explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1823: Hottest Editors

2017-04-13T00:36:24Z

108.162.215.130: Link to 378

{{comic
| number = 1823
| date = April 12, 2017
| title = Hottest Editors
| image = hottest_editors.png
| titletext = Elon Musk finally blocked me from the internal Tesla repository because I wouldn't stop sending pull requests for my code supporting steering via vim keybindings.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs explanation of title text.}}

The comic has a play on the word 'Editor'. The editors from 1995 to 2000 are plain-text editors, popular among many programmers and other computer scientists to edit machine-readable text.
Two of the earlier editors, {{w|Vim (text editor)|Vim}} and {{w|Emacs|Emacs}}, allow the user to perform common actions (like scrolling, marking text, saving or searching) using keyboard shortcuts.
As Vim and Emacs use different shortcuts, someone who is proficient in one editor may have difficulty using the other editor, since the shortcuts are different.
The 'Editor wars' refer to Vim and Emacs users debating heavily on which of the two editors is the best (for which keyboard shortcuts, or bindings, are just one of the arguments employed). This debate was previously mentioned in [[378: Real Programmers]].
Modern editors (including Notepad++ and Sublime Text) mainly use the shortcuts determined by the operating system, again different from Vim and Emacs.

{{w|Notepad++}} is a popular text and source code editor, initially released in 2003. {{w|Sublime Text}} is the current "most popular" text editor according to Randall, released in 2008.

The 2020 editor '{{w|CRISPR}}' is not a text editor, but a technique used to edit DNA in a pre-existing genome. The technique has experienced a surge of recent (as of April 2017) attention in the media, suggesting it may become the most popular "editor" in years to come. The joke lies in the comic intentionally not distinguishing between text/code editing and genome editing.
It may also suggest that we will not be editing digital plain-text files, but DNA in 2020, possibly due to very recent advances in {{w|DNA digital data storage}}.

To make the transition between editors easier, some editors offer Vim or Emacs key-bindings: the shortcuts will be (roughly) the same as in Vim or in Emacs, so that someone who used to be proficient in one of those editors can proceed to use the keyboard shortcuts in the way he or she was used to.
The comic suggests that in 2025, the Vim key-bindings will be the most popular for editing genes using CRISPR.
This creates a comical effect: CRISPR is a technique that operates on genes, and not on digital hardware, so it does not use a keyboard per se. Consequently, it is surprising that CRISPR would have key bindings. The comic also suggests that in 2025, Vim will make a comeback in DNA editing, thus having 'won' the battle with Emacs.

The title text says that Randall has been banned from the code base of {{w|Tesla, Inc.|Tesla}}, as he keeps sending {{w|pull request}}s (code changes) to steer a Tesla car using Vim keybindings. Not only does this seem impossible, but it seems dangerous to steer a car with a (computer) keyboard. The arguably most important keybindings of a text editor are those to move the editing location (the cursor) around. Vim, in addition to dedicated keys present on most keyboards, supports the use of "h" for moving left, "l" for moving right, "j" for down, and "k" for up. To use these in a vehicular context, up and down would probably, as in many racing games, be mapped to acceleration and braking, respectively. One additional problem with using essentially binary inputs (key pressed or not) as a replacement for a car's steering wheel is achieving different degrees of direction change. Pressing, say, the "h" key could either cause the car to turn its wheels left by a pre-set, fixed amount, or it could turn them left the more the longer the key is held down. There has been a [http://www.autoblog.com/2017/02/20/doom-porsche-911-infotainment-hack/ spoof] based on the reverse priciple, however.

Another question is how to map the exit-without-saving and save-then-exit operations of a text editor to a car. It must be assumed that exit-without-save would cause the car to return to the just-finished trip's origin point, while saving the location would let the car remain in place.

==Transcript==
:Hottest Editors
:--------------------
:1995-2000—[Emacs–Vim Editor war]
:2005—Vim
:2010—Notepad++
:2015—Sublime Text
:2020—CRISPR
:2025—CRISPR (Vim keybindings)

{{comic discussion}}

665: Prudence

2017-01-19T08:31:04Z

108.162.215.130: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 665
| date = November 20, 2009
| title = Prudence
| image = prudence.png
| titletext = Moments later, the White Witch rolls up and, confused, tries to tempt the probe with a firmware upgrade.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the fantasy novel series "{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}" by {{w|C. S. Lewis}}. In the first book, {{w|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe}}, Lucy discovers the fictional world of Narnia which can be accessed through a wardrobe, and she walks into it without ever considering the risks. Her three older siblings do not believe her, so she travels back alone again. But this second time her brother Edmond follows her, and he is seduced by the White Witch in order for her to be able to kill him and his three siblings (see title text explanation below). Thus proving that it was a rather dangerous move to just walk into the wardrobe.

