explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling

2021-04-15T04:18:31Z

162.158.62.233:

That third line down in the cartoon, shouldn't the first 2 be a 1? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 02:56, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:Plus, should they really be going to a movie during their two weeks? [[User:NixillUmbreon|NixillUmbreon]] ([[User talk:NixillUmbreon|talk]]) 03:20, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:Third line down may have gotten a spoiled batch on their second shot (or could be lying, thereby creating errors the schedule), but it does look to me like a typo. NixellUmbreon correctly notes that Third Line also does ''not'' wait the requisite period after 2nd dose before going to a movie!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 03:50, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

It seems unfair to attend any birthdays this year, considering how many could not be attended. Bobby gets a party but Susie doesn't? Hmm... Time is cruel.

Also, unrelated, but it's entirely possible that Lines 1, 2, 5, 7 & 8 are scheduling to gather on ''Line 3's'' birthday, while 3 isn't vaccinated yet.

''Edit:'' Also, also, what is a chungus? (I don't come to explainxkcd because I want to search random words on DuckDuckGo...)
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 03:50, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:according to dictionary.com, “Chungus is a meme featuring a chunky version of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, typically captioned Big Chungus. It began as gaming joke that spread online as a slang term for anything ‘(adorably) chunky,’ similar to chonky.“ (which begs the question, what does that have to do with the explanation of this comic being written by a “big chungus”)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.233|162.158.62.233]] 04:18, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

1584: Moments of Inspiration

2020-08-03T04:16:11Z

162.158.62.233: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1584
| date = September 30, 2015
| title = Moments of Inspiration
| image = moments_of_inspiration.png
| titletext = Charles, I just talked to John and Mildred, who run that company selling seeds and nuts, and their kids with MOUTHS are starving!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Isaac Newton}}'s original examples describing the {{w|Newton's law of universal gravitation|force of gravity}} show an apple falling from a tree in order to explain why the apple falls toward the Earth, instead of the Earth falling toward the apple. He is often said to have been inspired by watching {{w|Isaac_Newton#Apple_incident|falling apple}}s; in common folklore this developed into the legend that he was actually ''struck'' by an apple. The first part of this comic retells that famous legend. The later panels depict similar (but more and more implausible) legends that could emerge if we were to assume that other scientists' most famous examples and discoveries were based on actually observing some mundane everyday event taking place.

In the first situation we not only see the apple fall on Newton's head, we also see the Moon. This was one of the first astronomical objects on which he used his theory of gravity. He calculated its orbit around the Earth and found that it fit with the theory.

In the second situation Cueball throws a baseball towards {{w|Lise Meitner}}, but when she fails to catch the ball it hits one of her porcelain model-atoms. In this way Meitner discovered a way to split the atom. Cueball may represent {{w|Otto Hahn}}, since they were part of the Hahn-Meitner-Strassmann team that worked on this problem. Hahn was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, where Meitner was overlooked. Throwing something at someone and asking them to [http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/think-fast-throwing-something.1984437/ think fast] is a common "joke", where the receiver rarely has a chance to actually catch the object. But in this case it could also be a reference to the fact that she then thought fast then made a major discovery. Or if it is Hahn, then he thought faster and got the award instead of her. The porcelain models might also be a reference to {{w|Meissen porcelain}}, in German called "Meißner Porzellan", where "Meißner" is phonetically very similar to "Meitner". (Meitner has previously been mentioned in the comic [[896: Marie Curie]], which more or less explains why [[Randall]] did not choose the more famous {{w|Marie Curie}} as the female example in this comic. Meitner is not very well known in the public, compared to the three men or Curie, but this may exactly be the point for choosing her. She should have been just as famous considering what splitting the atoms has been {{w|Nuclear power|leading}} {{w|Nuclear weapon|to}}!) Also, there's not much in Marie's story that could be put down to fanciful anecdote. "All" she did was extract a few chemicals and study their properties.

In the third situation it is indicated that half of {{w|Charles Darwin}}'s children had {{w|beaks}}, a property not normally found in human children. This would make it very difficult for them to drink soda from a glass or through a straw, compared to his normal children with mouths. Based on this assumption he developed his ideas about natural selection and {{w|evolution}}. The comic is unclear on whether this makes them more or less fit to survive and reproduce. This is a reference to Darwin's initial findings on the {{w|HMS Beagle}} on how {{w|Galapagos}} {{w|finches}} with differently shaped beaks are better suited for specific types of food, and therefore are better selected for in environments where those foods are available. The title text furthers this, see below. Darwin later in life feared that having married his cousin since their {{w|consanguinity}} would increase the risk that {{w|Charles_Darwin#Children|his children}} would be born with birth defects (although he did not fear that they would be born with beaks). The difficulty caused by beaks when drinking liquids could be a reference to the Aesop's fable ''{{w|The Fox and the Stork}}''.

