explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2058: Rock Wall

2018-10-17T02:49:53Z

108.162.249.166:

There doesn't seem to be a link from the previous (#2057/Internal Monologues) comic to this one yet. I tried in another browser just in case my cache was messing up. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 14:21, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks for your note. It's maybe the proxy in the background so I will wait a little bit for further actions. Nonetheless this shouldn't happen and I will figure out the reason. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::The link is now shown and this means the problem is definitely caused by the proxy cache. If this happens again on Monday the BOT will handle this in the future. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:54, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:::The link showed up when I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2057:_Internal_Monologues&action=purge purged it] and completely forgot to comment here (sorry). So that might give a good hint for why it was happening. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 18:15, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Thanks, that's exactly what the BOT will do at the than former latest comic if really needed. This expires all caches, hopefully. But the BOT action is only a workaround I don't like. It did work in the past when the site template provided a new link and it should do so now without a BOT. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:41, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

I am not a mantle geologist, but I've always thought that if the core of Mars has really cooled & solidified, blasting the whole surface off could let us get at that sweet nickel-iron core. I mean it's a giant wad of semi-refined metals with some rock caked on top of it, right? If there's no magma to deal with, we could actually get at the good stuff much more easily. Mine Mars' core!
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:20, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:That would make terraforming Mars lot harder. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:11, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::It's already sitting out there in the asteroid belt... why deal with the Mars gravity well? Just mine the space rocks, so much easier. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 02:49, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Wouldn't the part of astronomy which studies black holes be even more frustrating? Also, peeling away the event horizon, even locally, might destroy whole universe ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:11, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:I think, perhaps, that theology might top even that. Perhaps a really enterprising (hah!) astronomer could find a way to the other side of the event horizon (though transmitting her findings back might be hard) and perhaps someday the Kola Superdeep Borehole project will be, ah, re-opened. But getting anything truly verifiable back from beyond the dead is probably ... a bit out of reach. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.12|162.158.186.12]] 02:03, 14 October 2018 (UTC)
::Good point, theology is even more hard to reach AND likely more dangerous when peeling away ... (note: for why peeling away the event horizon from singularity might be possible, just not good idea, see {{w|Naked singularity}}) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:02, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

Something Weird Would Happen - may refer to this expedition to find out what weird thing happens at mantle exposure. https://www.livescience.com/1317-mission-study-earth-gaping-open-wound.html -- FT [[User:FreeTim|FreeTim]] ([[User talk:FreeTim|talk]]) 09:01, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

== Third Doctor ==

Anybody remember the Dr. who episode where the third doctor had to deal with people trying to break through the crust on an alternate Earth?
: Oh, THERE Liu Cixin stole the basic idea for his short "Mountain" :-) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.212|141.101.77.212]] 20:25, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1549: xkcd Phone 3

2015-07-11T11:41:40Z

108.162.249.166:

I assume that this is made, at least in part, in reference to the just-made OnePlus infodump and their upcoming OnePlus 2 smartphone. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.188|162.158.2.188]]

Is the heartbeat accelerator used to fool fitness wristbands? Or apps? Or ... ? [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 07:56, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

"Ear screen" may refer to a different meaning of "screen" - a device that protects you from something, as in "sun screen". In this case, the "ear screen" would block the sound of the phone's speakers, making it useless (at least for telephony). 08:02, 10 July 2015 (UTC)~~ [[User:thepike|thepike]]

