explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1771: It Was I

2016-12-12T17:59:21Z

108.162.219.91: Added a reply about linking verbs

I find it hilarious how much people get hung up on grammar. Language is a beautiful chaos that we partially order, but it is not set in stone. Seasons, years, and people change, as does language. If you understand what they're saying, why do you still point it out? If it's illegible, it's understandable to point it out, but an extra and or the wrong 'there' isn't going to hurt you. Proper grammar is only so important; it is not the end-all be-all of language. Thank you for reading my short rant. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.125|108.162.219.125]] 16:14, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

"It me" isn't "caveman-speak"... It's a popular Internet meme. See [http://www.papermag.com/it-me-you-and-everyone-we-know-a-look-at-the-webs-most-ambiguous-meme-1427655235.html here] and [http://www.papermag.com/an-interview-with-pastaversaucy-the-inventor-of-the-it-me-meme-1427658503.html here], for starters. --[[User:Esterhazy|Esterhazy]] ([[User talk:Esterhazy|talk]]) 07:47, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I was thinking it might be a reference to the syntax Jar Jar Bings uses "It's a me Jar Jar" "Misa is" etc. which would ad to why Darth Vader begs the Emperor never to speak like this again, it could also serve as a reference to the Darth Jar Jar theories flying around.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.148|162.158.202.148]] 08:30, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Not super familiar with the general style on this wiki, but surely we should note that this ''Star Wars'' comic comes ahead of Friday's ''Rogue One'' premiere, right? Like in a trivia section or the main article somehow? [[User:Aepokk|Aepokk]] ([[User talk:Aepokk|talk]]) 08:19, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I read it as being the emperor who said "It was me who allowed the-" --[[User:RU42LINES|ru42lines]] ([[User talk:RU42LINES|talk]]) 09:32, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
: I agree, so edited as such. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.233|141.101.98.233]] 09:46, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
: Quite right, thanks! --[[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 10:29, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I checked a bunch of online style guides. It looks like Luke is actually wrong here. "to be"/"was" is a linking verb, and generally "It was I" is considered the correct form. "It was me" is acceptable informally but that doesn't invalidate the rule. [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 10:22, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
: I think you may have missed the point there.--[[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 10:30, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
:: Just a note that might be relevant to a more detailed discussion. This wiki does often detail the academic elements of the joke [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 10:44, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
::: Please do document them. But the whole point of the cartoon is in fact to discuss this question, but there isn't really a 'right' or 'wrong' and certainly not one prescribed by style guides. See [[1735: Fashion Police and Grammar Police]].--[[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 10:58, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/IIAdHEwiAy8 --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.44|141.101.81.44]] 12:09, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
:::: Modern English doesn't really have linking verbs anymore. Linking verbs only really make sense in languages where adjectives agree in case with nouns, like German, Latin, or in Slavic languages, which makes the construction "X is Y" where Y is an adjective really common, and since Y agrees in singular/plural and gender already, it makes sense to apply agreement to case also, and that usage spreads to cases where Y is a noun as well. None of this applies to English: nouns have lost case and gender, adjectives have completely lost agreement and case and gender and plural, pronoun case has become limited to subject vs object-and-everything-else. Other West-European languages that have lost case have followed a similar pathway (ex: French "C'est moi", where "moi" is caseless). In the case of "X is Y", Y is an attribute to the subject, and in linking verb languages this gets nominative case (and likewise, attributes to the object get accusative case). Modern English applies the rule that it's not a subject, so it falls into the object-and-everything-else category.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.91|108.162.219.91]] 17:59, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

This probably should have a link to [[890|this comic]]. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.120}}
: There already is one! Look closely at the penultimate paragraph --[[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 15:21, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

1750: Life Goals

2016-12-06T15:23:29Z

108.162.219.91: /* Table of life goals */

{{comic
| number = 1750
| date = October 24, 2016
| title = Life Goals
| image = life_goals.png
| titletext = I got to check off 'Make something called xkcd' early.
}}

==Explanation==
The first eight goals on this to-do list feature one or more strange words containing an excess of the last three letters of the alphabet (X, Y and Z), often using several of them in the same words, even several of the same rare letter in a row. (See [[#Table of life goals|Table of life goals]] below).