The comic mocks the imprudent behavior shown by the protagonists Lucy of the novel, who enter the world of Narnia without knowing anything about its dangers. In the comic, [[Megan]] discovers the magical wardrobe while playing {{w|hide-and-seek}}, like in the book. Unlike Lucy in the original book, Megan does not precipitately set foot into Narnia. Instead, she fetches her technical equipment and sends a remote-controlled probe through the wardrobe door in order to sound the situation first.

The probe is clearly modeled after Mars rovers like Spirit and Opportunity, which [[Randall]] depicted for the first time only a few comics later in [[681: Gravity Wells]] and then in [[695: Spirit]]. The probe looks even more like the one in [[1504: Opportunity]]. This also explains the title of the comic, as it is the name of Megan's probe. The naming scheme is similar to the two probes mentioned above that were already on Mars at the time of this comics release. And even more so like the upcoming {{w|Curiosity_(rover)|Curiosity rower}} which was first launched two years after this comic, but had {{w|Curiosity_(rover)#The_name:_Curiosity|been named}} earlier in the year this comic was released. Lucy was ''curios'' in the first Narnia book, Megan is ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prudent prudent]'' in this comic..

The probe encounters {{w|Mr. Tumnus}} the faun with his umbrella at a lamppost in a snowy wood on the last panel. This picture is the first impression of Narnia in the novels and was apparently Lewis' original idea for the series.

The {{w|White Witch}} mentioned in the title text is the main antagonist in the novel. She originally lures Edmund with a hot drink and magical {{w|Turkish delight}} after her sleigh passes right by him. In the scenario mentioned in the title text, she is confused when she rolls up to the rover and then tries to tempt the probe with a firmware update accordingly.

The procedure of sending a probe first through a portal has also been used in the early Stargate episodes. This draws a parallel between the wardrobe in Narnia and the Stargate, both connecting two distant worlds. The stargate probe can be seen at [http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Mobile_Analytic_Laboratory_Probe here]

Megan takes a scientific approach to Narnia again in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3|a later comic]]. In that comic she uses the different passage of time in Narnia to her advantage (it usually runs much faster than on Earth). That effect would have been a problem with controlling the rower...

==Transcript==
:[Megan is running towards a closed wardrobe.]
:Voice (off-panel): Everyone hide! 99... 98... 97...

:[Megan opens one of the two doors on the wardrobe.]
:Wardrobe: click

:[Megan is looking inside the wardrobe through the fully opened door.]
:Megan: !!!

:[Megan puts a hand to her chin.]

:[Megan walks away.]

:[Megan returns with an armful of electronics including lots of wires and a rover with wheels.]

:[Megan is kneeling, typing on a laptop, which has a cord extending into the wardrobe.]

:[In a forest with many tall leafless trees the Mars rover is approaching a lamppost with a lit candle. Behind it stands a faun with horns, goatee beard and hooves holding an umbrella.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan‏‎]]
[[Category:Mars rovers]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

Talk:1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize

2017-01-13T01:44:46Z

108.162.215.130: Made reference to this comic's similarity to comic 1685: Patch

It seems to me that this comic is inspired by {{xkcd|1685}}, once again making humorous reference to using a Photoshop tool to accomplish an unrelated task.

I'm not too experienced with PhotoShop, but I think that the tool is a selective delete that he used on water bodies, so removing most of the water while maintaining relative shapes and sizes?
:Mostly just from the fact that India looks desiccated.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.197|162.158.166.197]] 05:06, 11 January 2017 (UTC)Girish
::Australia is pretty mutilated, so I think the tool was used on land too [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.111|162.158.178.111]] 05:55, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

Where are Laos and Cambodia missing? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.11|108.162.246.11]] 06:14, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
:It seems that Laos and Burma have been merged into one big county, as well as Cambodia and Thailand. Maybe they are just unnecessary details according to this map projection. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.22|162.158.238.22]] 16:39, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

The tool removes spaces of uniform color automagically. If you have big countries like India or Australia, they get caught by the algorithm as well. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.9|162.158.69.9]] 06:16, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

Can anybody figure out the projection before the application of the tool? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.232|108.162.219.232]] 06:58, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
:I think it is a Mercator projection that got mutilated. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.239|141.101.104.239]] 07:50, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
::I agree, it looks like a Mercator that Freddy Kruger got at.
Girish, [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.197|162.158.166.197]] 09:02, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
:::I think if it was a Mercator, the bottom of Antarctica would be flat. To me, it looks like Winkel Tripel, with the odd angles in Alaska and the Russian Far East. [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] ([[User talk:Schroduck|talk]]) 15:02, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

