explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-15T07:19:57Z

172.70.126.165:

I've never even ''heard'' of olivine. I think most people have heard of quartz (it's the crystal in most electronic watches, and it's pretty), and I suspect feldspar is somewhere in between. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:21, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
:If you find a hard white rock, it's probably quartz; very common where I live. Decorative white pebbles? Quartz. Clear, pretty crystals might be the same compound, but they had to be pure to start with and they had to cool really slowly. (Unsigned by 162.158.167.245)
:Well, it helps if you play [https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Stone#DF_Geology_and_Geology_in_Real_Life Dwarf Fortress]. Olivine is one of the green stones (that only really has use as building material/decoration, but makes an impressive megaconstruction mayerial if you find enough of it to make that worthwhile), unlike quartz which features as raw 'gem clusters' more typically cut for decoration of mugs, crossbow bolts, etc. Of course, IRL, quartzes are ''so'' ever-present that they are very easy to forget ''except'' as fancy crystals (either for timekeeping in watches or timewasting in crystal healing) and as such you can actually find them almost anywhere (if you're not stuck on a desert island). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.20|162.158.111.20]] 12:37, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

I resemble this comic ... I specialize in probability. Does everyone know that probability=1 means 'certain'? ... I'm not certain ... (Unsigned by 162.158.167.245)
:: In a general probability distribution, a probability of 1 means an event happens "almost surely" rather than "certainly" (see definition [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almost_surely here]). I know the distinction isn't important if one considers only finite sample spaces, but I think it's a cool enough concept that the nitpicking might be interesting to someone.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.14|172.69.63.14]] 05:02, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
:: People who went through at least the first half of the math undergraduate program will most likely understand. In the general population, I guess, saying '100 % probability' would work much better than 'probability 1', but still people can get quite upset when something with 99 % probability of success fails, not understanding that 99 % (or even 85 %) does not mean guaranteed success (see for example 14:46 of this video about randomness in video-game design https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwI5b-wRLic). [[User:CryptoNut1269|CryptoNut1269]] ([[User talk:CryptoNut1269|talk]]) 11:08, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

As a chemist, I heard of all of them but, fun fact, there is a mnemonic in the german language known by at least all of the elderly generation: "Feldspat, Quarz und Glimmer - die drei vergess´ ich nimmer!" thats "feldspar quartz and mica - i will never forget the three". These three are the main compunds of granite and obviously this was stuff they had to learn at school. If, in a group of silverheads, start the phrase "Feldspat Quarz und Glimmer ..." and there will always be someone to finish the sentence. --[[User:Pauliprinzip|Pauliprinzip]] ([[User talk:Pauliprinzip|talk]]) 05:45, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

:''and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock".'' Ironically, I think the person writing this may have overstated the "average Joe"'s familiarity with the word "feldspar", since I couldn't have defined it if you'd asked me. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 08:11, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

I got the idea that ''both'' Cueball and Ponytail were geochemists, rather than Cueball being just an average adult. [[User:OblateSpheroid|OblateSpheroid]] ([[User talk:OblateSpheroid|talk]]) 20:02, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
:Seconded. [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 20:12, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

Seemed like the examples of substances the average person might reasonably know the chemical formula for should include a mineral. Halite seems likely (though that name is probably less familiar than table salt). Diamond and graphite were the only other minerals that I could think of that many would know the formulas for (C). Chalk (calcite) seems possible, but less likely. Any other suggestions (or even better, any citations to research)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.5|108.162.245.5]] 21:30, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
:technically water in the form of ice is a mineral. But including salt is a good idea. And I'll look for citations. [[User:Curiouscat|Curiouscat]] ([[User talk:Curiouscat|talk]]) 21:44, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
:I would expect lot of people would be able to name "formula" for more than several elements, along with having some idea how they look OR where they are used. Not as common knowledge as water and salt, but assuming they had SOME chemistry in school, this would be more likely to be remembered than compounds. Also, speaking about diamond, I suppose average people would claim that formula for coal is C, although I suspect that chemists would say that's not correct. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:16, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
::I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you the chemical formula for salt off the top of my head, unless you prompted me with "sodium chloride" (but even then, it's a toss-up as to whether I'd get the elements right). I studied chemistry for five years at secondary school and got good grades, but you'd be amazed at how little sticks when you have absolutely no need for it in day-to-day life. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 08:56, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

Friendly local geologist here, I made some changes especially to the third paragraph because a lot of the science was confusingly written and not really correct (desert islands tend to be made up of primarily silicates? Even volcanic ones. Basaltic rocks have silica in them too, that's what olivine is) I wasn't sure what to do with the second paragraph. It seems a bit unnecessary to talk about quartz so much, since it isn't that relevant to the comic. I was thinking it might be good to have an explanation of the difference between sili'''con''' the element, sili'''ca''' the mineral structure, and what all these minerals actually are might be more relevant? Or at least we could put up what some of the chemical formulas are for quartz and olivine and maybe like albite, anorthite, microcline to represent the feldspars. [[User:Curiouscat|Curiouscat]] ([[User talk:Curiouscat|talk]]) 21:40, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
:I thought (in a prior edit, by someone, may have lost its clarity in subsequent edits by others but I don't have the patience to cross-compare it all) the point was that coral-sands are not silicates, so your classic "lump of 'sand' poking out of the sea" is sparse of the stuff you might want to thrown your rock at. And any suitable rocks, unless you go diving down in the surrounding oceon to rumage beyond the living coral to the seamount/extinct-and-eroded-volcano it has been growing upon. That said, there's a lot of variation out there, so maybe I'm thinking of a too-narrow subset of examples. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.250|162.158.158.250]] 00:14, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
::I never learned much about coral sands, that's interesting. I was taught that most remote islands are young volcanoes, and therefore made up of mostly basaltic rocks. Definitely low-silica, compared to continental rocks, but still silica-containing, so their sands are also silicious. I also know that some forams make silica-based shells and not carbonate-based ones, but I'm not sure how much forams ultimately have to do with the formation of coral reefs or coral sand islands. [[User:Curiouscat|Curiouscat]] ([[User talk:Curiouscat|talk]]) 02:21, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;Replaced "average Joe" with "average person"
Per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_related_to_an_average_person this term is specific to the US, and introduces specificity unrelated to the comic. {{unsigned ip|141.101.76.239}}
:It's pretty common on this wiki for explanations to throw English expressions like this at the reader and expect the, ah, average Joe to understand.
:Also, how does one use [[Template:Unsigned]]? I've definitely misused it once or twice, but reading documentations for it isn't helping (and unfortunately this is not a script; reading the src doesn't help either). [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 05:33, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
::I'm afraid I don't know, but can I say how cool your signature is??
::Also, thanks to the person at the top who replaced "average Joe", as that did bother me too. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 08:44, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
:::The unsigned template should used like this: <nowiki>{{unsigned ip|141.101.76.239}}</nowiki>, see above for result, except if by a known user, then <nowiki>{{unsigned|Kynde}}</nowiki> should be used, which would produce this (which I leave as my signature now) {{unsigned|Kynde}}
::::You can also add the time/date: <nowiki>{{unsigned|Lupo|13:27, 13 August 2021}}</nowiki> for this result: {{unsigned|Lupo|13:27, 13 August 2021}}

I knew quartz (SiO2) and I recognize the other two, all from having an interest in rocks (and having a little kids-oriented geology book decades ago when I was a wee lass). But beyond quartz, water, and salt, the only other chemical formula that come to mind are acids: H2SO4 and HCl. Mostly from the old rhyme: Jonny was a chemist's son / but Jonny is no more / What Jonny thought was H2O / was H2SO4. :p

Oh, also FOOF ( https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.109|172.70.130.109]] 12:39, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

The explanation mentions carbonates as a notable exception to silicates, but sulfate minerals are widespread and economically important (and therefore ubiquitous in their finished forms -- e.g., gypsum -> plaster or drywall). Might deserve a mention? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.133|108.162.221.133]] 17:20, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
:I left sulfates out because you usually don't find them laying around on their own except in mines. They exist as deep subsurface veins of ore deposits, but on the surface, gypsum and pyrite and the like typically present as individual crystals in a matrix of feldspars or grossular quartz. Besides silicate rocks, carbonates are the only ones off the top of my head that you can find in huge quantities above ground without silica incorporated somehow. [[User:Curiouscat|Curiouscat]] ([[User talk:Curiouscat|talk]]) 02:21, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

If somebody can run perl scripts, there is a bot linked from [[User:DgbrtBOT]] that could resume autocreation of comic pages. While we're mentioning such things, are comics also published on twitter? would it be good to link the twitter discussions? sometimes an expert comments.

