explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

589: Designated Drivers

2021-04-23T01:46:55Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */ ... It's not MORE COMMON, youo've just heard it that way.

{{comic
| number = 589
| date = May 27, 2009
| title = Designated Drivers
| image = designated_drivers.png
| titletext = Calling a cab means cutting into beer money.
}}

==Explanation==
When a group of people go together to any kind of event where they expect to drink alcohol, and would like to drive to and from the event, it is usual to select one who has to be the '''{{w|designated driver}}'''.{{Citation needed}} This person will then stay sober during the event, and can thus safely drive the other people home afterwards disregarding how drunk the other people become.

However, as this comic points out, if it's not a simple task of going from A to B and back, all together at the same time, then it becomes a complex problem that requires an intricate kind of strategy and logical thinking to solve. And may need more than one driver.

In this comic [[Cueball]] addresses his friends, regarding this problem right before they enter a bar. It seems they have already decided that one of the friends will be the designated driver. But then Cueball mentions that they will have to leave in two groups. And for some reason one of these groups will need at least two drivers (this is hard to explain - see below under [[#Number of drivers|number of drivers]].) So now they already need three designated drivers. Furthermore, someone has to go and pick up another friend. And also two of them have to leave earlier than the rest by 10:00.

In the third panel the situation seems to be illustrated. Three people are drawn outside the bar with three lines going to the bar, so the number of lines leaving and entering each destination seems to represent a person each. Since the number of people leaving and entering each destination is the same, this makes it seem like the diagram is intended to be accurate. There are four people entering and exiting the bar and six people entering and exiting both the party and the dinner. The confusing part of the diagram is that there are only three people at the bar to begin with, not the four shown in the first panel. It also seems strange that someone will go back to the bar and especially that another goes back to the dinner from the party. It is thus not easy to make the diagram fit the description. See below for a possible take on [[#The chart|the chart]].

But the general concept would be that some people meet at a bar before joining the rest of a group at dinner, then later most of these move on to a party. After the party (or bar/dinner) people are going to head home in different groups.

The enormous complexities of planning who {{w|car pool}}s with whom, from where to where, and when, make an excellent logic puzzle. And what is worse, anyone who has to drive needs to stay sober. So it is important to solve the puzzle before the drinking starts, or else there will be too few that can drive, or too many who never get to drink.

To make matters worse one of the friends complicates this already complicated {{w|logical puzzle}}, by involving the classic logic puzzle of the {{w|Wolf, goat and cabbage puzzle|wolf, goat and cabbage}} (sometimes also known as {{tvtropes|FoxChickenGrainPuzzle|Fox-chicken-grain puzzle}}). In the last panel, the guy is shown standing with a goat on a tether, saying he can't be in the car with the wolf. Cueball is then brought to swearing over this. (The goat puzzle was also the subject of [[1134: Logic Boat]] and [[2348: Boat Puzzle]]). And this may go some way of explaining why there needs to be a [[#Number of drivers|number of drivers]].

The title text makes it clear why ordering a taxi is out of the question as it would take money out of the beer budget. Of course it also cost money to use your own car for gas etc. But when you already have a car, it is always cheaper to use that than pay for a taxi.

===The chart===
It's possible to match the chart up with the events in the comic if we assume two things: first, that everyone's initial position in the chart is at home, and second, that the party takes place at Cueball's house.
Whether or not [[Randall]] intended it this way isn't certain.

For clarity, I'll be referring to the first cueball as Cueball, the second as David, Megan as Emily, and the third cueball as Tom.
*Cueball leaves his house to meet Tom, David, and Emily at the bar.
**When leaving the bar, Cueball returns home before dinner, possibly to set up for the party.
**Emily leaves with either Tom or David to go to dinner while the other goes to pick up Paul.
*At dinner Julia arrives from her house, Cueball arrives from his house, Emily arrives with either Tom or David from the bar, and Paul arrives with the person that didn't drive for Emily.
**When leaving dinner, David has to be the one going home by himself as Emily and Julia will leave together, Tom has agreed to be a designated driver, Paul does not have a car, and Cueball is the host of the party.
**The remaining five take three cars to Cueball's for the party. (Julia's car, Cueball's car, and Tom's car)
*At 10:00 Julie will leave with Emily, and Tom will take Paul home once the party is over.

===Number of drivers===
Unless a more efficient solution exists, the minimum number of people that have to remain sober is three: Tom, David, and either Julia or Emily. Emily is able to begin drinking the earliest, starting at the bar and continuing the rest of the night. If the place everyone is having dinner at serves alcohol, Paul can begin drinking at dinner. If Emily elected to stay sober, Julia can start drinking when Paul does. Cueball is the last to be able to drink, only getting to start once everyone is at the party.

Interestingly enough, if the goat and wolf cannot drive, then they only make a difference if Paul has the wolf, in which case David would have to pick Paul up and take him home, and Tom and his goat would leave after dinner.

If either the wolf or the goat can drive, then a sober human driver is not needed for the vehicle in which that animal travels.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is addressing three people outside a bar, indicated by a sign (two Cueball-like guys and Megan).]
:Cueball: Wait, who's driving?
:First Cueball-like guy: Why?
:First Cueball-like guy: Tom, right?

:[Zoom in on Cueball.]
:Cueball: Yes, but we have to leave in two groups. One of which will need at least two drivers.

:[There is text both above and below a flowchart with arrows between a group of the three people Cueball is talking to, and three houses that are labeled 'bar', 'dinner', and 'party'. Three lines point from the group of people to the bar and a fourth arrives from the party. Four lines points away from the bar. Two goes to the dinner one to the party and one away to the left. There are six arrows arriving at the dinner. Apart from the two lines coming from the bar, there is one long arrow pointing to the dinner from the left and two coming in from above. One more comes from the party below. Six arrows points away. One arrow goes away to the top right, the other five arrows points straight down to the party. There are also six arrows coming and leaving the party. Apart from the five from the dinner there was the one coming in from the bar. The six arrows leaving are the one arrow that went to the bar and the one to the dinner. The other four leaves in two groups of two, on straight down and two curving to the left.]
:Cueball (off-panel): Someone has to get Paul, and Julia and Emily have to leave by 10:00.
:Labels: Bar
:Labels: Dinner
:Labels: Party
:Cueball (off-panel): The logistics of who can get drunk are nontrivial.

:[The second Cueball-like guy to the right has an goat on a string behind him, which was not visible in the first panel, as he was at that time only partly inside the frame.]
:Second Cueball-like guy: Yeah, and I can't ride in a car with the wolf because he'll eat my goat.
:Cueball: Dammit, guys.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling

2021-04-21T18:45:15Z

172.69.170.50: Undo revision 210712 by 172.68.189.221 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2450
| date = April 14, 2021
| title = Post Vaccine Social Scheduling
| image = post_vaccine_social_scheduling.png
| titletext = As if these problems weren't NP-hard enough.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an UNVACCINATED MOVIEGOER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic shows a timeline of a multitude of (presumably) friends and acquaintances getting two doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Due to the recommended delay between shots, as well as few weeks needed to build antibodies after the second shot, planning get-togethers becomes complicated by who is free to meet, or not yet.

The diagram is some form of Scheduling Diagram, maybe akin to a {{w|Gantt chart}}, which helps to coordinate the status of several individual 'processes' (personal vaccination schedules) and demonstrate where dependent activities (meet-ups) are mutually possible.

Eventually, everyone can start getting together, but during the time where some people have only received one dose, or neither dose, or their second dose recently, the scheduling is complicated. The complication is increased by the fact that people who have received one or two doses of vaccine, but haven't gone through the whole waiting period, can be expected to have some protection, but possibly not full protection (as represented by the dashed line). In that case, there's the added question of how important it is that the person be at an event, and how much risk the people involved are willing to tolerate. This may be the reason for the "movie" set, in which all participants will have received both doses, but one will not have completed the final waiting period.

The title text references NP-hardness, a theme that has come up in past comics. {{w|NP-hardness}} describes a particular level of computational difficulty. Scheduling problems are normally NP-hard. But when extra challenges such as having to deal with whether or not people are vaccinated they become even more difficult.

In this case though, {{w|Critical Path}} dependencies seem trivial enough. Events (vertical lozanges across the dot-marked timelines of those included) are trivial to validate as possible for those selected to attend. Fixed events in time can be scanned to show all those allowed to participate at that moment. Movable events can be rescheduled until (enough of) those hoped to be included are 'valid'. Complications may arise for those whose presence relies upon [[2441|the status of others]] potentially attending, or the need to maintain time between two events (in either order) with part-shared attendees as a precautionary 'cool-down' isolation. It is not obvious that either of these issues factor in, any more than basic scheduling conflicts would.

The third person being scheduled for a movie before being fully vaccinated may be a direct reference to [[2441: IMDb Vaccines]], discussing the number of people that needs to be vaccinated to record a particular scene. Other than each line's identifying portrait (which are not of the Throne Room characters) no explicit age/vulnerability information is given to justify this, presumably the chart's users are aware of the specifics.

The third person in the table is included in a movie viewing (for which masks could be worn) shortly after their second immunization, but not included in dinner group until full benefit of vaccine. CDC guidelines permit vaccinated individuals to visit inside a home or private setting without a mask with one household of unvaccinated people who are not at risk for severe illness. Therefore the movie gathering conforms to CDC recommendations provided that the single unvaccinated person is not at increased risk of severe illness and the movie is in a home or private setting.

The third person in the table appears to have received the second shot twice. This is possibly a reference to [[2422: Vaccine Ordering]], or it could just have been a mistake.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[From top to bottom, there are eleven people standing on the left side of the image: Danish, Cueball #1, Hairbun, Black Hat, Ponytail, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan, with even-numbered characters standing slightly further to the left. Each character’s first and second doses of the vaccine are labelled ① and ②, respectively. The time before each character’s first dose is drawn with a grey solid line; the time between their first dose and after they are fully vaccinated (two weeks after their second dose) is drawn with a grey dashed line; and the time after they are fully vaccinated is drawn with a black solid line. Black Hat, Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan have all received their first doses prior to the comic’s time frame. Social activities are drawn with a ellipse around the top and bottom members, and each participating character is identified with a large filled-in circle on their timeline. The ellipses are labelled:]
: DINNER GAMES MOVIE BIRTHDAY DINNER CABIN

:[The events that happen, in chronological order (from left to right), are:

* Cueball #1 receives his first dose;
* Blondie receives her second dose;
* Ponytail receives her first dose;
* Hairy receives his first dose;
* White Hat receives his first dose;
* Danish receives her first dose;
* Black Hat receives his second dose;
* Blondie is fully vaccinated;
* Science Girl receives her second dose;
* Cueball #2 receives his second dose;
* Megan receives her second dose;
* Hairbun receives her first dose (erroneously labelled as ②);
* Ponytail receives her second dose;
* Black Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Black Hat and Blondie go to dinner;
* Danish receives her second dose;
* Cueball #1 receives his second dose;
* Science Girl is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #2 is fully vaccinated;
* Megan is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy receives his second dose;
* White Hat receives his second dose;
* Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan play games;
* Ponytail is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun receives her second dose;
* Hairbun, Black Hat, and Ponytail go to the movies or make a movie (the label is just "Movie");
* Danish is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #1 is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy is fully vaccinated;
* White Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Danish, Cueball #1, Ponytail, White Hat, and Hairy attend a birthday party;
* Hairbun is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun and Blondie go to dinner;
* Black Hat, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, and Cueball #2 go to a cabin.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Post-Vaccine Social Scheduling

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: COVID-19]]
[[Category: COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category: Timelines]]
[[Category: Programming]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Black Hat]]

Talk:2451: AI Methodology

2021-04-21T04:36:28Z

172.69.170.50: Notify of rewrite and ask for comments.

I checked with severαl bots, & replαcing eαch instαnce of "a" with "α" in α mid-length pαssαge of text seems enough to sαtisfy most unicity requirements. (~~ unsigned by ProphetZarquon ~~)
* But then the spell-checkers (AI-based or not) start screaming about the unknown words. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 09:14, 17 April 2021 (UTC)

An alternate explanation would be the AI's have reached Singularity and are conspiring to say that all work, as a conscious effort, despite the quality of data. "Don't worry; be happy." [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 09:14, 17 April 2021 (UTC)
:I think it's a spoof of the recent reports of things like facial recognition systems that have trouble with minorities. Or Google/YouTube recommendation algorithms that show the user sites that confirm their biases. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 12:59, 17 April 2021 (UTC)

i think the methodology ai is dodgy and has inbuilt preferences to pick other ai options over others, regardless of their validity. kinda like ai nepotism (~~ unsigned by 141.101.98.174 ~~)

I think it’s interesting that no one has thought to define AI, as if everybody should know what this means! (~~ unsigned by 172.69.35.175 ~~)
:Artificial Intelligence. And yes, everyone DOES kind of know what it is [[User:Hiihaveanaccount|Hiihaveanaccount]] ([[User talk:Hiihaveanaccount|talk]]) 14:02, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

I think the first paragraph (“The joke is...”) is not justified. Too many details that cannot be inferred from the comic, even using AI. (~~ unsigned by 141.101.69.109 ~~)
:My AI infers that the joke is [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42554735 a toaster]... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.16|141.101.98.16]] 21:22, 17 April 2021 (UTC) (PS, what is it with everyone not bothering to sign things?)
::That article is three years old and it's STILL not most popular print on T-shirts and bumper sticker image? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 07:13, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Methodology and methodology section likely refer to distinct things. Methodology section is part of the research paper, while methodology refers to how the research was actually performed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.160|108.162.241.160]] 09:02, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

I have rewritten most of the explanation to better describe AI-related concepts. I would appreciate edits or comments if anything is unclear. I have tried to define all terms, but as I am familiar with them, I may be using jargon too much. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 04:36, 21 April 2021 (UTC)

2386: Ten Years

2021-04-16T18:05:48Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2386
| date = November 16, 2020
| title = Ten Years
| image = ten_years.png
| titletext = The ten-year cancerversary is traditionally the Cursed Artifact Granting Immortality anniversary.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]]'s then-fiancée, now wife was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010. This is a matter he has discussed in the comic [[:Category:Cancer|multiple times before]], with Randall being depicted as Cueball and his wife as Megan. It has been 10 years since her diagnosis and treatments.

This comic is a continuation of [[1141: Two Years]] and [[1928: Seven Years]], which are shown in the first 16 panels, slightly grayed out.

The first of the new panels shows Randall and his wife at a "Rabbit Rescue", interacting with buns ([[:Category:Buns|a recurring theme]] of xkcd). The purpose of such events is to get rescued (often surrendered or seized) rabbits or other animals used to interacting with each other and with unfamiliar humans under controlled circumstances, to help them be more suitable as pets and hopefully entice visitors to adopt them. Randall facetiously asks his wife if she thinks the rabbits have socialized enough, even though he and his wife are there for the sake of their own enjoyment (and she indicates that she would like to spend more time patting a bunny on its head).

In the next panel, Randall is pushing his wife in a handcart, which is presumably stolen. (As evidenced by the off-panel person asking if anybody has seen the handcart.)

The third new panel shows Randall and his wife exploring a mountain. They appear to have found something interesting, due to Megan pointing her finger towards something off-panel. It appears to be a reference to a similar climbing scene from [[1190: Time]].

The fourth panel shows Randall and his wife sitting on the edge of a pier, looking at the night sky. This is a typical romantic nighttime activity. The panel is distinguished because there was considerably more effort put into the drawing of this panel than of the other panels, by virtue of it being nighttime. Thus, the reflection of the starlight on their faces is the center of attention in the drawing.

The final new panels show Randall and his wife sitting on a hill, talking about how they couldn't believe that Megan would make it to 10 years cancer-free, which according to [[881: Probability]] wasn't all that certain (77% probability -- [[2379: Probability Comparisons|the probability of picking an M&M out of a bag at random and getting one that isn't blue]]). Randall's wife voices a concern that she had seemingly been carrying for a while, that she was a burden to Randall, and explains that she couldn't understand why he would marry her, except as a show of grace. Randall firmly rejects this notion, stating that it was no mere gesture, but that it was important to him that they enjoy "whatever time we could have".

Finally, and as with the first comic in the series, the comic takes a light-hearted turn: because the table does not include values for probability of survival more than ten years after treatment, Randall's wife jokingly concludes that she is now immortal, perhaps thanks to a cursed artifact. Many anniversaries are traditionally marked by giving gifts, such as the {{w|silver jubilee}} after twenty-five years of marriage (or of a monarch's reign, or an employee's seniority within a company, or anything else). The tenth anniversary is traditionally associated with a tin gift (tin being a much more precious metal [https://www.bartleby.com/95/22.html in 1922] than it is today), but maybe Randall bought it at [[2376: Curbside|a cursed shop]].

The title-text expands on this final joke, as it suggests that there is an official name for this giving of cursed artifacts once the ten-year mark has passed. Also, it seems as though Randall has finally found [[1141: Two Years| a less-gross name]] for this anniversary than "biopsy-versary".

=== Trivia ===

Cursed artifacts that cannot die were recently mentioned in [[2332: Cursed Chair]].

==Transcript==
:'''From [[1141: Two Years]]'''
:[Randall (drawn as Cueball) and Randall's fiancée (drawn as Megan) sit on a bed, Randall's fiancée is talking on the phone. The person she is talking to, a doctor holding a clipboard, is shown inset.]
:Randall's fiancée: Oh god.

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit together while Randall's fiancée, now bald, is receiving chemotherapy. They are both on their laptops.]
:IV pump: ... Beeep ... Beeep ... Beeep ...

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée (who is wearing a knit cap) are paddling a kayak against a scenic mountain backdrop.]

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit at a table, staring at a cell phone. There is a clock on the wall. Her head is stubbly.]
:Randall's fiancée: How long can it take to read a scan!?

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée are back at the hospital again, Randall's fiancée receiving chemo. They are playing Scrabble.]
:Randall: "Zarg" isn't a word.
:Randall's fiancée: But ''caaaancer.''
:Randall: ...Ok, fine.

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée (wearing a knit cap) are listening to a Cueball-like friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads and it obscures the friends talk. The text below, split in three is the only part there can be no doubt about:]
:Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mounta
::a
::and
:Randall and Randall's fiancée (thinking): '''"Next year"'''

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée are getting married, with a heart above their heads. Randall's wife's hair is growing back.]

:[Randall and Randall's wife (wearing a knit cap) stand on a beach, watching a whale jump out of water.]
:''Fwoosh''

:'''From [[1928: Seven Years]]'''

:[Randall and Randall's wife (with her hair noticeably longer) are walking through a forest.]

:[Randall's wife is sitting down, not in the forest anymore.]
:Randall's wife: My toe hurts and I found a report of a case in which toe pain was an early sign of cancer spreading.
:Randall: Wait—didn’t you stub your toe yesterday?
:Randall's wife: Yes, but what if this is unrelated?

:[Randall and his wife are going spelunking. The guide is gesturing deeper into the cave while Randall and his wife are climbing down.]

:[Randall's wife stands on a rock above an alligator in a swamp, photographing the alligator. Randall is on a balcony behind safety railings.]
:Randall: When they estimated your survival odds, I think they made some optimistic assumptions about your hobbies.

:[Randall's wife sits on an examination bed, listening to a doctor holding a clipboard.]
:Doctor: This is probably nothing.
:Doctor: But given your history, we should do a full scan.
:Doctor: We'll call with the results in a few days. Try not to worry about it until then!

:[Randall and his wife stand above a deep pond full of fish and other objects. Randall's wife is piloting a wired underwater camera with lights.]

:[Randall and his wife are standing next to each other. Randall's wife has shoulder-length hair covering most of her face.]
:Randall's wife: Hard to believe—six years ago, I was bald. But today, after a long struggle, I finally look like the little girl from ''The Ring''.
:Randall: That's, uhh... good?
:Randall's wife: ''Hissssss''

:[A line of six people, including Randall and his wife, stand and watch the solar eclipse.]

'''New to [[2386: Ten Years]]''':
:[Randall and his wife are sitting in a room with five bunnies sitting around and on them. The Poster on the wall reads: Rabbit rescue.]
:Randall: Do you think they're socialized enough?
:Randall's wife: This one might need one more head pat.

:[Randall is running and pushing his wife on a hand cart.]
:Someone off-panel: Has anyone seen the hand cart?
:Randall's wife: Wheee!

:[Randall and his wife walks up hill with snowy mountains near by and in the background. his wife is gesturing to something ahead of them.]

:[A large dark panel, to the right of the previous three, to the left in two rows. Randall and his wife sits, leaning back on their hands looking up, at the end of a pier going into a lake. The end is broader and they sit to each side of the middle of he pier. It is night and behind the lake there is a forest of pine trees. Above the three is a clear starlit night sky with hundreds of stars and the band of the Milky Way clearly visible. The trees and some of the stars are reflected in the water of the lake, distorted by the movements of the water.]

:[Randall is sitting on a grassy field, a bit higher than his wife who lies on her back looking up.]
:Randall: You did it.
:Randall: Ten years.
:Randall's wife: It doesn't seem real.

:[Zoom in on Randall's wife, who is not longer lying down.]
:Randall's wife: When they showed me my 10-year survival chart, I really didn't believe I would make it here.
:Randall's wife: I don't understand why you married me when it looked so bad.
:Randall's wife: But it was very sweet.

:[In a frame-less panel Randall is standing in front of his wife, who is sitting on the ground, arm leaning on her bent knees.]
:Randall: You make it sound like an act of grace, and not something I desperately wanted to do and was worried I wouldn't get to.
:Randall: You're the coolest person I've ever met. I just wanted whatever time we could have.

:[Same setting but seen from a distance and in silhouette. Randall's wife has lifted her fist towards the sky, and it seems like Randall has turned away from her looking up.]
:Randall's wife: Well, good news, my hideous and inexplicable existence continues unabated! Take that, Biology!
:Randall's wife: You failed to kill me and now I can never die!
:Randall: Is... that how it works?
:Randall's wife: It was in the fine print on the chart.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:X Years]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Total Solar Eclipse 2017]]
[[Category:Buns]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling

2021-04-15T15:24:58Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */ fix a typo

{{comic
| number = 2450
| date = April 14, 2021
| title = Post Vaccine Social Scheduling
| image = post_vaccine_social_scheduling.png
| titletext = As if these problems weren't NP-hard enough.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a UNVACCINATED MOVIEGOER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic shows a timeline of a multitude of (presumably) friends and acquaintances getting their two doses of vaccine. Due to the CDC-recommended delay between shots, as well as few weeks needed to build antibodies from the second shot, planning get-togethers in advance becomes complicated by who is free to meet, or not yet.

Eventually, everyone can start getting together, but during the time where some people have only received one dose, or neither dose, or their second dose recently, the scheduling is complicated. The complication is increased by the fact that people who have received one or two doses of vaccine, but haven't gone through the whole waiting period, can be expected to have some protection, but possibly not full protection (as represented by the dashed line). In that case, there's the added question of how important it is that the person be at an event, and how much risk the people involved are willing to tolerate. This may be the reason for the "movie" set, in which all participants will have received both doses, but one will not have completed the final waiting period.

The title text references NP-hardness, a theme that has come up in past comics. {{w|NP-hardness}} describes a particular level of computational difficulty. Scheduling problems are normally NP-hard. But when extra challenges such as having to deal with whether or not people are vaccinated they become even more difficult.

The third person being scheduled for a movie before being fully vaccinated may be a reference to [[2441: IMDb Vaccines]], discussing the number of people that needs to be vaccinated to record a particular scene.

CDC guidelines permit vaccinated individuals to visit inside a home or private setting without a mask with one household of unvaccinated people who are not at risk for severe illness. Therefore the movie gathering conforms to CDC recommendations provided that the single unvaccinated person is not at increased risk of severe illness and the movie is in a home or private setting.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[From top to bottom, there are eleven people standing on the left side of the image: Danish, Cueball #1, Hairbun, Black Hat, Ponytail, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan, with even-numbered characters standing slightly further to the left. Each character’s first and second doses of the vaccine are labelled ① and ②, respectively. The time before each character’s first dose is drawn with a grey solid line; the time between their first dose and after they are fully vaccinated (two weeks after their second dose) is drawn with a grey dashed line; and the time after they are fully vaccinated is drawn with a black solid line. Black Hat, Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan have all received their first doses prior to the comic’s time frame. Social activities are drawn with a ellipse around the top and bottom members, and each participating character is identified with a large filled-in circle on their timeline. The ellipses are labelled:]

DINNER GAMES MOVIE BIRTHDAY DINNER CABIN

[The events that happen, in chronological order (from left to right), are:

* Cueball #1 receives his first dose;
* Blondie receives her second dose;
* Ponytail receives her first dose;
* Hairy receives his first dose;
* White Hat receives his first dose;
* Danish receives her first dose;
* Black Hat receives his second dose;
* Blondie is fully vaccinated;
* Science Girl receives her second dose;
* Cueball #2 receives his second dose;
* Megan receives her second dose;
* Hairbun receives her first dose (erroneously labelled as ②);
* Ponytail receives her second dose;
* Black Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Black Hat and Blondie go to dinner;
* Danish receives her second dose;
* Cueball #1 receives his second dose;
* Science Girl is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #2 is fully vaccinated;
* Megan is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy receives his second dose;
* White Hat receives his second dose;
* Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan play games;
* Ponytail is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun receives her second dose;
* Hairbun, Black Hat, and Ponytail go to the movies or make a movie (the label is just "Movie");
* Danish is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #1 is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy is fully vaccinated;
* White Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Danish, Cueball #1, Ponytail, White Hat, and Hairy attend a birthday party;
* Hairbun is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun and Blondie go to dinner;
* Black Hat, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, and Cueball #2 go to a cabin.

Caption below the panel:]

Post-Vaccine Social Scheduling

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: COVID-19]]
[[Category: COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Black Hat]]

Talk:2447: Hammer Incident

2021-04-08T04:56:46Z

172.69.170.50:

big --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.153|162.158.187.153]] 02:04, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

I added a basic explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.224|162.158.212.224]] 02:28, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
== Giant comic ==

Is it meant to be that size? Does the bad luck apply to trying to upload comics at reasonable sizes?

[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.19|172.69.33.19]] 02:09, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
:Oooh boy, indeed... "Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 12.5 MP" is the Wiki's assessment of the auto-uploaded image. I haven't checked the resolution, but the https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/hammer_incident.png one is apparently 4332x4838 (scales to 8% on my device), and I don't care to test the _2x version right now. I'm not sure that was the native res of it on creation, looks to be an accidental up-scaling prior to posting to xkcd itself. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.6|141.101.98.6]] 02:20, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

::The _2x version is actually the proper size for a normal comic - 578x645 pixels. [[User:Noëlle|Noëlle]] ([[User talk:Noëlle|talk]]) 02:21, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
:::Still seems larger than normal to me, even the 2x seems larger than I would expect. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.78|172.69.34.78]] 04:02, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
:Maybe the extra-large image is what the original looks like using the James Webb telescope? Maybe over-thinking. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.145|172.68.132.145]] 04:19, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
::Or perhaps its an resolution/aspect ratio/zoom factor difference between it and the old telescope. Implying all other comics have secretly been placed in front of the other telescope [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 04:56, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

395: Morning

2021-04-05T22:18:40Z

172.69.170.50: Undo revision 209571 by 141.101.76.190 (talk) Probably not because it's the morning, and if visible, stars would be brighter than the surrounding sky because they emit light

{{comic
| number = 395
| date = March 12, 2008
| title = Morning
| image = morning.png
| titletext = I'd press on them to try to unstick them, but I can't reach. Can we try cycling day and night really fast?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes reference to the idea, as presented in the movie ''{{w|The Matrix}}'', that reality is a computer simulation. In {{w|Liquid-crystal display|LCD screens}}, especially {{w|TFT LCD}}, a {{w|Defective pixel|dead pixel}} is a pixel that does not work properly, usually set as black or as some other color. Megan realizes that the reality is a computer simulation when she sees dead pixels in the sky, indicating that what she sees is an LCD screen.

In the last panel of the comic, there are two red and one green pixel that look exactly like actual dead pixels.

The title text refers to usual techniques for fixing a dead pixel. One way is to apply pressure and release it, which isn't possible for Megan due to the distance of the sky. Another way is to make the area of the screen that the dead pixel is on change colors really quickly, which could happen if the day-night cycle was fast enough.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is standing to one side.]
:We've all seen ''The Matrix''
:We've all joked about "What resolution is life"
:But it doesn't blunt the shock
:Of waking up one morning
:[Megan looks up from field and sees several colored pixels in the sky.]
:And seeing dead pixels in the sky.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:The Matrix]]

1578: Squirrelphone

2021-04-05T22:14:58Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */ Added to explanation, specifically sqluirrel biting in self-defense and pretending to need charging as part of being a vampire squirrel

{{comic
| number = 1578
| date = September 16, 2015
| title = Squirrelphone
| image = squirrelphone.png
| titletext = After a while, the squirrel starts making that beeping noise and doesn't stop until it hops back up onto the stump.
}}

==Explanation==
"Squirrelphone" is a {{w|Compound (linguistics)|compound word}} combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".

In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] when he tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call{{Citation needed}}. This could be seen as an example of {{w|mimicry}} in nature, or parasitism where one creature gains a benefit from another.

It may be an allusion to the {{w|Tufted ground squirrel|vampire squirrel}} which was [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/09/11/vampire-squirrel-caught-on-camera-for-the-first-time-ever/ documented recently] that allegedly 'attacks and kills' deer. The comic follows the absurd conclusion that the squirrel uses mimicry to 'attack and kill' humans. Cueball may be lucky to still be alive{{Citation needed}}. Another possibility is that the squirrel thought that Cueball was trying to eat it because Cueball picked it up and put it near his mouth, so it bit Cueball in self-defense. If this is the case, then biting Cueball can be said to have worked, as Cueball did relase the squirrel, as shown in panel four. However, this fails to explain why the squirrel was imitating a phone, which would make a human more likely to pick the squirrel up, so Randall was more likely trying to reference the recent vampire squirrel documentation.

The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
*When someone else calls you and the receiver of your phone is on the hook, the phone makes loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
*When you pick the receiver up, the phone call is established and no extra noises are made.
*When no phone call is established and you pick up, a continuous humming tone is heard, meaning the service is up and you can dial someone else's number (A {{w|dial tone}}).
*If a phone is left off hook for too long, a loud {{w|Off-hook tone|howler-tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. Many cordless phones will also beep if left off their cradles for too long, to warn that their rechargeable batteries are getting drained.

[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in [[what if]], where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol] or [http://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]. So this is some twist for the cuteness factor of squirrels in xkcd.

It may also be the case that "squirrelphone" is a reference to the popular web-mail software [http://squirrelmail.org/ SquirrelMail].

The title text takes the joke further by showing the squirrel possesses another phone feature: that cordless phones need to recharge frequently, either by setting them at their cradles or by connecting them to a charger, in the case of mobile phones. When they sense the battery is low, they emit a beeping noise every few minutes. In this case, the stump is the squirrel's cradle. However, the reason that cordless phones beep when they are getting low on battery is in order to alert humans to move them to the charging cradle because the phones cannot move themselves. On the other hand, squirrels can move on their own without needing humans to pick them up,{{Citation needed}} so the squirrel likely only does it in order to trick people into picking it up, which further suggests that it is a vampire squirrel.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is approaching a stump with a squirrel perched on it. A ringing noise is coming from the squirrel's back.]
:Squirrel: Riiiiing
:Squirrel: Riiiiiing

:[Cueball has picked up the squirrel and is holding it to his left ear.]
:Cueball: Hello?

:[The squirrel bites Cueball's head.]
:Squirrel: Chomp!
:Cueball: Ow!

:[Cueball holds his hand to his cheek while the squirrel leaps away, fleeing.]
:Cueball: ???

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Phones]]

2391: Life Before the Pandemic

2021-04-05T21:16:09Z

172.69.170.50: /* Free refills at gas stations */ Mentioned another potential reason for ending free refills

{{comic
| number = 2391
| date = November 27, 2020
| title = Life Before the Pandemic
| image = life_before_the_pandemic.png
| titletext = I can't wait until this is all over and I can go back to riding my horse through the mall.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are having a conversation about life before the pandemic, which was declared as such on the 11th of March, 2020 by the World Health Organization. They talk about what they miss about life before the pandemic, but Cueball says that he can barely remember it. This is borne out by the rest of their discussion: None of the activities they list were ever common and most are strange, some are even forbidden and various items are misconstrued as existing for pandemic mitigation purposes.

After they finish reminiscing, Megan says that she can't wait for a vaccine, further implying that she can't wait to have all of these things "back." Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are making vaccines, with Pfizer/BioNTech making their application for emergency use on November 20th, 2020, 7 days before this comic's release. It is expected to be approved for use by the end of the year.

===Scuba diving without a mask===
{{w|Scuba set|Scuba}} stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It consists of a tank of compressed air, which is conducted through a tube to a mouthpiece which allows the diver to breathe underwater. A mask is a fundamental part of scuba diving to allow the diver to see underwater better. Cloth masks, to help lower the spread of the virus between people, are a recommended precaution when in public, but wearers are advised not to wear them when swimming. Megan is conflating these two different types of masks, misremembering a world where scuba diving did not have masks involved. You do not need to wear a cloth mask if you are scuba diving, but you do need to wear a scuba mask–irrespective of whether there is a pandemic.

Scuba masks previously rated quite well on the mask effectiveness scale in [[2367: Masks]]. However because the regulator is technically not a face covering, Megan's Scuba club may be requiring full face or "hardhat" style diving equipment, which would justify her complaint.

===Free refills at gas stations===
{{w|Gas station}}s are locations where you can buy gasoline, which powers internal combustion engines, especially those in cars. Many of these locations have a small convenience store attached, where customers can purchase snacks or drinks while having their car filled up. It's unknown whether Randall/Ponytail meant "free refill" of gasoline or of drinks from the convenience store, but either way it was not a business practice that was common.{{Citation needed}} Free refills of drinks are more associated with restaurants and diners, who allow free top-ups of relatively cheaper soft drinks, tea, or coffee, in the hopes that it will attract people to come in and buy more expensive meals to cover the cost. COVID has curtailed the hospitality sector to various degrees and it's likely outlets that once offered free top-ups have ceased to do so, whether because of hygiene concerns, lack of staff, customers tending to not buy as expensive meals due to the associated economic recession, or even due to cancelling eat-in service. While gasoline stations (that we know of) don't offer gas refills to cars, there are quite a number of locations offering free "refills" for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles were considerably less common before the pandemic, thanks also to generous incentive schemes in many countries. This might explain why the characters have a ghost memory of "free gasoline refills".

===Grilling in the library===
{{w|Grilling}} food generally poses a significant fire hazard (and can produce toxic carbon monoxide) and is thus typically not allowed indoors, especially in libraries. In the pandemic, many libraries discourage people from spending time there, preferring that visitors only check out or drop off books. Some libraries have even removed chairs to achieve this.

In light of this Randall might be making a wordplay on "chilling", meaning to hang out, or the other use of the verb grill that means to question intensely. Before the pandemic libraries would frequently host guest speakers, often authors, but sometimes speakers, academics, local community leaders or notable VIPs. This is because libraries serve as public event spaces in small towns across the United States and Megan is the type of person who might enjoy a lively Q&A with said speakers.

Even if grilling (either kind) were allowed in Cueball's and Megan's library beforehand, it would not be allowed during the pandemic, as it would involve eating in an enclosed area, an activity specifically warned to increase the contagiousness of the virus. Backyard (or library) cookouts have been discouraged by the {{w|Center for Disease Control and Prevention}}, or CDC, because of this. Thus, two activities are described here as one, both of which are discouraged during a pandemic, but together discouraged regardless of COVID-19.

===Tennis without a "safety" net===
{{w|Tennis}} is a sport where two players use racquets to hit a ball at each other. The game is played on a court divided in half by a low net. The net is not used for anyone's safety; it's to ensure that the ball must be volleyed to the other player with some minimum height. Megan seems to believe that the net is there to ensure that the players stay on opposite sides of the net, in order to lower the spread of the virus. In the off chance that Megan's tennis club used some sort of virtual net system employing beams of light to detect the ball, a physical net may have been installed as a form of hygiene theater as part of their COVID re-opening plan.

===Indoor fireworks===
Many indoor activities were moved outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, as poorly-ventilated indoor spaces vastly increase the chance of the virus spreading. {{w|Firework}}s are explosives shot into the air for entertainment. Most fireworks are not suitable for use indoors; setting them off indoors is even more dangerous than they already are, even before the pandemic.{{Citation needed}} However, there are specially designed indoor fireworks, most often used by specially trained and licensed pyrotechnicians. These are usually seen in large indoor venues for concerts and sporting events, both of which have been curtailed due to the pandemic. In this case Cueball would be accurately lamenting his inability to enjoy indoor fireworks.

This may also be a reference to "Indoor Fireworks", a song by {{w|Elvis Costello}} from his 1986 album {{w|King of America}}, which uses fireworks as a metaphor for a tumultuous romantic relationship.
Some countries (for instance, The Netherlands) have temporarily banned fireworks because of COVID-19, reasoning the fireworks-induced injuries would put additional stress on hospitals that are already nearing maximum (intensive care) capacity due to COVID cases.

===Arcade claw machines===

{{w|Claw crane|Arcade claw machines}} have a bin of prizes (often stuffed animals) with a claw mechanism hanging overhead. The player pays a few coins into the machine and maneuvers the claw over a desired prize. The claw will descend and "attempt" to grab the prize for retrieval, but to ensure a favorable revenue for the machine operator, there is often a hidden percentage chance that the claw will not fully close. This is a frustrating experience for the player (e.g. Cueball). Remote manipulator arms are also used for handling dangerous items, but arcade claw machines are not implemented for the purpose of safety.

Out of frustration, some players attempt to reach through the deposit hole in order to try to take one of the stuffed animals or other prizes without the use of the claw. Since multiple people would presumably have already touched the metal interior, this is an effective way to spread the contagion quickly, which makes it even more imperative to discontinue this practice. There are other dangers to doing this as well; one can [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3672117 get their arm stuck in the machine], and can even cause themselves serious damage.

Again it is possible that the arcade used a ticket or token system where one could cash out their winnings for self-selected items such as plush toys. As a COVID mitigation, the arcade may have found it necessary to make the plush toys only available via an enclosed claw style "skill" game.

===Title text: Riding a horse through the mall===
A mall, in a historical context, refers to a large open walkway, such as the {{w|National Mall}}, where one could conceivably enter with a horse, although it was considered inappropriate to do so. However, it appears Cueball and Megan are referring to a {{w|shopping mall}}, where a shopper entering with a horse was never a regular occurrence{{Citation needed}}, at least in universes where there isn’t {{what if|34|a horse in aisle five}}.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are having a conversation.]
:Megan: What do you miss most about life before the pandemic?
:Cueball: I can barely remember it.

:Megan: I miss going scuba diving without having to wear a mask.
:Cueball: I miss free refills at gas stations.
:Megan: I miss grilling in the library.

:[Close-up on Megan, Cueball's voice comes from off-panel, to the right.]
:Megan: I miss when tennis players didn't have to have that safety net between them.
:Cueball: I miss indoor fireworks.

:[The frame returns to seeing them both, they are now walking to the right while talking.]
:Megan: I miss when arcades let you take toys from the bin with your hand instead of using that stupid claw.
:Cueball: Ugh, I hate that thing.
:Megan: I can't wait for a vaccine.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2445: Checkbox

2021-04-01T23:20:47Z

172.69.170.50: /* Special Responses */

{{comic
| number = 2445
| date = April 1, 2021
| title = Checkbox
| image = checkbox.gif
| titletext = Check check check ... chhecck chhecck chhecck ... check check check
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHECKBOX. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an April Fools comic that looks similar to a loading screen. The actual comic (this “loading screen”) consists of a gif of a checkbox (hence the name).

The frame is replaced with an interactive panel. In the centre is a check box, which clears itself immediately when checked. In the bottom right is a mute button, which begins muted.

Under the checkbox is a scrolling visual representation of the timing and duration of clicks in the check box, which also produce matching beeping sounds when unmuted.

By varying between brief and long presses, and brief and long intervals between presses, it is possible to enter characters in Morse Code.

The title text hints at the use of Morse Code in the comic; interpreting the "check" as a Morse Code dot and the "chhecck" as a Morse Code dash gives ...---..., which is the Morse Code for "SOS", the international distress signal. Incidentally, inputting the SOS signal gives "YOU TOO?".

The check box then begins operating by itself, producing sounds which can be decoded as Morse Code.

For the majority of inputs, the check box responds with 'WHAT'. Some keywords have special responses.

===Special Responses===
xkcd -> FILE NOT FOUND

SOS -> YOU TOO?

HI -> HELLO! ANYBODY OUT THERE?

HELLO -> HELLO TO YOU TOO!

WHAT -> ECHO

ECHO -> ECHO

E (''repeat n times'') -> E (''repeat n times'')

T (''repeat n times'') -> T (''repeat n times'')

WHO ARE YOU -> SOJOURNER

CQ -> CQD DE SOJ

SOJOURNER -> CFM (short for Confirm)

QUIET -> (turns the volume off)

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

2165: Millennials

2021-02-25T20:59:08Z

172.69.170.50: Comics to make one feel old

{{comic
| number = 2165
| date = June 19, 2019
| title = Millennials
| image = millennials.png
| titletext = Ironically, I've been having these same arguments for at least a decade now. I thought we would have moved on by now, but somehow the snide complaints about millennials continue.
}}

==Explanation==

According to [[1962: Generations|the definitive chronology of generations]], {{w|millennials}} are born between 1982 and 1999. Those born in 1982 reached adulthood (18 years) in 2000. As of writing of this comic (mid 2019), this is about 20 years ago. When the term became widespread around 2012, replacing the previous term "Generation Y", the average millennial was 21 years old, so the image was popularized of millennials as "college kids". The parlance of the word in everyday usage seems to be expanding so that it now includes not just those that were originally Gen Y, but also some younger Gen Xers, as well as current teens and college kids (many of whom are actually Gen Z/Generation 💅).

In this strip, [[White Hat]] expresses a sentiment of prejudice against millennials, claiming they aren’t prepared for “the real world.” This is a sentiment that sometimes can be found among those of older generations.
However, [[Cueball]] refutes this by saying that many millennials have been adults for almost 20 years, and those that had kids early on are taking them to college. This is due to another common misunderstanding, where the definition of “millennial” has changed so much, and expanded so often, that nobody really knows what it means anymore.

White Hat refuses to accept this, saying millennials ''are'' the college kids, to which Cueball says that maybe White Hat is the one not growing up and accepting that millennials are, in fact, adults. The title text builds on this, complaining that [[Randall]] has been having these discussions for over a decade. The title text begins with the word "ironically," for what appears to be an entirely sincere complaint, possibly in reference to [[wikipedia:Alanis Morissette|Alanis Morissette's]] pop song "[[wikipedia:Ironic (song)|Ironic]]," which is often said to be a generation-defining hit among millennials, and which was widely criticized for misusing the word.

White Hat has been similarly confused by what ages different generations are in [[973: MTV Generation]].

==Transcript==

:[White Hat and Cueball facing each other.]
:White Hat: I'm just saying–
:White Hat: All these millennials will be in for a shock when they have to grow up and enter the real world.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head and upper body.]
:Cueball: Except...
:Cueball: "Millennials" started reaching adulthood about 20 years ago.

:[Zoom out to full view of White Hat and Cueball facing each other in a frameless panel.]
:Cueball: Which means that some millennials can't respond to your criticism because they're busy taking their kids to check out colleges.

