explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2923: Scary Triangles

2024-04-24T12:07:04Z

141.101.99.20:

Sharks are but two-dimensional icebergs. [ What is Titanic in this metaphor? ] [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 00:17, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
:The Orca. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:33, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

This feels like a riff on cosmology, not sure if it's meant to be it specifically, just sounds a lot like "recent research has discovered 90% of the mass in the universe is dark matter" kind of thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.56|172.69.22.56]] 03:57, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
:No for sure it is a riff on icebergs. It is also not very recent that we found out that most mass in galaxies seems to be invisible (dark matter) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:41, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
::Surely we've known about icebergs for longer. But the fact that they are referenced in the title text reads to me that that's a secondary layer of the joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.140.142|172.69.140.142]] 06:02, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Just like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea predicted the modern submarine, so too did Jaws predict the modern shark. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 04:43, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

No, the joke is, in my opinion, NOT that Cueball didn't understand that sharks don't always show this behaviour and that 90% of it are below the surface is no "conclusion" but the "recent discovery" he (and his team, most likely) just made. The joke is the analogy to icebergs and that only "recent research" has shown that sharks are much more than the "scary triangles of the sea". Pretty much like the discovery that icebergs are much more than what can be seen from the surface was a "huge" surprise in the 18th century. Unfortunately I currently don't have the time to rewrite the explanation in that regards. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:52, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
:I think I, and others, did rewrite it, hope it is an improvement? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:41, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
:: Yes, thanks :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:21, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

"90% of the universe is composed of faecal matter" - this is another fundamental law, coincidentally found out by a person named like another large fish, so there is clearly a pattern emerging and Cueball might be on to something. Will we get to a ''Grand Unified Theory of Everything and Its Dog'' through sharks, icebergs, dark matter and literary genres? [[User:PaulEberhardt|PaulEberhardt]] ([[User talk:PaulEberhardt|talk]]) 22:04, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
:Don't you mean '...everything and its dogfish'?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.169|141.101.99.169]] 08:30, 24 April 2024 (UTC)
:actualy just statistical error. only 2% of the universe is poop. Feces Georg --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.183|172.69.79.183]] 08:44, 24 April 2024 (UTC)
::Depends whether you're measuring volume or mass. Basically you're talking at cross poopuses.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 12:07, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

== BLÅHAJ ==

Yes!
If you learn enough about the culture of Blåhaj, you will recognize that 90% of it is hidden below the visual appearance.
(Okay, I got the iceberg attribution a few seconds before I got the link to Blåhaj, but now I am convinced. :D )
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.211|162.158.111.211]] 15:25, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects

2022-04-25T21:25:35Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2611
| date = April 25, 2022
| title = Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects
| image = cutest_sounding_scientific_effects.png
| titletext = The Stroop-YORP number of a scientific paper is how many of the 16 finalist names (sans 'effect') it manages to casually sneak into the text.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a YORP effect - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This shows a [tournament bracket|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket_(tournament)] for a hypothetical knock-out competition between different scientific effects

;YORP: (an acronym of Yarkovsky, O’Keefe, Radzievskii, and Paddack) is the effect of sunlight on an asteroid with variations of albedo, which can increase its rotation rate, perhaps until it spins itself apart.
;Nocebo: The opposite of the placebo effect. If you believe a medication will have side effects, you are more likely to experience side effects.
;

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2608: Family Reunion

2022-04-19T12:59:45Z

141.101.99.20: add comment on >2 and non-parental inheritance

How are relatives related by asexual reproduction defined and named?

[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 21:01, 18 April 2022 (UTC)
: Any particular organisms in mind? It seems like you'd still have a generational parent, but there are a number of forms of asexual reproduction, blurring the line of what is a new lifeform and what is part of the old. Many plants, for example, can spread via colonies of their roots, whether severed from each other or not. I'm curious if there are organisms with more than two parents, and how many generations out of sync those parents can be. I think some plants might do this as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.147|172.70.114.147]] 22:06, 18 April 2022 (UTC)
:: Look up mitochondrial donation for a case of three parents in humans, with two of them being the regular genetic parents for the 23 chromosome pairs and one extra parent (mother) for the mDNA. In nature you also have cases of horizontal gene transfer (for example via plasmids) where genetic information is passed outside of linear inheritance. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 12:59, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
:For the above case the definition would be a bit tricky, but for asexual reproduction each time the organism reproduces/goes through mitosis would be considered one generation I suppose. That does solve the _cousin _-removed thing, although perhaps not anything connected to which side of the family (maternal, paternal, etc). Then again those things aren't comprehensive for humans either, so bacteria certainly would be new. [[User:Char Latte49|Wielder of the Staple Gun]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 00:25, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

This is an important comic in xkcd lore

If the chair is made of wood, doesn't it mean that it's made of the dead remains of another relative? Isn't that rather gloomy?

[[User:Eje211|Eje211]] ([[User talk:Eje211|talk]]) 21:30, 18 April 2022 (UTC)
:"Good old Umpteen-billionth-cousin oaktree has practically become part of the furniture!" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 22:00, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Siblings would also technically be zeroth cousins, and the self would be a negative first cousin. No idea what higher order negative cousins would imply. Incidentally, the this structure fixes the lack of a gender neutral term for uncle/aunt/nephew/niece, who could be referred to as zeroth cousins, once removed. This does remove the directionality of the terms, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.5|172.70.130.5]] 22:09, 18 April 2022 (UTC)
: Higher order negative cousins would require that you are both descended from one of your own descendants. This either requires time travel, as in "All You Zombies", or counting step-parents, as in "I Am My Own Grandpa".--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.234|162.158.62.234]] 22:22, 18 April 2022 (UTC)
:Siblings share a parent, which is already a explicit disqualification from any 'cousin-counting' process. As is the <nephew and/or neice> to <aunt and/or uncle> relationship (via a parent of the latter party, though extend that minimal leg of relationship just one generation further and you get your archetypal first-and-zero cousins).
:Yes, it would be nice to have a good term for that, but we already (in English at least) don't have a good word for "aunt/uncle/nephew/niece-by-marriage" unless you start to add "-in-law" to it (which [[2040: Sibling-in-Law|itself is open to certain vagueness]].
:Though {{wiktionary|Wiktionary:Requested_entries_(Hindi)/Multilingual_list_of_Indian_family_relation_names|some languages}} do a lot more than English. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.203|172.69.79.203]] 22:35, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

According to a family tree app we have, I'm my own 9th cousin once removed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.62|108.162.246.62]] 02:16, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

What about the drink on the chair? Assuming it might be an alcoholic beverage, would the bacteria and/or yeast organisms which catalysed the fermentation not also have to be considered as (very) remote relatives? [[User:Captain Nemo|Captain Nemo]] ([[User talk:Captain Nemo|talk]]) 09:52, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols

2022-04-14T05:16:03Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2606
| date = April 13, 2022
| title = Weird Unicode Math Symbols
| image = weird_unicode_math_symbols.png
| titletext = U+2A0B ⨋ Mathematicians need to calm down
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SNAKES OVER THERE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic proposes joke explanations for various unicode symbols with obscure or no known uses.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Symbols
|-
! Codepoint !! Symbol !! Unicode Name !! Actual use !! Randall's meaning || Explanation
|-
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Triangle with Serifs At Bottom || No standard use,{{citation needed}} but resembles half of the {{w|Hobo#Hobo signs and graffiti|Hobo sign}} for "Rich people live here" (the other half being a top hat)[https://www.logodesignlove.com/hobo-signs-and-symbols] || Shark || May look like a shark fin sticking out of the water.
|-
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Electrical Intersection || Indicates where wires branch off || Traffic circle || May look like a {{w|roundabout}}.
|-
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || {{w|Smash product}} || Result of dividing two {{w|product spaces}} || ''Hashtag'' (obliquely transcribed!) || Looks somewhat like the {{w|Number sign|hash}} symbol (#) – commonly used for indicating tags called {{w|hashtag}}s in social media – turned by 45 degrees.
|-
| U+2A7C || ⩼ || Greater-Than with Question Mark Above || Used in proofs to indicate a greater-than relation that should exist but hasn't been proven yet (non-rigorous) || Confused alligator || One metaphor used when teaching inequality signs in primary school is that the sign looks like an alligator mouth "eating" the larger number.
|-
| U+299E || ⦞ || Angle with S Inside || Plural for the angle symbol (∠) [https://www.quora.com/Unicode-How-is-the-s-in-triangle-glyph-used-in-mathematics][https://www.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib2/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/1114/Homework%20Helper%20Unit%203%20ch%209-10.pdf] rarely used || Snack || May look like a mouth eating an S, where the S symbolizes some snack food.
|-
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || {{w|Arity|N-ary}} Union Operator with Plus || Disjoint union[https://books.google.com/books?id=531cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=%E2%A8%84&source=bl&ots=oYXkMNXP-T&sig=ACfU3U2QvMRBkD7uVG0OSumKI0JQtjTIKA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwios862ypL3AhWXVTABHTnQALQQ6AF6BAgKEAM] (joining two sets that have no elements in common) || Drink refill || Looks like a cup with a plus to indicate adding drink to the cup.
|-
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Rightwards Arrow Above Reverse Almost Equal To || Pairs with ⭂ but does not appear to be in regular use || Snakes over there || Looks like two squiggles to represent snakes and an arrow indicating the direction where they may be found.
|-
| U+225D || ≝ || Equal To By Definition || Indicates an equation where the left side is to be defined as the right side[https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/1z1mty/can_someone_please_explain_the_equal_to_by/] usually used in proofs to indicate the sought definition has been reached || Definitely, for sure || "Def" is understood as "definitely"; the equal sign looks like a double underline, indicating heavy emphasis.
|-
| U+237C || ⍼ || Right Angle with Downwards Zigzag Arrow || No purpose is known[https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html]; speculation includes "Y axis continues downward" and "diode with a gate". || Larry Potter || Looks like the letter "L" and a lightning bolt. {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter}} is known for having a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. The character {{w|Legal_disputes_over_the_Harry_Potter_series#Nancy_Stouffer|Larry Potter}} figured in a fraudulent legal claim against J.K. Rowling.
|-
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Closed Union with Serifs and Smash Product || Indicates that a collection of topological spaces is {{w|Union-closed sets conjecture|closed}} when taking arbitrary unions and smash products, for use in a serif font. That is, if you take the union of any collection of topological spaces in the collection (even uncountably many), or the smash product of them, the result will also be in that collection. This is apparently important because the sets can't be isomorphic (one cannot be rearranged to be exactly the other) [https://mathoverflow.net/questions/196084/counterexample-for-associativity-of-smash-product] || Spider caught with a cup and index card || Spiders or other bugs found within someone's house or workspace may be caught with a glass and something flat, often a card or a magazine, to be released outside.
|-
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || Triple Horizontal Bar with Triple Vertical Stroke || Decorative{{citation needed}} || ℍ𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕥𝕒𝕘 || Hash symbol with one extra vertical and horizontal line, or perhaps a hash symbol which has been accidentally double-struck or overprinted.
|-
| U+2368 || ⍨ || APL Functional Symbol Tilde Diaeresis || Indicates that the {{w|negation|logical not}} operation should be performed on each of the symbols that follow || :/ || Looks like a confused or disappointed face. Randall's use is in fact common among {{w|APL (programming language)|APL}} programmers in the comments, as documented [https://aplwiki.com/wiki/APL_Orchard#Emoticons here].
|-
| U+2118 || ℘ || Script Capital P || An eccentric, Gothic-esque capital Roman P first used by Weierstrass for his self-named "p-function." This symbol is universally used for the {{w|Weierstrass Elliptic Function|p-function}} and apparently has no name except "Weierstrass-p." It is reminiscent of ∂, a stylized cursive d used for partial differentials or ∫, a stylized long s used for integrals. || Snake || This symbol coils around like a long snake, with a tapering-off tail on one end and a small "head" on the other.
|-
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || Subset with Multiplication Sign Below || Indicates that one set is subset of another by means of the cross product || "User experience", written sideways || Looks like the letters Ux written sideways; Ux is an abbreviation for {{w|user experience}}.
|-
| U+232D || ⌭ || {{w|Cylindricity}} || A symbol used in geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) to represent a parameter called "cylindricity" which describes the statistical deviation of an ensemble of surfaces from a reference cylinder. [https://cimquest-inc.com/metrology-minute-cylindricity/ example use] || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball || Looks like two flat hands (perhaps like stick-figure arms) rolling a ball between them. Rolling dough between one's hands to make it into a ball is an important step in making many kinds of pastry.
|-
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Line Integration with Semicircular Path Around Pole || Very rare symbol for half of a closed {{w|Contour integration|contour}} or {{w|Line integral|line}} integral which contains the {{w|Origin (mathematics)|origin}} in its interior. Contour integrals which circle the origin are very important in complex analysis. If such an integral were split into two parts, each could be represented by this symbol.
Might be mistaken for ⨔ (Integral not including the {{w|Zeros and poles|pole}}) [https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2299363/where-is-the-%E2%A8%93-integral-symbol-defined]
|| Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard || Looks like an {{w|integral}} symbol with a bump that goes around a dot, as if a professor was drawing an integral on a whiteboard but did not want to disturb a bee that had landed right in the path of their marker.
|-
| U+2A0B (title text)|| ⨋ || Summation with Integral || The sum of the sum of the discrete elements (∑) and the integrals (∫)over the connected pieces. This symbol requires context to be meaningful but could occur, for instance, when computing probabilities using mixed distributions.
[https://twitter.com/fermatslibrary/status/1308743505309822977 see also]
|| Mathematicians need to calm down || Since the two symbols combined are kinds of summation the symbol seem unnecessary at first glance. The comment given may make fun of mathematicians' tendency to form increasingly complex expressions in their work.
|-
|}

