explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:667: SkiFree

2020-05-17T12:57:49Z

162.158.103.197:

The reason that so many people think the monster is unbeatable is that the game was often found pre-installed on many computers along with the Windows operating system in older days. However, the game would typically be installed without any documentation, resulting in a generation of younger gamers discovering and playing the game, but not the unintuitive "F" command needed to survive the monster. [[User:Psyren|Psyren]] ([[User talk:Psyren|talk]]) 22:24, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

"F" does make you go faster than the monster, but it also makes it more likely that you'll hit an obstacle, at which point the monster will catch up and eat you. HOWEVER, if you pause the game with F3 and then repeatedly press "T", the game will go in slow motion.--[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 20:16, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

The title text explanation is way deeper than it probably should be. Knowing Megan, she probably *literally* wore an F key pendant--looking for meaning in the wrong places. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 12:53, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Yeah but maybe that's okay. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.46|172.69.50.46]] 14:45, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

This comic is much more profound when you're a Singularitarian. Huamn technology is still in its button-mashing stage, but how long until we find our F key that lets us stave off death as long as we want? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 08:28, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

Has anyone noticed the term "press F to pay respects", changing the metaphor to "death is inevitable *unless you show sympathy to people*"? Just a thought [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 02:30, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
:this comic was published in late 2009, while cod: advanced warfare (where the meme comes from) came out 5 years later [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.197|162.158.103.197]] 12:57, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

Talk:269: TCMP

2020-05-01T19:23:49Z

162.158.103.197:

:F1rst p0st!!
:
:...seriously, if I could remember, I would rather start with 'What Hath God Wrought!' That is far more solemn and dedicating... not just to Morse-sensee, either![[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 02:22, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_LaBerge
:The second paragraph screams of this comic. I've been a big fan of the Lucidity Institute and their work since about 2010. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 07:48, 31 December 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I was gonna say "Didn't LaBerge do something like this irl?" and then I found this little citation: LaBerge, Stephen P., et al. "Lucid dreaming verified by volitional communication during REM sleep." Perceptual and motor skills 52.3 (1981): 727-732. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.90|173.245.48.90]] 19:53, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

There is a [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|community portal discussion]] of what to call Cueball and what to do in case with more than one Cueball. I have added this comic to the new Category:Multiple Cueballs. Since there is clearly one Cueball that is the protagonist and do the "talking" he should probably be listed as Cueball. Just made a note that the other guy also looks like Cueball --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:49, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

It's real! https://lsdbase.org/2012/05/11/hello-dream-world/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.122|108.162.215.122]] 04:13, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

I feel like there might be a connection to the Choices pentalogy just before this comic - "Will I wake up thinking this was a dream?" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.197|162.158.103.197]] 19:23, 1 May 2020 (UTC)

992: Mnemonics

2020-03-24T04:31:19Z

162.158.103.197: /* Explanation */ calling a mnemonic "terrible" suggests it's just not effective as a mnemonic, obscuring the meaning of the explanation. As a person who never encountered this mnemonic, I only understood the explanatiion after reading comments.

{{comic
| number = 992
| date = December 19, 2011
| title = Mnemonics
| image = mnemonics.png
| titletext = 'Sailor Moon's head exploded once' and 'Some men have explosive orgasms' both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|mnemonic}} is a trick that makes memorization easier. To memorize a sequence of names, a common type of mnemonic uses the beginning letters of the names in the sequence and invents another phrase using different words that start with the same letters. For example, the order of operations goes '''P'''arentheses, '''E'''xponentiation, '''M'''ultiplication and '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction, and the traditional mnemonic goes '''P'''lease '''E'''xcuse '''M'''y '''D'''ear '''A'''unt '''S'''ally. To make them more memorable, mnemonics are usually quite silly and often vulgar. In this comic, Randall invents various scientific mnemonics, some of them as suggested replacements for traditional ones.

The category is listed at the top of the box, the members are listed below that. Then there is the traditional mnemonic that children are usually taught in school to help them remember. Below the comic is one or two options for new mnemonics suggested by Randall. The top one is illustrated in the frame.

