https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.216.65&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-19T04:57:59ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F&diff=112726Talk:111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?2016-02-18T21:48:14Z<p>108.162.216.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>Correlation does not equal causation.... I think that's one of the underlying points of this. That, and people who use IE don't understand that. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.56}}<br />
<br />
The link to Revelation 22 is misleading. It was written several centuries before the Bible was compiled, and the phrase "this book" presumably refers to the Book of Revelation. A better scripture to link to is [[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+4%3A2&version=ESV Deuteronomy 4:2]], which prohibits editing the words that god commands you. That's not the entire bible, but it's enough that you could realistically call it closed source. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.90|199.27.128.90]] 00:23, 2 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The use of the open-source closed-source terminology is flawed here: open-source simply means that the source code (the program for IE and words for the Bible) is available to be read.<br />
<br />
It does NOT mean that you can edit it (even if you don't distribute it) as anybody who owns a TiVo or has tried reading a Terms of Service document knows; that 'right' would come under the more important "Free Software" umbrella, as [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html this article by Richard Stallman] explains.<br />
[[User:YatharthROCK|YatharthROCK]] ([[User talk:YatharthROCK|talk]]) 06:03, 3 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Open source does mean you can edit it. See the [http://opensource.org/osd-annotated Open Source Definintion]: "The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.189|108.162.219.189]] 02:48, 2 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Wouldn't that be opensource.org's definition? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.124|108.162.237.124]] 22:50, 21 November 2014 (UTC) Steven<br />
<br />
It looks like Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's statistics on the relation between pirate's numbers and global temperature[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PiratesVsTemp(en).svg].--[[User:Anodibdogb|Anodibdogb]] ([[User talk:Anodibdogb|talk]]) 12:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The Microsoft + Christianity is probably a reference to Microsoft acquiring Christianity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1633:_Possible_Undiscovered_Planets&diff=1098641633: Possible Undiscovered Planets2016-01-23T18:18:23Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Explanation */ controversy is less than implied here</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1633<br />
| date = January 22, 2016<br />
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets<br />
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png<br />
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Misses lots of information and wiki links. Links to paper etc.}}<br />
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible Neptune-sized planet far beyond the farthest planet Neptune. The new planets influence is suggested to explain the unusual orbits of a group of outer solar system objects. This news was published only two days before the release of this comic, see for instance here [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]. The news came out the day of the previous comics release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), so this was the first comic released after the news came out. This also explain why this comic was released in the later afternoon rather than already around midnight. Because [[Randall]] had to decide to do this comic, then stop the comic scheduled for release this day, and then draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic about "{{w|Planet X}}", (now Planet IX), before he could release this day's comic.<br />
<br />
Randall's chart categorizes objects based on their size and distance from himself (probably from center to center, which explains the position of the Earth, one Earth radius plus one Randall radius). Stating the obvious, this diagram shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be far and small enough that we did not see it yet, but big enough to be a planet. Astronomer Mike Brown recently published a paper showing indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, due to perturbations in the orbits of several dwarf planets.<br />
<br />
The chart uses a generous {{w|definition of planet}} (from the Greek word for "wanderer"), and allows any distinct solid object as a possible planet, whereas the {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial (at the time of its introduction) calculation of relative size that excludes Kuiper Belt Objects such as Pluto. Planet Nine would be large enough to meet the IAU definition, however.<br />
<br />
That said, the actual planets are prominently marked on the chart: they are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and Planet Nine, the bottom row of 3 is (from left to right) Venus (the largest), Mars, and Mercury (it is unclear how Randall is calculating the distance to these three since these options don't work: closest approach, average, mean, current, max). The top row of 4 is (from left to right) Jupiter and Saturn (visible to the naked eye) and Uranus and Neptune (visible through a telescope). Pluto, no longer considered a planet, is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune in the corner of the pink region. (There is one dwarf planet that doesn't appear in the pink region, because it is visible with a telescope: Ceres, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter.)<br />
<br />
The Moon is marked on the chart, parenthetically and in grey since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood), but it was considered one of the classical planets by the ancient Greeks who invented the word. The Sun, however, is not marked at all (not even in grey), even though it is extremely prominent and was also one of the classical planets. It should be right above Mercury, inside the region of things that we can see during the day (note that object that big WOULD be shining, Jupiter is already brighter than if it would reflect 100% of Sun's light[https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results]. In general, "planets ruled out because we would see them during the day" refers to objects big enough to be stars, but all stars other than Sun are too far away to fit on the chart.<br />
<br />
Randall correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its radius, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more that the planet would be inside him).<br />
<br />
"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}}, a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" because it's too cold (if it exists).<br />
<br />
The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since he often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram.<br />
<br />
The comic seems to imply a flat (or mostly birdless) Earth, as birds are not shown to exist further than about 1000 km away from the "me", while Earth's diameter is in the ballpark of 10000 km.<br />
The region of "satellites" should be extended down an order of magnitude or so to account for 10 cm {{w|cubesat}}s.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
:Possible Undiscovered Planets<br />
:in our Solar System<br />
:By Size and Distance (from me)<br />
<br />
:[Graph with logarithmic axes]<br />
:[Y axis: Diameter, scale 1 mm to 1 AU]<br />
:[X axis: Distance from me, scale 1 cm to 10000 AU]<br />
<br />
:[red rectangle] Possible undiscovered planets<br />
:[black dot] Known planets<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1633:_Possible_Undiscovered_Planets&diff=1098631633: Possible Undiscovered Planets2016-01-23T18:17:18Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Explanation */ '</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1633<br />
| date = January 22, 2016<br />
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets<br />
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png<br />
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Misses lots of information and wiki links. Links to paper etc.}}<br />
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible Neptune-sized planet far beyond the farthest planet Neptune. The new planets influence is suggested to explain the unusual orbits of a group of outer solar system objects. This news was published only two days before the release of this comic, see for instance here [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]. The news came out the day of the previous comics release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), so this was the first comic released after the news came out. This also explain why this comic was released in the later afternoon rather than already around midnight. Because [[Randall]] had to decide to do this comic, then stop the comic scheduled for release this day, and then draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic about "{{w|Planet X}}", (now Planet IX), before he could release this day's comic.<br />
