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It's Fall and with the cooler weather coming in, it's time to look at one of the many menaces to public health: the flu!

Panel 1: Image: Rebecca, a woman with pale skin, glasses and dark hair in a ponytail, walks through a forest with a beverage Rebecca: Ah, Fall. What a great time of year. Time for fall foliage, hot apple cider, and-
Panel 2: Image: Rebecca sneezes, dropping her drink as an enlarged cartoon version of the Influenza virus appears Rebecca: Achoo! Influenza: Me!
Panel 3: Image: Rebecca looks at Flu, glaring as it preens back at her. Text: Yeah, you too, I guess. Though, I doubt anyone looks forward to seeing you.
Page 1, Panel 4: Image: Flu looks at a calendar that is on the month of october with a cat that says “hang in there” Narration: Ah, yes. Flu season. The time of year when Influenza, more commonly referred to as the flu, is the most prevalent (1). Flu: “Wow, time to clock in overtime already?”
Page 1, Panel 5: Narration: In North America, flu season tends to run from October to May. The cold weather creates conditions that help the virus thrive. Image: Flu, looking at a thermometer with alarm as it reaches the temperature of 60 degrees fahrenheit Flu: No, my cold weather!
Panel 6: Narration: And a thriving flu means a lot of sick and miserable people (or worse) Image: A man with brown skin is shown wrapped in a blanket on his sofa with an ice pack on his head and a thermometer in his mouth. Next to him are a stack of tissues.
Panel 7: Narration: So what is influenza? Influenza is a RNA virus that is classified into four types: A, B, C, D. Each type infects different species (2) Image: A variety of species that type A influenza infects are shown: Pigs, birds ,cats, whales and humans.
Panel 8: Narration: A and B tend to be responsible for flu season, though type C can also cause disease in humans Image: There are two subpanels: with their own narration Panel A: Text: type a example: the swine flu outbreak of 2009 was caused by a type A flu virus . Below is the image of a pig (2). Type b example: yamagata potentially eradicated during the covid-19 mitigation measures (4) Below is the image of a doctor with dark skin shouting “we got one!”
Panel 9 Narration: Within flu types, there are a variety of strains which even have their own subtypes. Some strains are more deadly than others. The mortality of one type of bird flu is high in humans (5). Image: A chicken is shown looking rather nervous
Panel 10: Narration: This variety and flu’s ability to mutate and shift, help make it more dangerous. So how do you best protect yourself from the flu? Image: Rebecca and the flu talk Flu: staying out of the cold? Rebecca: no? Flu: having more orange juice Rebecca: Tasty but no
Panel 11: Narration: No, I’m talking about the flu vaccine Image: An image of the flu vaccine is shown. On the vial, a cartoon version of the flu is crossed out
Panel 12: Image: Rebecca sits at a desk and talks Rebecca: The flu vaccine is remarkable when you think about it. Because multiple strains of flu are in circulation at once, the vaccine has to account for that.
Panel 13: Narration: Twice a year, experts from around the world gather and select the strains included in this year’s vaccine (6). Image: a parody of the “who wants to be a millionaire” logo is shown but the text says “who wants to be the next pandemic”
Panel 14: Narration: It’s an international effort to track and share all this flu data: over 138 national influenza centers take part in WHO flu tracking (6). Image: A wanted sign for the flu is shown with the text “report all sightings to the national flu center”
Panel 14: Image: Rebecca, back at desk, is interrupted by the flu virus Flu: Excuse me!
Panel 15: Image: The flu is dressed up in a disguise of glasses and a mustache. Flu: I’ve heard you can still get the flu even if you get the vaccine so why bother?
Panel 16: Narration: Well, yes you can still get the flu even if you got the vaccine given the variety of strains, but it lowers the risk substantially of getting flu, so it’s still worth getting (7) Image: A stunt man stands in front of a car and a dangerous course with the grim reaper lurking in the background looking skeptical Stuntman: since seatbelts don’t stop all car accidents, I do all my stunts without them!
Panel 17: Image: The flu, now in a different disguise speaks Flu: but the vaccine contains a bunch of chemicals Rebecca: I mean everything has chemicals. Chemicals are a part of nature. Image pt 2: H2o= water is shown along with a strawberry and the chemical formula for the smell of strawberries
Panel 18: Flu, in a new disguise, wearing an eyepath: what about the side effects? I heard they’re way worse for flu! Someone even told me they got the flu from the vaccine Rebecca: you can’t catch flu from the vaccine: the shot contains only dead virus. And most folks don’t experience side effects (7) Image: a petri dish of dead cartoon flu virus is shown
Panel 19: Rebecca and the flu, now wearing a disguise of a top hat and a monocle are talking Flu: But I won’t get sick because I’m healthy and my friend said- Rebecca: okay wait a second
Panel 20: Narration: Look, it’s entirely fine to have questions or be concerned, and the best person to ask about specific questions related to your health is your primary care provider Image: a Black woman with her hair in two buns sits at a stall that sais “flu advice, the doctor is in” Doctor: Look, the office budget for family medicine is thin, okay?
Panel 21: Narration: They can best give you advice about your specific concerns. Image: The doctor speaks to the audience. Doctor: Scared of needles? Let’s talk about the nasal vaccine. Allergies? Let’s look at guidance.
Panel 22: Narration: If you don’t have a PCP you can also check medical organization’s guidance. Image: a list of organizations is shown along with the outline of a hospital. The organizations are “the american academy of family physicians, the american academy of pediatrics, the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists and many more”
Panel 23: Narration: Either option is more likely to be accurate than a social media algorithm Image: a robot with a stethoscope looks shocked Robot: but my web MD degree
Panel 24: Narration: there are other things we can do to prevent the spread of flu along with getting vaccinated (8) Image: a bar of soap, a face mask and a spray bottle are shown next to the following tips: wash your hands with soap and water, wearing a mask and/or covering your coughs and sneezes, clean frequently touched surfaces and critically, stay home if you feel sick
Panel 25: Narration: Protecting our communities from flu is a team effort Image: the flu stands across from a football player with short hair and pale skin
Panel 26: Narration: and if we all work to mitigate it. Image: the football player punts the flu who screams Flu: Wait a second!
Panel 27: Narration: we can help humans-not flu- to have a winning season Image: the flu is shot through the field goal

Works Cited:

