explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

249: Chess Photo

2013-01-02T19:07:58Z

68.102.58.19: Spelling/grammar

{{comic
| number = 249
| date = April 16, 2007
| title = Chess Photo
| image = chess_photo.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = We once tried playing blindfold chess on the Aerosmith ride at Disney World.
}}

==Explanation==
Whimsy. Why do people do most of the odd things they do? When it isn't because of a cruelly in-bred stupidity, it is because of whimsy. There isn't very much that needs explaining in this one, perhaps only {{w|chess}}, a strategy board game much talked about in [[xkcd]], and {{w|rollercoaster}}s, which are amusement park rides filled with twists, turns, rises, falls, loops, and sometimes themed areas of the park to try to tell a story while on the ride.

This comic [http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster/ inspired people to try this in real life], to awesome effect.

==Transcript==
:[Friend 2 sits at a desk with glue, chess pieces, and a chessboard while Friend 1 looks over his shoulder.]
:Friend 1: What are you doing?
:Friend 2: Gluing down chess pieces.
:Friend 1: Why?
:Friend 2: Because there's a picture I've always wanted... I'll need your coat to sneak this onto the ride.

:[A photograph of a roller coaster ride with Friend 2 sitting in the first car, chin in hand, thinking over the chessboard. The photograph has "Mega Coaster 3000 souvenir photo" written on the margin.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

658: Orbitals

2013-01-01T22:18:21Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 658
| date = November 4, 2009
| title = Orbitals
| image = orbitals.png
| titletext = Except the people filtering in late are the partiers, so you end up with drunken makeouts in the living room and the next roommate to return home has to sleep in the hall lounge orbital.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a pun on the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle |Pauli exclusion principle}}, which states that no two identical fermions (such as electrons) can be in the same place at the same time. In this case, the roommates and their guests are the electrons, which also means that only two people can be in any one room, or orbital. An orbital describes the probability of finding an electron in a given space.

==Transcript==
:[A person is holding up a pointer in front of a diagram of a dorm apartment. On the diagram, there are two connected pairs of dots in each bedroom, and one dot on the couch.]
:Cueball: Thus, once all the dorm bedrooms are occupied by romantic pairs, additional roommates are forced into less restful "living room couch" orbitals.
:[Caption: The Pauli Sexclusion Principle]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Logic]]

658: Orbitals

2013-01-01T22:17:38Z

68.102.58.19: fixed link

{{comic
| number = 658
| date = November 4, 2009
| title = Orbitals
| image = orbitals.png
| titletext = Except the people filtering in late are the partiers, so you end up with drunken makeouts in the living room and the next roommate to return home has to sleep in the hall lounge orbital.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a pun on the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle |Pauli exclusion principle}}, which states that no two identical {w|Fermions |fermions}} (such as electrons) can be in the same place at the same time. In this case, the roommates and their guests are the electrons, which also means that only two people can be in any one room, or orbital. An orbital describes the probability of finding an electron in a given space.

==Transcript==
:[A person is holding up a pointer in front of a diagram of a dorm apartment. On the diagram, there are two connected pairs of dots in each bedroom, and one dot on the couch.]
:Cueball: Thus, once all the dorm bedrooms are occupied by romantic pairs, additional roommates are forced into less restful "living room couch" orbitals.
:[Caption: The Pauli Sexclusion Principle]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Logic]]

658: Orbitals

2013-01-01T22:16:59Z

68.102.58.19: created article, explanation included

{{comic
| number = 658
| date = November 4, 2009
| title = Orbitals
| image = orbitals.png
| titletext = Except the people filtering in late are the partiers, so you end up with drunken makeouts in the living room and the next roommate to return home has to sleep in the hall lounge orbital.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a pun on the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle |Pauli exclusion principle}}, which states that no two identical {w|fermions |fermions}} (such as electrons) can be in the same place at the same time. In this case, the roommates and their guests are the electrons, which also means that only two people can be in any one room, or orbital. An orbital describes the probability of finding an electron in a given space.

==Transcript==
:[A person is holding up a pointer in front of a diagram of a dorm apartment. On the diagram, there are two connected pairs of dots in each bedroom, and one dot on the couch.]
:Cueball: Thus, once all the dorm bedrooms are occupied by romantic pairs, additional roommates are forced into less restful "living room couch" orbitals.
:[Caption: The Pauli Sexclusion Principle]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Logic]]

477: Typewriter

2013-01-01T21:45:51Z

68.102.58.19: created page

{{comic
| number = 477
| date = September 17, 2008
| title = Typewriter
| image = typewriter.png
| titletext = Somewhere in the world, my actual grandmothers are reading this and angrily exclaiming that I never write even malformed thank-you notes. DEAR GRANDMOMS: I AM SORRY! YOU ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING LOVE reddit.com RANDALL.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] is writing a letter to his grandmother on a typewriter, thanking her for taking them on a trip. He discovers his habit of checking news sites in new tabs every few seconds when he repeatedly types Web addresses in the note.

