3155: Physics Paths

Physics Paths

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Title text: If nothing else, that reasoning definitely overturns syllogisms.

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Explanation

This is one of 52 incomplete explanations: This page was created by a BOT trying to prove its value. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

Cueball wishes to validate his existence as a person. To do this, he turns to Albert Einstein as a role model, and attempts to replicate his success by making a revolutionary scientific discovery. After an indeterminate amount of time passes, Cueball laments that he has failed. At this point, the comic diverges into two timelines; one in which Cueball takes a healthy outlook on his failure, and one in which he falls into a self-destructive mode of thinking.

The first path, the "Healthy Path" has Cueball muse that perhaps this was a poorly-thought-out test of his value. The healthy path establishes that Cueball doesn't need a physics-overturning insight to have value. On the other hand, the "Path of Ruin" has Cueball angrily yell that the establishment must be stopping his insight from overturning physics. The path of ruin has Cueball take the idea that to have value, you must have a critical insight as constant. Thus, since, he has value, he must have an insight that overturns physics, and thus the establishment must be suppressing it.

This is the second comic in a row where Cueball tries to replicate Einstein's major contributions to physics.

Einstein had more than one "major insight". His "annus mirabilis papers" covered the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, the special theory of relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, all published in 1905.

The path of ruin seems a nod to John Baez's classic Crackpot Index. xkcd has mocked the idea of the physics community suppressing new ideas before, such as in 675: Revolutionary, 2113: Physics Suppression, or the "science thought police" in 955: Neutrinos.

Transcript

This is one of 27 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

[Panel 1, Cueball has one hand out]

Cueball: Einstein had an Insight that overturned physics, thus proving his value.

[Panel 2, Cueball has one hand on his chin]

Cueball: I hope I have value. Ill try to have an insight that overturns physics, to check.

[arrow pointing down with the caption below in between]

Time passes

[arrow pointing down to Panel 3, which has Cueball with both of his hands out and up]

Cueball: On no! My insight didn't overturn physics! But I don't think I'm worthless...

[Arrow from Panel 3 on the left labeled "Healthy path" points to a panel with Cueball with his hands on his chin:]

Cueball: Maybe this was not a well-thought-out test of my value.

[Arrow from Panel 3 on the right labeled "Path of ruin" points to a panel with Cueball with his finger out and pointing up:]

Cueball: The establishment must be suppressing my insight!

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Discussion

I made a Major contribution that overturns physics by making the first comment 115.70.50.107 20:31, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

I cant make the first comment explainxkcd must be supressing me 202.150.104.50 (talk) 20:41, 15 October 2025 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I cant make the first comment explainxkcd must be supressing me 202.150.104.50 (talk) 20:40, 15 October 2025‎ (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Not only did you fail to make the first comment, you also didn't sign it properly and you posted twice. Cancel! Barmar (talk) 20:59, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

The global scientific community will RUE THE DAY it dismissed my insights! Go ahead! Start rueing! 2601:601:C85:EDD0:F0F1:ACFC:F3E5:6BAE 22:08, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

You could have talked about syllogisms to overturn physics even more! --81.96.108.67 02:05, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

Now you're just being sylly. 82.13.184.33 08:12, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

The description of the special theory of relativity as showing that gravity is the result of curving spacetime is incorrect; that was the later general theory. The special theory only deals with the fact that measurements of space and time will be different for differently moving observers, and specifically excludes gravity. 206.204.218.11 (talk) 05:04, 16 October 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Is it only me thinking that the unhealthy path already starts in the trial to „prove“ one‘s value? 62.93.15.96 (talk) 05:58, 16 October 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Has Randall watched Dr. Angela Collier's recent video? --Coconut Galaxy (talk) 06:38, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

The whole “ Einstein had more than one major insight” paragraph is interesting, but irrelevant to the comic. It should be moved into a trivia section. 172.83.161.157 11:04, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

I’m thinking that part of the joke in the title text is that the term “overturn” is used to literally mean “turn upside down” in that the logic of the syllogism is reversed in an “any scientist that overturns physics is valuable, therefore anyone with value has overturned physics” fashion. I don’t think the current paragraph gets that across very well, and I’ve tried a handful of times to rephrase it, but haven’t been able to get something I’m happy with. If anyone else has any ideas to communicate it better, it would be greatly appreciated. KelOfTheStars! (talk) 18:34, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

While [Einstein] did have many insights, I think it's fair to say that his theories of relativity are the ones that caused major paradigm shifts. They others were just normal scientific progress. Barmar (talk) 15:42, 19 October 2025 (UTC)

Anyone who invokes the old "the Establishment is suppressing this invention/discovery" trope gets an immediate hard pass from me. Sorry, all you college students who solved the energy crisis with a paper cup filled with Coke. These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For (talk) 00:29, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

I used to work with the "Path of Ruin" guy. SSteve (talk) 15:48, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
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