explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1109: Refrigerator

2013-08-30T23:00:15Z

108.28.72.186:

I would argue that this is also a reference to {{w|The Incredible Machine}} and friends, where many levels revolve around conveyor belts and things on top of them that stir certain actions. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 10:46, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
: Not a chance. The conveyor belts don't look like the ones in that game, nor is there anything else in the refrigerator that has anything to do with that game. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 23:00, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The main problem with this design is that the bad food needs to land softly otherwise it could splash\spatter over the good food. [[User:SaintGerbil|SaintGerbil]]([[User talk:User:SaintGerbil|talk]]) 12:17, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I thought an alternative design for the fridge could be to have the middle conveyor belt attached to the right, leaving a gap on its left and obviously it would move toward the left. This way we could put food on the topmost belt on its left side and the food would travel along that belt then drop onto the middle one, then travel to the bottom belt and finally fall into the BAD bin. Of course we'd have to relabel all belts accordingly. [[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 12:27, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

:The only problem with that is that different foods spoil at different rates (e.g. carrots last for about 2 months while milk is a week at best). The 3 shelves moving at different speeds seems to account for this. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:38, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

::I disagree. I'm with DelendaEst. I presume the premise is that you initially place the food at the appropriate place. Milk might start at the 2-week mark on the shelf, whereas juice might start at the 4 week mark, and ketchup might start at the many month mark. Randall has designed it so you put the food on the relevant shelf. In the left-right-left right scenario, the top shelf might run 3 months to 1 month, and take two months to roll from left to right. Then the second shelf could be 1 month to 1 week, and take approximately 3 weeks to roll from right to left. The bottom shelf would take 1 week to roll from left to right into the "bad" bin. You would just have to put stuff down based on initial expiration date. Ketchup might go on the top-left, while milk might go in the middle of the second shelf, etc. In Randall's version, the food at "2 days" on the top shelf, the second shelf and the door shelf should all reach the bad bin at the same time. Thus, it could all have been on one shelf. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:22, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Most of the stuff I find gone bad is in the bottom two drawers where it has become forgotten, like a half bag of lettuce.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:19, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Sorry Randall: so much for brilliant... there's a bug in your design. Look at the top rack in the door. There is a chute that would prevent food from falling past when the door is closed. It would need to be rotated 90 anticlockwise in order to work. [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 21:30, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
*I see a space -[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 02:00, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

::I think the anon user is pointing out that the little "ramp" below the door belt would actually roll food into the side wall of the fridge when the door is closed. The ramp should be oriented from the wall of the door towards the back of the fridge (when the door is closed) instead of towards the side wall. so the food rolls from the door back into the fridge and the "bad" bin, rather than rolling into the side wall of the fridge. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:25, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

:::And Shine is pointing out that the middle and bottom shelves doesn't go all the way to the edge of the door. The fridge is designed so that the "BAD" bin is as long as the width of the body shelves plus the width of the door shelves. That way, the food from the top shelf of the door will fall between the middle/bottom shelves and the side wall, and into the front end of the "BAD" bin. [[Special:Contributions/72.169.224.103|72.169.224.103]] 17:55, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

1012: Wrong Superhero

2013-08-24T04:18:17Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ There is no reason to be insulting in the explanation.

{{comic
| number = 1012
| date = February 3, 2012
| title = Wrong Superhero
| image = wrong_superhero.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Hi! Someone call for me? I'm a superhero who specializes in the study of God's creation of Man in the Book of Genesi-- HOLY SHIT A GIANT BUG!
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, the super hero from just [[1010|two comics ago]], Etymology-Man, returns. And just like that comic, Etymology-Man is explaining the origination of words instead of actually helping. {{w|Etymology}} is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

Who they want is Entomology-Man because they are fighting a giant praying mantis and an army of little praying mantises. Honestly, those "little" praying mantises still look huge compared to the typical size of mantises. {{w|Entomology}} is the study of insects. Considering Etymology-Man, I'm not sure if Entomology-Man would fight the mantis or study it.

In the title text, we find out instead of getting Entomology-Man, they accidentally call a superhero of Etiology. {{w|Etiology}} is the study of causation, or origination. Thus, Etiology-Man would be a superhero studying the origination of man in Genesis.

==Transcript==
:[A giant praying mantis and its legion of regular-sized praying mantises attacks a team of scientists. Two of them fight back, with a gun and a baseball bat respectively, while a third is in the mantis' clutches, held aloft by his foot, his goggles falling off his face. Bullets whiz by the giant mantis' head, and a fourth scientist hides behind a desk, on which rests a microscope and an Erlenmeyer flask. A man in a cape approaches the hiding scientist.]

:Caped man: Ah, no — you wanted '''ENTO'''mology-Man, spelled with an "N." See, it's from the Greek entomon, meaning "insect," which is itself the neuter form of entomos, meaning "segmented" or...