:I thought it was a name change like those of beret guy, repurposing words to stay accurate without using the correct/standard term.[[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 09:54, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Doesn't running natively just mean that it runs apps natively instead of emulating them or something. Which would be a pointless marketing term OR it implys that the phone itself or the person inside runs.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.192|108.162.249.192]] 10:53, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
:I did some re-writing on that point (because the likes of the Java Virtual Machine-type solution is a half-way house that needs mentioning, between 'native' and 'emulated'), but it's a bit long. Also I briefly mentioned the Crusoe chip essentially a 'hardware virtual machine layer' (over and above the machine-code to micro-code one that doesn't bear mentioning due to the ubiquity), but not sure I described it well enough. At the time, the talk was that a Crusoe chip could end up (by sofware flag or magic 'autodetection') run x86/Intel-compatible ''or'' Motorola (Apple) ''or'' DEC Alpha instruction sets (and probably any other sets they could squeeze in, whether CISC or RISC, like Acorn's {{w|ARM architecture|ARM}}) without any software emulation at all. Of course, that was the time when programs didn't so heavily rely upon an OS's own API for pretty much ''all'' resources (at least on single-user machines), which is in effect an additional Virtual Machine layer, and the whole computing business has gone in a different direction, even Apple temporarily played with the PowerPC platform model.
:...Yeah, that's no shorter than my in-article edit, is it? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 13:44, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Wireless discharge: I think the explanation is too complicate. Every cellphone (and every other device that uses batteries) does discharge without a wire, it is just normal. The joke (in my eyes) is here that no-one would advice with that. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 11:43, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Here's an idea: a phone that discharges it's power wirelessly into another device.(unlikely that this is what it means though)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 12:39, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
* How about a phone that discharges it's battery into another human? I'd buy that (provided I could control when and whom.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.224|141.101.88.224]] 13:54, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
* knowing the previous xkcd phones: it isn't going to be controllable [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 11:41, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

Could "Boneless" be a play on words against the jawbone devices?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.203|108.162.219.203]] 13:12, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Does the title text seem to imply to anyone else that the customer may have been abducted for testing? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 17:13, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

A runaway pacemaker ("heartbeat accelerator") probably wouldn't cause a heart attack. A heart attack is the interruption of blood flow to the heart muscle. A runaway pacemaker ''could'' cause a lethal tachycardia -- 2,000 beats per minute is [http://europace.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/6/592.full documented] and hearts don't do well at that rate... [[User:Andrew|Andrew]] ([[User talk:Andrew|talk]]) 19:24, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

The first xkcd phone comic also mentioned that the phone can drown. It said something like, "Don't submerge phone; it will drown."[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.141|108.162.216.141]] 03:20, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

I have to protest the idea in the explanation that a screen "all the way through" would leave no space for the actual workings of the phone. I owned an original Nexus 7, which I took apart after the kids dropped it in the bath. All of the controlling circuitry was in a thin layer *around* the screen surface, not below it. Below it was mostly battery, and presuming it takes AA batteries it wouldn't have a giant LiIon. It's not an absurd notion at all that a phone could have nothing behind its screen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 11:30, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1549: xkcd Phone 3

2015-07-10T12:39:49Z

108.162.249.166:

Talk:1115: Sky

2015-06-03T11:07:29Z

108.162.249.166:

As anyone who read [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game_%28series%29 Ender's Game] know, "The enemy's gate is down". t must be noted that mentioned gate was in a zero-gravity environment so the usual definition of down being the direction gravitation is pulling us was not applicable. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:09, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
The enemy's gate is down.
Also in Ender's Game, Ender makes reference to himself clinging to the earth just before he leaves it for the first time.
: you could also now say that the movie made a small reference to that concept, though the middle half of the book was reduced to a 4 or 5 minute montage of battle scenes and Ender and his army being woken up a few times... sigh... how could I have expected it to be better :-( [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:19, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Furthermore, the last panel might be a reference to {{w|Nietzsche}}'s quote: "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you".

Additionally, it might also allude to the law of gravity, as it operates in the realm of {{w|Cartoon physics}}. This interpretation would seem to match the 'perspective inversion' theme of the entire comic.[[Special:Contributions/123.237.156.4|123.237.156.4]] 08:14, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

I think the comment about a bottomless hole is misleading but I am not certain. the mass of the walls of the hole as well as surrounding matter would create a definite gravitational force, as would any gases or liquids that fill the hole. There would be a point (or possibly surface or line) depending on the composition and shape of whatever the bottomless hole is in as well as the contents and shape of the hole itself where the net gravitational force is zero, with all areas surrounding this point (surface or line) having gravitational forces pointing in the direction of the point/surface/line, unless the hole is in a body that extends in one direction off into infinity, in which case the mass of the entire system would be continually collapsing into a black hole as the mass of the body is infinite.
:yuuuuup [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:21, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

The comic also encapsulates a feeling about the sky. If you lie down in a flat area like the american southwest, all you can see is sky. All you can see is sky. All of the sudden, it feels like one little push could send you flying. You get the feeling that you are laying on a round, small surface, and are enveloped by a huge blue sky. In "Death comes for the Archbishop" There is a one line description of this feeling.

