March 29, 2024

XKCD Web Comic #955: Neutrinos (described)

A web comic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

Panel One: Drawing of two stick figures, talking. The one on the left has long hair.

“Did you see the neutrino speed of light thing?”

“Yup! Good news; I need the cash.”

“Huh? Cash?”

Panel Two:

“Yeah, when there’s a news story about a study overturning all of physics, I used to urge caution, remind people that experts aren’t all stupid, and end up in pointless arguments about Galileo.

Flashback: Drawing of stickfigure typing on a laptop.

“No, this isn’t about whether relativity exists. If it didn’t, your GPS wouldn’t work.–What do you mean “science thought police”? Have you seen our budget? We couldn’t begin to afford our own thought police.”

Panel Three: Drawing of same two stick figures talking.

“That sounds miserable and unfulfilling.”

“Yup. So I gave it up, and now I just find excited believers and bet them $200 each that the new result won’t pan out.”

Panel Four: Drawing of same two stick figures talking.

“That’s mean.”

“It provides a good income and if I’m ever wrong, I’ll be too excited about the new physics to notice the loss.”

Hover text: I can’t speak to the paper’s scientific merits, but it’s really cool how on page 10, you can see how their reference GPS beacon is sensitive enough to pick up continental drift under the detector (interrupted halfway through by an earthquake).

Comic by xkcd.com. Described by BlindGadget.

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