explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics

2019-06-25T21:54:10Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2167
| date = June 24, 2019
| title = Motivated Reasoning Olympics
| image = motivated_reasoning_olympics.png
| titletext = [later] I can't believe how bad corruption has become, especially given that our league split off from the statewide one a month ago SPECIFICALLY to protest this kind of flagrantly biased judging.
}}

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

[[Cueball]] is talking to [[Ponytail]] about the trophy he won for winning the “Motivated Reasoning Olympics” (hence the title). Ponytail rightly points out that the trophy says he only got second place. Cueball then displays the "{{w|motivated reasoning}}" in question by claiming that the athlete who beat him cheated in an earlier round and that the judges were “certain” to disqualify him after reviewing. Here, the cognitive dissonance that should result from believing that he won first place but having a trophy that says second place is reduced by Cueball's motivated reasoning. He has developed a narrative that explains away the inconsistent fact of the label on the trophy, and thus, convinces himself that there couldn't have been any shortcoming in his own performance. These are all characteristics of motivated reasoning. Cueball goes on like this for a while.

The title text is a continuation, where Cueball suggests the judges are biased in favor of the original winner, whom they approve of. He further states that this is evidence of corruption and is the reason why his league split off from the official state-sponsored league just prior to the Motivated Reasoning Olympics. Of course, motivated reasoning is an emotion-biased decision-making phenomenon, by definition, so he really should expect the judging to be biased.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is holding a trophy with a 2 engraved on it, showing it off to Ponytail]

:Cueball: Check it out, I won first place at the Motivated Reasoning Olympics!
:Ponytail: That trophy says "second."
:Cueball: Well, the guy who won was caught cheating in an earlier round, so the board is almost certain to strip him of his win once they review the...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics

2019-06-25T21:03:04Z

162.158.58.227:

Reminds me of the Monty Python Argument Clinic :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 16:50, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

It certainly DOESN'T remind you of the Monty Python Argument Clinic, you gormless git! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 17:46, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
:Yes it DOES![[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.192|141.101.105.192]] 17:57, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
::No it doesn’t.
:::You're just being contrary. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 20:14, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
::::No I'm not. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.141|172.69.54.141]] 08:25, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
:::::''Dinggggg''...Your 5 minutes is up! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:26, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
:::::: That was never 5 minutes! [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 13:59, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

== Explain "Motivated Reasoning"? ==

Shouldn't the explanation include some contextual explanation of "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning Motivated Reasoning]" as pertaining to Cueball's behavior shown in the comic?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:37, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

: I added a Wikipedia link to Motivated Reasoning in the title text explanation earlier, but I'm wondering if some of that detail should be moved earlier in the explanation. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 23:10, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:: Yeah, I'd never heard of "Motivated Reasoning" before, so came here expecting the explanation to begin "Motivated reasoning is ...", before going into the details of the comic. A lot of the text at the moment feels more like an extended transcript than an explanation (e.g. "Ponytail rightly points out that the trophy says he only got second place."). It would be great if someone who's familiar with the term could add a better summary. - (too lazy to create an account right now) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.192|141.101.105.192]] 10:32, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

== Better quality images? ==

This probably isn't the right place but I figured this would get the most visibility. I noticed that the image here made it really hard for me to see the "2" engraved on the trophy, but the image on xkcd.com was much clearer. Yada yada yada, turns out there's much higher quality images on xkcd.com for all comics starting with [[1084]], for example for this comic:

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics.png is the normal image,

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics_2x.png is the higher resolution image.

Shouldn't the wiki start using the higher quality images?

--[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 17:53, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

: While there is a higher quality image available on the XKCD site, it's not the one displayed on the comic on xkcd.com. The same lower-quality image is displayed on both sites by default. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:44, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:: I am seeing the higher-quality image on xkcd.com. I guess it has to do with screen DPI. The HTML on xkcd.com is:
:: <pre><img src="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics.png" title="..." srcset="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics_2x.png 2x"/></pre>
:: So it probably selects it automatically only when it'd be useful. This wiki doesn't, obviously, since it doesn't have the higher-quality image and, best I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a way to make a template do this.

:: I'm trying to figure this out right now on [[User:NeatNit/Template/comic]] but I can't find a way to make it display an image at half of its resolution, without me knowing its resolution in advance. I also can't find any parser function that returns an image's dimensions. So annoying. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 18:52, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:::I would expect this can't work correctly without support for srcset in mediawiki itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:13, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:::: Turns out MediaWiki supports srcset natively but only when an image is embedded at a smaller size, i.e. you have to upload the 2x image and embed it at half size, and let the wiki take care of everything else.

:::: If we want to do this we'll have to teach the bot some new tricks. I'll talk about this in [[User talk:DgbrtBOT]]. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 13:54, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

:I have also noticed that this wiki displays lower resolution images than the official xkcd site, when viewing at high DPI. I had previously assumed it was just a moderate resolution copy chosen to conserve explainxkcd server resources. I would love to see a higher resolution when available. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:18, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

I removed the newly added paragraph suggesting the competition was being held by the splinter league. The Olympics should include representation from all leagues and likely includes the best from the state-sponsored league in addition to Cueball's splinter league. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:18, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
: "I mean ''technically'' it's not actually the Olympics, but when you consider..." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.227|162.158.58.227]] 21:02, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics

2019-06-25T21:02:38Z

162.158.58.227:

Reminds me of the Monty Python Argument Clinic :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 16:50, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

It certainly DOESN'T remind you of the Monty Python Argument Clinic, you gormless git! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 17:46, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
:Yes it DOES![[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.192|141.101.105.192]] 17:57, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
::No it doesn’t.
:::You're just being contrary. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 20:14, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
::::No I'm not. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.141|172.69.54.141]] 08:25, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
:::::''Dinggggg''...Your 5 minutes is up! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:26, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
:::::: That was never 5 minutes! [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 13:59, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

== Explain "Motivated Reasoning"? ==

Shouldn't the explanation include some contextual explanation of "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning Motivated Reasoning]" as pertaining to Cueball's behavior shown in the comic?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:37, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

: I added a Wikipedia link to Motivated Reasoning in the title text explanation earlier, but I'm wondering if some of that detail should be moved earlier in the explanation. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 23:10, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:: Yeah, I'd never heard of "Motivated Reasoning" before, so came here expecting the explanation to begin "Motivated reasoning is ...", before going into the details of the comic. A lot of the text at the moment feels more like an extended transcript than an explanation (e.g. "Ponytail rightly points out that the trophy says he only got second place."). It would be great if someone who's familiar with the term could add a better summary. - (too lazy to create an account right now) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.192|141.101.105.192]] 10:32, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

== Better quality images? ==

This probably isn't the right place but I figured this would get the most visibility. I noticed that the image here made it really hard for me to see the "2" engraved on the trophy, but the image on xkcd.com was much clearer. Yada yada yada, turns out there's much higher quality images on xkcd.com for all comics starting with [[1084]], for example for this comic:

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics.png is the normal image,

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics_2x.png is the higher resolution image.

Shouldn't the wiki start using the higher quality images?

--[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 17:53, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

: While there is a higher quality image available on the XKCD site, it's not the one displayed on the comic on xkcd.com. The same lower-quality image is displayed on both sites by default. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:44, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:: I am seeing the higher-quality image on xkcd.com. I guess it has to do with screen DPI. The HTML on xkcd.com is:
:: <pre><img src="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics.png" title="..." srcset="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/motivated_reasoning_olympics_2x.png 2x"/></pre>
:: So it probably selects it automatically only when it'd be useful. This wiki doesn't, obviously, since it doesn't have the higher-quality image and, best I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a way to make a template do this.

:: I'm trying to figure this out right now on [[User:NeatNit/Template/comic]] but I can't find a way to make it display an image at half of its resolution, without me knowing its resolution in advance. I also can't find any parser function that returns an image's dimensions. So annoying. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 18:52, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:::I would expect this can't work correctly without support for srcset in mediawiki itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:13, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

:::: Turns out MediaWiki supports srcset natively but only when an image is embedded at a smaller size, i.e. you have to upload the 2x image and embed it at half size, and let the wiki take care of everything else.

:::: If we want to do this we'll have to teach the bot some new tricks. I'll talk about this in [[User talk:DgbrtBOT]]. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 13:54, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

:I have also noticed that this wiki displays lower resolution images than the official xkcd site, when viewing at high DPI. I had previously assumed it was just a moderate resolution copy chosen to conserve explainxkcd server resources. I would love to see a higher resolution when available. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:18, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

I removed the newly added paragraph suggesting the competition was being held by the splinter league. The Olympics should include representation from all leagues and likely includes the best from the state-sponsored league in addition to Cueball's splinter league. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:18, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
: "I mean ''technically'' it's actually the Olympics, but when you consider..." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.227|162.158.58.227]] 21:02, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

676: Abstraction

2019-06-24T22:48:44Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ huh, linked comic doesn't mention abstraction at all

{{comic
| number = 676
| date = December 16, 2009
| title = Abstraction
| image = abstraction.png
| titletext = If I'm such a god, why isn't Maru *my* cat?
}}

==Explanation==
The comics points out the large number of levels of abstraction working together at any given time in today's computers.

Programs on current computers do not run "directly on hardware". Instead, the hardware (in this case, a {{w|Central processing unit|processor}} of the {{w|x86-64}} architecture) is controlled by the {{w|operating system}} {{w|Kernel (computing)|kernel}} (in this specific case, {{w|XNU}} is the kernel used in Apple-branded devices). Many operating systems offer a standardized {{w|Interface (computing)|interface}} called {{w|POSIX}}, which wraps the services offered by the different operating systems so that applications do not need to cope with the differences between the operating systems. {{w|Darwin (operating system)|Darwin}} is the name of the core set of components on which the Apple's {{w|OS X}} operating system runs. And using this operating system, the user runs the {{w|Firefox}} web browser. However, the browser itself contains further abstraction layers: {{w|Gecko (layout engine)|Gecko}} is the engine handling the display of web pages on the screen, but in this case, it only allows a separate software, {{w|Adobe Flash Player}}, to render a video requested by the user.

And all of this work is, in this case, done only because the user wanted to watch a funny cat Flash video on the Internet; which makes the user feel like he is a god.

The title text refers to {{w|Maru (cat)|Maru the cat}}, a cat who became very popular on YouTube for, among other things, jumping into a box. Cueball questions his god-like capabilities by wondering why can't he own Maru.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer.]
:An x64 processor is screaming along at billions of cycles per second to run the XNU kernel, which is frantically working through all the POSIX-specified abstraction to create the Darwin system underlying OS X, which in turn is straining itself to run Firefox and its Gecko renderer, which creates a Flash object which renders dozens of video frames every second

:because I wanted to see a cat jump into a box and fall over.

:I am a god.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

2160: Ken Burns Theory

2019-06-07T23:07:15Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2160
| date = June 7, 2019
| title = Ken Burns Theory
| image = ken_burns_theory.png
| titletext = Some of the KBCU ancillary works try a little too hard to tie everything together. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the sports journalist featured in "Baseball," was somehow ALSO a famous historian who wrote bestselling biographies of Lincoln AND Johnson? Unrealistic.
}}

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

Some fiction writers and filmmakers set some or all of their works in a common {{w|fictional universe|universe}}. When it's not obvious that several works from the same author are set in the same fictional universe, some fans may try to find a way to relate them to a common storyline (such as the examples of fan theories described in [http://mentalfloss.com/article/62835/5-common-universe-theories-movies this Mental Floss article]).

{{w|Ken Burns}} is an American filmmaker renowned for his historical documentaries. Therefore all his documentary series are set in a common universe, the real one, and usually a single part of it, the United States in the last two centuries. The series mentioned are
* {{w|The Civil War (miniseries)|''The Civil War''}}, covering the history of the American Civil War (1861-1865), released in 1990.
* {{w|The Vietnam War (TV series)|''The Vietnam War''}}, covering the history of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), released in 2017.
* {{w|Baseball (TV series|''Baseball''}}, covering the history of baseball from the 1840s to the 1990s, released in 1994.

The joke here is that Cueball is trying to find the common features between Ken Burns' series to set them in a common universe, as a fiction fan would do, "discovering" similarities between series that are just well-known facts in American history. For example, several series have an office named "President", which Cueball "guesses" to be the same for {{w|Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln}} and {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}, and which obviously is just the {{w|President of the United States}}. Cueball has also drawn inferences from facts established in one series to draw conclusions about another, when he ({{w|Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War|correctly}}) concludes that the 1960s protesters depicted in ''Baseball'' were protesting "Johnson's war" as depicted in ''The Vietnam War''.

The title text continues the joke by saying these stories are set in the "KBCU", an acronym which stands for "Ken Burns Cinematic Universe" similar to the popular {{w|Marvel Cinematic Universe}} (MCU).

{{w|Doris Kearns Goodwin}}, mentioned in the title text, is a famous historian who has written biographies of several U.S. Presidents. She is also a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox and a sportswriter who appeared in the ''Baseball'' miniseries. Since very few famous historians are also sportswriters, Cueball concludes that Burns was "unrealistic" in tying the two "characters" together.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing next to Megan.]
:Cueball: Lincoln was "President" in ''The Civil War'' (1990), the same office held by Johnson in ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).
:Cueball: And ''Baseball'' (1994) briefly showed 1960s "protesters." I think they were protesting Johnson's war!
:Cueball: It all fits!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I have a fan theory that every Ken Burns miniseries exists within a single cohesive universe.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2160: Ken Burns Theory

2019-06-07T23:06:38Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ pipe

{{comic
| number = 2160
| date = June 7, 2019
| title = Ken Burns Theory
| image = ken_burns_theory.png
| titletext = Some of the KBCU ancillary works try a little too hard to tie everything together. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the sports journalist featured in "Baseball," was somehow ALSO a famous historian who wrote bestselling biographies of Lincoln AND Johnson? Unrealistic.
}}

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

Some fiction writers and filmmakers set some or all of their works in a common {{w|fictional universe|universe}}. When it's not obvious that several works from the same author are set in the same fictional universe, some fans may try to find a way to relate them to a common storyline (such as the examples of fan theories described in [http://mentalfloss.com/article/62835/5-common-universe-theories-movies this Mental Floss article]).

{{w|Ken Burns}} is an American filmmaker renowned for his historical documentaries. Therefore all his documentary series are set in a common universe, the real one, and usually a single part of it, the United States in the last two centuries. The series mentioned are
* {{w|The Civil War (miniseries)|''The Civil War''}}, covering the history of the American Civil War (1861-1865), released in 1990.
* {{w|The Vietnam War (TV series)|''The Vietnam War''}}, covering the history of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), released in 2017.
* {{w|Baseball (TV series|''Baseball'')}}, covering the history of baseball from the 1840s to the 1990s, released in 1994.

