Talk:Piled Higher and Deeper

Mariko
Given the Latin-American decendancy of the author could it be argued or inferred that the name of the asian character Mariko is in someway a reference to the derogatory spanish term "marico" (homosexual). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.109.44.212 (talk) 04:05, 24 February 2008 (UTC)
 * That seems to me to be speculation which is unreferenced. — Cheers, Jack Lee  –talk– 18:40, 22 April 2009 (UTC)


 * The term is "Maricón". It is pronounced quite differently from Mariko, both in the stressed syllabes and the entonation, so i'd disagree. 190.134.37.249 (talk) 23:02, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

S. Bailey
Many early strips are co-credited with S. Bailey (presumably then-labmate Sean Bailey), yet Bailey is not credited on the website or in compilations. Someone familiar with this situation should comment. Calbaer 07:30, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Is this statement accurate?
I’m uncertain about the character description on Mariko, specifically relating to the nameless hero in “…at which the hero works for a brief stretch of time.” I recently read through the entire thing and don’t recall the hero ever working outside his lab. GromXXVII (talk) 21:46, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

I read through the comic some time ago, and while I don't remember the exact strip, if it's any good, I do remember that he did work for a short while with Mariko. That's the time he tells his sister Dee that he quit grad school. He never quite works up the courage to actually tell his parents or leave, though. Roshangeorge (talk) 10:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The Hero does, however, return to Prof. Smith and say he's ready to come back to grad school. (The prof. has not noticed he's gone so it becomes a non-issue.) (Kabal42 (talk) 22:59, 3 October 2009 (UTC))

Tajel's nationality
I think Tajel is not Mexican. She is indeed a foreign student, having gone through the F-1 process. But all international students have to get visas outside of the US. Grad students from Asia, Europe, Africa or South America may get visas renewed in Mexican border towns (e.g., Tijuana, Nogales, etc.) because it's closer than flying back to their home countries. Had Tajel been Mexican, she wouldn't have been necessarily "stranded" or so lost in Tijuana, and Cecilia would not have been so shocked at her choice to go get her paperwork in Mexico. --Cecy N (talk) 17:44, 23 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I think Tajel maybe Indian. From her marriage strips, her mother is dressed in the traditional Indian dress, the Sari203.199.213.130 (talk) 07:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

khumalo
Can someone find the first strip that Khumalo appears in? 1) I can't find it myself and 2) his description in this article should have a citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.146.15.149 (talk) 22:26, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Trivia section
As trivia sections are deprecated, I've moved it here temporarily until the information can be incorporated properly into the main text of the article. — Cheers, Jack Lee  –talk– 06:18, 23 April 2009 (UTC)


 * The number π/2 frequently appears in the strip.
 * Jorge Cham is referenced several times in the strip on various occasions, usually when a character mentions a relative or friend who is a cartoonist.

Alexander von Humboldt Prize of the Netherlands
Professor Brian Smith is a recipient of the "Alexander von Humboldt Prize of the Netherlands" in the comic. I just wondered, Alexander von Humboldt was German and I all I can find is The Humboldt Prize, which seems to be German, too. Is the reference to the Netherlands a mistake or is it intended? Just wondering ... 82.135.91.171 (talk) 21:00, 23 May 2009 (UTC)


 * It's a comic. Some stuff in it – maybe a lot – is made up! — Cheers, Jack Lee  –talk– 07:09, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Tajel converses in spanish?
I'd like to know which strips they are.--Angeljon121 (talk) 02:30, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Here for example : http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=295 -Soltius — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:E35:2E4C:7530:31E4:1A88:ABE9:3C (talk) 11:15, 21 August 2018 (UTC)

Locked sources
A number of articles about PHD Comics are behind paywalls. Can anyone with access to these look into them? HenryCrun15 (talk) 00:30, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
 * The Chronicle of Higher Education – https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-the-Dilbert-of/245636 – looks like it would be an excellent source of more up to date information. It is from 2019 whereas most other articles about PHD comics are much older.
 * The Chronicle of Higher Education – https://www.chronicle.com/article/DawdlingDoodling/22923
 * Nature – https://www.nature.com/articles/nj7051-745a Paul Smaglik Nature volume 436, page745(2005)

Reassessed quality - C class
I put a request for assessment on the Comics work group but never got a response, so I'm reassessing myself. This article is at least C-class - it is substantial and has references to reliable sources. HenryCrun15 (talk) 00:26, 28 August 2020 (UTC)