So every now and again, the New Yorker people put a cartoon into the current edition just for me. I’m convinced of it.
As I’m probably not supposed to borrow their cartoons like this, as compensation, I’ll place a link here to the cartoon bank where you can purchase prints of this for your office…. or search for other cartoons.
(My only quibble with this one is that I would have liked to have been able to identify some women taking part in there somewhere…. oh well.)
-cvj
Cosmic Variance is a group blog by people who, coincidentally or not, all happen to be physicists and astrophysicists:
Our day (and night) jobs notwithstanding, the blog is about whatever we find interesting — science, to be sure, but also arts, politics, culture, technology, academia, and miscellaneous trivia. We have similar outlooks on many things, widely disparate opinions about others, and will do our best to keep the discourse reasonably elevated.
November 26th, 2005 at 11:15 pm
It’s probably some American-centric thing or maybe I’m just dense, but I didn’t get the jole. ;(
What exactly is an “open-mike” class?
November 26th, 2005 at 11:31 pm
“Open mike” is a format of performance, usually for poetry or music, where the establishment schedules no performer, but instead, lets audience members volunteer to perform one song or one poem for the auidience.
November 26th, 2005 at 11:48 pm
Dunno what an open-mike physics class is. Looks like it’s some kinda a cappella karaoke. Is that sheet music he’s reading? Maybe it’s for geeks who write songs about neutrinos and stuff. No wonder nobody’s listening.
November 27th, 2005 at 12:46 am
Cygnus: if you’re still scratching your head even after bittergrad’s explanation, rest assured that nobody else is laughing either…..
November 27th, 2005 at 1:14 am
I know what “open-mike” class is, but I must confess that I still don’t get the joke either….Clifford, I think we need an explanation here!
November 27th, 2005 at 1:29 am
Geez….
-cvj
November 27th, 2005 at 2:32 am
I, for one, think it is pretty funny.
Elliot
November 27th, 2005 at 2:52 am
Clifford, everything’s forgiven. Your sense of humour is even more weird than mine!!!!! I feel your suffering!
November 27th, 2005 at 4:17 am
“Open mike” nights are notorious for completely inattentive audiences while nervous people attempt to perform poetry, music or some form of comedy in front of them. It’s usually darkly lit, and the performer feels very “on the spot” and are, usually, literally in a spot light.
Now that I’ve killed the joke through explanation, I should mention that I liked it.
November 27th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
Um . . . thanks for the explanations everyone. I guess a joke just isn’t much fun unless you “get” it, well anyway . . . I think it’s a pretty ok joke.
November 27th, 2005 at 5:08 pm
Ok. Here goes:
Short version: Cartoons are not jokes. Just like comic books are not about folks in tights saving the day. Ok? This has been true for the greater part of a century, actually. (More for the former, a touch less for the latter.)
Long version: Just because something is drawn, and looks like a cartoon, does not mean that it is just a joke you’re supposed to laugh out loud at. The art form has evolved well beyond that. It can be intended to convey any impression or reaction that the spoken word, or the written word, or any other medium for conveying ideas can. The cartoonist, imho, is simply playing with the idea that physics can be the subject of an activity such as a poetry slam, or an open-mike evening….. things which are now commonplace in some cultures. So it is a juxtaposition of two things that are not usually put together in our world….. this can provoke laughter, or it can provoke thought……either way, it works. I for one look forward to the day when it is not unusual to have physics (or any other science) show up in such a context. That is why I like the cartoon. It resonates with that thought and hope that resides in me. It is not neccessarily intended to be funny ha ha. Go deeper, folks – the water’s lovely.
-cvj
November 28th, 2005 at 2:07 am
The thing is you see, that cartoons(humourous or thought provoking) tend to be extremely culture specific and derive most of their message from minor nuances which are very difficult to translate across socio-cultural differences.
I wasn’t exactly looking for a “funny ha ha”, as you put it, interpretation but unfortunately not knowing what an open-mike event is and having to have that explained to me, the thought behind this picture doesn’t resonate with me the way it perhaps strikes a chord in you.
But you’re right the water is lovely once you wade in deeper, if for the slightly different reason that it’s as much fun looking at how rich language and art are in their huge dependance on minor details. It’s also nice and happy to know that although there are so many thing that are untranslatable and will take years of acculturisation to fully appreciate, there are also things like Physics and Maths which I can discuss with these people at total ease without all these troubles. The internet is lovely that way actually.
Eagerly looking forward to more interesting stuff from you guys cvj.
November 28th, 2005 at 2:37 am
Clifford: I thought it was funny ha-ha. We see the picture. Situation immediately understood: guy in spotlight speaking into a mic to an small and absolutely disinterested group. Already we have ironic tension in the contrast between the spotlight/microphone production value and the unimpressed audience. But we don’t know why this contrast. We move to the caption. Physics! Immediate understanding. Release of tension in a ha-ha. If it resonates with your thoughts and hopes – double ha-ha.
November 28th, 2005 at 2:41 am
sisyphus:- I thought it both thought-provoking and funny-haha. And the way you describe it is precisely the way humour can work…. juxtaposition of things in an unexpected way. Does not work for all… But it can work sometimes…. And then there is the serious part of the message too, even if the haha bit does not hit. Good cartoon.
Cygnus…I very much agree. thanks!
Cheers,
-cvj
November 28th, 2005 at 10:47 am
Anyone who thinks that “open mike physics” is an entirely fictional concept has never waded into the swamp of the sci.physics Usenet group…
November 28th, 2005 at 3:46 pm
Clifford: It’s a tad more thought-provoking for you because it’s a comment on your own commitments. For those of us not in the physics business the serious element is less intensely present. There’s an element of pathos (public speaking is #1 phobia.. and the audience doesn’t really care.) Also an element of cruelty – ‘look at the pathetic geek with his silly papers; it’s his big moment and nobody gives a hoot’.
Hmm.. So, is the ha-ha value of a cartoon/joke a function of the amount of tension created in the set-up related to the velocity of release of that tension in the caption/punch line?
Humor as a serious topic: A person reveals much in his/her sense of humor. Perhaps personality and intelligence could be assessed simply by presenting an individual with an assortment of cartoons.
Psychologists as stand-up comics.
November 29th, 2005 at 7:49 am
I found this cartoon hilarious, disconcerting and a little too close to home. Teaching introductory physics in a rural community college has its ups and downs. I do not have a Ph.D. in physics (Only a MS) probably for many reasons: aptitude, discipline, and other interests that compete for my time. But I do have a passion for physics that I can indulge and, hopefully, motivate in others through teaching. I can see in the spotlight someone like myself that desperately wants to share an excitement for physics and I can see in the audience an unfortunate similarity of how many of my students sometimes see me. This makes me both laugh and sigh. Bravo New Yorker! And thanks cvj.