:'''BLAM BLAM BLAM'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:954: Chin-Up Bar

2013-08-07T03:45:55Z

108.28.72.186:

I know the Wheaton Metro station and its escalator very well (I live about 5 miles from there). There are several issues with the comic.
*There isn't a convenient place that the panels showing diagonal motion (1-6 & 10) can be shown from. The entire escalator set is in a solid tube through the rock. I guess that it could be done from the *third* escalator.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(WMATA_station) ) (This would be with (viewed from the bottom, the center going up, the left going down and the right either not moving or going up)
*There are emergency cut off boxes both at the top and the bottom of the escalators.
*There is a kiosk about 40 feet from the top of the escalator staffed by an employee next to the fare gates.
*In panel 9 there are two raised disks between the up and down escalators. While this is true in some of the other escalators, the ones for Wheaton are very close together and there is only one column of raised disks.[[User:Naraht|Naraht]] ([[User talk:Naraht|talk]]) 16:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

- What can we learn from this? - That not all of the facts in XKCD comics are right, and some are outright exaggerated (thank you Mr. Naraht). I personally learned that life will keep hurting me on purpose until I figure out how to help myself (Thank you Life and thank you Mr. XKCD for this lesson). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:46, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

This is a comic. It's Fiction. It does not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro" escalator anyway - that was in the commentary. Relax. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 19:16, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
: While I agree that Naraht needs to calm down (I used to live 1 mile from the Wheaton Metro, and would walk up it as fast as I could), you cannot say that the comic did not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro." Black Hat describes it as 70m long, and the longest in the country. There is only one escalator that fits that description, and it is in Wheaton, Maryland. It's like seeing them going up an elevator, never seeing what they are ascending, and having one of the people mention that they are going to the top of the tallest free-standing stone structure in the world, 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches. There is but one structure that fits that description: the Washington Monument. A description can make a claim without using the exact wording. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 03:44, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:954: Chin-Up Bar

2013-08-07T03:44:39Z

108.28.72.186:

I know the Wheaton Metro station and its escalator very well (I live about 5 miles from there). There are several issues with the comic.
*There isn't a convenient place that the panels showing diagonal motion (1-6 & 10) can be shown from. The entire escalator set is in a solid tube through the rock. I guess that it could be done from the *third* escalator.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(WMATA_station) ) (This would be with (viewed from the bottom, the center going up, the left going down and the right either not moving or going up)
*There are emergency cut off boxes both at the top and the bottom of the escalators.
*There is a kiosk about 40 feet from the top of the escalator staffed by an employee next to the fare gates.
*In panel 9 there are two raised disks between the up and down escalators. While this is true in some of the other escalators, the ones for Wheaton are very close together and there is only one column of raised disks.[[User:Naraht|Naraht]] ([[User talk:Naraht|talk]]) 16:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

- What can we learn from this? - That not all of the facts in XKCD comics are right, and some are outright exaggerated (thank you Mr. Naraht). I personally learned that life will keep hurting me on purpose until I figure out how to help myself (Thank you Life and thank you Mr. XKCD for this lesson). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:46, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

This is a comic. It's Fiction. It does not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro" escalator anyway - that was in the commentary. Relax. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 19:16, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
: While I agree that Naraht needs to calm down (I used to live 1 mile from the Wheaton Metro, and would walk up it as fast as I could), you cannot say that the comic did not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro." Black Hat describes it as 70m long, and the longest in the country. There is only one escalator that fits that description, and it is in Wheaton, Maryland. It's like seeing them going up an elevator, never seeing what they are ascending, and having one of the people mention that they are going to the top of the tallest free-standing stone structures in the world, 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches. There is but one structure that fits that description: the Washington Monument. A description can make a claim without using the exact wording. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 03:44, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:941: Depth Perception

2013-08-07T01:42:08Z

108.28.72.186:

Somebody needs to try this. Couldn't be that hard.
[[Special:Contributions/71.178.11.180|71.178.11.180]] 21:27, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Those must have been some tall goalposts if his point of view is above the clouds! -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 13:16, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Also, the cameras should be mounted on servos so that when the phone is moved or tilted the cameras can follow, so your viewpoint isn't fixed in one direction. -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 13:18, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

:That wouldn't work. The entire football field would have to swivel, or else he'd get some wicked image shearing... [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 01:42, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:925: Cell Phones

2013-08-07T01:18:55Z

108.28.72.186:

On first read I thought the joke is that the cell phone graph shape (somewhat) closely mimics the shape of the cancer graph, including the part where it begins to level off - implying that one linearly correlates with the other, with a 20 year delay (a typical time it takes for cancer to manifest, except in this case it's backwards). ultramage 14:17, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

That and the fact the graph is out by a scale factor of 1000 is always a fun way to screw over how the statistics look.{{unsigned ip|82.16.27.115}}

Nah b', it's 2000.{{unsigned ip|76.67.97.246}}

::The real problem with the graph is that it makes it look like cancer rates have increased from near-zero levels to way higher since 1970, until you actually read the Y axis and see that it's gone from about 400 (per 100,000) to about 475. This is an increase of only 18.75%, as opposed to the visual appearance of a 300% increase. Hats off to Black Hat!! [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 01:18, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:872: Fairy Tales

2013-08-04T05:45:18Z

108.28.72.186:

What about the grasshopper one?

