explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2694: Königsberg

2022-11-06T15:30:37Z

162.158.62.181:

{{comic
| number = 2694
| date = November 4, 2022
| title = Königsberg
| image = konigsberg_2x.png
| imagesize = 448x343px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = At first I thought I would need some gold or something to pay him, but then I realized that it was the 18th century and I could just bring a roll of aluminum foil.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WOLF, TWO GOATS, AND THREE BAGS OF GRAPH NODES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Konigsberg bridges.png|frame|right|{{w|Königsberg}}, Prussia in Euler's time, showing the Pregel river and its seven bridges.]]

This comic is about the {{w|Seven Bridges of Königsberg}} (present day {{w|Kaliningrad}}), a seminal {{w|graph theory}} problem solved by the famous mathematician {{w|Leonhard Euler}}.[https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/leonard-eulers-solution-to-the-konigsberg-bridge-problem] The problem was whether a path through the city crossing each of the seven bridges just once exists, without crossing the river forks any other way. In 1736, Euler proved that there is no such path. This result is considered to be the first theorem of graph theory and the first proof in the theory of networks[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/courses/2004/cscs535/review.pdf] — a subject now generally regarded as a branch of {{w|combinatorics}} — and presaged the development of {{w|topology}}. Combinatorial problems of other types had been considered since antiquity. {{w|Graph (discrete mathematics)|Graphs}} are a data structure common in many algorithmic problems in computer science.

[[Cueball]] attempts to cheat on the final exam in his algorithms class by traveling back in time to commission the construction of an eighth bridge before Euler could learn of the problem, allowing a trivial solution that would remove the rationale for further analysis. He hopes that this would alter his present-day timeline in such a way that the test becomes easier because graph theory might never have been developed.

With the addition of the eighth bridge, it becomes possible to cross each bridge exactly once, starting at the north bank and ending on the larger eastern island, or vice-versa. However, there is still no way to traverse each bridge exactly once and return to the starting point, because the altered graph would have an {{w|Eulerian trail|Euler trail}} but not an Euler cycle. Thus the problem might still have been interesting to Euler. (Adding a ninth bridge connecting the north bank to the east island, or constructing the eighth bridge between the eastern and central islands rather than the location provided, would render the problem completely trivial.) We can't say whether Euler or others would have developed graph theory anyway, or whether Cueball's exam would have been any easier, more difficult, or similar.

An alternative modification allowing an easy solution is to remove bridges. During World War II, two bridges to the central island connecting it to the north and south banks were destroyed by bombing, so today there is an Eulerian trail across the five remaining bridges.

The title text alludes to the fact that ordinary {{w|aluminum foil}}, which was not commercially available until 1911, would have been a tremendously valuable curiosity in the 18th century, which didn't even have {{w|tin foil}}. Aluminum was a highly priced metal before the 1880s when inexpensive methods were developed to refine it. The {{w|Washington Monument}} was constructed with a tip made of pure aluminum due to its value and conductive capacity. Aluminum had not been extracted in its pure form at the time of Euler, and was known only in compounds such as {{w|alum}}, so the metal would have been unique and exotic.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball, standing next to two men wearing wigs, pointing with a pointer at a map showing the seven bridges problem, with an extra bridge added in dashed lines]
:Cueball: Lord Mayor of Königsberg, I will reward you handsomely if you construct this bridge before my friend Leonhard arrives.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I tried to use a time machine to cheat on my algorithms final by preventing graph theory from being invented.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Programming]]

2337: Asterisk Corrections

2020-07-25T12:55:23Z

162.158.62.181:

{{comic
| number = 2337
| date = July 24, 2020
| title = Asterisk Corrections
| image = asterisk_corrections.png
| titletext = I like trying to make it as hard as possible. "I'd love to meet up, maybe in a few days? Next week is looking pretty empty. *witchcraft"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MONKEY **. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. *BOT}}
In text messages, asterisks are commonly used to denote a correction of some error in an earlier text. The messenger ([[Randall]]) corrects four such inaccuracies.
The message, if the corrections were to be taken in order, might read "I'm gonna eat 3 AM on the couch at pizza." The typical reader should be sharp enough to know that it should read "I'm gonna eat a pizza on the couch at 3 AM." Randall finds this remarkable.

Taken one at a time, it appears the reader would have the following sentences in their head:
:I'm gonna ride a horse on the beach at dawn (sounds adventurous and sporty)
:I'm gonna '''eat''' a horse on the beach at dawn (a figure of speech?)
:I'm gonna eat a horse on the beach at '''3AM''' (occultish?)
:I'm gonna eat a horse on the '''couch''' at 3AM (lazily occultish, or worse?)
:I'm gonna eat a '''pizza''' on the couch at 3AM (not too odd, but very slobbish)

In the title text, Randall says that he likes to make his text recipient have to guess where his correction should be, and uses the following sentence and correction:
:"I'd love to meet up, maybe in a few days? Next week is looking pretty empty."
: *witchcraft
The trick here is trying to figure out which word(s) should be replaced by "witchcraft". Possible solutions suggested in the comments are:
: "I'd love to meet up, maybe in a few days? '''Witchcraft''' week is looking pretty empty."
: "I'd love to '''witchcraft''', maybe in a few days? Next week is looking pretty empty."
: "I'd love to meet up, '''witchcraft''' in a few days? Next week is looking pretty empty."
: "I'd love to meet up, maybe '''witchcraft''' a few days? Next week is looking pretty empty."