"The sky was as full of motion and change as the desert beneath it was monotonous and still, — and there was so much sky, more than at sea, more than anywhere else in the world. The plain was there, under one's feet, but what one saw when one looked about was that brilliant blue world of stinging air and moving cloud. Even the mountains were mere ant-hills under it. Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky. The landscape one longed for when one was away, the thing all about one, the world one actually lived in, was the sky, the sky! --Death Comes to the Archbishop, Book VII, Ch. 4" [ http://www.en.wikibooks.org/wiki/American_Literature/20th_Century/Willa_Cather link title]

This comic seeks to describe that feeling of "The earth being the floor of the sky"
--[[Special:Contributions/71.81.151.163|71.81.151.163]] 00:41, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

Shouldn't his beret be shown on the ground? [[User:Xyz|Xyz]] ([[User talk:Xyz|talk]]) 19:34, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
:[[291|Staples]]. [[User:Squornshellous Beta|Squornshellous Beta]] ([[User talk:Squornshellous Beta|talk]]) 14:53, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
:[[291|What Squornshellous Beta said]]. [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:24, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Anyone else reminded of the Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 08:41, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

;Add this to the incomplete explanations list
There's no coverage on the title text. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.90|173.245.54.90]] 02:52, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
:Done. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:42, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

I added an explanation on the title text. Anyone can feel free to correct it as they see fit. [[User:Codefreak5|Codefreak5]] ([[User talk:Codefreak5|talk]]) 13:08, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it's a reference to Patema Inverted or Upside Down? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.198|108.162.246.198]] 06:49, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

There may be another theme here, too: That a seemingly bizarre and unintuitive but irrefutable interpretation of reality may become the accepted interpretation, with implications that overturn our world view. We already saw this with {{w|General Relativity}} and the {{w|Grand Unified Theory}}. Maybe Beret Guy has hit on a {{w|Theory of Everything}}? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.152|173.245.54.152]] 13:33, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

I think this is a simpler conception of the above theorist's. In cartoons, knowledge about gravity can be ignored until it's pointed out. We have endless scenes of the coyote chasing the road runner off a precipice, whereupon he sees the road runner's sign telling him to look down. He does this, and only then plummets to the ground. So Beret Guy "infects" Megan with his conception of "down," but it takes until she looks "down" to succumb to his interpretation of reality, causing her to cling to her mailbox for dear life. The final frame is from her perspective, though it doesn't affect Ponytail (yet!). [[User:Tquid|Tquid]] ([[User talk:Tquid|talk]]) 21:44, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

;rewrite the explanation

there are plenty dictionary definitions and physics of the term "down" -- https://www.google.com/search?q=define+down&oq=define+down&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1959j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8&qscrl=1 -- generally speaking "down" is in the direction you move from a higher point (of energy) to a lower point (of energy) -- so the explanation as it stand saying that "''there is no set rule for what is down''" is plainly wrong, and as the opening and defining argument of the explanation it warrant the entire explanation to be re-visited and re-written. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:40, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass me by? [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 16:23, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

I kind of experience this too, but with tall buildings that have only one floor... Basically halls. Looking upwards in there can get me dizzy and give me fear of height. I feel like I might fall down there. The hall has to be well lighted and without a lot of things standing on the floor though, that ruins it. [[User:Sinni800|Sinni800]] ([[User talk:Sinni800|talk]]) 00:04, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1115: Sky

2015-06-03T11:06:10Z

108.162.249.166:

As anyone who read [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game_%28series%29 Ender's Game] know, "The enemy's gate is down". t must be noted that mentioned gate was in a zero-gravity environment so the usual definition of down being the direction gravitation is pulling us was not applicable. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:09, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
The enemy's gate is down.
Also in Ender's Game, Ender makes reference to himself clinging to the earth just before he leaves ot for the first time.
: you could also now say that the movie made a small reference to that concept, though the middle half of the book was reduced to a 4 or 5 minute montage of battle scenes and Ender and his army being woken up a few times... sigh... how could I have expected it to be better :-( [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:19, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Furthermore, the last panel might be a reference to {{w|Nietzsche}}'s quote: "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you".