All of these words can be looked up in the English version of Wikipedia, but only a few are {{w|common noun}}s, three of them weird animal names, the rest being {{w|proper nouns}}, i.e. persons names (fictional or artist) or obscure names for places or video games. The first goal is the one with fewest of these letters, only using two x's, and only the first word is strange, {{w|Skrillex}} being the artist name of a musician. All later entries have at least three of these letters, which are most often used in very strange, often unpronounceable, words.

The punchline, in the final and ninth goal, expresses that the writer of this list often uses these unexpected and bizarre words in {{w|Scrabble}} games, which exasperates his opponents to such a great extent that he has yet to finish a game without getting punched. All of these words would theoretically earn a player many points in Scrabble, but usually it is not allowed to use proper nouns (see [[#Scrabble points|Scrabble points]] below).

In the title text, a reference is made to the fact that none of these goals have been checked off yet. It also turns out that it is indeed [[Randall|Randall's]] list, since the writer of the list did (at least) manage to check of the goal ''Make something called xkcd'' early. Sadly there are neither y's nor z's nor even more than one x in that four letter combo.

This comic was published the week after the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'', which referred directly to the city {{w|Zzyzx}} in one of the pictures. It's the second comic in that week after the what if? post that references it more or less directly, the previous one being [[1748: Future Archaeology]]. It seems likely that Randall created this comic after doing research for this what if? post, and came across the city Zzyzx as the shortest way to dig a channel to flood Death Valley.

===Table of life goals===
*The number of letters X, Y and Z is in the entire sentence.
*The total is the total number of these three letters in the entire sentence.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Goal
! Explanation
! #X
! #Y
! #Z
! Total
|-
| Meet Skrillex in Phoenix || Randall's goal is to meet the musician using the artist name {{w|Skrillex}} in the city of {{w|Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix}}. Not that Skrillex has any specific connection to that city. || 2|| 0|| 0|| 2
|-
| Study zymurgy || Randall's goal is to study {{w|fermentation}}. {{w|Zymurgy}} (or zymology) is an applied science which studies the biochemical process of fermentation.|| 0|| 3|| 1|| 4
|-
| Get a pet axolotl named Hexxus || Randall's goal is to obtain a pet salamander (an {{w|axolotl}}) and name it after the malevolent Hexxus from the animated film {{w|FernGully: The Last Rainforest}}. The axolotl is a critically endangered species in nature, but are relatively popular in captivity, with well established captive breeding populations. || 3|| 0|| 0|| 3
|-
| Observe a syzygy from Zzyzx, California || Randall's goal is to observe an astronomical event in which three celestial bodies form a straight line (known as a {{w|Syzygy (astronomy)|syzygy}}), from the Californian city of {{w|Zzyzx, California|Zzyzx}}. That city was just mentioned in the last [[what if?]] ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'' released less than a week before this comic. || 1|| 4|| 4|| 9
|-
| Port the games Zzyzzyxx and Xexyz to Xbox || Randall's goal is to {{w|porting|port}} (i.e. adapting software from one platform so it can be used on another platform) two old video games so they can be used on the modern video game platform {{w|Xbox}}. The first game is {{w|Zzyzzyxx}}, a 1982 {{w|arcade video game}} about navigating a labyrinth, and the second is {{w|Xexyz}}, a 1988 game for the {{w|Nintendo Entertainment System}} with platform and shoot-em-up game-play. [http://xbmcxbox.blogspot.com/2013/03/complete-list-of-emulators-for-original.html Multiple emulators already exist] that can run both of these titles, although an actual native port would be a lot more difficult. || 5|| 3|| 5|| 13
|-
| Publish a Zzzax/Mister Mxyzptlk crossover || A {{w|Crossover (fiction)|crossover}} means that two different stories (often comics) are mixed together, mixing either characters from the two, or the world of one and the characters of another story. In this case Randall's goal is to make a cross over of {{w|Zzzax}}, a {{w|Marvel comic}} book villain, with that of {{w|Mister Mxyzptlk}}, a {{w|DC Comics}} villain. Since Zzzax and Mxyzptlk come from different companies, a crossover story involving them both might run into license problems, though the two companies have come together on several occasions for similar projects. || 2|| 1|| 4|| 7
|-
| Bike from Xhafzotaj, Albania to Qazaxbəyli, Azerbaijan || Randall's goal is to bike from {{w|Xhafzotaj}}, a village in {{w|Albania}} in eastern {{w|Europe}}, to {{w|Qazaxbəyli}}, a village in {{w|Azerbaijan}} in the {{w|Caucasus}}. The distance between [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Xhafzotaj,+Albanien/@41.3420999,19.538176,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x134fd7eb6257dec7:0xc0c17ea9f1d4ef05!8m2!3d41.3442157!4d19.547883 Xhafzotaj] and [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gazakhbayly,+Aserbaidschan/@41.1604329,45.3040337,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4041307bb83f5793:0x30f6c3728844806e!8m2!3d41.1606486!4d45.3147936 Qazaxbəyli] is about 2800 km (1700 miles). Doing this trip by bike would be challenging, but possible.