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A screenshot of a text messaging app.]
:Other user: Do you have any weekend plans?
:User of this device: I'm gonna ride a horse on the beach at dawn
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>Eat
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>3AM
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>Couch
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pizza
:[Caption below the panel]:
:I like how we can do corrections in text chat by appending words with asterisks and our brains just figure out where they go.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Phones]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Category:A Smarter Planet

2020-07-18T21:56:51Z

162.158.62.181:

Two special "{{w|Smarter Planet|A Smarter Planet}}" comics were created by Randall after a special request from {{w|IBM}}'s blog <del>[http://asmarterplanet.com/ A Smarter Planet]</del>dead link. They are not part of the regular numbered series of comics for xkcd's home site.

*They are found at <del>http://xkcd.com/asmarterplanet/</del>dead link on xkcd.com.
**From here, clicking on the two comics takes the user to the A-smarter-planet blog under:
***<del>[http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2009/06/building-a-smarter-planet-for-squirrels.html Building a Smarter Planet… for Squirrels]</del>dead link.
***<del>[http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2009/08/1998.html Smarter(?) Health Care]</del>dead link

[[Category:Comic series]]
[[Category:Extra comics]]

Talk:505: A Bunch of Rocks

2020-07-17T19:13:39Z

162.158.62.181:

;Weird thing with lines in it
Could it have something to do with time dilatation? something like "real" time vs "observed" time (my first comment, hope I did it right) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.82|108.162.241.82]] 20:49, 18 May 2017 (UTC)108.162.241.82

probably has something to do with relativity -- two objects moving, arriving at different points at the same time, or maybe a diagram of spacetime. [[Special:Contributions/66.202.132.250|66.202.132.250]] 16:44, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

It's a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feynman_diagram Feynman Diagram] [[Special:Contributions/206.174.12.203|206.174.12.203]] 19:24, 10 June 2013 (UTC) Toby Ovod-Everett

:I did add the incomplete tag because this comic and also the explain is still really complex. More important: People without a proper physics background never will understand. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:01, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

There is a short story called "SOLE SOLUTION" by Eric Frank Russell which is quite similar to the one in the story. Just in case that matters.{{unsigned|Maob}}

Re Rule 34 - the point is that this comic _is_ cellular automaton porn (as are the YouTube videos of Minecraft calculators and the like). Rule 34 works, bitches! {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.241}}

Not sure what's incomplete about the explain. [[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]]) 22:56, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Yo ''calculus'' is the latin word for pebble! I learned this and had to come straight to this page! ahhh connections! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] Sawyer Biddle

As it turns out, Rule 110 seems to be a ''really bad'' way to simulate a universe- you would be much better off using a {{w|Tag_system|Cyclic tag system}}, since Rule 110 takes dozens of generations and potentially hundreds of cells to simulate one step in such a system, or a more sophisticated cellular automaton, such as {{w|Wireworld.}} --[[User:Someone Else 37|Someone Else 37]] ([[User talk:Someone Else 37|talk]]) 05:12, 9 March 2014 (UTC)

To whoever objected to panel number references, does what I did with first words fix that? {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.99}}

Well, that's a pretty unfair comparison in the last panel, the protag is immortal after all, if I'm immortal I might do the same thing, but hey we got a much shorter life to live {{unsigned ip|103.22.201.168}}

