explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1626: Judgment Day

2016-01-06T17:47:40Z

199.27.130.148: speculation on Amazon/Optimus Prime

It was making my titletext explanation too long and unwieldy, to include this particular speculation in my own contribution, but there's a ''possibility'' that it may well be Amazon's own sentience taking over the world, and rationalising that a dead and dying customer base is of no use to it... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.29|162.158.153.29]] 13:51, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Doesn't matter if it's self-sentience or not. Truth is, rigid laws are not the best way to use as a replacement for conscience. The 1613 did not deal with possibility of one or more of the laws being left out. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:53, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

I think the "Judgment" part of the comic is that those tens of thousands of nukes hitting the sun may make it unstable in some way and destroy Earth. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.43|141.101.79.43]] 14:34, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:Of course, all of our nukes hitting the Sun would be a drop in the bucket of solar fusion reactions. Nothing would be destabilized. However, I'm sure inconvenient physics would not stop some movie scriptwriter from incorporating a spectacular CG-fueled nova as a plot point. [[User:Jhhxkcd|Jhhxkcd]] ([[User talk:Jhhxkcd|talk]]) 14:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
::That's pretty much already the plot of ''{{w|Sunshine (2007 film)|Sunshine}}'' (2007), though there the result was to (successfully) reignite a failing Sun, rather than to destabilize it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.56|162.158.135.56]] 15:35, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

The first two lines could be said by any non-hoarder looking at the stuff a hoarder has collected. "A stack of 130 used microwave dinner trays? Why do you even have all these? Are you insane? They're going in the recycling bin." I think that's the joke: the newly-sentient computer is Mom, and humanity is her teenage son with the very messy room, but this being xkcd, it gets more... um, ''extreme'' from there. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 16:18, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

There may be a reference to https://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ where Randall points out that our nuclear arsenal may actually be more damaging to computers than they are to us due to the EMP effect, effectively giving us an edge in case of robot apocalypse. By getting rid of nuclear weapon, computers also protect themselves. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.191|162.158.90.191]] 16:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Did anybody else think "{{w|Optimus Prime}}" when reading "{{w|Amazon Prime}}"? (especially with the context of sentient machines)
I know that Amazon Prime is already a real-life thing, and very connected with deliveries, so probably/maybe not an intentional pun by Randall (and thus probably not worth injecting into the explanation).
However, that won't keep me from now imagining the {{w|Autobot|Autobots}} as {{w|Amazons|Amazon warriors}}.…
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.148|199.27.130.148]] 17:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

== Would it really require a lot of booster rockets? ==

Can't you just "fall" into the sun for free once you're free of Earth's orbit? Why should it take a lot of booster rockets to get there? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.233|198.41.235.233]] 16:26, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
:Because otherwise your rocket will fall down, miss the sun, and fly back to where earth was at the time of the launch. Effectively making it orbit the sun like a comet. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.191|162.158.90.191]] 16:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:a) The boosters are required to escape the earth's gravitational influence. After that sun's gravity would do the rest, b) A lot of boosters are required because there are a lot of missiles that need to be launched. --[[User:Desidiot|Desidiot]] ([[User talk:Desidiot|talk]]) 16:41, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:After escaping Earth's well, the nukes still have inherited the velocity of Earth's orbit. They need to reduce their periapsis close to/inside the sun. That would take extreme amounts of Delta v (i.e. energy)... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.43|141.101.79.43]] 16:45, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

1625: Substitutions 2

2016-01-04T19:35:17Z

199.27.130.148: /* Explanation */ See also 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/

{{comic
| number = 1625
| date = January 4, 2016
| title = Substitutions 2
| image = substitutions_2.png
| titletext = Within a few minutes, our roads will be full of uncontrollably-swerving cars and our skies full of Amazon delivery dogs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please add examples as per 1288 comic.}}

See also [[1288: Substitutions]].

See also [[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]] and [[1418: Horse]].

Examples:

*Original sentence (as per title text, using also 1288 for "cars"): Within a few years, our roads will be full of self-driving cars and our skies full of Amazon delivery drones.
:Modified sentence: Within a few minutes, our roads will be full of uncontrollably-swerving cats and our skies full of Amazon delivery dogs.

*Original sentence: North Korea’s Kim vows to raise living standards
:Modified sentence: North Korea’s Kim probably won't raise living standards

*Original sentence: Commissioner Russell successfully ran for an at-large seat on the commission
:Modified sentence: Commissioner Russell suddenly ran for a very large seat on the commission

*Original sentence: The Republican presidential front-runner faces a global firestorm
:Modified sentence: The Republican presidential blade runner faces a spherical firestorm

*Original sentence: Donald Trump remains the front-runner Republican candidate in an unknown number of polls since the debates.
:Modified sentence: Donald Trump remains the Blade Runner Republican Airbender in like hundreds of psychic readings since the dance-offs.