  1. Flu Season. CDC. September 26, 2025. Accessed October 9, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season.html
  2. Segaloff HE, Katz MA. Influenza. In: Boulton ML, Wallace RB. eds. Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e. McGraw Hill; 2022. Accessed October 09, 2025. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=3078&sectionid=257464293
  3. Baker RE, Mahmud AS, Miller IF, et al. Infectious disease in an era of global change. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2022;20(4):193-205. doi:10.1038/s41579-021-00639-z
  4. Barr, I.G., Subbarao, K. Implications of the apparent extinction of B/Yamagata-lineage human influenza viruses. npj Vaccines 9, 219 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-024-01010-y
  5. Lewis T. First Human Bird Flu Death in U.S. Reported—How Worried Should We Be? Scientific American. Accessed October 9, 2025. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-human-bird-flu-death-in-u-s-reported-how-worried-should-we-be/
  6. What goes into making our seasonal flu jab? - Expert Q+A. Science Media Center. May 2, 2025. Accessed October 9, 2025. https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/05/02/what-goes-into-making-our-seasonal-flu-jab-expert-qa/
  7. 5 myths about the flu vaccine. World Health Organization. Accessed October 9, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/influenza-are-we-ready/5-myths-about-the-flu-vaccine
  8. Healthy Habits to Prevent Flu. CDC. September 3, 2025. Accessed October 9, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevention/actions-prevent-flu.html

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With the start of the semester, we here at Himmelfarb wanted to provide everyone with some tips and tricks for studying.

Text: Studying Tips and Tricks Image: A figure with brown skin, and short curly hair sits at a desk with a stack of books, a coffee, and their computer. Above them is the title of the comic.
Panel 2: Text: “Remove distractions: silence or turn off your phone if needed. Image: A phone is shown with a stop sign on the screen
Panel 3: Text: Make it a routine: studying is easier when it’s a habit. Carve out time daily to study. Image: Rebecca, a librarian, ruffles her hair, embarrassed at the bottom of the panel. On the top, we see a flashback to her studying in what looks to be a study cube in a library Speech: In undergrad, after class, I’d spend two hours in the library carrels, which we called “the cages.” It was a little over the top in retrospect….”
Panel 4: Text: Know what studying environments work best for you. If you like working in groups, find a place you can meet and talk. Need silence? Try the quiet floors of the library. Image: On the top of the image, two figures converse over flashcards and a book. On the bottom of the image, two students study at computers in cubicles.
Panel 5: Text: Utilize different types of studying methods. Try out a variety of tools to use together. Image: A variety of studying methods are shown: a stack of flash cards, a practice exam, a video, and a fellow student/friend
Panel 6: Text: Make a to-do list: it’s easier to tackle massive tasks (like preparing for final exams) when you break them into smaller tasks. Image: A to-do list is shown. On it, this is the text with some boxes crossed out: 1. Make flash cards, 2. Run through cards. A. Once B. Twice C. Thrice. 3. Watch video A. Make questions based on video points.
Panel 7: Text: Take care of yourself: an overnight cram session seems like a great idea until you can’t stay awake the next morning. Get some rest to do your best! Image: a student sleeping on a desk on top of a paper labeled “exam”
Image: A stack of books is shown with the text “good luck” above it.

Looking for more academic help? Many schools offer services to assist students. School of Medicine students should explore what's available from the Office of Student Support, and School of Nursing should check out the Student Success Resource Hub.   Undergraduates students across schools should consider the array of services and resources available via the Office for Student Success.

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Happy Pride month everyone! To discuss what Pride month is all about, here is our monthly comic.

