Comic #2937: 2013-06-02

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Description

Here’s a detailed description of the comic panel provided, along with transcribed text:

Comic Description:

• Setting: The scene is set at a beach during dusk or night. The sky is transitioning from a deep purple at the top to a lighter blue near the horizon.
• Characters:
  • Character 1: Appears to be a young person wearing a dark green outfit, looking contemplative while standing on the sand.
  • Character 2: Another young individual wearing a similar dark green outfit, appearing curious and engaged in conversation.
  • Character 3: A slightly older character who has a more thoughtful expression.

Transcription of Text:

1. Top Panel:
   • Character 1: "I CALL THAT 'THE FALLING PROBLEM.'"
2. Next Panel:
   • "You encounter it when you first study physics. You realize that, if you were ever dropped from a plane without a parachute, you could calculate with a high degree of accuracy how long it’d take to hit the ground, your speed, how much energy you’ll deposit into the earth."
   • "And yet, you would still be just as dead as a particularly stupid gorilla dropped the same distance."
3. Next Panel:
   • "Mastery of the nature of reality grants you no mastery over the behavior of reality."
4. Next Panel:
   • Character 3: "I could tell you why grandpa is very sick. I could tell you what each cell is doing wrong, why it’s doing wrong, and roughly when it started doing wrong."
   • Character 3 continues: "But I can’t tell them to stop."
5. Next Panel:
   • Character 2: "Why can’t you make a machine to fix it?"
   • Character 3: "Same reason you can’t make a parachute when you fall from the plane."
6. Next Panel:
   • Character 2: "Because it’s too hard?"
   • Character 3: "Nothing is too hard. Many things are too fast."
7. Next Panel:
   • Character 1: "I think I could solve the falling problem with a jetpack. Can you try to get me the parts?"
   • Character 3: "That’s all I do, kiddo."

Summary:

The comic illustrates a philosophical discussion about understanding physics and life, reflecting on the limits of human control over complex systems while interjecting humor with the idea of using a jetpack to solve the "falling problem."