The diagram to the right of the Epitaph of Stevinus looks like a system of coupled pendula, often used in math physics courses to illustrate Lagrangian mechanics. Also may relate to elasticity theory. See for example here: http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/ThreePendulumsConnectedByTwoSprings. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.96|108.162.221.96]] 03:23, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
:If this is true (which seems like the most probable solution so far) then what do the symbols inside the boxes represent?{{unsigned ip|108.162.216.209}}
:: Spring constants, masses, lengths, etc [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.220|108.162.221.220]] 18:11, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
::: The symbols on the top seem to be K and the bottom W. W is often used for angular momentum and K for potential energy. If you are not exactly right you are very close to being so.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:45, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:The "diagram to the right of the Epitaph of Stevinus", also described as "A weird diagram with lines in it", or "partitioning of phase space into fundamental cells", or " system of coupled pendula, often used in math physics courses to illustrate Lagrangian mechanics", can be described more literally: ''There is are two horizontal rulers with divisions 13 pixels apart and 17 pixels apart, respectively; and diagonal lines showing the correspondence between the first four markings of the upper ruler with those on the lower. The intervals seem to be labeled.'' Returning to speculation, I think this suggests an illustration of '''Length contraction (Lorentz coordinate transformation) in Special Relativity'''. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 20:22, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
:: That seems highly unlikely due to the top labels on this graph. In your explanation they can’t represent anything relevant. Also if this diagram is used to represent spatial contraction, it does not do a good job of it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:45, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
::: I imagined the labels were, top row: O', x', (2x)'; bottom row: O, x, 2x, Δv; or perhaps top row: Δx₁', Δx₂', Δx₃'; bottom row Δx₁, Δx₂, Δx₃, 0.7c. I don't think Randall put enough thought into those tiny squiggles for us to be able to use pixel-counting as a hint to which labels interpretation is more likely… but what of it? We can make up labels that fit any interpretation. I did say "Length contraction (Lorentz...)" was just ''speculation''. I do like the "four pendulums coupled by springs" idea, though the horizontals look too ruler-like to me. It might be better just to say "two horizontal ruled lines linked by some diagonals" ! [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 17:00, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:::: You are totally right, this one may always be pure speculation. Though I am pretty sure the bottom points are labeled w, the top is by no means clear. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 20:46, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
::::: I propose that we change it again, from (current text: "A depiction of length contraction, with two lines of the same length locally but different lengths as one is viewed in motion") to something like ''"A depiction of length contraction with two rulers in relative motion, or of several pendulums coupled by springs"''. Or mention the pendula idea first, I don't want to decide. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 02:20, 2 December 2014 (UTC)
:::::: Though it's in panel before that one, there's the text "and then some" referencing going beyond what we currently know in a field - could it ''possibly'' be that this is supposed to represent something we haven't derived yet? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:44, 2 December 2014 (UTC)
:Also, I'd like to point out that all three diagrams unify the theme of "working out the kinks in quantum mechanics and relativity": The first illustrates a region of the bell curve where a particle might occasionally fall if it is about to exhibit quantum tunneling; the second relates to perpetual motion, thus hinting at general questions like "does quantum mechanics or relativity allow us to violate the laws of thermodynamics in any way?", and the third is from special relativity. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 20:22, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
:: Having studied (and knowing the fundamentals about what profile is needed to create a device that performs quantum tunneling) I have never seen this graph as a representation of this, and frankly it makes no sense. If this diagram was an energy band the hole or electron would have no need to tunnel to go up or down the energy band as it is a gradual slope. If a device had a profile like this, it would not result in a significant number of tunneling events, especially at the positions that are marked on the diagram. For this to occur there would need to be a peak between the two points, and the points would need to be at similar heights (energy levels). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:06, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
::: Yes, you're right: all we know is that it's a bell curve (normal distribution), and mentioning "tunneling" might make the reader think we were saying it is a potential function. I was reading a bit much into it. Why are there two vertical dotted lines at roughly +σ and +2σ? I thought they indicated a "range" as if the graph were illustrating some discussion of things that fall within that range. I also incorrectly remembered what the Epitaph of Stevinus was about, so thanks for the corrections :-) [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 16:57, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:::: I think we could reasonably add that the function represents a probability distribution of a partial, therefore tying in the quantum aspects. with a minor explanation of the probibility of 1 and 2 sigma. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 20:46, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
::::: I do think it was okay without the extra text referencing quantum mechanics. I was just trying to find a way to relate the image to the words… but there are so many ways to relate the normal distribution to anything in science :-) [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 02:20, 2 December 2014 (UTC)

The bigger picture that's missing on this explains it that this comic seems to suggest that Cueball is God, as in being stuck in Eternity who happened to build a simulated universe, which we all live in. Seeing how he addresses the reader "So if you see a mote of dust vanish from your vision in a little flash or something I'm sorry. I must have misplaced a rock sometime in the last few billions and billions of millennia." {{[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.238|141.101.105.238]] 10:25, 12 November 2014 (UTC)}}
: I understand that English might not be your first language, but please clarify. The explanation covers Cueball being godlike. How can we add something that is already covered? Do you require further detail? Are you disagreeing with this assessment? Are you considering this observation irrelevant as your summary for your first comment "added not about Cueball being God" seems to imply? If so why?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 17:57, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
:: nm. I blatantly overlooked the exisiting sentence in the explanation. i blame the layout of this page. inline text that spans the whole available screen width is not pleasant to read on large displays ;) ...as for my English... the confusion stems from my bad keyboard/typing. it was meant to read "added notE about Cueball" for instance, or "as in A being stuck". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.233|141.101.105.233]] 08:15, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
:::you could shrink your window and display narrower lines of text(?) -- I guess it comes down to preference for masochism(?)... idunno. I think one of the most confusing parts of your question (and which may have contributed most to the ESL idea) is "missing on this explains it that...". Also, "as in being stuck" makes more sense than "as in a being stuck", though it seems you're suggesting otherwise (?) and I don't see any text mentioning added not(E) about Cueball) -- oh wait; is this a troll? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 15:14, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

Who or what is Nugui and why is it relivent.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 17:57, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

is randall not assuming that his universe (and by implication ours) is finite? if not, one iteration of the machine would still take infinite time. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.201|141.101.98.201]] 12:42, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: I think it's good enough to assume that the universe is finite, but really really huge. Hypothesizing that adding one particle to the model requires twice as many cells in the cellular automaton, that means that Cueball's cellular automata rows could be about 2^(10^80) cells long, allowing simulation of a physics system containing 10^80 particles. Of course, each planck-time would require 2^(10^80) steps of simulation in the CA. If 10^80 isn't big enough for you, then just make it 10^1000 or Graham's number, or anything finite. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 16:57, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:: Don't forget that Rule 110 has 000 -> 0. Cueball can just add columns on either side as his universe expands, consequently taking more and more time to compute steps as the number of columns increases. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.42}}