Note: the Azerbaijani village is misspelled as Qazaxbəylı (QAZAXBƏYLI) in the comic with a dotless ı at the end; a dotted i would have its dot even in the uppercase version in Turkish and Azerbaijani, i.e. QAZAXBƏYLİ.
| 2|| 1|| 3|| 7
|-
| Paint an archaeopteryx fighting a muzquizopteryx || Randall's goal is to make a painting of two {{w|Ornithodiran}}s fighting. Unfortunately the {{w|Archaeopteryx}}, a famous small feathered dinosaur, and {{w|Muzquizopteryx}}, a {{w|pterosaur}} (the famous flying "dinosaurs"), lived in different time periods, so such a fight (most likely) could not have ever taken place, therefore a painted picture of it would require a fair amount of {{w|artistic license}}. The feathered dinosaur was only about half a meter long, but with clear feathers. It is a clear candidate for a {{w|transitional fossil}} between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. It lived in the {{w|late Jurassic}} epoch around 150 million years ago. The pterosaur had a wingspan of about 2 m, was one of the first (and smallest) of this type of pterosaur, and lived in the {{w|Coniacian}} age about 86-90 million years ago. This means the two ornithodirans live as far apart in time as we live apart from the last of the dinosaurs. Since only the bigger one could fly, it seems most likely that the pterosaur would have won such a fight. Randall has previously made several comments on the feathers of dinosaurs, as recently as the comic released a week before this one [[1747: Spider Paleontology]]; see more there.|| 2|| 2|| 2|| 6
|-
| Finish a game of Scrabble without getting punched || Randall's final goal is to avoid getting punched during a {{w|Scrabble}} game. As he uses these unexpected and bizarre words mentioned in his other goals when playing Scrabble games, he exasperates his opponents to such a great extent that he has yet to finish a game without getting punched. This sentence is the only one with zero of the three letters. || 0|| 0|| 0|| 0
|-
| Make something called xkcd || '''Title text''': Here it is made clear that it is Randall's list, as this is his only xyz goal that he has succeeded, and quite early, as he has celebrated 10 years anniversary with {{xkcd}} see [[1581: Birthday]]. || 1|| 0|| 0|| 1
|}

===Scrabble points===
All of these strange words would theoretically earn a player the prize of many points in Scrabble (Go to the [[#Table of words|table of words]] below). However, most of them would not be found in {{w|SOWPODS}} (the combined list of all words valid in either British or North American Scrabble tournaments). Also, many include too many X's, Y's or Z's (there's 1 X, 2 Y's, 1 Z in a standard set), meaning at least one would have to be substituted for a blank (which is not worth any points). Some words would also be very difficult to play in reality, since there are only 7 letters in a Scrabble hand, so they could only be played in extremely rare circumstances (there are only a couple of ways to play MUZQUIZOPTERYX: for instance, from MU and OPTER; or MU, QUIZ and ER; or an astonishingly unlikely set of crossing letters). Many are long enough that, in theory, they could net the player the additional 50 point bonus for using all seven letters in a hand if played right.

