explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1156: Conditioning

2013-01-04T22:42:14Z

131.164.210.8: rv. "operant conditioning" was correct here - see the actual WP articles

{{comic
| number = 1156
| date = January 4, 2013
| title = Conditioning
| image = conditioning.png
| titletext = 'Why are you standing in the yard wearing a papal hat and a robe covered in seeds?' 'Well, the Pope is visiting our town next month ...'
}}

==Explanation==
Herein, the author devises a method of addressing the issue of drivers who turn up their music to irritating levels which usually results in a lot of bass coming from the car - the low frequencies being the ones that most easily penetrate the car and travel further, thus being more audible to those around the car.

As the title suggests, the idea is to {{w|Classical conditioning|condition}} animals to respond to a thumping bass. The machine would work as follows: every few hours, the bass would turn on, and the box would dispense food behind an opening designed to look like an open car window. Over time, local wildlife would flock to the box to get the food from inside, and would soon realise that the bread crumbs are dispensed only after the subwoofer is activated. Eventually, the animals would associate a thumping bass with food, and would approach such a noise in groups.

The end result would be that the local wildlife would approach ,and presumably attempt to enter, any car that has that same thumping bass. Drivers, in turn, would cease to turn up their music in order to prevent the groups of animals from chasing after their cars, thus solving the problem of annoyingly loud bass. This behavior modification can itself be seen as a {{w|Operant conditioning|somewhat different form of conditioning}}.

The title text is a dialogue about using a similar method of conditioning to send animals after the Pope.

==Transcript==
:Every few hours, subwoofer plays throbbing bass for 10 seconds... (with arrow pointing to subwoofer)
:...then bread crumbs are dispensed into box (with arrow pointing to bread feeder machine)
:Opening (with arrow pointing to feeder opening shaped like a driver side car window)
:Local wildlife (with arrows pointing to birds and a squirrel)
:Protip: Leave this device in your yard for a week, then watch as the problem of loud music from passing cars solves itself.

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

1147: Evolving

2012-12-15T08:46:00Z

131.164.210.8: /* Explanation */ oops

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
In {{w|Pokémon}}, a highly popular game series, the protagonist goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve", the game's term, is a misnomer which [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html earned itself quite some controversy in the past]; in reality, Pokémon "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since, instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes throughout an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." At that point in the game, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing, and the very same text ''"What? Xxx is evolving!"'' is used (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qUwWAMgy3E this video] or {{w|File:Pokemon evolution.png|those screenshots}} for instance). The changes of such a transformation can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic]... [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not].

This comic depicts the "evolution" of bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have ''{{w|Staphylococcus aureus}}'', which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus''"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an anti-biotic. If the bacteria becomes resistant, it means the anti-biotic will not kill the bacteria, and infections become harder to treat. Thus, the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do NOT want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves. [A point of irony is that Pokémon evolution can be prevented (by using an Everstone) or stopped (by pressing the B button in the game controller during evolution) most of the time, especially if there are [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/vigoroth Pokémon that someone does not want to evolve].] The bit about the front lines is that, if a bacteria colony is exposed sufficiently to an antibiotic, those bacteria not killed by the antibiotic demonstrate resistance to the antibiotic, and are able to reproduce in spite of the antibiotic.

''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a very common bacteria (that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing) and is the major cause of staph infections (there are other types of staph bacteria), frequently found in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), which is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

==Transcript==
:[Bacterial cell culture]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus!'''''

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

1147: Evolving

2012-12-15T08:31:35Z

131.164.210.8: /* Transcript */ specific epithet always written in lowercase

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
In {{w|Pokémon}}, a highly popular game series, the protagonist goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve", the game's term, is a misnomer which [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html earned itself quite some controversy in the past]; in reality, Pokémon "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since, instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes throughout an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." At that point in the game, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing, and the very same text ''"What? Xxx is evolving!"'' is used (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qUwWAMgy3E this video] or {{w|File:Pokemon evolution.png|those screenshots}} for instance). The changes of such a transformation can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic]... [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not].

This comic depicts the "evolution" of bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have {{w|''Staphylococcus aureus''}}, which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus''"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an anti-biotic. If the bacteria becomes resistant, it means the anti-biotic will not kill the bacteria, and infections become harder to treat. Thus, the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do NOT want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves. [A point of irony is that Pokémon evolution can be prevented (by using an Everstone) or stopped (by pressing the B button in the game controller during evolution) most of the time, especially if there are [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/vigoroth Pokémon that someone does not want to evolve].] The bit about the front lines is that, if a bacteria colony is exposed sufficiently to an antibiotic, those bacteria not killed by the antibiotic demonstrate resistance to the antibiotic, and are able to reproduce in spite of the antibiotic.

''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a very common bacteria (that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing) and is the major cause of staph infections (there are other types of staph bacteria), frequently found in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), which is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

==Transcript==
:[Bacterial cell culture]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus!'''''

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

1147: Evolving

2012-12-15T08:29:14Z

131.164.210.8: /* Explanation */ minor fixes, especially correct formatting of ''S. aureus'' species name

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
In {{w|Pokémon}}, a highly popular game series, the protagonist goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve", the game's term, is a misnomer which [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html earned itself quite some controversy in the past]; in reality, Pokémon "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since, instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes throughout an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." At that point in the game, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing, and the very same text ''"What? Xxx is evolving!"'' is used (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qUwWAMgy3E this video] or {{w|File:Pokemon evolution.png|those screenshots}} for instance). The changes of such a transformation can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic]... [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not].

This comic depicts the "evolution" of bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have {{w|''Staphylococcus aureus''}}, which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus''"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an anti-biotic. If the bacteria becomes resistant, it means the anti-biotic will not kill the bacteria, and infections become harder to treat. Thus, the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do NOT want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves. [A point of irony is that Pokémon evolution can be prevented (by using an Everstone) or stopped (by pressing the B button in the game controller during evolution) most of the time, especially if there are [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/vigoroth Pokémon that someone does not want to evolve].] The bit about the front lines is that, if a bacteria colony is exposed sufficiently to an antibiotic, those bacteria not killed by the antibiotic demonstrate resistance to the antibiotic, and are able to reproduce in spite of the antibiotic.

''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a very common bacteria (that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing) and is the major cause of staph infections (there are other types of staph bacteria), frequently found in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), which is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

==Transcript==
:[Bacterial cell culture]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus Aureus!'''''

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