explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2706: Bendy

2022-12-03T21:22:55Z

198.41.242.115: Undo revision 300259 by 162.158.106.20 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2706
| date = December 2, 2022
| title = Bendy
| image = bendy_2x.png
| imagesize = 291x209px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Squaring the circle is really easy with some good clamps.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created while BENDING OVER PULLBACKWARDS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Geometry usually represents 2D polygons with simple straight lines. In the comic, the lines are compared to a physical object, and are shown to have the property of bendiness. Randall claims this simplifies geometry as now triangles can have arbitrarily defined side lengths by merely stretching the lines, but it is unclear what benefits this may have over current Euclidean geometry. These lines cannot have Euclidean properties, but other non-Euclidean systems have been invented in the past with non-standard properties.<ref>{{w|Non-Euclidean_geometry}}</ref>

This comic may be a reference to axis breaks in graphs, which shrink large segments and enhance readability and are denoted by a wiggly line on the axis in question.

The title-text talks about "{{w|Squaring the circle}}", a famous geometry problem based around constructing a square with the same area as a given circle with a compass and straightedge, which was proven to be impossible (even with more powerful forms of construction, such as marked straightedges or origami) in 1882 as pi is a transcendental number (Not to be confused with {{w|Tarski's circle-squaring problem|circle-squaring}}.) However, it then goes on to describe a way to literally turn one of these bendy shapes from a circle into a square, namely using clamps.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[There are two right triangles. One triangle has side lengths of 3, 4, and 5, and is scribbled out in red. The other triangle has the same general shape but with the catheti appearing like longer but bent lines, so that all the side lengths equal 5 if straightened.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Huge geometry breakthrough: Turns out those lines we make triangles out of are bendy!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:2656: Scientific Field Prefixes

2022-08-10T07:01:57Z

198.41.242.115:

I think Mr. Monroe made up these numbers rather than researching them [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.105|172.71.22.105]] 17:07, 9 August 2022 (UTC) anon, a mouse.
:Given how easy it is to look them up, I think this is unlikely. I haven't checked all of them, but each of the eight or so that I '''have''' checked were correct. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 19:14, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Interestingly enough, the last time I was at a dentist, I ask them if they had seen any research work on how to do dentistry in zero-g, like if you got a toothache halfway to Mars.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.56|162.158.107.56]] 01:58, 9 August 2022 (UTC) BCS
:Comment on comment: there should have been work done on dental procedures aboard orbiting stations, and also on e.g. Antarctic bases. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.25|162.158.134.25]] 04:39, 9 August 2022 (UTC) Pär Leijonhufvud
::That's "Space Dentistry". Or, in the other case, something that surely should involve the term "Polar Molar" somewhere in the paper abstract! :-p
::'Astro-' is "of the stars", or of the things that are more in their vicinity than not. If it isn't dentristrying (or massaging) the stars themselves, it'd be learning how to apply the parent field to astrozoological subjects (assuming xenodentristry and xenomassage aren't the best terms for the otherwise xenobiological clientelle). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 11:55, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Those who say that there's no such thing as High-Energy Theology should be taken with a pinch of salt. Or even a {{w|Lot's wife|Lot}}! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.80|172.70.91.80]] 02:05, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

I'm a little concerned with Theoretical Theology. How much more theoritical can base theology be? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.198|108.162.250.198]] 02:22, 9 August 2022 (UTC) Beechmere

'Theoretical theology' is a tautology. So the first word is redundant.
[[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 06:47, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:Theoretical theology returns 1.6 million results, so the comic is wrong, and high energy theology is wrong as well, searching on these three terms results in 602,000 results, not 0. I think perhaps Scholar.google.com has detected your skepticism, and is returning incorrect results for you, in accordance with the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Theology, in which God only exists for those who are not atheists.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:29, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
::"high energy theology" in quotes returns zero. "theoretical theology" actually returns 726 results, as in the comic. Searching without quotes is a double-edged sword: On one hand it would get results in which the terms are mentioned in separate sentences, and thus aren't relevant to the (non-existant{{Citation needed}}) scientific field called "high energy theology". On the other it would get results about fields similar to what one would imagine these combinations would describe. For example there's only one result for "marine dentistry", but there's several articles on dentistry on sea mammals, which would use both "marine" and "dentistry" in the same article. In any case, Randall used quotes in his search and his numbers look correct to me. [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 14:19, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

