explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3081: PhD Timeline

2025-04-26T02:38:08Z

172.70.43.108: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3081
| date = April 25, 2025
| title = PhD Timeline
| image = phd_timeline_2x.png
| imagesize = 382x516px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Rümeysa Öztürk was grabbed off the street in my town one month ago.
}}

Clicking on the image on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] takes you to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyypeEEOklM Surveillance video shows Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk apprehended in Somerville, MA]'' on YouTube.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Created by a DIVERGENT TIMELINE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic presents a typical PhD timeline, with a twist. Typically a PhD is broken into a number of steps, from enrollment through to thesis defense. However, in this case, the timeline takes an unexpected turn when, instead of publishing the thesis, the candidate is detained by masked government agents. While this may seem like an unlikely event, it reflects the {{w|detention of Rümeysa Öztürk|lived experience of Rümeysa Öztürk}}, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University who was abruptly detained by six masked ICE agents in Somerville, MA while walking to an {{w|iftar}} dinner. Subsequently, she was transported to Vermont and then to a detention facility in Louisiana before a court ordered that she not be removed from Massachusetts.

The reason given for her detention was that her {{w|F visa|F-1 student visa}} was revoked due to, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, her alleged activities in support of the foreign terrorist organization {{w|Hamas}} on the campus of Tufts. Aside from her being co-author of an article in a student newspaper which was critical of her university's response towards protests against the ongoing {{w|Gaza war}} no proof of support for Hamas has been provided. The U.S. government can cancel a visa if the subjects' activities are harmful to U.S. foreign policy interests, though the threat of a visa being revoked has a clear chilling effect on legal speech, and raises serious {{w|First Amendment}} issues.

The title text refers to the fact that Somerville is also where [[Randall Munroe]] lives.

For a more detailed account, see {{w|Detention of Rümeysa Öztürk}} on Wikipedia.

==Transcript==
:[A chart shows the typical events in a research program. At the top there is a dotted line. There is a title above the line and the line is labeled with text in the middle breaking the line:]
:US PH.D PROGRAM TIMELINE
:-------ENROLLMENT---------

:[The dotted line aligns with the top of an Y-axis with 7 ticks, the top tick on level with the dotted line. There are seven labels from top towards the bottom, not written near specifik ticks, and with uneven distance. Between each of the labels there is an arrow from the one above pointing the the next. To the right of the first five labels there is a split up rectangle, that are closed at the top , but open at the bottom. Down through the middle part it is split up in two along a kind of S-shape going a bit up from left to right. There is a gab between the top and bottom part of this figure along this s-shape. Both top and bottom part has a label. All text and other parts of the comic has been in black until this. But the last two labels near the Y-axis beneath where the rectangular figure stops, which are still written in black, have been crossed out with red squiggly lines, both the two small arrows and the text. From the label above those crossed out, there goes a red arrow down and then to the right. This point to another red label next to and right of the first of the two that has been crossed out. From beneath this another red arrow point to a second red label, next to the the last of the two that was crossed out. A third red arrow goes beneath this to a final red label.]
:Meet with Advisor
:Research Proposal
:Qualifying Exams
:Purpose Dissertation
:Research and Write dissertation

:[The above is the labels near the rectangular figure to the right with the following labels:]
:Coursework
:Research

:[The final two labels that have been crossed out with red lines:]
:Submit dissertation
:Defend dissertation

:[The new labels written to the right with red:]
:Get grabbed off the sidewalk outside of your home by masked government agents
:Be whisked out of the state before a judge has time to intervene
:????

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
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[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]

Talk:2878: Supernova

2024-01-08T13:09:15Z

172.70.43.108:

It's all fun and games until the supernova is 93 million miles away [[User:Poxy6|'''Poxy6''']] ([[User talk:Poxy6|talk]]) 13:03, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

This seems to be a very early release. I had not expected to find a new comic already. Maybe Randall knows Betelgeuse goes Super Nova today... He can't wait - see [[1644: Stargazing]]! Unless of course it is too close! (Betelgeuse should be a safe distance away and seems by far the closest Super Nova candidate, as least according to [https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/earth-danger-betelgeuse-supernova Astronomer Patrick Moore]). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:07, 8 January 2024 (UTC)
I added an explanation and transcript [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.108|172.70.43.108]] 13:09, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2867: DateTime

2023-12-14T21:03:51Z

172.70.43.108:

Comics like this are why this wiki exists. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.172|172.70.100.172]] 23:30, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
:The time falsehoods gist linked above is a really good explanation about why a programmer might panic about calculating time. Especially the ones about calling "getCurrentTime()" twice in a row doesn't always mean the results are in the order you think they were called, or even different values. t2 might very well be the same or less than t1. It can be maddening. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.197.149|162.158.197.149]] 23:40, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
::The last item is the most important to me: ''Users prefer to use the local timezone.'' This causes so much frustration while browsing the web! [[File:PissedOff.gif]] --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.110.68|162.158.110.68]] 00:26, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
::Worth noting that events can take place over long periods. A sunspot or an illness or a relationship doesn't happen at a single point in time, it takes place over days or weeks or longer. When did it "start"? Who knows? Also I miss calling TI4-1212 here in DC. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.27|172.70.175.27]] 01:39, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
::Out of curiosity, could someone explain the item in that time falsehoods list that says "Months have either 28, 29, 30, or 31 days"? My guess is that it's a reference to their being more calendars in the world than Gregorian? But I'm not sure if there's more than that going on, there.[[User:ModelD|ModelD]] ([[User talk:ModelD|talk]]) 18:18, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
:::Isn't that true of Gregorian calendars? February has 28 or 29 depending on the year, AJSN have 30 and JMMJAOD have 31.[[User:Gavin|Gavin]] ([[User talk:Gavin|talk]]) 18:33, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
::::It's saying that "months have either 28, 29, 30, or 31 days" is a falsehood. The first one that comes to mind is the [https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-gregorian-switch.html switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar]: "In North America, for example, the month of September 1752 had only 19 days, as the day count went straight from September 2 to September 14". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.108|172.70.43.108]] 21:03, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Related insanity on Computerphile with Tom Scott: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wpm-gesOY [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 03:54, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Even with just Special Relativity, the question doesn't really make sense, because the answer will depend on the inertial reference frame. "Impossible to know and a sin to ask" is not a bad way to describe questions about non-invariants. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.189|162.158.154.189]] 08:09, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
:Is it even ''possible'' for two observers to agree on the answer and be sure that it's correct for both of them? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 16:53, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

I can see Randall's point, so for your average everyday programming I'd say "please use a library function instead of trying to do it yourself, or you'll end up like the guy in the lower frame..." --[[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 11:02, 14 December 2023 (UTC)