explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2650: Deepfakes

2022-07-26T05:35:20Z

162.158.126.55:

{{comic
| number = 2650
| date = July 25, 2022
| title = Deepfakes
| image = deepfakes.png
| titletext = If so great a deductive mind as Arthur Conan Doyle can be fooled by the Cottingley Deepfakes, what chance do we mortals have? Soon our very reality will be dictated by the whims of Frances (9) and Elsie (16).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DEEPFAKE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|deepfake}} is an altered video, designed to deceive by replacing a person in a video. White Hat believes that this technology will make it difficult to trust videos. However, Cueball responds by saying that "fakes" have always existed, in photos (either through {{w|photoshopping|alterations by software such as Adobe Photoshop}}, or deliberately staging fakes images, e.g. the {{w|Loch Ness Monster}}) and even moreso by people simply lying. White Hat comes around to Cueball's position and says that even the written word is prone to deception and lying.

The {{w|complaint tablet to Ea-nasir}} is an ancient clay tablet, in which a customer complains to a merchant, Ea-nasir, about his copper ingots. Cueball's last statement says that perhaps this complaint could've been a lie to begin with, and there was nothing wrong with Ea-nasir's wares.

The title text references the {{w|Cottingley Fairies}}, a series of photographs of "fairies" by two children, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, who were 16 and 9, respectively. The photographs received widespread attention when Sir {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}}, the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, used the photos as proof of paranormal phenomena in a 1920 magazine article. In 1983, Elsie and Frances confessed that the photos had been faked.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat and Cueball walking to the right]
:White Hat: Thanks to deepfakes, soon we won't know what's real anymore. Video will become meaningless.

:[White Hat and Cueball continuing to walk to the right]
:Cueball: I dunno.
:Cueball: We've had Photoshop for decades and staged photos for centuries.
:Cueball: It hasn't made photos meaningless.

:[Zoom in on Cueball]
:Cueball: The bottleneck for fake stuff isn't technical. The bottleneck is willingness to lie.
:Cueball: "People lying" is a very old problem.
:Cueball: It's a known exploit.

:[Zoom back out on White Hat and Cueball who have stopped. White Hat has a hand on his chin. Cueball has his hands to the side.]
:White Hat: I guess technically we've been able to make ''text'' deepfakes for 5,000 years.
:Cueball: Maybe Ea-nasir's copper ingots were actually fine!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2640: The Universe by Scientific Field

2022-07-01T21:58:51Z

162.158.126.55:

I have a feeling reproductions of this particular XKCD will be popular on the doors of many offices in astronomy departments around the world. A bit like Gary Larson's Far Side cartoons are found everywhere in biology departments.

Talk:2619: Crêpe

2022-05-13T20:30:23Z

162.158.126.55: typo fix

You can almost make the same weird circumflex by using combining diacritics. e, then inverted breve then circumflex. Doesn't seem to render properly with firefox at least --> ȇ̂ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.241|172.70.114.241]] 14:20, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
: U+2372 is a caret with a tilde through it: ⍲ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.251|108.162.245.251]] 14:45, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Would you like a crē̂pe? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
:: I looked at a few more unicode things. I'm not too familiar with unicode; there are a few more down curves I think, but I didn't see any way to make it just like the image. I think wiki markup or an embedded image would probably do this best, and may be worthwhile if anybody's excited. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
: Is it possible to vertically stretch a character? A combination of a "regular" circumflex and a vertically-stretched circumflex might work. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:41, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

I think the circumflex is not an "A" but more of a split-and-stretched delta, or an arrowhead. Maybe show a zoom-in of the circumflex (obviously from the 2x image) in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:47, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
: Also, i noticed there are weird white dots past the corners of the border. They are even more visible in the 2x! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:50, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
: A chevron, perchance? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 14:52, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

Is it not also a play on "weird flex but OK"? https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/weird-flex-but-okay/

IPA would be appreciated

It doesn't really look like an "A". It's more a hollow outline of a circumflex. You can see it more clearly in the 2x version. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.54.247|172.70.54.247]] 19:28, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

The crêpe itself is also in the shape of an accent. -JT

Talk:2619: Crêpe

2022-05-13T20:29:36Z

162.158.126.55: Add another layer of pun.

2581: Health Stats

2022-02-15T05:15:15Z

162.158.126.55:

{{comic
| number = 2581
| date = February 14, 2022
| title = Health Stats
| image = health_stats.png
| titletext = You will live on forever in our hearts, pushing a little extra blood toward our left hands now and then to give them a squeeze.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a EXPLODING RIGHT HAND - 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.}}

:Box titlebar: New health stat!
:Box: Left hand blood volume: 21.83 mL
:Cueball: Oh. Cool. Not sure how to interpret that, but good to know, I guess.
:Offscreen: I guess!

:Box: Left hand blood volume: 21.81 mL
:Cueball: Huh, it's going down. I guess that happens.
:Offscreen: Mhm.

:Box: Left hand blood volume: 21.86 mL
:Cueball: Oh weird, now it's going up higher than before.
:Offscreen: Maybe you shouldn't look at-

:Box: Left hand blood volume: 22.09 mL
:Cueball: It's going '''''way''''' up! '''''Is my hand exploding?!'''''
:Cueball: And now my pulse is rising! '''''Aaaaa!!!!'''''
:Offscreen: So sorry. We will treasure your memory.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:2573: Alien Mission

2022-01-26T19:57:19Z

162.158.126.55: /* "Every inch of the surface" */ new section

hello from Anchorage, AK![[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 19:24, 26 January 2022 (UTC)
:Hi, but do remember to sign your Talk stuff, however otherwise meaningless. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.126|172.70.91.126]] 19:21, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

:oops forgot, just fixed it.[[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 19:24, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

I wonder whether they're also looking for Little Green Men, these aliens being themselves more of the 'bug-eyed monster' type. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.126|172.70.91.126]] 19:21, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

== "Every inch of the surface" ==

Should it be "every square inch of the surface"?