Editing 1364: Like I'm Five

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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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Megan tells Cueball that she is working on her math {{w|thesis}}. A thesis consists of original research and generally deals with material that is difficult for the uninitiated to understand. Cueball anticipates that it will be difficult to understand, and asks her to "explain it like I'm five". "Explain it like I'm five" is a way of asking for a simpler explanation of some difficult topic, in a way that a five-year-old child would be able to understand. Megan sarcastically (or perhaps not) treats Cueball as if he is an actual 5-year-old without his parents, expressing her concern that a 5-year-old is without any supervision. This is an example of idiomatic language being taken literally, something that [[Randall]] has explored in other comics as well, such as [[1454: Done]].
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{{incomplete|The explain and the title text need some more rework.}}
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Explain like I'm five is a way of asking for a simpler explanation of some difficult topic -- a variation of a "My Hobby" where the Hobby is to [[1133: Up Goer Five|simplify technical material]]. [[Cueball]] asks [[Megan]] for a simple explanation of the math in her thesis. Megan takes it literally by acting as if Cueball is an actual five year old. This is inspired (and apparently misquoted) by the [http://muse.tau.ac.il/maslool/boidem/54groucho.html famous quote] "''Why a four-year-old child could understand this report! Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can't make head or tail of it''" (Groucho Marx, Duck Soup, 1933).
  
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In the title text, Megan feigns concern that she will have to abandon her work to take care of this supposed lost child and takes this role-playing further by refusing to respond to Cueball until he phrases his comments as a 5-year-old would.
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A five-year-old kid standing miles away from home without his parents talking to a strange woman is worrying, so Megan pretends to panic and asks where his parents are.
  
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The common expression "Explain it like I'm five" is inspired by a line by {{w|Groucho Marx}} in his movie {{w|Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup}}. "''Why a four-year-old child could understand this report! Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can't make head or tail of it.''"[http://muse.tau.ac.il/maslool/boidem/54groucho.html]
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The title text is a continuation of the conversation. When Cueball attempts to respond to Megan's questions, she asks him to also speak as if he is five.
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:Megan: Am I taking care of you? I have a thesis to write!
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:Cueball: My parents are at their house; you visited last--
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:Megan: No, no, explain like you're five.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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==External links==
 
==External links==
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*[http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/ Explain like I'm five subreddit.]
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*[http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/ A thread with heavy traffic on Reddit after this comic was published.]
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*[http://www.freerangekids.com freerangekids.com] blog for and by parents who would rather have their kids asking math grad students questions than constantly reporting their geocoordinates.
 
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
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[[Category:Scientific research]]
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[[Category:My_Hobby]]
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[[Category:Kids]]
 

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