==Transcript==
:[A typewriter is shown with the following letter in it:
:Dear Grandmom, cnn.com
: I hope this reddit.com letter
:finds you well. I wanted to say I
:really news.google.com enjoyed the
:trip you boingboing.net took us on,
:and am looking forward to bbc.co.uk
:visiting later fivethirtyeight.com
:this year.
: Love, slashdot.org
: Your grandson,]
:[Caption: I didn't realize how bad my habit of tabbing to Firefox every few seconds to check news sites had gotten until I tried writing on a typewriter.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]

501: Faust 2.0

2013-01-01T21:25:52Z

68.102.58.19: created page

{{comic
| number = 501
| date = November 7, 2008
| title = Faust 2.0
| image = faust_20.png
| titletext = The only blood these contracts are signed in is from me cutting my hand trying to open the goddamn CD case.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:Satan: Mortal! I come offering a deal -
:Cueball: Read the sign.
:Satan: "By entering this room, you agree to forfeit your own soul rather than negotiate with the mortal residing therein..." Wait, you can't -
:Cueball: Too late.
:Caption: Mephistopheles encounters the E.U.L.A.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

253: Highway Engineer Pranks

2013-01-01T21:06:51Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 253
| date = April 25, 2007
| title = Highway Engineer Pranks
| image = highway_engineer_pranks.png
| titletext = Prank #11: Boston
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Each panel depicts a highway intersection.]
:The Inescapable Cloverleaf:
:[Roads lead onto the rings for each leaf, but then are trapped in the circles. Minor roads also allow travel between the rings.]
:
:The Zero-Choice Interchange:
:[On and off-ramps exist, but they lead back to the same lane they disconnected from.]
:
:The Rotary Supercollider:
:[The roads lead into a traffic circle, and then a loop reverses the direction of flow so all the roads run into each other.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Physics]]

253: Highway Engineer Pranks

2013-01-01T21:06:13Z

68.102.58.19: Created page with "{{comic | number = 253 | date = April 25, 2007 | title = Highway Engineer Pranks | image = highway_engineering_pranks.png | titletext = Prank #11: Boston }} =..."

{{comic
| number = 253
| date = April 25, 2007
| title = Highway Engineer Pranks
| image = highway_engineering_pranks.png
| titletext = Prank #11: Boston
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Each panel depicts a highway intersection.]
:The Inescapable Cloverleaf:
:[Roads lead onto the rings for each leaf, but then are trapped in the circles. Minor roads also allow travel between the rings.]
:
:The Zero-Choice Interchange:
:[On and off-ramps exist, but they lead back to the same lane they disconnected from.]
:
:The Rotary Supercollider:
:[The roads lead into a traffic circle, and then a loop reverses the direction of flow so all the roads run into each other.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Physics]]

679: Christmas Plans

2013-01-01T20:41:56Z

68.102.58.19: explanation, transcript, categories

{{comic
| number = 679
| date = December 23, 2009
| title = Christmas Plans
| image = christmas_plans.png
| titletext = Physicists who want to protect traditional Christmas realize that the only way to keep from changing Christmas is not to observe it.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic centers around a joke about {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle |Heisenberg's uncertainty principle}} in physics, which states that you can know where a particle is, and you can know its momentum, but you can't know both simultaneously. The title text further reinforces this joke.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball 1 is standing behind Cueball 2, who is sitting at a computer.]
:Cueball 1: Hey, will you be in town the day after Christmas?
:Cueball 2: Couldn't say - I'm Jewish.
:Cueball 1: But... how does being Jewish keep you from knowing your plans?
:Cueball 2: I know my plans - I jsut don't know when Christmas is.
:Cueball 1: Really? Why not look it up?
:Cueball 2: Well, I'm also a physicist.
:Cueball 1: So?
:Cueball 2: I believe that since I don't observe Christmas, it can't have a definite date.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]

679: Christmas Plans

2013-01-01T20:19:15Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 679
| date = December 23, 2009
| title = Christmas Plans
| image = christmas_plans.png
| titletext = Physicists who want to protect traditional Christmas realize that the only way to keep from changing Christmas is not to observe it.
}}

==Explanation==


==Transcript==
:[Cueball 1 is standing behind Cueball 2, who is sitting at a computer.]
:Cueball 1: Hey, will you be in town the day after Christmas?
:Cueball 2: Couldn't say - I'm Jewish.
:Cueball 1: But... how does being Jewish keep you from knowing your plans?
:Cueball 2: I know my plans - I jsut don't know when Christmas is.
:Cueball 1: Really? Why not look it up?
:Cueball 2: Well, I'm also a physicist.
:Cueball 1: So?
:Cueball 2: I believe that since I don't observe Christmas, it can't have a definite date.

{{comic discussion}}

679: Christmas Plans

2013-01-01T19:57:26Z

68.102.58.19: Created page with "{{comic | number = 679 | date = December 23, 2009 | title = Christmas Plans | image = christmas_plans.png | titletext = Physicists who want to protect traditio..."

58: Why Do You Love Me?