<br />
Randall's chart categorizes objects based on their size and distance from himself (probably from center to center, which explains the position of the Earth, one Earth radius plus one Randall radius). Stating the obvious, this diagram shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be far and small enough that we did not see it yet, but big enough to be a planet. Astronomer Mike Brown recently published a paper showing indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, due to perturbations in the orbits of several dwarf planets.<br />
<br />
The chart uses a generous {{w|definition of planet}} (from the Greek word for "wanderer"), and allows any distinct solid object as a possible planet, whereas the {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial calculation of relative size that excludes Kuiper Belt Objects such as Pluto. Planet Nine would be large enough to meet the IAU definition, however.<br />
<br />
That said, the actual planets are prominently marked on the chart: they are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and Planet Nine, the bottom row of 3 is (from left to right) Venus (the largest), Mars, and Mercury (it is unclear how Randall is calculating the distance to these three since these options don't work: closest approach, average, mean, current, max). The top row of 4 is (from left to right) Jupiter and Saturn (visible to the naked eye) and Uranus and Neptune (visible through a telescope). Pluto, no longer considered a planet, is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune in the corner of the pink region. (There is one dwarf planet that doesn't appear in the pink region, because it is visible with a telescope: Ceres, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter.)<br />
<br />
The Moon is marked on the chart, parenthetically and in grey since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood), but it was considered one of the classical planets by the ancient Greeks who invented the word. The Sun, however, is not marked at all (not even in grey), even though it is extremely prominent and was also one of the classical planets. It should be right above Mercury, inside the region of things that we can see during the day (note that object that big WOULD be shining, Jupiter is already brighter than if it would reflect 100% of Sun's light[https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results]. In general, "planets ruled out because we would see them during the day" refers to objects big enough to be stars, but all stars other than Sun are too far away to fit on the chart.<br />
<br />
Randall correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its radius, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more that the planet would be inside him).<br />
<br />
"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}}, a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" because it's too cold (if it exists).<br />
<br />
The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since he often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram.<br />
<br />
The comic seems to imply a flat (or mostly birdless) Earth, as birds are not shown to exist further than about 1000 km away from the "me", while Earth's diameter is in the ballpark of 10000 km.<br />
The region of "satellites" should be extended down an order of magnitude or so to account for 10 cm {{w|cubesat}}s.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
:Possible Undiscovered Planets<br />
:in our Solar System<br />
:By Size and Distance (from me)<br />
<br />
:[Graph with logarithmic axes]<br />
:[Y axis: Diameter, scale 1 mm to 1 AU]<br />
:[X axis: Distance from me, scale 1 cm to 10000 AU]<br />
<br />
:[red rectangle] Possible undiscovered planets<br />
:[black dot] Known planets<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1618:_Cold_Medicine&diff=1074541618: Cold Medicine2015-12-21T13:02:26Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1618<br />
| date = December 18, 2015<br />
| title = Cold Medicine<br />
| image = cold_medicine.png<br />
| titletext = Seriously considering buying some illegal drugs to try to turn them back into cold medicine.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is, in this comic, probably representing [[Randall]], who as anyone else living in {{w|Geographical zone|The North Temperate Zone}} is very likely to have a {{w|Common cold|cold}} at this time of year (released in December). The way the title text is phrased makes this even more likely, see below. Also it is only two weeks ago Randall posted another comic about a cold works: [[1612: Colds]]. It thus seems that he is suffering from a long lasting cold, that he just can't get rid of.<br />
<br />
Cueball is evidently suffering from a cold and he is searching the shelves labeled cold and {{w|Influenza|Flu}} at a {{w|pharmacy}} for any kind of '''cold medicine''' (hence the title), to alleviate his symptoms. Note that this all he can hope for, as there are still {{w|Common_cold#Management|no cure}} that really helps getting rid of the cold faster. All medication can do is help relieving the symptoms until the body's own {{w|immune system}} takes care of the relatively harmless cold virus.<br />
<br />
After looking at several different options Cueball is clearly unsatisfied with what he finds. Either he doesn't feel that any of the unmonitored drugs available on the serve-yourself-shelf is useful, or he is actually too sick to properly ascertain which medicine he needs. In the end he approaches the counter and asks the {{w|pharmacist}} ([[Ponytail]]) to give him one of every kind of cold medicine which requires an ID to purchase. Taking lots of different medicines together could harm, or even kill you, because certain combinations of medications interact in ways that make them dangerous or even lethal. But that is not the message that Ponytail tries to give him, instead she tries to warn him that he would end up on some watchlist, presumably one of the government agencies ({{w|DEA}}, {{w|FBI}}, {{w|CIA}} etc.) But she never get to finish her sentence because Cueball is beyond caring and tells her this.<br />
<br />
In the USA, cold medicines containing {{w|pseudoephedrine}} are kept behind the counter and IDs purchasing them are monitored, because pseudoephedrine can be used to make the scheduled drug {{w|methamphetamine}} or meth (a more hydrophobic version of {{w|amphetamine}}). However, it is also an extremely effective {{w|decongestant}} (a pharmaceutical drug that is used to relieve {{w|nasal congestion}}/plugged nose), much more so than the common substitutes ({{w|phenylephrine}} and {{w|oxymetazoline}} have no clinically proven decongestant effect). This could be one reason why Cueball just requests all kinds of cold medicines of amongst other this type; he does not appear to care what exactly he is purchasing, believing that his one criterion will provide him medicine powerful enough for his illness. It may also be that he is just too sick to care or realize that this will arouse suspicion of him being a drug dealer, or to recognize the need to select only one medication of these type.<br />
<br />
This could be a reference to the medicine with the brand name {{w|Sudafed}}, sold as an over the counter decongestants with pseudoephedrine as the active ingredient. Now the manufacturer also sells a different type of medicine with the same brand name without pseudoephedrine, but with phenylephrine, which has long been known to be no more effective than a {{w|placebo}}. If you buy this off the shelf (where it can be sold because it does not contain methamphetamine precursors) then you could easily get home with the once effective Sudafed, only to realize later that it does not alleviate any symptoms. This could offer another explanation for Cueball's request and outburst in the final panel.<br />
<br />
The title text seems to be Randall's own comment on how badly he is affected by his cold. He thus, humorously, suggest that he is now ready to purchase illegal drugs (this would then be ''meth'') in order to turn it back into a cold medicine (i.e. pseudoephedrine). This would not be safe to do, but may may be a reference to this spoof paper: ''[http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine''], a take on the long-going joke on the recent difficulty in obtaining pseudoephedrine, i.e. it is now easier to get your hands on the illegal drug made from it. It is a humorous exaggeration of how far Randall is willing to go to get the best cold medicine, and the potency of the drugs needed to treat his apparently debilitating illness. There are many illegal drugs that when first synthesized were planned to use as a medical drug, but then later abused by drug addicts, but given the subject of the comic, the title text obviously refers to meth.<br />
<br />
Randall continued in the medical world with the next comic: [[1619: Watson Medical Algorithm]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a drug store, with a drug in his hand he has taken from the shelf he is standing next to. The shelf is labeled.]<br />
