Editing 2314: Carcinization

{{comic
| number    = 2314
| date      = June 1, 2020
| title     = Carcinization
| image     = carcinization.png
| titletext = Nature abhors a vacuum and also anything that's not a crab.
}}

==Explanation==
As [[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]], separate species of animals have evolved into "crab-like" forms at different times. Naturalists who noticed the tendency gave it the name {{w|Carcinisation|carcinization}}.

It is a specific form of {{w|convergent evolution}}, where differing families of animals (in this case, nominally across the {{w|crustacea}}) develop a tendency towards developing a 'crab' bodyplan to a greater degree than their origins would suggest. A similar process has created several varieties of {{w|river dolphin}} with similar adaptations to their environments, despite being 'stranded' offshoots of different forerunner pelagic species.

"True crabs" ({{w|Brachyura}}) form just a small subset of the Crustacea subphylum, and the Cancer genus is a subset of that, yet there appears to be something about the bodyplan and even resulting behaviour that has meant a number of species have arisen from alternate areas of the family tree that are now trivially indistinguishable without extensive study.

Carl Linnaeus even initially included all Crustacea under the 'Cancer' genus (using the Latin name for crabs), and his taxonomic classification has been heavily refined as further knowledge has come to light, in order to reveal this phenomenon.

Apparently this principle is much stronger in the webcomic than in real life, as shortly after being told this, Megan notices that Cueball (not a crustacean!) has himself turned into a crab. This isn't really evolution as we know it (outside {{w|Gameplay of Pokémon#Pokémon evolution|Pokémon evolution}} at least), which refers to changes (usually gradual changes, but not always) in a species across generations caused by random mutations. The organisms individually never change{{Citation needed}}, they are merely different from their ancestors, and the organisms with changes that make them more fit for their environment are the ones who are more likely to survive long enough to pass down those changes. What happens to Cueball is more like a transformation, but it could still be called 'carcinization', since he becomes crab-like.  The comic strip might be an allusion to Franz Kafka's short story ''{{w|The Metamorphosis}}'' (another word used to describe life-forms that dramatically transform themselves, like caterpillars turning into butterflies), which starts with the main character suddenly waking up and finding that he has transformed into a giant bug.

Cueball's sudden transformation is perhaps explained by the title text, that "Nature abhors a vacuum and anything that's not a crab". The text is a reference to Aristotle's {{w|Horror_vacui_(physics)|Horror vacui}}, a statement about how empty space tends to be immediately refilled by surrounding things, so vacuums seem to be impossible to maintain. As does "not being a crab", it seems.

Strictly speaking, we don't know for certain that Cueball actually transformed; it could be that he has ducked out of sight and left a crab in his place (or noticed a crab conveniently nearby) to play a prank on Megan.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking next to each other towards the left with Megan looking back at Cueball.]
:Megan: Have you heard of "carcinization"?
:Megan: The tendency of nature to evolve things into crabs.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[They continue to walk, both of them looking forward.]
:Megan: Yeah, the basic "crab" design has evolved separately a number of times.
:Cueball: Evolution just loves making crabs, I guess!

:[Narrower panel with only Megan seen walking on while lifting both her arms slightly to each side.]
:Megan: Apparently!

:[Two smaller beat panels are drawn between the previous and next normal sized panels. The first is a bit lower than the top of the normal panels, and is partly lying in over the other small panel, which is below and to the right of the first. The top panel shows Megan continuing to walk along.  The second shows Megan stopping and turning to look back.]

:[Megan has turned completely and is looking down at a small crab scuttling along on the ground where Cueball was before.]
:Megan: Oh no

==Trivia==
In January 2020, less than half a year before this comic was released, the Dinosaur Comic also released a [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3547 comic about Carcinization]. This web comic is on [[Randall|Randall's]] list of [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|Comics I enjoy]] and was also used in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]]. Another popular webcomic, Questionable Content, had a [https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4276 crab-themed comic] the day before this comic was released.

Just a month after the release of this comic, "carcinization" was the [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day/Archive/2020/July#3 Word of the Day] in Wiktionary.

This comic was also the inspiration for [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6010 SCP-6010], a story about all animal life turning into crabs, set in the SCP Foundation setting. SCP 6010 mentions life turning into crabs on June 1st 2019, the release date for this comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]] <!-- title text - vacuum -->