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| | ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
| − | [[Ponytail]] walks up to [[Megan]], and makes the observation that when a scientific discovery is made, it then takes a while to publish it. She then goes on to note that there are probably research teams making {{w|Nobel Prize|"Nobel-Prize-worthy"}} discoveries that have simply not been published. She is obviously curious if Megan is working on something like this, and tries to see what Megan is working on, but Megan prevents her from seeing this by partly closing her laptop. Then Ponytail asks Megan what she is doing but Megan just tells her that she isn't the one working on a project like this and ask her to "Go bother someone else."
| + | {{incomplete|Fine description but not explanation of why this is so and why the comic is funny. Also more on problems with tax forms, and the specific issue mentioned about needing to print and sign something, which was supposed to be easy, but may be difficult purely because it is about tax...}} |
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| − | This is not the first time Ponytail asks Megan if she is working on some groundbreaking research project: Back in [[1067: Pressures]], Ponytail was probing Megan about her work, since, as hinted by the caption of that comic, Megan is a Swiss patent clerk just like {{w|Albert Einstein}}. Ponytail thus assumes she has the same potential to produce Nobel-Prize-worthy work as him. While there is no clear indication that this comic should be a continuation of that comic or that Megan is a patent clerk, Ponytail still assumes Megan is on her way to a Nobel Prize - but that Megan is just not yet ready to announce her discovery to the public for one reason or another.
| + | [[Ponytail]] walks up to [[Megan]], and makes the observation that when a scientific discovery is made, it then takes a while to publish it. She then goes on to note that there are probably research teams making {{w|Nobel Prize|"Nobel-Prize-worthy"}} discoveries that have simply not been published. She is obviously curious if Megan is working on something like this, and tries to see what Megan is working on. When that fails, she asks Megan what she is doing, who tells her that she isn't the one working on a project like this and to "Go bother someone else." |
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| − | In the first two panels, [[Ponytail]] is referring to the general issue that, to publish a discovery on a scientific topic, it can take a very long time, especially when the discovery is "Nobel-Prize-worthy". Obviously the first step is for the researcher to demonstrate rigor by more supporting experiments (see [[397: Unscientific]]), plus summarize the discovery into the format accepted by the {{w|scientific journal|journal}} the {{w|scientific paper|paper}} is submitted too. The latter can take considerable time by itself, especially if the first journal the paper is submitted to declines publication. Because other journals chosen afterwards may have a completely different layout (for instance in physics, the journal with the greatest {{w|impact factor}} is {{w|Nature (journal)|Nature}}, then followed by for instance {{w|Science (journal)|Science}} and then {{w|Physical Review Letters}}. All three have very different layouts regarding format and figures etc.) Thus the paper may need to be submitted to various journals until one accepts, which may also take a few months, and even when accepted it can take anywhere from 25 days to 150+ days just for the paper to be processed through the publishing system [http://www.nature.com/news/does-it-take-too-long-to-publish-research-1.19320 due to various reasons], including the nature of the publishing process, assigning extra work as conditions for acceptance, or even formatting problems. This has prompted researchers to come up with some [http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=926 interesting] [http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=581 work-arounds].
| + | In the title text, Megan reveals that she is trying to convert an emailed {{w|tax form}} to a PDF. She sarcastically states that this is in the running for a Nobel Prize, perhaps because she considers it an incredibly difficult task. That this is so is officially acknowledged by {{w|IRS}} as they themselves notices that saving and printing their [https://www.irs.com/articles/online-tax-forms Online tax forms] could be tricky. |
| − | | + | <br>Quote: |
| − | In the title text, Megan claims that she is actually just trying to convert an emailed {{w|tax form}} to a PDF. This could of course just be to ward off any further attempts by Ponytail to spy on her "real" Nobel-worthy work. Megan sarcastically states that her conversion of tax forms is in the running for a Nobel Prize, perhaps because she considers it an incredibly difficult task (even for these things that should not be hard - see [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]]). While this could be true, this task is in no way connected to any kind of scientific endeavor, and as a result could never be considered for any kind of Nobel Prize. That the task is so difficult is though officially acknowledged by the {{w|IRS}} as they themselves note that saving and printing their [https://www.irs.com/articles/online-tax-forms Online tax forms] could be tricky. <br>Quote: | |
| | :'''Fill-In Tax Forms''' | | :'''Fill-In Tax Forms''' |
| − | :''The IRS also offers Free Fillable Forms which allow you to save (and print) the information you’ve typed in online. The fill-in tax forms also require Adobe Acrobat Reader software. To save the data you’ve filled in, use the Adobe Reader’s “Save” function (not the web browser’s “Save” function). ...'' | + | ::The IRS also offers Free Fillable Forms which allow you to save (and print) the information you’ve typed in online. The fill-in tax forms also require Adobe Acrobat Reader software. To save the data you’ve filled in, use the Adobe Reader’s “Save” function (not the web browser’s “Save” function). Everyone is eligible to use these online tax forms, regardless of your income level or what type of form you’re filing. |
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| − | The months and weeks before April 15th (this comic was released on March 1st), is the "tax season" in the US so Americans are in the process of completing their tax forms, which is why this comic is timely. Given the US tax code is complained by many to be [http://time.com/4286921/complex-tax-code/ too complex], it is possible for researchers to delay publication of their discoveries to deal with their tax returns first. This can cause people to "sit on their discovery" for a while, although [http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-much-time-do-you-spend-preparing-your-tax-return.html hopefully not as long] as the task of publishing itself. | + | The months and weeks before April 15th (this comic was released March 1st), is the "tax season" in the US so Americans are in the process of completing their tax forms, which is why this comic is timely. |
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| − | A year after this comic, [[1971: Personal Data]] became the second tax related comic to be released in March, close to the tax day, making it two years in a row. Also before these comics the trouble with tax returns was the joke in [[1566: Board Game]], but it was released in August.
| + | In [[1067: Pressures]] Ponytail is also interested in what Megan is finding out, although at least in that comic there was a reason to believe Megan could have been on to something... |
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| | ==Transcript== | | ==Transcript== |
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| | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] |
| | [[Category:Science]] | | [[Category:Science]] |
| − | [[Category:Nobel Prize]]
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| − | [[Category:Scientific research]]
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