:Cueball: *Sniffle*<br />
:Label: Cold & Flu<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing alone, examining some medicine he is holding up, while having some other medicine in the other hand.]<br />
:Cueball: *Cough*<br />
:Cueball: *Sniff*<br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues examining more medicine. Looking down on one in his hand, having another in the other hand and there are also three packages at his feet.]<br />
:Cueball: Ughhh...<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is at the labeled counter in the drug store with computer etc. Ponytail is behind the counter.]<br />
:Counter label: Sale<br />
:Cueball: Just gimme one of every kind of cold medicine you need ID to buy.<br />
:Ponytail: You'll go on the watchlist for—<br />
:Cueball: Don't care.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1618:_Cold_Medicine&diff=1074521618: Cold Medicine2015-12-21T12:57:05Z<p>108.162.216.65: fixed diction, facts</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1618<br />
| date = December 18, 2015<br />
| title = Cold Medicine<br />
| image = cold_medicine.png<br />
| titletext = Seriously considering buying some illegal drugs to try to turn them back into cold medicine.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is, in this comic, probably representing [[Randall]], who as anyone else living in {{w|Geographical zone|The North Temperate Zone}} is very likely to have a {{w|Common cold|cold}} at this time of year (released in December). The way the title text is phrased makes this even more likely, see below. Also it is only two weeks ago Randall posted another comic about a cold works: [[1612: Colds]]. It thus seems that he is suffering from a long lasting cold, that he just can't get rid of.<br />
<br />
Cueball is evidently suffering from a cold and he is searching the shelves labeled cold and {{w|Influenza|Flu}} at a {{w|pharmacy}} for any kind of '''cold medicine''' (hence the title), to alleviate his symptoms. Note that this all he can hope for, as there are still {{w|Common_cold#Management|no cure}} that really helps getting rid of the cold faster. All medication can do is help relieving the symptoms until the body's own {{w|immune system}} takes care of the relatively harmless cold virus.<br />
<br />
After looking at several different options Cueball is clearly unsatisfied with what he finds. Either he doesn't feel that any of the unmonitored drugs available on the serve-yourself-shelf is useful, or he is actually too sick to properly ascertain which medicine he needs. In the end he approaches the counter and asks the {{w|pharmacist}} ([[Ponytail]]) to give him one of every kind of cold medicine which requires an ID to purchase. Taking lots of different medicines together could harm, or even kill you, because certain combinations of medications interact in ways that make them dangerous or even lethal. But that is not the message that Ponytail tries to give him, instead she tries to warn him that he would end up on some watchlist, presumably one of the government agencies ({{w|DEA}}, {{w|FBI}}, {{w|CIA}} etc.) But she never get to finish her sentence because Cueball is beyond caring and tells her this.<br />
<br />
In the USA, cold medicines containing {{w|pseudoephedrine}} are kept behind the counter and IDs purchasing them are monitored, because pseudoephedrine can be used to make the scheduled drug {{w|methamphetamine}} or meth (a more hydrophobic version of {{w|amphetamine}}). However, it is also an extremely effective {{w|decongestant}} (a pharmaceutical drug that is used to relieve {{w|nasal congestion}}/plugged nose), much more so than the common substitutes {{w|phenylephrine}} and {{w|oxymetazoline} have no clinically proven decongestant effect}. This could be one reason why Cueball just requests all kinds of cold medicines of amongst other this type; he does not appear to care what exactly he is purchasing, believing that his one criterion will provide him medicine powerful enough for his illness. It may also be that he is just too sick to care or realize that this will arouse suspicion of him being a drug dealer, or to recognize the need to select only one medication of these type.<br />
<br />
This could be a reference to the medicine with the brand name {{w|Sudafed}}, sold as an over the counter decongestants with pseudoephedrine as the active ingredient. Now the manufacturer also sells a different type of medicine with the same brand name without pseudoephedrine, but with phenylephrine, which has long been known to be no more effective than a {{w|placebo}}. If you buy this off the shelf (where it can be sold because it does not contain methamphetamine precursors) then you could easily get home with the once effective Sudafed, only to realize later that it does not alleviate any symptoms. This could offer another explanation for Cueball's request and outburst in the final panel.<br />
<br />
The title text seems to be Randall's own comment on how badly he is affected by his cold. He thus, humorously, suggest that he is now ready to purchase illegal drugs (this would then be ''meth'') in order to turn it back into a cold medicine (i.e. pseudoephedrine). This would not be safe to do, but may may be a reference to this spoof paper: ''[http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine''], a take on the long-going joke on the recent difficulty in obtaining pseudoephedrine, i.e. it is now easier to get your hands on the illegal drug made from it. It is a humorous exaggeration of how far Randall is willing to go to get the best cold medicine, and the potency of the drugs needed to treat his apparently debilitating illness. There are many illegal drugs that when first synthesized were planned to use as a medical drug, but then later abused by drug addicts, but given the subject of the comic, the title text obviously refers to meth.<br />
<br />
Randall continued in the medical world with the next comic: [[1619: Watson Medical Algorithm]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a drug store, with a drug in his hand he has taken from the shelf he is standing next to. The shelf is labeled.]<br />
:Cueball: *Sniffle*<br />
:Label: Cold & Flu<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing alone, examining some medicine he is holding up, while having some other medicine in the other hand.]<br />
:Cueball: *Cough*<br />
:Cueball: *Sniff*<br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues examining more medicine. Looking down on one in his hand, having another in the other hand and there are also three packages at his feet.]<br />
:Cueball: Ughhh...<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is at the labeled counter in the drug store with computer etc. Ponytail is behind the counter.]<br />
:Counter label: Sale<br />
:Cueball: Just gimme one of every kind of cold medicine you need ID to buy.<br />
:Ponytail: You'll go on the watchlist for—<br />
:Cueball: Don't care.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1618:_Cold_Medicine&diff=107231Talk:1618: Cold Medicine2015-12-18T13:58:03Z<p>108.162.216.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
- I'm unsure on the actual scientific accuracy of this, given it is a fake paper, but http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 05:49, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is in reference to recent studies that have proven that Phenylephrine is no worse than a placebo.<br />
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylephrine<br />
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)60240-2/abstract<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 06:53, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
- I keep hearing about this Placebo. It seems like a very potent medicine that is good for everything. Where can you buy it? {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.213}}<br />
:Just get anything that is labeled 'homeopathic'. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.101|162.158.153.101]] 10:55, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
I don't think it's suggesting turning meth back to medicine. I think it's a reference to heroin and at least a handful(?) of other now-illegal drugs originally introduced purely as medicinal products. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 12:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:- i respectfully disagree, i reckon its exactly suggesting that ... Need cold medicine so bad i would buy illegal drugs made from cold medicine and seek to reverse the process. Obviously not the most practical way of getting cold medicine ... but thats the joke.[[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 13:08, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
Codeine was originally a cough suppressant. It was and is the most effective and reliable cough medicine available and very safe in the usual quantities. You can't get it, though -- for an ordinary cough -- because some people like to use a lot of it for fun and sometimes get addicted to large quantities of it. You could synthesize it or an analogue of it from heroin or oxycodone about as safely as any kitchen chemistry because they share the same opium base. <br />