The joke here is that Cueball is trying to find the common features between Ken Burns' series to set them in a common universe, as a fiction fan would do, "discovering" similarities between series that are just well-known facts in American history. For example, several series have an office named "President", which Cueball "guesses" to be the same for {{w|Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln}} and {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}, and which obviously is just the {{w|President of the United States}}. Cueball has also drawn inferences from facts established in one series to draw conclusions about another, when he ({{w|Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War|correctly}}) concludes that the 1960s protesters depicted in ''Baseball'' were protesting "Johnson's war" as depicted in ''The Vietnam War''.

The title text continues the joke by saying these stories are set in the "KBCU", an acronym which stands for "Ken Burns Cinematic Universe" similar to the popular {{w|Marvel Cinematic Universe}} (MCU).

{{w|Doris Kearns Goodwin}}, mentioned in the title text, is a famous historian who has written biographies of several U.S. Presidents. She is also a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox and a sportswriter who appeared in the ''Baseball'' miniseries. Since very few famous historians are also sportswriters, Cueball concludes that Burns was "unrealistic" in tying the two "characters" together.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing next to Megan.]
:Cueball: Lincoln was "President" in ''The Civil War'' (1990), the same office held by Johnson in ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).
:Cueball: And ''Baseball'' (1994) briefly showed 1960s "protesters." I think they were protesting Johnson's war!
:Cueball: It all fits!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I have a fan theory that every Ken Burns miniseries exists within a single cohesive universe.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2156: Ufo

2019-05-30T00:27:37Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ fix

{{comic
| number = 2156
| date = May 29, 2019
| title = Ufo
| image = ufo.png
| titletext = "It's a little low for a weather balloon; it might be some other kind." "Yeah. Besides, I know I'm the alien conspiracy guy, but come on--the idea that the government would care about hiding something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement is too ridiculous even for me."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an alien weather balloon. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This cartoon makes fun of {{w|conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that authorities, like the Navy, could be promoting mysterious explanations for mundane phenomena (such as a {{w|weather balloon}}). UFO is an initialism for an {{w|unidentified flying object}}. This comic is most likely inspired by [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html reports of US Navy pilots] seeing unexplained objects. The "History Channel thing" could refer to this [https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation upcoming series]. It may also be inspired by the Trump administration ordering US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change, suggesting they would need to conceal meteorological activities.

This comic features {{w|Fox Mulder}} and {{w|Dana Scully}}, two fictional FBI agents from the television show ''{{w|The X-Files}}''. In the show, Mulder is usually a believer in all manner of conspiracies and supernatural phenomena, whereas his partner, Scully, is reflexively skeptical of any claims of the paranormal.

A fighter aircraft's {{w|Head-up display|Head-Up Display}} (HUD), projects information about the aircraft and its surroundings on a glass panel in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to fly and fight without looking down at gauges and panels in the cockpit. When the pilot selects a radar contact to track, information including the angle and range to that contact is displayed on the HUD. The HUD is also overlaid on video recorded by the airplane's on-board camera. Scully has examined the tracking information recorded in one video and concluded that the unidentified object was relatively stationary. Her opinion is that the object is likely a mundane weather balloon, rather than an extraterrestrial craft.

"Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe" is an allusion to "I Want to Believe", a phrase from the ''The X-Files'' associated with Mulder and [https://images.newrepublic.com/82a6d0770aeaafbae8f26bf40a822b9b79a5c412.png his iconic UFO poster.]

The title text makes it clear why government agencies might try to hide "something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement," because the Trump administration [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html ordered US government agencies] to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change.

==Transcript==
:[Mulder from The X-Files depicted as Hairy sits in his office chair at his desk and points to his computer screen while looking over his shoulder and addressing Scully off-panel, who replies.]
:Mulder: Hey Scully, have you seen these Navy UFO videos?
:Scully (off-panel): Oh, the History Channel thing?

:[In a frame-less panel, Scully walks in from the right towards Mulder, who has turned around in his chair facing towards her (the desk is not included). He is leaning on the back of the chair with one arm. Scully has shoulder length hair, not similar to any of the regular women in xkcd.]
:Scully: I don't know about the other two videos, but in one of them, if you take the angles and ranges on the HUD and do a little geometry, it kind of suggests the object isn't really moving. It just looks like it because the plane's camera is panning.

:[Zoom in on Scully.]
:Scully: The pilots got excited for the same reason we did. Then the media got into it.
:Scully: But I think what they saw was a round, white object floating at 13,000 feet.

:[Zoom out again to shown that Mulder sits straight up in his chair with hands in his lap and the desk with computer behind him. Scully stand in front of him.]
:Mulder: So your theory is that the military '''''claims''''' to have footage of aliens, but you think it's a giant cover-up to hide that it's a weather balloon?
:Scully: Some kind of balloon, yes.
:Mulder: Pretty weird conspiracy.
:Scully: Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe, too.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

2156: Ufo

2019-05-30T00:26:42Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ use inline links

{{comic
| number = 2156
| date = May 29, 2019
| title = Ufo
| image = ufo.png
| titletext = "It's a little low for a weather balloon; it might be some other kind." "Yeah. Besides, I know I'm the alien conspiracy guy, but come on--the idea that the government would care about hiding something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement is too ridiculous even for me."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an alien weather balloon. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This cartoon makes fun of {{w|conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that authorities, like the Navy, could be promoting mysterious explanations for mundane phenomena (such as a {{w|weather balloon}}). UFO is an initialism for an {{w|unidentified flying object}}. This comic is most likely inspired by [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html reports of US Navy pilots] seeing unexplained objects. The "History Channel thing" could refer to this [https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation upcoming series]. It may also be inspired by the Trump administration ordering US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change, suggesting they would need to conceal meteorological activities.

This comic features {{w|Fox Mulder}} and {{w|Dana Scully}}, two fictional FBI agents from the television show ''{{w|The X-Files}}''. In the show, Mulder is usually a believer in all manner of conspiracies and supernatural phenomena, whereas his partner, Scully, is reflexively skeptical of any claims of the paranormal.

A fighter aircraft's {{w|Head-up display|Head-Up Display}} (HUD), projects information about the aircraft and its surroundings on a glass panel in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to fly and fight without looking down at gauges and panels in the cockpit. When the pilot selects a radar contact to track, information including the angle and range to that contact is displayed on the HUD. The HUD is also overlaid on video recorded by the airplane's on-board camera. Scully has examined the tracking information recorded in one video and concluded that the unidentified object was relatively stationary. Her opinion is that the object is likely a mundane weather balloon, rather than an extraterrestrial craft.

"Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe" is an allusion to "I Want to Believe", a phrase from the ''The X-Files'' associated with Mulder and [https://images.newrepublic.com/82a6d0770aeaafbae8f26bf40a822b9b79a5c412.png his iconic UFO poster.]

The title text makes it clear why government agencies might try to hide "something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement," because the Trump administration [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html ordered US government agencies] to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change.

==Transcript==
:[Mulder from The X-Files depicted as Hairy sits in his office chair at his desk and points to his computer screen while looking over his shoulder and addressing Scully off-panel, who replies.]
:Mulder: Hey Scully, have you seen these Navy UFO videos?
:Scully (off-panel): Oh, the History Channel thing?

:[In a frame-less panel, Scully walks in from the right towards Mulder, who has turned around in his chair facing towards her (the desk is not included). He is leaning on the back of the chair with one arm. Scully has shoulder length hair, not similar to any of the regular women in xkcd.]
:Scully: I don't know about the other two videos, but in one of them, if you take the angles and ranges on the HUD and do a little geometry, it kind of suggests the object isn't really moving. It just looks like it because the plane's camera is panning.

:[Zoom in on Scully.]
:Scully: The pilots got excited for the same reason we did. Then the media got into it.
:Scully: But I think what they saw was a round, white object floating at 13,000 feet.