Additionally, it might also allude to the law of gravity, as it operates in the realm of {{w|Cartoon physics}}. This interpretation would seem to match the 'perspective inversion' theme of the entire comic.[[Special:Contributions/123.237.156.4|123.237.156.4]] 08:14, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

I think the comment about a bottomless hole is misleading but I am not certain. the mass of the walls of the hole as well as surrounding matter would create a definite gravitational force, as would any gases or liquids that fill the hole. There would be a point (or possibly surface or line) depending on the composition and shape of whatever the bottomless hole is in as well as the contents and shape of the hole itself where the net gravitational force is zero, with all areas surrounding this point (surface or line) having gravitational forces pointing in the direction of the point/surface/line, unless the hole is in a body that extends in one direction off into infinity, in which case the mass of the entire system would be continually collapsing into a black hole as the mass of the body is infinite.
:yuuuuup [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:21, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

The comic also encapsulates a feeling about the sky. If you lie down in a flat area like the american southwest, all you can see is sky. All you can see is sky. All of the sudden, it feels like one little push could send you flying. You get the feeling that you are laying on a round, small surface, and are enveloped by a huge blue sky. In "Death comes for the Archbishop" There is a one line description of this feeling.

"The sky was as full of motion and change as the desert beneath it was monotonous and still, — and there was so much sky, more than at sea, more than anywhere else in the world. The plain was there, under one's feet, but what one saw when one looked about was that brilliant blue world of stinging air and moving cloud. Even the mountains were mere ant-hills under it. Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky. The landscape one longed for when one was away, the thing all about one, the world one actually lived in, was the sky, the sky! --Death Comes to the Archbishop, Book VII, Ch. 4" [ http://www.en.wikibooks.org/wiki/American_Literature/20th_Century/Willa_Cather link title]

This comic seeks to describe that feeling of "The earth being the floor of the sky"
--[[Special:Contributions/71.81.151.163|71.81.151.163]] 00:41, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

Shouldn't his beret be shown on the ground? [[User:Xyz|Xyz]] ([[User talk:Xyz|talk]]) 19:34, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
:[[291|Staples]]. [[User:Squornshellous Beta|Squornshellous Beta]] ([[User talk:Squornshellous Beta|talk]]) 14:53, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
:[[291|What Squornshellous Beta said]]. [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:24, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Anyone else reminded of the Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 08:41, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

;Add this to the incomplete explanations list
There's no coverage on the title text. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.90|173.245.54.90]] 02:52, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
:Done. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:42, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

I added an explanation on the title text. Anyone can feel free to correct it as they see fit. [[User:Codefreak5|Codefreak5]] ([[User talk:Codefreak5|talk]]) 13:08, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it's a reference to Patema Inverted or Upside Down? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.198|108.162.246.198]] 06:49, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

There may be another theme here, too: That a seemingly bizarre and unintuitive but irrefutable interpretation of reality may become the accepted interpretation, with implications that overturn our world view. We already saw this with {{w|General Relativity}} and the {{w|Grand Unified Theory}}. Maybe Beret Guy has hit on a {{w|Theory of Everything}}? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.152|173.245.54.152]] 13:33, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

I think this is a simpler conception of the above theorist's. In cartoons, knowledge about gravity can be ignored until it's pointed out. We have endless scenes of the coyote chasing the road runner off a precipice, whereupon he sees the road runner's sign telling him to look down. He does this, and only then plummets to the ground. So Beret Guy "infects" Megan with his conception of "down," but it takes until she looks "down" to succumb to his interpretation of reality, causing her to cling to her mailbox for dear life. The final frame is from her perspective, though it doesn't affect Ponytail (yet!). [[User:Tquid|Tquid]] ([[User talk:Tquid|talk]]) 21:44, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

;rewrite the explanation

there are plenty dictionary definitions and physics of the term "down" -- https://www.google.com/search?q=define+down&oq=define+down&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1959j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8&qscrl=1 -- generally speaking "down" is in the direction you move from a higher point (of energy) to a lower point (of energy) -- so the explanation as it stand saying that "''there is no set rule for what is down''" is plainly wrong, and as the opening and defining argument of the explanation it warrant the entire explanation to be re-visited and re-written. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:40, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass me by? [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 16:23, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

I kind of experience this too, but with tall buildings that have only one floor... Basically halls. Looking upwards in there can get me dizzy and give me fear of height. I feel like I might fall down there. The hall has to be well lighted and without a lot of things standing on the floor though, that ruins it. [[User:Sinni800|Sinni800]] ([[User talk:Sinni800|talk]]) 00:04, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1530: Keyboard Mash

2015-05-29T12:43:46Z

108.162.249.166: Toast

Spiders. We knew this would happen someday.