: There is an Aesop fable about {{w|The Ant and the Grasshopper|an Ant and a Grasshopper}}. Maybe the connection is that "contracting to a point etc" is a frivolous activity (like playing fiddle & dancing)? - [[Special:Contributions/38.113.0.254|38.113.0.254]] 01:07, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Can someone make the Eigenvector explanation a little more "plain language" for those of us who are mathematically challenged? <--feeling dumb... [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 05:45, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:857: Archimedes

2013-08-04T02:44:52Z

108.28.72.186:

What's Cueball trying to lift here that he needs a massive lever and fulcrum? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:05, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

I think Cueball is just trying to gain ''leverage''. -Justin- [[Special:Contributions/131.111.141.12|131.111.141.12]] 20:39, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

:Cueball wants to move the earth with a lever. But how this should work in space? The hostage is the entire population of the earth. I will add an incomplete tag.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:34, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

::He is not saying he wants to move the Earth with a lever. He's either demanding the lever and a place to stand, threatening to kill hostages, or he's using a gun as a prop in a joke. Either way, the explanation is perfectly fine as it is, no "incomplete" needed. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 02:44, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

857: Archimedes

2013-08-04T02:42:59Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ The explanation is fine. We do not see any hostages, so he may be a terrorist, or he may just be playing around.

{{comic
| number = 857
| date = February 7, 2011
| title = Archimedes
| image = archimedes.png
| titletext = Give a man a fish, or he will destroy the only existing vial of antidote.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references a famous quote made by Archimedes: "Give me a lever long enough, and a place on which to rest it, and I will move the world". Here, [[Cueball]] starts off the quote, but instead turns it into a hostage situation.

The title text references a famous proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" and pulls the same gag, ending the sentence so it sounds like a threat.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: In the words of Archimedes,

:Cueball: Give me a long enough lever and a place to rest it,

:[Cueball pulls out a gun.]
:Cueball: Or I will kill one hostage every hour.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]

854: Learning to Cook

2013-08-04T00:09:01Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 854
| date = January 31, 2011
| title = Learning to Cook
| image = learning to cook.png
| titletext = And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows the plight of a person who occasionally motivates himself to cook.
After buying ingredients and cooking them (whether or not it tasted good), he puts the leftovers in the fridge. Hours later, he starts ordering pizza again.
As they go bad, he first throws away the leftovers and later the unused ingredients.
After some months he is motivated again to cook more and the loop repeats.

The name of the strip indicates that a lesson can be learned here.

The title text describes that buying ingredients for a single meal might be more expensive than eating at a restaurant, but it would be compensated if there are enough leftovers to eat again from it or cook several meals.
Of course, this idea is vitiated if he gives up cooking after a single try and throws away all remaining food.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]

:I should cook more! -> Buy ingredients -> Put some in a pan -> Cook -> Does it taste good? -> (arrows marked "Kinda" and "No" both lead to) Put leftovers in fridge -> (hours pass) -> Order pizza -> (days pass) -> Throw away leftovers -> (weeks pass) -> Throw away remaining ingredients as they go bad -> (months pass) -> (arrow leads back to beginning)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

854: Learning to Cook

2013-08-04T00:07:22Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 854
| date = January 31, 2011
| title = Learning to Cook
| image = learning to cook.png
| titletext = And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows the plight of a person who occasionally motivates himself to cook.
After buying ingredients and cooking them, he realizes that it does not taste really good, puts the leftovers in the fridge and starts ordering pizza again.
As they go bad, he first throws away the leftovers and later the unused ingredients.
After some months he is motivated again to cook more and the loop repeats.

The name of the strip indicates that a lesson can be learned here.

The title text describes that buying ingredients for a single meal might be more expensive than eating at a restaurant, but it would be compensated if there are enough leftovers to eat again from it or cook several meals.
Of course, this idea is vitiated if he gives up cooking after a single try and throws away all remaining food.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]

:I should cook more! -> Buy ingredients -> Put some in a pan -> Cook -> Does it taste good? -> (arrows marked "Kinda" and "No" both lead to) Put leftovers in fridge -> (hours pass) -> Order pizza -> (days pass) -> Throw away leftovers -> (weeks pass) -> Throw away remaining ingredients as they go bad -> (months pass) -> (arrow leads back to beginning)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

854: Learning to Cook

2013-08-04T00:07:01Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 854
| date = January 31, 2011
| title = Learning to Cook
| image = learning to cook.png
| titletext = And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic shows the plight of a person who occasionally motivates himself to cook.
After buying ingredients and cooking them, he realizes that it does not taste really good, puts the leftovers in the fridge and starts ordering pizza again.
As they go bad, he first throws away the leftovers and later the unused ingredients.
After some months he is motivated again to cook more and the loop repeats.

The name of the strip indicates that a lesson can be learned here.

The title text describes that buying ingredients for a single meal might be more expensive than eating at a restaurant, but it would be compensated if there are enough leftovers to eat again from it or cook several meals.
Of course, this idea is vitiated if he gives up cooking after a single try and throws away all remaining food.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]

:I should cook more! -> Buy ingredients -> Put some in a pan -> Cook -> Does it taste good? -> (arrows marked "Kinda" and "No" both lead to) Put leftovers in fridge -> (hours pass) -> Order pizza -> (days pass) -> Throw away leftovers -> (weeks pass) -> Throw away remaining ingredients as they go bad -> (months pass) -> (arrow leads back to beginning)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

Talk:848: 3D

2013-08-03T23:50:07Z

108.28.72.186: Created page with "As of August 3, 2013, the title text has not been explained. Could someone explain it, please?~~~~"

As of August 3, 2013, the title text has not been explained. Could someone explain it, please?[[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 23:50, 3 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:841: Audiophiles

2013-08-03T19:29:17Z

108.28.72.186:

I find that once you have a set of good headphones, that's all you really need. The difference between crappy laptop speakers and a 200$ set of gaming headphones is massive, but the gap between a 200$ set of headphones and a 400$ set of headphones is a bit of padding and a marginally nicer sound. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:56, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

That must not be the girl from [[586]] 19:54, 22 July 2013 (UTC)

-- It could be her; maybe Cueball finally "got some culture" in her.

838: Incident

2013-08-03T19:20:40Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ Jesus was a historic figure, and his birthday is celebrated on that date, regardless of accuracy. This is similar to "observing" someone's birthday a day or two later.

{{comic
| number = 838
| date = December 24, 2010
| title = Incident
| image = incident.png
| titletext = He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he's copied on /var/spool/mail/root, so be good for goodness' sake.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic was fittingly posted on Christmas Eve in the United States. Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25.

In this comic, [[Rob]] is on a Linux computer and tried to change his user account from his normal access to the access of a super user by using the command "sudo su". Sudo is a famous phrase in xkcd lore, made famous by comic [[149: Sandwich]]. When Rob is unable to use "sudo" because his account is not authorized, the system says that the incident "will be reported".

In the comic, sudo and the system report the incidents to Santa Claus, who in Christmas lore makes a list of who is naughty and who is nice. If you are nice, you get presents, if you are naughty, you get a lump of coal. When sudo reports to Santa that Rob's account is not authorized, he puts Rob on the naughty list.

In the image text, which is a parody of the famous Christmas song, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", /var/spool/mail/root is the root/superuser Inbox on a Linux system.

==Transcript==
:[Rob is sitting at a computer. The computer's prompt is shown.]
:robm@homebox~$ sudo su
:Password:
:robm is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
:robm@homebox~$
:
:[A second person approaches.]
:Rob: Hey -- who does sudo report these "incidents" to?
:Second person: You know, I've never checked.
:
:[Santa Claus is sitting at a desk supported by candy canes, with a red monitor. On the wall are two lists labeled 'naughty' and 'nice'. He is adding a name to the 'naughty' list.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Linux]]

Talk:806: Tech Support

2013-08-02T01:10:34Z

108.28.72.186:

Actually, a shibboleth's meaning is more complex. It's actually a phrase or principle that distinguishes a group of people and can be used to identify people foreign to said group. For example, in WWII, words with lots of L's were used as a shibboleth to identify Japanese spies, as many Japanese pronounce their L's as R's. [[Special:Contributions/67.85.230.8|67.85.230.8]] 04:06, 23 December 2012 (UTC)Liz

As such, the term has been modernized to have the meaning of "password". [[Special:Contributions/194.106.220.85|194.106.220.85]] 13:09, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

The "bearded dude with swords" is probably Richard Stallman. See 225 and 344. [[Special:Contributions/84.137.219.112|84.137.219.112]] 22:39, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

This comic perfectly illustrates why I prefer nightmares over dreams in which things are better than in real life. Truthfully!

Talk:793: Physicists

2013-08-02T00:45:23Z

108.28.72.186: Created page with "And thus, the character of Sheldon Cooper was born..."

And thus, the character of Sheldon Cooper was born...

Talk:792: Password Reuse

2013-08-02T00:39:47Z

108.28.72.186:

And now it turns out that Google gives our data to NSA....sigh. [[Special:Contributions/24.7.241.154|24.7.241.154]] 07:58, 11 June 2013 (UTC)Monica

What happened in March of 1997? [[User:MR|MR]] ([[User talk:MR|talk]]) 18:23, 4 April 2013 (UTC)MR

Hi! After consulting Wikipedia's article about March 1997 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997), I think there are two main incidents Black Hat could refer to:
*The '''Phoenix Lights''', a group of supposed UFOs, turned out to be probably military aircrafts.
*The mass suicide committed by 39 '''Heaven's Gate''' cultists.
Since we know little about Black Hat's life in 1997, we could argue that he was expecting an extra-terrestrial contact or that he was attracted by the ideas of that creed - and that the disillusion brought him his present disbelief in things.
Of course those are just hypotheses, and don't seem to fit the character as we know him...[[User:Inverno1407|Inverno1407]] ([[User talk:Inverno1407|talk]]) 11:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

----
: 
:"In the conclusion, Black Hat reveals that the only thing he's doing with all his hacked user accounts is to post slightly inaccurate content on Wiki sites."

This paragraph has been present since this explanation was added. I can't see how it is arrived at from the comic. (So I wonder who [[User:148.87.67.212]] might have been...) [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 14:10, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I removed some slightly inaccurate content from this wiki. It was the bit about Black Hat posting slightly inaccurate content on wiki sites.[[Special:Contributions/86.40.93.217|86.40.93.217]] 00:33, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
----
How does this compare in light of [[792:_Password_Reuse|792:Password Reuse]]? [[User:Saibot84|Saibot84]] ([[User talk:Saibot84|talk]]) 05:06, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

The "March 1997" issue is still a mystery to me. May be a global computer virus attack? I will go through all days on wikipedia. The month summery presents not the solution.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:27, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Conisdering how blackhat loves messing with people, I seriously doubt anything at all hapened in March 1997. He's just messing with us! [[Special:Contributions/189.5.106.228|189.5.106.228]] 02:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

Oooo, I dunno. Given Black Hat's odd tastes, *anything* from March 1997 could have caused him to lose his faith: Paul McCartney being knighted, Tom Cruise winning an Oscar, the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments on Internet Indecency, India's Ministry of Charity choosing a successor to Mother Theresa, Gene Roddenberry's ashes going into orbit, the Brazil Senate finally allowing women members to wear slacks... Anything!! [[http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1997/march]]

772: Frogger

2013-08-01T01:54:15Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ The comic is American, so please use American terminology. Not that we don't know what "lorries" are; it's just polite.