This comic may have been inspired by [https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html this blog post], which went viral (in a limited sense) the same day the comic was published.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Title:] Weird Unicode math symbols

[Subtitle:] And their meanings

{|
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Shark
|-
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Traffic circle
|-
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || Hashtag [the text is slanted counterclockwise]
|-
| U+299E || ⦞ || Snack
|-
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || Drink refill
|-
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Snakes over there
|-
| U+225D || ≝ || Definitely, for sure
|-
| U+237C || ⍼ || Larry Potter
|-
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Spider caught with a cup and index card
|-
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || [The word "hashtag" but with extra horizontal and vertical lines]
|-
| U+2368 || ⍨ || :/
|-
| U+2118 || ℘ || Snake
|-
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || [The words "user experience" rotated counterclockwise 90 degrees]
|-
| U+232D || ⌭ || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball
|-
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Unicode]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]

Talk:2597: Salary Negotiation

2022-03-24T08:46:24Z

141.101.99.20:

The second panel is me every time I haggle for something, and I have to make sure I don't end up haggling the wrong way. Or starting above my desired price when I mean to start below so that I can meet in the middle at my desired price.

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 23:06, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

They should offer him $61,333.33 plus a penny extra once every three years.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.198|162.158.107.198]] 23:31, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Any idea how Cueball arrived at the figure of $61 1/3 thousand?--[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 03:33, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

Interesting. In the UK, I was taught to call them recurring decimals. Never heard of repeating decimals. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 08:46, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2594: Consensus Time

2022-03-19T10:13:51Z

141.101.99.20:

What if there's, like, a group of trolls that all press the button at like 9:00 pm? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 17:20, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

Less than a day should be enough time for a team of people to notice and override the trolls' attempt to game the system.
Unless the trolls decide to push the button right before midnight.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 23:11, 16 March 2022 (UTC)
:Presupposes that an executive decision that "oh, that was just sabotage, we can ignore all those 'votes'" by an oversight panel is deemed ok to occasionally enforce. As with actual election votes, that shouldn't be taken lightly (for fear of top-down skewing of the actual sincere wish of those casting their opinions).
:As it's a median (in itself a good idea, as there's no reason to cast very extreme outliers — it doesn't do anything more to the result than a barely marginal outlier) all you need to do is ask enough people (in excess of any counter-aiming participation, if there's a fight over it) to merely adjust their 'feeling' to half an hour later (or earlier, if that's your aim) than they normally would.
:Added to the 'natural' variation in feeling (spread statistically amongst your participating group) it would be practically impossible to decide that a distinct tapering-lump of results exists, to possibly disqualify. Whereas if results show clear 'lumps' hours apart (e.g. around 3AM and/or 9PM, as well as the standard bunch around the 'honest' opinion point), there might be a case to officially intervene. Or at least officially review the procedure. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 09:14, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
: It's basically Wiki-Time, the same principles apply as a Wiki... and Wikis are always 100% accrate, rite? --[[User:192·168·0·1|192·168·0·1]] ([[User talk:192·168·0·1|talk]]) 18:42, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

Probably a reference to the Senate DST thing[[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.237|172.70.210.237]] 17:46, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

I feel like this could supersede time-zones as well, by weighting reports by relative longitude, so you could have a kind of continuous change in time as you travel. I'm sure this wouldn't cause any problems at all, since every single computer would effectively be in its own mini time-zone, with its clock going at a slightly different speed, and both current time and speed of time would vary continuously with position.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.11|162.158.159.11]] 17:53, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

I have to feel that the night shift people would really not like this. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:35, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

My take on this is that Midnight is a fixed point, it's always at the same time, and the day compresses and expands around it based on the median 9AM location. So, some days will have long hours in the morning, then compressed hours in the afternoon and evening. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.52|162.158.107.52]] 20:37, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

See also consensus new year https://xkcd.com/2092/ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.237|172.70.210.237]] 20:43, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

I think he's also ripping on the concept of "wisdom of the crowd". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:31, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

If someone makes this app, I'd use it. I might not follow its clock, but I'd be interested in seeing what happens. [[User:Draco18s|Draco18s]] ([[User talk:Draco18s|talk]]) 00:01, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

The sociologist in me wants to see this... The computer scientist in me could not be reached for comment and only mumbled something about "checking stock in the bomb shelter" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.62|108.162.246.62]]

Hmm... Does this probably mean 9AM today could theoretically be '''after''' 9AM tomorrow in some cases!? Talk about a new approach to time travel. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.147.9|172.70.147.9]] 05:12, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

Working example: https://matthewminer.name/projects/consensus-time/ --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 20:47, 18 March 2022 (UTC)
: 👏 excellent work --[[User:192·168·0·1|192·168·0·1]] ([[User talk:192·168·0·1|talk]]) 18:46, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

I've often thought the answer to the arguments about daylight saving time could be solved by going back to something like the old Canonical Hours with the period from sunrise to sunset divided into 12 hours, with short hours in winter and longer ones in summer. Incidentally, in the late sixties, an experiment was tried in the UK to keep the country on daylight saving all year round, called British Standard Time. I remember going to school in the north of England in December and it was still dark to well past nine o'clock in the morning. It apparently reduced road deaths, but it was abandoned after three years. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 09:09, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

Re. "the next vote would occur sooner or later respectively": This doesn't make sense - by definition, the vote takes place at no fixed time. Everybody votes at different times, depending on when they feel like it's 9am. They could, if they wished, do this capriciously, with no relation at all to the previous day's vote. One possible outcome of this is that the consensus view could drift so far from that of some individual views that it becomes impossible to determine which 'day' they're voting in respect of, and therefore which vote they should be counted in.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.239|162.158.34.239]] 11:25, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
:I see your point. If I was writing it, I'd suggest one of three alternatives.
:*The time that an otherwise consistent (possibly even 'accurate') voter votes is at variable times according to the Consensus Clock.
:*What it really means is that the votes are ''actioned'' (or processed, but see below) at Consensus Midnight (close-of-votes) which is going to usually be earlier/later than 24-hours after the prior C.M. point.
:*During the period of longer (or shorter) hours, for the Consensus adjustment, the vote that comes in three Consensus Hours before that day's Consensus 9AM will not actually be three 'real' hours before that point, and there is no indication that it will be back-adjusted, in case the Consensus Median Vote asked for 15 minutes earlier but might appear to be (say) 10 minutes earlier. (A vote that is deemed Consensus Median and 15 minutes later will ''always'' be intrinsically 15 minutes later.)
:But I don't think there'll ever be a problem deciding which day a vote is effective for (though it might be different from intention, for the more inattentive voters). My proposed implementation would be to assume a cut-off at (or maybe slightly before, depending upon overheads) C.M., with all votes now either held off or handed straight over to the next day's vote as very-early votes for the next 9AM rather than very-(very-very-)late votes for the one now being acted upon.
:A simple method that saves end-of-day time to process involves a chronological-queue of incoming votes. For every odd-numbered vote added to the tail of the queue, from the 3rd one onwards, a single recorded vote (the current earliest) is shifted off the head of the queue (to be recorded/archived, maybe, but no longer relevent to the result we will calculate).
:At the moment of tallying, the head of the queue has your median-vote. The next one waiting to be shifted, if it's an odd-length, the mid-point of that with the next one on if the queue is even-length. (If I've described/imagined it correctly!)
:This immediately sets the time-factor used to expand/contract the hours from 00:00 to 09:00 in the Consensus Clock to get 9AM to match the Consensus Median Plus 24 Hours.
:Problems with lag/latency of incoming votes (chronologically confirmed, at source, but late to be processed centrally) would be most important with those immediately around the precisely defined Median, when sheer weight of opinion suggests that it'll be the most busy, but there should be enough idle-capacity to insert or shuffle items into the right bit of queue before the Midnight point. Or maintain sub-lists (5 minute slots?) that are maintained and finalised seperately and then their number of entries reported as a simple digest so that the system knows that "the ''n''th point of the ''m''th array", and maybe the n+1th, or the first in the m+1th (if needed), is/are to be plucked out at Midnight and looked at.
:It really won't matter if a million votes come in at 23:59, so long as they are counted and have been at least balanced by a million earlier-votes from 00:00 onwards. But if valid and acceptable but ''very late'' votes filter through after a preliminary decision has already been made based upon a now pre-Median time-vote timing, the new (true) Median can be established within the first few minutes (or probably seconds, or even microseconds!) of the adjusted-hours and the adjustment-Rate simply re-adjusted accordingly to meet whatever the revised Consensus is (seconds later? minutes later, at a push?).
:It could not push the next 9AM beyond 24 hours from the vote-period's closing Midnight, and likely won't push it beyond the prior idea of what the Midnight the upcoming day would originally have, without serious mass-action to break the system.
:An example of deliberate breaking could be by coordinating ''everyone'' to seed a few heavily premature votes (so the next Midnight is sent close to 15 real-hours after the vote-close one, very compressed 0:00->09:00 upon the clocks) then virtually nothing until everyone else quite deliberately votes at a confirmable moment of 23:59:59 (or as close as feasible, without being next-day votes, whilst jamming the queue-mechanism and forcing delayed evaluation) to force the rapidly-compressed clocks to switch over to a snail-paced rate to compensate...
:...But that kind of coordinated civil-disruption wouldn't be suddenly conjoured out of nowhere. I would expect that there'd be plenty of forewarning that any particular disruptive strategy is being considered (or experimented with), and it also needs (almost) everyone to be striving to force the exact same scenario with easily detected coordination of instructions. Heavily outnumbering both honest-voters and those dishonest-voters contrarily inclined. Otherwise the effect is minimal, or even practically ineffective. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.27|172.68.229.27]] 21:39, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

