explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2827: Brassica

2023-09-15T15:34:04Z

141.101.98.221:

You can also get pretty good mileage from claiming random things (like peaches, corn, or Skittles) are actually a type of berry. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.40|172.69.247.40]] 00:51, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:I've done that with corn before. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.76|172.69.134.76]] 01:32, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:Easier (and often ''more'' accurate than expectations) to suggest that any number of 'berries' are not a berry (but, typically, a {{w|drupe}} or {{w|Aggregate fruit|aggregate druplets/composite/etc}}), or similar with various (most?) type of 'nuts' that really aren't.
:But of course loganberries and most types of pine nut ''are'', indeed, brassicas!{{Actual citation needed}} [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.20|172.71.242.20]] 05:08, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
: You can get even more milage by claiming that _technically_ random berry isn't a berry[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.135|172.71.246.135]] 20:41, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
: The confusion there comes from two different definitions of the word. The culinary term simply means a small edible fruit. The botanical definition is based on how different parts of the flower develop into parts of the fruit, and much of what matches each term doesn't match the other. The botanical term excludes a lot that even has "berry" in its name, like strawberries and blackberries, but includes some things that definitely don't match the culinary term, like bananas. Most people who aren't scientists who work with plants normally think of the culinary term, so basing statements on what matches the botanical term often sounds strange. The same is true for fruits vs vegetables, as vegatable doesn't even have a non-culinary definition, unlike fruit, which has a clear botanical meaning, which includes some things considered vegetables.--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.46|172.71.254.46]] 06:10, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
This is like the ridiculous claims that birds descended from dinosaurs and whales from hippos. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:20, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:What do you mean "ridiculous"? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-became-birds/ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.229|172.70.100.229]] 19:06, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:The poster was using the word "ridiculous" in the usual sense, but they omitted the "ironic" tag. [[User:Kelvin128|Kelvin128]] ([[User talk:Kelvin128|talk]]) 14:30, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
::Well, the <irony>...</irony> element and tags haven't actually been fully supported since HTML Internet Draft 1.2, and I don't think has ever had a MediaWiki markup equivalent. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 15:34, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Do we have a category/tag for "Experts misleading the public" or "Experts manufacturing false facts"? Feels like a common theme. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.121|172.71.22.121]] 10:37, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

''to which many vegetables that we eat belong'' speak for yourself. I'm pretty sure neither tomato nor potato is Brassica oleracea. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:44, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
:But what about the tomahto and potahto? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.143|172.70.90.143]] 05:23, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

2791: Bookshelf Sorting

2023-06-20T22:26:11Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2791
| date = June 19, 2023
| title = Bookshelf Sorting
| image = bookshelf_sorting_2x.png
| imagesize = 425x255px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Of course, I sort all my bookshelves the normal way, alphabetically (by first sentence).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOOKSHELF SORTED THE NORMAL WAY. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Some people like to sort their bookshelves by the visible color of the book's spine, for example by hue to create a rainbow effect. This is pleasing to the eye, but may be unhelpful when [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxmPHLU9oA trying to find a specific book]. Literary enthusiasts (AKA "Book People") frequently dislike this system, because it emphasizes appearance at the expense of making books easy to find. On a philosophical level, treating books as decorations, rather than reading material, upsets many purists. "Book people" are more likely to have a practical system for arranging their books, either by category, genre, title, author name, or some combination of those. For a large library, a more rigorous organizational scheme such as the {{w|Dewey Decimal Classification}} might be used.

Unfortunately, [[Randall]] has found a ''much'' worse method of book organization - instead of sorting the books as discrete units, he has sorted their individual ''pages'' by number. This would require physically separating each book into its individual pages, and then organizing them into groups by page number. This effectively destroys every book, and requires anyone trying to read them to find each individual page (among many pages of the same number), and then replacing it in the correct space after reading. Adding a new book would require individually placing potentially hundreds of pages. Where pages are not numbered, finding their place would be nearly impossible.

Randall's system appears to work by absolute physical page count, including the front and rear covers as 'pages'. All the front covers are on the left side, then the first internal leaf of each book (counted as the second page), then the second internal leaf, etc. This produces repeating patterns of taller and shorter loose-leaf pages, echoing the proportions of each cover, having gathered together a page of the same position in each different book. The back covers are mixed in to whatever group falls after the last internal leaf from the same book, and so are intermixed with pages from longer books. At the end, there are only the last pages of the longest book left, now all uniform in size, and its rear cover.

The caption claims that "book people" get way angrier at this system, likely because it involves physically destroying books, rendering them almost unreadable. People with a strong affinity for books are often upset at volumes being treated with such disrespect.

In the title text Randall claims sorts his bookshelf alphabetically, but by the first '''sentence'''. He describes this as "the normal way", even though the typical practice is to sort books either by title or author.

Sorting by first line was, in fact, a common sorting method before books had titles, known as {{w|Incipit}}. In modern times, however, that method is wildly obsolete, as books are almost always identified by titles, few people memorize the opening lines of their books, and a film titled ''{{w|The Hobbit|In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit}}'' would not receive any funding. However, {{w|papal encyclicals}} are still named after their first words, and thus would be sorted after their first sentence. For example, the encyclical titled ''{{w|Quanta Cura}}'' begins with "''Quanta cura'' ac pastorali vigilantia Romani Pontifices Prædecessores Nostri, exsequentes [...]".

In somewhat similar fashion, the 114 chapters of the {{w|Quran}} are roughly sorted by their length. American church hymnals list hymns by relatively meaningless numbers, but then index them by tune name, text title, first line and meter.

Some books do have very well-known first lines, so sorting by first line could be used to demonstrate a level of literary sophistication on the part of the bookshelf owner, but such could hardly be considered "normal".

==Transcript==
:[A bookshelf hanging on a wall is shown. It is covered almost from left to right but not with ordinary books. To the left there are 11 covers next to each other without any paper between them. They have different heights and shades of gray. After the last of these there follows many leaves of paper of differing heights similarly to that of the covers. The top of the papers thus form a wave shape with more than twenty peaks before they reach another cover. After that there follows similar patterns with paper in different height and then a cover in between more papers. But there is a much shorter distance between the first and second cover than before the first cover, after the initial 11 covers. The next two covers are close to the first, then there is a longer stretch of paper to the fourth, much less to the fifth, and then the next three covers comes very close. There is again quite long distance to the ninth and tenth cover, and here the number of different heights for the paper are clearly less than the previous paper stretches. Finally before the last and 11th cover all the paper, not much of it though, are of the same height, and just a bit lower than the final cover. The 11 covers at the start matches the 11 covers later and they comes in reverse order throughout the paper stretches as they are sorted to begin with, so the first and last cover matches, as does number 2 and the second last etc. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:Book people hate seeing books sorted by colors, but it turns out they get ''way'' more angry if you sort the pages by number.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1761: Blame

2022-06-29T22:06:27Z

141.101.98.221: Undo revision 287836 by 172.70.230.63 (talk) If you aren't the author of a signed comment, don't editorialise on their behalf... Note that "quite" is different in US vs. UK English, also!

This comic is one of Randal's best EVER! It is a scathing and biting commentary on the current angst of a huge swath of liberal and progressive snowflakes.

The first panel sets the stage with a subtle but jarring inversion of the normal human response "bad thing happened >>> I feel sad" to the much more autocentric "I feel sad >>> bad things are happening" Worth a derisive snort in its own right, we can accept this little lapse since we are deluged with so many examples of such self interest from every direction today. Ignoring the little deviation ( never something one should do with xkcd) we accept the lead-in panel as simply saying "bad things are happening"

The second panel is a riff on the "something bad happened therefore someone is to blame" meme of modern Western society - examples such as blame the coffee supplier if one scalds oneself spilling hot coffee, blame the company that grinds up and sells powdered rock for any perceived negative effects of assiduously dusting said powdered rock over ever body orifice and breathing it for thirty years. This is a masterful set up! We now know where the joke is going! Cueball is going to come up with an absurd and funny scapegoat for the bad things happening in panel one! We are ready for the punchline....

But the punchline is not that at all! It is exquisite! The blame is on Cueball's Facebook friends! We hang in the moment of disbelief where our world view must be reset! Then it hits! We realize the the blame is not for "bad things happening" at all - we have been set up, had! The blame is for Cue ball's "Feeling sad"! It is not for all the harm, blood, guts, and gore that are really happening in the world but for the fact that something - his Facebook friends specifically, have caused him to think about these bad things, penetrating his safe bubble and making him sad.

That the "bad things" are more than likely simply the shocked and hurt feelings of Cueball's friends as a result of the recent 2016 election only heightens the joke. No real human suffering is usually openly discussed in the shallows of Facebook. We realize this and the satire is complete.

The mouse over text emphasizes the break from real issues to the relatively shallow feelings (being "scared") and even more shallow and petty response (yelling at them). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.118|108.162.242.118]] 19:42, 20 November 2016 (UTC)

You seem to lack the skill of introspection. It's not the "inversion of normal response" (bad things are happening because I feel sad), it's an observation that I feel sad and the investigation into why that is. [I feel sad. (Why is that?) Bad things are happening. (Why are they?) They must be someone's fault. But whose?] The punchline is that Cueball's conclusion that his Facebook friends are to blame indicates the state of intense frenzy on the site. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.18|172.68.46.18]] 18:43, 10 December 2016 (UTC)

It seems like he's talking about all of the bad things that have happened in 2016 so far making fun of Facebook posts that blame everyone for the things that are happening
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.119|173.245.52.119]] 05:21, 18 November 2016 (UTC)
: In particular the recent election[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.224|108.162.215.224]] 08:16, 18 November 2016 (UTC)
Is this a reference to the "echo chamber" issue raised in recent US election? I.e. blaming my friends on facebook for only sharing stories that reinforce my biases and thus my failure to be fully informed about why people who disagree with me do disagree and only blaming them for being dumb isn't a failing on *my* part, but on my friends' parts for only sharing echo-chamber-y material. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.87|108.162.237.87]] 10:03, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

I definitely think it's worth mentioning that this comic is, while written to be timeless, clearly a reaction to the election. (Randall has endorsed both Obama in 2008 and Clinton this year, and judging by #500, cares more than a little, so it's hard to conceive that this *wouldn't* be about the election.)

There are two types of Facebook activity that may be the target of this satire: 1) engaging in angry arguments with Facebook friends with *differing* political opinions, and 2) making numerous angry posts and comments against the other side, despite the fact that they’ll mainly be seen by *like-minded* people in your social media echo chamber. I expect that this comic is aimed at both: 1) the futility of internet arguments has been a topic before, while 2) the title text specifying “scared friends” clearly indicates like-minded people. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.54|162.158.89.54]] 10:22, 18 November 2016 (UTC)
: Just added the "friends who disagree" to it.
By focusing on blame he has cleverly shifted thinking to Q:"are your friends on Facebook to blame?" A:"probably not as they are almost all likely to have similar views to you" Q:"So why vent anger on Facebook to people who aren't to blame and you don't want to change?" A:"errrrrr...." {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.224}}

There are 3 references in my recent edit. If you go into the source code, you can see the links, but I lack the wikipedia knowledge to get them to properly link out. Help? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:13, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

Couldn't it just be that it is usual for politicians to blame "the others" (countries, etc) to justify that things are not all good in the country, and then, proceed to threaten to do bad things (go to war, revoke treaties, etc) to appease the "country's inner sadness" (and, through this, get votes) ? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.61|173.245.48.61]] 14:53, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

My inclination was to take this as satirizing the number of people who have taken to Facebook to rant about an event that was clearly not the fault of one's immediate circle. However one feels about the election it's clear that spewing venom at anyone who happens to be in your Facebook list is unproductive at best and certainly isn't addressing any appreciable portion of the cause of these events. It seemed to be supported by taking the hover text as a continuation of the problem, suggesting that Cueball has devolved to seeking catharsis. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.132|162.158.74.132]] 17:00, 18 November 2016 (UTC)jrow
:Agreed, I took this comic to be a satirical attack on people who post all caps angry messages on Facebook. EX: "I can't believe all you people did this!" , when 90% of their friends probably agree with them (See "Echo Chambers" comments)- it's almost certainly in context of the election, as "Scared Friends" represents a great many Clinton voters very well right now. The clear interpretation to me is that people posting these angry Facebook rants are not going through normal, well-thought out processes.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.111|108.162.219.111]] 23:11, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

This explanation currently claims venting can reduce stress. I have heard that venting actually makes you angrier. (First Google hit appears to be a scientific paper: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/jbickfor/bushman2002.pdf ). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.182|108.162.215.182]] 20:53, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

The reference to yelling is obviously sarcasm. Nobody would really suggest the absurd idea that Randall really thinks yelling at friends is acceptable, so really what is being highlighted is that yelling at friends is NOT a good idea. The explanation text should not suggest that the idea is anything other than absurd. --[[User:Rotan|Rotan]] ([[User talk:Rotan|talk]]) 00:15, 19 November 2016 (UTC)

This could be a critique of the specific social media. The true meaning being expressed by what is not included: "My Friends on Facebook" as compared with all the other areas in which one would have friends, e.g. "My Friends at the Coffee Shop" or "My Friends at Work". It could also be intended for the reader to infer through abductive reasoning that the algorithms (user interface) of which facebook is composed may promote this type of behavior. {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.32}}[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.32|108.162.246.32]] 02:14, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

Why Facebook: http://arstechnica.com/staff/2016/11/its-time-to-get-rid-of-the-facebook-news-feed-because-its-not-news/ --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 12:35, 19 November 2016 (UTC)

I think Randall is trying to address all the Clinton supporters who said to their longtime social media friends, "If you voted for Trump, you're a sexist, racist piece of ****, and you should get out of my life forever," and other similar things, because there were a LOT of those people on social media, despite every liberal icon from Michael Moore to Bill Maher telling people to protest and to fight much harder than usual, but also respect the political process (IE, don't riot if there's no last minute electoral college switch). When Obama was in the White House, the the far-right Republicans did awful things governed by fear. Now with Trump, I hope the far-left Democrats don't do anything crazy ALSO governed by fear, because that will just lead to more white people becoming Republicans because they felt unwelcome by the Democrats. Just my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.252|108.162.210.252]] 19:27, 19 November 2016 (UTC)

It occurs to me that the joke is simply about relative perception. Before facebook the media was the primary source for most people to make political decisions. I have heard it repeated by the media that Trump "used" social media to influence voters. Ergo, similar to that of the gun argument "if guns did not exist, there would be less violent crime" I feel that Randall is making a simile by saying "if facebook did not exist, Trump would not have been elected" and, by extension, we would not know as much about the magnitude of bad happenings in the world. Therefore, the first contact cause of Randall's sadness both before and after the election is Facebook. However, there's a reason he chose to blame facebook users and not just facebook. If facebook users were more like him and generally promoted positive aspects of the world (or at least be more balanced), he theorises that everyone (including Randall) would be more likely to be upbeat and positive. This, of course presumes a number of things, the simplest of which is that the world would be better if things went the way Cueball wanted them to. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.104|162.158.178.104]]

So uhm, did whoever wrote the above explanation not understand the concept of sarcasm? Because this comic comes off as 100% sarcastic to me, and yet it's taking it very seriously. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.127|172.68.78.127]] 09:51, 20 November 2016 (UTC)

It's quite simple what it means, I'm not sure why people aren't getting it. Randall is trying to bring balance as currently everyone is lashing out against their own friends on facebook as a result of the anger of Hillary losing. He's being sarcastic to highlight the absurdity of the thought process that people blame their friends for the "bad things happening". I was quite peeved that he got political, but this comic undid a lot of my peevedness. I'm not sure who wrote the page here, but they clearly have no clue what this comic is about? --[[User:Drkaii|Drkaii]] ([[User talk:Drkaii|talk]]) 00:08, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

It is a bit odd that everyone thinks Randall went political and this is all about the election. I wonder how many more panels will be interpreted in this light before the wounds heal and people get back to work making their life and country work. {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.106}}

Explain XKCD's talk pages are an art form all their own. Whether Randall is commenting on the election in the comic or not (he probably is), this talk page managed to exactly recreate, like a time capsule, the frenzied insanity of the post-2016 election internet, on which the comic itself is (probably) commenting. The talk page on the comic with the actual endorsement is plenty dramatic, but this one is all the DNA of that week's petty insanity preserved in amber while discussing a comic discussing that week's petty insanity. A++++ would read again. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.44|172.68.38.44]] 00:39, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

:I gotta say, one of the highlights of growing up was the gradual process of figuring out why adults were so stressed out all the time. [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 23:18, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-27T18:59:43Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */ Why were the s stripped? If it weren't alongside other things, I'd have thought it vandalism...

{{comic
| number = 2637
| date = June 24, 2022
| title = Roman Numerals
| image = roman_numerals.png
| titletext = 100he100k out th1s 1nno5at4e str1ng en100o501ng 15e been 500e5e50op1ng! 1t's 6rtua100y perfe100t! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|100reate500 by a LXXXT  - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Roman numerals are the system of representing numbers used during the Roman Empire. The letters I, V, X, L, C, D, and M are used to represent numbers, with each letter representing a consistent value. Specifically, I represents 1, V represents 5, X represents 10, L represents 50, C represents 100, D represents 500, and M represents 1000. One way of stating the rules for combining Roman numerals next to each other are that a Roman numeral is added to a Roman numeral of equal or lesser value just to its right (e.g., II=1+1=2 because 1≥1, and VI=5+1=6 because 5≥1), and a Roman number is subtracted from a Roman numeral of greater value just to its right (e.g., IV=5-1=4 because 1<5, and IX=10-1=9 because 1<10). (Also, each place must be written separately, e.g., one cannot represent 49 via IL but instead must represent the tens place and ones place separately via XL IX—although the space would not be included in practice).

