https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Aximiliexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-05-23T19:24:15ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2051:_Bad_Opinions&diff=1633512051: Bad Opinions2018-09-26T21:09:07Z<p>Aximili: Reorganized explanation and increased neutrality</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2051<br />
| date = September 26, 2018<br />
| title = Bad Opinions<br />
| image = bad_opinions.png<br />
| titletext = I thought of another bad opinion! I couldn't find anyone who expressed it specifically, but still, the fact that I can so easily imagine it is infuriating! I'm gonna tell everyone about it!<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Explain xkcd seeks to be a neutral source of information; as such, it should be treated like one. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] is imagining bad opinions, searching them up on the Internet, and excoriating people holding said opinions.<br />
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In title text he goes further, where he can't find an opinion he imagined on the internet, but still wants to discredit it, just because he is so infuriated by just being able to imagine it. This is similar to {{w|Straw man|straw man argument}}, where someone refutes an argument that wasn't actually made by anyone.<br />
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If Cueball wasn't thinking of all these bad opinions, nobody else would have brought them to his attention, and he wouldn't have an opportunity to argue against them. The fact that Cueball is the cause of his own agitation is the joke of the comic (or perhaps, the sad part of the comic).<br />
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Ironically, the comic itself could be considered an example of this behavior. It is possible that Randall imagined the absurd person and behavior depicted in the comic, and wrote a comic satirizing it, without knowing if such a person actually exists.<br />
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The [[1974: Conversational Dynamics|unhealthy conversation habits]] enabled by the [[181: Interblag|Interblag]] has been a regular theme in xkcd. In fact, this is a rather obvious callback to one of the most popular xkcd comics, [[386: Duty Calls]], wherein Cueball is actively seeking to discredit and correct people who are "wrong" on the internet.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball sits at a laptop.]<br />
:Offscreen voice: What are you doing?<br />
:Cueball: I just thought of a bad opinion someone could have, and now I'm searching to see if anyone does so I can be mad at them.<br />
:Offscreen voice: Sounds like you have a healthy relationship with the internet.<br />
:Cueball: Hey, at least I'm not ''this'' guy I just found!<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>Aximili