explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1438: Houston

2014-10-27T14:32:54Z

108.162.250.217:

A commentary on the nature of outsourced helpdesks, perhaps? Although, IME, the problems are more due to 'sticking to a script' (which would have given an entirely different exchange) rather than an unknowledgable and casually uninterested 'service'-person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 05:15, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is the idea behind the comic too. Kind of like a "What if it had happened today?" It sure sounds like the kind of hotline support we get today. [[User:Deantwo|Deantwo]] ([[User talk:Deantwo|talk]]) 10:29, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

::I agree. This is definitely comparison between the original mission control center and current outsourced helpdesk centers. Although it would be interesting to know what specific incident caused Randal to comment on it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:28, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

: I'm going to throw in the idea that this might be a reference to the "Facebook generation", hard to know what the reference is, but a few weeks ago in Australia, or national curriculum organization published a new curriculum program for year 9/10 students, teaching them how to be functional in the work place, respect for the workplace, other employees, bosses, work time, etc... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.217|108.162.250.217]] 14:32, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

What is going on is this strip? Usually it's a reference to something or a commentary, but I don't get it at all. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 05:32, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I think I figured out enough of it to remove the "incomplete" tag. This is definitely one of the weird ones. [[User:Shachar|Shachar]] ([[User talk:Shachar|talk]]) 06:02, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Reference to Continuum? (Canadian sci-fi show)
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.106|199.27.133.106]] 06:41, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Ebola? Really? Where is that..what? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.79|173.245.49.79]] 09:34, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I agree, there is no evidence to back up the ebola reference. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Also, I took it to refer to people being distracted on the phone in general (hence the title text) or generally not taking their jobs serious. Maybe the idea that for NASA, space travel has become so routine that mission control is no longer as engaged in the missions. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:38, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps the guy answering the phone is called "Houston"? A misplaced Skype call from a rather shell shocked astronaut? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.111}}
:But then it wouldn't make sense, that he says he's at work.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.29|173.245.49.29]] 13:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

There are a LOT of anachronisms, or things that don't match the way things were back in the 1960's, not just the flat screens. (And I do still remember the sixties, despite "if you can remember the sixties, you wern't really there" - a reference to the drug scene.) We didn't say "cool" or "you suck at doing that" back then, and it's very unlikely that communications with the mission and a simple telephone call would be selectable from the same headset, and the michrophones on headsets were larger and probably had dangling wires back then. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 13:22, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

It could be a commentary on privatizing space travel by NASA (among others to Boeing). Would explain, why Cueball knows it's a "airplane or whatever".--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.29|173.245.49.29]] 13:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I understand it's a reference, but is this supposed to actually be the Apollo 13? I understood it was just another mission happening today. I find the anachronism explanation nonsensical. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.211|108.162.212.211]] 13:57, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

"At first glance, this comic appears to be an "alternate reality" view at what could happen today, given that most people in the XXI century seem to suffer ADD." I don't think that we can assume this at all. Also, that's not what ADD is. [[User:Lomky|Lomky]] ([[User talk:Lomky|talk]]) 14:16, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah. I think it's far more clear that Randall's commenting on unhelpful tech support than anyon'es short attention span. I've edited the explanation above. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.146|199.27.128.146]] 15:34, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Did Randall have a bad experience with a call center operator? [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 14:38, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Can someone explain why this is supposed to be funny? The explanation page doesn't quite get there. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.199}}
:xkcd is a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language; humor is not guaranteed. I see no indication that Randall is trying for humor here. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 03:22, 25 October 2014 (UTC)
:: It must be the math then... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.201|199.27.128.201]] 00:40, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Am i the only one interpreting Cueball as a script kiddie with too much spare time who somehow managed to hijack the communication line between Apollo 13 and Houston? The alt text is consistent with the basement dweller stereotype. Wouldn't explain the other call though.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.169|108.162.219.169]] 17:22, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:No, that was my impression as well. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 01:10, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Nasa just uploaded several audio recordings of their missions on soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/nasa). Maybe Cueball is just playing with those while he is at work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.53|108.162.230.53]] 17:31, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

"It's always 'problem, problem, problem' with you guys. Don't you ever call just to say 'hi'?" {{unsigned|PheagleAdler}}

I don't get the context here. Is this supposed to be a biting satire on how the new generation sucks at social tact with their cell phones? How is a guy at NASA mission control being an asshat supposed to be funny or thought-provoking? Even the helpdesk angle doesn't really make sense, as inept as they can be I've never had one outright antagonize me like this guy does. {{unsigned ip|‎199.27.128.114}}

I found the comic to be more of a reference to that of a "friend" who does not care what your problems are and doesn't wish to help you solve them- like if you had lost homework or forgotten to do a project and called your friend at the last minute, he would mock you for your incompetence and blow you off. I found the comic to be a little pedanticism, as if what if mission control was filled with the "friends." I had no thought as to tech support... Maybe because all my tech support has been helpful. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.27}}

The problem in call centers is that the businesses that run them cannot afford to train all incoming staff in the entirity of the technical
knowledge required to actually be able to diagnose problems, so they design a "script" to be followed so that the staff can determine the problem and
explain the solution. However, for those that do this job day in and day out and constantly have people calling with the "Same problems, over and over",
they get really good at predicting when someone's situation is leading to a certain forgone conclusion in the script, and may develop a disdain for the
callers due to the problem being "so painfully obvious how to fix, why does this person need to call me to fix that? Why don't they know how to do it
themselves?" Which is caused by the fallacy of treating the entire job as being one experience with a single userbase rather than individual experiences
with individual users. For those that are less versed in the technical knowledge that are just trying to do their jobs, their reaction when receiving
this attitude tends towards "Why are you being so difficult? I called you for help!"

The largest problem created by this mindset is that people start seeing everyone else as idiots because they seem like they don't know what they're doing
to the individual, but that's only caused by the fact that they are overexposed to their overly simplistic jobs and thus believe everyone else ought to
know how to do what they are doing too - the fallacy here is coming from the fact that all the other individuals have their own specialized jobs -
individuals don't get the opportunity to experience anything outside their own job experience very often because their jobs consume so much of their
personal lives. Because of these overly simplified jobs individuals throughout the populace all have a sort of learned helplessness - they are all very
good at one or two things, but rubbish at most everything else. And since the governments need good consumers to drive the money wheels of the economy,
they pacify the intellectual needs of the people with entertainment. Those that still disobey the rules and are not creating enough money and jobs for
the economy are jailed. Those that are creating enough money and jobs for the economy then hire lawyers and lobbiests to change the laws to protect
their interests.

Of course there is also the issue that since those who are applying for the position aren't always required to have some background training in the field
they are supporting, the applicant may have no interest in it whatsoever other than as a paycheck - these folks tend to be the ones that stick closest to
the script, because without the script they themselves are lost - these type of personnel can and have been replaced by automated prompts by some
companies. By allowing the customer to step themselves through the script, you no longer need an employee on the line to do that with the customer.

The consequence of leaving someone like this to answer incoming requests is that they generally feel their life is more important than the client calling
in because they have no idea what they are actually doing other than following a script, and generally don't care, "as long as I get my 40 hours in" , or
however long their work week is set to. They see the position as a prison they are submitting to so they can get the money to do what they want/need to
in their time off - A job rather than a career. This mindset can be seen all over the employment base of countries that have changed most working
environments into assembly line like jobs where each worker knows only one or two steps of the overall process, but almost no one knows the entire
process - because if the workers know the entire process, they could easily quit their low paying jobs and start their own business making the same
product but cheaper because they would not have all of the administrative overhead.

So overall I'd say the comic is a social commentary combined with a play on the famous events of Appolo 13. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.158}}

;Wrong number

Maybe the call has just somehow been routed to the wrong number? If Cueball were staffing some other type of helpline or call centre, his detachment and lack of understanding would probably be a natural everyday response to people who ring up with problems that aren't in his field. The line about 'your airplane or whatever' suggests he's not NASA at all.

Or maybe he's staffing one of those call forwarding services, and the problem is that the astronauts forgot to say 'Could I speak to NASA, please'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.176|141.101.98.176]] 08:35, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:679: Christmas Plans

2014-09-11T04:15:39Z

108.162.250.217:

Interestingly, the comic text could be interpretted as dealing more with classical physics (only by observation do we actually know something) while the hover text is definitely referencing the fact that observing ''does something'' to a quantum system. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.207.61|178.98.207.61]] 12:57, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
A bit of theology: Jews are still waiting for Christ to be born, which makes 'I just don't know when Christmas is.' even more true. [[Special:Contributions/94.232.40.18|94.232.40.18]] 06:05, 29 October 2013 (UTC)
:Strictly speaking, we're waiting for ''the Messiah'' to be born. With any luck, he or she won't get crucified, so it won't be proper to refer to him/her as "Christ". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.209|108.162.219.209]] 07:25, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
::Loosely translated, "Christos" means messiah in (transliterated) Greek. It's descended from "chriein" meaning "annoit". So, yes, Jews are still waiting for Christ. The proper term is still "messiah", though, as it is the equivalent Hebrew term (parallel etymologies even! See [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messiah Merriam-Webster] for [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/christ both]). Anonymous 18:26, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

Does the idea the title text references also apply to infrared thermometers?

Talk:653: So Bad It's Worse

2014-09-11T00:37:34Z

108.162.250.217:

Once, I trolled my friends by "recommending" the movie to them. They won't know what hit 'em. :) (P.S. Mwhaaa Haaa Haaa) {{unsigned ip|‎173.72.159.14}}
: Mandatory... "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo........!!!!!!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.79|108.162.216.79]] 18:47, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Does anyone else take exception to Randall considering Rocky Horror to fall into this category? So it's not The Godfather, but it's not supposed to be! I think it's exactly the movie they were trying to make, and the result is low-budget brilliance. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:03, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Does anyone else think Manos: The Hands of Fate should be below Star Wars? {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.11}}
:It's not nearly as bad, in my opinion. The MST3K version is definitely enjoyable. Birdemic, on the other hand, is definitely worse. [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 01:36, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

You could obtain an original home videocassette recording quite legally.
Hundreds, if not thousands, still exist; otherwise, how could it be uploaded to Internet torrents?

Talk:576: Packages

2014-09-04T03:39:07Z

108.162.250.217:

<nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki>The only way I could imagine Cueball being on a <s>wanted</s> watch list is if the items he ordered could be interpreted as potentially being used in a hostage crisis at The Pentagon. --[[User:Btx40|Btx40]] ([[User talk:Btx40|talk]]) 20:27, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
: What's the lube for? [[Special:Contributions/103.10.66.8|103.10.66.8]] 16:29, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
:: It's only for adults.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:24, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
Has anyone actually tried this?--[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 22:57, 7 July 2013 (UTC)
: [http://www.urlesque.com/2010/11/09/xkcd-comic-script-to-buy-ebay/ This] guy did. [[Special:Contributions/74.124.100.108|74.124.100.108]] 07:47, 20 October 2013 (UTC)
: [http://bobcatinabox.com/ Here]'s one you can sign up for. I've been signed up for a while and packages are starting to trickle in, much to my amusement. --[[User:Alex|Alex]] ([[User talk:Alex|talk]]) 22:46, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Who would sell a bobcat for a dollar?

1377: Fish

2014-06-04T23:31:03Z

108.162.250.217:

{{comic
| number = 1377
| date = June 4, 2014
| title = Fish
| image = fish.png
| titletext = [Astronomer peers into telescope] [Jaws theme begins playing]
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Fermi Paradox}} is the contradiction that arises between the high likelihood of {{w|extraterrestial life}} and the fact that no evidence for it has thus far been found.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are having a conversation regarding this — since new planets are found all the time around distant stars, Cueball comments that this makes it an even greater paradox. Megan suggests that perhaps our search for extraterrestrial life is like looking at a patch of ocean floor looking for a fish. The diver knows that there must be a fish somewhere, but is unable to actually find it. She then goes on to ask why the fish would be hidden — i.e. camouflaged, and what it means about the remaining fish. The suggestion is that the fish would be hidden to avoid being eaten by predators, and perhaps the reason no extraterrestrial life is sending any sign of existence back is that they fear they might be destroyed soon after they revealed their location. Maybe they have even actively tried to hide the presence of their entire planet if they obtain the technological means. This potentially refers to the Deadly Probes scenario.

The camouflaged fish could be identified by using more sophisticated technologies like infrared cameras. Looking at the Earth from space beyond {{w|Low Earth orbit}} only with the naked eye wouldn't show any hint to our {{w|ecosystem}}. This is like the actual possibility in astronomy when observing {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanets}} — the nature of those more than 1,500 known planets is unknown due to the lack of better technologies to the scientists. And there are a couple of hundred Billion planets at our galaxy still camouflaged to human scientists.

The final panels take the metaphor further, suggesting that there is literally a planet sized shark swimming through space eating planets, and since the view is panning away from earth and over to the shark, the shark seems to be heading our way... So it looks like Earth is the next fish, presumably because we did not reach a high enough technology level in time to recognize the danger and hide.

This also explains the title text that has the theme from the movie ''{{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}'' playing while astronomers look into their telescopes. This may also be a reference to the film ''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}'', which was pitched with the three word proposal "''Jaws'' in Space."

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking down a hill.]
:Cueball: The Fermi paradox keeps getting worse. If planets are common, where '''is''' everybody?

:Megan: Imagine you're a scuba diver looking at the ocean floor. You know there's a fish there, but you can't see it. Why?

:Cueball: Maybe the fish looks like sand.
:Megan: Yeah...

:[Zoom out to the Earth from space.]
:Megan: ...and what would that tell you about the ecosystem?

:[The Earth is moving out of the panel and then a shark is shown swimming through space towards Earth.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Sharks]]