The modern system of representing numbers is a decimal positional notation using the numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9). Westerners often call this system "Arabic numerals" or "Hindu–Arabic numerals" because they were invented in India and introduced to Europe by Arabic merchants. Instead of concatenating several 1s, the single character 2 represents 1+1, 3 represents 1+1+1, etc… all the way to 9 representing 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1. Integers larger than nine are represented as a sum of digits multiplied by different powers of ten. Each time a digit is moved one place to the left, the value that it represents is multiplied by ten (e.g., moving 3 to the left, starting in the ones place, changes the value that it represents from three to three tens to three hundreds to three thousands…). Positional notations require a character for the additive identity, 0, to fill in any gaps so that the digits to its left are positioned correctly. The string "4096" represents 4×103+0×102+9×101+6×100.

Thus in Roman numerals a digit always has the same absolute value but may be treated as positive or negative depending on the digit after it, whereas for Hindu-Arabic numerals, a digit's value changes by a power of 10 depending on its absolute position and is never subtracted.

Cueball's original equations in Roman Numeral form are:
<center>I + I = II</center>
<center>II + II = IV</center>
<center>IV + V = IX</center>

Translated normally into more familiar Hindu–Arabic numerals, these equations are:
<center>1 + 1 = 2</center>
<center>2 + 2 = 4</center>
<center>4 + 5 = 9</center>

But Randall/Cueball replaced each letter individually with its value in Hindu-Arabic numerals — ignoring the abovementioned rules for interpreting combined Roman numbers, instead using the rules of Roman Numerals. "I" is replaced with "1", "V" is replaced with "5", and "X" is replaced with "10". For example, for IX at the end of the last equation, "I" is replaced with "1", and "X" is replaced with "10", so "IX" becomes "110". Thus, the equations are written
<center>1 + 1 = 1 1</center>
<center>1 1 + 1 1 = 1 5</center>
<center>1 5 + 5 = 1 10</center>
where the spaces have been added for clarity.

The joke is that because Arabic numerals do not use the same rules of addition and subtraction as Roman numerals, the equations appear incorrect in both systems. The usual interpetation of 11 is 10+1, not 1+1 as it is under the rules for interpreting Roman numerals. Randall derives additional humor from the premise that Cueball seems to know Roman numerals better than Arabic numerals (as demonstrated by the fact that he translated only the symbology and not the grammar) so that he would do math in Roman numerals and have to remember to convert his equations to Arabic numerals at the end. Schoolchildren in the West have been taught to do math with Arabic numerals, not Roman numerals, for centuries.

In the title text, Randall applies the same idea of replacing Roman numerals with their values in Arabic numerals to strings of English words.

{| style="border:1px solid #ccd;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 100
| he
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 100
| k
| out
| th
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 1
| s
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 1
| nno
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 5
| at
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 4
| e
| str
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 1
| ng
| en
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 100
| o
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 501
| ng
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 15
| e
| been
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 500
| e
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 5
| e
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 50
| op
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 1
| ng!
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 1
| t's
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 6
| rtua
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 100
| y
| perfe
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | 100
| t!
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | C
| he
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | C
| k
| out
| th
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | I
| s
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | I
| nno
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | V
| at
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | IV
| e
| str
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | I
| ng
| en
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | C
| o
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | DI
| ng
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | IV
| e
| been
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | D
| e
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | V
| e
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | L
| op
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | I
| ng!
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | I
| t's
|
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | VI
| rtua
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | LL/C
| y
| perfe
| style="background-color:#ccd;" | C
| t!
|}

The original string (with letters that would be interpreted as Roman numerals capitalized) is, "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng I'Ve been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaLLy perfeCt!" For the first word, "Check," C is replaced with the value of that Roman numeral in Arabic numerals, i.e., "100", in both instances of the word, which results in "100he100k". Unlike in the comic, Randall combines Roman numbers using the proper rules of addition and subtraction. For example, he replaces "IV" with "4", not "15", e.g., "innovative" becomes "1nno5at4e", not "1nno5at15e". (However, "I've" becomes "15e", not "4e", presumably because the apostrophe was removed after, not before, replacing the Roman numerals with Arabic numerals. However, there is not an obvious reason why Randall removed the apostrophe.)

Irony arises from the claim of "virtual perfection", as there are problems with this encoding.

One problem with the encoding is that the double L in "virtually" is replaced with 100. This technically obeys Roman numerals' rule of adding the value of a letter to the value of an equal-valued letter just to its right (50+50=100). However, this addition rule should not apply, since in standard Roman numerals, a single number should never have multiple Vs, multiple Ls, or multiple Ds, e.g., 100 should be represented only by C (100), not LL (50 50). This would mean that a simplistic decoding script would erroneously decode "6rtua100y" to "VIrtuaCy", not "VIrtuaLLy". Thus, this string encoding system is not actually perfect. It looses information.

Another problem with the encoding is that only a very small subset of the source text can be affected by this encoding: 7 letters of 26 letters for English (the language that the text is written in) and no non-alphabetical characters.

=== Alternative decodings ===

Until the modern codification in general use today, Roman numerals weren't standardised that much, so "LL" could have been a tolerated alternative to "C". For more on that, see {{w|Roman_numerals#Classical_Roman_numerals}}. However, having the decoding script use that alternative would not solve the problem but instead would make the decoding script replace Cs with LLs instead, e.g., "delloding sllript".

One could also separate the L's into individual numbers, to become "virtua5050y", except this produces even more problems because 5,050 is actually MMMMML and "virtuammmmmly" is definitely not an English word{{fact}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball writing on a wall or a whiteboard.]
:1+1=11
:11+11=15
:15+5=110

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Remember, Roman numerals are archaic, so always replace them with modern ones when doing math.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-25T11:59:36Z

141.101.98.221: Miskey

Immediately came to this site as soon as the comic popped up [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.43|172.70.114.43]] 22:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

For anyone wondering about the alt text: "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng IVe been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaCy perfeCt! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?" Roman numerals are in uppercase. : [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 23:00, 24 June 2022 (UTC)
:I didn't see this comment, but I decoded it above. Feel free to update with your text, which includes the casing.
::It should be virtually - LL is 50 50, C is 100. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 00:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:By the way, this encoding is not that innovative: back when Roman numbers still meant something to people they were oftentimes hidden inside inscriptions on churches and monuments. If you ever stand in front of a church and wonder why certain letters in a sentence of an inscription are capitalized seemingly at random, this may be the reason. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:12, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Relevant OEIS entry: https://oeis.org/A093788 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.117|162.158.129.117]] 23:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Well, I immediately got the comic, when I saw it, but (though I admire the effort put in) the explanation that seems to have been given is... overly long, IMO. I have no wish to invalidate all the thought put into it, but I really feel it says too much. Even by my standards (I'm often a waffler, as I 'improve' the accuracy and all-inclusiveness of such text). But don't want to rain on the existing author(s) parade, myself, so just sayin'... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 02:01, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:It's not overly long if someone spent the time writing it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:10, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
::I wondered too when first reading but like it geeky like that. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 05:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

I, in a rather faint and not really concerned way, object to the use of the phrase 'archaic' with regard to Roman Numerals. That would imply that they aren't in use at all, whereas when I look around me I can see a number of examples of current usage of Roman Numerals, e.g. Clock Faces, Chapter Numbering (some books) and the most important, the 'Manufacture Date' of a televisual programme from the BBC shown at the bottom of the end-credits. I believe a better phrase may be 'venerable' or 'historical' or 'unmodern'.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 07:46, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:I was also thinking that. But maybe qualified as "archaic but still commonly seen" (or similar), were my thoughts. I was wondering if it was a local perspective, though. 'Historical' US usage is rather sparser, I imagine, than the accumulation of Old World monuments/etc, from deeper back into the times it was more usual, so making only the "stylstically old" things predominantly use them (certain clock faces, etc). Meanwhile, even our programmes broadcast on the BBC still regularly close with the date in letters (anything from this year is "MMXXII") on the final frame/line of the credits, while our other broadcasters go with contemporary numerals in the same context. (I wonder, was 1999 "MIMIC", rather than "MCMXCIX"..? I think it was...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 11:58, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-25T11:58:56Z

141.101.98.221:

Immediately came to this site as soon as the comic popped up [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.43|172.70.114.43]] 22:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

For anyone wondering about the alt text: "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng IVe been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaCy perfeCt! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?" Roman numerals are in uppercase. : [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 23:00, 24 June 2022 (UTC)
:I didn't see this comment, but I decoded it above. Feel free to update with your text, which includes the casing.
::It should be virtually - LL is 50 50, C is 100. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 00:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:By the way, this encoding is not that innovative: back when Roman numbers still meant something to people they were oftentimes hidden inside inscriptions on churches and monuments. If you ever stand in front of a church and wonder why certain letters in a sentence of an inscription are capitalized seemingly at random, this may be the reason. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:12, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Relevant OEIS entry: https://oeis.org/A093788 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.117|162.158.129.117]] 23:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Well, I immediately got the comic, when I saw it, but (though I admire the effort put in) the explanation that seems to have been given is... overly long, IMO. I have no wish to invalidate all the thought put into it, but I really feel it says too much. Even by my standards (I'm often a waffler, as I 'improve' the accuracy and all-inclusiveness of such text). But don't want to rain on the existing author(s) parade, myself, so just sayin'... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 02:01, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:It's not overly long if someone spent the time writing it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:10, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
::I wondered too when first reading but like it geeky like that. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 05:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