So, the plot seems to be that he went outside to deal with his dog, and the spider got inside, perhaps lurking in his room and striking when he sat down at his computer, hence the keyboard smash.
It could be him being taken, or perhaps the spider getting adjusted to the keyboard rather clumsily, what would you see as more feasible?
And from then on, it's the spider typing? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.168|108.162.238.168]] 06:23, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

"All your hands" were on the home row? Surely he means *both* hands or all *fingers* - unless he's already aware of the spider? Plot hole? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.121|141.101.99.121]] 06:43, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

: Good catch. May be he always was aware he was talking with a spider. And the las comment from the spider is just sarcastic. [[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 07:46, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

: Yes, that had me wondering too. Perhaps the spider didn't realise she needed to turn the webcam off? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.159|108.162.250.159]] 09:20, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

The comment "I am a normal Human typing with my Human hands." seems like something Beret Guy would say. Perhaps his time with Beret Guy has desensitized Cueball to those kind of comments? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.9|108.162.219.9]] 09:08, 27 May 2015 (UTC)
:On the other hand, beret guy wouldn't accuse someone of being "weird" or "bizarre" [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 09:13, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;Internal skeleton

In the title text, the spider invite to “CHAT ABOUT OUR INTERNAL SKELETONS.” Of course, the spiders, being arachnid, are invertebrate and don't have internal skeletons. Humans have. My guess is the spider is trying to fool the human. :-) [[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 07:34, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Mr. skeletal.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.86|108.162.219.86]] 11:08, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;Number of "Fingers"

It is 7 keys - "fingers" that are used for the smash on the home row. Spiders have 8 legs. Anybody else notice that? lg tier666 [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.43|141.101.92.43]] 07:44, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

:I count 8 keys: 7 letters and the digit "7". Bit, since the letters are repeated, the spider couldn't press all of the with its legs at the same time. All of this make me think that a spider could be an awesome typist. [[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 07:51, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;Turing test

The spider passed the Turing test. Of course, the test were for machines, not arachnids. [[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 07:54, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;What if?

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the current "What if?" at http://what-if.xkcd.com/136/ is also spider related. It comes with a health warning: "If you're a serious arachnophobe, you might want to skip this one." :-) . [[User:Gearoid|Gearoid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 08:09, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

What should be the name of the picture of White Hat? White Hat/Spider or White Hat Chat Avatar or Spider with the acces of White Hats Avatar or spider who seems to be White Hat or Spider who replaced White Hat in the Interweb of better Names I couldn't think of yet. And how do we know, that Cueball is Cueball as well maybe this is the invasion of the spiders who come through the web!! [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 10:32, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/310959549243301172/ That is all. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:51, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;Possible reference by the title?
{{w|Monster_Mash|A keyboard '''mash''' by a '''monster'''ous spider...}} {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.110}}
:That's what I thought as well :P [[User:Daedalus|Daedalus]] ([[User talk:Daedalus|talk]]) 09:00, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

; Where's your dog now?

Maybe the dog keeps barking because of the Spider. We should totally think of many different ways, how the spider got inside the house and when.
[[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 10:12, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

The dog is probably a reference to Terminator 2 where a barking dog reveals the terminator identity. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.222|141.101.98.222]] 12:45, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

[[wikipedia:On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog|On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.]] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.131|108.162.254.131]] 16:29, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

;Keystroke Dynamics
I see a hint to keystroke dynamics in this comic, which is being increasingly used to assert someone's identity online. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.68|198.41.230.68]] 16:55, 27 May 2015 (UTC)xquestion

