The borderline case.

As with so much else, skeptical art is on a continuum. On one end there is pure skeptical discussion such as one might find in the skeptical enquirer or, one might argue, scientific publications. On the far other end is art which happens to also encourage critical thinking but doesn't have an agenda. Somewhere between there we transition between art and discourse.

I think I have found a borderline case: the comic Cectic is very much a skeptical comic, but I find that it specifically engages in discourse rather than being ant artful endeavor. However it does use art, it does engage in skeptical activism and one could argue that there is some artistic satire.

Overall I see it as a borderline case, it doesn't clearly fall on either side of the line it sort of sits in the foggy middle.

XKCD... apparently not an acronym

XKCD is a relatively well known and well loved webcomic in nerd circles. It's drawn and written by Randall Munroe. For the most part, the comic follows the antics of some very simple stick figures as they interact with technology and the modern world. Doesn't sound very funny but I highly recommend it.

Randal has a way of pointing out flaws in human perception and how we compartmentalize information. It's hard to explain without examples, so here are a couple.












































Randall also comments extensively on the nature of science and some of its painful realities. I found the following comic to be an impressive discussion of what makes a good scientist in four panels and three colours.

Online Comics 1

So I'm going to talk a bit about skepticism in comics. I have two online comics in particular which cater somewhat to the intellectual crowd and also have a fairly skeptical outlook.

The first will be Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. It's been running since 2002 and for the most part its writer, Zach Werner, uses juxtaposition and irony to generate absurdist humor. Sometimes, though, he comes out with gems like these...

The artwork is simple but it effectively conveys his messages. The expressions, postures and gestures of his simplified characters are familiar and are easily recognized. In general, the artist puts familiar ideas into unusual context. The juxtaposition tends to result in a humorously absurd situation, but it also very effectively dismisses the argument being parodied.

Sure it's a straw man, but it's funny.