Difference between revisions of "Talk:1448: Question"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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...although Asimov (at the time of writing) really wouldn't have been exposed to much more than Univac-era computing paradigms, so beyond that it's more a matter of reading the story so as to match the subsequent facts. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:56, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
 
...although Asimov (at the time of writing) really wouldn't have been exposed to much more than Univac-era computing paradigms, so beyond that it's more a matter of reading the story so as to match the subsequent facts. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:56, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
 
:Follow-up, after deciding to check my own knowledge.  ENIAC was "Electronic Numerical Integrator ''And'' Computer", but pretty much every other '...AC' that mattered is "...Automatic Computer" in full. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
 
:Follow-up, after deciding to check my own knowledge.  ENIAC was "Electronic Numerical Integrator ''And'' Computer", but pretty much every other '...AC' that mattered is "...Automatic Computer" in full. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
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Not likely anything, but this also reminds me of the novelty spinoff of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Pink Floyd, _Marvin I Love You_.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:43, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
 
Not likely anything, but this also reminds me of the novelty spinoff of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Pink Floyd, _Marvin I Love You_.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:43, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Revision as of 16:23, 17 November 2014

... and I thought the 'LIKE like you' would be a reference to Facebook... Kaa-ching (talk) 08:55, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

I agree, I definitely think the person making that statement is saying that he doesn't embrace the simplified Facebook universe where you can LIKE someone/something by clicking on a LIKE button. --RenniePet (talk) 09:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
Personally, I think "LIKE like" is just a euphemism for "love". Isaac is trying to express (awkwardly) that although he enjoys the asker's company, his feeling of affinity is much less intense than that of someone who is obviously too nervous to speak with him in person. --Koveras (talk) 09:24, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
I had a different interpretation again. I thought Isaac was answering that he did like the questioner, but that (presumably as a robot) his interpretation / use of the verb "to like" was different to the (presumably human) questioner's use of the word. --Ab78 (talk) 11:27, 17 November 2014 UTC)
Something like that I had in mind, too. I interpreted "but I don't LIKE like you" as "but I don't like you as you like (me)" or shorter: "but I don't like _as_ you". In that case "LIKE like" wouldn't be an intensification of "like" (like²) but simply a comparison since the word "like" as such is ambiguous without context and in that case both interpretations would be possible. (To be honest, my first interpretation was "I like you, but I don't like that" - but that would be "but I don't LIKE liking you", wouldn't it? So I discarded that idea.) Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 11:57, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

The comic is a reference to "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov. 173.245.56.150 09:58, 17 November 2014 (UTC)


Some references showing that schoolchildren notes with “do you like me” is an actual thing:

Roryokane (talk) 10:08, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Great write-up, thanks guys. Jarod997 (talk) 13:48, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

I think I'll edit the explanation, in a moment. The real life Univac name represents the words "Universal Automatic Computer", not Analogue. Also it's interesting to note the progression of the fictional computers in Asimov's story (with perhaps a little 'wishful interpretation' based on modern knowledge):

  • Multivac (like IRL Univac, but more so; Centralised mainframe archetecture-type typical of the era the story was written in, but writ large)
  • Microvac ('Home' computer, within the family space-ship; entertainment system and general 'housekeeping' controller)
  • Galactic AC (Telecoms-connected central server; central dial-in Bulletin Board System, etc)
  • Universal AC (Virtual internet-based server; run over geographically(/universally) distributed hardware)
  • Cosmic AC (Cloud computing?)
  • AC (Increasingly a whole universe-worth of 'The Internet Of Things' being used as slave nodes for massively parallel computation)

...although Asimov (at the time of writing) really wouldn't have been exposed to much more than Univac-era computing paradigms, so beyond that it's more a matter of reading the story so as to match the subsequent facts. 141.101.98.247 13:56, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Follow-up, after deciding to check my own knowledge. ENIAC was "Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer", but pretty much every other '...AC' that mattered is "...Automatic Computer" in full. 141.101.98.247 14:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Not likely anything, but this also reminds me of the novelty spinoff of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Pink Floyd, _Marvin I Love You_.Seebert (talk) 14:43, 17 November 2014 (UTC)