Stepping Vs. Jumping On A Rake Meme Template

One person steps on a rake; another performs an elaborate trick and lands on it anyway. Compare a simple mistake with a more impressive route to exactly the same mistake.

The lower sequence looks more skillful, but its ending is no better. That makes this a comparison between different methods that fail in the same way.

Use it for overthinking, unnecessary complexity, or experience that has not stopped a familiar error. The second caption should add effort without changing the outcome.

The lower drawing is a comic by Anton Gudim, posted through gudim_public on April 26, 2018. A figure treats a rake like a skateboard, performs a trick, and still gets hit by its handle. [1]

A July 9, 2018 post on r/ProgrammerHumor paired that comic with stock renders of a person simply stepping on a rake. New comparisons followed within days, with further versions circulating in 2019 and 2020. [1]

Label the simple approach in the white space below the top sequence. Label the elaborate approach on the open ground in the lower comic.

Use two versions of the same activity. The lower caption should sound more complicated or confident, while the pictures show that the result stays the same.

The simple approach

In the white gap beneath the top sequence.

The elaborate approach

On the open ground at the lower left.

• The top is the simple route to failure.
• The bottom is the elaborate route to the same failure.
• Keep the rake handles and final impacts visible.
• Compare methods rather than unrelated problems.