In the fourth situation {{w|Albert Einstein}} remarks to a man that it's annoying that the man's twin brother keeps flashing a light from a train when Einstein is trying to check his clock. He then comes to a sudden revelation. This references several of Einstein's (separate—it makes little sense together in this manner) thought experiments on {{w|special relativity}}, such as the {{w|twin paradox}} (the twin on the train should be younger after decelerating to a stop), a clock built from a beam of light, the {{w|time dilation}} experienced by the observer in the moving {{w|frame of reference}}, and the various constructs involving {{w|Einstein's thought experiments#Trains, embankments, and lightning flashes|trains and light(ning) flashes}} used to illustrate the {{w|relativity of simultaneity}}.

In the title text there is a description of how beaks rather than mouths are more useful when the foods have shells that need to be cracked open like nuts and seeds. Here it is clear that in the John and Mildred family you starve if you cannot eat the bird food, and thus it would be an advantage to have a beak for survival instead of a normal mouth. "John" and "Mildred" may be Mildred and {{w|John T. Scopes}} of the famous 1925 "{{w|Scopes Trial|monkey trial}}" in which John was fined $100 for teaching evolution in a Tennessee school.

==Trivia==
This comic appeared on xkcd's ten-year anniversary

==Transcript==
:[Isaac Newton, with curly long hair, sits under a tree. A waning crescent moon can be seen. An apple falls and hits him on the head. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Isaac Newton
:Apple falling: Bonk
:Isaac Newton: ''Ow!''

:[Isaac Newton rubs his sore head.]
:Isaac Newton: Aha!

:[Cueball throws a baseball towards Lise Meitner with short dark hair. (The ball can be seen in the next frame). She turns towards him too late to react and completely fails to even try catching the ball. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Lise Meitner
:Cueball: Hey Lise! Think fast!
:Ball hitting something (off-screen): Crash

:[Lise takes her hands to her mouth and she watches the broken porcelain atom lying in two pieces on the floor where it has fallen of a desk. On the desk three other intact atoms can be seen. The baseball lies behind her.]
:Lise Meitner: Oh no! My collection of porcelain atoms!
:Lise Meitner:...Hmm.

:[Four kids are standing in front of Megan and Charles Darwin (with a big beard and hair behind the ears). All the kids are trying to drink a glass of soda with a straw in them. The first kid is a boy with dark flat hair and sips soda through the straw with his mouth. The next kid is a boy with standing black hair, he tries in wain to drink with his beak open on each side of the glass. The third kid is a girl with her hair in a bun. She tries to get her beak into the glass which she has put on the floor. The last kid is a boy version of Cueball who slurps his soda through the straw. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Charles Darwin
:Megan: I gave our kids soda, but the ones with beaks always have trouble drinking it.
:Charles Darwin: I've noticed that...
:Boy with flat dark hair: Sip sip
:Boy with standing black hair and a beak: Crunch
:Girl with her hair in a bun and a beak: Peck peck
:Cueball like kid: Sluurp

:[A hairy guy is standing in front of Albert Einstein (with wild hair and a moustache), who is holding one hand to his head and has a clock in his other hand. Behind them is a train, with a locomotive at the front and a wagon behind that stretches beyond the frame. Another hairy guy has his head out of the front window of the wagon and is flashing a light towards the other two. In the next three windows can be seen passengers, two with Cueball like heads and one with hair. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Albert Einstein
:Albert Einstein: I wish your twin brother would stop shining lights at us from that train. I can barely see my clock!
:Albert Einstein: ...Wait!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2332: Cursed Chair

2020-07-14T19:27:14Z

162.158.62.233:

{{comic
| number = 2332
| date = July 13, 2020
| title = Cursed Chair
| image = cursed_chair.png
| titletext = The Wirecutter staff called the Herman Miller Siege Perilous "the most cursed product we've ever had to fight" and "nearly as immortal as it boasts."
}}

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

[[Beret Guy]] informs [[Cueball]] that he purchased a cursed office chair. Cueball is skeptical of this, and of Beret Guy's claim that the store he bought the chair from was gone when he went to return it. Cueball suggests that maybe the shop was simply closed due to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, as is the case for wide variety of non-cursed businesses {{Citation needed}}. Beret Guy takes this as proof that the chair somehow caused the pandemic, a claim Cueball meets incredulously. In the final panel, Beret Guy is doing battle with the chair, which taunts him and claims to be immortal ("''I cannot die''"). Cueball remarks that it would be simpler to shop at {{w|IKEA}}, a store famous for its minimalist flat-pack furniture, and which does not sell cursed items{{Citation needed}} (although they ''do'' sell "[[2024: Light Hacks|miniature Dyson spheres]]").

