Finding humor in serious illness

Recently the webcomic xkcd has run a number of strips dealing with health and serious illness. For years, xkcd has applied it’s unique (often sarcastic) humor to science, math, and romance. So it was a pleasant surprise to see the webcomic begin skewering topics that are close-to-home for anyone who has lived with chronic illness or struggled with a disease or serious health issue.1

The strip Positive Attitude gently pokes fun at the difficulty (and philosophically contradictory nature) of maintaining a positive attitude while fighting a disease.

Genetic Analysis imagines an extreme example of what a genetic test might reveal.2

And best of all, the strip Sickness makes a logical case for the power of science and scientific inquiry in battling illness and disease, as opposed to unquestioning belief in the supernatural.

I wish Randall Monroe and his family the best as they deal with any continuing health issues.

1. Back in November, xkcd artist and author Randall Monroe announced that he was “dealing with a serious family illness” and took a month-long break from creating new xkcd material. Monroe recently resumed posting new material and several of those newest strips address illness and disease. [↩]
2. “And you paid how much for your personalized genetic analysis in order to uncover this fact?” [↩]