explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:37:19Z

108.162.249.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), [[Hair Bun Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was earlier lampooned by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]].

The biologist, Hair Bun Girl, goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) has even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Originally these were Conquest, War, Famine and Death, but in popular culture Conquest is usually re-interpreted as {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}} - Hair Bun Girl implies that the field of biology has almost eliminated Pestilence. (The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.)

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. The graph has been published in this paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
</div>

Hair Bun Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologist. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Hair Bun Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Hair Bun Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to declare in {{w|All caps}} that she is surprised a physicist isn't "harder", after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences. The use of 'hard' and 'squishy' is a play on the colloquial division between the so-called 'hard' sciences (such as physics and chemistry) and 'soft' sciences (such as biology and geology). 'Hard' sciences usually refer to the (innaccurate) perception that in fields like physics, precisely repeatable experiments and measurements are possible, as opposed to 'soft' sciences seen as placing less emphasis on precisely quantifiable predictability - however Hair Bun Girl is extending 'hard' to it's meaning of 'stoic', mocking Cueball for not being able to weather a personal moral attack. Again she is indicating that she's upset by directly referencing a mocking portrayal of other fields allegedly made by Cueball.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he personally respects biologists - or at least fears them.

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own Lectern with the respective subject label.]

:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.

:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.

:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:28:33Z

108.162.249.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), [[Hair Bun Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was earlier lampooned by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]].

The biologist, Hair Bun Girl, goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) has even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Originally these were Conquest, War, Famine and Death, but in popular culture Conquest is usually re-interpreted as {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}} - Hair Bun Girl implies that the field of biology has almost eliminated Pestilence. (The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.)

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. The graph has been published in this paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
</div>

Hair Bun Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologist. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Hair Bun Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Hair Bun Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to even shout at Cueball ({{w|All caps}} letters), as she mocks the physicist for not being "harder" after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences, a play on the colloquial division between the so-called 'hard' sciences (such as physics and chemistry) and 'soft' sciences (such as biology and geology). In [[435: Purity]], the only subject presented as "purer" than physics is mathematics, and even math is then degraded compared to physics in the title text.

There have been some discussion about if the all-capital-letters in the title text should indicate that it was Death from the Discworld that spoke these lines (he always speaks in {{w|Small caps}}). However, the title text makes the most sense as a continuation of the biologist's remark.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he respects biologists (or at least fears them).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own Lectern with the respective subject label.]

:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.

:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.

:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:25:04Z

108.162.249.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), [[Hair Bun Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was already used earlier by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]].

The biologist, Hair Bun Girl, goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) has even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Originally these were Conquest, War, Famine and Death, but in popular culture Conquest is usually re-interpreted as {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}} - Hair Bun Girl implies that the field of biology has almost eliminated Pestilence. (The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.)

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. The graph has been published in this paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
</div>

Hair Bun Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologist. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Hair Bun Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Hair Bun Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to even shout at Cueball ({{w|All caps}} letters), as she mocks the physicist for not being "harder" after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences, a play on the colloquial division between 'hard' and 'soft' sciences. In [[435: Purity]], the only subject presented as "purer" than physics is mathematics, and even math is then degraded compared to physics in the title text.

There have been some discussion about if the all-capital-letters in the title text should indicate that it was Death from the Discworld that spoke these lines (he always speaks in {{w|Small caps}}). However, the title text makes the most sense as a continuation of the biologist's remark.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he respects biologists (or at least fears them).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own Lectern with the respective subject label.]

:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.

:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.

:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:22:51Z

108.162.249.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), [[Hair Bun Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was already used earlier by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]].

The biologist, Hair Bun Girl, goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) has even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Originally these were Conquest, War, Famine and Death. But, mainly in popular culture, Conquest has been renamed to the one she refers to: {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. (The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.)

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. The graph has been published in this paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
</div>

Hair Bun Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologist. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Hair Bun Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Hair Bun Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to even shout at Cueball ({{w|All caps}} letters), as she mocks the physicist for not being "harder" after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences, a play on the colloquial division between 'hard' and 'soft' sciences. In [[435: Purity]], the only subject presented as "purer" than physics is mathematics, and even math is then degraded compared to physics in the title text.

There have been some discussion about if the all-capital-letters in the title text should indicate that it was Death from the Discworld that spoke these lines (he always speaks in {{w|Small caps}}). However, the title text makes the most sense as a continuation of the biologist's remark.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he respects biologists (or at least fears them).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own Lectern with the respective subject label.]

:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.

:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.

:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:19:51Z

108.162.249.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), [[Hair Bun Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was already used earlier by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]].

