Difference between revisions of "Talk:1391: Darkness"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MundaneMadeAwesome --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:07, 7 July 2014 (UTC)
 
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MundaneMadeAwesome --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:07, 7 July 2014 (UTC)
 
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    Ugghhh, you just HAD to link to TVTropes... Now I'm gonna get sucked into the vortex! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 02:16, 8 July 2014 (UTC)
 
This narrative was actually the very first story I've read in The Onion back in 2006: [http://www.theonion.com/articles/rotation-of-earth-plunges-entire-north-american-co,1905/] -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 08:28, 7 July 2014 (UTC)
 
This narrative was actually the very first story I've read in The Onion back in 2006: [http://www.theonion.com/articles/rotation-of-earth-plunges-entire-north-american-co,1905/] -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 08:28, 7 July 2014 (UTC)
  

Revision as of 02:16, 8 July 2014

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MundaneMadeAwesome --JakubNarebski (talk) 07:07, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

   Ugghhh, you just HAD to link to TVTropes... Now I'm gonna get sucked into the vortex! 108.162.216.49 02:16, 8 July 2014 (UTC)

This narrative was actually the very first story I've read in The Onion back in 2006: [1] -- Xorg (talk) 08:28, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

Will Eno has a play, "TRAGEDY: a tragedy", which has a very similar set-up (reporters reporting on the fall of night as if they'd never known it before), but never explains how the situation came about --- now thanks to XKCD, we know how come! -- awhyzip, 7 July 2014

Isn't there a problem with the wish formulation? If the genie does not remember ever granting any wishes, how come the one in the comic is labelled as his "last wish". 173.245.49.181 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

"There usually is an added stipulation" ... really? Most time I read about genies, it's about someone using some clever way to overcome the limit on number of wishes, if there IS any limit to start with - but what I read may not be representative. This may require more research ... what is the most "traditional" genie story? -- Hkmaly (talk) 12:47, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

The most traditional would be the character simply carefully choosing all three wishes, using the last one at the very end of e story. Again, not representative either, but from what I've read the concept of "getting around the three-wish limit" seems to be a more recent take on the 'traditional' version. Zowayix (talk) 13:00, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

Um... If the genie cannot remember that each wish was NOT his first, that does not preclude him from keeping track of or remembering how many wishes he has made. It doesn't keep him from remembering other wishes, he simply can't remember which one was NOT first. Perhaps I'm over-thinking this, but the genie would probably say, "I may remember your last wish was only your first, but I distinctly remember the 3 wishes you've made so far, especially the one to screw with my head. So... no more wishes for you." XP -naginalf 108.162.216.40 13:17, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

I was more wondering about the genie having pause for thought when (remembering no previous wishes) he hears "for my last wish...". But with genies generally being the 'manual workers' of the magical world, generally being unimaginative (except for those that tend to twist wishes into causing unintended consequences, possibly something that Wish #1 was used to explore the possibility of) and working to rule (perhaps "twist the wish" is one of the rules?), they don't notice. [i]Or[/i] they're so fed up with "bottled servitude" that they'd be quite happy to go along with this new guy with the new attempt at rules-lawyering, at least until they get bored... 141.101.99.192 14:07, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

I took this to be a reference to news cycles. The wisher was irritated that news reporting is influenced by an artificial constraint like the 24 hour news cycle and wished the media would forget about it. In classic form, a poorly-worded wish is inconveniently interpreted. Fewmet (talk) 15:34, 7 July 2014 (UTC)