I feel like there is some part of sarcasm in "unused blank spaces", as if it was Randall saying "You're right, why would anyone care about the oceans? There, I have removed them, problem solved.". Can anyone tie this to a recent event? Or maybe the joke is about improperly handling data, where you use a tool just because it's known to work well and for the sake of processing data, even if using in a given context doesn't make much sense. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.213|141.101.69.213]] 10:14, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

This map proves, once again, that it's good to be an archipelago. Philippines, FTW! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.58|172.68.54.58]] 13:59, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
:Hold your patriotic horses there, where did Palawan go? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.138.10|162.158.138.10]] 12:24, 12 January 2017 (UTC)

Comics like these make me wonder how Randall preserves the XKCD visual style when working with content that is clearly not hand-drawn. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]]

"This is a play on the common advice to young children to refrain from "running with scissors" to avoid physical accidents." <-- Does anyone else thing this is a bit of a stretch? {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.130}}
:Yes, I do :) [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 15:46, 12 January 2017 (UTC)
: absolutely. Running just refers to the algorithm. It's not meta in any way.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.45|162.158.58.45]] 16:29, 12 January 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1760: TV Problems

2016-11-17T02:06:27Z

108.162.215.130:

Do we even want to see the news any more? [[User:Hutchy01|Hutchy01]] ([[User talk:Hutchy01|talk]]) 15:45, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

I don't think the millennial comment is necessary. It really encourages a stereotype more than anything, and there is nothing whatsoever in the actual comic to suggest that cueball is trying to control the television with the smartphone. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.221|162.158.126.221]] 15:50, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Possibly he uses a television as his monitor, but the HDMI (or VGA if it's old enough) connection isn't working (and if he's like me, he might not own an antenna to allow him to use his television normally). If I plug a second monitor into my laptop, I have to specifically tell my laptop to change the display. If his operating system is messed up, he probably can't even do that. He could be downloading a OS CD so that he can reformat, then he may have to deal with the follow-up of reinstalling all relevant drivers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.196|108.162.210.196]] 16:26, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Many computers these days don't come with optical drives so, rather than a "Rescue CD" you need to use a "Rescue USB". But how do you download that rescue image if your computer's broken? Use the browser in your phone. As a bonus, Android phones (at least) can masquerade as USB drives (see DriveDroid) so that the PC can boot from the image downloaded on the phone. It might also be worth referencing the trope of "Turn on the news" -> TV turns on just as something relevant to the plot is being announced. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.168|141.101.98.168]] 16:37, 16 November 2016 (UTC)
:I think this is what he is trying to do actually. His computer doesn't have a CD slot, so he is downloading the image from the DC to his phone to use as a USB to reimage his computer, but somehow his computer is so messed up, reimaging it will not be enough and he needs to use the TV as a monitor so that he can debug [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.80|173.245.48.80]] 19:53, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Are we sure this is about Cueball having done something exotic to cause the problem, as opposed to the increasing level of technology (and therefore delicacy) in the modern home? I've heard reports of a smart TV that crashed because someone came into its range with a phone that had an SSID with an emoji in it; I've seen many PCs end up inoperable because of standard updates, and I've certainly downloaded drivers with my phone. Even if the PC isn't being used to show the news, the TV could be in need of a firmware upgrade that may require the PC to be working (for example if the PC is running network routing). Cueball could understand how the electronics industry got itself into a position where the devices were interdependent and even eventually know how to fix them without actually having done anything himself to cause a breakage; my ISP similarly "upgraded" my email in several steps that made it utterly unusable for me while presumably believing they were improving it. Cueball may be guilty of nothing more than being an early-adopter, since a more elderly TV would likely just work. Disclaimer: I work in the tech industry, and there's a reason there's old stuff in my house; a friend with a set-up like Cueball's took twenty minutes to play a CD when I handed it to him.[[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 17:01, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

The comment that the "real" TV remote is better than a cellphone is really badly wrong. If you ever have to "type" a search for a movie title into a smart-TV (or in my case, a Roku) using the arrow and "OK" buttons on a remote - you'll REALLY appreciate being able to use the phone's touch screen keyboard to type with. I also have problems in my media room with getting a good line of sight to the TV's IR receiver - and because the "phone remote" uses WiFi, that's also not a problem. Then, I can use my "phone remote" to talk to any of the TV's in the house - which is really good if I went into another room and left the TV on by mistake. My phone can turn it off from anywhere that's within WiFi range. So, no - it's NOT the case that a TV remote is obviously "better" than using a phone app to control it.

