Difference between revisions of "987: Potential"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(Explanation: Some language, maybe it can be done better.)
(Much grammar, very wow)
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
This comic jokes about the common rant by teachers when they are annoyed by lazy or ignorant kids. The comic comforts the kids who were subject to this — by telling the students if they did reach their full potential, they could, instead of providing better essays and science fair projects, possibly create a monster robot with 6 mechanical legs apparently able to pick up and throw cars, using machine-guns, and force-fields.
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This comic jokes about the common rant by teachers when they are annoyed by lazy or ignorant kids. The comic comforts the kids who were subject to this — by telling the students if they did reach their full potential, they could, instead of providing better essays and science fair projects, possibly create a monster robot with 6 mechanical legs apparently able to pick up and throw cars, and use machine-guns and force-fields.
  
 
The title text describes a parallel to the example in the strip, using philosophy rather than engineering. [[Randall]] expresses frustration when his teaching gives underprivileged kids the intellectual skills needed to raise existential questions that bugs him. His somewhat destructive solution is to put the students back on the broad road, where they won't have time or peace of mind to think about philosophy.
 
The title text describes a parallel to the example in the strip, using philosophy rather than engineering. [[Randall]] expresses frustration when his teaching gives underprivileged kids the intellectual skills needed to raise existential questions that bugs him. His somewhat destructive solution is to put the students back on the broad road, where they won't have time or peace of mind to think about philosophy.

Revision as of 17:52, 24 August 2014

Potential
The bunch of disadvantaged kids I was tutoring became too good at writing, and their essays were forcing me to confront painful existential questions, so I started trying to turn them on to drugs and crime instead.
Title text: The bunch of disadvantaged kids I was tutoring became too good at writing, and their essays were forcing me to confront painful existential questions, so I started trying to turn them on to drugs and crime instead.

Explanation

This comic jokes about the common rant by teachers when they are annoyed by lazy or ignorant kids. The comic comforts the kids who were subject to this — by telling the students if they did reach their full potential, they could, instead of providing better essays and science fair projects, possibly create a monster robot with 6 mechanical legs apparently able to pick up and throw cars, and use machine-guns and force-fields.

The title text describes a parallel to the example in the strip, using philosophy rather than engineering. Randall expresses frustration when his teaching gives underprivileged kids the intellectual skills needed to raise existential questions that bugs him. His somewhat destructive solution is to put the students back on the broad road, where they won't have time or peace of mind to think about philosophy.

Transcript

Narrator: When teachers complain, "You're not working at your full potential!"
[Explosion in background.]
Narrator: Don't take it too hard.
[Car casually spirals through the air while a crash is heard in the background.]
Narrator: They complain way more when you do.
[A mechanized, 6-tentacled robot rampages around, picking up cars and creating a small warzone before the student inside while the lamentations of people and the building of military forces are in the background.]
Throughout the third frame: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
In the control center of the robot: Click, beep, whirr
Out-of-frame: It's headed this way!
Ponytail: Somebody stop him!


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Discussion

They really do. Even if you end up becoming rich and famous, there's always that one guy who has to complain about you shafting them. Davidy²²[talk] 08:18, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Is there any chance this could be referring to the physics principle of Work? Z (talk) 23:54, 7 March 2014 (UTC)

I wish I could remember the quote from a teacher who supplied Gene Symmons with 50p to get a coffee after he bummed a coffee from a teacher. But I just forgot why. I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait (talk) 07:45, 22 January 2015 (UTC)