Editing 2482: Indoor Socializing
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | [[Cueball]] is meeting [[White Hat]], who is probably not in the same household. White Hat asks how Cueball is, which is normal small talk, but Cueball responds by expressing his | + | {{incomplete|Created by a RESPIRATORY DROPLET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | [[Cueball]] is meeting [[White Hat]], who is probably not in the same household. White Hat asks how Cueball is, which is normal small talk, but Cueball responds by expressing his awareness that they're inhaling one another's "gross lung air". When White Hat is taken aback, Cueball backtracks, switching to a more socially acceptable "fine". | ||
− | + | A recurring theme in XKCD is characters expressing an uncomfortable awareness of realities that most people tend to ignore, particularly for experts in a particular field (examples include [[2057]], [[913]], [[203]], and [[1839]]). In this strip, likely as a result of being primed by awareness of the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, Cueball finds it difficult to be in the same building with other people without being aware of the fact that they're breathing the same air, meaning that particles of biological material are being freely exchanged. In an earlier era, such concerns might have been dismissed as being extreme, but the pandemic has demonstrated that there's very real reason to be concerned. Even if everyone involved is vaccinated, that doesn't entirely remove the risk, nor does it protect against other diseases, which can spread in similar ways. | |
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− | A recurring theme in | ||
The title text reinforces the idea that knowing more about any subject increases the likelihood that you'll become disturbed by some constant and basic reality of life. In this case, studying biology tends to be disturbing, since the field involves in depth knowledge of our own bodies, as well as all other organisms we encounter, and which makes one uncomfortably aware of all the risks and flaws basic to being alive. | The title text reinforces the idea that knowing more about any subject increases the likelihood that you'll become disturbed by some constant and basic reality of life. In this case, studying biology tends to be disturbing, since the field involves in depth knowledge of our own bodies, as well as all other organisms we encounter, and which makes one uncomfortably aware of all the risks and flaws basic to being alive. | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |