2009-11-24
Explanation
This comic is a commentary on the perceived value of education, specifically in mathematics. In the first panel, a couple walks past a homeless man holding a "Will Work For Food" sign. The woman says it's a shame, but the man -- a bespectacled inventor type -- disagrees, saying the homeless man just needs skills. He explains that he has invented a chip that downloads a lifetime of calculus knowledge directly into your brain. He approaches the homeless man, saying "Come, sir... Let me change your life." After a time skip labeled "Soon...", we see the homeless man is now holding a sign that reads "Will dy/dx For Food" -- he now knows calculus but is still homeless.
The joke is a pointed satire about the gap between acquiring knowledge and acquiring economic value. The well-meaning inventor assumes that the homeless man's problem is a lack of skills, and that calculus knowledge will transform his life. Instead, all it does is change the wording on his sign from plain English to calculus notation (dy/dx being the notation for a derivative). The comic suggests that simply downloading knowledge into someone's brain does not solve the systemic issues of poverty and homelessness, and that advanced mathematical knowledge without context, credentials, or opportunity is essentially worthless.
The votey panel shows a sign reading "What Marty Wanted" with a placard saying "Will [integral symbol] f dx For Food," which is a math pun -- the integral of f dx sounds like a sexual act, playing on the classic integration notation. This adds a layer of crude wordplay to the already cynical commentary on education's real-world value.