I love Doonesbury, but I’ve never understood why Alex’s hair has stayed the same way from grade school through graduate school. Her clothing styles have changed with the times, but she still has the braids and beads which she got in the 90s. I always assumed Garry Trudeau wasn’t up to date on women’s hair styles, but it looks like he realizes the beads are anachronistic. So there must be some other reason for them.
@ Thirdguy - Why be like the rest of the herd? Alex is who she is, and who she is, anachronisms and all, seems to suit her just fine. Why change yourself to “fit in”? That’s the sign of a shallow mind and a weak personality, two things Alex definitely does NOT suffer from.
Alex is an engineering student. If you know an engineer (or, more terrifyingly, are an engineer yourself), you know why she never bothers changing her hairstyle (or anything else about her appearance). Once you solve the problem of “what will I look like in public?” it’s solved, and you move on to other problems.
As for the comments about the movie Idiocracy (yesterday): while the movie’s a sharp satire on our dumbed-down commercial culture (notice that we’re not referred to as “citizens” anymore; our role is now to be “consumers” and the proper patriotic response to an attack is to go shopping), the faux-Darwin idea that the stupid breed faster than the smart and will therefore take over the earth is nonsense. Simple disproof: if stupid people bred faster than smart ones, humanity never would have evolved intelligence in the first place.
puddle: The problem is most likely that “intelligence” as defined in the movie is entirely cultural, as is the dumbed-down culture. My worry isn’t that we’re getting less intelligent, but that dumbing down prevents us from seeing how we’re being screwed over (case in point—global warming).
puddle - what if stupidity and large litters are a genetically linked survival response to a competitive environment? A high IQ is nice, but it could be argued that ,for survival and propagation, a level of intelligence which allows you to avoid bigger, meaner people, to hunt, gather and find drinkable water is entirely sufficient.
When Puddlegum and his responders start talking about evolution, all values get obliterated except for one vague and ambiguous goal: survival of the human race.
Seventy-five years ago, a social philosopher named Childe wrote a book (Man Makes Himself) to convince skeptics that the surge in global population since 1800 was proof of humanity’s progress. Since 1936, the population has trebled; over the next 75 years, it’s projected to double again.
Once you admit that Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” is a tautology (“the survival of those who survive”), the criterion of survival becomes meaningless. When you adopt it, you’re just saying that life must be good because staying alive is everybody’s basic goal.
Comic characters like Alex don’t have to worry about staying alive and are free to explore more interesting values than survival—such as how to make her hair look attractive. (Please don’t reply that her “instinct” is to attract Leo and propagate the race. The interesting human value here is attractiveness.)
Ps @ Nairebis—You’re right, GT can’t portray individuals. He changes their costumes and facial details (esp. their noses), but he doesn’t know how to draw expressive eyes, except when he reduced Sarah Palin’s eyes to beads to capture her crude animality.
The reason the hair styles haven’t changed is because that would indicate the picture is finished. I know all of you know the story “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Same thing, if GT finished his characters all of us will just “poof!” disappear.
The goal of life is not just to stay alive, it is to stay alive long enough to reproduce. Survival of the fittest is simply survival of the genes of those who live long enough to reproduce.
Snark-impaired almost 14 years ago
I love Doonesbury, but I’ve never understood why Alex’s hair has stayed the same way from grade school through graduate school. Her clothing styles have changed with the times, but she still has the braids and beads which she got in the 90s. I always assumed Garry Trudeau wasn’t up to date on women’s hair styles, but it looks like he realizes the beads are anachronistic. So there must be some other reason for them.
Gunnr almost 14 years ago
It’s her character’s trademark. Zonker’s hairstyle hasn’t changed either.
thirdguy almost 14 years ago
She is way overdue for a makeover, she should take a few hints from her roomie.
Dkram almost 14 years ago
To good to be true? Not really.
\\//_
Potrzebie almost 14 years ago
Perhaps there are beads with jewels and precious metals?
royman53 almost 14 years ago
@ Thirdguy - Why be like the rest of the herd? Alex is who she is, and who she is, anachronisms and all, seems to suit her just fine. Why change yourself to “fit in”? That’s the sign of a shallow mind and a weak personality, two things Alex definitely does NOT suffer from.
puddleglum1066 almost 14 years ago
Alex is an engineering student. If you know an engineer (or, more terrifyingly, are an engineer yourself), you know why she never bothers changing her hairstyle (or anything else about her appearance). Once you solve the problem of “what will I look like in public?” it’s solved, and you move on to other problems.
As for the comments about the movie Idiocracy (yesterday): while the movie’s a sharp satire on our dumbed-down commercial culture (notice that we’re not referred to as “citizens” anymore; our role is now to be “consumers” and the proper patriotic response to an attack is to go shopping), the faux-Darwin idea that the stupid breed faster than the smart and will therefore take over the earth is nonsense. Simple disproof: if stupid people bred faster than smart ones, humanity never would have evolved intelligence in the first place.
Prof_Bleen almost 14 years ago
puddle: The problem is most likely that “intelligence” as defined in the movie is entirely cultural, as is the dumbed-down culture. My worry isn’t that we’re getting less intelligent, but that dumbing down prevents us from seeing how we’re being screwed over (case in point—global warming).
ChiehHsia almost 14 years ago
puddle - what if stupidity and large litters are a genetically linked survival response to a competitive environment? A high IQ is nice, but it could be argued that ,for survival and propagation, a level of intelligence which allows you to avoid bigger, meaner people, to hunt, gather and find drinkable water is entirely sufficient.
Nairebis almost 14 years ago
Re: Alex’s hair, I think it’s more that Trudeau’s faces all look pretty similar, and so he uses hair to distinguish the characters.
Redhead55 almost 14 years ago
Ummm … I don’t think the faces look too similar. Compare their profiles in the last frame.
cdhaley almost 14 years ago
When Puddlegum and his responders start talking about evolution, all values get obliterated except for one vague and ambiguous goal: survival of the human race.
Seventy-five years ago, a social philosopher named Childe wrote a book (Man Makes Himself) to convince skeptics that the surge in global population since 1800 was proof of humanity’s progress. Since 1936, the population has trebled; over the next 75 years, it’s projected to double again.
Once you admit that Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” is a tautology (“the survival of those who survive”), the criterion of survival becomes meaningless. When you adopt it, you’re just saying that life must be good because staying alive is everybody’s basic goal.
Comic characters like Alex don’t have to worry about staying alive and are free to explore more interesting values than survival—such as how to make her hair look attractive. (Please don’t reply that her “instinct” is to attract Leo and propagate the race. The interesting human value here is attractiveness.)
Ps @ Nairebis—You’re right, GT can’t portray individuals. He changes their costumes and facial details (esp. their noses), but he doesn’t know how to draw expressive eyes, except when he reduced Sarah Palin’s eyes to beads to capture her crude animality.
T Gabriel Premium Member almost 14 years ago
None of Yawl have even the remotest clue.
The reason the hair styles haven’t changed is because that would indicate the picture is finished. I know all of you know the story “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Same thing, if GT finished his characters all of us will just “poof!” disappear.
What a bunch of dullards.
FriscoLou almost 14 years ago
Other than Drew, Trudeau draws everyone with popsicle stick noses.
RinaFarina almost 14 years ago
To me, Alex’s nose looks much like Doonesbury’s. Well, after all he is her father.
Case closed.
lindz.coop Premium Member almost 14 years ago
The goal of life is not just to stay alive, it is to stay alive long enough to reproduce. Survival of the fittest is simply survival of the genes of those who live long enough to reproduce.