Of course, before mechanical clocks, hours varied across the year. With 12 short hours each day, and long ones over night in winter and 12 long ones in summer, with shorter hours overnight. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 21:31, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

The total day length would remain the same in this proposal. That means that the length of the hours (both before and after 9AM) would vary.
The reference to the weekly cycle seems to refer to the fact that people tend to sleep in during the weekends. Thus, on Saturday and Sunday the buttons would be pressed later, and consequently 9AM would be relatively late on Sundays and Mondays. What (if any) effects there would be on other weekdays is unclear to me, which makes it an interesting experiment to conduct in someone else's country.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 10:13, 19 March 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2585: Rounding

2022-02-24T22:39:16Z

141.101.99.20:

Wot no {{w|FFF system|furlongs per fortnight}}? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.126|172.70.91.126]] 23:14, 23 February 2022 (UTC)

: I, too, was initially surprised that Randall hadn't used the standard joke measure. But, then I realized that F/F is so outrageously large that rounding wouldn't offer much advantage. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 05:10, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

If we're using the table, can I suggest it be fully filled in, but mark "original (rounded)" value cells one key colour and the chosen conversion in another, so that scanning along (not necessarily adjacent/rightwards) then down (always next row) then along... you see the 'bounce around'. And we also get to appreciate what other fractional values ''could'' have been chosen, prior to rounding... Alternately, some flow-charty layout (perhaps contained within a nominally borderless version of the table?) with arrows leading across the width and filling in-between each down-step. Ideas only. I have others, but those seem the best bet to consider. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.113|172.70.85.113]] 01:32, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

Disagree with the current (as of 23:27 US Eastern, 23 February) explanation. According to this site (https://ilovebicycling.com/average-bike-speed/), average downhill bike speed is over 45 mph. Since Cueball doesn't specify "on flat terrain", he should have no problem going 45 without exploiting imprecise conversions. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 04:30, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
:Huh? This does not say average downhill speed is > 45, it says "fastest". Also why would Cueball need to do this bizarre rounding if he can actually go 45mph? This is an exaggeration because he can only go a typical speed of 17mph.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.145|172.69.33.145]] 04:52, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
::Fastest for average cyclist. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 05:05, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
:As a cyclist of several decades experience, who has indeed attained such speeds on rare (reckless) occasions, I think that "fastest downhill speed for an average rider" is overstated. Maybe it is what average people are capable of on a well-surfaced, steep, straight, non-undulating road with sufficient vision (forward and of anything potentially moving into the road from the side) or at least confidence that you're not dealing with traffic/pedestrians/other unaware cyclists. Oh, and sufficient stopping distance for whatever brakes you have.
:Maybe everybody can do it ''once'', but a good bike-ride should be one you can walk away from at the end.
:(Also, that cycling-centric site might have a different idea of 'average' cyclist. The average person on a bike here can't even put their feet on the pedals correctly. If we're talking club-/competitive-cyclists (but still sub-pro) then I'd much more readily agree, but there are far more people these days who can't even ride on the roadway, it seems.)
:That bike, as drawn, looks like it'll be Okish (if kept well maintained) but not exactly set up as functional downhill racer, nor probably is the rider. I really think the machine probably could be ridden at 20+mph on the flat for as long as the rider can stand to, but the characterisation makes me not confident they're able to maintain that kind of average speed for a [https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/race-results/22059#anchor long ride], and I think they'd overbake a downhill speed-run too, or (sensibly) be more cautious. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.143|172.70.85.143]] 05:14, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
:: Yep - the speeds on that site are for road bikes. Cueball looks to be riding a hybrid (flat bars), which would tend to put him in a more upright position, creating a higher frontal area and air resistance, and so slowing his progress. That would have even more of an effect at higher speeds. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 11:14, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

Arguably, once you're up to numbers around 45, you're as likely, if not more so, to be rounding to the nearest 5 than the nearest unit (depending on context). So Cueball's initial statement could be taken as suggesting that he can ride at around 42.5 - 47.5mph (rather than 44.5 - 45.5mph). And if he could actually ride at over 45mph then he presumably wouldn't need to add the 'if you round' qualifier, so it could further be taken as just suggesting that he can exceed 42.5mph. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 11:22, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

Note I find it kind of disappointing that the insane "KPH" unit is used in the comic. Nobody uses that in places where speed is actually measured in km/h.

Ironically, by the same standards it only takes one conversion to say that he can't move at all on a bike. he goes 0 parsecs, lightyears or AU (for example) per year, decade or century (for example).

Can we remove the rounding errors in the "exact" values in the tables? For instance, the final value should be "45.0000" not "45.0001". In fact, all three values ending with 0001 are rounding errors. (These were probably a result of converting to metric and back, using low precision conversion factors.) [[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 15:49, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

Whoever decided to display that information in that table deserves an award. Gg. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.65|172.70.126.65]] 16:38, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

It's nice how the rounding of exact half-integers only ever has to deal with odd-numbers-and-a-half, so Cueball can't be charged with violating the "round to even" rule, nor with violating the "round away from zero" rule. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.122|172.70.131.122]] 18:06, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

It looks like Randall picked a starting speed (within a reasonable bike-riding range) to maximize his gain. Groups of starting speeds round to the same final speeds, and some groups have a higher maximum speed earlier in the rounding chain:
::{| class="wikitable"
! Start Speed
(mph)
! Max Speed
(rounded to mph)
! Final Speed
(mph)
|-
|1
|1
|0
|-
|2 to 9
|9
|8
|-
|10
|10
|8
|-
|11 to 16
|16
|15
|-
|17 to 45
|45
|45
|-
|46 to 54
|54
|53
|}[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.122|172.70.131.122]] 21:24, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
:Are you assuming the exact same chain of conversions, just with different input values? Surely if he'd chosen to start at (say) 16, he'd have chosen whatever ''other'' chain of conversions would have sent him towards some decent high-value. Might have differed only by the initial conversions before it found itself landing on the same late-path, or could be completely different (to get to a different end) as the biased random-walk of choices hit a different useful stride pattern. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 22:39, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

A note about the propulsion system in the mouseover text: This system is not entirely novel and was first proposed by Douglas Adams who suggested using the notebooks of waiters in bistros to achieve the desired precision loss. He suggested it should be possible to achieve speeds of round ∞kph (∞mph)

Talk:810: Constructive

2022-02-22T23:03:38Z

141.101.99.20: "Robots Write News"

I know just the guy to create this system. I'm going to PM him now :D {{unsigned ip|184.11.73.88}}

:Any updates on the progress of this? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.67|172.69.90.67]] 17:34, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

No guys, if spammers invent a bot which can give constructive comments, that will be an ***AI***, i.e. a major breakthrough in itself. {{unsigned ip|173.245.53.200}}

Mission. A-Fucking. Complished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.7}}

One problem: trolls who rate everything as non-constructive. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.11|108.162.218.11]] 01:32, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
:But Trolls like that are also unable to make constructive comments, so they won't get counted anyway (at least, if the system is designed with any sense) Anonymous 15:02, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

Guys, isn't this how Slashdot works? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.64|173.245.49.64]] 19:04, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Okay, I came here to get a better explanation of how the system would actually work. Assuming it operates at sign-up, the bots would go through and rate comments, which would have no effect if the system didn't already know whether they were good or not, then it makes it own comments that need time to be rated; so you would have to give it time to start 'contributing' to the community while waiting for others to rate it, or else users would basically be on a community-approval waiting list. So in short, I feel like the system is flawed; presumably because I'm understanding it wrong. (Bonus: Captcha while posting this) - Zergling_man [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.231|162.158.2.231]] 12:41, 6 July 2016 (UTC)

Wouldn't work. People could rate anything they disagree with as'nonconstructive'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.158|141.101.98.158]] 13:31, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

This sounds exactly like Civil Comments: https://medium.com/@aja_15265/saying-goodbye-to-civil-comments-41859d3a2b1d [[User:Enervation|Enervation]] ([[User talk:Enervation|talk]]) 10:56, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to make something that ''looks'' constructive than to actually be constructive. A lot of spambots these days are like "Wow, this was super interesting! I found another article that seems relevant: [link to spam site]," which is enough to fool a simple spam filter. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.250|162.158.186.250]] 15:49, 18 February 2021 (UTC)
:That's... the point of having users rate it. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 17:02, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
:You see news stories online now that are compiled by some alleged AI from other sources, summarised. Initially it looks okay, but after a minute, you realise that it has no actual sense of what it's saying or how it feels to read it. It wouldn't pass a Turing test, but it could beat it. And meanwhile... I kind of have a question-answering habit with "Quora" - and sometimes its automatic filter thinks that my answers are not "intelligent" enough. Do androids dream of electric sheep... is a question I haven't tried to answer. ;-) Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 23:03, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:456: Cautionary

2022-02-12T13:22:47Z

141.101.99.20:

Isn't 'Talk to your kids about...' from a famous Unilever ad? [[Special:Contributions/101.174.52.183|101.174.52.183]] 09:47, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Is this Megan? Her hair seems awfully curly and it says she's his cousin. Is there an official transcript? [[User:Theo|Theo]] ([[User talk:Theo|talk]]) 20:46, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
:Official transcripts, if they do exist, do not contain names in general. These names are just an invention by some communities like this wiki. So, if you have a better stick figure which would match her, talk about this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
::She is clearly not Megan. I propose to call her ''cousin''. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 22:20, 13 October 2013 (UTC)
::There exists an official transcript for each comic, available to see in the page's source code. According to a comment in [[1037:_Umwelt]], Randall does apparently not type those, but is seemingly done by Davean, his friend maintaining the server. (Note: this is just a guess) [[User:Vgr|Vgr]] ([[User talk:Vgr|talk]]) 11:22, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
::I don't think that this is Megan either. I propose to call her Alice, though, in reference to cryptography. [[User:Official.xian|Official.xian]] ([[User talk:Official.xian|talk]]) 19:46, 10 July 2014 (UTC)

::I think we're all forgetting something very important here: It's a true story, therefore she has a real name. If we really wanted her correct name, we'd be pestering Randall for it. Anonymous 23:26, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
:::And since it's a true story Cueball here's probably meant to be Randall himself. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:57, 14 November 2014 (UTC)
::::And the hair not reminiscent of Megan.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.25|173.245.55.25]] 17:26, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:::::Then why has nobody fixed it to say Cousin instead of Megan?... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.166|173.245.54.166]] 19:42, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::Done. I'm not sure abiut the hyperlinks though, if they're supposed to be on every reference to curball then someone shoulf add those. [[User:Bbruzzo|Bbruzzo]] ([[User talk:Bbruzzo|talk]]) 15:28, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

The last paragraph is taking quite a leap. While she has obviously learned over the 3 months, we have no idea if she is actually building her kernel in a critical and meaningful way. Does not fit with actual comic. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 19:28, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

The part where it says man pages use simple unambiguous language made me laugh[[User:Thaledison|Thaledison]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 17:59, 26 January 2016 (UTC)
: It's called mansplaining for a reason... {{unsigned ip|172.68.59.186}}

Shouldn't it be explained outright that Randall is Cueball (since title text confirms it's a true story)? {{unsigned}}

The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=456:_Cautionary&oldid=226935 "There's no learning curve..." edit" is not quite right. Though all Man Pages should be accessible, do you remember the first time you came across something like:
URI = scheme ":" hier-part [ "?" query ] [ "#" fragment ]
hier-part = "//" authority path-abempty / path-absolute / path-rootless / path-empty
...and wondered what it meant, or how to parse it? Some of the Man Pages out there are even more technically-inclined, presupposing prior knowledge (or where to go to get it), which may not be their intended philosophy but is nonetheless a fact. Not changing anything, but pointing this out. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 13:22, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

2577: Sea Chase

2022-02-08T02:15:25Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */ Correcting the relative location w.r.t. punctuation. (Though I think this is a silly CN use, I'll make your edit better.)

{{comic
| number = 2577
| date = February 4, 2022
| title = Sea Chase
| image = sea_chase.png
| titletext = There are two rules on this ship: Never gaze back into the projection abyss, and never touch the red button labeled DYMAXION.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DYMAXION ABYSS. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, Randall returns to one of his pet subjects: [[977: Map Projections|map projections]]. Unusually,{{Citation needed}} this time it is from the perspective of people living — or, in this case, sailing — upon the world that is quite literally being mapped.

Two sailing ships, of circa 18th-century design, are engaged in a close chase across the {{w|Atlantic}}, the aggressor flying the Skull and Crossbones of a stereotypical pirate vessel. It can be seen from the flags of both ships that they are tacking into the wind, the trailing ship seeming to be lighter and yet deploying more effective canvas with two active sails than the forward one can with three. The ship being chased has a plan to escape and the means to do so. At a crucial moment, [[Cueball]] is told to flip a large incongruous switch that (like several [[1620: Christmas Settings|other]] [[1763: Catcalling|artifacts]] in the xkcd universe) alters the nature of their reality.

Whereas beforehand the world is directly represented upon a simply contiguous map, the {{w|Robinson projection}}, it is now changed to one (which is actually the new reality) known as {{w|Goode homolosine projection|Goode Homolosine}} in which the flattening of the world mitigates localized warping of angle, distance, and area by introducing discontinuities in relatively "unused" parts of the mapped world, such as the center of the Atlantic.

By precisely timing the change (as they cross a particular {{w|meridian}}, possibly the 40°W one), they leave the pursuer now on the wrong side of the very real gap, allowing the pursued ship to escape whatever fate they were trying to avoid. Though there is still an oceanic connection, it requires sailing down the edge towards the tropics, rounding this particular rent in the planet's surface, and heading back up the other side. This is vastly further than Cueball's ship needs to travel to reach (presumably) any European port in which they can safely moor.

The title text elaborates on the policies of the ship: crewmates are never to look into the "projection abyss" and to never hit the red button labeled "{{w|Dymaxion_map|DYMAXION}}."

The first rule suggests that changing the projection of physical reality produces a gap in reality — a void. This may be dangerous to gaze into or simply unnerving to crewmates, hence the rule. This may also be a reference to a well-known quote by philosopher {{w|Friedrich Nietzsche}}: “He who fights with monsters must take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” See [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4363/4363-h/4363-h.htm Beyond Good and Evil at Project Gutenberg]

[[Image:Dymaxion_projection.png|thumb|300px|Dymaxion projection of the world]]

The second rule references a button that seems to do the same thing as the lever but changes the world into a {{w|Dymaxion map|Dymaxion projection}}. The Dymaxion map projects the Earth onto 20 triangles, which are typically chosen such that landmasses are contiguous while adding many discontinuities in the oceans. This would make navigating by ship in such a 2D world even more difficult than in the Goode homolosine projection. In particular, crossing the Atlantic ocean becomes impossible because of the introduction of a projection abyss from Norway to the Caribean.

The Robinson, Goode Homolosine, and Dymaxion projections have been referenced in [[977: Map Projections]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A pirate ship flying the Skull and Crossbones is sailing after a merchant ship. Two sailors' voices come from the merchant ship.]
:Merchant ship sailor #1: They're closing in!
:Merchant ship sailor #2: Hang on, we're almost at the meridian!

:[A map of the Earth in the Robinson projection, with two red dots in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A voice comes from the red dot further to the east.]
:Merchant ship sailor #2: ''Now!'' Throw the switch!

:[Cueball, representing merchant ship sailor #1, pulls down a giant lever switch labeled "Projection", from "Robinson" to "Goode Homolosine".]

:[A map of the Earth in the Goode Homolosine projection, with one red dot on the American side of the split and one red dot on the European side of the split.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2570: Captain Picard Tea Order

2022-01-20T11:01:28Z

141.101.99.20: Added a citation needed tag

{{comic
| number = 2570
| date = January 19, 2022
| title = Captain Picard Tea Order
| image = captain_picard_tea_order.png
| titletext = We can ask the Earl for his order once he's fully extruded from the dispenser.
}}
*This was the fifth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by EXTRUDED EARL GREY- Please change this comment when editing this page. There would be way too many additional [[285: Wikipedian Protester|citations needed]] for it to work here. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Captain {{w|Jean-Luc Picard}} is the captain of the starship ''USS Enterprise'' in the TV series ''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}''. {{w|Earl Grey tea}} is a beverage that he requests many times in the series, with the exact phrase "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaAT6-dY1QI Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.]"

[[Randall]] is parodying this expression with [[#Other Words|other words]] that could follow "Tea. Earl Grey.", from "most normal" to "least normal".

The machine that Picard is using is a {{w|Replicator (Star Trek)|replicator}}, which can create objects, such as Picard's requested Earl Grey tea. And thus in principle anything can be ordered, so a bit boring that it is almost just tea. And always hot.

It is shown when Picard orders normal tea, with other options on his mind than hot, and then two examples where he used tome of the other words on the arrow of less and less normal words. Sticky tea and loud tea. Sticky is kind of obvious, but the loud version is a tea that screams Teeee...

The title text refers to the last item, "Tea for him, too." which presumes that the replicator has produced a regular (unspecified) tea as well as an actual "Earl Grey", like a living person (either one of the {{w|Earl Grey}}s or a person named Grey with the title of {{w|earl}}). In the original order at the bottom of the arrow Picard has on purpose ordered both tee from him self, a person called Earl Grey and has requested a tea for this new person.

In the title text, someone tells Picard that they could also wait until the Earl has been fully extruded from the dispenser to know what he actually wishes to drink, in case he is not interested in tea. It could obviously take some time to get a full person (living) out of the replicator. Again another joke on the boring things the replicator is used for in the series.

However, where the replicator can create other things than food it is stated that it cannot create living things as the resolution is too low.

===Other Words===
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=1 class="wikitable"
! Word !! Explanation
|-
| Hot
| A fairly normal word to be used when ordering tea. Although that it even needs specifying is itself a clue that other variations (such as "Iced", below) are available.
The act of requesting this is illustrated, though not of the appearance of the tea itself.
|-
| Iced
| {{w|Iced Tea}} is a 'normal' variation of tea.
|-
| Decaf
| Traditional teas (from {{w|Camellia sinensis}}) tend to have caffeine in them. Asking for {{w|Decaffeination|decaffeinated}} tea is not particularly uncommon if the drinker requires it.
|-
| Good
| A normal, subjective term. Most people drinking tea would want it to be good, but to specify it like this would perhaps be strange.
|-
| Lukewarm
| While this is a temperature that tea can be at, most people do not want their teas to be lukewarm.
|-
| Tasty
| Similar to good, most people would want their tea to be tasty, or at least flavorsome.
|-
| Boiled
| Boiling the water used to make the tea is a common and normal way to increase the flavor and nutrients extracted from the tea leaves, though it is suggested that the actual ideal temperature of hot water is 75-98°C (167-210°F), according to whether it is a light tea or a dark one, and that perhaps it should be sipped at around 65°C/150°F-ish if desired 'hot'.
Having made a tea and ''then'' bringing it back to the boil (especially after adding milk/etc) may destroy some of the desirable qualities previously imbued.
|-
| Watery
| Tea is a drink that often involves water, but this perhaps suggests over dilution or under infusion in some way.
|-
| Sour
| Many people do not enjoy a sour taste, which can indicate rot and is a strange thing to specify when ordering Earl Grey tea. Although lemon juice is often an additive used in the same way (but as a complete alternative) to milk.
|-
| Meaty
| Most teas are plant-based.
|-
| Solid
| Tea is usually drunk as a liquid. It would be strange to ask for solid tea.
|-
| Dry
| Tea is a liquid typically made with water and may have milk. A dry version might be either unmade (e.g. tea leaves in their un-infused form) or freeze-dried back into a dehydrated form.
("Dry" can also be used to describe {{w|Dryness (taste)|astringent varities of wine}} ''or'' {{w|Prohibition|enforced alcohol-free scenarios}}. For either option, it assumes a default serving with an {{w|Hot_toddy#Variations|alcoholic component}}, or an entirely {{w|Long Island iced tea|alternate basis}} for the beverage, which the request needs to be specify it is not.)
|-
| Raw
| This describes tea that has not been "cooked", so it would just be tea made with room-temperature water. This is {{w|Iced_tea#Sun_tea|possible}} but generally takes many hours.
|-
| Deep-fried
| Tea is not usually deep-fried. But you'll probably {{w|Deep-fried Mars bar|find someone}} who has tried it, [https://www.pitco.com/blog/deep-fried-liquids-trend one way or another].
|-
| Sticky
| Perhaps significantly dehydrated, or thickened with enough of a hydrophilic substance, this would produce something very unlike most teas that would usually be requested.
This scenario is illustrated to show a clearly messy product that awkwardly sticks to and drips from the replicator as well as Picard.
|-
| Grilled
| Tea is not usually grilled.
|-
| Fossilized
| Since tea is a liquid, it would be tricky to figure out how to fossilize it.
|-
| Magnetic
| Tea is not magnetic. Magnetic metals would have to be added to the tea, which would not be pleasant to drink.
|-
| Ballistic
| Usually, the replicated beverage is deposited in a stationary cup, but Picard could ask for it to be dropped or thrown out instead.
|-
| Unstable
| This word is often used to refer to radioactive or explosive materials, which hopefully is not a property that would apply to something meant to be ingested. Alternatively, this could imply that the receptacle into which the tea is delivered should be unstable - being unbalanced, or lacking a flat bottom. This is likely to lead to the tea being spilled.
|-
| Blessed
| Tea is a beverage, and it may be strange to ask a machine to create 'blessed' tea.
In role-playing games, items can be Blessed, i.e. having greater positive or lesser negative effects. This includes potions, a class of drinks that do not include any teas but could contain the "potion of water", which may therefore be the basis of this blessed brew.
|-
| Blurry
| Being blurry is not a normal state for tea to have.
|-
| Loud
| While molecules in tea (especially hot tea, and vitally so in an {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel)|Infinite Improbability Drive}}) do move vigorously, this does not usually result in distinct audible effects.
However, as illustrated, it seems the requested cup of tea is produced capable of emitting a high-pitched, high-volume whining sound that entirely dominates the vicinity. It actually says what it is, Teeeee...
|-
| Virtual
| Virtual tea cannot be produced physically, so asking a physical tea machine for it would be very strange.
|-
| Intravenous
| This means the tea would be injected directly into the customer's veins, likely a very painful experience if the tea comes out boiling. Instrument of choice would probably be a {{w|Infuser|''tea infuser''}}.
|-
| Expanding
| In a sense, most hot tea is expanding: as the water in the tea evaporates, it becomes much less dense, increasing in "size".

