explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2251: Alignment Chart Alignment Chart

2020-01-06T12:01:18Z

172.68.142.23: merged my initial draft lead with the one that was written at te same time by someone else. also important to note that d&d is really the only tabletop with an alignment system

{{comic
| number = 2251
| date = January 6, 2020
| title = Alignment Chart Alignment Chart
| image = alignment_chart_alignment_chart.png
| titletext = I would describe my personal alignment as "lawful heterozygous silty liquid."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created using the [[User:DgbrtBOT|BOT template]]. Needs explanations of each alignment chart, and probably some editing for clarity.}}

"Alignment" and "alignment charts" come from the the tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons. Every character has an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons) alignment], which is a sort of a personality archetype or general description of morality. The most widely used alignment system was introduced in the Dungeons and Dragons Basic set in 1977 and has been reused in many (but not all) subsequent editions of the game. This system uses two perpendicular axes, each axis having three words; the alignment of a particular character is a combination of one word from each axis (for a total of nine categories). The two axes are:
* Lawful/neutral/chaotic: this axis says whether a character is strongly devoted to, indifferent about, or categorically opposed to following the rule of the law.
* Good/neutral/evil: this axis says whether a character is generally inclined to commit good deeds or evil deeds.
For example, a character's alignment can be "chaotic neutral". It means that they don't care about the existing order of the world, what is good and what is evil, what is allowed and what is prohibited. They're very prone to acting on emotions, and their actions often seem to be lacking rhyme or reason. There are nine possible alignments - any combination of the two axes is allowed. A character with the "neutral neutral" alignment is called a true neutral.

An alignment chart is a grid that divides the alignments, usually for the purpose of putting descriptions or particular characters on it. Alignment charts are frequently used as a [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mcdonalds-alignment-chart meme template], where humorous or absurdist things are organized into different alignments. In addition to the "classic" Dungeons and Dragons alignment chart, there are a number of variant alignment charts in use as meme templates. Many keep the three-by-three grid structure but replace the lawful-neutral-chaotic and good-neutral-evil axes with others, such as [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gay-bi-lesbian-distinguished-functional-disaster distinguished-functional-disaster vs. gay-bi-lesbian] and [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gay-bi-lesbian-distinguished-functional-disaster edgy-depressed-dumbass vs. bitch-thot-bastard]. Some alignment charts use other systems of classification, like the [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mcdonalds-alignment-chart McDonald's alignment chart], which is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ternary_plot ternary diagram], a way of plotting data points by the relative proportions of three components in them on a triangular plot.

This comic claims to be a meta-alignment chart, where nine "alignment charts" are themselves sorted into the nine Dungeons and Dragons alignments, following the use of alignment charts to humorously classify abstract concepts. However, these "alignment charts" are mostly diagrams used in academic classifications, which are being treated as if they were blank meme templates. There are two levels of absurdity here: first, the idea of using these technical scientific diagrams to classify things they were never intended to, like fictional characters or how people bag their bread, and second, the idea of assigning (facetious) moral weights to each of these classification systems.

{| class="wikitable"
!Alignment
!Chart
!Explanation
|-
|Lawful Good
|Soil chart
|
|-
|Neutral Good
|Punnett square
|
|-
|Chaotic Good
|[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_vowel_chart_with_audio|IPA vowel chart]]
|This chart shows the relationship between different vowels according to the International Phonetics Alphabet.
|-
|Lawful Neutral
|Phase diagram
|A phase chart shows the temperature and pressure points where a material changes phase. The diagram included is the phase chart for water, which exists in three phases (ice, liquid water, steam) depending on it's temperature and pressure. Phase charts are useful as the relationship is not always linear. For example, the air pressure of Mars is such that there is no temperature at which liquid water can exist. Water exists as ice until the temperature reaches a point where it sublimates directly into steam.
|-
|True Neutral
|Alignment chart
|
|-
|Chaotic Neutral
|CIE chromacity diagram
|
|-
|Lawful Evil
|Political compass
|
|-
|Neutral Evil
|QAPF rock diagram
|
|-
|Chaotic Evil
|Omnispace classifier
|Probably self-referential humour, in that the diagram created for this comic is considered to be chaotically evil.
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Charts]]

2134: Too Much Talking

2019-04-08T18:05:55Z

172.68.142.23: /* Transcript */ Completed transcript

{{comic
| number = 2134
| date = April 8, 2019
| title = Too Much Talking
| image = too_much_talking.png
| titletext = Next time I go, I'm going to prepare a whole bunch of opinions that I'm sure are good, and make everyone sit quietly while I run through them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TALKATIVE PARTYGOER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Cueball has recently returned from a party, and appears to be intoxicated to some degree. Different from most after-party regrets, he appears to have "talked too much." Likely, he expressed opinions that might be rejected or seen as embarassing by society, and is now remorseful and embarassed he said such things. In his shame, he recedes under his bed, but evidently he still feels strongly abouth is opinions and quickly returns to society.

Tbe title text presents a suggestion that will likely not go over well, as forcing those at a party to quietly listen to you is a great way to kill it.

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

:[Cueball is walking into the panel from the right]
:Voice from off: How was the party?
:Cueball: Taaalkiiiing
:Cueball: Blablablabla
:Cueball: I talked so much. Too much? Probably.
:Cueball: My face is tired.

:[Cueball moving to retreat under a bed]
:Cueball: So many conversations.
:Cueball: I'm worried that all my opinions are bad. Why did I talk so much?
:Cueball: Time to hide under my bed and never speak to another human again.

:[Just a bed]

:[Cueball appears to be leaving the bed]
:Cueball: I have some new opinions.
:Voice from off: That didn't take long.

{{comic discussion}}

2130: Industry Nicknames

2019-03-31T00:31:40Z

172.68.142.23: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2130
| date = March 29, 2019
| title = Industry Nicknames
| image = industry_nicknames.png
| titletext = As far as "being in the pocket of Big Egg" goes, I think the real threat is Chansey.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BIG EXPLANATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"Big industry" is a common nickname used to describe monopolistic or near-monopolistic practices in the United States. To be "in someone's pocket" means to be taking bribes, or to be influenced by lobbyists or grant money.

Of the 8 industries listed, {{w|Big Tobacco}} and {{w|Big Pharma}} are nicknames that are commonly used. The mining industry is generally referred to in this context by sector, as {{w|Big Coal}} or {{w|Big Oil}} (Randall uses the term "big hole", which is misleading, because some types of mining do not involve holes.) The U.S. automobile industry was until recent decades referred to as "Detroit," later meaning only the {{w|Big Three automobile manufacturers}} before falling out of common usage. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-27/warren-calls-for-breakup-of-big-ag-in-appeal-to-family-farmers Big Ag] is sometimes used to describe the farming and agricultural industry, and while the rest are purely fictional, Randall could be imagining a possible future in which these industries become big players in the political arena. "Big Foot" is likely a reference to the mythical creature {{w|Bigfoot}}.

[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Chansey_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Chansey], mentioned in the title text, is a type of {{w|Pokémon}} who carries around an egg in her marsupial-like front pouch. For Chansey the phrase "in the pocket of Big Egg" would be rather literal, except that the egg is in her pocket, rather than the other way around. Randall does not specify why Chansey would be a "threat" or why a Pokémon would be bribing people.

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

:'''Nicknames for Industries and Organizations'''
:Ranked by how silly it sounds when
:you say someone is "In the pocket of..."

:[Arrow pointing to the right:]
:Sillier

:[Items on a line from left to right:]
:Cigarette companies: "Big Tobacco"
:Drug companies: "Big Pharma"
:The farming industry: "Big Ag"
:Automakers: "Big Car"
:The International Equestrian Federation: "Big Horse"
:The Board of Podiatric Medicine: "Big Foot"
:The mining industry: "Big Hole"
:The American Egg Board: "Big Egg"

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1399: Chaos

2019-02-07T20:22:53Z

172.68.142.23:

Dr. Ian Malcolm: Dr. Sattler, Dr. Grant, you've heard of chaos theory? No? Non-linear equations? Strange attractions? Dr. Sattler, I refuse to believe that you aren't familiar with the concept of attraction.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/quotes?item=qt1744884] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.62|173.245.62.62]] 05:09, 25 July 2014 (UTC)
:Dr. Ian Malcolm: See, here I'm now sitting by myself, uh, er, talking to myself. That's, that's chaos theory. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/quotes?item=qt0463062] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.62|173.245.62.62]] 05:12, 25 July 2014 (UTC)
::Thanks for the quotes -- they really helped with writing the explanation! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.175|108.162.238.175]] 06:07, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

Why write 'third sequel' instead of 'fourth film'? It's quite confusing as I initially misread it to be the third instalment instead of sequel. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.203|141.101.92.203]] 06:43, 25 July 2014 (UTC)
:No particular reason. I've changed it.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.175|108.162.238.175]] 06:51, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

Reference URL for the remix cited in title text... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zXr9GLa0Jo[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.84|108.162.216.84]] 06:44, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

Top-left in the in-comic diagram(s) appears to be a 'fern', another fractal construct which may ''also'' be an incidental reference to the native flora of the Jurassic (and non-Jurassic) eras of the dinosaurs. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.233|141.101.99.233]] 08:49, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

"phase space, nonlinear equations, and strange attractors" is not a quote from the movie. The [http://sfy.ru/?script=jurassic_park script] contains:
:MALCOLM
::Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler -- you've heard of Chaos Theory?
:ELLIE
::(shaking her head)
::No.
:MALCOLM
::No? Non-linear equations? Strange attractions?
::(again, she shrugs)
::Dr. Sattler, I refuse to believe that you are not familiar with the concept of attraction!

The [http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Chaos_theory book] mentions all three terms, but not in order. [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]])

It is from the book. The chapters are labeled iteration 1, 2, 3 etc... {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.110}}

Can the most recent editor finish their sentence? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.23|172.68.142.23]] 20:22, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

1474: Screws

2019-02-04T01:03:39Z

172.68.142.23: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1474
| date = January 16, 2015
| title = Screws
| image = screws.png
| titletext = If you encounter a hex bolt, but you only brought screwdrivers, you can try sandwiching the head of the bolt between two parallel screwdriver shafts, squeezing the screwdrivers together with a hand at either end, then twisting. It doesn't work and it's a great way to hurt yourself, but you can try it!
}}

==Explanation==
Appliance makers sometimes use {{w|List of screw drives|strange screw heads}} to hinder attempts from users to remove appliance covers. Users usually have handy {{w|screwdrivers}} for the first two screw types drawn, Phillips and Flat. More advanced users usually have some less standard drivers, such as {{w|Torx}} or {{w|Allen key|Allen}}, however appliance makers keep designing increasingly strange screw heads and users keep acquiring increasingly strange screwdrivers.

The comic is about the frustration a user may feel when faced with a screw for which they have no screwdriver. Usually the user will try to fit one of the drivers they have handy into the strange screw, leading to damaging the screw and/or the driver and/or the person wielding the tool.

The types of screws listed are the following:

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 25%"|Screw type
! Description
|-
| Phillips head
| {{w|List of screw drives#Phillips|Phillips screw drive}} and its corresponding screw head is one of the most recognizable types of screw heads that is commonly used in construction. This type of screw head was named after its inventor, a US businessman {{w|Henry F. Phillips}}. Neither the inventor nor his invention have any relationship to the Dutch electronics manufacturing company with similar, but not exactly the same name {{w|Philips}}.
|-
| Flat head
| {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Slot|Slot head screws}} are frequently erroneously referred to as flat heads (a flat head screw refers, in fact, to the shape of the screw head, regardless of the shape of the drive socket). The slot head is also commonly used in construction. Although the diagram shows the slot truncated, the slot almost always runs across the entire head of the screw (as in the case of the "uranium screw" below).
|-
| Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon? (star-shaped screw)
| Manufacturers sometimes use screws that require special screwdrivers in order to prevent the customer from opening the product. The reference to Amazon is presumably a suggestion to search {{w|Amazon.com}} for the screwdriver. A number of star-shaped screw heads exist, notably the six-pointed {{w|Torx}}, and {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}}'s rounded {{w|Pentalobe screw|pentalobe screw}}, although there is no popular design that uses the 5-pointed star shape depicted in the comic. Torx screws are common in automotive applications — Phillips heads are designed to "{{w|cam out}}" at high {{w|torque}} to protect the screw, whereas Torx do not — and on bicycles where a higher tightening torque is needed than hex screws can support. They are also commonly used on {{w|disk brake}} mounts and in {{w|smartphones}}.

|-
| Cursed −1 Phillips head
| The head of a screw can be stripped by overuse, tightening the screw too much, using the wrong size screwdriver, or other misuse. As the driving surfaces wear away, removing the screw becomes more difficult, and the added pressure needed to drive the screw usually damages it further.

The addition of "cursed" and "−1" in the titles is a reference to various role playing games (e.g. ''{{w|Dungeons and Dragons}}''), where magical "cursed" items appear frequently. This often makes the cursed equipment (in the case of armor or weapons) incredibly difficult to remove, as it will cling to the wielder. Similarly, the cursed Phillips Head screw becomes difficult to remove due to the stripped head. Alternatively, this may imply that the damage to the screw head was caused ''because'' the screw is "cursed" and therefore difficult to remove.

The "−1" refers to the damage of the screw head. In role playing games, items such as weapons and armor may have an "enchantment", with a positive enchantment making the item more effective, and a negative enchantment making the item less effective. Negatively enchanted items are often also cursed, as is the case with this screw head. The "−1" does not appear to be a reference to a {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Phillips|Phillips bit-size number}}, as those are always positive.

Notably, the stripped screw bears a resemblance to a {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Pozidriv|Pozidriv head}}, a modified version of the Phillips head designed to resist slipping and subsequent stripping. Using a Phillips head screwdriver in a Pozidriv screw is very likely to damage the screw head and cause a real Pozidriv screwdriver to no longer mate correctly.
|-
| Crap, it's a ''rivet''.
| A {{w|rivet}} is not a screw — it is a permanent fastener which is secured by deforming the body of the fastener. Rivets cannot be removed with a screwdriver, they must be drilled out. Some bolts also have rounded rivet-style heads, though, which need a {{w|collet}}-style tool to grip and remove.
|-
| Phillips head ruiner ''(actually a hex screw)''
| A reference to the fact that {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex_socket|hex socket}} screws can, in a pinch, be removed with a Phillips screwdriver (rather than the intended {{w|Allen wrench}}) but this will likely ruin the screwdriver (and damage the screw) in the process.
|-
| Uranium screw
| Uranium screws were [http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/11/10/fat-mans-uranium/ used] in the [http://www.scintillators.ru/booc/criticality/reports/ref_050.pdf construction] of [http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/769001 nuclear weapons] during the twentieth century. Multiple radially extending short wave-like lines around the screw head symbolize radiant energy output, although real uranium screws were most likely made of {{w|depleted uranium}}, which is [http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_tabc.htm 40 percent less radioactive] than naturally-occurring raw {{w|uranium}}.
|-
| Phillip's head
| This is a morbidly literal interpretation of the misuse of an apostrophe in "Phillip's head". This "screw" is actually a bloody bag containing the severed head of someone named Phillip. Intentionally or otherwise, this last punchline could be described as a "{{tvtropes|MindScrew|mind screw}}".
|-
|Hex bolt (title text)
|A {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex|hex bolt}} has six external sides, so it could in theory be held by squeezing two screwdriver shafts together with the bolt in between. The amount of force on the two screwdriver shafts needed to turn the hex bolt will probably exceed the strength of human hands — the attempt would most likely only result in causing your hands to cramp or causing the screwdrivers to slip and cause further injury. The title text is making a play on the phrase "you can try", which normally implies something with a reasonable chance of success, but here is only pointing out "just because you ''can'' doesn't mean you should".
|}

==Transcript==
:[Eight drawings of different types of heads each with a caption:]
:[Plus sign-shaped screw.]
:Phillips head
:[Minus sign-shaped screw.]
:Flat head
:[Star-shaped screw.]
:Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon?
:[Plus sign-shaped screw with worn edges.]
:Cursed -1 Phillips head
:[No screw, just a circle.]
:Crap, it's a ''rivet''.
:[Hexagon-shaped screw.]
:Phillips-head ruiner
:[Minus sign-shaped screw going through the whole circle. Also giving off radiation.]
:Uranium screw (a real thing)
:[A sack with blood oozing out of it.]
:Phillip's head

{{comic discussion}}

1971: Personal Data

2018-03-23T18:58:08Z

172.68.142.23:

{{comic
| number = 1971
| date = March 23, 2018
| title = Personal Data
| image = personal_data.png
| titletext = Do I just leave money in my mailbox? How much? How much money do they need, anyway? I guess it probably depends how the economy is doing. If stocks go up, should I leave more money in my mailbox or less?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a typical xkcd Adult... so need more... Add explanation of what Stock, what personal data is and what the economy and tax is as well. Maybe a table? PLEASE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another comic poking fun at adults who have trouble dealing with grown-up issues.

The comic starts with [[Cueball]] wondering what "{{w|personal data}}" is, saying he doesn't understand what it is, and it is an abstract concept. [[Ponytail]] follows by pointing out she doesn't understand what "{{w|Economy|the economy}}" is, and conjecturing that it is related to "{{w|Stock|stocks}}", although admitting that she also does not understand what stocks are. The punchline comes when [[White Hat]] says that he doesn't understand what "{{w|taxes}}" are and asks if he really has to pay them and to who. This surprises Cueball and Ponytail, who promptly advise him to learn about that one soon. The title text has White Hat asking another series of tax-related questions that adults are expected to know already, further compounding his troubles.

White Hat not knowing what taxes are indicates that he may not have paid his taxes in previous years, which would be alarming since tax evasion is punishable as a crime. Ponytail's remark that he should do this ideally in the next few weeks is referring to this year's US {{w|Tax Day (United States)|Tax Day}} which falls on April 17, 2018, less than four weeks after the release of this comic. So if you do not have your tax preparation under control, it is time to research how it works now.

This is not the first time [[Randall]] has made a comic about people having trouble understanding the US tax system in relation to an approaching tax day. Other instances include the title text of [[1805: Unpublished Discoveries]] from March the year before this comic, and this one from August 2015: [[1566: Board Game]].

==Topics==
This comic references several advanced topics that people commonly talk about, but may not actually understand well:

'''Personal data'''

Personal data is usually thought of as any information that pertains to a private person. But this definition is very vague and can encompass a huge variety of data ranging from very sensitive (Social Security number, bank account details, passwords) to less sensitive (first name, color of pet cat). Different people also have different ideas of what information is considered sensitive. For example, some may want eagerly to share the location of their weekend activity with the world, whereas others may prefer not to let everyone know their location.

Even though it is generally advised to keep personal data private and not to expose it to the public or to companies (especially online, e.g. Facebook and Google), not everyone agrees on the level of privacy that should be afforded to the data. Some hold the view that even innocent-looking personal data can be harvested and used for unsavory purposes (for example, a health insurance company can use social media posts about eating fast food as a cause to raise premiums, or a government can use cat pictures as evidence of pet ownership and demand license fees), and therefore all personal data should be strictly controlled. Other hold the view that sometimes it is worth exchanging some degree of privacy for other conveniences (for example, meeting friends by sharing their location info or cheaper prices due to targeted advertising based on web browsing history).

The wide range of personal data, as well as differences in views and lifestyles, have led to constant debates about privacy.

Personal data breaches were in the news a few days before the publishing of this comic when the UK's Channel Four released an investigative documentary about political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Among the revelations of the documentary were that the company had used Facebook to not only harvest the personal data of users taking their polls, but the friends and family of those users, without their knowledge or consent. They used this information to attempt to influence both the 2016 United States elections and the UK's 'Brexit' vote. This sparked an ongoing discussion about the security of personal data and the role of social media in securing it.

'''The economy'''

'''Stocks'''

'''Taxes'''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and White Hat. Both of them are looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Everyone keeps talking about "personal data." To be honest, I don't really know what it ''is''.
:Cueball: I mean, I understand the idea and know it's a thing I should protect. But it's so... abstract.

:[Close-up on Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Yeah.
:Ponytail: It's like "the economy." I don't really know what the economy is, if we're getting specific. I know stocks going up is good. For people who own stocks, at least.
:Ponytail: Whatever "stocks" are.

:[White Hat responds holding his arms slightly out. Both Ponytail and Cueball are looking at him.]
:White Hat: Yeah, or taxes. Everyone talks about taxes. What '''''are''''' they? Do '''''I''''' have to pay them? And to who?
:Cueball: OK, wait, you definitely need to learn about that one.
:Ponytail: Yeah, ideally sometime in the next few weeks.

{{comic discussion}}

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

824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)

2018-01-06T01:08:30Z

172.68.142.23: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 824
| date = November 24, 2010
| title = Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)
| image = guest_week_bill_amend_foxtrot.png
| titletext = Guest comic by Bill Amend of FoxTrot, an inspiration to all us nerdy-physics-majors-turned-cartoonists, of which there are an oddly large number.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Bill Amend}}, author of the newspaper comic {{w|FoxTrot}}, draws for [[Randall]] in this special '[[:Category:Guest Week|Guest Week]]' edition of [[xkcd]]. In the first two panels, we see {{w|List_of_FoxTrot_characters#Jason_Fox|Jason Fox}}, a geeky 10-year-old from Amend's strip. Jason asks to draw comics for Randall. When Randall refuses, he uses the sudo command, used in {{w|POSIX}} systems to perform an action as an administrator/super user. This forces Randall to agree. This is a reference to the very popular comic [[149: Sandwich]], which has now become a geek culture catch-phrase.

It is a recurring theme in FoxTrot for Jason to offer to make substitute comics for artists, said comics usually involving mocking his sister Paige, and it is possible that Ponytail is representing her. This would be the first time that someone accepted his offers to make comics.

In the first comic, [[Cueball]] is making a pun on the word {{Wiktionary|attractive}}. In the first context it means a person is "good looking" or "beautiful" which the (presumably) female character attributes to her hair. In Cueball's context, it means that he is feeling an increased gravitational pull from the woman, due to her increase in mass (see {{w|Gravitation}}). This setup is also very typical of the Jason Fox character, who, ostensibly ten, is supposed to be too young to like girls.

{{w|Werner Heisenberg}} postulated in 1927, his eponymous {{w|Uncertainty principle|Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle}}, which roughly states that in {{w|quantum mechanics}} one cannot know both the position and momentum of a particle. The joke is that (presumably) Elisabeth Heisenberg does not know the position of her keys, because she knows too much about their (the keys') momentum. (This is also the subject of [[1473: Location Sharing]].)

In many {{w|parliament}}ary and {{w|congress}}ional halls it is customary, when calling an issue to vote to have the people who want the issue at hand to be passed to say out loud that they agree. The customary response to this is to say "aye." The dissenters are then asked. Their response would be "nay" or "no". Then the volume (by rough {{w|decibel}}s) of the assenters and dissenters are weighed. If it is close, a more formal vote may be called. "Aye" is pronounced the same way as the letter "i" and "''i''" is the mathematical value of the square root of negative one, which can be used to represent an {{w|imaginary number}}.

The title text of this comic draws attention to the fact that there are a number of notable people who have become famous as cartoonists, but also hold degrees in physics or have a strong interest in physics. This might seem unusual, because the average person might see physics and art as incompatible, and this is why Randall writes "an oddly large number." These people include:
* Randall Munroe, the writer of xkcd, has a degree in physics from Christopher Newport University.
* Bill Amend, the creator of [http://www.foxtrot.com/ Foxtrot], majored in physics at Amherst College.
* Zach Weiner, who writes the webcomic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal], majored in physics at San Jose State University.
* Henry Reich is the creator of the web video series [http://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics MinutePhysics], and studied physics and mathematics at Grinnell College.
* Paul G. Hewitt is a physicist and [http://www.conceptualphysics.com/ author of physics textbooks]. His textbooks contain a number of cartoons, drawn by Hewitt himself, to help illustrate physics concepts.
* Aaron Diaz writes the webcomic [http://dresdencodak.com/ Dresden Codak], and majored in physics (among several other things) before dropping out. His comics frequently reference ideas and experiments in physics.
* Larry Gonick is a cartoonist who has published [http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/search-results?contributor=larry-gonick a number of educational comic books], including The Cartoon Guide to Physics.
* Bud Grace, the creator of the comic [http://piranhaclubcomics.com/ Piranha Club] (previously known as Ernie) holds a PhD in nuclear physics. He has been making the comic since 1988.
* Darren 'Gav' Bluel, the creator of [http://nukees.com/ Nukees], is himself a nuclear engineer.

''Guest Week'' was a series of five comics written by five other comic authors. They were released over five consecutive days (Monday-Friday); not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.<br>
The five comics are:
*[[822: Guest Week: Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content)]]
*[[823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)]]
*[[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]
*[[825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)]]
*[[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]]

==Transcript==
:[Jason from FoxTrot is sitting at an artist's desk with a pencil, holding a phone.]
:Jason: Hi, Mr. Munroe? I have a great idea! Let me draw some strips for you!
:Randall, through the telephone: Fat chance, kid.

:[Zoom in to Jason.]
:Jason: Sudo let me draw some strips for you.

:[There follow three strips. These will be separated by double new lines.]

:[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at each other.]
:Cueball: I find you more attractive than usual.
:Ponytail: You do? Is it my new haircut?

:[Zoom in to Cueball.]
:Cueball: Actually, I think it's all the weight you've been putting on. Your gravitational pull is pretty severe.

:[Cueball is now alone in the panel.]
:Cueball: Just sayin'.

:[Two people are in a living room. The woman is looking through a chest of drawers.]
:At home with the Heisenbergs
:Mrs. Heisenberg: I can't find my car keys.
:Mr. Heisenberg: You probably know too much about their momentum.

:[Cueball is standing on a stage, holding up a hammer. A crowd is in front of the stage.]
:Why mathematicians should run for Congress
:Cueball: All those in favor of the bill say "aye."
:Congressman #1: Aye.
:Congresswoman #2: Aye.
:Congress–Mathematician: √-1

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Guest Week]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Puns]]