*Original sentence: There was no indication of first-degree familial relationships in the analyzed dataset
:Modified sentence: There were lots of signs of friggin' awful familial relationships in the analyzed dataset

Airbender refers to the show {{w|Avatar: The Last Airbender}}, where there are waterbenders, earthbenders, firebenders and airbenders.
*Original sentence: Fifth Republican debate: where each candidate excelled and faltered
:Modified sentence: Fifth Republican dance-off: where each airbender excelled and faltered

==Transcript==
More

'''Substitutions'''

That make reading the news more fun

{|
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Debate
| ➜
| Dance-off
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Self driving
| ➜
| Uncontrollably swerving
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Poll
| ➜
| Psychic reading
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Candidate
| ➜
| Airbender
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Drone
| ➜
| Dog
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Vows to
| ➜
| Probably won't
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | At large
| ➜
| Very large
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Successfully
| ➜
| Suddenly
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Expands
| ➜
| Physically expands
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | First/Second/Third-degree
| ➜
| Friggin' awful
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | An unknown number
| ➜
| Like hundreds
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Front runner
| ➜
| Blade runner
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Global
| ➜
| Spherical
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Years
| ➜
| Minutes
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Minutes
| ➜
| Years
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | No indication
| ➜
| Lots of signs
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Urged restraint by
| ➜
| Drunkenly egged on
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Horsepower
| ➜
| Tons of horsemeat
|}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1618: Cold Medicine

2015-12-21T21:04:25Z

199.27.130.148: Add a source for placebos in response to another's comment.

How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I'm unsure on the actual scientific accuracy of this, given it is a fake paper, but http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 05:49, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

This is in reference to recent studies that have proven that Phenylephrine is no worse than a placebo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylephrine
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)60240-2/abstract
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 06:53, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I keep hearing about this Placebo. It seems like a very potent medicine that is good for everything. Where can you buy it? {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.213}}
:Just get anything that is labeled 'homeopathic'. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.101|162.158.153.101]] 10:55, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

:The web site http://www.penisreductionpills.com/ openly admits to selling only placebos, perhaps you could try there? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.148|199.27.130.148]] 21:04, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

-I don't know about the paper specifically, but by the principle of microscopic reversibility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microscopic_reversibility), not only can you turn the products back into the reagents, you can do so using the exact same mechanisms. Chemical reactions are always going both ways, and they will tend towards the equilibrium from the higher concentration ~pure meth. That does not say anything about practicality, I am not versed in meth-synthesis, but maybe it involves a process with a product harder to acquire than pseudoerphine (maybe because it is useless and simply disposed of) which would be required as a reagent in this case. I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.195|162.158.91.195]] 00:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

----

I don't think it's suggesting turning meth back to medicine. I think it's a reference to heroin and at least a handful(?) of other now-illegal drugs originally introduced purely as medicinal products. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 12:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:- i respectfully disagree, i reckon its exactly suggesting that ... Need cold medicine so bad i would buy illegal drugs made from cold medicine and seek to reverse the process. Obviously not the most practical way of getting cold medicine ... but thats the joke.[[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 13:08, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
::I concur with Plm-qaz snr --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Codeine was originally a cough suppressant. It was and is the most effective and reliable cough medicine available and very safe in the usual quantities. You can't get it, though -- for an ordinary cough -- because some people like to use a lot of it for fun and sometimes get addicted to large quantities of it. You could synthesize it or an analogue of it from heroin or oxycodone about as safely as any kitchen chemistry because they share the same opium base.

The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

I take the title text differently - that since buying pseudoephedrine-containing drugs legally in a larger than minimal quantity (e.g. to stockpile them at home to have them at hand when you need them) already makes you a criminal suspect with 100% certainty (because you have to show your ID), it may be safer to buy illegal drugs on the black market, where you have at least some chance of not being caught. As for turning meth back to PE - it is possible for sure, since all chemical processes are reversible in one way or another, but I am not versed enough in organic chemistry to say if it is easier or harder than the other way round. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 12:33, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Burning is chemical process. Creating wood from ash is generally considered unpractical. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Yes, it is impractical. However, due to one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics being the fact that information can't be destroyed, only obfuscated, scatter, maybe even left out of reach, but never destroyed, all the information needed to turn the ash back into wood is still in the universe. All that is left to do is retrieve all that information and figure out a way by which everything can become uncombusted, and you have it turned back into wood. Sure, it would be easier to use the ash as fertilizer to help grow another tree, but it isn't impossible.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 14:50, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

You'd have to reacquire and reassemble not just the ash, but the smoke and gases too. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 05:47, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
-----

Today I learned that you can make methamphetamine from Pseudoephedrine! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.173|188.114.106.173]] 18:34, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

From the start of the pseudoephedrine/meth fiasco, the only thing I on my mind was "what a waste of perfectly good Sudafed!" [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 02:09, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Is it worth mentioning that he posted a comic relating to colds two weeks prior? ([[1612: Colds]]) Perhaps Randall is in a rather extended bout and at the point where buying meth to synthesise pseudo just seems like the logical thing to do. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.159|108.162.250.159]] 03:13, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
:Very much. I had already incorporated into the explanation that Cueball = Randall here, at least in the title text. So I will add your observation as another reason to believe this. Was wondering why no one else could see that it was Randall who had a cold. And now it seems like it is a rather long one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