<br />
The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
I take the title text differently - that since buying pseudoephedrine-containing drugs legally in a larger than minimal quantity (e.g. to stockpile them at home to have them at hand when you need them) already makes you a criminal suspect with 100% certainty (because you have to show your ID), it may be safer to buy illegal drugs on the black market, where you have at least some chance of not being caught. As for turning meth back to PE - it is possible for sure, since all chemical processes are reversible in one way or another, but I am not versed enough in organic chemistry to say if it is easier or harder than the other way round. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 12:33, 18 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Burning is chemical process. Creating wood from ash is generally considered unpractical. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=485:_Depth&diff=100042485: Depth2015-08-23T01:53:19Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Transcript */ reading</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 485<br />
| date = October 6, 2008<br />
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]<br />
| title = Depth<br />
| image = depth.png<br />
| titletext = The Planck length is another thousand or two pixels below the comic.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The comic is a companion piece to [[482: Height]], which explored a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from the edge of the observable universe down to the Earth's surface. ''Depth'' continues the process, viewing logarithmically smaller scales from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single {{w|proton}}. This combination is reminiscent of Charles and Ray Eames' 1977 short film [http://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0 Powers of Ten].<br />
<br />
Here's a walk through the entire comic:<br />
<br />
* At the top we see a cutaway view of a story apartment complex. From left to right are a reference to [[150: Grownups]], [[Megan]] {{w|exorcising}} {{w|Windows Vista}}, [[Ponytail]] and Megan playing {{w|Guitar Hero}} or a similar game, [[Cueball]] at a desk, and what appear to be some sexytimes.<br />
* The view descends into Cueball's tower PC.<br />
* Entering the computer's internals, we see a mouse plugged into the PS/2 (6-pin mini-DIN) connector. This is a visual pun, since the mouse is an actual rodent and not a handheld device.<br />
* Next we dive into the CPU. We see a multi-layered pun on the question "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" There may be a pun with a chip's connector pin, but the more obvious reference is Randall's answer of 32,767 = 2<sup>15</sup> - 1, the largest possible value of a signed 16-bit integer. Adding one rolls back over to -32,768, which is 32,768 devils or "negative angels." (See [[571: Can't Sleep]] for a similar joke and a more elaborate explanation.)<br />
* A blood-sucking mosquito appears to be "leeching" a torrent.<br />
* A {{w|segfault}} is a problem with memory access.<br />
* We zoom into a memory unit on the CPU. Cueball is being {{w|rickrolled}}, as indicated by the label "pixel on {{w|Rick Astley|Rick Astley's}} shoulder."<br />
* A "fork();" command points at one of several unlabeled spermatazoa. Forking and sperm are capable of spawning "child processes."<br />
* {{w|Peter Norton}} is the founder of {{w|Norton Antivirus}}. He is shown fighting a biological virus, rather than informatic malware.<br />
* Showing the relative scale of {{w|carbon nanotubes}}, the suggestion is that these then lead on to a more megastructural {{w|Space Elevator}}, for which carbon nanotubes are often cited as a suitably strong component needed for the cable.<br />
* We soon zoom into a silicon atom in the CPU. In the {{w|electron cloud}}, the squiggles made out of arrows are {{w|Feynman diagram}}s. A Feynman diagram in the shape of a stick figure is saying "Sup?", a pun on the "Sup" particle (supersymmetric partner 'squark' to the Up quark) and an abbreviation of the greeting "What's up?."<br />
* An 'iPod Femto' is shown, as a pun on the '{{w|iPod Nano}}' (both are {{w|SI prefixes}}), both of which refer to units far smaller than any ipod that has ever, or likely will ever, be created.<br />
* {{w|Brian Greene}} is a theoretical physicist and {{w|Popular science|pop scientist}} who discusses the nature of the universe. The picture of him knitting is a pun on {{w|string theory}} and PBS miniseries, {{w|The Fabric of the Cosmos}}.<br />
* The {{w|Planck length}} (<big>ℓ</big><sub>P</sub>) is the smallest theoretically measurable distance, defined by three fundamental constants in physics: the {{w|speed of light}} in a vacuum (c), {{w|Planck constant|Planck's constant}} (h), and the {{w|gravitational constant}} (G). The Planck length is vastly smaller than any known particle, and modern physics is a long way from being able investigate such a scale.<br />
<br />
[[1162: Log Scale]] and [[482: Height]] are other comics about the use of log scales.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Sizes Accurate on a vertical log scale<br />
:[Series of images of characters doing various things. The things they are doing are listed in left to right order.]<br />
:Cueball and Megan playing in a ball pen <br />
:Megan using witchcraft to ban vista "Out, Vista!"<br />
:Ponytail and Megan play Rock Band <br />
:Man and woman are having "fun" on a shaking bed.<br />
:[Below this series of images, an image of a man on the computer.]<br />
:Cueball is on a computer and the image expands as it goes down. Here are the labels from left to right, up to down:<br />
:CD <br />
:DVD<br />
:Case<br />
:North Bridge<br />
:PS/2<br />
:Mouse (rodent)<br />
:RAM<br />
:CPU Socket Pin<br />
:32,767 Angels Dancing (one more and they'd roll over and become {{w|Two's complement|32,768 Devils}}), Rice, Torrent (a bug), CPU, upcoming segfault<br />
:dust mite<br />
:hair<br />
:OVUM<br />
:Data (a pixel on Rick Astley's shoulder), rust mite, fork();<br />
:Peter Norton fighting a baxteriophage<br />
:memory<br />
:carbon nanotubes<br />
:space elevator<br />
:a line of silicon (Si), Electron Cloud, a man made out of arrows saying "sup?"<br />
:silicon nucleus<br />
:IPod femto<br />
:Brian Greene knitting furiously ''clink, clink''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Guitar Hero]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1346:_Career&diff=99354Talk:1346: Career2015-08-10T03:24:33Z<p>108.162.216.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>Come on ... those tasks can't be random ... someone find out what is Randal referring to ... isn't {{w|Luke Skywalker}} doing something wiht dryer traps at start of fourth movie? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:10, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:The answer to your question may depend upon which movie you think is the "fourth movie" (4th episode? 4th movie produced? If it's 4th movie produced, do you count the Holiday Special? Also, should anyone, anywhere, for any reason ever count the Holiday Special?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:25, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: Im sure he is refering to {{w|The Phantom Menace}}, and the comic could describe Anakin, however im not sure what "lump of slight soft wax" would refer to. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 14:49, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::I believe Hkmaly is referring to Episode IV. However, I think he's reading too much into this, and the tasks really are random. You simply can't connect them in a way that makes sense. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 16:38, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Yes, I was refering to Episode IV. Hint: I mentioned Luke Skywalker next. What Holiday Special? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:11, 26 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::::You did, indeed, mention Luke Skywalker. Thus, if you were asking about the fourth movie produced (ignoring the <del>Holiday Special</del>, which Lucas tries hard to do), then the answer to your original question would be an emphatic "No". If you were asking about Episode IV, then I'd have to check the movie or at least a transcript, but the answer would still probably be 'no'. Now, as for the <del>Holiday Special</del>, it was "broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, on November 17, 1978 [...and also in New Zealand and Australia, and a {{w|Star_wars_holiday_special#International_distribution|few other select places later}}]", according to {{w|Star Wars Holiday Special|Wikipedia}}... Lucas has apparently said "Right. That's one of those things that happened, and I just have to live with it" (Also according to Wikipedia, but with no citation...). It included Leia and others singing, comedy routines, and animation introducing Boba Fett. [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:13, 8 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::::If you don't know about the Holiday Special...consider yourself lucky.--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 15:14, 26 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::::Don't go down that road. It's a dark road that leads to a dark place and that dark place involves a Wookie, virtual reality, and horrific subtext.<br />