Did anyone notice that the binary numbers pointing to the particle are both 42? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.16|108.162.241.16]] 19:26, 27 November 2014 (UTC)
:I did now. :) But, somewhere, he left out the towel. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:33, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Just as a curiosity -- there is a somewhat similar concept in "Permutation City", a book by Greg Egan. {{unsigned ip|141.101.88.211}}
:And dust is probably a reference to Dust Theory: http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/PERMUTATION/FAQ/FAQ.html {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.187}}

I don't understand how it's possible to simulate a universe this way. Assuming that quantum mechanics is correct, and some forms of particle decay are truly random, wouldn't it be impossible to simulate this with a purely deterministic system? [[User:KingSupernova|KingSupernova]] ([[User talk:KingSupernova|talk]]) 15:30, 1 December 2015 (UTC)
: The universe Cueball is simulating would have to conform to [[wikipedia:Digital physics|digital physics]]. I can't speak about the fine points of quantum mechanics, but observably random events in a simulated universe could be the result of a pseudorandom number generator with a very large state. [[User:Srimech|Srimech]] ([[User talk:Srimech|talk]]) 23:37, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

This is definitely my favorite comic. I just really love it - I wish there was a book or something about it that was more in depth. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 14:32, 5 June 2016 (UTC)
:Yeah. Wow. Just... Wow. I would be so interested if this were somehow true. I just wish he could occasionally figure out how to mess with our retinas by spontaneously flipping bits in order to make us see a representation of him. That would be awesome, right? If I can make my own universe, well... I would do that. Also, I love this guy, real or not. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 16:10, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

----
I was thinking the whole "eternity in a wasteland" was just a Calvin and Hobbes type fantasy that the bored student conjured up to describe how he felt about this class. ~~ Jelsemium

This still isn't anywhere near as big as 3^^^3. Mathematicians are very good a making big ass-numbers. ~~ Schrodinger's Wolves

There should be a short story about this. Fav comic by far, and got me interested in philosophy lol --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.181|162.158.62.181]] 19:13, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

2288: Collector's Edition

2020-05-26T01:08:53Z

162.158.62.181: /* Hints */

{{comic
| number = 2288
| date = April 3, 2020
| title = Collector's Edition
| image = collectors_edition.png
| titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. The hint table needs to be completed. The mechanics should be explained more in-depth, if possible, screenshots of the hints, items in inventory, items-placing mechanics etc. should be added.}}

This was the 2020 April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but can be dragged around. This space acts as a shared virtual sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) could be collected from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updated for all viewers in real-time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to backpacks in video games containing items collected by the player. As hinted by the title text, items could be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages would have a treasure chest which contained the sticker related to the page. The hint would refer to the page which currently had a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_</nowiki>'''XXX'''.png, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom URLs, for example the periodic elements can be found at <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-</nowiki>'''XX'''.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-</nowiki>'''X'''.png, where X is the sentence.

As of April 5, chests are no longer dropped.