Page 1, Panel 1 Narration: On June 28th 1969, the New York Police department conducted a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar (1). Image: The Stonewall Inn is shown, a brick bar with windows full of pride flags. The flags shown include the pride flags for asexuality, bisexuality, transgender, pansexual progress and the classic rainbow flag.
Narration: While raids were not uncommon, this time the patrons decided to fight back. The ensuing riot would go on to be called the “Stonewall Riots” or the “Stonewall Uprising.” Image: Famous figures from the riots including Sylvia Rivera (she/her), Miss Major (any pronouns) and Marsha P. Johnson (she/her) Text Near Image: Trans and gender-non conforming people of color were some of the central figures of the uprising (2).
Page 1, Panel 3: Narration: A year after the riots, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles (1) This would mark the beginning of Pride and ever since, Pride month has taken place in June ever since (3). Image: A pride parade is shown with a variety of marchers with various pride flags including the non-binary flag, the progress pride flag, the transgender pride flag, and the bisexual pride flag.
Page 1, Panel 4: Image: Rebecca, in her queer pride vest, which includes a lesbian pride button.. Rebecca: “So what is Pride Month? Pride holds a lot of different meanings for a lot of different people.
Page 1, Panel 5: But the main idea is to celebrate the contributions and impacts of queer people throughout history, Image: Audre Lorde, a Black woman with her hair in an afro (she/her) and Harvey Milk (he/him) a white man wearing a suit and tie are shown. Bottom Text: Audre Lord (she/her), writer, civil rights activist, intersectional feminist (4) and Harvey Milk (He/ Him) first openly gay man elected to public office.
Page 1, Panel 6 Narration:Mourn those lost due to violence and discrimination Image: The AIDS quilt on the Washington national mall.
Page 1, Panel 7: Narration: and advocate for the rights of queer people everywhere. Image: Two protest signs are shown. One has the transgender flag and says “Trans rights are human rights.” The other has a speech bubble that says “Say Gay.”
Page 1, Panel 8: Narration: Historically, queer people were often forced to live their lives in secrecy, less they face violence or even death. Their accomplishments were often ignored or uncredited. Pride month aims to recognize those things (6, 7. 8. 9). Image: Four little panels exist here showcasing queer people in history. They are as follows: Lynn Conway (She/her), computer pioneer is drawn in front of a circuit board background. She is a white woman with blonde/grey hair. Sally Ride (she/her), First US Woman in Space is drawn in her astronaut suit so we cannot see her face, holding a pride flag. Bayard Rustin (he/him), Civil Rights Leader, is shown giving a speech at a podium. He is a black man with a mustache and greying hair, wearing a formal suit. Alan Turing (he/him), Father of Computer Science, is shown on a computer screen. He is a white man with brown hair.
Page 2 Panel 1: Narration: With that basic history out of the way, I want to focus on queer people in relation to medicine Image: The rod of asclepius is shown (a common medical symbol), with a the snake holding pride flags in its mouths.
Page 2, Panel 2 Narration: Queer people and modern medicine have had a contentious relationship. Homosexuality wasn’t removed from the DSM until 1973. “Gender Identity Disorder” wasn’t replaced until 2013 (10) Image: John Fryer and his story Image caption: John Fryer was a psychiatrist who testified to the APA about being gay. To hide his identity, he wore a Nixon mask (11).
Page 2, Panel 3 Narration: When the AIDS epidemic hit, the U.S government lagged due to the disease 1st primarily impacting queer men. Image: A skeleton wearing a bow tie speaks out to the audience at a podium. Skeleton” What’s AIDS?” Off Panel Reporter: Over a third of them have died. It’s known as the “gay plague” Laughter is shown between this speech bubble and the next one. Off panel reporter: No it is. I mean it’s a pretty serious thing that 1 in 3 people that get this have died and I wonder if the president is aware of it?” Skeleton: I don’t have it, do you? More laughter is shown. Bottom caption:This really happened but it was said by Press Secretary Larry Speaks at a 1982 press briefing (12)
Page 2, Panel 4: Narration: Queer people were left to take care of their own and activists had to push for the government to respond. Image: A bunch of buttons are shown, the main one being the “silence=death” button of Act Up. Other queer rights buttons are shown in the background
Page 2, Panel 5: Narration:Things have improved since (re. HIV), but queer people still face plenty of issues interacting with the medical system. Image: A parody of super mario where a figure that looks like mario looks towards a doctor. The doctor says “Sorry. Your access to healthcare is in another castle”
Page 2, Panel 6: Narration: Part of this is due to stigma. There are ugly stereotypes about queer people that exist to this day. Image: Two figures talk to one another. The first looks frustrated while the second offers advice. Shorter Figure: “So I told her I’m Ace and she was like “there’s an injection that can fix that” Like no!” Taller Figure: “Next time just say you’ve taken a vow of celibacy: my doc thinks I’m a practicing jedi monk.”
Page 2, Panel 7: Narration: And sometimes providers will refuse to provide care or even see queer people Image: Woman Woman:”Ever since a doc turned me away for my “lifestyle” I dress super fem when going to a medical appointment.”
Page 2, Panel 8: Narration:Transgender folks in particular can face obstacles especially if they wish to pursue medical transition. Image: Woman with glasses Woman: “When my sister wanted breast enlargement it was no big deal, but when I want it, it’s suddenly a political issue.”
Page 3, Panel 1: Transgender folks also have problems finding providers who know how to work with trans patients and their bodies in general. Image: A trans man stands at a gynecological office. A bulletin board labeled “our happy moms” is in the background.. The man speaking to the receptionist looks deeply uncomfortable. Receptionist: Sir, it’s sweet you came with her, but I need your wife to check herself in. Man: Uhh
