explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-08T04:06:03Z

162.158.126.227:

Star Wars, pronounced Star Wors, was a very successful sci-fi action adventure movie from the 70s. Due to the success of the film, a sequel was made and is generally considered better than the first. The two movies are so iconic that someone who has not seen one or both of them would be considered unusual. Other sequals have been made, keeping the fanbase of the material constantly hoping for a 3rd movie that is on par with the firat two. Sadly, no such conclusion to the trilogy has arrived. Instead, each attempted sequel(more than half a dozen now) has been not much more than a 90 minute insult to the good taste and intelligence of the fans. This continued abuse of the star wars fanbase has prompted many former fans of the series to forgo watching recent releases, and to disavow ever seeing the original work in the first place. It appears that some of the cast of xkcd be doing likewise.{{unsigned ip|172.68.79.83}}
:DAFUQ?? Seriously, just no...{{unsigned ip|108.162.242.98}}

My first time providing an explanation and transcript! For once I'm early enough, understand the joke, AND had time! LOL! Be kind... :)

(Hey, if I had an account would I still have to do those damned Captchas?) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 06:54, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
:I assume your account would have to be autoconfirmed. That means its having over a certain "age" and over a certain edit count. I think the age is a couple of days and the edit threshold is fifteen, though this wiki may have those values configured differently. <span style="background:#0064de;font-size:12px;padding:4px 12px;border-radius:8px;">[[User talk:AgentMuffin|<span style="color:#f0faff;">~AgentMuffin</span>]]</span>

You mean it is not a reference to the BBC Radio 4 show. As an experience I will give XKCD 9/10. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.183}}
: It is the go-to example of a film that 'everyone' has seen. Added a not to this effect, although I feel it could be better phrased. Surprised TVTropes doesn't have a page on this. [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 12:34, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

--

I added a few speculations about the number of people who actually have seen the movies (or one of them). If someone find a decent reference feel free to edit that. I also noticed one word play, not sure if it should be explained or not, but probably. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.89|141.101.80.89]] 09:44, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
:The issue with the numbers is that making them worldwide seems to miss the point and ends up being rather misleading. After all, any third world country is likely to have roughly 0 viewers, which brings the statistics down. It has been my impression that the feeling that everybody has seen Star Wars is a very North American thing, especially in America. And the cast of XKCD generally seem to reside in America. Of the billion people estimated viewers, I suspect a FAR higher percentage of them are North American than the precentage of North Americans to the world population (in other words, North America is over-represented in that billion). In the end, the assumption that everybody you encounter while in North America has seen them is actually a fairly reasonably assumption, while a percentage of 15% makes it sound like it's not. Also, there's the implied qualifier of opportunity. Cueball could easily have chosen to watch the films at some point, while there are many people worldwide for whom it has never been an option. And this comic is more about choosing not to, exercising their default option as it were. :) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 04:06, 8 December 2016 (UTC)

Is there any canonical evidence Vader didn't eat Jedi though? In the prequel films, he only kills Jedi off-screen. In A New Hope, when he kills Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan disappears. Maybe he just went hungry that day. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.143|141.101.98.143]] 11:38, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
:Isn't there at least one scene in the prequel trilogy of Anakin eating something? Along with that, Vader has to have his helmet on outside his meditation chamber (evidenced by Luke saying Vader will die if Luke takes his helmet off in RotJ). It would be logical that Vader gets his nutrition intravenously or in a smoothie/drink form that he can ingest through his helmet, and Jedi are notoriously hard to turn into a smoothie. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.40|108.162.238.40]]
::Jedi don't have to be the only part of his diet, and we don't know when in Vader's life he starts eating Jedi. Vader presumably drags them back to the meditation chamber when he wants to feast properly. He appears to have the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ZMb0GOqfo teeth] to do it. Maybe when he's too desperate for Jedi flesh, he blends Jedi corpses using either mechanical or force means. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.143|141.101.98.143]] 19:10, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

--
I think that the explanation should point out that the author differently form cueball is actually a huge fan of the saga with a vast knowlage of the SW lore including obscure expanded universe publications [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 16:01, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

--
It's missing any comment on the "superpower" bit. I'm not sure where to add it and kind of rushed now, so I just leave this note to maybe prod someone else... [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 16:30, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:54:24Z

162.158.126.227:

My first time providing an explanation and transcript! For once I'm early enough, understand the joke, AND had time! LOL! Be kind... :)

(Hey, if I had an account would I still have to do those damned Captchas?) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 06:54, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:51:16Z

162.158.126.227: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1769
| date = December 7, 2016
| title = Never Seen Star Wars
| image = never_seen_star_wars.png
| titletext = If anyone calls you on any weird detail, just say it's from the Jedi Prince book series, which contains so much random incongruous stuff that even most Expanded Universe/Legends fans collectively agreed to forget about it decades ago.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation, first draft. Be kind. :) }}

White Hat is trying to start a conversation with Cueball about Star Wars, which Cueball cuts short by stating that he hasn't seen the movies. While this amazes White Hat, as seeing Start Wars is considered by many to be a universal experience, Cueball points out how it's actually quite easy to NOT do something. When White Hat finally grasps that Cueball has indeed not seen Star Wars, he declares they must see it. When Cueball still isn't interested, he seemingly calls in reinforcements, so Cueball quickly removes himself from the situation.

Later, when Ponytail likewise wishes to start a conversation about Star Wars, this time about a new movie coming out, based on his previous experience Cueball reconsiders admitting to not having seen the movies and instead pretends to be looking forward to the new movie. Ponytail then tries to continue the conversation, so Cueball bluffs with an incorrect declaration that Darth Vader eats Jedi.

However, Ponytail doesn't call him on this error, making Cueball think a sigh of relief at not getting caught in his deception, which results in Ponytail likewise thinking a sigh of relief, showing that she likewise has not seen Star Wars, is also hiding this, and is also glad to not be caught.

The title text is a tip for people like Cueball, to help them hide their deception, stating that the Jedi Prince series made so many strange declarations and established so many weird things that it makes for an excellent scapegoat to blame such ill-fitting declarations on, seeing as even the most devoted, well informed fan has agreed to forget the entire series.

This comic is most likely in reference to a new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, coming out in American theaters 9 days later on Dec. 16 (exactly a week before the Belgian release of Dec. 14).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Please make the "What" white-on-black text, I don't know how to do that and don't want to experiment or find another instance like that. }}

[White Hat is facing Cueball while talking to him]
:White Hat: You know the scene on the Death Star where-
:Cueball: Nah, I've never seen ''Star Wars''.

[Close up of White Hat in a smaller panel]
:White Hat: WHAT.

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: ...How?!
:Cueball: Uh, it was easy?
:Cueball: It was literally the default option.

[Close up of Cueball, White Hat is speaking off-panel]
:White Hat: But... How did you-
:Cueball: Not doing things is my superpower. I'm not doing an infinite number of things ''as we speak!''

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: We ''have'' to watch it!
:Cueball: Nah, I'm good.

[White Hat has turned away from Cueball and has his hands to his mouth to shout to people off panel. Cueball has likewise turned away as he walks away and is speaking back over his shoulder]
:White Hat: ''Hey everyone! This guy's never seen Star Wars!''
:Cueball: Listen, I gotta go.

[In a panel titled "Later...", Ponytail is looking down at her phone in her left hand while Cueball is facing her]
:Ponytail: Wait, there's a new ''Star Wars''?
:Cueball: Oh, I've nev-
:Cueball: ...Yeah! Excited for it! Big fan.

[Ponytail holds her phone to her side, transferred to her right hand, as she and Cueball face each other]
:Ponytail: What'd you think of the last one?
:Cueball: Uh... That Darth Vader, man.
:Cueball: Sure does love eating Jedi.

[Ponytail and Cueball continue facing each other]
:Ponytail: Haha, he sure does!
:Cueball: [Thought bubble] Phew!
:Ponytail: [Thought bubble] Phew!

{{comic discussion}}

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:50:25Z

162.158.126.227: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1769
| date = December 7, 2016
| title = Never Seen Star Wars
| image = never_seen_star_wars.png
| titletext = If anyone calls you on any weird detail, just say it's from the Jedi Prince book series, which contains so much random incongruous stuff that even most Expanded Universe/Legends fans collectively agreed to forget about it decades ago.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation, first draft. Be kind. :) }}

White Hat is trying to start a conversation with Cueball about Star Wars, which Cueball cuts short by stating that he hasn't seen the movies. While this amazes White Hat, as seeing Start Wars is considered by many to be a universal experience, Cueball points out how it's actually quite easy to NOT do something. When White Hat finally grasps that Cueball has indeed not seen Star Wars, he declares they must see it. When Cueball still isn't interested, he seemingly calls in reinforcements, so Cueball quickly removes himself from the situation.

