explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2030: Voting Software

2018-08-11T07:35:58Z

172.68.144.169: Punctuation and grammar fixes

{{comic
| number = 2030
| date = August 8, 2018
| title = Voting Software
| image = voting_software.png
| titletext = There are lots of very smart people doing fascinating work on cryptographic voting protocols. We should be funding and encouraging them, and doing all our elections with paper ballots until everyone currently working in that field has retired.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BLOCKCHAIN - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The first two panels of this comic involve a reporter talking to professionals of a given field regarding the given safety of the products/solutions that each of their fields help to produce, or are at least partially involved in said production (Airplanes from aircraft designers in Panel 1, Elevators from building engineers in Panel 2). While the two inventions selected are relatively new when compared to how long humans have existed, the two fields mentioned have existed for multiple human generations, giving enough time to find flaws in their products/solutions and solve said flaws to the point that they can be considered safe for the general public to use.

The comic from Panel 3 onwards contrasts this with [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] both agreeing that their given field (computer science / software development / software engineering) does not have the overall consistent competency that other fields have or, at the very least, appear to have. This is true (at least anecdotally) since there are very few ethical and security restrictions for what developers can/cannot do, and relatively minor consequences when catastrophes arise from poor decisions.

Computer systems, operating primarily in a digital domain, fail differently from most traditional areas of engineering, which operate in analog (or continuous) domains. A small error in an analog part often gives a result which is close to the desired properties (it almost fits, it works most of the time). By contrast, a small error in a digital system (just one bit being changed) can easily make the system function in radically different ways. So not only is software engineering younger than other areas of engineering, but the domain is much less forgiving. Even small errors/variations are likely to produce radically different behavior.

The title text confirms the comic's stance by implicitly saying that any digital voting systems that are produced are to not be used under any circumstances.

The main joke of the comic is that when other engineers say something is safe, people don't believe them: People are scared of flying and elevators even though they are, statistically, very safe. However, the opposite is true for software engineers: When software engineers say something is dangerous, people don't believe them.

This is a result of a fundamental difference between computer security and other types of safety measures -- in cryptography, there is ''always'' somebody trying to undo what you've built. Not only that, but new advances in cryptography tend to point out vulnerabilities with previous versions, making them not only obsolete, but dangerously so.

For these reasons, it is especially important to make sure that whoever is selling you the security method is both competent and non-malicious, but because crypto software is highly technical and often confidential/proprietary, it can be hard to verify this if you're not an expert in the field (which you won't be, if you're buying it).

These issues are especially pertinent to {{w|voting machine}}s, which store incredibly sensitive information but are often catastrophically outdated due to lack of funding. There are also major issues with electronic voting in general; for example, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_0x6oaDmI this video from Computerphile] raises issues of malware infections, transferring the votes to the election authorities without having them intercepted, and needing to trust both the machine's software and central counting system to present an accurate account of the votes. Furthermore, the people purchasing them, the politicians, are generally not known for their technical understanding -- or their impartiality.

{{w|Blockchain}} is a relatively new technology that is intended to solve some computer security issues by making it difficult to doctor old data. However, in the process of solving the old computer security issues, it has introduced new computer security issues that have not yet been ironed out. It also doesn't solve input fraud issues, only data-doctoring fraud, so if a program caused the voting machine to record a vote for candidate B whenever a vote for candidate A was cast (such a program could be uploaded to the voting machines through USB, or through the internet which the voting machine must be connected to for blockchain), blockchain would not prevent it.

Most computer security specialists are more worried about programs that randomly deliberately misrecord a vote, than people changing the votes after they're already recorded, so blockchain would solve an issue that most computer security specialists are less worried about, while causing new issues (the perpetual internet connection among them).

Also, the security issues that Blockchain solves could also be solved via write-once memory, which would be more secure and more difficult to doctor.

The topic of voting machines has been covered before in [[463: Voting Machines]], where the use of anti-virus software on the machines has been discussed.

==Transcript==

:Asking aircraft designers about airplane safety:
:Hairbun: Nothing is ever foolproof, but modern airliners are incredibly resilient. Flying is the safest way to travel.

:Asking building engineers about elevator safety:
:Cueball: Elevators are protected by multiple tried-and-tested failsafe mechanisms. They're nearly incapable of falling.

:Asking software engineers about computerized voting:
:Megan: That's ''terrifying''.

:Ponytail: Wait, really?
:Megan: Don't trust voting software and don't listen to anyone who tells you it's safe.
:Ponytail: Why?
:Megan: I don't quite know how to put this, but our entire field is bad at what we do, and if you rely on us, everyone will die.

:Ponytail: They say they've fixed it with something called "blockchain."
:Megan: AAAAA!!!
:Cueball: Whatever they sold you, don't touch it.
:Megan: Bury it in the desert.
:Cueball: Wear gloves.

{{comic discussion}}

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

925: Cell Phones

2018-08-04T11:21:42Z

172.68.144.169: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 925
| date = July 15, 2011
| title = Cell Phones
| image = cell_phones.png
| titletext = He holds the laptop like that on purpose, to make you cringe.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a good explanation of the correlation/causation fallacy, where one party states two unrelated events and posits that they must have influenced each other.

After hearing about the "Cell Phones Don't Cause Cancer" study, which refutes a claim made by the ''{{w|World Health Organization}}'' (just Google the debate or {{w|Mobile phone radiation and health|check out Wikipedia's article on it}}, the comic doesn't focus much on it), [[Black Hat]] plots "Total Cancer Incidence" per 100,000 and "Cell Phone Users" per 100 on the same graph. The graph in frame 3 shows an exponential rise in cancer followed by an exponential rise in cell phone usage, which makes Black Hat comically come to the conclusion that cancer causes cell phones.

The comic highlights a well-known fallacy known as ''{{w|post hoc ergo propter hoc}}'', often shortened to simply ''post hoc.'' The Latin translates to "after this, therefore because of this," referring to the common mistake that because two events happen in chronological order, the former event must have caused the latter event. The fallacy is often the root cause of many superstitions (e.g., a person noticing he/she wore a special bracelet before getting a good test score thinks the bracelet was the source of his/her good fortune), but it often crosses into more serious areas of thinking. In this case, the scientific research community, which often prides itself on its intellectual aptitude, is gently mocked for being nonetheless prone to such poor reasoning all too often. The different possibilities are generally known as causation, when one thing is proven to cause another, or correlation, when changes in one thing are aligned with changes in another, but there is no proof that they are directly related.

The title text refers to the way Black Hat holds the laptop in panel 2. Being that Cueball (and Randall, for that matter) are quite into computers, the potential damage to a laptop screen either from the weight of its lower body or the pressure of the user's fingers on the LCD screen is enough to make him squirm in discomfort. The risk of dropping the computer is also present.

Note that the graph in frame 3 also shows that the increase in the number of cell phone users appears to coincide with a sudden decrease in cancer. Randall may have intended Cueball, and the reader, to assume Black Hat was going to say that cell phones prevent cancer. However, this makes Black Hat's alternate conclusion unexpected and therefore more ludicrous.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds a cellphone. Black Hat is sitting at a desk with a laptop.]
:Cueball: Another huge study found no evidence that cell phones cause cancer. What was the W.H.O. thinking?
:Black Hat: I think they just got it backward.

:[Black Hat turns towards Cueball in an unframed panel, holding the laptop with one hand by the upper edge of the screen. Cueball is not visible.]
:Cueball: Huh?
:Black Hat: Well, take a look.

:[There is a plot of total cancer incidence and cell phone users. Cancer rises from 1970 to 1990, then stays relatively steady. Cell phone use rises from roughly 1984, and steeply after 1990, to the present.]

:Cueball: You're not... There are ''so'' many problems with that.
:Black Hat: Just to be safe, until I see more data I'm going to assume cancer causes cell phones.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

2022: Sports Champions

2018-07-26T17:48:40Z

172.68.144.169: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2022
| date = July 20, 2018
| title = Sports Champions
| image = sports_champions.png
| titletext = For a long time, people thought maybe Usain Bolt was the one for running, until the 2090s and the incredible dominance of Derek Legs.
}}

==Explanation==
In an example of {{w|nominative determinism}}, the comic lists people whose surname relates to their participation in various sports. It is presented as though it was created in the far future, reflecting on champions over the decades through to the 2080s. The first three are real sportspeople, the remainder are imaginary players of the future. The names progress from real, to fictional-but-plausible, to rare or highly unusual, to utterly implausible and impractical names.

The caricatures are participating in their sport, except for Jebediah who is standing at a {{w|lectern}} or , more likely, a reference to kerbal space program.

{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:20%"|Name
!style="width:10%"|Years
!style="width:15%"|Sport
!style="width:55%"|Explanation
|-
|Margaret Court
|1960s
|Tennis
|{{w|Margaret Court}} is an Australian tennis player, former world number 1, who won many competitions in the 1960s and 70s. A {{w|tennis court|tennis '''court'''}} is the playing arena used in that sport.
|-
|Gary Player
|1970s
|Golf
|{{w|Gary Player}} is a South African golfer who won nine major championships between 1959 and 1978. Competitors are often known as '''player'''s, such as in {{w|The Players Championship}}.
|-
|Lonzo Ball
|2020s
|Basketball
|{{w|Lonzo Ball}} is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2020s decade predicts future success, as he began playing professionally in 2017. Basketball is, of course, a {{w|ball game|'''ball''' game}}.
|-
|Jake Halfpipe
|2030s
|Skateboarding
|A '''{{w|half-pipe|halfpipe}}''' is a structure used in extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.
|-
|Sarah Goggles
|2030s
|Swimming
|'''{{w|Goggles}}''' are protective eyewear used in many sports, such as swimming or skiing.
|-
|Kevin Slurve
|2050s
|Baseball
|A '''{{w|slurve}}''' is a baseball throwing technique, a portmanteau of '''sl'''ider and c'''urve'''.
|-
|Julia Chairlift
|2050s
|Skiing
|A '''{{w|chairlift}}''' is an aerial machine often used to transport winter sports participants up mountains.
|-
|Dwight Shuttlecock
|2060s
|Badminton
|A '''{{w|shuttlecock}}''' is a projectile used in the sport of badminton.
|-
|Brandon Sponsorship
|2060s
|Unclear
|Sporting professionals are often {{w|Sponsor (commercial)|sponsored}} by corporations. Brandon is holding a pair of shoes, which are probably a branded '''sponsorship''' item.
|-
|Kate Dopingscandal
|2070s
|Cycling
|There have been many {{w|Doping in sport|'''doping scandal'''}}s in the world of sport, notably cyclist {{w|Lance Armstrong}}, and {{w|Doping in Russia|many Russian competitors}} in the Olympics. Doping is the use of drugs to illegally enhance athletic performance.
|-
|Jebediah Disasterous Postgame-PressConference
|2080s
|kerbal space program
|jebediah kerman is one of the initial astronauts in game kerbal space program. the reference is to the explosions ,or as they are lovingly called in the community, rapid unplanned disassembly , which happens a lot of time in the game, more than many would care to admit. Randall has chosen{{Citation needed}} to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".
|-
|(in title text, not depicted)
Usain Bolt and Derek Legs
|2090s
|Sprinting
|From the title text, {{w|Usain Bolt}} is a retired world record {{w|100 metres|sprinter}}. He was a solid contender for this list since he can '''bolt''' down the track. However the fictional Derek '''Legs''' is selected, either as an even faster sprinter, or because “legs” more clearly and unambiguously relates to running than “bolt” does.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person, their name is given and the decade in which they were champions of their sport is given below their name, in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]

:[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket]
:Margaret Court
:(1960s)

:[Cueball with a golf club]
:Gary Player
:(1970s)

:[Cueball with a basketball]
:Lonzo Ball
:(2020s)

:[Hairy on a skateboard]
:Jake Halfpipe
:(2030s)

:[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and goggles]
:Sarah Goggles
:(2030s)

:[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right]
:Kevin Slurve
:(2050s)

:[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap and wearing ski googles is standing on skis holding ski poles]
:Julia Chairlift
:(2050s)

:[Hairy holding a badminton racket bouncing a shuttlecock on it]
:Dwight Shuttlecock
:(2060s)

:[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand]
:Brandon Sponsorship
:(2060s)

:[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.]
:Kate Dopingscandal
:(2070s)

:[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.]
:Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference
:(2080s)

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:Basketball]]

Talk:1927: Tinder

2017-12-12T10:31:21Z

172.68.144.169: Added some comment?

This comic reminds me of [http://xkcd.com/582] (because of using an inappropriate form of communication in an emergency).

"Cueball is violating the law by using a cell phone that is not in "airplane mode" when on an airplane.", really? I don't think it's an actual "law" since the entire concept is based on garbage and bullshit (you'd have to be in the cockpit AND within about 2 feet of the equipment in question in order to interfere with it. For both airplanes and hospitals the rule is actually just to try to bully people into being considerate to the people around them). I believe it's just a rule set by the FAA or some other governing body. Also, I believe said rule is limited to during take off and landing, not the entire flight. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:31, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

*I also wondered about "Cueball is violating the law by using a cell phone that is not in "airplane mode" when on an airplane.", but for a different reason: How do we now that the phone is not in airplane mode, but which activated wifi? As some airlines (at least in Europe) offer wifi on board, it would be quite common (and allowed) to be able to use online services on a phone while flying (but not other wireless signals, e.g. phone calls). [[User:Scm|Scm]] ([[User talk:Scm|talk]]) 09:00, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

:: Actually, you're correct (at least in the US). However, some countries either explicitly do not allow phone usage on a plane (e.g. Japan) or in implicit terms (using licensed radio frequencies above a certain height is not allowed unless the government says otherwise, like Russia) - [[Special:Contributions/172.68.144.169|172.68.144.169]] 10:29, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1927: Tinder

2017-12-12T10:29:10Z

172.68.144.169: Added some comment?

This comic reminds me of [http://xkcd.com/582] (because of using an inappropriate form of communication in an emergency).

"Cueball is violating the law by using a cell phone that is not in "airplane mode" when on an airplane.", really? I don't think it's an actual "law" since the entire concept is based on garbage and bullshit (you'd have to be in the cockpit AND within about 2 feet of the equipment in question in order to interfere with it. For both airplanes and hospitals the rule is actually just to try to bully people into being considerate to the people around them). I believe it's just a rule set by the FAA or some other governing body. Also, I believe said rule is limited to during take off and landing, not the entire flight. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:31, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

*I also wondered about "Cueball is violating the law by using a cell phone that is not in "airplane mode" when on an airplane.", but for a different reason: How do we now that the phone is not in airplane mode, but which activated wifi? As some airlines (at least in Europe) offer wifi on board, it would be quite common (and allowed) to be able to use online services on a phone while flying (but not other wireless signals, e.g. phone calls). [[User:Scm|Scm]] ([[User talk:Scm|talk]]) 09:00, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

:: Actually, you're correct (at least in the US). However, some countries either explicitly do not allow phone usage (e.g. Japan) or in implicit terms (using licensed radio frequencies above a certain height is not allowed unless the government says otherwise, like Russia) - [[Special:Contributions/172.68.144.169|172.68.144.169]] 10:29, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

1927: Tinder

2017-12-12T10:22:27Z

172.68.144.169: Added some comment?

{{comic
| number = 1927
| date = December 11, 2017
| title = Tinder
| image = tinder.png
| titletext = People keep telling me to use the radio but I really hate making voice calls.
}}

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

{{w|Tinder (app)|Tinder}} is a social media/dating app. The main interface of Tinder shows photos of people using the app. Users swipe right for matches that they like, and left otherwise. The purpose of the app is to get dates, with the intent of a romantic relationship or sexual intercourse. However, in the comic, [[Cueball]] is trying to use it to request assistance flying a plane instead. If the request is genuine, this is a bad situation, because it suggests Cueball is in charge of a plane he is unable to fly, and unless he finds a match with someone who can, and is able to provide assistance, the plane will crash. Even then, unless the matched person happens to be on board, and therefore able to assist directly, providing help through Tinder messages is unlikely to be a sufficiently efficient way of solving the problem.

Alternatively, Cueball may be simply be pretending that there is an emergency so that he can get matches on Tinder. In either case, Cueball is violating the law by using a cell phone that is not in "airplane mode" (in some phones, flight mode or offline mode) when on an airplane. And even if he is either uploading the picture after the flight or using the in-flight internet service, he is still violating other, more serious laws (if he is a pilot, he is liable of negligence, and if he is an ordinary passenger, God knows what he have done...)

The title text explains that Cueball's unwise method for getting help stems from astonishingly skewed priorities and no small amount of selfishness. He claims to strongly dislike conversing over audio-only channels, and this dislike is apparently so overwhelming that he would rather jeopardize the lives of all the passengers on the plane (including his own) than put aside his own hang-ups. Even if we give Cueball the benefit the doubt and assume that he has a phobia of public speaking, most human beings tend to automatically suspend their irrational anxieties when experiencing the fear of imminent mortal peril, at least until after the danger has passed. For example, those normally afraid of dating Cueball would "match" with him to prevent a plane crash, which may be his secret intent after all.

Randall may be satirizing people who use Tinder (and other similar social apps) by portraying an extreme caricature of a Tinder user.

This comic is similar to [[1897: Self Driving]], and as well as [[582: Brakes]], which also is about bad ways to get help in emergencies.

==Transcript==

:[An iPhone-esque device is shown with the screen facing the viewer. On the screen is the Tinder UI. The main photo is of Cueball, in the cockpit of a plane which appears to be tilting to the left, holding up a makeshift sign saying:]
:If you know how
:to fly a plane
:please swipe
:right ASAP

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Social networking]]