explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1133: Up Goer Five

2015-05-28T02:14:33Z

108.162.216.109:

Isn't this comic essentially just saying 'rocket science: not actually as complicated as the phrase "it's not rocket science" would have us beleive'{{unsigned|203.211.80.97}}

This comic is also a celebration of what many people, presumably including former NASA employee Randall, consider the greatest technological achievement ever. {{unsigned|158.169.131.14}}
:Nope, Randall thinks delivery pizza is the most important thing humanity ever achieved (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/638:_The_Search). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.49|141.101.104.49]] 15:20, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm surprised "ship" isn't among the most commonly used words in English. Where do these statistics come from? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 12:35, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

:It makes sense that "capsule" and "spaceship" (as one word) are not in the "ten hundred" most-common words (Really, "thousand" isn't on this list either?), but not "fuel" and/or "tank"? People (context: US Midwesterner) talk about filling up their cats all the time! I'd like to see the original 1,000-word list. (Also: "Up Goer"? Well, it goes up -- that's about ALL it does. Makes sense, I guess.) --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.149|192.136.15.149]] 13:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Maybe is Randall referring to [[wikipedia:Simplified Technical English|Simplified Technical English]]? — [[User:Ethaniel|Ethaniel]] ([[User talk:Ethaniel|talk]]) 14:09, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
:There is an entry in the Simple English Wikipedia: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_English . The Simple English Wikipedia is interesting to browse, and challenging to write articles for. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 14:24, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
:: Look up Basic English. It is the 850 most used words (or rather the 850 most used words when it was invented in 1930). According to Wikipedia it is still used in some countries as the basic vocabulary to first teach in English. The list of words is here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Basic_English_word_list . It looks like this could be what he used.i[[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 17:30, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
::: The 850 Basic English word list includes "liquid" and "second" but does not include "world", "five" and "third" so we're still looking for the vocabulary list.
I'm inclined to think this is also a nod to 1984's {{w|Newspeak}}, and the dumbing-down effect of an ''overly'' {{w|controlled language}}. It's good to simplify (linguistic) complexity, but with that simplification of text comes a simplification of capacity, too. We push back horizons by exploring unknowns, so restricting things to a small set of knowns may be counterproductive. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
:This is the very point I am trying to make time and again. Some topics cannot be correctly explained to everyone. BTW XKCD #547 had a similar point.

::I think that's a very unfortunate "point" to be trying to make time and time again. My personal feelings aside, it goes against Randall's and xkcd's ethos, as well. Just as in law or any other specialized area, an expert, given a reasonable amount of time, thought, and vocabulary, should be able to explain even very complex ideas to lay persons. If there's a failure to do so, the burden should rest with the explainer. And frankly, that failure might even expose some lack of understanding on the explainer's end, as well. I have discussed this in greater depth below. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 09:10, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

The comic is almost certainly using http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Basic_English_word_list or another work list like it.[[Special:Contributions/82.16.27.115|82.16.27.115]] 16:58, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

The phrase in the explanation "Helium is much less prone to catching fire" brought a smile to my lips as there is literally <SIC> nothing less prone to catching fire than Helium. [[Special:Contributions/90.208.12.4|90.208.12.4]] 23:10, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

:<s>Unfortunately some pedant has changed it to the technically correct, but much less smile-inducing "inflammable". Pitty, it made me smile too.</s> [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:22, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

:Edit: I've reverted it, because the whole edit was fraught with incorrect minor changes. 23:27, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

:Inflammable is '''wrong'''. It means the same as flammable. If you mean 'incapable of burning', the opposite of flammable/inflammable is ''nonflammable''. This is one of the subtleties of English which is avoided by using a greater number of simple words! [[Special:Contributions/87.252.61.205|87.252.61.205]] 13:01, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

::I wouldn't say Helium is least prone to catching fire. Sure, it's least prone to chemical reaction, but it is prone to nuclear fusion, which looks sort of like fire. On the other hand Iron, while it can be oxygenated, doesn't really catch fire doing that and I doubt it can chemically react in a way which would look that way. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:42, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

:::Fire is strictly defined as the rapid oxidation of a substance in the presence of heat - nuclear fusion is transmutation, not combustion. Iron can undergo a thermite reaction which makes spectacular flying flames. Youtube should have a billion videos of thermite reactions for your perusal. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]]

:::Fine steel wool (such as 0000 grade) burns exceedingly well. A survival technique is to use flashlight batteries to make a spark in the steel wool, which then becomes an excellent fire starter.

