explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2025-01-08T02:14:44Z

172.69.246.151: grammar

{{comic
| number = 3031
| date = December 30, 2024
| title = Time Capsule Instructions
| image = time_capsule_instructions_2x.png
| imagesize = 692x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Inside is a third box, labeled DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE TIME ZONE WHERE YOU OPENED BOTH PREVIOUS BOXES.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ANNUAL TIME CAPSULE SUBSCRIPTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. Do NOT delete this tag too late either.}}
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] sees a New Year party held at a location where a {{w|time capsule}} has clearly been buried, as evidenced by a sign marking the spot. It is likely that this was buried some years ago with the intention of being unearthed at the start of 2025, after some significant number of years have passed, rather than for an indeterminate amount of time (such as was the case in [[1617: Time Capsule]]), with the intent to allow people of a then-future time see what those of that era found interesting to preserve and "send" into the future.

Some form of New Year Celebration is happening near to the Time Capsule site, as indicated by the off-panel noises, probably especially convened at the capsule's site in eager anticipation. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], who have already said cheers with their wine glasses, look eagerly on when [[Ponytail]] opens the time capsule.

Not all such projects are kept conspicuously marked, or may lose their signage due to circumstances unanticipated at the time of the original installation, resulting in a surprise (or accidental) unearthing, while others may still be known for what they are (as with the intended time to stay closed) but need to be relocated/reconcealed due to later redevelopment of the location. (There is generally nothing to prevent premature unearthing and opening, perhaps especially to ensure that the contents are not damaged, but often {{w|Blue Peter#Time capsules|efforts are taken}} to best adhere to the original wishes.) To this end, as might be expected of such a time capsule, the box that Ponytail digs out is itself marked that it must not be opened until the year 2025 and it seems that (for the comic) this is the case, and at least part of the reason for the gathering.

Within the capsule, however, is a second container (a not atypical precaution), but this one has the instruction to not open after 2024, which is a far less obvious element for a time capsule (though various supplies, from [[2178: Expiration Date High Score|packaged food]] to [[2297: Use or Discard By|signal flares]], may have a similar requirement). Obeying the instruction for opening the first box has entirely precluded obeying that given as a prerequisite for opening the second... at least without using some form of time-travel. This could be either be a mundane twist of the circumstances (changing reference calendars or time-zones), or else require actual time-travel, but it is unlikely that they have [[1203: Time Machines|any practical solution]] prepared to use to overcome this twist.

The title text makes the situation more similar to {{w|Matryoshka dolls}}, where boxes are recursively stacked, with a third label having another restriction. This new label alludes to one of the ways one can open the first two boxes without ignoring the instructions: by crossing time zones. When more easterly-referenced locations have become the 1st of January 2025, it will (for a short while) still be the 31st of December 2024 in more westerly ones (the boundaries themselves might be any orientation, not just north-south; the whole concept inverts across the International Date Line, before even considering hour-shift differences), meaning that theoretically someone could open the first box in a time zone where it is 2025 and then quickly travel to one in which it is still 2024 to open the second box. Depending upon where the capsule was located, timely travel opportunities ''may'' be possible, but it seems unlikely to have been something anticipated by the recipients of the task.

However, the title text implies that if you take advantage of this loophole, you will not then be allowed to open a third box inside the second box, as the instructions for ''that'' box requires that you have opened the first two boxes in the same time zone. You must not open the third (and final?) container unless you opened both previous boxes in the same time zone as you are now, which is not compatible with having changed location to get to this point.

===Potential solutions===

Depending on interpretation, you could defeat the third box by placing it inside two time zones at once before opening it, as there is no time limit on the third box. This works if the instruction on the box is read as "unless you are in the time zone where you opened the first box, and you are in the time zone where you opened the second box". However, this new loophole could be patched by interpreting the third box as "unless you are in the ''one'' time zone where...".

How to be considered to be simultaneously covered by two time-zones (in a way that you can [[2846: Daylight Saving Choice|choose which to observe]] is left up to the reader, although another variation of this solution would be to change the calendar used as point of reference, as {{w|Calendar era|many calendars}} use a lower year than the Gregorian calendar, and you could justify changing the date (if not the hour) that you consider true. Or perhaps mix and match calendar traditions that consider a day (and therefore a calendar date) to start only at dawn, rather than at astronomical/geopolitical midnight.