Of course, knowing CueBall, he's probably running his TV remote 'app' in an Android emulator that's running on a hacked Nest Thermostat that he has to plug in out in the back yard in order to keep it cold enough to prevent it from switching his heating off - which matters because his WiFi router gets it's power from the +5v lines of the furnace's controller after he lost the "wall wart" supply for it. Since the furnace controller is running Impala (aka Windows Embedded v4.0), it needs to be upgraded to 4.17 because it was installed with a south-american daylight savings time zone in order that CueBall could use the Patagonian variant of the DVORJAK keyboard which (as I'm sure you know) was the only one left in the house that still works after the LAST time this happened! Since the controller thinks it's in Patagonia, it will soon automatically turn off the heat as "summertime" arrives - thereby killing the WiFi router and preventing him from getting online to fix it all. Which (of course) is why he needs to download the upgrade CD onto his phone rather urgently! Sorry if you didn't find this sufficiently obvious from reading between the lines in the cartoon - but that's why this website exists! :-) [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 17:57, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Guys, I think you have missed something. A few days ago, the PS4 pro problems connecting to 4k monitors were in the news. Of course this was due to the new version of HDCP required that had issues. I assume the author read that and remembered previous problems with HDCP (e.g. I could not get my HD DVDs playing on non HDCP monitors or with non HDCP video cards, unless I used some hacks etc). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.203|141.101.98.203]] 18:33, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Hutchy01 has a point: this comic is political, as were 1756 & 1759. Cueball is doing everything that he can not to watch the news; even after he fixes his computer, he still won't be able to watch it. White Hat misinterprets him, asking about his computer science degree to imply he ought to be able to take care of a simple thing like this. Cueball replies that no, this is not the case - much as his computer science degree allows him to diagnose computer problems, being well educated does not help him to perform anything more than a postmortem on how wrong election forecasts were. The title text might be implying that being authoritative on a topic has nothing to do with determining how events actually transpire. [[User:Usbcord|Usbcord]] ([[User talk:Usbcord|talk]]) 19:26, 16 November 2016 (UTC)
: >_> [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.196|108.162.210.196]] 20:23, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

: I'd strongly push back on presenting this view point as anything other than an alternative interpretation, and even that's a stretch. This relies on several assumptions that don't really have much evidence to back them up, and the title text strongly supports the original interpretation being the intended one, making little sense in the context of not wanting to watch the news compared to how experts are more likely to encounter issues in their field. The characters would have to misunderstand the other on nearly half the lines, and then respond with strange phrasings (in the context of the alternative interpretation) which better fit the primary interpretation. Additionally, I think labeling comics as political, and especially referencing previous recent comics as the same, doesn't really add anything and is kind of odd to put in. Why just refer to these two recent comics, when there are hundreds that could fall under any label of "political" that 1759 qualifies for? While 1756 is a much more clear cut example, it also goes to show that there are much more blatant examples of political comics. Also, if you are to reference comics, do so with a link to the explanation page for that comic, like this: [[1759: British Map]]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.130|108.162.215.130]] 02:06, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

Since his computer is broken maybe he's using the TV as a monitor to help download the CD? [[User:SparklyDingo|SparklyDingo]] ([[User talk:SparklyDingo|talk]]) 16:18, 16 November 2016 (UTC)--

Could we explain what his technical problem or current set up is more clearly? I still don't understand what he is attempting to do or why he needs his phone, a CD, and his TV to get his computer running. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.227|162.158.142.227]]

391: Anti-Mindvirus

2016-06-09T23:23:23Z

108.162.215.130: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 391
| date = March 3, 2008
| title = Anti-Mindvirus
| image = anti_mind_virus.png
| titletext = I'm as surprised as you! I didn't think it was possible.
}}

==Explanation==
''"{{w|The Game (mind game)|The Game}}"'' is a virus-like mind game. The rules are as follows:

#Everybody in the world who knows about The Game is playing The Game. (Or: ''Everyone'' is playing The Game.)
#If you think of The Game, you lose The Game.
#If you lose The Game, you must announce your lose. This is often done by loudly announcing something like "I/You lost The Game", or "I lost".

Once you stop thinking about The Game, you are back in, and can lose again. From the simple way the rules are set up, there seems to be no such thing as ''winning'' The Game, except possibly by totally forgetting about its existence.

Whether reading this comic causes you to win or to lose The Game, that is the question.

