explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1493: Meeting

2015-08-06T20:33:53Z

141.101.75.53:

It's been registered since [http://who.is/whois/http://companyname.website November], just what the hell was Randall planning on doing with this site four months ago? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 05:32, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:He's said before that he buys domains and holds them until he finds a use. Maybe this was one of those? {{unsigned|Mikemk}}
::Just went to the site. It redirects to xkcd.com [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.171|108.162.238.171]] 16:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I know another webcomic artist who upgrades daily and currently has a three-month buffer (comics drawn ahead until early June of this year). Maybe Randall also has a buffer, and this cartoon was originally drawn in November and has been waiting in the buffer ever since.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.191|108.162.216.191]] 03:15, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

I want to know what that "physically cannot die" thing is about. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.179}}
:Let's see... mystical powers check. Immortality check. If he weren't so naive and clueless, I'd think Beret Guy is supposed to represent God. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:54, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
::The phrase that comes to mind is "Quantum Immortality", although that doesn't seem to produce what I want from a web-searth, so perhaps I've got the term wrong. Basically, at every point where a quantum-level decision leads (immediately or eventually) to death or life for an individual, we only follow the probability path (in a many-worlds type scenario) that leads towards life. The fully observed "living cat" in Schrödinger's experiment, each and every time you try the experiment, so to say. Forever, given that accidents can be avoided by taking a different route home, serious diseases can be avoided by not catching them, physical aging/illness can (probably!) be avoided by not accumulating various nasty biological copy-errors (not sure what happens with mental processes, even assuming the physical impediments to brain function (such as plaques) are already dealt with, but let's assume that there's a "best result" in this life-path, also). Call it "life save-scumming", perhaps. Given how White Hat seems to have a charmed life, it would certain explain how things things seem to always turn out for the better (and more interesting, in a nice way) for him. Though obviously there's also a "many worlds" White Hat company board that has been this 'lucky' so far but ''now'' finds that their offices get struck by a de-orbitting bit of space-debris, against all odds. (Not that we'd follow them. We'd be more likely to see the versions that had built/rented their offices fifty yards further down the street, thus avoiding that fate.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.181|141.101.98.181]] 11:50, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
: That which can eternal lie, can not die.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 16:25, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:Remember that this is Beret Guy we're talking about. They may actually be unable to die. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 19:54, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I have a feeling that it's from Beret Guy's mystic powers, that maybe he actually can't die. In that case, while the other two "strengths" are pretty useless, Immortality easily makes up for them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.187|108.162.249.187]] 07:54, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

Ok I may be way off base here but could it be possible that he is referencing the show Helix? In the show there is a group of immortals who formed a corporation name Ilaria and it's not clear how they make their money. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.85}}

Now that we have [[1032|three]] [[1293|comics]] on the subject ([[1021|arguably]] [[1117|more]]), should we have a Category:Beret Guy's Business? '''''[[User:LockmanCapulet|LockmanCapulet]][[User talk:LockmanCapulet| I plead the third!]]''''' 08:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:Done :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 16:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I added the two other pages to the category, but then realised that the wiki was getting confused about slight character differences (’:U+2019 vs ':U+0027) so I set up a redirect and now Category:Beret_Guy’s_Business (broken link to keep this page out of the cat) contains its self? Halp (although it does seem fitting of how Beret Guy frequently bends the laws of physics). [[User:Pixali|Pixali]] ([[User talk:Pixali|talk]]) 23:52, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Could the immoralitly refer to the whole "corporations as a legal person" thing? [[User:CDave]]

I think 'beetle' might refer to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_New_Beetle VW Beetle] given that they're talking about cars. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.54|108.162.254.54]] 09:00, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I doubt it, because it was in the hall. Probably a literal beetle. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.119|108.162.217.119]] 16:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
::Just because they were talking about a car earlier doesn't mean they're still talking about a car. I suspect he's talking about the insect. Adding a layer about Volkswagen into the joke just doesn't seem funny enough. I think the line claiming it could be a Volkswagen should be removed from the explanation. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.38|199.27.133.38]] 18:52, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Could this be an intentional parody of Randall's own business model for xkcd? Since, beyond the store and his book he hardly operates as a standard business, but people just keep giving him money to do what he does anyway. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.21}}