Since the comic can't use the actual words, it took me some time to find Wikipedia's articles that describe the actual "up goer." In case there's anybody like me who wanted to know more details, I found the {{w|Apollo (spacecraft)}} and {{w|Saturn V}} articles to be very interesting and relevant. BTW, "that stuff they burned in lights before houses had power" is {{w|RP-1|highly refined kerosene}}. [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 00:34, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

:Thanks for doing the research! I've incorporated this into the explanation. Feel free to add more if you think it needs more. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:33, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

::I like your additions. Much better than what I could come up with! [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 23:44, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

It would be pretty nice for a day if everyone just spoke using the most used thousand words in his respective language. Just off hand, describing the band name "Led Zeppelin" would certainly be a treat--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 18:10, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

:Anyone who will not be fired off trying to only speak the most used thousand words for workday is working manually or not at all. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:42, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

::Or is a school teacher, or working primarily with people who have language difficulties...

I think NASA should rebrand themselves "US Spaaaaaace Team" it's so much cooler than the "National Aeronautics and Spaaaaaace Administration"! --[[User:NHSavage|NHSavage]] ([[User talk:NHSavage|talk]]) 07:39, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

I have not once heard the word "goer" before this. Thousand most common? [[Special:Contributions/67.52.144.154|67.52.144.154]] 16:22, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

:Randall used the verb "to go" and as it's a verb, any conjugation could be considered the same word. I think that's where he got "goer" from. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:29, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
::Well, not a conjugation, a different part of speech. That's a slightly more extreme leap than a change of inflection, but probably still allowable for these purposes. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 15:18, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Someone has made an "Up-Goer Five Text Editor", with a link to a (the?) ten-hundred wordlist: http://splasho.com/upgoer5/. [[Special:Contributions/83.233.5.126|83.233.5.126]] 18:46, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

I'm having trouble believing that lift off is not on the common word list. [[User:DruidDriver|DruidDriver]] ([[User talk:DruidDriver|talk]]) 01:55, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

'''On language and explaining'''

Strongly disagree with the contention at the beginning of this explanation that "This comic is a commentary on the absurdity of boiling down technical explanations for lay people..." On many occasions Randall de-jargonizes/simplifies complex ideas so that they can be understood by most anyone. Heck, he dedicates an entire blog (whatif) to it. In this interview with fivethirtyeight.com, (http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/xkcd-randall-munroe-qanda-what-if/) among others, Randall explains that lay persons, given enough time, patience, and the correct guidance, should be able to understand most any scientific/technical idea.

To wit: "It’s tempting to think of technical audiences and general audiences as completely different, but I think that no matter who you’re talking to, the principles of explaining things clearly are the same. The only real difference is which things you can assume they already know[.] ... I’m always looking for ways of looking at problems — mental models — that make the answers intuitively clear. Once I’ve hit on one of those, '''I just try to explain it as simply and clearly as I can[.]'''"

Accordingly, I have altered the explanation to reflect this world view. The point of this comic is to illustrate that one should be able to explain complicated ideas to people who lack a technical background using simple language. Granted that Randall is imposing upon himself an unreasonable "ten hundred word" linguistic restriction, but I think that only goes to further his point. Unless the "explainee" is being unreasonably obtuse, the burden falls upon the shoulders of the explainer to help a non-lay audience understand. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 08:53, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

If you don't go to spaaaaaace today, you need more struts[[User:Steammaster|Steammaster]] ([[User talk:Steammaster|talk]]) 18:43, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Maybe we should add a reference to Randall's upcoming book, Thing Explainer. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 02:14, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1503: Squirrel Plan