==Transcript==
:'''You Just WON The Game.'''
:It's okay! You're free!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Psychology]]

1684: Rainbow

2016-05-23T23:24:19Z

108.162.215.130: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1684
| date = May 23, 2016
| title = Rainbow
| image = rainbow.png
| titletext = Listen, in a few thousand years you'll invent a game called 'SimCity' which has a 'disaster' button, and then you'll understand.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| More details needed, for instance is there a specific reference to the burning of the Earth in the bible before Noah, or is this just the meteor(s) in the past? And what about the planned Armageddon, is that then off? More about issues with raccoons and what immortality would do to an ecosystem. More about the sims for the title text explanation. Are there other hidden meanings/interpretations?}}

In this comic Cueball (possibly representing the patriarch {{w|Noah}} of Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith) talks to {{w|God}} after {{w|Genesis flood narrative|the biblical flood}}. He asks what the coloured band across the sky is, and God tells him it is a {{w|rainbow}}. According to the Book of Genesis, God placed the {{w|Rainbows in mythology|worlds first rainbow}} in the sky as a promise to humanity that he would never again make a flood to cleanse the world of sin ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%209:2-9:17&version=KJV Genesis 9:2–17]). A {{w|rainbow}} is an {{w|optical phenomena|optical phenomenon}} caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a {{w|spectrum}} of light appearing in the sky, one of many light phenomena caused by sunlight and precipitation.

Then cueball notices a {{w|Rainbow#Variations|double rainbow}} outside the original ''promise rainbow''. Secondary rainbows are caused by double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops. When asked about this God seems to falter, but recovers and claims he made it to show that he will never again set the Earth on fire. As an afterthought he says sorry about that, although it was a while back. This may refer to the young earth being a liquid ball of molten stone.

Cueball begins to notice some other types of {{w|Halo (optical phenomenon)|halos}} that can appear around the sun (or the moon). The one he spots is most likely the {{w|22° halo|circular 22° halo}}, which is a halo forming a circle with a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun, or occasionally the Moon. God promptly claims it is a promise to never again make {{w|raccoons}} {{w|Immortality|immortal}} as it destroyed the Earth's {{w|ecosystem}}. Although today these animals can be a pest, see [[1565: Back Seat]], they are luckily not immortal. Randall is likely referring to an unkillable form of immortality rather than {{w|Biological Immortality|biological immortal}} as while that would likely cause some issues, the raccoons can still fall to predation and disease. Should raccoons have been rendered unkillable by predation or disease as well as {{w|Senescence|senescance}} then the combination of an average gestational period of 65 days, a litter size of 2-5 individuals, and an omnivorous appetite makes for a creature that could easily dominate any and all ecological niches.

The third bow could also be a "tertiary rainbow", which forms a ring around the sun, but is normally lost in the glare of the sunlight passing through raindrops. A [http://what-if.xkcd.com/150/ What if... about rainbows] which mentions this third rainbow was released on the same day as this comic.

Cueball continues by noticing two {{w|sun dogs}} (or parahelia) which often co-occur with the 22° halo. These consist of a pair of bright spots either side on the Sun, intersected by the halo. God gets tired of this and tries to stop Cueball by saying that he has said sorry, and asks him to drop the subject. That is probably sensible because there are 23 different {{w|Optical_phenomena#Atmospheric_optical_phenomena|atmospheric optical phenomena}} listed on Wikipedia alone. Following the logic of the comic and the evasive answer of God, it could mean there are some more skeletons in the closet.

The title text is a continuation where God tells Cueball that in the future humanity will invent a game called {{w|SimCity}}. This is a strategy computer game in which the player creates and manages an environment wherein ''sims'' autonomously build a city (or in later versions a country, or a planet). The player has God-like control of the world, including a [http://www.ign.com/wikis/simcity/Disasters disaster button], for when the player can't wait for a disaster to happen by chance. God is suggesting that it is too tempting, once a civilization has been built up, to push the disaster button just to see what happens.

Overall the comic pokes fun at the idea of explaining natural phenomena as messages from a deity.

==Transcript==
:[Noah, here represented as Cueball, is looking up on a rainbow band going through the top right corner of the panel. The band displays the following colors from outward and in: Red, yellow, green, blue and purple. A black blob in the bottom of the panel right of Noah, has white text with the reply from God to Noah's questions. This continues through the rest of the comic.]
:Noah: Wow, God- What's that band of color?
:God: A ''rainbow''.
:God: It is a sign of my promise that I will never again flood the Earth.

:[In this frameless panel Noah is not looking so much up. God's reply is split in two black blobs with a small connection between them.]
:Noah: Oh, good! Hey, what about that second bow above the first one?
:God: Oh, uh, sign of my promise not to set the earth on fire.
:God: Sorry for doing that a while back.

:[Noah points left, God's black reply blob hangs higher, only above Noah's shoulders]
:Noah: What about that third faint bow near the sun?
:God: My promise to never again destroy Earth's ecosystem by making raccoons immortal.

