Dilbert cartoon first published on Tuesday 13th September 2011

Dilbert//8186, first published fifteen years ago on Tuesday 13th September 2011

Tags

deception electronic mail answer email signal to noise technical problem

Official transcript

Boss: You didn't answer my email. Dilbert: I tried to read it but the signal-to-noise ratio was too low. Boss: So it's sort of a technical problem? Dilbert: Okay.

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY EMAIL.

I TRIED TO READ IT BUT THE SIGNAL - TO -NOISE RATIO WAS TOO LOW.

SO IT'S SORT OF A TECHNICAL PROBLEM?

OKAY.

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

The comic strip, originally published in 2009, features a humorous exchange between two characters, Dilbert and a coworker.

Panel 1: The Email

• Dilbert: "You didn't answer my email."
• Coworker: "I tried to read it but the signal-to-noise ratio was too low."

Panel 2: The Technical Problem

• Dilbert: "So it's sort of a technical problem?"
• Coworker: "Okay."

Summary

The comic strip playfully highlights the challenges of communication in a workplace setting, where technical jargon can be used to avoid taking responsibility for one's actions. The coworker's use of the term "signal-to-noise ratio" is a clever way to sidestep the issue, implying that the problem lies with the quality of the email rather than their own lack of response.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

Accompanying textual content, such as title, tags and transcripts, is shown here if we have it. Not every comic has all of these, and they seem to be a bit hit and miss even on the official website.