===Hints===

{| class="wikitable"
!Hint
!Comic
!Unlocked item
!Item image
!Notes
|-
|Doctors in a row||Maybe [[1529: Bracket]] or [[497: Secretary: Part 4]]? Need confirmation.||Cory Doctorow || [[File:2288_loot_019.png|50px]] || These comics all have the same hint, but only one will have the chest
|-
|Get out the (US) vote||[[2224: Software Updates]]|| Statue of liberty ||[[File:2288_loot_246.png|75px]]||
|-
|Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these|| [[1133: Up Goer Five]] (maybe incomplete) || Signpost || [[File:2288_loot_126.png|75px]] ||
|-
|Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]]|| ||[[File:2288_loot_228.png|50px]] or [[File:miniloot-words-dispenser.png|75px]] (maybe incomplete)||
|-
|Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cat licking laser point || [[File:2288_loot_090.png|75px]] ||
|-
|What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[28: Elefino]] (maybe incomplete)||2 + lightbulb = boat||[[File:2288_loot_185.png|75px]]||
|-
|Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]]||Exploding rock||[[File:loot_197.png|75px]]||
|-
|Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] (maybe incomplete)||Women Science Fiction Authors || [[File:loot_175.png|75px]] || [[197: Ninja Turtles]] also works
|-
|I want to believe||[[2156: Ufo]]||Ufo||[[File:loot_210.png|75px]]||
|-
|Bleeped||[[290]], [[398]], [[430]], [[447]], [[533]], [[549]], [[677]], [[724]] or [[1671]]|| *$@#! ||[[File:loot_044.png|75px]]||Comics that involve swearing
|-
|why waste time say few word when lot word do trick||[[7]], [[111]], [[139]], [[143]], [[179]], [[217]], [[445]], [[470]], [[822]], [[823]], [[1022]], [[1247]], [[1491]], [[1921]], [[1991]], [[2182]] or [[2231]]|| First Annual Award for Excellence in Being Very Smart ||[[File:loot_159.png|75px]]||
|-
|Cooler than electric scooters||[[139]], [[409]], [[577]], [[578]], [[579]], [[580]] or [[581]]||An electric skateboard||[[File:loot_006.png|75px]]||
|-
|Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] (maybe incomplete)||I am a turtle from [[889: Turtles]] || [[File:loot_095.png|75px]] ||
|-
|I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[1713: 50 ccs]] (maybe incomplete)||Man carrying parentheses from [[297: Lisp Cycles]] || [[File:loot_031.png|75px]] ||
|-
|Catch up on the news||[[1699: Local News]] (maybe incomplete)|| || ||
|-
|Participation trophy||[[2288: Collector's Edition]] (maybe incomplete)|| Server rack || [[File:loot_096.png|75px]] ||
|-
|Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[665]], [[681]], [[695]], [[1091]], [[1504]], [[1613]], [[1663]] or [[2111]]||Opportunity Mars rover from [[2111: Opportunity Rover]]||[[File:loot_161.png|75px]]||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] (maybe incomplete)||First annual award for excellence in being very smart || [[File:loot_159.png|75px]] || Need to find out the difference between this, and the entry below!
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[235]], [[396]], [[872]], [[1029]], [[1342]], [[1655]] or [[1967]]|| Pie sign ||[[File:loot_056.png|75px]]|| Published on Pi day
|-
|418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] (maybe incomplete)||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard || [[File:loot_216.png|75px]] ||
|-
|26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]]||White dove||[[File:loot_205.png|75px]]||Might also be written "September 26th, 1983". Locale dependent?
|-
|There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020||[[1071: Exoplanets]] (maybe incomplete)|| Little girl from [[2264: Satellite]] || [[File:loot_151.png|75px]] ||
|-
|asableiK||[[645: RPS]]|| A reverse Polish hotdog ||loot_079.png|| "Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
|-
|Critical mass elements||[[235: Kite]] or [[239: Blagofaire]]|| ||loot_203.png||
|-
|Some Februarys are more equal than others||[[390: Nightmares]]? (maybe incomplete)|| Cueball wheelie from [[272: Linux User at Best Buy]] || loot_036.png || Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.
|-
|Five spice||[[1511: Spice Girl]] or [[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist ||loot_022.png||
|-
|Call the plumber||[[290: Fucking Blue Shells]] (maybe incomplete)|| || loot_058.png ||
|-
|Was it a rat I saw?||[[1632: Palindrome]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cueball with a large sack, pulling a wagon || loot_103.png || or [[1503: Squirrel Plan]] for cueball holding a balloon caught in a ceiling fan.
|-
|Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[1148: Nothing to Offer]]|| Bottle of soda ||loot_045.png||
|-
|Keep coming back|| || || ||
|-
|A new model released each year||Triggered by visiting all xkcd phone comics in order|| Phone screaming "Noooo" || loot_235.png ||
|-
|Tea Time||Maybe [[581: The Race: Part 5]]? Need confirmation.||All our tea ||loot_232.png||
|-
|Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]]||Two Tetris blocks||loot_092.png||
|-
|Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] (maybe incomplete)|| Hilbert Curve || loot_021.png ||
|-
|Science fiction fetish||[[1585: Similarities]]|| ||loot_202.png||
|-
|The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]] (maybe incomplete)||Falling feather / Sign "The uncomfortable truths well" || loot_250.png / loot_067.png ||
|-
|It's up to over 260 million cycles!||[[1941: Dying Gift]]|| Megan on a tire swing ||loot_127.png||
|-
|Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though||[[2233: Aurora Meaning]] (maybe incomplete)|| Sleeping Cat || loot_163.png ||
|-
|On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid||[[1530: Keyboard Mash]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cobwebbed frame from [[1135: Arachnoneurology]]|| loot_191.png ||
|-
|Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] (maybe incomplete)||Rice bowl || loot_152.png ||