I'd love to conduct research on Marine Massage! How do I find the link? (Purposes.)
:We need another dimension for Theoretical Marine Massave [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:03, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Unfortunately the "Marine dentistry" one appear to be a false positive: it contains the test string "...Marine, Dentistry..." in a list of possible fields where AR technology could be useful (Novakova, N.G., 2019. Innovation potential of augmented technologies in industrial context. Industry 4.0, 4(1), pp.24-28).
Also the "high-energy psychology" one was similarly a dud: student newspaper with a help wanted ad for a "high energy psychology student" (https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/217247671.pdf). The lack of manual curation of Scholar sometimes gives you these finds. Thirdly, Randall definitely searched with quote marks: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=marine+dentistry yields over 100 k results while https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%252C5&q=%22marine+dentistry%22 only yields one, with at least one of the former being papers on marine mammal dentistry (I have for practical porpoises no interest in dentistry, but I *want* to read https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119545804.ch11). In summary: by searching for the exact phrase Randall eliminated a large number of false positives, but also missed a large number of interesting papers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.157|162.158.134.157]] 04:32, 9 August 2022 (UTC) Pär Leijonhufvud

honestly I'm mostly worried about computational theology [[Special:Contributions/172.71.6.65|172.71.6.65]] 04:40, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
: It's a fairly common subject in science fiction. Fredric Brown's short story "Answer", for example. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:46, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
::Could have sworn that was Asimov's _The Last Answer_[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:35, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:::I think you're thinking of Asimov's "The Last Question", about Multivac and its descendants. His "The Last Answer" is a different story, and doesn't involve a computer. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 19:24, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
: Isn't that better known as {{w|numerology}}? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.221|172.70.85.221]] 08:49, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:Of course, you meant to write "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 11:35, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some research into use of synchrotron radiation in treating cancers in the jaw. Doesn't that count as "high energy"? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:46, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

'High Energy Theology' sounds like an area of study extremely NOT conducive to the long-term survival of the human race. See this quote from the PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA:

'Mal-2 was once asked by one of his Disciples if he often prayed to Eris. He replied with these words: "No, we Erisians seldom pray, it is much too dangerous. Charles Fort has listed many factual incidences of ignorant people confronted with, say, a drought, and then praying fervently -- and then getting the entire village wiped out in a torrential flood."

We got ourselves into enough trouble when we split the atom. Gods only know what would result if we ever manage to split the thaum.

[[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 06:58, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
: Isn't that what happened to Soddom and Gemorrah? Genesis 19. Certainly enough energy to transmute Lot's wife into a pillar of salt. External to scripture, there's a recent theory about the image on the Shroud of Turin as well that is based in high energy physics.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:35, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Why is the "explanation" someone nitpicking the search method (and mixing up the "former" and "latter" order of unquoted vs. quoted), rather than an explanation of the joke? [[User:Conster|Conster]] ([[User talk:Conster|talk]]) 08:13, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:Because sadly after ParL did their nitpicking, nobody else felt qualified to actually explain the joke [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 10:09, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

I worked on giving actually competent editors a base to modify, but then someone else had already made an explanation. Here's my attempt:

"Within each branch of science, like physics, chemistry or biology, there are different scientific fields. Some of the prefixes, like theoretical, quantum or astro-, are used across multiple branches of science. For example {{w|Quantum mechanics|quantum physics}} is about the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles, while {{w|Quantum chemistry}} is about the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems.

Randall combines a bunch of different [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TitleDrop Scientific Field Prefixes] with another bunch of scientific branches, creating combinations that form several real fields of science, but also nonsense ones. To get a grasp on whether that scientific field is real and/or well-known, he searches for the combinations on {{w|Google Scholar}}, a web search engine that indexes the contents of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines, counting the number of results for each combination. Some term combinations are common, and can thus be assumed to be real scientific fields, while others are uncommon, suggesting that those fields are not well known. Four combinations are not found even once, suggesting that they are "potential research opportunities", as the title text says.

There are problems with Randall's method though:"

Maybe some of this may be useful, I don't know [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 11:21, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

:''Ah, that was me. Apologies. And you ECed the following attempt to post into here, so hete it is repasted. ;) Still applies. Your contribution also clearly appreciated...''
:I hated it so much, I rewrote it ("/* Explanation */ Nixing the downer 'explanation'. Perhaps some points can be extracted from it, even as my attempt is improved or (in turn) overwritten with something better."). Was going to suggest a table of prefixes/suffixes to describe each, but someone added the (sortable) tables in for the full forms (caused me much edit-conflict pain, hope I didn't cause someone else ECs in return) so maybe that's overkill. But "what exactly is 'Astro-Dentistry'?", etc, might be a useful addition in there, if it doesn't make the table(s) hard to read... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 11:28, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
::''Postscript to above'': Yes, your explanation does things that I was going to do if I hadn't had my first attempt to nix/rewrite hit the table-adding. i.e. go into the major-suffix/minor-prefix sets, or even whole-term where it exists, and spell out and wikilink accordingly. I would be honoured to see your blocked text integrated into mine (or satisfied with yours going there again with barely a smidgen of mine still remaining). Up to you/the others, though, as I'm not wanting to add further ECs to the rush... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 11:35, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
::I like that idea, maybe as an additional table? I can imagine it would take up a whole screen so maybe putting it at the end of the page could help so those that don't need it don't have to scroll over it. I don't feel capable enough to make such a big table (especially with 48 explanations) but I do support that idea. [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 11:36, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:::I have added all three tables now. Both with plain numbers, for explanation and the one in the transcript (which should not be sort-able and not include massage!) Feel free to fill out the table. I have put it in a new section so editing that section or the explanation section does not edit conflict! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:52, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

High energy magic is definitely a legitimate scientific subject, see for example https://wiki.lspace.org/High_Energy_Magic_Building
--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.114.7|172.71.114.7]] 13:28, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Worth noting is that all these prefixes are those found commonly on physics and chemistry! Would you find "cosmetic physics", "veterinary physics", "paediatric physics" and so on... which are probably as common in medical field as "high-energy" or "quantum" might be in physics/chemistry. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.41|162.158.146.41]] 15:47, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Considering some of the pseudoscientific woo that my late mother-in-law believed in, and the shelves of books of "healing energy" babble she had, I'm not in the least surprised that there are hits on "quantum massage". Quantum ''anything'' is going to pop up eventually. There were books about homeopathic colour, and about magic trampolining. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:57, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

*"theoretical linguistics": 64,100
*"quantum linguistics": 148
*"high-energy linguistics": None
*"computational linguistics": 887,000
*"marine linguistics": 3 (two french-language results and a paper on the "development of the maritime mentality")
*"astrolinguistics": 70 (most seem to focus on designing a way to communicate with aliens)
--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.175|172.69.33.175]] 23:47, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

; Expansion plans
Given that multipie editors have reported differing results, one ''or more'' people need to double-check them on Scholar, Books Ngrams, and Trends for both web and news, and combine it all into a database that users can click through to some Pandas and plotting code on Colab for analysis and visualization. Maybe if I have time later. I'm thinking of using, e.g., a CSV embedded in a Colab notebook, but it would be great if those services don't require any API keys so everyone can generate and examine the results from their respective locales.

Also, is there a way we can work the {{w|simulation hypothesis}} into high-energy theology? I'm on the fence about that last one. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.105|172.70.214.105]] 21:05, 9 August 2022 (UTC)
:Why Colab and not Pyodide? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.83|172.69.33.83]] 00:57, 10 August 2022 (UTC)

Doesn't fall the Higgs under High-Energy Theology, "The God Particle" and such? :-) (Not even trying to list all pop physic books with "God" in the title, for increased sales...) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.115|198.41.242.115]] 07:01, 10 August 2022 (UTC)

2647: Capri Suns

2022-07-19T12:58:34Z

198.41.242.115: /* Explanation */ Added a citation needed.

{{comic
| number = 2647
| date = July 18, 2022
| title = Capri Suns
| image = capri_suns.png
| titletext = [As security is dragging me away] "Come on, at least I didn't make the mistake in the other direction!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DISGUSTED NURSE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] has been impersonating a doctor at a hospital. But his attempt to fool the staff (including [[Megan]] and [[:Category:Doctor Ponytail|Doctor Ponytail]]) fails when he mistakes a saline bag for a Capri Sun juice.

{{w|Capri Sun}} is a fruit juice concentrate beverage that comes in soft rectangular mylar bags with a small seal near the top, to be pierced with an included straw so as to sip the drink. {{w|Saline (medicine)|Saline}} bags, used in hospitals and other medical settings, are also soft and rectangular, with an {{w|Intravenous therapy#Medical uses|intravenous}} (IV) drip connection about the same size as such straws, and usually contain a 0.9% sodium chloride (table salt) solution in sterile water so they are salty enough to be {{w|Tonicity#Isotonicity|isotonic}} with blood. Capri Sun is mostly sugar water, and only 0.00008% salt,[https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/food-volume-to-weight/substance/capri-blank-sun-coma-and-blank-fruit-blank-juice-blank-drink] so it tastes sweet instead.

