explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2765: Escape Speed

2024-02-16T16:06:15Z

162.158.159.104: /* The Hyperdrive *

{{comic
| number = 2765
| date = April 19, 2023
| title = Escape Speed
| image = escape_speed_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x700px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Gotta go fast.
}}
{{TOC}}
*To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|2765|original comic}}.

== Explanation ==
This interactive comic is similar to [[2712: Gravity]], which celebrated the release of ''[[What If? 2]]'', as you can visit different planets. Your fuel runs out and recharges slowly over time or instantly whenever you land. Like in Gravity, there is no "universal" point of view: the bottom of the window, "down", is oriented towards the object exerting the most gravity upon the player.

You begin on the Starting Planet, near Origin. To escape Origin's gravitational force, gain enough momentum by swinging a few times inside the large hidden tunnel that goes from the rollercoaster to the opposing side of the planet. However, note that it is possible to escape Origin’s gravitational pull by maneuvering the spacecraft counterclockwise around the Starting Planet, accelerating tangential to the surface above the figure yelling “WOW!” or “!MOM”. To help you find other planets there are also many small circles surrounding the spaceship indicating the locations of nearby or distant planets depending on how transparent these points are. Collecting circles with a star outline will improve the performance of the spaceship, such as by making the engine more efficient or increasing the rate at which the fuel recharges, and sometimes make you find a new item. Collecting small grey circles will instead just make you find an item, such as a rock with neat stripes, a cool bug, and a pretty leaf.

Most planets and celestial objects are inside of a large Crystal Sphere in which there is a visible navigable crack. Halfway through the crack, gravity gets increasingly stronger as the spaceship feels the gravitational force of the parts of the Crystal Sphere it is leaving behind. Above the crack in the Crystal Sphere, there is the Star Destroyer from [[1608: Hoverboard]], and on the opposite side of the crack, there is a huge part of the world in [[1110: Click and Drag]] in the form of a round planet.

The title of the comic is likely a reference to the 1996 computer game {{w|Escape Velocity (video game)|Escape Velocity}}, which also featured a 2D map dotted with planets. The title text says, "Gotta go fast.", a reference to {{w|Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic the Hedgehog}}'s catchphrase, and the point of the game: getting able to go faster to escape larger and larger planets and leave the Crystal Sphere.

===The Hyperdrive==
The Hyperdrive is a powerful upgrade to the spaceship that massively boosts your thrusters. It is found at the center of the Boston Planet and is needed to explore the planets outside the Crystal Sphere and to escape from the black hole inside the Subway Planet. It can only be unlocked after deactivating the MIT Cloaking Device on the Subway Planet and collecting three of the four subway tokens found at different "Bostons". Subway tokens are circles with a T outline, and they have a distinct color: "blue", "red", "green", and "orange", the four colors of {{w|MBTA subway|Boston's subway system}}. The blue token on the Boston Planet is not strictly necessary to get the Hyperdrive, although it is the easiest to obtain. Note that getting it will require several other upgrades first, so it shouldn't be your first objective. See [[#Celestial Bodies and Collectable Items|the table below]] for other ways to progress in the game.

Here's how to get the Hyperdrive:
# Get to the Subway Planet by launching from the bush where someone says "Shhh." on Origin. () The Subway Planet features all the subways of North America except Boston, which has been ripped out and hidden by the MIT kids, leaving a big empty hole in the crust of the planet.
# Once on the Subway Planet, go to Morgantown, WV via Mexico City and Atlanta, and deactivate the MIT Cloaking Device to make the Boston Planet appear.
# Follow the two intangible grey lines that will first guide you to Origin and then the Roche Lobe Earth (one of the four Bostons) and collect the green subway token on it.
# Go back to Origin and collect the orange token on the Guitar Ship (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2765:_Escape_Speed#Celestial_Bodies_and_Collectable_Items the table below] for instructions on how to find these planets).
# Get to the East Coast of the US on the Projection of Earth and collect the red token.
# Now that the center of the Boston Planet is accessible, go there and collect the Hyperdrive. The planet also contains the final blue token, but it's not necessary to get to the Hyperdrive.

===Extra Escape Speed pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated, extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page. These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:
* [[2765: Escape Speed/Transcript]] - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.
* [[2765: Escape Speed/The whole image]] - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image.
* [[2765: Escape Speed/Screen-shots]] - Can be linked from several sections
* [[2765: Escape Speed/Tables]] - Tables used for explanation can be put on this page.

===Celestial Bodies and Collectable Items===
This is a table of all celestial bodies and items, in descending order of planet size (the Starting Planet, Origin, and the Hollow Planet are at the top for their relevance). Collectable items and messages are found in the "You found...", "Upgrades", "Messages" and "Subway tokens" columns. For more detailed and in-depth tables and lists, see [[2765: Escape Speed/Tables|here]]. Here are some other useful resources:
* A map of the entire universe created by the community can be found [https://aeromancer.dev/xkcd/escape_speed/ here]
* Screenshots of the entire world, planets, and celestial bodies made using this map can be found [[2765: Escape Speed/The whole image|here]]
* A spreadsheet of all items and messages from the game's source code can be found [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hygJKdwjkufAU3ZYC4NELdCX7XgRdOIW68vPUidR9qA here]
* A spreadsheet of coordinates for all celestial bodies from the game's source code can be found [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xhw3oVb4fMktZB_KEIF9fGkYCkfbpRMHKBLI63laTgc here]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2"|Name

<code>codename</code>
! rowspan="2"|Tiles (X, Y)
! rowspan="2"|Explanation
! colspan="4"|Collectable items and messages
|-
! You found...
! Upgrades
! Messages
! Subway tokens
|-
| '''Starting Planet'''

<code>tiny-world</code>
| (6024, -8976)
| To get here, click the "Home" button in the lower right corner of the comic.

The planet is tiny, grassy, and has few trees. Beret Guy is saying "WOW!", but since he's on the other side of the planet, it looks like he is shouting "iMOM". This is a reference to the title text of [[1117: My Sky]], and it could also be a reference to [[502: Dark Flow]]. Pressing the "Home" button to go back to the starting planet shows the message, "Welcome back, pilot", which may be a reference to the greeting that plays when re-entering a Titan in the ''Titanfall'' video games.
|
* a rock with neat stripes

* a cool bug

* a pretty leaf
|
|
* Wheeee!
|
|-
| '''Origin'''

<code>origin</code>
| (3096, -5904)
| To get here, launch from Beret Guy saying "Wow!" on the Starting Planet.

The planet has a sign saying 'Welcome to Origin! You can never leave™'. A large hidden tunnel inside it leads from below the rollercoaster to the St. Louis Arch on the opposing side of the planet, which you can use to gain enough momentum to escape the gravitational force if you don't have many upgrades. There are lots of landmarks and signs that mark the directions to different planets.
|
* a secret glade
* a holographic Charizard business card
* a 5G seagull
* a DVD of The Core (2003)
* a normal-looking leaf
* a marsh wren
* an orb wren
* a single grain of salt
* 11 squares packed into a larger square
* a tumbleweed
|
* Nice flying! (Your tanks recharge faster now.)
|
* You found a tiny meteorite!
* Welcome to liminal space
* The St. Louis arch is also known as the gateway to space.
* Be careful; this roller coaster can be disorienting!
|
|-
| '''Hollow Planet'''

<code>hollow-shell</code>
| (-13952, 1848)
| To get here, launch from the St. Louis Arch on Origin.