Back 30+ years ago I had an Apple II+ with a keyboard that did EXACTLY this. Every time you "keyboard mashed", there were odd "7"s and "5"s appearing where none should be. Aside from this comic now having creepy undertones for me, personally, this seems like a factoid about ancient keyboards that's worthy of a "Did You Know?" bullet. What do you guys think? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.193|108.162.250.193]] 02:36, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
:That would be key ghosting. [[User:Daedalus|Daedalus]] ([[User talk:Daedalus|talk]]) 09:00, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

;Spiders FTW![[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.154|141.101.104.154]]

I am so glad that spiders can only grow to about 5-8 inches before physics stop them. Though prehistoric times were awesome, they had dragonfly bodies the length of thighs with 26 inch wingspans and cockroaches half a meter long! I've let a 1/3rd foot Madagascar hissing roach walk on me in a museum and don't mind but I think I'd be scared to see the underside of that half meter cockroach! {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.59}}

Thrackerzod, is that you? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.103|108.162.215.103]] 03:11, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

Disagree with the flag: I do not find the explanation "too chatty", nor do I think cutting it to 1/3 the size would be beneficial. (No, I had nothing to do with the writing of it, just thought I'd voice my support of the original author) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.165|108.162.219.165]] 21:01, 27 May 2015 (UTC)larK

;Number of "legs" of the spider
The spider seems to have three "legs" typing on the keyboard (in fact antennas). It could explain the strike on the "7" key. --[[User:ArséniureDeGallium|ArséniureDeGallium]] ([[User talk:ArséniureDeGallium|talk]]) 09:06, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
:The spider has 8 legs, which is what spiders normally have, and it uses three of the front legs to type - i.e. it is not antennas. But yes one of these three legs explains the 7. But it is interesting that it only hit 8 different keys, although 17 hits in total. But as we can see it hanging, it is obvious that it did not use all eight legs to type. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:01, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

Just watched LOTR Return of the King yesterday just before I saw this comic, so {{w|Shelob}} was the first thing I thought about... But I do not think it should represent her... But White Hat hangs in the same way that the Orcs did in her tunnel. sdalkfjas8dlkjdsf --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:04, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

Aren't most xkcd comics in uppercase? If so, then the chat should be treated as normal text typed with normal casing. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|14:52, 28 May 2015}}
:I agree with this, I don't know why it has been assumed that the chat log is all in UPPRECASE. Possibly it is in the official transcript? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:21, 29 May 2015 (UTC)
::Ok, have checked the official comic info, and the transcript isn't included. I don't see any reason that this is caps, so I'm going to change it. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:29, 29 May 2015 (UTC)

;Alternate Explanation
Is it possible that, while being attacked, White Hat deliberately mashed the buttons like this because he would know Cueball would find it odd and thing something is wrong? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.83|162.158.255.83]] 16:16, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

;Cooking Bread
Wouldn't cooking bread refer to making toast instead of baking bread?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 12:43, 29 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1491: Stories of the Past and Future

2015-02-26T05:46:04Z

108.162.249.166: Philosophical questions: do all predictions become obsolete?

http://xkcd.com/1491/large/ will take you to the large version, which the comic currently doesn't have a link to. I expect that will be fixed shortly. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.177|108.162.210.177]] 05:30, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:I just realized he has a text link for it in the top banner. I'd delete my comment, but that's rude on a wiki. Whatever. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.177|108.162.210.177]] 05:35, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

The bottom diagonal seems to be mislabelled? Shouldn't it be "Stories written X years and set X years ago" instead of "set 2X years ago"?
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.175|108.162.250.175]] 05:38, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:It is correct, if you see both relative from now. The middle line is written X years ago and set X years ago and thus contemporary. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 06:46, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
::Correct, but could be clearer. I thought it was a bug at first. 'Stories written X years ago and set X years before publication' [[User:Jbalcorn|Jbalcorn]] ([[User talk:Jbalcorn|talk]]) 16:21, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
I'm not sure where to open bug tickets, but Lest Darkness Fall actually takes place ~1500 years ago, not ~500. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.121|141.101.80.121]] 06:35, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
: I'll second that -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:36, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Kind of reminds of a Minkowski diagram. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 06:50, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

More and more science fiction works wander into the category obsolete science fiction, and more and more historical works are not recognisable as such by the average viewer as the movies have been filmed such a long time ago anyway. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 06:55, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

