explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:34:08Z

198.41.235.95:

Rankine is a good compromise. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 14:11, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

0.173 rad = 10°. Now it could be 10°C (50°F) or 10°F (-12°C).--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.113|108.162.228.113]] 14:14, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

It should probably be noted that since 0.173 radians is equal to around 9.91 degrees, the temperature that Cueball gave is likely in 'radians Celsius', since 9.91 degrees Farenheit would be an unlikely temperature to occur, unless they're somewhere like Canada or northern Russia --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:17, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
:It would appear that that's already been noted since I started writing that comment. Ignore me. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:18, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Guys, we moved away from the Réaumur-scale: You can do the same for the Fahrenheit :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 14:20, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Considering how cold New England is today, I'm pretty sure it's Fahrenheit.

Temperature is given in F. Look at which month it is. And how this is a darn cold winter (at least in Canada). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.43|108.162.216.43]] 14:32, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

What's with the "We lost a Mars probe over this" remark? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.113|141.101.104.113]] 14:33, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

its currently 10F in the Boston area where Randall lives.

Talk:1634: In Case of Emergency

2016-01-25T16:16:49Z

198.41.235.95:

Just attempted my first transcript... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 07:22, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

Can someone please explain the title text?? When I search for "emergency locker" on google images, I get some disconcerting results... [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:20, 25 January 2016 (UTC)
:Probably means something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/St-John-Ambulance-Lockable-Cabinet/dp/B003KK6948 [[User:Jdluk|Jdluk]] ([[User talk:Jdluk|talk]]) 09:36, 25 January 2016 (UTC)
::He clearly means something with glass in front of the locker inside. I have in vain tried to find anything like it on the web. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:07, 25 January 2016 (UTC)
:::Try http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-2122/Fire-Protection/Fire-Extinguisher-Cabinet-2-1-2-5-lb or https://www.grainger.com/product/ALTA-Fire-Extinguisher-Cabinet-40LU32?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/40LU32_AS02?$smthumb$ (enlarge the image and look at the door handle). I can't find what I remember as the classic with a hammer and instructions in read letters. I suspect I'm dating myself and Randall since it appears there have been some technological changes in the way these cabinets are constructed.[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.95|198.41.235.95]] 16:16, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

What I've wanted to do is have a normal one with a fire extinguisher, and next to it have a fireplace with a hammer in the back and a sign that says "In case of glass, extinguish fire." [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 10:10, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

sorry, "it's" abuse again. aren't we supposed to be geeks? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 13:50, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

559: No Pun Intended

2016-01-08T21:37:21Z

198.41.235.95: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 559
| date = March 23, 2009
| title = No Pun Intended
| image = no_pun_intended.png
| titletext = Like spelling 'dammit' correctly -- with two m's -- it's a troll that works best on the most literate.
}}

==Explanation==
"No pun intended" is an idiom meaning that something just said wasn't meant to be a {{w|pun}}, implying that the preceding statement could be interpreted as one. As done in the comic, following a non-pun with "no pun intended", although factually accurate, breaks this implication and confuses listeners who will be trying to work out which part of the sentence could have been interpreted as a pun.

In this comic, which is part of the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] series, [[Cueball]] uses this tactic to confuse [[Beret Guy]], who spends the next three hours trying to understand what pun there could have been in Cueballs sentence: ''I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes''. The guy Cueball talks about seems to have taken over ({{w|Internalization|internalized}}) all his girlfriends attitudes, values, standards and opinions, putting these instead of those he has from his own identity or sense of self. This is probably sad, but there is no pun in the sentence.{{Citation needed}}

Beret Guy, however, has been fooled by the addition of ''no pun intended'' and tries to overanalyze the sentence - did Cueball mean ''Lied'' when saying ''Interna'''li'''z'''ed''''' or was it ''Analyzed'' or even ''Attitudes'' he meant; could that be the pun? Since there was no pun, he will never find a solution. This was Cueball's plan all along.

It seems like Beret Guy, after three hours, finally gives up when he says ''Dammit''. This then leads to the title text joke.

Unfortunately for the hobbyist, blank puns default to sexual innuendos, the most notorious example being [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/if-you-know-what-i-mean "If You Know What I Mean."]

The title text elicits a similar confused reaction, as the most literate people will be more likely to want to spell out "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damn_it damn it]" rather than using an abbreviated form with morphed spelling as [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dammit dammit]. What is referred to ''with two m's'' is because many people ([http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/79282/dammit-vs-damnit mainly in the US] it seems) contract damn it to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnit damnit], which is the wrong way.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:'''My Hobby:'''
:Appending "no pun intended"
:to lines with no pun in them.

:[Cueball is talking to Beret Guy.]
:Cueball: I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes - no pun intended - and so...

