Pachycephalasaurus has always been on of my favorites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus

It makes way more sense in the context of this comic.

Good question. I don't think it's actually funny so I don't have an answer for that. I agree with your take.

maybe I probably killed him

You didn't kill him, the cancer did. You were there supporting him.

I was on morphine duty when my grandpa died two years ago and it was rough. I gained a massive respect for hospice workers and the mental fortitude they have in order to work in that environment.

My grandpa had ptsd nightmares from the Korean War his whole life and my biggest fear was that while he was dying he'd be trapped in one of those. I drove myself crazy trying to interpret his twitches and mumbles as some sort of actionable message he was sending.

I stepped outside for a bit and imagined what he would say if he were conscious, and I'm sure it would've been something like "Who cares if I'm having a nightmare? Even if I am it's not your responsibility to fix it. I'll just ride it out and it'll be over." And so I went back in and just sat there quietly, occasionally making remarks or observations, talking about what I might be doing in the next few weeks or months.

I'm really glad your mom got to have that moment. Whether or not he heard her and was responding, I hope the timing gave her some peace.

Oooh, I like your alternative take a lot. The whole idea of the Bible being written as a result of "hearing the voice of God" or being divinely inspired is always a fun topic because it's impossible to define.

Evidently when John Nash (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash_Jr.) was asked how a logical and smart person like him could believe that he was being recruited by aliens from outer space to save the world he replied "Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me in the same way that my mathematical ideas did. So I took them seriously."

I always thought people who were "hearing the voice of God" were experiencing the same thing. Something irrational happens but you interpret it in a way that just feels true to you as an individual, and it's so impactful that you choose to believe and test it.

It's just my personal speculation. What's your interpretation of the joke?

I have to imagine that when you die you get to experience what it feels like to let go of all your pain, and I bet that feels pretty great.

My dad believed in "god" and died of melanoma after it got into his lymphatic system, then to his brain, and finally his spinal fluid.

My step mom recalled a conversation she had with him in the hospital after a 2nd brain surgery where she said she was angry with God and couldn't believe he would allow this to happen to my dad instead of a worse person. He said something like "it's fine that this happening to me, I'm already saved. Other people still need more time."

I've never been a big fan of modern christianity since it strays so far from the fundamental teachings of love, but I always admired my dad's ability to act in a way that aligned with his beliefs about the goodness life.

I really don't care if there's an "afterlife" or not. I just hope people can find something in this life that gives them the courage to fight for life but also eventually accept death.

The world is a fucked up place, we're lucky that we can still find a way to enjoy it in whatever capacity we can.

I will irrationally choose to believe that your dad will find exactly what he's looking for when he passes.

If you ever want to talk about anything I'm here for you in whatever capacity an internet stranger can be.

I think the joke is that God is capable of creating something without fully understanding it. But the comic seems to indicate that God wasn't aware of his ability to do that, which I think is a bit odd. Even humans are aware that we can confuse ourselves by creating complex systems that not even we understand. I assume God would also be aware that he's smart enough to trick himself, but who knows?

Eh, I have no problem characterizing "god" as a sort of Willy Wonka-esque maniac who might not necessarily"do things" or design systems based on an expected outcome.

The "why not?" or "just because" philosophy feels appropriate for "divine" characters like Loki and Sheogorath. They're playing by their own rules, and they're comfortable doing that because theoretically they are both the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

Could God create a puzzle so difficult that not even he can solve it? Who knows! But I think if I were God I'd want to try and see what happens.

I've also heard fasting for 24 hours helps do a reset of your biological rhythms.

Ah, your interpretation makes sense to me.

I think any religion that would claim to help people win the lottery is highly sus. Although most religions I'm familiar with are explicitly against personal financial gain as a terminal goal.

Yes, but once again I can tell that you're making some assumptions that are preventing any sort of meaningful conversation.

What do you mean by "selfish person"? Everyone I've met is selfish to some degree.

If a person claims to follow a religion, but doesn't follow that religion's teachings, are they actually following the religion?

I think your question makes a lot of assumptions that prevent it from being answered in a meaningful way. Are you asking what a hypothetical person's religion says that person should do if they're not given the material help that they ask for?

I think typos in posts that are insulting someone else's intelligence really undermine the message.

I wouldn't defend Donald Trump's feeble attempts to attack other people, but I also can't defend feeble attacks on Trump. If you're going to bring something, bring it correctly.

I like the part in the Bible where Jesus said "do unto others as others have done unto you."

I tell that and they do the same thing.

I mean it kinda was, wasn't it? If anyone can relate to teenage angst it's teenagers.

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. Although instead of laughing I'd probably reply with "sounds like it's time for a story." Because I think I would assume that something happened to them recently that highlighted the danger of fire lol

"Presenting something well-observed and well-documented as a novel thought is laughable." I really like this sentence. It made me realize that I'd interpret "laughable" as either "humorous" or "ridiculous" depending on the context. Specifically regarding how genuine the person is being, which is impossible to be sure of. You can only make assumptions about whether a person is being genuine/honest, although you can get more comfortable with those assumptions as you get to know them better.

Those types of "hey did you know water is wet?" comments can also serve as a jumping off points for sarcastic remarks with friends.

Well it was a brand new discovery to them, and if they found value in it then it makes sense that they'd want to repeat it. But yeah, I guess I can see why that's "funny" coming from the perspective of an older person who may have forgotten what it's like to be a young, inexperienced kid capable of feeling fascination and wonder.

Yeah, that's a cool observation and it makes sense. There's an idea that there's really only one "story", which is the hero's journey. I think it might be a fundamental way of how people frame their experiences and observations.