720: Recipes
Recipes |
![]() Title text: To be fair, the brazed and confused newt on a bed of crushed Doritos turned out to be delicious. |
Explanation
A genetic algorithm starts with a set of candidates and evaluating them. The best candidates are combined and randomly mutated to form the candidates for the next generation. After being allowed to proceed for an extended period, a genetic algorithm can often produce remarkable results. If the initial candidates are randomly-generated (as appears to be the case here), the initial generations are usually horrible.
In the comic, the CS department is the host of a dinner party based on recipes produces by a genetic algorithm. Based on the remarks of the second diner, this is probably the second generation, and the results are still horrible. The host of the party is so enamored of the promise of the genetic algorithm that he fails to take into account that it will be several years before the recipes become remotely good.
The word "mepls" used by the dinner host is a misspelling of "meals", an error introduced by the mutation phase of a genetic algorithm.
Transcript
- [Three people seated at a dining table.]
- Person 1: I've got Cheerios... with a shot of vermouth.
- Person 2: At least it's better than the quail eggs in whipped cream and MSG from last time.
- Person 3: Are these Skittles deep-fried?
- [A fourth person holds a plate of food in one hand and a laptop in the other.]
- Person 4: C'mon guys, be patient. In a few hundred more mepls, the genetic algorithm should catch up to existing recipes and start to optimize.
- "We've decided to drop the CS department from our weekly dinner party hosting rotation."
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Discussion
are you sure it's mepls? looks like the A and the L just overlap a bit... 98.201.111.246 17:59, 3 February 2013 (UTC)mr
The title text seems to be a reference to "dazed and confused," which must mean something more significant than most simple conjunctions. I'll figure it out at some point. --Quicksilver (talk) 02:48, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
Also, I believe the laptop (notice how he holds it by the top of the screen) may be a reference to comic 925's (Cell Phones) title text "He (Black hat guy) holds the laptop like that on purpose, to make you cringe"...this is an unlikely reference though. - androidtribbles 173.245.54.50 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
He's not holding it by the screen, it's being held by the keyboard right at the trackpad. It's still really cringe-inducing, but not quite as... fragile. 108.162.216.76 08:49, 20 February 2014 (UTC)
It could also be a rugged laptop, those are a lot tougher and have a handle on them right below the keyboard; it could be the rectangle is not a trackpad, but the hole for the handle. While it's still not advisable to carry the laptop with the screen open like that, it's not nearly as cringe-worthy as the case and monitor hinges are made of thick metal. 108.162.219.9 17:12, 27 February 2014 (UTC)
Made an edit to the explanation. It seemed no one picked up on the possible meaning of the title text... But it could just as easily have been Randall's typical pedanticism... 173.245.56.204 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Dazed and Confused is also a song by Led Zeppelin. We know Randall listens to Zeppelin from comic 339: classic. By the way, the glasses also seem to contain very weird liquids...162.158.91.246 07:38, 14 September 2015 (UTC)
Weird liquids indeed! From left to right, I think they are: a lump of coal, a pair of lovebirds (very small ones) and a superfluid, probably liquid helium, doing its fountain thing. 108.162.218.83 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
By the way, the e-number of monosodium glutamate is e621. Y'know, like the Furry site? Good one, Randall. --162.158.62.75 00:27, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
Cueball appears to be holding a plate of the braised and confused newt. Or at least, something lizard-like with a cherry on its head. --172.68.34.70 16:58, 31 July 2018 (UTC)
"Deep-frying is usually done to savory starches and meats, not sweet confectioneries." - Have you never been to a county or state fair? I love deep-fried Oreos and deep-fried Snickers bars. I've heard of deep-fried jellybeans. Deep-fried Skittles are probably a real thing. Mathmannix (talk) 10:47, 2 April 2023 (UTC)