1907: Immune System

|< < Prev Comic #1907 (October 25, 2017) Next > >|

Immune System

Title text: It also helps with negotiation. "Look, if it were up to me, *I'd* accept your offer, but my swarm of autonomous killer cells literally can't be reasoned with. It's out of my hands!"

Explanation

In this comic, Ponytail is delivering an informative report to a group of listeners, likely important managers of some large company. She begins her lecture by stating she is the host of a microscopic autonomous swarm that will do anything to protect her. She is referring to the immune system, which could technically be defined as a "microscopic autonomous swarm" that will do anything to protect her -- i.e destroy pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, both of which cause multitudinous diseases in humans. Like many of the systems of the body, the immune system cannot be controlled by conscious thought, and should not be taken as unordinary.

The caption below reveals the method behind her madness. Randall claims that beginning any business presentation with a surreal description of one's own immune system is guaranteed to strengthen your case. Whether or not this is actually the case is irrelevant, the point of the comic is about "how cool the immune system is", and explains its coolness through an unconventional description of how the process works. Additionally, Ponytail's description implies more potential power over external entities than an immune system typically has, perhaps to gain more respect/fear from the speaker's audience.

The title text elaborates further on this, stating that similar arguments can be used in negotiation. The description of the immune system is deliberately misleading, implying that the immune system may attack the other negotiator if the terms of the deal aren't satisfactory. While it is correct that your immune cells cannot be reasoned with^{[citation needed]} and theoretically it could cause an anaphylactic shock in the targeted organism, the veiled threat omits the fact that the immune system 1) is unaffected by external negotiations conducted by its host, 2) is incapable of attacking things outside of the body, and 3) would have to overcome the target's own immune system.

Transcript

[Ponytail is standing in front of a boardroom meeting, pointing to a presentation on a screen. Cueball, Megan and Hairbun are in the audience, sitting at a long table; an extra, unoccupied chair is in the front.]

Ponytail: My body hosts an autonomous microscopic defensive swarm that will do anything to protect me.

Ponytail: I have no ability to restrain it and I don't know my own power.

Ponytail: So listen up.

Ponytail: Sales grew by 4% this quarter...

[Caption below the panel:]

Business protip: You can strengthen any presentation by opening with a reminder about how cool immune systems are.

 add a comment! ⋅  add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅  refresh comments!

Discussion

Actually, there are many "biologics" -- drugs that suppress the various facets of the immune system to treat diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis (R.A.). Examples include Enbrel and Remicade. --Pondy (talk) 16:55, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

We have to add a [citation needed] here. 172.68.47.114 18:06, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

^{[citation needed]} 162.158.62.93 19:57, 26 October 2017 (UTC)

Is Randall really suggesting using his own immune system as the Bad Cop?

Add a line or two about gullible managers who will believe anything as long as it is presented in a shiny PowerPoint presentation.--162.158.150.46 21:35, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

I'd question the assertion that "Ponytail is delivering an informative report" - more likely it's an uninformative report, which is why she felt the need to spice it up with a sensationalist (and irrelevant) account of her immune system.141.101.98.172 16:24, 27 October 2017 (UTC)