====Table of words====
*Explanation of the columns:
**Word: With xyz
**Definition: Of the word
**Notes: Part of speech (noun or proper noun) and origin of the word
**In SOWPODS?: Is the word a valid Scrabble word.
**Enough tiles (...): Are there enough tiles in the standards English version of Scrabble to write the word?
**Score: What would the maximum possible score in Scrabble be for this word. (Without any bonuses.)
**Score (with blanks): What would the maximum possible score in Scrabble be for this word, taking into account the fact that some words need extra blank tiles, which aren't worth points.
**50 points possible?: Is it possible to use all seven letters writing the word? If so it will give 50 points extra.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Word !! Definition !! Notes !! In SOWPODS? !! Enough tiles ({{w|Scrabble letter distributions|in English version}})? !! Score !! Score (with blanks) !! 50 points possible?
|-
| {{w|Skrillex}} || A dubstep musician || Proper noun, stage name || No || Yes || 19 || 19 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix}} || A city in Arizona (or the {{w|Phoenix (mythology)|mythological bird}}) || Proper noun (but noun for the bird) || Yes (but only because of the bird) || Yes || 19 || 19 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Zymology|Zymurgy}} || The study of fermentation. || Noun || Yes || Yes || 25 || 25 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Axolotl}} || A kind of water-breathing salamander which lives on the bottom of lakes. || Noun, name of animal species || Yes || Yes|| 14 || 14 || Yes
|-
| [http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Hexxus Hexxus] || An evil spirit from the animated movie {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 23 || 15 || No
|-
| {{w|Syzygy (astronomy)|Syzygy}} || An astronomical event where three celestial bodies form a straight line. || Noun || Yes || Yes, with a blank as Y || 25 || 21 || No
|-
| {{w|Zzyzx, California|Zzyzx}} || An unincorporated community in California || Proper noun, name of city. || No || Yes, with both blanks as Z || 42 || 22 || No
|-
| {{w|Zzyzzyxx}} || A 1982 arcade video game about navigating a labyrinth || Proper noun, name of game || No || No || 64 || 26 (assuming four blanks) || Yes
|-
| {{w|Xexyz}} || A 1988 game for the Nintendo Entertainment System with platformer and shoot-em-up gameplay. || Proper noun, name of game || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 31 || 23 || No
|-
| {{w|Xbox}} || A series of home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. || Proper noun, name of game console || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 20 || 12 || No
|-
| {{w|Zzzax}} || A Marvel comic book villain. || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes, with both blanks as Z || 39 || 19 || No
|-
| {{w|Mister Mxyzptlk}} || A DC Comics villain. || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes || 42 (8 for Mister, 35 for Mxyzptlk) || 42 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Xhafzotaj}} || A village in Albania || Proper noun, name of city || No || Yes || 38 || 38 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Qazaxbəyli}} || A village in Azerbaijan || Proper noun, name of city || No || No, because it's spelled with a {{w|schwa}} (ə, upper case Ə) and a Turkic {{w|dotted i}} (i, upper case İ), this word would be impossible to spell in English-language Scrabble, although you could put an E tile down upside down (Ǝ) for the schwa and an I for the İ or use blanks. It can alternatively be spelled "Kazakhbeyli". || 38 (at least, unclear) <br/>36 for Kazakhbeyli || 39 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Azerbaijan}} || A country in the Caucasus || Proper noun, name of country || No || Yes || 28 || 28 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Archaeopteryx}} || A famous small feathered dinosaur || Noun, name of animal species || Yes || Yes || 30 || 30 || Yes
|-
| {{w|Muzquizopteryx}} || A pterosaur || Noun, name of animal species || No || Yes, with a blank as Z || 55 || 45 || Yes
|-
| {{w|xkcd}} || From title text. See [[207: What xkcd Means]]. || Proper noun, name of web comic || No || Yes || 18 || 18 || No
|}