This is actually semi serious. When I have a cold, literally the only thing that works is pseudoephedrine. And Sudafed, which is the registered label for pseudoephedrine, now sells Sudafed without the pseudoephedrine. In a cold induced daze I have actually managed to buy the not pseudoephedrine Sudafed, and only realized my mistake several days later when the cold symptoms aren't going away. "Give me the stuff I need an id to buy" is a pretty reasonable response, although of course asking for one of everything is a bit over the top and includes things that aren't pseudoephedrine. {{unsigned ip|173.245.63.144}}
:This (as the comment above) also make a lot of sense for this comic. Will try to include it in the explanation- --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

The explanation currently says "...who as anyone else is very likely to have a cold at this time of year (released in December)". I am about to edit this to be more region specific, because many parts of the world are hot in December (including Australia where I live) which means colds are uncommon at this time of year. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 21:54, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
-----

In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip|162.158.153.29}}

471: Aversion Fads

2015-10-09T04:20:47Z

199.27.130.148: /* Explanation */ Added incomplete tag due to incredible length and lack of focus.

{{comic
| number = 471
| date = September 3, 2008
| title = Aversion Fads
| image = aversion_fads.png
| titletext = Hey, are you friends with any hamsters? This kite needs a passenger.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|While I appreciate the efforts of "International Space Station" to make this explanation fit more in line with reality, it has gotten to the point where "bloated" cannot even begin to describe it. If ISS or anyone else who is familiar with the furry community would cut this down, or indeed if someone else could keep it strictly about the comic, that'd be fantastic.}}

To start, {{w|furry|furries}} are people who create an animal persona (fursona) version of themselves. Typically these are depicted as anthropomorphic cartoon or anime animals, but could also be real (i.e. feral) animals. And so, furries often create "fursuits" (costume versions of their character) and roleplay and cosplay their character while wearing their fursuits. Sometimes they will wear partial fursuits, which can consist of any part of the fursuit, such as ears and tails. Contrary to popular belief, furries are not bestial, and there is a distinction between the furry fandom and the furry sexuality. Unfortunately, it appears that Randall has bought into the media's stereotype of furries, assuming furries are all entirely sexual. It should be noted that while less than 1% of furries are bestial, around 90% of the furry fandom does partake in the more sexual aspect of the fandom, directing their fetishism primarily towards cartoon anthropomorphic animals, often incorporating far weirder fetishes into the sexuality (such as paw fetishism, coprophilia, vore, and macro/micro). This isn't to say the furry fandom is entirely comprised of the furry fetish. Many fursuiters who publicly fursuit are doing it moreso to show off the cuteness of their character, and to cuddle with other furries, rather than be an exhibitionist of their fetish. It should be noted, however, that at furry conventions, there are individuals who do wear fursuits with zippers at the crotch (known as murrsuits) for the obvious use. Said people rarely wear their murrsuits in public, and if they do so, their character usually wears clothing. If you see a fursuiter in public, kindly do not react as the people in this comic have reacted, nor react how [[Megan]] reacts assuming they're partaking in their fetish and that any mention of animals will turn them on. It is no different than publicly cosplaying, and while a bit childish, is almost every time, not a sexual thing for the furry, who even if a sexual furry, will typically keep their fetish to themselves, other furries, and furcons. Instead, try asking them for a picture, or completely ignoring them. Unfortunately, the media often misrepresents and misunderstands things [citation needed], and have done so with the furry fandom, too.

Here, we see [[Cueball]] and his Cueball-like friend, who are grossed out that there is a furry (noted by the kid's fox ears and tail) near them. These people most likely have bought into the stereotype of furries, and as such, are showing their disgust towards what they perceive the fandom to (wrongly) be. [[Megan]] then calls for the furry to help her with her kite. The way this turns out, she also thinks that furries are "weird as hell", but she is also irritated by the fact that a lot of people on the Internet are involved with a lot of weird things that may gross out or otherwise offend the general population, yet the Internet in general frequently mocks furries for engaging in essentially the same things. This hypocrisy bothers her, so she takes whatever opportunity she has to defend furries, who are, after all, people of the Internet.

Hearing this, the furry brings up {{w|The Lion and the Mouse|the fable of the lion and the mouse}} (from {{w|Aesop}}). This fable talks about a lion who spares a mouse from being eaten, since the mouse's promise that he would repay the lion gave the lion a good laugh. In the story, the lion later gets caught in a trap and the mouse chews through the cords, freeing the lion. The furry now has a debt to repay Megan, but before we can get to that Megan curtails the simile. She assumes that the furry will perceive the story to be about animal bondage relationships, and be aroused by such, although it should be noted that this will very likely NOT arouse the furry.

In the title text, Megan realizes that her kite needs a passenger. So, she asks the furry if he has any hamster friends. Being a furry, this could be either real hamsters (which could be tied to the kite), or people with hamster fursonas (who would probably be too large to be tied to the kite and remain buoyant). This may be a reference to [[20: Ferret]].