2015-03-25T13:02:22Z

108.162.216.109: Commented

Reminds me of the Ice Age squirrel [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:Also reminiscent of the star wars scene in Kingmen [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 06:16, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
::Um ya, like why didn't those balloons have a pressure release valve instead of blowing up? A relatively cheap device could have aided that character immensely.[[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 12:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
I think the squirrels are just a vehicle for the joke, which is poking fun at "obvious" conclusions based on personal beliefs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 06:48, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:Absolutely - the current first line of explanation fails, as squirrels being stupid is not a joke. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.49|141.101.99.49]] 07:18, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
"...due to the expansion of the acorns inside." I love you guys. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.89|141.101.104.89]] 07:57, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
: We know [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.39|108.162.216.39]] 08:54, 25 March 2015 (UTC)BK201

This comic puts me in mind of the simplistic plot points and devices of a lot of modern scifi movies ... poking fun at them the same way as "Scorcher" from Tropic Thunder does ...--[[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.38|198.41.239.38]] 09:30, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd say the squirrels are a stand-in for ancient humans. Their understanding of the world and what is obvious reflects their pre-scientific state of knowledge. Their interests as squirrels have affected their conclusions, just as humans have projected their interests on what they interpret the sun to be (source of acorns instead of a sun god). I'm pretty sure the "halfway to the sun" part refers to a point where they think they're halfway but probably aren't even close to leaving the atmosphere, drawing parallels again to ancient human assumptions (the sun and moon are small orbs that are just high in the sky).
: Alternatively, it might be referring to people assuming the sun is golden in some literal fashion. What else could the sun be made of, if it's so gloriously radiant and stuff? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 13:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. Or possibly replace "ancient" with "superstitious" - or even nothing at all for that matter to apply to humans in general - and I'll agree with you even more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.70|141.101.80.70]] 09:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1322: Winter

2015-03-11T00:43:00Z

108.162.216.109: commneted

There is a reason we have correct and precise words for just about every item. "Flappy planes" could refer to birds, or it could refer to the impractical early attempt at a flying machine known as an ornithopter; and in the same manner "stick towers" could also refer to telephone poles or the piers from an old-time wooden railroad trestle.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.30|173.245.54.30]] 17:41, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
:I think the main reason we like to have so many words is so we can belittle people that don't know as many as we do. The German way is more sensible, if less poetic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:27, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

I feel like he's referencing a song but I can't make the things fit anything. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.53|108.162.219.53]] 06:05, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
:I thought this may be a shot at media's coverage of the "polar vortex"[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.31|108.162.219.31]] 14:44, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
:Sounds a bit like Let it Snow to me [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 21:59, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

Amusingly, I feel, the German for gloves is "Handschuh" (plural "Handschuhe)" as in
hand shoe(s). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.72|173.245.49.72]] 09:05, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

I still think that's whitehat, he is again making an argument that is getting beaten [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 09:05, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

How does the title text build up on the romeo&juliet's rose idea? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.74|108.162.229.74]] 12:59, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

:Maybe "build up" is the wrong phrase. It certainly continues on the same train of thought. [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 15:48, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

"Monosyllabic" doesn't quite seem like a fitting description of "water", "flappy", or "towers", especially in contrast to "pond", "birds", and "trees". --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.207|108.162.238.207]] 13:26, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

I've added [Birds chirping] to the transcript, but I can't really see what else is missing. I'm open to suggestions. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:36, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
:This was something I was trying to grasp when I added the "Birds Chirping" - to what detail do we describe the events going on in any given panel? A transcript is supposed to be a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcript_(law) written record of the spoken word] and while some actions do bear significant meaning to the "record" of the strip as a whole, the question remains - to what detail? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 20:55, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
::To the musical notes that appear in the upper right corner of the relevant panels. [[User:Sciepsilon|Sciepsilon]] ([[User talk:Sciepsilon|talk]]) 05:39, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
:::Yes, I agree - the musical notes should be transcribed (or notated, lol). But should we be transcribing physical acts, such as characters walking on/off panel, setting up the scene, etc. It would seem that we're moving from Transcript to Script. In any case, I'm going to move this discussion to the [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination|Coordination]] page as I can't seem to find any real guideline on this.[[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:52, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

It almost scans right for "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" and a lot of the lines could be taken as references to that song. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 17:09, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
:If you say so. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:27, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

The stickman with the antennated headwool is right. [[User:Sten|'''STEN''']] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 21:49, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

