18Jun/105
Interdisciplinary
by Jeff
Image text: Replace the pendulums with history students and you'll qualify for a grant!
This is another theme in xkcd. The ripping of psychology, history and english majors is very common in various comics.
by Jeff
Image text: Replace the pendulums with history students and you'll qualify for a grant!
This is another theme in xkcd. The ripping of psychology, history and english majors is very common in various comics.
June 18th, 2010
Dude, seriously. You’ve clearly given up posting thoughtful explanations.
This site used to be a great companion to reading xkcd, but now it just looks like you’re busy and don’t have time for it anymore. Perhaps you should think about passing the torch?
You didn’t mention interdisciplinary studies. I thoughtful explanation could go thusly:
“Here the comic lampoons the concept of ‘interdisciplinary programs’ by envisioning an oddball exercise involving both physics majors and psychology students. Strictly speaking, this event could be categorized as an interdisciplinary program, because it is a plan involving students from different disciplines.
The study of pendulums is common in physics courses, and the concept of fear arises in psychology, thus the joint effort unifies both subjects. The image text suggests that replacing the pendulums with history students would guarantee funding of a grant, perhaps because of the increased number of disciplines involved.
This is another theme in xkcd. The ripping of psychology, history and english majors is very common in various comics.”
June 18th, 2010
Dude perfect. (not a plug)
June 18th, 2010
excellent. Alternative ending:
“This is another theme in xkcd. Humor at the expense of of psychology, history and english majors is very common in various comics.
You’ve had been warned. On the starting page even”
to link on the warning written on the starting page of xkcd.
June 23rd, 2010
Another way to explain the joke:
Interdisciplinary programs involve students from two different majors working together. Psychology students often use pendulums (hypnotism, etc). Physics students often study how far a pendulum will swing back and forth. Mashing these two ideas together, the physics student is trying to bean the psychology student with a giant pendulum.
(It’s also a shout out to how xkcd loves to bash non-science majors)
The image text refers to how research grant money is often given out to programs that involve several different disciplines. How can we include another non-science person into the experiment? I know: use him as the pendulum!
February 16th, 2011
a win for the hardcore physics discipline over the “not really scientific” field of psychology