Talk:2058: Rock Wall

2018-10-22T11:39:58Z

172.68.10.154:

There doesn't seem to be a link from the previous (#2057/Internal Monologues) comic to this one yet. I tried in another browser just in case my cache was messing up. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 14:21, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks for your note. It's maybe the proxy in the background so I will wait a little bit for further actions. Nonetheless this shouldn't happen and I will figure out the reason. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::The link is now shown and this means the problem is definitely caused by the proxy cache. If this happens again on Monday the BOT will handle this in the future. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:54, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:::The link showed up when I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2057:_Internal_Monologues&action=purge purged it] and completely forgot to comment here (sorry). So that might give a good hint for why it was happening. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 18:15, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Thanks, that's exactly what the BOT will do at the than former latest comic if really needed. This expires all caches, hopefully. But the BOT action is only a workaround I don't like. It did work in the past when the site template provided a new link and it should do so now without a BOT. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:41, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

I am not a mantle geologist, but I've always thought that if the core of Mars has really cooled & solidified, blasting the whole surface off could let us get at that sweet nickel-iron core. I mean it's a giant wad of semi-refined metals with some rock caked on top of it, right? If there's no magma to deal with, we could actually get at the good stuff much more easily. Mine Mars' core!
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:20, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:That would make terraforming Mars lot harder. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:11, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
::It's already sitting out there in the asteroid belt... why deal with the Mars gravity well? Just mine the space rocks, so much easier. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 02:49, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Wouldn't the part of astronomy which studies black holes be even more frustrating? Also, peeling away the event horizon, even locally, might destroy whole universe ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:11, 12 October 2018 (UTC)
:I think, perhaps, that theology might top even that. Perhaps a really enterprising (hah!) astronomer could find a way to the other side of the event horizon (though transmitting her findings back might be hard) and perhaps someday the Kola Superdeep Borehole project will be, ah, re-opened. But getting anything truly verifiable back from beyond the dead is probably ... a bit out of reach. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.12|162.158.186.12]] 02:03, 14 October 2018 (UTC)
::Good point, theology is even more hard to reach AND likely more dangerous when peeling away ... (note: for why peeling away the event horizon from singularity might be possible, just not good idea, see {{w|Naked singularity}}) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:02, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

Something Weird Would Happen - may refer to this expedition to find out what weird thing happens at mantle exposure. https://www.livescience.com/1317-mission-study-earth-gaping-open-wound.html -- FT [[User:FreeTim|FreeTim]] ([[User talk:FreeTim|talk]]) 09:01, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

'''Third Doctor'''

Anybody remember the Dr. who episode where the third doctor had to deal with people trying to break through the crust on an alternate Earth? {{unsigned|Keybounce}}
: Oh, THERE Liu Cixin stole the basic idea for his short "Mountain" :-) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.212|141.101.77.212]] 20:25, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

I distinctly remember a previous comic along the same lines (something about studying the thing we're on), but don't have the time to track it down.

859: (

2017-08-23T09:11:15Z

172.68.10.154:

{{comic
| number = 859
| date = February 11, 2011
| title = (
| image = (.png
| titletext = Brains aside, I wonder how many poorly-written xkcd.com-parsing scripts will break on this title (or ;;"'<nowiki/>'{<<[' this mouseover text."
}}

== Explanation ==

(In programming, punctuation is often used to mark sections of code. Paired punctuation marks must always be matched up with a corresponding closing mark, otherwise a so-called {{w|syntax error}} occurs. The programming language {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}} (also featured in [[224: Lisp]]) is known for large numbers of nested/paired parentheses. Even in literary works intended only for human consumption, the absence of a matching closing parenthesis (as appears in this sentence or other "balanced" punctuation sets creates a mental expectation of eventual closure and completion that remains unfulfilled even long after the unmatched mark is encountered. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SelfDemonstratingArticle See what I mean?]

There is also reference to [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost]] which could contain the missing parentheses.

It can also be interpreted as a {{w|metaphor}}, which compares the reader with a Lisp {{w|Interpreter (Computing)|interpreter}}. The interpreter looks for the parenthesis until the end of the file, where it eventually halts, and prints out the error. The comic claims that if you read an unmatched parenthesis, you will look for it for the rest of the day too.

It also refers to this awkward feeling when you see something (like an unmatched parentheses, speling error or a randomly-placed, comma.

Finally, in some countries (Russia in particular) they use just parentheses instead of text smileys so that :) turns into ) and :( becomes (. Hence Russians can magically resist the unresolved tension of the comic but may feel a bit sad instead as a side effect.

The title text refers to the same issue as already highlighted in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]: if your scripts trust external input, you sometimes will be surprised. At the time of this comic, there were quite a few websites that would grab the xkcd comic three times a week and publish them on their own site. This comic likely broke at least some of the websites because of either the unmatched brace or the extra unmatched markup that is in the title text.

==Transcript==
:[A frame with only text.]
:(An unmatched left parenthesis creates an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2058: Rock Wall

859: (