Control
by Jeff
Image text: Which, at one point, led to a study showing that LSD produces no more hallucinations than a placebo.
This comic is a reference to the common practice in a research study in which one group is given the drug or treatment and the other is given a placebo which is a pill filled with sugar water or something to that effect. The idea is that the placebo has no effect, but in a blind study, the patient would not know if they took the placebo or the real drug. In this case, the person referenced in this comic has a hobby of replacing the placebo with LSD or Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as acid. LSD is frequently used for its psychological effects or "trips" like the one referenced in the comic in which the person believes they have spiders crawling all over their body. I would imagine envisioning spiders crawling over ones body is not the desired effect.
The joke in the comic is that the researchers (The two people in the forefront, one of whom has a clipboard) are confused why the person who took the placebo is acting so strange when they are supposed to have just taken a sugar or water pill.
If it was a double-blind study, the researchers would not be confused because they would not know who was the control group and who was actually being given the drug.
September 8th, 2010
Also, as the girl waves her hands, it seems like she has eight limbs, just like a spider.
September 8th, 2010
I think you explained the comic well and I would just add that the image text implies that the same stunt being pulled in a study where scientists are testing the effects of LSD would give the result that LSD has no more effects than the placebo.
September 8th, 2010
I was confused until reading your explanation. Jeff is on a roll since Berg left again.
September 8th, 2010
I can’t believe I never found this site before, lol. This will help me explain these darn comics to my less nerdy friends.
September 8th, 2010
Also, spiders – reference to Randall’s early spider drawings.
September 12th, 2010
I don’t think being double-blind will matter that much- the 1st subject is noticing his rush shrinking, hence the test is probably for a skin treatment. Spiders, however, are no desired effect for any skin treatment (neither will be ants crawling under the skin, which should make the joke much more precise)
December 14th, 2010
This experiment looks more like a psychological kind.
The man saying “My rash seems to have shrunk by about 20% today” is obsessive about his skin’s condition, while the woman flailing her arms wildly is hallucinating that there’re lots of spiders on her body.