I, in a rather faint and not really concerned way, object to the use of the phrase 'archaic' with regard to Roman Numerals. That would imply that they aren't in use at all, whereas when I look around me I can see a number of examples of current usage of Roman Numerals, e.g. Clock Faces, Chapter Numbering (some books) and the most important, the 'Manufacture Date' of a televisual programme from the BBC shown at the bottom of the end-credits. I believe a better phrase may be 'venerable' or 'historical' or 'unmodern'.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 07:46, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:I was also thinking that. But maybe qualified as "archaic but still commonly seen" (or similar), were my thoughts. I was wondering if it was a local petspective, though. 'Historical' US usage is rather sparser, I imagine, than the accumulation of Old World monuments/etc, from deeper back into the times it was more usual, so making only the "stylstically old" things predominantly use them (certain clock faces, etc). Meanwhile, even our programmes broadcast on the BBC still regularly close with the date in letters (anything from this year is "MMXXII") on the final frame/line of the credits, while our other broadcasters go with contemporary numerals in the same context. (I wonder, was 1999 "MIMIC", rather than "MCMXCIX"..? I think it was...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 11:58, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

2630: Shuttle Skeleton

2022-06-09T19:09:12Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */ Fish as plural. Rationalise (but not cull down) the Citation Neededs. Better hyphen/dash replacement.

{{comic
| number = 2630
| date = June 8, 2022
| title = Shuttle Skeleton
| image = shuttle_skeleton.png
| titletext = It's believed to be related to the Stellar Sea Cow.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NEBULA DESERT HORSE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The Space Shuttle was a reusable spacecraft system used by {{w|NASA}} from 1981 to 2011, after which it was decommissioned. In this comic, Randall suggests that the nature of the shuttle was in doubt or misunderstood until either an intact 'specimen' (of which there are four) had been dissected, or possibly the remains were reassembled from the two that were lost in accidents.

With its shape, shown in the small image, and the tail fin, it looks a bit like a {{w|Osteichthyes|bony fish}} or {{w|Batoidea|ray}}, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yibNEcn-4yQ but it is actually not an animal].{{Citation needed}} The joke is that after the shuttle was taken out of use, its skeleton was analyzed, and as shown in the comic, was found to have a skeleton typical of a mammal, with details such as the pentadactyl quadripedal bodyform hidden beneath its aerodynamic sweep, as well as having bones (i.e., not primarily cartilage). This morphology is similar to that possessed by a whale. Of course, the skeleton of a spacecraft is not made of bones, but rather of metal and other manufactured materials.

As the understanding of the natural world developed, many taxonomic misconceptions were overturned, or at least the scientific terminology was tightened. For instance, it was found that dolphins and whales were mammals, not fish.{{Citation needed}} Because of convergent evolution – the tendency for distantly-related species to adapt similarly to a given environment – it is often not easy to properly classify organisms merely by observing their exterior. For example, whales and fish have very similar body shapes, as did the extinct plesiosaurs, because life as a swimming vertebrate favors the same adaptations. In lieu of genetic analysis, or even of sufficient observation of them in the wild, the main progress in understanding differences among marine animals was often in dissecting the corpses of creatures found stranded or caught in nets, or reconstructing them from skeletal remains. Together with fossil evidence, insights were developed about their origins and differences from others' origins.

The title text conflates the now-extinct {{w|Steller's sea cow}}, an aquatic mammal related to manatees and named after explorer/zoologist Georg Steller (also extinct), with the adjective "stellar", which means being of a star or stars, such as inter-stellar space or stellar masses.

One might expect that the idea for this comic may have came from the recent California Supreme Court ruling that [https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-is-a-bumblebee-a-fish-when-a-california-court-says-so-11654611927?st=umo4uckleempt0e&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink bumblebees are considered fish] under a law which categorized several other invertebrates as part of a broad colloquial category of fish (as in "Fish and Game Department" designations.) However, given the short time between the ruling and the comic's release, it is likely that this was a coincidence.

==Transcript==
:[In the upper right part of the panel there is a small drawing of the Space Shuttle as seen from above. Beneath it, and to its left, is a much larger drawing with the same outline as the Shuttle. But this time the outer layers have been removed to reveal the inside. This has revealed a skeleton taking up the entire space inside. The head is in the front, and legs and tail at the rear, with arms and fingers in the wings, looking somewhat like a bat's "hand/wings". The bones are white with the frame of the shuttle gray or black. Some of the lines outlining the design of the shuttle are both on the small and the large drawing, along the wings and rear engines. Both feet and arms have five fingers/toes. There seem to be 24 ribs in the very long rib-cage.]

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The Space Shuttle was long assumed to be a type of fish or shark, but after it was decommissioned in 2011, analysis of its skeleton determined that it was actually a mammal.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:1007: Sustainable

2022-06-01T10:53:25Z

141.101.98.221: Undo revision 284856 by 172.70.147.91 (talk) Orphaned element of an otherwise more widespread vandalism?

This is a great lesson for me that no matter what we think is occurring, it's probably wrong; that statistics themselves are unsustainable; and that only goals that matter need to be sustainable in the long term. - e-inspired
[[Special:Contributions/98.211.199.84|98.211.199.84]] 15:15, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Yes, WAY too heavy, but I was just trying to inspire other engineers, perhaps people smarter then I, to try solving the world problems (You will probably do better job then law makers). Hope to read your theory in the book some day. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 08:33, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Sustainable sustainable sustainable, prophetic view of sustainable sustainable. {{unsigned ip|64.151.41.72}}

: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.11|108.162.250.11]] 03:12, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

Ironically, this comic does nothing to help the situation at hand. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.60|108.162.215.60]] 02:12, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

What happened in 1966-67, when there was that peak in the use of the word?--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.57|108.162.229.57]] 10:59, 30 May 2015 (UTC)
:Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that started the environmentalist movement. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.57|162.158.58.57]] 05:07, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

0.5% is "once per sentence"? Didn't know most sentences had 200 words. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.77|108.162.218.77]] 01:06, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

2108:Hello, sustainable is sustainability. 2109: Sustainable, sustainability.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.69|173.245.52.69]] 20:10, 29 May 2016 (UTC)

: 2110: Sustainability, sustainable. Sustainable sustainability:sustainable. [[User:QATEKLYXM|Klyxm]] ([[User talk:QATEKLYXM|talk]]) 03:49, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

We just increased it from 0.003% to 0.004%
[[User:StillNotOriginal|StillNot]][[User talk:StillNotOriginal|Original]] 16:33, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

I have a very strong urge to replace every word on this page with "sustainable". Was there ever a joke page on explainxkcd? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 11:45, 12 June 2018 (UTC)
:This would kill the explanation and in general the jokes are done by Randall while we explain them. Nevertheless humor is always welcome, but remember this Wiki is called "explainxkcd" not "jokingxkcd". So the better place for your strong urge would be here at the discussion page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:56, 12 June 2018 (UTC)

:(Translated into English from Sustainable) The year is 2140, and “society” has been decimated. Language has transcended time and space, and how sustainable everything is is getting unsustainable. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:21, 26 March 2019 (UTC)
If someone made what was above into a real thing as a better writer, I would buy it on the spot. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:21, 26 March 2019 (UTC)

According to Randalls very own https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/ sustainable is not a simple (common) word yet... --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:38, 9 May 2019 (UTC)

Sustainable sustainable sustainable Sustainable, yet still sustainable sustainable sustainable. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.92|162.158.111.92]] 10:38, 2 Sustainable 2087 (UTC)

Talk:2586: Greek Letters

2022-05-27T18:22:02Z

141.101.98.221: /* Ordinal analysis */

Pi also shows up in lots of extremely advanced equations as pi, not as something else, adding edit. 123.456.7890

zeta_0 is also used for the first transfinite ordinal that is unreachable through ''((edit: by some random IP: "...finite application of..."))'' addition, multiplication, exponentiation, and epsilons subscripting. EDIT: phi is used for the Veblen hierachy. [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 05:11, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:I wouldn't normally internally spellcheck/factcheck someone's signed Talk comment, as I think it's rude to do so (especially 'invisibly'), but an IP added some words to yours (without clear indication) probably with good reason but also with slightly bad typing. So I've highlighted their (corrected) addition, which at first sight seems a valid clarification but I haven't double-checked. And now this is me taking fully (IP-)signed ownership of what I changed. Would have been simpler for the prior editor just to have made a signed-reply, like this but far shorter, but they didn't! Ah well... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 14:03, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