|-
|Never going to give you up||[[351]], [[389]], [[396]], [[524]], [[573]], [[609]], [[802]], [[1212]], [[1757]] or [[1981]]|| Cueball in car listening to music ||loot_010.png||
|-
|If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]], [[227: Color Codes]]? (maybe incomplete)|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If || loot_247.png ||
|-
|An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1021]], [[1032]], [[1117]], [[1293]], [[1493]], [[1533]], [[1772]], [[1812]], [[1871]], [[1903]], [[1997]], [[2140]], [[2209]] or [[2277]]|| Beret guy with a goat on leash ||loot_115.png||
|-
|Read the fine manual||[[293]], [[434]], [[456]], [[912]], [[1343]] or [[1692]]|| ||Multiple: loot_106.png, miniloot-words-hair.png, miniloot-words-ominous.png, miniloot-words-eruption.png, miniloot-words-flying.png or miniloot-words-ghost.png (maybe incomplete)||
|-
|That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] (maybe incomplete)|| Floating tentacled alien || loot_209.png ||
|-
|Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]] (maybe incomplete)||Expensive bottle || loot_253.png ||
|-
|You don't have to find all 99||[[121: Balloon]] (maybe incomplete)||Balloon copter || loot_002.png || Or [[51: Malaria]] ?
|-
|Going in circles||[[378: Real Programmers]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cueball spinning in desk chair || loot_098.png ||
|-
|Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[37]], [[53]], [[60]], [[75]], [[79]], [[148]], [[168]], [[174]], [[236]], [[259]], [[287]], [[296]], [[326]], [[331]], [[389]], [[437]], [[451]], [[559]], [[590]], [[605]], [[687]], [[719]], [[733]], [[790]], [[845]], [[966]], [[1004]], [[1119]], [[1145]], [[1169]], [[1208]], [[1278]], [[1304]], [[1329]], [[1340]], [[1355]], [[1405]], [[1480]], [[1546]], [[1598]], [[1677]], [[1697]], [[1705]], [[1788]], [[1795]], [[1960]], [[1995]], [[2032]], [[2123]], [[2208]] or [[2252]]||Phishing License sign||loot_158.png||Mostly comics that include "My hobby:"
|-
|It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] or [[1729: Migrating Geese]]||DUCKLOOP'D?||loot_069.png||
|-
|Fool me twice||Maybe [[880: Headache]]? Need confirmation.|| Raptor Attack || loot_033.png ||The second April fools' comic
|-
|oOOOoooo||Maybe [[316: Loud Sex]]? Need confirmation.|| Sleeping cat || ||
|-
|Maybe we can ask for new wishes||[[879: Lamp]]||Genie and his bottle||loot_004.png||If you place the genie last, you get another genie (indefinitely) - Needs verification, this may also just be a bug!
|-
|HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] (maybe incomplete)|| Crash and Burn in the pool from the end of ''Hackers'' || loot_130.png ||
|-
|Monetization haute couteur||[[20]], [[23]], [[55]], [[123]], [[149]], [[150]], [[162]], [[208]], [[231]], [[242]], [[256]], [[273]], [[285]], [[303]], [[327]], [[377]], [[386]], [[420]], [[435]], [[442]], [[482]], [[505]], [[552]], [[556]], [[585]], [[614]], [[627]], [[657]], [[681]], [[688]], [[705]], [[710]], [[802]], [[821]], [[980]], [[1033]], [[1040]], [[1079]], [[1127]], [[1133]], [[1196]], [[1298]] or [[1428]] (maybe false positives)||Two bags of money ||loot_162.png||
|-
|Maybe writing a script would help||[[1319: Automation]]|| ||miniloot-words-eater.png (maybe incomplete)||
|-
|Go big to go small||[[1365: Inflation]]|| ||loot_245.png||
|-
|Are you projecting||[[850]], [[977]], [[1500]], [[1784]], [[1799]], [[2242]] or [[2256]]||Squirrel on a gun||loot_237.png||
|-
|Do spiders really have six legs||[[8]], [[43]], [[126]], [[427]], [[442]] or [[1110]]|| ||loot_007.png||
|-
|Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?||[[1688: Map Age Guide]]||Cephalopod||loot_071.png||
|-
|Another rulebook?||[[393: Ultimate Game]]|| Merlin in a chair from [[270: Merlin]] ||loot_037.png||
|-
|Moooooon||[[482]], [[681]], [[1276]], [[1291]], [[1300]], [[1389]], [[1458]], [[1515]], [[1633]], [[1738]], [[1878]] or [[2258]]|| MOOOOOON ||loot_192.png||
|-
|Take a flight from LOL to FFS||[[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]]|| ||loot_049.png||
|-
|Everyone deserves a second chnace||All comics searched, no matches|| || ||The misspelling is intentional. [[745: Dyslexics]] would have been a good fit
|-
|Community contribution||[[822]], [[823]], [[824]], [[825]], [[826]]|| [Citation Needed] protester from [[285: Wikipedian Protester]] || loot_035.png ||
|-
|On the other side of the wardrobe||[[665: Prudence]], [[969: Delta-P]] or [[2218: Wardrobe]] (maybe incomplete)||Authentic Reindeer pulling sled from [[1776: Reindeer]] || loot_154.png ||
|-
|Today's your lucky day||[[1053: Ten Thousand]] (maybe incomplete)|| Ms. Frizzle || loot_105.png ||
|-
|[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]||[[1005: SOPA]]|| ||loot_038.png||
|-
|Try a different approach||[[55: Useless]] (maybe incomplete)|| Equals sign ||loot_times.png or loot_div.png (maybe incomplete)||
|-
|The cake is a lie!||[[606: Cutting Edge]]|| Cake ||loot_144.png||
|-
|Joanna, fire.||[[322: Pix Plz]]|| Joanna with EMP cannon ||loot_026.png||
|-
|Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks|| [[965: Elements]] || Symposium || ||
|-
|90KG x 300M||[[382: Trebuchet]]|| Trebuchet ||loot_041.png||
|-
|Copyright Enforcement Brigade||[[344: 1337: Part 4]]|| ||loot_046.png||
|-
|Where Cape Town meets Chukotka||[[1500: Upside-Down Map]]|| Crater ||loot_128.png||
|-
|Take a ride in a barrel||View all five barrel comics in reverse order ([[31]], [[25]], [[22]], [[11]], [[1]])|| Cueball at the door to the playpen-ball-filled apartment from [[150: Grownups]] || loot_005.png ||
|-
|Compiling...||[[303: Compiling]]|| ||loot_030.png||
|-
| || [[2288: Collector's Edition]] || Sheeple eye || loot_109.png ||
|-
| || [[2288: Collector's Edition]] || Time machine from [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] || loot_167.png ||
|}