{{comic
| number = 772
| date = July 28, 2010
| title = Frogger
| image = frogger.png
| titletext = I understand you and your team worked hard on this, but when we said to make it more realistic, we meant the graphics.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Frogger}} is a classic video game introduced in 1981. The aim of the game is to safely get a frog across a busy road and a river to a lily pad at the top of the screen. The title text reveals that a team of programmers misinterpreted a task to make the game "more realistic," and made the trucks swerve to avoid the (realistically) car-sized frog, causing a pile up, instead of moving at a constant rate in straight lines.

Perhaps Randall was inspired by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2gow415F5k this video].

==Transcript==
:[Frogger is standing by the side of the road, looking out into traffic, which includes several semis and a couple of sedans.]

:[Frogger hops out in front of a semi.]
:''hop''

:[The semi swerves into the next lane, in front of one of the sedans.]

:[They collide, the sedan crumpling into the cab of the truck.]
:''BOOM''

:[Smoke pours from the two wrecked vehicles. Frogger hops back to the side of the road.]
:''hop''
:Bystander (off-panel): Oh god!
:Other Bystander (off-panel): Someone call 911!
:Another Bystander (off-panel): Mom!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

770: All the Girls

2013-08-01T01:48:35Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ GAH!!!

{{comic
| number = 770
| date = July 23, 2010
| title = All the Girls
| image = all the girls.png
| titletext = You know that I'll never leave you. Not as long as she's with someone.
}}

==Explanation==
A young couple ([[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]) are in love. In the first panel, Cueball says he's lucky to have Megan, a perfectly fine thing to say to someone when you're in love. In the second panel, Cueball tells Megan he loves her most out of all the girls in the world, which is again a perfectly fine thing to say when you're in love. Trouble sets in, however, in the third panel, where Cueball offers his qualifying statement, that he loves Megan the most of the subset of girls who also love Cueball back.

Now, on its surface it would appear that Cueball is making a hollow statement, in that the subset of girls who love him back must be smaller than the set of all the girls in the world, and we assume, because we are nerds, that that subset is probably only a few girls in size. To be optimistic, though, presume that Cueball, due to his smooth head and sentimental heart, is loved by nearly all the girls in the world, and so his sentiment is still very sweet.

The title text, however, crushes any optimism one might have in the situation. Written in Cueball's voice, we have another compliment/qualifier pair. Cueball assures Megan that he'll never leave her—so long as she's with someone. Cueball clearly has an unrequited love for another, and so really is being as shitty as we all thought he was originally. The world can be a cruel place.

It's also most likely a reference to the {{w|stable marriage problem}}, which is usually stated as: Given ''n'' men and ''n'' women, can they all be married off in such a way that there is no possible "adulterous" pairing that both the man and woman would prefer over their current partner? It turns out the answer is yes, and there are even algorithms that can be used to find such a set of marriages. However, such algorithms don't usually give people their first choice, just their first choice among potential partners who prefer them to all the alternatives. The algorithms also favor either the men or the women, so one side will typically get closer to their ideal preferences than the other. Such algorithms do get in used in situations like assigning medical students to residencies (technically it's a polygamous generalization, but it's basically the same idea), in which case it's biased in favor of the medical students.

In the comic [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] appear to be a couple arranged through a stable marriage algorithm. In most cases that would mean that they both have potential partners that they would prefer over the one they're with, and the only reason that they aren't with that person is that their love was unrequited. That leaves both of them with a certain amount of emotional baggage that most people would consider detrimental to stable marriage. In short, while a stable marriage algorithm may provide good solutions to certain matching problems, it may not be the best way to produce actual stable marriages.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing together.]
:Cueball: I'm so lucky to have you.

:Cueball: I love you most out of all the girls in all the world

:[They embrace.]
:Cueball: who love me back.

==Trivia==
*In [[explain xkcd]] lore, the blog explanation of this comic was the first time the name [[Cueball]] was used. Berg also called [[Megan]] "Cutie" but it was later found that she was referred to by name in comic.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]

761: DFS

2013-08-01T00:53:51Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ Corrected explanation; also fixed grammar.

{{comic
| number = 761
| date = July 2, 2010
| title = DFS
| image = dfs.png
| titletext = A breadth-first search makes a lot of sense for dating in general, actually; it suggests dating a bunch of people casually before getting serious, rather than having a series of five-year relationships one after the other.
}}

==Explanation==
When doing a blind search in computing, there are two main tactics - {{w|depth-first search}}, and {{w|breadth-first search}}. Depth-first search, as indicated in the comic, means going as far as you possibly can before looking at other possibilities. This turns out to be a bad idea: instead of preparing for his date, as he should have been doing, he instead spent the whole time doing research on snake venom, to the exclusion of even getting dressed. By contrast, a breadth-first search will look only minimally into a topic before moving on to another; any new depth exposed by this minimal check will be added to a list of stuff to do later. This would have allowed the man to briefly check many more things within the time allotted, and probably still have been able to get dressed.

