explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

373: The Data So Far

2022-11-19T19:34:32Z

172.70.135.122: /* Explanation */ There are no longer any comics mentioned

{{comic
| number = 373
| date = January 21, 2008
| title = The Data So Far
| image = the data so far.png
| titletext = But THIS guy, he might be for real!
}}

==Explanation==
There are often people who claim to have supernatural powers, but then when their powers are tested by some sort of experiment, the experiment refutes their claims. This comic summarizes all the data from such experiments, observing that given the data, it's very unlikely that supernatural powers actually exist.

The title text refers to a person who has claimed to have supernatural powers, and suggests that he might really have such powers. This invokes the fact that absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence, although there has never previously been a confirmed example of a person with superpowers. This does not prove that this is certainly impossible. However, the graph above suggests that, although not impossible, such an event would be highly unlikely. No matter how much evidence we collect, there is always some positive (but vanishingly small) chance that some person may hold supernatural powers.

Alternatively, the title text explains that even though there is no reason to believe that anyone has any super powers, some people are always ready to believe the next one to claim so - very naive - and the exact opposite meaning of the one described above. Knowing [[Randall]]'s comic, this seems more likely.

The title itself may be a reference to the TV show {{w|Supernatural (U.S. TV series)|Supernatural's}} recap segment, "The Road So Far."

==Transcript==
:[Bar graph titled "Claims of Supernatural Powers" and has two sets of data. The first data set is labeled "Confirmed By Experiment" and is empty. The second data set is "Refuted By Experiment" and goes to the top of the graph.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Paranormal]]

2470: Next Slide Please

2022-11-06T20:28:16Z

172.70.135.122: muuuch better now

{{comic
| number = 2470
| date = May 31, 2021
| title = Next Slide Please
| image = next_slide_please.png
| titletext = "I have nothing to offer but blood--next slide, please--toil--next slide, please--tears, and--next slide, please--sweat."
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presumes that many famous quotes are actually excerpts from {{w|Slide show|slideshow presentations}}, and the text they were reading was split across multiple slides. Splitting sentences across multiple slides can often be a useful tool if there are images accompanying it, which could explain the specific placement of many of "next slide, please" comments. For example, in the quote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," one can imagine the speaker starting with a slide that showed the prosperity of some people then, in the middle of the sentence, switching to a slide of many people's destitution. When using images this way, it is often better for timing purposes to have control of your own slides. However, Randall claims that, in these speeches, the person making the speech wasn't controlling their slide presentation, so they had to ask the operator to go to the next slide. A common way to ask this is to say "next slide, please", but these requests would have been edited out of the historical transcripts. The comic imagines the places where the slide breaks might have been, and inserts that request.

Most of these quotes are drawn from speeches, which could conceivably have been accompanied by slides or other stage directions ("pause for laughter"), but the list is quite ridiculous as it includes works of literature, where the reader is the one who turns pages as necessary, and speeches from periods of history, such as the {{w|American Revolution}} and {{w|Julius Caesar|Caesar's}} {{w|Veni, vidi, vici}} speech, which predated slide projectors{{Citation needed}}. Even in the quotations that take place in an era with slide projectors, every single one is an instance where the speaker was, quite famously, recorded live — said recordings would show there were in fact no edits, and certainly not any instructions for a slide projector operator. See details in the [[#Table of quotes|table]] below, including the quote in the title text.

The phrase "Next slide, please" is perhaps in a sweet-spot of utility and performance. A rehearsed presentation, with speaker and 'slide handler' working with a tight script, could probably do without off-stage prompting at all, or the better lecturers with an oft-repeated talk could set it all on timings knowing they can keep the changes synchronised with their speech, or vice-versa. But when a cue is necessary, an unambiguous signal should be used, and an audible 'clicker' (or a small and briefly flashed light) has been used historically, especially with pre-electronic slide-shows where the slide-operator at the back of an auditorium needed to clearly discern the intent of the person at the lectern.

In the United Kingdom, {{w|Chris_Whitty|England's Chief Medical Officer}} caused some amusement on social media with the constant use of the phrase in coronavirus presentations, culminating in the availability of many mugs and cards with his image and this slogan on, and a campaign[https://uk.gofundme.com/f/buy-chris-whitty-his-own-next-slide-please-clicker] to purchase an automatic clicker for him instead.