[[File:2288_full.png]]

==Trivia==
* This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic and was supposed to be released Wednesday, April 1st, but did not go live until Friday, April 3. (Friday's comic, [[2289: Scenario 4]], was published a day later for a [[2289: Scenario 4#Trivia|very rare Saturday release]].) However, the message below was displayed on the top of the page from Wednesday until the comic finally went live:
<blockquote>
Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
</blockquote>
* This is one of the few comics released four days after the previous one. The last time this occurred was [[2224: Software Updates]].
* Placement is limited to 10,000 horizontal units and 5,000 vertical units from the origin. Users received no messages if they try placing something outside the boundary, with a silent fail with the object not being placed.
* Coordinates are relative to the bottom left corner of the canvas. As the default coordinates are (-370,-277) and the origin is in the center, the displayed portion of the canvas can be found to be twice this in magnitude, 740 x 544 units.
* The comic contains 32993 separate images.
* The most common image is loot-30.png, which appears 2576 times.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]
:[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

Talk:2307: Alive Or Not

2020-05-18T16:46:43Z

162.158.62.181:

I'm pretty sure high-pressure fire hoses belong on this scale[[User:60sRefugee|60sRefugee]] ([[User talk:60sRefugee|talk]]) 21:47, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
:What about wacky waving inflatable tube guy? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.124|172.68.38.124]] 00:41, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Funny, for once viruses are said to be alive. That's new... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 22:01, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
:Definitely new, and extremely angering! I could scream... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.30|172.68.143.30]] 22:47, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
::Jup. The nex disgusting piece of antiscience after Wednesday´s nonsense about handwashing helping against respirational diseases. I think Monroe has caught a bug from Potus Donald. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.33|141.101.69.33]] 07:44, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Do we want to bicker over the placement of the line (like "Why is it below viruses"), or the order things are placed in (like "Why are slime molds below plants")? [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 22:06, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
: Oh, go on. If you insist. You go first, unless you already have. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.31|162.158.154.31]] 22:46, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
: Seconded, I'm most interested which criterion (even a numeric one, as the diagram is suggestive of) Randall used. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.163|162.158.158.163]] 09:43, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

True fossils have remineralised so generally do not have DNA left. They are merely the shadow of a previous life.
: So fossils are closer to "Rocks with Faces," well, for the ancient vertebrate fossils anyway? [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 15:36, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Surprised no one has noticed the typo yet. It's 'archaea', not 'archea'
:(Sign yourself(/ves), "True fossils" and "Surprised"?) I disagree. It's 'archæa'... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.31|162.158.154.31]] 22:46, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

Poor English and a mistake. It should say...
"...discussion about *whether* virus*es* are alive."
Also the (covid for starters) is wrong. Covid19 is the disease caused by the virus (as mentioned in the line above) not the virus itself

I am disappointed that sponges are not mentioned as an example of weird animals. I mean, come on, way weirder than jellyfish. But it is good that viruses get the recognition they deserve.[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 13:34, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

When looking at viruses, I consider them made of the things of life (proteins, lipids, nucleic acids), but are not actually alive as they have no metabolism and can not reproduce on their own; they need to co-opt the protein production facility of truly living cells in order to reproduce. Without a host, they just sit there (or maybe blow around on the wind). Also without metabolism, they can not starve to death, like bacteria and other single-cell organisms that get into the wrong environment. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 15:36, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Well, this raises the question where the sun (or any main sequence star) fall on this list. Is it just a really big thermonuclear fire?

This is not a COVID-19 comic. Just because it is biology-related, doesn't make it a COVID-19 comic. I have removed it from the category and its mention in the explanation.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 07:33, 17 May 2020 (UTC)
:Of course it is. The whole idea about this comic is to spark the discussion if Virus (covid) is alive or not. I put it back. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:59, 17 May 2020 (UTC)
::I fully disagree, this comic could have been published in previous years. This is only tangentially related to COVID-19, and is a general discussion about "life". Viruses are only barely mentioned in this comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 23:26, 17 May 2020 (UTC)
:::Agree it shouldn't be classified as COVID-19, but then there's a bunch of others that should be removed from the category: 2278, 2283, 2289, 2292, 2293.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.78|141.101.107.78]] 08:34, 18 May 2020 (UTC)
:::I wouldn't consider this comic about COVID-19, either. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:49, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Somewhat disappointed that he didn't include any fictional items such as golems. For that matter, where to place Alexa? [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 10:51, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

I’m surprised this doesn’t include Schrödinger’s Cat at the origin. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.77|162.158.91.77]] 14:53, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Missed joke opportunity: which type of cloud? because one type of cloud has AI in it..

2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-13T19:35:15Z

162.158.62.181: /* Transcript */ Edit to reference the game of life earlier, as it's apparent from the second frame onward. Use shorter sentences with fewer clauses to clarify

{{comic
| number = 2293
| date = April 13, 2020
| title = RIP John Conway
| image = rip_john_conway.gif
| titletext = 1937-2020
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GLIDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|John Horton Conway|John Conway}}, an English mathematician, passed away of {{w|COVID-19}} two days before this comic's release. As such, [[Randall]] created this memorial comic. One of Conway's most famous creations was {{w|Conway's Game of Life}}, which consists of an infinite square grid and rules of how it changes over time. Although the rules are simple, the system supports immense complexity.

The Game of Life proceeds in a series of generations, with ''live'' and ''dead'' cells in each generation obeying these rules:
*Any live cell (dark colored) with two or three live neighbors survives to the next generation.
*Any dead cell (white) with three live neighbors becomes a live cell in the next generation.
*All other live cells die in the next generation. Similarly, all other dead cells stay dead.