Page 3, Panel 2: The tendency for medical professionals to focus on transgender patients' gender instead of their chief complaint even has a name: “transgender broken arm syndrome (13).” Image: A woman stares into the camera. Her arm is in a cast. Woman: Last time I checked, my gender didn’t trip me during basketball practice.
Page 3, Panel 3 While I’d like to say these issues are getting better, there have been recent setbacks that have limited access Image: A patient stands in front of a giant mountain top with a storm. On the top of the mountain it says “care” Patient: Aw, man
Page 3, Panel 4: There are some forces that seek to shove queer people back in the closet regardless of the cost. Image: A figure pushes Rebecca back into a closet. Figure: Nothing to see here! Rebecca: Let me out!
A body of text on a dark background: This can harm or even kill people. Transgender men are less likely to get regular pap smears, which can help detect cervical cancer (14). Queer "youth are 5-8 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation (15)" Queer people were twice as likely to report discrimination during a healthcare visit (16).
Page 3, Panel 6: Image: Rebecca is shown lighting a match from inside the closet Rebecca: That’s why pride is so important. It’s our way of saying “we’re still here.” That no matter how much people try to hide us out of sight, or stop us from existing altogether, that we’re still here.
Page 3, Panel 7: Narration:That we’ve always been here. And that’s well continue to be here, with their approval or not. Image: The various characters from throughout the comic are in a crowd collectively wearing different colors of the pride flag. Crowd: “We’re here and we’re queer”
Page 3, Panel 8: Narration: So happy pride to those who existed before us, those of us who exist now and those who will come after us. For those who stand with us. May we be the light to guide everyone into a brighter future and a better tomorrow. Image: Two figures one wearing the trans flag march in the pride parade holding hands. On the street in chalk the words “there is still time” are written which come from the movie “I Saw the TV Glow.”

Works Cited:

  1. Sopelsa B, Leal, I. It’s officially Pride Month: Here’s everything you should know about the global LGBTQ celebration. NBC News. June 1, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/nbc-out-proud/lgbtq-pride-month-june-history-stonewall-what-know-rcna154940
  2. Today in History - June 28. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Winter 2023. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-28/
  3. Sopelsa, Brooke, Leal, Isabella. It’s officially Pride Month: Here’s everything you should know about the global LGBTQ celebration. NBC News. June 1, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/nbc-out-proud/lgbtq-pride-month-june-history-stonewall-what-know-rcna154940
  4. Lorde JWJ “J” W is a staff writer for the magazine T spent the summer researching the prismatic afterlives of A, Durham traveled to, N.C., Biographer TST with HN, Gumbs the poet AP. The Afterlives of Audre Lorde. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/22/magazine/audre-lorde-biography-legacy.html. August 22, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2025.
  5. Harvey Milk: Messenger of Hope | SFO Museum. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/harvey-milk-messenger-hope
  6. Moore NC. The legacy of Lynn Conway, chip design pioneer and transgender-rights advocate. Michigan Engineering News. June 11, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://news.engin.umich.edu/2024/06/the-legacy-of-lynn-conway-chip-design-pioneer-and-transgender-rights-advocate/
  7. Boyle, Alan. Why Sally Ride waited until her death to tell the world she was gay. NBC News. July 25, 2012. Accessed June 4, 2025. http://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/why-sally-ride-waited-until-her-death-tell-world-she-908942
  8. Briggs J. Bayard Rustin: Still Speaking Truth to Power. Vanity Fair. March 24, 2025. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/bayard-rustin-still-speaking-truth-to-power
  9. Loeffler J. Alan Turing: The Nazi-Fighting Computer Genius Betrayed by His Country. Interesting Engineering. March 2025. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://interestingengineering.com/science/alan-turing-the-nazi-fighting-computer-genius-betrayed-by-his-country
  10. Winterhalter E. How LGBTQ+ Activists Got “Homosexuality” out of the DSM. JSTOR Daily. May 26, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://daily.jstor.org/how-lgbtq-activists-got-homosexuality-out-of-the-dsm/
  11. Eugenios J. “I am a homosexual. I am a psychiatrist”: How Dr. Anonymous changed history. NBC News. May 2, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/-homosexual-psychiatrist-dr-anonymous-changed-history-rcna26836
  12. Lawson R. The Reagan Administration’s Unearthed Response to the AIDS Crisis Is Chilling. Vanity Fair. December 1, 2015. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/reagan-administration-response-to-aids-crisis
  13. Wall CSJ, Patev AJ, Benotsch EG. Trans broken arm syndrome: A mixed-methods exploration of gender-related medical misattribution and invasive questioning. Soc Sci Med. 2023;320:115748. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115748
  14. Gatos KC. A Literature Review of Cervical Cancer Screening in Transgender Men. Nursing for Women’s Health. 2018;22(1):52-62. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2017.12.008
  15. Russon J, Washington R, Machado A, Smithee L, Dellinger J. Suicide among LGBTQIA+ youth: A review of the treatment literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2022;64:101578. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2021.101578
  16. LGBT+ People’s Health Status and Access to Care - Issue Brief - 10171. KFF. June 30, 2023. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.kff.org/report-section/lgbt-peoples-health-status-and-access-to-care-issue-brief/
  17. Jacobs M. The Complex Ending of ‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ Explained. Vanity Fair. May 17, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/ending-of-i-saw-the-tv-glow-explained

