explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2849: Under the Stars

2023-11-01T17:14:20Z

172.69.195.104: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2849
| date = November 1, 2023
| title = Under the Stars
| image = under_the_stars_2x.png
| imagesize = 672x258px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you live in Los Angeles (around 33°52'N, roughly the latitude of Hermosa Beach) the black hole in V404 Cygni passes over you each day. On Christmas Day it will be directly overhead around 2pm.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Black Hole passing overhead during the day time - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The phrase "under the stars" generally refers to being under a visible field of stars (either real stars visible at night, or representations of stars constructed by people, as in a dance hall). Megan points out that we're always under the stars, they're just obscured ("painted over") during the day by the brightness of the sun and its interaction with the sky.

This is related to the concept of {{w|object permanence}}, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even though we can't physically sense them. When you close your eyes, the universe doesn't go away even though you can't see it; similarly, when the sun is shining, the stars are still all there.

{{w|V404 Cygni}} is a binary system composed of a 9 solar masses black hole and a star smaller than the Sun. With a {{w|declination}} of +33° 52′ 02.0″, once a day it passes over any point of Earth with that latitude North.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Megan and Cueball are sitting in a field under a clear blue sky and bright sun.]

:Megan: I love sitting out under the stars.

:Cueball: ...It's daytime.
:Megan: Yeah, but the stars are all still up there.

:Megan: Constellations wheel overhead; they're just painted over with blue.
:Megan: Every sky is full of stars.

:Cueball: That's somehow terrifying.
:Megan: It's okay—just look at that sunny sky and tell yourself space isn't real.
:Megan: "Daytime" is us closing our eyes and pretending it makes infinity go away.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Time]]

804: Pumpkin Carving

2023-10-25T02:57:37Z

172.69.195.104: Undo revision 327047 by 172.69.134.201 (talk) Far too much/too many, and someone is scattering these around articles like cheap aftershave. It's a useful joke, but only on occasion....

{{comic
| number = 804
| date = October 11, 2010
| title = Pumpkin Carving
| image = pumpkin carving.png
| titletext = The Banach-Tarski theorem was actually first developed by King Solomon, but his gruesome attempts to apply it set back set theory for centuries.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the American custom of making {{w|Jack-o'-lantern|Jack-O'-Lantern}}s to set out on porches and front steps for the holiday of {{w|Halloween}}, which occurs on October 31. Typically they are made with {{w|pumpkins}} by emptying the inside leaving a hollow shell, carving a face or design on the side, then placing a light or candle inside. The Jack-O'-Lantern in the 3rd frame is the typical and standard design for a carved pumpkin.

The comic is set up as a typical TV program where an off-screen interviewer asks four (very) different people what they have made out of their Halloween pumpkin. In the [http://xkcd.com/804/info.0.json official transcript] the interviewer that talks in three of the panels is called an Interlocutor: "a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation."

In the first frame, [[Beret Guy]], naturally, stays oddly on-topic by physically carving an image of a pumpkin in his pumpkin. This means his answer, "I carved a pumpkin," could apply to either the image or the medium of his artwork.

In the second frame, [[Black Hat]] is shown with a container of {{w|nitroglycerin}} next to his pumpkin. Nitroglycerin is a highly explosive liquid that may explode violently with just a small bump. Black Hat has not carved a hole for his lamp, but it seems he has emptied the inside of the pumpkin as the stem at the top has been removed. This will make it possible to fill up the pumpkin with nitroglycerin. Teenagers are a rather impulsive and rebellious lot; as Halloween is a night with lots of meticulously erected decorations and more lax parental supervision, troublemaker teens see it as an enticing time to engage in rampant vandalism, including but not limited to pumpkin-smashing. Hence, the off-panel character presumes that Black Hat is setting up a trap to get back at these ne'er-do-wells. To top it off, Black Hat plans to put up a sign warning passers-by to not smash the pumpkin. This would only serve to tempt impulsive teenagers to disturb it, which is very likely what the sadistic and chaos-loving [[Classhole]] is hoping for. If he succeeds with his plan, with a completely hollowed out pumpkin of the shown size filled with nitroglycerin, it would seem likely that the resulting explosion would leave a largish crater, flatten wood-framed buildings nearby, shatter windows for blocks in all directions, and be more than sufficient to kill the vandal along with others in the surrounding area. This is clearly overkill for such a petty crime.

Black Hat, rather unconvincingly, insists that his pumpkin is suffering from chest pains, and that the nitroglycerin is merely intended for medical treatment. While it is true that this chemical is used to treat {{w|angina}} (chest pain due to blocked arteries in the heart), nitroglycerin used for this purpose is dispensed in the form of small pills containing only trace amounts, and controlled by prescription. Also, pumpkins are fruits and do thus not contain nervous or circulatory systems of mammalian complexity{{citation needed}}; even if they did, the process of pumpkin carving involves hollowing them out, making it a moot point.

In the third frame, [[Megan]] is our typical emotional xkcd comic character. She is the only one out of the four who actually carved a typical jack-o'-lantern; however, she is projecting herself onto it, and has named it Harold. Her dialogue suggests it (or he) is suffering from typical holiday depression, with symptoms such as using a lot of time daydreaming, worrying, and trying to distract herself with holiday traditions, but she already knows that it won't work. Some have speculated that this is a possible reference to the classic {{w|Internet meme|meme}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hide-the-pain-harold Hide The Pain Harold], but this is highly unlikely; the meme [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hide-the-pain-harold only surfaced in 2011], a year after the comic was published.

In the fourth frame, [[Cueball]] is shown in front of two un-carved pumpkins exclaiming that this is the result of carving one pumpkin. He is referencing the {{w|Banach-Tarski paradox}} (which is made clear in the title text), a theorem which states that it is possible to split a three-dimensional ball, in this case a pumpkin, into a finite number of "pieces," and then reassemble these "pieces" into two distinct balls both identical to the original. This paradox has been proven for theoretical shapes, but requires infinitely complicated pieces which are impossible for anything made of physical {{w|atomic theory|atoms}} rather than mathematical {{w|point (geometry)|points}}.

The off-screen interviewer in that frame references the {{w|Axiom of Choice}}. This axiom is the foundation for many theorems (including the Banach–Tarski paradox) and is extremely influential to modern mathematics; however, it has been historically controversial precisely because it enables this kind of weirdness. It is called an "axiom" because it is a statement that is not meant to be proven or disproven—only accepted or rejected depending on the theoretical framework one wishes to work with. Rejecting the Axiom of Choice results in a perfectly coherent alternate form of set theory. Since the proof for the Banach–Tarski paradox relies on accepting the axiom of choice, the interviewer is suggesting Cueball's unexpected result would not have happened without using the axiom.

The title text references a biblical story involving {{w|Solomon|King Solomon}}. In the story, known as the {{w|Judgment of Solomon}}, two women were brought before him both claiming that a particular child was their own. Solomon tested the women by saying the only solution was to cut the baby in half and give each woman one of the halves, knowing the real mother would fight to save her child's life even if the price was giving up the whole child to the other woman. The joke is that if Solomon had developed the Banach–Tarski theorem first, then he could have actually believed cutting the baby into pieces was a valid solution. In that scenario, he would have tried to make two whole children from the original and given one to each woman. However, since babies are not infinitely divisible,{{Citation needed}} his attempt would have failed miserably and set back set theory for centuries due to the appearance that he has "proved" the theorem wrong. Note that the title text actually mentions ''attempts'' indicating that King Solomon killed several babies in this fashion.

The axiom of choice and set theory was later referenced in [[982: Set Theory]] and, much later, the axiom of choice was mentioned again in the title text of [[1724: Proofs]].

This comic was released 20 days before Halloween in 2010, possibly to inspire people with some great ideas for their pumpkins. It has been known (particularly by Randall) that people copy his ideas, for instance this earlier [http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster/ post] on xkcd based on [[249: Chess Photo]]. Soon after he even made a comic, [[254: Comic Fragment]], that was supposed to be impossible to copy, which he mentioned himself later (see the explanation).

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy, holding his arms out, stands behind a large orange pumpkin with the stem on top. It is sitting on a table. The pumpkin has been carved out as a lamp with large hole, and a lit candle is visible in the hole. The hole is in the shape of another carved out pumpkin. An interviewer speaks from off panel.]
:Interviewer (off-panel): So what did you—
:Beret Guy: I carved a pumpkin!
:Interviewer (off-panel): ...

:[Black Hat stands behind a large orange pumpkin which has not been carved out as a lamp, but the stem at the top has been removed and is placed tilting on the side of the pumpkin. It is sitting on a table. A gray box stands next to and partly in front of the pumpkin. On the end of the box there is a label at the top with unreadable text and below that some kind of drawing with a circle at the top. The interviewer speaks from off panel.]
:Interviewer (off-panel): Taking on teen vandals, I see.
:Black Hat: Heavens, no. My pumpkin simply has chest pains. In fact, I'll leave a note ''warning'' them not to smash it.
:Text on box:
::Nitro-
::glycerin
::Do Not
::Shake

:[Megan stands next to a large orange pumpkin with the stem on top. It is sitting on a table. The pumpkin has been carved out as a typical Halloween lamp. The bottom part of a white candle stick is visible in the mouth shaped hole. The hole is in the shape of a typical jack-o' lantern, with two slanted eyes, double slit nose and a smiling mouth with a tooth sticking out from both upper and lower lip, on either side of the candle stick.]
:Megan: My pumpkin's name is Harold. He just realized that all the time he used to spend daydreaming, he now spends worrying. He'll try to distract himself later with holiday traditions, but it won't work.

:[Cueball stands next to a two orange pumpkins with their stems on top, the left pumpkin is slightly larger than the right which is partly in front of the larger pumpkin. They have not been carved out even though a knife lies next to them to the right in front of Cueball on the table where they both stand. The interviewer speaks from off panel.]]
:Cueball: I carved and carved, and the next thing I knew I had ''two'' pumpkins.
:Interviewer (off-panel): I ''told'' you not to take the axiom of choice.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]

Talk:2845: Extinction Mechanisms

2023-10-25T00:47:52Z

172.69.195.104:

-Hello, I'm a Christian that has done research to be intellectually fulfiled, and I would just want to say that I did not know that paleontologists were having trouble with this problem. A general Christian solution is that Noah's Flood, combined with the aftermath being much cooler, was the cause of the dinosaur extinction. Also, before you hate on me, I'm not trying to correct anyone, or be offensive. I just thought I'd share my thoughts on this and add another theory to the mix. This is my second time posting a comment, so sorry if I did something wrong or something. Also, I know there's a comic that "debunks" this, but there seems to have been more evidence and research done since then. Also, the biggest help to me has been ''The Case for A Creator'' by Lee Strobel. [[User:Azerty99|Azerty99]] ([[User talk:Azerty99|talk]]) 15:17, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

:Reading a book (or even many books) is not research. Science means you're never absolutely sure about anything. You're only relatively certain until contradictory proof of the currently theory (or theories) exists. This is not a weakness, but exactly the strength of the scientific method. If you have significant and non-controvertible proof that men and dinosaurs existed at the same time, I'll tentatively accept your ideas. Until then, it's all just bunk. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.197.151|162.158.197.151]] 15:32, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

:Paleontologists are not having an issue with this. It is merely the premise for the comic. The available evidence vastly points to the extinction of the non avian dinosaurs ~66 million years ago. Of course the scientific community always welcomes new evidence to evaluate and see if it leads to a different conclusion or modification of the current consensus.

:It's a troll folks, treat it with the contempt it deserves. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.240|172.69.43.240]] 19:09, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

-We should change "Earth and other terrestrial planets" to Earth and its allies.[[User:Danger Kitty|Danger Kitty]] ([[User talk:Danger Kitty|talk]])

One obvious type of hole was not discussed. The Acme Portable Hole™ is an entirely different class of holes as extensively demonstrated in (this)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_the_Road_Runner] documentation.

-Ok, thanks for the comments in return! And thanks for not being extremely rude! Here's one article that shows several bio-organic materials that should have decayed if in the situations they were in for -66 million years. https://genesisapologetics.com/faqs/dinosaurs-lived-recently-and-died-in-noahs-flood/ Also, can I see the evidence shown in the second comic? I would like to see all this evidence. Also, I wasn't aware that scientific ideas shown in xkcd that were heavily implied to be true were false. That sounds a bit rude, but usually xkcd
gives funny interpretations of actual problems, like all the ones about COVID, or the Heartbleed Bug. Also, I'm not a troll. I'm willing to debate as long as people aren't saying things like "Science says" and equivocal stuff, and shows evidence instead of just giving vague statements. Thanks! [[User:Azerty99|Azerty99]] ([[User talk:Azerty99|talk]]) 22:25, 23 October 2023 (UTC)
:There's little disagreement that an asteroid striking the Yucatan around 66 mya caused or was a significant contributor to the extinction of the dinosaurs, but there are multiple (not necessarily mutually exclusive) hypotheses about what exact mechanisms had the biggest effects.
:It's like finding a body with nineteen bullet wounds. The detectives will have to piece together the evidence and come to tentative conclusions about what kind of gun was used, from how far away, whether the body was moved after the shooting, whether the victim died immediately or after some time, etc. But until someone finds something major that suggests otherwise, "death by shooting" is going to have to remain the working theory. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.41|172.69.247.41]] 23:09, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

-That analogy makes almost perfect sense, except there's a pretty big difference between finding 19 bullet holes in a man and concluding "death by shooting" and thinking that a meteor caused extinction because fossils were found in rocks that could be from the time that the meteor struck. Also, assuming that the mechanisms shown in the comic that are crossed out have been shown to not be possible, then what evidence is there that the meteor was the cause at all besides the correlation of the meteor impact and the extinction time? Does the correlation imply causation? Also, the theory of the meteor assumes the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs, which, while excepted by the majority of scientists, has been called into question.
:Ah, you figured it out. The extinction of the dinosaurs must have caused the meteor impact. The crossed-out mechanisms have '''not''' been ruled out; they're the leading hypotheses. That's the whole joke. Whoosh! There's plenty of evidence to conclude that the meteor was the cause of the mass extinctions. I don't see the need to provide you with them - they can be easily found. But you're not really interested in learning about evidence that could falsify your beliefs; you're fighting tooth and nail against anything that contradicts your preconceived conclusion. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.140|172.69.34.140]] 07:25, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
:well dinosaur fossils are found below the cretaceous-paleogene boundary and not found above, so the major groups (excluding birds) most likely died out around that exact period; it contains a large amount of iridium, which is common in asteroids and there would be a low chance that there would be any other method to deposit iridium worldwide. its age can also be estimated using radiometric dating which puts it at around 66 mya (66.043 ± 0.011 mya to be exact) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.181|172.69.134.181]] 00:47, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
:XKCD is a webcomic that often derives humor from science. However, it is not a reliable source of information.{{Citation needed}} Consider the various "phone ideas" comics that present phones with "features" that are absurd or impossible. The "crossing out" of the hypotheses in the comic should not be taken as an indication that these hypotheses have been discredited. The comic presents the hypothesis that a meteor broke into pieces, all of equal volume, that struck each square meter of the Earth's surface, and hit each dinosaur individually. I'm reasonably confident that that is physically impossible, but the comic lists this hypothesis together with some of the current leading hypotheses and shows those leading hypotheses crossed-out and describing this alternative hypothesis as "obvious." There idea that this alternative hypothesis is in any way comparable to the others listed, or has any legitimacy, is absurd to the point of being laughable, and thus funny. Regarding the apparently preserved tissue found in some fossils, I found this interesting link: [https://web.archive.org/web/20221202184025/https://www.uwstout.edu/about-us/news-center/researchers-identify-mechanisms-blood-vessel-preservation-t-rex-dinosaur Researchers identify mechanisms of blood vessel preservation in a T. rex dinosaur]--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.210|172.69.22.210]] 10:30, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

-While Noah's Flood was likely an actual event, it would not have been worldwide. Christianity originated in ancient Rome, which is near the Mediterranean Sea, and it is likely that after the last Ice Age, the sea levels rose, and the Atlantic Ocean flooded through what is now the Strait of Gibraltar, creating the Mediterranean Sea. Although this was not a worldwide flood, to the people living in the affected area, it would have seemed as such. [[User:Unknown User|Unknown User]] ([[User talk:Unknown User|talk]]) 01:00, 24 October 2023 (UTC)Unknown User
::(What's with the non-standard indenting? Anyway...) The biblical Flood wasn't initially recorded/conceived of in Rome (thus the Mediterranean), but in earlier Abrahamic/pre-Abrahamic sources. It could well be a mesopotanian-area event (or events), or the Black Sea or elsewhere (or a mix of several possible aural histories/tales, merged together by the time they entered the Old Testament's first official compilation process).
::And to people living on wide and fertile riverine plains, they're going to encounter the occasional flood every few generations (too often and the original settlers wouldn't stay settled in a flood-endengared way for long, either invent a word for "floodplane" and moce away ''or'' just accept/expect the cycles and explicitly build their civilisation around it like Egypt did). But once-a-century catastrophes probably happened ''somewhere'' amongst most prebiblical peoples, and depending on whose imaginations were left (to wonder how and what happened) they could have come up with what could have been any kind of ur-legend. (If not an ''actual'' legend about Ur!) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.104|172.69.195.104]] 00:47, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

- Issues with Noah’s flood. 1. If it was worldwide and lasted 40 days, all the salty ocean water would have contaminated all fresh water on earth. This would have killed all fresh water fish within minutes or hours. Yet we have fresh water fish. Maybe in the millennia since fish have evolved the ability to survive in fresh water again? 2. The math shows that it would take 3-4 times the current amount of water to cover the earth worldwide. Where did all that water go? It’s not on earth now. We would be aware of that. The math ain’t mathing.

-Okay, to answer the comment directly above mine, if God can create the universe, I doubt he had a problem with seperating salt and fresh water for 40 days. Next comment: While early Christianity was started in Ancient Rome, Noah's Flood is in the first five books of the bible, which were written by Moses, about people that were about 30 generations his ancestors, passed down through traditions combined with the guidance of God. So they probably weren't near the Metiterranean during the flood. Next comment: I understand now that it's a joke, while I understood that the non-crossed out one was obviously a joke the whole time. Also, I'll be honest, I can't open that link, but I'll assume it was true, in which case that's a great discovery for them. I'm assuming that that link is to a good website, is true, and does not exagerate. Next comment up: The iridium thing is true, and I'm not going to make an argument from ignorance and say "we just haven't found the source yet". That's a valid point, but the rock layers could have been moved or solidified earlier, and just formed at that time. We have no concieved notion of how long the days were when God was making the earth, so each on could of been like 5 million years. But that's a valid point! Next comment up: Yes, I know. Also, "But you're not really interested in learning about evidence that could falsify your beliefs; you're fighting tooth and nail against anything that contradicts your preconceived conclusion." I'm honestly trying my best, but you're right that it's hard to accept evidence that goes aqainst you. But, please make sure you don't fall into that category as well.
I'm just some random guy on the internet, and I'm going to go through my day feeling a strange mixture of hopeful and grim, not because of what you've shown me, but how you've shown me it. If you're really interested in tearing down my religion, go after the Bible itself. Making some random dude feel like crap because some of you were rude won't do anything. To those of you who actually brought up valid points, thanks. I hope that you put thought into what I'm saying, instead of just refusing to go against your preconceived judgements. To those of you that just said, "there's so much evidence" know that you need to do better if you're arguing. Be polite. You never know how bad a day the person you're talking to just had. Thanks.
I probably won't post here anymore. This is a nitpicky thing inside of a nitpicky thing and you're saying that my religion is false because I have a different opinion than you. I hope you don't go away feeling smug and self-satisfied, but instead think about the ripple affect of everything you say. Bye! [[User:Azerty99|Azerty99]] ([[User talk:Azerty99|talk]]) 11:07, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
:If God can create the universe, I doubt he has problems with just making everything He does look like a perfectly explainable phenomena. A God which has to tinker ''too much'' with his Creation, just to deal with an unforseen(??) necessary adjustment to it, isn't really worh Their own pillar-of-salt.
:The actual omnipotent/omniscient/omnipresent deity wouldn't have to do anything, really, after the Letting There Be Light moment (give or take a good proportion of the following week). Perhaps They can reliably rely upon the imaginations of the humans to come up with the stories They value more as stories (centuries/millenia after the 'fact') than actual effort to adjust matters that They didn't realise They would not like to have happen.
:Though I tend to think that the God Of Logic actually made the universe to ''look'' logical and (through proper study) explainable, and doesn't even appreciate all the different Holy Books everyone keeps thinking is some particular form of Truth.
:Even better, the GOL could have created everything last Thursday, complete with seemingly arbitrary memories embedded in all the billions of people created, and everything else historic (books, dust on undusted mantlepieces, strata/seximents, light from distant stars, etc) installed in the ultimate Young Earth joke. But such that everyone reads the ''intended'' scientifically-observable 'previous' and comes to the conclusion that it all happened just like everyone is ''supposed'' to conclude. Those who reject that (and GOL surely knows who those will be, of course) and actually believe in some of the 'trap' materials (Bible, Koran, Torah, the Daozang, all those Sutras, all those Vedras, ..., the Mission Earth Dekalogy) are those who will be sent to whatever GOL's idea actually is of damnation. ((Some might suggest we already have been. Others might suggest that we're not actually at Creation ''yet'', what we're experiencing is the God's 'dry run' and mental check of how Creation will turn out, but of course the mere ponderings of such a god are so powerful that include details such as whether those so imagined are ever going to philosophise about whether they are even real or not.))
:The whole point of a 'capital-G' God (i.e. not confounded by fellow pantheon members with a similar magnitude of control over things and variously different motives of their own) is that they are just ''so all-powerful'' and ''perfect''. And it's clear that the biblical God is lacking in various ways (as with all the others in all other comparable holy scriptures, with their own adherents and supporters) that can be explained away by "having granted free will" but without helping the reputation of said deity to allow (the appearance of) Free Will and yet be annoyed by what inevitably happens inevitably happening... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.104|172.69.195.104]] 00:47, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

What the meteor does, looks like a cluster bomb. BTW does one like to do the math for the meteor falling apart into pieces of 1l and those being randomly distributed. What is the expected value of dinosaurs of various area sizes being hit? Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.219|162.158.94.219]] 07:59, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
:You get one point for each brontosaur, twenty points for a velociraptor, thirty for a zhongjianosaurus and fifty for compsognathus. Double that for hitting their young (even harder to hit); double up again, per additional rock, if you can show that you hit every egg in a nest with a different fragment. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.155|172.69.194.155]] 11:22, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

The title text missed a great opportunity to call it the Comparably Light Bombardment But Oddly Restricted just for the acronym. [[User:Phil Srobeighn|Phil Srobeighn]] ([[User talk:Phil Srobeighn|talk]]) 11:18, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

- Reconciling religion and science is always going to be a bit challenging (gross understatement), but for what it's worth--I think the goal of each is substantially different, but can be complimentary. There are elements of the Bible that are clearly figurative / allegorical / metaphorical / designed to teach a principle but is not necessarily literal. The Bible's intent is to teach us about our relationship to God and each other, and how to become more like God. It's content is intended to be understood by a general audience, without requiring e.g. a degree in Physics. Science, on the other hand, is an inductive search to understand the reality we live in. This is an oversimplification, but you could see science as answering the "what" or "how" of existence, and religion, the "why". My personal approach is to accept scientific evidence, and consider how the current models--even things like evolution--may fit in to God's overall purpose. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.75|172.68.35.75]] 14:33, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

That's not how I think about it, but that's a great way too! [[User:Azerty99|Azerty99]] ([[User talk:Azerty99|talk]]) 18:35, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

683: Science Montage

2023-10-24T22:41:54Z

172.69.195.104: /* Transcript */ Better, with the bare amount of presumption it seems necessary to keep options open yet describe the impression of what can be seen well enough.

{{comic
| number = 683
| date = January 1, 2010
| title = Science Montage
| image = science_montage.png
| titletext = The rat's perturbed; it must sense nanobots! Code grey! We have a Helvetica scenario!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes fun of the artificially dramatized and simplified depiction of science in movies. The unstated premise seems to be that the scientists are trying to get information about a murderer based on a sample obtained from his clothing. The movie version of events involves the two scientists [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] doing exciting things with a control console, {{w|lab rats}}, a device with some kind of beam (perhaps a laser), and a complicated chemical apparatus. The scientists quickly arrive at the firm conclusion that paint on the clothes is from an "{{w|antimatter}} factory" in {{w|Belgrade}}, {{w|Serbia}}.

While not directly used in the study, a {{w|Newton's cradle}} in motion can be seen in the first panel, a device notoriously useless in any serious scientific study, but very often used in movies, for instance as a prop in the office of a professor. There is also a {{w|hamster wheel}}. According to the [http://xkcd.com/683/info.0.json official transcript] it is a {{w|hamster ball}} but it is clearly not a ball as it has spokes, and thus resembles a hamster running wheel, probably for the rats shown in the next panel.

The actual science version shows the same scientists putting a sample into a device (likely a {{w|mass spectrometer}} or a {{w|centrifuge}}). The device apparently takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to analyze the sample (according to the clock on the wall moving from about 10:05 to 11:25). At the end of this process, the only thing learned is that there is ''probably'' no {{w|barium}} or {{w|radium}} in the sample. This conclusion is not very helpful on its own, and is not even very certain.

There are several major concepts about science and technology that movies tend to distort for the purposes of a more exciting plot, both illustrated here. One is that the work involves a lot of different exciting-looking gadgets. Another is that the analysis can be done very quickly, and results in very certain and significant conclusions. Besides this, the scientists often seem to have access to a database full of trivial information from around the world. In reality, a scientific analysis of some sample or data often only requires a single boring-looking machine, takes quite some time, and provides a limited result that must be interpreted very carefully to have any meaning at all.

The title text further illustrates a movie science scene, depicting someone deducing the presence of {{w|nanobots}} simply by observing the behavior of a [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/perturbed perturbed] lab rat. The Helvetica Scenario is a fictional experiment, presented in {{w|Switzerland}} (Helvetia is the Latin name for the country), which assumes that removing only the nucleus (the center of an atom) of a "calcium molecule" in one's skin, but still leaving the electron shell at its position, would cause a massive reaction ending up in heavy mutations. The Helvetica scenario was made up by the BBC comedy show {{w|Look Around You}} in the pilot episode, which can be seen [https://youtu.be/t4CRCJUmWsM?t=370 here]. "Code grey" may refer to {{w|Grey goo}}, a hypothetical doomsday scenario involving nanobots. In [[1242: Scary Names]] Grey goo is on the chart and the Helvetica scenario is mentioned in the title text.

Antimatter is also referenced in [[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]], [[1621: Fixion]] and [[1731: Wrong]] as well as being the subject of the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' ''{{what if|114|Antimatter}}''. It was also mentioned in another ''what if?'': ''{{what if|79|Lake Tea}}''.

==Transcript==
:[Two columns of four panels are shown below two captions.]
:Left: Movie Science Montage
:Right: Actual Science Montage

:[Below the four rows of panels in the two montages will be described, Movie first then Actual as the two are synchronized in time.]

:['''Movie''': Cueball passes a test tube to Ponytail sitting at a large control console to the left looking at it's glowing screens at the bottom. At the top there is a flashing lamp. Both are wearing lab coats and goggles. A hamster ball and a Newton's cradle stand on a shelf above them.]

:['''Actual''': Cueball stand behind Ponytail, also here both are in lab coats with goggles. Ponytail place a sample from a test tube into a small device standing on a table. An analog clock on the wall above them is at five minutes past ten.]

:['''Movie''': A small glowing sample has been placed next to a rat inside a cage standing on a table. Ponytail, is holding a glowing implement up towards the cage; she has another rat in her hand and also a rat sitting on top of her head. Cueball is speaking into a telephone handset connected by a curled wire leading off-frame as if to a wall/tabletop phone.]
:Caged Rat: ''Squeak!''

:['''Actual''': Cueball is behind Ponytail standing in front of the machine which is working on the sample. The clock on the wall above them is at ten minutes past ten.]
:Machine: ''...whirrrrrr...''

:['''Movie''': Zoom in on Ponytail who pulls on two levers on a machine, which is shooting a beam of some sort downwards onto a sample, possibly the same as in the cage with the rat.]

:['''Actual''': Cueball and Ponytail still waits for their sample to be analyzed in the small device. The clock on the wall above them is at twenty five minutes past eleven. Cueball has removed his goggles and is holding them in his hand.]
:Machine: ''...whirrrr...''
:Machine: ''Bing!''

:['''Movie''': Zoom in on Cueball who is operating a complicated-looking chemical apparatus with a scope, flasks, coils, and bubbles.]
:Cueball: Paint flecks from the killer's clothing match an antimatter factory in Belgrade!
:Ponytail (off panel): Let's go!

:['''Actual''': Cueball look over Ponytail's shoulder while she examine the sample she has just taken out of the small device. He has put his goggles back on. The clock is hidden behind their spoken text. Presumably this occurs right after the ''bing''.]
:Cueball: Okay, we've determined there's neither barium nor radium in this sample.
:Ponytail: Probably.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2840: Earth Layers

2023-10-12T08:31:01Z

172.69.195.104: /* Explanation */ Awkward phrasing, as was. Trying it this way, presuming the actual measurement/maths was correct.

{{comic
| number = 2840
| date = October 11, 2023
| title = Earth Layers
| image = earth_layers_2x.png
| imagesize = 585x627px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Earth's magnetic field is primarily generated by currents in the liquid outer core, though some geophysicists argue that an unexplained mismatch with models suggests that the Kinder toy contains a magnet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an GUS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Like this? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic reimagines the internal structure of the earth, mixing the real geological layers of the planet with fictional ones. Some of the fictional layers are appropriated from the layers of other objects that have cross-sectional diagrams, such as the layers of a piece of fruit, an eyeball, an item of confectionary or a building.

{| class="wikitable"
! Layer
! scope="col"| Explanation
|-
! scope="row"| Lithosphere/Crust (50/50 Blend)
| The {{w|lithosphere}} is any outermost rocky layer of a planet. On Earth it consists of the {{w|Earth's crust|crust}} and any parts of the upper mantle (see below) that do not convect. To say they are two distinct layers that could be blended together is rather nonsensical.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Upper mantle}}
| An actual layer of the earth's structure.
|-
! scope="row"| Deep mantle
| A pseudo-correct layer of the earth's structure. There is a layer called the {{w|lower mantle}}, which could be what Randall refers to.
|-
! scope="row"| Filler
| This suggests there is space in the earth that was empty, so the creator(s) added some filler to fill up the extra space.
|-
! scope="row"| Vitreous humor
|Vitreous humor ({{w|vitreous body}}) is the transparent gel inside the eye, located between the lens and the retina.
|-
! scope="row"| Mechanical/HVAC layer
| {{w|HVAC}} is an abbreviation for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning - the system used to heat or cool a building. Tall buildings may have a dedicated "HVAC floor" or "{{w|mechanical floor}}" between regular floors, like an extra layer.
|-
! scope="row"| Guacamole
| {{w|Guacamole}} is a dip or sauce made from avocados. Originating in the Mayan Empire,{{Actual citation needed}} it often includes onions, tomatoes, and spices. Notably, guacamole is a major component of seven layer dip, and is shown here to be the seventh layer (from the surface).
|-
! scope="row"| Cytoplasm
|{{w|Cytoplasm}} is the "flesh" of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells; a jelly-like substance that fills all the otherwise empty space within the cell.
|-
! scope="row"| Cork
|Due to the proximity of the cork layer and the insulation layer, this may possibly be referencing {{w|Cork (material)|cork}}-lined walls, which are used today mostly for high quality soundproofing, but have [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27135713 a considerable history]. Another potential reference could be the fact that baseballs (another spherical shape) have a layer of cork in them (though it is usually in the center). Finally, the cork is a real layer of tissue in many woody plants, part of the bark.
|-
! scope="row"| Insulation
|Probably a reference to the {{w|building insulation}} installed in the walls and ceilings of buildings.
|-
! scope="row"| Seeds
|Part of a fruit.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Pith}}
|Part of a tree trunk or the thick spongy layer of the skin of a citrus fruit
|-
! scope="row"| Nougat
|{{w|Nougat}} is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts, whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. It often appears as layers within confectionary items, such as Snickers, Double Decker, and Mars, and, notably in relation to the comic, it constitutes the second-innermost layer of {{w|Mozartkugel}}n, a spherical confection.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Outer core}}
| An actual layer of the earth's structure.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Inner core}}
| An actual layer of the earth's structure.
|-
! scope="row"| Secret core
| Likely references secret compartments that may be hidden in the hardest to find recesses of other objects or structures, for the purposes of concealing precious items or closely-guarded secrets.
|-
! scope="row"| Kinder toy capsule
| A {{w|Kinder (brand)|Kinder}} toy is a reference to a chocolate egg-shaped confection by the Kinder brand, the {{w|Kinder Surprise}}, a chocolate shell with a plastic 'yoke' capsule in the center. Though that is loose within a void, unlike this 'Earth model', it closely matches this philosophy despite (or because of) being a banned food item in the United States.
It is widely believed that this is because the 'yoke' can be a choking hazard, despite the fact that you'd have to be swallowing a chicken egg-sized confectionery in a single mouthful for that to happen accidentally, or deliberately try to consume the plastic capsule whole. The toys within, however, may contain small pieces that can pose a choking hazard, especially in the toys that are packed as components, requiring some assembly, in order to fit into the capsule. Rules about small components (in toys for young children) and the inclusion of non-food contents within food-items have been used to prohibit this product within the US. To specifically overcome the latter regulations, the {{w|Kinder Joy}} was developed; an egg-shaped packaging containing the chocolate treat in one half and the toy separately within the other.

Randall's punchline of the comic is that there is indeed a hidden toy at the center of the Earth. The title text elaborates on this further, stating that due to an "unexplained mismatch" with models of how the {{w|Earth's magnetic field|geomagnetic field}} occurs, some geophysicists argue that the hidden toy is – or at least contains – some additional form of magnet to augment the accepted {{w|Magnetohydrodynamics|magnetohydrodynamic}} effect.
|}

Since the radius of the earth is 6371 km, Randal allocates an average layer thickness of 342 km (as measured from the diagram). This gives the Kinder Toy Capsule having a radius of about 900 km. This gives the Kinder Toy Capsule a volume of just over 3 billion km3. Assuming a real Kinder Egg has a volume of 60 cm3, and a packing density of 63.5%, the Kinder Toy Capsule could contain 5x1022 (50 sextillion) actual Kinder Eggs.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:The layers of the Earth

:Lithosphere/crust (50/50 blend)
:Upper mantle
:Deep mantle
:Filler
:Vitreous humor
:Mechanical/HVAC layer
:Guacamole
:Cytoplasm
:Cork
:Insulation
:Seeds
:Pith
:Nougat
:Outer core
:Inner core
:Secret core
:Kinder toy capsule

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Food]]