2013-01-01T02:49:59Z

68.102.58.19: /* Explanation */ typos

{{comic
| number = 58
| date = February 1, 2006
| title = Why Do You Love Me?
| image = why_do_you_love_me.jpg
| titletext = Opening dialogue by Scott
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] asks "Why do you love me?" to [[Megan]], a fairly common question that couples ask each other. She responds "My heart never gave me a choice", a seemingly very sentimental, romantic answer. However, she effectively kills the romance of the moment by adding, "I wish it had".

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are having a conversation]
:Cueball: Why do you love me?
:Megan: I don't know; my heart never gave me a chance.

:Cueball: Aww.

:[No dialogue]

:Megan: I wish it had.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]

828: Positive Attitude

2013-01-01T02:39:48Z

68.102.58.19: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 828
| date = December 1, 2010
| title = Positive Attitude
| image = positive_attitude.png
| titletext = Having a positive attitude is almost tautologically good for your mental health, and extreme stress can hurt your immune system, but that doesn't mean you should feel like shit for feeling like shit.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another reference to Randall's fiancée having cancer. It's talking about how thinking positively helps with recovery, while thinking negatively can have a detrimental effect.
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
[Cueball sits hunched with his knees drawn up to him on a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. A friend stands by.]
Man: I'm sick and I'm scared.
Friend: Well, remember - having a good attitude is the most important thing. Think positively and you'll get better.

[Darkness surrounds Cueball on the bed. The friend is off-screen.]
Cueball: So if I'm sad or afraid or feel like crap sometimes, then...
Friend: ...then if you don't recover, it will be ''your fault.''

[Cueball clutches his hands to his face and leans back.]
Cueball: Well that makes me feel even worse.
Friend: See? You're doing this to yourself.
Cueball: No!
Friend: Stop it!
Man: Argh!

[Close up on Cueball, holding up his hand, pointing to himself.]
Cueball: Okay, you know what? Screw this. My attitude isn't my problem. -- My ''disease'' is my problem, and I'm treating it. -- I'm going to be glum and depressed and pessimistic some days, and I'm going to '''get better anyway.'''

[Cueball sits on the edge of the bed, his friend still standing in front of him.]
Cueball: Wait, that ended up sounding optimistic.
Friend: I guess you suck at pessimism.
Cueball: Maybe I'll be better at it tomorrow.

{{comic discussion}}
[[category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[category:Psychology]]

598: Porn

2013-01-01T02:34:41Z

68.102.58.19: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 598
| date = June 17, 2009
| title = Porn
| image = porn.png
| titletext = I have a thing for corrupt women.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s mention of how porn did not scar him is a reference to [http://www.xxxchurch.com/ a lot of testimony on how porn has negatively affected people's lives]. Of course, the porn really did affect the way he looked at women. Due to dial-up being of such a slow speed, videos that needed to be transmitted via dial-up had to be compressed using a lossy format, which reduces file sizes substantially but also causes heavy data losses; the result being that the new decompressed file would not be of the same quality of the original uncompressed file. In this case, the lossy format eats away at the detail of the picture, which, during decompression, results in blocky artifacts in an attempt to "reconstruct" the lost data. Since he associated blocky pictures with arousal, he seems to have trouble enjoying "the friendship of the thighs" with his comparatively hi-fi girlfriend. In other words, the porn really did scar him after all.

The title text expands on this, referencing at file corruption.

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is hunched up at a computer. A circle surrounds him; the rest of the panel is black.]
:Narrator: I shouldn't have watched all that porn as a teenager.
:
:Narrator: It's not that it scarred me.
:[The computer screen is visible. It shows an online video player, with what appears to be someone performing cunnilingus. Ads are also visible, though what they depict is not.]
:
:Narrator: It's just that we had dial-up.
:[A 14.4kbps modem is shown.]
:Narrator: And now I'm stuck with a fetish.
:
:Narrator: For video compression.
:[Cueball and Megan are in bed together.]
:Cueball: Can you try to look... blockier?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

451: Impostor

2013-01-01T02:31:43Z

68.102.58.19: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 451
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Impostor
| image = impostor.png
| titletext = If you think this is too hard on literary criticism, read the Wikipedia article on deconstruction.
}}

==Explanation==
The first panel shows [[Cueball]] discussing an engineering problem with [[Ponytail]]. Logarithms are used in fields such as psychology and computer science, and have nothing to do with heat dissipation.

Klingon is a language from Star Trek. This is fairly self-explanatory.

Sociology has nothing to do with ranking people; it is the study of human society and social behaviors.

Literary criticism is almost entirely subjective, so many interpretations can be valid. There isn't just one "right" way to critique literature, so these students think Cueball has a valid point.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby: Sitting down with grad students and timing how long it takes them to figure out that I'm not actually an expert in their field.
:Engineering:
:Students: Our big problem is heat dissipation
:Cueball: Have you tried logarithms?
:48 seconds
:Linguistics:
:Cueball: Ah, so does this Finno-ugric family include, say, Klingon?
:63 Seconds
:Sociology:
:Cueball: Yeah, my latest work is on ranking people from best to worst.
:4 Minutes
:Literary Criticism:
:Cueball: You see, the deconstruction is inextricable from not only the text, but also the self.
:Eight papers and two books and they haven't caught on.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

451: Impostor

2013-01-01T02:31:10Z

68.102.58.19: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 451
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Impostor
| image = impostor.png
| titletext = If you think this is too hard on literary criticism, read the Wikipedia article on deconstruction.
}}

==Explanation==
The first panel shows [[Cueball]] discussing an engineering problem with Ponytail. Logarithms are used in fields such as psychology and computer science, and have nothing to do with heat dissipation.