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April is Stress Awareness month. To learn about the ways stress impacts us and what we can do to reduce stress, check out the comic below:

Rebecca: So, Image: Image: Rebecca, a librarian with pale skin, dark brown hair and glasses stands in front of a window. The window is covered with curtains that depict a cartoony sunny day with flowers and a stick figure fishing. A tuxedo cat is playing with the curtain.
Page 1, Panel 2: Rebecca: Sometimes life can be very stressful. Image: Rebecca stands in front of the same window, but the curtains have been torn away by the cat leaving only scraps of the original hanging from the curtain rod. We can now see out the window where Godzilla and Mothra are fighting in a city on fire as a man runs by screaming. The cat below looks perplexed, covered in what’s left of the curtain.
Page 1, Panel 3: Rebecca: April is National Stress Awareness month, and in an effort to bring awareness to stress and the problems it causes, I thought it best to speak to a veteran champion in being stressed; me. Image: Rebecca stands on a podium, looking stressed, giving a thumbs up. Next to her, text says -started grad school during covid + health crisis - moved cross country knowing no one in the area -got first grey hair at 16.
Page 1, Panel 4 Narration: But what is stress exactly? The term has plenty of usage even in the medical field: heat stress or oxidative stress are different than the stress we’ll be discussing today. Image: A cartoonish sun with a face, arms and legs, sits on a therapy couch, speaking to a therapist. We can only see the back of the therapists head. Sun: Everyone just expects me to be bright all the time, you know?
Page 1, Panel 5: Narration: According to the World HEalth Organization, “Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation(1). Stress comes from the flight or fight response that our ancestors used to survive (). Image: A caveman with tan skin and brown hair looks up at a spotted hyena with alarm in a rocky area.
Page 1, Panel 6: Narration: You can experience stress from all sorts of things: the news, your job, your relationships, or any other day to day problems. It’s a normal part of daily living. Image: A man with tan skin and short brown hair holds up a bunch of boxes, each labeled with a different stressor. They include: debt, household chores, current news
Page 1, Panel 7: Narration: However, when stress becomes chronic, it becomes unhealthy as stress impacts your body in numerous ways. Image: The man from earlier is now smushed under all the boxes with his legs sticking out. There are more boxes in addition to the previous ones: weird rash, rent cost rising, out of town guests, work project. His ghost floats next to the boxes and says “aww man”
Page 1, Panel 8: Narration: One side effect of chronic stress is muscle tension which can lead to back pain and headaches. Image: An older Black man with a receding hairline is shown with two mini construction workers labeled “stress” drilling on the top of his head. He says “ugh my head is killing me.”
Panel 9: Narration: Chronic stress can impact “all expressions of heart disease (3).” It can increase your risk for a heart attack or stroke. Image: A cartoon heart with arms and legs points at a vase. It says Heart: “Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is known for being stress-induced. It gets its name from a type of octopus trap in Japan (4).”
Panel 10 Narration: The sensation of “butterflies” in your stomach is a way stress impacts the gastrointestinal system. It is also implicated as a factor in IBS (3). Image: A woman with dark brown skin and black hair up in a ponytail is shown in a bathroom holding her stomach looking uncomfortable. She says Woman: Butterflies? This feels more like a swarm of wasps.
Panel 11 Narration: Chronic stress can also suppress parts of the immune system (5). Image: A large man with red hair and a sweater sits at his office chair with a box of tissues and cough drops. Man: I swear I get the worst colds every exam season.
Panel 12 Image: Rebecca speaks to the audience. Rebecca: So what do we do about stress? Well, there are plenty of ways to relieve stress.
Panel 13 Narration: Exercise is a great way to reduce stress. It doesn’t have to be much, a simple walk outside can help relieve stress. Image: A Black woman wearing exercise clothing and her hair up in a bun, runs through a nice park path.
Panel 14 Narration: Try taking time away from social media, especially if you find yourself doomscrolling. Image: An Anthropomorphized cell phone is shown contained in a small jail cell. Cell phone: Come on, don’t you wanna see why everyone is cooler than you?
Panel 15 Narration: Engaging in relaxing activities like your hobbies can help. Image: Rebecca gestures with both hands to a blue sweater with a whale on it. Rebecca: I made this!
Panel 16: Narration: And general healthy habits like eating right- Image: A plethora of different fruits and veggies are shown
Panel 17: Panel 9: Narration: And getting enough sleep can aid in reducing stress. Image: The cat from earlier is shown sleeping on her cat bed, fast asleep.
Panel 18 Narration: It’s also important to reach out to others when stressed. A social support system can make things less overwhelming. Image: Two scenes are shown. On the left, a man with pale skin and freckles enters a house and waves to an older woman who looks to be his mother. On the right, two friends with darker skin play video games, the one with his hair in braids talking while the other, who has an afro and glasses, places his hand on the other’s shoulder.
Panel 19 Narration:Of course, it’s critical to properly identify the cause of stress. Image: The man with braids from earlier is shown thinking
Panel 20 Narration: Some stressors are out of our control, but others can be reduced by asking for help, or removing yourself from the situation. Image: Two thought bubbles are shown. On the left, it is labeled ‘can control” with the following list: dishes in sink, too busy this week, lights too bright, too little sleep. On the right, it is labeled “can’t control” with the following list: have to move, final, the economy, minority stress.
Panel 21 Narration: For ones out of your control, reach out and ask for help to support you. Image: The man with braids, his friend with glasses and a woman with red hair up in a ponytail, all help carry moving boxes. The man with glasses looks nervous as he picks up a box labeled “fragile” Man with braids: My movers cancelled on me, so I called some friends to help!
Panel 22 Narration: If stress persists, or you’re not sure what’s causing it, consider seeing a professional. Image: A doctor with black hair and tan skin stands in her office with her hands in her pockets. Doctor: Your GP is a good place to start.”
Panel 23 Narration: They can help provide tips on how to handle stress and/or see if there is something else going on. If you feel anxious for no clear reason, or more anxious than you should be over a stressor, it could be a type of anxiety disorder. Image: A woman with brown skin wearing a pink hijab, clutches her arm. Behind her are many thought bubbles which contain a variety of anxious thoughts, so many that they cloud the panel.
panel 24: Narration: Remember: a little stress is a normal part of everyday life. It’s when stress becomes chronic that we run into problems. So don’t be afraid to ask for help and take time to focus on yourself when needed. Image: A cell phone group chat is shown with the following message log T: Hey I’m super swamped after work today. Can someone else pick up chips for the party? C: Yeah, I’m on it man, no worried. T: You are my hero: <3
Panel 25 Narration: Some stressors are beyond our control. But together we can take care of one another, and maybe find ways to reduce stress for everyone. Image: A party in someone’s backyard featuring a wide variety of the characters from the comic is shown, including the ghost. A sign says “congrats on the move!”

