explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2577: Sea Chase

2022-02-06T20:00:20Z

162.158.222.155: Direction

The flag on the lefthand ship (port-side, if you will :P) looks like the {{w|Rising Sun Flag}} that the Japanese Navy uses as its ensign. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
:Actually, that the Navy used in 1889 (not uses). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
:I reckon it looks more like a Jolly Roger. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.87|108.162.249.87]] 02:44, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
::Ah, you're right. I was thinking Union Jack for a minute but thought there were too many streaks. The upper and lower portions of the skull nearly touch the edge of the flag, making it look like something akin to a sunburst. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:46, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Okay, I added an initial description for the title text and made a bunch of edits. I'll stop now to let other people get in on the action. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:54, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
:Yeah, I kept edit-conflicting (except the first time, when I ended up just appended to some else's first edit) and I ''think'' I have reached the point where I've unruined everything of everyone else's that I didn't fully intend to change or add to. But it's late (GMT) and I need my sleep so if I've accidentally rushed through some stuff I shouldn't have then please fill your boots and tweak it back (or onwards) to how it should be. G'night! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.11|162.158.159.11]] 03:07, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
::G'night. I think we were conflicting. It was my first experience live editing and it was fun. lol [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 03:08, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

If that is the goode one, I'd like to keep clear of the Baad Homolosine. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.41|141.101.105.41]] 14:08, 6 February 2022 (UTC)

What's the reason for thinking the ships are sailing towards Europe? The prevailing wind in the north Atlantic is more or less westerly, so ships tacking into the wind are more likely to be heading west. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.155|162.158.222.155]] 20:00, 6 February 2022 (UTC)

== The strange large anachronistic square incongruous inscribed otherworldly ¿synthetic? reality-warping switch.... ==

Interesting edits about the switch, along the way. Generally I think compounded adjectival descriptors go by the order of opinion, size, age, shape, (existential) quality, colour, origin, material and purpose - though there are disagreements and alternate versions of that list. What is incongruousity? An opinion or a quality (or origin, at a push?), I'd guess, making each order potentially valid. (In advance of any further arguments, I suggest "strange large" rather than an edit-war, though I personally like its incongruousness being mentioned, and incongruousicity in general. YMMV.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 17:22, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2385: Final Exam

2022-01-28T21:59:36Z

162.158.222.155:

Perhaps add a note about how multiple people trying to achieve the same goal would be impossible, so therefore it would be a test of game theory to see how the final grades end up. You'd want to be the last one to make all the changes. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.197|162.158.107.197]] 23:51, 13 November 2020 (UTC)
:It's a contest to hack the grades ''and'' to lock out all of the other students from making further changes. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 00:49, 14 November 2020 (UTC)
Title text seems to be a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_2/3_of_the_average.
[[User:Anonymous3|Anonymous3]] ([[User talk:Anonymous3|talk]]) 01:10, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

The current "change every fifth answer to the bubble below it" explanation appears to make the implausible assumption that the exam is multiple-choice. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:19, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Clearly the optimal solution for both courses is to change the grade to be ''out of 0'', thus a score of 0 being a perfect score and also meet the requirements for Game Theory. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.54|162.158.165.54]] 03:28, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

:great idea! i was considering adding fake students to be statistical extremes but your solution allows all students to ace both courses. [[User:Ocæon|ocæon]] ([[User talk:Ocæon|talk]]) 14:46, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

:That's a great way to get a division by zero error somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.155|162.158.222.155]] 21:59, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

OMG I want so much to take this class, what an excellent final exam![[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.208|172.68.65.208]] 05:09, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

I think the explanation above is largely correct, but I assumed this was a Zoom reference. Since during lockdown the many students she is addressing should be experiencing this through a remote meeting, for which Zoom is often chosen (I'd love an explanation as to why THAT is). Zoom has notorious security flaws which any cybersecurity student should be failed for accepting.
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.96|162.158.159.96]] 05:11, 14 November 2020 (UTC)
:What if they run it in sandboxed virtual machine? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:45, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

No mention of Bobby Tables? [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 06:29, 14 November 2020 (UTC)
:That was a mom intentionally hacking multiple systems. Not just school, but also population census systems. This is limited to a single test. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 21:08, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

the zero length exam reminds me of 'zero day' exploits, the students have zero time to respond to the exam requirements before the conclusion of the exam. [[User:Ocæon|ocæon]] ([[User talk:Ocæon|talk]]) 14:39, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

I feel like Randall missed a golden opportunity for Danish (instead of generic Ponytail) to prof these classes — this seems right up her alley. [[User:TPS|TPS]] ([[User talk:TPS|talk]]) 16:17, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

1) Hack my Cybersecurity grade, 2) Hack the professor's computer to remove the requiring link to the grade in the other course. -Diana

There is exactly one Nash Equilibria if you set the utility function to be the sum of the cyber security grade and the game theory grade. And it would be to give yourself a 100% in cyber security - Philip Geißler

This cartoon reminded me of a programming class I took as a Freshman at MIT (Spring 1974) where the first lecture described the way the programming projects were submitted and automatically graded. "Some of you may be considering finding a way to hack the grading program to just give you a good grade. This is an acceptable way to pass this course, since it is our analysis that subverting the grading program in this way demonstrates mastery of the subject matter." OK, I know this isn't a comment about the comic, but I lust felt like tossing it in. And more relevant (possibly) was the fact that being the last semester the course was taught, the final exam questions were all inside computer programming jokes. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 21:55, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Given that the grade to be manipulated is only the grade of the final exam of Cybersecurity (and therefore not the grade for the entire class), but the grade that it affects is the grade for the entire Game Theory class, that there is no reason not to collaborate, and that how "closeness" is calculated is unclear, the ideal solution is to set the grade of every Cybersecurity student who is not also a Game Theory student to 100, and set the grade of every Cybersecurity student who is also a Game Theory student to 100(100-a)/(125-a), where a is the percentage of Cybersecurity students who are also Game Theory students. This ensures all Cybersecurity students who are also Game Theory students get a perfect 4.0 GPA in Game Theory while reducing their Cybersecurity score by the smallest possible amount. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 17:12, 15 November 2020 (UTC)
:There is a factor you haven't accounted for - hacking carries an implicit penalty in the form of effort expended; although I would like to think students will go to any amount of effort to get a good grade, I wonder whether that is realistic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.124|141.101.98.124]] 15:38, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

I just have to say this for fans of the Dutch comedy show ''Rundfunk'': "ALLEMAAL EEN ONVOLDOENDE!" (Any more Dutch people around?) --[[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 13:34, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

I've been thinking that hack all grade at Cibersecurity to 100% or to the minimal approval grade, should get all students approved. Unlike the Guess 2/3 of the average problem, student don't need to hit the mark to be approved, they need only to get close enough. If everyone receives maximum grade in Cybersecurity, the average will be 100% and they will be off the 80% by 20%. Assuming some linearity between the transformations of distance and grade, and that grade cannot be negative. The longest distance from 80% of average would be everybody gets maximum grade, but one who get zero, it would get closer to 80% off, as long we have a lot of students in the class. Assuming 80% off zero grade, and 0% off as maximum, 20% off would get them 75% of maximum grade, that seems enough to get approval in both classes. --[[User:Hugoxrosa|Hugoxrosa]] ([[User talk:Hugoxrosa|talk]]) 19:33, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

I have heard that some cybersecurity tests either involve defending a network or attacking one, and your final grade was how successful you were.

1670: Laws of Physics

2021-11-09T14:41:14Z

162.158.222.155: Removed an extra word to make sentence correct.