Klingon is a language from Star Trek. This is fairly self-explanatory.

Sociology has nothing to do with ranking people; it is the study of human society and social behaviors.

Literary criticism is almost entirely subjective, so many interpretations can be valid. There isn't just one "right" way to critique literature, so these students think Cueball has a valid point.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby: Sitting down with grad students and timing how long it takes them to figure out that I'm not actually an expert in their field.
:Engineering:
:Students: Our big problem is heat dissipation
:Cueball: Have you tried logarithms?
:48 seconds
:Linguistics:
:Cueball: Ah, so does this Finno-ugric family include, say, Klingon?
:63 Seconds
:Sociology:
:Cueball: Yeah, my latest work is on ranking people from best to worst.
:4 Minutes
:Literary Criticism:
:Cueball: You see, the deconstruction is inextricable from not only the text, but also the self.
:Eight papers and two books and they haven't caught on.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

387: Advanced Technology

2013-01-01T02:28:23Z

68.102.58.19: Fixed date

{{comic
| number = 387
| date = February 22, 2008
| title = Advanced Technology
| image = advanced_technology.png
| titletext = We are sexy, sexy Von Neumann machines.
}}

==Explanation==
Despite how advanced technology is, we (in early 2013) still have yet to create a machine that replicates itself, an accomplishment that only biological organisms can lay claim to.

A {{w|Von Neumann architecture|Von Neumann machine}} refers to the underlying infrastructure behind most the computers of our time. Von Neumann machines allow data and executable code to intermingle in a single memory space. By contrast the {{w|Harvard architecture}}, which is used in many automated voting machines, strictly separates data and executable code, which makes it much harder to exploit but is much more difficult to construct as it requires parallel structures to store code and data.

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is inspecting a woman's crotch.]
:Cueball: It's neat how you contain a factory for making more of you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

154: Beliefs

2013-01-01T02:24:49Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 154
| date = September 8, 2006
| title = Beliefs
| image = beliefs.jpg
| titletext = Scientists are also sexy, let's not forget that.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the belief that the earth has only existed for about 6,000 years, as some people think the Bible suggests. The professor is originally inclined to allow the mistaken person continue holding his erroneous beliefs... Until he hears that this person is a senator.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and a professor stand together, with another figure in the distance]
:Megan: Professor, that man claims the earth is 6,000 years old!
:Professor: So? Just use your head and don't concern yourself overmuch with what other people think.

:Megan: But he says the fossils in the mountains were put there in a flood!
:Professor: Well, evidence suggests that they were not.
:Megan: But he--

:[A mountain landscape.]
:Professor: A million people can call the mountains a fiction, yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them.

:[Megan and professor again]
:Megan: But he believes the silliest things!
:Professor: So?

:Professor: The universe doesn't care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.

:Megan: But he's a US Senator!
:Professor: Ah, then yes, we do have a bit of a situation.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Politics]]

154: Beliefs

2013-01-01T02:21:20Z

68.102.58.19: Explanation added

{{comic
| number = 154
| date = September 8, 2006
| title = Beliefs
| image = beliefs.jpg
| titletext = Scientists are also sexy, let's not forget that.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the belief that the earth has only existed for about 6,000 years, as some people think the Bible suggests. The professor is originally inclined to allow the mistaken person continue holding his erroneous beliefs... Until he hears that this person is a senator.
{{incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan and a professor stand together, with another figure in the distance]
:Megan: Professor, that man claims the earth is 6,000 years old!
:Professor: So? Just use your head and don't concern yourself overmuch with what other people think.

:Megan: But he says the fossils in the mountains were put there in a flood!
:Professor: Well, evidence suggests that they were not.
:Megan: But he--

:[A mountain landscape.]
:Professor: A million people can call the mountains a fiction, yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them.

:[Megan and professor again]
:Megan: But he believes the silliest things!
:Professor: So?

:Professor: The universe doesn't care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.

:Megan: But he's a US Senator!
:Professor: Ah, then yes, we do have a bit of a situation.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Politics]]

1114: Metallurgy

2013-01-01T02:12:17Z

68.102.58.19: Grammar

{{comic
| number = 1114
| date = September 28, 2012
| title = Metallurgy
| image = metallurgy.png
| titletext = This exotic blade was wrought from a different fallen star. The meteorite was a carbonaceous chondrite, so it's basically a lump of gravel glued into the shape of a sword. A SPACE sword!
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
The comic explains how weapons would really behave if they were made out of unusual materials. In fantasy stories, using unusual materials for weapons traditionally makes the weapons more powerful and cooler despite limited explanation for exactly why materials of extraterrestrial origin are so superior to their earthen counterparts.