*{{w|SI}} Prefixes are the prefixes for the systems of units from large to small and since there are so many, the mnemonic needs two lines.
**{{w|Karl Marx}}, as visible in the comic, was a German philosopher and economist who, among other things, popularized the ideas of socialism and communism. Central to his ideas was the {{w|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, or the working class achieved by an uprising of the lower class, which taken literally could be done using zeppelins.
**{{w|Microsoft}}'s {{w|Zune}} was a failed mp3 player that Microsoft brought to market. It never caught on.

*{{w|Taxonomy}} is the science of identifying and naming species. {{w|Katy Perry}}, portrayed in the panel, is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|pop music}} singer, whose popular songs are ones like "Fireworks" or "I Kissed A Girl".

*In the geologic periods frame, the illustration is of a month's worth of "the pill", a common contraceptive. The affliction Polycystic Ovarian Cyndrome, causes women to have an irregular menstrual period. This can be treated with a low powered version of the contraceptive pill.

*{{w|Resistor}} Color Codes represent the values 0 through 9 and are used to indicate the resistance value of discrete cylindrical resistors, with 2 or 3 color bands around the resistor body for the significant digits of the value and another color band for a power of ten multiplier. A resistor with Yellow-Violet-Red bands would be 47 x 10^2 or 4700 ohms. {{w|Glenn Beck}} is shown in this panel, a far-right conservative commentator in the US who used to have a show on the {{w|Fox News}} Network.
**The prevailing mnemonic for resistor color codes is rather vulgar (and memorable), hence Randall's comment "none I care for". It involved Bad Boys and Young Girls, as well as a specific girl named Violet.
**{{w|WP:BOLD|Be Bold}} is a {{w|Wikipedia}} credo. Respect Others may be a reference to {{w|WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith}}, another Wikipedia philosophy.

*In the Planets frame, the illustration is of Mary and Joseph, who in the story of the Birth of Jesus in the Bible, were mother and father to Jesus. However, Mary's conception of Jesus was from God and Mary was still considered a virgin. This mnemonic shows Joseph not really believing that story. Ironically the upstairs neighbour could have multiple meanings as you can't get more upstairs than heaven and thus God. Given the snarky tone of most xkcd comics take, it is likely a corporeal neighbor that is being suspected, but it is curious that a neighbor of the upstairs variety is specifically referenced especially given the lack of urban density in the time of Christ.
**Earlier traditional Planets mnemonics included Pluto, which was "officially" considered a planet before 2006. The traditional mnemonic at that time was '''M'''y '''V'''ery '''E'''xcellent '''M'''other '''J'''ust '''S'''erved '''U'''s '''N'''ine '''P'''izzas, instead of just nachos!

*The {{w|Great Lakes}} mentioned by the title text are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario
**''{{w|Sailor Moon}}'' is an anime and manga series.
**''{{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}'' is an illustrated children's book by {{w|Holling C. Holling}} about a toy boat's journey through the Great Lakes.

==Transcript==
:XKCD Presents:
:'''Some New Science Mnemonics'''

:''(Pattern goes:''
:''Subject''
:''Elements''
:''Traditional mnemonic''
:''Contents of frame''
:''New mnemonics)''

:'''Order of Operations'''
:Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction
:Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
:[Person having a shark delivered to his laptop.]
:Please Email My Dad A Shark
:or
:People Expect More Drugs And Sex

:'''SI Prefixes'''
:Big: Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta, (Yotta)
:Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto, (Yocto)
:Traditional: [I never learned one.]
:[Graph of the declining profits of the Zune.]
:[Karl Marx delivering a number of zeppelins to a bunch of confused proletariats.]
:Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppelins(, Yo)
:Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone's Zunes(, Yo)

:'''Taxonomy'''
:Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
:Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex
:Katy Perry: I'm not sure who doubts this, really.
:Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Sometimes
:or
:Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System.

:'''Geologic Periods'''
:(Precambrian), Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene
:Traditional: [I never learned one.]
:[A month's set of birth control pills.]
:PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptves [sic] Partially Negate

:'''Resistor Color Codes'''
:Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White
:Traditional: [none I care for]
:[Glenn Beck holding the traditional "Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail 9/11" sign.]
:"Big Brother Reptilian Overlords", yelled Glenn, "Brainwashing Via Ground water!!";
:or
:Be Bold, Respect Others; You'll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

:'''Planets'''
:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
:Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos
:[A pregnant Mary attempting to explain things to an incredulous Joseph with black hair and full beard]
:Mary's "Virgin" Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor.

{{comic discussion}}
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