==Transcript==
:[A to-do list with a caption above:]
::<big><u>Life Goals</u></big>
:☐ Meet Skrillex in Phoenix
:☐ Study zymurgy
:☐ Get a pet axolotl named Hexxus
:☐ Observe a syzygy from Zzyzx, California
:☐ Port the games Zzyzzyxx and Xexyz to Xbox
:☐ Publish a Zzzax/Mister Mxyzptlk crossover
:☐ Bike from Xhafzotaj, Albania to Qazaxbəyli, Azerbaijan
:☐ Paint an archaeopteryx fighting a muzquizopteryx
:☐ Finish a game of Scrabble without getting punched

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

Talk:1578: Squirrelphone

2015-09-17T00:47:00Z

108.162.219.91: different view on today's xkcd, squirrelphone

What if the squirrel swallowed a phone? Like in Jurassic Park, when the spinosaurus swallows the satellite phone?

Could it be a reference to this? http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/phd/cellularsquirrel/ {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.216.68}}

:I think it might be a reference to this: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/09/11/vampire-squirrel-caught-on-camera-for-the-first-time-ever/ ‘Vampire squirrel’ caught on camera for the first time ever – Washington Post]. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.234|141.101.104.234]] 07:35, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
:agreed: [https://www.michigandaily.com/section/statement/i-was-bitten-squirrel] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.8|108.162.221.8]] 10:25, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

What about the old "Bananaphone" pun? {{unsigned ip|188.114.106.131}}

Sometimes I wonder if the joke is to make ExplainXKCD squirm. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.150}}

^ Not really. Those like me who used SquirrelMail had a laugh. Mostly every XKCD joke is incomprehensible to people not familiar with the subject of the joke. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.135}}

"a living squirrel being not an appropiate creature to mantain a phone call. "... well, duh. Everyone knows that a squid would make MUCH more sense! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 05:16, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
::A puppy... www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tiNwOpZ68 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.182|108.162.229.182]] 14:11, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
:I doubt this is supposed to be about SquirrelMail; it's much more likely to just be "Bananaphone" with a squirrel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.193|108.162.237.193]] 05:33, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
: Maybe a _dead_ squirrel would work better. At least it wouldn't bite... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:16, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

"chomp" is also a command on unixoid operating systems that removes characters which carry no information (leading, trailing white spaces, newlines etc) from strings. Seems like the squirrelphone removed every bit of non-information, essentially cutting the call to nothing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.167|162.158.92.167]] 07:10, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Whoever put that [needs citation] in there deserves a medal XD [[User:Apbarratt|Apbarratt]] ([[User talk:Apbarratt|talk]]) 08:34, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Summary of POTS should be present tense - POTS is still active.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.179|108.162.215.179]] 16:42, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

The tone played at the end is likely a howler tone, not fast busy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-hook_tone

Do we really need an explanation of every noise landline phones make? Only two really apply here, ringing and howling. Since even cellphones have ringtones, I don't think ringing would need to be explained in the detail that it is, just something like "These phones would make a series of rings on receiving a call (as shown in the first panel) and would automatically stop ringing and answer when picked up."
I must admit I'm young enough that my first impulse for a squirrelphone beeping was "Oh, it must be one of those wireless home phone recievers and it's low on battery." I suppose squirrelphones must still be wired, though, though it doesn't look like it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.142|173.245.50.142]] 17:39, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
:Seems like we do need the explanation for the ring tones. Sine this is a real squirrel imitating a phone, it is of course not wired. It just pretends making the appropriate sounds. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:38, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

How do we know it's not a phone pretending to be a squirrel? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 23:55, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1529: Bracket

2015-05-25T09:19:33Z

108.162.219.91:

Changed the reference of the Title Text from Doctor Who (who is already listed in the comic) to Dr. Dre, as the phrasing of the Title Text seems like a very direct reference to the 2001 song "Forgot About Dre."

Probably would have been better to add it as an option since we're clearly far from certain - Stumpy

----
Pretty sure Doctor Who is covered by "The Doctor". He doesn't go by "Who" in the show. He's just the Doctor.

I think the missing doctor is House.

----

Dr. Pepper, maybe? Does "staring" or "forgotten" have to do with it?