<br />
::::::And no, Lukes a moisture farmer. What would he use a dryer for? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 03:24, 10 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
I wouldn't say "it's impossible that anyone would pay someone for peeling lint from dryer traps" as someone in the commercial laundry mats has to do it at some point...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]]<br />
:Sure, but that's surely not the worker's ''only'' task. No one will pay someone just to peel lint. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 16:38, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If you had enough lint to remove you may need to hire more than one person to do it. If I needed lint peeled I would pay a reasonable wage for someone to do it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 18:46, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Do you think Randall would draw some cartoon just to mess with the people here at explainxkcd? I know I would! [[User:Bigfatbernie|Bigfatbernie]] ([[User talk:Bigfatbernie|talk]]) 19:01, 24 March 2014 (UTC) ([[User talk:bigfatbernie|talk]])<br />
<br />
biting into soft wax could also be stated as 'leaving an impression' {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.44}}<br />
<br />
:I can see why peeling lint is fun (at least for 5 minutes) as it's soft and it feels good and you can play around with it and its a rather relaxing task. The light saber stuff obviously is fun, too. But I really don't see why anyone would want to bite into a lump of slightly soft wax. Does anyone do that in real life? Sounds pretty disgusting to me. -- [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.137|173.245.53.137]] 19:53, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't think it's random at all... work my up from the bottom, to cutting edge science, resulting in amazing breathroughs, then come back to leave a lasting impression[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.28|108.162.221.28]] 19:54, 25 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
: I like that assessment - I do wonder if that was Randall's big idea behind his choices... [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The prior comic was about sleeping. Is this one actually about dreaming? The "dream" job tasks sound like the random events one might encounter in a dream. Pondy<br />
<br />
Biting into wax is actually pretty stimulating to the teeth, and is quite entertaining. Try biting that soft wax they put around cheese.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 23:39, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think this should be mentioned in the explanation. "Dream" cam mean ''an aspiration or goal'' or ''something of unreal excellence'' to HR people and to Cueball it means ''a succession of images passing through the mind during sleep''. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 22:18, 24 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Lightsaber handles certainly do exist right now (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Icons-Darth-Vader-lightsaber-James-Earl-Jones-Signature-Edition-265-of-1000-/191106490913?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7ed5a221), and you can put lightsaber handles up to any and all kinds of objects. You can even switch them on, or at least flick a switch ... it's the next part that sadly doesn't exist -- the actual lightsaber. Putting a lightsaber handle up to objects and flicking a switch would get pretty boring pretty fast though since the crucial lightsaber part is missing...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.33|108.162.219.33]] 20:14, 25 March 2014 (UTC)larK<br />
<br />
I think that he is talking literally about jobs that you dream about. Because dreams can be random and make no sense or have any logical timeline, he is describing what cueball is dreaming about. --[[User:Sirkha|Sirkha]] ([[User talk:Sirkha|talk]]) 04:40, 26 March 2014 (UTC)----<br />
<br />
:That make sense, but doesn't match the text below (I'm never sure how realistic to be). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:13, 26 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It does match that text. He is too realistic in describing his dream job, because he tries to decribe a job as it could actually happen when he is dreaming during sleep. {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.76}}<br />
<br />
I think he is referring to the question asked in interviews: Can you describe your "dream job"? The interviewer expects a realistic answer after specifically requesting for a ''dream'' job. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.53}}<br />
: A realistic answer? Or do you mean an answer describing a realistic job? to me, those are different things... [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:35, 8 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
;Let's start to improve this explain<br />
What is an "HR interview question"? As an non US citizen I just do not understand. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 27 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:HR probably means "Human Resources". It's the name of the department in a company than manages employees, does job interviews and so on. However I'm not a native english speaker either.-- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.97.205|141.101.97.205]] 12:21, 28 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I updated title text explanation[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.44|173.245.54.44]] 03:06, 9 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The connection between dryer lint and lightsabers seems to far-fetched. Remove? Does there actually have to be a connection between those activities besides them being entertaining? [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 14:20, 7 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Removed"Biting in slightly soft wax will create a {{w|dental impression}} that can be used to form {{w|dentures}}, which is often associated with old age, and therefore retirement", as it says biting the wax multiple times (which would ruin the dental impression. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.209}}</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=248:_Hypotheticals&diff=93037248: Hypotheticals2015-05-11T02:06:19Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 248<br />
| date = April 13, 2007<br />
| title = Hypotheticals<br />
| image = hypotheticals.png<br />
| titletext = What if someone broke out of a hypothetical situation in your room right now?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The comic is, in short, a new take on the common comedy {{w|trope (literature)|trope}} in which characters in a thought bubble will sometimes look out of the bubble and talk directly to the person thinking it, another person nearby, or even the viewer. In this comic, however, it features [[Cueball]] and [[Beret Guy]] in a conversation together, in which Beret Guy creates a hypothetical situation by imagining he had ice cream. This then, to Cueball's dismay, creates a hypothetical situation in which Beret Guy has ice cream, which he promptly begins to eat. Cueball then creates a hypothetical situation in which his hypothetical self has a knife to 'cut' out of the thought. He then gives this knife to Cueball, who supposedly will use it to cut out of his hypothetical situation.<br />
<br />
The title text puts the comic into context, noting the unlikely possibility — and your most likely surprised reaction — if a person in a hypothetical situation you'd involuntarily created managed to break out of it and suddenly appear in your room. Or it could be understood the other way, that a person you have forced into your hypothetical situation breaks free from it, and disappears from your room. Also, it points out that the situation is in fact a hypothetical situation itself, creating some irony.<br />
<br />
Another "thought bubble comic" can be seen in [[429: Fantasy]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is holding up his hand towards Beret Guy who talks to him. From Beret Guy's head there goes three bobbles to a big thinking bubble where the next part of the comic takes place.]<br />
:Beret Guy: What if I had some ice cream? Wouldn't that be awesome?<br />
:Cueball: No, stop-<br />
<br />
::[The comic continues inside Beret Guy's thought bubble. The two characters have switched place and Beret Guy is not eating from an ice cream cone. Cueball is holding his hand to his chin and from his head there goes four bobbles to a thinking bubble in the lower right corner where the last part of the comic takes place.]<br />
::Cueball: Great, you've trapped us in a hypothetical situation!<br />
::Beret Guy: Mmm, ice cream.<br />