The cursed chair and the boarded-up store are references to the stores that sell cursed items mentioned in [[1772: Startup Opportunity]].

Buying an item from a shop you never noticed before, bringing it home, discovering it is cursed, and trying to return it only to discover the shop isn't there anymore is a popular trope. See https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday

In the title text, the {{w|Siege Perilous}} is the empty seat at the Round Table in Arthurian legend, reserved by Merlin for the knight who would find the {{w|Holy Grail}} (who turns out to be Sir {{w|Galahad}}) and fatal to anyone else who sits in it. {{w|Herman Miller (manufacturer)|Herman Miller}} is an American office furniture company that produced the {{w|Aeron chair}}, which is the basis for [https://www.instagram.com/blantonmuseum/p/BCYaKA4GLrg/ an artwork] by {{w|Glenn Kaino}} called ''The Siege Perilous''. {{w|Wirecutter (website)|''Wirecutter''}} is a website that evaluates and recommends consumer products. From the title text, it sounds like (in the xkcd universe) Wirecutter is used to encountering cursed products, so they didn't even bother trying to sit in it to test the Siege Perilous's perilousness (er, ''peril'') before they started fighting it -- and emerged victorious, if it's {{tvtropes|OnlyMostlyDead|only ''nearly'' as immortal}} as it boasts.

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

:[Beret Guy and Cueball are talking.]
:Beret Guy: Remember how I bought my desk chair from that mysterious shop?
:Cueball: I think so?
:Beret Guy: Turns out the chair was cursed.

:Beret Guy: So I went back to return it, but the shop was gone! The door was boarded up!
:Cueball: I think most of the shops are closed because of coronavirus.

:[Panel of just Beret Guy.]
:Beret Guy: Oh no!
:Beret Guy: ''The curse must have caused the pandemic!
:Cueball (off-panel): What.

:[Beret Guy starts running with a raised sword in a frameless panel.]
:Beret Guy: If I destroy the chair, we can stop the virus!
:Cueball: What.

:[Beret Guy is chasing a floating desk chair.]
:Beret Guy: ''Die, plague-bringer!''
:Desk chair: Hee Hee I can not die
:Cueball: Maybe you should just shop at IKEA.

==Trivia==

* The image of the comic was initially [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/c/c7/20200713233616%21cursed_chair.png extremely very pixelated]. This was soon fixed.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:2313: Wrong Times Table

2020-05-29T21:42:40Z

162.158.62.233:

Such an illogical table. Smaller numbers multiply to larger answers than larger numbers? Even numbers multiply to odd numbers?! How?!?! What sort of illiterate alien declared this to be the multiplication table?! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 20:54, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

This is easily one of the worst XKCD comics, period. Not funny, nor clever. Just seems like noise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.183|172.69.68.183]] 20:57, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
:I suspect Randall may have just been feeling random, perhaps after several months of mostly Coronavirus-related comics. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:13, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
:I relate to certain mathematical facts not sounding right, like how 54 intuitively feels like it's divisible by 4. Nonsensical, but makes sense anyway. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.233|162.158.62.233]] 21:42, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
::That's fair, I'm being a bit harsh, but this just comes across as exceptionally meaningless and contrived, so much so that I felt the need to come here and comment immediately for the first time ever [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.56|172.69.71.56]] 21:18, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