But most people would probably argue that the evaporated water is no longer part of the tea. Water, like most materials, usually expands as it increases in temperature—except between freezing and about 4° C, where it has the unusual property of {{w|Water_%28molecule%29#Density_of_water_and_ice|''contracting slightly''}} as temperature increases. If tea behaves similarly despite the extra dissolved compounds, then "expanding tea" would describe any tea between 4° C and boiling point. Possibly beyond, and explosively so, if {{w|Superheating|superheated}} and then nucleating points are introduced.
|-
| Ironic
| How tea could be ironic is a mystery.
|-
| Segmented
| Tea is usually served in a cup. It tends to stick together and form one liquid. Separating the tea into segments would not be possible.
|-
| Verbose
| This describes using lots of words and language, and would not likely be used for tea, because it cannot speak. Command-line computer programs often run in a 'silent' mode without displaying every step of what happens on the screen. Such programs may have a {{w|Verbose mode|''-verbose'' parameter}} that disables the silent mode. As the replicator is run by a computer, the verbose parameter could be applied to the process of tea-making, with the replocator providing an info-dump on the molecular arrangement of the tea, together with the cup pf liquid.
|-
| Cursed
| As with "Blessed", above, items can be Cursed in role-playing games, i.e. having greater negative or lesser positive effects; while there are strategic uses for Cursed items, generally the player would prefer uncursed ones (neutral or blessed). Amongst the curseable items are potions, a class of consumables that do not include any teas but does contain the "potion of water", which may therefore be the cause of this cursed cuppa.
Cursed items have featured in xkcd previously: [[2332: Cursed Chair]], [[2376: Curbside]], and [[:Category:Cursed Connectors]].
|-
| Unexpected
| By definition, Picard is asking for tea, expecting it promptly. Perhaps the request for it to be "unexpected" would cause it to be delivered at an unknown time in the future, or to have some alteration.
|-
| Bipedal
| Tea does not walk.{{citation needed}} This would be a very strange term to use when describing tea.
|-
| Afraid
| Tea does not have feelings. Although [https://www.quotes.net/mquote/901305 water may consider some things to be unpleasant].
|-
| Infinite
| The scope of this request is unclear. It could mean endless production (a steady stream of tea, without obvious limits so long as servicing the request remains practical) or an instantaneous production of an infinite volume of tea (possibly more immediately shown to be flawed in its method of execution). Either could result in an infinitely ''dense'' tea (eventually?), but this may no longer be {{w|No-hair theorem|identifiable as tea}} so might be one of the less practical options, even amongst those on this list.
Indeed, Randall ranks it as the least 'normal', except for just ''one'' further named order.
|-
| Tea for him, too
| {{w|Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey}} is a tea blend.
Taken along with the context of the title text, this Replicator order is for "Tea" (not otherwise qualified), a replicated version ''of'' the Earl Grey (one or other of those {{w|Earl Grey|of that name}}, possibly the {{w|Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|2nd Earl}} for whom the tea blend was supposedly named) and a second such beverage for him to later drink.
|-
! colspan="2" | Descriptions included in comic, but not on the line
|-
| Cold
| Like Iced tea, asking for cold tea is a relatively normal request.
|-
| Pink
| Earl grey is usually an orange-brown color, not pink.
|}

==Transcript==
:[At the top of the panel there is a large caption covering two lines with a subcaption below in a normal sized font:]
:<big>Other words Captain Picard tried at the end of his tea order before settling on "hot"</big>
:From most normal to least

:[Bellow this we see Picard, drawn bald except for a bit of hair near his ears and behind his head. He stands next to a machine, that is a standing rectangle of the same dimensions as Picard. In the front there is an opening around the middle, from where the ordered items can be retrieved. There is a label at the top of the machine. Picard is giving a command to the machine. His first three words are clearly spoken out as they stand, but then at the end of the sentence, in stead of just adding one more word, there is a list of five words in a column between two gray lines. Five words are visible, but the top and bottom words are fading out, presumably other words are above and below, but no longer visible. All except the middle are gray. The middle word is placed as the direct follow up to the first three words in the sentence Picard speaks out, and this word is black like the previous three words. So this middle word is clearly the one he actually speaks out. The others where options, presumably on his mind.]
:Label: Replicator
:Picard:
Good.
Cold.
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
Dry.
Pink.

:[To the left of the machine a long arrow begins snaking it's way to wards the bottom, where it ends in an arrow pointing down towards the bottom of the panel. At the top there is a broad and thick bar from which it start. Beneath this there are several ticks, the first three are close together and on a part of the arrow that goes almost straight down. But then the arrow curves in under the drawing of Picard, and goes over another drawing of him, placed in a captioned frame. The arrow goes around this and up on the other side, where it goes around another drawing of Picard in a similarly captioned frame. After having gone around this frame it goes a bit up before turning almost straight down before the final arrow head that points down. In total there are 36 labeled ticks on the arrow, see labels below. The ticks have very varying distance between them. There are especially long between them around the first panels with Picard, but closer together at the start and towards the very end. Above the top bar from where the arrow starts there is also a label and just below this and to the left of the long arrow is a smaller arrow pointing down in the direction of the long arrow. This small arrow has a label at its starting point.]
:Bar label: Normal
:Small arrow label: Less normal

:[The second drawing of Picard, shows him standing next to the labeled machine. Picard is this time holding a cup, with sticky lines connecting his hands and the machine to the cup. He clearly looks down at the cup rather than on the machine, as the hair behind his ear is turned differently than the first drawing, where he looks straight towards the machine. Above is a label inside a frame overlaid on the top line of the panel, with what Picard ordered:]
:"Tea. Earl Grey. Sticky."
:Label: Replicator

:[The third drawing of Picard, only displays him and not the machine. He is holding a vibrating cup in both hands, and has now turned the other way, away from where the machine was in the previous drawings (again clearly seen by his hair). Very large letters are displayed in three lines behind him to the exclusion of all else. Four of the 15 letters are partly hidden behind the panels frame, and seven of them are partly covered by Picard. Above is a label inside a frame overlaid on the top line of the panel, with what Picard ordered:]
:"Tea. Earl Grey. Loud."
:Teacup: <big>'''Teeeeeeeeeeeeee'''</big>

:[Words on the arrow from start to finish:]
:Hot
:Iced
:Decaf
:Good
:Lukewarm
:Tasty
:Boiled
:Watery
:Sour
:Meaty
:Solid
:Dry
:Raw
:Deep-fried
:Sticky
:Grilled
:Fossilized
:Magnetic
:Ballistic
:Unstable
:Blessed
:Blurry
:Loud
:Virtual
:Intravenous
:Expanding
:Ironic
:Segmented
:Verbose
:Cursed
:Unexpected
:Bipedal
:Afraid
:Infinite
:Tea for him, too

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Food]]

2566: Decorative Constants

2022-01-10T22:43:43Z

141.101.99.20: Added basic transcript

{{comic
| number = 2566
| date = January 10, 2022
| title = Decorative Constants
| image = decorative_constants.png
| titletext = Arguably, the '1/2' in the drag equation is purely decorative, since drag coefficients are already unitless and could just as easily be half as big. Some derivations give more justification for the extra 1/2 than others, but one textbook just calls it 'a traditional tribute to Euler and Bernoulli.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DECORATIVE BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

EQ. 4-15
T = Dm_0(r_out - r_in)^mu(bar)
T: Net Rate
m_0: Unit mass
(r_out-r_in): Flow balance
D, mu(bar): Decorative

Math tip: if one of your equations ever looks too simple, try adding some purely decorative constants.
{{comic discussion}}

2558: Rapid Test Results

2021-12-24T00:11:20Z

141.101.99.20: /* Transcript */ Reinstating the Incomplete Transcript tag.

{{comic
| number = 2558
| date = December 22, 2021
| title = Rapid Test Results
| image = rapid_test_results.png
| titletext = A solid red area with two white lines means that you have been infected with the anti-coronavirus, COVID+19, which will cure anyone you have close contact with.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|RAPIDLY created by a college-ruled BOT with longness of breath, low body temperature, vigour, and a wet sneeze, that is NOT a reference to comic 2279- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic}}.

This comic is a joke about COVID-19 rapid {{w|lateral flow test}} results. These devices are used in many countries for individuals to test their own nasal and oropharynx fluid for evidence of COVID-19 virus to detect asymptomatic infection. These tests have two indicator strips - a test line for covid-19 and a control line to check the device is working correctly. Where a control line is not present, the test should be ignored and repeated. Until comparatively recently {{w|Pregnancy test|pregnancy}} was the occasion most familiar for requiring this form of test)

The first 2 answers are the standard indicators for a negative and positive result, but Randall takes this to absurdity, see below in the [[#Table of results|table]].

The title text interprets the hyphen in "Covid-19" as a negative sign to make a mathematical joke (or possibly a reference to {{w|antimatter}}, which in reality mutually annihilates when coming into contact with regular matter). Here Randall postulates a counterpart virus to Covid-19, resulting in a test with inverted colors, which he names Covid+19. When combined this anti-coronavirus exactly matches the original one and results in zero Covid, curing those who had previously been infected.

===Table of results===
{| class="wikitable"
!Result
!Interpretation
!Explanation
|-
|Control line only
|Negative
|As for all such actual tests, the Control line indicates that the test has run without error. Without this Control line (which ''always'' shows after proper use), a lack of result on the test strip is meaningless.
A control line with no Test line indicates that the molecule being tested for is not present.

|-
|Control and test line
|Positive
|This clearly shows the (un)desired test result, with both the Control line and the indicator of the tested-for condition.
|-
|2 wavy lines resembling the {{w|Approximation#Typography|approximately equal}} sign
|Approximately positive
|While it would be possible to make the test produce wavy line(s) by default, and some versions 'activate' more complex patterns such as tick-marks or wording, these are still binary yes/no results. The waviness or other patternation would not normally be contingent upon the testing state it must reveal, and the complicated pattern could result in a fainter Test line (which perhaps should be taken as Positive until shown otherwise).

A real test intended to produce straight lines might become wavy if manufactured poorly. Two lines would still indicate a positive test, but the poor quality of the device calls into question that result - making "approximately positive" an appropriate description.

Whilst this may have been unintended, it is worthwhile noting that lateral flow tests sacrifice some accuracy in order to be quick and cheap. They therefore have some risk of {{w|false-positive}} test results, hence the need for a follow-up gold-standard laboratory controlled confirmation test. In this sense, a positive rapid test result would give an approximately positive result.
|-
|2 lines closer together than usual
|Positive (college ruled)
|This is the same as the Positive result, just with less distance between the two lines. {{w|Ruled paper#United States|College ruled}} refers to how college ruled notebooks in the United States have narrower spacing between the lines.
Again, there is no simple way to make the test reveal different patterns as a result-indicator of any qualitative or quantitative result; this is not a different result from the original Positive. It also remains more desirable to maintain an easily-identifiable separation between lines and not risk the Test and Control lines bleeding together into one.
|-
|Five lines of decreasing lengths
|Good cell signal
|Mimics the standard image for a strong mobile (or cellular in the United States) phone signal.
There are tests which give multiple 'indicator test strips' for progressively greater/lesser sensitivity, perhaps to identify concentrations, or other qualitative differences like a 'fingerprint' of multiple targetable reagents, but this is not at all useful for a solid Yes/No question such as the one this scenario is supposed to be for.
|-
|2 lines on a background of radiating lines
|Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
|This is a reference to an {{w|optical illusion}} called the {{w|Hering illusion}}, where two parallel lines appear to bend outward.
Whether the radial lines can (or should) be designed into the test has no bearing upon the core test, and probably should not confuse the identification of what are ''supposed'' to be one/two ''clear'' straight lines.
|-
|Multiple lines in the shape of a scary stick figure
|The Blair Witch is near
|In the found-footage movie ''{{w|The Blair Witch Project}}'', stick figures shaped like this indicated that the Blair Witch was near.
The type of rapid test used for COVID-19 probably{{fact}} does not have any useful method for revealing the proximity of witchcraft, unless a witchcraft-related molecule could be identified that can be indicated within the sample material itself.
|-
|Three lines
|Click to expand COVID menu
|A reference to {{w|Hamburger button|hamburger buttons}}, an icon that is widely used on websites to reveal a menu. It is especially used on mobile versions of sites designed to be read on a small screen, where compressing a menu until needed saves space.
As a 'read-only' display of results, there is no potential for further interaction by tapping the indicator material, and this may even spoil the state of the proof it gives.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Yeah. This definitely needs to be redone in proper descriptive-transcript format. This tag WAS deleted too soon. Don't do it again until properly fixed.}}
'''Interpreting Rapid Test Results'''
A set of 8 possible rapid test results are displayed in the style of a patient use leaflet, as one might have for a COVID-19 rapid test.

Result options are:
* Negative
* Positive
* Approximately positive
* Positive (college ruled)
* Good cell signal
* Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
* The Blair Witch is near
* Click to expand Covid options

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics with color]]
[[Category: Charts]]
[[Category: Fiction]]

2556: Turing Complete

2021-12-17T23:10:55Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */ Misgrammaticised, and a pure typo.

{{comic
| number = 2556
| date = December 17, 2021
| title = Turing Complete
| image = turing_complete.png
| titletext = Thanks to the ForcedEntry exploit, your company's entire tech stack can now be hosted out of a PDF you texted to someone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a VIDEO GAME-PLAYING DISHWASHER- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A Turing Machine is a theoretical form of computer (as an idealised thought exercise) that has an infinite tape of symbols and can act upon and change these values aa it moves up and down this tape according to specific deterministic rules.

This very simple machine can be shown to do every computational task that what we think of as a "computer" can do, given the right setup and enough time. Something that is Turing Complete is able to act as a Turing Machine, though generally with the limitation of having a finite tape, and this means it is also able to do basically every computational task.

While many pieces of hardware and software are supposed to be Turing Complete (even Excel, as previously pointed out in [[2453: Excel Lambda]]), this comic implies that this was not what it was designed for. This presumably means Ponytail has found an exploit allowing for arbitrary code execution. This could be harmless and fun, like running Mario on a dishwasher, or a more serious security vulnerability that a nation-state could use to attack you.

The {{w|FORCEDENTRY|ForcedEntry}} exploit is a way that was discovered to allow {{w|PDF}} files to force malware onto various devices. In the title-text it is suggested that this mechanism can be used for what might be more legal and practical purposes, although this might be up to some interpretation depending upon who has the right (and permission) to do what.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Ponytail and Cueball are standing next to each other]
...Now, it turns out this is actually Turing-Complete...
[caption below the panel:]
This phrase either means someone spent six months getting their dishwasher to play Mario or you are under attack by a nation-state.
{{comic discussion}}

2556: Turing Complete

2021-12-17T23:09:43Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */ And this, before I forget.

{{comic
| number = 2556
| date = December 17, 2021
| title = Turing Complete
| image = turing_complete.png
| titletext = Thanks to the ForcedEntry exploit, your company's entire tech stack can now be hosted out of a PDF you texted to someone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a VIDEO GAME-PLAYING DISHWASHER- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A Turing Machine is a theoretical form of computer (as an idealised thought exercise) that has an infinite tape of symbols and can act upon and change these values aa it moves up and down this tape according to specific deterministic rules.

This very simple machine can be shown to do every computational task that what we think of as a "computer" can do, given the right setup and enough time. Something that is Turing Complete is able to act as a Turing Machine, though generally with the limitation of having a finite tape, and this means it is also able to do basically every computational task.

While many pieces of hardware and software are supposed to be Turing Complete (even Excel, as previously pointed out in [[2453: Excel Lambda]]), this comic implies that this was not what it was designed for. This presumably means Ponytail has found an exploit allowing for arbitrary code execution. This could be harmless and fun, like running Mario on a dishwasher, or a more serious security vulnerability that a nation-state could use to attack you.

The {{w|FORCEDENTRY|ForcedEntry}} exploit is a way that was discovered to allow {{w|PDF}} files to force malware onto various devices, in the title-text it is suggested that this me hanism can be used for what might be more legal and practical purposes, although this might be up to some interpretation depending upon who has the right (and permission) to do what.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Ponytail and Cueball are standing next to each other]
...Now, it turns out this is actually Turing-Complete...
[caption below the panel:]
This phrase either means someone spent six months getting their dishwasher to play Mario or you are under attack by a nation-state.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1400: D.B. Cooper

2021-12-07T23:55:58Z

141.101.99.20:

Feels like a conspiracy(?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.227.35|108.162.227.35]] 12:15, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Isn't it a reference to the Malaysia Airlines conspiracy theory? http://humansarefree.com/2014/07/busted-mh-17-was-in-fact-lost-flight-mh.html?m=0
- Renee [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.75|108.162.245.75]] 00:44, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

:No.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.12|141.101.98.12]] 10:31, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Oh, this is a hilarious comic! --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 15:14, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Could someone explain what "the Citizen Kane of ____" is all about? --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 17:05, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

: "Citizen Kane" is regarded as a masterpiece landmark film, and other films are often compared to it as a highly favorable compliment. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.211|173.245.52.211]] 18:08, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

: "Citizen Kane" as a reference point here is more meaningful that that. Apart from being a landmark film, "Citizen Kane" was also made by a movie-newbie at that day, namely Orson Welles, who not only played the title role, but also directed, co-wrote and co-produced the movie, very much like Wiseau did with his landmark film; the only significant difference thus being "Citizen Kane" the best and "The Room" the worst movie ever made. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.223|141.101.88.223]] 13:14, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

This is really just a curiosity, but what is unusual about the phrasing "You are tearing me apart"? (I'm obviously not a native speaker) [[User:Ly mar|Ly mar]] ([[User talk:Ly mar|talk]]) 17:12, 28 July 2014 (UTC)
* Beyond using "You are" instead of "You're", not much. The oddness of the line is mostly through the delivery in the film, not the grammar. [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 17:14, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

;photograph

Is this the first xkcd to feature a full color photograph of a person? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.52|108.162.216.52]] 17:38, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

;con·tem·po·rar·y

adjective: contemporary

1.
living or occurring at the same time.
"the event was recorded by a contemporary historian"
dating from the same time.
"this series of paintings is contemporary with other works in an early style"
synonyms: of the time, of the day, contemporaneous, concurrent, coeval, coexisting, coexistent More
"contemporary sources"
2.
belonging to or occurring in the present.
"the tension and complexities of our contemporary society"

"In 1971, a man referred to by the media as D. B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 and escaped with the '''contemporary''' equivalent of over $1 million in ransom money."

So that can be either 1971 dollars (contemporary to D. B. Cooper's time) or 2014 dollars (contemporary to the present time).

(A lot of people think definition no. 2 is the only definition, but it isn't.)

--[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 00:49, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

:I appreciate your work to improve the explanations here. But, such theatrics over a one word edit are unnecessary. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 02:14, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

::I've changed it now so it's clearer anyway[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.12|141.101.98.12]] 10:31, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

I created an account solely so I could remove the anomalous use of "beg the question". [http://begthequestion.info/] [[User:Gidklio|Gidklio]] ([[User talk:Gidklio|talk]]) 04:31, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

What is a "European accent"? Any accent that is not Indian, Chinese, or Japanese? --[[User:Frerin|Frerin]] ([[User talk:Frerin|talk]]) 10:15, 29 July 2014 (UTC)
: Yeah - or Australian, or Inuit, or African, or South American or any other accent that's not from a cultural/language group primary to Europe (and definitely not North American [clear from the context of the sentence]), but more specifically, not any European form of English (so, perhaps, Icelandic, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, and many other possibilities) which might be hard for an untrained listener to specifically identify as anything but "European". Many languages have commonalities due to geographic proximity, not only in terms of accent, but also syntax and vocabulary, which would modify the learners' ability to accurately acquire and render a foreign language in the same ways. That is, someone who natively speaks Portuguese and someone who natively speaks French will have similar troubles in learning subtleties of American English but which would contrast from those troubles encountered by someone who's native language is Hindi, Tagalog, or Yoruba. [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:41, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

According to one reddit user, Tommy Wiseau is from Poland, and his last name was "Wieczór" [meaning "Evening"] or variation of it. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.219|141.101.88.219]] 17:10, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Just popping in to note that Cooper's fate is no longer unknown, his niece came forward in 2011. He was survived the jump with some injuries but had lost the money in the process. Real name Lynn Doyle Cooper, died 1999. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.169}}
::Nice try, but the real Dan Cooper wouldn't have used an alias that shared his last name. That's the kind of amateur mistake that always leads to discovery & arrest, but the real guy was pretty damm sharp and one hell of an operator to pull it off. Not that this guy didn't tell his niece he was D.B. Cooper; just that he never told her he was kidding...
--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.4|172.68.141.4]] 17:57, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

Not to deny or confirm that, but the Wikipedia article on {{w|D.B. Cooper}} states that 9,710 of the bills are still missing (290 bills were found in Washington State wilderness in 1980). If one does not spend the money one holds (because even if it is to be invested or laundered, someone will notice the serial number(s) and report it; the numbers are now available online, not to mention the look of old bills; the average replacement rate for US bills is about two years, so seeing a large bundle of slightly-peculiar looking 1970s-era bills may engender a slight sense of difference), one will not have enough to make an independent film, because money is only useful to us when it is used. PS. I'm sorry for the length of this comment, but it's just getting all the details ironed out and fixed down - my apology is just making the comment longer? OK... {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.225}}