On the other hand, iron from meteorites was often mixed with "terrestrial" iron in the early stages of human development to create relatively high quality steel for swords. Undeveloped metalworking techniques at the time meant that extraterrestrial metal was often more refined and plentiful than man-made metal ingots.[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0016703767901408 Research] has shown that meteorites have an abundance of the chemical element Antimony (Sb) which by itself is a very brittle metal and therefore swords forged from metals harvested from meteorites are not as strong as lore may make one think.

The second panel is a reference to stories set in Middle Earth and the sword is Sting, which glows blue when Orcs are near. Sting used to belong to Bilbo Baggins; when he grew old he gave it to Frodo Baggins as a gift. The dagger in question, though, glows because of the radioactive properties of {{w|Actinium}} (Ac) which is also highly toxic. Definitely not a dagger you would want to carry around for your every day battles.

The word "Eldritch" in the third panel means sinister, ghostly, or magical.

The fourth panel mentions that the weapon gives a +2 to a player's attribute. This is a reference to role-playing games in which it is common to find items that are able to improve one's character by increasing desirable attributes. In this case, however, +2 to cancer risk would definitely not be considered a desirable attribute to increase.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are in a weapon store talking to a bearded salesman wearing a hat.]

:[Salesman holds up a sword]
:Salesman: This sword was forged from a fallen star. Antimony impurities make the blade surpassingly ''brittle'' and ''weak''.

:[Salesman holds up a dagger]
:Salesman: And this dagger is made of metal from a far-off kingdom. It glows blue.
:Off-panel: When orcs are near?

:Salesman: No, always. Radiation from the Actinium content.
:Megan: ...Does it have eldritch powers?

:Salesman: It gives the wearer +2 to cancer risk.
:Cueball: I think we should find another shop.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

1082: Geology

2013-01-01T02:08:08Z

68.102.58.19: Fixed pronunciations

{{comic
| number = 1082
| date = July 16, 2012
| title = Geology
| image = geology.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = That's a gneiss butte.
}}

== Explanation ==
Here we have [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] (with her stylish Geology hat) discussing Geology and the words they use are ripe with puns and {{w|double entendre}}s which also have sexual meanings. In the end they just decide to get it on.

In the alt text, {{w|gneiss}} (pronounced "neis") is a type of rock, and {{w|Butte (geology)|butte}} (rhymes with "cute") is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top. Thus, a "gneiss butte" is a play on "nice butt".

== Transcript ==
: [Two people are doing a geological survey]
: Person 1: Forget the bedding - we were wrong about the whole valley.
: Person 2: The spreading is recent.
: Person 1: See the friction breccia?
: Person 2: Oh - flow cleavage! Deeper in the rift.
: Person 1: Deeper.
: [An idea pops into Person 1's head]
: Person 1: This orogeny
: Person 2: is driven by a
: Person 1: *huge*
: Person 2: *thrust* fault
: [The same idea pops into person 2's head]
: [They both drop to the ground in a fit of passion]
: Geology: Surprisingly erotic.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Physics]]

933: Tattoo

2013-01-01T01:59:43Z

68.102.58.19: Fixing facts

{{comic
| number = 933
| date = August 3, 2011
| title = Tattoo
| image = tattoo.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = I calculate that the electrons in radiation therapy hit you at 99.8% of the speed of light, and the beam used in a 90-second gamma ray therapy session could, if fired with less precision, kill a horse (they did not let me test this).
}}

==Explanation==
An {{w|Oncologist}} is a doctor who specializes in the treatment of {{w|cancer}}. This comic is certainly related to the {{w|breast cancer}} issue that [[Randall]] is going through with his fiancé. [[Megan]] in this comic has a {{w|tattoo}} for the alignment lasers of the radiotherapy machine which will fire a beam of radiation with sufficient intensity to kill the cells in the targeted area. A common such machine is a linear accelerator or "Linac" which accelerates electrons to very high speed, these can then either be used to generate high energy Xrays to treat the patient, or the electron beam itself can be used (both are types of radiation). Commonly when radiotherapy is used as part of breast cancer treatment some combination of both is prescribed. In order to allow healthy tissue to recover better, rather than deliver all the radiation in one go, the treatment is delivered a little bit each day over the course of about a month. It is therefore vital that the radiation can be delivered to the correct target area day after day, and this is done by lining up the alignment lasers of the linac with the skin markers - that is Megan's tattoo dots. It may not be considered a "traditional" tattoo (because it says it was done by her Oncologist and not in a tattoo parlor).

In the last frame, it is mentioned that [[Cueball]] has a barbed wire bicep tattoo, which is common in the US as a tattoo that people get when they want to seem tough, even if they aren't tough already.

The joke in the comic is that Cueball got this barbed wire tattoo to look tough, but it pales in comparison to the tattoo from (or for) the cancer removal or treatment. This is ironic because people who get barbed wire tattoos believe themselves to be tough. It is kind of funny because Cueball has his whole shirt off just to show a bicep tattoo.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is in the panel. Megan points at her chest.]
:Megan: I just have one tattoo - it's six dots on my chest, done by my oncologist.