::Cueball: Maybe if I had a knife I could cut our way free...<br />
<br />
:::[Inside Cueball's thought bubble Beret Buy continues to eat his ice, but Cueball has cut a hole through the last thought bubble with a knife and is handing this to the Cueball who thinks about this].<br />
:::Beret Guy: Mmm, ice cream!<br />
:::Cueball: Here, take this one.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Recursion]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=757:_Toot&diff=92543757: Toot2015-05-06T01:08:43Z<p>108.162.216.65: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 757<br />
| date = June 23, 2010<br />
| title = Toot<br />
| image = toot.png<br />
| titletext = This is also one of only five identified situations in which a vuvuzela is actually appropriate.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
"Toot my own horn" is an idiom meaning to brag. However, [[Black Hat]] takes this literally and toots (blows) an {{w|air horn}}. An air horn is a horn attached to a can of compressed air, and at close range is extremely loud.<br />
<br />
Black Hat's actions could also be interpreted as punishment of Cueball, who began by claiming that he didn't want to boast about his accomplishments, but then did so anyway. <br />
<br />
The {{w|Vuvuzela}} is a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf2P8SnOwLo noise-generating instrument], mainly used for making noise at soccer matches in South Africa. This comic was published during the {{w|2010 FIFA World Cup}} in South Africa, and the constant buzzing from vuvuzelas throughout the matches attracted attention and controversy.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Cueball: I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I ''was'' first in my class at Caltech.<br />
<br />
:Black Hat: Really? I don't mean to toot my own horn, but<br />
:'''''BRAAAAAAP!'''''<br />
:[Cueball falls backward as Black Hat sounds an air horn in his face.]<br />
<br />
:[A picture of an air horn.]<br />
:Air horns: Worth carrying around your entire life for those few perfect moments.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Sarcasm]]</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:356:_Nerd_Sniping&diff=85073Talk:356: Nerd Sniping2015-02-24T23:38:18Z<p>108.162.216.65: just fixing my typos</p>
<hr />
<div>Just because the problem contains an infinite series (or parallel) doesn't mean that it's unsolvable. It's tricky, certainly, and getting the "true" answer involves some rather heavy math, but it's not impossible. Indeed, Google shows that it's already been answered. [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:42, 20 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've always had an issue with this problem for one simple reason. In an infinite set of resistors, there is no space to apply a charge, thus there is no resistance. Ohm's law states Resistance = Voltage / I(current). So, in a system where there is no current (creating a divide by zero error), and there is no voltage (no change in electron work capacity, because we don't have a way to excite the electrons, because there is no power) Resistance is incalculable. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:22, 20 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We live in 3 dimensions, just place a battery above the grid with wires going to the 2 points. --[[Special:Contributions/84.197.34.154|84.197.34.154]] 22:59, 24 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Not everybody does... --[[Special:Contributions/85.159.196.14|FlatlandDweller]] 11:08, 15 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Just crocodidoodle the battery to the pencil lines as and where required for an infinity of varieteediddly.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 18:51, 20 January 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This problem is "unsolvable" only if you try to just use the basic methods for finite networks.<br />
There is a page on this at [http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm] that reports that the cited points have a resistance of '''4/pi - 1/2''' ohms (.773234... ohms). <br />
The 1/2 ohm resistance between adjacent nodes is actually well known.<br />
[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:05, 5 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Solution here as well: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2004-10-13/google/ [[User:Potie15|Potie15]] ([[User talk:Potie15|talk]]) 03:50, 18 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nowhere it is said that the problem is unsolvable, just that it is interesting. Of course, the sniping is more effective is the problem is also difficult to solve, because otherwise the victim would get over it quickly. [[User:Dargor17|Dargor17]] ([[User talk:Dargor17|talk]]) 17:47, 16 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That method for parallel resistors is wrong. You don't divide resistances by the number of paths, you sum the reciprocals and then take the reciprocal of that. The method described only works if every resistor has the same value. While that's true in this problem, it's misleading to pass that off as a method that works for all cases. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.60|173.245.55.60]] 03:32, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Good point. I made some slight alterations to clarify that we are assuming the resistors are equal. It seems a better solution than getting into the more complex version of the problem. --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 12:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The real question is: why did the physicist cross the road? --[[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 00:53, 29 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Amazing. From the first comment the discussion is diverted from discussing the comic, to discussing the problem presented in the comic. The commentators have been nerd sniped by a demonstration of nerd sniping. Randall is just that good. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.86|108.162.216.86]] 17:55, 30 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Sniping" might also be a pun or have a deliberately dual meaning in this context, referring to both a <I>sniper</I> and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe_hunt <i>snipe hunt</I>] (do kids still practice the latter?). The former makes sense if Black Hat's purpose is to actually rid the world of physics and math nerds (consistent with his characteristic misanthropy and cynicism), but the latter also fits the theme of merely distracting a nerd with an impossible task, which the title text suggests may have been Randall's motivation for the strip. (On a side note, the Wikipedia article reveals that the terms <I>sniper</I> and <I>snipe hunt</I> have a common origin, which makes twice in the last month it's resolved a long-standing etymological puzzle for me. The other case united the multiple, seemingly unrelated meanings of <I>minute</I> <nowiki>["tiny" vs. time]</nowiki> and <I>second</I> <nowiki>[ordinal vs. time]</nowiki>; see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal#Notation sexagesimal].) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.182|173.245.54.182]] 01:40, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've been led to believe that 'minute' means 'tiny amount of time', 'second' is 'secondary tiny amount of time', and , I quote "Real snipe (a family of shorebirds) are difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word "sniper" is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one." from the snipe hunt wiki page. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.4|141.101.104.4]] 23:45, 27 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why doesn't someone solder together a thousand one ohm resistors into a grid then use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance? Then repeat with smaller and smaller grids to see if there's any effect on the measurement. If the resistance does not change, or at least doesn't change until the grid size gets quite small, then the "infinite" term in the problem is a 'red herring' to mislead. Pointless, useless, irrelevant etc information in problems is a common tactic for gauging the ability to recognize and reject such data. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.122|199.27.133.122]] 00:35, 18 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Incidentally, should this page mention that what if 113 (I don't know how to do links, sorry) contains a picture of this comic? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 23:36, 24 February 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:356:_Nerd_Sniping&diff=85072Talk:356: Nerd Sniping2015-02-24T23:36:48Z<p>108.162.216.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>Just because the problem contains an infinite series (or parallel) doesn't mean that it's unsolvable. It's tricky, certainly, and getting the "true" answer involves some rather heavy math, but it's not impossible. Indeed, Google shows that it's already been answered. [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:42, 20 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've always had an issue with this problem for one simple reason. In an infinite set of resistors, there is no space to apply a charge, thus there is no resistance. Ohm's law states Resistance = Voltage / I(current). So, in a system where there is no current (creating a divide by zero error), and there is no voltage (no change in electron work capacity, because we don't have a way to excite the electrons, because there is no power) Resistance is incalculable. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:22, 20 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We live in 3 dimensions, just place a battery above the grid with wires going to the 2 points. --[[Special:Contributions/84.197.34.154|84.197.34.154]] 22:59, 24 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Not everybody does... --[[Special:Contributions/85.159.196.14|FlatlandDweller]] 11:08, 15 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Just crocodidoodle the battery to the pencil lines as and where required for an infinity of varieteediddly.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 18:51, 20 January 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This problem is "unsolvable" only if you try to just use the basic methods for finite networks.<br />
