explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1931: Virtual Assistant

2017-12-20T20:47:56Z

173.245.54.31: /* Explanation */ Updated link for Mirai

{{comic
| number = 1931
| date = December 20, 2017
| title = Virtual Assistant
| image = virtual_assistant.png
| titletext = If you ask it to please turn off that feature, it apologizes a whole bunch and promises to try to be quieter, then switches to a slightly lower-volume version of the clip with "sorry!" after the louder sounds.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Smart Device. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] thinks it would be funny to imagine virtual assistants as clumsy people, rushing to the phone and tripping over things to answer the user's query. He wants to hack the world's smart home devices to program them so that any time you invoke them, you hear the virtual assistant running down the stairs, slamming doors, to answer panting and out-of-breath.

He makes it clear that he doesn't want to create a {{w|botnet}} with them, perhaps in reference to the infamous [[wikipedia:Mirai_(malware)|Mirai]] attacks of 2016, whose creators pled guilty in court a week before the comic was posted.

The title text continues with this idea: Randall has programmed this feature such that if you ask the assistant to disable the feature, rather than refrain from playing the clip, the virtual assistant apologetically promises to be quieter next time. Humorously enough, the assistant seems incapable of answering without causing a ruckus, as you'd just hear the same sounds as before, but slightly quieter, and with a more apologetic virtual assistant.

Sounds of things falling over and breaking off-screen is a {{tvtropes|OffscreenCrash|comedic trope}} used in movies.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT!!! delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan stands next to a small table with a small device sitting on it producing a sound.]

:Megan: Okay Google -
:Google Home: THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
:Google Home: CRASH THUD!
:Google Home: CLICK THUMP THUMP
:Google Home: [sink running]
:Google Home: ZIIIIIP! CLICK
:Google Home: THUMP THUMP CLICK
:Google Home: SLAM!
:Google Home: THUMPATHUMPATHUMPA
:Google Home: H... ''*Pant*'' ...Hello... ''*Pant*''
:Google Home: How... How can I help you?

:[Text below the panel:]
: I want to hack the world's smart home devices, but not to create a botnet or anything - I just want to make them play this sound clip every time you invoke them.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Virtual Assistants]]

1694: Phishing License

2016-06-15T15:17:10Z

173.245.54.31: punctuation

{{comic
| number = 1694
| date = June 15, 2016
| title = Phishing License
| image = phishing_license.png
| titletext = Later, walking out of jail after posting $10,000 bail: "Wait, this isn't the street the county jail is on."
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Phishing}} is a scam where a criminal sends emails or other messages (often large numbers of them) pretending to be from a trusted institution in order obtain passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal details of victims. The term is a neologism, playing on the term "fishing", because the process is likened to dangling bait and waiting for someone to bite. Phishing is illegal under both traditional fraud laws and modern cybercrime laws.

A {{w|fishing license}} is a government-issued permit allowing the catching of fish in controlled waters.

[[Cueball]] saw the sign offering phishing licenses, and was immediately arrested by the receptionist [[Ponytail]] upon applying for one. Clearly, there is no reason why a license would be available for a clear crime like fraud, hence why Cueball should have been more suspicious of the offer. The joke is that the process of offering "phishing licenses" is analogous to the process of phishing itself: they display a sign with a false offer, and wait for cyber-criminals to reveal themselves.

The title text reveals that Cueball's arrest was itself a scam. He has been put in jail, but is allowed to walk out after paying a {{w|bail}} of $10,000, only to find that when he gets back out on the street, it is not the street on which the county jail has its address. So Ponytail is actually not trying to capture people who would be interested in scamming people, she is trying to scam those people instead.

==Transcript==
:[A sign has an arrow below the text that points toward a sales window in a wall (with glass in front and small half circle opening at the bottom for transferring money and goods). On each side of the window there are two pieces of paper with unreadable text, and there is also one below the window that seems to have some kind of stamp or seal, still unreadable). In front of the window Cueball is addressing Ponytail who sits behind the window.]
:Sign: <big>Phishing license</big> apply here
:Cueball: Hi, I’d like to apply for a—
:Ponytail: You’re under arrest.
:Cueball: …OK, I should’ve seen that coming.

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:1670: Laws of Physics

2016-04-21T21:18:59Z

173.245.54.31:

This was demonstrated nicely by Neil deGrasse Tyson in episode six of the new Cosmos. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVSYA1RnSMQ] [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:18, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: Another demonstration: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UkUHC8hlL8] ;) --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.240|198.41.242.240]] 16:06, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: This youtube video with Neil deGrasse Tyson has been modified heavily from 6 secs to the end and no longer represents true psychics. Is this video here as a joke or should it be removed? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.197|108.162.214.197]] 22:19, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I believe that the line about having faith is also supposed to be a dig at magical thinking in science. Cueball may "know" that the experiment works because he's seen it done, but he hasn't thought it through enough to realize that it doesn't work from the other direction. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.252|173.245.54.252]] 16:32, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
:I concur. "if you really believe in the laws of physics, you won't flinch" seems like Black Hat teaching a very important lesson to Cueball about trusting appeals to science. Not kindly. {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.103}}

Could it also be interpreted that Black Hat is talking to himself, instead of Cueball?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.221|108.162.237.221]] 17:29, 20 April 2016 (UTC) Brian
: Black Hat being Black Hat, I very much doubt that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.219|162.158.150.219]] 19:53, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: He could be reassuring the ball. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

The comic is in 2d. Are we sure that Black Hat will release the ball in a plane that actually runs through the volunteer? If the plane is actually just in front of the volunteer's nose, then he will not be hit (okay, there may be {{w|Foucault_pendulum|precession}}, but that will only come into play after a while).
In that interpretation, the volunteer still needs trust, but not only in physics, but also in Black Hat's ability to release the ball in a suitable plane. --[[User:Markus|Markus]] ([[User talk:Markus|talk]]) 17:47, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: There's slack in the line. Assuming the ball swings, a rough measurement seems to position it below Cueball's chin. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
: Around [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/64:_Solar_Plexus this location] actually; I bet that smarts. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 05:11, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Inocalash: Assuming that the line is not a bungee cord. otherwise knowing black hat he might of set this off in a very well calculated bouncing action that will actually not hit Cueball. as if the balls weight was just right it would bounce over Cueball's head. as the start height is indeed above Cueball. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.85}}

Possible reference to #755? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.143|108.162.222.143]] 03:27, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
: It does seem his head is tilted towards the ball. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

This experiment is in the novel "Contact" by Carl Sagan. [[User:Chvsanchez|Chvsanchez]] ([[User talk:Chvsanchez|talk]]) 06:09, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Could the joke also be that flinching won't help Cueball much at all when he gets creamed by a bowling ball? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.31|173.245.54.31]] 21:18, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Talk:120: Dating Service

2016-03-11T14:04:23Z

173.245.54.31: added more to the discussion.

"Other similar activities include piña coladas and getting caught in the rain." This wiki is supposed to explain odd references, not make more of them! -[[User:Oxguy3|Oxguy3]] ([[User talk:Oxguy3|talk]]) 05:18, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
:It's now at trivia where it should belong to. I also did add a link to the lyrics.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:37, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
:: I don't really see why we need it at all, but it's fine there and I won't take it away. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 04:19, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

I rewrote the explanation and title text. hopefully this is sufficient. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.152|173.245.56.152]] 03:45, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

He used this in his bio in the Thing Explainer. 08:48 AM, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

Bitcoin address

2015-12-08T11:27:59Z

173.245.54.31: Fix'd bitcoin address

Just above the "[[footnote]]", at the bottom of the xkcd, is tiny print reading:

BTC 1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey

The later portion (bitcoin address) also appears at [http://xkcd.com/bitcoin/ http://xkcd.com/bitcoin/].
"BTC" is the abbreviation for {{w|bitcoin}}.
This is apparently xkcd's bitcoin address, perhaps the high-tech equivalent of a tip-jar.

Details about this can be seen in
[http://blockchain.info/address/14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk several]
[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5686.0;wap2 places].

[[Category:Meta]]

282: Organic Fuel

2015-11-20T16:38:40Z

173.245.54.31: Not sure why, but the original version includes an 's' in 'CORNS'

{{comic
| number = 282
| date = June 27, 2007
| title = Organic Fuel
| image = organic_fuel.png
| titletext = I have nothing to apologize for.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is fascinated about that engines can burn organic matter. But in fact {{w|biofuel}} is a big industry today. It is criticized now and then because it can affect food prices and is believed to exacerbate world hunger.

Next comes a reference to the famous quote, "Mussolini made the trains run on time", an oft-quoted piece of [http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/trains.asp propaganda] from Italy under Fascist dictator {{w|Benito Mussolini}}. The pun is made on the fact that {{w|Thyme|thyme}} (an herb, or as in this comic, a spice) and {{w|time}} (the physical phenomenon, as in the original quote) are {{w|homophones}}. But the organic matter thyme could technically be used as fuel.

The title text may be interpreted in one of two ways. It may be attributed to the pun-maker, in which case he makes no apology for his corny joke, or it may be attributed to Cueball, in which case he makes no apology for the termination of friendship, since the pun was too terrible.

[[Randall]] later made another joke on the fact that thyme and time are homophones: [[1123: The Universal Label]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball at computer and a friend standing nearby.]
:Cueball: Wow – Engines can burn vegetable oil.
:Friend: Well, sure. You can burn most any organic matter. Corns, leaves, spices...
:Cueball: Spices? Really?
:Friend: Sure – Mussolini made the trains run on thyme.
:Cueball: ...
:Cueball: We are no longer friends.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:492: Scrabble

2014-05-04T06:20:15Z

173.245.54.31:

Does anyone know the points for "Ostrich", "Historic", and "Coistril"? I know the game but I don't have it at home.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Not sure what double word type modifiers they have but here are the base scores:

clitoris 10 + 50
coistril 10
ostrich 12
historic 13

:Choosing '''historic''' would be the best family friendly option, but is a far less desirable choice. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

:: The only placement for ''historic'' would get it onto the triple word score with one doubled letter, making 42. Still nowhere near ''coistril'' or ''clitoris'', though (which can both get the 50 point bonus and the double letter score for the C). [[Special:Contributions/94.13.166.227|94.13.166.227]] 21:25, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Please do a separate post and do not destroy the former discussions.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Update by ‎67.0.215.76:
clitoris 60
coistril 60
ostrich 12
historic 42
:{{unsigned ip|‎67.0.215.76}}

Talk:492: Scrabble

2014-05-04T06:19:02Z

173.245.54.31:

Talk:371: Compiler Complaint

2014-03-22T14:11:48Z

173.245.54.31: Made slightly more efficient.

The test "whether build environment is sane" have nothing to do with libraries (those are tested later) or compilation at all (ditto). It seems to test ls and creating new files. Failing this test will surely means lot of problems, but certainly there are other possible sources of problems (some tested later), so not sure why it's labeled this way ... there is probably interresting history behind this.

The test goes like this (example taken from coreutils-5.94):
{ echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking whether build environment is sane" >&5
echo $ECHO_N "checking whether build environment is sane... $ECHO_C" >&6; }
# Just in case
sleep 1
echo timestamp > conftest.file
# Do `set' in a subshell so we don't clobber the current shell's
# arguments. Must try -L first in case configure is actually a
# symlink; some systems play weird games with the mod time of symlinks
# (eg FreeBSD returns the mod time of the symlink's containing
# directory).
if ! (
set X `ls -Lt $srcdir/configure conftest.file 2> /dev/null`
if test "$*" = "X"; then
# -L didn't work.
set X `ls -t $srcdir/configure conftest.file`
fi
rm -f conftest.file
if test "$*" != "X $srcdir/configure conftest.file" \
&& test "$*" != "X conftest.file $srcdir/configure"; then

# If neither matched, then we have a broken ls. This can happen
# if, for instance, CONFIG_SHELL is bash and it inherits a
# broken ls alias from the environment. This has actually
# happened. Such a system could not be considered "sane".
{ { echo "$as_me:$LINENO: error: ls -t appears to fail. Make sure there is not a broken
alias in your environment" >&5
echo "$as_me: error: ls -t appears to fail. Make sure there is not a broken
alias in your environment" >&2;}
{ (exit 1); exit 1; }; }
fi

test "$2" = conftest.file
)
then
{ { echo "$as_me:$LINENO: error: newly created file is older than distributed files!
Check your system clock" >&5
echo "$as_me: error: newly created file is older than distributed files!
Check your system clock" >&2;}
{ (exit 1); exit 1; }; }
fi
{ echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: yes" >&5
echo "${ECHO_T}yes" >&6; }
-- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:15, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

Made slightly more efficient. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.31|173.245.54.31]] 14:11, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

913: Core

2014-03-21T04:08:05Z

173.245.54.31: /*Removed "Title-text is missing since title-text had been added*/

{{comic
| number = 913
| date = June 17, 2011
| title = Core
| image = core.png
| titletext = If you're a geologist or geophysicist and you don't introduce yourself by saying your name, then gesturing downward and saying "... and I study that", I don't know what you're doing with your life.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic reflects on the fact that no matter where you are on Earth, its core is always directly under you, while incredibly hot and under huge amounts of pressure. Yet most of the time, we ignore this completely unless there is a volcanic eruption. Randall is presumably reading a geology book with diagrams and various facts about the Earth's interior, such as the core being subdivided into an {{w|inner core}} and an {{w|outer core}}, that the inner core is a solid ball, the size of the moon, that the outer core is at a pressure of 30 million pounds per square inch (approximately 2 million times atmospheric pressure at sea level) and the outer core is made of molten metal in a constant turbulent motion - a bit like a pot of boiling water. How cool would it be to study that? Therefore, Randall suggests if you do study it for a living, make the most of it.

==Transcript==
:[A cutaway diagram of the Earth, with colored layers including a labeled outer core and inner core.]

:[A closeup of the stylized outer core, labeled "Turbulent molten metals at 30 million PSI" with turbulence lines, and of the inner core, labeled "moon-sized iron sphere."]

:[Cueball reading a book pulls legs up tight under office chair, peering downwards.]

:I freak out about fifteen minutes into reading anything about the Earth's core when I suddenly realize it's RIGHT UNDER ME.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1339: When You Assume

2014-03-07T15:42:42Z

173.245.54.31: This is not Wikipedia, you know that?

{{comic
| number = 1339
| date = March 7, 2014
| title = When You Assume
| image = when_you_assume.png
| titletext = You know what happens when you assert--you make an ass out of the emergency response team.
}}

==Explanation==
Prior to the events in this comic, [[Cueball]] has evidently told [[Megan]] that he made an assumption about something. Megan starts to respond with what seems to be the modern proverb: "When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me." This proverb plays on the fact that the word "assume" may be broken down into the letters "ass" "u" and "me", and is intended to suggest that one should not make assumptions because they may turn out to be wrong and make those involved appear foolish.

However, after Megan relays the first half of the proverb in the form "You know what happens when you assume", Cueball astutely points out that her phrasing itself is hypocritical in that it makes the ''assumption'' that he knows what happens when you assume. Megan stops to ponder Cueball's point, to which Cueball responds "Check and Mate": a common retort suggesting triumph or having successfully countered another's argument to which there can be no retort.

In part, Cueball's response demonstrates that, in life we make assumptions almost every time we speak. This only tends to be problematic in the few instances where the assumption is wrong.

The title text is a play on the original "assume" pun, breaking down the word "assert", into "ass" and "ert", with "ERT" being an acronym for "Emergency Response Team".

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball talking.]
:Megan: You ''assumed?''
:Megan: You know what happens when you assume-
:Cueball: I don't. Yet you're confidently asserting that I do.
:Megan: ...oh. Hm.
:Cueball: Check and mate.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]