Might "little flappers" refer to fruit bats, instead of birds, since flappy planes is already used for birds? Most of the replacements so far were logical, and since birds mainly generate lift using Bernoulli's Principle (like planes), wouldn't bats more more accurate when only refering to "flappers"? [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 23:09, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
:No, I think "little flappers" is definately birds - specifically wrens, sparrows, warblers, etc - all of which are both small and commonly called "songbirds", hence the indication of musical birdsong. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.46}}

It feels like there is some special significance to the last panel. Either the birds' chirping indicates offense at being called flappy planes, indicating that somebody does in fact care, or they are continuing to chirp happilly because they don't care. Or it could just be that Cueball/White Hat sees Beret Guy's point, as seems to be the consensus. [[User:Sciepsilon|Sciepsilon]] ([[User talk:Sciepsilon|talk]]) 05:39, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
:I'm pretty sure this isn't a comic about sentient birds. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:27, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Is "spacelight" meant to be "the illumination from space" i.e. "sunlight", or "the lamp in space" i.e. "sun"? I thought the latter. {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.67}}
::I don't think it matters that much, as long as white hat is warm enough. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.86|108.162.229.86]] 19:41, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
::Do you get confused when people say "The sun is warm today" ? This is the same thing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]]

I have referenced Feynman's "Difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something" to the explanation as the reference would be obvious to someone like Munroe. [[User:Tardyon|Tardyon]] ([[User talk:Tardyon|talk]]) 22:25, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

"Floor water" was referenced in the latest What-If. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 05:26, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

No baby birds in winter? Could they be crossbill's? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.84|108.162.254.84]] 15:03, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
:He is only saying "little flappers" to create a certain tone in his statement. He simply means the songbirds. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:27, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

I have always liked Feynman's parable about knowing something vs knowing the name of something. I especially like it in context of those students and intellectual wannabes that spew out names and jargon without actually knowing, understanding or appreciating the how (and perhaps why) behind what they are spouting off.
On the other hand, a shared nomenclature is absolutely essential to communication, especially effective and unambiguous communication, as the discussions herein (above) make clear.
For instance, although "beret guy" may have a deep understanding and appreciation of what he observes, he is failing to communicate this (if that indeed was his intention) to "cueball", and indeed it could be said to the readers. For instance the "little flappers" are birds to some, bats to others. "Lamp in space" is not very unambiguous as well.
People create names and words with specific meaning in order to shorten communication time, and to create a shared mental picture that helps further understanding. An argument could be made that "cueball" has a point about "wrong words for those things" in that if one really wants to communicate ones understanding or appreciation for something, one had better learn the nomenclature. [[User:Tardyon|Tardyon]] ([[User talk:Tardyon|talk]]) 15:34, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

I notice that some of the names Beret Guy is using imply that in the dialect of English he speaks, only manmade or highly technological things are known, and he has to describe his natural surroundings by reference to manmade ones: "floor" "tower" "planes" "light" "beeping". --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 00:43, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1485: Friendship

2015-02-11T12:25:04Z

108.162.216.109: It's kinda disappointing. Shame on you.

In the article Randall wants to make us believe friendship is a rather new phenomenon or trend and its "early" occurences are something special,which may be true for bromance - at least for the term - but not for the concept. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 07:44, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

I'm afraid I'm not currently up to doing it, but I feel we need further details of, and definitely citations for, the articles that have been vandalised. Maybe we could even have graphs showing view, edit, and vandalism spikes. Davii [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.154|141.101.98.154]] 11:18, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Why am I not surprised that this lead to Wiki-vandalism? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:25, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1483: Quotative Like

2015-02-06T13:38:30Z

108.162.216.109: New comment.

That second panel is, like, depressing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.185|108.162.249.185]] 05:19, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

I found [http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/01/25/linguists-are-like-get-used/ruUQoV0XUTLDjx72JojnBI/story.html the article]. [[User:Piderman|Piderman]] ([[User talk:Piderman|talk]]) 05:53, 6 February 2015 (UTC)
:Cool, added it. Thanks. [[User:PinkAmpersand|PinkAmpersand]] ([[User talk:PinkAmpersand|talk]])
God also introduced a new concept "light" and was quicker implementing it (God did not need to wait for the next generation or kill people) throughout the world. And light sounds similar to (like) like. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 08:58, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Are there any other examples of actual living people who are not celebrities being name-checked in xkcd? [[User:Andries|Andries]] ([[User talk:Andries|talk]]) 13:23, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Given that the article noted that the next generation would be, quote, "in control," I think Cueball's interpretation is...well, slightly less absurd than it would be otherwise.