Ummm... The pictures are red linked :'( [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.40|108.162.245.40]] 22:48, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

I have to ask: was the use of the inappropriate French word "baton" (stick) in the transcript a deliberate joke about European mangling of English? A native speaker of American English would write, "pointer". [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 12:21, 7 December 2021 (UTC)
:To bring a native British English perspective to this (whether we do "European mangling of English" is a problematic suggestion in at least two distinct ways!), I'm not sure I'd call it a "baton" - which is something a conductor would use to guide an orchestra or a relay-runner would carry along their share of a running track - but not a "pointer" either. A "''laser'' pointer" would be a pointer, but comparatively modern.
:At school (long ago enough to have blackboards rather than whiteboards) I'd call the held stick what it often was, outside its life as pointing object. So often it was either a ruler (30cm/1ft for most, perhaps a 1m/1yd stick for the ambitious or exuberant gesticulator) or, occasionally, the rubber (i.e. the "Board-rubber", the chalk eraser; and youthful innocence/ignorance and local vocabulary meant we never ever thought of that word as meaning a condom!) possibly being held on the off-chance that it was needed to be suddenly thrown at a disruptive or inattentive pupil - as it often ended up being.
:The alternative of the day (transparencies on OHPs) would be to cast the shadow of the felt-tip pen used to scrawl upon the horizontal acetate sheet being shone up and across onto the projector screen.
:My only experiences in the post-whiteboard world, save for those business-sized paper-pads and those thick marker pens ('sharpies', though not yet well known by that pseudo-brandname), is to call it a cursor, because it ''is'' a projected desktop with a mouse cursor doing the job of pointing. When it isn't a form of shadow-puppetry with the bare hands of the lecturer being made to cast some form of pointy shade upon the output. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 23:55, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

2545: Bayes' Theorem

2021-11-24T00:18:28Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2545
| date = November 22, 2021
| title = Bayes' Theorem
| image = bayes_theorem.png
| titletext = <nowiki>P((B|A)|(A|B)) represents the probability that you'll mix up the order of the terms when using Bayesian notation.</nowiki>
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by <nowiki> P(d/dx x^x|P(d/dx|x^x))) </nowiki> - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Bayes' theorem}} describes the probability of an event, given knowledge of conditions related to the event. It is typically used to update the probability that a starting condition occurred, given an outcome. This can reveal unintuitive results when the probability involved is very small. For example, when testing a large number of people for a rare disease, even a fairly accurate test will produce more false positives than the number of people actually afflicted with the disease, and hence a positive result is more likely to be false than true.
{| class="wikitable"
|| || Tested positive || Tested negative || Total
|-
|| Affected || 0.1% || 0.0% || 0.1%
|-
|| Unaffected || 0.9% || 99% || 99.9%
|-
|| Total || 1% || 99% || 100%
|}
For example, if a test has a 100% sensitivity (all those infected receive a positive result) and a 99% specificity (1% of the uninfected also appear to be so), the interpretation of a positive test depends on the prevalence (percentage of affected). In the example case, the prevalence is 0.1%, so that when the test result is positive (left column) the subject is unaffected nine time out of ten. Although this would be a very performant test (functionally useful), given the relative prevalences involved the chances are that it will produce overwhelmingly false positives among all positives. (But, in this example, all those told they are not in danger — more than a hundred times more individuals than all others added together — are correctly notified.)

For this same example, the Bayesian formula gives : P( Affected | Positive ) = P( Positive | Affected ) * P( Affected ) / P( Positive ) = 100% * 0.1% / 1% = 10% and P( Unaffected | Positive ) = P( Positive | Unaffected ) * P( Unaffected ) / P( Positive ) = 0.9009% * 99.9% / 1% = 90%

In this comic, a teacher is presenting a problem which the students are supposed to use Bayes' theorem to solve. However, the off-panel student knows that they are studying Bayes' theorem, so they use that prior knowledge to guess the usual answer to such problems. The punch line is the caption - The student doesn't need to do the calculation because they're familiar with questions involving Bayes' theorem and how they often present the counter intuitive result to illustrate the importance of prevalence to the calculation.

There is perhaps also a self-referential situation here where the student has updated their prior probabilities a number of times for whether the answer was "Yes" to a question involving Bayes' Theorem. If their method of answering "Yes" to every such question has succeeded every time before then by Bayes' theorem they will have a lot of justification to continue to do until they start getting it wrong. The prevalence of Bayes Theorem questions that require the answer "No" might be small enough that this doesn't happen in any small number of times and so they learn nothing of the false-positive rate until that point in time. This could be interpreted as a criticism of Bayesian Statistics which may treat a judgement as well justified (e.g. getting the question right) despite lacking a clear understanding of mechanism (e.g. basing your answer to the question on the numbers provided).

The title text refers to the mathematical definition of Bayes' theorem: P(A | B) = P(B|A) * P(A) / P(B). Here, P(A|B) represents the probability of some event A occurring, given that B has occurred. This is often referred to as "the probability of A given B". It can be hard to remember if P(A|B) means probability of A given B, or if it's B given A, especially when talking about the probability of an earlier cause given a later effect. Randall's joke is based on this difficulty. Here P((B|A)|(A|B)) is meant to be read as the probability that you ''write'' (B|A) given that the correct expression is (A|B), which makes it the probability that you got the order of the notation mixed up.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is pointing with a pointer, held in her right hand, to a white-board with tables, what looks like formulae and lots of other unreadable text. She looks toward her off-panel class, from where a voice replies to her question.]
:Miss Lenhart: Given these prevalences, is it likely that the test result is a false positive?
:Off-panel voice: Well, this chapter is on Bayes' Theorem, so yes.

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Sometimes, if you understand Bayes' Theorem well enough, you don't need it.

==Trivia==
*When this comic came out, the title text was only "P((B", and the comic itself linked to [https://xkcd.com/2545/A) A)] or [https://xkcd.com/A) A)] (depending on where the comic was viewed from) and the "Black Lives Matter" image in the header was replaced by "(A", but this was quickly corrected.
**See this [https://web.archive.org/web/20211122212442/https://xkcd.com/2545/ archived] version.
*It turns out that it is the notation that messes with the home page as it also messes with this wiki.
**In this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2545:_Bayes%27_Theorem&oldid=221182 version] of this page, the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2545%3A_Bayes%27_Theorem&type=revision&diff=221182&oldid=221181 correct title text] has been entered, but it still looked the same so everything from behind the first "|" fails to show.
**Now this has [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2545%3A_Bayes%27_Theorem&type=revision&diff=221183&oldid=221182 been fixed] using the <nowiki><nowiki></nowiki> format.
***Seems like [[Randall]] made an exploit on himself like [[Mrs. Roberts]] did in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]].
***This is extra funny since [[Blondie]], is both sometimes used for Mrs Roberts and for Miss Lenhart from this comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

Talk:2542: Daylight Calendar

2021-11-16T01:34:13Z

141.101.99.20:

When did y'all in the US "fall back" your clocks? It has a look of being (askewedly) inspired by DST reversal, and I know you did one of the switches at a different typical weekend than us (UK BST>GMT was last weekend of October), but I thought it was 'first weekend of month-after-(the-month-that-it-is-our-last-weekend-of)'. You know, I could have just looked this up. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.227|172.70.85.227]] 00:11, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Second question, more easily expressed and less obviously answered, which sun-up/sun-down is this calculated by? Nautical, civil, etc? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.227|172.70.85.227]] 00:11, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

I think at the equator, you get one day per day.
At the pole you get two days per day in summer, then one six month long day.{{Unsigned}}
:Ah, I just mentioned that, in my edit. Though it depends upon how close to the pole as to how long you wouldn't get one full day for (and how the shifting boundaries align, possibly). I haven't worked out if those "further north" people are necessarily Arctic, or merely Canadian/northern-States even. I know that in the UK we're north enough to technically never get beyond civil twilight in the 'summer' months (the Sun isn't low enough below the horizon, as it passes below the northern rim, to be proper 'night') but we're still short of the actual Arctic Circle and true days-without-night/light, accordingly. I'm still not sure what edge-case is imagined. Perhaps intentionally left vague? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 00:59, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Is this supposed to be about whether it's cloudy? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.30|172.68.132.30]] 00:17, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

If I knew where to start (too many assumptions needed), I'd be tempted to make an "xkcd Calendar" that works like the [[1335|xkcd Clock]], but there are so many possible configurations (e.g. when is the 'epoch' of synchronisation? When do you count daylight from/to? Do you assume 6AM day-starts and work up from there?) before you then have to plug in your lat/lon to get your highly personalised datetime result that may well differ significatly even from someone a few miles away, when the time-boundaries involved have misaligned just enough and haven't shifted back together again (perhaps!) by the next epoch-point... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 01:34, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2542: Daylight Calendar

2021-11-16T00:59:58Z

141.101.99.20:

882: Significant

2015-09-08T09:57:10Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */ Plural: two scientist*s*

{{comic
| number = 882
| date = April 6, 2011
| title = Significant
| image = significant.png
| titletext = So, uh, we did the green study again and got no link. It was probably a-- "RESEARCH CONFLICTED ON GREEN JELLY BEAN/ACNE LINK; MORE STUDY RECOMMENDED!"
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about {{w|Data dredging}} (aka p-hacking), and the misrepresentation of science and statistics in the media. A girl with a black ponytail comes to [[Cueball]] with her claim that {{w|jelly beans}} causes {{w|acne}} and Cueball then commission two scientists (a man with goggles and [[Megan]]) to do some research on the link between jelly beans and acne. They find no link, but in the end the real result of this research is bad news reporting!

First some basic statistical theory. Let's imagine you are trying to find out if jelly beans cause acne. To do this you could find a group of people and randomly split them into two groups - one group who you get to eat lots of jelly beans and a second group who are banned from eating jelly beans. After some time you compare whether the group that eat jelly beans have more acne than those who do not. If more people in the group that eat jelly beans have acne then you might think that jelly beans cause acne. However, there is a problem.

Some people will suffer from acne whether they eat jelly beans or not and some will never have acne even if they do eat jelly beans. There is an element of chance in how many people prone to acne are in each group. What if, purely by chance, all the group we selected to eat jelly beans would have had acne anyway while those who didn't eat jelly beans were the lucky sort of people who never get spots? Then, even if jelly beans did not cause acne, we would conclude that jelly beans did cause acne. Of course it is very unlikely that all the acne prone people end up in one group by chance, especially if we have enough people in each group. However, to give more confidence in the result of this type of experiment, scientists use statistics to see how likely it is that the result they find is purely by chance. This is known as {{w|statistical hypothesis testing}}. Before we start the experiment, we choose a threshold known as the significance level. In the comic the scientists choose a threshold of 5%. If they find that more of the people who ate jelly beans had acne and the chance it was a purely random result is less than 1 in 20, they will say that jelly beans do cause acne. If however, the chance that their result was purely by random chance is greater than 5% they will say they have found no evidence of a link. The important point is this - '''there could still be a 1 in 20 chance that this result was purely a statistical fluke'''.