Is the "cool red beetle" a ladybug? Would be consistent with Beret Guy not knowing many common nouns. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:42, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

To be fair, corporations aren't really immortal, in much the same way a football team isn't. The team, of course, is constantly changing out its members, and in this sense can remain vigorous long beyond the lifespan of an ordinary human. But corporations are vulnerable to the fatal flaw of being utterly dependent on engaging the interest of quite a lot of people during their whole lifespan. Football needs players, investors, managers and coaches, children playing and learning the game in the decades leading up to league level play - not to mention millions of fans. If any of those groups lose interest, the whole enterprise evaporates, practically overnight. So the chief concern of corporations, even above profits, is to convince large groups of people to engage them, as buyers, workers, suppliers and so on. I am not sure how aware they are of this, nor am I sure I want them aware of it, but that's what it boils down to. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.84|108.162.242.84]] 16:38, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

I thought "State Police" (probably Highway Patrol) was a reference to a police car chase. Usually police chase cars to stop them for violating laws. This time the police chased a car just to stop it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.121|108.162.210.121]] 22:53, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I was under the assumption that the car was being chased down for some kind of violation. The statement "Has come to an end about 90 miles out of town" is the kind of thing you'd have in a news report describing the events of a real police chase. Of course, for Beret Guy, it looks like it was more or less a successful test. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.187|108.162.249.187]] 07:54, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

I remembered the mysterious apple car spotted weeks ago, that "launched" by accident the company's self-driving car project rumors. [[User:Nantunes|Nantunes]] ([[User talk:Nantunes|talk]]) 13:40, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

It looks like Beret Guy turns into a child in the last panel . . . doesn't it? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 19:52, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

Aren't the "three main strengths" a reference to the Spanish Inquisition?[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.47|188.114.110.47]] 21:54, 3 March 2015 (UTC)
:No. The part of the Spanish Inquisition sketches you're talking about have the Inquisitor saying more things than he's said at the start ("Our chief weapon is surprise and fear- Our two weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency-" and so on). This is just a list of silly things. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 00:32, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

I assumed the self-driving car was more along Toyota and the accelerator being stuck, or something like that. A runaway car. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.76|108.162.216.76]] 01:59, 4 March 2015 (UTC)
:I also take it that it was a runaway car. I imagine a scene where all the people in the carpool jump out of the car while it's driving at high speed, just to see how far it will "drive itself". Saibot84 21:50, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

Just a random headcanon on this, but I get the feeling that CompanyName.Website's "web-facing chairs" are chairs pointed at actual spiderwebs. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.179|199.27.128.179]] 10:49, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Is it possible that Beret Guys business is a money manufacturing facility?as in place that prints money?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.53|141.101.75.53]] 20:33, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T06:42:49Z

141.101.75.53: added a bit more to the transcript

{{comic
| number = 1512
| date = April 15, 2015
| title = Horoscopes
| image = horoscopes.png
| titletext = If you live in the Northern hemisphere, anyway. In the southern hemisphere, due to the coriolis effect, babies are born nine months BEFORE they're conceived.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Page is a stub}}

Horoscopes are star things in some religions to predict the future. This comic uses them instead to predict the past

==Transcript==
:HOROSCOPES
:whit an actual basis in fact
:Aries: You may have been conceived after a 4th of July fireworks show
:Taurus: You may have been conceived on a hot August day
:Gemini: You may have been conceived as the leaves began to change
:Cancer: You may have been conceived by people trying on constumes
:Leo: You may have been conceived during thanksgiving
:Virgo: You may have been conceived while a Christmas song played
:Libra: You may have been conceived after a new year's eve party
:Scorpio: You may have been conceived by people stuck inside after a long winter
:Sagittarius: You may have been conceived during March maddness
:Capricorn: You may have been conceived during a sexy Easter Egg hunt
:Aquarius: You may have been conceived on Mother's day
:Pisces: You may have been conceived at someone's wedding
{{comic discussion}}