Later, when Ponytail likewise wishes to start a conversation about Star Wars, this time about a new movie coming out, based on his previous experience Cueball reconsiders admitting to not having seen the movies and instead pretends to be looking forward to the new movie. Ponytail then tries to continue the conversation, so Cueball bluffs with an incorrect declaration that Darth Vader eats Jedi.

However, Ponytail doesn't call him on this error, making Cueball think a sigh of relief at not getting caught in his deception, which results in Ponytail likewise thinking a sigh of relief, showing that she likewise has not seen Star Wars, is also hiding this, and is also glad to not be caught.

The title text is a tip for people like Cueball, to help them hide their deception, stating that the Jedi Prince series made so many strange declarations and established so many weird things that it makes for an excellent scapegoat to blame such ill-fitting declarations on, seeing as even the most devoted, well informed fan has agreed to forget the entire series.

This comic is most likely in reference to a new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, coming out in American theaters 9 days later on Dec. 16 (exactly a week before the Belgian release of Dec. 14).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Please make the "What" white-on-black text, I don't know how to do that and don't want to experiment or find another instance like that. }}

[White Hat is facing Cueball while talking to him]
:White Hat: You know the scene on the Death Star where-
:Cueball: Nah, I've never seen ''Star Wars''.

[Close up of White Hat in a smaller panel]
:White Hat: WHAT.

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: ...How?!
:Cueball: Uh, it was easy?
:Cueball: It was literally the default option.

[Close up of Cueball, White Hat is speaking off-panel]
:White Hat: But... How did you-
:Cueball: Not doing things is my superpower. I'm not doing an infinite number of things ''as we speak!''

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: We ''have'' to watch it!
:Cueball: Nah, I'm good.

[White Hat has turned away from Cueball and has his hands to his mouth to shout to people off panel. Cueball has likewise turned away as he walks away and is speaking back over his shoulder]
:White Hat: ''Hey everyone! This guy's never seen Star Wars!''
:Cueball: Listen, I gotta go.

[In a panel titled "Later...", Ponytail is looking down at her phone in her left hand while Cueball is facing her]
:Ponytail: Wait, there's a new ''Star Wars''?
:Cueball: Oh, I've nev-
:Cueball: ...Yeah! Excited for it! Big fan.

[Ponytail holds her phone to her side, transferred to her right hand, as she and Cueball face each other]
:Ponytail: What'd you think of the last one?
:Cueball: Uh... That Darth Vader, man.
:Cueball: Sure does love eating Jedi.

[Ponytail and Cueball continue facing each other]
:Ponytail: Haha, he sure does!
:Cueball: [Thought bubble] Phew!
:Ponytail: [Thought bubble] Phew!

{{comic discussion}}

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:11:48Z

162.158.126.227: /* Explanation */

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:04:28Z

162.158.126.227: /* Explanation */

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-07T06:01:33Z

162.158.126.227: /* Explanation */

Talk:1762: Moving Boxes

2016-11-23T04:17:45Z

162.158.126.227:

I thought the joke was graphite and taupe is literally what the box is made of? The box is colored taupe and he wrote on it with graphite. Also I was thinking that water + hooves = glue. [[User:Zipfian|Zipfian]] ([[User talk:Zipfian|talk]]) 19:04, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

I think I've got some Dark Matter in a box left in my basement. Anyone knows how long you can keep this stuff until it expires? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.72|162.158.22.72]] 13:36, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
: Mine is about 13.8 billion years old and still OK. But shouldn't about 3/4 of the boxes be filled with dark matter? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.172|162.158.91.172]] 14:21, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
:: You probably mean 1/4 (and dark energy is the other 3/4). But we don't know how dark matter is distributed. In the extreme and unlikely case that dark matter consists entirely of MACHOs, there are no boxes with it. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.123|172.68.54.123]] 01:25, 22 November 2016 (UTC)
: Hah! Mine's 13.8'''1''' years old.
: It should be good for another 10^100 years or so. Give or take a few duotrigintillion years. {{unsigned ip|172.68.35.83}}
--[[User:Thejohnfan|Thejohnfan]] ([[User talk:Thejohnfan|talk]]) 14:28, 21 November 2016 (UTC)Thejohnfan
::Yeah - you've really gotta be careful about labelling that stuff - since it neither absorbs nor emits electromagnetic radiation, you're going to have to use gravitational lensing techniques to figure out which box it's in - and we all know how much of a pain THAT can be on moving day! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 14:59, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
: Make sure to keep it all individually wrapped. It may become unstable if allowed to mingle. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.29|162.158.74.29]] 03:17, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