There seems to be a mistake with the large diagonal line. It says "Stories written X years ago and set 2X years ago." It should say, "... and set X years ago." Am I missing something here? [[User:Effy|Effy]] ([[User talk:Effy|talk]]) 09:35, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:Nevermind, I see now that the y-axis is date relative to publication, not absolute dates relative to today. My bad. [[User:Effy|Effy]] ([[User talk:Effy|talk]]) 09:37, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I may have missed it, but can't see {{w|Paris in the Twentieth Century}}, written in 1863, about 1960, but only published in 1994. Which would have been an interesting addition. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:13, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:In fact, I'm thinking it could have been represented as a (dotted?) ''diagonal'' arrowed line between "1960 in 1863"/future-trending and "1960 in 1994"/past-trending points. But never mind. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:38, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

... this is why experienced sci-fi writers don't date their stories. On the other hand, many sci-fi became obviously obsolete even without the date. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:00, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:I have experience with this. Back in 1995 I advised a prospective author-friend (prospective author; already and still a friend, surprisingly) on the latest computing matters to help a plot device in a "five minutes into the future" story. Even two years later, it sounded so dated and... naff. ('Luckily', it didn't sell too well anyway (bad choice of publishers), so my failure-as-futurologist - uncredited as it also fortunately was - wasn't so wildly known.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 13:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I've been trying and trying to figure out what the heck his point might be, as IMO there usually seems to be some point he's trying to make or way he's trying to be clever, beyond the interesting nature of the observation - and I think I might have seen one (though there is probably something else) - anyone notice that the area under the "Stories set in 2015" line is awfully bare? at least compared to the areas on either side of the 'x / 2x' line. that could simply be his particular selection of works(?) anyone have some ideas of things that might deserve to go in there that were not included? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:45, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

:I think the point here is that there are a lot of books one hasn't read yet. I, for one, sought out ''Memoirs of the Twentieth Century'' and ''The Pillow Book'' after reading this strip. --[[User:Koveras|Koveras]] ([[User talk:Koveras|talk]]) 13:30, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

::He has done stuff like that before, right? Putting the age of some books and movies into perspective, to make the reader feel old. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.151|173.245.53.151]] 15:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

As for writing a transcript or explanation, concerning order, I would think it would make some sense to flatten it on one axis (probably the y-axis, starting from Star Wars?) or if it is practical enough, the best might be some sort of "radial"(?) axis (is that a thing?), where the axis would be anchored at "this chart", and swing like a radar beam around from the bottom (Downton Abbey, Mad Men, and Star Wars, up through the 'x / 2x' line, through the 'contemporary' line and then the 'set in 2015' line, to finish with '3001', possibly making a small attempt to keep related works (like Star Wars) together in the listing. Any comments? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:55, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:Whatever the fixation, I started work on something, but other people will get there before me. So here's my ideas. Five columns: "Story (and format description/author?)", "First Published/Premiered", "Date offset(s)", "Featured date(s)" and "Notes", with sorting on each potentially numerical one (although ranges/freetext/vagueness may play havoc with such sorting, by past experience).
:I already have a complete list of listed titles (in case anyone needs it), though maybe not error-free and not yet been ordered other than by "input order".
...excised by original author...
:(Do cut that out of this Talk Page when no longer necessary!)
:What I've so far put together (but not yet checked my link formats or WikiTabled) is...
...excised by original author...
:...but I'm probably duplicating someone else's efforts so by the time I get back to it you'll have a complete and better version online. FYI if you're determined to build on this while I'm absent, however. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 14:22, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