:[Zoom out again to shown that Mulder sits straight up in his chair with hands in his lap and the desk with computer behind him. Scully stand in front of him.]
:Harry: So your theory is that the military '''''claims''''' to have footage of aliens, but you think it's a giant cover-up to hide that it's a weather balloon?
:Scully: Some kind of balloon, yes.
:Harry: Pretty weird conspiracy.
:Scully: Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe, too.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

2156: Ufo

2019-05-30T00:24:57Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2156
| date = May 29, 2019
| title = Ufo
| image = ufo.png
| titletext = "It's a little low for a weather balloon; it might be some other kind." "Yeah. Besides, I know I'm the alien conspiracy guy, but come on--the idea that the government would care about hiding something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement is too ridiculous even for me."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an alien weather balloon. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This cartoon makes fun of {{w|conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that authorities, like the Navy, could be promoting mysterious explanations for mundane phenomena (such as a {{w|weather balloon}}). UFO is an initialism for an {{w|unidentified flying object}}. This comic is most likely inspired by [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html reports of US Navy pilots] seeing unexplained objects. The "History Channel thing" could refer to this [https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation upcoming series]. It may also be inspired by the Trump administration ordering US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change, suggesting they would need to conceal meteorological activities.

This comic features {{w|Fox Mulder}} and {{w|Dana Scully}}, two fictional FBI agents from the television show ''{{w|The X-Files}}''. In the show, Mulder is usually a believer in all manner of conspiracies and supernatural phenomena, whereas his partner, Scully, is reflexively skeptical of any claims of the paranormal.

A fighter aircraft's {{w|Head-up display|Head-Up Display}} (HUD), projects information about the aircraft and its surroundings on a glass panel in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to fly and fight without looking down at gauges and panels in the cockpit. When the pilot selects a radar contact to track, information including the angle and range to that contact is displayed on the HUD. The HUD is also overlaid on video recorded by the airplane's on-board camera. Scully has examined the tracking information recorded in one video and concluded that the unidentified object was relatively stationary. Her opinion is that the object is likely a mundane weather balloon, rather than an extraterrestrial craft.

"Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe" is an allusion to "I Want to Believe", a phrase from the ''The X-Files'' associated with Mulder and [https://images.newrepublic.com/82a6d0770aeaafbae8f26bf40a822b9b79a5c412.png his iconic UFO poster.]

The title text makes it clear why government agencies might try to hide "something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement," because the Trump administration ordered US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change. <ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html</ref>

==Transcript==
:[Mulder from The X-Files depicted as Hairy sits in his office chair at his desk and points to his computer screen while looking over his shoulder and addressing Scully off-panel, who replies.]
:Mulder: Hey Scully, have you seen these Navy UFO videos?
:Scully (off-panel): Oh, the History Channel thing?

:[In a frame-less panel, Scully walks in from the right towards Mulder, who has turned around in his chair facing towards her (the desk is not included). He is leaning on the back of the chair with one arm. Scully has shoulder length hair, not similar to any of the regular women in xkcd.]
:Scully: I don't know about the other two videos, but in one of them, if you take the angles and ranges on the HUD and do a little geometry, it kind of suggests the object isn't really moving. It just looks like it because the plane's camera is panning.

:[Zoom in on Scully.]
:Scully: The pilots got excited for the same reason we did. Then the media got into it.
:Scully: But I think what they saw was a round, white object floating at 13,000 feet.

:[Zoom out again to shown that Mulder sits straight up in his chair with hands in his lap and the desk with computer behind him. Scully stand in front of him.]
:Harry: So your theory is that the military '''''claims''''' to have footage of aliens, but you think it's a giant cover-up to hide that it's a weather balloon?
:Scully: Some kind of balloon, yes.
:Harry: Pretty weird conspiracy.
:Scully: Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe, too.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

2156: Ufo

2019-05-29T18:17:21Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ fix

{{comic
| number = 2156
| date = May 29, 2019
| title = Ufo
| image = ufo.png
| titletext = "It's a little low for a weather balloon; it might be some other kind." "Yeah. Besides, I know I'm the alien conspiracy guy, but come on--the idea that the government would care about hiding something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement is too ridiculous even for me."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an alien weather balloon. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This cartoon makes fun of {{w|conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that authorities, like the Navy, could be promoting mysterious explanations for mundane phenomena (such as a {{w|weather balloon}}). UFO is an initialism for an {{w|unidentified flying object}}. This comic is mostly likely inspired by [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html reports of US Navy pilots] seeing unexplained objects. The "History Channel thing" could refer to this [https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation upcoming series].

This comic features {{w|Fox Mulder}} and {{w|Dana Scully}}, two fictional FBI agents from the television show ''{{w|The X-Files}}''. In the show, Mulder is usually a believer in all manner of conspiracies and supernatural phenomena, whereas his partner, Scully, is reflexively skeptical of any claims of the paranormal.

A fighter aircraft's {{w|Head-up display|Head-Up Display}} (HUD), projects information about the aircraft and its surroundings on a glass panel in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to fly and fight without looking down at gauges and panels in the cockpit. When the pilot selects a radar contact to track, information including the angle and range to that contact is displayed on the HUD. The HUD display is also overlaid on video recorded by the airplane's on-board camera. Scully has examined the tracking information recorded in one video and concluded that the unidentified object was relatively stationary. Her opinion is that the object is likely a mundane weather balloon, rather than an extraterrestrial craft.

"Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe" is an allusion to "I Want to Believe", a phrase from the ''The X-Files'' associated with Mulder and [https://images.newrepublic.com/82a6d0770aeaafbae8f26bf40a822b9b79a5c412.png?w=800 his iconic UFO poster.]

==Transcript==
:[Mulder from The X-Files depicted as Hairy sits in his office chair at his desk and points to his computer screen while looking over his shoulder and addressing Scully off-panel, who replies.]
:Mulder: Hey Scully, have you seen these Navy UFO videos?
:Scully (off-panel): Oh, the History Channel thing?

:[In a frame-less panel, Scully walks in from the right towards Mulder, who has turned around in his chair facing towards her (the desk is not included). He is leaning on the back of the chair with one arm. Scully has shoulder length hair, not similar to any of the regular women in xkcd.]
:Scully: I don't know about the other two videos, but in one of them, if you take the angles and ranges on the HUD and do a little geometry, it kind of suggests the object isn't really moving. It just looks like it because the plane's camera is panning.

:[Zoom in on Scully.]
:Scully: The pilots got excited for the same reason we did. Then the media got into it.
:Scully: But I think what they saw was a round, white object floating at 13,000 feet.

:[Zoom out again to shown that Mulder sits straight up in his chair with hands in his lap and the desk with computer behind him. Scully stand in front of him.]
:Harry: So your theory is that the military '''''claims''''' to have footage of aliens, but you think it's a giant cover-up to hide that it's a weather balloon?
:Scully: Some kind of balloon, yes.
:Harry: Pretty weird conspiracy.
:Scully: Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe, too.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

1274: Open Letter

2019-05-22T19:37:07Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ wlink

{{comic
| number = 1274
| date = October 7, 2013
| title = Open Letter
| image = open_letter.png
| titletext = Are you ok? Do you need help?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the {{w|United States federal government shutdown of 2013|US government shutdown in 2013}} that had been ongoing for a week and was still current as of the time of this comic. Under some circumstances, the United States Federal Government {{w|Government shutdown in the United States|can temporarily shut down}} pending budget legislation being passed by the United States Congress. These shutdowns are typically due to political disagreements between the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Due to the shutdown, numerous government services and facilities are shut down, often resulting in many logistical issues for the public.

