Pinky and the Brain (Patreon)

Hi team!

I recently posted a new comic on the theme of solipsism -  stirred into a pot with Boltzmann Brains and the Matrix. 

I had pretty mixed feelings going into this one! The universe as a simulation is pretty well trampled ground, and solipsism itself is a fairly dismissible notion. I remember the idea that I couldn’t “prove” anything outside of my own consciousness first occurring to me when I was twelve, so it isn’t exactly bleeding edge philosophy. 

Boltzmann Brains I only discovered a few years ago, and while I love the idea, they seem as easy to dismiss as solipsism, both falling foul of better and more efficient explanations, to my mind at least. 

But at least Boltzmann Brains gave me a template for a plausible solipsistic scenario - and once thrown into the wash with “the universe is a simulation” narrative, it felt interesting enough to have a crack at. 

Finally, I also ended up hinting that the protagonist is actually just insane, and merely hallucinating the entire thing. Did any (or all) of you pick this angle up? 

In some ways I thought that was the entire point of the comic, but in another way it was just me throwing my hands up in the air and admitting that I found the whole thing a bit self absorbed. I get really caught up in these ideas, but sometimes I worry I’m being too obvious. 

I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts. I have another idea for a Simulation story further down the track, but is it fun, or just hackneyed? Do I need to move on??

Best
SB

PS: the pictures above are a couple of drafts from the latest story. Because of the fisheye lens effect I employed in some of the panels, there was A LOT of swearing during the drawing of this comic. 

PPS: Has anyone seen the new Matrix? I was wondering if I should bother?