SOURCES: 

  1.  Stress. World Health Organization. February 21, 2023. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress.
  2. LeWine H. Understanding the stress response. Harvard Health. April 3, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response.
  3. Christensen JF. Stress & Disease. In: Feldman MD, Christensen JF, Satterfield JM, Laponis R. eds. Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice, 5e. McGraw-Hill Education; 2019. Accessed April 08, 2025. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2747&sectionid=230251928
  4. Lakdawala NK, Stevenson L, Loscalzo J. Cardiomyopathy and Myocarditis. In: Loscalzo J, Fauci A, Kasper D, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson J. eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21e. McGraw-Hill Education; 2022. Accessed April 08, 2025. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=3095&sectionid=265451824
  5. Shields GS, Spahr CM, Slavich GM. Psychosocial Interventions and Immune System Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(10):1031–1043. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0431
  6. Alvord M, Halfond R. What’s the difference between stress and anxiety? American Psychological Association. February 14, 2022. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/anxiety-difference.
  7. Managing stress. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 16, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/living-with/index.html.

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For this month's comic, we're diving into a story of a diagnostic case gone wrong, and what might have led to it.

Panel 1: Narration: In 2020, I spent a week in the hospital for severe anemia. Image: An image of Rebecca, a white woman with curly brown hair, sits in a hospital bed in a hospital gown. She is hooked up to a blood bag and looks depressed.
Panel 2: Narration: Before this, I’d spent a month trying to get tested for anemia.. I displayed a lot of symptoms: Image: An image of Rebecca, wearing a face mask, very pale, is in the center. There are various symptoms of anemia pointing to her. They say: Lightheadedness, pulsatile tinnitus, cold even in August, Palor, fatigue, short of breath Panel 3: Narration: But I kept being refused as my GP was on vacation. When I tried to push the test, I was told: Image: Three speech bubbles are below: they read as “It’s just anxiety” and “This never happens” and “It’ll be fine to wait for your GP to come back.”
Panel 4: I’d planned to wait for my GP, but after almost fainting, I got a rival medical system to run the test. I got my results that night via the phone. It went something like this: Image: Rebecca, incredibly pale, is holding her cell phone. Her cat watches from a counter. From the phone, audio goes: Phone: So. You are very anemic.
Panel 5: Image: Rebecca drops her phone. Rebecca, gleeful, with her hands raised yells “Yes I’m not crazy” From her phone, it states: “Also you need to go to the nearest ER” Her cat watches the phone fall with alarm
Panel 6: Rebecca, with her hands still raised looks confused. She says: “Wait what?” Her phone, now resting where the cat once was, says: “as soon as possible, actually.”
Panel 7: Narration: Thankfully I managed to recover from my bout with vampirism, but after everything was said and done, my doctors, family, friends and myself all had the same question: Image: Rebecca, dressed as a vampire with red eyes and fangs asks “How did this happen?”
Panel 8: While I’d only spent a month seeking out a test, I’d voiced my concerns about some symptoms I had for the past 9 months. My concerns usually were answered with the same response: Image: Four separate scenes are shown. The upper left hand corner features a nurse with a goatee and a half shaved head. The upper right hand corner a doctor reaches out over a sink. The bottom left hand corner shows a phone. The bottom right hand corner shows three doctors discussing in front of a hospital bed. All four of them say “No one gets severe anemia at your age?”
Panel 9: (I did not respond well to that answer, once in the hospital) Image: Rebecca, in a hospital gown, yells “YET HERE WE ARE”
Panel 10: So how did this get overlooked for so lon g? I can’t say for sure but I think cognitive bias had something to do with it. Image: A chibi version of Rebecca speaks, with text under it labeling it as a “disclaimer.” Rebecca’s speech bubble: “I do want to stress I think cognitive bias was one of the many potential factors in my case. I’m using my own story here not to cast blame on anyone but to provide narrative for us to explore this concept. Panel 11: Narration: What are cognitive biases? They are patterns of thinking, often quick or subconscious, that are prone to error (1). Image: A picture of a video game is shown, labeled fallacy dodge. In the game, a humanoid rabbit wearing a scarf faces a frozen tundra full of hazards. Spikes on the floor are labeled as “spikes of confirmation bias” stalactites on the ceiling are labeled as “attentional bias” . a large jump with a coin on it is labeled as “authority bias”, and a pool of frozen water is labeled as “anchoring bias”
Panel 12: Narration: Let’s take a look at some common fallacies that can be seen in medical practice Image: Rebecca stands in front of a blackboard where “cognitive bias 101” is written in chalk
Panel 13: Narration: Anchoring bias: relying on only one piece of information (often the 1st piece one hears) when making choices (1). Image: a thought bubble leads to an anchor where it rests at the bottom of the ocean
Panel 14: Narration: Confirmation bias: looking for, focusing on and recalling information that aligns with one’s beliefs Image: A scientist cheers, holding one paper. Behind him is a large pile of papers labeled as “studies that disprove theory.” Scientist speech bubble: Look! This study proves my theory!” Panel 15: Narration: The ostrich effect: ignoring or avoiding negative information Image: An ostrich, wearing a lab coat, buries its head in the sand. Another ostrich, half off screen, looks down at it confused.
Panel 16: Narration: Conjunction fallacy: the tendency to assume that multiple specific conditions are more likely than one general 1 (1). Image: Zoey, a Black woman wearing glasses in a hospital gown, stands in the middle of the screen. The text around her reads as follows Text box 1: Zoey has a cough, a fever and body aches. Text box 2: Is it? Bullet 1: Asbestosis Bullet 2: Invasive Candidiasis Bullet 3: Lyme disease Text box 3: Or the flu?* Text box 4: It could be either, but it’s important to confirm it isn’t the likely answer.
Panel 17: Narration: Posthoc Fallacy: Assuming one event caused a later event because on happened before the other assuming correlation=causation can be an example of this(1) Image: A bald Black man in a suit looks at a line up of an ice cream cone and a virus labeled as “flu” Both hold signs. The ice cream sign says “ice cream.” The man says “Who made me sick….I did just have the ice cream recently” and the ice cream says “I’m innocent i swear”
Narration: framing bias: our perception of data depends on how it is presented(1) Image: A woman in a hijab and a person with brown skin and brown hair sit watching television. On the television, there is an advertisement for Radiant made with Calciferol. The woman in the hijab says “Wait isn’t calciferol just vitamin D?” and the person across from them says “but it looks so fancy!”
Panel 19: Narration: There are countless other fallacies that can interfere with decision making. But mistakes occur due to reasons other than fallacies. Image: Rebecca, shrugging, says “think about your quality of choices when you’re tired.”
Panel 20: Narration: Systematic issues such as understaffing and long hours can lead to increased mistakes. Image: A nurse and a doctor stand across from each other. The doctor is holding up his hand and making an L, like people use to tell directions. They speak as follows: Nurse: Doc, you’re exhausted. Can you even tell left from right? Doctor: Of course, left is…uh” Nurse: This is not inspiring confidence. Panel 21: Narration: When extra stressors like covid further strain such overworked systems, it’s possible that more errors can occur. Image: The doctor and nurse stand masked surrounded by virus particles, looking more tired.
Panel 22: Narration: Frankly, I think Covid played the largest role in my own situation. With folks tired and overworked from the pandemic, it was easier for my own case to slip through the cracks. Image: Rebecca falling between two cliffs.
Panel 23: Narration: Stereotypes and Implicit bias also play a role in errors, along with health disparities. Image: Four people speak regarding health. A women with brown skin and long black hair says: 24% of women feel a health care provider has ignored or dismissed their symptoms (2) A latino man with curly brown hair says: 32% of hispanic patients felt they had to speak up to get proper care (3). A black woman with her hair in two buns says : Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women (4). A white person with orange hair and freckles in a wheelchair who has a right leg amputation says “A 2021 study found that US doctors believed disabled people have a lower quality of life than non-disabled people (5)
Panel 24: Narration: There are efforts to address implicit bias and stereotypes in medicine but there is still a lot of work to do. Image: Rebecca looking depressed says: I’ve heard a lot of stories from folks feeling dismissed or not listened to and I have my own that I haven’t told here.
Panel 25: Narration: All types of bias lead not only to clinical errors but a lack of trust in medicine as a whole Image: A snake next to a bottle of snake oil and “ms. Bettys cure all” says: Lack of trust in medicine can lead to folks buying into pseudoscience or snake oil. Panel 26: Narration: There is no way to truly eliminate cognitive bias, but we can try to reduce it. Image: the nurse from earlier says “for systematic issues, we need more top down solutions.”
Panel 27: Narration: Taking a moment to think about why we’re thinking something can help. Diagnosing fast and slow recommends we ask ourselves the following: Image: Three doctors stand thinking. Above them are the following thought bubbles: Doctor 1: Why do I think this? Doctor 2: Could I be wrong? Doctor 3: What else could this be?
Panel 28: Narration: And maybe with those questions in mind we can prevent more patients from falling through the cracks Image: a sidewalk is shown with flowers growing out of the cracks