This seems like the multiplication equivalent of looking at a word and thinking it is spelled incorrectly. Sometimes I look at a simple word like "fish" and think: "That can't be right." Sometimes multiplication can feel that way, particularly 7's because those were tricky for some reason. The alt text confirms fishiness with 7's [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.173|108.162.246.173]] 21:09, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
:Is it weird that I ''don't'' get this? I have this sense of "that is obviously wrong" when it comes to multiplication of small numbers like these, even with sevens and eights. If I read that 7 * 8 = 54, my brain screams "NOOOOOOOOO IT IS 56 YOU IDIOT!". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 21:14, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Well, 2,2 that's actually 2^3=8. 2,3 is addition instead of multiplication. 1,2 is division instead of multiplication. 1,1 is subtraction. 10,10 seems to be a visual gag, though most of the 10s row is either multiplication by 11 or 12... There's some logic to some of these, but it's different for each row, column, or cell. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.167|162.158.74.167]] 21:13, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, there is something going on. It looks like a lot of it is remembering the correct answer to a different problem. By my count 55 squares are the correct answer to a square next to it and 27 have a correct answer for somewhere else on the grid. Also, 2*2, 4*4 and 5*5 are double the correct answer.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.76|108.162.245.76]] 21:41, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

2034: Equations

2020-05-27T04:24:11Z

162.158.62.233: Sorry, but sans-serif font doesn't work with TeX math.

{{comic
| number = 2034
| date = August 17, 2018
| title = Equations
| image = equations.png
| titletext = All electromagnetic equations: The same as all fluid dynamics equations, but with the 8 and 23 replaced with the permittivity and permeability of free space, respectively.
}}
==Explanation==

This comic gives a set of mock equations. To anyone not familiar with the field in question they look pretty similar to what you might find in research papers or on the relevant Wikipedia pages. Most of the jokes are related to the symbols or "look" of most equations in the given field.

The comic makes jokes about the fields of kinematics, number theory, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics, chemistry, quantum gravity, gauge theory, cosmology, and physics equations. Of course, all of the equations listed are not real equations (<math>\pi-\infty</math> and H2EAT are clearly jokes and making a mockery of the given field). As always, Randall is just having a laugh.

:<math>E=K_{0}t+\frac{1}{2}\rho{}vt^2</math>
;All kinematics equations
Most kinematics equations tend to make heavy use of constants, addition, powers, and multiplication. This specific equation resembles the actual kinematics equation d = vt + 1/2at^2, but replaces a (acceleration) with v (velocity) times <math>\rho{}</math> (density) and replaces velocity with "K0", which is not a term used in kinematics.

:<math>K_{n}=\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{\pi=0}^{\infty}(n-\pi)(i+e^{\pi-\infty})</math>
;All number theory equations
Randall jokes about how number theory often involves the use of summations. The use of ''π'' as an integer variable in the double summation is a joke, as ''π'' is essentially always used for the well-known constant 3.14159..., not a variable. The use of ''i'' as a summation variable '''is''' common, though it can also be confused with the imaginary unit √-1. The constants ''e'', ''i'', and ''π'', as well as the theoretical upper bound <math>\infty</math>, often appear in number theory equations.

:<math>\frac{\partial}{\partial{t}}\nabla\!\cdot\!\rho=\frac{8}{23}\int\!\!\!\!\int\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\subset\!\!\supset\rho\,{ds}\,{dt}\cdot{}\rho\frac{\partial}{\partial\nabla}</math>
;All fluid dynamics equations
Fluid dynamics equations often involve copious integrals, especially those over closed contours as done here, which are often the main telling factors of those equations to an outsider. The time derivative and gradient operator <math>\nabla</math> are common in fluid dynamics, mostly via the Navier-Stokes equation, and the fluid density <math>\rho</math> is one of the functions of central importance. The fraction 8/23 is a comically weird choice, but various unexpected fractions do pop up in fluid dynamics. The ds and dt go with the double contour integral (s is probably distance, t is time), but the derivative with respect to <math>\nabla</math> at the end is very much not allowed.

:<math>|\psi_{x,y}\rangle=A(\psi)A(|x\rangle\otimes|y\rangle)</math>
;All quantum mechanics equations
Quantum mechanics often involves some of the foreign-looking symbols listed, including {{w|Bra–ket notation|bra-ket notation}}, the {{w|Tensor product|tensor product}}, and the Greek letter Psi for a quantum state. Specifically, the left side of the equation is a ket state labeled Psi that depends on x and y (probably positions), while the right-hand side may be an operator A that depends on the state Psi (it is very unusual to have such a dependence) acting on what looks like another copy of that operator which depends on the outer product of states labeled by x and y (again strange). A charitable interpretation could be that the second A is the eigenfunction A of the operator A. Normally this is clearly indicated by giving the operator a “hat” (^ symbol) or making the eigenfunction into a ket eigenstate, but since the equation is intentionally nonsense both A’s are left ambiguous. Also note that the bra-ket math is inconsistent here, as the left side is a ket, but the right side is just two A’s, which are either operators or functions but are definitely not kets.

