explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2701: Change in Slope

2022-11-22T18:22:19Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ inaccurate sentence

{{comic
| number = 2701
| date = November 21, 2022
| title = Change in Slope
| image = change_in_slope_2x.png
| imagesize = 656x371px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Squinting at a graph is fine for getting a rough idea of the answer, but if you want to pretend to know it exactly, you need statistics.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SIDEWAYS STATISTIC. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic is a tip for detecting changes in slopes over a {{w|scatter plot}} of data. This is a common requirement in exploratory statistics for comparing trends in a series — finding the cutoff where the slope changes may reveal valuable information about the data.

The comic compares two methods. Firstly, a novice method — by 'doing a bunch of statistics'- i.e, applying various statistical tools to analyze the data and figure out the quantitative change in slope. This results in two equations for the trendlines above and below a given value, a box plot, a histogram, and a line chart. It is unknown exactly what methods the novice used to figure out the change in slope in the data. Possibilities include calculating the [https://stackoverflow.com/a/45063636 derivatives] (which probably won't work well on noisy data such as shown), or [https://stackoverflow.com/a/71744293 gradients], or using a [https://stackoverflow.com/a/47522444 Savitzky-Golay filter or piecewise linear smoothing spline fits].

The other is the so-called 'expert' method, which involves [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/525939879805190154/1044395695525875712/xkcd_sideways.png tilting the page the graph is printed on to view changes in slope] better. For small changes in an underlying trend, similar to that apparently shown in the comic, direct visual inspection cannot always identify or even reveal the effect. The comic shows, however, that by taking the page and rotating it in just the right way, the foreshortened perspective can make certain details much more apparent, allowing the 'expert' to see at a glance that there is a change in the slope. Ironically, tilting the comic to make the original roughly resemble the perspective of the 'tilted' version graph shown in the comic shows that the right-hand panel is slightly exaggerated for visual effect. The use of {{w|Perspective (graphical)|perspective}} to make information pop into the audience's view has been used by artists for {{w|The_Ambassadors_(Holbein)|centuries}}.

However, applying such an approach to data plots can run into errors — the primary one being parallax error from the oblique viewing angle causing the observer to not necessarily identify or clearly find the point at which the slope changes. It also does not reveal any data about the quantitative value of the change in slope, merely proving the existence of one. Furthermore, noisy data might show an apparent slope change that is not representative of an actual change in the underlying data, so even more advanced [https://www.danielsoper.com/statcalc/calculator.aspx?id=103 statistics testing the hypothesis of whether an apparent slope change is real] may likely be a good idea.

The title text then goes on to say that, while such a trick is useful to identify that there is some change in slope, in order to ''pretend'' to know it exactly one must revert to statistics (the "novice method") to obtain some form of information, defeating some of the premise of the comic. This at least produces a semblance of statistical rigor although, once an answer appears obvious, data could be interpreted to reach an answer that you are now expecting rather than revealing something of more statistically useful significance.

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

:How to detect a change in the slope of your data

:[First column, on the left]
:Novice method:
:[A graph, with dots forming a rough line, math formulas, and sub graphs]
:Do a bunch of statistics

:[Second column, on the right]
:Expert method:
:[Perspective view of the previous graph, with the legend "Hey look, it bends here" and an arrow pointing to the graph]
:Tip the graph sideways

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

2669: Things You Should Not Do

2022-09-08T07:39:47Z

172.69.33.11: /* Table */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2669
| date = September 7, 2022
| title = Things You Should Not Do
| image = things_you_should_not_do.png
| titletext = Now I'm tempted to start telling people that I secretly don't actually know how to do any physics calculations, and so all the answers in What If are based on me actually trying to do the thing and then reporting what happened, but phrased as if it's hypothetical.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SUNSCREEN BALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic references various questions submitted to the what if? blog, and is a promotion for Randall's new book, ''What if? 2'' (to be released 6 days from the date of this comic publication). This comic has a list of things not to do, an extension of a previous list, and is purportedly things Randall discovered as he was doing research for his book. A visit to the [https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ What If? archive] shows the titles, publishing date, and a thumbnail for each article. Many of the acts described under the "new" section of the list are depicted in these thumbnails (see table below); others are references to examples or hypotheticals explored within the articles. Other entries do not seem to reference currently published ''What If?'' content and may therefore be found in the upcoming book, but this cannot be confirmed as of yet.

The title text says that Randall is tempted to tell people that all the things in the book were things that he actually tried to do, not that he calculated the solutions for their problems. Many of the questions/answers in his new book are impossible to attempt in real life.{{citation needed}}

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Number !! Entry !! Explanation
|-
! colspan="3" | From existing list
|-
|156,812
|Eat Tide Pods
|{{w|Consumption of Tide Pods|Tide Pod}}s are a brand of laundry detergent sold in small packets ("pods") of water-soluble gel. Many children have tried to eat them, thinking them to be candy, and have had to go to the hospital to treat poisoning. In 2017 and 2018, a satirical "challenge" originated around eating Tide Pods.
|-
|156,813
|Walk on stilts in a thunderstorm
|Taller objects are more likely to be struck by lightning, so walking on stilts outdoors would increase the risk of death by electrocution. It would also presumably risk falling and injuring oneself that way, since the ground becomes wet in a rainstorm.
|-
|156,814
|Set off fireworks at a gas station
|This has the risk of potentially an explosion in the gas station, from the sparks of the fireworks.
|-
|156,815
|Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand
|This seems to run the risk of the cat attempting to eat your hand, instead of a cat treat.
|-
! colspan="3" | New!
|-
|156,816
|Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it
|Geysers shoot steam and hot water upward. If a person were to lean over the geyser and look down during an eruption, they would be struck in the face by this hot liquid/gas mixture and severely injured or killed.
|-
|156,817
|Fly a hot-air balloon over a firing range
|A hot air balloon could present an irresistible target to the people firing their weapons at the range. The balloon could be shot and you could fall to your death. See image on [https://what-if.xkcd.com/81/ this entry].
|-
|156,818
|Peel away the earth's crust
|Reminiscent of [https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/mercator this comic], though several *What If* blog posts also result in massive damage to the earth's crust, including what happened to Texas [https://what-if.xkcd.com/153/ here].
|-
|156,819
|Try to paint the Sahara Desert by hand
|This would be [https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/ difficult] and require more paint than humanity has ever produced[https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/].
|-
|156,820
|Remove someone's bones without asking
|Possibly a reference to ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', in which Professor Gilderoy Lockhart removes all the bones of Harry's arm (instead of merely fixing a broken bone).
|-
|156,821
|Spend 100% of your government's budget on mobile game in-app purchases
|A reference to one of the examples listed in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/108/ this post].
|-
|156,822
|Fill a lava lamp with actual lava
|A {{w|lava lamp}} is a glass lamp, which contains a wax mixture inside, and heats so that the wax rises and falls. Putting actual lava inside a regular lava lamp would most likely cause the lamp to melt and the glass to shatter, not to mention handling lava is very dangerous.{{citation needed}} However, in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/122/ this entry], Randall says it would be fairly easy to find a material that would be able to handle the heat of the lava and thus this would be rather anticlimatic.
|-
|156,823
|Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic (''sic'') fever
|Drinking someone's blood is a bad idea,{{citation needed}} unless you are a vampire. If someone has a {{w|viral hemorrhagic fever}}, it is potentially much worse, as they have a potentially deadly disease, such as Ebola.
|-
|156,824
|Eat meat from rabid animals
|
|-
|156,825
|Perform your own laser eye surgery
|
|-
|156,826
|Tell California poultry regulators that your farm is selling Pokemon eggs
|
|-
|156,827
|Funnel the entire flow of Niagara Falls into the open window of a physics lab
|Likely an oblique reference to the image near the end of [https://what-if.xkcd.com/147/ this article].
|-
|156,828
|Pump ammonia into your abdomen
|
|-
|156,829
|Suspend yourself inside a 10-meter ball of sunscreen and fall into the Sun
|Despite it's name sunscreen only protects against some types of radiation from the sun. No amount is going to be adequate protection if you are right inside the sun. Also sunscreen being a gel would evaporate when exposed to vacuum.
|}

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

:[Caption:]
:Updates to my "Things You Should Not Do" list, based on what I learned writing ''What If? 2''
:(out 9/13, xkcd.com/whatif2)

:[The rest of the text appears in a box.]

:<big>Things You Should Not Do</big> 
:(part 3647 of ????)

:[A numbered list, the first four items in a lighter grey]

:<nowiki>#156,812 Eat Tide pods</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,813 Walk on stilts in a thunderstorm</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,814 Set off fireworks at a gas station</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,815 Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand</nowiki>

:[A horizontal divider with the text "New!" in the middle in black. The remaining items on the list are also in black.]

:<nowiki>#156,816 Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,817 Fly a hot air balloon over a firing range</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,818 Peel away the Earth's crust</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,819 Try to paint the Sahara Desert by hand</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,820 Remove someone's bones without asking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,821 Spend 100% of your governments budget on mobile game in-app purchases</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,822 Fill a lava lamp with actual lava</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,823 Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic fever</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,824 Eat meat from rabid animals</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,825 Perform your own laser eye surgery</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,826 Tell California poultry regulators that your farm is selling Pokemon eggs</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,827 Funnel the entire flow of Niagara Falls into the open window of a physics lab</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,828 Pump ammonia into your abdomen</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#156,829 Suspend yourself inside a 10-meter ball of sunscreen and fall into the sun</nowiki>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Cats]]

Talk:2668: Artemis Quote

2022-09-07T17:44:43Z

172.69.33.11: Reply

The first quote is self-referential (and confuses people, when quoted). The second plays unto the myth that the moon landing was staged. It is nice to be able to choose words, which are cited. A great opportunity to confuse people. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.143|172.68.110.143]] 21:09, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

To those of you wondering [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=294177&oldid=294176 why, "<tt>mankind" ,[emphasis</tt>," currently appears in the wikitext,] I would direct you to [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ#Punctuation inside quotes and parentheses]]. I am discouraged by such pettiness. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 21:26, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:Waitwhat? ...Quote-Space-Comma-OpenBracket..? Good job it isn't like that now, or I'd be rewriting it. (Probably put the <tt>[emphasis added]</tt> within the quotes, for starters, before worrying about the other punctuation.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 23:02, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Perhaps the first Artemis astronaut to set foot on the moon will prefer to come with her own idea of what to say. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.75|172.71.142.75]] 21:55, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:I'm hoping for interpretive dance. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 22:31, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
::I hope they do a couple cartwheels before saying anything. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.163|172.70.206.163]] 03:09, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
::: Endorsed: "two small cartwheels for women of color; two giant tumblings for people!" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 05:07, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
::::[URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSZoqYElqVE] "It's Good to Be Black on the Moon! Goddamn It!"[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:49, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

The quote in the title text is factually true, adding to the confusion it would cause, as it does not actually claim that the Artemis astronaut is the first human to set foot on the Moon, only that it is a great honor to be the first. [[User:Bugstomper|Bugstomper]] ([[User talk:Bugstomper|talk]]) 22:34, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:On a related note: It could also be interpreted as inviting the listener to fill in the unspoken continuation of "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon. To be the 13th is..." -- "meh"? "arguably bad luck"? "asking to be the butt of a 'baker's dozen' joke"? [[User:Mrienstra|Mrienstra]] ([[User talk:Mrienstra|talk]]) 20:53, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

It is not [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=prev&oldid=294204 feeding trolls] to acknowledge that these <s>trolls</s> people exist (and are exactly the kind of people Randall [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition|likes to bait]]. But I won't 'unedit' that. (Someone else can either restore it or get rid of the silly compromise of being commented out with a confusingly 'inline' text-comment. Only by checking the precise version dif would it even make much sense.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.141|172.71.178.141]] 22:57, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

I interpreted the second (alt text) option as being intended to cause a similar mis-hearing (or suspected mis-hearing) debate as was the case with the original man/a man quote. The word "human" could possibly be mis-heard as "woman" over a poor-quality audio transmission, leading to a debate about which was intended. (According to the comic, the intended word would in fact be "human", but if the person was female most listeners would likely assume that it is supposed to be "woman" as most people are aware that humans have been on the moon before but probably unsure of whether or not a woman has ever been on the moon.)

Questions: Has a woman ever been to the moon, and is NASA planning to choose a woman for the new mission? It wouldn't surprise me if they were planning to send a woman this time around for PC points. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 23:13, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, I believe Artemis has announced that they intend to let a woman of color be the 13th on the Moon, but I'm not up to date on the official press releases. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.126|172.70.211.126]] 23:20, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
::I'm Hoping it will be an African-American woman chosen specifically as commander for identity purposes, who says "It's Good to be Black on the Moon!" [Obref Netflix _Space Force_][URL:https://youtu.be/F4I0kfrkTMc][[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 23:23, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:[Written before two other replies, above, appeared... One maybe answering an issue I raise below about the 'twofer'...] One of the main 'selling points' has been that the {{w|Artemis 3|first landing mission}} would definitely include a female crewmember, and a 'person of colour'. I've never been quite clear that this is to be the two identities of the two crew or if the intention is that there'll be one person fulfilling them both as a "twofer". So those worrying about (or applauding!) "PC points" are already happy to have their fears(/hopes) confirmed.
:As a side note, I find the "PoC" term a horrible phrase, in my mind, but I'm British and I know that whatever problems we have with what terminology to use (BAME, etc) are quite different from the US. And there are near-universally undeniably worse terms to use. And "of colour" (or "color", in Leftpondian) doesn't seem to mean much except not being pure-Saxon. Apparently Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (neé Markle) is mixed-race (some even say "black") but I wouldn't have known (and, now knowing, am not at all bothered by the fact) given that tanning salons output a steady stream of darker-skinned anglo-saxon or even celtic-heritage locals.
:Anyway, there'll be complaints by the anti-PC brigade regardless, not that I mind them being upset. So long as they have good individuals (no Iron Sky 'just send a model', purely as a vanity passenger) they should be able to pick and choose which of various suitable candidates works well in the grand scheme of things.
: (And I don't agree with the "human/woman confusion thing", seems far too clumsy. Even as deliberately awkward phrasing.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.141|172.71.178.141]] 23:46, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

I don't understand <tt>because e.g., conflating "a" man with "mankind" is potentially self-contradictory</tt>. There's no conflation in "a man is an individual, but mankind is a group", and the issue is surely more that so seen in "man is an individual, but mankind is a group" where "man"=="mankind" in this respect so that the logic ends up as (A==B)&(A!=B) by trivial analysis... Whatever, I just don't think that explains what is 'wrong'. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.141|172.71.178.141]] 23:46, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:Addressed in subsequent edits to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.231|172.69.33.231]] 03:04, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

If the astronaut removed his boot before saying "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon." He/she would technically be correct. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 23:28, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
: It's a terrible idea to place an unclothed foot on {{w|lunar regolith}}, not only because of the vacuum and temperature, but it's like a layer of somewhat coarsely ground glass reasonably likely to cause puncture or laceration even from the diminished weight of any adult. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 23:44, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:: I forget where, but I've seen a 'hard'/speculative SF treatment of future Moon tourism options that includes a run out of one handy airlock and almost immediately into another whilst suited and ''singly-''booted (an extremely tight ligature on the other lower leg, for the necessary duration) for those wishing to make their 'ultimate footprint' in the regolith. With a bit of practice beforehand, there is probably a (comparatively) safe hop-step gait that doesn't cause much more damage than the briefly decompressive coldness betwixt the portals connecting to the safer internal environment of the moonbase this all happens at. Still a 'thrill' activity, with inherent risks both in the execution and afterwards. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.33|172.70.85.33]] 23:58, 5 September 2022 (UTC)
:::I have no doubt that someone will leave their actual footprints on the Moon someday, but I hope they use crutches and some way to get their foot back into their pressure suit ASAP. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.49|172.70.210.49]] 02:34, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

Someone ''really'' likes to remove "redundant" words, in edits, amongst other minor adjustments (described similarly laconically) that I'm not sure are truly justified. I bet if I put some of them back (just the ones that I felt served a purpose, and I can imagine the original authors thought so too) they'd just be removed again. And no easy way to argue the toss, so I'll spare you the arguments and put up with the potential travesties. But I get the feeling that there's a particularly opinionated editor out there, active at this very moment, who is more pleased with themself than they rightfully have reason to be. There are valid rhetorical uses for emphasis, you know, and your 'perfection' might not be so universally agreeable despite your sniping. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.33|172.70.85.33]] 00:24, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:Is there a Unicode glyph for saying wiki editors need to calm down? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 00:32, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
::There must be one for "copyedit". Which seems to just mean that an edit is being made, without any proper comment. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.33|172.70.85.33]] 00:47, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
::: ⛚✎ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.49|172.70.210.49]] 01:03, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