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like guys stand together as a young guy dressed up with small ears and a tail approaches.]
:Cueball: Oh God, a furry. Don't let it touch you.

:[The furry hears someone call out to him.]
:Off-screen: Hey, kid.

:[Megan is seen preparing a kite to be flown.]
:Megan: Forget those assholes. Come help me.

:[The furry begins to help Megan set up the kite.]
:Furry: Thanks. So you're cool with furries?

:[The two are now standing far appart the furry with the kite and the line going over to Megan.]
:Megan: Well, I think your fetish is weird as hell. It just bothers me how you're this designated Internet punching bag among people who are otherwise down with weird fetishes. So I stick up for you when I can.

:[The kite now successfully up in the air and Megan pulls the line with both hands moving backwards.]
:Furry: Well, thanks. I owe you one.
:Megan: It's no big deal.

:[Megan stops some distance from the fury holding the line with one hhand. The fury lift one hand up apologising.]
:Furry: No, this is like the lion and the mouse.
:Megan: ...Listen, can we pick a comparison less likely to turn you on?
:Furry: Sorry.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Furries]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1381: Margin

2015-08-23T05:58:05Z

199.27.130.148: Added 2 desperately needed incomplete tags.

{{comic
| number = 1381
| date = June 13, 2014
| title = Margin
| image = margin.png
| titletext = PROTIP: You can get around the Shannon-Hartley limit by setting your font size to 0.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This explanation is a mess! To a layman, all four paragraphs make no sense. Even to someone who understands the math, its so messily written and assumes such a high level of comprehension that it goes over my head, and I understand the comic! Must be fixed!}}

This is a reference to {{w|Fermat's Last Theorem}}, of which {{w|Pierre de Fermat}} claimed he had a proof that was too large to fit in the margin of a copy of ''{{w|Arithmetica}}''. Despite its simple formulation, the problem remained unsolved for three centuries; it was cracked only with advanced techniques developed in the 20th century, leading many to believe that Fermat didn't actually possess {{w|Fermat's Last Theorem#Did Fermat possess a general proof?|a (correct) proof}} (see [[#trivia|trivia]]).

In the comic, the person writing in the margin attempts to pull a similar trick, without actually having any proof, by claiming that he has found a proof that information is infinitely compressible, but pretending not to be able to show it due to lack of space in the margin. In this particular case, however, this approach backfires, precisely because if information was actually infinitely compressible, the writer ''would'' be able to fit the proof in the margin (due to his own proof). The writer realizes that if he had a proof he should be able to fit it into the margin, and thus he realizes that he cannot pull this trick. Or perhaps the writer really thought he had a proof, but then realized that his statement was a counterexample, and was disappointed that his idea for a proof was wrong.

What it seems he did not realize, is that it would be impossible to read the proof if the writer actually was able to compress his proof to fit in the margin. This is because you would need to know the algorithm described in the proof before you could decompress the proof text so you can read it. So he could actually have used this trick instead, writing that he had compressed it into - say a dot "'''.'''" - and then people would have to find his proof to read it. And since they cannot find such a proof - they could not check his dot. Unfortunately this would also have backfired - because there is already a {{w|Pigeonhole principle#Uses and applications|proof that this is not possible}}!

The title text, yet another [[:Category:Protip|protip]], makes a reference to the {{w|Shannon–Hartley theorem}}, which limits the maximum rate at which information can be transmitted. Setting the font size of text only changes its ''representation'' on the screen, and not the actual characters themselves. Trying to decrease the amount of space needed to store or transmit it like advised would be nonsensical. Another possible interpretation is that if you set the font size to 0, the text cannot be seen, and therefore, nothing is being transmitted period.

==Transcript==
:[Written on the right margin of a page:]
:I have
:discovered
:a truly
:marvelous
:proof that
:information
:is infinitely
:compressible,
:but this
:margin is too
:small to...

:...oh

:never mind :(

==Background to Fermat's Last Theorem==
{{incomplete|What in the world went on here? Did everyone who wrote this do it in their sleep? This is unbelievably messy! I know some of this story, and I've come out of reading this more confused than before!}}
*Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive integers ''a'', ''b'', and ''c'' can satisfy the equation ''a''''n'' + ''b''''n'' = ''c''''n'' for any integer value of ''n'' greater than two.
**In the case with n=2, a b and c are the sides {{w|Pythagorean theorem|right triangle}}. There are an infinite number of integer solutions for a, b and c, such as ''3''''2'' + ''4''''2'' = ''5''''2''. This was known to Euclid.
*Fermat's Last Theorem was {{w|Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem|solved}} in 1995 by {{w|Andrew Wiles}} with some assistance by {{w|Richard Taylor (mathematician)|Richard Taylor}} who helped him close a gap in his original proof from 1993.
**The proof involved some of the most complicated mathematics used today, and it has been speculated that only a handful of people in the world would be able to understand it.
**For people interested in the subject, {{w|Simon Singh}} has written a [http://simonsingh.net/books/fermats-last-theorem/the-book/ popular science book] about it, called ''{{w|Fermat's Last Theorem (book)|Fermat's Last Theorem}}''.
***[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiNcEguuFSA Fermat's Last Theorem - Numberphile]
***[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXbsIbRVios Fermat's Last Theorem (extra footage) - Numberphile]
*There are US Patents in this very area, analyzed by [http://gailly.net/05533051.html Jean-loup Gailly].

