Difference between revisions of "111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Jump to: navigation, search
(Rename Category:Comics with charts to Category:Charts for consistency with other "comics by topic" categories)
(Broke up a sentence for readability.)
 
(83 intermediate revisions by 43 users not shown)
Line 4: Line 4:
 
| title    = Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?
 
| title    = Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?
 
| image    = firefox wicca.png
 
| image    = firefox wicca.png
| imagesize =
+
| titletext = ThisadpaidforbythecounciltopromoteMicrosoftandChristianity. Remember, The Bible is Closed Source.
| titletext = ThisadpaidforbythecounciltopromoteMicrosoftandChristianity. Remember, The Bible is Closed Source.
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
The comic shows a chart between the # of members of the pagan religion {{w|Wicca}} and the # of times Mozilla's web browser {{w|Firefox}} has been downloaded, the implication being that Firefox is related to Wicca. The page lists Internet Explorer, a rival web browser, and the cross, representing Christianity, on the bottom, implying that it is an attempt at discouraging Firefox by both Internet Explorer and a Christian source.
+
The comic charts the number of members of the religion {{w|Wicca}} against the number of times the {{w|Firefox}} web browser  was downloaded, with the implication being that Firefox usage causes involvement in Wicca. In juxtaposing these almost certainly unrelated phenomena, Randall highlights the common error of assuming that {{w|Correlation_and_dependence|correlation}} implies {{w|Causality|causation}}. When two variables exhibit similar trends, this is often taken as proving that one is causing the other. However, such correlation may have come about through pure coincidence, and not indicate any link between the two at all. This is particularly a problem when examining a large number of variables: the chances of finding a [http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations coincidental correlation] increase exponentially as more variables are added. It may also be the case that a third factor is causally linked to both outcomes. In this case, it is plausible that the increasing ubiquity of internet access has resulted in increased demand for Firefox, and also in greater capacity to share the ideas of Wicca.
  
The title text is reminiscent of political commercials, which tell you who paid for them. The last sentence is a play on the term of {{w|Closed source software}}, which Internet Explorer is, as opposed to Firefox, which was open source in development.
+
Randall further illustrates one common, and perhaps destructive, use of illusory correlation in the bottom half of the image. The appearance of the symbol for {{w|Internet Explorer}}, a rival web browser, and the cross, representing Christianity, imply that this graph is an attack ad promoted by Microsoft and Christianity to gain an advantage over their competitors.
  
-- This type of statistical ploy is used again in a few other comics e.g Link of cancer CAUSING cell phones: [[925: Cell Phones]]
+
The title text is reminiscent of political commercials, which often tell you who paid for them very quickly. This high speed is represented by all the words in the title text being strung together. The last sentence is a play on the term of {{w|Closed source software|closed source software}}, which Internet Explorer is, as opposed to Firefox, which is open source in development. In a similar vein, the Bible can be considered "closed source" due to [http://kingjbible.com/revelation/22.htm God's prohibition on altering its contents].
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
:[Y axis]:membership in wicca
+
:[A graph is shown with a positive slope.]
:[X axis]:total firefox downloads
+
:[Y axis]: Membership in Wicca
:[positive slope graph]
+
:[X axis]: Total Firefox Downloads
:[Internet Explorer icon]
+
:[Internet Explorer icon.]
:Keep the Faith
+
:<big>K</big>EEP TH<big>E</big>
:[Outline of a cross]
+
:FAITH
 +
:[Outline of a cross.]
  
{{comic discussion}}  
+
==Trivia==
[[Category:Charts]]
+
 
 +
This type of [https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/false-cause statistical ploy] is used again in a few other comics, like [[523: Decline]], [[552: Correlation]], and [[925: Cell Phones]].
 +
 
 +
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 +
[[Category:Line graphs]]
 +
[[Category:Statistics]]
 +
[[Category:Religion]]

Latest revision as of 05:22, 26 June 2023

Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?
ThisadpaidforbythecounciltopromoteMicrosoftandChristianity. Remember, The Bible is Closed Source.
Title text: ThisadpaidforbythecounciltopromoteMicrosoftandChristianity. Remember, The Bible is Closed Source.

Explanation[edit]

The comic charts the number of members of the religion Wicca against the number of times the Firefox web browser was downloaded, with the implication being that Firefox usage causes involvement in Wicca. In juxtaposing these almost certainly unrelated phenomena, Randall highlights the common error of assuming that correlation implies causation. When two variables exhibit similar trends, this is often taken as proving that one is causing the other. However, such correlation may have come about through pure coincidence, and not indicate any link between the two at all. This is particularly a problem when examining a large number of variables: the chances of finding a coincidental correlation increase exponentially as more variables are added. It may also be the case that a third factor is causally linked to both outcomes. In this case, it is plausible that the increasing ubiquity of internet access has resulted in increased demand for Firefox, and also in greater capacity to share the ideas of Wicca.

Randall further illustrates one common, and perhaps destructive, use of illusory correlation in the bottom half of the image. The appearance of the symbol for Internet Explorer, a rival web browser, and the cross, representing Christianity, imply that this graph is an attack ad promoted by Microsoft and Christianity to gain an advantage over their competitors.

The title text is reminiscent of political commercials, which often tell you who paid for them very quickly. This high speed is represented by all the words in the title text being strung together. The last sentence is a play on the term of closed source software, which Internet Explorer is, as opposed to Firefox, which is open source in development. In a similar vein, the Bible can be considered "closed source" due to God's prohibition on altering its contents.

Transcript[edit]

[A graph is shown with a positive slope.]
[Y axis]: Membership in Wicca
[X axis]: Total Firefox Downloads
[Internet Explorer icon.]
KEEP THE
FAITH
[Outline of a cross.]

Trivia[edit]

This type of statistical ploy is used again in a few other comics, like 523: Decline, 552: Correlation, and 925: Cell Phones.


comment.png add a comment! ⋅ comment.png add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif refresh comments!

Discussion

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. ‎108.162.219.56 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

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 [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. 199.27.128.90 00:23, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

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.

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 this article by Richard Stallman explains. YatharthROCK (talk) 06:03, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Open source does mean you can edit it. See the 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." 108.162.219.189 02:48, 2 November 2014 (UTC)
Wouldn't that be opensource.org's definition? 108.162.237.124 22:50, 21 November 2014 (UTC) Steven

It looks like Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's statistics on the relation between pirate's numbers and global temperature[1].--Anodibdogb (talk) 12:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

The Microsoft + Christianity is probably a reference to Microsoft acquiring Christianity. 108.162.216.65

This comic was in June, not August, so it might not be brought to life like us three. EDIT: Sorry, I was wrong. He was actually brought to life and became one of the comic incarnates. And today's his birthday. 935: Missed Connections (talk) 23:53, 17 April 2023 (UTC)