There is a page on this at [http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm] that reports that the cited points have a resistance of '''4/pi - 1/2''' ohms (.773234... ohms). <br />
The 1/2 ohm resistance between adjacent nodes is actually well known.<br />
[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:05, 5 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Solution here as well: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2004-10-13/google/ [[User:Potie15|Potie15]] ([[User talk:Potie15|talk]]) 03:50, 18 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nowhere it is said that the problem is unsolvable, just that it is interesting. Of course, the sniping is more effective is the problem is also difficult to solve, because otherwise the victim would get over it quickly. [[User:Dargor17|Dargor17]] ([[User talk:Dargor17|talk]]) 17:47, 16 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That method for parallel resistors is wrong. You don't divide resistances by the number of paths, you sum the reciprocals and then take the reciprocal of that. The method described only works if every resistor has the same value. While that's true in this problem, it's misleading to pass that off as a method that works for all cases. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.60|173.245.55.60]] 03:32, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Good point. I made some slight alterations to clarify that we are assuming the resistors are equal. It seems a better solution than getting into the more complex version of the problem. --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 12:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The real question is: why did the physicist cross the road? --[[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 00:53, 29 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Amazing. From the first comment the discussion is diverted from discussing the comic, to discussing the problem presented in the comic. The commentators have been nerd sniped by a demonstration of nerd sniping. Randall is just that good. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.86|108.162.216.86]] 17:55, 30 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Sniping" might also be a pun or have a deliberately dual meaning in this context, referring to both a <I>sniper</I> and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe_hunt <i>snipe hunt</I>] (do kids still practice the latter?). The former makes sense if Black Hat's purpose is to actually rid the world of physics and math nerds (consistent with his characteristic misanthropy and cynicism), but the latter also fits the theme of merely distracting a nerd with an impossible task, which the title text suggests may have been Randall's motivation for the strip. (On a side note, the Wikipedia article reveals that the terms <I>sniper</I> and <I>snipe hunt</I> have a common origin, which makes twice in the last month it's resolved a long-standing etymological puzzle for me. The other case united the multiple, seemingly unrelated meanings of <I>minute</I> <nowiki>["tiny" vs. time]</nowiki> and <I>second</I> <nowiki>[ordinal vs. time]</nowiki>; see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal#Notation sexagesimal].) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.182|173.245.54.182]] 01:40, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've been led to believe that 'minute' means 'tiny amount of time', 'second' is 'secondary tiny amount of time', and , I quote "Real snipe (a family of shorebirds) are difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word "sniper" is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one." from the snipe hunt wiki page. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.4|141.101.104.4]] 23:45, 27 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why doesn't someone solder together a thousand one ohm resistors into a grid then use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance? Then repeat with smaller and smaller grids to see if there's any effect on the measurement. If the resistance does not change, or at least doesn't change until the grid size gets quite small, then the "infinite" term in the problem is a 'red herring' to mislead. Pointless, useless, irrelevant etc information in problems is a common tactic for gauging the ability to recognize and reject such data. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.122|199.27.133.122]] 00:35, 18 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Incidentally, shoudl this page mention that what if 113 (I don;t know how to do links, sorry) contains a picture of this comic? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 23:36, 24 February 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1439:_Rack_Unit&diff=78028Talk:1439: Rack Unit2014-10-29T15:54:46Z<p>108.162.216.65: add link to relevant article</p>
<hr />
<div>Bzzzzz [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.202|108.162.250.202]] 04:52, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Bzz ZZ zz bz?! (What did you say about my mother?!) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 19:09, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: Bzz, zzz bzzz bz. Bzz zz. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.202|108.162.250.202]] 23:30, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Air Bud has had multiple mentions in his comics, but I don't know all of them. I also think it was mentioned in one of the What-If's. I'll do a quick Google search to see if I can get at least one of them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 06:55, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Mouse-over text in the final image. http://what-if.xkcd.com/111/ Still searching. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 06:58, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:http://xkcd.com/115/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 07:00, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic may be a reference to the highly hyped lack-rack https://wiki.eth0.nl/index.php/LackRack --[[User:Belibem|Belibem]] ([[User talk:Belibem|talk]]) 09:43, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's unlikely that this was intentional, but this comic is almost the same as this panel from MSPA: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003976 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.224|108.162.219.224]] 11:50, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm sure an apiarist might know whether there'd be a problem with air temperature (often chilled), on any bee colony. And with the lack of non-plastic internal flora, and almost certainly some quite severe filtration screens betwixt server environment and the outside world I can't see [i]any[/i] chance for nectar collection. Of course, it's Black Hat, so he's probably worked around both of these (slotted in next to blade servers with consistently warming processors, and maybe a ready nectar supply. But I stil feel for the poor bees, with all those whirring fans of all shapes and sizes, around and within the server room equipment.<br />
(Also, perhaps interesting to note that apparently ''most'' colocatiopn TOSs don't mention beehives. So he found that ''some'' did...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 12:47, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: I'd think that a more-or-less simple restriction on interference with other tenants and their equipment would be sufficient to proscribe Black-Hat from causing any issues with his bees (officially, at least), wouldn't it? So perhaps it's as simple as a TOS that only proscribes ''electromagnetic'' interference (maybe even touching equipment of other tenants), but nothing involving ''bees'' per se? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:11, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Lack of non-plastic flora might not be a problem, since honeybees are opportunists, and will gather any sugary liquid they can find. Someone once told me that the bees in the Smithsonian's observation hive made honey from what they found in discarded beverage containers left around the mall by human pedestrians. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 01:11, 28 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What does "similar pitches" in the comic mean? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]]<br />