{{w|Median lethal dose|LD50}}, or median lethal dose, is the dose of a toxin required to kill 50% of the population studied, usually expressed in milligrams of toxin per kilogram of body mass. The {{w|inland taipan}}'s venom does, indeed, have highest median lethal dose among snake venoms. (Fortunately, it is extremely shy in temperament, and will always escape danger rather than bite if it can, which is why it isn't considered to be a particularly dangerous snake.) Incidentally, corn snakes and garter snakes are not even remotely dangerous to humans (in fact they're the most popular pet snakes), and of the four different species commonly known as "copperheads," the only dangerously venomous one is ''{{w|Deinagkistrodon acutus}}'' or sharp-nosed viper.

The relationship advice given in the title text should probably not be taken too seriously, even though one might be more sure about what kind of person one is looking for after already having dated a few people.

==Transcript==
:Preparing for a date:

:[A man with wet hair and a towel around his waist thinks with his hand to his chin.]
:Man: What situations might I prepare for? 1) medical emergency, 2) dancing, 3) food too expensive...

:[Close-up on man's face.]
:Man: Okay, what kind of emergencies can happen? 1)A) snakebite, B) lightning strike, C) fall from chair...

:[Still thinking...]
:Man: Hmm. Which snakes are dangerous? Let's see... 1)A)a) Corn Snake? b) Garter Snake? c) Copperhead?

:[Sits down in a chair with a laptop, still wearing towel.]
:Man: The research comparing snake venoms is scattered and inconsistent. I'll make a spreadsheet to organize it.

:[Bottom panel is larger than top four, and aligned to right.]
:[Ponytail meets the man on his front stoop. She is carrying a purse, and looks down at his towel. The man holds his arms in the air triumphantly.]
:Ponytail: I'm here to pick you up. You're not dressed?
:Man: By LD50, the Inland Taipan has the deadliest venom of ANY snake!

:Caption: I really need to stop using depth-first searches.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Romance]]

702: Snow Tracking

2013-07-30T03:13:30Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ Made Higgs Boson reference more accurate.

{{comic
| number = 702
| date = February 15, 2010
| title = Snow Tracking
| image = snow_tracking.png
| titletext = I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:

*"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.

*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is an internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).

*Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.

*The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame.

*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character by the same name in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was able to walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.

*The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.

*The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to the comic strip ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}''. In it, Calvin would crawl in a cardboard box to do various things. When upside down, he pretended the box was a "transmogrifier" and could turn him into something else, in this case his tiger Hobbes, whereas when on its side, the box was a duplicator and could produce multiple clones of Calvin.

*{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]

*The final frame is the {{w|Higgs Boson}} which is an {{w|elementary particle}} which, at the time this strip was posted, had not yet been detected. (It was tentatively detected in March 2013 in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}.)

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE

:[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]

:[Standard paw prints through the snow.]
:CAT

:[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]
:MOOSE AND SQUIRREL

:[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]
:LONGCAT

:[Two similar careening tire tracks.]
:MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE

:[Longer rodent tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
:RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER

:[No visible tracks.]
:LEGOLAS

:[Single deep holes with cratering.]
:BOBCAT ON POGO STICK

:[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.]
:KNIGHT

:[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]
:KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER

:[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]
:KID WITH DUPLICATOR

:[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]
:Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!
:PRIUS

:[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
:HIGGS BOSON

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]

699: Trimester

2013-07-30T03:02:30Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ Clarified the explanation.

{{comic
| number =699
| date =February 8, 2010
| title =Trimester
| image =trimester.png
| titletext =Also, it's not like anyone actually calls up the Nobel committee to double-check things.
}}

==Explanation==
Some pregnancies are different than others, but a universal truth (except in cases of Cesarean section) is that a baby will always exit a woman's body through the vagina. Cueball is wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard, looking like a doctor, telling Megan that until the second trimester, the baby may decide instead to exit through the anus or mouth. The caption reveals the truth, that Cueball simply bought the lab coat, is not a doctor, and is pranking Megan.

The alt-text implies also that in addition to faking being a doctor, he has also faked being a Nobel laureate, on the logic that people will not choose to verify this claim.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Well, until the second trimester, the baby hasn't decided which opening it will exit through.
:Megan: ''What?''
:Cueball: We'll hope for one of the lower ones, so it won't be fighting gravity.

:Did you know you can just BUY lab coats?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

621: Superlative

2013-07-29T00:54:58Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ Added info on "TF2."

{{comic
| number = 621
| date = August 10, 2009
| title = Superlative
| image = superlative.png
| titletext = Stay while I recount the crazy TF2 kill I managed yesterday, my friends.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic parodies a famous advertisement campaign for the {{w|Dos Equis}} beer brand. In the campaign, {{w|Jonathan Goldsmith}} plays "{{w|The most interesting man in the world}}", a suave elderly gentleman with astonishing abilities and life experiences. The campaign's format generally includes the narrator presenting hyperbolic descriptions of the man's accomplishments, followed by the man delivering his signature catchphrase, "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.", which has been widely adopted as an {{w|internet meme}}.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] impersonates the absolute counterpart to the protagonist of the campaign: the ''least'' interesting man in the world. Unlike the stories in the advertisement, his affairs tend to bore the listeners. Being the generic everyman, he possesses no outstanding capabilities at all. While the original is said to "speak French... in Russian", Cueball seems to have forgotten his French altogether. He also has apparently nothing of interest to tell, either in real life or in his blog. Instead, he will talk away about his weird dreams and his success in video games. Moreover, he is unable to stand too much beer and therefore absolutely ill-qualified to advertise it.

