Snacktime Rules
Snacktime Rules
My dad was always the one who taught me about science, but looking back, I'm starting to realize how much my nerdiness was influenced by my mom.
[A woman and a child talk.] Child: Mom, can I have a snack in my room before bed? Mom: No, dear. You know you only get that privilege when your age is one less than a multiple of three.

The comic shows Randall's mother telling Randall that he can have a snack in his room before bed only when his age is "one less than a multiple of three." This means that the child starts getting snacks in his room before bed when he turns 2 years old, then stops getting them when he turns 3. Then he starts again when he turns 5 but stops when he turns 6. This cycle repeats every 3 years, so the kid has the privilege to get snacks in his room before bed when his age is 2, 5, 8, 11, etc. (every 3 years).
It's difficult to defend this policy with a reasonable argument. The first impression is that the mother just made up the rule for some obscure, unknown reason. However, the title text explains that Randall's mother actually enforced this rule on him, and his mother claims that, at the time, there was a valid reason for it (though the reason is not explained in the comic). The caption says that Randall has figured out that his nerdiness as an adult comes (at least in part) from his mother's strange rules.
Note that there is some debate about whether the privilege spoken of is to have snacks, to have snacks in his room, to have snacks before bed, or to have snacks in his room before bed.
My dad was always the one who taught me about science, but looking back, I'm starting to realize how much my nerdiness was influenced by my mom.
[A woman and a child talk.] Child: Mom, can I have a snack in my room before bed? Mom: No, dear. You know you only get that privilege when your age is one less than a multiple of three.