Almost everyone would be very unlikely to accidentally mistake saline bags for Capri Sun, especially a medical doctor.{{citation needed}} Cueball's attempt to impersonate a doctor was derailed when hospital staff noticed that he had made such an absurdly unlikely and therefore humorous mistake.

The title text makes it clear that Cueball is being removed from the hospital by security personnel. While they are dragging him out, he tries to point out that drinking saline is better than putting Capri Sun into a patient's IV drip, as it would endanger the patient.[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-47623816] He is trying to claim this mitigates the severity of his incompetence. The security personnel apprehending him are unlikely to be persuaded, as impersonating hospital staff is a serious offense with dangerous risks and severe consequences. In California, the unlicensed practice of medicine can result in a $10,000 fine, a year in prison, or both.[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=2052.]

The comic arguably functions as a continuation of [[451: Impostor]] and [[699: Trimester]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, wearing a lab coat, is drinking out of a straw inserted into an IV drip bag that is labelled with unreadable text. Cueball is surrounded by hospital staff. To the left is Megan with a white hat, she is holding a clipboard, with a paper with unreadable text. To his right is Dr. Ponytail holding a rolled up paper under one arm and to the right of her a man with a similar hat as Megan. They are all looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: You know, these Capri Suns are good, but they're ''really'' salty.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I think the hospital may be starting to realize that I'm not actually a doctor.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Food]]

5: Blown apart

2022-05-26T16:56:03Z

198.41.242.115: Undo revision 277391 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 5
| date = October 25, 2005
| title = Blown apart
| image = blownapart_color.jpg
| titletext = Blown into prime factors
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a mathematical and technical joke involving prime numbers and primary colors.

In the comic, an {{w|anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic}} black-colored number ''70'' sees a package, but it turns out to be a {{w|letter bomb}} that explodes when opened. The result is pieces of the number scattered about. The specific pieces are a red-colored ''7'', a green-colored ''5'', and a blue-colored ''2''.

The title text explains the logic for splitting 70 into 7, 5, and 2; as with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it. 7*5*2 is a {{w|prime factorization}} of the number 70. {{w|Prime number|Prime numbers}} are numbers that cannot be divided by any number other than itself and 1. Factors of a number are numbers that can be multiplied together to produce that number (i.e. 2×5×7 = 70). 70 has other factors, including 1, 10, 14, 35, and 70, but 2, 5, and 7 are the only factors that are prime. All other factors of 70 can be formed by choosing zero, two, or three of the prime factors and multiplying them together.

An implication of this comic is that prime numbers would be immune to explosions, as they are already their smallest parts.

Although not explicitly called out, the colors of the numbers also seem to have been blown apart. Red, green, and blue are the primary colors in the {{w|additive color}} model. These colors mixed in pairs produce cyan, magenta, and yellow, which are primary colors in the {{w|subtractive color}} model. The removal of all additive primary colors, or conversely, the combination of all subtractive primary colors, produces black, which is the color of the original 70 (according to the [http://xkcd.com/5/info.0.json official transcript], although it looks dark blue in the drawing). The comic is somewhat misleading in that red, green, and blue do not compose black in either color model, but the difference between the two models is not widely understood (most still view the additive primaries as red, yellow, and blue).

==Transcript==
:[A black number 70 sees a red package. This small panel is partly overlaid on the next larger panel, which is shifted down.]
:'''''70'''''
:70: hey, a package!

:[The package explodes in a cloud of brown smoke. This panel is both behind the first in the top left corner, and below the last panel, which has been laid on top of that corner.]
:'''''BOOM'''''

:[There are a red 7, a green 5, and a blue 2 lying near a scorched mark on the floor.]
:'''''7'''''
::'''''5'''''
:'''''2'''''

==Trivia==
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with the 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal.
**On the site, it is the first comic with an actual punchline (all previous comics are either just sketches or establishing the background for later comics)
**But this comic, as well as [[12: Poisson]] also released that day, were never posted on [[LiveJournal]].
*The release date is given from [http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http:////www.xkcd.com//blownapart_color.jpg - wayback.archive]. At least the 25th of October was the first crawl date.
**This also explains why it was "released" on a Tuesday.
**On xkcd, it was released for the first time to the public on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Number theory]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]