:<math>CH_4+OH+HEAT\rightarrow{}H_2O+CH_{2}+H_2EAT</math>
;All chemistry equations
Chemistry equations use formulas of chemical compounds to describe a chemical reaction. Such equations show the starting chemicals on the left side and the resulting products on the right side, as displayed. Sometimes such an equation might optionally indicate that an {{w|activation energy}} is required, for the reaction to take place in a sensible timeframe, e.g. by heating. A reaction requiring heating is usually indicated by a Greek capital letter Delta (''Δ'') or a specified temperature above the reaction arrow, however this comic uses the "+ HEAT" term on the left side instead. The joke is that Randall interprets "HEAT" to be another chemical, which reacts with Hydrogen (H) to H2EAT, which is nonsensical, as heat is transferred energy here, not added matter. Regardless of this, Randall gets the {{w|stoichiometry}} of this equation correct, with the same number of all types of 'atoms' on each side of the equation.

:<math>SU(2)U(1)\times{}SU(U(2))</math>
;All quantum gravity equations
Quantum gravity uses mathematical {{w|Group (mathematics)|groups}} denoted by uppercase letters, as shown. {{w|Special unitary group|SU(2)}}, {{w|Unitary group|U(1)}}, and {{w|Unitary group|U(2)}} are all well-studied groups, though 'SU(U(2))' makes no sense. The lack of relator means this expression isn't an equation. Here is a possible pun, on "Sue you too... you won"... "Sue you, you too", though it's unclear how it fits in here.

:Sg=(-1)/(2ε̄) ið(̂ ξ0 ⨢ pε ρvabc⋅η0)̂ f̵a0 λ(ξ) ψ(0a)
;All gauge theory equations
Gauge theory is a subset of field theory. Most gauge theory equations appear to have many strange-looking constants and variables with odd labels.

:<math>H(t)+\Omega+G\!\cdot\!\Lambda...\begin{cases}...>0\mathrm{\ (Hubble\ model)}\\
...=0\mathrm{\ (Flat\ sphere\ model)}\\
...<0\mathrm{\ (Bright\ dark\ matter\ model)}
\end{cases}</math>
;All cosmology equations
Cosmology is the science of the development and ultimate fate of the universe. The joke here may be pertaining to the different models accepted in the field of cosmology. H is the {{w|Hubble's law#Time-dependence of Hubble parameter|Hubble parameter}}, Ω is the universal {{w|Friedmann equations#Density parameter|density parameter}}, G is the {{w|gravitational constant}}, and Λ is the {{w|cosmological constant}}.

:Ĥ - u̧0 = 0
;All truly deep physics equations
The joke about the "truly deep physics equations" is that most of the universal physics equations are simple, almost exceedingly so. In general, many of these equations are types of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_law conservation law] equations, which reflect some of the basic truths of the universe. A hallmark of conservation laws is that the total amount of some physical value does not change, and so one side of the equation is zero, as shown in the example. One example is Einstein's ''E = mc²'', which shows conservation of mass-energy. Noether's theorem shows that conservation laws have a one-to-one correspondence with a symmetry of nature, making these equations truly 'deep'.

The title text is referencing the fact that the electric and magnetic fields are often explained to physics students using an analogy with fluid dynamics, as well as the fact that they do share some similarities (only in terms of mathematical description as three-dimensional vector fields) with fluids. The permittivity constant (represented with ''ε''0) and the permeability constant (represented with ''μ''0) are coefficients that relate the amount of charge required to cause a specific amount of electric flux in a vacuum and the ability of vacuum to support the formation of magnetic fields, respectively. They appear frequently in Maxwell's equations (the equations that define the electric and magnetic fields in classical mechanics), so Randall is making the joke that any surface integral with them in it automatically is an electromagnetism equation.