Over the years, various conspiracy theories have been proposed claiming that the United States Government is not controlled by publicly-elected officials, but rather by one or more organizations that secretly control the actions of the government (sometimes termed a {{w|Shadow government (conspiracy)|"shadow government"}}). In this strip, [[Randall]] writes a letter to the shadow government, telling them that the situation (having the country's government shut down) is embarrassing and asking them to fix the problem.

This comic also implicitly argues against the plausibility of the aforementioned conspiracy theories if one assumes that a shadow-controlled government would be more likely to operate with a singular purpose and therefore be less susceptible to paralyzing political disagreements. Randall previously alluded to this in the title text to [[1081|comic 1081]]: "Really, the comforting side in most conspiracy theory arguments is the one claiming that anyone who's in power has any plan at all." This is one of several comics in which Randall expresses dismay at how many intelligent people can fall for absurd conspiracy theories; see comics [[258]] and [[690]], among others.

The title text addresses the leadership of the shadow government in more colloquial terms, asking if they are suffering from personal problems that are impeding their ability to keep things under control. This is patronizing, and thus hilarious.

The message, as titled, is in the form of an "{{w|Open letter|Open Letter}}", being a directed and 'personal' message to a person or group of people which is nonetheless intended by the sender to be publicly aired (unlike a standard commentary or editorial, which is intended for public consumption, but addresses the concerned 'target' almost as an aside). In some cases this may be to ensure the correspondence is not kept confidential by the recipients and/or that the public as a whole are ''also'' indirectly addressed ('Cc'ed) in the correspondence, without having to compose a companion piece for that purpose. In this case, however, it may additionally be because the intended recipient(s) are not so easily identified for direct communication, and a public airing would ensure 'delivery' even without compromising the integrity of the message. Open Letters are often aired (or pre-copied, verbatim, from actual correspondence) in one or area or other of the public media, and while web-comics aren't ''necessarily'' the most publicised of forums, the xkcd readership almost certainly leads to covering both the 'named' recipients and the intended public view.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Addressee !! Brief Description
|-
| {{w|Freemasonry|The Freemasons }}|| Fraternity claiming the legacy of medieval stonemasons. Some of the {{w|Founding Fathers of the United States}} were members of the organization. Organised in local groups, the so-called ''Lodges''.
|-
| {{w|Illuminati}} || Secret society formed in Bavaria to further the ideas of {{w|enlightenment}}. Although officially banned in 1785, many conspiracy theorists believe the organisation might have survived and is still secretly exerting influence.
|-
| {{w|Church of Scientology|Scientology}} || A church founded by science-fiction writer {{w|L. Ron Hubbard}}. Often criticised for alleged {{w|brainwashing}} of its members and accused of hiding commercial interests behind religious claims.
|-
| {{w|Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA}} || Agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, that has been granted extensive authorisations in cases of emergency and is therefore believed to act as an entity independent of governmental control.
|-
| {{w|New World Order (conspiracy theory)|The New World Order}} || Not a secret organisation itself, but rather the concept of establishing a totalitarian system controlled by any elitist group in this list.
|-
| {{w|Federal Reserve System|The Federal Reserve}} || Central state bank system of the United States, therefore to some degree able to control the monetary circulation of the {{w|US Dollar}}.
|-
| {{w|Citigroup}} || One of the four biggest American financial service corporations. Considered by the {{w|Financial Stability Board}} to be a {{w|Too big to fail|"systemically important financial institution"}}.
|-
| {{w|Halliburton}} || International corporation offering technical services, especially in the field of oil and gas production. Also a major supplier for the {{w|US military}}. Halliburton was in the headlines for unethical business practices and connections to the former US Vice President {{w|Dick Cheney}}.
|-
| {{w|Google}} || Corporation (later renamed {{w|Alphabet Inc.}}) offering Internet services, most notably the Google search engine. Known for collecting massive amounts of data about its users in order to sell personalised advertisement. The idea of secret plans of Google has been mentioned in comic [[792]].
|-
| {{w|Holy See|The Vatican}} || Central government of the {{w|Catholic Church}} and residence of the {{w|pope}}. Historically important not only as a religious authority, but also as a {{w|Papal States|secular political power}}.
|-
| {{w|Bilderberg_Group|Bilderburg (correctly: ''Bilderberg'')}} || Annual conference of important politicians, bankers, directors of major corporations and other {{w|List of Bilderberg participants|people of influence}}, therefore considered the quintessential elitist meeting.
|-
| {{w|Walmart}} || American retail corporation, best known for the eponymous chain of warehouse stores. As of January 2013, Walmart is the world's largest public corporation by revenue.
|-
| {{w|Rothschild_family|The Rothschilds}} || Family of Jewish financiers that was later elevated into European nobility. Believed to exercise influence through considerable wealth. The subject of conspiracy theories since the mid-19th century, when they amassed the largest fortune in world history.
|-
| {{w|Knights Templar}} || Originally a medieval Christian military order of considerable influence, the Knights Templar were inspiration for many successive (secret) organisations that are sometimes believed to undermine governmental authorities. There is also an {{w|Knights Templar (Freemasonry)|eponymous order}} affiliated with Freemasonry. It may also be a reference to the ''{{w|Assassin's Creed|Assassins Creed}}'' video game series, in which several historical figures are claimed to have been Templars.
|-
| {{w|High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program#Conspiracy theories|HAARP}} || Ionospheric research project of the US military. Believed by some conspiracy theorists to conceal attempts to control the weather and trigger catastrophes.
|-
| {{w|United Nations|The UN}} || Large intergovernmental organization; most countries in the world are members. It has little direct power unless its member states choose to cooperate.
|-
| {{w|Skull and Bones|Skull & Bones}} || A secret society at the {{w|Yale University}} that has many influential American politicians amongst its members, including former Presidents {{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}}, as well as former Secretary of State {{w|John Kerry}}.
|-
| {{w|Bohemian Grove}} || Campground of the private {{w|Bohemian Club}} in San Francisco, known for hosting an annual encampment of club members and selected guests who are among the most powerful men in the world.
|-
| {{w|Political activities of the Koch brothers|The Koch Brothers}} || Owners of the second-largest private company in the USA, known for supporting libertarian and conservative political causes.
|-
| {{w|George Soros}} || Business magnate and investor, known for supporting liberal political causes.
|-
| {{w|The Trilateral Commission}} || {{W|Think tank}} and associated meeting, emphasizing cooperation between North America, Western Europe, and Japan; founded by {{w|David Rockefeller}}
|-
| {{w|Sovereign Military Order of Malta|The Knights of Malta}} || Religious order that was once a sovereign state; contemporary {{w|Malta|Republic of Malta}} is not controlled by this order. Its exact status now is debated; it considers itself a "sovereign subject of international law" and has observer status at the United Nations.
|-
| {{w|Council on Foreign Relations|The CFR}} || Acronym for the {{w|Council on Foreign Relations|Council on Foreign Relations}}. Foreign policy think tank in the United States
|-
| {{w|ExxonMobil|Exxon Mobil}} || Major petroleum corporation; third largest company in the world, by revenue
|-
| {{w|Zionism|The Zionists}} || Political movement favouring the creation of a Jewish homeland, a goal achieved with the creation of the state of {{w|Israel}}. In a conspiracy-theory context, it references the belief that wealthy and powerful Jews (such as the above-referenced Rothschilds) control political and social institutions, as presented e.g. in the (fake) {{w|Protocols of Zion}}.
|-
| {{w|Vril#Vril society|The Vril Society}} || The "Vril" are a hidden subterranean race from the novel ''Vril, the Power of the Coming Race'' by {{w|Edward_Bulwer-Lytton|Edward Bulwer-Lytton}}. The novel allegedly inspired a "Vril Society" in Nazi Germany; however, there is no real evidence that the society existed, much less that it had the influence sometimes ascribed to it.
|-
| {{w|Reptilians|The Lizard People}} || Secret snake-men, similar to the aliens from {{w|V (TV series)}}. This is probably a reference to the conspiracy theories of {{w|David Icke}}, which include the idea that an ancient race of god-like, shapeshifting Lizards have interbred with humans, and that these half-bloods now secretly control the world.
|-
| and everyone else who secretly controls the {{w|Federal government of the United States|US Government}} || Note the implicit notion that so many different groups each have control, which makes no sense.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The picture shows a letter.]
:October 7th 2013
:To: The Freemasons, the Illuminati, Scientology, FEMA, the New World Order, the Federal Reserve, Citigroup, Halliburton, Google, the Vatican, Bilderburg, Walmart, the Rothschilds, the Knights Templar, HAARP, the UN, Skull & Bones, Bohemian Grove, the Koch Brothers, George Soros, the Trilateral Commision, the Knights of Malta, the CFR, Exxon Mobil, the Zionists, the Vril Society, the Lizard People, and everyone else who secretly controls the US government
:Can you please get your shit together?
:This is embarrassing.
:Sincerely,
:A Concerned Citizen