The planet is just a shell with some gaps. On the outside, there are lots of landmarks and signs that mark the directions to different planets.
|
|
* You found a handful of the quantum foam that makes up the fabric of space! (Your tanks recharge much faster now.)

* You found a sixth lagrange point! (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* You found a glass of heavy water (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Star Destroyer'''

''from'' <code>star-destroyer-a</code> ''to'' <code>star-destroyer-i</code>
| (18192, -130000)
| To get here, launch from the crack in the Crystal Sphere.

The planet has been copied from [[1608: Hoverboard]], with the only difference being that Darth Vader's dialogue was changed from referencing {{w|Steven Universe}} to {{w|The Murderbot Diaries}}.
|
* an unread email
* a glass slipper with a glass foot in it
* a lymphocyte
* a forged resume
* a serif
* a Bursa of Fabricius
* a cluster of data points
* a premium subscription to food
* two goats and a new car
* an out-of-control trolley
* a helium-238 nucleus
* the Death Star plans
|
* You found a perpetual motion fidget spinner! (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)
* You found a vintage Juicero juicer! (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
|
* Hmmm.
|
|-
| '''Click and Drag Planet'''

<code>clickdrag-nw</code>'','' <code>clickdrag-ne</code>'','' <code>clickdrag-sw</code>'', and'' <code>clickdrag-se</code>
| (-31808, 111808)
| To get here, launch from the bow or stern of the Star Destroyer tangentially to the Crystal Sphere to orbit it and keep the stars in the background moving horizontally on the screen until you see a dot around the spaceship guiding you.

The planet has mostly been copied from [[1110: Click and Drag]] and modelled to form a round planet, so the drawings are very tiny. The large rocket has been changed from the original look, possibly as a reference to SpaceX. Originally, it had no gravity, and the spaceship was only attracted by the gravity of the Crystal Sphere. This made navigating around the planet difficult, so a later update added gravity to it to make it easier for players to explore it.
|
* an ant the size of Rhode Island
* a pin with 17 angels dancing on it
|
* The vehicle below gives you a boost (Your launch speed has increased.)
* We should turn back (Your engine gets a bit more powerful.)
* You found an expert at underwater ropes. (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
* You found a trisected angle! (Your launch speed has greatly increased.)
|
|
|-
| '''Subway Planet'''

<code>subway-planet</code> ''and'' <code>black-hole-3</code>
| (22000, 34000)
| To get here, launch from the bush where someone says "Shhh." on Origin.

The planet is a reference to [[1196: Subways]] and it's riddled with tunnels. Boston has been ripped out and hidden by the MIT kids, leaving a big empty hole in the crust of the planet, and there is a black hole at the center that can only be escaped with the Hyperdrive. You need to find the switch that turns off the MIT Cloaking Device to help you get the Hyperdrive. Once found, two intangible grey lines will appear (on the Subway Planet and on Origin), guiding you to one of the four Bostons.
|
* a relativistic bowling ball
* a Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)
* a handful of quantum foam
* a normal-sized apple
|
* You get the feeling you're not in Kansas anymore (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)
* There is no parking in the white zone (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
* The next stop is Interplanetary Terminal G (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
* You feel accomplished (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
* You found a brightly-lit billboard (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
* You found a hot dog (Your launch speed has increased.)
* You found a bottle of Coke Absolute Zero! (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
* You found a beige electron! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
* You found $30 in Yahoo! cash! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
* You found a friendly cat! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
* Transfer here for Mornington Crescent
|
* MIT Cloaking Device deactivated! Boston detected. (Blue, red, green, and orange lines activated.)
|-
| '''Boston Planet'''

<code>mbta</code>
| (-42000, 8000)
| To get here, launch from the back of the Shuttle Skeleton.

The planet is the Boston subway system that was ripped out from the Subway Planet by the MIT kids. The Hyperdrive, needed to explore the planets outside the Crystal Sphere, is at the center of the planet, which is only accessible after getting the green, red and orange subway tokens. The blue token is not strictly necessary to get the Hyperdrive, although it is the easiest to obtain. If the player goes to the location of the Boston Planet before turning off the MIT Cloaking Device, they will only find an invisible region out in space that has gravity, at the center of which a "strangely heavy subway token" can be found. The gravitational force around it remains even after the token is collected. As hinted by Blondie on Andal, the MIT Cloaking Device doesn't affect gravity, therefore the cloaked Boston planet is intangible and invisible, but its mass still affects the gravitational field around it.
|
* a strangely heavy subway token
|
|
|
* Blue line deactivated!
* Welcome to MIT! You acquired a hyperdrive!
|-
| '''Projection of Earth'''

<code>earth-map</code>
| (-15808, 22192)
| To get here, launch from the Earth map landmark on Origin or the sign on the Hollow Planet.

The planet is a huge, distorted map of all land masses on Earth. The spaceship can fly where water would be, but it can't go over land.
|
* the Heart of the Ocean
* a whale shark
* some microbial life
* some tin from the pantai remis mine
* a sparkling gem
* a piece of pumice
|
* You found the Principality of Sealand! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found a Rhode Island the size of an ant! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found an icosahedral d10 (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
* Red line deactivated!
|-
| '''What If? Planet'''

<code>gravity-earth</code>
| (-46000, -24000)
| To get here, launch from the two people explaining where Boston is on Origin, the left of Stonehenge on the Round Planet, or the left rim of the Guitar Ship.

The planet contains several scenes from ''[[What If? 2]]'' and [[2712: Gravity]]. Megan and Cueball are floating inside a small space in the center of the planet, which can be reached after getting the Hyperdrive. This is arguably the most remote object within the Crystal Sphere, since all the planets around it are very distant from it.
|
* an eye in the sky

* a stick

* an asterisk

* a sterile neutrino

* a secret leaf

* a pair of squirrel goggles

* a large hadron

* a smooth green snake
|
* You found a sunken treasure (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* The Yellowstone Super What? (Your launch speed has increased.)

* Nutritional Facts - Serving Size: 1 Cloud, Total Calories: 0 (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You captured the flag! You decide to leave it there, but it's yours. (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found a steam calliope! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found a dna base pair! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Uzumaki'''

<code>uzumaki</code>
| (-3904, -26904)
| To get here, launch from Origin's spiral landmark, the sign on the Hollow Planet, or below the plane-towed banner on the Round Planet.

The planet is a large spiral of grass inspired by the manga ''{{w|Uzumaki}}'' by Junji Ito. A Roomba is loose, a reference to [[1558: Vet]].
|
* a golden radio tuned to 1.618 MHz

* a scroll lock key

* a primordial black hole

* a cool pair of shoes with flames on the side

* an ink cartridge

* a podcast episode

* a festive but somehow unnerving holiday card from Junji Ito

* a friendly bee

* a spiral-cut diamond

* a burrito
|
* You found a tree-filled grove and a nice spot for quiet contemplation (Your thrusters are significantly more efficient now.)

* You found a single caffeine molecule! (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)
|
* Exit Only

* You're going the wrong way!
|
|-
| '''Round Planet'''
<code>orb</code>
| (-19154, -7288)
| To get here, launch from the tower with an orb on it on Origin or the sign on the Hollow Planet.