The title text is a reference to the slogan of the campaign "Stay thirsty, my friends." It also references {{w|Team Fortress 2}} (TF2), a multi-platform, multi-player {{w|First-person shooter}} game.

==Transcript==
:He has dreams.
:[Cueball is gesturing to Megan.]
:Cueball: I was in this weird cross between work and my old house...
:Which he'll tell you all about.
:He can speak French.
:Or could in high school, anyway.
:A little.
:Cueball: Man, I knew all these tenses and stuff once.
:His blog has four posts, all apologies for not posting more.
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, typing.]
:Cueball: Sorry, I've been trying to think of stuff to put here.
:He is
:The least interesting man in the world.
:[Cueball is sitting at a table. Megan and Ponytail are paying no attention to him.]
:Cueball: I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I stick to a glass or two. Any more and I feel sick.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Internet]]

618: Asteroid

2013-07-29T00:41:58Z

108.28.72.186: /* Transcript */ Whoops...

{{comic
| number = 618
| date = August 3, 2009
| title = Asteroid
| image = asteroid.png
| titletext = My Deep Impact/Little Prince crossover fanfic has been poorly received by the community.
}}

==Explanation==
The end of the world has been envisioned in many ways. One of the most common is with a {{w|Deep Impact (film)|really}} {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|big}} {{w|Asteroid (film)|rock}} {{w|Meteor (film)|hitting}} {{w|The Day the Sky Exploded|Earth}}. There is an [http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEffects online calculator] for asteroid impacts, but don't worry as any rock that does hit Earth [http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2010/11/04/calculator-shows-effects-of-asteroid-collision-with-earth isn't likely] to kill [http://www.sott.net/article/124099-Catastrophe-Calculator-Estimate-Asteroid-Impact-Effects-Online everyone]. And, as seen in a [[what if?|what-if]] article, [http://what-if.xkcd.com/20/ speed counts too].

The joke here, though, is that, after sending up a robot to blow the asteroid to smithereens, said rock is actually the home of {{w|The Little Prince|the Little Prince}} from the wildly famous tale by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. To save our world, we must destroy his. And probably the prince along with it. If the only way to save our species is by killing off another species, is the act still ethical? In none of the world-destroying asteroid stories were said rocks actually home to intelligent life. Or any life, for that matter. A second joke that can be seen is that in sad movies the "heroic" mission always involves humans in some way imperiling themselves to save humanity, rather than, say, staying safely at home and using a robotic rover to do all the dangerous stuff.

The title text is a reference to the 1998 asteroid movie {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}. "Crossover" is a term used to refer to a technique of taking two independent (and usually already existing) stories and creating a scene or short story in which characters from both worlds collide and interact with each other. Or, in other words, characters from one story "crossover" into the second. Fanfic is short for {{w|fanfic|Fan Fiction}}, e.g. a fictional story written by someone who loves a particular story/series/idea so much they wanted to write their own tale about it (or one who hated said story so much they felt compelled to fix it). It suggests that most people were either unwilling to play a game involving build asteroids to destroy the earth, or watch a movie of people nuking miniature kingdoms to save civilization. A tough entertainment call any day.

==Transcript==
:[The panel appears like a news report.]
:[There is a diagram of an asteroid's trajectory path with Earth in the path, captioned 'Breaking news']
::News-anchor: ''Astronomers have confirmed that the asteroid is headed for Earth.''

::News-anchor: ''NASA has launched a heroic mission to land a rover on the asteroid, drill into it, and destroy it with nuclear bombs.''
:[The picture of the rocket fills the panel. In an inset picture is the rover.]

:[A woman is sitting at an interface. A man stands next to it. Both are wearing headsets with microphones.]
::Woman with headset: ''The robot has landed successfully and planted the nukes! We're saved!''
::Man with headset: ''Hooray!''
::Voice: ''We're heroes!''

:[Digital countdown.]
::0:05...
::0:04...
::0:03...
:[The Little Prince is looking at the NASA rover, which has drilled into the asteroid. Beside him is the rose, and a small volcano.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

618: Asteroid

2013-07-29T00:41:08Z

108.28.72.186: /* Transcript */ Fixed picture description.

{{comic
| number = 618
| date = August 3, 2009
| title = Asteroid
| image = asteroid.png
| titletext = My Deep Impact/Little Prince crossover fanfic has been poorly received by the community.
}}

==Explanation==
The end of the world has been envisioned in many ways. One of the most common is with a {{w|Deep Impact (film)|really}} {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|big}} {{w|Asteroid (film)|rock}} {{w|Meteor (film)|hitting}} {{w|The Day the Sky Exploded|Earth}}. There is an [http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEffects online calculator] for asteroid impacts, but don't worry as any rock that does hit Earth [http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2010/11/04/calculator-shows-effects-of-asteroid-collision-with-earth isn't likely] to kill [http://www.sott.net/article/124099-Catastrophe-Calculator-Estimate-Asteroid-Impact-Effects-Online everyone]. And, as seen in a [[what if?|what-if]] article, [http://what-if.xkcd.com/20/ speed counts too].