Talk:1472: Geography

2015-01-12T12:58:30Z

108.162.216.109:

Anybody notice that he drew an isthmus but didn't label it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.94|108.162.221.94]] 05:49, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Does Randall play Dwarf Fortress? Because the perfect map to build your fort on looks about like this. Volcano near the sea is especially neat luxury. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.121|141.101.80.121]] 06:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

:[[1223: Dwarf Fortress]] suggests he does. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:00, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Would be nice if there could be an example of the sort of map that Randall is referring to from a textbook for people who've never seen them or don't remember. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.91}}
Yeah, shame that there isn't one in the comic itself... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

I'd be interested to hear where in the world people claim matches this best. Boston...? I ain't buying that one. {{unsigned ip|108.162.225.44}}

Examples like Randall was talking about that I found on Google images.
[http://www.aparisgarcia.net/advwebdesign/LandandWaterFeaturesmap.jpg 1]
[https://ts-cdn-teachstarterptyl.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TeachingResources_GeographicFeatures_Poster_US.jpg 2]
These appear to be two pages of the same picture: [http://secageography.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/8/8/24881589/2206129_orig.jpg 3] [http://secageography.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/8/8/24881589/9094980_orig.jpg 4]
I'm not sure if they're good enough quality to add to the main article, but if someone thinks they are, feel free. For someone who's never seen them before, they're fairly common in elementary school social studies or geography textbooks; I remember seeing them multiple times in mine. [[User:Tomari7|Tomari7]] ([[User talk:Tomari7|talk]]) 11:10, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Also, no Valley or Fjord. Damn insensitve tropical geography.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 11:21, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The Region around Vancouver has a lot of the items in the picture. (Sandy) deserts and Mesas are the only missing. {{unsigned ip|141.101.64.137}}

Anyone else noticing the distinct lack of any buildings? I'd call that a reason not to live there...

Talk:1458: Small Moon

2014-12-10T15:54:28Z

108.162.216.109:

I marked the transcript as incomplete; we can't be sure as to who is saying which lines in the final panel without Randall telling us himself. Notably, the second-to-last-line does not sound like something Ben Kenobi would say; more likely it's Han Solo. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.188|108.162.216.188]] 13:54, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Probably another dig at the Pluto "dwarf planet" controversy?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]] 06:38, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:Implying that it might not be? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 15:54, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

This is too good. I laughed for about 2 straight minutes.. :D [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.89|199.27.128.89]] 06:50, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Added a short placeholder explanation for the comic itself, using [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]]'s suggestion. Needs refining and explaining of the alt text. Cheers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.207|173.245.54.207]] 07:04, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

In the movie, they didn't have 3 hours to argue over the thing. Not sure if that's relevant... [[User:Haelbarde|Haelbarde]] ([[User talk:Haelbarde|talk]]) 07:11, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

The reason it couldn't be a space station would be that something so large would wind up collapsing in on its own gravity. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.204|173.245.54.204]] 08:38, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:It's not solid, it's a comapritively low density on the whole (on the order of ten thousand million''th''s that of Earth's sea-level atmospheric pressure, if I've not thrown a rogue zero or two in to the calculation by accident, so is doubtless mostly vacuum outside of the functional/habitable/structural areas), there are obviously various gravitational compensators for the inhabited sections (hence "looking sideways out of the equator ring" and along the beam-channel, yet "up from the surface" from the trench system defence turrets and other internal shafts are also vertiginously 'up-down' in nature) and doubtless its structural stength is composed of various Unotanium (i.e. "durasteel") alloys and the like, way beyond what we could currently build with Earthly technology. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 10:37, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

