397: Unscientific

2015-03-26T00:20:54Z

173.245.48.132: Took out the bit about "brane theory" because there's no pun of that sort in the comic. You guys are crazy, reading way too much into it.

{{comic
| number = 397
| date = March 17, 2008
| title = Unscientific
| image = unscientific.png
| titletext = Last week, we busted the myth that electroweak gauge symmetry is broken by the Higgs mechanism. We'll also examine the existence of God and whether true love exists.
}}

==Explanation==
In the first and second frames, [[Megan]] can be seen accusing {{w|MythBusters}} of not actually "doing science" because of its lack of {{w|Rigour|rigor}} - a debate beyond the scope of this Wiki. The zombie of deceased physicist, {{w|Richard Feynman}}, comes to explain to [[Megan]] that she has failed to recognize the purpose of MythBusters. He explains that MythBusters is only meant to get people to accept and understand the basics of science, and that more complex lessons (such as on rigor) would be wasted on people who don't understand those basics.

In the last frame, [[Cueball]] attempts to save himself and [[Megan]] from zombie Feynman by implying that physicists, being extremely intelligent, would have more desirable brains. Also, being a lab, the number of brains available would be higher than just two. Feynman's closing remark implies that {{w|String theory|string theorists}} are less intelligent than other types of physicists. This notion fits appropriately with Feynman's description of the core of science. Moreover, Feynman's own career involved applying physics to real world applications (such as for the Manhattan Project), whereas the work of string theorists is theoretical and untested.

The title text starts by rebounding against the complaint of validity as science by purportedly tackling a ''really'' big scientific inquiry. Then veers away into two far more esoteric proposed fields of study, of which at least one is not even determinable by the scientific method{{Citation needed}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a coach, watching Mythbusters.]
:TV: Can a ninja catch an arrow? On this episode, we'll find out!
:Cueball: Mmm, science.
:Megan: Hey, Mythbusters is entertaining, but it's not science.

:Zombie Feynman: ''BRAAAAAIIINNS''...
:Cueball: Zombie Feynman!
:Zombie Feynman: You got a problem with Mythbusters?
:Megan: They fail at basic rigor!

:Zombie Feynman: "Ideas are tested by experiment." That is the <u>core</u> of science. Everything else is bookkeeping.

:Zombie Feynman: By teaching people to hold their beliefs up to experiment, ''Mythbusters'' is doing more to drag humanity out of the unscientific darkness than a thousand lessons in rigor. Show them some love.

:Zombie Feynman: Anyway, back to zombie stuff. I hunger for ''BRAAAAAIIINNS!''
:Cueball: Uh, try the physics lab next door.
:Zombie Feynman: I said <u>brains</u>. All they've got are string theorists.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Talk:1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-04T05:58:18Z

173.245.48.132: Created page with "Sorry, but if your best defense is frightening counter attack a good offense will destroy you. The best defense is a good offense because a weakened or destroyed opponent can..."

Sorry, but if your best defense is frightening counter attack a good offense will destroy you. The best defense is a good offense because a weakened or destroyed opponent can mount no offense.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.132|173.245.48.132]] 05:58, 4 August 2014 (UTC)BluDgeons

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

397: Unscientific

Talk:1403: Thesis Defense