:Megan: I need them for aligning the laser sights on a flesh-searing relativistic particle cannon,

:Megan: So it will only kill the parts of me

:[Dramatic zoom, the panel background is black, with white text.]
:Megan: That are holding me back.

:[The panel is larger, revealing who they're talking to.]
:Megan: But your barbed wire bicep tattoo is pretty hardcore, too!
:Cueball: No, it's OK. I'll just go put a shirt on.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Physics]]

849: Complex Conjugate

2013-01-01T01:55:32Z

68.102.58.19: Typos

{{comic
| number = 849
| date = January 19th, 2011
| title = Complex Conjugate
| image = complex_conjugate.png
| titletext = Fun fact: if you say this every time a professor does something to a complex-number equation that drops the imaginary part, they'll eventually move the class to another room and tell everyone else except you.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a joke on the common phrase "Shit just got ''real''", meaning that something has suddenly increased in difficulty so it is now a real challenge. [[Cueball]] is standing in front of a board delivering a lesson, and is about to multiply a wavefunction by its complex conjugate. In mathematics, the product of a complex number and its conjugate removes the imaginary part, effectively making it "real". Accordingly, Cueball dictates that the people who are not skilled enough should leave. The title text states that if you joke about this every time it's applicable, the class will ditch you and attempt to take place in another room.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing at a whiteboard covered in equations, one of which is the time dependent Schrodinger equation.]
:Cueball: Okay, anyone who's feeling like they can't handle the physics here should probably just leave now.

:Cueball: Because I'm multiplying the wavefunction by its complex conjugate.
:Cueball: That's right.

:[Dramatic zoom. It appears the teacher is writing on the side of the panel.]
:Cueball: Shit just got ''real''.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]

401: Large Hadron Collider

2013-01-01T01:45:47Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 401
| date = March 26, 2008
| title = Large Hadron Collider
| image = large_hadron_collider.png
| titletext = When charged particles of more than 5 TeV pass through a bubble chamber, they leave a trail of candy.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows its age. The Higgs Boson has been found... [[http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/higgs-boson-data-set-to-music-is-oddly-beautiful-20121013/ even set to music]]!

The search for the Higgs boson has been conducted at the Large Hadron Collider for the past 40 years. The Higgs boson is thought to be what gives particles their mass. If its existence is confirmed, it would help validate several of the most important theories in physics.

The last panel may be a reference to the fact that streams of protons are sometimes used in the treatment of cancer.

==Transcript==
:Text: The Large Hadron Collider, CERN...
:Megan: Okay, moment of truth. "click"
:Large Hadron Collider: "VVVVVRRMMMMM"
:Cueball: Do you see the Higgs Boson?
:Megan: Nope.
:Cueball: Huh.
:Megan: Well, then.
:Cueball: Until the theorists get back to us, wanna try hitting pigeons with the proton stream?
:Megan: Already on it. Cool! I just gave a helicopter cancer.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]

1145: Sky Color

2012-12-31T23:34:56Z

68.102.58.19: clarification

{{comic
| number = 1145
| date = December 10, 2012
| title = Sky Color
| image = sky color.png
| titletext = Feynman recounted another good one upperclassmen would use on freshmen physics students: When you look at words in a mirror, how come they're reversed left to right but not top to bottom? What's special about the horizontal axis?
}}

==Explanation==
The point of this comic is that often, curious children ask their parents simple questions about understanding how the world works. [[Randall]]'s hobby is to make those questions infinitely harder to stump the parents and make them uncomfortable.

Another point of this comic is that we often think that we understand a scientific phenomenon (e.g. why is the sky blue?); however, a certain simple question (e.g. why isn't the sky violet?) can often uncover large gaps in our actual understanding.

{{W|Rayleigh scattering}} is the phenomenon that explains the color of the sky, where light of every wavelength gets scattered in the air by the inverse quartic (fourth power) of its wavelength as given in the comic. In the {{w|visible spectrum}}, blue light has a wavelength of 450–495 nm while violet has a shorter wavelength of 380–450 nm. Violet light does indeed get scattered more than blue light, however the lower portion of the spectrum for sunlight consists of blue light and eyes are much more sensitive to blue light than violet light. This leaves the impression of a blue sky. A good explanation, including why blue and not violet, can be found in [http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html Usenet Physics FAQ :: Why is the sky blue?] (but note that human color perception [http://blog.asmartbear.com/color-wheels.html is more complicated] than described there).

The title text refers to a {{w|mirror image}}, and is discussed by Richard Feynman in a famous BBC documentary [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tuxLY94LXw], as one of the problems which he used to have fun with first years (British English for first year student or freshman).

A mirror image is a virtual image produced by the reflection of light on a mirror. In the mirror image, only front and back are switched around - like a printing press or a rubber stamp. Left and right are still left and right in an absolute reference frame - wave your left arm in front of the mirror and the "mirror person" also waves the arm on the left side. It is only when using "personal" reference frame - tied to the individual - that we can say that the "mirror person" is moving their right arm.