:[Noah points even higher up towards left, with God's reply situated as before]
:Noah: And the little rainbow clouds on either side of-
:God: Look, I ''said'' I'm sorry. Can we just drop it?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Animals]]

928: Mimic Octopus

2016-05-20T21:50:46Z

108.162.215.130: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 928
| date = July 22, 2011
| title = Mimic Octopus
| image = mimic_octopus.png
| titletext = Even if the dictionaries are starting to give in, I refuse to accept 'octopi' as a word mainly because--I'm not making this up--there's a really satisfying climactic scene in the Orson Scott Card horror novel 'Lost Boys' which hinges on it being an incorrect pluralization.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a parody of fish and sea-life identification charts, referencing the {{w|mimic octopus}} which, as the name implies, is able to mimic other animals. The creatures the octupus mimics include tuna, a clownfish, a lionfish, a shark, what appears to be a crinoid, an angler fish, an anchor, a submarine, a scuba diver, multiple fish, and a single octopus.

The {{w|Orson Scott Card}} novel that the title text refers to is ''{{w|Lost Boys (novel)|Lost Boys}}'': "A withdrawn eight-year-old in a troubled family invents imaginary friends who bear the names of missing children" (Publisher's Weekly). The part of the story that Randall is referring to (Chapter 7, Crickets) involves a situation where the protagonist, Stewie, is given a C grade for an otherwise impeccable diorama featuring underwater animals involving clay sculptures (when only a poster would have sufficed) and a well-written presentation supposedly because the other children had destroyed the diorama before the end of the day. To make matters worse, his teacher, Ms. Jones, had made fun of his project and given the ribbon for first prize to someone else.

On enquiring about, his father, Step, found out that the principal, Dr. Mariner, had already made the decision to hand Stewie the blue ribbon for first prize as she had reviewed the project before it had been destroyed, but Ms. Jones had secretly overruled her behind her back by announcing that another child (JJ) would receive the ribbon. So, the next day he met up with Ms Jones after school to have a word on the grading of his project. Needless to say, they ended up arguing about minor issues, with Mrs Jones justifying the reason for her decision on, among other things, the definition of a 'depiction', whether or not the amount of content was defined by the word count or the number of pages and of the importance of putting the report in a plastic cover. The argument finally comes to a head when Step points out that there was only one red mark on the project report, and that concerned an 'incorrect' pluralisation of the word 'octopus'

:“But Mrs. Jones, surely you know that the plural of “octopus” is either ‘octopus’, with nothing added, or ‘octopuses’.”
:“I think not,” said Mrs. Jones.
:“Think again, Mrs. Jones.”
:She must have realized that she was not on firm ground here. “Perhaps ‘octopuses’ is an alternate plural, but I’m sure that ‘octopi’ is the preferred.”
:“No, Mrs. Jones. If you had looked it up, you would have discovered that ‘octopi’ is not the preferred spelling. It is not a spelling at all. '''The word does not exist, except in the mouths of those who are pretending to be educated but in fact are not.''' This is because the ‘us’ ending of ‘octopus’ is not a Latin nominative singular ending, which would form its plural by changing to the letter ‘i’. Instead, the syllable ‘pus’ in ‘octopus’ is the Greek word for ‘foot.’ And it forms its plural the Greek way. Therefore ‘octopoda’, not ‘octopi’. Never ‘octopi’.”
:“Well, then, octopoda. Your son’s paper said octopuses.”
:“I know,” said Step. “When he asked me the correct plural, I told him octopoda. But then he was still uncertain, because my son doesn’t think he knows something until he knows it, and so he looked it up. And to my surprise, octopoda is only used when referring to more than one species of octopus, rather than when referring to more than one actual octopus. What Stevie put in his paper is in fact the preferred dictionary usage. Which you would have known, too, if you had looked it up.”

After proving his case that his son did indeed deserve an A grade, he then threatened to bring the matter to the attention of the principal. He then warned Mrs Jones that while he wanted the grade to remain unchanged, he wanted her to inform the class that the ribbon would be awarded to Stewie, before revealing that he had been recording the conversation all along. And, after this, after Mrs Jones came crying for forgiveness before leaving, Step realised how vulnerable she was and how she was channelling her frustration at one particular student in each class to find some relief from that.

According to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFyY2mK8pxk Merriam-Webster Dictionary], 'octopi', 'octopuses', and 'octopodes' (UK English) are all correct plural versions of "octopus." Supposedly, Randall would very much like the word 'octopi' to remain unrecognised by major dictionaries as otherwise it would lessen the magnitude of the climactic conclusion of this argument by rendering Step's mockery of Ms. Jones' perceived intellectual superiority factually invalid.

It should be noted that, at least according to [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=octopus Etymology Dictonary], Octopi is wrong for exactly the reasons that Step lists and first appears over 60 years later.

