The example in the comic is not a good one. Of the choices on the board, E being proportional to mc^2 is the only option where the units match. You only need to have that one idea to save yourself the trouble of having lots of other ideas.
Mickey Mouse is dead
Got kicked in the head
Cause people got too serious
They planned out what they said
They couldn’t take the fantasy
They tried to accept reality
Analyzed the laughs
Cause pleasure comes in halves
The purity of comedy
They had to take it seriously
Changed the words around
Tried to make it look profound
…
Linus Pauling
The example in the comic is not a good one. Of the choices on the board, E being proportional to mc^2 is the only option where the units match. You only need to have that one idea to save yourself the trouble of having lots of other ideas.
It’s a joke, which I assume is intended for a mostly non-physicist audience.
We demand complete rigour from all forms of levity! The unexamined joke is not worth joking!
Mickey Mouse is dead Got kicked in the head Cause people got too serious They planned out what they said They couldn’t take the fantasy They tried to accept reality Analyzed the laughs Cause pleasure comes in halves The purity of comedy They had to take it seriously Changed the words around Tried to make it look profound …
--Sub Hum Ans, “Mickey Mouse is Dead”
To prevent lines from being merged together, add two spaces at the end of each one.
That’s so...typewriter.
Thanks.
Yes, but also being able to tell which of those ideas are good is even better.
From the alt-text in the above-linked comic:
It’s necessary, but not sufficient.