:not entirely sure about an industry-general term, but there is mention of "tile pitch" here: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/energy-smart-containment-rack-deployment-guide-dell.pdf -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:41, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Ah, here's something I [http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19088-01/v445.srvr/819-5730-10/rackmount.html found]: "Aisle pitch is the distance from the center of one cold aisle to the center of the next cold aisle either to the left or right. Data centers often use a seven-tile aisle pitch. This measurement allows two 2 x 2 foot (0.61 x 0.61 m) floor tiles in the cold aisle, 3 feet (0.9 m) in the hot aisle, and a 42-inch (1-m) allowance for the depth of the cabinet or rack."<br />
:...and though it doesn't seem the term "pitch" is used in bee keeping that I can find, there are probably generally followed guidelines on spacing... http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/04/placement-of-beehives.html -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:49, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Per [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch wikipedia] -- " "Pitch" is widely used to describe the distance between repeated elements in a structure possessing translational symmetry". This would include things like server racks (the distance from the bottom of one slot to the bottom of the next), beehives (the distance from one pane to the next). You commonly hear it in relation to airline seats ("seat pitch" -- the distance from one seat to the next, as a measure of the relative comfort of airline seats) but it is a more general term. [[User:Vyzen|Vyzen]] ([[User talk:Vyzen|talk]]) 15:13, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Engineer here - The term pitch is used to describe the distance between repeating items. For example: The holes have a 10mm pitch = There is a hole every 10mm. I've added the pitch spec for server racks and beehives, which are not too dissimilar. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:27, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Without looking it up (sorry, feeling lazy), it occurs to me that the term pitch might ultimately have derived from screwthreads. Pitching (especially when it comes to ships, and by extension air and space-craft) regards a sloping angle, and the angle of the thread dictates the linear distance between each circuit of the ridge/thread element. This latter property is more handily measured than the perpendicular angle away from the pure tangent (assuming not multi-threaded, although that's rarer in nuts and bolts, etc, due to less inherent mechanical advantage), and so while the cutting may have been dictated by the angle (i.e. pitch), the definition quickly becomes standardised against the linear periodicity, and thus becomes used even in describing perfectly square measurements, such as screwholes in racking. Just an idle thought. That adds nothing to the discussion. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 21:55, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Actually, the pitch of the frames in a Langstroth hive is variable. Some beekeepers use ten frames to a super (box) and others use nine or eight, spacing them by eye. With too much space between frames, the bees tend to build bridge comb (a form of undesired "burr comb") between frames, making it difficult to work the hive. Frames sometimes need to be taken out, mostly for inspection or honey harvesting. "Bee space" is a familiar concept to every modern beekeeper. Much less than 3/16" between components, and the bees will seal that space shut with bee glue, or propolis. Much more than 3/8" and they will fill the vacancy with wild comb, or burr comb. Spaces dimensioned between those limits are left clear for bees to move around in. I'm having fun imagining going into a server rack with a smoker and hive tool (a little pry bar to separate the supers and unglue the frames from their support.) <br />
<br />
:::Orienting the frames horizontally in a normally situated rack would be a deal-breaker, though. Honeycomb cells are built with their bases on a vertical foundation, with each cell having a slight upward tilt, on the order of 10° to 12°, so that the nectar doesn't fall out. The bees fan their wings to ventilate the hive, reducing the nectar's water content and increasing its viscosity, but they also manage the ventilation to maintain a certain warmth around the brood comb. At that temperature, honey flows pretty well. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 01:28, 28 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Thanks for your insight, I found it very interesting. I never thought I would be learning about bees today! As far as the frame pitch, my research suggested that there wasn't any 'standard' pitch, but that 1.5" was fairly typical. I would certainly defer to your greater expertise if you feel the article needs editing.--[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:41, 28 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wouldn't bee suprised if this became of those 'reality imitates art' situations, and somebody goes and makes a beehive out of an old server cabinet. I'll just leave [http://www.ebay.com/itm/18U-SERVER-RACK-DATA-NETWORK-CABINET-19-INCH-600-W-x450-D-x-1000-H-NEW-/191337505928?pt=UK_Computing_Rackmount_Cabinets_Frames&hash=item2c8c9aa488 this eBay auction] here.... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:31, 27 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: I'd be cautious if I were to do this. This is one of those projects that could develop some serious bugs... {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.202}}<br />
<br />
This is certainly related to the famous ant-farm-computer, Hex, invented by Terry Pratchett. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(Discworld) Anthill Inside!] ::: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.231|108.162.249.231]] 02:48, 28 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That certainly is one way to run a honeypot.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 14:49, 28 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I remember seeing an article a few years ago about a company planning to use sideways server racks for liquid immersion cooling. I wonder if honey is electrically or thermally conductive... http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/03/18/1955238/Startups-Submerged-Servers-Could-Cut-Cooling-Costs [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 15:54, 29 October 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1358:_NRO&diff=65809Talk:1358: NRO2014-04-21T22:52:21Z<p>108.162.216.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>Could what if #32 be valid here? https://what-if.xkcd.com/32/ --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 07:30, 21 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Nah. Spy satellites are usually on geosynced orbits, so they always hover over the same area of the ground, meaning no blur. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.56|108.162.219.56]] 14:17, 21 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Spy satellites are not usually in geosynchronous orbits, as this would be much too far away from earth to be of much use, Spy satelites are normally in very low polar orbits to maximize the areas they can spy on. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 22:52, 21 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not only he is using the satellites, he is also using the software - probably something which will highlight recognized target on photo. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:28, 21 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I always thought this was a reference to the Governments Facial Recognition software they're working on. Combine that with the NSA's spy satellites and you can locate anyone anywhere. Maybe the NRO is a combination of such organizations and technologies (very very deadly) and they're testing it out using a Where's Waldo book. Not only testing the cameras on the satellite's resolution but the facial recognition software's ability to pick out a specific person in a crowd. [[User:Glitch|Glitch]] ([[User talk:Glitch|talk]]) 14:08, 21 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The sentence "He usually is quite hard to find, which makes it challenging." is really bothering me. I'm not sure what to do with it. I considered deleting it or shortening it, but none of those feel right. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 18:02, 21 April 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.65