I would note that a Death '''Star''' can not be a moon. [[User:Briff|Briff]] ([[User talk:Briff|talk]]) 10:10, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:Note that it is canon that the "Star Destroyer"s are neither (if taken literally) capable of destroying stars nor (in the sense of "star ship" in general) are they technically destroyer-class ships. You've got to put it down to The Empire just having no sense of relevence when it comes to naming its vessels. Probably too much influence from clone-thinking... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 10:37, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:I will argue that by my understanding of the term, it actually is a moon whenever it is orbiting a planet but it would probably be better to come up with new terminology given the interstellar capabilities. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 12:44, 10 December 2014 (UTC)Band of Traveling Accountants

I've never heard of the word "deunifying"; did you mean "disuniting" or "disunifying"?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.203|173.245.54.203]] 14:09, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1423: Conversation

2014-09-19T14:07:28Z

108.162.216.109: Added unsigned message template to unsigned message

I have tried to think of what I could put in here, but I can't think of anything. Awkward. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.149| 09:24, 19 September 2014‎ (UTC)}}
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Oh god, she's me. Someone please help her! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.206|141.101.93.206]] 09:28, 19 September 2014 (UTC)
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By coincidence, on a Facebook Asperger syndrome group that I'm a member of, there was this bit of dialog, purportedly from a party someone had attended: A: So, what do you work at? B: I have an invalid pension. A. Ah, I see. What's wrong with you? B: I'm not capable of lying. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 11:14, 19 September 2014 (UTC)
:Surely no one would actually say "What's wrong with you?" in that situation, perhaps someone with Asperger syndrome wouldn't notice, but that's so rude. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.107|141.101.106.107]] 11:28, 19 September 2014 (UTC)
::Well, it was freely translated from Danish, and Danes are fairly blunt, without it necessarily being considered unfriendly. The original text:
::Hørt ved et selskab:
::- 'Nå, hvad laver du så til hverdag?'
::- 'Jeg er førtidspensionist.'
::- 'Okay, hvad fejler du?'
::- 'Jeg er ærlig.'
::--[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 11:50, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1422: My Phone is Dying

2014-09-17T12:37:42Z

108.162.216.109:

The dying of Beret's phone is similar to the dying of the sun.

The Sun does not have enough mass to explode as a supernova. Instead it will exit the main sequence in approximately 5.4 billion years and start to turn into a red giant. It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of the solar system's inner planets, possibly including Earth. (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun) [[User:Oicebot|Oicebot]] ([[User talk:Oicebot|talk]]) 04:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

I thought, this might be a TARDIS reference. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.210|141.101.93.210]] 07:03, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

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The main page of this explanation mentions White Hat... he's not even in this comic, only Beret Guy and Cueball. Not sure about editing policies/things here yet, so figured I'd mention this on the talk page :P Hope this helps! [[User:Tanos|Tanos]] ([[User talk:Tanos|talk]]) 06:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
:Fixed. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 10:55, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

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Reference to the iPhone (and may be other smartphones) which becomes bigger and bigger with every release. At the same time iPhone becomes less popular and it is 'dying' this way. So - the bigger iPhone becomes the closer it is to 'death'. And it was like a star among other smartphones.
In the title text it may be a jesting prophesy - one on future generation of iPhone will be like a set of some separate devices.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.229|108.162.246.229]] 07:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

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The first paragraph assumes that the phone is going to become a white dwarf and the supernova is not mentioned until lower down. Personally, I read the "collapse in a violent explosion" comment from the fourth panel as implying that it was already on its way to becoming a supernova(-analog) and the charger would speed it up. Unless red dwarfs actually explode and leave white dwarfs (which I didn't think they did, but maybe I'm wrong there) concluding that it's analogous to the white dwarf doesn't make sense to me, at least. Thoughts? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.86|199.27.128.86]] 08:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

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There is a conspiracy theory that Apple allegedly kills iPhones just before the release of a new model. This comic seems to make a play on that. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.193}}
-Unusual conspiracy. Presumably it's to make sure old customers buy the new iPhone, but wouldn't most Apple fans do that anyways? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:37, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

Talk:72: Classhole

2014-08-10T01:45:08Z

108.162.216.109: Created page with "I think this is a biblical reference. Matthew 7:9, "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" Black Hat the "classhole", evidently will."

I think this is a biblical reference. Matthew 7:9, "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" Black Hat the "classhole", evidently will.