Talk:3222: Star Formation

2026-03-22T14:36:31Z

2001:4C4E:1C06:B100:9DA5:A169:37E5:42A0: [[→{{

This entire process is unconfirmed and needs citations. {{Citation needed}} [[Special:Contributions/66.154.219.128|66.154.219.128]] 20:26, 20 March 2026 (UTC)
:Not sure {{w|Poe's law|if you're serious}}... but I rewrote some of the things that might have prompted this comment. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:49, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

The something that ionized the gas clouds is presumably the star that formed. No second deity needed. [[Special:Contributions/74.76.189.192|74.76.189.192]] 21:12, 20 March 2026 (UTC)
:I dispense with that bit. What you obviously have here is a non-omniscient creator (or shaper-of-the-universe, at the very least) who is surprised by how things turn out when they had a much simpler (or at least different) idea of how things should have proceeded. I'm reminded of {{w|The Science of Discworld}} (once the Dean twiddles his fingers in the proto-Roundworld, and then the wizards discovering that things just like becoming spheres more than they expected) or perhaps something where a desired result {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel)|went awry}} due to unforeseen external factors. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:49, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Is Randall a believer in Stupid Design? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:42, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

I was actually factually thinking about stellar constitutionality at formative stages last night. Like couple days ago i explained big bubbles theory to a person on Blue Sky. Gives me headswirls to envision ( attempt ) alternate density temporal flow size constants. Cool! [[User:AskShea|AskShea]] ([[User talk:AskShea|talk]]) 00:34, 21 March 2026‎ (UTC)

The explanation states that this is a simplified model blown to an absurd extreme, but I thought that this was a mostly-accurate model of how astronomers have theorized the universe’s structure came to be. Am I wrong? I am confused. [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 01:02, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

While likely completely unintended, this made me think of watching Bob Ross (obviously not live-)streams on Twitch. He'd start off with some lovely background - typically including clouds - and then "ruin" it by drawing a big vertical brown streak on top of that (with chat promptly declaring the painting ruined) only for him to turn it into a lovely tree and thus "saving" the painting (also commented on by chat). The difference of course is that Bob Ross knew what he was doing (or at least where he was headed). [[Special:Contributions/2001:1C01:2DCC:C200:FDDE:3CEC:29F7:C097|2001:1C01:2DCC:C200:FDDE:3CEC:29F7:C097]] 01:07, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

...why do I feel bad for them?--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 02:57, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

Would it be a good idea to add this to [[:Category:Time-Traveling Sphere]]? The dot's identity in this comic isn't confirmed, and it's unclear that the dot can control its movement in time. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:49, 21 March 2026 (UTC)
:The dot looks a bit like the portrayal of God in SMBC to me. {{unsigned ip|65.25.122.84|15:51, 21 March 2026}}
:It probably ''isn't'' the TTS (notably different, and makes lttle sense to be the TTS either long before it used time travel or after it had mastered it), and equally shares similarities with the [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] entity, etc.
:But it's clearly a variation within Randall's "non-corporeal intelligent entity" broad stroke of character, just like a number of the more physical [[:Category:Aliens]] (or possibly 'futurekind' of more distant Earth ages) are variations on the tentacled-/bug-eyed-monster variety (minor notable differences, but of a similar style; being of the Kang And Kodoth form, more or less).
:We only seem to have a clear Category for the two examples of the TTS, which other 'dot entities' like this one (and the AI, etc) probably are not, but it's the handiest reference we have without pointing at ''all'' vaguely similar 'characters' directly. Unless and until we get ourselves a 'dot entity' super-category to cover all such floaty-glowy dots/spheres/etc of clearly greatly advanced ability (if not intelligence). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.5|82.132.238.5]] 17:10, 21 March 2026 (UTC)
:I've had a quick blitz through the likely comics, and I've found the following list (not guaranteed to be an exaustive set) of simlar(ish) glowy-floaty-orb-beings, and tried to subcategorise them...
:*[[1173: Steroids]] - unknown
:*[[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] - AI
:*[[1747: Spider Paleontology]] - Time Travelling Sphere
:*[[1748: Future Archaeology]] - Time Travelling Sphere
:*[[1782: Team Chat]] - Singularity consciousness
:*[[2635: Superintelligent AIs]] - AI
:*[[3085: About 20 Pounds]] - Mystical Oracle
:...and this one is going to be some sort of mystical creative entity [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:39, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

This is the best XKCD comic I've seen in a while. The creativity and biblical implications are horrifying. {{unsigned ip|199.241.130.234|20:45, 21 March 2026}}

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3222: Star Formation