The biologist, Hair Bun Girl, goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) has even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Originally these were Conquest, War, Famine and Death. But, mainly in popular culture, Conquest has been renamed to the one she refers to: {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. This might refer to a passage in {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a big fan, as evidenced by [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and has then been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. The graph has been published in this paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
</div>

Hair Bun Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologist. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Hair Bun Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Hair Bun Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to even shout at Cueball ({{w|All caps}} letters), as she mocks the physicist for not being "harder" after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences, a play on the colloquial division between 'hard' and 'soft' sciences. In [[435: Purity]], the only subject presented as "purer" than physics is mathematics, and even math is then degraded compared to physics in the title text.

There have been some discussion about if the all-capital-letters in the title text should indicate that it was Death from the Discworld that spoke these lines (he always speaks in {{w|Small caps}}). However, the title text makes the most sense as a continuation of the biologist's remark.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he respects biologists (or at least fears them).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own Lectern with the respective subject label.]

:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.

:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.

:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

Talk:1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:08:19Z

108.162.249.170:

Isn't this the debut of the dark hair-bun girl? Is this trivia section worthy? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 22:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201
:The hair bun girl has [[:Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl|appeared a few times]] since it's inception in [[378: Real Programmers]]. --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|01:05, 05 May 2015}}
::But this one has bangs, and visibly darker hair. Isn't it possible it's a different character? Or am I [http://media1.giphy.com/media/v9rfTQBNqdsSA/giphy.gif splitting hairs]? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 20:23, 5 May 2015 (UTC)BK201
:::Yes your are splitting hair. Because in xkcd most characters are just generic and can be any person they need to be. The characteristic of the hair bun has been used only a few times, 8 with this one. Sometimes the figure even represents a real person. I agree that she is drawn a little different, but in the page for Hair Bun Girl it is mentioned that she also sometimes have glasses. It is though interesting that he has used her several times sine passing comic 1500. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

I assume "''Your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one." refers to the Manhattan Project? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.74}}
:Yes [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Chem wants absolutely no part of this conversation. [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Is she claiming that her heros have conquered death? [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 06:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
: Yeah I didn't get that either. The description as it stands now seems to be implying one of the four horsemen is pestilence, but that's not what my Google search turned up… --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 15:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::Pestilence [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 07:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:::In Terry Pratchett's book the fourth horsemen is Pestilence. See also {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. It was new to me that it was originally Conquest instead of Pestilence which can be read on wiki: {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Since Randall is a big fan of Terry Pratchett it is very likely that he refers to "his" version of the four Horsemen. (It is not Terry's invention, but he made it popular amongst people like Randall). As I disagree with the Death version of the title text, I'm not sure that Terry is directly refereed to in this comic, but I'm sure the Bilologist refers to them killing of pestilence (or plauge). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::::There are no humanities on stage, so I think bio can get away with this one.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::::Maybe it referred to famine. Though that'd be a bit odd. [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 19:05, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:::::Perhaps the reason why pestilence isn't a real Horseman is because its death by biology retroactively altered the prophecy ("Yes, you've had it for ages. But did you have it for ages 30 minutes ago?" - Rincewind, The Last Continent).```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.144}}

also a possible reference to: https://xkcd.com/435/ ? {{unsigned ip|141.101.75.101}}

The stamp collecting quote is from Ernest Rutherford, not Richard Feynman. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.43}}

1052 also compares degrees --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 08:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

My assumption was that Cueball was giving a long and possibly rambling talk about physics starting with an anecdote about Feynman and ending with one about Rutherford. I didn't consider the quote to be wrongly attributed therefore. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.71}}

Please be aware that the proper way to link to wikipedia is to use [[Template:w]].--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|10:01, 04 May 2015}}

This may be Randall's indirect way of saying what he thinks of the anti-vaxxers. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Does the "killing Pestilence" thing also refer to ''Good Omens'' (co-authored by Pratchett), where Pestilence retired in 1936 "mumbling something about penicillin"? Homusubi

Isn't the comment about vaccines kinda reaching? I don't really see any evidence, even implied, that this comic is referencing the anti-vaccine movement in any way. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:I agree that the anti-vaxer comments are out of place. I don't think they should be included as part of the explanation. [[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])

Isn't the biologist talking in the title text? And isn't biology considered a squishy science? I think the title is directed at the physicist, telling him to get harder skin because he's so easily hurt emotionally. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 14:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I rather doubt that the CAPS in the title text are referring to Pratchett's figure DEATH. In my opinion, the talking-in-CAPS is just meant to infer (further) SHOUTING on the part of the biologist, since she is shouting in the last panel as well. There is no indication whatsoever that the title text should be spoken by anyone other than the biologist herself.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.180|141.101.104.180]] 14:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)thd