:[The next panel is inlaid partly over the first panel. Beret Guy is thinking. Above his thought bubble is a caption:]
:Three hours later:
:Beret Guy (thinking): "Internalized?" Lied? Analyzed? Or is it "attitudes"? Dammit.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]

55: Useless

2015-10-22T12:51:58Z

198.41.235.95: /* Trivia */ Corrected "it's" to "its" (learn your apostrophes, people); and "were" to "was" (I don't know what Randall quotes are, so I don't know if it should be "There *were* no original Randall *quote_s_*").

{{comic
| number = 55
| date = January 27, 2006
| title = Useless
| image = useless.jpg
| titletext = Even the identity matrix doesn't work normally
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] is attempting to apply mathematics to the concept of love to no avail. Specifically, he is attempting his "normal approach" which is a term used in mathematics for the method one typically uses to solve a certain type of problem. However, as love is not a well-defined mathematical, his normal approach is useless. Simply put: he's saying he has found no way of describing love using only the tools of mathematics.

From the top, moving left to right, he tries the {{w|square root}} of love, the {{w|cosine}} of love, and the {{w|derivative}} of love with respect to x. He then attempts to left-multiply love by a 2x2 {{w|identity matrix}}, and finally he defines a {{w|Function (mathematics)|function}} of love as a {{w|Fourier transform}}. These are all "normal approaches" to solving certain math problems.

The message of the comic is that for someone who uses math to solve all their problems, defining love is impossible. It also indicates that love is not always a rational phenomenon.

This comic has been made into a [http://store.xkcd.com/products/useless t-shirt] in the xkcd store, with a {{w|Laplace transform}} in place of the bottom integral.

===Basic explanations of the functions===
:''Note: The Wikipedia links will provide far more detailed explanations of the mathematics.''
*The {{w|square root}} of x is the number which, when multiplied by itself, equals x.
*{{w|Cosine}} is a {{w|trigonometric function}} which, when given the measure of an angle in a {{w|right triangle}} as an input, outputs the ratio of the lengths of two sides of that triangle (for cosine it is the non-{{w|hypotenuse}} side adjacent to the angle and the hypotenuse).
*A {{w|derivative}} of a function is the rate of change of that function at a given value of x. It is a primary focus of {{w|calculus}}. A basic example is where "velocity" is the rate of change of displacement at a given time, the derivative of velocity is "acceleration" which is the rate of change of velocity at a given time.
*{{w|identity matrix|Identity matrices}} are {{w|matrix (mathematics)|matrices}} which consist of only zeros and ones, with zeros everywhere except along the {{w|main diagonal}}. Multiplying a matrix by the equal-sized identity matrix will result in the same output in the same way that multiplying a non-matrix by 1 does not change the original term. The title text suggests that multiplying love by the identity matrix does not return the same "love" value.
*A {{w|Fourier transform}} converts a function from one (sophisticated) function into an endless continuous series of (more simple) functions, where each next part is bringing the equation closer to the real result. This means that you can stop your calculations after a few iterations and you are very close to the real result, and it also can be used to deconstruct signals.

==Transcript==
:[Different mathematic equations, all with heart on left side, and all equal question mark. Below is a caption.]
:√♥ = ?
:cos ♥ = ?
:d/dx ♥ = ?
:[10]♥ =?
:[01]
:F{♥} = 1/√2π ∫∞-∞f(t)eit♥dt = ?
:My normal approach is useless here

==Trivia==
*This was the 52nd and last comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[53: Hobby]].
*This comic kept its original title: "Useless"
**It is part of the last six comics on LiveJournal which all had a title without the word "Drawing" in it.
**Five of these had exactly the same title on both sites.
**Only 11 comics have the same title on both sites.
**Apart from the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal, there were only three other comics without the word "Drawing" in the title before these last six.
*There was no original [[Randall]] quote for this comic.
*This comic was the last of the last 11 comics posted on LiveJournal.
**These 11 comics were [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd|posted both on LiveJournal and xkcd]] after the [[xkcd]] site opened on the 1st of January 2006.
**The first six comics were posted on both sites on the same day.
**And then this first happened again with this last comic.
*The version used on the [http://store.xkcd.com/products/useless t-shirt] and in ''[http://store.xkcd.com/products/xkcd-volume-0 xkcd: volume 0]'' is slightly different. The derivative is with respect to time (''t'') instead of ''x'', and the function at the bottom is a {{w|Laplace transform}}.
*This comic was adapted to a wedding cake featured on [http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2011/6/26/sunday-sweets-geek-wedding-cakes.html an installment of "Sunday Sweets"], a regular feature on popular blog [http://cakewrecks.com Cake Wrecks].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 52]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Math]]