When somebody does the necessary to create the page for 2502: The answer is the double-dagger. (Then the silcrow, double-danda and pilcrow, in turn.) HTH, HAND. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.118|162.158.158.118]] 23:19, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
:NVM. Someone created the page. (But they haven't yet created the Talk page for it, and I still don't have permission to do so, as an IP-only person. Nor done the necessary for the "Next" button to appear above, which I think is a function of adding 2502 to the List Of Comics page or something...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.118|162.158.158.118]] 23:53, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
:The [[User:DgbrtBOT]] page lists all the steps to get things working right. To get the next button to show up, it requires editing the LATESTCOMIC template to the latest comic number. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:51, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Maybe it could be noted that feldspar (and after that, quartz) is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust (and there are two groups of feldspars, the alkali feldspars and the plagioclase feldspars, depending on whether they contain potassium or sodium/calcium, both containing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicate_mineral#Tectosilicates many types]: microcline, orthoclase, etc.), while olivine is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's mantle. I also found https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicate_mineral very clarifying to get an idea of the classification of all these minerals into nesosilicates, inosilicates, phyllosilicates and tectosilicates, depending on the dimensionality of how the silicate tetrahedra are linked together.
:Also, slightly related to this might be the QAPF rock diagram, which occurs at the bottom-middle in [[2251: Alignment Chart Alignment Chart]]. The Q stands for quartz, and the A and P stand for the two groups of feldspar (alkali feldspar and plagioclase felspar).

I've only heard of Olivine because of pokemon. - [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.165|172.70.126.165]] 07:19, 15 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-14T23:10:27Z

172.70.126.165:

When we all rely on a BOT, we don't know how to do simple things like create new comic explanation pages manually anymore. 8-) 
I really hope he's right about 2022... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
:The DgbrtBOT... Why's it broken?? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:22, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
::It looks likely it was being run on a computer by the author, and the computer hiccuped. Nobody has notified the author, who doesn't come here much anymore. The bot is also linked from its page for others to run it. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

== Asterix and Obelix ==

Fun fact: comic strip characters Asterix and Obelix were named after these symbols [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters]. Frank [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.121|162.158.88.121]] 10:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

== New Normal ==
I personally am getting very tired of anyone expecting CoViD '19 to be "over" or anxious to "get back to normal". With '19, Delta, Gamma, & Lambda, all making the rounds (& those are just the lineage names; each already has dozens of minor variants, as coronavirus carries over minor variations from ''each host''), & dogs, cats, & deer all showing signs of community-wide infection as well, it seems pretty obvious even to a non epidemiologist, that we've long since reached a state of effectively ubiquitous exposure. Couple this with air quality in increasing decline across multiple factors (rapidly climbing CO2, increasing rates of emissions of microparticulate, the only-just-beginning-&-already-most-of-the-dust-we-breathe breakdown of plastic microfibers, rare volatiles, take your pick, levels of each are accelerating precipitously) & we should all just collectively ''expect'' everyone "at risk" of respiratory illness to be suffering or dying on increasingly regular basis, until we all collectively change our lifestyles considerably more than we have so far. Heck, if we continue trying to get "back to normal" we may all die off entirely ''much'' sooner than even most of our concerned "experts" seem to think, because of the sheer number of contributing factors compounding each other at unprecedented rates of increase. In my view (seemed obvious since last August) CoViD itself is clearly here to stay, & even with booster shots, we should expect dangerous new variants to crop up. We live in an increasingly dense society (& that isn't a euphemism referring to effects of CO2 buildup) & higher density means more disease exposure; so we will all need to take steps to minimize these exposure risks & ''keep that up forever'' (or at least until population density or travel wane dramatically). We might even have to stop living like the future is disposable.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Yes, my reaction to 2022 in this comic was, "I appreciate his optimism, but I don't think it's actually warranted, and I think it's the double dagger symbol that comes next." I do hope we'll ultimately ease into a bit of a smoother and somewhat less oppressive (new) 'normal' than 2020~21 represent, but even in that scenario 2021 definitely seems a bit too soon to expect the current aberrations to reach an end. Regarding lifestyle changes, more than that I think it's largely voting patterns that would need to change (in countries where that applies), since many of the changes needed require large-scale collective coordination (i.e. infrastructure, commercial/industrial regulation, etc. etc.), in other words government level action, rather than just lifestyle changes at the individual level, even if universally applied. But I agree, a willingness to change lifestyles may be required for those kinds of voting patterns to occur. Of course a large span of human history was permeated by a lot of suffering, conflict, and death that probably most of us can't relate to today. On the other hand though, nowadays there's 7B of us and counting to experience the full joys of everything you're describing =/. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.50|108.162.246.50]] 20:06, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

I'm thinking the next best option after the asterisk and dagger would probably be the section sign (§) — 22:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Is there a triangle symbol? That seems like it would be the best, if 2022 was mainly Delta

2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T05:24:54Z

172.70.126.165: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the "{{w|average Joe}}" can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if the average Joe's job and hobby do not involve chemistry), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock".

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

Talk:2498: Forest Walk

2021-08-07T01:05:03Z

172.70.126.165:

Have just added a transcript. Hope I did good! :) -Lance ([[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 02:40, 5 August 2021 (UTC))
:You did good, Lance. *pats head* [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.197|162.158.74.197]] 18:06, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Wonder what Beret Guy would do if Cooper said, "I don't have it any more," since some of the money was discovered, badly deteriorated and partially buried, along the banks of the Columbia River back in 1980, as verified by serial numbers on the found currency. Given the absence of any other evidence, it was assumed that the hijacker had gotten separated from the money either during or right after the jump, the found currency had been deposited as flotsam at its discovery point through the actions of the river itself, and the rest of the money was still somewhere in the Pacific Northwest awaiting similar discovery, [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 04:23, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

If it can be considered that the comic is a reference to random walk (in a forest), can it also be considered a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_forest random forests] ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.73|141.101.68.73]] 07:14, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
:I don't get why the comic is supposed to be a reference to random walks or to random forests. Nothing points to that. Real forests exists, and people walk in them. The only peculiarity of this particular forest is that D.B. Cooper hangs in one of its trees. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.103.244|188.114.103.244]] 08:20, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

I feel like there should be a D.B. Cooper category at this point. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.52|141.101.104.52]] 07:51, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Hey there, I think the alt text is also a reference to https://xkcd.com/2390/ ? Kind regards :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.61|162.158.89.61]] 08:13, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Typo: "he might have simply inherited it form his mom". --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.39|162.158.255.39]] 12:40, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
: Done, now. I'd seen it, but apparently missed it, in preparing for my first big corrective edit of the day (little tyops, a lot less awful than ones ''I'' have previously left for others to correct). Or maybe I thought I should leave it suspended from the tree until some other issue had been resolved. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.105|162.158.158.105]] 12:53, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Not to question the artistic representation, but rather than Forest (tree canopy and dense undergrowth), I'd say that was more Woodland Savanna (individual tree growth smattered around grass/shrubland at most). Or maybe we just can't properly see the woods for the trees... (Or the action is set at the edge of a clearing, of course!) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 13:32, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
:It's Southwest Washington, where Pyroculture practiced over centuries changed the nature of the forests. Your average forest, until recently when fire suppression came in, had very little undergrowth, and sometimes whole fields of Camas Lilly or Tarweed or other food plants valued by the Yakima.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 19:43, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Doesn't it seem likely, that Beret Guy's trees have soup outlets on them? Like his Business does? (Or, maybe Ghosts (like the business))

'You help me down this instant!' is not an "unlikely combination of words" or an unusual phrase. I'm not sure if it is regional, but as a native US English speaker, this is a completely normal wording to use if you are frustrated and insisting that someone do something, especially someone much younger, so perhaps it is meant to further indicate the man's age. As an example, a parent might say to their unruly child who is refusing to do their chores, "young man, you clean your room this instant!" (or "right this instant") It can also be used playfully: you are taking a walk along a river with some friends, when one of them suddenly playfully splashes water on you and takes off running (to avoid retaliation) and you run after them shouting "I'm going to get you for that! You get back here right this instant!" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.28|172.70.131.28]] 15:36, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
:I had the same reaction to both the title text and the explanation (although I believe it refers to the "help me down" part and not the "this instant" part). Either way, neither part of the phrase nor the entire phrase seems unlikely or unusual. I actually first came to this page to see if I was missing a reference in the title text, but it appears Randall just finds our dialectic somewhat strange. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.73|172.70.114.73]] 16:28, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
::IANALinguist, but I took it that "Help me down" is a (potentially, enough to be linguistically nerdsniped upon) ambiguous. 'Down' as a verb is strange, maybe ("to down, I wish you to help me") which might even be more feather-based in regards to the action conveyed. Or "lower the amount of help you shall grant me". Or even "(I) require assistance (for) I (am) feeling a certain amount of ennui". And "I wish to fall" is obviously not meant... Or is it? Some people would wish to consider this... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.211|162.158.158.211]] 19:06, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
:::It was I who added that part about the "unlikely combination of words". Today I have checked it on https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/ (where you have to annoyingly register with your real email address as throwaway mails are effectively blocked). Expression 'right know' has 151 795 results. 'this instant' has only 558 including phrases such as:
:::"Get the fuck out of my office this instant." from Silicon Valley (2017 TV Series, episode The Keenan Vortex);
:::"Shh. Stop that this instant! 'Stop that this instant.' You sound like my teacher." Justice League Action (2016, Galaxy Jest);
:::"Put those drapes down this instant. ... I will grab a spatula and put you Over my knee this instant! - You sound like mommy." The Haunted Hathaways (2014, Haunted Viking);
:::"Applebloom! You come back here right this instant! (blustering)" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010, Bridle Gossip).
:::There were also some result from spoken word, newspapers and blogs but they were not relevant. In conclusion, 'this instant' is much less frequent than more common 'right know', however, it is used. On the other hand, it is infrequent enough that characters in TV series comment on how out of place that phrase sounds. I have deleted my explanation, feel free to undo the deletion, rewrite the explanation or leave it as it is now.
::: To clarify, I have deleted this part of explanation: As mentioned in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]], Cooper was also known for ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style and use of unusual phrases such as 'negotiable American currency', he seems to hold to this habit and instead of much more common 'Help me right now!' or 'Put me down immediately!' he used rather unlikely combination of words 'You help me down this instant!'. [[User:CryptoNut1269|CryptoNut1269]] ([[User talk:CryptoNut1269|talk]]) 11:06, 6 August 2021 (UTC)
::::I assume you mean "right now" not "right know". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.165|172.70.126.165]] 01:05, 7 August 2021 (UTC)Pat
::: My input: the "this instant" bit is not even mentioned as the focus of the linguist's attention, so I'd not consider that important. D.B. may also have only started to say that ''since'' the prior visitor, or only when directly addressing BG (with the long history of ignoring/refusing him). "Help me down" is an interesting construct in and of itself, as mentioned. But I could not tell you in what ways. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.106|162.158.158.106]] 14:39, 6 August 2021 (UTC)

Anyone else think that D.B. Cooper in this comic looks a bit like Don Quixote from alternate energy revolution? --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 02:13, 6 August 2021 (UTC)
: Kind of, but when you looked closer at [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]] Don Quixote's beard is definitely better groomed and his hair is trimmed. I would rather compare this Cooper with the guy form [[725: Literally]]. [[User:CryptoNut1269|CryptoNut1269]] ([[User talk:CryptoNut1269|talk]]) 11:06, 6 August 2021 (UTC)
:: <humor> What if literally guy is alternate universe D.B. Cooper? </humor> Seriously speaking though, it seems the similarity is just because there aren't many different ways to draw stick figures. --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 19:41, 6 August 2021 (UTC)