The planet is moderately small with no vegetation and some architecture such as Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China.
|
* a swatch pop-out wristwatch
|
* You found a sensible cheese platter (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)

* ''[no message]'' (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Jurassic Park Planet'''

<code>gravity-qwantz</code>
| (20000, 11000)
| To get here, launch from the dinosaur on Origin or the Andalites on Andal.

The planet is covered in dinosaurs from [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics] and has very weak gravity. It is an exact copy of the Dinosaur Planet from [[2712: Gravity]].
|
* a tiny pteranodon

* a baby hedgehog

* a tattered knapsack containing about $194,00 in $20 bills
|
* Today is a good day I think for space exploration (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* But what if gravity doesn't actually exist? (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)
|
|
|-
| '''Andal'''

<code>platform-planet</code>
| (12048, 14048)
| To get here, launch from the Andal landmark near the pyramids on Origin or below Saturn's equator, when the soccer ball is oriented to the bottom left compared to the spaceship.

The planet is small and has a T-shaped tower, mountains, and grass.
|
|
* You found two Andalites, one canonical! (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* What a nice place for a ship to sit! (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)

* You found a friend (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* You found baby shoes (and baby)! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Comet 67P'''

<code>67p</code>
| (18048, -11152)
| To get here, launch from the duck next to the 'Caution: long vertical drop' sign on Origin.

The planet is a reference to the comet {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}} and contains the crashed Rosetta spacecraft along with the Philae lander that landed on it in 2014.
|
|
* Some people believe that when the Earth appears in the sky, it's a harbinger of doom. (Your tanks recharge a bit faster now.)

* You found a broken smoke machine (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* Anyone for Scrabble later? (Your engine gets a little more powerful.) (This is a reference to [[470: The End is Not for a While]].)

* You found The Long Now Foundation's nickel paperweight containing an archive of every published Animorphs book! (Your launch speed has increased.)
|
|
|-
| '''Guitar Ship'''

<code>guitar-ship</code>
| (-12000, -30000)
| To get here, launch from the musicians singing "it's more than a feeling" near Uzumaki.

The planet is a huge guitar labeled 'Boston' with the city skyline under a dome on the back (a reference to the cover art of the album {{w|Boston (album)|''Boston''}}).
|
* a guitar pick
|
|
|
* Orange line deactivated!
|-
| '''Saturn'''

<code>saturn</code>
| (2600, 14000)
| To get here, launch from the pyramid with Saturn on it on Origin. If you see the Spacetime Soccer Field, you're too far left.

The planet has a soccer ball inside it, a reference to [[2513: Saturn Hexagon]].
|
* a really cool data point
|
* You found a pair of platonic solids, not quite touching! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found a block of scandium! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Roche Lobe Earth'''

<code>earth-roche</code> ''and'' <code>normal-moon</code>
| (-9952, -3952)
| To get here, launch from the landmark that looks like a very round cannon firing a cannon ball on Origin.

The planet is a distorted Earth being attracted by the gravity of the moon, which makes the Earth look like a giant drop of water. See ''{{w|Roche Lobe}}'' for more information.
|
* a curious humboldt squid

* a bathyscaphe

* a wayward Roomba full of moondust
|
|
|
* Green line deactivated!
|-
| '''Giant Spider'''

<code>spider</code>
| (26982, -8714)
| To get here, launch from the spider landmark on Origin.

The object is a giant spider floating in space with eight people standing on top of his legs.
|
* a spider-silk scarf
|
* You found a friendly jumping spider (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Dark Matter Planet'''

<code>dark-matter</code>
| (-2892, 2640)
| To get here, launch from the goal on the half of the field with just one person on it on Spacetime Soccer Field.

The planet is small and grey, and it has the words "Dark matter" inside. On its surface, there are two squirrels and Ponytail exclaiming "I found it!", a reference to [[2186: Dark Matter]]).
|
|
* You found a delicate music box. (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)
|
|
|-
| '''Shuttle Skeleton'''

<code>space-shuttle</code>
| (-30200, 14576)
| To get here, launch from the Shuttle Skeleton landmark on Origin or Northwest from Alaska on the Projection of Earth.

The object is a reference to the Space Shuttle Skeleton from [[2630: Shuttle Skeleton]].
|
* a piece of space shuttle food
|
* A little upgrade works wonders on fuel efficiency (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
|
|
|-
| '''Diffraction Spikes Star'''

<code>diffraction</code>
| (-19944, 11240)
| To get here, launch from the back of the left "hand" of the Shuttle Skeleton or the north of Alaska.

The object is a very spiky star, a reference to [[2762: Diffraction Spikes]].
|
* a hydrogen ion

* a piece of coronium (iron)
|
|
|
|-
| '''SafetySat'''

<code>safetysat</code>
| (17024, 1024)
| To get here, launch from the cell tower on Origin.

The object is a reference to [[1992: SafetySat]].
|
* a first of its kind
|
* ''[no message]'' (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* The more refined oil had a dinner engagement (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
|
|
|-
| '''Spacetime Soccer Field'''

<code>soccerfield</code>
| (6048, 4048)
| To get here, launch from the pyramid with a soccer ball on it on Origin.

The planet is reference to [[2705: Spacetime Soccer]] and consists of a central white body, goals on the poles, and intangible lines farther away.
|
|
* GOOOOOOOOAAAAA- AAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* GOOOOOOOOAAAAA- AAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* You found the 3 million point line (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)

* You found a sunspot! (Your launch speed has increased.)
|
|
|-
| '''Voyager 1'''

<code>voyager-1</code>
| (1606, -14282)
| To get here, launch from the "Receiving transmission" communication device near the spiral landmark on Origin.

The object is a satellite flying in space around Origin.
|
|
* You found Voyager 1! Some of its great speed rubs off on you. (Your engine thrust has increased significantly.)
|
|
|-
| '''Voyager 2'''

<code>voyager-2</code>
| (10682, -5172)
| To get here, launch from the "Receiving transmission" communication device near the spider landmark on Origin.

The object is a satellite flying in space around Origin.
|
|
* You found Voyager 2! Some of its great speed rubs off on you. (Your engine thrust has increased significantly.)
|
|
|-
| '''Crystal Sphere'''

''from'' <code>ring-1</code> ''to'' <code>ring-36</code>
|
| To get here, launch from anywhere and keep avoiding planets until you hit it.

Most planets and celestial objects are inside of a large Crystal Sphere in which there is a visible navigable crack. Halfway through the crack, gravity gets increasingly stronger as the spaceship feels the gravitational force of the entire Crystal Sphere. Despite a person on Origin saying that "there's no way you'd be able to escape [the Crystal Sphere's] gravitation pull. You'd need some kind of a Hyperdrive for that", it's actually possible to get out of the Crystal Sphere without the Hyperdrive (but the spaceship won't be able to stay in the air for more than a second without being pulled back). You can also escape by going fast enough and ramming through. Above the crack, there is an arch made up of the repeating words "The End", which is reminiscent of the "Don't leave the play area" message in [[1608: Hoverboard]] that appeared when the player tried to get out of it.

|
* a necklace of element samples whose symbols spell out your name

* the platinum cylinder formerly used to define the kilogram
|
* A significant boost to the engines for a curious pilot (Your engine thrust has increased significantly.)

* You found the gold crown Archimedes stole! (Your engine thrust has increased significantly.)
|
|
|-
| '''Crack in the Crystal Sphere'''
|
| To get here, launch from the two characters talking about 'shooting for the moon' on Origin or the 'Exit' sign on the Hollow Planet.

This section of the Crystal Sphere was violently removed, similarly to how Boston was ripped out from the Subway Planet, leaving jagged edges and construction materials visible. Judging by the shape of the edges of the crack, it doesn't look like the Crystal Sphere is made of crystal. As noticed by Ponytail in the Hollow Planet, when the player is inside the Crystal Sphere, they don't feel a gravitational pull from the huge structure, but when they're outside, the spaceship feels the gravitational force of all the celestial bodies it is leaving behind, resulting in an very strong pull towards the interior of the Crystal Sphere. Above the crack, there is an arch made up of the repeating words "The End", which is reminiscent of the "Don't leave the play area" message in [[1608: Hoverboard]] that appeared when the player tried to get out of it. The Crystal Sphere may be a reference to {{w|The Crystal Spheres}}, a short story by science fiction author David Brin which suggests that each star with habitable planets in the universe is surrounded by a crystal sphere that can be broken only from the inside and is otherwise completely impenetrable.
|
|
* There is a way out (Your launch speed has increased.)
|
* Right lane must turn right

* Left lane must turn left
|
|-
| '''Open Space Outside the Crystal Sphere'''
|
|To get here, go through the crack in the crystal sphere
|
|
* It is very lonely out here (Your tanks recharge much faster now.)

* You found a needle in a haystack (Your engine gets a little more powerful.)

* From here you can view the source of it all. (Your thrusters are more efficient now.)
|
|}

==Hacks==
Some of the modes and hacks from [[2712: Gravity]] return in this comic and can be activated by opening the browser console (F12, Ctr+Shift+I or Cmd+Option+I to open your browser's developer tools, then choose the Console tab) and typing a command. <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
<br>

* <code>python("import antigravity")</code> flips the gravitational pull. It's a reference to comic [[353: Python]].
* <code>noclip = true</code> disables collision detection.
* <code>Comic.gravityConstant = 0</code> turns gravity off (default is 100).
* <code>Comic.voyager.opts.speed = 0.1</code> increases engine power (default is 0.04).
* <code>Comic.voyager.opts.thrustDuration = 1000</code> provides extra fuel (default is 3.5).
* <code>Comic.voyager.opts.turnSpeed = 0.008</code> increases your turning speed (default is 0.002).
* <code>[Comic.voyager.pos.x, Comic.voyager.pos.y] = [1177, 6755]</code> teleports the spaceship to Saturn ([https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xhw3oVb4fMktZB_KEIF9fGkYCkfbpRMHKBLI63laTgc Coordinates list].)
* <code>Comic.map.items</code> is an array of the findable items, and <code>Comic.map.locations</code> is an array of places.
* <code>ship.engines = "infinite improbability drive"</code> moves the spaceship to random locations, in a reference to the Heart of Gold from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
* <code>ze.goggles()</code> once again prints "they do nothing!"
* <code>ship.shields = false</code> turns the entire screen black when you collide with something.
===Spaceships===

This is a table of all spaceships:

| -
| <code>paperplane</code>[[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/paperplane/landed.png]]
| '''paperplane'''
| changes the spaceship into a paper plane.
| - -
| <code>bubble</code> [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/bubble/landed.png]]
| '''Default Ship'''
| (the default spaceship)
| - -
| <code>small-bubble</code>[[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/small-bubble/landed.png]]
| '''Small-bubble'''
| (a smaller version of the default)
| -
| <code>carriagereturn</code> [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/carriagereturn/landed.png]]
| '''USS Enterprise'''
| (the USS Enterprise, presumably a pun on 'Enter')
| -
| <code>lamp</code> [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/lamp/landed.png]]
| '''Flyable Lamp'''
| (a lamp that shoots light down/up/left/right)
| -
| <code>lampacity</code> [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/lamp/landed.png]]
| '''Flyable Lamp 2'''
| (also a lamp?)
| -
| <code>ship1</code> [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/ship1/landed.png]]
| '''Default ship 2'''
| (the default spaceship from "Gravity"). available only with Code inspector
| -
|
| '''USS Enterprise 2''' [[https://xkcd.com/2765/assets/0/ships/carriagereturn/landed.png]]
| <code>ship.engines = "warp"</code> The spaceship USS Enterprise from Star Trek and massively boosts the power of your engines.Use
| <code>ship.engines = "standard"</code> to return to normal.available only with Code inspector
| -
| Right click on the side and then press inspect then click console then Copy and paste this into the console and then put the ship name in between the quote marks <code>Comic.ship = " " </code>
| -

==Data and Maps==
[[User:CruseCtrl|CruseCtrl]]'s wayfinder adds a blue dot to show where the nearest collectable is.
Paste this into the JavaScript console:

const waypointDiv = document.createElement("div");
waypointDiv.style = "position: absolute; left: 50%; top: 50%; width: 6px; height: 6px; background: blue; border-radius: 99px;";
document.getElementById("comic").appendChild(waypointDiv);
const findClosestObject = (voyager, xPos, yPos) => {
let bestDist = Infinity;
let bestObject = null;
for (const object of voyager.objects.filter((o) => !voyager.gotObjects.has(o.id) && o.visible?.())) {
const dist = Math.sqrt((xPos - (object.x1 + object.x2) / 2) ** 2 + (yPos - (object.y1 + object.y2) / 2) ** 2);
if (dist < bestDist) {
bestDist = dist;
bestObject = object;
}
}
return { object: bestObject, dist: bestDist };
};
const everyFrame = function (state) {
const { object, dist } = findClosestObject(Comic.voyager, state.x, state.y);
if (!object) {
waypointDiv.style.display = "none";
return;
}
const objectX = (object.x1 + object.x2) / 2;
const objectY = (object.y1 + object.y2) / 2;
const angleToObject = Math.atan2(objectY - state.y, objectX - state.x);
const waypointAngle = angleToObject + Comic.voyager.cameraAngle;
const waypointDistance = 10 + 2 * dist ** (1 / 3);
const waypointX = Math.cos(waypointAngle) * waypointDistance;
const waypointY = Math.sin(waypointAngle) * waypointDistance;
waypointDiv.style.transform = `translate(${waypointX}px, ${waypointY}px)`;
};
const oldOnFrame = Comic.onFrame.bind(Comic);
Comic.onFrame = function (...args) { everyFrame(...args); oldOnFrame(...args); };

The following script stops the momentum of the spaceship, which can be useful after seeing a planet without being able to slow down in time:
window.onkeydown = function(e){if(e.key == 'p'){Comic.gameHandle.playerConfig.maxSpeed = 0; setTimeout(() => {Comic.gameHandle.playerConfig.maxSpeed = 100;},10)}}
</div>
<br>

== Transcript ==
:'''[This transcript only covers the starting page as shown on {{xkcd|2765|xkcd.com}}. A full transcript of the entire comic can be found [[2765: Escape Speed/Transcript|here]].]'''