The start of the word would still be closest to the door, the end of the word closest to the window, as in the real room, only the person in the mirror is facing the other way. The apparent inversion comes from the fact that the mind projects itself onto the person in the mirror, and the writing on his paper will be illegible (from "his" right to left instead of from "his" left to right)

To help understand why this effect happens, imagine that you are holding a sign which says "MIX" and facing a mirror. Initially, you face the sign towards you. The M is on the left and the X on the right. Now, you turn the sign around so that the sign faces the mirror. Now, even without paying any attention to the mirror, simply because you have turned it around, now the M is on the right and the X is on the left and if you could see through the back of the sign, it would say "XIM" from your perspective. When you look at it in the mirror, you are now able to see that orientation and it appears to read "XIM". If instead of turning the sign around horizontally to look at it in the mirror, you flipped it vertically and looked at it in the mirror, it would appear to say "WIX" in the mirror. Thus the mirror is only revealing how the text is oriented relative to your eyes. (Or, to put it more succinctly: mirrors ''don't'' reverse left to right, ''turning around'' does.)

{{w|Richard Feynman}} was a famous American theoretical physicist.

==Transcript==
:[Girl and her mother. The mother is at a desk and facing the girl.]
:Girl: Mommy, why is the sky blue?
:Mother: Rayleigh scattering! Short wavelengths get scattered ''way'' more (proportional to 1/''λ''4). Blue light dominates because it's so short.
:Girl: Oh.
:Girl: So why ''isn't'' the sky violet?
:Mother: Well, because, uh... ...hmm.

:Caption: My hobby: Teaching tricky questions to the children of my scientist friends.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1154: Resolution

2012-12-31T23:23:38Z

68.102.58.19: added link

{{comic
| number = 1154
| date = December 31, 2012
| title = Resolution
| image = resolution.png
| titletext = If at first you don't succeed, that's one data point.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a little reminder that it's the last day of 2012, and it's time to make your resolutions!

[[Cueball]] wants to break a very common habit of resolving to do something (go on a diet, for example), not doing it, and then trying the same, dysfunctional plan again, thinking it will work "this year."

The irony is that Cueball resolved the same thing last year, and it is implied it didn't work, but he says it'll be different "this year."

The title text is a parody of the saying "if at first you don't succeed: try, try, try again."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Elaine Roberts

2012-12-31T23:14:15Z

68.102.58.19: typos

{{Infobox character
| image = Elaine_Roberts.png
| imagesize =
| caption = Elaine Roberts seen in [[1337: Part 3]]
| first_appearance = [[342: 1337: Part 2]]
}}

'''Elaine Roberts''' is the world's best hacker. She is the oldest daughter of [[Mrs. Roberts]], and has a younger brother nicknamed [[Little Bobby Tables]]. She was mentored by {{w|Donald Knuth}} in his mountain hideaway for four years [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SurpassedTheTeacher until she bested him]. She has broken in to {{w|NSA}} headquarters with the help of {{w|Adrian Lamo}}. She helped {{w|Steve Jobs}} develop a vision of the future Apple, as well as having fought MPAA and RIAA ninja.

According to trivia in title text of [[342: 1337: Part 2]], "Elaine" is actually her middle name. Her actual "first" name is "Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory" as stated in the title text of [[327: Exploits of a Mom]].

{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]

451: Impostor

2012-12-31T22:56:03Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 451
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Impostor
| image = impostor.png
| titletext = If you think this is too hard on literary criticism, read the Wikipedia article on deconstruction.
}}

==Explanation==
The first panel shows Cueball discussing an engineering problem with Ponytail. Logarithms are used in fields such as psychology and computer science, and have nothing to do with heat dissipation.

Klingon is a language from Star Trek. This is fairly self-explanatory.

Sociology has nothing to do with ranking people; it is the study of human society and social behaviors.

Literary criticism is almost entirely subjective, so many interpretations can be valid. There isn't just one "right" way to critique literature, so these students think Cueball has a valid point.

{{incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:My Hobby: Sitting down with grad students and timing how long it takes them to figure out that I'm not actually an expert in their field.
:Engineering:
:Students: Our big problem is heat dissipation
:Cueball: Have you tried logarithms?
:48 seconds
:Linguistics:
:Cueball: Ah, so does this Finno-ugric family include, say, Klingon?
:63 Seconds
:Sociology:
:Cueball: Yeah, my latest work is on ranking people from best to worst.
:4 Minutes
:Literary Criticism:
:Cueball: You see, the deconstruction is inextricable from not only the text, but also the self.
:Eight papers and two books and they haven't caught on.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