I just deleted this, because it doesn't make sense to me:
:''This joke could be taken in one of two ways: one, that it is a violation of the {{w|cooperative principle}} which states that what people say usually is of relevance to the current situation - in this scenario implying that the Artemis astronaut is the first person on the Moon when in fact they were simply discussing the topic in a disconnected bubble the same way one might make such a comment on Earth; alternatively it could simply be to mislead people into thinking Artemis was the first crewed mission to the Moon.''
Perhaps the author can go into more detail here on how this is a better explanation than the text it replaced, please? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.183|172.70.214.183]] 04:20, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:Just a comment that personally the link to the cooperative principle looks quite helpful and relevant to both this and other comics, as well as recent politics. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.105|172.70.230.105]] 20:30, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:I'm not the author of that, but I'm the one who put the lander-appearance paragraph under a Trivia field, and was about to do the same with the Artemis 1 paragraph when I find someone edited the Trivia away (mentioning it by name) and wants to talk about it... So, I don't know what you think you're doing (in the nicest way, I just think you're confused about what your 'partial reverts' are actually doing). But the editing is clearly busy, so <s>I'll probably come back to it later today anyway and see what we have.</s> ''...no, scratch that. Seeing the 'missing' paragraph improperly appended to another paragraph, both that and the Artemis 1 one are both now in Trivia as purely incidental to the comic but maybe interesting regardless. Until someone decides to do something stupid(er) with them, maybe.'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.4|172.70.86.4]] 04:31, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
::So if I understand you, the comment about how the drawing has people coming out of the base of the SpaceX Starship, while the contract NASA awarded them has an elevator, presumably with some sort of a backup like a winch or rope ladder, is trivial? You might also consider commenting on the content instead of the contributors. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 04:35, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:::It's not trivial, but it's Trivia. Anyway, see above. Unless you already saw what I did and maybe rereverted it (but now I ''am'' staying away for several hours, so fill your boots...). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.141|172.71.178.141]] 04:43, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:::Ok, Trivia-proponent back here again, finally. Yes, it ''did'' get immediately/before-I-had-finished reverted (and compounded back to that other unrelated para) as predicted. And then someone came up with a other term that seems to have stuck.
:::Noting that the Artemis 1 para really is the main thing (of the asides), which I'd originally put at the top of the more ephemeral subsection, and that Trivia (or its otherwise-named direct alternative) is generally positioned below Transcript. But at least it's not a glaringly obvious directly unexplanatory intrusion in the explanatory flow, FFS. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.141|172.71.178.141]] 15:01, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

I wonder what other editors think about [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=prev&oldid=294312 this deletion,] given the extent to which schwas and dialect have played in Xkcd recently. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.239|172.69.33.239]] 05:13, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

One small step for man'); DROP TABLE Quotes;-- [[Special:Contributions/172.70.135.92|172.70.135.92]] 06:58, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

Yet another xkcd where I learn something: I never realized there was any confusion on the "man / (a) man" part in Armstrong's quote. It did not even occur to me there was a missing article to begin with. American speakers do omit their articles from time to time in casual speech (e.g. "sorry I'm late, damn car broke"), not to mention that this is actually a feature in many non-English languages. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 18:59, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:You would otherwise have said "Sorry I'm late, '''a''' damn car broke"? No, I think you missed the "the" in "...'''the''' damn car...". Maybe you meant "...(it was a) jam on the interstate" (perhaps because a car, someone else's, broke; or just general congestion). On the whole, you can miss "the" a lot easier than "a". And "the words are funny"/the word is funny" has a different overall meaning (refering to specific words) to "words are funny" (covering the whole lexical gamut, it seems). "A word is funny" is potentially useful and coherent (a response to "What's the best thing to draw on someone's forehead when they're passed out drunk?"?), "word is funny" is Buffy-speak at best ("the word"? "a word"? Context required! (The context/A context/you choose.))
:There are cases to miss an indefinite article, or maybe in a patois, but they're rarer than with the definite one. And unarticulated "man" (distinguishing it as an uncountable version of the noun) is effectively the same as "mankind" which then makes the rest of the statement (which also lacks a qualifying conjunction; commonly decided to be "but", yet may be "and" or "or" or or others, further changing what the intent is) more useful for arguments such as this than as a guiding linguistic light.
:But then some people say "I could of", so there are worse misarticulations out there... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.133|172.70.85.133]] 19:47, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
What is the large round flat thing on the surface of the moon? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.105|172.70.230.105]] 20:30, 6 September 2022 (UTC)
:You mean the crater? Are you confused about the {{w|Rim (crater)|raised rim}}? I think that's all you're looking at. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.4|172.70.86.4]] 22:07, 6 September 2022 (UTC)

Surely the ultimate honour is not to be the first human/woman/person of colour/dog-f#cking lunatic/whatever to 'set foot' on the Moon, but to be the first person to be BURIED there, thus making you a permanent fixture of the moon forever (since you aren't likely to decompose).
[[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 05:24, 7 September 2022 (UTC)
:If buried (deliberately, rather than merely irretrievably/unreachably) it'd be against any "no man left behind" mentality. I think an Artemis mission would try to bring back any victim of a fatality on principle (and frown upon a 'living will' desire by an astronaut, perhaps indicating they're psychologically not utterly committed to completing their mission).
:Perhaps it counts if cached under a pile of rocks until the next viable recovery mission recovers them (and any 'survivor' who did this but then had no way to return themselves).
:Maybe a descent accident (or intent-to-ascend incident) might make the space equivalent of a shipwreck/war-grave self-memorialising site, but it wouldn't be a matter of burial (unless it involved extreme lithobraking!) and any recovery mission sent from/on behalf of Earth would again be unlikely to bury the deceased or indiscriminately shovel dirt over the wreckage.
:(I'm using US sensibilities to this issue. I'm sure that it might change once more nationalities get involved. I'm not saying that in other circumstances it'd be an automatic "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a lunar crater That is for ever Zlobenia." But it'd depend on many contemporary and perhaps political elements.)
:Once (sufficiently) permanent Moon-habitat is set up, perhaps then any fatalities there amongst the long-term residents become viable candidates for permanent burial (rather than memorialising). Especially if there's local recovery possible (or a medical death) but no option to ship 'home' (the colony is left isolated due to various imaginable problems 'back home', before or after they're even capable of sufficient self-supplying).
:Still uneasy (currently) about those who would travel to the Moon with any intent to be buried there. They might precipitate the need and/or arrive knowing of a terminal condition that will overtake them, and both issues introduce problems to those who go without any such personal intent.
:It'll be a while before (all else being equal) an undeniable candidate for permanent and deliberate interment would become obvious. An honour saved for a particularly distinguished presence, perhaps. Possibly even reserved for the first lunar colonist to die (uncontroversially) of old age, or something. Now ''that's'' the end (and after-the-end) that I'd be on board to be part of, either as primary participant or if it was ever my role to authorise.
:...but the socio-political atmosphere (or lack thereof) might change a lot before this question arises, and gets solved in this manner. A temporary "disaster cairn" erected in haste might just end up being thereafter left undisturbed, as much of a permanent memorial as any deliberate mausoleum would be initially intended to be, carefully roped off/honour-guarded to discourage future interference. Or rather than sending some (or all) of a person's ashes to the Moon, perhaps those deemed worthy enough (or rich enough in life to arrange in advance) could be bodily sent to the body, post-mortem, for their ultimate journey.
:I could even imagine a Martian grave preceding a Lunar one, due to the shifted logistics involved (yet with increased worries of souring the search for Martian life if you give a whole human gut-biome/etc the merest possibility of putting its own footprint on the planet). But only time can tell how either possibility may unfold. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.33|172.70.85.33]] 10:10, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

"(→‎Explanation: trim unevidenced speculation and recommendations for Randall w/no explanatory value)" ...that's a lot of editorialising, from one editor. There was maybe editing needed, but I think that is one helluva judgement call to make. (No skin in the game, myself, except for having corrected some typos/formatting as previously seen in the now removed sections.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.163|172.70.85.163]] 17:08, 7 September 2022 (UTC)
: It's hard for me to understand why you are willing to complain on talk without restoring the part(s) of the deletions you're complaining about. Am I correct in gathering from your style that this is probably at least the fifth time you've done so? If so, please consider commenting on the content instead of the contributors. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 17:44, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

2668: Artemis Quote

2022-09-07T17:39:51Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ better paragraph break

{{comic
| number = 2668
| date = September 5, 2022
| title = Artemis Quote
| image = artemis_quote.png
| titletext = Another option: "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|created by a MISQUOTED ASTRONAUT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|Artemis program}} is a series of planned space missions that will land people on the Moon and begin to set up infrastructure for a permanent crewed presence. People first landed on the Moon in 1969 as part of the {{w|Apollo program}}. They have not been back since 1972. When {{w|Neil Armstrong}} became the first person to walk on the Moon, he famously said, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." However, he was intending to say, "That's one small step for '''''a''''' man; one giant leap for mankind [emphasis added]." [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Frase_de_Neil_Armstrong.ogg The audio recording] omits the word "a", making the sentence confusing, as "man" and "mankind" have the same meaning when referring to all people.

That the word was apparently elided by Armstrong in the excitement, changing the meaning of the historical phrase, is controversial and thus humorous. Subsequently, Armstrong and others have blamed insufficiently tuned {{w|voice activity detection}} hardware circuitry intended to save power in radio voice transmission, but NASA engineers, third-party historians and their hired experts have never been able to corroborate that explanation.[https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11.step.html][http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003645.html] Armstrong later said he hoped, "history would grant me leeway for dropping the syllable and understand that it was certainly intended, even if it was not said," and, on p.126 of the June 1982 edition of ''Omni,'' "the 'a' is implied, so I'm happy if they just put it in parentheses." The {{w|schwa}} indefinite article "a" is optional in certain contexts of most dialects of American English.[https://linguapress.com/grammar/article-in-english.htm]

[[Randall]] suggests that the first Artemis astronaut to set foot on the Moon has a duty to utter an even more confusing quote, saying the sentence, "This is one of my favorite historical quotes — the first words spoken by an Artemis astronaut on the moon," aloud as they step onto the Moon. That would be confusingly self-referential, as if they were alluding to something from the past. The phrasing would also be confusing to a person hearing it quoted, as it would sound more like a statement about the quote than the actual quote itself. This is very unlikely, and funny merely as a recommendation; if it actually happened, it might be both hilarious and scandalous. While the comic's lunar lander has similarities to the {{w|Starship HLS|current plans}} for the Artemis lander,[https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/as-artemis-moves-forward-nasa-picks-spacex-to-land-next-americans-on-moon] it is a generic drawing, perhaps in homage to classic space science fiction, with the exit portal at an unlikely position near the base of the {{w|SpaceX Starship}} lander.[https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-moon-elevator-nasa-prototype/]

The title text suggests an alternate phrase by which the Artemis astronaut could say being the first (rather than 13th) human on the Moon is a great honor. People hearing this quote in the future could assume that Artemis was the first crewed mission to the Moon. It could feed into contemporary conspiracy theories that the Apollo landings were faked, furthering the confusion.

This comic coincides with the canceled launch of {{w|Artemis 1}}, an uncrewed test mission which will serve as the start of the Artemis program. The mission was intended to launch on 29 August 2022, and later on 3 September 2022, but was repeatedly postponed due to a series of technical problems and will now take place no earlier than 19 September 2022. In [[893: 65 Years]], Randall made a graph showing the number of living people who had been on the moon, and estimated the day when zero would be alive. (Very depressing). At that time 9 of the 12 were still alive. Upon this comic's release, only four are still among the living.

==Transcript==
:[A vertical rocket is standing on four deployed legs on the surface of the Moon. The surface is depicted with characteristic craters and rocks with a slightly curved horizon. The rocket is standing in the left part of the panel. A short ladder leads down from a hatch in the lower part of the rocket body. An astronaut has stepped down from a ladder onto the Moon's surface, and is speaking:]

:Astronaut: This is one of my favorite historical quotes — the first words spoken by an Artemis astronaut on the Moon.

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:Neil Armstrong's "man"/"a man" quote created a lot of historical confusion, and I think it's our duty to expand on that legacy with Artemis.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2667: First Internet Interaction

2022-09-03T03:05:22Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ agreed

{{comic
| number = 2667
| date = September 2, 2022
| title = First Internet Interaction
| image = first_internet_interaction.png
| titletext = To that stranger on the KOOL Tree House chat room, I gotta hand it to you: You were, ultimately, not wrong.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by AN AMERICAN IDIOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]], very likely as an autobiographical representation of [[Randall]], describes to [[Megan]] the first time he interacted with a group of people unknown to him over the internet; in an {{w|AIM (software)|AOL Instant Messenger}} forum for children called the "KOOL Tree House chat room" in 1993, when Randall was about nine years old. He read a discussion about {{w|Green Day}}, asked who they are, and was told that not knowing was a serious problem. As Megan says, judging people for lack of pop culture knowledge has remained typical online behavior.

Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987. In 1993, they were still known merely as an independent punk band, and a year away from releasing their major-label debut album ''{{w|Dookie}}'', their first mainstream success. Anyone, especially a nine year-old, not recognizing the band in 1993 would be perfectly normal. After 1993, Green Day would go on to be a widely popular and influential rock band with many acclaimed albums.

This inital online social interaction was a significant formative experience for Cueball, molding his online behavior ever since, in that it still causes him to consider his correspondents' perspective when communicating. The social dynamics at play are reminiscent of the mathematics of others' perspectives described in [[1053: Ten Thousand]]. Relating the personal experience of an oversized effect from a casual insult is usually considered humorous, and the extent to which early experiences can affect people can be both ironic and profound.

The title text indicates Randall agrees with the reply to the question, suggesting he believes the band is important culturally. Randall probably subsequently became a Green Day fan, or at least acquiring more than a passing knowledge of their ouvre, recently mentioning in [[2665: America Songs]] their song "{{w|American Idiot (song)|American Idiot}}."

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Four panels depicting a conversation between Megan and Cueball]

:[First panel, Megan and Cueball talking]
:Cueball: You know,
:Cueball: I remember the first thing anybody ever said to me on the internet.
:Megan: Yeah?

:[Second panel, part-height to accomodate Cueball's narration above and the memory of a scene below that features 'Young Cueball', with a mop-head of hair, knelt atop a chair to use a computer with CRT and keyboard on the desk, cabled down into a floor-standing minitower case below]
:Cueball (narrative): I was in an AOL Kids chat room in 1993.
:Cueball (narrative): People there kept using a name I didn't recognise.
:Cueball (narrative): After a while I asked what it was.
:Young Cueball (via the use of the keyboard): W... H... O...  I... S...  G... R...

:[Third panel, close-up of Cueball's adult head, continuing the framing conversation]
:Cueball: Someone replied
:Cueball: "If you don't know who Green Day is, you have a serious problem."
:Cueball: And that was it.
:Cueball: My first virtual interaction.

:[Fourth panel, continuing the conversation, Megan and Cueball now seen walking rightwards as they speak]
:Megan: In some ways, the Internet has changed surprisingly little in the last 30 years.
:Cueball: Every time I reply to someone, I think
:Cueball: What if this is their Green Day moment?

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


[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]

2436: Circles

2021-03-16T01:52:30Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2436
| date = March 12, 2021
| title = Circles
| image = circles.png
| titletext = ( MSTE ( AR ) CD )
}}

==Explanation==
The comic depicts five overlapping circles, themselves encircled by circles of various sizes which enclose two, four, or all five of the smaller overlapping circles. Several well-known logos consist of overlapping circles, and the larger circles reference these logos. These are: {{w|Mastercard}}, which consists of two side-by-side overlapping circles; {{w|Audi}}, which is four side-by-side overlapping circles, and the {{w|Olympic Rings}}, which are five topologically linked rings in a "W" shaped pattern.

The diagram deliberately does not differentiate between the {{w|Euler diagram}} of circular 'areas of belonging' and the circles that are the things that belong, save for labels on the former that do not appear as a belonged component of any other set-circled illustration.{{Citation needed}} Without this common knowledge, though, ''they conceivably might''.

The five circles in the diagram is drawn as the Olympic logo. The two that represents the Mastercard logo, is tilted, but could be turned to match the real Mastercard logo. However, the Audi logo has the four rings in a line. This means that it is not the geometry but only the number of overlapping circles that is indicated in the diagram.

The comic was released only about four months before the postponed {{w|2020 Summer Olympics}} was scheduled to start on 23 July 2021. It was {{w|2020_Summer_Olympics#Postponement_to_2021|postponed}} because of the {{w|2019-20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}, which has spawned a [[:Category:COVID-19|series]] of comic on xkcd. At the time of release of this comic the postponed Games still had support to go ahead as scheduled from, for instance, the {{w|Group of Seven|G7}} countries.

The title text is a textual representation of the Mastercard name as an Euler diagram containing the letters in the words "master" and "card" — A and R are shared by both, while MSTE and CD are unique to their respective elements. The basic Mastercard logo, from its development in the 1970s until earlier this century, placed the letters E and R upon the overlap of the two circles across which its name was emblazoned, but has since reverted to writing the whole of its various brand names beyond the circled areas, so now ''none'' of the characters could be considered to be members of either/both circles.

<gallery>
Mastercard 2019 logo.svg|Current Mastercard logo
MasterCard Logo.svg|Previous MasterCard logo (used until 2016)
Audi-Logo 2016.svg|Current Audi logo
Audi logo detail.svg|Previous Audi logo (used until 2016)
Olympic rings without rims.svg|Olympic rings
</gallery>

==Transcript==
:[Five small circles, looped together in the style of the Olympics logo is drawn in the center. On the left, a larger circle surrounds two of the prior ones, incidentally overlapping a third circle. A larger circle surrounds four of the small circles, thus also the previous mentioned circle, cutting over the last of the five circles. Finally a very large circle fully contains all the other circles. The three larger circles have labels, with the small ones label above, and with a small clarifying line from the label towards the top of this circle. The middle sized circle has the label standing on a break in the circle at it's bottom, and the largest circle has the label just beneath it. From smallest to largest of the circles the labels are:]
:Mastercard
:Audi
:Olympics

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Euler diagrams]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2437: Post-Vaccine Party

2021-03-16T01:50:37Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ wlink

{{comic
| number = 2437
| date = March 15, 2021
| title = Post-Vaccine Party
| image = post_vaccine_party.png
| titletext = [Future update] Well, someone accidentally dropped an M&M in their cup of ice water, and we all panicked and scattered.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a POST-VACCINE PARTYGOER. Go into further details regarding individual elements of traditional parties vs. this party (maybe make a table?). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

As more and more people are getting vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and as the CDC released guidelines suggesting vaccinated people can start gathering in larger groups, including some groups of unvaccinated people, there is increasing excitement about the possibility to resume get-togethers, and have a party. However, being very cautious, Randall is detailing the plans for his first "post-pandemic" party by cutting it down from the scope of a normal party. Some of the cut-downs may make sense from a health safety standpoint, others are less likely to be health-based and may be just to deliberately make the party boring, thus limiting attendance, with the effect of it being safer for the few who do come.

* Drinks
Instead of soda and various alcoholic beverages, he's opting for small glasses of water. Alcoholic beverages could encourage a lowering of inhibitions, help some participants to make bad social decisions, to the detriment of hygiene and reasonable social distancing. Soda would have less of that problem, though some might argue the sugar or caffeine might have some similar effect.

* Food
Instead of traditional party foods like pizza, nachos, and snacks, only three individual pieces of candy ({{w|M&Ms}}) and one cracker will be provided. Pizza could be a health issue as people reach into a common pizza box to grab their slice, and likewise snacks if they are in communal bowls. Another possible motive for such meager offerings are the concern that people may have gained weight due to a more sedentary lifestyles while staying home a lot more during the pandemic, so he didn't want them eating a lot of fattening snacks and drinks at his party.

* Entertainment
Instead of music and {{w|karaoke}} singing and watching sports, the only music allowed will be {{w|ambient music}}, such that is would be hardly noticable, and the only entertainment being displayed will be {{w|Bob Ross}}, who was famous for his very calm, low-key, painting lessons. Music, singing, and watching exciting sports games can cause a lot more movement and airborne particles with the potential of spreading the virus.

* Activities
Board games, video games, {{w|ping pong}}, and good conversation are already relatively low-key activities, but not low-key enough. The only two games allowed will be 3-card pickup (trimmed down from {{w|52-card pickup}}, which would typically use a full deck of 52 cards), and a single video game, the ancient "{{w|Pong}}" game. Also, while conversation will be allowed, it will not be "good conversation", presumably preferring the conversation to be boring or uninteresting, or even repulsing. It might also be that Randall anticipates the pandemic [[2424|will have worsened peoples' ability to converse normally]], and so is saying that people won't be held to any 'standards' regarding the quality of their conversation.

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

Drinks

<s>Soda

Wine</s> Small cups

<s>Beer</s> of ice water

<s>Cocktails</s>

Food Three M&Ms

<s>Pizza</s> and a saltine

<s>Nachos</s> per person

<s>Various snacks</s>

Entertainment

Music (Ambient)

<s>karaoke

Big screen</s> TV

showing <s>sports</s>

::Bob Ross

Activities

<s>Board games</s> <s>52</s> 3-card pickup

Video Games

<s>Ping</s> (Pong)

[A red arrow points from Video Games to Pong]

<s>Good</s> conversation

:[Caption below the panel:]
:We're planning our first post-vaccine party, but we want to start slow.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:49:28Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2287
| date = March 30, 2020
| title = Pathogen Resistance
| image = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

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

This is yet another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|marathon of comic strips related to COVID-19]]. Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, this strip anthropomorphizes some of the pathogens which afflict humanity (a {{w|bacteriophage}}, a {{w|coccus}}-shaped bacterium, and a {{w|protozoon}} (a caricature of a {{w|ciliate}})) and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct. This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of social distancing and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}''). Gaynor recorded [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/entertainment/coronavirus-gloria-gaynor-i-will-survive-trnd/index.html a video of herself washing her hands] for 20 seconds to the background of her hit song.

The comic humorously considers pasta as an essential part of human's fight against coronavirus. Pasta is an example of a dried food that can last a long time, if the orders to stay indoors continue, however, not every culture consumes or likes pasta.

The title text references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

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

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a large bacterium are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing bacteria]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Bacteria: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it. Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:48:57Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2287
| date = March 30, 2020
| title = Pathogen Resistance
| image = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

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

This is yet another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|marathon of comic strips related to COVID-19]]. Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, some strip anthropomorphizes the pathogens which afflict humanity (a {{w|bacteriophage}}, a {{w|coccus}}-shaped bacterium, and a {{w|protozoon}} (a caricature of a {{w|ciliate}})) and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct. This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of social distancing and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}''). Gaynor recorded [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/entertainment/coronavirus-gloria-gaynor-i-will-survive-trnd/index.html a video of herself washing her hands] for 20 seconds to the background of her hit song.

The comic humorously considers pasta as an essential part of human's fight against coronavirus. Pasta is an example of a dried food that can last a long time, if the orders to stay indoors continue, however, not every culture consumes or likes pasta.

The title text references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

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

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a large bacterium are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing bacteria]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Bacteria: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it. Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:48:27Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ more explanation

{{comic
| number = 2287
| date = March 30, 2020
| title = Pathogen Resistance
| image = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

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

This is yet another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|marathon of comic strips related to COVID-19]]. Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, this strip anthropomorphizes the pathogens which afflict humanity (a {{w|bacteriophage}}, a {{w|coccus}}-shaped bacterium, and a {{w|protozoon}} (a caricature of a {{w|ciliate}})) and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct. This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of social distancing and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}''). Gaynor recorded [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/entertainment/coronavirus-gloria-gaynor-i-will-survive-trnd/index.html a video of herself washing her hands] for 20 seconds to the background of her hit song.

The comic humorously considers pasta as an essential part of human's fight against coronavirus. Pasta is an example of a dried food that can last a long time, if the orders to stay indoors continue, however, not every culture consumes or likes pasta.

The title text references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

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

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a large bacterium are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing bacteria]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Bacteria: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it. Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:37:49Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */ more categories

{{comic
| number = 2287
| date = March 30, 2020
| title = Pathogen Resistance
| image = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

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

This is yet another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|marathon of comic strips related to COVID-19]]. Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, this strip anthropomorphizes the pathogens which afflict humanity and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct. This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of pasta and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}'').

A bacteriophage, a coccus-shaped bacterium, and a protozoon (a caricature of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciliate ciliate]) talk about humans.

The title text references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

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

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a large bacterium are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing bacteria]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Bacteria: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it. Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:34:30Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */ complete brief

{{comic
| number = 2287
| date = March 30, 2020
| title = Pathogen Resistance
| image = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

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

This is yet another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|marathon of comic strips related to COVID-19]]. Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, this strip anthropomorphizes the pathogens which afflict humanity and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct. This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of pasta and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}'').

A bacteriophage, a coccus-shaped bacterium, and a protozoon (a caricature of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciliate ciliate]) talk about humans.

The title text references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

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

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a large bacterium are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing bacteria]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Bacteria: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it. Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:2204: Ksp 2

2019-09-18T18:18:10Z

172.69.33.11: r

Can someone create a KSP category? I don't have the rights to do that. Comics for that category include this one, [[1356:_Orbital_Mechanics]], [[1350:_Lorenz]], [[1244: Six Words]], [[1106: ADD]]. There may be others as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.184|172.68.211.184]] 18:05, 18 September 2019 (UTC)

In the explanation, I took the "Unmarked Cash Payments" to be payoffs to the KSP2 team to delay their launch. [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 18:07, 18 September 2019 (UTC)
: Hmm, that could be true too. Feel free to modify the explanation to add that. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 18:18, 18 September 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2068: Election Night

2018-11-05T17:05:24Z

172.69.33.11:

This is an early example of using red and blue to denote candidates and parties. Here, McKinley (R) gets blue and Bryan (D) red; it wasn't standardized on blue for Democrats and red for Republicans until after the 2000 election. NBC News having used red/R and blue/D that year, Tom Brokaw was the first to speak extensively of "red states" and "blue states" elevating that to political meme status and leading to standardization. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.166|162.158.78.166]] 14:36, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

:I was just going to mention the hat :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.191|108.162.246.191]] 14:57, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

I distinctly remember the reporting during the 1980 election (Reagan vs. Carter) that the TV news used blue for Republicans and red for Democrats. I don't know why they later switched, but I have always assumed that Democrats got offended by the use of red (the color of the USSR's flag and many other communist organizations) for their party. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 15:19, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

:Beyond having one party being red and the other blue, there was no consistent color-coding scheme for the two major parties either from election to election or between news agencies prior to 2000. Both parties still officially list red, white, and blue as their colors. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.149|162.158.79.149]] 15:24, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

::There's a long history about red and blue states, all of which comes directly from the media reporting the different parties. It's interesting to note that in Europe, the liberal parties are red and the conservative parties are blue (opposite of the US), and the fact that red is the color of the USSR has nothing to do with the Democrats "not wanting to be red," they didn't choose the colors. [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 16:51, 5 November 2018 (UTC)
:: European politics, unlike US politics, is multidimensional. [[User:Erkinalp|Erkinalp]] ([[User talk:Erkinalp|talk]]) 16:59, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

:: IIRC, blue was used for incumbents on some stations, red for challengers, and in 2000, blue stuck as the color of the democratic party,

God I feel awful for the Civil war vets with PTSD who decided to reside in Chicago. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 17:05, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1806: Borrow Your Laptop

2018-10-30T15:08:33Z

172.69.33.11:

One assumes this is a software development environment or similar

{|
!Statement
!Explanation
|-
|Oh, just hit both shift keys to change over to QWERTY.
| Likely has keyboard in DVORAK
|-
|Caps lock is control. And spacebar is capslock.
| Changing Caps Lock to a "more useful" key is common. However to change an even larger key to be capslock (Space) is odd
|-
|And two-finger scroll moves through time instead of space.
|Two finger scrolling is often used to move through a document or application on a mousepad or touchscreen device - this could be seen as moving through space (despite the cursor not actually being real). Randall is presumerably making a comment re: Space Time continuum or similar?
|-
|Once I've used a computer for a while no one else will ever use it again.
|It is unlikely that any user who tries using a computer configured like this would be expecting it and would find the workflow very hard - they are unlikely to ask again to use Cueball's computer
|}
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.197|141.101.99.197]] 07:55, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Just a minor point QWERTY is not the standard "Roman" keyboard but "English" as "French" is AZERTY and German is something else. The other thing is that just the change from US to UK can really mess things up, $>£ is trivial as @ not only moves, but the symbol keys all seem to do different things. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 08:58, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:Yeah, in the UK I often have to use a Windows box misconfigured as US, where @ is in the wrong place. At work, one had a postit note explaining how to get the @ symbol, until I spent all of 5 seconds fixing it. Worse though is Apple, who insist on using US keyboard layout even in the UK. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:24, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
::Have tried to change this. I have a keyboard that has qwerty at the top, but it is not English as we have letters not used in the English language (ÆØÅ) which moved all kinds of other keys around. So we can type on an English qwerty keyboard, but not find all the special keys. The layout is though still called qwerty, albeit the Danish version. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

I'm surprised that no one has pointed out the impossibility of changing from DVORAK to QWERTY by pressing both shift keys, seeing as most laptops have hardware keyboards.
unless he has somehow rigged a voltronesque keyboard or he has a touchscreen keyboard or an onscreen one.
[[User:Dudeonyx|Dudeonyx]] ([[User talk:Dudeonyx|talk]]) 09:20, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
: Dvorak users typically just change the keymap. Since it's designed for touch typing,there's no real point to lettering on the keys [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 09:36, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
::(Wrote this before Luckykaa posted but had an edit conflict with him so only replies to the first comment here:)
::The keyboard is probably QWERTY but the keys assigned to these are in the dvorak layout. If Cueball can type ten fingered dvorak blindly then it is no concern for him that the keys would give a different letter than what is on the keys! See other dvorak comics as referenced in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

The part "The next point on the list makes little sense" is not exactly true. Swapping caps lock with ctrl is actually quite common (if extravagant), google it. Some do it because they are used to some old layout (probably either pre-PC era or from the Unix world, see some Sun keyboards from the 90s). Most do it because ctrl is useful but small (especially on laptops), while caps lock is a large, rarely used key. Opinions on the ergonomy of this vary, trending towards negative, although there certainly are avid supporters.

So, the line actually starts like something you may actually hear in real life (I know I have). And then you get to... SPACE?!? Why would you turn space into a caps lock?! That's where the joke hits. It's not that the whole point of the list makes little sense, it's that it takes an existing, somewhat justified but controversial idea and turns it on its head midway through. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 09:29, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:Is that not also what is made clear in the explanation now? It is not the only joke with the last being the scroll time travel. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Apple has a feature actually called time machine to go back to old file versions. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.62|162.158.88.62]] 12:00, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

I can only imagine the mouse wheel. I use a free spinner, so it sounds fun... And something to get my machine to hate me
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:59, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Sounds like my laptop. Because I primarily use the nipple as a pointer,and the trackpad is in a good position for the thumb, I changed the trackpad to be a scrollpad, so it doesn't move the cursor, it moves content. I have given up on trying to explain the setup, they always end up just scrolling around on the screen and tapping the trackpad like it was a mouse-button.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.70|162.158.114.70]] 15:03, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Any chance that "spacebar is caps lock" is a reference to [[1172: Workflow]]? [[User:Tkil|Tkil]] ([[User talk:Tkil|talk]]) 16:38, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:NO.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 01:20, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

Older computer users will recall that before the introduction of the (now standard) 101-key keyboard, it was quite common for the Ctrl key to be immediately to the left of the A key, where Caps Lock is now. Touch typists from the 70's or 80's had a hard time converting to the new placement; I personally rewired the first 101-key keyboard I got to put Ctrl back "where it belonged". (This was long before keyboard remapping software was a thing.) [[User:Mr. I|Mr. I]] ([[User talk:Mr. I|talk]]) 16:47, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:Focus on this comic. There is no 70's or 80's keyboard.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 01:19, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

;Cueball is NOT Randall
Randall writes comics -- not an autobiography! So unless there is a strong evidence Cueball is NOT Randall. Think about other comics and what Randall all must have been done. Or does anyone really have a proof??? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 01:16, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:I believe any time the caption text is written in first-person it is assumed that Randall is talking about himself. In that case, Cueball here would be a stand-in for Randall, albeit taken to the extreme.--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.83|172.68.142.83]] 01:48, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::The caption is a -- often exaggerated -- statement by Randall. But this still does NOT mean that Cueball is Randall! The caption doesn't "reveal" this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Dgbrt, this has been the norm on explain xkcd for a long time, to say that Randall is talking in the caption as when he talks about his hobbies. No one thinks he does these things as in the comics, but for sure he will make adjustments to his laptop that suits him and probably not everyone else. As he says in the title text he still cannot get the programs to function with the "time scroll" so of course he has not implemented this. The comic is exaggerating what Randall does, or at least pretends to do. So of course it should say that it is Randall who writes the caption and thus Cueball represent the "comic" version of Randall here. So I (and at least one other) completely disagree with you also here! So conclusion:
:::'''Cueball IS Randall''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:11, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I amend my statement, after reading the new version, saw this comment first. Randall says the caption but Cueball is not a direct stand in for Randall in this comic. I have deleted the "stand in" comment. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:36, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::I recognize this as a first hint of learning...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:51, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::::::And I recognize that you keep writing to me (and others) in a condescending manner and it really bothers me! For the record I did not write most of the "lengthy" (your opinion) explanation which your incomplete reason really trashed, so that must have hit several of the editors, not just me. But not all read these comments for sure. I'm very tired of the way you act at the moment! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:07, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::::Calm down. You are seeing things that are not there.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:58, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
::::::::It sure doesn't fell that way for me personally. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:11, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::::::Thank you Kynde for saying what we've all been thinking. "I recognize this as a first hint of learning" was a condescending comment which added no value, only to stroke Dgbrt's own ego. And as soon as he gets criticism, he defensively crawls behind a "calm down" statement and accuses you of making things up. I'm glad someone stepped up and called him out on it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 15:08, 30 October 2018 (UTC)

;Keyboard layout
Re: Information text "Everything is senseless -- who changes the keyboard layout without changing the keyboard itself? Typing blindly is just a guess but not shown in the comic."
This is a bit harsh wording. There are many of us who routinely switch keyboard layouts without changing the keyboard. I am Swedish, living in Ireland so Irish/British keyboards are the norm. Now and then I need write text in Swedish. As I learned touch typing in Sweden, that layout is engrained in my spine so typing blindly is not a problem. I have many friends here who do the same when they need to write something in their native language, be it French, Russian, etc. / Sven Rosvall {{unsigned ip|162.158.38.16}}
:I agree, first reaction I had to "who changes the keyboard layout without changing the keyboard itself?" was "I do". When I was doing maintenance for a company in Belgium I temporarily switched to the qwerty layout while using their azerty keyboards. And occasionally at home I switch between different qwerty layouts because some software doesn't work properly on US-international. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 14:08, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::Thanks for your replies. And I didn't expect a positive one because mostly those people stay quiet. So again my opinion:
::*There is no DVORAK mentioned in this comic. We only know that the initial layout is not QWERTY. DVORAK is only one of many possibilities and thus it belongs only to a trivia section.
::*Pressing both SHIFT-keys simultaneously triggers nothing in any common OS. It's only a modifier key, not distinguishable, and requires an other key for action. This really requires a special software probably written by Cueball himself.
::*There is no hint that Cueball is on work outside of his country (this comic is the US) so merely we can assume it's his private laptop and he is just a computer NERD.
::I don't like overwhelming explanations on things not shown in the comic while some essentials are still missing. And look above: Cueball is NOT Randall.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:::I agree with the above disagreements to you Dgbrt. I also sometimes switch to UK keyboard even though I'm on a Danish computer. And this explanation goes out to all countries not just the US (as you would now being from Germany?) Of course Cueball's PC is english. And of course since Randall repeatedly references Dvorak (as early as earlier this year) it is a really sound conclusion that Cueball uses Dvorak (and yes that is not what Randall is likely to do). But see above of course Cueball represents Randall here. Maybe it is just you who has this opinion on what to explain, and also mainly you who writes harsh things about other peoples wiki edits. Take a break, you are not the only one editing these pages, and neither is I! The above comments seems to suggest that you are alone on this crusade! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:17, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::::Have updated incomplete reason to refer to discussion to keep the tone more sober! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:36, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::I am on a crusade??? Sorry, I just try to keep the explanations explaining the comics content. If anyone sees a hint to DVORAK keyboards (!!!) at this comic please help me. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:00, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I'm inclined to side with Dgbrt here. This explanation is already horribly verbose for such a simple comic, and majority of the largest paragraph being dedicated to something that is not even explicitly mentioned is just too much. I agree DVORAK is probably what was crossing Randallps mind while writing it, but that does not make it relevant, the joke stays exactly the same whether they are talking about DVORAK, AZERTY, or classical Chinese for that matter. Remember the foremost point of this page is to explain the comic, not to gather as much information to one place as possible. Just explain the joke and maybe provide a link to the wiki article about DVORAK for those who wish to learn more about it, don't make people who just came to understand the joke read through walls of unnecessary information. Just my two cents. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]]) 17:45, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::Thanks [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]], I'm sure we both are not the only one who thinks this is horribly verbose. I will move some parts into a trivia section. BTW: Many other explanations are the same.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 6 March 2017 (UTC)
::::::Or at least two... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:07, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
:Fun fact (or cool story bro, take your pick): one of my coworkers tried to pull a prank on another by swapping the keycaps on their keyboard (such that one row read UMADBRO). But then the prankee just calmly continued to use that keyboard (without swapping the keycaps or changing the layout to match) for over a year. Did make it a little harder for non-touch-typists to use his machine though. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 12:06, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

:Just a thank you
Just wanted to thank whoever kept and greatly improved my original revision stating that Caps Lock->Ctrl is common on *nix systems. I realize my original edit was terse but I'm stuck on mobile for the time being. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.46|172.68.78.46]] 07:06, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

Should this page be added to Category:Dvorak? There may be a reference to it, but it can't be for sure. [[User:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8]] ([[User talk:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|talk]]) 23:36, 6 March 2017 (UTC)
:There is no Dvorak in the comic.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:01, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

;Tone in discussion:
WOW lots of nastiness from Dgbrt here! A lot of which I disagree with EXCEPT verbosity. A lot of comics get overly verbose explanations - my current favourite example is 1800, about chess notation, where about 80% of the explanation should be purely deleted - and as such the focus should remain on helping people understand the comic. HOWEVER, a certain amount of leeway is required to assist such understanding, such as here with Dvorak. While it is not explicitly stated that Cueball's layout is currently set to Dvorak, past references make it likely, and I would think that Dvorak is the second-most used layout in the U.S. (and as has been stated, I think by Dgbrt, this comic IS American, set in America. My general approach towards cultural differences is "When in doubt, it's American"). So it would be inappropriate to say "Cueball's computer is set to Dvorak", but it would be appropriate and advisable to say "Cueball's computer is set to another layout, most likely Dvorak".

As for the concept that pressing Shift can't do anything, try pressing Shift 8 times in a row (within about 5 seconds) on a standard installation of Windows 7 (not sure if they changed this in Windows 8 or 10). I've accidentally done this on occasion - pressing Shift then releasing it in indecision about if I want to start with a capital letter - it's the "Shortcut" to trigger an accessibility option about the shift key, I think for pressing it to toggle it on until the next key press, like on an iPad virtual keyboard. I trigger it often enough that I try to remember to do it on purpose just to turn off the shortcut. Ctrl has something similar, and one of them has something pop up when you hold it down too long (THAT might be the Shift key, it might be Ctrl that's quick presses). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.76|162.158.126.76]] 05:54, 8 March 2017 (UTC) I finally signed up! This comment is mine. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:29, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
::I'm not nasty, I've just carried on discussions started by others here. But talking against that overwhelming explanations and transcript is a little bit like running against windmills. Nevertheless we recently came to some conclusions:
::*The transcripts should be shortened to the content important for the jokes.
::*Cueball represents not Randall.
::*And you also agree that we don't need that "overly verbose explanations".
::But also:
::*There is no Dvorak mentioned in this comic -- this means it could be mentioned in the trivia (or maybe a french keyboard?) because it doesn't explain the puns on an absurd computer configuration.
::*We can talk about the shift key, but tell me in which OS the left and right key is used for different actions. While both keys have different key codes send by the board its only used as SHIFT.
::So let's focus on the comic -- less is often more! This wiki is primarily for the readers.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:39, 8 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Well you make me fell like I'm not doing any good to this site by the way you word you complaints, so to me it has been nasty to come back here over the last few weeks to read what you have written. I have been using this same system for adding info for about three years, and you are the first that comes with all these objections. I have concurred with the transcript details not because of your comments but because of a guy with problems with his vision telling us how it works for him with the transcript here. That was nice to have some feedback like that. But that discussion has nothing to do with what happens to this comics explanation! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:39, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I'm not "the first that comes with all these objections", I was just picking up others comments. Correct is: I'm the only one holding up this discussion. And sorry, but I can't talk to unregistered IP addresses, and a simple UNDO on some edits would be easy to keep them quiet but I don't do that because I'm friendly. Nevertheless, the is no Dvorak in this comic and so it has to be explained without. In this case a speculation about Dvorak could be mentioned as a guess -- and I can speculate about a French keyboard from Canada -- but it doesn't explain the puns.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:07, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Re: Nasty, take for example the comment before mine, where someone asked if this should be added to the Dvorak category. Now, I agree that the answer is "No" (though I'm sure it's a closer call for me than you). But your wording - without the benefit of facial cues and tone of voice - reads as very blunt and rude (plus repetitive, I almost want to count how many times you've said some form of "No Dvorak", you seem to really be aggravated on such a minor point). I might have said "Well, as the comic does not mention that Cueball's layout is set to Dvorak, it doesn't seem appropriate to add this one to the category." 
:::However, generally Cueball IS Randall, or rather an imaginary alter ego. Someone Randall uses to play out his thoughts. I'm sure Randall DOES indeed have some non-standard settings (like his keyboard probably IS set to Dvorak, which would be inconvenient to anyone using his laptop), and this thought occurred to him, so he imagined other more obnoxious things to do to a laptop - even ones which aren't possible - then he wrote this comic to play out what he was imagining. 
:::While Dvorak is not mentioned, it is likely, as I said. Which would call for at least a mention, such as "likely Dvorak", and in a more important place than trivia. Perhaps even a quick explanation, "likely Dvorak, a layout some computer-savvy people use on the theory that it allows for faster typing". ANY further than that would indeed be better suited to the trivia section. 
:::And I SWEAR I've had something which treated the shift keys different, probably some game, probably some DOS game. And I swear I've seen something use both shift keys together like this. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.82|108.162.219.82]] 06:47, 10 March 2017 (UTC) So's this! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:29, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
::::As someone born AND raised AND in Quebec, it's safe to say Cueball isn't using a French Canadian keyboard. :) On a French Canadian keyboard, it's still QWERTY, all the letters and numbers are the same, this layout only messes with the symbols. Such a warning would be overkill, leaving the keyboard as Cueball has it would only be a minor irritation. And as the comic has a clear American bent, other languages are simply less likely. 
::::And, to not start another comment block, my other thoughts are as such: relegating things to the Trivia section should be reserved for less relevant items. Dvorak - despite not being explicitly stated - is far too relevant here. Sure, no lengthy explanation should be included, but a mere mention would be appropriate and called for. As Kynde states, I'm sure many people stop reading at the transcript (such as myself... I don't need the transcript, so I don't read it. I usually only find the Trivia section by wanting to check the Comment section). Also, referencing related comics seem like they do indeed belong in the main Description. Again, people might not reach the Trivia section, and if the connection is clear enough, it's quite relevant and great to include. I'll often click / tap such links to remind myself of the other comic and see how they're related. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.82|108.162.219.82]] 07:50, 10 March 2017 (UTC) My comment too! And I think Dgbrt deleted his comment that I was replying to here. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:29, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
:::::Again agree with NiceGuy1. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:59, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

:Thanks a lot NiceGuy1. This is what I have tried to say, but then it is just perceived as ''a first hint of learning''... (see above under Cueball Not Randall). Lately everything we, the other editors, have done is being talked down by Dgbrt to the extend that I do not feel the same joy of coming here to edit, which I have enjoyed quite a lot the last few years... I do not know why Dgbrt think that he knows better than the rest of us, and the last couple of years there have been no incidence with so many negative edits or "shouting" NOT etc. in the incomplete tag. No problem saying something is incomplete or why it is thought to be. But it could be said a tat more diplomatic, so others do not feel their work is being degraded. I by the way agree that the chess explanation was long (and I hardly wrote any of it!) But I think some parts just needs to be put in a trivia section, as I did not know these things and much of it was relevant enough to fully understand what chess notation could mean. And Dgbrt's edit where he states that references to other relevant comics should not be allowed in the main comic explanation makes no sense to me. That is one of the main reasons to come here to find out. For instance where did I see a similar comic before. And not everyone makes it to the trivia, as most "normal" visitors probably do not even read the transcript. Finally, I have added several explanations in the category sections, which makes sense so recurring topics do not need to be explained every time, but can be referred to the category page, unlike what Dgbrt now has standing in the incomplete reason. And yes I do believe it makes sense to have it on the category page! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 8 March 2017 (UTC)
::You still don't understand and remember I did not start this discussions. I came in when others made repeated complaints about the overwhelming transcripts. Finally I thought we came to an agreement. And this should be also valid to the explain section.
::*Focus on the pun.
::*Things cannot be seen in the comic are speculations and should be expressed like this.
::*References to other comics mostly do not explain anything thus it belongs to the trivia section or at least at the bottom.
::*The categories should explain the category matter but not each comic again.
::I suggest you should put yourself more into a position of a reader.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:39, 8 March 2017 (UTC)
:::This have nothing to do with the transcript discussion. I have not come to any agreement on the points you list above, and is completely in disagreement with most of it. Of course the pun should be explained, but I also think that any relevant reference to any other comic of recurring topic should be mentioned in the explanation. If the comic is directly relevant to some part in the current comic then it should be listed where the part that is relevant is explained. If it is similar comic I agree that they should go last. I do not at all agree with your category issue. A category is a great place to list stuff that is relevant to any comic in that category. If someone has used some time to find out interesting details pertaining to a given category it is great to have it there. Usually I put it in a collapsible section, so you do not have to read it or scroll past it to see the other comics in the category, and thus it should not bother anyone. And so far I have only heard of you that is bothered by it. It was your comments and incomplete reason that has been the reason for this debate and , who cares who started the debate. It is not the debate about transcripts here! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:39, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I can see NiceGuy1 agrees with much of what I just wrote here in his comment above. I do not know where you read that I agreed with you on the above? But I would like to see a citation, so I can see if I was unclear in my reply, if we talked past each other or if it is just you who wished for me to agree with you and read that into my reply? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:02, 10 March 2017 (UTC)
:::::This get's more and more funny. The comic is about nerdy computer configurations, so why is this possible Dvorak keyboard that important to you? The joke is somewhere else. And that laptop is not an old DOS box (see also the chapter below). I could tell you stories from that times when the PC and Microsoft was born. Did you know that in Word for DOS the ESC-key opened the menu? And the menu was on the bottom of the screen and there was no mouse support. Is this relevant for the comic? NO.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:30, 10 March 2017 (UTC)
::::::It doesn't seem funny to me though. This site os for explaining what might have been on Randall's mind when he made a comic, and given his many Dovrak references, and that he so far only have referenced the two layouts Dovrak and QWERTY (to my knowledge) it is very relevant to mention Dvorak when Randall mentions QWERTY. People who come here only for a few comics, might not know about the many Dvorak references, and thus it is relevant. I agree that this comic should not be listed as a belonging to the Dvorak category but it isn't (and has also never been listed like that or at least not by me). But this is thus even more reason to make the reference in the explanation as it would else not be in this explanation. Regarding the DOS box. I have nothing to do with that comment, and it is so far not at all mentioned (and has never been?) in the explanation. So it is a moot point to discuss this, especially with me. Although I think you lost the point of the guy who mentioned it below, (much earlier than this comment). And I have thus also made a small comment there regarding what I think was the intention of mentioning these old computers. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:37, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

;Double shift
About the double shift thing, that is a option you can pass to setxkbmap (in specific -option grp:shifts_toggle). This is a standard utility installed on both my arch linux and ubuntu machine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.40|108.162.241.40]] 22:29, 8 March 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks, but for Xorg I only can find "grp:alt_shift_toggle" -- meaning that alt and shift will switch their functions. I still can't find something like "left_shift" and "right_shift". Maybe Windows or iOS is different. Even the very complex configuration possibilities for IBM Client Access to connect to a 5250-screen on an AS400 supports only shift (not left or right) [https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEQ5Y_5.9.0/com.ibm.pcomm.doc/books/html/emulator_reference11.htm].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:17, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
::Why does Cueball have to be using a real, current OS? For many older readers of this comic, the reference to pressing both shift keys will remind them of using the very popular SideKick, a TSR (Terminate & Stay Resident) program on old Dos PCs. SideKick would stay in the background until its hotkey was pressed. One hotkey available to activate SideKick was to press both shift keys at the same time. To detect the hotkey, SideKick would hook onto the keyboard interrupt. Programs hooked to the keyboard interrupt got key scan codes and, yes, left and right shift key generated different scan codes. (My first comment, hopefully in the right format.)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.100|108.162.210.100]] 16:59, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Great history. My first PC had a 20 MByte hard drive (yes, not main memory -- that was 512 kByte) and NO mouse. Linux was not born and the monitors were just monochrome. By that time it was common to use Assembler to handle interrupts -- but do you really see this in the picture? For me it's a modern laptop.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:23, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
::::He did not says it needed to be in the explanation, just that it was not unusual to use the shift keys to do something, which is what has been implied in the explanation at some point. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:37, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

Now we have "''Pressing one of the shift keys five times in a row''"... What OS? I remember on WinXP the same happened when pressing the shift key for a longer time. I'm on Gnome (Linux) and nothing happens. What's about iOS? But MUCH more important is that nobody here knows how to configure that BOTH-SHIFT-KEY thing. So I wrote Cueball must have written his own software for this. This is still more accurate.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:06, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

And "''Each of the two "identical" shift keys gives a different signal to the OS as pressing either of them five times opens the dialogue box, but alternating by pressing them both after each other does nothing.''" is a sentence hard to read and understand. Correct is: Both keys have different scan codes, but no modern OS distinct them. And technically the keyboard electronics (not the key) sends a signal to the keyboard controller (not the OS) which is today part of the CPU.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:06, 10 March 2017 (UTC)
:Answering to both Dgbrt's comment here above. This was my way of noticing that the OS knows that the shift has been pressed and also knows which key has been pressed. I'm certainly no computer guy, but just wished to make it clear that they do in fact give a signal even though this is not normally activated unless another key is pressed. Since I'm not into programming I do not know how, but I guess it should not be more difficult to set the two shift option up than to set capslock to Ctrl? And so far there has been no talk about saying Cueball programmed that. Of course he did for all points on the list. This is his laptop and his configurations. So to me it seems that focusing on the problem of making shift do something rather than switching keys was unimportant. If you can find a way to make more sense out of my attempts to make this clear in the trivia then go ahead, or even delete any ref to the problem of using shift keys, also in the main explanation, because there seems to be none as far as I understand on other peoples comment. (They are probably someone who knows a lot more about this than me, and it seems they also knows more about it than you Dgbrt?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:37, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
::OMG, go here and test your key codes: [http://keycode.info/ JavaScript Event KeyCodes]. Left and right shift is both 16! That's what the OS sends to your browser because the OS ignores further possible information.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:32, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

I run Linux Mint XFCE, and I've been using double shift as a keyboard-switching shortcut for quite a while. In the XFCE keyboard layout settings (GUI), double shift is one of the default options available for switching (in addition to double Ctrl, double Alt, etc.), no special software or tweaking necessary.
(note: I've never commented here before. I hope I did it right.)[[User:Orange|Orange]] ([[User talk:Orange|talk]]) 19:33, 12 March 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks [[User:Orange|Orange]] for your first comment here. You are welcome! But for chronological reasons I've moved this to the bottom at this chapter. Nevertheless, are you talking about pressing a shift key twice or really left and right at the same time? No other key required? If so, pleeease give me an example because google still can't help me on this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:34, 13 March 2017 (UTC)--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:34, 13 March 2017 (UTC)
::Left and right at the same time with nothing else pressed, and this is using a built-in laptop keyboard. Oddly, I can't find any examples online of others using the double-shift combination, but I did find [http://askubuntu.com/questions/68127/how-to-switch-language-keyboard-combination this page] where a few other multiple-modifier combinations are shown (eg. Alt+Ctrl, Alt+Shift) in an Ubuntu settings box. I could show a screenshot of my own settings box if that would help. [[User:Orange|Orange]] ([[User talk:Orange|talk]]) 05:24, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
:::It's not about Alt+Ctrl or Alt+Shift, it's about ShiftLeft+ShiftRight. AFAIK you cannot configure this in any modern OS. So Cueball must have written his own software which is possible because the keys send different scan codes to the OS. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 07:37, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I know we're not talking about those combinations, but it counters the idea that a modifier-only combination can't be made without using special software. And the screenshotted list on that page appears to be the start of the same list of combinations as on my computer. I would upload a screenshot, but I don't know how.
::::I only found a couple mentions of the double-shift online, mainly in bug reports when the shortcut stops working for them - [http://askubuntu.com/questions/465766/problem-while-change-keyboard-layout-using-both-shift here] and [https://bugs.launchpad.net/switchboard-plug-keyboard/+bug/1357895 here].
::::I don't how it works exactly, but it definitely does in Linux Mint XFCE 17 and Linux Mint MATE 13 using just the default settings manager. Both are modern OSs, and Randall is certainly familiar with Linux, so I don't think we need to assume that Cueball wrote his own software for this combination.{{unsigned|Orange}}
:::::Nice find. And even when those people talking at your links also say it's new to them I've to agree on your conclusion. It's rare and you need knowledge about widely unknown command line tools (no GUI), but in general it should work (except for buggy versions).--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::::::Hi [[User:Orange|Orange]], please check the trivia. And, I can't check right now, the Windows Registry should also be capable for this. But it's always a little bit hacking...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:52, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

If anyone wants to try the time scroll feature, start [https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=27109 here]. I might try this one day. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 01:21, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

;Further discussion on other subjects goes here below
----
 
 
Anyone who can remember any similar comics where Cueball/others have made weird changes to the settings of their computer? I feel I have seen some, but cannot remember enough about it to find them, if they even exists? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:37, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
:I'm not allowed to say No. But I'm honest, that's true.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:32, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

May by relevant: One can use Space to mean Shift when pressed with other keys: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modifier_key#Dual-role_keys Dual-role keys]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.130.28|162.158.130.28]] 00:31, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

2060: Hygrometer

2018-10-17T15:52:01Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2060
| date = October 17, 2018
| title = Hygrometer
| image = hygrometer.png
| titletext = I'm working on assembling a combination declinometer, sclerometer, viscometer, aleurometer, stalagmometer, and hypsometer. I'm making good progress according to my ometerometer, a device which shows the rate at which I'm acquiring measurement devices.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written by a OMETEROMETER - Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Here, Megan is talking to Cueball about hygrometers. But before she can even finish explaining what it does, Cueball has looked up, found, and purchased the product.

A {{w|hygrometer}} is an instrument to measure the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or the amount of water in solids as soil or wood.

A [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/declinometer declinometer] is an instrument to measure {{w|magnetic declination}}.

A {{w|sclerometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|scratch hardness}} of a solid by scratching it under some standard conditions and measuring the scratch. Instruments used to measure the elastic properties of concrete surfaces, like the {{w|Schmidt hammer}} [https://www.pce-instruments.com/english/measuring-instruments/test-meters/concrete-test-hammer-sclerometer-kat_162426_1.htm are also often known as sclerometers].

A {{w|viscometer}} is an instrument to test the viscosity (easiness of pouring, honey has high viscosity while water has low viscosity) of a liquid.

An [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aleurometer aleurometer] is an instrument to evaluate the quality of flour for baking by measuring how much can a wet mass of wheat expand when heated while keeping its adhesivity.[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleurometer]

A {{w|Stalagmometric method|stalagmometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|surface tension}} of fluids by producing a drop and wheighing it - the bigger the drop is, the larger surface tension the fluid has.

The word {{w|hypsometer}} can mean [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hypsometer two unrelated instruments] to measure height. One measures heights of a building or a tree by triangulation. The other measures altitude by measuring air pressure from its effect of boiling temperature of water. It should not be cofused with the {{w|altimeter}} which measure altitude by mechanically measuring air pressure.

An ometerometer, being a concatenation of [https://www.google.com/search?q=ometer -ometer] with itself would be a device for measuring measuring devices.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are walking and talking. Cueball is holding his phone with one hand, looking at it.]
:Megan: A hygrometer is a device for measuring-

:Cueball: ''I want one!'' Ooh, found one for $7.99 with free shipping! I'm buying it.

:Megan: -Humidity.

:Cueball: Oh, cool!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:For some reason, I feel a powerful compulsion to own any device whose name ends in "-ometer."

{{comic discussion}}

2056: Horror Movies

2018-10-08T17:35:12Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2056
| date = October 8, 2018
| title = Horror Movies
| image = horror_movies.png
| titletext = "Isn't the original Jurassic Park your favorite movie of all time?" "Yes, but that's because I like dinosaurs and I WANT there to be an island full of them. If John Hammond's lab had been breeding serial killers in creepy masks, I wouldn't have watched!" "Wait, are you sure? That could actually be good." "Ok, I WOULD watch the scenes where Jeff Goldblum tries to convince a bunch of executives that the park is a bad idea."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Horror is a genre of film that sets out to elicit fear in the viewing audience. They often aim to evoke viewers' nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Simply put, most horror films have "terrible things happen to people."

Randall, as Cueball, seems to not understand why people like horror films.

The title text refers to the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park film}}'', which could be considered a "horror" film, as there are elements of fear and terror. However, it is usually placed in the adventure or science fiction genre. Randall, instead of claiming that ''Jurassic Park'' isn't a horror film, replies by saying that he likes dinosaurs and would be pleased to visit an amusement park for dinosaurs. "Serial killers in creepy masks" refers to a horror movie trope from the ''{{w|Halloween (franchise)|Halloween}}'' and the ''{{w|Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th}}'' series of films, among others. Randall's final comment indicates that though he does not like horror films, he does like {{w|Jeff Goldblum}}, and would watch the scene with him.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat and Cueball are talking.]
:White Hat: Wanna see a horror movie?
:Cueball: Sure! I love watching terrible things happen to people and feeling afraid!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I know everyone's into what they're into, but I have never understood horror movies.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

2056: Horror Movies

2018-10-08T17:22:51Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */ copyedit

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-10-02T17:38:44Z

172.69.33.11: /* Upper right quadrant */ filled in rail engi

{{comic
| number = 1991
| date = May 9, 2018
| title = Research Areas by Size and Countedness
| image = research_areas_by_size_and_countedness.png
| titletext = Mathematicians give a third answer on the vertical axis, "That question is poorly defined, but we have a sub-field devoted to every plausible version of it."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The tables needs to be filled in. And I think the title text has been explained already... Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plot]] that ranks different research fields according to the precision of the knowledge of the number of the studied object (vertical axis) vs. how large (the size of) the studied object is on the horizontal axis.

For instance the number of United States presidents is well known, so the study of their history is at the top of the Y-axis. This study is placed close to the Y-axis as the size of a president is about midway in size between the two extremes of the X-axis, elementary particles to the left (small) and the entire cosmos (cosmology) to the right (big).

On the X-axis Presidents are close to the middle. Both presidents and other larger life forms (as a research area) including extinct animals (paleontology) and exobiology are all close to the the same central position just right of the Y-axis, with smaller animals like birds and insects just to the left of the Y-axis. But where the number of presidents is well known, then the number of exoplanet life forms (exobiology) is completely unknown and thus it will be found at the very bottom of the Y-axis, since we have no idea if there are life elsewhere and if so how many places will it be and how varied.

The 19 research areas are listed and explained in the [[#Tables of research areas|tables]] below.

In the title text mathematicians may give a third answer that the concept of counting the things being studied is not reasonable, because the things are abstract or otherwise not discrete. There are many different types of math that blend into each other, and many have turned into separate sub-disciplines based on different interpretations of fundamental rules. As a specific example in geometry, different interpretations of how many lines you may draw parallel to another line through a given point has lead to hyperbolic (infinite parallel lines) and spherical (0 parallel lines) geometric systems that are just as valid (and valuable, in some contexts) as the more commonly known Cartesian (1 parallel line) geometry. As a specific example of the blending, number theory and set theory and topology all interrelate and it is difficult to concretely say whether many theorems belong to one branch of math or another.

==Tables of research areas==
For a table with the coordinates given in percentage for each research field, see the table in the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section

===Upper left quadrant===
This is the section with the small items with count known.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size of the thing
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Elementary particle physics}}
| The smallest subjects that we have actually detected are the {{w|elementary particles}}. In the {{w|Standard Model}} of particle physics, they are considered point masses (i.e. to have zero width). They may be made of smaller {{w|String theory|strings}} but if so these have still not been detected.
| We think we have a fairly good estimate of how many elementary particles that are known. There could be some uncertainty though, so it is not at the very top.
|Elementary particle physics is concerned with the study of subatomic particles (the smallest things that we know of), of which there are 17, not including antimatter. Most notably, until recently it was uncertain whether the {{w|Higgs boson}} was one of the elementary particles, but scientists have a "pretty good estimate" because the mathematical models don't predict the existence of many other particles
|-
|{{w|Dentistry}}
|Several mm to several centimeters
|Most teeth are visible to the naked eye, and dentists have x-ray technology to see what's not visible, so counting them is pretty straightforward.
|Dentistry is the study of teeth (pretty small, both in size as well as in quantity). Humans adults grow 32 teeth, which is a "pretty good estimate" since it is very rare for {{w|Hyperdontia|more than 32 teeth to grow}} and it is rather common for {{w|wisdom teeth}} to be surgically extracted or in some cases never to develop. Children may only have 20 teeth before they start falling out, but each tooth that falls out is because another tooth is growing underneath, so a child might have as many as 52 teeth, counting the child teeth that haven't fallen out yet plus the adult teeth that are starting to form. So while a dentist will usually have a good idea how many teeth will be in a patient's mouth, they won't know for sure until they look or consult dental records.
|-
|{{w|Shakespeare}} studies
|Most are the size of typical book. In printed form, they would be in the range of tens of centimeters in height and width and ~1 centimeter in depth. Although, if stored in digial form, they could be much smaller than a tooth, so it seems to refer to print or handwritten originals.
|Generally, 36 plays are attributed to him, but between 1 and 3 additional plays are considered "lost" (i.e. at some point between being first published or performed and scholars seriously studying Shakespeare, all known copies, references, and fragments were destroyed, making it impossible to determine whether Shakespeare actually wrote them or whether they actually existed as separate plays), and {{w|Shakespeare apocrypha|some 20 more}} are believed to have been written by him, but not signed. To make matters worse, some plays that ''were'' published or performed under Shakespeare's name are believed to have been written as collaborations (not fully by him) or mis-attributed (we don't know who wrote them but everyone says it was him).
|Shakespeare studies is concerned with the works of William Shakespeare.
|-
|{{w|Ornithology}}
|Birds tend to be small, with most species able to be held comfortably in hand; even the largest known flying bird, the {{w|Condor}}, stands smaller than the average human, with a handful of non-flying avians such as the {{w|ostrich}} being larger, but still weighing less than 2-3 humans.
|The number of known bird species is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird#Diversification_of_modern_birds estimated at about 10,000], though [https://www.amnh.org/about-the-museum/press-center/new-study-doubles-the-estimate-of-bird-species-in-the-world a 2016 research result] suggested a near-doubling of this figure. As for the number of individual birds, a paper aptly titled [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018341530497 "How many birds are there?"] examines a number of ways of counting them; the results are "surprisingly consistent", with counts of approximately 200-400 billion individual birds.
|We do have a "pretty good estimate", to within perhaps a factor of two.
|-
|Ancient {{w|literature}}
|As above, with Shakespeare plays, original or print reproductions would be the size of a book, typically. Although ancient {{w|scrolls}} may have different dimensions with similar total volume.
|Because of the high number of {{w|lost work}}, it is hard to have a solid estimate of the number, although rough lists have been made (e.g. {{w|Ancient literature#List of ancient texts}}).
|While it is fairly straightforward to look up how many books [http://www.proquest.com/products-services/Books-in-Print.html are currently in print], or how many books [https://mashable.com/2010/08/05/number-of-books-in-the-world/ all currently printed information would fit into if bound into equal-length volumes], and then limiting those estimates to those that date before a specific year, counting how many books from the period of interest haven't survived to the present day (books that were "{{w|lost work|lost}}" either by deliberate discontinuation, or accidental destruction such as in the {{w|Destruction of the Library of Alexandria|Library of Alexandria}}) is a bit more difficult. However, because we know the work existed (it is mentioned by name in some other text), we have "pretty good estimate" that the number of lost works is "only" in the tens of thousands, as is the number of surviving works.
|}

===Upper right quadrant===
This is the section with the big items with count known.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Marine mammal|Marine}} {{w|Mammalogy|Mammology}}''[sic]''
|They range in size from the {{w|Marine Otter}} (about 1m) to the {{w|Blue Whale}} (up to 30m).
|About 125 non-extinct species.
|Marine mammals are the largest extant animals. The US Government [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/ recognizes] 119 marine mammals. However, what constitutes each species is [https://www.marinemammalscience.org/species-information/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/ constantly being revised], with new studies indicating either that what used to be considered a subspecies is actually a separate species, or that what used to be considered a separate species is actually a subspecies. As the depths of the ocean are further explored, species that were outright unknown are spotted and need to be classified. However, since marine mammals breathe air and thus must surface, it's likely that all species have been observed by scientists.
|-
|{{w|List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States|Presidential History}}
|All presidents are {{w|Heights of presidents and presidential candidates of the United States|human-sized}}, with the tallest being {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} at 6 ft 4 in and the shortest being {{w|James Madison}} at 5 ft 4 in.
|As of 2018, 45 people have served or are serving as President of the United States.
|Presidents are generally considered "big" men in history. Therefore, each one is fairly well known and documented. There is, however, some discussion on how many presidents there have been in the history of the United States, since prior to the {{w|Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|25th amendment}}, it was unspecified whether vice presidents counted as presidents during the President's absence. Most notably, this ambiguity is the reason {{w|David Rice Atchison}}'s tombstone is inscribed with the words "President of the United States for one day" (he was not eligible and did not accept the duties even if he was).
|-
|{{w|Railway engineering}}
|Railways can span across countries, and therefore are fairly large
|As railroads are built by humans, we know pretty well how many there are. However small systems(parks, mines) may make this number uncertain.
|A railway can span anywhere from a few hundred feet, to thousands of miles, so they're pretty big. The type of a railway is generally given by its {{w|track gauge}}, which is defined as "standard" (the usual gauge for a region or country), "narrow" (rails closer together than that standard) and "broad" (rails farther apart than that standard). Since what is standard varies from country to country, and indeed from line to line, how many kinds of "narrow" gauge and "broad" gauge exist depend on who you ask. However, whereas every region has ''a'' standard gauge, "{{w|standard-gauge railway}}" has a specific meaning used by rail technicians and enthusiasts worldwide, of a track with rails 1435 mm (4 ft 8.5 in) apart. Anything narrower than that is often described as a narrow-gauge line, even if it is the standard gauge for a particular rail network.
|-
|{{w|Geology}}
|The {{w|Earth}} is larger, by far, than everything else on the chart except the universe (Cosmology), Black Holes, and God (at least under some conceptions, see "Theology" below).
|There is only one Earth (at least if you set aside the possibility of multiverses, see below in Cosmology).
|Geology is generally considered the study of rocks (small rocks being considered fragments of mountain layers, so what counts as a "rock" for a geologist can be pretty big). There is no universally agreed upon number to how many {{w|List of rock types|types of rock}} there are, but all geologists agree they can be grouped into igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock. Alternatively, geology can be construed as the study of the planet Earth's composition ( *geo*- meaning "Earth" ), and geologists are confident that the planet Earth is big and there is only one of it.
|-
|{{w|Cosmology}}
| As this encompasses (at least) all of the visible parts of the {{w|universe}} we live in, there can be no other "items" to study that would be larger.
| There is only one visible universe, but there could be multiverses/parallel universes, and also an infinite universe beyond the borders of our own part of this universe's event horizon. So it depends on who you ask if they say there is one of and infinite number of universes to study, thus it is placed close to the middle of the two extremes,
|Cosmology is the study of the universe. There is an asterisk with the note "Depends on who you ask", relating to the estimate of how many universes there are. While it might seem obvious that there is only one universe, some branches of physics believe that our universe is part of a {{w|multiverse}}, and this remains an open and contested subject in the field.
|}