:[What is shown on xkcd it what is known as the Starting planet. It is a small planet. On top of it is a small spaceship standing on two legs. It has a circular shape on top of the legs with a round window. Next to it is a small tree which is higher than the spaceship. This is the spaceship to be controlled by the user. The planet has grass all around, and the entire planet is visible. But the ship is in the center, so most of the planet is in the lover part of the panel. The background around the planet is a star-studded black backdrop. Going around the planet to clockwise from the small tree, there are two more trees with some small bushes between the first small tree and the two next trees. A larger tree is on the opposite part of the planet. Between the two trees and this there is a small bush and the Beret Guy who looks and point up from his point of view (down as seen in the image as he is on the opposite side). He is exclaiming a word. After the largest tree next to him, come a small tree. Before that Cueball and Megan stand together. On the last part back to the spaceship there is another small bush. There are also four gray dots. One above the spaceship. One between the first three and the two. One above the largest of the two trees together. And the final near the bush to the left of the spaceship. Those four dots are part of the game and can be removed if the ship touches them. In the bottom right corner of the panel there is a small white square with a black house drawn upon it. There are two small black dots beneath it. A curved arrow goes below the house from the right to the left dot. This is the home button that will always take the player back to this starting window. To the very right of the panel on height with the spaceship there is a white bar about three times the height of the spaceship. This bar indicates how much energy the spaceship has. It always refuels immediately after landing anywhere.]
:Beret Guy: Wow!
:[As Beret Guy is upside down, so is his words. They can thus easily be read as MOM as they are written, as always, in all caps.]

:[As part of the game there are messages appearing the first time you enter the comic, and every time you return to home of to the comic from another comic. Although they are not part of the image, they do appear on the home image. These messages appear as black text in a rectangular white panel with a black border. The messages are only on screen for a short time. On a mobile phone browser "Use the arrow keys" is "Tap the sides of your screen". The three situations follow here:]

:[First time opening the game in a new browser there are two messages one appearing after the other:]
:Greetings!
:Use the arrow keys, pilot.

:[When pressing the home button only one message appears:]
:Welcome back, pilot.

:[When reloading or going to the page after having been in another page or having shut down the program and opening again, there will be two messages:]
:Welcome back! We saved your progress.
:Use the arrow keys, pilot.

:[When moving past the grey dots text is revealed in a similar manner to the greetings text. If it is items, then they are collected and listed beneath the panel under the heading "You've found:" A bulleted list will then start to grow beneath this as you play the game and collect items.]

:'''[For more transcripts from the rest of the game go to the [[2765: Escape Speed/Transcript|full transcript page]].]'''

== Trivia ==
* Since the comic came out on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday, it may have been timed to celebrate the test flight of the [https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/apr/20/elon-musks-spacex-launches-test-flight-for-rocket-that-could-bring-people-to-mars SpaceX Starship rocket], which was blown up four minutes after liftoff because its booster stage failed to separate. The large rocket found on the Click and Drag Planet has also been changed from the original look, possibly as a reference to SpaceX. It could also be a late [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]], since for the second time in 12 years no such comic was published this year.
* At (-945.399px, -694.381px), a person named Ryan is stuck in a small hole with a dog. This is a reference to a real event that happened to [https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/18/9173621/ryan-north-stuck-hole-twitter Dinosaur Comics author Ryan North]. Nearby is featured the T-rex from his iconic comic strip, in the pose of the last panel.

== Discussion ==
The discussion was removed due to its extreme length, but it's still visible on its own page.

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] 
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Spiders]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Soccer]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Airplane banner]]
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:The Core]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Stilts]]
[[Category:What If?]] 
[[Category:Popular Comics]]

982: Set Theory

2024-02-05T13:57:27Z

162.158.159.104: /* Relevance of a reference to Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" is unclear */

{{comic
| number = 982
| date = November 25, 2011
| title = Set Theory
| image = set_theory.png
| titletext = Proof of Zermelo's well-ordering theorem given the Axiom of Choice: 1: Take S to be any set. 2: When I reach step three, if S hasn't managed to find a well-ordering relation for itself, I'll feed it into this wood chipper. 3: Hey, look, S is well-ordered.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a pun on the phrase "{{w|Proof by Intimidation}}" which normally is a jocular term used mainly in mathematics. It refers to a style of presenting a purported mathematical proof by giving an argument loaded with jargon and appeals to obscure results, so that the audience is simply obliged to accept it, lest they have to admit to their ignorance and lack of understanding.

However, in this comic, "Proof by Intimidation" is taken to mean that by intimidating the elements within a set, they will conform to the proof (or, as the title text says, they will become "well-ordered"). This is accomplished by believing that the elements can be {{w|anthropomorphize}}d such that they feel fear.

This interpretation of the term "Proof by Intimidation" bears great resemblance to {{w|Argumentum ad baculum|argument from the stick}}, which is a fallacious form of reasoning of the form
<br>1. If not P, I will do you harm.
<br>2. Therefore, P.
<br>This form of fallacy has the distinction, if properly applied, of never being called out as fallacious. Ponytail, however, is threatening the proposition itself, rather than her audience, bringing a level of absurdity to the situation.

The {{w|axiom of choice}} (which has been referenced previously in [[804: Pumpkin Carving]]) says that given any collection of bins, each containing at least one object, it is possible to make a selection of exactly one object from each bin. It was later referenced in the title text of [[1724: Proofs]], another comic about a math class with a similar theme on how teachers teach their student mathematical proofs.

In the title text, the well-ordering theorem states that every set can be well-ordered. A set X is well-ordered by a strict total order if every non-empty subset of X has a least element under the ordering. This is also known as {{w|Zermelo's theorem}} and is equivalent to the Axiom of Choice. The woodchipper is a reference to the 1996 film {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}, where a character uses one to dispose of a body.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail stands at a blackboard, facing away from it. She has a pointer in her hand, and written on the blackboard is some set theory math, although one of the set elements is being pointed into a guillotine.]
:Ponytail: The axiom of choice allows you to select one element from each set in a collection
:Ponytail: and have it ''executed'' as an example to the others.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My math teacher was a big believer in Proof by Intimidation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-29T13:15:05Z

162.158.159.104: I don't know what happened with my prior edit. Did someone sneak in and headerise the table/move+rewrite the Trivia and it didn't tell me? Hopefully corrected!

{{comic
| number = 2456
| date = April 28, 2021
| title = Types of Scientific Paper
| image = types_of_scientific_paper.png
| titletext = Others include "We've incrementally improved the estimate of this coefficient," "Maybe all these categories are wrong," and "We found a way to make student volunteers worse at tasks."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RESEARCH DEPARTMENT ON A LUNCHBREAK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Randall describes categories of scientific papers with somewhat humorous generalized titles.

==Table of papers==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Breakdown of Papers
|-
!Paper Title
!Explanation
!Article Description
|-
!scope=row|We put a camera somewhere new
|This may involve miniaturisation or other improvements of imaging sensors, power supply, transmission or retention of data, environmental hardening and (possibly) recovery afterwards. Photographs and videos can be especially helpful in understanding what is or was going on, especially for the layman, than more limited signal traces.