SOURCES:

  1. Coughlan JJ, Mullins CF, Kiernan TJ. Diagnosing, fast and slow. Postgrad Med J. 2021;97(1144):103-109. doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2019-137412
  2. Long M, Frederiksen B, Ranji U, Diep K, Published AS. Women’s Experiences with Provider Communication and Interactions in Health Care Settings: Findings from the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey. KFF. February 22, 2023. Accessed October 10, 2024.https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/womens-experiences-with-provider-communication-interactions-health-care-settings-findings-from-2022-kff-womens-health-survey/
  3. Lopez CF and MH. 2. Hispanic Americans’ experiences with health care. Pew Research Center. June 14, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/hispanic-americans-experiences-with-health-care/
  4. Hill L, Artiga S, Published UR. Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them. KFF. November 1, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/
  5. Jackson L. Doctors must challenge ableism in healthcare. BMJ. 2023;383:2968. Published 2023 Dec 20. doi:10.1136/bmj.p2968
  6. Dahm, M. R., Williams, M., & Crock, C. (2022). ‘More than words’ – Interpersonal communication, cognitive bias and diagnostic errors. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(1), 252–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.05.012

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What do librarians do anyway? If you want to find out, check out the comic below!

Panel 1: Narration: When people think of librarians, they often picture the following: an older woman with glasses and a cardigan. Image: A librarian, who looks as the narration described, shushes the audience. Panel 2: Narration: Who mainly spends her time shushing people, reading and sitting at a desk. Image:The same librarian from the first panel sits at a desk with a sign that says “silence is mandatory”
Panel 3: Narration: Like all stereotypes, some folks do fit the mold demographically, the realities of the job are much different than what folks expect. Image: Rebecca, a librarian with brown curly hair and glasses, shrugs and says “honestly, I can’t remember the last time I shushed anyone.”
Panel 4: The tools librarians use might look different in the digital age, but the basic goal of ensuring information is accessible and discoverable remains the same. Image: A stack of books is placed next to a laptop.
Panel 5: To achieve this goal, along with other library functions, there’s actually a wide variety of types of librarians. Image: A librarian building is held up by the silhouettes of five people of various body types and skin colors.
Panel 6: Let’s take a closer look at some of the variety out there… Image: There are eight boxes, each featuring a different person. The box labeled Circulation contains a heavy set pale blonde man with glasses. The Acquisition box contains a lean person of older age with gray hair, brown skin and wrinkles. The box labeled Serials contains a man with dark skin and dreads, wearing a red suit. The box labeled Scholarly Communication, has a medium sized woman with tan skin and black hair. The box labeled childrens has a heavy set black woman with her hair in two buns, smiling. The box labeled Specialists, features a lean tan man with a goatee and wrinkles with graying hair. The box labeled archivists features a pal skinned red headed woman with glasses. The last box contains Rebecca, and is labeled reference.
The circulation librarian sits at a desk, facing the audience. He says “Circulation doesn’t just check out books, but things like chargers, electronics or even dry erase markers.”
Panel 8: Like circulation acquisitions can also be a team effort. Acquisitions involves ordering and acquiring new material for the library. Image: The acquisitions librarian sits behind a stack of books, saying “an acquisitions librarian works with vendors and publishers to acquire material”
Image: A laptop is open on a desk and on the screen is the serials librarian. He says “these days many serial publications can be found digitally.”
Panel 10: In academic libraries, scholarly communication librarians help students and faculty alike publish their work. This can be by helping journals to publish in or managing an institutional repository. Image: The scholarly communications librarian is in a sailor’s outfit on a tiny boat, where a shark swims. She says “when it comes to avoiding predatory publishers, we can help.”
Panel 11: Children’s librarians work with children and young adults. They help select material for different age groups and organize events and outreach for patrons. Storytime for young kids is a good example of an event they run. Image: The children’s librarian sits in front of a group of children with a picture book she is reading out loud. Behind her is a teddy bear and books.
Panel 12: Specialists librarians work in special libraries where the often specialize in a topic or field. Law librarians and medical librarians fall into this category. Image: The specialist librarian stands in front of a cabinet with a scale on it. He says “around one-third of law librarians have a law degree”
Panel 13: Archivists aren’t the same as librarians but they often have the same masters degree. They are specialists in preserving material and helping people access it. Image: The archivist reads a book in front of a desk and several file cabinets
Panel 14: Reference librarians, like myself, help people do research and find materials. They may also specialize in a topic or subject area. Image: Rebecca stands in a hedge maze, with a torch. She says “There’s so much material to look through it can feel like a maze. Our job in reference is to help people navigate that maze.”
Panel 15: There are other types of librarians not mentioned here, such as library directors, as well as library jobs that are done by staff. Both librarians and library staff are essential to keeping the library running. Image: a puzzle in the shape of a library is shown Panel 16: TThe things that tie libraries together are our commitment to some shared ideals.The American Library association has a whole list of professional standards and guidelines on its website. Image: The ALA logo is shown
Panel 17: There are initiatives to recruit librarians from underrepresented groups and organizations dedicated to supporting these groups. Image: Rebecca is shown, saying “there are efforts to also recruit librarians from underrepresented groups.”
Panel 17: Libraries seek to protect intellectual freedom and preserve privacy. The American library association opposed the Patriot Act and in 2006. Four connecticut librarians went to court regarding gag orders. Image: Uncle Sam stands in front of an American flag, saying “I wasn’t trying to spy on patron records…I just wanted…uh. Book recommendations.”
Panel 18: Libraries also promise literacy and not just for books. Image: Different types of images are shown next to types of literacy: a computer with computer literacy, a stethoscope next to health literacy, a dollar next to financial literacy, a ballot box next to civic literacy and a phone next to media literacy.
Panel 19: Teaching, instruction, budget management, programming, research: all of these skills are needed to keep libraries going. Image: two shelves are shown with different kind of hats on them. The hats are labeled with different kinds of library skills.
Panel 20: And only one of them, on rare occasions, is to shush people. END Image: Rebecca stands in front of two shelves and a reminder to keep quiet on the second floor. She winks as she says “shush”
  1. Acquisitions | ALA. American Library Association. May 5, 2009. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/topics/atoz/profresourcesacquisitions/acquisitions
  2. Serials | ALA. American Library Association. April 29, 2010. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/Serials/serials
  3. Education. American Association of Law Librarians. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://www.aallnet.org/careers/about-the-profession/education
  4. What’s an Archivist? National Archives. June 7, 2022. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archivist.html
  5. ALA Standards & Guidelines | ALA. American Library Association. June 13, 2008. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/guidelines
  6. Vinopal J. The Quest for Diversity in Library Staffing: From Awareness to Action – In the Library with the Lead Pipe. In the Library With The Lead Pipe. January 13, 2016. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2016/quest-for-diversity/
  7. Elliott J. Remember When the Patriot Act Debate Was All About Library Records? ProPublica. June 17, 2013. Accessed September 20, 2024. https://www.propublica.org/article/remember-when-the-patriot-act-debate-was-about-library-records

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One of the most frequent questions we get at the library in recent months is in regards to A.I. What is A.I? Is A.I the future? Are we all about to be replaced by robots? In this month's comic strip, we simplify A.I. in order to make sense of what's realistic, what's plausible and what's still science fiction.