----
Whatagainnow?
----
Dr. Oz? Dr. Phil? Dr. Watson? Dr. Kavorkian? Dr. Seuss? Wasn't there a famous literary work, The Lost Island of Dr. Moreau? I agree that Dr. House and/or house calls could be a missing candidate for the bracket. But then, there are a ton of 'Sirs' that didn't make the list. GAKDragon 06:43, 25 May 2015 (UTC)GAKDragon
----
Or is "The Doctor" http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor?
----
It's Doctor House - definitely and finally!
----
Definitely "Doc" Brown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Brown
----
What's the connection between Rip Torn and Natalie Imbruglia?
Answer: Her song, Torn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV1XWJN3nJo
----
Any pairings that you'd add, given the opportunity? Personally I always confuse [[wikipedia:Wilson Pickett|Wilson Pickett]] and [[wikipedia:Wilson Phillips|Wilson Phillips]]. [[User:Studley|Studley]] ([[User talk:Studley|talk]]) 08:28, 25 May 2015 (UTC)
[[wikipedia:Will Ferrell|Will Ferrell]] and [[wikipedia:Pharrell Williams|Pharrell Williams]] for me! - Stumpy
---
Why do some first round pairings have more than two people? Beyoncé starts at the third round, so it can't be just because of the number of people. There has to be a joke in them but I don't see it. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.176|141.101.104.176]] 08:45, 25 May 2015 (UTC)
----
Probably not talking about doctor who, however he could be referencing The Silence, which is a an alien race, on that show, which you immediately forget about after losing sight of it.
----
Perhaps it's worth adding to a trivia section that (assuming every person/thing has an equal chance of winning every matchup, Beyonce has the highest odds of winning (1/32 = 3.125%) while Kurt Russell, Russell Crowe, Russell Brand, and Russell Simmons are all tied for having the worst starting odds (1/256 = .391%).[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.91|108.162.219.91]] 09:19, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T22:26:02Z

108.162.219.91:

Am I missing something or does Randall not quite understand how Pokemon works? (Or is intentionally misrepresenting it for the sake of the joke) Pokemon don't come out with their own pokeball with them-- the pokemon aren't magically created. In theory, if someone were to give a pokemon its own pokemon, a chain could occur, but it would be limited to the number of pokemon previously caught. The pokemon are born in the wild and are captured inside pokeballs-- not created from them.

Is the alt text a reference to double-yolkers (eggs with two yolks)? [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16118149 They're only about 1 in every 1000] but it seems like an obvious reference. --[[User:Fenn|Fenn]] ([[User talk:Fenn|talk]]) 08:32, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Makes sense to me. I didn't even think of double yolks until you mentioned it here. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.89|173.245.50.89]] 09:04, 24 April 2015 (UTC)BK201
::Seconded. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:::I'd think it's a reference to the rate of twins, which is currently almost exactly 1/30 (and on the rise) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#Statistics] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.186|173.245.56.186]] 17:45, 24 April 2015 (UTC)Merkky[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.186|173.245.56.186]] 17:45, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that doubling makes it uncountably infinite. I'm pretty sure that doubling at each step (or every few steps) is still a countable infinite set. Proof here: http://practicaltypography.com/the-infinite-pixel-screen.html (see section "The internet demands a recount", because the first attempt is wrong). We can also prove it using the same argument as when proving that N x N is countable infinite (making zig-zag), but in this case making a breadth-first search of the tree of Pikachus: map 1 to the first Pikachu, map 2 and 3 to the two Pikachus at the second level, map 4, 5, 6, 7 to the four Pikachus at the third level, map (2^(n-1))…((2^n) - 1) to the 2^(n-1) Pikachus at level n. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.177}}
:Saw this too late. Yes, I agree, and I have fixed it accordingly. --[[User:Stephan Schulz|Stephan Schulz]] ([[User talk:Stephan Schulz|talk]]) 09:28, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:The problem being that we don't have an exact number for how many steps include double Pikachus. Granted, this is just a problem of practice, not theory. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 12:37, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

