author is slowly losing his touch. I wonder if it's a side effect of leaving academia to draw comics full-time. Most of his more recent strips are pretty superficial (no "advanced mathematics", or advanced linguistics topics, or anything really), and many of the recent ones are not even all that funny, except maybe to high-school students.
 
I agree there hasn't been a good maths/science one for ages.
The current ones are nice art but the boy-girl-hat thing is a bit self-referential.
Maybe he/she needs to do two strips, a science one and a new name for the boy-girl.

Less frequently updated but also worth reading is http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/index.html he is a physics teacher with a geeks-eye view of the world.
He also became famous for 15mins for a letter about the decline in standards of science teaching in (UK) schools which is also on his site.
 
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I never really liked XKCD. They're pretty lame. Once in a blue moon there's a mildly amusing one, but most are just WAY too geeky, even for a self-proclaimed geek.

But, now we have PhD Comics right here at PF, so I'm happy. :biggrin:
 
I love xkcd! very amusing, and pretty good hand drawings too. I already had it on my favourite list.