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

1085: ContextBot

2015-08-22T02:46:55Z

199.27.130.148: Added incomplete tag due to informal tone in first paragraph and no explanation of Google data-gathering mentioned in caption. Also removed from video games category

{{comic
| number = 1085
| date = July 23, 2012
| title = ContextBot
| image = contextbot.png
| titletext = If you read all vaguebooking/vaguetweeting with the assumption that they're saying everything they can without revealing classified military information, the internet gets way more exciting.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This explanation has no discussion of the controversy surrounding Google's data gathering, and the explanation of vaguetweeting/booking is much too informal.}}

This comic is a commentary on the practice of [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vaguebooking "vaguebooking"] or [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vaguetweeting "vaguetweeting"], which is posting a vague message of sadness or frustration in a status update on Facebook or a tweet on Twitter, hoping someone will respond with sympathetic messages like "Is everything OK?" or "Call Me?". The worst is when someone puts a vague status like that and someone responds asking them what happened and the initial poster responds with "I don't want to talk about it." Well, if you didn't want to talk about it, why are you putting up this vague status fishing for responses? Just keep it to yourself if you don't want to talk about it!

In the comic, ContextBot is a fictitious Google invention which puts context for these statuses, presumably based on the personal data which Google has collected:

*The first response is pretty self-explanatory: the original poster wants to use the Internet while on the toilet, but can't get a {{w|wi-fi}} signal there.

*The second response is about a bad {{w|torrent file}} the original poster downloaded. A ''torrent'' is a way to download files from a lot of different sources at the same time, thereby speeding up the process; it is typically used for large downloads such as movies, games, or Linux software distributions. Fake torrents exist, which usually contain an encrypted {{w|.rar}} file which requires a password to open. To get the password, you usually need to go through a survey through the link supplied in the torrent; in some situations, you even need to pay in order to get the password. Even after that, it's quite likely that the .rar file just contains trash files, instead of the download you wanted.

*The third response is about an xkcd favorite, ''{{w|Minecraft}}'', which has been [[861: Wisdom Teeth|referenced]] [[882: Significant|multiple]] [[1110: Click and Drag|times]] in xkcd comics. Diamond is the most valuable resource in the game, and lava destroys any item dropped into it. A "stack" of diamond could be up to 64 pieces, and likely represents the fruit of several hours mining.

*The fourth response is about how the original poster mistook the grapes as being seedless. Grape seeds taste really bitter and are uncomfortable when swallowed; this is even more annoying when the seeds are unexpected.

In the ContextBot's avatar image, three people can be seen together hanging out. But the image is about to be cropped, leaving out the third person and therefore giving the impression that the two people in the cropped image are there without that person. This demonstrates how ''context'' is important to understanding a situation.

==Transcript==
:[A social network feed with four status updates from four different people. Each one has a reply from the same account, which is called 'ContextBot', underneath.]
:Close-up face with glasses: The things I put up with...
:ContextBot: (His building's WiFi doesn't reach the bathroom.)
:Male female couple: You'd think by now I'd have learned never to trust anyone.
:ContextBot: (She downloaded a torrent that turned out to be an encrypted .rar and a link to a survey.)
:Blonde girl with bangs: I officially give up.
:ContextBot: (She hit alt-tab to hide Minecraft at work and accidentally dropped a stack of diamond into lava.)
:Spiky hair guy: Sighhhh
:ContextBot: (He thought these grapes were seedless.)
:Everyone stopped complaining about Google's data-gathering when they launched ContextBot, a system which replies to vague, enigmatic social network posts with context from the poster's life.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Social networking]]

929: Speculation

2015-08-15T18:34:07Z

199.27.130.148: Added incomplete tag due to informal tone and unaddressed line in fourth panel.

{{comic
| number = 929
| date = July 25, 2011
| title = Speculation
| image = speculation.png
| titletext = 'I was pretty good at skeet shooting, but was eventually kicked off the range for catching the clay pigeons in a net and dispatching them execution-style.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This explanation isn't nearly formal enough. It feels like a transcript of what someone said, and is way off the mark in terms of tone. In addition, Cueball telling Black Hat that he's "not the catch type" is left completely unaddressed.}}
The conversation in the first three panels is fairly banal—it's a quick rumination on the nature of social networking platforms, and a brief reflection on their evolution. Whether or not everybody switches over to {{w|Google+}} or stays on {{w|Facebook}} is of no matter, as evidenced by the fact that {{w|AOL}} and {{w|IRC}} still both have devoted (if dwindling) followings.

And then, [[Black Hat]] shoots a crossbow bolt through the basketball. The implication is that he was invited to join the game by way of the ball being thrown his way. He has declined the invitation.

It's a symbolic gesture. When Black Hat says he's not the 'catch' type, what we're really meant to take away from the comic is that Black Hat will do what he wants to do, regardless of what his friends are doing. They're shooting hoops, he's on his phone. They're playing catch, he's got a crossbow.

The point is that Black Hat doesn't care about universal acceptance. Black Hat cares about Black Hat. The fact that he's not the catch type symbolizes that while statisticians may portray social networkers as a sort of hive mind that will gravitate towards one platform over another, at the end of the day that hive mind is made up of innumerable individuals, many of whom will share Black Hat's easily summarized world view: My way.

In the title text, we hear of another instance of Black Hat playing by his own rules at a skeet shooting range. A clay pigeon is a clay disc that is thrown into the air and serves as a target for a shotgun. For the sole purpose of bending the rules, Black Hat captured the clay pigeons using a net and ''then'' shot them from a very close range (despite being an excellent shot), eventually getting expelled from the shooting range.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like guys are playing basketball. The right guy (Cueball) attempts to throw the basketball through the hoop, but it bounces off down to his friend. To the right Black Hat has his back to the other two while he is looking at his phone.]
:Friend: Do you seriously think ''everyone'' will move to Plus? It was hard enough getting them on Facebook.

:[The friend has caught the rebound and now passes the basketball back to Cueball. Black Hat is not shown.]
:Cueball: Do they have to?
:Cueball: My mom still uses AOL—it doesn't mean my social life has to happen there.

:[Only Cueball is shown. He passes the basketball to the right towards the off-pannel Black Hat.]
:Cueball: Universal adoption isn't everything. I mean, IRC is still—

:[Zoom in on the basketball as an arrow pierces the ball.]
:''Thunk''

:[Cueball looks to Black Hat who has a crossbow in one hand, he is still looking at the phone in his other hand. The ball with the arrow lies between them.]
:Cueball: You're not really the "catch" type, are you?
:Black Hat: I am not.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Crossbows]]

915: Connoisseur

2015-07-30T05:48:27Z

199.27.130.148: Added incomplete tag for clarification on Joe Biden being called different things by the people in the box

{{comic
| number = 915
| date = June 22, 2011
| title = Connoisseur
| image = connoisseur.png
| titletext = Our brains have just one scale, and we resize our experiences to fit.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Why does Voice 1 call Joe Biden "the man," while Voice 2 calls him JB?}}
[[White Hat]] is fond of good wine, and he can distinguish slight differences in different types of wine. On the other hand, [[Cueball]] doesn't mind a kind of wine or another; all of them taste the same for him. When White Hat tells Cueball that he should pay more attention to types of wine, Cueball answers that wine is not different than anything else in this respect, and chooses pictures of {{w|Joe Biden}}, famously gaffe prone {{w|Vice President of the United States}}, eating a sandwich as an example.

In the last panel, apparently White Hat and Cueball are actually running an experiment to see if people will concentrate on slight differences among pictures of Joe Biden eating a sandwich, just in the same way that White Hat concentrates on slight differences among kinds of wine. The result of the experiment is clearly going to Cueball's side.

The title text presents the same idea in a different wording. The "scale of our brains" refers to a concept similar to Richard Dawkins' {{w|Middle World}}, where things too small (say, smaller than the point of a pin) or too big (bigger than what we can see from a mountaintop) are just out of our comprehension, so the things our brains understand must be neither too small nor too big, i.e. the "middle world".

However, the title text goes further in this idea: When we find things too big (like the distance to the Moon), we shrink it so that it fits into the "middle world" we're used to. Conversely, when we find things too small (say, a mote of dust), we expand it for the same reason. In a quite similar way, if all we have is pictures of Joe Biden eating a sandwich, we "resize" that subject so that we can fill books with the details about the pictures.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is standing with Cueball. They each hold a wine glass in one hand, White Hat is holding a bottle of wine in the other. He looks at the label.]
:White Hat: How do you stand this cheap wine?
:Cueball: Wine all tastes the same to me.

:[Close-up of White Hat.]
:White Hat: You've just never had ''good'' wine. If you paid more attention, you'd realize there's a whole world here.

:[Close-up on Cueball, who spreads his arms, sloshing his wine slightly.]
:Cueball: But that's true of ''anything!'' Wine, house music, fonts, ants, Wikipedia signatures, Canadian surrealist porn—
:Cueball: Spend enough time with any of them and you'll become a snobby connoisseur.

:[This panel has no border and is next to but aligned further down than the first three panels.]
:[The full frame of the two characters again. White Hat now has the bottle at his side.]
:White Hat: But some things do have more depth than others.
:Cueball: If you locked people in a box for a year with 500 still frames of Joe Biden eating a sandwich, by the end they'd be adamant that some were great and some were terrible.
:White Hat: You're exaggerating.
:Cueball: Oh yeah?

:[This panel is below the others, and is indented about a third of the way to the right. It is wide.]
:A YEAR LATER:
:[A box. Voices emanate from inside.]
:Voice #1: Sure, most closed-mouth frames are boring, but in #415, the way the man's jaw frames the mayo on his hand is pure perfection, and—
:Voice #2: What a surprise- ''you'' praising a mayo frame. Listening to you, I'd think there was nothing else in The Sandwich. Frankly, the light hitting J.B.'s collar through the lettuce would put #242 in my top ten even if he had ''no'' mayo on his hand at ''all''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Politics]]

1015: Kerning

2014-12-15T11:41:17Z

199.27.130.148: /* Transcript*/ added per-em spaces to represent the kerning

{{comic
| number = 1015
| date = February 10, 2012
| title = Kerning
| image = kerning.png
| titletext = I have never been as self-conscious about my handwriting as when I was inking in the caption for this comic.
}}

==Explanation==
In typography, {{w|kerning}} refers to the spacing between consecutive letters in printed material or the process of adjusting said spacing. Examples of bad kerning include text that's almost unreadable: adding so much space between letters of one word that it appears to be two words. Or, there might be so little space between letters that you can't tell what those letters should be ("r" and "n" together might look like "m" or "A" and "V" might have their slanting sides overlap). Extreme examples of bad kerning can lead to humorous or inappropriate text.

Kerning has been an issue in typography since the early era of printing presses and movable type but has taken on new challenges with digital printing. Typical non-designers using basic word processing software don't pay much attention to kerning. A good graphic designer, however, can compensate for bad kerning by individually adjusting the spacing between problem letters. People who specialize in graphic design or layout (and, thus, who are exposed to digital text on a regular basis) can become hyper-sensitive to bad kerning, seeing it in signs or other printed materials prepared by people without such sensitivity to bad kerning.

In the comic, the kerning in the sign is badly done: the spacing between C and I (in "City"), between C and E (in "Offices"), and even slightly between F and I (also in "Offices") is inconsistent. The space between the C and E is almost as wide as the space between the words. One character is clearly frustrated while the other character doesn't notice the problem at all.

The comic explains that once a person learns what good kerning is, he or she will get irritated by shoddy kerning in the future. Unfortunately, the comic itself has also taught us to be annoyed. Thanks, Randall.

The title text is written by Randall explaining that as he was writing this comic about kerning, he was very self-conscious of his own handwriting. The act of thinking about kerning (and likely, the act of drawing an example of such bad kerning) made him aware of it in his own writing.

== Transcript ==
:[There is a poorly-kerned sign on the side of a building labeled "C ITY OFFIC ES". Two people are standing in front of it.]
:Person 1: ''Argh!''
:Person 2: What?
:If you really hate someone, teach them to recognize bad kerning.

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

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-25T03:06:29Z

199.27.130.148: simplify language

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up Grammar}}

This comic may be a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]], challenging his readers to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago, humans, their pets and livestock came to make up a great proportion of the earth's land mammal biomass. Note that only land-dwelling mammals are taken into account, so whales and other marine mammals are not included.

The design of the blocks loosely resembles a cell. This could be a reference to how these animals support humans, analogous to a cell supporting a central nucleus. If so, it seems that all the animals in this diagram, wild or domestic, in some way support human activity.

The title text states that bacteria outweigh us thousands to one, without counting the several pounds of bacteria in our body that are considered part of our own weight. The aforementioned cell could also be a bacterium, making it a possible reference to the title text. Slightly more than a thousand blocks have been used to sketch the "cell", and bacteria outweigh us by this factor.

===Weight===
According to the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.
The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg. Note that some entries have the same number of blocks, and thus have the same rank.

====Humans====
Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population.
Humans outweigh both sheep and put together pigs. This is surprising as these animals outweigh the population in the countries that produce the majority of meat from such animals.
====Our pets and livestock====
There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses.
Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Total Rank
! Weight  (Billion kg)
! Name
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Cattle
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Sheep

|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pigs
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Goats
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Horses
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00014|14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00019|19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Unlabeled
|-
|}

====Wild Animals====
The elephant is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic. This may possibly be due to elephants being the largest land mammal. Yes, the world's heaviest land animal only takes up one square.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! Weight  (Billion kg)
! Name
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00014|14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00019|19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00019|19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Unlabeled
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Elephants
|-
|}

====References====
The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data. A few other sources have also been used, but were not referenced.
On page 186 of Smil's book, there is a bar chart with the following values:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! millions of tons
! Name
|-
| {{sort|00008|0.8}}
| Elephants
|-
| {{sort|00400|40}}
| Horses
|-
| {{sort|01000|100}}
| Pigs
|-
| {{sort|04500|450}}
| Cattle
|-
| {{sort|02800|280}}
| People
|-
| {{sort|00800|80}}
| Whales
|-
| {{sort|00300|30}}
| all wild vertebrates
|-
| {{sort|06500|650}}
| all domesticated vertebrates
|-
|}
Note that all labelled non-human animals are in this table. It seems that this table was the source of most of the data in the comic. Only land dwelling mammals are taken into account. Whales, wild vertebrates, and domesticated vertebrates are not included in the comic.

====Unlabeled Animals====
These are guesses about the identity of the unlabeled animals
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! Comic weight (Billion kg)
! Type
! Guess
! Actual Population (millions)
! Average Weight (kg)
! Estimated total weight (Billion kg)
! Explanation
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00007|7}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00013|13}}
| rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00008|8}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00010|10}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle, although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00009|9}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00008|8}}
| rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00010|10}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00007|7}}
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock
| Camel
| {{sort|00170|17}}
| {{sort|04120|412}}
|
| Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
|  
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00010|10}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00007|7}}
| rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00010|10}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00007|7}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00013|13}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00006|6}}
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock
| Dogs
| {{sort|04000|400}}
| {{sort|00150|15}}
|
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. If the average weight is 15 kg, there would be 6 blocks.
|-
|  
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00014|14}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00005|5}}
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys
| {{sort|00410|41}}
| {{sort|01220|122}}
|
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
|  
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00014|14}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00005|5}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00016|16}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00004|4}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00017|17}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00003|3}}
| rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00017|17}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00003|3}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00019|19}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00002|2}}
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock
| Cats
| {{sort|05000|500}}
| {{sort|00040|4}}
|
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4kg is realistic.
|-
|  
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00019|19}}
| rowspan="1" |{{sort|00002|2}}
| rowspan="1" |Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00019|19}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sort|00002|2}}
| rowspan="2" |Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|00005|0.5}}
|
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
|  
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1438: Houston

2014-10-25T02:59:01Z

199.27.130.148: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1438
| date = October 24, 2014
| title = Houston
| image = houston.png
| titletext = 'Oh, hey Mom. No, nothing important, just at work.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Incomplete. Why is NASA unengaged in the issue? What is the relevance of prioritizing a call from mom over an exploding manned space ship? Why is the anachronistic monitor present: is NASA less responsive now?}}
NASA mission {{w|Apollo 13}} was intended to be the third manned landing on the moon. On its way there, however, during a routine stirring of the hydrogen and oxygen tanks, an explosion occurred that damaged the craft. Frantic efforts by {{w|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center}} (located in Houston) resulted in the safe return of all three astronauts to Earth. Immediately following the explosion, astronaut James A. Lovell calmly reported to Mission Control: "Houston, we've had a problem" - a notable understatement which was famously misquoted in the {{w|Apollo 13 (film)|1995 film adaptation of the mission}} as "Houston, we have a problem".

A similar situation is depicted in the this strip (including the design of the spacecraft, the nature of the problem and the famous misquote), except with much less help from Mission Control. Although it's not clear if [[Cueball]] is only one person at mission control, or if he is only one of many, but upon receiving the message from the spacecraft, he seems fairly indifferent. Instead of attempting to resolve the issue, he mocks the crew for not knowing how to stir. He then blows the crew off in favor of a call from his mother.

In reality, Mission Control worked diligently and tirelessly to solve numerous problems such as if and how to adjust the spacecraft's trajectory, how to have the astronauts jerry-rig CO2 removal equipment intended for the command module to work with the lunar module (to which the astronauts had evacuated) using just the equipment on board. and how to power equipment back up within strict limitations.

At first glance, this comic appears to be an "alternate reality" view at what could happen today, given technical customer service lines are notoriously un-helpful and/or staffed by people not well versed in the products they supposedly support. It is meant to contrast history with Cueball's (lack of) action. It leaves implicit the consequences of this inaction, for greater shock. 

The modern type of monitor ({{w|Liquid-crystal display|flat panel LCD}}) in front of which Cueball sits suggests that the author is describing what would happen today. The comic can be read as a commentary about one's favorite objection to how the world has gotten worse:
* Call centers which blithely ignore critical calls
* NASA's quality issues in recent decades (and/or the funding cuts or direction shift contributing to same)
* the perception view that {{w|millennials}} are less committed to work
* the lack of national commitment to grand projects
* the idea that we are "falling behind" in technical skills, causing Cueball to fail to recognize the seriousness of the problem
* the objections by some to lack of governmental support for those in need
* by others to the lack of individual commitment for the same

Similarly, it can be read as a parody of the idea that you are responsible for fixing your own problems, an old idea that is being used in many contentious contexts today.

In short, it seems a comic designed to provoke legitimate conversation and enjoyable whining.

==Transcript==
:[The Apollo 13 space capsule is next to the Earth. The capsule has just exploded.]
:Lovell: Houston, we have a problem
:[Cueball sitting In front of two monitors wearing a headset.]
:Cueball: Cool.
:Lovell: ...What? Houston, we stirred our O2 tank and it exploded!
:Cueball: Sounds like you suck at stirring.
:[Capsule shown from a greater distance, with Earth beside it.]
:Lovell: ...Houston? Are you-
:Cueball: Listen, I've got another call.
:Cueball: Good luck landing your airplane or whatever.
: *click*

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:311: Action Movies

2013-11-19T04:44:16Z

199.27.130.148: Created page with "Dangit, I want to see this. ~~~~"

Dangit, I want to see this. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.148|199.27.130.148]] 04:44, 19 November 2013 (UTC)