Perhaps the solution would be for both the box and the person opening it to be on the boundary between two time zones, half in each. Or, depending on how one interprets the nature of Daylight Saving Time, there may be another solution. In Australia, {{w|Northern Territory}} and {{w|South Australia}} are in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) and border each other, but only the latter uses Daylight Saving Time; similarly, {{w|Queensland}} does not use Daylight Saving Time but is in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) as multiple Australian territories that do use Daylight Saving Time, including {{w|New South Wales}}, with which Queensland shares a border. This suggests the idea of opening the first box in South Australia or New South Wales then taking it north of the (latitudinal) DST boundary without crossing any (longitudinal) time zone boundaries; one will then have up to an hour to open the second box and then as long as one wants to open the third box. However, Randall [[:Category:Daylight saving time|has historically expressed opposition to Daylight Saving Time]], so he might not count the first opening as occurring in 2025 if that year has already started only by virtue of Daylight Saving Time.

Without any tricksy thinking and assuming we may not have the box nor the person opening the box in two time zones at the same time, a semantic loophole presents itself. The title text refers to "you" and not the box, while the instructions on the first and seconds boxes can be reasonably assumed to apply only to the time zone that the box itself is in. The box could be moved from one time zone to the other by the use of, as an example, a robotic arm, then opened, and then brought to the time zone that the person controlling the robotic arms is in. Alternatively, if two different people opened the first two boxes in the respective time zones, the "you" would then have to be reconsidered as plural, and, since both people could stay in their respective time zones, the third box could be opened.

Some of the above solutions might only be used if you already knew of the instructions on the boxes, unless it was previously dug into one of the relevant locations (and, depending upon the 'author' of the box-puzzle, this may have also been anticipated and be an intended part of the puzzle). Even getting the second box open following instructions would require it was possible to travel fast enough and far enough to reach a second New Year, which is not easily guaranteeable on the spur of the moment. This is definitely possible if you plan for it, but whether this disinterment party was prepared is unlikely.

Having made the initial two openings in different locations, another possibility is to choose either location (it being easiest to remain where you were allowed to open the second box) and having removed all boxes from any prior host containers, close the box that is now out-of-zone. You can now either take the box's mandate as dealt with, and expired, or avoid any quibbles by waiting just long enough for the now-closed 2025 box to once more experience 2025 in the second box's locale, permiting you to re-open it and fulfil the requirements of the third.

In any case it seems more likely that normal people, having taken the initial instruction at its word, would ignore any new [[2841: Sign Combo|contradictory rules]]. The original rule that the Time Capsule should remain closed until 2025 is the one that makes sense. So after opening the first at the right time, one could just disregard the words on the boxes (or at least Randall's interpretation of them); there is probably not some kind of [[242: The Difference|magical enforcement mechanism]]. Also it seems likely this was just a prank so there will be nothing interesting inside, but one might fear some kind of booby trap, or a [[325: A-Minus-Minus|bobcat]]. So there could be some kind of enforcement mechanism.

Considering when the comic was published, however, a full day prior to ''any'' territory having actually celebrated the arrival of 2025, one might imagine that this is ''not'' an upcoming scenario, but one that has happened/is happening already. In this case, it suggests that the party (both diggers-up and associated party-goers) were fully aware of some of the stipulations they were to be subject to and (impatiently, or at even just as cleverly as the initial burier of the boxes) arbitrarily marked the arrival of 2025 ''early'' to 'justify' the opening the outer box. They could then conveniently reconsider their schedule, continuing now on the basis of acting prior to the end of 2024, and have no further trouble with either of the inner instructions (opening the next box before the ''official'' arrival of 2025 would be simplicity, and any antecedent calendar reinterpretations could be considered logically separated from any prohibitive change in location and/or time-zone).

There is also the question of a hypothetical fourth box, which, given that there was a third box, there is no reason that there shouldn't be a fourth, probably with a label designed to better shut down some of these potential solutions. And maybe it's [[1557: Ozymandias|boxes all the way down]]!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are clinking wine glasses while Ponytail is digging with a shovel under a sign standing on two legs next to Ponytail. From the off-panel to the left several voices are shouting. On the sign are two large words above two lines of unreadable lines of text.]
:Off-panel voices: <big>''Happy New Year!''</big>
:Sign: <big>Time</big> Capsule

:[A dirty box with a hasp closing it. There is a label on the lid:]
:Do not open until 2025

:[Cueball and Megan, holding their wine glasses, look over Ponytail's shoulder as she crouches down in front of the box and opens it with an audible sound. The shovel is standing behind the box, dug into the ground.]
:Click

:[The open box is shown revealing that it contains a second, pristine box with a similar label:]
:Do not open after 2024

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Time]]

3025: Phase Change

2024-12-30T15:03:16Z

172.69.246.151: grammar fixes

{{comic
| number = 3025
| date = December 16, 2024
| title = Phase Change
| image = phase_change_2x.png
| imagesize = 296x354px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Even when you try to make nice, smooth ice cubes in a freezer, sometimes one of them will shoot out a random ice spike, which physicists ascribe to kiki conservation.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the {{w|bouba/kiki effect}} (the [[2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects#Trivia|cutest-sounding scientific effect!]]), which finds that people, regardless of what linguistic and cultural background they come from, have a tendency to associate lower-pitched sounds (such as "bouba") with objects that are big and round and higher-pitched sounds (such as "kiki") with smaller and sharp objects. Some real life examples are the antonyms 'high-low', 'rigid-flowing', and 'tiny-huge'. This is partly due to humans' need to {{w|Cognitive categorization|categorize things}}.

The comic intentionally conflates this with the {{w|Phase transition|phase transition}} that water undergoes around 0 degrees Celsius. Water in its liquid state can be described as soft and round, as can the sound of the word "water" itself. In contrast, ice is hard and crystalline, giving it the potential to form hard edges and sharp points. The word "ice" also contains a sharp hissing sound.

In the above-freezing section of the graph, there are pictures associated with the following (bouba) words: drop, drip, pour, splash. In the below-freezing section of the graph, the pictures are associated with the following (kiki) words: ice, icicle, snowflake, ice cube, iceberg.

The title text refers to {{w|ice spike|ice spikes}}, which are caused by the uneven freezing of ice in a freezer. The title text expands on the joke by claiming that ice cubes wish to maintain the pointiness of objects characterized as "kiki."

==Transcript==
:[A vertical graph is shown, indicating temperature in degrees Celsius, with a horizontal dotted line at zero degrees and positive temperatures above it. The graph has labels against gradation marks for -10, -5, 0, 5 and 10 °C, a mark for each other whole degree present and extends to meet the top and bottom border of the graph's frame, at approximately ±11.5°C. The area above the dotted line is filled with several illustrations of liquid water in various forms: dripping down from a surface, forming a droplet, pouring from a glass, splashing onto a surface of water, etc. This area is labeled "Bouba" with an arrow pointing up. The area below the dotted line is filled with illustrations of ice in various forms, namely icicles hanging from a surface, two ice cubes (one with a small ice spike), a snowflake, a thin piano-shaped piece of ice and a thicker sheet of ice on water along with an iceberg. This area is labeled "Kiki" with an arrow pointing down.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:When water's temperature falls below 0°C, it undergoes a phase transition from bouba to kiki.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Charts]]
[[Category: Language]]
[[Category: Physics]]

Talk:2982: Water Filtration

2024-09-07T15:48:26Z

172.69.246.151:

On the activated carbon filter, that's a double entendre, referencing both activated charcoal filters often used in filtration systems and the nearby neutron source, which is radioactivity activating the carbon. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.23|172.71.254.23]] 04:32, 7 September 2024 (UTC)Corsac

There are a bunch of processes shown that are real, but not actually used in water filtration. For example, electrolysis is used to make hydrogen and oxygen gas, and reverse electrolysis is used in fuel cells to produce electricity, but the electricity cost of doing these steps to purify a useful amount of water would be prohibitive. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.14|162.158.159.14]] 06:18, 7 September 2024 (UTC)
:On the other hand, it would be a kind of "extra-intense distillation". We already basically have been "distilling water", as I see it, with the autoclave/condenser pairing that would certainly leave any remaining dissolved minerals or particulates behind. By splitting then recombining the component elements (and some basic gas-chromatography process, not shown) then you'd inarguably get water out that's about as pure as you can hope for in even the most {{w|The Waters of Mars|paranoid fantasies}} about the need for clean water.
:...of course, here it's not even the ''most'' energetic attempt to further 'refine' the components of "watery matter", with the assumed luxury of having energy (and indeed water) to burn... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.219|172.69.194.219]] 06:39, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Regarding condensers: Condensers are a real method of purifying water, although perhaps not commonly used to demineralize household well water. I frequently buy "purified" water that has been distilled which is simply boiling the water and then condensing the steam into pure water. This is great for use in tea pots or egg cookers or humidifiers to avoid mineral buildup inside the pots. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:35, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Regarding adding the well-water back in at the end: "Purified" water is often sold in the baby aisle for use in mixing baby formula, but the labels indicate that minerals have been readded to the water, which of course means it is no longer pure, and would not be useful if I want to avoid mineral buildup in a tea pot. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:35, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

This comic made me realize how to fund space exploration: selling "artisinal space water" to gullib- I mean, discerning rich people. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.246.151|172.69.246.151]] 15:48, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2924: Pendulum Types

2024-04-24T15:08:40Z

172.69.246.151:

Example of the creepy fingers: https://youtu.be/3zoTKXXNQIU?si=MgZgSRFFyxrNGhw3 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.25|172.70.175.25]] 12:58, 24 April 2024 (UTC)
:If that's as creepy as Maxwell's Demon gets, you have to wonder if he's related to Gachnar: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3090746901188850 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.12|172.70.91.12]] 14:47, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Fortunately, Maxwell's Demon can be banished with a silver hammer. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.246.151|172.69.246.151]] 15:08, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

2912: Cursive Letters

2024-03-28T13:13:34Z

172.69.246.151:

{{comic
| number = 2912
| date = March 27, 2024
| title = Cursive Letters
| image = cursive_letters_2x.png
| imagesize = 549x484px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓬𝓪𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓛 𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓫𝓵𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓾𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮, 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓬𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓺 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓪 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ''𝓑𝓞𝓣 𝓦𝓘𝓣𝓗 𝓓𝓔𝓒𝓔𝓝𝓣 𝓗𝓐𝓝𝓓𝓦𝓡𝓘𝓣𝓘𝓝𝓖'' - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This graph ranks {{w|cursive}} Latin script letters. The type of cursive used is closest to D'Nealian (notably the Q) though a few of the letters appear to be in the Zaner-Bloser style of cursive (specifically the P and p). The graph uses two criteria: legibility and coolness.

According to the graph in the comic: 'L' is in the top-right quadrant indicating it is both cool and easy to read; 'C' is in the top-left, meaning it is easy to read, yet not cool; 'Z' and 'z' are in the bottom-right which means cool looking, yet not easy to read; and 'r' which is bottom-left indicating it is neither particularly cool nor very easy to read (perhaps being confusable as a form of 'n', or even 'M', at least until actual cursive versions of those are comparable against).

The purpose of cursive is to allow efficient handwriting and make characters look nice and more "connected" at the same time. The possible downside of this is the legibility of the individual letters. This may be due to the similarity of cursive letter shapes (e.g. 'U' and 'V' in the graph), especially when joined to other letters, or due their dissimilarity from more familiar "block letter" counterparts (e.g. 'Z' and 'z' in the lower right corner).

In the title text, [[Randall]] states 'L' and 'q' are letters that he enjoys writing in cursive, which could possibly add a third axis (most fun to least fun) to the graph.

The title text is written in cursive-looking font using upper unicode characters (encoded as UTF-8).
Example: the cursive I character 𝓘 (Unicode [https://www.compart.com/en/unicode/U+1D4D8 120024 U+1D4D8]) is F0 9D 93 98 in UTF-8.
The title text includes 22 of 26 characters in the {{w|English alphabet|English lowercase alphabet}} and is thus 4 characters short of a {{w|pangram}} (missing letters: j, v, x and z). Pangrams are often used to show the characters in a typeface in print or on a computer screen. It is unclear if the comic deliberately chose the words in the title text to show almost all the characters in cursive or if it is simply a coincidence.

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

:[A graph with 10 ticks on both the X and Y axes. The graph contains cursive uppercase and lowercase Latin letters. X axis is labeled "Looks cool" with an arrow pointing right and Y axis is labeled "Easy to tell what letter it's supposed to be" with an arrow pointing upward. From top to bottom, left to right, the letters are: C, B, P, K, d, X, R; M, N, c, O, x, t, y, L; D, W, a, Y, o, i; H; A, b, j; p, h; w, Q; m, u, k, g; E, I, l, q; f, J; U, V, T, e; n; v, F; G; r, S, s, z, Z.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]