===Lower left quadrant===
This is the section with the small items with count unknown.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Mycology}}
| microscopic to a few miles
|
|Mycology is the study of fungi (since fungi tend to grow flat -- excepting for mushrooms, which are their sexual organs, and do not exceed a foot in height (see [http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/5740/20130729/giant-fungus-china-mushroom-world-s-largest-size.htm World's Largest mushrooms] -- mushrooms are generally considered small). Many fungi are microscopic, but some get to be a few miles in diameter.[http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/nature/the-worlds-largest-living-organism.aspx The World's largest living organism.] It is a lot harder to discern which species a fungus is, and therefore classify it, so we "have no idea" how many kinds of fungi there are. Studies [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21613136 vary wildly] between about 70,000 to over 5,000,000. There is a comic named after this study: [[1664: Mycology]].
|-
|[[1012: Wrong Superhero|Entymology]]
| For insects, from a fraction of a mm to several 100.
|
|It is unclear whether [[Randall]] means {{w|entomology}} or {{w|etymology}} (probably neither; it's likely that this wasn't a mistake and it is possibly a direct reference to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). In either case, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28938083 estimates for insects] (entomology) vary from less than 1,000,000 to 30,000,000; and [https://www.quora.com/How-many-root-words-are-there-in-the-English-language estimates for root words] (etymology) reaching hundreds of thousands. Entomology was mentioned in the title text of [[1610: Fire Ants]].
|-
|-
|{{w|Microbiology}}
|The {{w|Smallest organisms|smallest viruses}} are around 30nm long. The largest bacterium may reach almost 1mm.[https://curiosity.com/topics/the-worlds-largest-bacterium-is-visible-to-the-naked-eye-curiosity/].
|120,000 to 10,000,000+.
|Microbiology studies microscopic (too small to see) organisms, of which some 1,400 are known and "estimates for the total number of microbial species vary wildly, from as low as 120,000 to tens of millions and higher", according to [https://www.quora.com/How-many-root-words-are-there-in-the-English-language Nature magazine].
|-
|{{w|Pharmacology}}
|{{w|Drugs}}, including {{w|medications}} and {{w|recreational drug use|illegal and recreational drugs}} are molecules which are sub-microscopic (in the range of nanometers).
|Although it is possible to tally all the known drugs, this is at the extreme low end of the pile because the number of possible organic compounds is nearly infinite and the fraction of those are bioactive is completely unknown.
|The number of drugs (pharmaceuticals) discovered and synthesized is not tallied, according to [https://www.raps.org/regulatory-focus%E2%84%A2/news-articles/2014/10/how-many-drugs-has-fda-approved-in-its-entire-history-new-paper-explains recent studies], but an estimate can be obtained by seeing how many have passed through the {{w|Food and Drug Administration|U.S. FDA}} (1,453). Many home remedies, which might technically qualify as drugs, have not been approved because {{w|Novelty (patent)|"everybody knows that"}}, as well as many solely recreational drugs since regulation might result in outlawing. Because of this, "we have no idea" how many drugs truly exist. Since drugs are extremely powerful molecules that are only administered in choice amounts, they are generally perceived as small.
|}

===Lower right quadrant===
This is the section with the big items with count unknown.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Botany}}
|
|
|Botany studies plants, which can reach {{w|List of superlative trees|hundreds of feet by any measure}}. Some {{w|Pando (tree)|clonal colonies of trees}} spread for miles. However, plant tend to clump together in forests and jungles, which makes it hard to get to them and document them. Every year, thousands of new plants are discovered, with the best estimate being that there are [https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/many-plants-world-scientists-may-now-answer/ nearly 400,000 vascular plants] and an additional [https://www.britannica.com/topic-browse/Plants/Nonvascular-Plants 12,000 non-vascular plants]. However, the rate of discovery doesn't appear to be slowing down significantly, so we truly "have no idea."
|-
|{{w|Paleontology}}
|Paleontologists study fossils, which range in size from very small to very large. When most people think of paleontologists though, they tend to think of them as studying large animals such as dinosaurs.
|
|Paleontology studies fossils, particularly those of extinct animals, which can reach {{w|Largest prehistoric animals|huge sizes}}. However, since fossils form under very special circumstances, if the animal did not die under those special circumstances, there will be no record of their existence. Therefore, the number of extinct animals can never truly be known, but we've found [http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2010/01/12/how-do-we-know-that-most-of-th/ around 250,000]
|-
|{{w|Black Hole}} {{w|Astronomy}}
|Compared to most astronomical objects, black holes are fairly small. However, most of them (that we are able to detect) are still larger than the Earth, so they would still fall on the "big" end of this chart. Alternatively, Randall may be referring to their mass, which is on the scale of stars.
|It has been estimated that the number of black holes in the {{w|Milky Way}} is around 100 million ([http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/encyc_mod3_q7.html]), although there is uncertainty in that estimate and the total number in the universe depends on the size of the universe (see "cosmology", above).
|"Most stellar black holes [...] are impossible to detect. Judging from the number of stars large enough to produce such black holes, however, scientists estimate that there are as many as ten million to a billion such black holes in the Milky Way alone." ([https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes NASA Black Hole information page])
|-
|{{w|Exobiology}}
|The comic puts this in the size range of paleontology, which can include many sizes (see above), and also marine mammalogy, which tends to have individuals that are in the range of tens of centimeters to several tens of meters. However, {{w|life|life as we know it}} is dominated in numbers by {{w|microbes}}, and {{w|Evolutionary history of life|life on Earth}} began {{w|Abiogenesis|microscopic}}, leading most {{w|Astrobiology|Astrobiologists}} to hypothesize that life on other planets would necessarily include microbes and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox#No_other_intelligent_species_have_arisen only possibly include macroscopic life].
|The estimate of {{w|List of potentially habitable exoplanets|how many planets with life there are}} varies from 16 to 40,000,000,000; additionally, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitability_of_natural_satellites#In_the_Solar_System multiple moons] are believed to be potentially habitable for some forms of life in our own solar system. However, the number of bodies apart from Earth confirmed to have life is currently zero. Even more uncertain than the number of potentially habitable exoplanets is the {{w|Rare Earth Hypothesis|huge uncertainty}} in the likelihood of life arising on a habitable planet.
|Exobiology refers to the study of life outside Earth, which requires {{w|SETI|scanning the entire universe for life}}. Currently, exobiology seeks to find a planet or similar body with life (and, {{w|definition of planet|to qualify as a planet}}, bodies capable of sustaining life are big). The uncertainty about how many planets have life in the Milky Way relates to the {{w|Fermi Paradox}}. For life, of the type we know, to exist outside of the Solar system there need to be planets around other stars. Such planets are called Exoplanets, and they have been a [[:Category:Exoplanets|recurrent subject]] on xkcd.
|-
|{{w|Theology}}
|Presumably, any god transcends the bounds of spacetime, making this the largest.
|Depends on who you ask.
|Theology is not a strict science, but as presented here it is the field concerned with the study of one or more {{w|deity|deities}} which is a sacred supernatural being. In particular, theologians study the question of whether {{w|theism|one or more gods exist}} {{w|atheism|or not}}, and, in the former case, whether there are {{w|polytheism|multiple gods}} or {{w|monotheism|just one}} or indeed whether there is literally only {{w|pantheism|one god}}. Although the existence of any supernatural being(s) is unfalsifiable by any natural means, the entire human race has very strong opinions on the subject, so this field probably deserves the “depends on who you ask” disclaimer as well. quantitative uncertainty is also mentioned in [[900: Religions]].
|}

==Transcript==
:[An X-Y scatter plot of research areas, written in gray font, where both axes have arrows in both ends. At the end of each arrow is a label. Above the left part of the X-axis there is a line which goes to a text about the meaning of the X-axis. Similarly there is a line to from the top of the Y-axis to a questions “asked” to those that study the given subject, their answers being somewhere between the two labels on the Y axis.]

:[The X-axis from left to right, text first and then labels:]
:Size of the thing you study
:Small
:Big

:[The Y-axis from top to bottom, question first and then labels:]
:"That thing you study - how many of them are there?"
:"We have a pretty good estimate."
:"We have no idea"

:[The research areas names are listed here below by sorting them into the four quadrants from top left to bottom right. In each quadrant the areas are listed after most left first, and then top to bottom for those at the same x position.]

:[Upper left quadrant (Small & count known):]
:Elementary particle physics
:Dentistry
:Shakespeare studies
:Ornithology
:Ancient Literature

:[Upper right quadrant (Big & count known):]
:Presidential History
:Marine Mammology
:Railway Engineering
:Geology
:Cosmology*
:(*Depends who you ask)

:[Lower left quadrant (Small & count unknown):]
:Pharmacology
:Microbiology
:Entymology
:Mycology

:[Upper right quadrant (Big & count unknown):]
:Botany
:Paleontology
:Exobiology
:Black Hole Astronomy
:Theology

==Trivia==
Sortable table with the coordinates in percent:
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Research area
! Size (%)
! Estimate (%)
|-
|Elementary Particle Physics ||7 ||72
|-
|Pharmacology ||12 ||6
|-
|Microbiology ||15 ||13
|-
|Dentistry ||21 ||84
|-
|Entymology ||24 ||25
|-
|Mycology ||29 ||38
|-
|Ornithology ||34 ||62
|-
|Shakespeare Studies ||37 ||88
|-
|Ancient Literature ||38 ||53
|-
|Botany ||60 ||40
|-
|Presidential History ||62 ||89
|-
|Marine Mammology ||66 ||68
|-
|Paleontology ||68 ||31
|-
|Exobiology ||68 ||5
|-
|Railway Engineering ||79 ||81
|-
|Geology ||90 ||90
|-
|Theology ||91 ||5
|-
|Black Hole Astronomy ||92 ||26
|-
|Cosmology ||94 ||62
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Math]] 
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Religion]] 
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Exoplanets]] 
[[Category:Politics]]

2049: Unfulfilling Toys

2018-09-21T15:50:03Z

172.69.33.11: Added a short blurb about magnet Rubik's cubes.

{{comic
| number = 2049
| date = September 21, 2018
| title = Unfulfilling Toys
| image = unfulfilling_toys.png
| titletext = We were going to do a falling-apart Rubik's cube that was just 27 independent blocks stuck together with magnets, but then we realized it was actually really cool and even kind of worked, so we cut that one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Stretch Armstrong made out of hard plastic. Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic lists and illustrates a number of classic toys that are missing a key piece of that makes them work or that makes them unique. As such, they are not much fun.

====Rigid Slap Bracelet====
Slap Bracelets are flexible bars that when you hit them on your arm they twist and become a bracelet. A rigid one would not twist and would be deeply frustrating

====Sealed Stomp Rocket====
A stomp rocket has a rubber pouch full of air, connected via a hose to a cylinder containing a tightly-fitting rocket on a stick. By stomping on the pouch, the air is forced into the cylinder launching the rocket into the air. By sealing the air channel, the rocket would stay in the cylinder and the person would just be bounced into the air by the pouch -- acting like the world's smallest bouncy house -- or the pouch will burst rending the toy even more useless.

====Pump-only Supersoaker====
A supersoaker is a water gun that works by first pumping air into the gun, which introduces air pressure next to the water, then releasing the water using the gun's trigger -- the extra pressure from the pumped air makes the water go much further than a regular water gun. In this version, the water cannot be released, so the fun part of the water gun -- getting to spray your friends -- isn't there.

====Glass Glow Stick====

In a classic glow-stick, made of flexible plastic, one much first bend it enough that something inside (which might be glass or some other hard crack-able substance) cracks, which allows chemicals to mix and begin glowing within the plastic tube. If the entire tube were made of actual glass, however, if would simply crack in half or pieces and would just make a mess.

====Wingless Sky Dancer====

In the traditional toy, a doll with folded-up wings sits on top of a hand-held device with a wrapped string or other mechanism that lets it spin the doll very fast. As the doll spins, centripetal force causes the wings to unfold and provide lift, and the doll rises up in the air and flies, spinning, sometimes going quite high. Without the wings, the doll will spin but otherwise remain flightless.

====No-strings-attached Yo-yo====
In a traditional yo-yo, one attaches a string to their finger and the other end of the string is loosely attached to the yo-yo, such that it will hold the yo-yo but the yo-yo can still spin. In this case, the string is included but not attached to the yo-yo, so the yo-yo, when it reaches the end of the string, will keep going instead of coming back to the person or spinning at the end of the string.

This one actually exists and some people are even quite good at it. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P-fdrlBg8 for example.

====falling-apart Rubik's cube====
This also exists, is rather functional, and is the only way to make fun Rubik's cube shapes such as 1x5x5.

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

{{comic discussion}}

3: Island (sketch)

2018-09-19T16:34:17Z

172.69.33.11: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 3
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Island (sketch)
| image = island_color.jpg
| titletext = Hello, island
}}

==Explanation==
The early comics sometimes do not present a particular point, but are just pictures drawn by [[Randall]].

At the title text the phrase "Hello, <inanimate object>" is used as among socially disconnected people (such as nerds) in an attempt to be "cute", feigning stupidity, perhaps because it is one of the few strategies that has worked for them to garner a positive social response on occasion. The statement expresses acknowledgement of the existence of something else, while subtly anthropomorphizing it. It can be used to fill the social role of commenting on a presented item, when one lacks the creativity in that domain to come up with a comment that holds meaning. It's something nerdy people say, perhaps subconsciously to bond over how their social experience differs from what is commonly portrayed as the norm.

==Transcript==
:[A color sketch of an island.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 3rd comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[4: Landscape (sketch)]].
**The next was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**This is the only comic that has the same number both on xkcd and on LiveJournal.
*Original title: "Island"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "I draw these a lot."
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 03]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 03]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]

2047: Beverages

2018-09-17T05:04:00Z

172.69.33.11: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2047
| date = September 17, 2018
| title = Beverages
| image = beverages.png
| titletext = If I wait a while, it's not so bad, because then it's just shaped like me, plus some pipes and tanks and probably eventually all of Earth's oceans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

"The human digestive system is ugly" -Randall Munroe, 2018

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Inside a panel, liquid pouring out of a cup is shown.]
{{comic discussion}}

2046: Trum-

2018-09-14T16:16:33Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ wlink

{{comic
| number = 2046
| date = September 14, 2018
| title = Trum-
| image = trum.png
| titletext = Excited to vote for future presidents Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Before {{w|Donald Trump}}, {{w|Harry S. Truman}} (1884-1972) was president of the United States between 1945 and 1953. Megan notes that both of these presidents' last names start with "T-R-U-M-". Megan mentions "totally unrelated presidents", as there are several presidents of the US who have the exact same last name who are related, for example, {{w|John Adams}} and {{w|John Quincy Adams}}.

The joke is that of all the weird things in the present (Trump's) presidency, this is the "least weird". Trump's presidency has been plagued with [https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/trump-scandals-unprecedented-president-180908070216183.html various scandals].

The title text lists "absurd" last names that could start with the same letters as other presidents: Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast. These would refer to {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight D. '''Eisenh'''ower}}, {{w|Gerald Ford|Gerald '''For'''d}}, {{w|Barack Obama|Barack '''Obam'''a}}, and {{w|George Washington|George '''Washingto'''n}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan walking together while talking.]
:Megan: It's pretty weird that we've had two totally unrelated presidents whose last names start with '''"T-R-U-M-"'''.
:Cueball: Oh, sure, that's ''definitely'' the weirdest thing about the presidency right now.
:Megan: It's less weird than '''''every other fact'''''. But still weird.
:Cueball: True.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Politics]]

2045: Social Media Announcement

2018-09-12T04:14:36Z

172.69.33.11:

{{comic
| number = 2045
| date = September 12, 2018
| title = Social Media Announcement
| image = social_media_announcement.png
| titletext = Why I'm Moving Most of My Social Activity to Slack, Then Creating a Second Slack to Avoid the People in the First One, Then Giving Up on Social Interaction Completely, Then Going Back to Texting
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

251: CD Tray Fight

2018-09-01T21:45:43Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 251
| date = April 20, 2007
| title = CD Tray Fight
| image = cd_tray_fight.png
| titletext = This is silly, of course. The enemy will be born in the network.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the behavior of a {{w|Optical disc drive#Loading mechanisms|tray loading optical disc drive}} of a desktop computer. When the tray is opened and the user is reaching for the disc, a process or task on the computer can, at that exact inopportune time, request that the disc drive close its tray. Alternatively, accidentally bumping the open tray may engage the auto-close feature, resulting in the same scenario.

This results in a sort of "tug of war" between the user who is trying to remove the disc and the CD drive trying to retract, and it is this tug of war that worries Cueball (or, more likely, Randall) that the "Robot War" is impending. The title text, however, points out that this fear is irrational, not because we'll always be able to win the tug of war (even if the computer reprograms itself to ignore our pull, we are physically stronger than the retraction mechanism) or because the act is ultimately pointless (it's an indignant protest at best), but because any robot war will, necessarily, have to start in "the network" to get any traction.

A [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RobotWar Robot War] is a recurring theme in science fiction where humans develop robots that become self-aware and start a war against humanity. A well known example of this theme is found in the {{w|Terminator franchise}} where, as the title text suggests, a military computer network ({{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}}) becomes self-aware and starts a world war to kill all humans. This event is also parodied in [[1046: Skynet]], but with skynet failing due to {{w|semantic satiation}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing, holding a CD tray which is half-in his computer. There are other CDs on the floor.]
:Cueball: Hey. Hey! Stop retracting my CD!
:I feel uncomfortable when my computer physically struggles with me. Sure, I can overpower it now, but it feels like a few short steps from here to the robot war.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Robots]]

2040: Sibling-in-Law

2018-08-31T16:07:04Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ brief

{{comic
| number = 2040
| date = August 31, 2018
| title = Sibling-in-Law
| image = sibling_in_law.png
| titletext = FYI, it turns out "...because I haven't figured out whether he would be my brother-in-law or not" does NOT qualify as a "reason why these two should not be wed."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT-in-law 6 times removed - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows the complicated way that English refers to -in-law family relationships. As shown in the comic, your sibling's spouse would be called your "sibling-in-law" (either brother-in-law, or sister-in-law). However, your spouse's brother or sister would also be called the same way (brother-in-law or sister-in-law). The confusion lies with your sibling-in-law's siblings. Randall says they may be your "sibling-in-laws, I think?" and further relations are also possibly considered "sibling-in-laws".

The caption compares "sibling-in-law" to "<X>th cousin <Y> times removed". This family relationship, for example, {{w|Cousin#Basic_definitions|1st cousin once removed}}, is used to describe your 1st cousin's son or daughter or your second cousin's father or mother. The "once removed" indicates that the family relative is one generated above or below yours.

The title text refers to {{w|incest}}ual relationships, which are generally frowned upon in Western culture.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2022: Sports Champions

2018-08-29T23:33:27Z

172.69.33.11: fixed my signature

Since Kate Dopingscandal has a bike, it seems to me she's actually likely a direct reference to Lance Armstrong. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:46, 20 July 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, that's why I included him as an example. Feel free to clarify if you want, of course.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.68|162.158.155.68]] 06:09, 20 July 2018 (UTC)
::Why is a bike directly a direct reference to Lance Armstrong? and why are additionally only "many russians" listed? It is clearly not a phenomena only seen with mr. Armstrong, and Russians, but with cylcing sports in general. The biggest Cycling event, the {{w|Tour_de_France}} is hit by a doping scandal every year. Also other events have many {{w|List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling|cases}}. Lately actually there have even be cases of [http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/542/motor-doping-is-happening-and-weve-tested-it Motor Doping]. So I think Lance Armstrong can stay as maybe the most famous example, but we should say that it is many others and not Lance Armstrong and Russians. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Because he's easily the most famous example. I realize there are plenty of others - the France native below portrays it as downright epidemic in the sport - but Lance was so highly unbelievably visible. My impression is that in North America (which is where both Randall and I live), cycling as a professional sport enjoys notably less popularity than most other sports, and less than it might elsewhere in the world. Yet virtually EVERYBODY has heard of Lance (I follow no sports whatsoever, and I can even discuss him here). Lance attained nearly a hero status, he beat cancer... He started and/or inspired The LiveStrong movement, its support bracelets spread far and wide, inspiring imitators. At which point the scandal hit. Now combine this heightened visibility with Randall's history of comics portraying him - as Cueball - as knowing nothing about sports. Lance is the only cycling doping scandal _I_ can name, or even cyclist I can name at all, chances are it's the same for Randall. This comic is certainly referencing Lance. I only commented because the description was only listing him as an example. (I said nothing about Russians, I don't know of any Russian doping scandal) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Having re-checked the description, I can answer the Russian portion: It says "many Russians" because those words link to a Wikipedia article about Russia in general, not one particular incident. The mere existence of the article tells me that enough Russians have been hit by doping scandals that they rate their own Wikipedia article. It's a great find for this ExplainXKCD article, no wonder somebody made sure to include it. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:55, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::::I put both those in. In fact, I wrote almost the entire article. I'm English, but I try to "think American" when editing. I immediately thought of Armstrong,and totally agree with your reasoning; if you do searches for "doping scandal" you immediately see him, but also, the Russian thing. Centered on the 2012 Olympics, and state-sponsored doping, their subsequent exclusion from the 2016 Olympics is amongst the biggest ever sporting scandals of all time, worldwide. Perhaps more so outside America, but it's certainly of epic proportions.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 16:54, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::I'm 46 and live in France. As far as I can remember (1980 ?) cycling has always been THE sport associated with doping. I can remember some famous cases in other sports (Ben Johnson in the 1988 olympics) but for cycling it was said to be quasi systematic. The Armstong case was a worldwide scandal, but Tour de France had a much severe problem in 1998 where entire teams were involved and excluded from the race. Five years later, after several trials and new analysis of the 1998 samples with more evolved techniques it was revealed that at least the 5 first finishers (and many more) were doped. If you consult the Wikipedia article “doping in sport”, you will note that cycling is by far the largest section, and almost 100 years old in Tour de France. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.34|108.162.229.34]] 12:57, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Ah, but in cases like this, where different cultures can have an effect, I always bring it back to this: Where does Randall live? In America. While people in France (and cycling fans) might be well aware of many, many, MANY cycling doping scandals, I'd say the average American is not. Plus, Randall has been quite vocal about not knowing sports. Chances are, Lance Armstrong is the only cyclist he can even name at all, never mind doping scandals. And now I cause myself to wonder, did Randall think of Armstrong because his last name is also one made of words, that Lance Armstrong would be on this list himself if he had excelled at arm wrestling? :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

He should have listed, in the sport of eXtreme Software Engineering, the dominance of Little Bobby Tables in the late 2020's. ---- {{unsigned ip|172.68.141.136}}
:Damn, what a missed opportunity. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

Would Jebediah be a reference to Kerbal Space Program? Things tend to go disaterously in it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.160|108.162.210.160]] 12:54, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

It's worth noting that the all-star right fielder for the Boston Red Sox, who are currently in first place in the MLB, is named Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts, with the initials "MLB." Aside from the fact that he's already won several divisional titles with his team, there's a good chance he'll soon be on a world series winning team as well, perhaps to become the next high-profile example. (Full disclosure: I'm a huge Red Sox fan) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.22|172.68.54.22]] 13:47, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Art Ball (1890’s)
Full name Arthur Ball
Born April , 1872, Madison, Indiana
Died December 26, 1915, Chicago, Illinois
Buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
First MLB Game: August 1, 1894; Final MLB Game: October 15, 1898
Bat: Unknown Throw: Right Weight: 168 {{unsigned ip|172.68.54.76}}

What, no Cecil Fielder? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.46|162.158.63.46]] 19:32, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

What, no [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Moneymaker Chris Moneymaker? (Poker, 2000's)] [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 01:10, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

;Moved from the main talk page: --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:30, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
Misspelling in today's comic

Your article says: "Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous"." Presumably he hasn't "chosen" to do this but merely made a spelling error. In that case, your comment is misleading. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.21|162.158.158.21]] 23:25, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Brandon Sponsorship may also be read as Brand On Sponsorship, having two terms related.
:I know what you mean, and thought about it at the time, but the connection isn't completely obvious and I didn't want to bring in too much assumption on my part. I tried to reference it without making a judgement, by mentioning the word in the text, but not putting it in bold or directly saying that there was a connection. I think that's OK? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 16:27, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
(Previous person didn't sign) About the misspelling, I feel like that's a perfectly acceptable version of the word. It's how I'd instinctually spell it, he just added "ous" to the word "disaster". That's where the word comes from! It's actually ridiculous that this ISN'T the correct spelling! I blame the English language on this one. I'd guess that centuries ago that WAS the correct spelling, and the E just got dropped at some point, to streamline the pronunciation of the word. I just Googled it, and MANY articles showed up defining it as a common misspelling of the word, that's how common this spelling is. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 14:11, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

:There is no right or wrong spelling for a surname. You can be Mr. Tailor or Mr.Taylor, or a hundred other versions. That's why I deliberately wrote that Randall ''chose'' that spelling, and I think it's obvious from the way I phrased it that it's not the normal spelling of the word. I don't think we should pass judgement about his decision, even though there's a very high chance he just made a typo. I also concur with the opinion of NiceGuy1, so I have changed it back to the way it was. Best, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 16:27, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::Given that the USA has a dominantly prescriptivist spelling culture for non-names (i.e. in academics and business correctness is defined by books before common usage, coompare to descriptivist which would be the other way around), the phrasing here misleads the leader into believing that both spellings are currently considered correct, as is actually true for other words. There are a lot of misleading statements in this wiki; maybe we should be up-front about that until somebody has the energy to work through everything and stay on top of it all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.118|162.158.63.118]] 14:45, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
:::There I fixed it. [[User:Faultwire|I'm me(citation needed)]] ([[User talk:Faultwire|talk]]) 23:28, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
::::Still looks messy to me; what kind of citation do you want - a brainscan of Randall? You know he chose to write the word in that way. Why is beyond our knowledge. See further down this page for more discussion and opinions about it. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.104|162.158.155.104]] 04:28, 27 July 2018 (UTC)
From the transcript: "[Cueball with a golf club] Gary Player" and "[Cueball with a basketball] Lonzo Ball". I'm not familiar with all the conventions around here, but would it be NOT Cueball when it is very definitely someone else? Sure, the made-up names later on could be Cueball standing in for them, but for those, wouldn't it actually be the real person, just looking Cueball-ish due to the art style? (And as an aside, a slight pity that there wasn't a pool player named something like Randall Cueball in the comic... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.130|162.158.75.130]] 03:31, 23 July 2018 (UTC)

;Podium/Lectern

When I first wrote this explanation, without thinking much, I said Jeb was standing at a {{w|podium}}. Someone corrected it to "lectern", which is absolutely correct of them - see that Wikipedia article. But the interesting thing is, there is an xkcd cartoon about this very subject!

[[1661: Podium]]

Should this somehow be mentioned in the explanation? I thought probably not, because Randall made no mention of it; it was purely my own error, and just an interesting connection to today's comic. Right? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 16:36, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

;Margaret Court
She wasn't the best choice. Recently in Australia someone let her near a microphone & it turns out she's quite homophobic.
* Perhaps not in terms of PR and exposure of the sport (and I certainly am among those who don't approve), but that doesn't detract from the point of the comic which looks in terms of on-field accomplishments and their last names. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.121|173.245.52.121]] 15:15, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

;Jebediah's Sport

It appears that, based on the person's name, their sport could be debating, public speaking, or giving live postgame press conferences.

[[User:Milesman34|Milesman34]] ([[User talk:Milesman34|talk]]) 03:48, 23 July 2018 (UTC)milesman34

;Why Baseball is a Problem

Did you ever notice that players named "White" are almost always black, and players named "Black" are usually white? Why is that? The last White major leaguer who was actually white was Mike White, who played for Houston in the early sixties. Since then we've had Bill White, Roy White, Frank White, and Jerry White, all of whom were black; Mike White probably would have been black except that his father played in the majors in the thirties and they didn't allow you to be black back then. The Royals also had a Black on their roster, Bud, who of course is white; in fact, the Royals had to set some sort of record by having four colored people on their team, White, Black, Blue, and Brown. Scott Brown is not any browner than anyone else, Vida is definitely not blue, nor for that matter is Darryl Motley. I suppose that is the nature of names, as with Peacekeeping Missiles and Security Police, to disguise the truth more often than they reveal it. Horace Speed stole only four bases in his career. Vic Power was a singles hitter, Bill Goodenough was not good enough, and Joe Blong did not belong for long.

-- Bill James, 1983

Me, I'm disappointed that Jim Gentile wasn't Jewish. [[User:WHPratt|WHPratt]] ([[User talk:WHPratt|talk]]) 12:16, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

;Chosen spelling - Citation needed

Re. Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".

Putting <nowiki>{{citation needed}}</nowiki> on that is a bit silly. You can see he chose to spell it that way from the cartoon. It's self-evident. What's the issue, what needs a citation? As to why he decided to spell it that way, nobody but Randall knows, and we're unlikely to ever find out. It's probably a typo, but isn't that just an assumption? He chose to type the word that way - whether that's because he doesn't know how to spell it correctly, or because he likes it that way. Nobody but Randall knows.

A couple of people think it should say he misspelled it, but see the discussions; others agree with me that there is not correct spelling of surnames (e.g. Tailor/Taylor). It's a name, not the word.

IMHO, the cite-needed is just clutter and confusing. I think the wording was good, without a messy tag. It's not really something I want to argue pointlessly and endlessly about, so I won't remove it myself right now; I'll see what other people say. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 14:52, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

:Eh, it's been several days, nobody seems bothered, so I'll remove it now. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.36|141.101.107.36]] 15:05, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

::The idea (or more properly, the joke) behind {{Citation needed}} isn't that a citation is truly needed, it's that something that should be blatantly obvious has been stated (see point 3 in the trivia for citation needed). Randall wrote what he did, whether he chose to or not is up to interpretation, no matter how obvious that interpretation is. The tag is not meant to be taken literally. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.54|172.68.47.54]] 23:17, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:::The <nowiki>{{citation needed}}</nowiki> template was meant to be a joke. But seeing this joke on more than 250 different explanations isn't funny at all. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:12, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::That's less than 15% of the explanations on this wiki, we have more incomplete explanations than that. I'd agree that having it more than once in an single page is a bit much, and this particular instance wasn't funny enough to keep, but I don't think overuse is the issue here. Did it get old after over 100 "What if?" articles? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 23:33, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

;Kerbal
why am i the first one to see the kerbal space program reference? where are you my fellow kerbals?
:It's a bit of a tenuous link. I get it, Kerbal has disasters, and has a person named Jebediah, but it's a reasonably common name; there's nothing space-related in the cartoon to suggest a connection. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.104|162.158.155.104]] 04:21, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

;table -> descr.list
: in my neverending quest to rid this wiki of misued tables I've changed it to a description list. This makes reading easier (to me, at least) and should help for mobile users, once such a layout gets implemented. I feel like I'm pushing a bit with this one, so feel free to revert my change if it doesn't fit the style. [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 14:23, 25 August 2018 (UTC)
::I'm really happy with this, but the first line below the header should not be indented. Like your comment above as well. This is also easier for editors with less experience on Wiki syntax. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:43, 25 August 2018 (UTC)

Talk:593: Voynich Manuscript

2018-08-27T18:42:46Z

172.69.33.11:

I feel that the title text is not well enough explained, but I don't know if it's enough to add an incomplete tag. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.163|108.162.254.163]] 03:37, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

[http://www.santa-coloma.net/voynich_drebbel/voynich.html It has been proposed] that the VM is a token artifact for Francis Bacon's utopian book ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atlantis|New Atlantis]''. Under this theory, it would be akin to a prop replica made in relatively recent times. --[[User:Ishldgetoutmore|I Should Get Out More]] ([[User talk:Ishldgetoutmore|talk]]) 14:43, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

I feel like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Seraphinianus Codex Seraphinianus] should be mentioned, but I'm not sure how it would fit in. [[User:Leafy Greens|Leafy Greens]] ([[User talk:Leafy Greens|talk]]) 17:05, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

Alternately, Megan could be attempting to distract Cueball from his line of questioning about where she got the book, by suggesting they play a game (possibly with the book), to steer the conversation away from the difficult question of where she got it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.232|162.158.75.232]] 15:59, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Why is Harry Potter part of this explanation? The idea of wolfsbane keeping werewolves at bay isn't anything like that new. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 18:42, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

2037: Supreme Court Bracket

2018-08-26T04:51:16Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */ the tournament concept does not work because the parties weren't all alive at the same time

{{comic
| number = 2037
| date = August 24, 2018
| title = Supreme Court Bracket
| image = supreme_court_bracket.png
| titletext = My bracket was busted in the first round; I had Massachusetts v. Connecticut in the final, probably in a case over who gets to annex Rhode Island.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Each court case needs its own explanation, preferably a small paragraph instead of a sentence in parentheses. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|Supreme Court of the United States}} is the highest federal court of the United States. A {{w|Bracket (tournament)|tournament bracket}} is a tree diagram that represents the series of games played during a knockout tournament. [[Randall]] suggests that the winners of the 16 listed court cases will file against each other and then again until the final winner is selected. However, many of them were humans who lived too far apart chronologically for that to be possible. For example, over 100 years separated Gibbons v. Ogden from Near v. Minnesota, making a lawsuit between {w|Thomas Gibbons|Thomas Gibbons} and J.M. Near improbable. (Minnesota is a state and could survive indefinitely, but it lost the case.) In fact, {w|Thomas Gibbons|Thomas Gibbons} died in 1826, making it impossible for him to be a party to a lawsuit subsequent to Near v. Minnesota, which was decided in 1931.

Court cases are typically titled as plaintiff versus defendant. Randall is spoofing this idea by imagining famous Supreme Court cases as though they were games in the first round of a single-elimination tournament, similar to college basketball's {{w|NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament|March Madness}}, complete with a ranking bracket. "Sweet 16" in the context of a tournament refers to the stage in a tournament where 16 competitors remain. This comic's concept is thus a word play on "court" (court of law v. basketball court).

The cases are (winners in italics):
====Marbury v. ''Madison'', 1803====
The case {{w|Marbury v. Madison|Marbury v. Madison}} declared a provision of the {{w|Judiciary Act of 1789}} unconstitutional, thus preventing several late-term appointments by outgoing President {{w|John Adams}} from being seated under incoming President {{w|Thomas Jefferson}}. More importantly, the ruling established the principle of {{w|judicial review}} by which the Supreme Court can overturn, on the basis of unconstitutionality, laws passed by {{w|United States Congress|Congress}} and signed into law by the {{w|President of the United States|President}}. For this reason it is considered the single most important decision in American constitutional law.

====''McCulloch'' v. Maryland, 1819====
The case {{w|McCulloch v. Maryland|McCulloch v. Maryland}} established a broad interpretation of the "necessary and proper" clause, specifically finding that Congress could incorporate a Bank of the United States because the purpose was to help carry out Congress' explicit powers under Article I, section 8.

====''Gibbons'' v. Ogden, 1824====
The case {{w|Gibbons v. Ogden|Gibbons v. Ogden}} established that interstate commerce is regulated by the U.S. Congress according to the U.S. Constitution, that interstate navigation is fundamental to interstate commerce, and that therefore the power to regulate interstate navigation in this way rests with the U.S. Congress, not with any state legislature.

On 01 March 1824, the US Supreme Court decided in favor of Thomas Gibbons in his appeal of a case brought against him by Aaron Ogden in an attempt to prevent Gibbons from operating steamboats to transport goods and passengers between New York City, New York and Elizabethtown, New Jersey. The US Supreme Court decision reversed a prior injunction against Gibbons issued by a New York State court deciding that Ogden held exclusive navigational rights by way of having licensed them from two men to whom the New York State Legislature had granted the navigation rights in several acts between 1798 and 1807.

====''Near'' v. Minnesota, Jan 30, 1930 – Jun 1, 1931====
The case {{w|Near v. Minnesota|Near v. Minnesota}} is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that found that prior restraints on publication violate freedom of the press as protected under the {{w|First Amendment to the United States Constitution}}, a principle that was applied to free speech generally in subsequent jurisprudence. The Court ruled that a Minnesota law that targeted publishers of "malicious" or "scandalous" newspapers violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Noteworthy it was later a key precedent in {{w|New York Times Co. v. United States}} (1971), in which the court ruled against the Nixon administration's attempt to enjoin publication of the Pentagon Papers.

====''NLRB'' v. Jones & Laughlin, 1937====
The {{w|NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.|National Labor Relations Board v Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation}} was a US labor law case. It declared that the {{w|National Labor Relations Act of 1935}} was constitutional. It effectively forced the end to the {{w|New Deal}} ruled by the US President {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt}} which was a reaction to the {{w|Great Depression}}.

====''Brown'' v. Board of Education, Dec 9, 1952 – May 17, 1954====
The case {{w|Brown v. Board of Education|Brown v. Board of Education}} the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. It stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

This ruling paved the way for the {{w|Civil rights movement|Civil Rights Movement}}. However, the decision did not spell out any sort of method for ending racial segregation in schools, and the Court's second decision in {{w|Brown v. Board of Education#Brown II|Brown II}} only ordered states to desegregate "with all deliberate speed."

====''Gideon'' v. Wainwright, 1963====
In the case {{w|Gideon v. Wainwright|'''Gideon''' v. Wainwright}} the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states are required under the {{w|Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixth Amendment}} to the U.S. Constitution to provide an attorney or lawyer to defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford their own attorneys.

====''Griswold'' v. Connecticut, 1965====
ToDo:{{w|Griswold v. Connecticut|Griswold v. Connecticut}}
(right to birth control)

====''Miranda'' v. Arizona, 1966====
ToDo:{{w|Miranda v. Arizona|Miranda v. Arizona}}
(required police to inform suspects of their rights)

====''Loving'' v. Virginia, April 10, 1967 - June 12, 1967====
ToDo: {{w|Loving v. Virginia|Loving v. Virginia}}
(overturned a ban on interracial marriage)

====''Roe'' v. Wade, January 22, 1973====
ToDo: {{w|Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade}}
(right to abortion)

====''United States'' v. Nixon, July 8, 1974 - July 24, 1974====
ToDo: {{w|United States v. Nixon|United States v. Nixon}}
(ordered president Nixon to turn over Watergate tapes)

====''Bush'' v. Gore, December 12, 2000=====
ToDo: {{w|Bush v. Gore|Bush v. Gore}}
(disputed 2000 Presidential election)

====''Lawrence'' v. Texas, June 26, 2003====
ToDo:{{w|Lawrence v. Texas|Lawrence v. Texas}}
(invalidated sodomy laws)

====''Massachusetts'' v. EPA, 2007====
ToDo:{{w|Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency|Massachusetts v. EPA}}
(decided that the state of Massachusetts has standing to sue the EPA for not doing enough against global warming)

====''Obergefell'' v. Hodges, June 26, 2015====
ToDo:{{w|Obergefell v. Hodges|Obergefell v. Hodges}}
(allowing same-sex marriage)

The title text refers to a practice of filling out a March Madness bracket, predicting a winner for each game up to the championship. A bracket is "busted" when the result of a game is not as predicted; because future matchups depend on previous results, the whole bracket is worthless at that point. Randall "had Massachusetts v. Connecticut in the final", predicting both parties would win all previous rounds and advance to the final game/case. Because Connecticut lost its first-round case to Griswold, his bracket is busted in the first round.

In the second part of the title text, Randall writes: "I had Massachusetts v. Connecticut in the final, probably in a case over who gets to annex Rhode Island." In fact, there actually was a Supreme Court case ''Massachusetts v. Connecticut'' (summary at [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/282/660/ Justia.com], full text at [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17012735467934830012&q=Connecticut+v.+Massachusetts&hl=en&as_sdt=2006 Google Scholar]) dealing with water rights on the Connecticut River, which flows between the two states.

==Transcript==
:[A tournament bracket tree is shown with 16 participants each on the left and right side. From both sides toward the middle the brackets reduce to eight, then four, two, and one line where the latter join to a rectangle in the middle.]

:[Left side:]
:Marbury - Madison
:McCulloch - Maryland
:Gibbons - Ogden
:Near - Minnesota
:NLRB - Jones & Laughlin
:Brown - Board of Education
:Gideon - Wainwright
:Griswold - Connecticut

:[Right side:]
:Miranda - Arizona
:Loving - Virginia
:Roe - Wade
:United States - Nixon
:Bush - Gore
:Lawrence - Texas
:Massachusetts - EPA
:Obergefell - Hodges

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Now that we've finished the round of 32, the Supreme court will be moving on to the Sweet 16.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:244: Tabletop Roleplaying

2018-08-21T01:38:33Z

172.69.33.11:

Maybe could have a link to [[969: Delta-P]] put in at an appropriate juncture in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 03:42, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Check out https://www.google.com/#q=recursion[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.202|108.162.219.202]] 03:52, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

I may be missing something, but why are the teleportation rings given a dimension "each about two feet in diameter" in the explanation? There isn't anything in the comic. If there is a reason, please elaborate.--[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:02, 1 September 2014 (UTC)
:Perhaps it's in reference to the apparent size of Portal gun holes? I'm not sure, anyone else have any ideas? [[User:Leafy Greens|Leafy Greens]] ([[User talk:Leafy Greens|talk]]) 02:29, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

I got Nerd sniped by the portal gun idea, and how it breaks the physics laws. If you placed one on the bottom of a lake, after an hydroelectric dam, and the other on the top of the dam, you'd have an infinite supply of energy, as you filled the dam forever and ever. A truly infinite supply, not like a star that takes billions of years to extinguish. That has to brake the laws of thermodynamics and entropy at some point.
Aligning both portals in a vaccuum on earth's gravity would allow infinite time under 1g acceleration for anything dropped between portals. Hitting the speed of light would take 1 year, give or take (if you followed Newtonian cinematics), at which point my brain BSODs on this thought experiment. It suggests that the portal consumes an infinite amount of energy to remain open and cannot exist on this universe. Otherwise, we just discovered a moto-continuum and a source for infinite energy. Edit: this comment makes sense on the Delta-P page (969), so you should follow it. [[User:Gonemad79|Gonemad79]] ([[User talk:Gonemad79|talk]]) 20:02, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

Presumably, teleportation rings do not create energy. Therefore, if the two rings are at different elevation, items put into the higher one will come out shooting from the lower one (converting the liberated potential energy into kinetic energy -- as normal falling would). Conversely, items put into the lower ring will have to be pushed very hard to make them come out through the higher one (equivalent to the pushing required to lift the passed object to the higher elevation). Hence, placing one deep in the ocean (and the other above sea level) won't cause anything dramatic to happen. The deep water will be held back by gravity and not push out through the ring. [[User:Danshoham|Mountain Hikes]] ([[User talk:Danshoham|talk]]) 04:02, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Wait... What if you somehow put one of the teleportation rings through the other? What would happen then? [[User:Vince7778|Vince7778]] ([[User talk:Vince7778|talk]]) 23:01, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
:If this follows the mechanics of Portal, then all rings must be strictly the same size and one ring won't ever be able to pass through another. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 03:29, 7 April 2017 (UTC)
:: But: Do all objects have to be put through the first ring completely to reappear in the second, or is travel between the two instantaneous? If so, even rings of the same size would fit inside each other at least (alomst) half way and strange things would probably happen... --[[User:Felis Catus|Felis Catus]] ([[User talk:Felis Catus|talk]]) 20:27, 28 May 2017 (UTC)

A different problem with breaking physics in D and D occurs because a turn lasts six seconds and passing an object doesn't end a turn, if on your turn you hire people to pass objects in a circle, you could make that object move as many rotations as you want in just six seconds, meaning that you could have it accelerate infinitely in just six seconds! YAY LOOPHOLES! (You could also end that turn by throwing it at something, like a monster..... YAY LOOPHOLES!)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.95|108.162.238.95]]

A better thing for her to say is "No metagaming," because not only is information unknown to his character (what D&D is) influencing his actions, but he's also attempting to create a game within a game. Though I agree with the description that it'd be nicer to let it play out to some degree, he missed a joke opportunity. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 01:38, 21 August 2018 (UTC)

2028: Complex Numbers

2018-08-06T05:19:18Z

172.69.33.11: Added Trivia section

{{comic
| number = 2028
| date = August 3, 2018
| title = Complex Numbers
| image = complex_numbers.png
| titletext = I'm trying to prove that mathematics forms a meta-abelian group, which would finally confirm my suspicions that algebreic geometry and geometric algebra are the same thing.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MATHEMATICIAN - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|complex number}}s can be thought of as pairs <math>(a,\ b)\in\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}</math> of real numbers with rules for addition and multiplication.

: <math>(a,\ b) + (c,\ d) = (a+c,\ b+d)</math>

: <math>(a,\ b) \cdot (c,\ d) = (ac - bd,\ ad + bc)</math>

As such they are two-dimensional {{w|Euclidean vector|vectors}}, with an interesting rule for multiplication. The justification for this rule is to consider a complex number as an expression of the form <math>a+bi</math>, where <math>i^2 = -1</math>, i.e. ''i'' is the square root of negative 1. Applying the common rules of algebra and the definition of ''i'' yields rules for addition and multiplication above.

Regular two-dimensional vectors are pairs of values, with the same rule for addition, and no rule for multiplication.

The usual way to introduce complex numbers is by starting with ''i'' and deducing the rules for addition and multiplication, but Cueball is correct to say that complex numbers are really just vectors, and can be defined without consideration of the square root of a negative number.

The teacher, [[Miss Lenhart]], counters that to ignore the natural construction of the negative numbers would hide the relevance of the {{w|fundamental theorem of algebra}} (Every polynomial of degree ''n'' has exactly ''n'' roots, when counted according to multiplicity) and much of {{w|complex analysis}} (the application of calculus to complex-valued functions), but she also agrees that mathematicians are too cool for "regular vectors."

In mathematics, a {{w|group (mathematics)|group}} is the pairing of a binary operation (say, multiplication) with the set of numbers that operation can be used on (say, the real numbers), such that you can describe the properties of the operation by its corresponding group. An {{w|Abelian group}} is one where the operation is commutative, that is, where the terms of the operation can be exchanged: <math> a \cdot b = b \cdot a</math> The title text argues that the "link" between algebra and geometry in "algebreic [sic] geometry" and "geometric algebra" is the operation in an Abelian group, such that both of those fields are equivalent. Algebraic geometry and geometric algebra are mostly unrelated areas of study in mathematics. {{w|Algebraic geometry}} studies the properties of sets of zeros of polynomials. It runs relatively deep. Its tools were used for example in Andrew Wiles' celebrated proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. For its part, geometric algebra aka {{w|Clifford algebra| Clifford algebra}} is a construct allowing one to do arithmetic operations on vectors of a higher dimensional space. The algebra of quaternions, often used to handle rotations in 3D computer graphics, is an example of a Clifford algebra. {{w|Metabelian group|Meta-Abelian groups}} (often contracted to metabelian groups)
is a class of groups that are not quite abelian, but close to being so.

Randall's joke in the mouseover text is a wordplay combining the concepts of (meta-)abelian groups and change in the order of word orders with the general idea of "meta".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball (the student) is raising his hand and writing with his other hand. He is sitting down at a desk, which has a piece of paper on it.]
:Cueball: Does any of this really have to do with the square root of -1? Or do mathematicians just think they're too cool for regular vectors?

:[Miss Lenhart (the teacher) is standing in front of a whiteboard.]
:Miss Lenhart: Complex numbers aren't just vectors. They're a profound extension of real numbers, laying the foundation for the fundamental theorem of algebra and the entire field of complex analysis.

:[Miss Lenhart is standing slightly to the right in a blank frame.]
:Miss Lenhart: '''''And''''' we're too cool for regular vectors.
:Cueball (off-screen): I '''''knew''''' it!

==Trivia==
This comic is similar to [[1724: Proofs]].
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T23:16:40Z

172.69.33.11:

Spelling error? Etymology or Entomology? Randall wrote Entymology. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.17|141.101.104.17]] 15:37, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:My translator at dict.leo.org asks: Did you mean entomology, enzymology, or etymology? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:20, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:I mean, we know about how many words exist; I think he means Entomology.
[[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 18:06, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:::I'm sorry, we don't know how many words there are in British English, let alone it's off shoots, Chinese has never been fully counted and actually we don't know how many languages there are, but can put a good estimate on it. Nevertheless I agree it's probably entomology.[[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 23:00, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
::Agree. In context, it's next to several other life science branches, ones which especially deal with species typical in jungle environments where new species are regularly discovered, hence the "we don't know how many" axis. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 18:55, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:Wikipedia redirects "Entymology" to "Entomology", fwiw. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 20:46, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:Just a quick note, a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1991:_Research_Areas_by_Size_and_Countedness&oldid=156851 previous version] said this made reference to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]], and [[1610: Fire Ants]] (the same revision also shows Mycology might have been a reference to [[1664: Mycology]]), which I appear to have accidentally deleted. Feel free to add them back where they go. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 23:16, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

Dentistry is fairly straightforward, I think. Adults should have 32 teeth, children who have a full set but don't have wisdom teeth yet should have 28. Anyone missing teeth should have that information on their personal record. However, children occasionally lose teeth, and sometimes wisdom teeth need to be removed due to issues with them growing in wrong. It's also possible they could be lost in an accident, or for there to be a new patient with an unknown number of teeth. So a dentist can easily expect to know how many teeth should be in their patient's mouth, but may find they are off in some instances. Hence the mostly towards the top but not quite all the way of its placement. --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 19:06, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:Children have 20 teeth, that will all fall out. But at some point they have all 20 and none other. So saying they have 28 makes no sense. Some adults never get Wisdom teeth. Before the childbegins to loose they original teeth they may start to have some of the permanent though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:16, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
As well as some people not developing some / all their wisdom teeth (I have never had any upper ones) some people have "super-numerory" canines (my Dad and sister) [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 23:00, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T22:56:54Z

172.69.33.11: Forgot we don't use references. Cleaning that up and I'm done. I'll let wikimagic sort things into the respective columns.

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T22:35:25Z

172.69.33.11: /* Lower right quadrant */

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T22:33:36Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T21:40:02Z

172.69.33.11: /* Explanation */

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T20:36:27Z

172.69.33.11:

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T20:09:51Z

172.69.33.11:

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-05-09T19:46:01Z

172.69.33.11: