explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T13:21:26Z

172.70.91.64: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2960
| date = July 17, 2024
| title = Organ Meanings
| image = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT'S PINEAL GLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a graph by [[Randall]] ranking how well he understands the function of certain human organs, compared to how much he understands {{w|metaphor}}s using them. 

One might expect understanding an organ's role and its use in metaphor to be strongly correlated, since the metaphors work by drawing a parallel to biological function. However, since our understanding of biological functions has evolved dramatically over time, and metaphorical language does not always keep up, the correspondence is often much looser. To complicate matters, many such anatomical metaphors vary from culture to culture, even though the biological functions remain largely consistent {{Citation needed}}.

The {{w|pineal gland}}, located in the center of the brain, was described as the “Seat of the Soul” by the dualist {{w|René Descartes}} in the 17th century. If this was what it was, the metaphors that might be derived from it would be pretty explicit. It was only in the mid-20th century that its real neuroendocrine (hormone-producing) biological role was grasped. Thus, the real meaning of the metaphor "the pineal gland of something" is uncertain, as is its actual function for the layman.

The {{w|thymus}}, highlighted in the title text, plays an important role in the immune system. It is not commonly used in metaphors,{{Citation needed}} but is perhaps ripe for use in ones describing such things as resilience, indomitability, and adaptability to changing circumstance, were more people to know what it was.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Organ !! Biological understanding !! Metaphor understanding !! Biological function !! Metaphor meaning(s)
|-
| {{w|Appendix_(anatomy)}} || 3% || 85% || Maintaining gut flora || Uselessness
|-
| {{w|Nerves}} || 40% || 90% || Sensing stimuli, and controlling muscles and organs || Courage; lack of courage; unsettledness
|-
| {{w|Spine}} || 50% || 80% || Holding other bones up || Courage; structural integrity
|-
| {{w|Heart}} || 80% || 90% || Circulation of blood || Emotion; feeling; sympathy; love; courage; resilience
|-
| {{w|Bones}} || 75% || 80% || Holding the skin up || Basic/underlying structure; something hidden; core; essence
|-
| {{w|Stomach}} || 70% || 65% || Repository for cake || Ability to tolerate unpleasant circumstances
|-
| {{w|Liver}} || 10% || 48% || Processing alcohol ||
|-
| {{w|Lungs}} || 60% || 52% || Oxygenation of blood; speaking ||
|-
| {{w|Spleen}} || 22% || 34% || Storing extra blood || Anger
|-
| {{w|Thymus}} || 10% || 13% || Training immune cells (T-Cells) ||
|-
| {{w|Kidneys}} || 47% || 19% || Filtering blood ||
|-
| {{w|Pineal gland}} || 2% || 2% || Produces melatonin ||
|-
| {{w|Tongue}} || 70% || 5% || Taste; chewing; speaking || Speaking; something long and extended
|}

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown with X and Y-axis without arrow or ticks. To the left of the Y-axis and below the X-axis there are labels with an arrow pointing up from the top of the Y-axis label and an arrow pointing right above the X-axis label, just beneath the x-axis.]
:Y-axis: How well I understand what it means when used in metaphors
:X-axis: How well I understand its actual biological function

:[On the graph is a scatter plot with 13 labels. Each label is written inside a line that goes just around the words. There are most in the top right corner, but they are spread all over the graph. Here in approximate reading order from top left with indicating of where on the graph the words are located:]
:[Top left:]
:Appendix
:[Top middle:]
:Nerves
:Spine
:[Top right:]
:Heart
:Bones
:Stomach
:[Center left:]
:Liver
:Spleen
:[Center right:]
:Lungs
:[Bottom left:]
:Thymus
:Pineal gland
:[Bottom middle:]
:Kidneys
:[Bottom right:]
:Tongue

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T10:06:13Z

172.70.91.64:

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other being a contact depositor of liquid - not particularly consistent in application).
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most peoplez the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1563: Synonym Movies

2024-06-27T23:34:07Z

172.70.91.64:

Space Trip would probably be Star Trek, right?
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.166|141.101.98.166]] 05:17, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Is this supposed to be related to "Thing explainer"? But then there are words like government, and Vulcan...
--[[User:Zzyss|Zzyss]] ([[User talk:Zzyss|talk]]) 06:51, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:No I do not think so. It is not simple words, just different words with he same meaning --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Funny, I would've said "''The Sword Wizard'''s Are''' Back''"... I've always interpreted that instance of ''Jedi'' as being plural.
--[[User:Vor0nwe|vor0nwe]] ([[User talk:Vor0nwe|talk]]) 08:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:It could refer to Luke, the only Jedi alive at the end of the movie... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
::Leia Amidala Skywalker died? Didn't noticed that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::Funny, I always assumed it referred to Anakin, as it's the move where his sith side is freed and his Jedi side "returns".--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.163|141.101.98.163]] 11:59, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::Leia was never established as a Jedi - at least, not in the movies. There are only two places (both in Return of the Jedi) where it's hinted that she has any Force power at all: First, when Luke tells her that she's his sister and she says she's somehow always known, and second when Darth Vader divines her existence from Luke's feelings and suggests that she could be turned to the Dark Side. Neither of these scenes serve to establish her as a potential Jedi, so I don't think she could be reasonably included in OH WHAT THE HELL I'M SUCH A GEEK. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 18:57, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::: Not enough of a geek. When Kenobi says "That boy is our last hope," Yoda informs him that there is another. This, combined with Vader's implication she can be turned to the Dark Side - something that is only ever presented as a concern for those with Force power - clearly indicates that Leia is a potential Jedi. Further, at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, she hears Luke "calling" for her, another indication of Force sensitivity. - Val
::::: I would like to add that the novelization of Return of the Jedi, which I believe was canon at the time, strongly implies Leia Organa (at the time, as of 2019 I believe her full name at time of death was General Leia Skywalker Organa Solo, explaining how her padawan took her last name) used the Force to kill Jabba. I'm pretty sure the title is plural (like in the German translation) and can refer to Luke, Anakin, and/or the Jedi Order as a whole (I always interpreted it as the Order as a whole) - Human Physics Padawan {{unsigned ip|162.158.86.144|06:30, 31 August 2023}}
:::::I would like to interject that Yoda's other hope is probably Anakin/Vader, who actually is the person who defeated the last (canon) Sith in existence. This also fulfilled the prophesy from the fantom menace.[[User:HisHighestMinion|HisHighestMinion]] ([[User talk:HisHighestMinion|talk]]) 05:50, 21 July 2016 (UTC)
:::::I add another vote for plural. I believe it refers to the concept of Jedi which all but died out in the prequels (the only living Jedi were hidden and inactive). The film is about the Jedi returning both into existence and into... being active. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:36, 13 August 2015 (UTC)
: In German the title is "Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter" which would translate back into "Return of the Jedi Knights" - Plural. So it is/was naturally plural for me, too. But, of course, German movie titles are no reference to the actual meaning. Since some years we occasionally use English titles in Germany, too. But somehow they are different to the original English titles... (No worry: Star Wars is Star Wars - but even that was translated in the 70's to "Krieg der Sterne") [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: Now this is real funny: in Spanish the title is "El retorno del Jedi" which refers to one single Jedi, so it is/was naturally singular for me. I never even considered the possibility of "Jedi" referring to several people - until now. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.74|173.245.49.74]] 11:20, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: Also, Spanish movie titles (especially in the 1980s and 1990s) have less even to do with original titles than German ones. "Star wars" became "La guerra de las galaxias" (which means "The galaxy war" and is not much of a stretch). However, "The money pit" is "Esta casa es una ruina" (This house is a wreck), "Switch" is "Una rubia muy dudosa" (A very dubious blonde) and "Trading places" is "Entre pillos anda el juego" (sort of "This game is about rascals"). These are mere examples, it looks like in the 1990s every movie had to triple its title length when translated into Spanish. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.74|173.245.49.74]] 11:33, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::In Latin America ''The Money Pit'' was ''Hogar, dulce hogar'' (Home, sweet home). ''Switch'' was ''Pasaporte al cielo'' (A passport to heaven). ''Trading places'' was ''De mendigo a millonario'' (From beggar to millonaire). It's absurd that they translate all titles twice. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 21:41, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: In Finnish, it's "Jedin paluu", which translates literally as "The Jedi's return", again in the singular. Star Wars is translated to Tähtien sota, which roughly means "The stars' war" (plural possessive). The Money Pit is Rahareikä, literally "Money Hole" (or "The Money Hole", Finnish doesn't have words for the, a, or an), Switch is called "Apua, olen muuttunut naiseksi" (roughly "Help, I'm a changed woman") and Trading Places is Vaihtokaupat (literally "Shops Swap"). {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.207}}
:: My favourite example in Germany is "Once upon a time in the West" (as far as I can tell a direct translation from the Italian original) which is "Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod" in Germany: "Play the song about death/of Death to me" (don't know if The Death or just death is meant). This is one of the rare occasions on which I prefer the German title, while the English translation of the German title sounds quite silly, imho. However, back to topic: The word "Jedi" is used as plural and singular in each English and German (at least I'm not aware of ever having heard "Jedis" in either language). While in German it's quite easy to distinguish them by the article (Der (sg)/ Die (pl)) even that is the same in English (The). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::Actually, the Italian title would translate to "Once upon a time there was the West". "Il ritorno del Jedi" implies one Jedi only. [[User:Red Lieutenant|Red Lieutenant]] ([[User talk:Red Lieutenant|talk]]) 07:54, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia does note that Czar had become a title equivalent to King by the 19th Century, so perhaps that ought to be mentioned regarding "We Have a Czar Again." {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.41}}
:: Specifically, Цар, or "Tsar" would in Bulgarian and Russian mean the equivalent of (native) monarch, while Крал/"kral" would be reserved for foreign monarchs. When referring to an emperor, you'd use император/"imperator". Thus I would argue that "Czar", as the western spelling of Tsar, is a reasonable facsimile for "King". [[User:Meledin|Meledin]] ([[User talk:Meledin|talk]]) 14:11, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
Gaaaah! Power and force are not synonyms! Power and force-velocity are! Edit:thx whoever [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.75|108.162.221.75]] 10:41, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:You can probably put that in the same category as the mass delusion about what weight actually is. (SWIDT?) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.90|141.101.99.90]] 14:35, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:Not the same, right, but given the other variables remain the same, the Power raises aequivalent to Force. The sentence in whole remains correct that way. {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.235}}

The movie cases look like they form an upside down V, I and I. Could this also be a reference to the new Star Wars movie? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.30|141.101.98.30]] 19:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:I doubt it. It's not obvious enough. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 21:22, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

"Conveniently" forgot Space Trips V: The Ultimate Border and VI: A Pristine Land, did we Randall? {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.165}}
: "Ultimate border" sounds too good. I would suggest:"Remote border" or "The furthest we have been from home (so far)". Continuing: "Space Trip: Overlooked Land ", "Space Trip: Full House", "Space Trip: Touched for the very first time", "Space Trip: Trouble with locals", "Space Trip: Recurring villian", "Space Trip: Space Trip", "Space Trip: Who turned off the light?", "Space Trip: To Infinity!" [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 10:35, 13 August 2015 (UTC)
:: "Pristine Land" or "Overlooked land" doesn't really resonate with either the movie or the play. Why not "Space Trip VI: Life After Death"? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.145|141.101.98.145]] 16:34, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

:::He also skipped Space Fights: When Identical Twins Attack and Space Fights: The Bad Wizards' Comeback.

::::Make that 2002's Space Fights: The Lookalikes' Offensive - Human Physics Padawan {{unsigned ip|162.158.86.144|06:30, 31 August 2023}}

:::And of course Foreigner, Foreigners, Foreigner Cubed, Born-Again Foreigners, and Foreigners Fighting Carnivores. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.52|162.158.255.52]] 10:33, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

:::Great, now we have to add Demigod who Stole Fire and Foreigner: Agreement. {{unsigned ip|172.68.211.82}}

Alright, now I'm going to try to do the DC and Marvel Cinematic Universes. Feel free to add or change if you think you could put something better in.

Marvel:

The Angry Green Guy
Ferric Man
Ferric Man Defends Himself Against the Government
Thunder God
Patriotic Commanding Officer
Everyone From the First Five Films
Ferric Man Loses His Gadgets
Patriotic Commanding Officer: His Enemy is
His Old Friend
Thunder God: (The Dark World)
Defenders of the Star System
Everyone From the First Nine Films Fight a Robot
Formicidae Man
Patriotic Commanding Officer against Ferric Man
Mystic Superhero
Defenders of the Star System Again
Arachnid Man Returns
Thunder God: The Apocalypse
(At present)

DC:
Übermensch
Übermensch II
Übermensch III
Übermensch IV: No More Nuclear Weapons
Chiroptera Man (1989)
Chiroptera Man Comes Back
Eternal Chiroptera Man
Chiroptera Man & Erithacus Rubecula
Felidae Woman
Chiroptera Man Starts Out
Übermensch Comes Back to Earth
The Sombre Sir
The Source of Light in the 500nm Wavelength
The Sombre Sir Climbs
The Iron-carbon mixture Man
Übermensch fights Chiroptera Man, just because.
Villains as Heroes
Amazing Amazon
All The Heroes So Far
(At present) {{unsigned ip| 172.68.211.82}}

:I'm going to try to continue the Marvel ones up to now: Dark Mountain Lion, Everyone From The First Seventeen Films Tries to Get Some Rocks, Formicidae Man and Vespidae Girl, Commander Wonder, Everyone From the First Twenty Films Meets Up for One Last Time, Arachnid Man Leaves the Country, The Assassin from "Everyone From the First Five Films" Has Her Own Movie Now, Kung Fu Master and a Story about Jewelry, Ten People That Live Very Long, Arachnid Man Meets More Arachnid Men, Mystic Superhero in the Crazy Continuum, Thunder God is at it Again, Dark Mountain Lion: Patriotism, Formicidae Man and Friends Get Really Small, Defenders of the Star System a Third Time, Commander Wonder Meets Miss Wonder [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User_talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 20:48, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
:Also perhaps Thor: the Dark World could be Thunder God: A Dim Area? [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User_talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 20:51, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
::Strange Thing / Strange Things / Cubic Strange Thing / Strange Thing Revival / Strange Thing Against Hunter / Strange Thing Against Hunter: Funeral Song / Fire Thief / Strange Thing: Pact [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 23:34, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

Thank you to the person who did the comic rotated! My neck was hurting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.164}}

I'm curious, does anyone have a list to movie titles that have been similarly altered? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.227|162.158.2.227]] 06:33, 14 August 2015 (UTC)
: Not what you mean, but I'd used Google to look for "[https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=film+titles+translated+names&meta=&gws_rd=ssl film titles translated names]" (yeah, 'film' vs. 'movie', I know... but Google seems to have translated my Rightpondian terminology sufficiently) and it looks like it's definitely something people pay attention to. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.159|141.101.98.159]] 13:15, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

I had no idea what "The Jewelry God," meant, since that's a terribly mangled: "The Lord of the Rings" is of course a reference to the ring that rules all the other rings, as was made plain in the book. So "The Jewelry God" is backwards, and should have been "The God Jewelry." [[User:Mwenechanga|Mwenechanga]] ([[User talk:Mwenechanga|talk]]) 17:50, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
:Commenting very late, but: not necessarily. Sauron is actually referred to as "The Lord of the Ring" in the book (by Gandalf). [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 15:35, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

I feel it would've been even better if he'd done word-for-word synonyms transcriptions, instead of phrase "synonyms", which are only synonyms if one takes the "-nym" literally, the full phrase being the movie's name. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:06, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

Honestly, these sound like the titles of anime. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.162.165|172.69.162.165]] 06:29, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Talk:347: Brick Archway

2024-06-27T23:27:50Z

172.70.91.64:

.........[[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 20:22, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Type "Atari Breakout" in Google image search. (I'm pretty sure it only works on pc.) [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:56, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
:The search results won't make it self-evident that you're talking about [https://elgoog.im/breakout/ this] —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:54, 10 November 2019 (UTC)
:It also works on laptops. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 14:19, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

:NOTE, it no longer works. [[User:TheOddCell|TheOddCell]] ([[User talk:TheOddCell|talk]]) 02:23, 1 December 2023 (UTC)

'''That's... [ 1 week of silence later ] ...disturbing...''' don't delete bold text. -ANON E. MUS creator of comicomedy, xplainxkcd {{unsigned|Xplainxkcd|17:41, 27 June 2024|--noting that 'Xplainxkcd' is not an official account and merely makes a lot of nonsensical posts or even spammy posts...}}

Talk:2948: Electric vs Gas

2024-06-20T20:08:16Z

172.70.91.64:

Now I'm not a fan of gas engines, but that argument is in bad faith. Gas engines have one ''very big'' advantage over electrics: Energy density, and by extension, range. Batteries can't come close to the energy density of hydrocarbons, despite the latters' overall lower efficiency. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 17:22, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

:I think that's one of the main arguments for hybrid systems. Using a gas engine to charge an electric motor, and then using the electric motor to actually power the appliance, enables significant efficiency gains. If anything, combining the technologies enables even greater ''usable'' energy density from hydrocarbons. Hybrid electric vehicles for example are extremely efficient. [[User:Eunakria|Eunakria]] ([[User talk:Eunakria|talk]]) 17:43, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:Energy density, and the ability to move large amounts of stored energy from one place to another quickly and easily (aka pump gas, vs charge or swap a battery), from a thermal and maintenance perspective. (Which is not entirely unrelated to energy density.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.39.54|172.70.39.54]] 18:08, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::Swapping batteries (and slowly charging the batteries in the swap station) could offer comparable "charge" times to gasoline refuelling times, while also being better for battery lifespan, but would require industry coordination and standardisation re: battery packs and install location that, sadly, simply does not exist. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.42.212|172.70.42.212]] 19:54, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::Plug-in hybrids have been superior since 1904, but the incremental capital cost is still an issue while oil is under $100/bbl. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.129|172.71.150.129]] 19:16, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
: Except of course that this isn't quite as simple as this. A Honda Civic (one the most popular US petrol cars) will go about 400 miles on a full tank, about the same as a Dodge Ram. Also about the same as a Tesla Model S. There's a pretty good reason this isn't a coincidence - people don't want more much more range, and a bigger tank is more weight. A Chevy Silverado full tank will go about 500miles. If you really want range, you need to look at a hybrid car. As the comic points out, the torque on a standard otto cycle engine is poor, but that cycle is deliberately designed to give more torque. Hybrids use an Atkinson cycle which is far more energy efficient, but could not provide enough torque - so you use the electric to do that. A Prius has a range in excess of 630 miles, more than any popular petrol car. So if you want range, you still want an electric engine, just store the energy in hydrocarbons. For similar reasons, diesel trains use the diesel to run generators which then power the electric motors on the wheels, and have done for decades. {{unsigned ip|172.70.162.186|20:47, 19 June 2024}}
:: Which brings us back to energy density: The Honda Civic has a similar range to the Tesla – at 10% the weight for its fuel (vs. the Tesla's battery), and one-third the volume. The comparison gets even worse for long-haul cargo, but that might be beyond the topic of this conversation. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 13:06, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

On the other other hand, in a lot of cases an electric motor is just a gas engine with extra steps due to the current state of the power grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.232|172.68.174.232]] 17:24, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

Not here in Washington State it isn't. Most of our electricity comes from hydroelectric dams. [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 23:10, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
: AFAIK, no new dams are being built, and I reckon that the probability is vanishingly small that any new dam that is mooted will survive the inevitable storms of protest and get built. The trend, rather, and the political pressure, salmon fans, is to remove dams (e.g. those on the Elwha River). The existing dams are aging, their impoundment volumes are dwindling due to sedimentation, and the water for those impoundments is increasingly bespoke and is, in at least some cases, declining in volume due to climate perturbations. The population, and its energy use, is increasing. As of 2022, [https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WA#tabs-1 I read], WA was a net exporter of electricity. I would not be taking that status for granted. A few years ago, a study was published, finding that, in states where the electricity grid was dependent on fossil-fuel-fired plants, electric cars had a <em>greater</em> carbon footprint than gasoline/petrol cars - and this was before the major gains in gasoline fuel efficiency contributed by advances in computer tech (2007 Honda Civic hybrid gets the same city mileage, ca. 35 mpg, as a 2021 Honda Civic petrol engine, in my hands). I do not know what current assessments say about this. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.129|172.71.150.129]] 04:23, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

:I'd say an electric motor powered by a hydrocarbon grid still usually makes better use of gas than a typical gas engine. Gas engines that don't always run at full throttle (as in, a gas engine in an appliance) have dramatically worse efficiency than electric motors that don't always run at full throttle. It depends ''very'' heavily on use case, though; always take measurements and run the numbers before coming to a specific conclusion. Science would be nothing without empirical data. [[User:Eunakria|Eunakria]] ([[User talk:Eunakria|talk]]) 17:50, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

Should this have [[:Category:Climate change]]? I can’t decide. [[User:Usb-rave|Usb-rave]] ([[User talk:Usb-rave|talk]]) 17:40, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:Yeah, it's better with it for people looking though the category later on, they will want to see it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.10|162.158.186.10]] 19:13, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

Honestly, with this argument the thing gas engines have going for them over EVs is the refueling time and availability. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.175|172.69.59.175]] 18:58, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:That's fair. It would be nice if electric cars had been more focused-on ten years ago than the trend (trend? craze? idea? whatever.) starting now. I refuse to buy a Tesla, though. Elon is never getting my money. I'm waiting for an electric Volvo. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 13:27, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

It's really remarkable how uninformed and unintelligent this comic is, to the point where I now doubt the veracity of his entire What If? series. {{unsigned ip|172.70.114.62|19:13, 19 June 2024}}
:To be fair, there’s sort of an agenda here, while I don’t believe there’s one in ''What If?'' I can’t independently verify the accuracy of ''What If?'', of course, but there is that. [[User:Usb-rave|Usb-rave]] ([[User talk:Usb-rave|talk]]) 19:18, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:I'd like to know more about the "uninformed and unintelligent" assessment. Given that not all of Randall's characters copy his ''exact thinking''. I don't think he'd espouse much of what he has Black Hat say/do. And clearly many of his Cueballs, even being often accepted as Author Avatars, can be clearly being dumber than Randall (who is 'writing them as dumb') is. What we have is parody. And maybe you just don't see the parody in the way intended (or understood by others). Perhaps you have a completely different mindset, or are just inclined to be anti-Randall> (Even in things he's actually right about...) I don't know where the mismatch may be here, but if you're seriously thinking that there remains not one useful take-away from anything Randall has ever said, just from the ''possibility'' that his cartoon characters don't completely mesh with what you perceive as a correct worldview, then this needs looking at from a different perspective than just reassessing the whole ''What If?'' corpus. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.24|162.158.74.24]] 23:15, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
: The tagline for the xkcd comic does include the word "sarcasm", which should warn against over-serious or over-literal interpretations. Not infrequently, I find, xkcd ventures into the realm of the sarcastic, the opinionated, even the polemic (cf. the Hilary Clinton campaign ads), and this one states a clear opinion in favor of electric cars ... with which one is free to debate (as here, exhaustively), or disagree. All of which brings the cartoonist to the attention of the world, and thereby supports him in his chosen line of work, which, in the current state of cartooning as a profession, is no small accomplishment. As for the opinion, consider the following question: "I have a four-mile commute to work. Which is the most eco-friendly option? The electric car? The hybrid? The gas/petrol car?" Answer: the foot car. Walking the four miles is the only minimum-carbon solution under all circumstances ... except perhaps ones that allow the questioner to keep deir job. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.4|108.162.245.4]] 05:39, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Ohhh... OK. I had poor signal so this one took a while to load, and I only saw the "Gas vs. Electric" title. I thought it was going to be about kitchen stoves - ones that burn ''actual'' "gas", vs. electrical heating elements. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 19:45, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

I actually experienced the "cons" of a less limited degree of power and not being noisy at all, today. Someone in an electric vehicle (could have been a Tesla) pulled out of a sideroad, accelerating at what seemed like a reckless rate (it was advantageous to do so, but a petrol-powered vehicle that might have taken a bit longer to switch up the gears would still have been up to speed soon enough to not get into contention with any other vehicles). And with barely more than a whine, and perhaps a bit of road-noise that might have included at one point a bit of grit-splattering. I was watching this, and knew they were pulling out of the junction (and knew for certain, moreover, that there was no traffic coming up or down the road, nor anybody crossing the road anywhere in my rather long sight). Had there been someone ''actually'' about to cross the road (within the next 50 yards or so), however, it would have been entirely possible that they would have been caught be surprise by this near-silent and suddenly fast-moving vehicle. If it was a Tesla, then maybe its inbuilt forward 'radar'/whatever would have helped bring the vehicle to a stop, or at least slow it down/stop if from speeding up enough, before any actual accident might have happened... but this is theoretical, as it just happened not to happen anything like this on this occasion... But it could have. And the paradigm for crossing the road that I learnt several decades ago of "Stop, Look, Listen, Think" has probably now started to lose out on the "Listen" bit, and possibly degraded even the "Look" and "Think" until we start to retrain ourselves to anticipate vehicles whipping around random corners that are far more silent-and-deadly then what we've all become used to. Ok, so this is not necessarily the total fault of the electric vehicles (or even the drivers, but they must have ''some'' hand in the matter), but in changing the dynamics and situational awarenesses of road traffic so much it ''might'' be considered a relatable problem. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.24|162.158.74.24]] 23:51, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
: I drove an electric motorcycle for a while, which put me quite exposed and aware of safety and my driving environment. The concerns about EVs being too quiet don't come across as grounded in reality. Modern ICE vehicles typically have minimal engine noise already. There are really two cases: out on the road, where half the people (exaggerating) have their earbuds in, and any engine noise is swamped by tire noise anyway. No difference between ICE and electric here. Then in a parking lot, where tire noise is not significant, and maybe pedestrians could get extra auditory cues about the vehicles around them from ICE engine noise. In that context, I personally would flip open my visor and make eye contact with pedestrians. It would be nice if drivers of full-sized cars and trucks, no matter their power source, would do more of that. Driving while inattentive is unambiguously bad. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.204|172.69.23.204]] 02:40, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
: Rolling noise becomes more than enough for safe audibility by about 30 km/h (below which speed collisions are relatively less dangerous anyways, though most urban streets really should have a speed limit of 20 km/h for numerous reasons including safety), and actually dominates engine noise by about 55 km/h. ICEs are loud enough to have like a dozen deleterious health effects even while idling, though the noise of a bicycle, if sufficiently constant, is enough to reach the WHO threshold. In short, electric cars only need to make additional noise below about 30 km/h for safety, and even then only 55dBA, quieter than typical speech, and even then only if there's already a lot of noise polution to drown them out. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:23, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
::Although really what they mostly need is drivers who look where they're going, and don't assume that people will just get out of their way when they hear them coming.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.124|172.69.195.124]] 08:44, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
::: Which is best accomplished using narrower streets, bollards, and other traffic easing mechanisms that make people want to slow down and pay attention rather than putting up a lower speed limit sign and just expecting people to obey it. That goes double in the US where most speed limits are assigned by looking at the speeds people are actually driving in good conditions and setting it where 10% of people woulld be speeding (and then rounded to the nearest 5 mph), meaning the sign is literally irrelevant to almost everyone. Oh, also, we desperately need to stop combining streets, which are destinations, with roads, which are thoroughfares, into "stroads" that fail at being both; that's an actual majority of your traffic easing taken care of basically in one step. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.234|162.158.146.234]] 10:01, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

I wonder if the current explanation is missing the forest for the trees. My impression was that White Hat was parroting a ChatGPT-style response -- noncommittal and logically incoherent. (In fact, I missed the logical non sequitur the first time I read the strip. The style just screamed to me ChatGPT, though.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.9|172.71.154.9]] 00:55, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
: I agree about missing the forest for the trees. Everyone's so focused on the opinions being expressed, they're totally missing what to me is the whole point of the comic: poking fun at similar kinds of pro vs. con comparisons but where some/any/all of the points are actually on the wrong side of the argument. So while on the surface the comparison appears balanced, it's actually incredibly biased. Sure all of that stuff is interesting for those wanting to know more about the actual pros and cons of the particular subject being discussed; but that's just the vehicle Randall happened to choose for delivery. Now I'm not sure if ChatGPT / AI plays into this, aside from it probably being more likely to produce this kind of unintentionally biased comparison; but I'd assume given the absence of cues implying as much that this comic is not related to AI. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.236|172.71.146.236]] 19:06, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
:: Forgive me, but I believe "where some/any/all of the points are actually on the wrong side of the argument" has been well covered. Stating a couple of IC-Cons/EV-Pros ''as if'' EV-Cons/IC-Pros (and possible reasons why they could reinterpret things that way). Or is there yet another objection, and you aren't also meaning that? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 20:08, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

This comic was posted yesterday and I'm already seeing people typing essays. I'm scared. (also electric rules gas drools nyehh) [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
: Not too shabby a result from a stick-figure drawing posted on the Internet. Jealous? As for 'electric', nice to see your unqualified support for [https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara slave labor in the Congo] and elsewhere. Get a horse! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.73|172.68.23.73]] 13:40, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
:: Isn't a horse also a form of slave labour?[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.223|172.71.242.223]] 13:52, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
::There are several things wrong with your assessment, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.73|172.68.23.73]] (although I do wish my comics got this much attention). The first is your assumption that I know the exact methods used to gather battery materials (I don't). The second is saying I support slave labor, which I '''''ABSOLUTELY DO NOT.''''' The third is your assumption that I have the space, money, resources, skills, and time to purchase and take care of a horse. I don't! Slave labor is appalling, the DRC is a nightmare, and horses have more needs than I could fit into a week. Back to electric cars, though: they're generally better for the environment, they're quieter, they're more powerful, and their engine systems are really cool and fun to look at and see in action. Gas(oline) engines are loud, smelly, pollution-heavy, and subject to violent explosions in a crash. Electric is better in general. It's a good idea to manufacture them, but I agree with you on the need for changing battery material-harvesting methods. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 17:26, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

2936: Exponential Growth

2024-05-23T10:57:50Z

172.70.91.64: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2936
| date = May 22, 2024
| title = Exponential Growth
| image = exponential_growth_2x.png
| imagesize = 545x264px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Karpov's construction of a series of increasingly large rice cookers led to a protracted deadlock, but exponential growth won in the end.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a 2^64TH ITERATION OF A BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. No mention of the title text yet.}}

{{w|Exponential growth}} is the principle that if you keep multiplying a number by a value larger than 1, you will pretty quickly get very large numbers. Even if you start with 1 and simply double it each time, you'll have a 10-digit number after about 30 iterations.

This principle is often illustrated using the story "Game of Rice". A king of India wished to reward a man for creating a new game of Chess, and told him that he'd grant any wish. The man simply asked for a {{w|Wheat and chessboard problem|grain of wheat to be placed on a chess board and for it to double with each square on the board each day.}} The king granted his strange request and ordered one wheat grain to be placed on the board. The second day two more pieces were placed on the square next to that and the day after four pieces on the next. However, by day 20 there was over 500,000 grains on the board. The king had to dig into his own stock pile to pay his dues. On day 24 the king owed 8 million grains. By day 32 the king owed over 2 billion pieces of grain, at this point he had to give up and offered the man another prize.

Instead of this being a (possibly apocryphal) story, [[Black Hat]] used it literally during a game of chess to annoy his opponent into quitting. Black Hat begins describing the metaphor, only to reveal it wasn't a metaphor at all. Black Hat had been playing actual Chess games, and tried to force his opponent to resign by burying the chess pieces in rice, as implied by the multiple large sacks bluntly labelled 'rice' on his side of the chessboard. This is not the first comic to feature large quantities of rice labelled in this manner - in [[1598: Salvage]], a gargantuan tank of rice has simply the word 'rice' written on the side in equally gargantuan capital letters.

{{w|Garry Kasparov}} is a world renowned Russian chess master. He had the highest FIDE chess rating in the world-one of 2851 points-until {{w|Magnus Carlsen}} surpassed that in 2013 by 31 points. The Kasparov gambit is an opening move in chess.

In 1984-85 Garry Kasparov played {{w|Anatoly Karpov}} in a 5-month-long 48-game championship tournament which was abandoned. In the 1984-85 match Kasparov was losing 4-0 with 6 wins being required to win. Kasparov proceeded to draw 35 times before the match was abandoned.

In a 1985 rematch, Kasparov defeated Karpov for the world championship title, which he retained in their next rematch in 1986.

There are several articles in the International Chess Federation (FIDE)'s [https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/LawsOfChess.pdf Laws of Chess] that might prevent Black Hat from winning in this way:
* 7.3 "If a player displaces one or more pieces, he shall re-establish the correct position (...). The arbiter may penalise the player who displaced the pieces."
* 12.1 "The players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute."
* 12.6 "It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. (...)"

The amount of rice collected on each square of the chess board is listed below. It all sums up to around 400 billion tons (each grain weighing approximately 0.02 grams), or 500 times the annual world production. The last day would be 200 billion tons. But the implicit implication of this doubling is that the amount of rice you put on tomorrow is exactly equal to the amount of rice already on the board, plus one extra grain. So there were around 200 billion tons already, before the last square needs ~200 billion more.

* First row:
** a1: 1 grain
** a2: 2 grains
** a3: 4 ...
** a4: 8
** a5: 16
** a6: 32
** a7: 64
** a8: 128
* Second row
** b1: 256
** b2: 512
** b3: 1,024
** b4: 2,048
** b5: 4,096
** b6: 8,192
** b7: 16,384
** b8: 32,768
:
* First of each row
:
** c1: 65,536 grains (~ 1 kg)
** d1: 16,777,216 (~ 400 kg)
** e1: 4,294,967,296 (~ 100 tons)
** f1: 1,099,511,627,776 (~ 25,000 tons)
** g1: 281,474,976,710,656 (~ 6 million tons)
:
* ...
:
* Eighth row
** h1: 72,057,594,037,927,936 (~ 1.5 billion tons, more than the 2022 world harvest)
** h2: 144,115,188,075,855,872
** h3: 288,230,376,151,711,744
** h4: 576,460,752,303,423,488
** h5: 1,152,921,504,606,846,976
** h6: 2,305,843,009,213,693,952
** h7: 4,611,686,018,427,387,904
** h8: 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (~ 200 billion tons)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Black Hat is talking to Cueball standing next to him.]
:Black Hat: Exponential growth is very powerful.

:[Closeup on Black Hat. Next to him is an image of the lower left part of a chessboard. The four leftmost squares in the bottom row have grains of rice on them -- one, two, four, and eight grains respectively.]
:Black Hat: A chessboard has 64 squares.
:Black Hat: Say you put one grain of rice on the first square, then two grains on the second, then four, then eight, doubling each time.

:[Black Hat has emptied a bag of rice on a chessboard. There are several bags next to him and a pile of rice already on the table. A frustrated Hairy is walking away, fists clenched.]
:[Caption above panel, representing Black Hat continuing to speak:]
:If you keep this up, your opponent will resign in frustration.
:It's called Kasparov's Grain Gambit. Nearly impossible to counter.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]