===Table of quotes===
{| class="wikitable"
!Quote
!Attribution
!Context
|-
| "Give me liberty or give me—Next slide, please—death!"
| {{w|Patrick Henry}}, {{w|Give me liberty, or give me death!|at the Second Virginia Convention}} on March 23, 1775, as part of the American Colonies' War of Independence from {{w|Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain}}.
| A quotation from his speech to convince the {{w|Second Virginia Convention}} to provide troops for the {{w|American Revolutionary War}}.
|-
| "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down—Next slide, please—this wall."
| {{w|Ronald Reagan}}, {{w|Berlin Wall Speech}} (1987).
| A speech calling for the opening of the Berlin Wall. This speech was later well known after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet Union. <br>In the comic Ronald Reagan is shown next to his slide with a picture of the wall, with an arrow "helpfully" clarifying exactly which wall it is he wants Gorbachev to tear down.
|-
| "It was the best of times—Next slide, please—It was the worst of times."
| ''{{w|A Tale of Two Cities}}'', novel by {{w|Charles Dickens}}.
| This is the opening lines of the novel, and one of Dickens' most famous quotations. At the current pace, the opening introduction would have 13 "Next slide, please" instances.
|-
| "We have nothing to fear but—Next slide, please—fear itself."
| {{w|First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt|Inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt}} in 1933.
| A speech outlining {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt}}'s plan to recover from the Great Depression. The correct phrasing of this speech is: "the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself".
|-
| "To be or—Next slide, please—not to be, that is the question."
| {{w|To be, or not to be|Quotation}} from the play ''{{w|Hamlet}}'' by {{w|William Shakespeare}}, Act III, Scene 1.
| This speech, in which the character Hamlet contemplates committing suicide, is considered a soliloquy, even though Ophelia was in the room reading a book.
|-
| "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art—Next slide, please—more lovely and—Next slide, please—more temperate."
| Shakespeare's {{w|Sonnet 18}}.
| One of the most famous of Shakespeare's 154 known sonnets. A sonnet is a type of poem and it requires specific rhyming and pacing. The inclusion of "Next slide, please" breaks the poetic flow and unbalances the length of lines, making it unpredictable when a rhyme is supposed to occur.
|-
| "We shall fight—Next slide, please—on the beaches, we shall fight on—Next slide, please—the landing grounds..."
| {{w|Winston Churchill}}, ''{{w|We shall fight on the beaches}}'' speech.
| On 4 June 1940, after the disastrous first weeks of the {{w|battle of France}}, Churchill had to acknowledge a military disaster but convey confidence in victory and will to fight. <br/>In the comic Winston Churchill is shown next to his slide of a beach. The beach image shown, shows [[Ponytail]] sitting under a parasol [[Cueball]] sitting on the sand with a drink and a kid playing with a beach-ball, as opposed to {{w|British_anti-invasion_preparations_of_the_Second_World_War#Coastal_crust|the rapidly fortified}} sea-fronts [http://ww2.brightonmuseums.org/defence-measures/ of wartime Britain].
|-
| "Read my lips—Next slide, please—no new taxes."
| {{w|George H. W. Bush}}, {{w|Read my lips: no new taxes|spoken at 1988 Republican National Convention}}
| A significant part of Bush's political platform was the opposition of new taxes. However, after winning the election, he was unable to keep this promise and ultimately did raise taxes in 1990.
|-
| "That's one small step for man—Next slide, please—one giant leap for mankind."
| {{w|Neil Armstrong}}, when he stepped off the {{w|Apollo 11}} lunar module and onto the surface of the Moon.
| The "next slide, please", could be proof of a fake moon landing, although Neil Armstrong strongly insisted that the speech be made on location.{{fact}} The positioning of the "next slide, please" was placed at the intended comma, although there was also a small gap within "one giant" which could also be a potential placement in the audio clip.
Armstrong, it should be noted, claimed to have said "That's one small step for '''a''' man, one giant leap for mankind" and that the '''a''' should be included in the quotation, [https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/armstrongs-famous-small-step-quote-explained-64311878 at least in parenthesis].
|-
| "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! Next slide, please. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
| {{w|Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears|Spoken by the character Mark Antony}} in the play ''{{w|Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar}}'' by Shakespeare, Act III, Scene 2.
| Takes place after Julius Caesar suffered a few stab wounds in Act III, scene 2. If it were a presentation, the pictures would need to be created between scenes, although the play implies there would barely be enough time in response to a recent event.
|-
| "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of—Next slide, please—a good fortune, must be in want of—Next slide, please—a wife."
| ''{{w|Pride and Prejudice}}'', written by {{w|Jane Austen}}.
| Opening line to the novel, introducing marriage as a motif (and problem) in the novel.
|-
| "Veni, vidi—Velim, pictura proxima—vici."
| {{w|Julius Caesar}}, wrote his famous sentence {{w|Veni, vidi, vici}} in a letter after defeating Pharnaces II (47 BC). The sentence literally means, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
| Caesar used this phrase to refer to a swift, conclusive victory at the {{w|Battle of Zela}}. This is the only "next slide, please" which has been translated into a different language (Latin, in this case).
|-
| "I have nothing to offer but blood—next slide, please—toil—next slide, please—tears, and—next slide, please—sweat." (title text)
| Winston Churchill, ''{{w|Blood, toil, tears and sweat}}'' speech.
| From 1940, shortly after he was appointed the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, when asking for a vote of confidence in the new all-party (unity) cabinet.
It would have to respond to the continuing challenges of the {{w|United_Kingdom_home_front_during_World_War_II|war-footing}} and active conflicts of WW2. The country had already been at war for eight months and was yet to experience Dunkirk, prompting yet another of Churchill's defiant speeches (mentioned above).
|}

==Transcript==
:[A list of 12 quotes is given. Above is a large header with a question, and then a description, before the quotes follows. The text above the quotes is centered:]
:<big>'''''Did you know?'''''</big>
:''Transcripts of famous quotes often''
:''leave out the slideshow instructions.''
:''Here’s how these lines actually sounded:''

:[The first six quotations, are written so they fit around an image of Ronald Reagan standing next to his slide showing six segments of the Berlin Wall. A large arrow points down on to the middle segment of the wall. There is something on the ground in front of the wall, could be puddles or debris. The image is to the right, and the two first and last quote goes above and below the image, while the other three stops to the left of the image:]
:"Give me liberty or give me—Next slide, please—death!"
:"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down—Next slide, please—this wall."
:"It was the best of times—Next slide, please—It was the worst of times."
:"We have nothing to fear but—Next slide, please—fear itself."
:"To be or—Next slide, please—not to be, that is the question."
:"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art—Next slide, please—more lovely and—Next slide, please—more temperate."

:[Below those five quotations is three more quotes to the right of an image showing Winston Churchill standing next to his slide showing a beach. The sun and three small clouds are over the ocean which has white waves on the black water. Ponytail is sitting under a parasol to the left, Cueball is sitting on the sand to the right with a drink in his hands, and behind him is a kid running after a large beach-ball.]
:"We shall fight—Next slide, please—on the beaches, we shall fight on—Next slide, please—the landing grounds..."
:"Read my lips—Next slide, please—no new taxes."
:"That's one small step for man—Next slide, please—one giant leap for mankind."

:[Below this picture is the last three quotations, without any pictures:]
:"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears! Next slide, please. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
:"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of—Next slide, please—a good fortune, must be in want of—Next slide, please—a wife."
:"Veni, vidi—Velim, pictura proxima—vici."

==Trivia==
* The Blood, toil, tears and sweat speech was the topic of [[1148: Nothing to Offer]] and lists additional items; at the current pace, "next slide, please" would be placed between each item, making that extra-long speech even longer.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ronald Reagan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Winston Churchill]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:743: Infrastructures

2022-10-26T00:18:54Z

172.70.135.122: /* Thingiverse entry */ new section

The link inside "arrogance that crowds out perspective" is merely an example of a situation in which someone with the same ideology that Cueball has can declare that proponents of free software have arrogance instead of perspective. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 14:23, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

How do we know that professor is going to do anything with the document other than read it? I remember electronic submission back in the Word 6 era (and probably earlier) as a direct replacement to handing over pieces of paper. Doesn't affect the joke, but is rather an unsubstantiated and unnecessary part of the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.192.132|178.98.192.132]] 00:02, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

This could use some serious style editing. I have a bad habit of using parentheses, and find that forcing myself not to use them can actually improve my writing (kowabunga! - oh shit). Whoever put in the large parenthetical expressions here may need to learn that as well. Or learn LISP, where they'll realize that parentheses are not always your friends. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:13, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

This seems a bit painted to me, sure its a comic in favor of open source but the explanation doesn't have to sound like it was written by a snob. --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 23:22, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

;Diaspora seed: a personal web server that stores all of your information and shares it with your friends

"Seed" is not used in the torrent sense (of a running client, seeding a file to other clients), but as a "personal web server that stores all of your information and shares it with your friends" via the http protocol. See [https://wiki.diasporafoundation.org/Federation_protocol_overview] and [http://p2pfoundation.net/Diaspora].
Here is the text I replaced:

:The "seed" to which the fellow mentioned is a reference to the {{w|BitTorrent}} protocol, an infrastructure that allows users to share files for others to download directly from them (rather than from a server). Essentially, the user packs a description of the files in a torrent file, then "seeds" the torrent file using a program made for torrenting (for example, {{w|μTorrent}}). People who want to download the files would first download the corresponding torrent file, and open it in a torrenting program to "leech" (download) the original files. After the files referred by the torrent file are downloaded, the "leechers" can "seed" them too, so that more people can download the files from them in turn. Since the user is in control of the upload and download, torrenting is an option of choice for those in support of free software.

[[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 16:46, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Since when does most of the open source word processors not save in .DOC as well, just because it is saved in that format does not mean it had to be made with MS Word. Most of the time unless I am sending a .PDF I save a copy of what I am working on in .DOC just to be sure the receiver can open it as most programs can. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.166|108.162.216.166]] 13:44, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Still relevant lol --[[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 18:20, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

No autist in over 5 years has pointed out that the bearded guy is Richard Stallman, for shame. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.94.88|172.68.94.88]] 20:39, 4 December 2018 (UTC)

Why is playing "the world's tiniest open-source violin" described as "dubious"? Cueball has, in spite of warnings, engaged in and encouraged the spread of the use of an infrastructure which will have the inevitable effect of handing control of all his data to psychopathic corporations. The Bearded One surely has a right to have no pity, and in effect say "Told you so". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.94|162.158.38.94]] 09:18, 25 January 2019 (UTC)

'Let me press F on the world's smallest keyboard.' [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 14:29, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

== Thingiverse entry ==

this comic says it was uploaded may 21, 2010, but the thingiverse open source violin was uploaded may 20! how???[[Special:Contributions/172.70.135.122|172.70.135.122]] 00:18, 26 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

2687: Division Notation

2022-10-19T23:06:08Z

172.70.135.122:

{{comic
| number = 2687
| date = October 19, 2022
| title = Division Notation
| image = division_notation_2x.png
| imagesize = 235x310px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Science tip: Scientists hardly ever use the two-dot division sign, and when they do it often doesn't even mean division, but they still get REALLY mad when you repurpose it to write stuff like SALE! ALL SHOES 30÷ OFF!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GROUP OF SCHOOLCHILDREN DIVIDED AMONGST THEMSELVES - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic pokes fun at some of the ways to write the {{w|Division (mathematics)|division}} operation in math. In this comic, Randall has used A as the dividend (the number being divided) and B as the divisor (the number that A is divided by).
The first two are respectively the division sign (÷) and long division symbol. (Note: the long division symbol is only used in English-speaking countries). These methods of division are often used by school children as the first ÷ is what people learn when first learning division, and the second long division symbol is usually the first type of long division learned (it's easier to do it visually on paper that way).

The third line is the way the division is often written in code. The 4 standard operations in programming usually are +, -, *, /. This one was missing in the first version of the comic.

The fourth notation is the way division is written in science, dividend on top line and divided on bottom line.

The fifth notation uses a negative exponent. The exponent -1 has the same effect as dividing by the base. It can be used to keep an equation on 1 line.

The final form of notation appears to be not a simple notation for division. Rather, it looks like a definition of a notion of division which is customized to a particular setting. This situation is likely to occur in abstract algebra, where one might have to define what "division" might mean for two elements of a mathematical object such as a group, ring, or magma. One example would be an object G, such that, for two elements A and B of G, "A divided by B" is defined as an element C such that CB=A, or alternatively as an element C such that BC=A. These definitions might differ if multiplication in G is not commutative. Furthermore, if such a C is not unique, a function F(A,B) might have to be chosen to select a unique value for "A divided by B" for each A and B. Thus, the F(A,B) in the comic might not even refer to a uniquely defined operation, but simply to the property of a function F(A,B) that is a valid division operation on G, given some definition of division.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A÷B and A⟌B both indicating schoolchild.

A/B left to software engineer.

A/B as in unicode ½ left to normal person or Unicode enthusiast.

A over B left to scientist.

AB^-1 left to fancy scientist.

F(A, B) such that F(G)= (text getting smaller) next to oh no, run.

{{comic discussion}}

XKCD Marks the Spot

2022-05-22T17:29:50Z

172.70.135.122: /* Transcript */ how is this related at *all* ~~~~Bumpf

{{comic
| date = October 22, 2015
| title = XKCD Marks the Spot
| image = world_polio_day.png
| before = Original blog post on ''gatesnotes'': http://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/XKCD-Marks-the-Spot
| titletext = World Polio Day XKCD comic
| ldomain = gatesnotes.com/Health/XKCD-Marks-the-Spot#
| lappend =
| extra = yes
}}

==Explanation==
An extra comic drawn by [[Randall]] for [http://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/XKCD-Marks-the-Spot Bill Gates' blog] to celebrate World Polio Day. As noted, the disease {{w|polio}} has nearly been eradicated, with only a few isolated pockets remaining. Unlike diseases that are more difficult to treat, such as HIV, polio can be prevented easily by vaccination.

[[Hairy]] treats polio as a disease that requires exotic methods to contain when, as [[Ponytail]] explains, polio can be effectively contained and eradicated using conventional methods. The joke is that Hairy densely refuses to accept the simple but effective conventional methods presented to him by Ponytail. He instead offers ridiculously complicated methods such as crowdsourcing, using apps and 3D printers, genetically engineering the common cold, and nanobots as an alternative, ignoring the tried and true conventional methods.

Through the comic, Randall also calls attention to the fact that continued awareness and financial support is necessary to completely eradicate polio. Ponytail even emphasizes that "decades of gains" could be lost if the medical community stops attacking polio.

The title text is a rare instance where the text is simply descriptive, rather than adding an additional comment or joke. It also seems like this text is no longer shown on the blog when howering over the picture.

Randall linked to the comic from the [[xkcd Header text]] starting on [[xkcd_Header_text#2015-10-22_-_World_Polio_Day|2015-10-22]], when [[1593: Play-By-Play]] was on the front page, and the link stayed for more than a month up till the release of his book [[Thing Explainer]] 2015-11-24.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is standing at the end of a table in front of a screen, giving a presentation]
:Ponytail: The Polio nightmare is almost over.
:[Blob and arrows appear on the screen]
:Ponytail: By testing, monitoring, isolating, and vaccinating, we've pushed polio back, town by town, to just a few isolated pockets.
:[Three men and a woman are seated at a table watching Ponytail's presentation]
:Hairy: Sounds like we need a whole new strategy.
:Ponytail: Huh?
:[Hairy raises his finger to make a point]
:Hairy: How about we crowdsource it? Hold an online vote on which regions to vaccinate next!
:Off-Panel Ponytail: What? No. We just need to stay focused.
:Ponytail: We're ''99.9%'' of the way there. We know how polio spreads and how to beat it. We've done it in almost every country. We just have to finish the job.
:Hairy: Lets develop a mobile app that checks users for polio, then uses a 3D printer to—
:Ponytail: No, we need to keep doing what we're doing: working with locals, testing people who show symptoms, monitoring sewage and vaccinating.
:[The arrows change direction to illustrate the infected area expanding]
:Ponytail: If we stop now, a few steps from the finish line, the virus could quickly roll back decades of gains.
:Hairy: We should genetically engineer the common cold to ''fight'' the polio virus. Then we could cure the cold by—
:Off-Panel Ponytail: We ''have'' the tools. We know what to do. We just need the money and the effort to do it.
:Ponytail: We beat smallpox this way. We can beat polio, too.
:Hairy: Okay, okay, I understand.
:[Hairy rubs his chin]
:Hairy: ''Nanobots.'' With a fleet of polio-fighting nanobots, we—
:Off-Screen Ponytail: ''Eye on the ball!''
:Hairy: Right, sorry.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Science]]