The age of probabilistic machines. Why be original when you…

Per Axbom Bluesky

The age of probabilistic machines. Why be original when you can be bland and generic?™

Calvin and Hobbes comic.

Panel 1. Calvin is making a classic snowman with a carrot nose, hat, pipe in his mouth and rock for buttons.
Hobbes (arriving): What’s this?
Calvin: A generic snowman

Panel 2. Calvin continues explaining.
Calvin: I used to make original snowmen, but it was time-consuming, hard work. So I said, heck, this is crazy!

Panel 3.
Calvin: Now I crank out crude imitations of what’s already popular! It takes no time or thought, and most people don’t care about the difference anyway!

Panel 4 (final panel):
Hobbes (contemplating while looking at the snowman): So cynical. Yet so practical.
Calvin: And what good is originality if you can’t crank it out?

The comic characters explained if you are unfamiliar: Calvin and Hobbes is an American daily comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. The strip centers on Calvin, a six-year-old boy characterized by his imagination and behavior, and Hobbes, his stuffed tiger, whose status alternates between a toy and a sentient companion depending on perspective. There are also several comic strips where Calvin makes surprisingly horrifying depictions of snowmen, in contrast to this one.

🔗 Originally posted on Bluesky