"infinite, but countable" {Cough.} Someone doesn't understand infinity. Perhaps they meant "enumerable". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 09:29, 24 April 2015 (UTC)ū
:Someone doesn't understand countability. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.217|141.101.89.217]] 09:46, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
::enumeration is counting, in the simplest sense. "To name one by one; specify, as if in a list". That said, the whole of infinite whole numbers CAN be counted, just not by a human and not within a reasonable amount of time. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

"The front most Pikachu speaks." Hey, look, it has those little lines to show it's speaking, not the blank white space behind it. Duh. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 09:32, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Looks like Megan is looking at her watch as well. Mention in transcript/explanation? [[User:Fenn|Fenn]] ([[User talk:Fenn|talk]]) 09:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Are Megan and Cueball supposed to fight each other? It seems like Cueball still has his closed Pokéball in his hands. Is it then Megan's Pokéball that has evolved into all these Pikachu? And is it because she waits for her Pokémon to be ready to fight Cueball, that she checks her watch? I do not know anything about the Pokémon game/world. But it seems to me that some part of this setup is unexplained by the above... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:23, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Friendly reminder: Grammatically speaking, Pokémon are like sheep or deer. Singular and plural are both written the same. One Pikachu, many Pikachu, all the Pikachu. You'd be surprised at how much rage forgetting this causes in certain corners of the Internet. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.42}}

What doesn't make sense to me is how this could continue indefinitely – after all, each of those Pikachu must have caught its own Pikachu beforehand. I don't see any infinite loop here, just a bunch of Pikachu that already had one another caught itselves. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.217|141.101.96.217]] 10:13, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The word "induction" could also be intended to have a double meaning, referring also to electromagnetic induction. Pikachu is, after all, and electric pokémon. {{unsigned ip|141.101.105.194}}
:Yes, I think this is right. Something about Maxwell's equations and induction. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.203}}
::From an engineering standpoint, in my opinion, Pikachu act more like biological capacitors (stored electric charge at potentially high voltage able to deliver large discharge currents) than inductors ("storing" magnetic energy via constant current, able to deliver high voltage when interrupted, like the ignition coil for an older automotive engine). I'm not too familiar with the Pokémon in-game/in-show universe, but I would imagine the Nurse Jenny corps could use electric Pokémon such as Pikachu (or Raichu) like defibrillators for cardiac events! --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.177|173.245.50.177]] 11:42, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:::There are certain moves, including some that Pikachu can learn, that appear to be based on induction (Thunder Wave and Shock Wave). Besides, they build up charge in their bodies from somewhere; I'd suspect induction from the surrounding environment is what charges them up. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

There's a point floating about how infinity doesn't imply completion. For instance, the number of all even integers is infinite, yet any given integer "only has a 50% chance of being even", so the series is quite obviously incomplete. This article seems to tend towards the idea (in diction) that an infinite number of pikachu would result in a win based on a 'logical' premise, without referring specificially to the terms of it's assumption. [[User:Xerxesbeat|Xerxesbeat]] ([[User talk:Xerxesbeat|talk]]) 11:38, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

What happens if the Pikachu in the ball is recursing - picking himself? That doesn't fit the 30-40 double yolk thing, but would explain an infinite series. Food for thought. Megan is bored, waiting for the fight to start. I thought the game was supposed to begin when the players choose, though, so I don't understand why the wait is happening at all. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.151}}

I doubt this is an intentional part of the joke, but the strongest Ground-type moves (Earthquake, Precipice Blades, etc.) are multi-target, hitting all foes in a 1v5 situation such as Horde Battles. In theory, a strong enough super effective move from Cueball's lead would still end the battle in one turn. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 12:04, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Not Land's Wrath, Dig, or Earth Power, which are strong ground-type moves.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.126|173.245.48.126]] 13:05, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
::Actually, Land's Wrath is multi-target. (The ones you named are also weaker than Earthquake and Precipice Blades, so the original comment stands regardless. Although a lucky Magnitude is more powerful than any of those.) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.98|108.162.221.98]]