This appears to be a log-log graph, but with abrupt changes in scale along one axis yielding cusps in the "still possible / obsolete" line. Is there a name for that? -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.169|108.162.210.169]] 14:29, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:Hello, me again. I'd also played with a 'transcript description' part. Use (or don't, or ''correct'' and then use) what I was writing, if you want. I'm taking the liberty of deleting my prior inserts while I'm here, to avoid the clutter.
X-axis represents "date of publication" of a work and is irregularly split into 1000s (3000BCE to 1000CE) and then decreasing periods of time until 1955, at which point it becomes every five years up to the present day (2015) and one devision of possibly five years into the future (the upcoming "third Star Wars Trilogy" is indicated by an arrow as lying on-or-beyond 'now', with Episode 7 itself due out not long after the comic date).
Y-axis represents "years ahead/behind publication date in which a story is set" with the 'zero axis' being "set at the time of publication. "Years in the future" spreads above, by decades until "30 years" then in a metalogarithmic manner through various orders of ten to top-out at 1 billion years. The "Years in the past" scale, below this, extends by five years down to 60 years and then similarly quickly speeds through to 1 billion years in the past, and the time of the Big Bang as lowest limit.
Above the 'here and now', a region is shaded within a line to represent the border between future settings that should have happened by this date, and below we find a similar shading/line that represents set twice as long ago as was written. Both lines continue into "2015+" territory in a manner similar to a "light cone".
:...ok? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 15:43, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I created a basic table using 141.101.98.192's data - bits corrected. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:46, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I'm in the process of writing a transcript myself. Mine is not formatted as a table; I am under the impression that this is the preferred approach to transcripts on this site. However, the existing table would be ''perfect'' in another section, where we can give more detail than a true transcript can/should provide (e.g. "this is a book written by X, here's the wikilink", "this is an error, it should be X", etc.) -- [[User:Peregrine|Peregrine]] ([[User talk:Peregrine|talk]]) 14:55, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:Meh, I created the table as a starting point. If people want to use it and add to it, great. If something better is created, that's fine too. :) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 15:12, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
::I've moved the table to its own section and put in my more minimalistic, list-style transcript (based on what I found in other "large drawing" articles. I have only included dates in the transcript as an indication of the coordinates at which each item is located (and I found several that seem misplaced vertically, perhaps to accommodate other labels, e.g. ''Next Generation''). Also, it isn't finished; everything's listed, in (more or less) the right order, but the last bunch don't have their dates/coordinates. I got as far as ''Les Mis'' before stopping. -- [[User:Peregrine|Peregrine]] ([[User talk:Peregrine|talk]]) 15:45, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
:::Looks good Peregrine! I like it. =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 17:02, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Not sure of the protocol here, but the trivia section currently states that "Rip Van Winkel" is a misspelling of "Rip Van Winkle." The use of Winkel in the comic can be correct. (http://i.imgur.com/Z0adeEJ.jpg) The transcription also lists "Rip Can Winkel [sic]" but the comic actually uses "Rip Van Winkel." {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.181}}

This Comic seems to follow the tradition of [[647: Scary]], [[891: Movie Ages]], [[973: MTV Generation]], [[1393: Timeghost]], and [[1477: Star Wars]]. Making people feel old. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.151|173.245.53.151]] 16:14, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Seems like it might have been useful to include some kind of indication of related subject matter from the upper left to the lower right in the "Stories set in the past" section. Mostly looking at the WW II related works. (Bridge/Kwai, Catch-22, Patton, Schindler, Ryan, Pearl Harbor) all seem to make a pretty straight line. Similarly, seeing that relationship between Apocalypse Now and Platoon. Finally, calling the earlier WW II era works 'former period pieces' seems odd. I think I'd still understand which parts were supposed to sound old in those (or maybe it's just that I am old). [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.215|199.27.128.215]] 18:50, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

did nobody see 2001 or was the title text forgotten about? i didnt see 2001 so i cant explain the joke. im pretty sure its just a joke about how it sounds similar, but i dont want to add that explanation if its wrong.[[User:TheJonyMyster|TheJonyMyster]] ([[User talk:TheJonyMyster|talk]]) 22:55, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Does Randall exclude the 1984 film The Terminator because the main portion occurs in 1984, or do you suppose it's because the film is not technically obsolete, given the wandering date of the predicted Judgement Day (as well as actual existence of killbots, advanced tactical simulation systems & a large broadband computer network named SkyNet)? It has often occurred to me that the only thing fictional about The Terminator is the existence of a device enabling time travel. ("The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible." T'Pol, Enterprise ;) He seems to have left out many notable predictive works which in fact came true, rather than becoming "obsolete". {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.29}}
: even correct predictions are obsolete. Because they change into facts. Let's say on Thursday I predict it will be sunny on Friday. It is sunny on Friday. Now it's Saturday. Is my prediction from Thursday obsolete, or current? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 05:46, 26 February 2015 (UTC)