==Transcript==
:Southeast Asian Sea Life
:Identification Chart
:[There are silhouettes of eight individual fish, a school of fish, a scuba diver, an anemone, a submarine, and an anchor, each labeled "Mimic Octopus." There is also a silhouette of an octopus, labeled "Two Mimic Octopuses."]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Biology]]

928: Mimic Octopus

2016-05-20T21:48:41Z

108.162.215.130: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 928
| date = July 22, 2011
| title = Mimic Octopus
| image = mimic_octopus.png
| titletext = Even if the dictionaries are starting to give in, I refuse to accept 'octopi' as a word mainly because--I'm not making this up--there's a really satisfying climactic scene in the Orson Scott Card horror novel 'Lost Boys' which hinges on it being an incorrect pluralization.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a parody of fish and sea-life identification charts, referencing the {{w|mimic octopus}} which, as the name implies, is able to mimic other animals. The creatures the octupus mimics include tuna, a clownfish, a lionfish, a shark, what appears to be a crinoid, an angler fish, an anchor, a submarine, a scuba diver, multiple fish, and a single octopus.

The {{w|Orson Scott Card}} novel that the title text refers to is ''{{w|Lost Boys (novel)|Lost Boys}}'': "A withdrawn eight-year-old in a troubled family invents imaginary friends who bear the names of missing children" (Publisher's Weekly). The part of the story that Randall is referring to (Chapter 7, Crickets) involves a situation where the protagonist, Stewie, is given a C grade for an otherwise impeccable diorama featuring underwater animals involving clay sculptures (when only a poster would have sufficed) and a well-written presentation supposedly because the other children had destroyed the diorama before the end of the day. To make matters worse, his teacher, Ms. Jones, had made fun of his project and given the ribbon for first prize to someone else.

On enquiring about, his father, Step, found out that the principal, Dr. Mariner, had already made the decision to hand Stewie the blue ribbon for first prize as she had reviewed the project before it had been destroyed, but Ms. Jones had secretly overruled her behind her back by announcing that another child (JJ) would receive the ribbon. So, the next day he met up with Ms Jones after school to have a word on the grading of his project. Needless to say, they ended up arguing about minor issues, with Mrs Jones justifying the reason for her decision on, among other things, the definition of a 'depiction', whether or not the amount of content was defined by the word count or the number of pages and of the importance of putting the report in a plastic cover. The argument finally comes to a head when Step points out that there was only one red mark on the project report, and that concerned an 'incorrect' pluralisation of the word 'octopus'

:“But Mrs. Jones, surely you know that the plural of “octopus” is either ‘octopus’, with nothing added, or ‘octopuses’.”
:“I think not,” said Mrs. Jones.
:“Think again, Mrs. Jones.”
:She must have realized that she was not on firm ground here. “Perhaps ‘octopuses’ is an alternate plural, but I’m sure that ‘octopi’ is the preferred.”
:“No, Mrs. Jones. If you had looked it up, you would have discovered that ‘octopi’ is not the preferred spelling. It is not a spelling at all. '''The word does not exist, except in the mouths of those who are pretending to be educated but in fact are not.''' This is because the ‘us’ ending of ‘octopus’ is not a Latin nominative singular ending, which would form its plural by changing to the letter ‘i’. Instead, the syllable ‘pus’ in ‘octopus’ is the Greek word for ‘foot.’ And it forms its plural the Greek way. Therefore ‘octopoda’, not ‘octopi’. Never ‘octopi’.”
:“Well, then, octopoda. Your son’s paper said octopuses.”
:“I know,” said Step. “When he asked me the correct plural, I told him octopoda. But then he was still uncertain, because my son doesn’t think he knows something until he knows it, and so he looked it up. And to my surprise, octopoda is only used when referring to more than one species of octopus, rather than when referring to more than one actual octopus. What Stevie put in his paper is in fact the preferred dictionary usage. Which you would have known, too, if you had looked it up.”

After proving his case that his son did indeed deserve an A grade, he then threatened to bring the matter to the attention of the principal. He then warned Mrs Jones that while he wanted the grade to remain unchanged, he wanted her to inform the class that the ribbon would be awarded to Stewie, before revealing that he had been recording the conversation all along. And, after this, after Mrs Jones came crying for forgiveness before leaving, Step realised how vulnerable she was and how she was channelling her frustration at one particular student in each class to find some relief from that.

According to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFyY2mK8pxk Merriam-Webster Dictionary], 'octopi', 'octopuses', and 'octopodes' (UK English) are all correct plural versions of "octopus." Supposedly, Randall would very much like the word 'octopi' to remain unrecognised by major dictionaries as otherwise it would lessen the magnitude of the climactic conclusion of this argument by rendering Step's mockery of Ms. Jones' perceived intellectual superiority factually invalid.

It should be noted that, at least according to [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=octopus], Octopi is wrong for exactly the reasons that Step lists and first appears over 60 years later.