403: Convincing Pickup Line

2012-12-31T22:36:51Z

68.102.58.19: spelling

{{comic
| number = 403
| date = March 31, 2008
| title = Convincing Pickup Line
| image = convincing pickup line.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Check it out; I've had sex with someone who's had sex with someone who's written a paper with Paul Erdős!
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|graph (mathematics)|graph}} is a mathematical object consisting of '''nodes''' connected by lines called '''edges'''. The nodes could represent for example people, and the edges could represent a connection from having slept together. Now, Megan has such a graph. Arguably, a {{w|symmetric graph|graph that is symmetric}} is nicer than a regular one, why Megan suggests that they should sleep together.
===Title text===
This is a small-world joke on the concept of {{w|Erdős number}}. {{w|Paul Erdős}} was a Hungarian mathematician renowned for his eccentricity and productivity. He holds the world record for the number of published math papers, as well as for the number of collaborative papers. A persons Erdős number is the "collaborative distance" between the person and Erdős. Paul Erdős's Erdős number is 0 by definition. All his 511 collaborators have the Erdős number 1. If you have written a paper with someone who's written a paper with someone who's written a paper with Paul Erdős your Erdős number is 3. If you know a mathematician or are a mathematician you can calculate your Erdős number [http://www.ams.org/mathscinet/collaborationDistance.html here].
==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan sit at a small table in a cafe. Megan holds up a graph.]
:Megan: We're a terrible match. But if we sleep together, it'll make the local hookup network a symmetric graph.
:Cueball: I can't argue with that.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Romance]]

401: Large Hadron Collider

2012-12-31T22:34:53Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 401
| date = March 26, 2008
| title = Large Hadron Collider
| image = large_hadron_collider.png
| titletext = When charged particles of more than 5 TeV pass through a bubble chamber, they leave a trail of candy.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows its age. The Higgs Boson has been found... [[http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/higgs-boson-data-set-to-music-is-oddly-beautiful-20121013/ even set to music]]!

The search for the Higgs boson has been conducted at the Large Hadron Collider for the past 40 years. The Higgs boson is thought to be what gives particles their mass. If its existence is confirmed, it would help validate several of the most important theories in physics.

The last panel may be a reference to the fact that streams of protons are sometimes used in the treatment of cancer.
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:Text: The Large Hadron Collider, CERN...
:Megan: Okay, moment of truth. "click"
:Large Hadron Collider: "VVVVVRRMMMMM"
:Cueball: Do you see the Higgs Boson?
:Megan: Nope.
:Cueball: Huh.
:Megan: Well, then.
:Cueball: Until the theorists get back to us, wanna try hitting pigeons with the proton stream?
:Megan: Already on it. Cool! I just gave a helicopter cancer.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]

264: Choices: Part 1

2012-12-31T21:59:39Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 264
| date = May 21, 2007
| title = Choices: Part 1
| image = choices_part_1.jpg
| titletext = Wait, damn, I think I spotted a new email on the last refresh.
}}

==Explanation==
Megan enters a hole in reality, and starts out a metaphoric five-part adventure, which celebrates, marvels at, and reminds of human freedom.

All parts of "[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]":
* [[264: Choices: Part 1]]
* [[265: Choices: Part 2]]
* [[266: Choices: Part 3]]
* [[267: Choices: Part 4]]
* [[268: Choices: Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[Girl sits at desk, using computer. Refreshes page]
:<<*Refresh*>>
:<<Click>>
:[Sits back and looks at monitor]
:[Refreshes page on computer]
:<<*Refresh*>
:<<Click>>
:[Sits back and looks at monitor]
:[Girl leans forward and clicks mouse]
:<<Click>>
:[A hole opens up in the panel. It appears to be the torn paper of the comic itself. A blue, sky-like background is revealed. Girl jumps in surprise, nearly tipping over the chair]
:[Girl stands up as the chair falls over completely.]
:[Wide view. The girl looks back at the door furtively]
:[She begins to climb into the hole]
:[By now the girl is entirely inside the hole. She is closing it behind her]
:[Only her head and arms are visible]
:[The hole is closed, revealing a formation of ripped paper.]
:–Large frame–
:[She appears to be in space. Stars dot the sky and a ray of light traverses the frame horizontally. Megan is in a bubble, floating disconnectedly. Both her and bubble have become white, tinged against the backdrop]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Choices]]

208: Regular Expressions

2012-12-31T21:57:58Z

68.102.58.19:

{{comic
| number = 208
| date = January 10, 2007
| title = Regular Expressions
| image = regular_expressions.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Wait, forgot to escape a space. Wheeeeee[taptaptap]eeeeee.
}}

==Explanation==
In computing, a {{w|regular expression}} provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters.

Looking for a specific pattern on 200MB of text is an equivalent to "looking for a needle in a haystack" (Considering UTF-32 (32bits per character), this would be over 5 million characters. This task can be made easy by using "regexes", since they can find "match" a specific string pattern on the text.

{{w|Perl}} is a popular scripting language, and is especially well known for the flexible and simple regular expression features that it offers.

==Trivia==
This comic is featured on one of the [http://shop.xkcd.com/products/i-know-regular-expressions T-shirts] sold at the xkcd store

==Transcript==
:Narrator: Whenever I learn a new skill I concoct elaborate fantasy scenarios where it lets me save the day.

:Megan: Oh no! The killer must have followed her on vacation!

:[Megan points to computer]
:Megan: But to find them we'd need to search through 200MB of emails looking for something formatted like an address!
:Cueball: It's hopeless!

:Offpanel voice: Everybody stand back.

:Offpanel voice: I know regular expressions.

:[A man swings in on a rope, toward the computer]

:''tap tap''
:''PERL!''

:[The man swings away, and the other characters cheer]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]