{{comic
| number = 1670
| date = April 20, 2016
| title = Laws of Physics
| image = laws_of_physics.png
| titletext = The laws of physics are fun to try to understand, but as an organism with incredibly delicate eyes who evolved in a world full of sharp objects, I have an awful lot of trust in biology's calibration of my flinch reflex.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]], being Black Hat, is deliberately perverting a classic physics demonstration. In the normal version of the demonstration, a heavy ball on a pendulum is pulled to one side until it is almost, but not quite, touching the demonstrator or volunteer's nose or chin. When the ball is released at rest, it swings down and away, then back up to (almost) the same distance in the arc from where it started — but ''never'' (by the laws of physics) farther than where it started. As long as the demonstrator doesn't lean in or push the ball, it's impossible for it to strike them. It's a natural instinct to move away or protect yourself if you see a heavy object moving quickly toward you, but confidence in the physics of the demonstration means there is no reason to flinch. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2GdY1OlDpA Sample video.])

In this comic, Cueball is not standing at the beginning edge of the ball's movement, but rather at the base of its swing, meaning that the ball will strike him at its maximum speed. Presumably, Black Hat is entirely aware of this and is hoping that Cueball's understanding of physics is insufficient to see through this prank. Judging from the "slack" of the rope, the ball should not hit Cueball in the head but could certainly hit him in a lower, and quite painful, place...

The title text refers to the fact when someone flinches during the pendulum experiment, they are commonly accused of not having faith in the laws of physics. Randall is rebutting this argument by stating that, rather than not having faith in science, he is actually in tune with it, specifically the biological processes that led to the flinch reflex. His eyes and his flinch reflex have been calibrated through millions of years of evolution. To instantly dismiss his body's natural reaction when a heavy object comes quickly towards his face does not give enough credit to these mechanisms that successfully kept him (and every one of his ancestors) alive. In other words, while flinching may indicate doubt of the laws of physics, it may equally well indicate trust in the laws of biology.

The idea of hitting someone else with a pendulum is also the topic of [[755: Interdisciplinary]] and [[2539: Flinch]].

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is standing on a ladder, holding a heavy ball attached to a line from above. Cueball stands beneath, where if the ball swings it will smack him in his upper body.]
:Black Hat: Okay, hold still.
:Black Hat: And remember, if you ''really'' believe in the laws of physics, you won't flinch.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2528: Flag Map Sabotage

2021-10-14T12:52:53Z

162.158.222.155:

{{comic
| number = 2528
| date = October 13, 2021
| title = Flag Map Sabotage
| image = flag_map_sabotage.png
| titletext = Delaware hopes to explore the western edge of areas marked with the Belgian flag, once the tornadoes die down.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GOD-EMPEROR OF GREATER DELAWARE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic refers to a style of map uses a map legend to demonstrate the country's borders. This flag contains a fake map legend that causes the colors of country flags to be reinterpreted according to the legend. For example the south of Russia would become part of Greater Delaware as the bottom of the Russian flag is red, which the legend marks as Greater Delaware. A number of common flag colors are included. It should be noted that there are several ways map makers can sabotage this fake legend, including drawing it at the wrong scale or adding a real legend that covers parts of the country.

The title text refers to the flag of Belgium, which consists of three vertical stripes in the order black, yellow, and red. The western part of Belgium would, according to the legend, be unexplored, while the eastern part would be Greater Delaware. The middle would therefore be a tornado zone separating the unexplored area from Greater Delaware. Depending on how the flags are aligned it would be possible to explore from the south. The north is not viable as rebel forces would be present.

Also, because Belgium is the northern neighbor of France, whose flag is made of vertical stripes with Blue-White-Red, the French Greater Delaware may be conveniently located to help said exploration.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A flag displays a white country-shaped area surrounded by a red field. Inside the shape sits a map legend.]

:Map Legend
:[Bright blue rectangle] Disputed territory
:[Green rectangle] Newly independent
:[Blue rectangle] Demilitarized zone
:[Yellow rectangle] Tornado warning
:[Dark blue rectangle] Held by rebel forces
:[Red rectangle] Greater Delaware
:[Black rectangle] Unexplored

:[Caption below panel]
:Our new country's flag sabotages those maps where geographic areas are colored in with flag patterns.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Sabotage]]