explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2554: Gift Exchange

2021-12-13T17:57:49Z

172.69.35.244: comment

I assumed this comic was saying that political scientists ''like'' looking at the data from "surveys". And "it's complicated" reminds me of a survey option. The title text seems to be about survey ratings, which are from a 1-5 or 1-10 scale. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.244|172.69.35.244]] 17:57, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

2554: Gift Exchange

2021-12-13T17:56:03Z

172.69.35.244: /* Transcript */ ponytail

{{comic
| number = 2554
| date = December 13, 2021
| title = Gift Exchange
| image = gift_exchange.png
| titletext = In addition to having all their budgets in a spreadsheet with consistent formatting, they just love expressing preferences on a well-calibrated numerical scale.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SURVEY - Please rank this comment on a scale of <thunderstruck frowny face> to <maniacally grinny face> when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon: Title text is not fully explained}}

Many political scientists would see creating a fair gift exchange as a really tricky problem, since it involves different valuation of various goods (one person might like socks while another person would not), a possible incentive to misrepresent how much you value things ("You're going to have to offer me a LOT to give up these socks, because I really like them"), arbitrary order effects (who goes first matters), and more. These problems have a lot of political analogues in the political science topics of social choice and institutional design, and many political scientists dedicate years of their life to figuring out the best solutions.

The "It's okay if it's complicated" line is funny because many of the theoretically best solutions a political scientist might come up with would be very complicated--far more so than the typical person would want to think about.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail is talking to Cueball.]
:Ponytail : Ugh, I have to organize a fair gift exchange for my survey-loving family.
:Ponytail : Do you want to help?
:Ponytail : They said it's "okay if it's complicated".

:[Caption below the panel]: The perfect gift for a political scientist
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2551: Debunking

2021-12-07T08:52:45Z

172.69.35.244: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2551
| date = December 6, 2021
| title = Debunking
| image = debunking.png
| titletext = Mark Zuckerberg has only neutral feelings toward Peppa Pig, who he understands is a fictional character, and he blames the coronavirus pandemic on other factors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WEIGHTLESS CHIP DUST - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

When writing a news article that "debunks" a claim (shows why it is false), writing its headline in the form "X is false" is [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/words-matter/201807/when-correcting-lie-dont-repeat-it-do-instead-2 discouraged]. The reason is that just repeatedly seeing "X", even if negated or followed by "is false", can make readers subconciously believe it.

To avoid this, Journalist Randall has worded his debunking articles in a positive sense. This makes for a confusing read if the reader has not heard of the original claim. The "original claims" allegedly being debunked here don't actually appear to have been made anywhere, and can only be inferred from the debunking.

Much of the debunking relies on setting simple facts straight, making for bizarrely banal headlines.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!Article Headline
!Possible claim being debunked
|-
| AP Photos show that Dr. Fauci's office contains a normal amount of microwaves
| That {{w|Anthony Fauci}}'s office contains an unusual number of microwaves. Whether this refers to microwave ovens or microwave radiation, most offices don't have any of either, so "a normal amount" is an odd thing to say.
|-
| Singer Billie Eilish was born years after the TWA Flight 800 Explosion.
| A conspiracy theory linking Billie Eilish (born December 2001) with the TWA flight 800 crash in July 1996.
|-
| Vaccinated people can remove their hats without trouble by tugging upward, say doctors.
| That vaccination causes one's head to swell, making hats become tight.
|-
| Physicists say Dorito powder is affected by gravity.
| A claim that Dorito powder is not affected by gravity.
|-
| Steering wheels will work normally on Dec 12th
| Faults (perhaps due to failures in the power steering system, triggered for example by solar storms) will cause cars to steer erratically on that date
|-
| Santa's skin is dry and healthy this year, with the same amount of oil as before.
| Santa is suffering from oily skin, that can cause acne.
|-
| ''(Title Text)'' Mark Zuckerberg has only neutral feelings toward Peppa Pig...
| That the founder of Facebook has paranoia concerning the character Peppa Pig, believing her to be a real talking pig and the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. May be a reference to a [https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-johnson-briefly-lost-words-speech-business-2021-11-22 recent speech] by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which he expressed admiration for Peppa, much to the bewilderment of journalists
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Several news headlines shown in boxes]

[Box 1] AP Photos show Dr. Fauci's office contains a normal number of microwaves.

[Box 2] Fact Check: Singer Billie Eilish was born years after the TWA Flight 800 Explosion.

[Box 3] Vaccinated people can remove their hats without trouble by tugging upward, say doctors.

[Box 4] Physicists say Dorito powder is affected by gravity.

[Box 5] Steering wheels will work normally on Dec 12th; Make left and right turns as usual.

[Box 6] CNN Investigation; Santa's skin is dry and healthy this year, with the same amount of oil as before.

[Comment below the headline boxes reads:]

I don't know whether the "Don't repeat the claim in the headline debunking it" thing works or not, but it definitely makes reading the news weird.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]