Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for November 25, 2010
Transcript:
Lucy: How are you going to get a publisher for an autobiography that's all about stuff that hasn't happened yet? Danae: Pfffft... are you kidding? Danae: my prescient autobiography is a publisher's dream! Lucy: How so? Danae: No need for fact-checking! Lucy: Oh. I'm getting a bad feeling about this... Danae: Why? Lucy: It... it's beginning to make sense to me... Danae: True genius often takes time to sink in.
rayannina almost 14 years ago
There’s a fine line between genius and insanity …
… and Danae keeps erasing it.
Can't Sleep almost 14 years ago
Somebody still checks FACTS?
Then how does that explain the book by (fill in the name of your least favorite politician)?
Okay, let’s see how many of you are going to get riled up by THAT comment!
Sisyphos almost 14 years ago
Danae’s irrepressible optimism is incompatible with a World That Includes the Ekert!
GROG Premium Member almost 14 years ago
I love it. Pure Genius, Wiley.
loudmouthbass almost 14 years ago
not riled, just fixed-
Corrected: “Then how does that explain the book by (fill in the name of your [b]favorite[/b] politician)?”
think about it….
pbarnrob almost 14 years ago
@Nabuqud. – Wanna tell us about what datasets seem to be creatively skewed?
Scientists especially (as should all we reality-based sentients) get testy about creative data generation (sometimes just ‘dry-labbing’, sometimes politically motivated selections, sometimes outliers discarded - evidences of El Nino come to mind).
As the sainted Heinlein observed, “What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what ‘the stars foretell,’ avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable ‘verdict of history’ - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue. Get the facts!” -Lazarus Long, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
thirdguy almost 14 years ago
I agree with Grog, great strip Wiley!
wicky almost 14 years ago
Aaah! Heinlein, just the greatest Sci-Fi guy, we seem to be living in his future.
nickmangieri Premium Member almost 14 years ago
Is that a fact?
bmonk almost 14 years ago
Darkeforce said, about 5 myths ago
The concept of “Facts” was executed in the year 2000 by the Republicans when they had the loser of the election declared President.
Actually, some reporters did go through the ballots in question–and Bush did come out ahead.
There might be a more valid complaint for those who effectively could not vote due to faulty (or overly full) ballot boxes, but the votes cast did end up with a small Florida total–about 400, IIRC, for Bush.
S_T_F_U almost 14 years ago
Last time I checked, we have a new president. Might want to look at what he’s been doing for the last couple of years…
puddleglum1066 almost 14 years ago
Danae’s just discovered what every SF writer learned a long time ago: writing is easier, and a lot more fun, when ‘research’ and ‘fact-checking’ just mean ‘make something up’! Much easier than, say, historical fiction, where you find yourself having to discover (for example) what medieval people used for underwear…
(And yes. As a bottom-of-the-food-chain SF author, I had to research that very question. Details may be found here, if anyone’s interested: http://tinyurl.com/2ul2suz . The bottom line is that in the future I resolve to keep my stories in the future!)
WaitingMan almost 14 years ago
I’m sure I’m in a very small minority but I am a hard-core liberal who thinks the Supreme Court got Bush v. Gore right. The job of SCOTUS is to interpret the Constitution, which is not always what is best for the country. The recounts had to stop.
Destiny23 almost 14 years ago
Funny how many people love the electoral system when their candidate wins, and hate it when their candidate loses! The fact is, the Electoral College was invented to trick Americans into thinking they get to choose their president, when in fact they don’t. If the Democrats hated the system so much after Bush won, why didn’t they change it in the last two years when they were in control??? (Oh yeah, they liked the status quo after it let them win…)
Yakety Sax almost 14 years ago
“All we want are the facts, ma’am” “All we know are the facts, ma’am”
Sergeant Joe “Dragnet”
And no, he did not say “Just the facts, ma’am”.
AndGar almost 14 years ago
I like My facts! (I don’t know ‘bout all of yours)
mirthiful almost 14 years ago
Happy Thanksgiving Wiley! I’m thankful for such a great strip to read!
Trebor39 almost 14 years ago
So am I Wiley. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
mjd.kwanyin almost 14 years ago
thanks wiley!
GeraldTarrant almost 14 years ago
@Puddlegum: I disagree, actually. I believe the best fantasty and sci-fi (such as Dune and LOTR) are based in extensive research of real cultures, beliefs, and myths. Sure, these are then modified to fit the world created by the respective authors, but it is still based on “reality”, if you will.
Jaroca2 almost 14 years ago
Grog….you’re so right.
Wiley….Don’t change a thing you’re doing.
DANAE, you rock…………………!!!!!!!!!!!
runninanreadin almost 14 years ago
…wellllll…..Duuuuuh!……lol
Dtroutma almost 14 years ago
Today, many “facts” are pulled from the same place as stuffing.
Happy Thanksgiving.
lin4869 almost 14 years ago
Lucy’s display of dismay in the final panel is a hoot! :D
lindz.coop Premium Member almost 14 years ago
This liberal dislikes the electoral college no matter who wins. Folks have tried to change it in the past to no avail.
bmonk almost 14 years ago
One big advantage of the electoral college is to break down recounts into manageable parts.
Imagine if a presidential candidate needed to pick up 1000 or 5000 votes anywhere in the US? We could end up with a recount of every state!
Instead, we only had a recount in one contested state.