Editing 1056: Felidae

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| number    = 1056
 
| number    = 1056
 
| date      = May 16, 2012
 
| date      = May 16, 2012
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| title    = Felidae
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| title    = 1056: Felidae
 
| image    = felidae.png
 
| image    = felidae.png
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| titletext = 'Smilodon fatalis' narrowly edged out 'Tyrannosaurus rex' to win this year's Most Badass Latin Names competition, after edging out 'Dracorex hogwartsia' and 'Stygimoloch spinifer' (meaning 'horned dragon from the river of death') in the semifinals.
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| imagesize =
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| titletext   = 'Smilodon fatalis' narrowly edged out 'Tyrannosaurus rex' to win this year's Most Badass Latin Names competition, after edging out 'Dracorex hogwartsia' and 'Stygimoloch spinifer' (meaning 'horned dragon from the river of death') in the semifinals.
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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This comic is three parted (or four if you count the Latin name portion).
  
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This comic shows a graph with three parts.
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First, the names are sorted up by genuses (a genus (plural: genera) is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms) from bottom to top of which animals would win in a fight.
  
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First, the names are sorted up by genera (plural of {{w|genus}}, a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms) from bottom to top of which animals would win in a fight. Secondly, the names within the genus are then sorted by coolness of name from left to right (the degree of "coolness" of the name is apparently determined in subjective manner by the author). Thirdly, in red you can see the direction that {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}} has taken with nicknaming the versions of their {{w|OS X}} operating system. They started at v10.0 "Cheetah", and have moved through genera from there in no order that this chart can make out.
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Secondly, the names within the genus are then sorted by coolness of name from left to right.
  
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{| class="wikitable"
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Thirdly, in red you can see the direction that Apple has taken with naming their OS X Operating Systems. They started at Cheetah and have moved through genuses from there in no order that this chart can make out.
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!OS X version
 
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!Code name
 
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!Year released
 
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|-
 
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|10.0||Cheetah||2001
 
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|-
 
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|10.1||Puma||2001
 
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|-
 
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|10.2||Jaguar||2002
 
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|-
 
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|10.3||Panther||2003
 
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|-
 
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|10.4||Tiger||2004
 
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|-
 
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|10.5||Leopard||2006
 
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|-
 
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|10.6||Snow Leopard||2008
 
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|-
 
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|10.7||Lion||2010
 
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|-
 
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|10.8||Mountain Lion||2012
 
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|}
 
  
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Please note that the second words in "Snow Leopard" and "Mountain Lion" are capitalized in the table because they are used as the proper names of the operating system versions. In their normal use, as species {{w|vernacular name}}s, they are not capitalized and are written as "snow leopard" and "mountain lion".
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Fourthly, Bobcats are an in joke of the comic in that they appear in the strangest places.
  
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[[:Category:Bobcats|Bobcats]] are a running XKCD joke, so their inclusion is to be expected. The genus ''Puma'' here only lists synonyms for the puma (see {{w|cougar}}) instead of {{w|Puma_(genus)|the actual genus}}. Of course, the three OS X versions named by three of these synonyms are not the same.
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And lastly, despite it being disturbingly close to "Hogwarts," which is the magical school from the Harry Potter series of books and movies, {{w|Dracorex hogwartsia}} is real.
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===The "problem"===
 
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The title of the chart depicted on the comic ("OS X problem") could refer to one of two things:
 
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The problem is perhaps an allusion to the {{w|Travelling salesman problem|travelling salesman problem}}, as the directed arrows and graph nodes might appear as a possible path of the salesperson between the cities. The computational difficulty of the travelling salesman problem might echo with the difficulties that the author has with trying to figure out the underlying reason for naming the OS X versions in particular order. The chart thus looks like a parody on the scientific presentation.
 
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Alternatively, the OS X Problem refers to Apple running out of sufficiently cool and powerful cat names. After Mountain Lion, Apple would have had to significantly downgrade their naming scheme on one of the two axes. In reality, Apple moved away from cat names altogether. OS X v10.8 "Mountain Lion" was followed by releases named after Californian landmarks: v10.9 "Mavericks", named after a {{w|Mavericks, California|surf spot}}, v10.10 "Yosemite", named after a {{w|Yosemite National Park|national park}}, and so on.
 
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===Title text===
 
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In the title text, a Smilodon fatalis is a saber-tooth cat, a Dracorex hogwartsia is a dinosaur whose skull looks like that of a fairy tale dragon, and a Stygimoloch spinifer is one of the last dinosaurs before the K-T (Cretaceous-Paleogene) extinction about 66 million years ago. Notably, it's possible both Stygimoloch and Dracorex are in fact juvenile members of the genus Pachycepholosaurus who were wrongly identified as a separate species, meaning two of Randall's top four coolest extinct animal names would no longer be recognized. All of the animals mentioned in the title text are now extinct.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
 
:Well-known felines:
 
:Well-known felines:
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:[A graph organizing various feline species labeled with common names ordered by genera (in order of which would win in a fight) on the y axis, and coolness of name on the x axis.]
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:[A graph organizing various feline species labeled with common names ordered by Genera(in order of which would win in a fight) on the y axis, and coolness of name on the x axis]
 
:Smilodon (extinct): "Saber-toothed cat (scientific name: Smilodon fatalis)
 
:Smilodon (extinct): "Saber-toothed cat (scientific name: Smilodon fatalis)
 
:Panthera: "Jaguar", "Leopard", "Snow Leopard", "Tiger", "Lion"
 
:Panthera: "Jaguar", "Leopard", "Snow Leopard", "Tiger", "Lion"
 
:Puma: "Cougar", "Puma", "Panther", "Mountain Lion"
 
:Puma: "Cougar", "Puma", "Panther", "Mountain Lion"
 
:Other felidae: "Ocelot", "Cheetah"
 
:Other felidae: "Ocelot", "Cheetah"
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:Felis & Lynx: "Housecat", "Bobcat", "Wildcat", "Lynx"
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:Felis & Lynx: "Housecat", "Bobcat", "Wildcat", "Lynx"
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:[Some elements are further connected using an unbranched acyclic digraph. The elements are connected thus: "Cheetah" -> "Puma" -> "Jaguar" -> "Panther" -> "Tiger" -> "Leopard" -> "Snow Leopard" -> "Lion" -> "Mountain Lion".]
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:[Some elements are further connected using an unbranched acyclic digraph. The elements are connected thus: "Cheetah" -> "Puma" -> "Jaguar" -> "Panther" -> "Tiger" -> "Leopard" -> "Snow Leopard" -> "Lion" -> "Mountain Lion"]
 
:The OS X Problem
 
:The OS X Problem
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Charts]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
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[[Category:Flowcharts]]
 
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[[Category:Computers]]
 
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[[Category:Bobcats]]
 
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[[Category:Animals]]
 
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[[Category:Cats]]
 

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