==Transcript==
:Southeast Asian Sea Life
:Identification Chart
:[There are silhouettes of eight individual fish, a school of fish, a scuba diver, an anemone, a submarine, and an anchor, each labeled "Mimic Octopus." There is also a silhouette of an octopus, labeled "Two Mimic Octopuses."]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Biology]]

Talk:1380: Manual for Civilization

2014-06-16T16:20:39Z

108.162.215.130:

There's probably some connection between Eno and animorphs/post-apocalyptic earth, but because I don't know him, I only added info on the animorphs [[User:Shadowmanwkp|Shadowmanwkp]] ([[User talk:Shadowmanwkp|talk]]) 08:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Brian Eno is associated with Long Now foundation as a board member: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Now_Foundation
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[[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.45|108.162.222.45]] 08:50, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

The joke at the end of the comic about the list being 'all' animorph books is not that not all animorph books are included in the list but that the list contains the megamorph and the andalite books in addition to all the animorph books. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.231|141.101.92.231]] 09:03, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

I wonder why only Megamorphs and Andalite Chronicles were mentioned. Does Eno not like the others? 12:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one who saw "Manual for Civilization" and thought: "I am Gandhi of the Indians. Our words are backed with NUCLEAR weapons. We have decided to rid the world of your pathetic civilization. Goodbye." -? Ah, that takes me back. Sid Meier, you owe me many hours. [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 13:15, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
:Great comment - yes he ''owes me'' a lot of hours too! I had not seen it but it is very obvious - although probably not intended ;) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:38, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

I disagree with the Asimov Foundation pun - I do not think Randall refeers to that at all. It was put at the top before the explain of the Amorph books. As it is a side issue I moved it down to the bottom of the explain where it might belong. But I think it should be removed! But I will leave that for others to decide! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:38, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

:The first thing I thought of when seeing "Long Now Foundation" and the reference to a person saying books are needed to help rebuild society ''was'' Asimov's Foundation series. So I think it should remain in the explanation. It my not be a pun, but I think significant reference to it is possible, and maybe likely. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 17:34, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
:: For what it's worth, the Long Now Foundation really is building a Manual for Civilization: http://blog.longnow.org/02010/04/06/manual-for-civilization/ --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.113|199.27.128.113]] 18:55, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
::: Thank you for linking to this! I came to this explainxkcd page because I wanted to know the answer to that very question. I think this link should be included in the article. {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.210}}
::: For the record, I had the idea for a "Post-apocalyptic Survival Guide" in 2008. I believe 3 text-book sized volumes could contain enough information on wilderness knowledge, engineering, science, medicine, and psychology for an individual or small community to exist quite happily. I considered making it a wiki, but that defeats the purpose, since nobody's going to have internet after an apocalypse. If you're actually trying to rebuild society to its present advancement, the hard part won't be finding the information, it will be finding people more interested in rebuilding than in their own survival. ''The Postman'' comes to mind...--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.55|108.162.215.55]] 20:58, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
::::Actually, we can assume there WILL be some warning apocalypse is coming. Post-apocalyptic Survival Guide must therefore be wiki-based system with simple "print" button, to be pressed (on multiple computers) in moment of such warning, immediately transferring the data to local computer before the Internet collapses and printed hopefully before the electrical grid collapses (and/or backup generators run out of fuel). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:34, 14 June 2014 (UTC)
:::::I think the best method, considering the quantity of information such a guide could contain in electronic form, would be to make it a wiki that is published as an app that receives regular content updates. Each device with the app would sync and retain a full copy of the entire guide. In order to ensure the device continues to function post-apocalypse, the app would come with instructions for protecting a device from damage/EMP and for generating power. I'd love to market a ruggedized and EMP shielded tablet with a hand generator.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.130|108.162.215.130]] 16:20, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
---

:: I always though that in Asimov's Foundation, the Encyclopedia Galactica itself was not actual point. The point was that the Foundation, that is the organization writing the Encyclopedia, consisted of large amount of educated people concentrated on one place and equipped with lot of informations they supposedly were formating for inclusion into the Encyclopedia. So, when the Empire collapsed, they could start rebuilding civilization with this initial advantage. Not speaking of other advantages Seldon prepared, like the position of that place. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:34, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

--------

"If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis that all things are made of atoms — little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. In that one sentence, you will see, there is an enormous amount of information about the world, if just a little imagination and thinking are applied." - Richard P. Feynman (quote mentioned in Daniel Bor's "The Ravenous Brain", and sourced from: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/11/richard-feynman-lectures-on-physics/) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.169|108.162.208.169]] 17:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Don't have time to create an account today, or I would do so to correct a typo: Asimov's character's first name was "Hari", not "Harry" (Seldon). Sorry if this seems like nitpicking...
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.114|108.162.241.114]] 16:36, 12 June 2014 (UTC)

---

Any reference in this comic to "The Knowledge"[http://the-knowledge.org/en-gb/]? {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.210}}