Speech Bubble 1:Ever since AI burst onto the scene, I’ve seen a lot of folks misunderstand how it works. Image: Rebecca, a librarian with light skin and dark curly brown hair in a ponytail speaks in front of a bunch of tech items.
Panel 4: Narration: In reality, while AI can write or talk, it’s not “thinking” like humans do Image: The robot displaying a blank expression is next to a thought bubble showing binary code.
Narration: To understand how AI “thinks” we need to understand what this kind of AI is and how it works. Image: There is a monitor and on it, a pixilated version of Rebecca is shown next to the text “Understand A.I.” Then under that is the text A: Y B: N
Panel 6: Narration: First, the kind of AI seen in movies is not the same kind in chat-gpt. That is, self-aware AI currently doesn’t exist outside of fiction. Image: Two books are shown. One of the books has a picture of a robot on it stating “foolish: it is statistically unlikely to be lupus” The title of the book is “Watt.Son M.D”
Panel 7: Speech Bubble: The AI we see discussed today is known as generative AI. It can produce things like text, images and audio by being trained on large amounts of data (1). Image: A flow chart is shown. A bunch of file cabinets is first, then an audio icon next to the text or then a picture of a monitor next to the text or and then a smiley face drawing.
Panel 7: Narrator: I’m going to vastly simplify. Say we want an AI to make images of sheep. First we’d grab a bunch of images of sheep as our training data. Image: A table is covered with a variety of photos of sheep. The sheep are all different sizes and colors.
Panel 8: Narration: Over time, as we feed the model more pictures of the sheep, the model starts to identify common shared characteristics between the images. There is a little white sheep with a black face. Next to it, text states: Aspect: fluffy Feature 2(ear) Feature 2(eye) feature: tail= sheep
Panel 9: Narration: Now, when this works as intended, after tons of images, our AI can start to produce images of sheep itself based off the training data. This is why it’s called “generative” AI; it is generating new content. Image: The robot from early has an excited expression on it’s monitor. It points to a fridge where a picture of a sheep is displayed.
Panel 10: The AI is able to produce these images not because it now “knows” what a sheep is, but by essentially large scale probability. I’m still vastly simplifying, but the AI makes the sheep fluffy not because it knows what wool is, but because 100% of its training data includes wool. Image: Rebecca stands in front of a television screen. On the screen, the robot looks confused at a black sheep in a field. Panel 11: Narration: So if we apply this to words, AI is not so much writing as it is calculating the probability of what word is most likely to follow the word it just typed. Sort of like autocorrect. Image: The background is a thunderstorm. There is text that reads: it was a dark and stormy _____? A. Night 90% B. Evening 7% C Afternoon 2% D. Day 1%
Panel 12: Narration: Okay so why bother making this distinction. Why does it matter? Image: The robot is shown with it’s monitor displaying a buffering message. Above it, a chibi Rebecca says “let me explain.” Panel 13: Narration: AI relies on its training data. Let’s consider the sheep example from earlier. In the photos I drew, none of them show a sheep’s legs. Image: Rebecca sits in front of her tablet with a drawing pen. She gestures to the viewer, exasperated. Rebecca ‘s Speech Bubble: “Look, I only have so much time to draw these things.”
Panel 14: Narration: If all the images I feed our hypothetical AI are of sheep from the middle up we might get something like this. Image: Three pictures of sheep are displayed. None of the sheep have legs and instead are puffballs of wool. One sheep is square shaped. Narration Con: Our AI can only generate based on its data. So if we feed it no pictures of sheep with legs, we get no pictures of sheep with legs (frankly is also shouldn’t make images of a sheep where the entire body is in the frame either). The backgrounds will be a mashup too, as the AI will consider it as part of the image. This leads to interesting results with a wide range of background types.
Panel 15: Narration: This is one of the reasons AI images struggle with details like fingers: how many fingers you can see in an image of a person varies widely depending on their pose and the angle of the photograph (2). Image: Four hands with different skin tones are shown, each with a different gesture. In a little bubble to the left, Rebecca is shown looking tired. Rebecca Speech Bubble: Drawing hands is hard…
Panel 16: Narration: The same thing goes for writing: when AI writes out “it was a dark and stormy night” it has no comprehension of any of those words. It’s all based on probability. And this is the misconception that leads to so many problems. Image: The robot is seated at a chair, typing at a computer. From the computer, text reads “it was a dark and stormy night” and from the robot speech bubble we get more binary.
Panel 17: Narration: For example let’s take AI hallucinations. AI Hallucinations refer to when AI makes things up, essentially lying to the user. Now that we understand how AI works, we can understand how this happens. Image: The robot is shown its monitor full of a kaleidoscope of colors and two big white eyes. The background behind it is also a mix of colors. Panel 18: Narration: AI has no comprehension of lies or the truth. It is regurgitating its training data. Which means that if it doesn't have the answer in the training data, or is fed the wrong answer, what you’re going to get is, the wrong answer.
Panel 19: For example, Google AI made headlines when it recommended people use glue to make the cheese stick on their pizza. (3). Image: A man with dark skin, glasses and a beard stands in front of a pizza and a bottle of glue. He is wearing an apron. Man’s speech bubble: “A least it said to use non-toxic glue.
Panel 20: Now where did it get this cooking tip? A joke post from reddit. Google made a deal with Reddit to train it’s A.I on the site’s data in February 2024. Image: The avatar for reddit yells after the robot who is running off with the image of a glue bottle on it’s monitor. Reddit avatar’s speech bubble: It was a joke!
Panel 21: That example was pretty harmless, but it can be much worse. AI has told people to eat poisonous mushrooms (4), provided dieting advice on a hotline for eating disorders (5) or displayed racial bias (6). Image: The grim reaper is shown, wearing a little shef scarf with his sythe. Next to him is a display of mushrooms. Underneath text reads: guest chef death showcases favorite deadly mushrooms.
Panel 22: Generative AI systems also comes up with fake citations to books and papers that don’t exist. Often is mashes up real authors and journals with fake doi numbers Image: Three journals are shown composed of fragments of other journals on their covers, each stitched together
Panel 23: Narration: And don’t get me started on the ways images can go wrong (8). Image: Rebecca stands next to a table with school supplies and a rat. The rat is looking up with her with a question mark over its head. Rebecca’s speech bubble: Just look up AI rat scandal and you’ll understand why I didn’t draw an example.
Panel 24: Image: The rat from the last panel is shown. Rat speech bubble: So AI is worthless? Narration: Absolutely not! Panel 25: Narration: AI absolutely has uses. While it’s still in early stages, AI has shown promise in helping doctors identify potentially cancerous moles Image: The robot and a doctor look at a monitor Doctor: Should I make a biopsy of both? Robot: 71% Doctor: Both it is!
Panel 25: Narration: But it’s not a magical solution to every problem. And when we forget that, our “artificial intelligence” is more artificial than anything intelligent. Image: The robot’s monitor is shown with the citations for this comic displayed.

Comic written and drawn by: Rebecca Kyser

Citations: 

1.Christian B. The Alignment Problem : Machine Learning and Human Values. W.W. Norton & Company; 2021.

2. Lanz D/ JA. AI Kryptonite: Why Artificial Intelligence Can’t Handle Hands. Decrypt. Published April 10, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://decrypt.co/125865/generative-ai-art-images-hands-fingers-teeth

3. Robison K. Google promised a better search experience — now it’s telling us to put glue on our pizza. The Verge. Published May 23, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/23/24162896/google-ai-overview-hallucinations-glue-in-pizza

4. AI-powered mushroom ID apps are frequently wrong - The Washington Post. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/18/ai-mushroom-id-accuracy/

5. Wells K. An eating disorders chatbot offered dieting advice, raising fears about AI in health. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/08/1180838096/an-eating-disorders-chatbot-offered-dieting-advice-raising-fears-about-ai-in-hea. Published June 9, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024.

6. Noble SU. Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York University Press; 2018. doi:10.18574/9781479833641

7. Welborn A. ChatGPT and Fake Citations. Duke University Libraries Blogs. Published March 9, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/blog/2023/03/09/chatgpt-and-fake-citations/

8. Pearson J. Study Featuring AI-Generated Giant Rat Penis Retracted, Journal Apologizes. Vice. Published February 16, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a389b/ai-midjourney-rat-penis-study-retracted-frontiers

9. Lewis. An artificial intelligence tool that can help detect melanoma. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published April 2, 2021. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://news.mit.edu/2021/artificial-intelligence-tool-can-help-detect-melanoma-0402

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