Cameras have been inserted into ''every'' obvious bodily orifice (including swallowed, to be later excreted), placed in habitats to monitor wildlife, attached to wildlife to monitor habitats, sent into volcanic craters/ocean trenches/high altitudes/nuclear reactors, launched into space and sent past/round/onto several of the solar-system's more interesting bodies. This makes the "somewhere new" claim intriguing, possibly even comparable to 'clickbait'.
|There are no headers, so the text may discuss the records without undertaking a more structured study. Includes a large figure, likely an image captured with the camera.
|-
!scope=row|Hey, I found a trove of old records! They don't turn out to be particularly useful, but still, cool!
|Rather than starting with the aim of investigating some question, and finding some way of answering it by uncovering evidence, sometimes a writer may have stumbled upon a cache of historic documents that they then feel compelled to justify the resulting 'WikiWalk' they may have found themselves sucked into. The author may be far more excited about this than any future reader.
|Small figure may show the most interesting fragment of the records.
|-
!scope=row|My colleague is wrong and I can finally prove it
|This title refers to the occasional rivalries between scientists within a field, which can push them to seek proof that they, and not their colleague, are correct. It reflects a tone of smug self-satisfaction.
|Note the lack of headers, suggesting an argument more than an explanation of data
|-
!scope=row|The immune system is at it again
|The human immune system is notoriously complex, and there are countless papers in medical fields just describing its strangeness. While it is best known for preventing and battling infections, in auto-immune disease, it can also turn against the body that it is supposed to protect. Moreover it can overreact, for instance in allergic reactions or in a potentially lethal {{w|cytokine storm}} known to occur in certain viral infections, including {{w|Influenza}} and {{w|COVID-19}}. The title may convey exasperation with the amorphous nature of their study subject.
|
|-
!scope=row|We figured out how to make this exotic material, so email us if you need some
|Researchers often attempt to create materials despite there not being any demand, predicting that in the future their material will be game-changing without any actual applications. These researchers have created such a material, and are offering to produce it for anyone who needs it. It is couched in terms of having created an answer for which there was not yet any proper question.
|
|-
!scope=row|What are fish even doing down there
|Deep sea marine biology regularly discovers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QXdlSBGGY strange lifeforms] in unexpected places, and theories explaining deep sea ecosystems are regularly confounded by new data.

Scientists may also bump into marine organisms when looking for something else. For example, one planned underwater neutrino detector [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44938 picked up bioluminescence instead].

Whichever way, the title probably reflects a totally unexpected result that is possibly too cross-disciplinary to be properly comprehended as an actual scientific advance by the authors.
|This paper does not appear to have any headers, implying a longer, free-flowing format.
|-
!scope=row|This task I had to do anyway turned out to be hard enough for its own paper
|There is a huge variety in the complexity and importance of subjects studied in scientific papers, and often some supposedly easy task will be sufficiently complicated as to merit its own paper.

The author may be glad to have been able to turn mundane 'housekeeping' activities, that don't normally do much to enhance academic reputations, into an actual opportunity to be cite-worthy.
|
|-
!scope=row|Hey, at least we showed that this method can produce results! That's not nothing, right?
|One of the struggles of the scientific method is that many experiments will not produce the results scientists desired or expected. Negative or conflicting results of well-conducted research are as important as positive or dramatic ones, but are often ignored in favor of more novel findings. As a result, some journals are established specifically for negative results, reducing the bias towards only positive claims that may actually be outliers or anomalies.

In this case, the authors may otherwise have worked on their problem and been left with no citable proof of their efforts. The title perhaps reflects an attempt to present this as 'success' of a different kind, rather than a submission to such a null/negative-results platform.
|
|-
!scope=row|Check out this weird thing one of us saw while out for a walk
|This paper may be imagined as an opportunistic publication. A department or team has seen itself low down on the local 'league table' for academic output. A brainstorming session for a way of rectifying this led to desperately seizing upon the first idle comment made (in lieu of any better sounding ideas) that can somehow be shoehorned into their respective subject area, and is now being presented similar to "this one weird thing" clickbait titles that almost always oversell their content.

This also works in the context of entomology. Insects have the most species of any class of animals [https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/bugnos by a wide margin], but due to their small size, they're not easily seen. As a result, new species are constantly being discovered in places as innocuous as [https://wildlife.org/video-entomologists-discover-30-new-species-in-la-backyards/ someone's backyard.]
|Includes several large figures, likely close-up photographs of the weird thing. There are no headers, as the paper may have little background or methodology, just observations.
|-
!scope=row|We are 500 scientists and here's what we've been up to for the last 10 years
| Some papers summarize the work of big research teams, like those working on the [https://repositorio.uc.cl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11534/13948/Observation%20of%20a%20new%20particle%20in%20the%20search%20for%20the%20Standard%20Model%20Higgs%20boson%20with%20the%20ATLAS%20detector%20at%20the%20LHC.pdf Higgs Boson] (list of authors starts at page 17 and goes to page 26 with foot notes about authors to page 29) or LIGO. Since the discoveries which are made are a team effort, probably outlasting many of the individual tenures involved, the papers have many authors listed.
A credit for participation may not mean any particularly great contribution by each individual, but being left out (even for one summer's secondment, seven years before any results could be recorded) would be taken as a slight, and an opportunity missed to be 'citable' in the future.
|A huge portion of the page is taken up by the presumably 500 authors' names, above the main horizontal bar.
|-
!scope=row|Some thoughts on how everyone else is bad at research
|Similar to the "my colleague is wrong" paper, but in this case applied to far greater swathes of the community by the author(s) of this (possibly unfocussed) tract. Usually a "systematic review", the words 'some thoughts' might indicate a meta-approach with no original research - and possibly a passive-aggressive style of assessment.
|No header sections, possibly because these particular thoughts are in the form of an essay or letter without an accompanying investigation.
|-
!scope=row|We scanned some undergraduates
|Some initial research, especially that on a low budget, may recruit students at the same institution as easily available test-subjects. Quite often these are psychological or sociological studies, but can involve more medical (but non-invasive) 'scans', from simple eyeball-tracking to full-body MRI. The low-key approach to the title (concentrating blandly upon the method, compared to some of the more 'clickbait' titles above) may indicate that the results obtained are very trivial and no great developments were even made in implementation. Alternately, this is a truly ground-breaking paper obscured entirely by the lead author's over-narrow professional focus and avoidance of any hype.

When misread as "scammed", this paper can also refer to numerous famous psychological studies done before the establishment of certain ethical rules, such as the Milgram experiment.
|
|-
!scope=row|We've incrementally improved the estimate of this coefficient
|Often scientific research, e.g. in cosmology or physics, will work with an assumed constant value that is known to be only an 'educated guess' of the actual definite value, or an inclusive range. However accurate/certain this is, further experimentation or observation may further narrow down the uncertainty involved to a statistically significant degree.

Even if these improvements may seem trivial to those outside the discipline (e.g. narrowing down a seemingly esoteric value from 99.99% certainty to 99.995% certainty), they are probably understood as significant achievements by those aware of the effort needed to obtain such diminishing returns, and the authors are probably very excited to have done what they did.
|rowspan="3"|(Only referenced in Title Text)
|-
!scope=row|Maybe all these categories are wrong
|In some field that relies heavily upon classification (e.g. phylogenetic biology, or the Standard Model in physics) sometimes observations arise that cast doubt on the previously established ideas. It seems that this may have happened here, hopefully with a suggestion of how to reimagine the situation.