==Transcript==
:[Nine equations are listed, three in the top row and two in each of the next three rows. Below each equation there are labels:]

:E=K0t+1/2 ρvt2
:All kinematics equations

:Kn=∑∞i=0∑∞π=0(n-π)(i-eπ-∞) [K sub n = the summation from i = 0 to infinity of the sum from pi = 0 to infinity of (n - pi) * (i-e^(pi-infinity))]
:All number theory equations

:∂/∂t ∇⋅ρ=8/23 (∯ ρ ds dt ⋅ ρ ∂/∂∇)
:All fluid dynamics equations

:|ψx,y〉=A(ψ)A(|x〉⊗|y〉)
:All quantum mechanics equations

:CH4+OH+HEAT→H2O+CH2+H2EAT
:All chemistry equations

:SU(2)U(1)×SU(U(2))
:All quantum gravity equations

:Sg=(-1)/(2ε̄) ið(̂ ξ0 ⨢ pε ρvabc⋅η0)̂ f̵a0 λ(ξ) ψ(0a)
:All gauge theory equations

:H(t)+Ω+G⋅Λ ...
:[There is a brace linking the three cases together.]
:... > 0 (Hubble model)
:... = 0 (Flat sphere model)
:... < 0 (Bright dark matter model)
:All cosmology equations

:Ĥ - u̧0 = 0
:All truly deep physics equations

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1548: 90s Kid

2020-05-19T10:53:06Z

162.158.62.233: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another example where [[Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time.

The children are complaining about things their parents tell them, as children often do. Their first complaint is something recognizable, the usual "just eat your vegetables, they're good for you." The second is about a comment "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid" which, however, is a generic social media comment that a "90's kid" would make, not something you would expect a mother to say. At least not in the context of things their children are embarrassed about. But it illustrates that the teens and tweens of yesteryear are now adults, and parents at that.

According to the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2256.html CIA World Factbook,] in the USA the median age of mothers at their first birth is 25.6 (2011 estimate). On the date this comic was published, this would center the mother's own birth date in very late 1989.

Although there are various interpretations of the term "90's kid," most center around the person in question having had most or all of their childhood during the 1990s. The stereotypical '90s kid has a strong attachment to objects, movies, TV shows, phrases etc. from the era of their childhood, which bring back memories of their younger days. In this comic Randall picks up on a number of things which could be used to identify a '90s kid:

*The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''', or '''laugh out loud''', and was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

*''{{w|Rugrats}}'' is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, featuring the adventures of a group of toddlers and babies.

*''{{w|Doug (TV series)|Doug}}'' is another cartoon that ran from 1991 to 2000.

*The use of traditional social media, and more specifically of sharing the type of post described.

Given that the children shown in the comic appear to be somewhat older than newborn babies is not contradictory, since a 90s kid is anyone who was a kid during the '90s. So that would also include kids who turned five in 1990 or even ten; so in 2015 (publishing of this comic) a 90s kid could easily be more than 30 years old and thus have children more than 10 years old.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the Rugrats cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area of a house, and especially to prevent access to stairways (up or down, where falls may happen), without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the gate. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids, with very different hair style, are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the ground appear to be various items including a puddle or rug and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
:[Caption below the panel:]
:The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

Talk:2295: Garbage Math

2020-04-17T20:20:31Z

162.158.62.233:

This is not a Covid19 comic. One could think that this is a comment on the difficulties of modeling the corona virus outbreak, but since discussions of exponential functions are only a small part in the comic I believe it is just a general comment on floating point arithmetic mixed in with statistical considerations. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.242|108.162.229.242]] 17:28, 17 April 2020 (UTC)
:I disagree that this is not a COVID-19 comic. I also believe the one about visualizing large numbers was COVID-19 related. On the other hand, I like the idea that Randall might produce exactly 19 comics related to SARS CoViD 2019, so I'm prepared to concede the point for the sake of arbitrary numerological appeal.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:42, 17 April 2020 (UTC)
::I think Exa-Exabyte was a real stretch (the virus doesn't even have DNA), but there is a tenuous link so whatever. The idea that ''this'' comic is related, on the other hand, stretches past the breaking point. There's hardly anything that can't be linked to global events if we try hard enough, but that doesn't mean there's an actual link. Sometimes a comic about garbage math is just a comic about garbage math.

Well this is surprising came here thinking I understood it just to see what the discussion looked like. Ended up learning something new. I was able to understand intuitively the comic. But this is my first exposure to actually doing math on the error bars. I think I was supposed to do that in college but I don't remember anyone ever explaining how it should work. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.208|162.158.63.208]] 18:14, 17 April 2020 (UTC)

In recent days, there have been a number of math "quizzes" in this same type of format, albeit generally with only addition and maybe multiplication, appearing on Facebook. Should the explanation include a reference to this as a possible contributing reason for Randall's comic? One could also argue that those quizzes have been appearing on Facebook as a way to spend/waste time during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, making he comic at least tangentially related to Covid19.

What's the difference between relative error and absolute error? I don't understand these terms. Maybe add?