I normally get a hearty chuckle out of Randall's graphical musings, but this one had me scratching my head. Fortunately, ExplainXKCD always comes to the rescue! After reading this page, my first thought was: Pokéception! 13:17, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

;Induction

Two other possibilities: one, in a bit of googling, it would appear that there is a type of Pokémon evolution called induced evolution, which involves stones of some kind? Alternately, we can use the term induction in the sense of soneone being ''inducted'' into a group. In this case, Megan has trained her Pikachu to be a Pokémaster. (Perhaps by arranging for it to be inducted into a rarified "gym"? I confess, I know nothing about the show.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.196|173.245.56.196]] 13:11, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm surprised no one mentioned that Pokémon is a game a long time before becoming a show. Although it was because of the animated series that Pikachu became "special" among the hundreds of other cute critters.

Also, no mention to the russian matryoshka dolls? Come on...
Closest other xkcd I recall is https://xkcd.com/878/ {{unsigned ip|198.41.230.68}}

;Axiom of choice

Could this be to do with the {{w|axiom of choice}} from set theory? From my understanding, it's a fundamental axiom of set theory that says 'given a set of sets, it's possible to choose one element from each of those sets'. "Choosing" is in this case a specific operation that can be performed on an element.

One specific detail about the axiom is that all sets under consideration must be nonempty; that is, they must contain at least one element. So I think this is analogous to the situation of a Pokemon trainer owning multiple (full) Pokeballs: his Pokeballs are a collection of non-empty sets from which he is now trying to choose a single element ("Pikachu, I choose you!").

Under ''normal'' circumstances, he can do this without invoking the axiom of choice because he knows the names of all his Pokemon and so can select one from each set. In this case, he could prove his ability to make the choice simply by releasing all of his Pokemon from their balls one at a time. (The Pokemon's name is actually irrelevant, because simply releasing the Pokemon counts as a choice).

However, the situation becomes more complex if it turns out that his Pokemon also possess Pokeballs, because now his ability to make the choice is uncertain. In this situation, there could be ''infinitely many'' Pikachus, and so he can't definitely select a Pikachu from all the Pokeballs under his control. In a situation like this, a mathematician would invoke the axiom of choice.

However, it seems that Cueball is actually having a go at it using an inductive method of choice: first by choosing a Pikachu, then having each Pikachu choose a Pikachu. If the number of Pikachus carrying Pokeballs is finite, then eventually, this will demonstrate that the choice can be made and so the axiom of choice is unnecessary. However, if it's ''infinite'', then this will generate a neverending stream of Pikachus. In the latter case, the game never begins, because you can't begin a Pokemon battle until all participants have chosen Pokemon. Most likely, the other players would simply abandon the game, which Cueball could claim as a victory. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 13:52, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

This sentence is nonsensical: ''When Trainers do battle, the anime's dub has immersed the phrase "<Pokémon's name>, I choose you!" into popular culture memory, which is accompanied by throwing the ball containing the selected Pokémon to the ground, which releases the Pokémon at full size.'' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.161|108.162.219.161]] 17:51, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Should it be noted that the Pikachu is drawn without its tail? It would normally a have lightning bolt shaped tail that appears to the side or from behind its head. (Trivia or other note?) [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 15:22, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

In Pokemon games from Gold and up, pokemon are able to hold items, including pokeballs. While in the game, once a pokeball is filled it is no longer available to select as an item, this comic would seem to imply the possible 'inception' scenario of having a pokemon hold an active pokeball (as the games have already shown that a pokeball can go into a pokeball). --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.193|173.245.54.193]] 14:13, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
: ahem... "pokeception" short for "pocket inception" - I can't be the first one to coin this (?) - [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 16:33, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

With Megan looking at her watch and Cueball holding the ball, I think we're meant to understand that Megan IS the Pokémon Cueball intends to use against Pikachu.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 19:12, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Since Cueball has a closed ball in hand he has yet to choose a Pokemon. Tjus Megan cannot be his. She must have thrown the first Pikachu ball. Should be changed in explanation.[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:31, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
It is possible the "win by induction" is from the Pikachu's opponent inferring the series in infinite, and conceding. 19:56, 24 April 2015 (UTC)