The article may have been written with with a sense of euphoria (the chance to present a paradigm shift in thinking, to rewrite the textbooks) or pessimism (it demonstrates only the failings in current thinking, without any obvious solution).

Alternatively, it may be a reference to the categories of papers that this comic proposes.
|-
!scope=row|We found a way to make student volunteers worse at tasks
|Possibly a psychology experiment, and maybe not even the result expected. In general, the repetition of an activity will induce greater skill/capacity in a tested individual. By accident or design, the study group in this instance has induced the opposite correlation. (There ''are'', however, some studies that explicitly look at how e.g. lack of sleep reduces productivity.)

Exactly what emotion the title reflects might depend upon whether the worsening was an intended result, or even how the team were able to refocuss and seize upon the adverse outcomes.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Could need description of each paper}}
:[Heading:]
:Types of Scientific Paper

:[An array of 4 rows with 3 scientific papers each, is shown. The first page of each is shown, but only the papers titles are legible. Black lines for headings, several lines for paragraphs of text and white rectangles indicating figures are used to make each paper look different. Titles are as follows:]
:We put a camera somewhere new
:Hey, I found a trove of old records! They don't turn out to be particularly useful, but still, cool!
:My colleague is wrong and I can finally prove it
:The immune system is at it again
:We figured out how to make this exotic material, so email us if you need some
:What are fish even doing down there
:This task I had to do anyway turned out to be hard enough for its own paper
:Hey, at least we showed that this method can produce results! That's not nothing, right?
:Check out this weird thing one of us saw while out for a walk
:We are 500 scientists and here's what we've been up to for the last 10 years
:Some thoughts on how everyone else is bad at research
:We scanned some undergraduates

==Trivia==
*Originally, this comic's title text misspelled "volunteers" as "volunters".
**This could have been intentional (''we'' might be the volunteers)
**But it was not as it was quickly corrected.
*Another comic, [[2012: Thorough Analysis]], similarly categorizes or mocks research papers.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Research Papers]]
[[Category:Science]]

2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-28T20:43:23Z

162.158.159.104: Undo revision 211176 by Reywas (talk) Still doesn't. No, you did not accidentally delete it before.

2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-28T20:39:58Z

162.158.159.104: /* Transcript */ Titletext doesn't get put here.

2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-28T20:37:20Z

162.158.159.104: /* Explanation */

Talk:2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-28T20:36:07Z

162.158.159.104:

I've a feeling we could find actual papers that paraphrase down to those in the comic. Also, lol at the 500 scientists' "citation" section. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.104|162.158.159.104]] 20:36, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2453: Excel Lambda

2021-04-23T11:22:21Z

162.158.159.104:

Another ghost cueball comic! You can see it in the last panel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.54|108.162.216.54]] 06:03, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

==> Is that something that has happened before? First time noticing it. Is it just a remnant of the sketching? Of doest it mean something? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.213|162.158.93.213]] 13:21, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

==> Randall seems to have update the comic to remove the ghost head. Someone should update it here too. (I don't know how). [[User:DrPumpkinz|DrPumpkinz]] ([[User talk:DrPumpkinz|talk]]) 00:07, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Someone needs to add an explanation of the Lambda, and possibly how Excel is implementing it. (I suppose it would immediately be useful for cutting down common re-use within a formula line, though =IF(ISERR(FIND(":",A1)),A1,RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-FIND(":",A1))) is a trivial repeat of the FIND, once to check, then again to do, I often need to do far more nested things, check for being a value, repeat the FIND to deal with the LEFT, etc.) But it has the smell of being effectively a Macro in this instance. Which already seems to me to be the only way to run a ''proper'' Turing Machine in an Excel column without hitting Circular Reference issues.

Would it be a stretch to say that Turing's inability to prove if Cueball will stop is actually equivalent to the halting problem, except it is for Cueball and not an arbitrary Turing machine? I thought that was pretty funny. [[User:XTheBHox|xTheBHox]] ([[User talk:XTheBHox|talk]]) 11:30, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Microsoft themselves claim that the addition of LAMBDA makes Excel turing-comlpete (see here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/announcing-lambda-turn-excel-formulas-into-custom-functions/ba-p/1925546). Based on this comic, I would argue that it already was... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.36|162.158.159.36]] 12:55, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

==> Someone has already made Conway's game of life in excel (http://dailydoseofexcel.com/archives/2011/04/06/conways-game-of-life-simulation-in-excel) and game of life has been shown to be Turing complete. [[User:Kvarts314|Kvarts314]] ([[User talk:Kvarts314|talk]]) 13:28, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

==> Since Excel has a way to store and do math on numbers, and also a way to 'point' to a certain cell, it is Turing-complete. A lambda function is not necessary for Turing-completeness (e.x. a turing machine does not have one.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.250|162.158.255.250]] 15:14, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

it should probably be mentioned that the number of excel rows is emphatically *not* infinite, so only simple turing machines could be implemented this way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.15|162.158.93.15]] 17:20, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

:In fact, it technically isn't Turing complete, as it has only a finite amount of data. It might be a finite-state-machine or the like, though. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.218|108.162.219.218]] 20:22, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

# It may be worth citing this work. https://gotocon.com/amsterdam-2016/presentation/Pure%20Functional%20Programming%20in%20Excel [[User:Noehp|Noehp]] ([[User talk:Noehp|talk]]) 00:02, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

'''Zerothly''', why is almost everyone here using weird 'indents', or maybe new-contributor-starts-here methods, in this article's Talk comments? Is this some lambdaesque in-joke being carried in here from some script/code dialect I'm not aware of? '''Primarily''', though, I just wanted to say that the (external) explanations of how Lambda works in Python look a lot to me like a nuanced Eval-like process, rather than a typical Anonymous Function that becomes sequestered away as a code-chunk at the end of a loose-pointer, internally. Python's one of the languages I've not yet bothered to learn to write (just sufficiently understand to get the gist and flow), so maybe I'm reading the Lies-To-Children explanations for n00bs. Should we get some other languages represented here, either within the C-family or off into the clans of code that might have an even more interesting implementation? Nothing too esoteric, but a distinct grammar difference would be an interesting comparison.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.104|162.158.159.104]] 11:22, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

2340: Cosmologist Genres

2020-07-31T06:45:34Z

162.158.159.104: /* Explanation */ More detail on big bang section

{{comic
| number = 2340
| date = July 31, 2020
| title = Cosmologist Genres
| image = cosmologist_genres.png
| titletext = Inflationary cosmologists call all music from after the first 10^-30 seconds "post-"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a POP COSMOLOGIST. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Metallicity|Metals}}, in astronomy, are stellar elements heavier than {{w|helium}}. This definition of metal is significantly broader than {{w|metal|the one used by the general public}}. Likewise, this chart of musical genres describes everything "heavier" than pop as metal. The popular conception of elemental metals is a subset of the astronomical conception of metals; likewise, the musical genre metal is also a subset of the genres astronomers consider metal.

The title text refers to the {{w|Big Bang}}. At roughly 10<sup>-32</sup> seconds after the Big Bang, the inflationary epoch ended, causing a large amount of quarks, anti-quarks and gluons to come into existence. In inflationary cosmology, this point is considered to be the end of the big bang.

