Science

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

SMBC

I love the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, and recently artist Zach Weiner gave an interview to The Manitoban about combining the funny with the science. Here’s an excerpt to convince you to go read the whole thing:

M.: Maybe your comics aren’t the best example, but do you think that science humour can get people interested in science and inspired to do science?

Z.W.: To some extent. I think the way in which that works is less about inspiration and more about club mentality. I’m sure there are kids who read XKCD and really wanted to get the programming jokes, so they think “How cool would it be if I were a kid who understood all these jokes” and I think that’s motivating.

PS: I just switched the blog over to Daylight Savings Time, which always results in a tiny amount of comment-order weirdness. Don’t worry, it’ll pass.

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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6 Comments

  1. Sorry, Rebecca but my OCD kicked in and I had to remind you that it’s “Daylight Saving Time” (not “Savings”).

  2. I’ll bet that these sort of comics do wonders to inspire kids.

    For example, I know few “just out of college” kids who don’t love XKCD. With older programmers, it can go either way but the guys in their twenties e-mail/IM them to each other like crazy.

    I don’t think that’s a total coincidence.

    I totally agree that many of them could have taken a few classes, or read a book or two, just to be able to “get” some of the code oriented jokes and went on from there.

    Yes, a MUCH smaller net.

    I know some kid is going to ask someone just what that means…

    rod

  3. I have to agree. While it wasn’t just xkcd that influenced me, the desire to understand all of the jokes Randall makes is part of the reason why I’ve become so obsessed with mathematics. There’s also the strange desire I have to one day be able to go to any Wikipedia article about mathematics and be able to easily read (and understand!) the equations on the page.

    These comics can also influence people who are already interested in these subjects. I mean, nothing is more gratifying than connecting with other human beings who have the same interests as you, especially after spending so much of your life being the only person in your neighborhood who actually likes mathematics/science/etc..

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