explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2492: Commonly Mispronounced Equations

2021-07-22T02:47:45Z

172.69.62.9:

I think the wave equation is wrong based on units, but it's been a while. The wave speed ought to be squared. Of course, ''c'' could be a squared speed, but it's usually not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.164|172.70.34.164]] 01:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:I agree, normally it's written as C squared... The equations in order are 1: Gravitational Attraction, 2: Einstein's Mass / Energy Conversion, 3: Pythagorean Theorem (triangle side relations), 4: Area of a Circle, 5: Entropy equation, 6: Ideal Gas Law, 7: Euler's Identity, 8: Newtons Second law, 9: Wave equation, 10: The derivative of a function f, and, 11: The Quadratic Equation... I don't understand the linguistic rules being applied to the names, but they seem to be visual as much as anything [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.66|108.162.237.66]] 02:04, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The equation for the thing I have as what it was made by is
L
=
i
ψ
¯
γ
μ
∂
μ
ψ
−
e
ψ
¯
γ
μ
(
A
μ
+
B
μ
)
ψ
−
m
ψ
¯
ψ
−
1
4
F
μ
ν
F
μ
ν
.
{\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}=i{\bar {\psi }}\gamma ^{\mu }\partial _{\mu }\psi -e{\bar {\psi }}\gamma ^{\mu }(A_{\mu }+B_{\mu })\psi -m{\bar {\psi }}\psi -{\frac {1}{4}}F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }.}

when copy-pasted from Wikipedia. {{w|Quantum electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion|here is the link:}} [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion These are both the links.]
For archival, this is the thing: LAGRONJ EYSIBARYMOODMOOSIOYLERSIBRYMOOAMOOBAMOOSIMASIBRSIQORTFAHMOOVYFAHMOOVY.
[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 02:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

My friends and I actually pretty often say "PəV-nert" for the ideal gas law. First syllable is kind of vowel-less, sort of a schwa if anything. But also stressed? Didn't know you could stress a schwa but, guess I did.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.160|172.70.130.160]] 02:36, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I think this is the XKCD that has made me laugh the most, out of all 2492.

Talk:2490: Pre-Pandemic Ketchup

2021-07-17T19:13:20Z

172.69.62.9: Catch up

is this cueball or randall? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.235|173.245.54.235]] 15:47, 16 July 2021 (UTC)Bumpf
:It's Randall writing pandemic comics (which aren't nearly as funny or quirky as some of his earlier work). I wouldn't mind it so much if he somehow included the more nerdy/geeky aspects (like maybe something to do with the genome, or with computer science, etc.). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.4|127.0.0.1]] 16:34, 16 July 2021 (UTC)
::What's with the weird signature? If you really want to be localhost, I don't think there's anything to stop you registering 127․0․0․1 as a username, but manually entering a signature with a link to the wrong contributions page is a little weird. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 10:39, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

i don't get it. ketchup keeps basically forever. i'd consider a bottle from early 2020 practically fresh. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.182|162.158.92.182]] 19:58, 16 July 2021 (UTC)
: I don' think the issue is "freshness", but that Cueball panic bought a "new" or "strange" brand, that they no longer are interested in trying or eating. Compare to the title text "discard the last weird food item". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.98.2|172.70.98.2]] 20:53, 16 July 2021 (UTC)
: Ketchup keeps basically forever when refrigerated. Not everybody does that (though I do). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.222|108.162.245.222]] 07:31, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

I even have pre-apprenticeship sugar sprinkles. And I'm currently in my third job. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 21:48, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

My reading of it is that they ''once'' might have bought that brand (maybe regularly, maybe as a 'try it and see'), and yet for some reason (perhaps through a combination of other people panic buying in the early days, later on just rushing in and out of stores with what is truly wanted, any online/curb-pickup options being more limited or just less compulsive buying without lingering by those oh-so-attractive "end of shelf" consumer-trap displays) it was not bought again as various degrees of lockdowns hit. (It also seems not to have suffered the fate of "we haven't had a proper shop in days, how about if we combine our last tin of soup with those cornflakes and further drench it with whatever random sauces we can find?" first-world-problem desparation. Maybe it was just ''too'' far back in the cupboard, crushed behind the tons of panic-bought toiletroll/etc?). Whatever the full implications of its existence, there's clearly no nostalgia for it. Or a new favourite has been adopted after discovering it as a promoted item by the online shopping site, and this older and less exciting ketchup just aint gonna cut the mustard any more? ...but there's a lot of "if"s and "or"s and "maybe"s in my interpretation, and I have no confidence I'm consistently, or even partially, interpretting it as it was intended to be. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.152|141.101.98.152]] 22:03, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

Is it worth mentioning that this appears to be the very kitchen from 2178: Expiration Date High Score? [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 02:18, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
:Not the same kitchen - upper cabinet has shelves here (vs. door there). Lower cabinet has door and drawer that stick out (vs. just a drawer pull in High Score). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.139|172.69.63.139]] 19:02, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

Covid-19 post-desease side affect is change of taste. Certainly things with Sauer taste like pickles and ketchup will teste totally different than before covid-19 illnesses. Typical before you liked them a lot, and now they taste totally different and awful. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.225|172.69.54.225]] 11:36, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

I wonder if this cartoon is also a play on catch up? There are many things which have been postponed or slowed down by the pandemic response. For instance, medical procedures (elective surgeries, cancer screening, routine immunizations, dental cleanings) delayed because providers were busy or from fear of exposure, also large gatherings (e.g., weddings). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.9|172.69.62.9]] 19:13, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2463: Astrophotography

2021-05-17T05:03:02Z

172.69.62.9:

So are any of those "balls" actually sunspots or the transit of Venus or something?
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.227|173.245.54.227]] 22:47, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

This looks like Destin from Smarter Every Day's lunar eclipse shot https://youtu.be/Nk0MRxXqo9s?t=610
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.78|108.162.219.78]] 23:20, 14 May 2021 (UTC)Yeedle
:Destin also caught the ISS transiting during a previous eclipse: https://youtu.be/lepQoU4oek4?t=230 [[User:Astroboy|Astroboy]] ([[User talk:Astroboy|talk]]) 02:11, 15 May 2021 (UTC)
::Yes and that was probably the one that needed to on up so I have added this to the explanation, before I read this coment. The other video has not much to do with transit. But that was also really cool, and I had not seen that one so thx. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:42, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

This is actually really cool. [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 02:26, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

It might have been better with two planes that didn't look like they were dangerously within normal flight separation distances. Given they're not obviously 1000ft (300m) vertically apart (and very likely in Opposite Conflict, heading-wise) horizontal separation depthwise to the image should make the two similar models towing (similarly-sized?) banners noticeably off-scale to each other, even with the extreme foreshortening from the much distant cameraman. (Maybe the viewing angle 'up the mountain' would provide sufficient composite diagonal separation to comply with Reduced Flight Levels for two planes obeying hemispherical RVSM, but still with notable off-scaling.) They could be a stunt-pair, of course, asked for and given ATC dispensation (further complicated by the banner-towing) to cross absurdly close (by normal, sane standards) as per a fast-jet criss-cross at an airshow. It might have been even more impressive if one had been a notably 'bigger' class of plane (but silouetted at the same or smaller size) towing a similarly (give or take) rescaled banner. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.131|162.158.158.131]] 02:43, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

I am really looking forward to seeing the simultaneous Eclipse and Transit of Venus [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.18|108.162.249.18]] 03:46, 15 May 2021 (UTC)
:I look forward to reading Comic #2070397(ish?), and seeing if Randall revisits this! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.122|162.158.159.122]] 13:19, 15 May 2021 (UTC)
The comic appears to say "one-upsmanship" rather than "one-upmanship". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.46|141.101.98.46]] 17:16, 15 May 2021 (UTC)
:One "one-upmanship" begets further multiple "one-upsmanship". (c.f. "Courts Martial", etc.) Or should they actually be "ones-upmanship"? ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.30|141.101.98.30]] 17:56, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

"Sometimes it is specified as a hobby" "photographing the Sun is a popular subgenre within the field" seems like a perfect example of xkcd.com/1095 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.248|108.162.216.248]] 18:01, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

We are impressed with your creativity and determination and have a major international political issue we would like your guidance around. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.204|108.162.219.204]] 19:33, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

i vote on changing it all to "ones-upsmansships" a la comic 1167. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.162|172.70.34.162]] 13:04, 16 May 2021 (UTC)

Destin's video is in the second paragraph of the explanation of this comic For something that's not directly related to the content of the comic, that's quite a place of prominence. I don't think it should be there. At best, it should be moved to the trivia section as an example of astrophotography, not presented as fundamental to understanding this comic. [[User:Argis13|Argis13]] ([[User talk:Argis13|talk]]) 19:44, 16 May 2021 (UTC)

Now that the comic points out the transit of Venus won't occur during an eclipse for thousands of years, it dawns on me the easiest way of achieving the apparent arrow puncture in the trick photo would be to put the ball on the arrow before shooting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.9|172.69.62.9]] 05:03, 17 May 2021 (UTC)