:When I last moved house, I methodically labelled every single box with it's exact contents. Several meticulously itemized boxes contained (amongst other things) stuff like "Acrylic art paint", "Rodent poison" and "Adhesives" - and the movers saw this and refused to move about a dozen boxes because they contained things that are liquids or hazardous materials. This was more than I could fit in my car - so this became a huge deal. So next time, I'm going with "Normal House Stuff". Seriously - just label them with the room you want them dumped in at your new home and a number...write the actual contents in a MySQL database...preferably with a photo of the box before you taped it up. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 14:59, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
::Label the boxes with "Normal house stuff'); DROP TABLE Boxes; --" if you're doing that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.137|162.158.34.137]] 15:16, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
:::How do you access the MySQL database when your computer is still packed away in a box? [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 16:08, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
:::: The MySQL database is in a box clearly labelled "Cyberspace" so the movers know where to put it - there is a certain degree of recursion involved in this, but it can be managed. And to access it - I carry a phone...although the magic USB-C to USB-C cable needed to charge it is almost certainly in a box labelled "Attic 237", "Basement 96" or "Garage 49(a)". [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 14:34, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

Note that there is a similar use of "Normal" in [https://xkcd.com/1530/ https://xkcd.com/1530/] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.151|141.101.98.151]] 16:54, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

Protip: Label boxes you don't want the movers to know about with "Party Favors." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.83|172.68.79.83]] 16:22, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
: Indeed, it's a great idea to obfuscate your items with "less valuable" names, or replace everything with numbers + room names, like "Kitchen 2." Just don't lose the inventory list. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.116|162.158.255.116]] 10:48, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

The explanation for Bison says they're "also known as buffalo". Not sure if that's technically accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison Excerpt: "Although sometimes referred to historically as a "buffalo", it is only distantly related to the true buffalo." {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.192}}
:Yes, but colloquially, this is acceptable. For another example, see "Indian vs. Native American."[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 18:08, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

The "shards" could also be a reference to "sharding", as in "MongoDB is web scale"[http://www.mongodb-is-web-scale.com/]
[[User:CrazyVaccine|CrazyVaccine]] ([[User talk:CrazyVaccine|talk]]) 17:30, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

membranes shards may also refer to sponges {{unsigned ip|172.68.78.133}}

I read the "shawls glucose kits" as "shawls, glucose [testing] kits", not as "shawls, glucose, kits" {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.191}}

>>Vectors ARE physical objects in the wonderful world of epidemiology... also, I believe that it's incorrect to say that you can not put the 'physics' kind of vector into a box... just not, uh, physically, more theoretically? Also the same for field lines (unless it is full of dug up painted clods from the lines from an actual soccer field or something), but you could absolutely place a magnet next to a box, and now there are field lines in it, ammirght? -(unsigned, embarrassed, pedantic, etc) {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.84}}

Come on people this is funny! While Randal may not remember which box things are in, we must assume he KNOWS what stuff he has - ergo he really has all this stuff or at least these are keywords that represent real stuff (like "triangles" could be drafting set-squares) The joke is trying to figure out what on earth these keywords might actually represent! It being xkcd and Randal, we should not assume these are all "normal" items found in typical housholds but may be computer and tech linked. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.118|108.162.242.118]] 22:17, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm glad he's keeping the shorebirds and oil separate. Not everyone is so considerate. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 01:49, 22 November 2016 (UTC)
: My father tells me about the depressing sight of removing dead grebes at his workplace. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.116|162.158.255.116]] 10:48, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

Some of the boxes could be considered mathematical constructs, i.e., one box contains all the vectors, and is thus a vector space. Another contains edges, 12 of them to be precise. One box appears to be either a Gaussian surface or a magnetic yoke, containing field lines. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.29|162.158.74.29]] 03:14, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

Reference #14, Dark Matter: perhaps fairer to say you can't *knowingly* pack it? After all, if you can't observe it then it might be there without you knowing about it. ([[User:Stumpy|talk]]) 07:15, 22 Nov 2016 (UTC)

I wonder if there is a reason why he grouped items in certain ways. For instance, "shards" would destroy "membranes", so it is funny that he put them together. But why did he put "beacons", "elves" and "sand" together?

Trying to make sense of the word choices. The boxes contain elements from the following domains:
- biology (ex: hemoglobin, bison, shorebirds, membranes)
- physics (ex: dark matter, field lines, particles, taupe (the light frequency))
- chemistry (ex: graphite, glucose)
- mathematics (ex: vectors, triangles, manifolds, edges)
- fantasy (ex: scrolls, elves, traps, fog)
- improbable objects (ex: hydrant, tribes, sand, shards).
Do you see other ways to classify the objects? {{unsigned|P500g}}

Has no one noticed yet the obvious political references of this comic?
: No what is it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.109|108.162.215.109]] 03:28, 23 November 2016 (UTC)
: Me neither.... All I can think is how the election went the wrong way, and many people said they'd move to Canada, so maybe that's an implied link, that now he has to move? - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 04:17, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

This may be a hidden reference to schrodinger's cat https://xkcd.com/45/ -- pointing out that cat may not be the only thing that may or may not be in a box? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.109|108.162.215.109]] 03:28, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm surprised to see no mention or over-analysis of the fact that the "Hydrants Particles Knots" box doesn't say "Contents:" (and is the only such box) :) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 04:17, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1746: Making Friends

2016-10-19T03:32:17Z

162.158.126.227:

Does something like this happen in one of the Star Wars films? *headscratch* --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.228|162.158.150.228]] 06:32, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
:I guess I can take that to mean you don't know what he's talking about? It's too bad I'm going to bed now, this is finally a comic where I'm early enough to provide the explanation AND I understand the comic enough to do so! LOL! The method Cueball is suggesting in the second panel is how animals (or a person) might try to lure in a/many vultures, mostly in cartoons. Vultures are notorious for feeding on dead bodies, and for flying in slowly-descending circles above a dead body they find (presumably to ensure the body IS dead and abandoned by whatever animal might have killed it) before feeding from it. If an animal or human wanted to trap or hunt a vulture, pretending to be dead or about to die on your own would be the way to do it. Actually, the other day I was reading a joke where an oversexed rooster was doing exactly this, attempting to lure in some vultures by pretending to be dead.

:The joke here obviously being that humans don't tend to act like vultures. The alternate behaviour - taking Cueball's things instead of eating him - seems to me to be a nod towards video games where you exhibit such vulture-like behaviour, retrieving useful supplies from dead bodies you find (and create), such as in the Assassin's Creed games. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.73|108.162.219.73]] 08:01, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

::"Humans don't tend to act like vultures"? Did you never saw an ad for refinancing loans? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:53, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
::: I said "don't TEND to", :) Hey, if you want people acting like vultures, I believe I gave the best example, and the one which most fits the comic: looting dead bodies in games like Assassin's Creed. :) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 03:32, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

My daughter's friend, on starting at high school, was telling me she was making new friends. My response: Cool! They're teaching robotics. [[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 09:48, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
:When I read the title of this comic (before reading the actual content) I fully expected it would be a play on "making friends," with Cueball actually building robots.
:Although I'm a little disappointed that it turned out otherwise, at least the replacement was worth it! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.220|108.162.215.220]] 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
::I think you two just wrote Making Friends, Part 2, LOL! I think this needs to exist as an xkcd! :) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.60.23|162.158.60.23]] 02:59, 15 October 2016 (UTC)
:::I thought of the same thing too, after seeing the robot-building version of "making friends" in an early episode of MLP Loops - was surprised that the phrase ''wasn't'' taken literally. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.36|172.68.11.36]] 00:33, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Am I the only one that sees Cueball's strategy as "I act like a nerd until I attract people ''(who want to [steal my lunch money])'' and then I act like a nerd ''(by talking sciency)'' until they're my friends"?
This, of course, relies on stereotypes (and a somewhat dual/split meaning of "nerd"), but seems to fit pretty well. Taking it one step further, it could be described as "[I'm a nerd.] I be myself, and eventually I make friends."
Which is actually a rather valid plan. So I must retract my statement, because Cueball is never that practical. ;-) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.220|108.162.215.220]] 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

"Also how do they steal his shelter, unless this refers to his clothing, the shelter would usually be seen as normal peoples houses, which is rather hard to take." Just steal his house keys? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.126|172.68.54.126]] 17:11, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
:Pup tent? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 23:59, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1745: Record Scratch

2016-10-12T05:58:28Z

162.158.126.227:

== Misleading alt text ==

Note: this is a ridiculous pedantic rant. Tl;dr: the xkcd alt text for today is misleading, and I read a lot about the history of music storage to back up that claim.

http://xkcd.com/1745/

So, this alt text is actually pretty misleading, because he's misusing the "whoa! Event A was closer to Event B than to today" meme by implying that 78s were vinyl, when in fact they were largely shellac -- and also I would argue that he's just got the facts wrong about when the 78-rpmera ended. The 78-rpm era arguably began as early as 1898, and arguably ended as late as the 1950s. In became the standard in 1925. So, ok, we could say, "Yeah, 78-rpm era should be considered to mean some time before 1940. That's reasonable, because the 1940s is really when the age of the 33 1/3 begins. So, OK, Randall, the 78-rpm era was closer to the Civil War than to today. But here's the thing. You implied that the 78-rpm era was a vinyl thing. That's not really true. Vinyl is what ushered in the 33 1/3 days. So while it's maybe a cool piece of trivia to say "we first started using 33 1/3 rpm vinyl records in earnest only slightly closer to today than to the Civil War," it's not really a "wow, compare these well known events! Look how old this record scratch reference is!" Because tapes didn't start to seriously compete with vinyl until the late 1970s, and didn't overtake it until about 1985. So it would be fair to say, "the vinyl era ended closer to the start of the Vietnam War than to today," assuming we treat the Vietnam War as beginning in 1954 or later.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.66|108.162.219.66]] 05:04, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Why is the explanation even mentioning "gramophones" or "phonographs"? Never mind making them sound important to this comic? (I'm not sure of the spelling, but think "gramophone" is wrong). As someone whose childhood was still during the record era, I've never seen either, but have played many records, and heard said scratch sound many times when I was sloppy or unlucky. It seems likely that 78-rpm records are from the grammophone era, but as the above commentor points out, those weren't vinyl. I would suspect vinyl records are all well past the time of grammophones. The device in question was "commonly" known simply as a record player. The current explanation is making the reference sound a LOT older than it is (and Randall already went there in the title text). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 05:53, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1745: Record Scratch

2016-10-12T05:53:14Z

162.158.126.227:

== Misleading alt text ==

Note: this is a ridiculous pedantic rant. Tl;dr: the xkcd alt text for today is misleading, and I read a lot about the history of music storage to back up that claim.

http://xkcd.com/1745/

So, this alt text is actually pretty misleading, because he's misusing the "whoa! Event A was closer to Event B than to today" meme by implying that 78s were vinyl, when in fact they were largely shellac -- and also I would argue that he's just got the facts wrong about when the 78-rpmera ended. The 78-rpm era arguably began as early as 1898, and arguably ended as late as the 1950s. In became the standard in 1925. So, ok, we could say, "Yeah, 78-rpm era should be considered to mean some time before 1940. That's reasonable, because the 1940s is really when the age of the 33 1/3 begins. So, OK, Randall, the 78-rpm era was closer to the Civil War than to today. But here's the thing. You implied that the 78-rpm era was a vinyl thing. That's not really true. Vinyl is what ushered in the 33 1/3 days. So while it's maybe a cool piece of trivia to say "we first started using 33 1/3 rpm vinyl records in earnest only slightly closer to today than to the Civil War," it's not really a "wow, compare these well known events! Look how old this record scratch reference is!" Because tapes didn't start to seriously compete with vinyl until the late 1970s, and didn't overtake it until about 1985. So it would be fair to say, "the vinyl era ended closer to the start of the Vietnam War than to today," assuming we treat the Vietnam War as beginning in 1954 or later.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.66|108.162.219.66]] 05:04, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Why is the explanation even mentioning "gramaphones"? Never mind making them sound important to this comic? (I'm not sure of the spelling, but think that one is wrong). As someone whose childhood was still during the record era, I've never seen a grammophone (sp? Again), but have played many records, and heard said scratch sound many times when I was sloppy or unlucky. It seems likely that 78-rpm records are from the grammophone era, but as the above commentor points out, those weren't vinyl. I would suspect vinyl records are all well past the time of grammophones. The device in question was "commonly" known simply as a record player. The current explanation is making the reference sound a LOT older than it is (and Randall already went there in the title text). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 05:53, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-14T03:12:45Z

162.158.126.227:

Well, never mind then. Oh well. -- [[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 1:02, 12 September 2016
:I acknowledge that the picture is WAY too long, so I added a "skip to explanation" bar, to speed things up. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 17:32, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Is it just me or does the picture not render all the way down in full resolution on firefox? I found it worked on Chrome and explorer... And Wauw, just after I had created the new [[:Category:Climate change]]... Was also just watched a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxEGHW6Lbu8 QandA program] yesterday where [[1644: Stargazing|Brian Cox]] tried to convince some Australian politician about global warming, but the other one just cried conspiracy... Will take some time to make this one complete I guess? Great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:53, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
:That's the thing with this kind of stuff. It takes a LONG time to make it just right. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 19:08, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Please delete the ridiculous trivia
*The colors used to represent temperature vary from blue (the perceived hue of a black body at 20000K) to pale red (perceived at 2200K).
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.139|108.162.221.139]] 19:44, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Of course you can pretty much ignore the part of the diagram that is in dotted line, you can't rely on that data. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 20:40, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
:Note that even if we ignore the extrapolated future, the warming in the past century is already a vastly more abrupt climate shift than anything that happened in the preceding 219 centuries. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:15, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
::Actually we don't know what the shifts were on that scale in the past. The dotted line before modern measurement is a very limited estimate. We have no idea what the year to year changes were in the past, at best we can work out an average. I am reminded of a house mouse(life span of about 1 year) looking at the leaves fall from the tress and saying "Surely this is the end of the world". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 14:44, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:::Randall explicitly addresses your specious complaint at 15900 BCE. Year-to-year fluctuations are not the same as the current century-long surge. Either show scientific evidence or go away, Mr Troll from Seattle Cloudflare. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 16:11, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
::::I should have known better to enter into a religious debate on the internet. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 00:17, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
:Have you read the referenced papers? Well you fit well with the people he refers to between the two lines at the top. ;-) We are heading for troublesome times :-( [[164: Playing Devil's Advocate to Win]]... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:22, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

*the use unqualified of the words "still many people" is exactly the kind of weasely nonsense that this comic is designed to refute. there are "still many people" who claim the earth is flat, that they have been abducted by aliens, or that the MMR jab made their children autistic. those people are deluded or insincere. the difference with deniers of climate change is that there are in their ranks scientists who are clear-sighted but who have decided that funding at any price is better than none. this site should be better than that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]]
::You're absolutely right, the ranks of climate deniers do indeed include a few scientists willing to sell their voices to the highest bidder (e.g. http://www.polluterwatch.com/heartland-institute ). But is that what you meant to say? - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:50, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:::that the wording be changed to reflect that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 11:59, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

For a large post like this, it's a wonder that we can all keep up and edit something like this all at once. Wow. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 11:56, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:Also, anyone else notice that this was a top trending post on Facebook last night? I don't know if I could call it a milestone but it's still pretty cool. And '''WE''' edited it! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 12:06, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
::Very interesting, so it was explain xkcd and not xkcd that where the top trending post? Could you post a link to where you found this out? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Maybe someone should add the fact that the transcript may be a reference to oxidation?[[User:Transuranium|Transuranium]] ([[User talk:Transuranium|talk]]) 19:21, 13 September 2016 (UTC)Transuranium
:I think you mean the "title text" not the transcript? And that you refer to the recent comic [[1693: Oxidation]] which is indeed referened in the title text, then that has been written at the bottom of the main explanation and has been there already since the 12th edit less than 1½ hour after the comic came out... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Is nobody else having a problem seeing the comic? Both here and on XKCD I get an "Image not found" icon, a blue question mark. I thought maybe this was an interactive comic that doesn't work on my iPad (like that garden thing, though that did nothing on my computer either). If I tap it on XKCD nothing happens, here it leads to the picture's Wiki page - also with the question mark - which says it's a PNG, which I know this iPad can show. It's 11pm EST, maybe night maintenance on XKCD? Or the file got renamed without updating the sites? - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 03:12, 14 September 2016 (UTC)