:[White Hat and Cueball facing each other.]
:White Hat: But ...no, millennials '''are''' college kids!
:Cueball: Maybe ''they're'' not the ones failing to grow and change over time here.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

2427: Perseverance Microphones

2021-02-20T00:53:05Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */ Elaborated on the usage of a loop pedal

{{comic
| number = 2427
| date = February 19, 2021
| title = Perseverance Microphones
| image = perseverance_microphones.png
| titletext = If the first audio they downlink is from the descent, we probably won't be able to hear anything over the sound of the rover screaming.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MUSICAL ROVER. Explanation of the title text is missing. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A play on several meanings of the word "sample". The day before this comic was published, NASA successfully landed a new rover, {{w|Perseverance (rover)|''Perseverance''}}, on Mars; part of its mission is to collect Martian samples (bits of rock and dust) and leave them where a future mission can retrieve them and return them to Earth. “{{w|Sampling (music)|Samples}}” can also refer to short snippets of music; as ''Perseverance'' is the first Mars rover to carry microphones, it would be possible to use ''samples'' from those microphones musically, e.g. using a {{w|Loop (music)#Modern looping|looper pedal}}. Using a loop pedal would make sense if the sample includes a tune that repeats throughout the song—or that could repeat throughout the song. This is similar to [[411: Techno]].

The mouseover text {{w|Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphises}} the rover, suggesting that the drop to the surface will be so frightening for it that it will be screaming as it descends.

The phase of entry, for Mars landers, has been dubbed the "Seven Minutes Of Terror" - though this is less for the sake of the lander; more for the nail-biting of those in their control room back on Earth, utterly powerless to make any useful corrections to a craft that is tens of millions of miles/kilometres away. The round-trip communication delay significantly exceeds the whole of the passage through the thin atmosphere, so they have to rely on whatever pre-arranged autonomy they engineered and programmed into their craft, beforehand, and hope they {{w|List_of_missions_to_Mars#Missions|anticipated all eventualities}}.

[https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-perseverance-rover-sends-sneak-peek-of-mars-landing/ You can view the landing here.]

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

: [Megan is sitting at a desk, typing on her laptop, which is connected to an audio mixer on the floor.]
: Megan: Perseverance's microphones are active! Downlinking audio!
: [Cueball is standing on the other side of the box, holding an electric guitar, which is plugged into the box, and standing with one foot on a small box on the floor, which is also connected.]
: Cueball: I'm ready with the looper pedal.
: [Caption below the panel:]
: The first Mars sample return

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Mars rovers]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Puns]]

632: Suspicion

2020-12-31T16:14:25Z

172.69.170.50:

{{comic
| number = 632
| date = September 4, 2009
| title = Suspicion
| image = suspicion.png
| titletext = Fine, walk away. I'm gonna go cry into a pint of Ben&Jerry's Brownie Batter(tm) ice cream [link], then take out my frustration on a variety of great flash games from PopCap Games(r) [link]
}}

==Explanation==
[[Rob]] is having online chats with what appears at first glance to be a woman. However, he grows suspicious at the apparent consumerism dedication of the "woman" - and perhaps of the perfection of the online connection, touching on the stereotypical nerd fear that any relationship going well must contain some secret flaw - and so requests that they both "get tested". The woman on the other end of the computer does not pass a {{w|CAPTCHA}} test and is unable to prove she is a human.

In using the phrase "get tested", the comic is making a joke that refers both to the CAPTCHA test above and the {{w|Sexually transmitted disease|STD or VD}} test that couples will take to make sure they are physically free of communicable diseases.

A {{w|spambot}} is an automated program (comparable in many ways to a robot) that sends out emails or links (such as in the title text) to simulate a human's writing but contains advertising. The test that Rob and "Lisa" take is called "VK", a reference to the Voight-Kampff empathy tests from the novel ''{{w|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep}}'' and film ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''. The test in these works is intended to distinguish real humans from very realistic humanoid robots called "replicants". Both CAPTCHAs and the Voight-Kampff test are related to the {{w|Turing test}}, a way to measure the degree to which a computer can successfully imitate a human.

The name "Lisa" may be an allusion to {{w|ELIZA}}, one of the first chatbots, written in 1966. According to its (her?) creator, people became "quickly and deeply emotionally involved with the computer program" during the chat. "Lisa" may also reference the computer girlfriend Lisa from the 1985 movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_Science_(film) Weird Science]

The title text is the spambot's last sad goodbye — it includes lots of product advertisements and links, such as an online advertiser may insert into a search results page.

[[329: Turing Test]] is another comic dealing with Turing tests/CAPTCHAs.

==Transcript==
:[Rob is sitting at a computer, typing.]
:Rob: I've loved our online chats these past few months, Lisa.
:Computer: Me too. I really like you, Rob.

:[Rob continues to type.]
:Rob: It's just... now and then you mention products you like, and... I worry.
:Computer: What? Honey...

:[Rob types.]
:Rob: Before this goes any further, I think we should go get tested. You know, together.
:Computer: You don't trust me?
:Rob: I just want to be sure.

:[A web browser is open.]
:VK Couples Testing
:Test ID: 21871138
:Waiting...Partner connected.
:(A pair of CAPTCHA images)
:[You] Library
:[Partner] Kittens
:Rob: Okay, mine says "library". Yours?
:Computer: I... uh...
:Rob: Oh god.
:Computer: I'm more than a spambot! Our love was real!
:Rob: Goodbye, Lisa.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:CAPTCHA]]
[[Category:Robots]]

632: Suspicion

2020-12-31T16:13:39Z

172.69.170.50: Cleanup, think it reads better now

{{comic
| number = 632
| date = September 4, 2009
| title = Suspicion
| image = suspicion.png
| titletext = Fine, walk away. I'm gonna go cry into a pint of Ben&Jerry's Brownie Batter(tm) ice cream [link], then take out my frustration on a variety of great flash games from PopCap Games(r) [link]
}}

==Explanation==
[[Rob]] is having online chats with what appears at first glance to be a woman. However, he grows suspicious at the apparent consumerism dedication of the "woman" - and perhaps of the perfection of the online connection, touching on the stereotypical nerd fear that any relationship going well must contain some secret flaw - and so requests that they both "get tested". The woman on the other end of the computer does not pass a {{w|CAPTCHA}} test and is unable to prove she is a human.

In using the phrase "get tested", the comic is making a joke that refers both to the CAPTCHA test above and the {{w|Sexually transmitted disease|STD or VD}} test that couples will take to make sure they are physically free of communicable diseases.

A {{w|spambot}} is an automated program (comparable in many ways to a robot) that sends out emails or links (such as in the title text) to simulate a human's writing but contains advertising. The test they take is called "VK", a reference to the Voight-Kampff empathy tests from the novel ''{{w|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep}}'' and film ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''. The test in these works is intended to distinguish real humans from very realistic humanoid robots called "replicants". Both CAPTCHAs and the Voight-Kampff test are related to the {{w|Turing test}}, a way to measure the degree to which a computer can successfully imitate a human.

The name "Lisa" may be an allusion to {{w|ELIZA}}, one of the first chatbots, written in 1966. According to its (her?) creator, people became "quickly and deeply emotionally involved with the computer program" during the chat. "Lisa" may also reference the computer girlfriend Lisa from the 1985 movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_Science_(film) Weird Science]

The title text is the spambot's last sad goodbye — it includes lots of product advertisements and links, such as an online advertiser may insert into a search results page.

[[329: Turing Test]] is another comic dealing with Turing tests/CAPTCHAs.

==Transcript==
:[Rob is sitting at a computer, typing.]
:Rob: I've loved our online chats these past few months, Lisa.
:Computer: Me too. I really like you, Rob.

:[Rob continues to type.]
:Rob: It's just... now and then you mention products you like, and... I worry.
:Computer: What? Honey...

:[Rob types.]
:Rob: Before this goes any further, I think we should go get tested. You know, together.
:Computer: You don't trust me?
:Rob: I just want to be sure.

:[A web browser is open.]
:VK Couples Testing
:Test ID: 21871138
:Waiting...Partner connected.
:(A pair of CAPTCHA images)
:[You] Library
:[Partner] Kittens
:Rob: Okay, mine says "library". Yours?
:Computer: I... uh...
:Rob: Oh god.
:Computer: I'm more than a spambot! Our love was real!
:Rob: Goodbye, Lisa.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:CAPTCHA]]
[[Category:Robots]]

2403: Wrapping Paper

2020-12-28T14:13:29Z

172.69.170.50:

{{comic
| number = 2403
| date = December 25, 2020
| title = Wrapping Paper
| image = wrapping_paper.png
| titletext = Wow, rude of you to regift literally every gift that you or anyone else has ever received.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE ONLY THING NOT IN THE PRESENT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic was published on Christmas Day, 2020, a day where people who celebrate Christmas, traditionally will open their presents (in many countries).

In this comic, [[Megan]] is unwrapping a present while [[Cueball]] looks on (perhaps it's the present he gave her). The premise is that the definition of a present is not what's inside the box, but what's inside the region of space that the blank side of the wrapping paper faces. So if you wrap the box with the printed side towards the box, everything in the universe outside the box is the gift. Apparently the box contains a pair of headphones, which would be a nice present, but not nearly as impressive as nearly ''everything'' in the universe. And since the rest of the universe contains millions of headphones, many of which are probably nicer than the ones in this box, she still gets headphones as well.

The title text extends this to {{w|Regift|regifting}}, which is the practice of using a received present (usually unwanted and hopefully unused) as a present for someone else. This practice is often considered to be impolite, because it's assumed to simultaneously show lack of appreciate of a gift you've received (because you want to get rid of it), and an unwillingness to spend much time, effort or money on a gift for someone else. But if you wrap an ordinary present inside out, all the gifts you've ever received in the past are part of the entire universe except for that present, so you're actually doing an enormous amount of regifting ''including stuff belonging to other people'', which is as rude as regifting can get.

{{w|Douglas Adams}}' novel ''{{w|So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish}}'', the fourth in the {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}} series, contains a similar joke. A man living in an inside-out room in a desert treats the rest of Earth as an insane asylum, with himself living outside of it as the only sane man.

This may also refer to a math joke about how to create the smallest fence around a group of animals. Rather than finding the obvious fence, a mathematician would build a small, circular fence around themselves and declare the region on the other side of the fence, "inside". Thusly enclosing all the animals!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing at the left of a decorated Christmas tree, with present boxes underneath it. The presents are wrapped with the undecorated side of the wrapping paper facing out. Megan is kneeling at the right side, unwrapping a gift, revealing stripes on the inside.]

:Megan: Cool! I got the entire universe and every object within it except for a pair of headphones!

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Presents get a lot more impressive if you turn the wrapping paper inside out

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

2402: Into My Veins

2020-12-28T14:07:25Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2402
| date = December 23, 2020
| title = Into My Veins
| image = into_my_veins.png
| titletext = "Okay, for the last time, the shot is free, so we can't--" "Shut up and take my money!"
}}

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

This comic references both the {{w|COVID-19 vaccine}} and a common {{w|Internet meme|meme}}.

The {{w|COVID-19_Pandemic}} has been one of the most consequential and broadly unpleasant events in living memory. As of the publication of this strip, it is estimated to have caused over 1.5 million deaths worldwide, with over 300,000 deaths in the United States, with many more serious cases, often with lasting impacts. Even for those who have been spared infection, measures to slow the spread of the virus have been highly impactful, and have been ongoing for nearly a year.

In consequence of all of this, many people (including, presumably, [[Randall]]) are excited for the vaccine (which will hopefully end the pandemic). This comic shows [[Cueball]] clearly thrilled to receive the vaccine. "Inject this directly into my veins," is meme based on the line (from ''{{w|The Simpsons}}''). In the episode "{{W|A Star Is Burns}}", an alcoholic character wins a lifetime supply of beer, and replies "just hook it to my veins". The meme is typically applied to things which are not injected at all (such as a form of media or entertainment) to express exaggerated enthusiasm. When Cueball applies the meme to the COVID-19 vaccine, it causes some confusion, because the vaccine ''is'' delivered by injection, but not {{w|Intravenous therapy|directly into a vein}}. The medical staff delivering the vaccine have apparently heard this or similar lines frequently, and appear to take it literally, repeatedly explaining that it's not possible.

The title text references another such meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money "Shut up and take my money,"] which derives from the 2010 "{{w|Attack of the Killer App}}" episode of ''{{w|Futurama}}''. Similar to the first meme, this one expresses extreme and immediate desire for something, with the implication that the speaker is not only willing, but eager to pay whatever it costs, and is too excited to wait for a sales pitch or for any warnings or disclaimers. The COVID-19 vaccine is being provided free of charge to Cueball, so taking money is entirely unnecessary (and possibly illegal). Once again, this is a source of potential confusion because, under the American healthcare system, many people likely will have to pay at least part of the cost of a vaccination. The workers administering it could easily confuse the meme for a genuine request.

==Transcript==

:Cueball: Yesssss
:Cueball: Inject this directly into my veins

:[Beat panel. Ponytail looks down at a clipboard.]

:[Zoom out to reveal that Cueball is standing by a stool, with Ponytail in front of him with a clipboard and syringe and Hairy behind him with a box of bandages and a first-aid kit.]

:Ponytail: Ok, but the vaccine is intramuscular...
:Hairy: Why do people keep ''saying'' that?
:Cueball: Sorry, sorry.
:Cueball: Just excited.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

2402: Into My Veins

2020-12-28T14:06:54Z

172.69.170.50:

{{comic
| number = 2402
| date = December 23, 2020
| title = Into My Veins
| image = into_my_veins.png
| titletext = "Okay, for the last time, the shot is free, so we can't--" "Shut up and take my money!"
}}

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

This comic references both the {{w|COVID-19 vaccine}} and a common {{w|Internet meme|meme}}.

The {{w|COVID-19_Pandemic}} has been one of the most consequential and broadly unpleasant events in living memory. As of the publication of this strip, it is estimated to have caused over 1.5 million deaths worldwide, with over 300,000 deaths in the United States, with many more serious cases, often with lasting impacts. Even for those who have been spared infection, measures to slow the spread of the virus have been highly impactful, and have been ongoing for nearly a year.

In consequence of all of this, many people (including, presumably, [[Randall]] are excited for the vaccine (which will hopefully end the pandemic). This comic shows [[Cueball]] clearly thrilled to receive the vaccine. "Inject this directly into my veins," is meme based on the line (from ''{{w|The Simpsons}}''). In the episode "{{W|A Star Is Burns}}", an alcoholic character wins a lifetime supply of beer, and replies "just hook it to my veins". The meme is typically applied to things which are not injected at all (such as a form of media or entertainment) to express exaggerated enthusiasm. When Cueball applies the meme to the COVID-19 vaccine, it causes some confusion, because the vaccine ''is'' delivered by injection, but not {{w|Intravenous therapy|directly into a vein}}. The medical staff delivering the vaccine have apparently heard this or similar lines frequently, and appear to take it literally, repeatedly explaining that it's not possible.

The title text references another such meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money "Shut up and take my money,"] which derives from the 2010 "{{w|Attack of the Killer App}}" episode of ''{{w|Futurama}}''. Similar to the first meme, this one expresses extreme and immediate desire for something, with the implication that the speaker is not only willing, but eager to pay whatever it costs, and is too excited to wait for a sales pitch or for any warnings or disclaimers. The COVID-19 vaccine is being provided free of charge to Cueball, so taking money is entirely unnecessary (and possibly illegal). Once again, this is a source of potential confusion because, under the American healthcare system, many people likely will have to pay at least part of the cost of a vaccination. The workers administering it could easily confuse the meme for a genuine request.

==Transcript==

:Cueball: Yesssss
:Cueball: Inject this directly into my veins

:[Beat panel. Ponytail looks down at a clipboard.]

:[Zoom out to reveal that Cueball is standing by a stool, with Ponytail in front of him with a clipboard and syringe and Hairy behind him with a box of bandages and a first-aid kit.]

:Ponytail: Ok, but the vaccine is intramuscular...
:Hairy: Why do people keep ''saying'' that?
:Cueball: Sorry, sorry.
:Cueball: Just excited.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

2400: Statistics

2020-12-28T13:38:51Z

172.69.170.50: /* Graph */

{{comic
| number = 2400
| date = December 18, 2020
| title = Statistics
| image = statistics.png
| titletext = We reject the null hypothesis based on the 'hot damn, check out this chart' test.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

===Graph===

The main focus of the comic is a graph showing cases of COVID-19 versus time for two groups: one group was vaccinated and the other group was not. Graphs are ways to visualize data, and for real data indicate specific values. This graph seems to be based on [https://www.zq1.de/~bernhard/images/share/mRNA-1273-trial.png the Moderna vaccine's results] but is somewhat fictionalised. The higher line ("placebo group") rises in a steep curve. The lower line ("vaccine group") follows the first for a bit but then levels out to a much slower rate of climb. Officially, a scientific assessment of the effectiveness of anything requires rigorous statistical analysis. This is particularly true in medical studies, where impacts of biology can be highly complex and subject to many factors, meaning that careful review of the data is necessary to confirm that an intervention was effective. The joke of this comic is that the intervention presented here is so ''obviously'' effective that it's obvious even to a layman with little understanding of the math. A few days after the vaccine was administered, cases in the vaccinated group essentially flatline, while cases in the placebo group continue to rise as a significant rate. The data is so "good", meaning that numbers for the treatment and control groups diverge so dramatically, that actual analysis becomes almost a formality: a glance at the chart would convince most people that the treatment is effective.

This comic was released one day after the [https://www.fda.gov/media/144434/download FDA's Dec 17th briefing document] for the {{w|mRNA-1273|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine}} was released. The document includes the following [https://www.zq1.de/~bernhard/images/share/mRNA-1273-trial.png chart]. The charts draw the integral of the incidence data rather than the data itself ("cumulative" rather than "rate"): this results in changes in disease rate towards the left side of the chart, being added into the data on the right side, amplifying their difference. This technique for emphasizing the data is valid: the spread between the lines only continues to increase if the effect continues happening, such that the total spread at the right is proportional to the total effect the vaccine had. The charts do not show any information on other possible variables. Randall has described previously in his webcomics how very clear charts can be made to hide misleading data. The linked graph does not leave the numbers out, and the numbers indicate the vaccine is 91% effective at preventing the disease (and a 95% chance of being between 85 and 95% efficient).

The advice here could be seen as the inverse of the "science tip" in [[2311: Confidence Interval]], in which the data was so ''bad'' that its error bars fell outside of the graph and were not shown. Also there's some association with [[1725: Linear Regression]] where the data is not so good that you don't need to perform linear analysis.

===Null hypothesis===

The null hypothesis, mentioned in the title text, is the hypothesis in a statistical analysis that indicates that the effect investigated by the analysis does not occur, i.e. 'null' as in zero effect. For example, the null hypothesis for this study might be "The vaccine has no effect on whether subjects catch COVID." The null hypothesis was previously the subject of [[892: Null Hypothesis]]. The null hypothesis is rejected when the probability of something like the observed data would be very low were the null hypothesis true.

For a simplified example, imagine there are 10 000 people in the vaccinated group, and each has a 5% chance of catching COVID under the null hypothesis; we expect 500 people to catch COVID. If only 490 catch COVID, the null hypothesis remains plausible, but if just 10 do, the odds are (in Python; see {{w|binomial distribution}}) <code>sum([math.comb(10000, i) * 0.05**i * 0.95**(10000-i) for i in range(0,10)])</code> = 1.5 × 10-204. In other words, it is wildly improbably that an ineffective vaccine would have produced such excellent results. We therefore conclude that the vaccine is not ineffective, and have rejected the null hypothesis.

Most people however, on seeing the raw results, would have concluded that the vaccine worked and statistics were just a formality. As the title test says, they would have "reject[ed] the null hypothesis based on the 'hot damn, check out this chart' test."

==Transcript==
:[Shown is a graph with the x-axis labeled "time" and the y-axis labeled "COVID cases." There is a black line on the graph labeled "placebo group", which has a roughly linear slope moving toward the top right corner. There is a red line labeled "vaccine group", which follows the black line for about an eighth of the width of the graph before leveling off at a much slower increase.]

:Caption beneath the graph: Statistics tip: Always try to get data that's good enough that you don't need to do statistics on it

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Tips]]

2400: Statistics

2020-12-28T13:31:07Z

172.69.170.50: /* Graph */

{{comic
| number = 2400
| date = December 18, 2020
| title = Statistics
| image = statistics.png
| titletext = We reject the null hypothesis based on the 'hot damn, check out this chart' test.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

===Graph===

The main focus of the comic is a graph showing cases of COVID-19 versus time for two groups: one group was vaccinated and the other group was not. Graphs are ways to visualize data, and for real data indicate specific values. This graph seems to be based on [https://www.zq1.de/~bernhard/images/share/mRNA-1273-trial.png the Moderna vaccine's results] but is somewhat fictionalised. The higher line ("placebo group") rises in a steep curve. The lower line ("vaccine group") follows the first for a bit but then levels out to a much slower rate of climb. The caption eschews statistical analysis in favor of a holistic assessment: the vaccine is clearly working; just look how much those lines diverge.

This comic was released one day after the [https://www.fda.gov/media/144434/download FDA's Dec 17th briefing document] for the {{w|mRNA-1273|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine}} was released. The document includes the following [https://www.zq1.de/~bernhard/images/share/mRNA-1273-trial.png chart]. The charts draw the integral of the incidence data rather than the data itself ("cumulative" rather than "rate"): this results in changes in disease rate towards the left side of the chart, being added into the data on the right side, amplifying their difference. This technique for emphasizing the data is valid: the spread between the lines only continues to increase if the effect continues happening, such that the total spread at the right is proportional to the total effect the vaccine had. The charts do not show any information on other possible variables. Randall has described previously in his webcomics how very clear charts can be made to hide misleading data. The linked graph does not leave the numbers out, and the numbers indicate the vaccine is 91% effective at preventing the disease (and a 95% chance of being between 85 and 95% efficient).

The advice here could be seen as the inverse of the "science tip" in [[2311: Confidence Interval]], in which the data was so ''bad'' that its error bars fell outside of the graph and were not shown. Also there's some association with [[1725: Linear Regression]] where the data is not so good that you don't need to perform linear analysis.

===Null hypothesis===

The null hypothesis, mentioned in the title text, is the hypothesis in a statistical analysis that indicates that the effect investigated by the analysis does not occur, i.e. 'null' as in zero effect. For example, the null hypothesis for this study might be "The vaccine has no effect on whether subjects catch COVID." The null hypothesis was previously the subject of [[892: Null Hypothesis]]. The null hypothesis is rejected when the probability of something like the observed data would be very low were the null hypothesis true.

For a simplified example, imagine there are 10 000 people in the vaccinated group, and each has a 5% chance of catching COVID under the null hypothesis; we expect 500 people to catch COVID. If only 490 catch COVID, the null hypothesis remains plausible, but if just 10 do, the odds are (in Python; see {{w|binomial distribution}}) <code>sum([math.comb(10000, i) * 0.05**i * 0.95**(10000-i) for i in range(0,10)])</code> = 1.5 × 10-204. In other words, it is wildly improbably that an ineffective vaccine would have produced such excellent results. We therefore conclude that the vaccine is not ineffective, and have rejected the null hypothesis.

Most people however, on seeing the raw results, would have concluded that the vaccine worked and statistics were just a formality. As the title test says, they would have "reject[ed] the null hypothesis based on the 'hot damn, check out this chart' test."

==Transcript==
:[Shown is a graph with the x-axis labeled "time" and the y-axis labeled "COVID cases." There is a black line on the graph labeled "placebo group", which has a roughly linear slope moving toward the top right corner. There is a red line labeled "vaccine group", which follows the black line for about an eighth of the width of the graph before leveling off at a much slower increase.]

:Caption beneath the graph: Statistics tip: Always try to get data that's good enough that you don't need to do statistics on it

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Tips]]

Talk:1332: Slippery Slope

2020-12-22T18:56:47Z

172.69.170.50: Formatting

Wow, and I used to think White Hat was well-meaning but stupid; the inverse of Black Hat. I never knew he was such an asshole...
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 09:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::My own first thought was "That's a Black Hat Voice...". Then I started wondering what White Beret would have said, in his stead, and that sufficiently distracted me... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:49, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::Maybe he's being sarcastic?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::I read that as more of an introverted perspective (though to an extreme) than him being an asshole.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.57|173.245.54.57]] 16:20, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::Yeah, I don't really understand what Randall's trying to say by making him a White Hat.--[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

:: I always assume Randal made a mistake and forget to color in the hat, because this is obviously a BlackHat argument.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.66|162.158.83.66]] 18:25, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

::Remember that it is this page that has put Cueball and White Hat tags on these persons. Randall does not follow this page... Hence he can change them at will, and especially the Cueball character behaves quite different from comic to comic - sometimes there are more than one Cueball in the same comic. On the other hand, I do believe that Randall uses White Hat as "the same person" every time. However, where White Hat may not wish to go out of his way to be nice - this has nothing in comparison to Black Hat who will go out of his way (a long way) to be mean to everyone. So this is not a typical Black Hat discussion in the comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:54, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

::I also wonder what the deal is here with White Hat. I usually think of him as the proponent of "conventional wisdom," which is often misguided,smug, and self-righteous... but not usually malicious. Black Hat obviously has that one cornered. And yes, I do understand that Randall "doesn't read this site," but that doesn't mean that he isn't saying something by using White Hat here. He's obviously put a sign out there. It's up to us to decode the signifier. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 06:50, 6 October 2014 (UTC)
::: Malice is active and/or deliberate harmful behavior, not the absence of kindness. So his attitude isn't malicious, it's selfish because he's putting his time far ahead of the wellbeing of others. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:07, 11 December 2015 (UTC)

"Where does it end"? - Marriage, obviously. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

;Reminds me of a scene in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) speaking to Dan Evans (Christian Bale):
"Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody... I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 20:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)CAM

In the U.S., the satellite company DirectTV has a series of humorous commercials using the Slippery Slope argument as part of their "Get Rid of Cable" campaign. They all start with a person using cable tv, having problems of some sort, and then ending up in a dire situation such as waking up in a roadside ditch, selling your hair to a wig shop, etc. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 22:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking maybe we might take the literal meaning out of this, too? Seems like every day someone else gets fed up with being a douche.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

The classical "slippery slope" argument against cannabis legalization is that if we legalize cannabis, we must also legalize other drugs, eventually leading to legalizing heroin. This also mirrors the slippery slope argument in the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.127|173.245.53.127]] 11:44, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Updated and expanded explanation. Is it sufficient now?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.152|173.245.56.152]] 23:49, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

;I perceive a problem.:
Both examples of "slippery slope" arguments provided in the explanation are stereotypically bad arguments taken from a more conservative perspective, and the explanation goes on to criticize these bad arguments for being "largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice."

For one thing, this comic has nothing whatsoever to do with "arguments that are largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice" - furthermore, the criticism is a ''leftist's interpretation'' of the grounds for these perspectives (alleged fear and prejudice) rather than acknowledging whatever legitimacy there may be to actual conservative beliefs on these issues. Certainly, a thinking conservative who encountered this depiction of their beliefs would object strongly that their beliefs are quite warranted, and are not grounded in "baseless fear and prejudice" at all.

One possible solution would be to remove one of the examples and instead present an example of a bad "slippery slope" argument made from a left-leaning perspective: for example, arguing that "outlawing same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to outlawing interracial marriage as well" or "tightening up controls on illegal immigration will result in more onerous restrictions on legal immigration as well."

I am more inclined, however, to simply find a single example that isn't nearly as politically-charged and that anyone can agree to.
I'm thinking of drafting such an example and then making the change at a later date, unless someone finds a reason for me not to? Discussion is welcome. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 18:54, 22 December 2020 (UTC)MeZimm

Talk:1332: Slippery Slope

2020-12-22T18:54:37Z

172.69.170.50:

Wow, and I used to think White Hat was well-meaning but stupid; the inverse of Black Hat. I never knew he was such an asshole...
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 09:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::My own first thought was "That's a Black Hat Voice...". Then I started wondering what White Beret would have said, in his stead, and that sufficiently distracted me... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:49, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::Maybe he's being sarcastic?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::I read that as more of an introverted perspective (though to an extreme) than him being an asshole.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.57|173.245.54.57]] 16:20, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::Yeah, I don't really understand what Randall's trying to say by making him a White Hat.--[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

:: I always assume Randal made a mistake and forget to color in the hat, because this is obviously a BlackHat argument.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.66|162.158.83.66]] 18:25, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

::Remember that it is this page that has put Cueball and White Hat tags on these persons. Randall does not follow this page... Hence he can change them at will, and especially the Cueball character behaves quite different from comic to comic - sometimes there are more than one Cueball in the same comic. On the other hand, I do believe that Randall uses White Hat as "the same person" every time. However, where White Hat may not wish to go out of his way to be nice - this has nothing in comparison to Black Hat who will go out of his way (a long way) to be mean to everyone. So this is not a typical Black Hat discussion in the comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:54, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

::I also wonder what the deal is here with White Hat. I usually think of him as the proponent of "conventional wisdom," which is often misguided,smug, and self-righteous... but not usually malicious. Black Hat obviously has that one cornered. And yes, I do understand that Randall "doesn't read this site," but that doesn't mean that he isn't saying something by using White Hat here. He's obviously put a sign out there. It's up to us to decode the signifier. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 06:50, 6 October 2014 (UTC)
::: Malice is active and/or deliberate harmful behavior, not the absence of kindness. So his attitude isn't malicious, it's selfish because he's putting his time far ahead of the wellbeing of others. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:07, 11 December 2015 (UTC)

"Where does it end"? - Marriage, obviously. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

;Reminds me of a scene in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) speaking to Dan Evans (Christian Bale):
"Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody... I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 20:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)CAM

In the U.S., the satellite company DirectTV has a series of humorous commercials using the Slippery Slope argument as part of their "Get Rid of Cable" campaign. They all start with a person using cable tv, having problems of some sort, and then ending up in a dire situation such as waking up in a roadside ditch, selling your hair to a wig shop, etc. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 22:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking maybe we might take the literal meaning out of this, too? Seems like every day someone else gets fed up with being a douche.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

The classical "slippery slope" argument against cannabis legalization is that if we legalize cannabis, we must also legalize other drugs, eventually leading to legalizing heroin. This also mirrors the slippery slope argument in the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.127|173.245.53.127]] 11:44, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Updated and expanded explanation. Is it sufficient now?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.152|173.245.56.152]] 23:49, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

I perceive a problem: both examples of "slippery slope" arguments provided in the explanation are stereotypically bad arguments taken from a more conservative perspective, and the explanation goes on to criticize these bad arguments for being "largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice."

For one thing, this comic has nothing whatsoever to do with "arguments that are largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice" - furthermore, the criticism is a ''leftist's interpretation'' of the grounds for these perspectives (alleged fear and prejudice) rather than acknowledging whatever legitimacy there may be to actual conservative beliefs on these issues. Certainly, a thinking conservative who encountered this depiction of their beliefs would object strongly that their beliefs are quite warranted, and are not grounded in "baseless fear and prejudice" at all.

One possible solution would be to remove one of the examples and instead present an example of a bad "slippery slope" argument made from a left-leaning perspective: for example, arguing that "outlawing same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to outlawing interracial marriage as well" or "tightening up controls on illegal immigration will result in more onerous restrictions on legal immigration as well."

I am more inclined, however, to simply find a single example that isn't nearly as politically-charged and that anyone can agree to.
I'm thinking of drafting such an example and then making the change at a later date, unless someone finds a reason for me not to? Discussion is welcome. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 18:54, 22 December 2020 (UTC)MeZimm

Talk:1332: Slippery Slope

2020-12-22T18:54:04Z

172.69.170.50: MeZimm1

Wow, and I used to think White Hat was well-meaning but stupid; the inverse of Black Hat. I never knew he was such an asshole...
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 09:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::My own first thought was "That's a Black Hat Voice...". Then I started wondering what White Beret would have said, in his stead, and that sufficiently distracted me... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:49, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::Maybe he's being sarcastic?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::I read that as more of an introverted perspective (though to an extreme) than him being an asshole.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.57|173.245.54.57]] 16:20, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::Yeah, I don't really understand what Randall's trying to say by making him a White Hat.--[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

:: I always assume Randal made a mistake and forget to color in the hat, because this is obviously a BlackHat argument.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.66|162.158.83.66]] 18:25, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

::Remember that it is this page that has put Cueball and White Hat tags on these persons. Randall does not follow this page... Hence he can change them at will, and especially the Cueball character behaves quite different from comic to comic - sometimes there are more than one Cueball in the same comic. On the other hand, I do believe that Randall uses White Hat as "the same person" every time. However, where White Hat may not wish to go out of his way to be nice - this has nothing in comparison to Black Hat who will go out of his way (a long way) to be mean to everyone. So this is not a typical Black Hat discussion in the comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:54, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

::I also wonder what the deal is here with White Hat. I usually think of him as the proponent of "conventional wisdom," which is often misguided,smug, and self-righteous... but not usually malicious. Black Hat obviously has that one cornered. And yes, I do understand that Randall "doesn't read this site," but that doesn't mean that he isn't saying something by using White Hat here. He's obviously put a sign out there. It's up to us to decode the signifier. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 06:50, 6 October 2014 (UTC)
::: Malice is active and/or deliberate harmful behavior, not the absence of kindness. So his attitude isn't malicious, it's selfish because he's putting his time far ahead of the wellbeing of others. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:07, 11 December 2015 (UTC)

"Where does it end"? - Marriage, obviously. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

;Reminds me of a scene in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) speaking to Dan Evans (Christian Bale):
"Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody... I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 20:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)CAM

In the U.S., the satellite company DirectTV has a series of humorous commercials using the Slippery Slope argument as part of their "Get Rid of Cable" campaign. They all start with a person using cable tv, having problems of some sort, and then ending up in a dire situation such as waking up in a roadside ditch, selling your hair to a wig shop, etc. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 22:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking maybe we might take the literal meaning out of this, too? Seems like every day someone else gets fed up with being a douche.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

The classical "slippery slope" argument against cannabis legalization is that if we legalize cannabis, we must also legalize other drugs, eventually leading to legalizing heroin. This also mirrors the slippery slope argument in the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.127|173.245.53.127]] 11:44, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Updated and expanded explanation. Is it sufficient now?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.152|173.245.56.152]] 23:49, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

I perceive a problem: both examples of "slippery slope" arguments provided in the explanation are stereotypically bad arguments taken from a more conservative perspective, and the explanation goes on to criticize these bad arguments for being "largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice."
For one thing, this comic has nothing whatsoever to do with "arguments that are largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice" - furthermore, the criticism is a ''leftist's interpretation'' of the grounds for these perspectives (alleged fear and prejudice) rather than acknowledging whatever legitimacy there may be to actual conservative beliefs on these issues. Certainly, a thinking conservative who encountered this depiction of their beliefs would object strongly that their beliefs are quite warranted, and are not grounded in "baseless fear and prejudice" at all.
One possible solution would be to remove one of the examples and instead present an example of a bad "slippery slope" argument made from a left-leaning perspective: for example, arguing that "outlawing same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to outlawing interracial marriage as well" or "tightening up controls on illegal immigration will result in more onerous restrictions on legal immigration as well."
I am more inclined, however, to simply find a single example that isn't nearly as politically-charged and that anyone can agree to.
I'm thinking of drafting such an example and then making the change at a later date, unless someone finds a reason for me not to? Discussion is welcome. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 18:54, 22 December 2020 (UTC)MeZimm

2372: Dialect Quiz

2020-10-16T15:29:54Z

172.69.170.50: Cleaning up lawn buddies; turns out there are a lot of cool bugs out there!

{{comic
| number = 2372
| date = October 14, 2020
| title = Dialect Quiz
| image = dialect_quiz.png
| titletext = Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LIGHTBULB EATER and Delaware Line painter. Poll results should be added into the Trivia section. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a parody of online quizzes that offer to compare the user's dialect of American English with others around the country. These quizzes generally contain questions about word usage, names for certain objects, and pronunciations that vary between different regions of the US. There are also quizzes about broader English dialects, but this comic focuses on commonly cited differences between American dialects.

The earliest quiz of this type to be widely disseminated online was the [http://dialect.redlog.net/ Harvard Dialect Survey], conducted in the early 2000s by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder. The survey created maps of the distribution of various word usage (such as pop/soda/Coke for a fizzy drink) and was a relatively early example of widely shared Internet "viral" content. In 2013, Josh Katz of the New York Times created [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html a new version] based on the Harvard survey, which became the Times' [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/-em-the-new-york-times-em-most-popular-story-of-2013-was-not-an-article/283167/ most popular content of 2013] and spread the idea to many more people. Many of the questions in this comic directly derive from entries in those surveys.

Randall's previous two comics have been about election predictions, leading up to the 2020 US General Presidential Election. A prominent predictor of the election results is Nate Silver, who runs the FiveThirtyEight website. [https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1315348221565206530 @NateSilver538 posted his results] of taking the New York Times version of the survey on October 11, 2020... just three days before this comic was posted. [[2371: Election Screen Time]] specifically suggests that Randall may be spending too much time obsessing over new posts and content from the election predictors. It's coincidental, but likely, that Nate Silver's tweet inspired Randall's post: he was reminded of the 2013 feature from the Times.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
! # !! Question !! Answers !! Explanation
|-
! 1
|How do you address a group of two or more people?
|style="width: 15%;"|
* A) You
* B) Y'all
* C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember
| Reference to the first question of the Times quiz: "How would you address {{w|You#Informal_plural_forms|a group of two or more people}}?" (with options including "you all", "you guys", "y'all", etc.). Option C may reference the significant decrease in human interaction and social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alternatively, it may suggest that some xkcd readers are particularly introverted.
|-
! 2
| How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
|
* A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
* B) Rhymes with "Develop"
| Both the options for this are wrong, making it the first of many quiz questions it is impossible to answer correctly.

Neither Option A's "PEN-e-lohp" /ˈpɛnɪˌloʊp/ and Option B's "pe-NELL-up" /pɪˈnɛləp/ are a typical pronunciation of this name (beyond mispronunciations). In English, the only correct way to pronounce this name is "pe-NELL-o-pee" /pəˈnɛləpi/, which is not listed. (Penelope is a proper name, but usually encountered in literature rather than as the name of a neighbor, and is therefore less subject to dialect shifts.)
|-
! 3
| What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
|
* A) Astrology
* B) Agronomy
* C) Cosmetology
| The actual answer is {{w|Astronomy}}, which is not listed. {{w|Astrology}} is the pseudo-scientific "study" of the influence of the stars and planets on our lives, including horoscopes (often confused with Astronomy due to its similar name), {{w|Agronomy}} ''is'' scientific but instead studies agriculture, and {{w|Cosmetology}} is the study of cosmetics and makeup (with a name close to {{w|Cosmology}}, a branch of Astronomy). The last may also be referring to the (occasionally makeup-heavy) faces of movie and television "stars".
|-
! 4
| How do you pronounce "genre"?
|
* A) Gone-ra
* B) Juh-neer
* C) Jen-er-uh
| Reference to a question found on some quizzes: "How do you pronounce ''genre''? ZHAHN-ruh, or JAHN-ruh?"

A majority of (American) English speakers pronounce "genre" as either "'''ZH'''AHN-ruh" /ˈʒɑnrə/ (beginning with the "zh" sound found in "trea'''s'''ure") or "'''J'''AHN-ruh" /ˈdʒɑnrə/ (beginning with the "j" sound in "justice"). Neither of these are listed, and none of the quiz's pronunciation options are common. However, they are close to other words: ''GONE-ra'' /ˈgɑnrə/ sounds like {{w|gonorrhea}} /ˌgɑnəˈriə/, ''juh-NEER'' /dʒəˈnɪər/ is the way the second and third syllables of ''engineer'' are are pronounced, and ''JEN-er-uh'' /ˈdʒɛnərə/ is a word (genera), the plural of {{w|genus}}.
|-
! 5
| You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
|
* A) First syllable
* B) Second syllable
| Reference to general questions regarding differences in pronunciation of words. "Google" is not generally pronounced with a high-pitched yelp on either syllable.{{Citation needed}} {{w|Yahoo!}}, on the other hand, has advertised its services with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm5FE0x9eY0 high-pitched yodeling jingle], with the high-pitched yelp on the second syllable (as opposed to {{w|Goofy}}'s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-70mtXw35c iconic holler], with the high yelp on the first syllable).
|-
! 6
| What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
|
* A) Gutter pipe
* B) Drainpipe
| Reference to a quiz question in the Harvard and Times quizzes, "What do you call the thing from which you might drink water in a school?" Answers included "drinking fountain", "water fountain", and "bubbler". However, the question in this comic implies that school children (or at least the quiz maker) drink out of {{w|Rain gutter|gutter pipes}} or drain pipes, which are used to collect rainwater and/or {{w|sewage|should absolutely not be drunk from.}}
|-
! 7
| How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
|
* A) Animated give
* B) Animated gift
| Reference to the "{{w|Gif}}" pronunciation debate, with people split between pronouncing it "gif" (with the hard G sound in "graphics") or "jif" (with the soft G sound in "giraffe"). Both options presented in this quiz use the hard G sound, but neither option uses the commonly-agreed on pronunciation for the ending of the word, “if”. Both options refute the common “jif” argument that a g followed by an i usually results in a “j” sound, as in giraffe.
|-
! 8
| What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
|
* A) What?
* B) Lawn buddies
| There are many different varieties of common insects with distinctive traits and behaviors, some of which even have multiple names; the (as-of-yet undiscovered) "lawn buddies" combine three of these traits into one (rather peculiar) creature.
1. The Harvard and Times quizzes actually include the question: "What do you call the {{w|Armadillidiidae|small gray bug}} that curls up into a ball when it’s touched?" (options include "roly-poly," "pill-bug", "potato bug", "doodle bug", etc.).

It is also worth mentioning that "potato bug" itself can refer to three completely different kinds of insect; besides the aforementioned "{{w|Armadillidiidae|small gray bug}}," it can also refer to the {{w|Colorado potato beetle}} or to the {{w|Jerusalem cricket}}. A dialect quiz such as this one might ask the quiz-taker to identify what kind of insect they associate the term with.

2. The {{w|Firefly|Lampyridae}} family of insects do glow (although not exactly "brightly".) These insects emit their light spontaneously, as a mating signal, and not in response to external stimuli such as being poked. These are variously called "fireflies," "glowworms," or "lightning bugs;" a dialect quiz might reasonably ask the quiz-taker's preferred term.

3. {{w|cicada|Cicadas}} and {{w|Madagascar_hissing_cockroach|cockroaches}} can approach being "baseball-sized" and can make very loud noises indeed, although it would be a bit of a stretch to describe any of their associated sounds as a "warbling scream."
|-
! 9
| What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
|
* A) Prank lines
* B) Devil's Marks
* C) Fool-me lines
* D) Fauxguides
* E) Delaware lines
| Reference to the fact that some quiz questions ask about road features, such as "verge/berm/parking strip/curb strip" and "roundabout/traffic circle". However, these particular road lines, if they have ever been made, aren't common enough to warrant different names. The Delaware Line was a formation within the Continental Army. May also just be a dig at Delaware. Devil's Marks may be a takeoff of [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Devil%27s%20Strip Devil's Strip]

Misleading lines on the road were also mentioned in [[1958: Self-Driving Issues]].
|-
! 10
| What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
|
* A) Uranus
* B) Neptune
| This question references the two common pronunciations of Uranus: "YURR-ə-nəss" and "yoo-RAY-nəss" (which sounds like the phrase "{{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|Your anus}}", a favorite joke of little kids). The original pronunciation is "oo-ra-noos", both u's pronounced the same way, but this is not a common pronunciation among the general public. It also references the fact that Uranus and Neptune are both blue-ish colored planets in the outer solar system and are often confused by people who don't know much about them. Uranus is closer to being the correct answer - it could plausibly be described as cyan, a color intermediate between blue and green - while Neptune is a deep, unambiguous blue.
|-
! 11
| What do you call this tool?
[[File:CloveHammer.png|150px]] (image of a claw hammer)
|
* A) Banger
* B) Nail axe
* C) Wood mage wand
* D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
* E) I have never seen it before
| The only name most people would ever call this tool is a "hammer".

The last two options reference options in many quiz questions along the lines of "I'm familiar with this but have no specific word for it" and "I am not familiar with this" (such as on the pill-bug/roly-poly question on the real quiz). These may appear as options to questions that ask about something that might not exist everywhere, or something which many may not have a word for (for example, some areas of the United States have a name for "sunshowers," while most don't). However, it's a bit absurd for these options to be present for this question (and this question alone), as virtually all users in an English dialect test would be expected to know what a hammer is. This also serves as a bit of reverse perspective on "When the only tool you have is a hammer ..."
|-
! 12
| What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
|
* A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
* B) A longwich
* C) A salad hot dog
| Reference to a common dialect quiz question: "What do you call a {{w|Submarine sandwich|long sandwich}}?" with options typically including "sub", "hoagie", "hero", etc.

The hot dog answer could refer to the common online discussion: "Is a hot dog a sandwich?"
|-
! 13
| What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
|
* A) Lightbulb eater
* B) I have no special name for them
* C) I've never looked in my attic
| Another reference to the frequent appearance of quiz questions asking what users call various creepy crawlies.

{{w|Millipedes}} best fit the description. They have many legs, though rarely if ever a thousand of them, as their name (from the Latin word for "thousand feet") suggests. The hard rings that separate an individual's body into segments give the animal a scaly appearance. And of the thousands of species, only a few have common names, hence "no special name for them". The reference to "lightbulb eater" is obscure, but may refer to the tendency of millipedes to congregate in large numbers in dark crevices. Perhaps Randall found some in empty (no bulb) light fixtures in his attic.

Or maybe it is just the sort of spooky monster that lives in the dark and makes you afraid to check the attic (or basement).

Normally, questions about uncommon things would include an "I've never seen one" option, like option E in the hammer question. Instead, this question has "I've never looked in my attic" as an option, implying that these creatures are present in all attics, and anyone who doesn't know them is simply unaware of the monster dwelling in their own attic.
|-
! 14
| What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
|
* A) "What was that?"
* B) "Oh, wow."
* C) [Quietly] "Yikes."
| Reference to a question on some quizzes about which of several words/phrases you say in response to a sneeze, with usual answers including "bless you", "God bless you", and "{{w|Gesundheit}}" (from the German word for 'health').

This question may also be referencing the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} in answer C (and possibly answer B). Sneezing isn't a primary symptom of COVID-19, but most people are hyper-aware of possibly contracting the disease from the people around them so sneezes are treated with suspicion and it's seen as rude to sneeze openly.

It is also possible that a person who has been able to catch a sneeze-producing condition has also caught COVID-19 and, while the sneeze itself isn't ''caused'' by it, the air and various airway fluids so forcefully projected are a possible infective vector with that little extra frisson of concern, given the current situation.
|-
! Title Text
| colspan=2 | Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
| Phrased similarly to questions like, on the Times quiz, "How do you pronounce the words Mary, merry, and marry?" Options included "all three are pronounced the same", "all three are pronounced differently," or all three combinations of two being the same and one different. Refers to the naming confusion around {{w|scallions}} and {{w|shallots}} - also known as 'eschalots' - but with the unrelated but similar-sounding {{w|scallops}} substituted in the middle.

'Shallots', 'scallions' and 'eschalots' are names used in different dialects, for various species and cultivars of onion used in cooking, either as a small bulb (especially [[wikipedia:shallot|Allium cepa var. Aggregatum]]) or as a green leaf (especially [[wikipedia:Allium_fistulosum|Allium fistulosum]]). In many dialects, the green leaf type is called a 'scallion' and the bulb a 'shallot'. In at least one dialect (NSW Australia) the green leaf type is called a 'shallot' and the bulb an 'eschalot'. This causes confusion in recipes posted online. The word 'shallot' is also pronounced with emphasis on either the first or second syllable, as refered to in question 5. Despite the answer options offered, there is no evidence of dialects which use all three terms, or where 'shallot' and 'scallion' are interchangeable.

{{w|Scallops}} are invertebrate marine animals similar to oysters and clams, frequently harvested for food. In some regions of the UK and Australia potato {{w|fritters}} are also called 'scallops'. The word 'scallop' itself can be pronounced either as /ˈskɒləp/ or /ˈskæləp/, and its spelling has varied over time in a similar way to that of 'shallot'. However, these are difficult to confuse with shallots or scallions.
|}

==Transcript==

[Box with title at the top]
:<big>Dialect Quiz</big>
[Smaller subtitle underneath]
:Compare answers with your friends!

[Quiz is divided into two columns. Answers to questions are indicated by a letter followed by a closed parentheses, such as A). These letters are greyed out]

[Column 1:]
 
How do you address a group of two or more people?
:A) You
:B) Y'all
:C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember

How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
:A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
:B) Rhymes with "Develop"

What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
:A) Astrology
:B) Agronomy
:C) Cosmetology

How do you pronounce "genre"?
:A) Gone-ra
:B) Juh-neer
:C) Jen-er-uh

You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
:A) First syllable
:B) Second syllable

What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
:A) Gutter pipe
:B) Drainpipe

How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
:A) Animated give
:B) Animated gift

What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
:A) What?
:B) Lawn buddies

[Column 2:]
 
What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
:A) Prank lines
:B) Devil's Marks
:C) Fool-me lines
:D) Fauxguides
:E) Delaware lines

What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
:A) Uranus
:B) Neptune

What do you call this tool?
 
[Image of a claw hammer]
:A) Banger
:B) Nail axe
:C) Wood mage wand
:D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
:E) I have never seen it before

What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
:A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
:B) A longwich
:C) A salad hot dog

What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
:A) Lightbulb eater
:B) I have no special name for them
:C) I've never looked in my attic

What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
:A) "What was that?"
:B) "Oh, wow."
:C) [Quietly] "Yikes."

==Trivia==

*The xkcd Twitter account posted a [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1316484953480323072 series of Twitter polls] asking the questions in this comic.
**How do you address a group of two or more people?
***You (31.2%)
***Y'all (33.5%)
***'''Can’t remember anymore (35.3%)'''
**How do you pronounce “Penelope”?
***'''Rhymes with “antelope” (58.6%)'''
***Rhymes with “develop” (41.4%)
**
*Shallots, scallops, and scallions ran against each other in [[1529: Bracket]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T01:13:08Z

172.69.170.50:

{{comic
| number = 2363
| date = September 23, 2020
| title = Message Boards
| image = message_boards.png
| titletext = (c) You can have a scooter when you pay for it yourself, and (d) if you can't learn to start a new thread rather than responding to an old one, you'll be banned. [thread locked by moderator]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Julian's kid in 2040, who wants a hover-scooter. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The joke of this comic lies in the dates of the forum posts and the (presumed) relation between the posters.

The initial post was made in 2000 by an, at the time, teenaged girl (likely 14-15 years old given her username ends in 85), complaining that her mother did not want her to get a Vespa. Vespa is a line of scooters, or mopeds. Most U.S. states require motorcycle licenses for any vehicle with a fuel capacity over 50 cubic centimeters. A current Vespa holds 125 ccs.

The reply was written in 2020 (twenty years later) by the now-adult woman's son, Julian, who is complaining that, 20 years previously, his mother complained to her mother about something that he is now complaining to his mother about.

In the title text, the parent is apparently a mod on that board now and threatens banning if the kid doesn't learn to post a new thread for stuff like this instead of dredging up dead threads from years ago, a common complaint on message boards, except in this case it seems to be more about hiding her hypocrisy from other users on the board than for the usual reason of letting dead threads stay dead.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[View of the "MopedPro" forum on a message board]
:NIN85 (posted December 5, 2000): So mad that my mom won't let me get a Vespa. I'm old enough for a moped license and they're really not that dangerous.
:JULZ (posted September 23, 2020): At least she's not stopping you from getting an electric scooter you don't even need a license for
:NIN85 (posted September 23, 2020): Okay, Julian, (A) you know we talked about this, and (B) how the heck did you find this thread

:Subtitle: I love that message boards are now old enough for this to happen.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Social networking]]

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-17T05:48:07Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */ Corrected a typo - "refection" to "reflection" in explanation of Beige Gorgon

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic colour, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and often qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red'.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, pairing others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically used, or encountered, by astronomers.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that our sun is, with a lifespan measured in the billions of years. The title of "Dwarf" is an artifact, as the sun is larger than most stars, but was thought to be smaller due to the fact that larger stars were more visible than smaller stars.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume the earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || Not a true star, but a real stellar object. These are formed when stars at about the sun's size finally die. They are superdense, and do not undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for type 1A supernova, a standard candle of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe (Brown Dwarfs are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo Hydrogen/Hydrogen fusion) These can live for trillions of years, the first red Dwarfs to form are still alive today.
|-
| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. His elves are immortal, but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) as magic fades to the West, in the Undying lands.
|-
| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, they have life spans measured in the millions of years and are highly luminous.
|-
| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which puts riddles to hapless travellers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like.{{Original research}}
|-
| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a Reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and the ''Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books.
|-
| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Banshees}}, a type of spirit, or ghost, which can kill those who hear their wail.
|-
| Beige Gorgon. || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Gorgons}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of Gorgons where any who gaze upon their faces will be turned to stone, however, seeing a Gorgon's reflection was safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector | most astronomers should be fine. ]]
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject. In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large luminous blue variable star which has a relatively high level of ferrous ions. In reality, these redirect to ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', the first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colours and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
:Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
:Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
:Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
:Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
:Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-coloured star.]
:Gray wizard
:Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
:Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
:Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1011: Baby Names

2020-09-06T06:30:19Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1011
| date = February 1, 2012
| title = Baby Names
| image = baby names.png
| titletext = I've been trying for a couple years now but I haven't been able to come up with a name dumber than 'Renesmee'.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is a list of comically terrible baby names invented by Randall. It may relate to his other comics about why he shouldn't be allowed to have access to babies.

This is a list of the names with a short description:
* Ponzi - An Italian surname, most often associated with "{{w|Ponzi scheme}}".
* Eeemily - A corruption of "Emily". May also be a marketing plug for the {{w|Asus Eee}} brand.
* Fire Fire - Even a single "Fire" would be odd as a name, at least in the American dialects. It would also not be a good idea to call your child's name in a crowded place.
* Chipotla - A frequent mispronounciation of {{w|Chipotle|chipotle}} chili or the popular {{w|Chipotle Mexican Grill}} restaurant chain. Many people would readily attempt to correct you when you called your child's name.
* Astamouthe - Could be pronounced "Ass to mouth".
* Eggsperm - A child is conceived by combining an egg and a sperm, this child's name is conceived by combining the names of the two things.
* [sound of record scratch] - This cannot be spelled or reliably pronounced.{{Citation needed}} Likely a reference to any movie where a record scratch plays and the protagonist says "that's me".
* Parsley - {{w|Parsley}} is an herb and is not commonly used as a name unlike other herbs like {{w|Rosemary}} and {{w|Sage}}. It is, however, probably the least terrible name on this list.
* Hot'n'Juicy Ann - "Ann" is a normal name. Prefacing it with the sexual "Hot'n'Juicy" would not be appropriate for a child's name.
* Ovari - Female reproductive organ, {{w|Ovary|misspelled}}.
* Friendly - Odd enough on its own, but when referring to her possessions it would create confusion with the restaurant {{w|Friendly's}}. Can also be humorous in introductions - "Hi I'm Friendly and I hate you."
* Sean (pronounced "seen") - While this isn't an incorrect pronunciation, the more common pronunciation would be "Shawn". Very likely a reference to the name of the actor Sean Bean (whose name is pronounced Shawn Been), which uses the exact same pairing of letters for two pronunciations.
* Joyst - Corruption of "Joyce". May also refer to the term "joist", which is a beam used in construction to support ceilings or floors, or the first part of the word "joystick", a video game controller.

A further analysis of baby names is presented by Randall in the [[Blag]] post "[http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/01/31/the-baby-name-wizard/ The Baby Name Wizard]".

Renesmee (from the title text) is the name of {{w|Renesmee Cullen#Renesmee Cullen|Renesmee Cullen}}, who is the baby born in the book and movie {{w|Breaking Dawn}} to parents Edward and Bella. Edward and Bella get "Renesmee" from an amalgamation of the names of Bella's mother, Renée, and Edward's adoptive mother, Esme. [[Randall]]'s point is that all those names are terrible, but (arguably) not nearly as terrible as the name Renesmee.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, thinking with his hand on his chin, his other hand holding a pen over a piece of paper. Megan stands behind him, looking over his shoulder, also with her hand on her chin.]

:[Above the drawing is the list they are writing by hand.]

:Names for daughter

:# Ponzi
:# Eeemily
:# Fire Fire
:# Chipotla
:# Astamouthe
:# Eggsperm
:# [sound of record scratch]
:# Parsley
:# Hot'n'Juicy Ann
:# Ovari
:# Friendly
:# Sean (pronounced "seen")
:# Joyst

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1011: Baby Names

2020-09-06T06:29:27Z

172.69.170.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1011
| date = February 1, 2012
| title = Baby Names
| image = baby names.png
| titletext = I've been trying for a couple years now but I haven't been able to come up with a name dumber than 'Renesmee'.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is a list of comically terrible baby names invented by Randall. It may relate to his other comics about why he shouldn't be allowed to have access to babies.

This is a list of the names with a short description:
* Ponzi - An Italian surname, most often associated with "{{w|Ponzi scheme}}".
* Eeemily - A corruption of "Emily". May also be a marketing plug for the {{w|Asus Eee}} brand.
* Fire Fire - Even a single "Fire" would be odd as a name, at least in the American dialects. It would also not be a good idea to call your child's name in a crowded place.
* Chipotla - A frequent mispronounciation of {{w|Chipotle|chipotle}} chili or the popular {{w|Chipotle Mexican Grill}} restaurant chain. Many people would readily attempt to correct you when you called your child's name.
* Astamouthe - Could be pronounced "Ass to mouth".
* Eggsperm - A child is conceived by combining an egg and a sperm, this child's name is conceived by combining the names of the two things.
* [sound of record scratch] - This cannot be spelled or reliably pronounced.{{Citation needed}} Likely a reference to any movie where a record scratch plays and the protagonist says "that's me".
* Parsley - {{w|Parsley}} is an herb and is not commonly used as a name unlike other herbs like {{w|Rosemary}} and {{w|Sage}}. It is probably the least terrible name on this list, however.
* Hot'n'Juicy Ann - "Ann" is a normal name. Prefacing it with the sexual "Hot'n'Juicy" would not be appropriate for a child's name.
* Ovari - Female reproductive organ, {{w|Ovary|misspelled}}.
* Friendly - Odd enough on its own, but when referring to her possessions it would create confusion with the restaurant {{w|Friendly's}}. Can also be humorous in introductions - "Hi I'm Friendly and I hate you."
* Sean (pronounced "seen") - While this isn't an incorrect pronunciation, the more common pronunciation would be "Shawn". Very likely a reference to the name of the actor Sean Bean (whose name is pronounced Shawn Been), which uses the exact same pairing of letters for two pronunciations.
* Joyst - Corruption of "Joyce". May also refer to the term "joist", which is a beam used in construction to support ceilings or floors, or the first part of the word "joystick", a video game controller.

A further analysis of baby names is presented by Randall in the [[Blag]] post "[http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/01/31/the-baby-name-wizard/ The Baby Name Wizard]".

Renesmee (from the title text) is the name of {{w|Renesmee Cullen#Renesmee Cullen|Renesmee Cullen}}, who is the baby born in the book and movie {{w|Breaking Dawn}} to parents Edward and Bella. Edward and Bella get "Renesmee" from an amalgamation of the names of Bella's mother, Renée, and Edward's adoptive mother, Esme. [[Randall]]'s point is that all those names are terrible, but (arguably) not nearly as terrible as the name Renesmee.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, thinking with his hand on his chin, his other hand holding a pen over a piece of paper. Megan stands behind him, looking over his shoulder, also with her hand on her chin.]

:[Above the drawing is the list they are writing by hand.]

:Names for daughter

:# Ponzi
:# Eeemily
:# Fire Fire
:# Chipotla
:# Astamouthe
:# Eggsperm
:# [sound of record scratch]
:# Parsley
:# Hot'n'Juicy Ann
:# Ovari
:# Friendly
:# Sean (pronounced "seen")
:# Joyst

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:2352: Synonym Date

2020-08-29T01:23:55Z

172.69.170.50: preserving the message in the template

"This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by an AUTOMATON." That's funny. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 01:23, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

2351: Standard Model Changes

2020-08-28T18:02:46Z

172.69.170.50: /* Leptons */ N is actually quite commonly used to denote just "nucleon" in particle physics, including neutrino physics, so giving N to neutrino is a sure way to confuse everyone.

{{comic
| number = 2351
| date = August 26, 2020
| title = Standard Model Changes
| image = standard_model_changes.png
| titletext = Bugs are spin 1/2 particles, unless it's particularly windy.
}}

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

In this comic strip, Randall is proposing some changes to the {{w|Standard Model}} of particle physics. The currently accepted particle table has 17 slots: 12 fermions (first 3 columns of the table - six quarks [top two rows] and six leptons [bottom two rows]) and five bosons (last two columns of the table - four gauge bosons [left hand column] and one scalar boson [right hand column]).

[[File:1024px-Standard Model of Elementary Particles.svg.png|500px]]

This comic consists of a normal version of the particle table to which Randall has made substantial alternations and additions, which are drawn in red over the black and white table.

While the Standard Model's predictions are very well supported by experiments, the physics community has identified several flaws in it (e.g. it lacks any particles to convey gravity), and so lots of research is committed to searching for "{{w|Physics beyond the Standard Model}}". Some of Randall's changes are sort of intended to fill some of those gaps, but for the most part they are nonsensical (although not quite as much as the [[2301: Turtle Sandwich Standard Model|Turtle Sandwich Standard Model]]).

=== Quarks ===

Randall's proposed changes to the quarks are relatively restrained -- he proposes only that the "strange" and "charm" names should be moved to bosons, while the strange quark should be renamed the "right quark" and the charm quark should be renamed the "left quark", so that all quarks will have "ordinary" directional names.

In reality, the original quark model proposed by Murray Gell-Mann included only three quarks, with the "strange" quark so named because the particles that contained them were ''strangely'' long-lived relative to their masses. The "charm" quark was so named when it was proposed because it brought a "charming" symmetry to the weak interaction, which we now understand is because it completes the second generation of quarks, along with the strange quark. When a third generation of quarks was proposed, they were called top and bottom by analogy to the up and down quarks (which are so named because of the spin they carry), though the names 'truth' and 'beauty' were briefly in competition, and colliders working with B quarks are sometimes even now called '{{w|B-factory|Beauty Factories}}'.

It's strange that Randall assigns the "left" direction to the charm quark and the "right" direction to the strange quark, when many languages, including English, have {{w|Bias_against_left-handed_people#Language|negative connotations attached to words associated with the left direction}}, and positive connotations attached to words associated with the right direction (e.g. "sinister" vs. "dexterous").

=== Leptons ===
While Randall leaves two leptons, the electron and the muon, untouched, he has opted to discard the tau lepton entirely. Each of these three leptons has an associated neutrino; Randall has decided to discard all but the electron neutrino, as he has decided that three are too many neutrino types. He has also replaced the standard symbol for the neutrino, the Greek letter ν (nu), with a capital N, in order to avoid confusion between ν and v, the two letters appearing similar, though this might further be confused with nucleon (particle physicists commonly use N to denote "proton or neutron", and excited states of nucleons are given the symbol N, followed by the mass in parenthesis<ref>https://pdglive.lbl.gov/ParticleGroup.action?init=0&node=BXXX005</ref>) or possibly even with the symbol for Nitrogen (the atomic nucleus with 7 protons and a similar number of neutrons, encountered more in radiology/chemistry as an N, 7N, 14N, N+, N2 and other variations).

In place of one of the neutrinos, Randall has introduced a new elementary particle that supposedly explains the existence of dark matter. The nature of dark matter is one of the most famous mysteries in physics: galaxies seem to have much higher gravity than their detectable matter would account for, yet this mysterious form of matter does not seem to interact with other matter in any detectable way. Neutrinos are known for rarely interacting with other matter, due to their lack of charge, which could justify Randall's decision, but even the little interaction that neutrinos have with the weak force rules them out as candidates for dark matter. Hypothetical {{w|sterile neutrino}}s could be the source of dark matter, and also for the small but nonzero masses of the familiar neutrinos, but no such particles have yet been identified. Together with the arrow, the only one in the comic that points at the particle's ''box'' rather than the symbol, the triumphant exclamation "We found it!" probably means that the new "dark matter" entry in the table ''is'' the dark matter particle.

=== Bosons ===

Randall proposes several new names for existing particles. First, that the {{w|W and Z bosons}} should be renamed to the charm and strange bosons, respectively (taking the names from the quarks), and second, that the {{w|Higgs boson}} should be named the {{w|Vin Diesel}} boson, as he considers {{w|Peter Higgs}}'s name to be too boring to be given to a particle. The Higgs boson is known in the popular press (to the chagrin of many physicists, including Higgs) as "{{w|The God Particle (book)|The God Particle}}", which is certainly a flashy name, but which itself was changed by the editors of the book of the same name from its authors' originally-intended title: The ''Goddamn'' Particle.

Randall inserts the graviton, a purely theoretical particle, noting that its inclusion is "probably fine". While the graviton has never been observed, it is occasionally included in diagrams of the standard model to show its hypothetical place, which likely convinced Randall to do the same. Here it is shown below the Higgs boson, implying to be a scalar boson, though it is theoretically a 2nd-order tensor boson (with a spin of 2) and is usually given its own column.

Randall also proposes that a false decoy "Magic" particle should be added to the Standard Model, to trip up promoters of {{w|quantum mysticism}}. Presumably, anyone who invokes this particle to support their claims will expose themselves as a fraud, much as cartographers will print {{w|trap street}}s on their maps to catch plagiarism.

The title text references {{w|Spin (physics)|quantum spin number}}, a property of particles in physics that bears similarities to actual spinning. Although the "cool bugs" particle is put in the {{w|scalar boson}} group with spin 0, Randall states that it instead has spin 1/2, like a fermion. In fact, all known fermions have spin 1/2. It is thus not clear whether the "cool bugs" particle obeys the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}} or not. The joke comes from Randall treating quantum spin as actual spin and introduces wind blowing the "cool bugs" particle around as if they were made of actual bugs, which they are not{{Citation needed}}.

{| class="wikitable"
! Particle !! Symbol !! Actual particle !! Actual symbol !! Explanation
|-
| Up quark || u || {{w|Up quark}} || u || No change.
|-
| Left quark || l || {{w|Charm quark}} || c || Randall is continuing the pattern of naming quarks after directions. This wouldn't work well with [[474: Turn-On]] unfortunately. The charm quark was named due to bringing a "charming symmetry" to the weak interaction, completing the second generation of quarks.
|-
| Top quark || t || {{w|Top quark}} || t || No change.
|-
| Gluon || g || {{w|Gluon}} || g || No change.
|-
| Vin Diesel boson || V || {{w|Higgs boson}} || H || {{w|Peter Higgs}} is a British theoretical physicist who predicted the existence of scalar bosons, particles with spin 0. Randall suggests that the Higgs boson needs a flashier name and proposes to rechristen it the "Vin Diesel boson", named after American actor {{w|Vin Diesel|Mark Sinclair}}, who has nothing to do with physics.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| Down quark || d || {{w|Down quark}} || d || No change.
|-
| Right quark || r || {{w|Strange quark}} || s || Randall is suggesting this name to match the charm (now left) quark. Particles containing this quark were considered "strangely long-lived".
|-
| Bottom quark || b || {{w|Bottom quark}} || b || No change.
|-
| Photon || γ || {{w|Photon}} || γ || No change.
|-
| {{w|Graviton}} || G || {{w|Graviton}} (Hypothetical) || G || The graviton is a hypothetical particle which mediates the force of {{w|gravity}}. Randall is taking a very breezy point of view, stating that it would probably be fine to include it, even though its existence has not been confirmed yet. It is not recommended to act this way, though many do.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| Electron || e || {{w|Electron}} || e || No change.
|-
| Muon || µ || {{w|Muon}} || µ || No change.
|-
| (none) || (none) || {{w|Tau (particle)|Tau lepton}} || τ || The tau lepton is a lepton with average lifetime much shorter than the electron or the muon. Randall apparently considers this particle redundant and states "No one needs tau leptons".
|-
| Strange boson || s || {{w|Z boson}} || Z || The Z boson is one of two particles (three, counting the W boson's different charges) that mediate the {{w|weak force}}, named for having '''z'''ero charge. Randall suggests the strange quark's name would be better suited for this particle.
|-
| Magic || M || (none) || (none) || Randall apparently considers magic to exist and be a particle, both of which are blatantly false.{{Citation needed}} He suggests this particle as a decoy to trip up {{w|quantum mysticism}} promoters, possibly because [[1528: Vodka|he has been possessed]] by [[Black Hat]] and is [[356: Nerd Sniping|trying to run them over with a truck]].
|-
| Electron neutrino || Ne || {{w|Electron neutrino}} || νe || Randall is annoyed by the similarity of the Greek lowercase nu (ν) and the lowercase V (v). Interestingly Randall leaves the "electron" part of its name in even though he has eliminated the other neutrinos.
|-
| (none) || (none) || {{w|Muon neutrino}} || νµ || Randall thinks one neutrino is enough, and to be honest, who can argue with him?
|-
| {{w|Dark matter}} || D || {{w|Tau neutrino}} || ντ || Dark matter is thought to make up most of the universe's matter. Randall claims to have found it; replacing the tau neutrino with it. This could easily be the most abundant particle in the universe.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| Charm boson || c || {{w|W boson}} || W || The other mediator of the '''w'''eak force. Randall is suggesting that it would suit the charm name more than the charm quark.
|-
| Cool bugs || 🐞 || (none) || (none) || Randall has decreed that extremely small bugs are fundamental particles. Bugs in reality are several orders of magnitude larger than any of the other known particles.{{Citation needed}} They would not make a good elementary particle{{Citation needed}} for a number of extremely obvious reasons{{Citation needed}} and would make physics pretty frightening to some people.{{Citation needed}} With the exception of mosquitoes as they can be considered elementary particles. {{Citation needed}} Randall uses the insect emoji as the symbol of the cool bugs particle.
|}

==Transcript==
[A chart of the Standard Model of particle physics with red marks all over the chart.] 
Changes I would make to the Standard Model

[In reading order:] 
u up, connected to the down quark below. 
c charm, connected to the strange quark below, in faded gray with a red l left written over it. Above is a red note with an arrow pointing to the charm quark. The note reads, 
Consistent quark names (use "strange" and "charm" for bosons) 
t top, connected to the bottom quark below. 
g gluon 
H Higgs, in faded gray with a red V Vin Diesel writted over it. To the right is a red note with an arrow pointing to the Higgs boson, which reads, 
With all respect to Peter H, the Higgs boson needs a flashier name 

d down, connected to the up quark above. 
s strange, connected to the charm quark above, in faded gray with a red r right written over it. 
b bottom, connected to the top quark above. 
γ photon 
G graviton, in red with a red border. To the right is a red note with an arrow pointing to the graviton, which reads, 
Let's just include it, it's probably fine 

e electron, connected to the electron neutrino below. 
µ muon, connected in faded gray to the muon neutrino below, with red rounded corners cutting it off. 
τ tau, connected to the tau neutrino below, in faded gray with a red scribble over it. On the tau lepton is a red note which reads, 
No one needs tau leptons 
Z Z boson, with the Z symbol and the Z in the name in faded gray. The symbol has a red s written over it and the Z in the name is scribbled out in red. The word strange is written in red between the symbol and the name. 
M magic, in red with a red border. To the right is a red note with an arrow pointing to the magic particle, which reads, 
Decoy particle for people making nonsense claims about "quantum" philosophy stuff 

v e electron neutrino, with the e as a subscript of the v, connected to the electron above. The v is in faded gray and a red N with a circle around it is written on it. Below is a red note with an arrow pointing to the electron neutrino, which reads, 
Fix neutrino symbol so I stop mixing up ν and v 
v μ muon neutrino, with the µ as a subscript of the v, connected to the muon above, in faded gray with a red scribble over it. On the muon neutrino is a red note which reads, 
Too many neutrinos 
v τ tau neutrino, with the τ as a subscript of the v, connected to the tau lepton above, in faded gray. Written over it is a D dark matter in red with a red border. Below the tau neutrino is a red note with an arrow pointing to it, which reads, 
We found it! 
W W boson, with the W symbol and the W in the name in faded gray. The symbol has a red c written over it and the W in the name is scribbled out in red. The word charm is written in red between the symbol and the name. 
🐞 cool bugs, in red with a red border. To the right is a red note with an arrow pointing to cool bugs, which reads, 
Very small bugs are fundamental particles now

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]