Well, since GODOT works by hacking people’s perceptions rather than actually projecting writing into the environment, he/she could conceivably maybe pull some kind of synesthesia trick to make someone “see” writing that’s technically outside their field of vision. Like some kind of weird blind spot in reverse type deal: they can’t actually see the place where the writing is, yet they can see the writing itself.
…Though now that I think about it, there are a lot of questions implied there. Can GODOT project a voice, or can he/she only work with letters, not sounds (would sort of make sense, given he/she was made for generating acronyms)? Can GODOT make words that float in midair, or does he/she need a surface to project onto? A reverse blind spot trick would imply the former (what’s the difference between an unseen surface and no surface at all, from a perception-hacking point of view?), but every example of GODOT-speak we’ve seen so far has been projected onto a surface, including this one.
Prolly best just to chalk it up to artistic license until/unless shown otherwise.
Then I remembered that the Weeping Angels don’t move if the audience is observing them, even if no one in the show is. (Yes, I know, Flesh And Stone. Didn’t happen in my head canon.)
I considered that, but the fact that GODOT can’t influence Violet Bee seems like it would mean GODOT can’t influence most readers either. Plus, it looks more like GODOT is influencing Shaennon as she draws the strips. (This isn’t the first time that what we see is presumably not what the characters are seeing; when GODOT was talking to Dr. Lee, what we saw would have made zero sense from Dr. Lee’s perspective, and she presumably saw something that made sense to her and wouldn’t have made sense to us.)
Since it works using paredolia rather than directly affecting the visual cortex, I figure something has to be there (perhaps even if it’s just an eye floater or something) for GODOT to turn into the text/scribbles of its choosing.
Rock top, I’ve hit!
Brains I can’t quit,
Lying in the gutter!
Brains get roasted,
Lightly toasted,
Served with blackened butter!
Intellect is exponential,
Though I’m not surprised …
Sad to see that my potential’s
Fully realized!
Ever since I climbed aboard this super-genius train,
I ate a brain; now hyper-sane I will remain!
Have them in a pita, on a bagel, on a bun!
The smart elite discredit Hegel just for fun!
This is how the whole things starts, you
Have a brain with friends!
Soon, when the addiction starts, you
Know it never ends!
Gained a brain through slow digestion,
Now I just can’t stop!
Yes, it’s plain, and there’s no question,
I have hit rock top!
I recall while Dave briefly held his “non-evil” job – he spoke of having peoples heads explode via reading a webpage.
Therefore – it’s possible Godot is manipulating US via our monitors. The true test will be if the eventual BOOK actually shows the Godot messages…or something completely different.
Now – on the subject of being Evil for Evil’s sake – I can see our beloved cartoonists printing the books that way just to mess with our heads.
Remember – if you are not having fun – you are doing it wrong.
I should have read all the comments before replying above. Now it looks like I didn’t read your response! But I did. I mean, I didn’t when I wrote the thing above. But now I have. I did not realize above that when I was writing it I had not yet read what came later but which was actually posted earlier.
I better quit. I’m getting a hypothetical headache.
I spent a while trying to figure out how you guys could pull off such a scam/plot – thus far it would involve double PDFs (fake one released early) and altering the archive, since if your other readers are like me – they re-read the archive when a new book kickstarter is announced.
I have that problem – I once (as a pre-teen) got asked what i was drinking at a party by one of my parents peers – I was going on about using nuclear weapons for construction purposes. (Think a bunch of kilometer deep holes and then a new Panama canal in about 30 seconds – then wait for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to equalize….)
I’m 40 now, and i still manage to regularly freak out people at work w/ outside the box comments. It is massively FUN.
BTW – drinking at parties makes free-association easier. When drinking on a problem make sure to have a sober person (or a recording) to take notes. Your own writing will probably be horrible.
BTW – important part of freaking people out w/ Out-Of-Box commentary is the ability to cite references – articles and such. REFINE your ability to remember obscure studies and where you heard about them.
I can foresee a possible closure to this story: High-on-cerebral-cortex Unity will Solve the GODOT Problem (instead of just Waiting For Godot); and she will write it down to carry it back to her companions, only Violet will run into her before she loses her smarts, and SHE will carry the Solution back to them, because she can’t see GODOT’s manipulations; and —
— naah, who am I kidding? JCW would NEVER let it get THAT easy.…
Discussion (32) ¬
This is your zombie…
This is your zombie on brains.
Any questions?
No, seriously, ask any question you want! She’ll answer it for you!
can she see that written on the pavement behind her?
or is she so smart now that she just instinctively realizes that its there
Well, since GODOT works by hacking people’s perceptions rather than actually projecting writing into the environment, he/she could conceivably maybe pull some kind of synesthesia trick to make someone “see” writing that’s technically outside their field of vision. Like some kind of weird blind spot in reverse type deal: they can’t actually see the place where the writing is, yet they can see the writing itself.
…Though now that I think about it, there are a lot of questions implied there. Can GODOT project a voice, or can he/she only work with letters, not sounds (would sort of make sense, given he/she was made for generating acronyms)? Can GODOT make words that float in midair, or does he/she need a surface to project onto? A reverse blind spot trick would imply the former (what’s the difference between an unseen surface and no surface at all, from a perception-hacking point of view?), but every example of GODOT-speak we’ve seen so far has been projected onto a surface, including this one.
Prolly best just to chalk it up to artistic license until/unless shown otherwise.
ha ha, wow so well-thought-out why are you being awesome stop it XD
You’re missing the obvious possibility that GODOT IS AFFECTING *YOUR* BRAIN. RIGHT NOW.
At first I said “that’s just silly!”
Then I remembered that the Weeping Angels don’t move if the audience is observing them, even if no one in the show is. (Yes, I know, Flesh And Stone. Didn’t happen in my head canon.)
Now I’m wondering if you really wrote that.
I considered that, but the fact that GODOT can’t influence Violet Bee seems like it would mean GODOT can’t influence most readers either. Plus, it looks more like GODOT is influencing Shaennon as she draws the strips. (This isn’t the first time that what we see is presumably not what the characters are seeing; when GODOT was talking to Dr. Lee, what we saw would have made zero sense from Dr. Lee’s perspective, and she presumably saw something that made sense to her and wouldn’t have made sense to us.)
Since it works using paredolia rather than directly affecting the visual cortex, I figure something has to be there (perhaps even if it’s just an eye floater or something) for GODOT to turn into the text/scribbles of its choosing.
This is actually a pretty zen question.
If the writing only exists in her perception… and she’s not actually looking at it… does it exist at all?
Why am I only seeing the words in Braille?
mnem
Touch me there. You know you want to.
I have the “Rocky Top” song in my head now. I’m going to need some brain bleach now.
tune: “Rocky Top,” Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, 1967, recorded by the Osborne Brothers
On St. Charlie I’ve hit rocky top
With my zombie friends
Went to the Brain-o-Mat, now I can’t stop
Pursuing acumen
Drinking corpus callosum from a bag
Brilliance has a glitch
My soaring intellect becomes a drag
I’m my cerebrum’s bitch
Rocky top, an honoree
At M.I.T. I’d be
I’ve hit rocky top
Rocky top PhD
Rocky top Unity
You’re evil. Very evil. *drinks brain bleach.*
Dude! Put down that brain bleach and stop hating on “Rocky Top.” It’s an American classic, and I love it unapologetically.
(TUNE: “Bus Stop”, The Hollies)
Rock top, I’ve hit!
Brains I can’t quit,
Lying in the gutter!
Brains get roasted,
Lightly toasted,
Served with blackened butter!
Intellect is exponential,
Though I’m not surprised …
Sad to see that my potential’s
Fully realized!
Ever since I climbed aboard this super-genius train,
I ate a brain; now hyper-sane I will remain!
Have them in a pita, on a bagel, on a bun!
The smart elite discredit Hegel just for fun!
This is how the whole things starts, you
Have a brain with friends!
Soon, when the addiction starts, you
Know it never ends!
Gained a brain through slow digestion,
Now I just can’t stop!
Yes, it’s plain, and there’s no question,
I have hit rock top!
I love the rhymes in your chorus.
I recall while Dave briefly held his “non-evil” job – he spoke of having peoples heads explode via reading a webpage.
Therefore – it’s possible Godot is manipulating US via our monitors. The true test will be if the eventual BOOK actually shows the Godot messages…or something completely different.
Now – on the subject of being Evil for Evil’s sake – I can see our beloved cartoonists printing the books that way just to mess with our heads.
Remember – if you are not having fun – you are doing it wrong.
I should have read all the comments before replying above. Now it looks like I didn’t read your response! But I did. I mean, I didn’t when I wrote the thing above. But now I have. I did not realize above that when I was writing it I had not yet read what came later but which was actually posted earlier.
I better quit. I’m getting a hypothetical headache.
I spent a while trying to figure out how you guys could pull off such a scam/plot – thus far it would involve double PDFs (fake one released early) and altering the archive, since if your other readers are like me – they re-read the archive when a new book kickstarter is announced.
Help for Unity
Heh. I know it parodies a real, severe problem, but that made me laugh. Thanks.
I have that problem – I once (as a pre-teen) got asked what i was drinking at a party by one of my parents peers – I was going on about using nuclear weapons for construction purposes. (Think a bunch of kilometer deep holes and then a new Panama canal in about 30 seconds – then wait for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to equalize….)
I’m 40 now, and i still manage to regularly freak out people at work w/ outside the box comments. It is massively FUN.
BTW – drinking at parties makes free-association easier. When drinking on a problem make sure to have a sober person (or a recording) to take notes. Your own writing will probably be horrible.
BTW – important part of freaking people out w/ Out-Of-Box commentary is the ability to cite references – articles and such. REFINE your ability to remember obscure studies and where you heard about them.
As a philosophy major, today’s strip is my favorite joke in the history of Shaenon Garrity comics.
I now want GODOT to become part of the regular supporting cast. Not doing anything much, just providing sarcastic commentary.
What he said.
That’s Nick’s job.
I can foresee a possible closure to this story: High-on-cerebral-cortex Unity will Solve the GODOT Problem (instead of just Waiting For Godot); and she will write it down to carry it back to her companions, only Violet will run into her before she loses her smarts, and SHE will carry the Solution back to them, because she can’t see GODOT’s manipulations; and —
— naah, who am I kidding? JCW would NEVER let it get THAT easy.…
OOO – it’s getting really scary just in time for Halloween!