1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T06:36:57Z

141.101.75.53: adding transcript text, but probably not in the right form

{{comic
| number = 1512
| date = April 15, 2015
| title = Horoscopes
| image = horoscopes.png
| titletext = If you live in the Northern hemisphere, anyway. In the southern hemisphere, due to the coriolis effect, babies are born nine months BEFORE they're conceived.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:Aries: You may have been conceived after a 4th of July fireworks show
:Taurus: You may have been conceived on a hot August day
:Gemini: You may have been conceived as the leaves began to change
:Cancer: You may have been conceived by people trying on constumes
:Leo: You may have been conceived during thanksgiving
:Virgo: You may have been conceived while a Christmas song played
:Libra: You may have been conceived after a new year's eve party
:Scorpio: You may have been conceived by people stuck inside after a long winter
:Sagittarius: You may have been conceived during March maddness
:Capricorn: You may have been conceived during a sexy Easter Egg hunt
:Aquarius: You may have been conceived on Mother's day
:Pisces: You may have been conceived at someone's wedding
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1503: Squirrel Plan

2015-03-25T22:07:55Z

141.101.75.53:

Reminds me of the Ice Age squirrel [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:Also reminiscent of the star wars scene in Kingmen [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 06:16, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
::Um ya, like why didn't those balloons have a pressure release valve instead of blowing up? A relatively cheap device could have aided that character immensely.[[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 12:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:::Clunky prototype? (And/or they want the maximum amount of elevation. Any presseure release valve would give a safe(r) ceiling of operation lower than the "just before the pop" one they theoretically have, as is. It's still a design-flaw, though, if there's no effective warning of balloon failure, and you're now left swinging on the other, on-the-edge-of-failing, one. And now with only half the lift. Yeah, clunky. Yeah, I've thought about this a little, already.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 13:06, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
::::Though as soon as the first balloon popped you'd start loosing altitude - due to half of your lift disappearing. So the question comes up - '''how did the second balloon pop'''? ;) And as a side note - if you catch the pan around the control room right after our hero dispatches the nerd villain, you'll see a corpse with a head. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:27, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:::::'''Obviously there was a squirrel...''' ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 21:40, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
I think the squirrels are just a vehicle for the joke, which is poking fun at "obvious" conclusions based on personal beliefs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 06:48, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
:Absolutely - the current first line of explanation fails, as squirrels being stupid is not a joke. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.49|141.101.99.49]] 07:18, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
"...due to the expansion of the acorns inside." I love you guys. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.89|141.101.104.89]] 07:57, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
: We know [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.39|108.162.216.39]] 08:54, 25 March 2015 (UTC)BK201

This comic puts me in mind of the simplistic plot points and devices of a lot of modern scifi movies ... poking fun at them the same way as "Scorcher" from Tropic Thunder does ...--[[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.38|198.41.239.38]] 09:30, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd say the squirrels are a stand-in for ancient humans. Their understanding of the world and what is obvious reflects their pre-scientific state of knowledge. Their interests as squirrels have affected their conclusions, just as humans have projected their interests on what they interpret the sun to be (source of acorns instead of a sun god). I'm pretty sure the "halfway to the sun" part refers to a point where they think they're halfway but probably aren't even close to leaving the atmosphere, drawing parallels again to ancient human assumptions (the sun and moon are small orbs that are just high in the sky). {{unsigned ip|108.162.225.80}}
: Alternatively, it might be referring to people assuming the sun is golden in some literal fashion. What else could the sun be made of, if it's so gloriously radiant and stuff? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 13:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. Or possibly replace "ancient" with "superstitious" - or even nothing at all for that matter to apply to humans in general - and I'll agree with you even more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.70|141.101.80.70]] 09:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I think it's also worth mentioning that the real sun is "full of" hydrogen and helium. The same is true for real squirrel lifting balloons.{{unsigned ip|108.162.230.161}}

It's possible that the comic is a commentary on the human condition, constantly reaching out for some grand goal, that is both unreachable, and even if reached is shown to be far less grand then previously thought. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.237|108.162.210.237]] 15:26, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I don't think the squirrel in the picture is actually halfway to the sun. I think the title text is a hypothetical future event, and that the description is overthinking things. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.106|108.162.216.106]] 16:50, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Is it a possibility that the squirrels represent the government or similar entity?

Not quite sure i like the explanation about acorns obviously not being able to contribute to flying. Not because i think they can, but because the exact same argument could be used for a jet engine on a plane as those are also heavy.