This comic begins with the shape of a stick figure as the starting configuration, which then evolves according to the rules of the Game of Life. The pattern breaks into three parts, two of which stay at the same level as the original figure's feet before rapidly melting away, and a third (called a "glider") that ascends up and to the right. Randall may be suggesting a soul breaking away from the rapidly disintegrating corporeal remains here.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A pixelated image of a stick figure. The image is animated, with the pixels changing according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life. The figure splits into two groups, one of which dissipates. The other becomes a 'glider' and moves off to the top-right corner of the image before repeating the animation.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tribute]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-13T19:32:45Z

162.158.62.181:

This is really very impressive. The design of the stick figure to allow it to release a glider that ascends upwards (the "soul" rising to "heaven" or whatever) with the body decaying - that's a hard thing to get right using just the Game of Life rules. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.175|172.69.68.175]] 17:49, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Although Randall is clever, the Game of Life has been studied for so long that I'm sure this is a well-known animation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:: I played with the game a bunch in the past, but I've only done a bit of research after this appeared. I don't immediately find any previous report of this starting arrangement

was there a placeholder comic posted before the gif went live?

Talk:2210: College Athletes

2019-10-02T12:47:52Z

162.158.62.181:

This was posted ''way'' earlier than usual. Still technically Wednesday 00:02 UTC, but usual posting is mid-late afternoon UTC. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 01:00, 2 October 2019 (UTC)
:I noticed that too. That's really weird... I wonder what caused it? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.244|172.68.211.244]] 06:14, 2 October 2019 (UTC)
::It happens from time to time. See e.g. discussion of [[2188:_E_Scooters]]. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:56, 2 October 2019 (UTC)
Note that the joke about how to pluralize names ("Steph Currys" vs. "Stephs Curry") is also present in "How to win an election" in the "How to" book. There it's in the form of "Bob Caseys" vs. "Bobs Casey". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.221|162.158.91.221]] 07:53, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

So glad this site exists! I came here thinking the explanation would be about how to cook curry :-)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.185|141.101.99.185]] 11:28, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

I don't think 'signature play' was an intentional pun on the signature (aka type) of a function, but great catch. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.181|162.158.62.181]] 12:47, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

2210: College Athletes

2019-10-02T12:42:58Z

162.158.62.181: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2210
| date = October 2, 2019
| title = College Athletes
| image = college_athletes.png
| titletext = Their signature play is the three-point combinator, a recursive offense which is guaranteed not to halt and continues accumulating points until the buzzer.
}}

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

The comic is about the [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB206 California Fair Pay to Play act], which was signed into law on September 30, 2019. It gives college athletes the rights to their name and face for financial gain, in contrast to NCAA rules which require that athletes be unpaid.

In this comic, Cueball claims that all members of his college basketball team changed their name to Steph Curry, after the NBA Player of the same name. In particular, one player copied the name from the NBA player, then another member of the team copied the name from that player, and so on.

This process is called "Currying", a play on both the name "Curry" used here, as well as the mathematical procedure called {{w|currying}}, named after mathematician Haskell Curry, wherein a multivariable function is broken down into a sequence of single-variable functions, each of which outputs a new function until the final variable is consumed. For example, the function f(x,y,z) can be curried into f(x)(y)(z), where f is a function that consumes x and produces a function f(x), which in turn consumes y, yielding the function f(x)(y), and that in turn is a function f(x)(y) which consumes the parameter z to finally produce f(x)(y)(z), which is equal to the original f(x,y,z). This is not commonly used in most areas of math except for foundational logic, but it is widely used in functional programming.

White Hat’s question regarding the form ‘''Stephs Curry''’ is referring to the pluralization of phrases where a noun is followed by a modifier of some sort, such as ''attorneys general'', ''parts unknown'', ''heirs apparent'', ''mothers-in-law'', and so on. In these cases, plurals are formed by pluralizing the noun parts of the phrases; however, some of these are rare or foreign enough that speakers of English don't always identify them correctly and pluralize the last word instead, e.g. *''attorney generals''.

The title text is a computer science joke, saying that their signature play is the "three-point combinator", a joke on the {{w|Three-point_play|three-point play}} in basketball, and Y Combinator, which is a {{w|Fixed-point_combinator#Y_combinator|fixed-point combinator}} introduced by Haskell Curry, recursive ([https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=recursion see: recursion]) and does not halt (see: the {{w|Halting_problem|Halting Problem}}). "Signature play" may also be a play on words, as currying transforms a {{w|Type_signature#Method_signature|method signature}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, Ponytail and White Hat are having a conversation. Ponytail is checking her phone.]
:Ponytail: Oh, huh. California passed a law giving college athletes full rights to their names and images.
:White Hat: Good, I think?

:[Cueball holds his hand up in a fist, while Ponytail, holding her phone down, and White hat looks at him.]
:Cueball: That's nothing. '''''Our''''' state gave college players rights to use the names and images of '''''any''''' California athletes.
:Ponytail: It did not.

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball holds his hands out, Ponytails phone is gone and White Hat puts a hand to his chin.]
:Cueball: Sure it did!
:Cueball: That's how our school fielded a basketball team made up entirely of Steph Currys.
:White Hat: Or is the plural "Stephs Curry"?

:[Cueball holds both hands up in front of him. Ponytail has her arms down but she is balling her hands into fists.]
:Cueball: They didn't all copy the original Steph, though. One player got the rights to his name, then the next player got it from them, and so on.
:Cueball: This process is known as "currying".
:Ponytail: ...I hate you so much.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Basketball]]