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

2094: Short Selling

2020-02-28T18:15:00Z

162.158.159.104: /* Explanation */ Fixed typo (superfluous comma after the word "We" at start of 4th sentence

{{comic
| number = 2094
| date = January 4, 2019
| title = Short Selling
| image = short_selling.png
| titletext = "I'm selling all my analogies at auction tomorrow, and that witch over there will give you 20 beans if you promise on pain of death to win them for her." "What if SEVERAL people promised witches they'd win, creating some kind of a ... squeeze? Gosh, you could make a lot of–" "Don't be silly! That probably never happens."
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Short (finance)|Shorting stocks}} (short selling stocks) is a stock market practice. If we think of normal investing where we buy into a stock as betting on the stock rising in value then shortselling is a corresponding betting on a stock to fall in value. This inverse procedure is accomplished by getting the stock on a loan or "front" basis to begin with, then selling the stock that isn't actually owned, so that when the stock loses value you're able to pay back a lower amount and keep the difference. We could say someone takes a risk because they believe that a certain stock's price is going to drop. The risk-taker borrows stock from someone, and then sells the stock that they've just borrowed, keeping the money from the sale. They then owe that stock to the lender. But the risk-taker believes that they will be able to buy the same stock back on the stockmarket later on at a lower price, and then give it to the lender to replace what they borrowed. If everything goes according to plan and the stock drops in price, the risk-taker will walk away with a profit. Of course, if things don't go according to plan and the stock rises in price instead, the risk-taker winds up losing money, because they have to buy back the stock for more than they sold it.

Cueball asks Ponytail to explain shorting stocks. Ponytail starts out with a fairy tale story that falls apart almost before she even starts.

The process of short selling a stock functions similarly to the initial parts of the story. The major steps in normal shorting are described here alongside the analogous (sort of) parts of the story:
:An investor decides that stock S is likely to decrease in value, and wants to make money from this difference. Stock S is currently selling for $5, but the investor believes it will drop in value to $1 or $2 in the near future.
:The person in the story is going to have a child, and believes that the child will be worth one or two magic beans. They have been offered a price of five beans for the child, and they see this as a benefit.

:The investor finds a person willing to allow them to borrow stock S now. This is usually done through a broker. The investor then sells the stock they borrowed, adding $5 to their account. They plan on waiting until stock S is selling for $1, then buying it again. They will have made $4 in profit, and can return the stock they borrowed.
:The parent in the story sells the rights to their child for five beans. Even if their child is worth one or two beans to them, they will end up making a profit of three or four beans.

:Stock S does not decrease in price, but increases dramatically to $200. The investor has promised to return the stock within a specific timeframe, and they must do this or they will be in violation of various laws and contracts. They can wait in the hopes that the value will drop again, but they will eventually have to buy the stock for the new price of $200. They will lose $195 on this transaction.
:The child is born, and the parent involved decides that they love the child. They would put a valuation of this child at two hundred magic beans, and would prefer not to turn the child over to the witch. They have no choice, however, as they have formerly agreed to do this.

This part of the story somewhat matches the process of short selling a stock, except that there is a convenient market for buying and selling stocks at a common price, while a network of witches buying children or a method of valuing them does not exist.{{Citation needed}}

Ponytail's version does not make exact analogies to the process of short selling. The first major difference occurs when the father sells a child he hasn't had yet to a witch. Like short selling, the father is selling something he doesn't own. But unlike short selling, the father is selling something that doesn't exist yet. The somewhat broken analogy breaks further when Ponytail says the father now is going to fight the witch instead of paying the witch with the child. There is no legal option to "fight" the other person if a shorted stock or call-writing strategy fails. You simply lose money.

Our now definitely broken analogy breaks down even further (if possible) by sending the kid up the beanstalk to fight the giant - a giant that Ponytail says represents high interest rates. Interest rates have nothing to do with shorting stocks. (Technically they can, but the short seller would have / should have calculated that when determining if their investment strategy would work.) In addition, it is not possible for the investor, on their own, to fight interest rates that are harming their strategy, as those rates are set by lenders and are based on the credit worthiness of the borrower, the stated use case for the funds, and the nation's government's monetary policy.

Cueball comments that the analogy is rapidly losing its value to him. Ponytail fires back with the comment that he should have shorted her advice before asking for it, thus making a profit. The decreased helpfulness of her wisdom is analogous to the decreased value of a shorted stock price. She once again proves that she lacks the knowledge of how short selling functions, or at least the knowledge to explain it, as her advice does not have a price to anyone, was presumably given to Cueball for free, and cannot be traded.

Her story appears to be based on plot elements of multiple fairy tales. It begins by mixing up the story of {{w|Rapunzel|Rapunzel}} with {{w|Jack and the Beanstalk|Jack and the Beanstalk}}.

In one version of {{w|Rapunzel|Rapunzel}} a Father breaks into a witch's garden to steal the Rapunzel plant for his pregnant wife. The Witch catches him and agrees to let him go and not punish him in exchange for the child.

In one version of the "{{w|Jack and the Beanstalk|Jack and the Beanstalk}}" fairy tale story, Jack sells a cow for magic beans. His mother, thinking the beans are fake, is angry with Jack. Jack plants the beans and a magic beanstalk grows up into the clouds. Jack climbs the beanstalk and explores the land above the clouds. He finds the home of a cruel giant and proceeds to steal from the giant. The giant discovers the theft and chases Jack back down the beanstalk. Jack reaches the bottom of the beanstalk first and cuts the beanstalk down. The giant falls to his death, and Jack uses his stolen wealth to take care of himself and his mother.

The combination of the two stories is similar to the story from the musical "{{w|Into the Woods|Into the Woods}}," in which a Father sneaks into the Witch's garden to steal vegetables, then trades his soon to be born child for the vegetables, but also steals beans in the process.

The title text is actually the most useful part of this comic when it comes to investment advice. The witch (the broker) is offering the father (short seller) 20 magic beans now if the father/short seller buys all of the analogies (stocks) later. However, multiple witches/stock brokers trick multiple people into this strategy. Since every father/seller now needs the same analogies/stocks, and multiple witches need the exact same complete set of analogies, a bidding war erupts and it's impossible to please all the witches. The "winner" pays a much higher price than expected (limiting how much of a win it really is). And the losers wind up either dead or enslaved (bankrupt). In the stock market the corresponding phenomenon is known as a {{w|short squeeze}}, hence Cueball's comment. However, if the witches implement this strategy by discussing among themselves to orchestrate the phenomenon, it would be in violation of various trading regulations, and brokers rarely have a reason to hope for their clients to go bankrupt.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are walking together, talking.]
:Cueball: I don't understand shorting stocks.
:Ponytail: It's like when you promise your firstborn to a witch for five magic beans.

:[Ponytail close up]
:Cueball (off-panel): Is that a common–
:Ponytail: She's a sucker, right? You know your awful kid will be worth one or two beans at ''best''.

:[Ponytail and Cueball stopped, facing each other]
:Ponytail: But then it turns out you ''love'' your kid, a love worth 200 beans! You can't afford that loss!
:Ponytail: There's only one way out:
:Ponytail: You gotta fight the witch.

:[Ponytail and Cueball stopped, facing each other]
:Ponytail: So you send your kid up the beanstalk to battle the giant, who represents interest rates.
:Cueball: This analogy is getting less helpful by the minute.
:Ponytail: If only you'd somehow shorted my wisdom before you asked.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Stock Market]]