Don't you have an English saying: '''simple/easy as π'''? [[User:Nukio|Nukio]] ([[User talk:Nukio|talk]]) 05:51, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:the saying is '''easy as pie''' as in the dessert. sometimes we write it '''easy as π''' as a nerdy joke. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.230|162.158.107.230]] 08:08, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:: sqrt(-1) 2³ Σ π and it was delicious [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:30, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

Related: https://xkcd.com/2520/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.224|162.158.103.224]] 08:59, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

I've found a use for capital Xi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harish-Chandra%27s_%CE%9E_function that seems to be from the field of Harmonic Analysis. [[User:Douira|Douira]] ([[User talk:Douira|talk]]) 14:50, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

The part that says the farad is "unusually large" is incredibly biased IMO. On the scale of planets its "unusually small", In fact, on the scale of EV's its even pretty normal. The writer is only considering small electronic circuits. Also the Henry is very well scaled to the Farad so how "unusual" is it really? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.33|108.162.241.33]] 17:13, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

:Apologies for the incredible bias. You're right in saying that I'm only considering small electronic circuits; I haven't worked on power distribution systems or applications with large capacitor banks, so my only hands-on experience of components measured in whole farads would be supercapacitors. In consumer electronics, where capacitors are typically labelled in pico, nano or microfarads, the whole farad is rarely encountered. I do still think that capacitors are a good counter-example of items using Mu that you can see and touch, in so many modern electronic devices. But as my previous use of language was so divisive, I'll let someone else attempt to reintegrate the point, if they feel it's useful. [[User:Kazzie|Kazzie]] ([[User talk:Kazzie|talk]]) 16:11, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Isn't the ''capital'' psi used for the wavefunction? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 19:35, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, but rarely. The lowercase ψ is much more common (AFAIK it dates back to [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grave_Schroedinger_(detail).png Schrödinger himself].

How sad that there is no '''η'''! Missed chance to blame steam machine engineers for not trying harder to invent the perpetuum mobile. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.177|172.70.242.177]] 20:01, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

The lowercase epsilon is used much more often for something else - usually to denote that the "variable" on the lefthanded side is a member of the "set" of the righthanded side of the lowercase epsilon. Of course, this is totally unimportant ;-).
:You are referring to the "element of" sign, which is distinct from lowercase epsilon (although based on it).
:: Yes it is distinct, but then the used typeface in the comic looks more like the epsilon for "element of" then for the usual epsilon in analysis (ie. for definitions of continues functions).

I highly doubt that the use of Ξ has anything to do with it "looking like a UFO." Rather, I'd suggest it's because it's essentially never used, at least among the English speaking mathematicians in the US, and probably Europe. [[User:Douira|Douira]] went out of their way to find an example, and found something increadibly obscure, which supports the point. ''Why'' Ξ is rarely used is another question. Maybe because it could easily be confused for an E or Sigma, with lazy handwritting? Maybe because it's a Greek letter without a direct Latin counterpart, so doesn't correspond with the first letter of any common words? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.49|162.158.63.49]] 22:50, 26 February 2022 (UTC)som

In my experience lower case eta, zeta, (and xi) most commonly show up as dummy variable in an integral. Any two may be used for a double integral and all three for a triple. Double and triple integrals are often quite terrifying, particularly when somebody cannot write all three symbols consistently and distinctly, so many integrals become "integral squiggle squiggle dee squiggle dee squiggle".[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.219|172.70.174.219]] 10:10, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

π is also commonly used as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime-counting_function prime-counting] function in number theory. Most problems regarding primes are usually considered hard, like the twin prime conjecture.

Lower-case sigma is also used in sigma-algebras, which is part of the theoretical background underlying statistics, among other things. I second that the lower-case epsilon drawn by Randall is the lunate variant that looks indistinguishable from the "is an element of" symbol and should probably get mentioned. On an unrelated note, there's a story of someone using capital xi at a math conference specifically to annoy some other mathematician who *really* didn't like them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.26|172.70.211.26]] 20:30, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

:Yeah I came to comment this, lower-case sigmas come up in sigma-algebras and are absolutely terrifying (bias) in that context. The joke about ‘someone trying very hard to apply this’ works with sigma-algebras in the context of measure theory -- someone trying to actually apply measure theory to a real problem. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.117|162.158.129.117]] 10:48, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

Alpha is also used in aeronautics for the angle of attack of the airflow over a wing. Exceeding a critical angle of attack leads to an aerodynamic stall, which has been cause of many fatal accidents.

Uppercase phi looks like an obvious reference to [https://twitter.com/nathanwpyle/status/1178152201392447488| this comic and author], as he normally uses the term orb to refer to spheres and balls (as part of the intrincate language of the characters), besides he normally uses that typographic resource of writing a word with its letters separated by spaces, i.e.: e x p e r i e n c e, in the example link. I'm missing the math context on why refering to orbs for uppercase phy, but it could be just because due to the form of the character. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.54|172.70.86.54]] 10:28, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

The lowercase gamma symbol and description may also be a reference to the downward-looping flight path of enemy ships in the video-game Galaga, which zoom down the screen at the player's starfighter while shooting at them, then retreat and zoom back up. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.122|172.70.131.122]]

Why was my remark on the impossibility of {{w|squaring the circle}} removed? (https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2586:_Greek_Letters&diff=227689&oldid=227680) [[User:ThomasGauss|ThomasGauss]] ([[User talk:ThomasGauss|talk]]) 20:06, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

My sibling's in an advanced calculus course, when she saw the joke about lowercase omega she laughed for a different reason, remarking how accurate it was and how impossible it is to use in her class? (I can't remember exactly.) I don't understand what she meant, I'm in a lower class. Could somebody add an alternate explanation possibly? 123.456.7890

:Differential forms? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.111|172.70.230.111]] 03:24, 2 March 2022 (UTC)

::Yes, that's it. I still have no idea how they work, though. 123.456.7890

O R B S are chanted with such gravitas in the Games Done Quick speedrunning fundraiser events. I would say this is a niche pull, but it seems up Randall's alley.

Why is Randall so good at making me crack up? Am I really that much of a nerd? (Okay granted I needed an explanation for some of this, hence my presence here, but still, Addition® and Multiplication® Pro® got me so...)--[[User:Twisted Code|Twisted Code]] ([[User talk:Twisted Code|talk]]) 17:10, 4 March 2022 (UTC)

It just occurred to me Poseidon could be written as Poψdon. Then his trident is in his name. [[User:Bwisey|Bwisey]] ([[User talk:Bwisey|talk]]) 13:11, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

One thing missed so far, the lowercase epsilon is also used in automata theory. There usually words (strings of symbols from an alphabet), which do contain lowercase epsilons, are equivalent to the same word, after removing any occurence of lowercase epsilon from the string. Ie. the lowercase epsilon there denotes the "empty symbol" (or "empty letter"). For further reading ie. look up non determitistic finite automata with (and without) epsilon transitions. Also in other branches of theoretical computer science the lowercase epsilon is usually used as "empty symbol" or "empty letter".

My favourite use of Greek letters in maths is that (in my experience) ψ is used as a backup for φ (so when you have already used phi, you use psi as the second one), and χ is sometimes used as a reserve for that. This means you can have an equation involving all three. This is perfectly clear on paper, but any discussion surrounding it is a nightmare, as they all sound exactly the same... Also this is generally φ rather than ϕ. The former is generally used for functions (specifically homomorphisms in groups) and the latter for spherical polars. Although they both have other uses, and that is a pretty vague rule... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.44|172.70.86.44]] 18:21, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

== the natural numbers under '<' ==

What does this mean?

== Ordinal analysis ==
Why keep all the unnecessary ordinal-related stuff (beyond omega)? Ordinal analysis is an _extremely_ niche field - most professional mathematicians never even heard of it - so it is quite safe to assume Randall did not have it in mind. I don't think it helps explaining the comic any more than saying rho is the usual symbol for the Gaussian mass of a Euclidean lattice (i.e. not at all). {{unsigned|Laurus}}
:Taking a close look at the comic, I think you're right. It pains me a bit, but I think you're right, the ordinals ought to go. [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 01:23, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
::I can't believe that the article is being edited again, over this, for the Nth time! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 08:00, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Was there some kind of debate over it? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 15:32, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
::::Not that I'm aware of, that was just a [https://wiki.lspace.org/Pune pune] on the term {{w|Ordinal numeral|'ordinal'}}. Here's the missing smiley that makes it more obvious. -> ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 18:22, 27 May 2022 (UTC) ( :p <-- And here's the other one that this comment might need.)