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

250: Snopes

2019-05-22T19:33:19Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ more

{{comic
| number = 250
| date = April 18, 2007
| title = Snopes
| image = snopes.png
| titletext = The MythBusters are even more sinister.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Snopes}} is a popular website for checking the validity of {{w|Urban legend|urban legends}}. Here, one [[Cueball]] asks the other to check before sending him urban legends. Cueball replies with another urban legend saying that Snopes, the website the first Cueball asks him to check, uses spam to keep their audience.

Naturally, it didn't take long for an urban legend to suggest that the proprietors of Snopes also direct a spam operation to create more urban legends and disseminate them, just so they'll continue to have an audience. One of the Cueballs tries to come to Snopes' defense, only to realize that the debunking was done by Snopes itself, creating a circular, invalid argument.

The title text suggests that {{w|MythBusters}}, another group that debunks myths, also participate in the practice of spreading misinformation for the opportunity to test it. Indeed, the show has occasionally been accused of spending undue attention on unnecessary filler "myths" just for the sake of filling out the season.

==Trivia==
Snopes is also mentioned in the much later comic [[1081: Argument Victory]], in a much more positive light.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueballs sit a table across from each other, typing on their laptops.]
:Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
:Friend: Oops; yeah.
:Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.

:[The Cueballs are still sitting a table across from each other, looking at each other.]
:Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.

:[Cueball on the left is typing on his laptop, while the second Cueball is sitting, stunned.]
:Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
:Friend: Yes?
:Cueball: ...Oh my God.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Internet]]

250: Snopes

2019-05-22T19:29:28Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 250
| date = April 18, 2007
| title = Snopes
| image = snopes.png
| titletext = The MythBusters are even more sinister.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Snopes}} is a popular website for checking the validity of {{w|Urban legend|urban legends}}. Here, one [[Cueball]] asks the other to check before sending him urban legends. Cueball replies with another urban legend saying that Snopes, the website the first Cueball asks him to check, uses spam to keep their audience.

Naturally, it didn't take long for an urban legend to suggest that the proprietors of Snopes also direct a spam operation to create more urban legends and disseminate them, just so they'll continue to have an audience. One of the Cueballs tries to come to Snopes' defense, only to realize that the debunking was done by Snopes itself, creating a circular, invalid argument.

The title text suggests that {{w|MythBusters}}, another group that debunks myths, also participate in the practice of spreading misinformation for the opportunity to test it. Indeed, the show has occasionally been accused of spending undue attention on unnecessary filler "myths" just for the sake of filling out the season.

==Trivia==
Snopes is also mentioned in the much later comic [[1081: Argument Victory]], in a much more positive light.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
:Friend: Oops; yeah.
:Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.
:Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.
:Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
:Friend: Yes?
:Cueball: ...Oh my God.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Internet]]

2153: Effects of High Altitude

2019-05-22T19:27:12Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ copyedit

{{comic
| number = 2153
| date = May 22, 2019
| title = Effects of High Altitude
| image = effects_of_high_altitude.png
| titletext = If she'd lived in Flagstaff (elevation 6,903 feet), Cruella de Vil would only have needed 89 dalmatians for her coat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic starts out with three effects of high altitude related to the air getting "thinner" and the lower air pressure. {{w|Denver}} is one mile (1609 meters) above sea-level (as marked on the steps of the State Capitol). At this elevation, the [http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php average atmospheric pressure] is about 83% of sea level pressure, or about 840 mBar, and [https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/KurtHeckman/Gravity+Acceleration+by+Altitude gravity] is 99.94% normal, or 9.801 m/s2 instead of 9.806 m/s2. This has a number of effects:

* Water {{w|boiling|boils}} at 202 degrees F (94 degrees C), slightly lower than the baseline 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) it takes at sea level.
* Baseballs and golf balls fly slightly farther.
* {{w|Sunburn}} develops faster because there less atmosphere above to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays.

As usual for xkcd, the effects of high altitude are extended in a comically absurd manner, applying this "slightly less" rule to things that have nothing to do with altitude:

* {{w|Scrabble}} is a board game where each letter is assigned a point value based on its frequency of use in the edition's language. The comic claims all letters are worth 16% more. When applied to the {{w|Scrabble_letter_distributions#English|normal values for the Scrabble tiles in English}}
** Q is worth 12 instead of 10
** X is worth 9 instead of 8
** Y is worth 5 instead of 4
* A common {{w|superstition}} states that {{w|List of bad luck signs|breaking a mirror}} causes 7 years of bad luck. The comic claims that at higher altitudes, only 5½ years are caused. It is unclear whether this implies that people living at higher altitudes have more or less luck.
* Marketing campaigns will often state "X is the new Y" to draw the audience of Y in toward the newer X. When used with age, usually at 10 year intervals ("40 is the new 30" is the slogan referenced), it is an attempt to convince an older audience that they can share in an experience commonly associated with a younger audience. At higher elevations, the comic claims, people can use or do things designated for an even younger audience
* German band {{w|Nena (band)|Nena}}'s hit ''99 Red Balloons'' (an English adaptation of the original song called ''{{w|99 Luftballons}}'') is a song about a global (not necessarily nuclear) war started by a large clump of balloons mistaken for UFOs (the original German song refers to "ÜFO's aus dem All", the lyrics of the English-language song say "There's something here from somewhere else" which presumably implies UFOs). The comic claims that if launched from a higher altitude, 94 balloons would have sufficed.
* {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|4:20}} is a code word for {{w|cannabis}} and has evolved in some circles to be the socially acceptable hour to consume cannabis. This has in turn evolved into a joke that when checking the time and finding it is exactly 4:20, people will add "blaze it" as a reference. The comic claims that, at higher altitudes, the socially acceptable time decreases, so if there is an elevation of one mile, the socially acceptable time would be 4:17 and therefore, marijuana jokes are made earlier. This joke is probably related to the {{w|Cannabis in Colorado|legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado}}.

* Referenced in the title text, ''{{w|One Hundred and One Dalmatians (franchise)|One Hundred and One Dalmatians}}'' is a children's book and Disney franchise based on it, where the villain, {{w|Cruella de Vil}}, aims to capture and kill 99 Dalmatian puppies to have the perfect spotted fur coat (the title comes from adding to them the two that try to save them). The comic claims that, at a higher altitude, she would only have needed 89 Dalmatians, possibly implying that puppies at higher altitudes are bigger, or that Cruella de Vil at high altitudes is smaller.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2153: Effects of High Altitude

2019-05-22T19:24:32Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ claims

{{comic
| number = 2153
| date = May 22, 2019
| title = Effects of High Altitude
| image = effects_of_high_altitude.png
| titletext = If she'd lived in Flagstaff (elevation 6,903 feet), Cruella de Vil would only have needed 89 dalmatians for her coat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic starts out with a three effects of high altitude related to the air getting "thinner" and the lower air pressure. {{w|Denver}} is one mile (1609 meters) above sea-level (as marked on the steps of the State Capitol). At this elevation, the [http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php average atmospheric pressure] is about 83% of sea level pressure, or about 840 mBar, and [https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/KurtHeckman/Gravity+Acceleration+by+Altitude gravity] is 99.94% normal, or 9.801 m/s2 instead of 9.806 m/s2. This has a number of effects:

* Water {{w|boiling|boils}} at 202 degrees F (94 degrees C), slightly lower than the baseline 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) it takes at sea level.
* Baseballs and golf balls fly slightly farther.
* {{w|Sunburn}} develops faster because there less atmosphere above to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays.

As usual for xkcd, the effects of high altitude are extended in a comically absurd manner, applying this "slightly less" rule to things that have nothing to do with altitude:

* {{w|Scrabble}} is a board game where each letter is assigned a point value based on its frequency of use in the edition's language. The comic claims all letters are worth 16% more. When applied to the {{w|Scrabble_letter_distributions#English|normal values for the Scrabble tiles in English}}
** Q is worth 12 instead of 10
** X is worth 9 instead of 8
** Y is worth 5 instead of 4
* A common {{w|superstition}} states that breaking a mirror causes 7 years of bad luck. The comic claims that at higher altitudes, only 5½ years are caused. It is unclear whether this implies that people living at higher altitudes have more or less luck.
* Marketing campaigns will often state "X is the new Y" to draw the audience of Y in toward the newer X. When used with age, usually at 10 year intervals ("40 is the new 30" is the slogan referenced), it is an attempt to convince an older audience that they can share in an experience commonly associated with a younger audience. At higher elevations, the comic claims, people can use or do things designated for an even younger audience
* German band {{w|Nena (band)|Nena}}'s hit ''99 Red Balloons'' (an English adaptation of the original song called ''{{w|99 Luftballons}}'') is a song about a global (not necessarily nuclear) war started by a large clump of balloons mistaken for UFOs (the original German song refers to "ÜFO's aus dem All", the lyrics of the English-language song say "There's something here from somewhere else" which presumably implies UFOs). The comic claims that if launched from a higher altitude, 94 balloons would have sufficed.
* {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|4:20}} is a code word for {{w|cannabis}} and has evolved in some circles to be the socially acceptable hour to consume cannabis. This has in turn evolved into a joke that when checking the time and finding it is exactly 4:20, people will add "blaze it" as a reference. The comic claims that, at higher altitudes, the socially acceptable time decreases, so if there is an elevation of one mile, the socially acceptable time would be 4:17 and therefore, marijuana jokes are made earlier. This joke is probably related to the {{w|Cannabis in Colorado|legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado}}.

* Referenced in the title text, ''{{w|One Hundred and One Dalmatians (franchise)|One Hundred and One Dalmatians}}'' is a children's book and Disney franchise based on it, where the villain, {{w|Cruella de Vil}}, aims to capture and kill 99 Dalmatian puppies to have the perfect spotted fur coat (the title comes from adding to them the two that try to save them). The comic claims that, at a higher altitude, she would only have needed 89 Dalmatians, possibly implying that puppies at higher altitudes are bigger, or that Cruella de Vil at high altitudes is smaller.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2151: A/B

2019-05-17T20:16:40Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2151
| date = May 17, 2019
| title = A/B
| image = a_b.png
| titletext = We wrote our site in Linear A rather than Askara Kawi because browser testing showed that Crete script rendered faster than Java script.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written in MYCENEAN GREEK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|A/B testing}} is a form of {{w|Scientific control|controlled experiment}} in which test subjects are randomly split into two groups, A and B, and each group is shown a slightly different version of the same thing. This is most often used for market research, as it allows researchers to discover which of two options are received more favorably by consumers. For example, a website might employ A/B testing by randomly showing 50% of visitors a version with a different font. By checking their site traffic analytics afterward, the site operators can see which version of the site received the most user engagement, which might tell them that the alternate font is a better choice.

{{w|Linear A}}, on the other hand, is an as-of-yet undeciphered writing system of the ancient Minoan civilization (a civilization based on the island of Crete). It appears similar to the deciphered Linear B writing system, but if the pronunciation rules of Linear B are applied to Linear A, it produces a language unrelated to any known language.

{{w|Linear B}} is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek.

The comic jokingly suggests that the choice of writing system could be decided through A/B testing. The test subject apparently can read Linear B (which encodes Mycenaean Greek), but not Linear A (which produces what's seemingly gibberish when read through the rules of Linear B). It is also a pun on the common phrase "[it's] {{w|Greek to me}}", which people use to refer to something as gibberish, but here, it is the Greek text which is comprehensible to [[Cueball]].

{{w|Kawi script|Askara Kawi}} is a writing system used on the island of Java (today part of Indonesia). As per the title text, Linear A is not being used to encode the information presented to the user (i.e. {{w|natural language}}), but rather the code which defines how or what is presented to the user (i.e. {{w|programming language}}). That is to say, Askara Kawi is a script (i.e. a writing system) from the island of Java, and thus being humorously presented as equivalent to {{w|JavaScript}}, which is a common way to encode dynamic content on webpages.

Linear A and Linear B are also script engines used in early versions of the Opera web browser, thus further equivalence is presented between them and the writing systems.

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

:[Cueball is sitting behind a computer desk, facing to the right, gesturing at the screen. Ponytail stands behind him and Hairy stands in front of him, both taking notes in a pad.]
:Cueball: I like this one more because it encodes Mycenaean Greek. The other one just looks like gibberish.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Linear A/B testing

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

2151: A/B

2019-05-17T20:15:32Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ start transcript

{{comic
| number = 2151
| date = May 17, 2019
| title = A/B
| image = a_b.png
| titletext = We wrote our site in Linear A rather than Askara Kawi because browser testing showed that Crete script rendered faster than Java script.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written in MYCENEAN GREEK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|A/B testing}} is a form of {{w|Scientific control|controlled experiment}} in which test subjects are randomly split into two groups, A and B, and each group is shown a slightly different version of the same thing. This is most often used for market research, as it allows researchers to discover which of two options are received more favorably by consumers. For example, a website might employ A/B testing by randomly showing 50% of visitors a version with a different font. By checking their site traffic analytics afterward, the site operators can see which version of the site received the most user engagement, which might tell them that the alternate font is a better choice.

{{w|Linear A}}, on the other hand, is an as-of-yet undeciphered writing system of the ancient Minoan civilization (a civilization based on the island of Crete). It appears similar to the deciphered Linear B writing system, but if the pronunciation rules of Linear B are applied to Linear A, it produces a language unrelated to any known language.

{{w|Linear B}} is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek.

The comic jokingly suggests that the choice of writing system could be decided through A/B testing. The test subject apparently can read Linear B (which encodes Mycenaean Greek), but not Linear A (which produces what's seemingly gibberish when read through the rules of Linear B). It is also a pun on the common phrase "[it's] {{w|Greek to me}}", which people use to refer to something as gibberish, but here, it is the Greek text which is comprehensible to [[Cueball]].

{{w|Kawi script|Askara Kawi}} is a writing system used on the island of Java (today part of Indonesia). As per the title text, Linear A is not being used to encode the information presented to the user (i.e. {{w|natural language}}), but rather the code which defines how or what is presented to the user (i.e. {{w|programming language}}). That is to say, Askara Kawi is a script (i.e. a writing system) from the island of Java, and thus being humorously presented as equivalent to {{w|JavaScript}}, which is a common way to encode dynamic content on webpages.

Linear A and Linear B are also script engines used in early versions of the Opera web browser, thus further equivalence is presented between them and the writing systems.

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

:[Cueball is sitting behind a computer desk, facing to the right, gesturing at the screen. Ponytail stands behind him and Hairy stands in front of him,both taking notes in a pad.]
:Cueball: I like this one more because it encodes Mycenaean Greek. The other one just looks like gibberish.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Linear A/B testing

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

2151: A/B

2019-05-17T20:10:37Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ ponytail

{{comic
| number = 2151
| date = May 17, 2019
| title = A/B
| image = a_b.png
| titletext = We wrote our site in Linear A rather than Askara Kawi because browser testing showed that Crete script rendered faster than Java script.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written in MYCENEAN GREEK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|A/B testing}} is a form of {{w|Scientific control|controlled experiment}} in which test subjects are randomly split into two groups, A and B, and each group is shown a slightly different version of the same thing. This is most often used for market research, as it allows researchers to discover which of two options are received more favorably by consumers. For example, a website might employ A/B testing by randomly showing 50% of visitors a version with a different font. By checking their site traffic analytics afterward, the site operators can see which version of the site received the most user engagement, which might tell them that the alternate font is a better choice.

{{w|Linear A}}, on the other hand, is an as-of-yet undeciphered writing system of the ancient Minoan civilization (a civilization based on the island of Crete). It appears similar to the deciphered Linear B writing system, but if the pronunciation rules of Linear B are applied to Linear A, it produces a language unrelated to any known language.

{{w|Linear B}} is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek.

The comic jokingly suggests that the choice of writing system could be decided through A/B testing. The test subject apparently can read Linear B (which encodes Mycenaean Greek), but not Linear A (which produces what's seemingly gibberish when read through the rules of Linear B). It is also a pun on the common phrase "[it's] {{w|Greek to me}}", which people use to refer to something as gibberish, but here, it is the Greek text which is comprehensible to [[Cueball]].

{{w|Kawi script|Askara Kawi}} is a writing system used on the island of Java (today part of Indonesia). As per the title text, Linear A is not being used to encode the information presented to the user (i.e. {{w|natural language}}), but rather the code which defines how or what is presented to the user (i.e. {{w|programming language}}). That is to say, Askara Kawi is a script (i.e. a writing system) from the island of Java, and thus being humorously presented as equivalent to {{w|JavaScript}}, which is a common way to encode dynamic content on webpages.

Linear A and Linear B are also script engines used in early versions of the Opera web browser, thus further equivalence is presented between them and the writing systems.

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

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

2151: A/B

2019-05-17T20:10:05Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ add categories

{{comic
| number = 2151
| date = May 17, 2019
| title = A/B
| image = a_b.png
| titletext = We wrote our site in Linear A rather than Askara Kawi because browser testing showed that Crete script rendered faster than Java script.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written in MYCENEAN GREEK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|A/B testing}} is a form of {{w|Scientific control|controlled experiment}} in which test subjects are randomly split into two groups, A and B, and each group is shown a slightly different version of the same thing. This is most often used for market research, as it allows researchers to discover which of two options are received more favorably by consumers. For example, a website might employ A/B testing by randomly showing 50% of visitors a version with a different font. By checking their site traffic analytics afterward, the site operators can see which version of the site received the most user engagement, which might tell them that the alternate font is a better choice.

{{w|Linear A}}, on the other hand, is an as-of-yet undeciphered writing system of the ancient Minoan civilization (a civilization based on the island of Crete). It appears similar to the deciphered Linear B writing system, but if the pronunciation rules of Linear B are applied to Linear A, it produces a language unrelated to any known language.

{{w|Linear B}} is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek.

The comic jokingly suggests that the choice of writing system could be decided through A/B testing. The test subject apparently can read Linear B (which encodes Mycenaean Greek), but not Linear A (which produces what's seemingly gibberish when read through the rules of Linear B). It is also a pun on the common phrase "[it's] {{w|Greek to me}}", which people use to refer to something as gibberish, but here, it is the Greek text which is comprehensible to [[Cueball]].

{{w|Kawi script|Askara Kawi}} is a writing system used on the island of Java (today part of Indonesia). As per the title text, Linear A is not being used to encode the information presented to the user (i.e. {{w|natural language}}), but rather the code which defines how or what is presented to the user (i.e. {{w|programming language}}). That is to say, Askara Kawi is a script (i.e. a writing system) from the island of Java, and thus being humorously presented as equivalent to {{w|JavaScript}}, which is a common way to encode dynamic content on webpages.

Linear A and Linear B are also script engines used in early versions of the Opera web browser, thus further equivalence is presented between them and the writing systems.

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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2141: UI vs UX

2019-04-24T19:54:47Z

162.158.58.227: /* Transcript */ add category

{{comic
| number = 2141
| date = April 24, 2019
| title = UI vs UX
| image = ui_vs_ux.png
| titletext = U[unprintable glyph]: The elements a higher power uses to bend that moral arc. U[even more unprintable glyph]: The higher power's overall experience bending that moral arc.
}}

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

[https://www.google.com/search?q=UI+vs+UX UI vs UX] is a discussion in software engineering of the differences between {{w|user interface design}} (UI) and {{w|User experience}} design (UX). As explained in the comic, UI design is typically concerned with the elements of the interface that a user encounters, while UX design is more concerned about the user's overall experience in using such interface.

The comic takes this to absurd levels by adding further categories to the discussion with UZ, and other U{X} types of designers.

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

:Designer     What they are responsible for

:UI     Elements of the interface that the user encounters
:UX     The user's experience of using the interface to achieve goals
:UZ     The psychological roots of the user's motivation for seeking out the interaction
:Uα     The user's self-actualization
:UΩ     The arc of the user's life
:U∞     Life's experience of time
:U•     The arc of the moral universe

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Programming]]

2141: UI vs UX

2019-04-24T19:53:35Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ copyedit

2141: UI vs UX

2019-04-24T19:52:43Z

162.158.58.227: /* Explanation */ link to google search

{{comic
| number = 2141
| date = April 24, 2019
| title = UI vs UX
| image = ui_vs_ux.png
| titletext = U[unprintable glyph]: The elements a higher power uses to bend that moral arc. U[even more unprintable glyph]: The higher power's overall experience bending that moral arc.
}}

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

[https://www.google.com/search?q=UI+vs+UX UI vs UX] is a discussion in software engineering between {{w|user interface design}} (UI), and {{w|User experience}} design (UX). As explained in the comic, UI design is typically concerned with the elements of the interface that a user encounters, while UX design is more concerned about the user's overall experience in using such interface.

The comic takes this to absurd levels by adding further categories to the discussion with UZ, and other U{X} types of designers.

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

:Designer     What they are responsible for

:UI     Elements of the interface that the user encounters
:UX     The user's experience of using the interface to achieve goals
:UZ     The psychological roots of the user's motivation for seeking out the interaction
:Uα     The user's self-actualization
:UΩ     The arc of the user's life
:U∞     Life's experience of time
:U•     The arc of the moral universe

{{comic discussion}}