At first the scientists do not want to stop playing the addictive game {{w|Minecraft}} (which has been referenced recently in [[861: Wisdom Teeth]]), but they do eventually start.

The scientists find no link between jelly beans and acne (the probability that the result is by chance is more than 5% i.e. p > 0.05) but then Megan and Cueball ask them to see if only one colour of jelly beans is responsible. They test 20 different colors each at a significance level of 5%. If the probability that each trial gives a false positive result is 1 in 20, then by testing 20 different colors it is now likely that at least one jelly bean test will give a false positive. To be precise, the probability of having ''no'' false positive in 20 tests is (0.95)^20 = 35.85%. Probability of having ''no'' false positive in 21 tests (counting the test without color discrimination) is (0.95)^21 = 34.06%.

This leads to a big newspaper headline saying '''Green Jelly Beans Cause Acne''' where the just above 5% chance of a link is reported as 95% confidence, and only below is it stated that there is a 5% chance that there is a correlation, but here reported as if there is only a 5% chance that this is a coincidence like if this was a good thing for the result. The scientists has a smaller section but with much smaller font, where they probably try to explain how little evidence there actually is. But that does not sell news papers.

In the title text we find out that the scientists {{w|Reproducibility|repeated the experiment}} (another key part of the scientific method), but now they no longer find any evidence for the link between acne and green jelly beans. They try to tell the reporter something, maybe that it was probably a coincidence, but the reporters are not interested since that is not news. So they do not listen to what the scientist has to say and instead uses the information they have to make another major headline saying '''Research conflicted''' and recommend more study on the link. But that was just what the scientist already did.

This is (sadly) often an issue with more serious matters than jelly beans and acne - at any one time there are many studies about possible links between substances (e.g. red wine) and illness (e.g. cancer). Because only the positive results get reported, this limits the value any single study has - especially if the mechanism linking the two things is not known.

=== p-hacking and bad news reporting in real life ===
In 2015 some journalists demonstrated the same problem: just how gullible other news outlets are with the same sort of flawed "experimental design": [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/28/how-and-why-a-journalist-tricked-news-outlets-into-thinking-chocolate-makes-you-thin/?hpid=z5 How, and why, a journalist tricked news outlets into thinking chocolate makes you thin - The Washington Post]

==Transcript==
:[A girl with a black ponytail runs up to Cueball, who subsequently points off-panel where there are presumably scientists.]
:Girl with black ponytail: Jelly beans cause acne!
:Cueball: Scientists! Investigate!
:Scientists (off screen): But we're playing Minecraft!
:Scientists (off screen): ...Fine.

:[Two scientists. The man has safety goggles on, Megan has a sheet of notes.]
:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:[Back to the original two.]
:Cueball: That settles that.
:Girl with black ponytail: I hear it's only a certain color that causes it.
:Cueball: Scientists!
:Scientists (off screen): But Miiiinecraft!

:[20 identical small panels follow, 4 rows 5 columns. The exact same picture as in panel 2 above. The scientist with goggles are stating the results and Megan holds some notes in her hand. The only difference from panel to panel is the color and then in the 14th panel where the result is positive and there is an exclamation from off screen.]
:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between purple jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between brown jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between pink jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between blue jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between teal jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between salmon jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between red jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between turquoise jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between magenta jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between yellow jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between grey jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between tan jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between cyan jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found a link between green jelly beans and acne (p < 0.05).
:Voice (off screen): ''Whoa!''

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between mauve jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between beige jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between lilac jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between black jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between peach jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:Scientist with goggles: We found no link between orange jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).

:[Newspaper front page with a picture with three green jelly beans. There are several sections with unreadable text below each of the last three readable sentences.]
:'''News'''
:'''Green Jelly Beans Linked To Acne!'''
:95% Confidence
:Only 5% chance of coincidence!
:Scientists...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color‏‎]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Video games]]

1484: Apollo Speeches

2015-02-09T18:32:07Z

141.101.99.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1484
| date = February 9, 2015
| title = Apollo Speeches
| image = apollo_speeches.png
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}
As explained in the comic, {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} staffer {{w|William Safire}} wrote [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html two speeches] for the United States President to deliver, depending on whether or not the {{w|Apollo 11}} return launch was successful. When the outcome of an event (moon landing, military actions, etc.) can't be predicted with sufficient certainty, it is a common practice for "[http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/centennials/nixon/exhibit/nixon-online-exhibit-disaster.html contingency speeches]" to be prepared.

The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed are a couple pages from the real contingency speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the Moon. Lying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft went missing altogether, which was relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following highly unlikely or impossible contingencies:
* The astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it to Mars, which is clearly impossible: while the crew could have redirected the ship while sending insulting messages to Earth, the spacecraft lacked the power to fly to Mars within any reasonable period of time by several orders of magnitude or the supplies for the astronauts to survive such an extended trip.
* Upon landing, more astronauts than expected were found in the ship;
* The ship had hit the {{w|USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet''}} and crushed Nixon;
* The ship had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.

The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the bathos of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.

==Transcript==
:[Commentary above the Speeches]
:In 1969, Nixon staffer William Safire wrote a speech for the president to deliver if the Apollo 11 return launch failed, stranding the doomed astronauts on the moon.
:Uncovered in 1999, it is often called the greatest speech never given.
:Today, the ''full'' set of Safire's contingency speeches has been found.

:'''In event astronauts stranded on moon'''
:Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
:[Here, several lines from the original speech are cut]
:In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
:Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever

:'''In event spacecraft goes missing'''
:Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins went to the moon as ambassadors of peace for all mankind, and all mankind prays that they may yet return safely home.
:We are separated from the moon by a vast gulf of space, against which their tiny vessel appeared as but a drifting speck. For a few brief seconds, we took our eye off them, and despite days of desperate searching, never again was their vessel sighted from Earth.
:While these men are lost, they are not forgotten, and their sacrifice will not

:'''In even astronauts abscond with spacecraft'''
:We do not know what led Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to betray the trust we placed in them, abandon their mission, and steer their vessel toward Mars. Nor do we know what compelled them to transmit such hurtful messages back to Earth, heaping contempt on their onetime home.
:But whatever the cause of their dereliction, I call upon the United States to commit itself, before this year is out, to launching a mission to chase down Apollo 11 and return its crew to earth to face justice. We must not rest until

:'''In event spacecraft returns with extra astronauts'''
:While there is much we do not understand, tonight all of earth is united in celebrating the safe return of our brave explorers.
:We of course have many questions, and in the days and weeks to come we will demand answers. How many souls were truly aboard Apollo 11 when it launched? Who are the six men now in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet? What happened

:'''In event spacecraft hits U.S.S. Hornet, crushing Nixon'''
:'''President Agnew''': Tonight, we have experienced a great national triumph and a great national loss. We take joy in the safe return from the moon of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but that joy is tempered with sorrow as we mourn our president’s tragic death beneath their wayward capsule.
:Richard Nixon wholeheartedly supported our courageous astronauts as they carried the hopes and prayers of Earth to the heavens, and in the moment of their homecoming, he himself has departed on that ultimate voyage. As we grieve, we must rededicate ourselves to the cause for which our president

:'''In event spacecraft accidentally sold for scrap and crushed with astronauts inside'''
:My fellow Americans, I am as shocked and appalled as you at this stunning and

{{comic discussion}}

1426: Reduce Your Payments

2014-10-01T14:30:32Z

141.101.99.20: lihgt -> light

{{comic
| number = 1426
| date = September 26, 2014
| title = Reduce Your Payments
| image = reduce_your_payments.png
| titletext = I tried oxidizing them, but your bank uses some really weird paper and it wouldn't light.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] walks into a room where [[Cueball]] sits in an armchair. Black Hat says to Cueball that he can reduce his mortgage payments, while holding a docket of paper, presumably Cueball's payment check, that looks like it has been dipped into a liquid of some kind. Black Hat uses the same formulation many Internet advertisements use: "Discover this (strange/new/amazing...) trick to (lose weight/reduce your mortgage payments/meet amazing women)" known as {{w|clickbait}}. Cueball wants to know how and Black Hat responds by mentioning {{w|Sodium_borohydride|sodium borohydride (NaBH4)}}. Since Cueball fell for Black Hat's bait he exclaims, "I hate you."

Sodium borohydride is a strong {{w|Reducing_agent|reducing agent}}, meaning in a chemical reaction it will "{{w|redox|reduce}}" another substance. It is in fact used during the [http://www.borax.com/library/articles/news-and-events/news-release/paper's-tiger manufacture of paper], in order to bleach the pulp and improve the resulting paper's properties.

This comic is a typical switcharound pun. Cueball expects the value (on a bill) paid to be reduced, while Black Hat uses the chemical meaning of reducing.

The complementary chemical reaction to reduction is oxidation, which is what happens if the paper mortgage payment is burned, as referred to in the title text. They go together in {{w|redox}} reactions, which generally involve electron transfer from the {{w|chemical species}} which is oxidized to the one which is reduced. In that case, the pun about light (to start a fire)is that a reduced financial weight may seem light (not heavy).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a sofa and Blackhat walks into the frame from behind.]
:Blackhat: I discovered this weird trick for reducing your mortgage payments!
:Cueball: What?
:Blackhat: Sodium borohydride.
:Cueball: ...I hate you.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1333: First Date

2014-03-02T21:02:58Z

141.101.99.20:

PRAISE THE HELIX, ahh TPP is just so fun to watch [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 21:02, 2 March 2014 (UTC)

HAIL HELIX {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.54.74}}

Should this be put into the Pokémon category? The comic has nothing to do with Pokémon itself, but the subject matter does. [[User:Blitzer|Blitzer]] ([[User talk:Blitzer|talk]]) 07:37, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Kill me for being a stupid nerd, but when I first read the title "First Date" I thought it was going to be a strip about the Unix Epoch. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.201|173.245.53.201]] 10:30, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
::I think that was a very cool deducton, Monica. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.138|173.245.53.138]] 15:47, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
::Thats nothing. Ive actually nerd sniped myself with an xkcd comic before. thinking that the one about DNE referred to the concept of an undefined value (ie 1/0) [[User:BruceJohnJennerLawso|BruceJohnJennerLawso]] ([[User talk:BruceJohnJennerLawso|talk]]) 19:00, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

This is the first strip for a while that I had no idea what was going on. Thanks, explainxkcd! BTW I do think the Pokémon category is probably relevant enough. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 11:02, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
:Ah, ditto. Cheers for the explanation (not sure whether I'm happy or not that I'm so disassociated from apparently popular culture though). I actually thought "Twitch" was some sort of "random Twitter feed" thing, though, so (to some degree) I suppose I was also ''almost'' on the right track.  [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.145|141.101.99.145]] 17:31, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Anyone else notice that between panels 2 and 3, Cueball drinks most of his wine? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.145|141.101.99.145]] 17:51, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, I was intrigued by that! At least, his glass gets emptier — it seems plausible that Megan might have drunk or spilled it too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 18:48, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
::Seems like the amount of wine in his glass is constantly decreasing from panel 1-4. Also, the helix will guide us! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.185|173.245.53.185]] 12:48, 22 February 2014 (UTC)
::Praise the Helix! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.106|108.162.254.106]] 16:21, 24 February 2014 (UTC)