Do chemistry and physics represent a helium atom with biology as the nucleus? It would also explain her hair. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:18, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:I don't see any reason for it to make any sense. It is quite a long shot to think so. However, what explains her hair? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201

Might there also be a reference to https://xkcd.com/520/, praising biology just in case. [[User:Tzwenn|Tzwenn]] ([[User talk:Tzwenn|talk]]) 15:22, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

What is the giant bump in infectious diseases around 1925? It seems like it must have been a mayor effect, but I don't know how to google for it.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.99|141.101.104.99]] 17:43, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

:The planet-wide superflu of 1919, which happened because millions decided to go to Europe, camp in filthy trenches for months and then decided to all go back home simultaneously for some reason. {{unsigned ip|199.27.133.44}}

::Actually, it happened for other reasons, and it was mostly in 1918. Many people arrived at that camp bringing the superflu with them, actually, and the drop-off happened around when the bulk of them went home. Most of the fatalities may actually have been due to cytokine storms, AKA your immune system deciding that you ought to die horribly and now. What you ''actually'' got at the camp is the discovery that, if your feet are continuously wet for sufficiently long periods of time, they'll rot. That said, infectious diseases are on their way back, because antibiotic resistance is going up. There's already a confirmed case of TB resistant to all current antibiotics, and truly new ones becoming less and less frequent. (Most of the obvious routes we've exploited and adaptation is destroying, and many of the remaining obvious routes are insufficiently easy to distinguish from chemical warfare.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.182|108.162.237.182]] 22:46, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

moved the most important comment to the top. [[User:TheJonyMyster|TheJonyMyster]] ([[User talk:TheJonyMyster|talk]]) 00:25, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Uhm lockpicking != safecracking. Feynman was exploiting a bad design in the safes (you didn't have to dial the exact number) combined with people being lousy at choosing their codes. [[User:Poizan42|Poizan42]] ([[User talk:Poizan42|talk]]) 09:45, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
:A numpad safe still contains a lock. It locks items inside. --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|11:27, 05 May 2015}}

I'm not sure what is the biologists arguing about. Physics creating new horseman of apocalypse is definitely bigger achievement than biologists almost removing one. On the other hand, both fields are capable of making humans extinct by mistake. (Also, seriously, the idea of degree-off is flawed: we need experts in both (or rather all) fields.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:09, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
:I disagree. Penicillin is a much more important discovery - helping so many people. Killing people is a lot easier than curing them! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:40, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

I think that Civil Engineering should get half the credit. It wouldn't make for as good a cartoon though. Why was the graph of infectious disease rates lightly doctored to reduce the 1918 flu pandemic? My guess is to increase the visual impact. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.188|108.162.238.188]] 18:11, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Biology: Aren't many theoretical developments reliant on chemistry and/or physics? And even more practical developments use tools which rely on chemistry/physics? Example: brain mapping, drug synthesis, etc.? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.178|108.162.215.178]] 02:28, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
: No, this would be as circuitous as saying that physics is entirely reliant on biology, because it's conducted using human brains, hands, eyes, etc. Or hey - theology. How would physics have gotten it's start without funding from churches and kings? The whole line of discussion is more than a little ludicrous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.170|108.162.249.170]] 08:01, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Any ideas as to why Hair Bun Girl's bun disappears in the fourth frame? As in anything more interesting than it being forgotten to be drawn in. [[User:JRVeale|JRVeale]] ([[User talk:JRVeale|talk]]) 11:12, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
:I think she just has turned her head so the bun is behind it. Thus not forgotten, and not really interesting either! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:40, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

The discussion about the new horseman of the apocalypse being radiation poisoning, and the linking of it all to Pratchet, reads very very strangely, I think it is a major overreach. It's very common for Pestilence to be listed as one of the four horsemen, and even with Randall being a Terry Pratchett fan, it seems unlikely this had any influence on it. It's stock-standard in pop culture for them to be listed as War, Famine, Death, Pestilence, even if they don't appear that way in the Bible, just as it is stock-standard for the devil to be portrayed as a red horned guy with cloven feet (which also doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible). It seems like the development of the atomic bomb is what Hair Bun Girl is referring to as the new horseman. I don't see why an overly specific and convoluted connection to "radiation poisoning" is included. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.170|108.162.249.170]] 08:08, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-08T08:01:53Z

108.162.249.170: