Talk:1094: Interview

2026-05-26T17:13:33Z

187.144.161.135:

The title-text refers to one of the issues I've had as an interviewer - the applicant sometimes doesn't understand the job they're trying to get. Of course in this case Black Hat can be excused, since he now has the interviewer's job, not the one he applied for.

Normally when I get offered a briefcase it contains a monetary bribe, a factor missed out in the explanation. I too would be surprised to find a portal in a briefcase.
:[Citation needed]

The title-text also sounds like it contains a dig at interviewers, who seem to exist solely to block and stall candidates.

The hovertext might also reference the fact that the original interviewer doesn't know what else is different in this universe, and therefore doesn't know what his qualifications are or what else has happened thus far.

The briefcase technique should be mentioned in this article. Is a form of causing a good impression in an interview.

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Hovertext probably is a saying of Black Hat as interviewer, not other way round.

I agree, the hovertext is Black Hat asking the other guy, whose job he now has, what exactly IS that job. "Before you leave" is the clue: Black Hat isn't leaving, he has a job here now. [[User:Johngardner|Johngardner]] ([[User talk:Johngardner|talk]]) 20:42, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

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Should the (ex-)interviewer be identified as [[Hairy]]? [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 11:56, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I just want to point out that I find this particular comic incredibly evil, even by black hat's standards. *shivers*

Probably my favorite comic, not counting the Journal series. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:43, 6 March 2019 (UTC)

The last paragraph about the mind swap doesn't make sense. Hairy clearly drops into the seat. Also they now sit on opposite sides of the desk and Hairy still has the briefcase. Neither agrees with the mind swap theory. I'll remove it if no one objects.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.251.96|172.70.251.96]] 21:45, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:No fan of that theory myself, but "clearly drops into the seat" could be as much a mental illusion as the fall ''into'' the case (by whatever mind-swap-shock it might be that makes that happen), etc... I would have drawn the mindswap hypothesis differently, in Randall's shoes, but I can't rule out some valid reasons for this being the way that idea ''was'' drawn in his case. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.197|172.69.43.197]] 00:22, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
:: The chair drop is the least issue. He is clearly Hairy. He has the briefcase. They sit in opposite chairs from before. For that theory to make sense, all that has to be an illusion - why would Randall do that? Come on, by pulling the "illusion card" you can save every theory and include it here. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.186|172.70.246.186]] 10:18, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
::: The precedent of [[381: Mobius Battle]] could be being invoked (nearly is, with Hairy clearly expecting it) except that the case only 'works' the once, and doesn't reset the situation), in a reality-warping/perception-warping manner. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.87|141.101.98.87]] 11:08, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

859: (

2026-05-25T15:16:05Z

187.144.161.135: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 859
| date = February 11, 2011
| title = (
| image = (.png
| titletext = Brains aside, I wonder how many poorly-written xkcd.com-parsing scripts will break on this title (or ;;"'<nowiki/>'{<<[' this mouseover text."
}}

== Explanation ==
). Ok, we can begin.

In programming, punctuation is often used to mark sections of code. Paired punctuation marks must always be matched up with a corresponding closing mark, otherwise a so-called {{w|syntax error}} occurs. The programming language {{w|Lisp (programming language)|Lisp}} (also featured in [[224: Lisp]]) is known for large numbers of nested/paired parentheses. Even in literary works intended only for human consumption, the absence of a matching closing parenthesis as appears in this sentence or other "balanced" punctuation sets creates a mental expectation of eventual closure and completion that remains unfulfilled even long after the unmatched mark is encountered.

There is also a reference to [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost]] which could contain the missing parentheses.

It can also be interpreted as a {{w|metaphor}}, which compares the reader with a Lisp {{w|Interpreter (Computing)|interpreter}}. The interpreter looks for the parenthesis until the end of the file, where it eventually halts, and prints out the error. The comic claims that if you read an unmatched parenthesis, you will look for it for the rest of the day too.

It also refers to an awkward feeling when you see something out of place in a piece of literary text (like unmatched parentheses, spellying error or a randomly-plac,ed comma..

Also, it may refer to {{w|OCD}}.

Finally, some countries (Russia in particular) use just parentheses instead of text smileys so that <code>:(</code> becomes <code>(</code> and <code>:)</code> turns into <code>)</code>, and it's even somewhat common to stack multiple smiles together in such cases like <code>)))</code>. Hence those readers can magically resist the unresolved tension of the comic but may feel a bit sad instead as a side effect, although the parenthesis is placed in the beginning and not in the end as usual.

The title text refers to the same issue as already highlighted in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]: if your scripts trust external input, you sometimes will be surprised. At the time of this comic, there were quite a few websites that would grab the xkcd comic three times a week and publish them on their own site. This comic likely broke at least some of the websites because of either the unmatched paren or the extra unmatched markup that is in the title text.)

==Transcript==
:[Caption inside an oblong panel:]
:(An unmatched left parenthesis creates an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.

==Trivia==

* There are other comics with unpaired parentheses (not counting emoticons): [[19]], [[850]], [[1052]], [[1079|1079 (in "Colorado")]], [[1960]] This list is incomplete. Please expand it.
** Comic [[541]] discusses the relationship between emoticons and unpaired parentheses.
** By contrast, [[312]] has an unpaired close parenthesis.
** In [[1052]] the CS verse has a missing close parenthesis
* The well-known "helper website" [http://gChq.github.io/CyberChef/# CyberChef] has a text on its loading page that is a reference to this comic, probably as a joke.
* In Chinese Internet Slang, some people, especially [[:Category:Rhythm_Games|rhythm game]] enthusiasts, may place an unpaired open parenthesis at the end of a sentence to create [https://www.zhihu.com/question/28689654/answer/1038303988 a humorous effect].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1094: Interview

859: (