Talk:2616: Deep End

2022-05-07T13:58:23Z

141.101.98.221:

Help me with this please? [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 00:19, 7 May 2022 (UTC)
:I'll get round to it. Though I suspect others are already well on their way to explain exactly the same obvious things as I'd explain, but better and with nuances I haven't considered yet. I think the usual (recent replacement) Bot might have been hit by the anti-vandal measures, so we'll have to do as we did between the prior one and this one's deployment.
:First things first, though, I think you/whoever uploaded the _large-sized image. Arguments about it aside (basically, it's too big for screens such as mine - whether you consider that just my problem or not), the practice is to upload the non-2x version. Can I encourage you/someone to do that and adjust accordingly? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.153|172.69.79.153]] 23:18, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
::Firstly, That was me. I uploaded that. I don't know how to get one that isn't 2x. (Edit: Found it!) Sorry. Secondly, I mostly meant help with the it-not-appearing-on-the-next/previous-bar. Thank you though. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 00:17, 7 May 2022 (UTC)
:(Yeah, on checking, the proper image to take is 555x321 while this one is (natively) 1110x642.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.153|172.69.79.153]] 23:22, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
::I've downloaded the correct size image from xkcd.com and uploaded it in place of the 2x version. If you don't see it immediately, it might be cached on an intermediate server, so give it some time. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 00:30, 7 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Thank you for doing that! ε> I didn't even know there were 2x and normal versions until today!{{unsigned|SqueakSquawk4}}
::::It's largely invisible to the end user, viewing source xkcd site it is good at giving you what fits. But I don't think there's an easy way to make explainXKCD do the same, so ''generally'' it's better to go with the 'normal' (or smaller) one, even if the larger (or best resolution) one works for you. There are exceptions, and Randall has made design choices or errors that mixed this up somewhat, at times.
::::On the whole, I think you did quite well to initiate this new comic, in the absence of an automatic upload. Obvious errors were obvious, and correctable. ;) Do always remember to sign with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>, here in the Talk pages, though! :-P. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 08:11, 7 May 2022 (UTC)
::::: Thank you for explaining. As I said above, I didn't even know there were different versions until this. I'll remeber to to the non-2x one in the future, if I ever do this again.
::::: Also, you said that the errors I made were correctable. The biggest problem I saw was the bar at the top (The previous/next one) ignoring this page. May I ask how that was corrected? Thanks! [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 12:58, 7 May 2022 (UTC)
:::::: It's one of the other steps in the list given in [[User:DgbrtBOT]]... Don't hold me to it, but the LATESTCOMIC info might do it. If it doesn't, it's surely useful to do for some other reason, though, and one of the other steps does it instead. ;)
:::::: (I haven't bothered to analyse any of the interdependent wikicode/templates, but I presume it's a finely developed process, with or without Bot-populating.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 13:58, 7 May 2022 (UTC)

2376: Curbside

2022-05-03T20:52:07Z

141.101.98.221: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2376
| date = October 23, 2020
| title = Curbside
| image = curbside.png
| titletext = The state has had so many contact tracers disappear into that shop that they've had to start a contact tracer tracing program.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

[[Beret Guy]] is making contact with {{tvtropes|TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday|a shop that sells cursed items, only to vanish when the customer tries to return the product}}. He has previously mentioned doing most of his shopping (including groceries) at such locations in [[1772: Startup Opportunity]], and visited one (possibly the same one) several months earlier in [[2332: Cursed Chair]]. That visit ended with him trying to stop the COVID-19 pandemic by destroying the cursed chair, but evidently he either failed to destroy the chair (which claimed to be immortal) or found that doing so didn't halt the pandemic. (Apparently Beret Guy has visited this same store before, since he says that "it's so stuffy in there", but has not attempted to return any of his purchases, since the store has not disappeared yet. Or perhaps it is simply nonexistent when someone is trying to return something.)

After confirming that he has the right number, Beret Guy asks if the cursed store does curbside pickup, as he intends to place an order for bread and a cursed amulet, but does not wish to go inside during the pandemic. Many grocery stores have started offering such services, allowing a customer to place an order over the phone or online, then receive it outside the store, thus minimizing the interaction with store staff or other customers. Closed spaces are understood to pose a greater risk of contagion than the outdoors, where wind and sun can mitigate airborne viral particles.

The store's contact replies that no, they do not offer curbside pickup, but tries to assure Beret Guy that all employees at the location wear masks. (They might be wearing [[2367: Masks|haunted Halloween masks]].) When Beret Guy expresses disappointment at the revelation, complaining about the stuffy air of the shop, the contact advises him to consider the virus as part of the curses that come with their products. Beret Guy gets angry at this -- apparently, he's okay with buying cursed items, but not exposing himself to [[2330: Acceptable Risk|unacceptable risks]] of catching COVID-19. Beret Guy promptly proclaims that he will ''not'' be doing business with the location if they are going to showcase such an attitude towards the pandemic. It's unclear how he will find another store with similar unusual characteristics, although it [[1772: Startup Opportunity|has been mentioned]] that there is an entire industry of these stores.

Beret Guy mentions that he wants to buy an amulet in order to 'do battle with ghosts', which is not an ordinary thing to do given that most people cannot interact directly with ghosts.{{Citation needed}} Perhaps he has a ghost-fighting weapon that he has also bought from the shop, although a more likely explanation (given Beret Guy's peculiarity) seems that he is somehow able to engage in martial combat with them. A common argument for how ghosts can exist is that they are in another dimension; given that Beret Guy has extra dimensions in his bones ([[2310: Great Attractor]]), he might appear as a skeleton warrior in the ghosts' dimension. Thus, being able to battle ghosts would be one of the many [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers of Beret Guy]]. It is also unclear why Beret Guy specifically wants to anger the ghosts.

He also mentions that he is there to buy groceries, which is rather ordinary in contrast to the previous request. This is another example of Beret Guy's seemingly oblivious view of the world, putting the purchase of a ghostly amulet on par with buying bread.

The title text explains that {{w|Contact tracing|contact tracer}}s have been attempting to visit the store to figure out who else has been working or shopping there, which suggests that people may have been exposed to COVID there. However, presumably because of the peculiar nature of the store, a notable number of the contact tracers have not returned from visiting it, leading the state to create a tracing program to find the missing contact tracers. The joke here is that the contact tracers must now be traced by another tracing program. This same kind of recursivity of tracking tracers has been previously explored for [[952: Stud Finder|finding finders]] and [[1821: Incinerator|incinerating incinerators]].

==Transcript==

:[Beret Guy talking on a cell phone. The response from the person on the phone is in a jagged bubble.]
:Beret Guy: Hi, is this the shop that sells cursed items but when you try to return them the shop is gone?
:Phone: Yes, how can I help you?

:[A frameless panel. Beret Guy still talking on the phone]
:Beret Guy: Do you do curbside pickup? I wanted to buy a cursed amulet that angers ghosts, and some groceries.
:Phone: No, but it's okay, we wear masks.

:[Zoomed in on other side of Beret Guy's face]
:Beret Guy: So you can't bring stuff out?
:Phone: I'm afraid not.
:Beret Guy: But it's so stuffy in there!

:[The callee's response is on the top of the panel. Beret Guy is now holding his phone in front of him, ready to end the call.]
:Phone: Why not think of the virus as part of the amulet's curse?
:Beret Guy: '''''Excuse me!?''''' I'm trying to buy some bread and do battle with ghosts, not endanger my family and friends in a pandemic!
:Beret Guy: I will take my business '''''elsewhere.'''''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Recursion]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cursed Items]]

Talk:2612: Lightsabers

2022-04-28T22:10:22Z

141.101.98.221: /* Reverted from vandalism */

Not sure what's going on here. Are {{W|electric arcs}} what's happening between the lightsabers? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.207|172.70.242.207]] 12:48, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Could be based on properties of plasma? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.72|172.70.211.72]] 12:53, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Probably something like {{W|cold welding}}. The fields keeping the light saber beam coherent would not be able to differentiate between the two plasma beams, and would join together. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 13:22, 27 April 2022 (UTC)
:That's my take. The effect that confines the laser (to make it a [[1433: Lightsaber|handy length]], at the very least) is potentially too 'self-sticky', but certainly with that of the opposing blade after a bit of awkward cross-resonance. And then the deactivation/withdrawing (typoed that as "sithdrawing"!) still drags the other blade-tip inwards too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 13:35, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

::My reaction: And THAT's why the two dueling Jedis should have different color of the blade! -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 19:47, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Very good job on the transcript (except a few minor grammar errors). I didn't envy someone trying to describe all the imagery. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:25, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Lots of comics about lightsabers. Maybe it's time to make a category for them? Many things got categories after just 4-5 appearaces. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.249|141.101.105.249]] 17:20, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

This is potentially inspired by a scene from Spaceballs where two lightsabers "tangle", although in thta scene they don't actually connect. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.134|141.101.104.134]] 19:11, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

I see your Schwartz is almost as big as mine.

In panels 10 and 11, the bodies seem to cast shadows on the ground. I don't recall seeing this previously on XKCD, is this the first time? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.249|141.101.105.249]] 19:58, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

== That’s not what’s happening ==

“In this situation one Jedi tries to shake the beam, maybe to break the bond, but instead the wave travels down the combined beam to also shake the other Jedi's hand-held hilt.”

Nuh uh. One tries to shake loose, then the other tries, also. Why do people make up complex explanations for obvious simple things?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.72|172.70.211.72]] 20:07, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Reminds me of the ''Priori Incantatem'' stuff in Harry Potter where wands with the same core source connect with each other :)
: My first thought was 'This is why you "don't cross the streams."'
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:57, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

== Reverted from vandalism ==
The most recent edits were all converting the explanation to "pig latin". (No explanation in English.) I've undone them. If it gets vandalized again, please address that? [/br]
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:57, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
:I just reverted the pig Latin twice. Can someone block our IP vandal, please? [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 22:01, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
::Just did another reversal. [[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 22:04, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
:::What exactly is going on with the edit summaries they're sending? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 22:10, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

1576: I Could Care Less

2015-09-14T12:56:23Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */ further alternative meaning of the title text added

{{comic
| number = 1576
| date = September 11, 2015
| title = I Could Care Less
| image = i_could_care_less.png
| titletext = I literally could care less.
}}

{{incomplete|Explanation is mostly unverifiable discussion}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the dichotomy between the literal meaning of the phrase "I could care less" and its idiomatic meaning in American English as an expression of indifference, synonymous with "I could'''n't''' care less."<ref>{{cite web |title=care |website=Merriam-Webster English Dictionary |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care
|access-date=13 September 2015 |quote=care less: not to care — used positively and negatively with the same meaning .}}</ref> Many people<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUsPnKD1gk&t=14s |title=Could care less |last1=Cleese |first1=John |date=29 November 2007 |publisher=Youtube |accessdate=8 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw&t=1m2s |title=Dear America... David Mitchell's SoapBox |last1=Mitchell |first1=David |date=20 May 2010 |publisher=Youtube |accessdate=8 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&t=1m7s |title="Weird Al" Yankovic - Word Crimes |last1=Yankovic |first1=Alfred |date=15 July 2014 |publisher=Youtube |accessdate=8 September 2015}}</ref> argue that this use is incorrect and the phrase should only be "I couldn't care less," which is the original form of the expression and remains the standard form in British English.<ref>{{cite web |title=Word Fact: I Couldn’t Care Less vs. I Could Care Less |url=http://blog.dictionary.com/could-care-less/ |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> This is the opinion expressed, for example, by the Weird Al Yankovic song "Word Crimes": <blockquote>Like I could care less 
That means you do care 
At least a little</blockquote>
However, linguists point out that the strict application of logic to an idiom is inappropriate: many expressions seem on the surface to mean the opposite of the meaning they are used to convey (e.g. "head over heels"), and they defend "I could care less" on those grounds.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Defense of ''I Could Care Less'' |author=Akira Okrent |website=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/03/18/why_i_could_care_less_is_not_as_irrational_or_ungrammatical_as_you_might.html |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> The psychologist Steven Pinker argues in ''The Language Instinct'' that the phrase is sarcastic (cf. "Big deal!"), while linguist John Lawler explains it as a "Negative Polarity Item," a phrase that is practically only used in negated form, allowing the explicit negation to be omitted (a pattern often found in French).<ref>{{cite web |author=John Lawler |title="Give a Damn" |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/giveadamn.html |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref>

In this comic, Megan feels alone because there is unavoidable difference between her understanding of her own words and the listener's interpretation, so while she sees discussion of semantics as being of potentially high social and emotional value, she doesn't think it has objective value. However, ironically, at the end of the comic, the meaning of "I could care less" with regards to Ponytail's behavior is ambiguous: either Megan is brushing off Ponytail's pedantry because she doesn't care about it (she couldn't care less) or she is hurt by Ponytail's focus on the details of her words rather than the emotional cues she should have learned over the course of their relationship (she actually could care less).

The title text refers to another word often used in ways some consider incorrect: "literally" (see [[725: Literally]]). The sentence is also ambiguous, as it may mean that 'literally' or 'figuratively,' the speaker could or couldn't care less. Further, it implies that Munroe considers the argument over whether literally may be properly used to mean 'figuratively' is petty in the same way.

Alternatively, it could mean that Megan cares too much about Ponytail's correction, considering her response to it.

In a further alternative, the title text could amount to a self-ironical evaluation on Munroe’s part to the effect that he himself might be devoting too much of his time and energy to the meaning of the phrase in question, as evidenced by the comic itself.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Ponytail are walking together]

:Megan: ...Anyway, I could care less.

:Ponytail: I think you mean you couldn't care less. Saying you could care less implies you care at least some amount.

:Megan: I dunno.

:Megan: We're these unbelievably complicated brains drifting through a void, trying in vain to connect with one another by blindly flinging words out into the darkness.

:Megan: Every choice of phrasing and spelling and tone and timing carries countless signals and contexts and subtexts and more, and every listener interprets those signals in their own way. Language isn't a formal system. Language is glorious chaos.

:Megan: You can never know for sure what any words will mean to anyone. All you can do is try to get better at guessing how your words affect people, so you can have a chance of finding the ones that will make them feel something like what you want them to feel. Everything else is pointless.

:Megan: I assume you're giving me tips on how you interpret words because you want me to feel less alone. If so, then thank you. That means a lot.

:Megan: But if you're just running my sentences past some mental checklist so you can show off how well you know it, then I could care less.

{{comic discussion}}
<references/>
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Logic]]

1518: Typical Morning Routine

2015-04-29T08:56:08Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */ While I (this editor) have no idea of the actual price of mercury, I know it is quite expensive, and usually only used in small quantities, to fill a vent would be way more expensive than water.

{{comic
| number = 1518
| date = April 29, 2015
| title = Typical Morning Routine
| image = typical_morning_routine.png
| titletext = Hang on, I've heard this problem. We need to pour water into the duct until the phone floats up and ... wait, phones sink in water. Mercury. We need a vat of mercury to pour down the vent. That will definitely make this situation better and not worse.
}}
{{Incomplete|The explanation is not explaining much, more like describing what happens at the moment.}}
==Explanation==
Waking up to an alarm can be annoying, especially when one has difficulty in turning the alarm off. This comic takes this to a ridiculous extreme, whence the comic derives its humour, especially when paired with the title describing it as "typical."

In this comic, a guy with morning hair ([[Hairy]]) is shown using his phone as his alarm clock. It can sometimes be complicated to turn off the alarm on a {{w|smartphone}} when groggy. The guy has apparently exited the alarm app by mistake. In some OSes, simply exiting the app doesn't close it, requiring you to use the app switcher to close it. As of when the comic was posted, [[Randall]] uses both iOS and Android according to [[1508: Operating Systems]]. As such, he is taking an unusually long time turning the device off. Getting annoyed, he's decided to remove the battery to forcefully shut off his phone. However, in the process, he accidentally drops his device down an air vent. Unable to get it out, he tries to remotely {{w|Brick (electronics)|brick it}} (erase important system files rendering the device as useful as a brick). However, he seems to have accidentally gone into {{w|airplane mode}} in the confusion, thereby cutting off all wireless communications with the device. Airplane Mode also has a side effect where by turning off all communication components, the phone conserves charge where the phone will now last a week, rather than typically a day or so.

Rather than dealing with the noise for weeks, he proposes that they just move out instead. We never see who he is sharing the bed with.

In the title text one of the two gets the great idea to pour water into the vent until the phone floats to the top. Then realizing that phones do not float in water. {{w|Mercury (element)|Mercury}}, however, is a very dense liquid (the only metal that is liquid at room temperature). The phone would certainly float on it, though the extremely toxic nature of mercury makes pouring it into the air supply a somewhat less-than-stellar idea, not to mention the fact that the required amount of mercury would be extremely expensive.

==Transcript==
:[The panel is completely black, with white text. Small lines indicate from where the two voices are coming, and also from where the alarm goes off. A small broken square surrounds the first word spoken.]
:Alarm: '''Bleep Bleep'''
:Voice (right): Urgh
:Voice (left): Your alarm is going off
:Voice (right): Huh?
:Voice (left): Make it stop.
:Voice (right) Urrgh

:[The panel is completely black, with white text. Small lines indicate from where the two voices are coming. Several small lines surrounds the last "sound" which is not spoken. The alarm noise is continued from the previous panel and continues over the top of the frame directly into the next panel.]
:Alarm: '''Bleep Bleep Bleep B'''
:Voice (left): Hit snooze.
:Voice (right): I'm ''trying''. I closed the alarm app and I can't... I'll just pop out the battery.
:Voice (right): Whoops!
:Clang

:[The lights have turned on so it is now a white panel with black text. The voice to the right came from Hairy with morning hair. He is leaning over the side of the bed, looking down the air vent through which he has dropped the phone. The other person to the left is not shown. The alarm noise still continues from the previous panel and continues over the top of the frame directly into the next panel.]
:Alarm: '''eep Bleep Bleep Ble'''
:Off-Screen voice: Make it stop!
:Hairy: It... fell down the vent.

:[Hairy is sitting in his bed with a laptop. The person to the left is still off-screen. The alarm noise still continues from the previous panel and continues over the top of the frame out of the comic the the right.]
:Alarm: '''ep Bleep Bleep Bleep Ble'''
:Off-Screen voice: Can you brick it remotely?
:Hairy: Trying... I think I fumbled it into airplane mode?
:Off-Screen voice: The battery could last for weeks.
:Hairy: You know, maybe we should just move.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Sarcasm]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

1283: Headlines

2014-10-07T15:15:25Z

141.101.98.221: /* Explanation */ Bruce Ismay

{{comic
| number = 1283
| date = October 28, 2013
| title = Headlines
| image = headlines.png
| titletext = 1916: 'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY, AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE FINDS. [PICS] [NSFW]
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirizes the sensationalist language used in Internet headlines. Many websites generate ad revenue for getting visitors ("getting more clicks"), so some unscrupulous editors seek to manipulate their readers using tantalizing yet formulaic and crass headlines, designed to attract readers rather than summarize the article's contents. You might recognize this technique from those ridiculous text advertisements — "local mom discovers 1 weird tip to reduce belly fat." The practice is nothing new: {{w|tabloid journalism}} has been doing this for many years (e.g. ''{{w|National Enquirer}}''). The numbers shown at the headline are also often wrong and not covered by the article.

Signs of a dishonest headline include giving undue weight to trivial topics, or appealing to readers' emotions or needs (fear, outrage, pity, lust, laziness) instead of offering serious information. In severe cases, it may be a {{w|bait-and-switch}}, claiming to offer something it isn't. By failing to give a useful summary of the story, whilst attempting to force the reader to click on every story on the off-chance that it's interesting, they amount to an intentionally deceptive form of spam.

[[Randall]] parodies the formula in this comic with such trivializing headlines for important historical events:

*1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:{{w|Albert Einstein}} published his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}, which changed views on space, time, mass, and energy, and laid the groundwork for much of modern physics. They included his papers on {{w|special relativity}} and on {{w|mass–energy equivalence}} ("E = mc2"). He had an infant son in 1905 (born May 1904).
:The use of the term "dad" helps readers tune in emotionally. "Proving scientists wrong about everything" is obviously an inflation of Einstein's achievements. Einstein was awarded the {{w|Nobel Prize}} in 1921 for his work on the {{w|photoelectric effect}}, his work on relativity was still not accepted by many physicists at that time.
*1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:{{w|Sinking of the RMS Titanic}}. "should have died" seems to be referring to six passengers whose survival was downright miraculous, though the wording is (deliberately) ambiguous to imply the six passengers ''deserved'' to have died. Possibly referred to here is the survival of {{w|J. Bruce Ismay}}, chairman and managing director of the White Star Line (the company responsible for the Titanic), who was condemned as a coward for leaving the sinking liner.
*1916: 'Physicist dad' turns his attention to gravity, and you won't believe what he finds. [PICS] [NSFW]
:Einstein published his theory of {{w|General relativity}}, which is a vast generalization of the theory of {{w|Special relativity}} from 1905 and provides a model for gravity. In 1916 Einstein had two sons who lived in Zurich while he lived in Berlin.
:[NSFW] is "Not Safe for Work" - a tag to identify explicit images. Here it is used to trick readers hoping to find pornography.
:[PICS] tells the potential viewer that there are images embedded
*1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:The {{w|Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}} was passed, guaranteeing voting rights for women in all US states. The prediction of new prohibitions is a reference to alcohol prohibition under the authority granted to the federal government by the {{w|Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}}. While the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified before women's suffrage was guaranteed by the Nineteeth, alcohol prohibition was widely seen as an issue driven by women's opinions (hence the suggestion that more things would be prohibited now that women had the vote).
*1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:{{w|Penicillin}} was discovered.
*1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]
:This is a reference to the {{w|Wall Street Crash of 1929}}, the most devastating stock market crash in history and the beginning of the Great Depression. The "embarassing reactions" may be a reference to the suicides of people suddenly impoverished by the depression.
:[GIFS] indicates that the post will contain an animated GIF image - a crude form of short video
*1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1945 is the year that World War II ended. It's also the year that many war crimes committed by Nazi Germany were discovered or declassified.
*1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1948 is when the Soviet Union established the {{w|Berlin Blockade}}, preventing food and other critical supplies from reaching occupied Berlin. In response, Western forces organized the {{w|Berlin Airlift}}.
*1955 - Avoid polio with this one weird trick
:The {{w|polio vaccine}} was developed.
:"One weird trick" is a common phrase used in Internet ads: see [http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/07/how_one_weird_trick_conquered_the_internet_what_happens_when_you_click_on.html this article] for more information.
*1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:The Soviet Union launched {{w|Sputnik 1}}, the world's first artificial satellite. A ''nip slip'' is when a woman unintentionally exposes all or part of one or both of her nipples; in the context of the internet, it generally refers to a photograph capturing such a moment.
*1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:{{w|Martin Luther King Jr.}} and {{w|Robert F. Kennedy}} were both assassinated in 1968.
:Assassinations are rare and considered to be always tragic, so "ranking" them trivializes the political and emotional depth of the events.
*1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:{{w|Apollo 11}} performed the first manned lunar landing. During this historic trip newspapers printed as many pictures of astronauts as they could.
*1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. See {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster}} for details. This was the first shuttle mission that included a teacher on board as part of the crew ({{w|Christa McAuliffe}}, ''{{w|Teacher in Space Project}}''), so there were many children -- a New York Times poll put the number at 48% of 9-13 year olds in the US -- watching this particular launch live as teachers around the country had TV sets in their classrooms showing the ill-fated launch in real time. The launch was not shown on most mainstream TV stations; only {{w|CNN}} broadcast it live.
*1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [video]
:{{w|Fall of the Berlin Wall}}.
:[video] indicates a link to a video
*Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid
:A 90s kid is someone born in the late 80s or early 90s (and spent most their childhood in the 1990s). Headlines like [http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/25-ways-to-tell-youre-a-kid-of-the-9 this one from BuzzFeed] toy with their readers' sense of nostalgia. The parody headline is funny because it starts precisely on the first day of the 1990s, meaning that the only "90s kids" that it would apply to would be newborns. This is a reference to a common joke about the 90s not having a concrete identity in some ways like the 70s or 80s did in terms of popular culture, and yet those born in that decade always seem to have long lists of things that make you a "90s kid".

This topic is re-used in [[1307: Buzzfeed Christmas]].

==Transcript==
:20th Century Headlines
:Rewritten to get more clicks

:1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]
:1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1955 - Avoid Polio with this one weird trick
:1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [video]
:Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid

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

984: Space Launch System

2013-12-25T20:27:03Z

141.101.98.221: Error

{{comic
| number = 984
| date = November 30, 2011
| title = Space Launch System
| image = space_launch_system.png
| titletext = The SLS head engineer plans to invite Shania Twain to stand under the completed prototype, then tell her, 'I don't expect you to date me just because I'm a rocket scientist, but you've gotta admit--this is pretty fucking impressive.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
SLS, which stands for {{w|Space Launch System}} (naturally) is the new launch program being designed by {{w|NASA}} to replace the retired {{w|Space Shuttle}} launch system. In the first frame, [[Cueball]] is showing [[Black Hat]] something about the SLS, possibly a video on his phone or other portable electronic device.

As usual with his appearances, Black Hat is causing trouble. Here Black Hat would appear to be telling the truth because {{w|Nazi}}-{{w|Germany}} era scientists like {{w|Wernher von Braun}}, who was one of the developers of the {{w|Saturn V}} launch vehicle, came over to America and helped develop NASA's space program.

Black Hat's assumption in the last frame is obviously a bridge too far (which is where the joke is in the comic), but he gets his desired reaction out of Cueball, who is hanging his head.

{{w|Shania Twain}} comes into this comic in the title text because in her song "That Don't Impress Me Much", she sings: "Okay, so you're a rocket scientist / That don't impress me much". But, the title text argues that if she stood under the new SLS prototype, she would admit it was in fact, impressive.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check out the SLS - 130 tons to orbit. Finally, rockets that improve on the ones we had 40 years ago.
:Black Hat: Are we getting Nazis to build those ones too?

:Cueball: What?
:Black Hat: When we first captured von Braun and his team, we had our engineers interview them, then *we* built the rockets. But our rockets kept exploding.
:[Von Braun interviewed by a scientist while under guard]
:[The same scientist in front of a spectacularly exploding rocket]

:[The Saturn V gracefully arcing across the night sky]
:Black Hat: Eventually we gave up and had the German teams do it, and they built us the Saturn V moon rocket.

:Cueball: I'm.. not sure what lesson to take from that.
:Black Hat: "If you want something done right, learning from the Nazis isn't enough. You have to actually put them in charge.
:Cueball: That's a *terrible* lesson.
:Black Hat: Then I guess you should get a Nazi to come up with a better one.

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