The joke here, though, is that, after sending up a robot to blow the asteroid to smithereens, said rock is actually the home of {{w|The Little Prince|the Little Prince}} from the wildly famous tale by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. To save our world, we must destroy his. And probably the prince along with it. If the only way to save our species is by killing off another species, is the act still ethical? In none of the world-destroying asteroid stories were said rocks actually home to intelligent life. Or any life, for that matter. A second joke that can be seen is that in sad movies the "heroic" mission always involves humans in some way imperiling themselves to save humanity, rather than, say, staying safely at home and using a robotic rover to do all the dangerous stuff.

The title text is a reference to the 1998 asteroid movie {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}. "Crossover" is a term used to refer to a technique of taking two independent (and usually already existing) stories and creating a scene or short story in which characters from both worlds collide and interact with each other. Or, in other words, characters from one story "crossover" into the second. Fanfic is short for {{w|fanfic|Fan Fiction}}, e.g. a fictional story written by someone who loves a particular story/series/idea so much they wanted to write their own tale about it (or one who hated said story so much they felt compelled to fix it). It suggests that most people were either unwilling to play a game involving build asteroids to destroy the earth, or watch a movie of people nuking miniature kingdoms to save civilization. A tough entertainment call any day.

==Transcript==
:[The panel appears like a news report.]
:[There is a diagram of a comet's trajectory path with Earth in the path, captioned 'Breaking news']
::News-anchor: ''Astronomers have confirmed that the asteroid is headed for Earth.''

::News-anchor: ''NASA has launched a heroic mission to land a rover on the asteroid, drill into it, and destroy it with nuclear bombs.''
:[The picture of the rocket fills the panel. In an inset picture is the rover.]

:[A woman is sitting at an interface. A man stands next to it. Both are wearing headsets with microphones.]
::Woman with headset: ''The robot has landed successfully and planted the nukes! We're saved!''
::Man with headset: ''Hooray!''
::Voice: ''We're heroes!''

:[Digital countdown.]
::0:05...
::0:04...
::0:03...
:[The Little Prince is looking at the NASA rover, which has drilled into the asteroid. Beside him is the rose, and a small volcano.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

603: Idiocracy

2013-07-28T19:33:45Z

108.28.72.186: /* Explanation */ The comic is written in American English with American spelling, so this page should follow.

{{comic
| number = 603
| date = June 29, 2009
| title = Idiocracy
| image = idiocracy.png
| titletext = People aren't going to change, for better or for worse. Technology's going to be so cool. All in all, the future will be okay! Except climate; we fucked that one up.
}}

==Explanation==
The title of this comic is a reference to the dystopian comedy ''{{w|Idiocracy}}''. The film postulates that over about 500 years, society will suffer from a massive decrease in intellectual potential. This development is attributed to the fact that people with a lower IQ are believed to be more fertile and thus better able to pass on their genes. The scientifical approach towards a negative correlation between intelligence and fertility is called {{w|dysgenics|intelligence dysgenics}}.

In the comic, Cueball professes his approval for the theories represented in the film. [[White Hat]] agrees with him at first, lamenting the menacing decay in intelligence and education.

It is the revealed however, that White Hat does not at all assent to the dysgenic thesis. Instead, he denies any basis for such assumptions. He then accuses Cueball of a quasi religious conceitedness. He states that, through all times, self-professed moralists condemning societal decay were in fact more harmful to society than decay itself.

Cueball tries to reason that a {{w|birth control program}} would be the solution, but he is cut short by White Hat, who leaves with the remark that reproducing with a stupid person is absolutely preferable to reproducing with a stupid and conceited person like Cueball.

Cueballs suggestion of birth control might perhaps indeed indicate that he is considering himself superior to others, while not seeing his own deficiencies. The comic therefore links the phenomenon of radical moralism to the {{w|Dunning-Kruger effect}}.

The thesis that there is in fact no such thing as societal decline can also be found in the title text. It is suggested there that both human capabilities and defects will remain the same, while technology progresses. However, a rather gloomy outlook is given with regard to climate change.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball looking at a DVD cover. Guy with a white hat standing next to him.]
:Cueball: ''Idiocracy'' is so true.
:White Hat: I know, right? It used to be that the intelligent, upper classes had more children.

:White Hat: Sadly, the recent reversal of this trend has dragged IQ scores and average education steadily downward.
:Cueball: Depressing, huh?

:White Hat: Yeah, except everything I just said was wrong.
:Cueball: Huh?
:White Hat: Wrong. False. The opposite of true.

:White Hat: Your'e like the religious zealots who are burdened by their superiority with the sad duty of decrying the obvious moral decay of each new generation.
:White Hat: And you're just as wrong.
:Cueball: But look at how popular--
:White Hat: More harm has been done by people panicked over societal decline than societal decline ever did.

:Cueball: Look -- all we need is a program that limits breeding to--
:[White Hat is walking off panel.]
:White Hat: New theory: Stupid people reproduce more because the alternative is sleeping with you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat‏‎]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]