UDLS

As the year comes to a close---as my PhD comes to a close---it's a time for reflection. Who has influenced my life most profoundly? Is it the great philosophers I read in my undergrad like Kant, Ricardo, Foucault and Wittgenstein? Or could it be the great artists and designers I studied, like Picasso, The Group of Seven and Le Corbusier? Or the great scientists like Newton, Einstein and Feynman? No. No if I'm honest, it's Zach Weinersmith. That's right, the guy whose last name was Weiner and thought it would be funny to legally change his name to Weinersmith when he married his wife Kelly Smith because, you know, it's pretty funny. I've read SMBC Comics every day of my adult life. Listen, I'm not proud to say that. I don't even know if I like SMBC Comics, but it's a reflex at this point. I was able to quit Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter, but my fingers just type SMBC automatically and somehow I've always read the front page comic. Every day. Like pretty much literally its the most constant part of my identity. I've switched politics, academic fields, religions and relationships and I've still read SMBC Comics every day. And I gotta tell you, that CANNOT be good for your brain. So what is SMBC teaching me underneath it all? What impressions of the world do I have by letting Zach Weinersmith's stupid jokes filter into my brain every day? Let's find out!