explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3090: Sail Physics

2025-05-17T08:32:06Z

172.71.178.32:

After the last step, the sailors would then need to ground the boat to avoid being pushed in a circle, wouldn't they? [[User:Sophon|Sophon]] ([[User talk:Sophon|talk]]) 20:47, 16 May 2025 (UTC)

Note that for eastward wind, the boat will be propelled upwards, while the opposite is true for westward winds. This provides a basis for the functioning of airships and planes (Helicopters are more complicated, and additionally rely on their own magnetic fields) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.217.45|162.158.217.45]] 21:21, 16 May 2025 (UTC)
: Hence why you should always touch an earthing rod before approaching a helicopter, to avoid the magnetism pulling you into their rotors. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 03:11, 17 May 2025 (UTC)

Is this actually wrong? Wouldn't it still be ''a'' force on a sailboat, even if it's not the strongest? [[User:Smurfton|Smurfton]] ([[User talk:Smurfton|talk]]) 22:20, 16 May 2025 (UTC)

: I added some explaination on direction and magnitude of the lorentz force, maybe that will help - sga {{unsigned ip|172.68.234.227|22:33, 16 May 2025 (UTC)}}

The explanation states that of the four forces, only the electromagnetic force operates at the macro level. This is incorrect, as gravity is also directly observable by humans. There should also probably be a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoil to provide an explanation for how sails actually allow a boat to sail upwind. I recommend removing the remark about the poles potentially flipping in the future, as this is irrelevant. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.55.124|172.68.55.124]] 23:52, 16 May 2025 (UTC)

: What i meant was, for 2 objects at scales of humans =, maybe did not prase it well. In this case, it is the wind and the sail. Wind does not have a "mass" (the atoms most certainly do, but) we essentially have a pressure force, or momentum of wind, where instead of using the energy of atoms (and hence the mass) as given by kinetic theory is not used (that is random (as given by boltzman maxwell statistics)) and uniform (in the sense that for any direction, number of particles going against and towards is equal) and what we have is just pressure applied by a effective "group velocity" of the wind atoms. The gravity interaction between wind and boat, or the local waves and boat is negligible, and planetary gravity is not considered because that is not relavant for in plane motion. the pole fillping was added just for future proofing the article. I am sorry for the puns. I have rewwritten some parts, and reduced the part about pole flipping, and also added the average case scenario for the force, hope it is better now. - sga {{unsigned ip|172.70.143.75|02:37+, 17 May 2025}}
::That is one huge rambling paragraph, if it's (mostly) yours. I'm no stranger to ''writing'' huge rambling paragraphs, myself, but I gave up only a little way in on trying to make it read better. Grammatically, prosaically and with relevence.
::May I suggest that each 'frame' is treated to its own (shorter) paragraph, explaining what effect it tries to convey, what logic it individually tries to follow, but where it fails and what actual forces dominate a true example. (e.g. the hull-shape, including keel, helping convert roughly lateral sideways forces into forward ones against the water; those lateral ones having already been a conversion of largely head-on winds in the first place, thus two "almost up to 90 degree" redirections of force allow ''very nearly'' a 180-degree reversal of wind-blown movement. Feel free to discuss the comparisons and differences between 'flappy sail', though blown taught by the air, and an 'upright aircraft wing' solid design. ...See, told you I could ramble, but someone can surely do better at segmenting and summarising the basics of this.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 08:32, 17 May 2025 (UTC)

This is super embarrassing to admit, but I came here to verify whether this was a serious thing or not. I had no idea how a sailboat sails against the wind. [[User:Catgofire|Catgofire]] ([[User talk:Catgofire|talk]]) 23:58, 16 May 2025 (UTC)
:You aren't alone - I think I was an adult before I understood tacking in the sailboat sense of the word. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.174.127|162.158.174.127]] 02:45, 17 May 2025 (UTC)
: I'm wanting to add in some wisdom about "science-y" explanations that appear to be sensible but are completely wrong, segueing into how generative language models appear to be far more reliable than they are. However this margin is too narrow [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 03:09, 17 May 2025 (UTC)

hello [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.97|162.158.42.97]] 03:58, 17 May 2025

Talk:3083: Jupiter Core

2025-05-02T14:00:43Z

172.71.178.32:

NOOO RANDALL USED ‘DATA’ AS SINGULAR NOOOO I HOPE HE FIXES IT. [[User:Broseph|Broseph]] ([[User talk:Broseph|talk]]) 15:17, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
:Used with an information science perspective as it is here, it is usually used as a singular (https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/data-is-or-data-are/). At least, that's what I found while clicking around with one of my computer mouses :P [[User:SammyChips|SammyChips]] ([[User talk:SammyChips|talk]]) 15:39, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
:: From your source: "In academic and scientific writing, the word data is almost always treated as a plural word, as in ''The data collected by the research team suggest that the water supply has been contaminated''." [[Special:Contributions/172.71.144.179|172.71.144.179]] 18:49, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

:English is not Latin. Latin words work differently in English than they do in Latin. In English, "data" is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_noun mass noun] (a.k.a., an uncountable noun). For almost as long as the English language has existed, folks have been trying to "correct" people into using Latin rules of grammar, but that's not correct and never has been. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 16:43, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
::Exactly. English doesn't say noun adjective either only a few things continued that aspect of Romance grammar i.e. fee simple and surgeon general (I'm surprised it's alloidial title not title alloidial!) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.195.74|172.71.195.74]] 20:20, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
::If "data" aren't countable, then they probably aren't data... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.20|172.68.205.20]] 00:35, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
: ‘Data’ is not a mass noun. The singular of ‘data’ is ‘datum’. People treat it as a mass noun when it is not. Also, it directly comes from Latin, and is a Latin word, and should be treated as one. Same reason why the plural of octopus is octopi. [[User:Broseph|Broseph]] ([[User talk:Broseph|talk]]) 07:02, 2 May 2025 (UTC)
::I suspect you're trolling, but if so you got me. Octopus is from Greek, not Latin. English has stolen and mangled words from many languages. "Data" is just one you happen to be familiar with. Your familiarity doesn't mean the usage should differ. [[User:DaBunny42|DaBunny42]] ([[User talk:DaBunny42|talk]]) 09:07, 2 May 2025 (UTC)
:::Also, it's "octopodes". ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.179|172.69.195.179]] 09:47, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Can someone fix the formatting for the table, it’s annoying on mobile and shrinks the page because its 1 row [[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 15:35, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
: Nevermind, it wasn’t loading properly [[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 15:37, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
: Sorry, that was on me. Just figuring out how to use tables. [[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 17:07, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

I think it contains nougat. Perhaps with further study of Jupiter, humanity will finally be able to learn what, exactly, nougat is. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 16:35, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jupiter_diagram.svg This image] has always given me the impression it's actually a delicious frozen cake. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 18:08, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
:Nonsense - it's obviously a toy/choking hazard.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.89|141.101.99.89]] 08:21, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

Two things:

1: It looks like Jupiter is made of avocado flesh in the avocado pit image.

2: If jupiter were a giant avocado with the same mass, it would represent 95 quadrillion years' worth of global avocado production.
--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[DSBContribs |'''''My life choices''''']] 19:37, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
:Sounds like a solution to the quacamole crisis since Trump's tariffs on Mexico. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:14, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
:There's probably some pun to be made about a mole of guacamole, but you would actually need several thousand moles of avocados to equal the mass of jupiter. {{unsigned|Dextrous Fred|01:45, 2 May 2025}}

Also, the baby Jupiter raises questions about it's sexuality. Also who the father is. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[DSBContribs |'''''My life choices''''']] 19:37, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

: Jupiter's parents are Saturn and Opis. Seems as if Saturn is a single parent since Opis is nowhere to be found in the solar system. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.109.86|172.69.109.86]] 21:51, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

:: It looks to me like Velikovsky confused Aphrodite with Athena. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.150.94|172.69.150.94]] 17:58, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

In an Arthur C. Clarke novel, I think ''2010: Odyssey Two'', it was postulated that the core of Jupiter is diamond. I have since seen articles from others with a similar theory. It is apparently plausible, given the extreme pressures and presence of carbon. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:40, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

Who else didn't know the movies and thought 2010: Odyssey Two was a comic (probably just me) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.89|172.71.166.89]] 15:19, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
: Ignore the movies. They butchered the stories. Read the novels. And after 2010, there is ''2061: Odyssey Three'' and ''3001: The Final Odyssey''. They get a bit weird, but great stories. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:09, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

What's up with the description "Hard ball from avocado" rather than "Avocado pit"? The only results from a Google search for "Hard ball from avocado" reference this XKCD, so it doesn't seem to be some commonly-used term for an avocado pit that I'd never heard. Did Randall just have a brain fart and forget the word "pit"? Seems unlikely. If not, if there some hidden meaning to "Hard ball from avocado"? [[User:SethML|SethML]] ([[User talk:SethML|talk]]) 15:51, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
:Presumably it's because the joke rests on the fact that it's roughly spherical, so makes a decent analogy with a planetary core (and if you cut in to the avocado in the right way you could make it look sort of like one of those cutaway planetary layer diagrams). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.14|172.70.162.14]] 15:59, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
: Gemini [https://g.co/gemini/share/3341d4e56595 seems to have] a better understanding of humor than I do: "The phrase highlights the mundane, everyday nature of an avocado pit and the unsophisticated way it's described ("hard ball"), making its inclusion as a "leading theory" for the core of a gas giant planet ridiculous and therefore funny. It's unexpected and breaks the pattern of the more scientific-sounding labels, contributing to the overall แหย่ (yae - playful teasing) tone of the strip." [[User:SethML|SethML]] ([[User talk:SethML|talk]]) 15:55, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

Apparently, if Jupiter really were an avocado it would be about 1/4 less dense. Weirdly, googling the two gave me avocado density in kg/m^3, and Jupiter density in g/cm^3... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.13|172.70.162.13]] 16:06, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3074: Push Notifications

2025-04-10T15:39:20Z

172.71.178.32:

So...this is the April Fool's comic, if I'm not mistaken... Oh ye of little faith! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.106|172.71.26.106]] 20:00, 9 April 2025 (UTC)

I turned this on thinking it would just be a few every so often but I quickly realized how this is xkcd and it doesn't "joke". I had to turn this off because it disrupted my schoolwork by popping up every fricking 5 minutes{{unsigned|Moss|20:22, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: Personally, I'm disappointed by how long I have to wait between notifications. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 15:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Apparently my employer (or ublock) is keeping me from experiencing the full effect of any notifications. All I get is "An *actual* error has occurred. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.173|162.158.91.173]] 20:52, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:Yeah, I'm confused too. I've tried Chrome and got nothing. I've tried Edge and got effectively nothing. I progressed one message further, but nothing showed up. No notifications, popups, or whatever. And I have never installed an add-on for Edge. Edge did give me access to the game over screen by disabling notifications, but when I tried to re-enable them, nothing happened.
:
:Is this a mobile-only thing? [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 02:51, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:
:I'm having the same issue. Firefox doesn't work, which I understand, but neither does Safari. I haven't gotten a single notification. [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 06:57, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::Problem solved! Turns out I *was* getting notifications, I just wasn't seeing them. --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

What the heck are the "Zoom Notification" ones, with just a pair of numbers? Now that I've been sitting with this for a little bit, they're by far the most common notifications, and the most mysterious. What is "zoom"ing or should be zoomed-in-on or whatever, and what do the two numbers signify? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.75|172.68.22.75]] 20:35, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:I think they're coordinates. So far (x,y) has had x from 4 fo 73 (that I've seen) and y from 2 to 28. That gives a tad over 2000 possible combinations, but omething tells me there won't be more than 500 or so in total. Quite a few y=24 (not yet adjacent by x), and any given x has 0 to 3 different y partners (so far). They ''do'' repeat (I'm not recording how many times, but I'm scatterplotting what I get). The ones prefixed with "oh look!" are tightly clustered in x=6..13 and y=4..11, so far, with no non-"oh look!" ones there, so I'm plotting them in a different marker. I ''suspect'', after many many more Zoom Notifications, I'll be left with (enough of) a pixelated image's pixels (of two types, background colour excluded), or else I'm doing it wrong and I should be drawing lines between the dots, but I never managed to grab them all, so I'm relying on it being a random "spraygun droplets" sort of image-reveal. (Still some way to go...) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.66|172.71.241.66]] 23:08, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: Also, Zoom is a video chat app, if you didn't know that. That's the joke. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 02:53, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Made a new page called [[3074: Push Notifications/Table of Notifications]], much like [[1506: xkcloud/List of Permalinks]]. I’m hoping that we can put all of the possible notifications into the table, along with any possible images that go along with it and an explanation (if necessary). '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:26, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:I think it might be a good idea to make the table something more like source/name/notification, because there are chains of notifications where the name changes, like the How Many Times Can You Click This? notification. --[[User:Magicalus|Magicalus]] ([[User talk:Magicalus|talk]]) 23:19, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
::Might even want to track the URL that the notification leads to in the cases where it opens a new tab. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.57|172.71.142.57]]
:Did you mean a page much like [[1506:_xkcloud/List_of_Permalinks]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.171|162.158.175.171]] 01:25, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: Weird, someone changed that. I just reverted it. --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 02:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:::Yes, the user {{diff|371988|behind this change}} appears to have a keyboard->leopard sort of autochanger active (for cloud->butt) (unless they're deliberately doing it alongside deliberate changes to try to get it under the radar?)... I reverted something else they did, with the intention to check everything else (in Right Click's explanation) and unreverting the actually good changes. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 08:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I clicked on the silence notifications at a cost button a lot and it set Cueball's PC on fire?

I found what is presumably the source code (?) of the comic through the transcript. It’s all JS pages. No idea what they mean (I’m not good with code), but I’m sure that there are some on here that can help dissect it. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:50, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/manifest.json
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/42.4f5b21b3.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/index.js?v=1

: I found this list of states in there, saved to the "iU" variable: intro, wordgame, gameover, biglaptop, boat, default, floating, longdesk, missing, nekotree, nekotree2, nekowater, nodesk, onfire, peek, shark, spinning, squirrel, squirreldesk, squirrelplant, standing, sword, tallchair, tentacle, water, wizard, bigplant, catchair, catonhead, compiling, floor, plant, reverse. Presumably, this is all the images we're looking for. I'll get back to you if I identify what chooses them or all their actual filepaths. --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 00:43, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

: I found more urls:
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/marconi-sw.e9d36d05.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/491.7b4e7556.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/491.7b4e7556.js --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.45|172.69.23.45]] 03:11, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I have a sneaking suspicion the Zoom Notifications are sketching out an image of some sort
(Update: after plotting like 60 of them no apparent pattern is to be found) [[User:SkiesShaper|SkiesShaper]] ([[User talk:SkiesShaper|talk]]) 22:24, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: I've plotted 397 and it seems to be forming some kind of animal. Maybe a cat, given the comic theme? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.119|172.68.35.119]] 23:24, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:That could make sense yeah - there is definitely an organic sort of pattern emerging from the points I've been plotting out [[User:SkiesShaper|SkiesShaper]] ([[User talk:SkiesShaper|talk]]) 00:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: I'm pretty sure it's a turtle. I have 311 points so far and while it isn't clear, it looks like a turtle. [[User:IMW|IMW]] ([[User talk:IMW|talk]]) 01:51, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: After plotting more I think the "Oh look" coordinates help with drawing out a butterfly sitting on the left side of the turtle. [[User:IMW|IMW]] ([[User talk:IMW|talk]]) 03:36, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: I also am seeing a turtle after graphing the non-“Oh look” ones (and flipping the image vertically). Could the “Zoom notifications” be a reference to [[1416: Pixels]], which is about “zooming” in on turtles? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.12.119|172.68.12.119]] 12:54, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::: Is it fractal? If you zoom in, is it turtles all the way down? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.43|172.68.186.43]] 14:15, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: when the image is saved, it appears to have a hex code as a file name. could be some other thing though [[User:Pncak|Pncak]] ([[User talk:Pncak|talk]]) 04:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Apparently one of the notifications is: "The Earth is spinning at a rate of 1 rpd" This is true if you round it, but not exact. The time it takes to rotate is called a sidereal day, and there's one extra sidereal day a year. Basically, there's one solar day removed in a year, because the Earth's motion around the sun cancels it out. Think of it with a tidally locked planet. It spins around once a year, but the sun never moves. Really there's 1.0027379 rotations per day. [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 23:02, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: then it is rotating at 1 revolution per ''sidereal'' day, which could still be written as 1 rpd [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 05:23, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

This is the most chaotic comic I've seen in a while. Part of me wants to keep notifications on to see what happens, and part of me wants to turn it all off and throw my phone in a lake [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 00:40, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I am making a sheet with the cordinates: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/133jGfOM6EVuEco4j2NumOAOv6pEealyZpbDoMkESXvs/edit?usp=sharing
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.81|108.162.216.81]] 01:31, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Should we start uploading different images? [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:48, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: And should we create a new page for the images or put them all on the same page, like with umwelt. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:49, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Underneath the "Silence Notifications at a Cost" button, it says "Temporarily pause your notifications at the cost of notifying two random people". Does anyone know how for how long notifications stay silenced, or if there is a way to "unsilence" notifications? Also, when I click on the cats they just disappear. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 04:09, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: When I click on the cats I get a push notification with a cat fact.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.58|172.70.127.58]] 05:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
Just like any other button, you can click it really fast by clicking the button and then holding "enter" or spacebar. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 04:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Someone should probably comment on "April 1st (observed)". I assume it's a reference to the fact that the comic is late? --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:53, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Aye, as in: {{wiktionary|observed}} #2 [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.43|172.71.26.43]] 08:02, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Is it morally wrong to spam the temporary silence button, just because I want to give other people notifications? [[User:Broseph|Broseph]] ([[User talk:Broseph|talk]]) 08:01, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Notifications are so 2024. Ever since Trump imposed the penguin tariffs, <tt>dmesg</tt> is where it's at. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.126|162.158.91.126]] 09:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Finally yay!! [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 10:28, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Where have ''you'' been? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.160|172.71.178.160]] 10:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I got the file for "Cueball sitting at his desk, with a cat in the foreground near the point of view.", what do I do to add it :⁾ [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 13:24, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

If you refresh the screen when a clickable cat is on it, it moves. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.173|162.158.62.173]] 14:49, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

1468: Worrying

2025-02-26T17:01:32Z

172.71.178.32: Obvious misclick error.

{{comic
| number = 1468
| date = January 2, 2015
| title = Worrying
| image = worrying.png
| titletext = If the breaking news is about an event at a hospital or a lab, move it all the way over to the right.
}}

==Explanation==
This chart is a visual representation of how worried people should be by various events in real life compared to the same events in movies, based on the likelihood of the event causing serious harm. In effect, it's poking fun at various cliches and the emphasis on dramatic flair, regardless of realism. The chart's Y-axis indicates how worrying an event is in real life (from "not very worried" to "very worried"), while its X-axis shows how worrying the event is in movies. Nine events are shown in the chart, all of them cliches in the medium of film:

*'''Spilling a drink on your shirt''': In both real life and in movies, this just causes a stain and maybe a little embarrassment, with the worst case scenario of the shirt being expensive.
*'''Nosebleed''': Nosebleeds are common in real life, as they can result from even a mild impact to the face, or even dried out sinuses. There are some conditions where nosebleeds can indicate something more serious (such as a stroke, or radiation poisoning), but those are vastly outnumbered by bleeds that are relatively harmless. Unless there's a reason to believe that a nosebleed is connected to something else, they rarely even require medical attention. {{tvtropes|DeadlyNosebleed|Nosebleeds in movies}} are almost always a sign that something ''is'' seriously wrong - the common, mundane nosebleeds almost never come up.
*'''Breaking news''': People in real life commonly don't pay much attention to the news at all, so many breaking stories go unnoticed until much later. Most breaking news stories are also about non-threatening events (e.g. presidential addresses) or events that are far removed from the viewer. However, in movies, "breaking news" broadcasts are almost always a means to introduce a significant plot element which directly impact the protagonists, and are usually very serious events, sometimes about the protagonist. XKCD has referenced [[1387|news reports as foreshadowing before]].
*'''Parking ticket''': Tickets in movies are almost always ignored, but in real life, they are moderately worrying because they cost quite a bit of money and can tarnish your driving record.
*'''Persistent cough''': In real life, coughing fits can be a sign of serious illness, and are worth having checked out, but the large majority of them indicate only minor and common illnesses. In movies, just like with nosebleeds, a {{tvtropes|IncurableCoughOfDeath|persistent cough}} almost always indicates a potentially deadly disease.
*'''"We need to talk."''': This phrase is a common, stereotypical lead-in to a serious conversation, usually about a couple's relationship status. In real life, as in the movies, prefacing a conversation with that phrase indicate that something serious, and possibly very upsetting, is about to be discussed. Such conversations are rarely deadly, but are often upsetting.
*'''Getting knocked out by a punch''': In movies, a character who is {{tvtropes|TapOnTheHead|knocked out by a punch}} always wakes up sometime later with no lasting effects, making it less cause for concern than a spilled drink. In real life, being rendered unconscious by a physical impact is extremely serious, it can result in a variety of permanent impacts, such as concussions, up to and including brain damage and even death.
*'''Chest wounds''': The chart mentions wounds on both your right and left sides. In real life, a chest wound to either side is extremely worrying. But in movies, getting wounded on the right side of the chest will rarely deal lasting damage to the hero or primary villain, to show how badass they are. Wounds on the ''left'' side of the chest generally signify swift death. This is likely due to the common misconception that the heart is on the left side of the chest - it is actually in the center, with a slight tendency to the left. However, even left-side chest wounds in movies are apparently still less worrisome than coughs and nosebleeds. It must also be noted that the term "chest wound" is broader than what the author of the comic appears to mean. More narrow terms of "thoracic gunshot wound", "gunshot chest wound", "thoracic ballistic trauma" or "penetrating chest wound" (the latter is slightly broader and includes the damage inflicted by blades and other impaled objects) would be more appropriate because just a "chest wound" includes such insignificant events as minor skin cuts in the chest area.

The title text expands on the aforementioned breaking news reports. While already overly worrying whenever they occur in movies compared to real life, should the movie's news report cover an event at a hospital (usually an outbreak of some major disease) or a laboratory (a monster escaping, a toxic gas released, an explosion, etc.), these events are universally much more worrisome than any other type of news story since they are guaranteed to be important for the protagonists in short order. In real life, breaking news from such locations may be more likely to be serious, but are still very unlikely to impact the viewer directly.

==Table==
The comic shows an X-Y plot of events, showing how worried you should be ''in real life'' on the vertical axis and ''in movies'' on the horizontal axis. Each axis goes from "not very worried" to "very worried".

Below is a table listing the coordinates for each event according to how worrying it is. The coordinates have been found by measuring each dot to the two axises and then assuming that the extremes are at 100%.
*Note that this gives two possible ways to interpret the Y-axis "In real life" coordinate.
**Either chest wound is at 100% - this is the first Y-axis coordinate given below under "In real life".
**But alternatively it could be the most worrisome event overall that should be set to 100% including also the most worrisome event on the X-axis for "In movies". In this case, the nosebleed event sets the 100% bar higher, thus lowering the percentage for the "In real life" events. Either way could be argued, and thus this other coordinate is given as In Real Life vs. Nose Bleed ('''IRL vs. NB''').
*For the "In movies" coordinate nosebleed is at 100%. However, since nosebleed is located past the end of the x-axis arrow it could be argued that it is this event that is off the chart in the movies. But this table will assume this as the 100% mark either overall or at least for the X-axis for "In Movies".

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! In real life !! IRL vs. NB !! In movies !! Event
|-
| 100% || 73% || 30% || Chest wound on your right side
|-
| 100% || 73% || 80% || Chest wound on your left side
|-
| 81% || 59% || 9% || Getting knocked out by a punch
|-
| 75% || 55% || 62% || "We need to talk."
|-
| 51% || 37% || 90% || Persistent cough
|-
| 28% || 20% || 8% || Parking ticket
|-
| 24% || 18% || 74% || Breaking news
|-
| 12% || 8% || 11% || Spilling a drink on your shirt
|-
| 11% || 8% || 100% || Nosebleed
|}

==Transcript==
:'''How worried should you be when various things happen to you:'''
:[A chart with a scatter plot on which 9 dots are labeled. Each axis has a title and a scale. Reading from the top to the bottom and then left to right along the axis are:]
:Very worried
:'''...In Real Life'''
:Not very worried

:Not very worried
:'''...In Movies'''
:Very worried

:[The labels in the chart from the top:]
:[This first entry is standing in the middle of a square bracket that points to the two next entires both of which are at the same level:]
:Chest wound
:...on your right side
:...on your left side
:Getting knocked out by a punch
:"We need to talk."
:Persistent cough
:Parking ticket
:Breaking news
:Spilling a drink on your shirt
:Nosebleed

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

2907: Schwa

2024-03-18T17:23:45Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */ Minor grammar/subject-agreement rewriting.

{{comic
| number = 2907
| date = March 15, 2024
| title = Schwa
| image = schwa_2x.png
| imagesize = 301x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Doug's cousin, the one from London, runs a Bumble love cult.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ONE-VOWEL VOWEL ALIGNMENT CHART - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic box and title text conversational excerpts are examples of speech that can be spoken in some US dialects using ''only'' the {{w|schwa}} (ə) vowel-sound. Randall makes the observational joke that the schwa is so common that one can learn the English language without learning any other vowel sounds, if one sticks to the right topics of conversation.

This claim works for any dialect featuring the {{w|Phonological history of English close back vowels#STRUT–COMMA merger|STRUT-COMMA merger}}, including most of the US dialects that [[Randall]] himself would be most familiar with.

The intended pronunciation of the conversation can be written in the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} as (while preserving punctuation marks):
:Megan: /wəts əp? wəz dəɡ ˈɡənə kəm? dəɡ ləvz brən{{w|Voiceless postalveolar affricate|t͡ʃ}}./
:Ponytail: /ˈnə{{w|Glottal stop|ʔ}}<nowiki />ə, dəɡz stək kəz əv ə ˈtən(ə)l əbˈstrək{{w|Voiceless postalveolar fricative|ʃ}}(ə)n. ə trək dəmpt ə tən əv ˈən{{w|Voiced palatal approximant|j}}(ə)nz./
:Megan: /ə{{w|Voiceless velar fricative|x}}./

The title text, in IPA, if only schwas were used:
:/dəgz ˈkəz(ə)n, {{w|Voiced dental fricative|ð}}<nowiki />ə wən frəm ˈlənd(ə)n, rənz ə ˈbəmb(ə)l ləv kəlt./

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan, Cueball, and Ponytail stand in front of a dinner table, with Megan and Cueball facing Ponytail. Megan has her hand on the rightmost chair while Ponytail has her palm out.]
:Megan: What's up? Was Doug gonna come? Doug loves brunch.
:Ponytail: Nuh uh, Doug's stuck 'cause of a tunnel obstruction. A truck dumped a ton of onions.
:Megan: Ugh.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. In fact, if you stick to the right conversation topics, you can avoid learning any other ones.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1756: I'm With Her

2024-03-18T16:19:14Z

172.71.178.32: Unnecessary prologue. Anyone who doesn't already allow for that probably isn't going to be pursuaded by a 'disclaimer' like this. (Also a bit ungrammatical, even allowing for its casual tone.)

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}
==Explanation==
In this serious, ''no joke'', comic released the day before the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}} (which was more contentious than most, due in part to many people finding both candidates unusually distasteful), [[Randall]] urged his American viewership to vote, and showed his {{w|Political endorsement|endorsement}} for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the election. She was up against the {{w|US Republican Party|Republican}} nominee [[Donald Trump]], who ended up winning. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that there were also nominees from other parties, including {{w|Green Party of the United States|Green Party}} nominee {{w|Jill Stein}}, and {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian}} nominee {{w|Gary Johnson}}. Neither hoped to garner enough votes to become president, but there was a chance {{w|spoiler candidate|they could affect the result}} in some states (no third-party candidate has ''won'' a state since {{w|United States presidential election, 1968|1968}}, and it did not occur this time either: the closest any came in 2016 was independent candidate {{w|Evan McMullin}} in Utah.)

It was the second time Randall referred to this election, the first being [[1748: Future Archaeology]] three weeks before the election, but here it was just a wish to know the result using time travel (of course he did not learn the result back then…).

The "H" with an arrow was {{w|Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016|Clinton's campaign}} logo, and '''I'm with her''' an official slogan that was widely used by her supporters, hence the title. Randall then lists tips to help you cast your vote ([[#How to help|see table below]]) suggesting a personal investment in the election. Clinton herself may be represented by [[Blondie]] sitting on top of the H looking out at the reader as the only of the 11 characters. The only type of joke in the comic is the chosen characters. Two with weapons flank the left and right side looking out ready to defend against Trump: [[Ponytail]] with an emp gun (that she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]] for melting computers of persons who make snide remarks at women, clearly a reference to {{w|Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations|allegations of Donald Trump's sexual harassment of women}} in general and especially to his ''grab them by the pussy'' {{w|Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording|comment}}) and [[Cueball]] with his sword (from [[303: Compiling]]). See more details in the [[#Character gallery|character gallery]] below.

This is the first time Randall has used a comic to directly support a presidential campaign, although he did [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/01/28/obama/ endorse] {{w|Barack Obama}} in 2008 on his [[Blag]]. At that time, Randall wrote that he was troubled by Hillary Clinton's "basic lack of integrity", which is interesting considering he later endorsed her. He wrote later that it was very controversial when he endorsed Obama, but that it was not the most [[388: Fuck Grapefruit#Controversy|controversial comic he had published]] at that time. This comic might take that prize now, given that this was one of the most discussed elections up to its time. This is particularly noteworthy outside the US—for example, some European leaders openly opposed Trump, while others supported him. There were also reports of Russian hackers attempting to influence the election.

Randall's support for Hillary Clinton may have been due in part to Donald Trump {{w|Donald Trump#Healthcare.2C education and environment|being a prominent}} {{w|climate change denier}}. Randall has published comics opposing climate change denial such as this: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]], published less than two months before the election, as well as several other [[:Category:Climate change|comics on climate change]]. Also, Trump beating Clinton made Randall's [[1313: Regex Golf|regex that matches the last names of elected US presidents but not their opponents]] impossible to update. All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc., current as of 2016, that are intended to help US voters to vote, regardless of whom they vote for. Including this information can assist voters who don't understand the process, don't feel that it's worth it, or feel intimidated or threatened. In general, these sites and numbers were likely included to help boost voter turnout.

The title text, "We can do this", refers to Randall's desire to unite Democratic voters and elect Hillary Clinton to the White House instead of Trump. One can [https://www.lookhuman.com/design/86542-hillary-clinton-we-can-do-it/tshirt buy T-shirts] with the famed "{{w|We Can Do It!}}" logo from the Rosie the Riveter wartime poster, but with Hillary Clinton in the famed position. Both resemble the former president {{w|Barack Obama}}'s campaign slogan {{w|Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign#Slogan|Yes We Can}} and German Chancellor {{w|Angela Merkel}}'s "[https://www.dict.cc/?s=Wir+schaffen+das+%5BAngela+Merkel%5D Wir schaffen das]" (We can do this) refrain during the Syrian War refugees influx the year earlier—like Clinton, Merkel was fighting against {{w|Pegida|a populist nativist movement}} that wanted to close the country's borders. Although the title text wasn't originally meant as a joke, we in the future, aware of the election results, can extract humor from it in the form of {{w|Irony#Dramatic irony|dramatic irony.}}

===How to help===
The list of things that can help is all about getting people to vote. While Randall is likely to have wanted to boost voter turnout regardless of political leanings, it's clear from his endorsement of Clinton that he believed increased turnout would have helped her win the race. There is general evidence that certain more heavily Democratic-leaning demographics are less likely to vote, and in this election in particular, the various political issues that had been raised against Hillary (such as the {{w|Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's}} public disclosures of its investigation into her use of a private email server) were shown to have reduced enthusiasm among Democrats. But all these issues aside, both Republicans and Democrats alike agree on encouraging everyone to vote, and Randall is likely to have agreed with that sentiment as well.

Here is Randall's list of suggestions for how to help Hillary Clinton win the election:
{|class="wikitable"
!Suggestion
!Tip
!Explanation
|-
|Vote
|[https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com]
|A site to look up polling locations, ID requirements, etc.
|-
|Get a ride to the polls:
|[http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org]
|For voters in Douglas and Sarpy County, Nebraska, who needed a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends.
|-
|If you're having problems voting
|[http://www.866ourvote.org/ 866-OUR-VOTE]
|Racism or other biases on the part of people running polling places is a real issue for minorities. Though it is illegal, people may lie or deny rights to would-be-voters who they believe will not vote for the candidate they agree with. In some instances, voters may require backup from someone with legal understanding to get to vote, which is a service this phone number provides. Since Donald Trump has suggested that unofficial {{w|poll watchers}} should patrol voting stations—which has been described as potential [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/05/election-day-violence-donald-trump-poll-watchers voter intimidation]—this has been an especially widely discussed topic in this election. The phone number written out as numbers is 866-687-8683.
|-
|Experimental social turnout project
|[http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] App Store: VoteWithMe
|An app which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This app is for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "VoteWithMe". The "VoteWithMe" app is created by Civic Innovation Works and "uses publicly available voter records to predict which of your contacts are likely to support Democratic candidates, but might not have a plan to vote", as it says on its [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/votewithme/id1170104517/ App Store Page].
|-
|Reminder:
|If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.
|This is correct, as is printed on most election pamphlets as part of the ''Voters' Bill of Rights'', as well as being cited on numerous sources online (e.g. [http://votersedge.kqed.org/en/ca/ballot/election/area/42/section/voting-info?id=statewide-42-ca#section-my-rights-as-a-voter here].) Being turned down for trying to vote after the polling place is officially closed (if you were already in line ''when'' the polls closed) might be an instance where you want to use the phone number mentioned above.
|}

===Character gallery===
The comic shows a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics.

From left to right on the left side of the H are 
*[[Ponytail]] with a ray gun that she wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]] (wherein she was named Joanna), for the purposes melting computers of persons whom make snide remarks at women. Possibly a reference to {{w|Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations|Donald Trump's alleged sexual harassment of women}}.
*[[Black Hat]], who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic
*[[Danish]], Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair. However, it has mainly been Megan in comics with kites, like [[235: Kite]] and [[1614: Kites]]. Kites are a [[:Category:Kites|recurring theme]] on xkcd.
*[[White Hat]] looking at the kite.
On top of the H are
*[[Blondie]], (looking out at us, maybe representing Clinton herself)
*[[Megan]], (next to Cueball)
*[[Cueball]], (forming the standard couple in xkcd with Megan)
*[[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]).
On the right side of the H are
*Hairbun without glasses holding her hand out towards a cute squirrel. This could be a reference to [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]], where the squirrel is poisoned.
*[[Beret Guy]] holding a squirrel out towards Hairbun without glasses. The first time squirrels were mentioned was actually when Beret Guy found them in a tree in [[167: Nihilism]] and since then they have become a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring theme]] on xkcd and a similar squirrel can for instance be seen in [[1503: Squirrel Plan]].
*[[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Another Cueball]] standing on an office chair wielding a sword as in [[303: Compiling]]. Interestingly enough the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]] was about Cueball asking Hairbun about {{w|compiling}} in the old days. Seems realistic that Randall has this comic ready for this Monday before the election for some time, and when finding this 9-yeared version of Cueball in the old comics, he may have gotten inspired to make a comic about compiling in the old days.)

Note that the two characters at either side of the comic wield weapons pointing out, defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both of which are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Inset: Eleven characters are drawn around a huge H with a rightwards arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. Ponytail stands on the left with a raygun looking leftwards. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is flying a kite above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow sits Megan leaning against the left tower, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball stands to her right by the right tower. On top of the right tower sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is Hairbun without glasses holding a handout towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Another Cueball stands on an office chair on the right brandishing a sword looking rightwards. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him.
:Caption]
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Centred]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote―iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls―drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting―866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project―civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe
:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2901: Geographic Qualifiers

2024-03-02T19:40:50Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2901
| date = March 1, 2024
| title = Geographic Qualifiers
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png
| imagesize = 435x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT EAST OF THE INTERNATIONAL DATE-LINE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is bragging to a [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Cueball-like guy]] in front of a giant statue of a {{w|squirrel}} standing on a skateboard. Cueball states that this is the largest statue of that theme in “the {{w|Northern Hemisphere}}”. The other guy then becomes confused, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the {{w|Southern Hemisphere}}.

He quickly considers different countries in that hemisphere, {{w|Brazil}}, {{w|South Africa}} and {{w|Australia}}. This last country is a place known for its many {{w|Big things (Australia)|overly large statues}}. Squirrels are, however, not native to Australia, with introduced populations of {{w|Eastern gray squirrel|gray}} and {{w|Northern palm squirrel|palm squirrels}} [https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/palm-squirrel reportedly] have been eradicated, at considerable expense of time and money (squirrels [https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/squirrel-distribution-habitat do live elsewhere] in the southern hemisphere). It might be considered doubtful that there are any commemorative statues of such small pests, though {{w|Sarina, Queensland#Attractions|there is precedent}}. There are of course many animals (and many entirely fictional ones) that are depicted as statues in countries where they do not belong, such as an elephant in the Australian collection. Outsized [https://natureworks.com.au/products/animals/mammals/farm-forest-animals/giant-wirral-the-enormous-squirrel-statue/ squirrel statues] are available, but perhaps not with the additional stipulation of it riding a skateboard. Maybe [[Randall]], and/or the 'knowledgable' Cueball, does indeed know of some actual taller version of this theme somewhere in the southern hemisphere, but the confused guy certainly does not. 

Adding what ''might be'' an unnecessary qualifier, like this, could not change the truth of the wider statement. But it suggests that there's a need to restrict the scope of the statement, i.e. it wouldn't be true with a less restrictive qualifier (or none at all). This will cause the listener to wonder about these other cases. Or, in some cases, even whether to take this statement {{tvtropes|SuspiciouslySpecificDenial|at face value}}.

Randall states, in the caption, that he loves the mystery created by adding possibly needless qualifiers. Doing so could thus have been one of Randall's [[:Category:My Hobby|hobbies]], but he doesn't make that explicit. Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've exhaustively surveyed squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest. (Not counting any actual larger ones not ''also'' skateboarding!) But since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world.

Another example appears in the title text, where someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had (in actuality, "loveliest" is usually hyperbole).{{Citation needed}} This seems normal until they add the location qualifier of "East of the {{w|Mississippi River|Mississippi}}" (the river). This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own dating history.

The statue may be a reference to [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206 Ms. Pearl], the giant squirrel statue in {{w|Cedar Creek, Texas}} which, at 14 ft (4 m) was indeed the largest squirrel statue in the western hemisphere in 2018. The qualifiers, in this case, ''are'' necessary since a [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almat|temporary 40 ft (12 m) statue] was erected in {{w|Kazakhstan}} in 2018. But information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't tend to include this information{{Citation needed}} creating the mystique. The artist behind the Kazakhstan statue appears to have been unaware of the Cedar Creek statue so the Kazakh statue is ''not'' intentionally close to three times bigger.

It is perhaps thanks only to the specific phrasing "tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel" that we need not consider tallest-statues-of-squirrels (temporarily) placed on skateboards, tallest statuesque skateboards with squirrels atop or even a rather modestly sized statuette representing a moment when [https://bigthings.vroomvroomvroom.com/listing/worlds-largest-skateboard/ a large skateboard] had sciurine visitors. In any or all hemispheres.

==Transcript==
:[The scene in this comic is shown from afar and drawn in black silhouette on a white background. It depicts a huge statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Below and in front of the statue there are two Cueball-like guys. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue and speaking to his friend on the right who has a thought bubble above him.]
:Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.
:Friend [thinking]: ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

Talk:2892: Banana Prices

2024-02-12T15:03:23Z

172.71.178.32:

Is it a linear extrapolation? Or does it only appear so because the Y axis is logarithmic? Inflation is logarithmic, since it's expressed in percentages. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:04, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
:Well, the lines of extrapolation are (invoked as) linear, by dint of the height above the baseline being preconverted to a logarithmic function of the represented axial value. Rather than taking exponential-style extrapolation of data and 'happening' to linearise it through the subsequent transformation, it is almost certainly going to have been merely establishing some trend point(s) through which such an exponential would pass and using that to directly guide the linear plot that (on the converted scale) is the functionally equivalent result to doing it with ''every'' point. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.77|172.71.178.77]] 17:26, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

OK, so... my reading of the comic after studying it for a while is that Randall is making a sophisticated meta-joke about 'lying with data" and unreliable precision and how easy it is to be fooled. He knows, of course, that this graph's "prediction" is completely arbitrary and is likely to be VERY wrong. He is intentionally breaking a whole set of statistical best practices in this graph. If so, I think this comic is one of the most-layerd and subtle he's ever done. You have to know a lot about statistical best practices to see what he's really doing here. .. What's so interesting to me is him using the voice of the caption-writer -- usually good ol' reliable Randall -- to actually be the butt of the joke. ... If someone wants to claim that this is more sarcasm than "unreliable narrator," I guess that's a reasonable interpreation, but the use of the word "probably" in the caption makes me think we're supposed to take the caption-writer seriously. [[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 18:38, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
:I don't know, I think meta-humor is typically reserved for the title text. I think the comic is a cheap gag about bananas and that the line will eventually become outdated, and and it's oversimplified so that the logic of his joke is clear. The caption is written in a similar speech style to the quote, and I think the title text is Randall's admission that the graph isn't the best. I don't think flaws in the graph are intentional as part of some humor on graph design, just a consequence of making the graph clear enough to not be distracting from the joke. [[User:Kittyabbygirl|Kittyabbygirl]] ([[User talk:Kittyabbygirl|talk]]) 21:04, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
:I think the comic is about how obvious it is that wealthy people are influencing our societies, because they know nothing about our lives, and then kind of how you can comment on that without as much lashback if you criticize yourself as well. Or course, people are getting less and less skilled as we more and more do what we are told and influenced instead of what we would find on our own. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.168|108.162.245.168]] 01:25, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

Bananas are a special case: Basically we have a monoculture. With no genetic variations, bananas are highly vulnerable to the emergence of specialized pathogens and currently Panama 4 is threatening the Cavendish banana: https://www.theguardian.com/food/ng-interactive/2022/apr/14/climate-crisis-food-systems-not-ready-biodiversity So trying to fit this question of "will it go extinct soon?" into a smooth inflation price increase might be another butt of the joke

[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.88|172.71.246.88]] 18:49, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Randall is way off-base here, by about an order of magnitude. The episode is about Bluth frozen bananas, which require refrigeration, chocolate, and custom labor; they also do not have the economies of scale of fresh bananas. The AD wiki says the prices are >$1; in "Top Banana," Maeby says they cost at least $1. In real life, frozen bananas cost $5 in LA, $8 at ice cream shops on LA-area beaches. This is a joke similar to the Pulp Fiction $5 milkshake; milkshakes have been much more expensive than that for years. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.149|172.70.207.149]] 19:12, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
: Randall sometimes ignores basic elements about how the real world works in order to make a nerdy joke or point. The comic last week about Black Hat being tracked 8,000 miles away by NIST is a good example of that. The whole thing rests on us entering into his (slightly) alternate universe with him. [[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 20:37, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
: The joke set up in the original TV show ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Qyk9DSUw|see here]) I think was about the wholesale price of bananas; Lucille says, "What could a banana cost? Ten dollars?". Then Michael replies, "you've never actually set foot in a supermarket, have you?" so certainly he thought she was talking about the banana stand's wholesale input cost rather than what they retail a frozen banana for [[User:NZUlysses|NZUlysses]] ([[User talk:NZUlysses|talk]]) 17:53, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

:Given that these are a Bluth product, I'd be dubious about how much actual banana is involved in the first place.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.70|172.70.90.70]] 09:25, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

I am tempted to say "Keep the change." "What from a fiver." "Yes the world is going to end."
At the time of the radio series, it would have been an excessive amount of change to give away.
They did not keep it for the film, when a fiver would barely pay for one of the six beers. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.23|172.69.195.23]] 19:38, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
:given the extinction of Cavendish being imminent is the worth of a banana actually the worth of a banana?
::The price of bananas these days is just bananas! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 15:03, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

Using log scale here is not a joke. It's perfectly legit. Constant inflation is actually an exponential relation. For example, if prices go 10% up every year, in two years they won't be 20% higher but 21% because 1.10*1.10=1.21. And such an exponential relation becomes linear when plotted using a logarithmic y axis.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 21:57, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

With 34 Trillion debt I would not expect a US dollar to be worth a tenth of a banana in a time frame of hundreds of years - How far they can kick the can is unknown but I would guess years or at best decades over centuries. "what can not be paid back will not be paid back" A banana is worth a banana - it is the money that is losing value and to sustain this circus that must accelerate. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.216|108.162.241.216]] 22:33, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

As Pere points out, the logarithmic scale is in fact the correct scale for estimating the uncorrected price of an item, such as a banana. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.214|172.71.103.214]] 22:40, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

The explanation is needlessly long and on occasion wrong. Some one tried to fix it by adding paragraphs in parentheses. If something is confusingly written or wrong it's generally best to rewrite instead of adding a paragraph.
In my eyes the comic is Randall's comment on the fact that agricultural products have become relatively cheaper by having price increases below the inflation rate. This is a long sgandingytrend since the beginning of industrialization and the only reason we can afford new other things than food. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.24|172.71.160.24]] 07:56, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

"That line probably has another century or so left." There seems to me to be a pun here - 'that line' could refer to either the line(s) on the graph, which cross the $10 threshhold in a bit over century AND to the "how much could it cost" line of dialogue. In a century that line (of dialogue) won't be amusing any more since by that point - assuming the projection is correct - bananas WILL cost about $10, so the irony and humour will become lost.

== Bad stats? ==

Are these really 'statistical sins'?

Hot take but I agree with comments that it's reading too much into this comic to call it "a meta-joke about lying with data". Here are the supposed "sins" listed:

# false precision
# extrapolating an order of magnitude deeper into the future than is advisable
# assuming that a non-exponential quantity - prices - will grow exponentially
# referring to a logarithmic extrapolation as linear
# ignoring historical norms and high variability in making future predictions
# articulating multiple potential scenarios that are actually highly correlated with each other.

Taking them one by one:

> 1. false precision

Projecting prices hundreds of years into the future is farcical, for sure, but I'm not sure that's "false precision". "False precision" would be saying "on January 6 2254 this joke will finally be stale". But the comic gives a very imprecise (and wrong!) range "another century or so". If anything the precision of the projection is downplayed.

> 2. extrapolating an order of magnitude deeper into the future than is advisable

This one is true, and is the source of the humor.

> 3. assuming that a non-exponential quantity - prices - will grow exponentially

Inflation _is_ an exponential process, _by design_. Monetary policy holds the explicit aim--more or less upheld since the 1980s--to keep long-range inflation within a low and positive percentage around the 2% mark. That is the aim. There are periods of higher (and lower!) inflation but overall, the Fed has been successful at keeping long-run inflation within the target range for the last 40 years or so in which inflation targeting has been the dominant monetary policy paradigm. And growth on a constant percentage rate in a series just _is_ exponential growth; that's what exponential means.

> 4. referring to a logarithmic extrapolation as linear

idk maybe. The graph is on a log scale but a log scale has the quality of allowing us to visualize an exponential trend on a straight (linear) line. That's the beauty of it. I don't think there's a "sin" here.

> 5. ignoring historical norms and high variability in making future predictions

What historical norms are being ignored here exactly? Long-run inflation is fairly stable. To the degree there's a sin here, it's already covered by (2).

> 6. articulating multiple potential scenarios that are actually highly correlated with each other.

idk can anyone find a quote from their preferred statistical Bible to support the idea this is a sin? To my mind, showing that multiple distinct models converge on an approximate answer is a very good way to test convergent validity of a prediction. There are problems with presenting models as independent when they are not in order to give a false impression of a consensus. I don't think using three different inflation series as alternative models is doing that.

So maybe 1 or 2 of the sins alleged are real, imo. [[User:NZUlysses|NZUlysses]] ([[User talk:NZUlysses|talk]]) 17:22, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

It looks like parts of this explanation were written by ChatGPT. The unnecessary bulleted list, "looks like a wry observation", "using the ignorant tone [...] to wryly acknowledge", "overall", "in truth". This is an unusual tone for this wiki but not unusual for a chatbot.

Its kind of hilarious. Maybe we should keep it. [[User:Ystem|Ystem]] ([[User talk:Ystem|talk]]) 18:26, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

The explanation (as of this writing) is wildly overcomplicating things. The simple, straightforward idea that it will probably take a century for Lucille to be correct is the most likely intent of the comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.174.225|172.71.174.225]] 15:04, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

I disagree that correlations of projections are a problem. Often the future projections are "best case, worst case, most probable case", or at least 25th/50th/75th percentiles of a whole glob of simulated predictions, and will be highly correlated (but divergent, thus representing a potential uncertainty or highlighting when actuality confounds even the edge conditions). 
In this graph, those are three trends that ''might'' (in different amounts of specificity) direct the onward trend of the actual figure, depending upon what factors dominate. Bananas might be 'less price-rising than fruit', which in turn might be 'less price-rising than the general economy' (taking the projections at face value), but if the relative inexpensiveness of bananas hits a 'floor' (by general fruit terms or the wider economic issues) and fails to be disproportionately discounted as it clearly(!) has been then it would be forced to 'jump tracks' to a similarly (but more so) rising cost now parallel to where the successor projection was leading. (That's before other price-shocks like Banana Extinction or Inflationary Recession make the naïve trends of any or all of the lines completely wrong.) 
An example of an actually uncorrelated trend would be something Moore's Law-related, which would apparently be allowed here (by the "sin" objections), though it's difficult to say how that would be any more relevent than what actually is there. Of course, understanding (or explanation) of the potentially confounding (and hopefully relevent) co-dependent extrapolations plays a part in this. But this isn't even a significant "bad graph, just for the sake of laughs" element, IMO. If anything, it's the very squiggly nature of the historic data being projected off into 'likely directions' (dominated by the most recent true-instantaneous-gradient, which is clearly curved upards from any historic rolling average) without any consideration that the future-line might turn out to be just as 'squiggly' (except that it might be mostly rattling around between the upper and lower 'estimates', even as ''their'' true paths also rattle around... the most litteral 'banana price' trend obviously rewriting itself ''as'' the actual banana-price line). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.20|172.69.194.20]] 16:23, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

I agree with the commenters above, and I removed all the “unreliable narrator” and bad stats stuff. I was assuming he was being “Bluthian” about the whole graph, but now I realize there’s not much evidence for that. Hopefully it’s better now. [[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 21:06, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Separately: Can non-hyphen-dash editors [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2892:_Banana_Prices&diff=334823&oldid=334816 consider this edit reason] as a suggestion. If I see two words separated by just a line, it litterally screams of being a hyphen (even when it is typographically different). I will gladly dash (or even "&mdash;") an inadvertent hyphen-as-a-dash (or a two-hyphens-as-a-dash!), but to have no spacing makes it then tend towards dash-as-a-hyphen. And unnecessary when, as in these cases, sometimes a simple commaing will serve the same purpose. And parentheses can also be used when already there's too much commaing to be easily read in, out and across the various commas that might be there, with the advantage of clarifying the ins-and-outs of the rhetorical flourishes. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.20|172.69.194.20]] 16:23, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Another meta-joke might be that this whole extrapolation business displayed here is a bit "bananas"... ;-)

2866: Snow

2023-12-12T17:21:56Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */ Tweaks

{{comic
| number = 2866
| date = December 11, 2023
| title = Snow
| image = snow_2x.png
| imagesize = 609x379px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = For someone who has ostensibly outgrown staying up late waiting for Santa, I do spend an awful lot of time refreshing websites to see if packages are here yet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a APPARENTLY YOUNG SNOWFLAKE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about how snow can often be distracting to many people, which could be interpreted as being "childish" or less mature. As the graph shows, Randall's "apparent age" is still lower whenever snow is falling, though higher than when it's just begun snowing. Many people like snow for a variety of reasons; it may be nostalgic for them, it may be aesthetically pleasing, they may simply like walking around in snow, etc.

Randall's apparent age does not level out again at the original level within the time-frame of graph. Evidently, the mere presence of snow keeps Randall act somewhat childish; it may takes a lot more time (or reality-inducing [[1674: Adult|grown-up events]]) to catch up to his true age. He can be seen staring out of the window in the fourth panel, obviously still significantly entranced and distracted, even if he is no longer running around in age-inappropriate excitement.

The title text refers to another common behavior of many adults- constantly refreshing tracking websites to see if a package has moved- and compares it to the idea of a child who believes in Santa and tries to stay up late enough to see him deliver presents.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Above the comic, there is a graph labeled "Time" on the X-axis and "My apparent age" on the Y-axis. The graph is flat until a large drop, labeled "The moment it starts to snow". After the drop, the line rises, but it doesn't reach as high as before.]
:[Under the graph, there are four comic panels. All show Cueball, a desk with a laptop, and a window. The panels line up with the graph's X-axis.]

:[Window without snow. Cueball at desk, apparently working.]

:[Window with several snowflakes. Cueball at desk, turning around to the window.]

:[Window with a lot of snow. Cueball jumps excitedly up from his chair, shouting.]
:Cueball: Hey! It's snowing! Outside! There's snow falling! Look! Snow! Hey!

:[Window with a lot of snow. Cueball at desk, apparently working, but possibly looking at the window.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

Talk:2859: Oceanography Gift

2023-11-27T12:00:05Z

172.71.178.32:

The explanation for inland seas is incorrect. What Randall refers to is that with some (or many) of them, the surface currents work against letting any water flow in, because those currents flow outward. Thus, water poured into the Atlantic won't enter the Mediterranean, but water poured into the Med will move outward and then join the general ocean exchange.
What the explanation says does apply to (for instance) the Dead Sea. Of course, water molecules added to that have a high chance of evaporation, which would then get them into the global circulation anyway. {{unsigned ip|172.71.98.97|07:04, 25 November 2023}}

:This is incorrect anyway, since the Mediterranean has a net inflow of water from the Atlantic (inflow from its rivers can't make up for evaporation). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.34|172.70.38.34]] 08:20, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

::I would not have called the Med an "inland sea", either.
::Though I haven't read the main article/its history, since I put the very first paragraph there and invited others to add more. I presume someone took that literally (like Dead, Aral, Caspian or Salton, each with their own characteristics) rather than with the perhaps rather over-broad definition of having a single relatively narrow 'neck' connection.
::But the caveat in the Title Text of undeliverable by ''surface'' waters does apply, depending upon where you're sampling, as the Levantine sink of water takes inflowing water (that hasn't reversed around Corsica and gone straight back out) and feeds it round to the depths (and out again into the Atlantic) to a large degree. If you're relying on the 2D circulation, you lose such connectivity through the depths as well as it attaining atmospheric height...
::i.e. complex, and I think Randall's wording is not perfect. And yet to see if I can go back and improve/correct/support the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.134|172.71.178.134]] 18:47, 25 November 2023 (UTC)
::...and, re: the later edit about the Suez, yes. That too. Meant to consider it, in my re-edit, but forgot to finish checking which way the flow was (or tended to be). Good catch, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.193|172.71.94.193]] 15:06, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

: Randall says that molecules intended for the Med ''may'' be returned as undeliverable - not that they ''will''. I would read that to mean that they're more likely to end up back where they started than they are to make it to a destination in the Med, in which case the current explanation is a bit off base.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.37|172.71.242.37]] 09:26, 27 November 2023 (UTC)

: I'm not sure the overall premise is accurate; the paper is dependent on very low probability pathways, using the ability of algae to reproduce in those regions to give billions of chances of hitting those difficult pathways. The water in the bottle doesn't reproduce. {{unsigned ip|172.69.194.70|09:51, 27 November 2023}}
:: <mumble mumble>...homeopathy...</mumble mumble> [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 12:00, 27 November 2023 (UTC)

2858: Thanksgiving Arguments

2023-11-27T09:16:22Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2858
| date = November 22, 2023
| title = Thanksgiving Arguments
| image = thanksgiving_arguments_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = An occasional source of mild Thanksgiving tension in my family is that my mother is a die-hard fan of The Core (2003), and various family members sometimes have differing levels of enthusiasm for her annual tradition of watching it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an OVERLY POLITICAL THANKSGIVING DINNER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic features a conversation between [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], discussing the dynamics of family gatherings during {{w|Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving}}, specifically about the topics of political arguments and how to navigate them. This was a topical comic, as Thanksgiving in the United States in 2023 was on November 23, the day after the posting of this comic.

In the first panel, Cueball is depicted sitting at a computer, presumably writing an article or blog post titled "How to Win Political Arguments with Your Awful Relatives at Thanksgiving Dinner" - a common topic for 'filler' articles at this time of year. This sets up the premise of the comic, implying that there is a common expectation that political discussions during family gatherings can be contentious and that there is a desire to "win" these discussions, treating them as debates or conflicts rather than dialogues. In addition, the relatives concerned (who are perhaps usually avoidable, except during seasonally expected gatherings) are considered "awful" – a personal opinion that is possibly reciprocated, although it would actually be worse if it is not.

The second panel shifts to Megan, who challenges the assumption that political arguments are common at Thanksgiving by referencing surveys that indicate most families don't actually engage in political arguments during the holiday, with [[Randall]] citing [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/poll-nobody-fights-thanksgiving_n_5deece02e4b07f6835b7eab6 an article in ''Huffington Post''] in support of her statement. This panel introduces a counterpoint to Cueball's assumption, suggesting that the narrative of inevitable political conflict might be exaggerated or not universally applicable. In the third panel, Megan opines that Cueball's relatives have "fine" political opinions. She proposes that Cueball could instead write a post about the topics his relatives argue about.

The fourth panel concludes with Cueball writing about a recurring argument that takes place at his family's Thanksgiving dinner. That argument is not about politics but rather ''{{w|Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker}},'' which was poorly received for a Star Wars film, but may nonetheless have some fans with less trenchantly negative opinions. It is left ambiguous exactly what fervent opinions are raised among Cueball's relatives, but they do seem to cause some tension. Thus Cueball's family apparently does have a 'tradition' of recurring ideological arguments, for at least the last four years, but they are centered around a topic that most would consider less serious and more in the realm of pop culture. The punchline lies in the juxtaposition of the expectation of serious political debates with the reality of a trivial argument that has become a peculiar (and necessarily quite recently inaugurated) tradition, highlighting the idiosyncrasies of family gatherings.

The comic humorously encapsulates the heightened expectation of political debates at family gatherings, a cultural narrative especially prominent during Thanksgiving. However, the actual experience often deviates from this expectation, with families either avoiding such topics or engaging in entirely different kinds of disputes. The comic satirically suggests that these arguments might be over trivial matters, such as pop culture references, rather than the anticipated political disagreements. This portrayal subtly critiques the societal assumption about family conflicts during holidays and implies that the reality is much more nuanced and varied, with each family having its unique quirks and traditions that may or may not align with common stereotypes.

The title text extends this theme by introducing another layer of familial tradition that could be a source of tension, albeit mild. In this case, the mother's devotion to the 2003 movie ''{{w|The Core}}'' (widely considered a contender for "{{w|The Core#Reception|all-time-worst 'science in a movie' winner}}") and her insistence on watching it annually during Thanksgiving becomes a humorous bone of contention within the family. The varying levels of enthusiasm for this tradition among family members illustrate the comic's broader commentary on family dynamics: that tensions during gatherings often arise from personal idiosyncrasies and peculiar family rituals, rather than from the expected ideological clashes. It underscores the idea that while families may not always share the same passions, these unique and sometimes eccentric traditions define the character and the memories of family gatherings.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his stationary computer as Megan walks up behind him. The text he writes is shown above the screen with a zigzag line going from a starburst on the screen.]
:Text: ''How to win political arguments with your awful relatives at Thanksgiving dinner''

:[Closeup of Megan in a frame-less panel. Below Megan there is a footnote relating to the asterisk at the end of her sentence.]
:Megan: You know, despite all the posts about it, surveys show most families don't actually argue about politics at Thanksgiving.*
:Footnote: *<nowiki>https://www.huffpost.com/entry/poll-nobody-fights-thanksgiving_n_5deece02e4b07f6835b7eab6</nowiki>

:[Zoom back on to Cueball and Megan. Cueball has turned around in his chair, hands on his lap, looking up at Megan.]
:Megan: Take ''your'' relatives. Their political opinions are basically fine.
:Megan: Maybe you should write about what ''they'' argue about?

:[Closeup of Cueball typing on his computer. The text he writes is again shown above the screen with a zigzag line going from a starburst on the screen. Megan speaks to him from off-panel, her speech line coming from a starburst at the right edge of the panel.]
:Text: ''How to win arguments about '''The Rise of Skywalker''' at your Thanksgiving dinner''
:Megan (off-panel): Aunt Katie ''does'' bring that up a lot, doesn't she.
:Cueball: This'll be year four.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Holidays]]
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:36: Scientists

2023-11-26T11:37:54Z

172.71.178.32: Unnecessary break (left-over from pre-bulleting edit)

If Cueball's a scientist, the statement is perfectly valid. Even more so if his scientist friends are helping him, and they can't find his shoes either. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:07, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

I found the fact that the last sentence was present in the explanation funnier than the comic itself. -- [[Special:Contributions/131.175.28.142|131.175.28.142]] 22:13, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Its worth pointing out the comic was drawn in 2006 -- 'pretty gay' was not nearly as politically incorrect then as it is now. Wow, this is an old comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.125|162.158.255.125]] 14:33, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

Political incorrectness is a good thing. I'd hope he'd do this one again today. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:07, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
:Political incorrectness is a good thing? wow. While I also find overly political correctness in many cases over the top, unneccesary and annoying, this is a clear example where political correctness helps to battle discrimination. By using the term "gay" to describe one stereotype associated with homosexuality, this stereotype is further enforced, and people are treated according to it. I do not know a lot about you, but your username sounds like an adjective, so imagine, I started a trend describing people who are e.g. pedophile as "kazvorpal", and this trend catches on. Soon you would find yourself excluded from events, jobs, etc. because people would assume you are a pedophile. Wouldn't you prefer that to not happen? that is one example why political correctness is a good thing. Sorry for the trollfeeding. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:04, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
::No, you are suffering from the ravages of inductive reasoning. Political correctness includes a pretense that the speaker is battling discrimination, but it's just virtue signalling. They are, in fact, ''encouraging'' discrimination, and heaping advocacy of censorship and repression on top of it. Using "gay" as a mock pejorative does nothing to harm actual homosexuals, and in fact robs the term of its emotional power, as humor often does. Daniel Tosh incessantly making faux-bigoted comments uses humor to weaken racism, sexism, et cetera. And the end does not justify the means: Repressing the expression of others is evil, even when you're trying to use doing so to impress others about how virtuous you are. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 15:43, 29 October 2019 (UTC)
::: That opinion is what scientists call "pretty straight white man". --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.163|141.101.99.163]] 22:18, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
:::: Ad hominem {{unsigned|108.162.237.191}}
::::: Ad heteronym. Seriously though, stop being so ''straight'' --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.63|162.158.134.63]] 21:12, 4 May 2022 (UTC)

as someone who scientists are calling "pretty gay" (bisexual) and "retarded" (autistic), I find this comic humorous. -- [[User:Arthur101|Arthur101]] ([[User talk:Arthur101|talk]]) 00:33, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

Interesting edit I just felt I had to make, in response to another. The sentence:
However, since their being scientists is irrelevant to the legitimacy of their opinions about Randall's shoe problems, presenting their teasing as an expert opinion is humorously misleading; a similar joke is at play in [[1206: Einstein]].
...a change of "their being" was changed to "there being", assuming a homophonic error.
 However, technically (at least idiomatically) all three "their/there/they're" ''could'' be correct.
*"their being scientists" - 'the state of being scientists that they possess' works well as a concept,
*"there being scientists" - 'that scientists exist in that situation' also does, somewhat
*"they're being scientists" - 'it is scientists that they be' works well ('that they are' in alternate grammatical dialect, but off the 'being' form in both cases, rather than the secondary contracted 'are')
Anyway, I changed it onwards to "them being", i.e. 'those people (...that we can describe as scientists)'. In leiu of ''totally'' rewording to remove this (rather interesting) issue of grammar. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.147|172.70.85.147]] 11:33, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

1047: Approximations

2023-11-25T19:05:15Z

172.71.178.32: Rolling back to (amongst other things) mend broken markup "wikitable" and, though I'm British myself, return to US spellings.

{{comic
| number = 1047
| date = April 25, 2012
| title = Approximations
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = approximations.png
| titletext = Two tips: 1) 8675309 is not just prime, it's a twin prime, and 2) if you ever find yourself raising log(anything)^e or taking the pi-th root of anything, set down the marker and back away from the whiteboard; something has gone horribly wrong.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic lists some approximations for numbers, most of them mathematical and physical constants, but some of them jokes and cultural references.

Approximations like these are sometimes used as {{w|mnemonic}}s by mathematicians and physicists, though most of Randall's approximations are too convoluted to be useful as mnemonics. Perhaps the best known mnemonic approximation (though not used here by Randall) is that "π is approximately equal to 22/7". Randall does mention (and mock) the common mnemonic among physicists that the {{w|fine structure constant}} is approximately 1/137. Although Randall gives approximations for the number of seconds in a year, he does not mention the common physicists' mnemonic that it is "π × 107", though he later added a statement to the top of the comic page addressing this point.

At the bottom of the comic are expressions involving {{w|transcendental numbers}} (namely π and e) that are tantalizingly close to being exactly true but are not (indeed, they cannot be, due to the nature of transcendental numbers). Such near-equations were previously discussed in [[217: e to the pi Minus pi]]. One of the entries, though, is a "red herring" that is exactly true.

Randall says he compiled this table through "a mix of trial-and-error, ''{{w|Mathematica}}'', and Robert Munafo's [http://mrob.com/pub/ries/ Ries] tool." "Ries" is a "{{w|Closed-form expression#Conversion from numerical forms|reverse calculator}}" that forms equations matching a given number.

The {{w|world population}} estimate for 2023 is still accurate. The estimate is 7.9 billion, and the population listed at the website census.gov is roughly the same. The current value can be found here: [https://www.census.gov/popclock/ United States Census Bureau - U.S. and World Population Clock]. Nevertheless there are other numbers listed by different sources.

The first part of the title text notes that "Jenny's constant," which is actually a telephone number referenced in Tommy Tutone's 1982 song {{w|867-5309/Jenny}}, is not only prime but a {{w|twin prime}} because 8675311 is also a prime. Twin primes have always been a subject of interest, because they are comparatively rare, and because it is not yet known whether there are infinitely many of them. Twin primes were also referenced in [[1310: Goldbach Conjectures]].

The second part of the title text makes fun of the unusual mathematical operations contained in the comic. {{w|Pi|π}} is a useful number in many contexts, but it doesn't usually occur anywhere in an exponent. Even when it does, such as with complex numbers, taking the πth root is rarely helpful. A rare exception is an [http://gosper.org/4%5E1%C3%B7%CF%80.png identity] for the pi-th root of 4 discovered by Bill Gosper. Similarly, {{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}} typically appears in the base of a power (forming the {{w|exponential function}}), not in the exponent. (This is later referenced in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/73/ Lethal Neutrinos]).

===Equations===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!align="center"|Thing to be approximated:
!align="center"|Formula proposed
!align="center"|Resulting approximate value
!align="center"|Correct value
!align="center"|Discussion
|-
|align="center"|One {{w|light year}} (meters)
|align="center"|998
|align="center"|9,227,446,944,279,201
|align="center"|9,460,730,472,580,800 (exact)
|align="left"|Based on 365.25 days per year (see below). 998 and 698 are [[487: Numerical Sex Positions|sexual references]].
|-
|align="center"|Earth's surface (m2)
|align="center"|698
|align="center"|513,798,374,428,641
|align="center"|5.10072 × 1014
|align="left"|998 and 698 are [[487: Numerical Sex Positions|sexual references]].
|-
|align="center"|Oceans' volume (m3)
|align="center"|919
|align="center"|1,350,851,717,672,992,089
|align="center"|1.332 × 1018
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|Seconds in a year
|align="center"|754
|align="center"|31,640,625
|align="center"|31,557,600 (Julian calendar), 31,556,952 (Gregorian calendar)
|align="left"|After this comic was released [[Randall]] got many responses by viewers. So he did add this statement to the top of the comic page:
"Lots of emails mention the physicist favorite, 1 year = pi × 107 seconds. 754 is a hair more accurate, but it's hard to top 3,141,592's elegance." π × 107 is nearly equal to 31,415,926.536, and 754 is exactly 31,640,625. Randall's elegance belongs to the number π, but it should be multiplied by the factor of ten.

Using the traditional definitions that a second is 1/60 of a minute, a minute is 1/60 of an hour, and an hour is 1/24 of a day, a 365-day common year is exactly 31,536,000 seconds (the "''Rent'' method" approximation) and the 366-day leap year is 31,622,400 seconds. Until the calendar was reformed by Pope Gregory, there was one leap year in every four years, making the average year 365.25 days, or 31,557,600 seconds. On the current calendar system, there are only 97 leap years in every 400 years, making the average year 365.2425 days, or 31,556,952 seconds. In technical usage, a "second" is now defined based on physical constants, even though the length of a day varies inversely with the changing angular velocity of the earth. To keep the official time synchronized with the rotation of the earth, a "leap second" is occasionally added, resulting in a slightly longer year.
|-
|align="center"|Seconds in a year (''Rent'' method)
|align="center"|525,600 × 60
|align="center"|31,536,000
|align="center"|31,557,600 (Julian calendar), 31,556,952 (Gregorian calendar)
|align="left"|"''Rent'' Method" refers to the song "{{w|Seasons of Love}}" from the musical ''{{w|Rent (musical)|Rent}}''. The song asks, "How do you measure a year?" One line says "525,600 minutes" while most of the rest of the song suggests the best way to measure a year is moments shared with a loved one.
|-
|align="center"|Age of the universe (seconds)
|align="center"|1515
|align="center"|437,893,890,380,859,375
|align="center"|(4.354 ± 0.012) × 1017 (best estimate; exact value unknown)
|align="left"|This one will slowly get more accurate as the universe ages.
|-
|align="center"|Planck's constant
|align="center"|<math>\frac {1} {30^{\pi^e}}</math>
|align="center"|6.6849901410 × 10−34
|align="center"|6.62606957 × 10−34
|align="left"|Informally, the {{w|Planck constant}} is the smallest action possible in quantum mechanics.
|-
|align="center"|Fine structure constant
|align="center"|<math>\frac{1}{140}</math>
|align="center"|0.00714285
|align="center"|0.0072973525664 (accepted value as of 2014), close to 1/137
|align="left"|The {{w|fine structure constant}} indicates the strength of electromagnetism. It is unitless and around 0.007297, close to 1/137. The joke here is that Randall chose to write 140 as the denominator, when 137 is much closer to reality and just as many digits (although 137 is a less "round" number than 140, and Randall writes in the table that he's "had enough" of it). At one point the fine structure constant was believed to be exactly the reciprocal of 137, and many people have tried to find a simple formula explaining this (with a pinch of {{w|numerology}} thrown in at times), including the infamous {{w|Arthur Eddington|Sir Arthur "Adding-One" Eddington}} who argued very strenuously that the fine structure constant "should" be 1/136 when that was what the best measurements suggested, and then argued just as strenuously for 1/137 a few years later as measurements improved.
|-
|align="center"|Fundamental charge
|align="center"|<math>\frac {3} {14 \pi^{\pi^\pi}}</math>
|align="center"|1.59895121062716 × 10−19
|align="center"|1.602176565 × 10−19
|align="left"|This is the charge of the proton, symbolized ''e'' for electron (whose charge is actually −''e''. You can blame Benjamin Franklin [[567|for that]].)
|-
|align="center"|Telephone number for the {{w|White House}} switchboard
|align="center"|<math>\frac {1} {e^ {\sqrt[\pi] {1 + \sqrt[e-1] 8}} }</math>
|align="center"|0.2024561414932
|align="center"|202-456-1414
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|Jenny's constant
|align="center"|<math>\left( 7^ {\frac{e}{1} - \frac{1}{e}} - 9 \right) \pi^2</math>
|align="center"|867.5309019
|align="center"|867-5309
|align="left"|A telephone number referenced in {{w|Tommy Tutone}}'s 1982 song {{w|867-5309/Jenny}}. As mentioned in the title text, the number not only prime but a {{w|twin prime}} because 8675311 is also a prime.
|-
|align="center"|World population estimate (billions)
|align="center"|Equivalent to <math>6 + \frac {\frac34 y + \frac14 (y \operatorname{mod} 4) - 1499} {10}</math>
|align="center"|2005 — 6.5 
2006 — 6.6 
2007 — 6.7 
2008 — 6.7 
2009 — 6.8 
2010 — 6.9 
2011 — 7.0 
2012 — 7.0 
2013 — 7.1 
2014 — 7.2 
2015 — 7.3 
2016 — 7.3 
2017 — 7.4 
2018 — 7.5 
2019 — 7.6 
2020 — 7.6 
2021 — 7.7 
2022 — 7.8 
2023 — 7.9 
2024 — 7.9 
2025 — 8.0 
2026 — 8.1 
2027 — 8.2 
2028 — 8.2 
2029 — 8.3 
2030 — 8.4 
2031 — 8.5 
2032 — 8.5 
2033 — 8.6 
2034 — 8.7 
2035 — 8.8 
|align="center"|
|align="left"|Grows by 75 million every year on average. As of 2023, a bit too small.
|-
|align="center"|U.S. population estimate (millions)
|align="center"|Equivalent to <math>310 + 3(y - 2010)</math>
|align="center"|2000 — 280 
2001 — 283 
2002 — 286 
2003 — 289 
2004 — 292 
2005 — 295 
2006 — 298 
2007 — 301 
2008 — 304 
2009 — 307 
2010 — 310 
2011 — 313 
2012 — 316 
2013 — 319 
2014 — 322 
2015 — 325 
2016 — 328 
2017 — 331 
2018 — 334 
2019 — 337 
2020 — 340 
2021 — 343 
2022 — 346 
2023 — 349 
2024 — 352 
2025 — 355 
2026 — 358 
2027 — 361 
2028 — 364 
2029 — 367 
2030 — 370 
2031 — 373 
2032 — 376 
2033 — 379 
2034 — 382 
2035 — 385 
|align="center"|
|align="left"|Grows by 3 million each year. As of 2021 the actual number is ~13 million smaller.
|-
|align="center"|Electron rest energy (joules)
|align="center"|<math>\frac {e} {7^{16}}</math>
|align="center"|8.17948276564429 × 10−14
|align="center"|8.18710438 × 10−14
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|Light year (miles)
|align="center"|242.42
|align="center"|5,884,267,614,436.97
|align="center"|5,878,625,373,183.61 = 9,460,730,472,580,800 (meters in a light-year, by definition) / 1609.344 (meters in a mile)
|align="left"|{{w|42 (number)|42}} is, according to {{w|Douglas Adams}}' ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'', the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sin\left(60^\circ\right) = \frac {\sqrt 3} {2}</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac{e}{\pi}</math>
|align="center"|0.8652559794
|align="center"|0.8660254038
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sqrt 3</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac{2e}{\pi}</math>
|align="center"|1.7305119589
|align="center"|1.7320508076
|align="left"|Same as the above
|-
|align="center"|γ (Euler's gamma constant)
|align="center"|<math>\frac {1} {\sqrt 3}</math>
|align="center"|0.5773502692
|align="center"|0.5772156649
|align="left"|The {{w|Euler–Mascheroni constant}} (denoted γ) is a mysterious number describing the relationship between the {{w|Harmonic series (mathematics)|harmonic series}} and the {{w|natural logarithm}}.
|-
|align="center"|Feet in a meter
|align="center"|<math>\frac {5} {\sqrt[e]\pi}</math>
|align="center"|3.2815481951
|align="center"|3.280839895
|align="left"|Exactly 1/0.3048, as the {{w|international foot}} is defined as 0.3048 meters.
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sqrt 5</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac{2}{e} + \frac32</math>
|align="center"|2.2357588823
|align="center"|2.2360679775
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|Avogadro's number
|align="center"|<math>69^{\pi^\sqrt{5}}</math>
|align="center"|6.02191201246329 × 1023
|align="center"|6.02214129 × 1023
|align="left"|Also called a mole for shorthand, {{w|Avogadro's number}} is (roughly) the number of individual atoms in 12 grams of pure carbon. Used in basically every application of chemistry. In 2019 the constant was redefined to 6.02214076 × 1023, making the Approximation slightly more correct.
|-
|align="center"|Gravitational constant ''G''
|align="center"|<math>\frac {1} {e ^ {(\pi-1)^{(\pi+1)}}}</math>
|align="center"|6.6736110685 × 10−11
|align="center"|6.67385 × 10−11
|align="left"|The universal {{w|gravitational constant}} G is equal to ''Fr''2/''Mm'', where ''F'' is the gravitational force between two objects, ''r'' is the distance between them, and ''M'' and ''m'' are their masses.
|-
|align="center"|''R'' (gas constant)
|align="center"|<math>(e + 1) \sqrt 5</math>
|align="center"|8.3143309279
|align="center"|8.3144622
|align="left"|The {{w|gas constant}} relates energy to temperature in physics, as well as a gas's volume, pressure, temperature and {{w|mole (unit)|molar amount}} (hence the name).
|-
|align="center"|Proton–electron mass ratio
|align="center"|<math>6 \pi^5</math>
|align="center"|1836.1181087117
|align="center"|1836.15267246
|align="left"| The {{w|proton-to-electron mass ratio}} is the ratio between the rest mass of the proton divided by the rest mass of the electron.
|-
|align="center"|Liters in a {{w|gallon}}
|align="center"|<math>3 + \frac{\pi}{4}</math>
|align="center"|3.7853981634
|align="center"|3.785411784 (exact)
|align="left"|A U.S. liquid gallon is defined by law as 231 cubic inches
|-
|align="center"|''g''0 or ''g''n
|align="center"|6 + ln(45)
|align="center"|9.8066624898
|align="center"|9.80665
|align="left"|Standard gravity, or standard acceleration due to free fall is the nominal gravitational acceleration of an object in a vacuum near the surface of the Earth. It is defined by standard as 9.80665 m/s2, which is exactly 35.30394 km/h/s (about 32.174 ft/s2, or 21.937 mph/s). This value was established by the 3rd CGPM (1901, CR 70) and used to define the standard weight of an object as the product of its mass and this nominal acceleration. The acceleration of a body near the surface of the Earth is due to the combined effects of gravity and centrifugal acceleration from rotation of the Earth (but which is small enough to be neglected for most purposes); the total (the apparent gravity) is about 0.5 percent greater at the poles than at the equator.

Randall used a letter ''g'' without a suffix, which can also mean the local acceleration due to local gravity and centrifugal acceleration, which varies depending on one's position on Earth.
|-
|align="center"|Proton–electron mass ratio
|align="center"|<math>\frac {e^8 - 10} {\phi}</math>
|align="center"|1836.1530151398
|align="center"|1836.15267246
|align="left"|φ is the {{w|golden ratio}}, or <math>\textstyle{ \frac{1+\sqrt 5}{2} }</math>. It has many interesting geometrical properties.
|-
|align="center"|Ruby laser wavelength (meters)
|align="center"|<math>\frac{1}{1200^2}</math>
|align="center"|6.9444 × 10−7
|align="center"|~6.943 × 10−7
|align="left"|The {{w|ruby laser}} wavelength varies because "ruby" is not clearly defined.
|-
|align="center"|Mean Earth radius (meters)
|align="center"|<math>5^8 6e</math>
|align="center"|6,370,973.035
|align="center"|6,371,008.7 (IUGG definition)
|align="left"|The {{w|Earth radius#mean radii|mean earth radius}} varies because there is not one single way to make a sphere out of the earth. Randall's value lies within the actual variation of Earth's radius. The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) defines the mean radius as 2/3 of the equatorial radius (6,378,137.0 m) plus 1/3 of the polar radius (6,356,752.3 m).
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sqrt 2</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac35 + \frac{\pi}{7-\pi}</math>
|align="center"|1.4142200581
|align="center"|1.4142135624
|align="left"|There are recurring math jokes along the lines of, "<math>\textstyle{ \frac35 + \frac{\pi}{7-\pi} - \sqrt{2} = 0}</math>, but your calculator is probably not good enough to compute this correctly". See also [[217: e to the pi Minus pi]].
|-
|align="center"|<math>\cos \frac{\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{3\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{5\pi}{7}</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac12</math>
|align="center"|0.5
|align="center"|0.5 (exact)
|align="left"|This is the exactly correct equation referred to in the note, "Pro tip – Not all of these are wrong", as shown below and also [http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/140388/how-can-one-prove-cos-pi-7-cos3-pi-7-cos5-pi-7-1-2 here]. If you're still confused, the functions use {{w|radians}}, not {{w|degrees (angle)|degrees}}.
|-
|align="center"|γ (Euler's gamma constant)
|align="center"|<math>\frac{e}{3^4} + \frac{e}{5}</math>
|align="center"|0.5772154006
|align="center"|0.5772156649
|align="left"|The {{w|Euler–Mascheroni constant}} (denoted γ) is a mysterious number describing the relationship between the {{w|Harmonic series (mathematics)|harmonic series}} and the {{w|natural logarithm}}.
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sqrt 5</math>
|align="center"|<math>\frac {13+4\pi} {24-4\pi}</math>
|align="center"|2.2360678094
|align="center"|2.2360679775
|align="left"|
|-
|align="center"|<math>\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{n^n}</math>
|align="center"|<math>\ln(3)^e</math>
|align="center"|1.2912987577
|align="center"|1.2912859971
|align="left"|
|}

===Proof===

One of the "approximations" actually is precisely correct: <math>\textstyle{ \cos \frac{\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{3\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{5\pi}{7} = \frac12 }</math>. Here is a proof:

:<math>\cos \frac{\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{3\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{5\pi}{7}</math>

Multiplying by 1 (or by a nonzero number divided by itself) leaves the equation unchanged:

:<math>= \left( \cos \frac{\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{3\pi}{7} + \cos \frac{5\pi}{7} \right) \frac{2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}}{2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}}</math>

The <math>\textstyle{ 2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7} }</math> on the top of the fraction is multiplied through the original equation:

:<math>= \frac {2 \cos \frac{\pi}{7} \sin\frac{\pi}{7} + 2 \cos \frac{3\pi}{7} \sin\frac{\pi}{7} + 2 \cos \frac{5\pi}{7} \sin\frac{\pi}{7}} {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}}</math>

Use the trigonometric identity <math>\textstyle{ 2 \cos A \sin B = \sin (A+B) - \sin(A-B)}</math> on the second and third terms in the numerator:

:<math>\begin{align}
&= \frac {2 \cos \frac{\pi}{7} \sin \frac{\pi}{7} + \left[\sin \left(\frac{3\pi}{7} + \frac{\pi}{7}\right) - \sin \left(\frac{3\pi}{7} - \frac{\pi}{7}\right) \right] + \left[\sin \left(\frac{5\pi}{7} + \frac{\pi}{7}\right) - \sin \left(\frac{5\pi}{7} - \frac{\pi}{7}\right) \right]} {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}} \\
&= \frac {2 \cos \frac{\pi}{7} \sin \frac{\pi}{7} + \left[\sin \frac{4\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{2\pi}{7} \right] + \left[\sin \frac{6\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{4\pi}{7} \right]} {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}}
\end{align}</math>

Use the trigonometric identity <math>\textstyle{ 2 \cos A \sin A = \sin 2A }</math> on the first term in the numerator:

:<math>\begin{align}
&= \frac {\sin \frac{2\pi}{7} + \left[\sin \frac{4\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{2\pi}{7} \right] + \left[\sin \frac{6\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{4\pi}{7} \right]} {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}} \\
&= \frac {\sin \frac{6\pi}{7} + \left[\sin \frac{4\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{4\pi}{7} \right] + \left[\sin \frac{2\pi}{7} - \sin \frac{2\pi}{7} \right]} {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}} \\
&= \frac {\sin \frac{6\pi}{7} } {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}}
\end{align}</math>

Noting that <math>\textstyle{\frac{6\pi}{7} + \frac{\pi}{7} = \pi}</math> and that the sines of supplementary angles (angles that sum to π) are equal:

:<math>\begin{align}
&= \frac {\sin \frac{\pi}{7} } {2 \sin\frac{\pi}{7}} \\
&= \frac12 \quad \quad \quad \text{Q.E.D.}
\end{align}</math>

==Transcript==
:'''A table of slightly wrong equations and identities useful for approximations and/or trolling teachers.'''
:(Found using a mix of trial-and-error, ''Mathematica'', and Robert Munafo's ''Ries'' tool.)
: All units are SI MKS unless otherwise noted.

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
|colspan="2" align="center" | Relation:
|align="center" | Accurate to within:
|-
|align="center" | One light-year(m)
|align="center" | 998
|align="center" | one part in 40
|-
|align="center" | Earth Surface(m2)
|align="center" | 698
|align="center" | one part in 130
|-
|align="center" | Oceans' volume(m3)
|align="center" | 919
|align="center" | one part in 70
|-
|align="center" | Seconds in a year
|align="center" | 754
|align="center" | one part in 400
|-
|align="center" | Seconds in a year (''Rent'' method)
|align="center" | 525,600 x 60
|align="center" | one part in 1400
|-
|align="center" | Age of the universe (seconds)
|align="center" | 1515
|align="center" | one part in 70
|-
|align="center" | Planck's constant
|align="center" | 1/(30πe)
|align="center" | one part in 110
|-
|align="center" | Fine structure constant
|align="center" | 1/140
|align="center" | [I've had enough of this 137 crap]
|-
|align="center" | Fundamental charge
|align="center" | 3/(14 * πππ)
|align="center" | one part in 500
|-
|align="center"|White House Switchboard
|colspan="2" align="center"|1 / (eπ√(1 + (e-1)√8))
|-
|align="center"|Jenny's Constant
|colspan="2" align="center"|(7(e/1 - 1/e) - 9) * π2
|-
|colspan="3" align="center"|Intermission: World Population Estimate which should stay current for a decade or two: 
Take the last two digits of the current year

Example: 20[14]

Subtract the number of leap years since hurricane Katrina

Example: 14 (minus 2008 and 2012) is 12

Add a decimal point

Example: 1.2

Add 6

Example: 6 + 1.2

7.2 = World population in billions.

Version for US population:

Example: 20[14]

Subtract 10

Example: 4

Multiply by 3

Example: 12

Add 10

Example: 3[22] million
|-
|align="center"|Electron rest energy
|align="center"|e/716 J
|align="center"|one part in 1000
|-
|align="center"|Light-year(miles)
|align="center"|2(42.42)
|align="center"|one part in 1000
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|sin(60°) = √3/2 = e/π
|align="center"|one part in 1000
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|√3 = 2e/π
|align="center"|one part in 1000
|-
|align="center"|γ(Euler's gamma constant)
|align="center"|1/√3
|align="center"|one part in 4000
|-
|align="center"|Feet in a meter
|align="center"|5/(e√π)
|align="center"|one part in 4000
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|√5 = 2/e + 3/2
|align="center"|one part in 7000
|-
|align="center"|Avogadro's number
|align="center"|69π√5
|align="center"|one part in 25,000
|-
|align="center"|Gravitational constant G
|align="center"|1 / e(π - 1)(π + 1)
|align="center"|one part in 25,000
|-
|align="center"|R (gas constant)
|align="center"|(e+1) √5
|align="center"|one part in 50,000
|-
|align="center"|Proton-electron mass ratio
|align="center"|6*π5
|align="center"|one part in 50,000
|-
|align="center"|Liters in a gallon
|align="center"|3 + π/4
|align="center"|one part in 500,000
|-
|align="center"|g
|align="center"|6 + ln(45)
|align="center"|one part in 750,000
|-
|align="center"|Proton-electron mass ratio
|align="center"|(e8 - 10) / ϕ
|align="center"|one part in 5,000,000
|-
|align="center"|Ruby laser wavelength
|align="center"|1 / (12002)
|align="center"|[within actual variation]
|-
|align="center"|Mean Earth Radius
|align="center"|(58)*6e
|align="center"|[within actual variation]
|-
|colspan="3" align="center"|Protip - not all of these are wrong:
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|√2 = 3/5 + π/(7-π)
|align="center"|cos(π/7) + cos(3π/7) + cos(5π/7) = 1/2
|-
|align="center"|γ(Euler's gamma constant) = e/34 + e/5
|align="center"|√5 = (13 + 4π) / (24 - 4π)
|align="center"|Σ 1/nn = ln(3)e
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Protip]]

2642: Meta-Alternating Current

2023-11-25T18:57:25Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2642
| date = July 6, 2022
| title = Meta-Alternating Current
| image = meta_alternating_current.png
| titletext = It's always bothered me that you can't cancel out an inverter by putting a second inverter after it.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of Randall's [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] comics.

{{w|Direct current}} is a unidirectional flow of electrons from a power source to something being powered, through one or more conductors, before returning to the power source via one or more other conductors, thus completing the circuit. Batteries produce direct current. It is commonly used in electronics applications, including computers. {{w|Alternating current}}, on the other hand, frequently reverses the direction of electron flow, and is commonly used for longer-distance transmission (such as from the power plant to an outlet).

This comic proposes a humorous ''Meta-Alternating Current'', which uses a series of adapters to "alternate" between DC and AC current along the length of a connector. This is absurd in part because typical {{w|power inverter}} efficiency is 90%, and maximum {{w|bridge rectifier}} efficiency is about 99% for 120 V,{{actual citation needed}} so an {{w|extension cord}} made in this manner would lose about 11% power (compounded) per such pair.

The title text bemoans that an inverter, which converts direct current to alternating current, does not work in the other direction, as a layman's interpretation of the word "inverter" might assume. Rather, a separate device, a {{w|rectifier}}, also pictured in the comic, must be used for this second conversion. (However, a similar circuit to an inverter may be used to rectify in a process called {{w|active rectification}}.)

==Transcript==
:Cursed Connectors #120

:[Drawing of a chain of rectifiers and inverters. There are seven pairs of rectifiers/inverters. The chain starts on the left with a mains plug (type B), followed by the first rectifier. It ends with the last inverter, and a female mains plug (type B socket).]

:[They are also labelled, by means of the words "rectifiers" and "inverters" with arrows drawn pointing to a few of each. Per the labels, the inverters are the big chunky ones, and the rectifiers are the smaller ones.]

:Meta-alternating current extension cord
:(alternates between AC and DC)

==Trivia==
This comic replaced [[No One Was Hurt]] as comic 2642 after it was taken down from [[xkcd]]'s website.

This comic initially did not have a high-resolution (2x) image for high-DPI displays, making it look more blurry than usual on such devices (such as smartphones). This was probably because it was uploaded hastily to replace No One Was Hurt quickly. It has since been updated to include a high-resolution version.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]

Talk:2827: Brassica

2023-09-18T08:14:24Z

172.71.178.32:

You can also get pretty good mileage from claiming random things (like peaches, corn, or Skittles) are actually a type of berry. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.40|172.69.247.40]] 00:51, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:I've done that with corn before. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.76|172.69.134.76]] 01:32, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:Easier (and often ''more'' accurate than expectations) to suggest that any number of 'berries' are not a berry (but, typically, a {{w|drupe}} or {{w|Aggregate fruit|aggregate druplets/composite/etc}}), or similar with various (most?) type of 'nuts' that really aren't.
:But of course loganberries and most types of pine nut ''are'', indeed, brassicas!{{Actual citation needed}} [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.20|172.71.242.20]] 05:08, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
: You can get even more milage by claiming that _technically_ random berry isn't a berry[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.135|172.71.246.135]] 20:41, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
: The confusion there comes from two different definitions of the word. The culinary term simply means a small edible fruit. The botanical definition is based on how different parts of the flower develop into parts of the fruit, and much of what matches each term doesn't match the other. The botanical term excludes a lot that even has "berry" in its name, like strawberries and blackberries, but includes some things that definitely don't match the culinary term, like bananas. Most people who aren't scientists who work with plants normally think of the culinary term, so basing statements on what matches the botanical term often sounds strange. The same is true for fruits vs vegetables, as vegatable doesn't even have a non-culinary definition, unlike fruit, which has a clear botanical meaning, which includes some things considered vegetables.--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.46|172.71.254.46]] 06:10, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
This is like the ridiculous claims that birds descended from dinosaurs and whales from hippos. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:20, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:What do you mean "ridiculous"? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-became-birds/ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.229|172.70.100.229]] 19:06, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
:The poster was using the word "ridiculous" in the usual sense, but they omitted the "ironic" tag. [[User:Kelvin128|Kelvin128]] ([[User talk:Kelvin128|talk]]) 14:30, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
::Well, the <irony>...</irony> element and tags haven't actually been fully supported since HTML Internet Draft 1.2, and I don't think has ever had a MediaWiki markup equivalent. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 15:34, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Do we have a category/tag for "Experts misleading the public" or "Experts manufacturing false facts"? Feels like a common theme. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.121|172.71.22.121]] 10:37, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

''to which many vegetables that we eat belong'' speak for yourself. I'm pretty sure neither tomato nor potato is Brassica oleracea. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:44, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
:But what about the tomahto and potahto? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.143|172.70.90.143]] 05:23, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

'''One of the issues with defining which plants are what is the definition of a ''tree'''''. It's disputed a lot, one of those "I know one when I see one" type issues, but it's relevant here because the decision of what is a tree and what isn't is fluid and changes country to country (and even state to state https://www.rgc.net.au/post/what-is-a-tree) and depends on legal definitions rather than phylogenetic ones. https://eukaryotewritesblog.com/2021/05/02/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-tree/. Brassica, on the other hand, IS a genetic definition. I tried to point out the differences and similarities but someone edited it away again, so I figured I’d add it in here. If anyone would like to re-add, I see it as relevant that although we can randomly redefine various large plants as trees, we cannot randomly redefine various broccoli-like plants as brassica. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 07:28, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

Redwoods contain no resin. They do contain tanins, as does red wine. I am reluctant to edit the article but someone with that skill might want to change the line:
" "Resinous" is probably a more apt adjective than "delicious", and they're probably woody...."
to something like
""Delicious" might be an apt adjective as Sequoias, like red wine, have a high content of tannins, including polyphenols, but unlike wine this variety of brussels spounts would probably still be quite woody. Because of their height, the taste, like a Zinfandel, might have a long finish"

(reference to lack of resins in redwoods:
"Redwoods, however, contain neither pitch nor resin...".
and
"The Redwoods have a high percentage of tannin, and this gives both the bark and the heartwood a reddish color during the life of the tree...."
both from from https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/shirley/sec6.htm)
[[User:WWCODY|WWCODY]] ([[User talk:WWCODY|talk]]) 21:13, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

:Presumably that article is correct as to redwoods’ lack of resin, but it inspires *very* little confidence with “Fungi are colorless plants … .” [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 22:32, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2827: Brassica

2023-09-18T08:13:49Z

172.71.178.32:

2827: Brassica

2023-09-12T08:57:17Z

172.71.178.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2827
| date = September 11, 2023
| title = Brassica
| image = brassica_2x.png
| imagesize = 327x319px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Sequoia Brussels sprouts are delicious but it's pretty hard to finish one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a field of Sequoia cabbage - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Brassica oleracea}} is a plant species, to which many vegetables that we eat belong. These vegetables look strikingly different from each other; compare, for example, {{w|cabbage}}, {{w|broccoli}}, {{w|kale}} and {{w|brussels sprouts}}. The Wikipedia article on B. oleracea> lists 23 named cultivars, re are 24 listed on Wikipedia that all look different. These different cultivars all originated from wild cabbage, having evolved into several different forms via (primarily) human selection.

In the comic Cueball (acting presumably as a botanist) declares that the "mighty redwood" (presumably the coast redwood, {{w|Sequoia sempervirens}}) also belongs to this species. Since the coast redwood is a {{w|conifer}}, while B. oleracea is a {{w|flowering plant}}, the two species are about as different as two land plants can be, both in classification and appearance, when viewed at close quarters. However, when viewed from high above, the canopy of forests can bear a striking resemblance to the top of a head of broccoli. In this case, the pointier tops of conifers would more likely resemble a romanesco, while broad-leaved forests would be closer to the more commonly encountered calabrese.

If the presumed botanist can get away with this reclassification, they can probably get away with just about anything. But as walnuts are not nuts (but related to roses) and peanuts are not nuts (but related to beans) the world is strange enough that they actually might. The caption claims that botanists, such as the one appearing in the cartoon (Cueball), attempt this from time to time.

The title text refers to Sequoia Brussels sprouts. The reference is probably to the Giant Sequoia ({{w|Sequoiadendron giganteum}}), a close relative of the coast redwood. "Resinous" is probably a more apt adjective than "delicious", and they're probably woody. Additionally, they would indeed be quite hard to finish - Sequoia trees can range from {{w|Sequoiadendron giganteum|50-85 meters}} in height.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:: [Cueball, Megan and another Cueball are standing in front of a large tree. Only the lowest section of the tree trunk is visible.]
:: Cueball: Did you know the mighty redwood is actually the same species as broccoli and kale? It's just a different cultivar.
:: Other Cueball: Wow!

:: [Caption below the panel]
:: Every year or two, botanists add another plant to ''Brassica oleracea'' and see if anyone calls them on it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

Talk:472: House of Pancakes

2023-09-07T08:20:10Z

172.71.178.32:

My take on this (probably wrong in so many ways, especially as I'm British and obviously don't get some of the pop references that are obviously there), is that we are seeing this as if converted to a web-page (from a physical example that was scanned, with stains and marks and possibly even graffiti reproduced faithfully) and and given a number of hidden  by successive editors and reviewers of the material, except they're made visible for our benefit. It may even actually be a "wikified". I've seen worse ''actual'' examples. (Although the "Yvette's Bridal Formal", the epitome of bad web pages, had vanished last time I actually went and looked for it.)

"House" being in blue makes me think that this word has been globally 'linkified'.

Does the scribble "International" indicate someone trying to make it relevent outside the US?

This was to have been published on Blogspot, at some point, but some reviewer nerfed that.

Some of the footnotes sound a bit Lovecraftian, others somewhat as if Hunter S. Thompson had written them.

Footnote 19 points out the error (in my opinion, as well as the unknown annotator) of missing out the hyphen in "kids-only". The hyphen makes it a single compound term, which in this context isn't as necessary to remove ambiguity as it could have been, but still ought to be there. The editor concerned thinks this is related to the lack of the Oxford Comma (the one before 'and' in something like "foo, bar, and baz"), although I'm British and personally dislike that form of grammar (prefering "foo, bar and baz", the commas being "chained conjunction" replacers, the last of the conjunctions not being replaced so needing no comma) and don't actually think it's a majority UK grammatical feature. Except where the lack of it produces ambiguity, in which case I'd re-write it so it no longer had such ambiguity.

"The Big Steak Omlette" has been censored of some of its ingredients. Too thoroughly to work out what ''has'' been censored, so the joke may rely on knowledge of what they might have been.

"Mohawk Girls" is a documentary film. I only know that it exists (not even sure that this is the reference intended, rather than both items referencing something else) and have no idea about the relevence.

"Enough with your (God Damn) pancakes" as voiced by the graffiti stick-figures sounds like a meme, but is too obscure for me.

The title-text is the voice of a person unable to handle the mess (figurative and actual) all over the menu and deciding to try another eating-establishment.

I never knew about House Of Leaves, before now. This probably explains why this comic befuddles me. Checking out the description of it I see the stylistic link being made, although can't rule out that I'd remained befuddled (or even become much more so) even if/when I've familiarised myself with the book itself. :-) [[Special:Contributions/178.107.249.215|178.107.249.215]] 22:09, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
:Many thanks IP for your comments. I did start this page exactly because I need hints like that you gave. This comic is still incomplete so me and others have work on it.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:55, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Should "House" in alt text really be colored blue? It's definitely not blue in the original, probably just because of HTML limitations, but still. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.53|172.68.11.53]] 02:11, 19 February 2017 (UTC)

I think this is the one example of an XKCD comic that had me completely lost. I knew nothing about the book in question, wasn't even able to infer its existence from the cues of the graphic itself. I was speculating that maybe Randall just hated IHoP or something, but that didn't seem right. Usually I come to Explain for some minor detail, or for one I do understand but am curious about others' reaction to. But in this case it was "I have no idea...please help me". I remember similar bemusement when it first came out. But I prefer Waffle House, anyway.
— [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:49, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

I guess that this comic is outdated, now that IHOP is IHOb. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.23|172.69.70.23]] 14:43, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
:This comic is from 2008 and has to be read in that historical context. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:11, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

Is the Mohawk Girl a reference to #147? The portrayed scene seems similarly surreal and she is mentioned in 147's title text.

There was a serious editing mistake on this page that I fixed. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.125|172.71.254.125]] 01:06, 7 September 2023 (UTC)
:I un'fixed' it. No more useful than the LTR/RTL thing on that comic page, etc. Congratulations on the thorough effort, but sadly more a problem than a solution. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 08:20, 7 September 2023 (UTC)