explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

List of all comics (3000-3500)

2021-12-31T16:00:30Z

Baffo32: Changed by theusafBOT

This is the list of comics from '''2501 to {{LATESTCOMIC}}'''.
:For the first 500 comics, see [[List of all comics (1-500)]].
:For comics 501-1000, see [[List of all comics (501-1000)]].
:For comics 1001-1500, see [[List of all comics (1001-1500)]].
:For comics 1501-2000, see [[List of all comics (1501-2000)]].
:For comics 2001-2500, see [[List of all comics (2001-2500)]].
: The whole list is available at [[List of all comics (full)]].

You may also see the list of comics in the order they appeared at the [https://xkcd.com/archive/ xkcd archive].

{| class="wikitable sortable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!xkcd
!Title
!Talk
!Image
!Date<onlyinclude>
{{comicsrow|2562|2021-12-31|Formatting Meeting|formatting meeting.png}}
{{comicsrow|2561|2021-12-29|Moonfall|moonfall.png}}
{{comicsrow|2560|2021-12-27|Confounding Variables|confounding variables.png}}
{{comicsrow|2559|2021-12-24|December 25th Launch|december 25th launch.png}}
{{comicsrow|2558|2021-12-22|Rapid Test Results|rapid test results.png}}
{{comicsrow|2557|2021-12-20|Immunity|immunity.png}}
{{comicsrow|2556|2021-12-17|Turing Complete|turing complete.png}}
{{comicsrow|2555|2021-12-15|Notifications|notifications.png}}
{{comicsrow|2554|2021-12-13|Gift Exchange|gift exchange.png}}
{{comicsrow|2553|2021-12-10|Incident Report|incident report.png}}
{{comicsrow|2552|2021-12-08|The Last Molecule|the last molecule.png}}
{{comicsrow|2551|2021-12-06|Debunking|debunking.png}}
{{comicsrow|2550|2021-12-03|Webb|webb.png}}
{{comicsrow|2549|2021-12-01|Edge Cake|edge cake.png}}
{{comicsrow|2548|2021-11-29|Awful People|awful people.png}}
{{comicsrow|2547|2021-11-26|Siren|siren.png}}
{{comicsrow|2546|2021-11-24|Fiction vs Nonfiction|fiction vs nonfiction.png}}
{{comicsrow|2545|2021-11-22|Bayes' Theorem|bayes theorem.png}}
{{comicsrow|2544|2021-11-19|Heart-Stopping Texts|heart stopping texts.png}}
{{comicsrow|2543|2021-11-17|Never Told Anyone|never told anyone.png}}
{{comicsrow|2542|2021-11-15|Daylight Calendar|daylight calendar.png}}
{{comicsrow|2541|2021-11-12|Occam|occam.png}}
{{comicsrow|2540|2021-11-10|TTSLTSWBD|ttsltswbd.png}}
{{comicsrow|2539|2021-11-08|Flinch|flinch.png}}
{{comicsrow|2538|2021-11-05|Snack|snack.png}}
{{comicsrow|2537|2021-11-03|Painbow Award|painbow award.png}}
{{comicsrow|2536|2021-11-01|Wirecutter|wirecutter.png}}
{{comicsrow|2535|2021-10-29|Common Cold Viruses|common cold viruses.png}}
{{comicsrow|2534|2021-10-27|Retractable Rocket|retractable rocket.png}}
{{comicsrow|2533|2021-10-25|Slope Hypothesis Testing|slope hypothesis testing.png}}
{{comicsrow|2532|2021-10-22|Censored Vaccine Card|censored vaccine card.png}}
{{comicsrow|2531|2021-10-20|Dark Arts|dark arts.png}}
{{comicsrow|2530|2021-10-18|Clinical Trials|clinical trials.png}}
{{comicsrow|2529|2021-10-15|Unsolved Math Problems|unsolved math problems.png}}
{{comicsrow|2528|2021-10-13|Flag Map Sabotage|flag map sabotage.png}}
{{comicsrow|2527|2021-10-11|New Nobel Prizes|new nobel prizes.png}}
{{comicsrow|2526|2021-10-08|TSP vs TBSP|tsp vs tbsp.png}}
{{comicsrow|2525|2021-10-06|Air Travel Packing List|air travel packing list.png}}
{{comicsrow|2524|2021-10-04|Comet Visitor|comet visitor.png}}
{{comicsrow|2523|2021-10-01|Endangered|endangered.png}}
{{comicsrow|2522|2021-09-29|Two-Factor Security Key|two factor security key.png}}
{{comicsrow|2521|2021-09-27|Toothpaste|toothpaste.png}}
{{comicsrow|2520|2021-09-24|Symbols|symbols.png}}
{{comicsrow|2519|2021-09-22|Sloped Border|sloped border.png}}
{{comicsrow|2518|2021-09-20|Lumpers and Splitters|lumpers and splitters.png}}
{{comicsrow|2517|2021-09-17|Rover Replies|rover replies.png}}
{{comicsrow|2516|2021-09-15|Hubble Tension|hubble tension.png}}
{{comicsrow|2515|2021-09-13|Vaccine Research|vaccine research.png}}
{{comicsrow|2514|2021-09-10|Lab Equipment|lab equipment.png}}
{{comicsrow|2513|2021-09-08|Saturn Hexagon|saturn hexagon.png}}
{{comicsrow|2512|2021-09-06|Revelation|revelation.png}}
{{comicsrow|2511|2021-09-03|Recreate the Conditions|recreate the conditions.png}}
{{comicsrow|2510|2021-09-01|Modern Tools|modern tools.png}}
{{comicsrow|2509|2021-08-30|Useful Geometry Formulas|useful geometry formulas.png}}
{{comicsrow|2508|2021-08-27|Circumappendiceal Somectomy|circumappendiceal somectomy.png}}
{{comicsrow|2507|2021-08-25|USV-C|usv c.png}}
{{comicsrow|2506|2021-08-23|Projecting|projecting.png}}
{{comicsrow|2505|2021-08-20|News Story Reaction|news story reaction.png}}
{{comicsrow|2504|2021-08-18|Fissile Raspberry Isotopes|fissile raspberry isotopes 2x.png}}
{{comicsrow|2503|2021-08-16|Memo Spike Connector|memo spike connector.png}}
{{comicsrow|2502|2021-08-13|Every Data Table|every data table.png}}
{{comicsrow|2501|2021-08-11|Average Familiarity|average familiarity.png}}</onlyinclude>
|}

[[Category:Comics| ]]

2562: Formatting Meeting

2021-12-31T16:00:29Z

Baffo32: Created by theusafBOT

{{comic
| number = 2562
| date = December 31, 2021
| title = Formatting Meeting
| image = formatting_meeting.png
| titletext = Neither group uses iso 8601 because the big-endian enthusiasts were all at the meeting 20 years ago.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2562: Formatting Meeting

2021-12-31T16:00:29Z

Baffo32: Created by theusafBOT

Template:LATESTCOMIC

2021-12-31T16:00:29Z

Baffo32: Changed by theusafBOT

<noinclude>The latest [[xkcd]] comic is number:</noinclude> 2562

File:formatting meeting.png

2021-12-31T16:00:28Z

Baffo32: Large size can be found at https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/formatting_meeting_2x.png

Large size can be found at https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/formatting_meeting_2x.png

Formatting Meeting

2021-12-31T16:00:28Z

Baffo32: Created by theusafBOT

#REDIRECT [[2562: Formatting Meeting]]

2562

2021-12-31T16:00:28Z

Baffo32: Created by theusafBOT

#REDIRECT [[2562: Formatting Meeting]]

2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T19:01:55Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2510
| date = September 1, 2021
| title = Modern Tools
| image = modern_tools.png
| titletext = I tried to train an AI to repair my Python environment but it kept giving up and deleting itself.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by CUTTING EDGE ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] tells [[White Hat]] how he has trained a {{w|artificial neural network|neural net}} to generate mostly valid {{w|Make_(software)#Makefile|Makefiles}}.

This is the file type that the {{w|Make (software)|Make}} searches for. In software development, Make is a build automation tool that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. (See [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]]). Make is a very old tool, having first appeared in 1976.

Then Cueball continues to tell that he next will train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh.

{{w|Bash (Unix shell)|Bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|Zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Unix-like}} OSes. The way to execute commands is almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible. This was previously referenced in [[1678: Recent Searches]]. Bash and Zsh are also old tools, having come out in 1989 and 1990 respectively.

A human-designed 'random Makefile'-maker might have been written with this explicit choice amongst the earlier decisions in the generation process, but an AI might be assumed to have started (many, many generations ago) with something close to utter nonsense and painstakingly reached the stage of (mostly!) valid files along the way. Some might say that the differentiation training would have been better added at another point in the lengthy process.

On top of that, the current (mostly valid) results may even be {{w|Polyglot (computing)|polyglot}} and/or {{w|Agnostic (data)|shell-agnostic}}. Dependant upon the {{w|Fitness function|fitness tests}} in use, many other {{w|List of command-line interpreters|$SHELL}}-choices and Makefile styles may have been coevolved as valid (if rarer) subgenus of outputs, such as a ''command.com''-based makefile.

In the caption it states that Cueball is using modern tools to make ancient technology, as opposed to other people who use ancient tools and UIs ({{w|User interface}}) to develop Modern Tools.

In the title text Randall states that he tried to train an AI ({{w|Artificial intelligence}}) to repair [[1987: Python Environment|his horribly broken Python environment]]. But the AI kept giving up and deleting itself. The joke partly relates to when it or is not appropriate to personify goal-driven processes. In the study of alignment of artificial intelligence, it is common to consider AIs finding ways to meet the tasks they are given that are highly unexpected, and then developing into an {{w|Instrumental_convergence#Paperclip_maximizer|apocalypse}}. A common unexpected solution encountered in research is that the agent finds a way to disable itself as more efficient to meet its reward parameters than anything else it discovers, and then learns to repeatedly do so. The AI might be so intelligent that it had developed critical 'personal' opinions that led it to be so intellectually appalled by the task, or else just found it impossible to fix the python environment and therefore justify its own existence, that it had no other recourse but to commit a form of suicide because Cueball's code was that bad ([[:Category:Code_Quality|which is a recurring theme for Cueball]]). [[Python]] has been a recurring subject as has [[:Category:Programming|Programming]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]].

Help I'm trapped in a human body and nobody understands overfitting for ulterior goal.

The main joke is that Cueball is using cutting-edge tools to develop very old technologies, which is perhaps only useful if one is pursuing hobbies in conflict with a differing AI addiction. As the caption implies, it is much more common for people to use fundamental and well-established tools as the toolchain or building blocks of modern technology. A concrete example of this is writing scripts using decades-old Bash to automatically set up a significantly newer (2014) technology called {{w|Kubernetes}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T18:59:18Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2510
| date = September 1, 2021
| title = Modern Tools
| image = modern_tools.png
| titletext = I tried to train an AI to repair my Python environment but it kept giving up and deleting itself.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by CUTTING EDGE ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] tells [[White Hat]] how he has trained a {{w|artificial neural network|neural net}} to generate mostly valid {{w|Make_(software)#Makefile|Makefiles}}.

This is the file type that the {{w|Make (software)|Make}} searches for. In software development, Make is a build automation tool that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. (See [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]]). Make is a very old tool, having first appeared in 1976.

Then Cueball continues to tell that he next will train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh.

{{w|Bash (Unix shell)|Bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|Zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Unix-like}} OSes. The way to execute commands is almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible. This was previously referenced in [[1678: Recent Searches]]. Bash and Zsh are also old tools, having come out in 1989 and 1990 respectively.

A human-designed 'random Makefile'-maker might have been written with this explicit choice amongst the earlier decisions in the generation process, but an AI might be assumed to have started (many, many generations ago) with something close to utter nonsense and painstakingly reached the stage of (mostly!) valid files along the way. Some might say that the differentiation training would have been better added at another point in the lengthy process.

On top of that, the current (mostly valid) results may even be {{w|Polyglot (computing)|polyglot}} and/or {{w|Agnostic (data)|shell-agnostic}}. Dependant upon the {{w|Fitness function|fitness tests}} in use, many other {{w|List of command-line interpreters|$SHELL}}-choices and Makefile styles may have been coevolved as valid (if rarer) subgenus of outputs, such as a ''command.com''-based makefile.

In the caption it states that Cueball is using modern tools to make ancient technology, as opposed to other people who use ancient tools and UIs ({{w|User interface}}) to develop Modern Tools.

In the title text Randall states that he tried to train an AI ({{w|Artificial intelligence}}) to repair [[1987: Python Environment|his horribly broken Python environment]]. But the AI kept giving up and deleting itself. The joke partly relates to when it or is not appropriate to personify goal-driven processes. In the study of alignment of artificial intelligence, it is common to consider AIs finding ways to meet the tasks they are given that are highly unexpected, and then developing into an {{w|Instrumental_convergence#Paperclip_maximizer|apocalypse}}. A common unexpected solution encountered in research is that the agent finds a way to disable itself as more efficient to meet its reward parameters than anything else it discovers, and then learns to repeatedly do so. The AI might be so intelligent that it had developed critical 'personal' opinions that led it to be so intellectually appalled by the task, or else just found it impossible to fix the python environment and therefore justify its own existence, that it had no other recourse but to commit a form of suicide because Cueball's code was that bad ([[:Category:Code_Quality|which is a recurring theme for Cueball]]). [[Python]] has been a recurring subject as has [[:Category:Programming|Programming]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]].

The main joke is that Cueball is using cutting-edge tools to develop very old technologies, which is perhaps only useful if one is pursuing hobbies in conflict with a differing AI addiction. As the caption implies, it is much more common for people to use fundamental and well-established tools as the toolchain or building blocks of modern technology. A concrete example of this is writing scripts using decades-old Bash to automatically set up a significantly newer (2014) technology called {{w|Kubernetes}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

Talk:2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T10:12:11Z

Baffo32:

Note that this is the second time Randall tried to tell bash and zsh apart. (First time was in [[1678]].) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.83|162.158.88.83]] 05:44, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:Great memory. Has added it to this first attempt at an explanation. Do not know enough about these files, environment etc. so I hope someone will improve. Rare I come here and there is nothing added to the explanation yet. Only your coment showed me I was not here first. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:48, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
You can generate makefiles today with a number of causal language models. I wonder what other approaches there are. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 10:02, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Is randall literally just making jokes for himself and nobody else at this point? Even if someone knows what this all means, I doubt it many of them find it funny. - [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.125|172.70.130.125]] 10:09, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
: How does the joke land with you? I tell jokes like Randall's a lot to process how my life was destroyed by AI, and I found the comic as funny as I find my own jokes, but big and public. It seems nice that people are learning about and talking about these things. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 10:12, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T10:10:01Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2510
| date = September 1, 2021
| title = Modern Tools
| image = modern_tools.png
| titletext = I tried to train an AI to repair my Python environment but it kept giving up and deleting itself.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MODERN TOOLS THAT HAS NOW DELETED THEMSELVES - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] tells [[White Hat]] how he has trained a {{w|artificial neural network|neural net}} to generate mostly valid {{w|Make_(software)#Makefile|Makefiles}}.

This is the file type that the {{w|Make (software)|Make}} searches for. In software development, Make is a build automation tool that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. (See [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]]).

Then Cueball continues to tell that he next will train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh.

{{w|Bash (Unix shell)|Bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|Zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Unix-like}} OSes. The way to execute commands is almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible. This was previously referenced in [[1678: Recent Searches]].

A human-designed 'random Makefile'-maker might have been written with this explicit choice amongst the earlier decisions in the generation process, but an AI might be assumed to have started (many, many generations ago) with something close to utter nonsense and painstakingly reached the stage of (mostly!) valid files along the way. Some might say that the differentiation functionality would have been better at another point in the lengthy process.

On top of that, the current (mostly valid) results may even be {{w|Polyglot (computing)|polyglot}} and/or {{w|Agnostic (data)|shell-agnostic}}. Dependant upon the {{w|Fitness function|fitness tests}} in use, many other {{w|List of command-line interpreters|$SHELL}}-choices and Makefile styles may have been coevolved as valid (if rarer) subgenus of outputs, such as a ''command.com''-based makefile.

In the caption it states that Cueball is using modern tools to make ancient technology, as opposed to other people who use ancient tools and UIs ({{w|User interface}}) to develop Modern Tools.

In the title text Randall states that he tried to train an AI ({{w|Artificial intelligence}}) to repair his {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} environment. But the AI kept giving up and deleting itself. The joke partly relates to when it or is not appropriate to personify goal-driven processes. In the study of alignment of artificial intelligence, it is common to consider AIs finding ways to meet the tasks they are given that are highly unexpected, and then developing into an apocalypse. A common unexpected solution encountered in research is that the agent finds a way to disable itself as more efficient to meet its reward parameters than anything else it discovers, and then learns to repeatedly do so. A joke is that the AI was so intelligent that it was either so appalled by the task, or found it impossible to fix the python environment that it committed a form of suicide. [[Python]] has been a recurring subject as has [[:Category:Programming|Programming]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-09-02T10:08:39Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */ note projection of sphere

{{comic
| number = 2509
| date = August 30, 2021
| title = Useful Geometry Formulas
| image = useful_geometry_formulas.png
| titletext = Geometry textbooks always try to trick you by adding decorative stripes and dotted lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STRIPED AND DOTTED TEXTBOOK ILLUSTRATOR. Explain the formulas for each of the areas, and also the correct formula for the 3D object they seems to represent. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic showcases area formulas for the areas of four two-dimensional geometric shapes which each have extra dotted and/or solid lines making them look like illustrations for 3-dimensional objects. The first, a simple equation for the area of a circle, the second an equation for the area of a triangle with a semi-elliptic base, the third an equation for the area of a rectangle with an elliptical base and top, and the fourth and equation for the area of a hexagon consisting of two opposing right angled corners and two parallel diagonal lines connecting their sides. In each case, only the area formed by the outline of each shape is calculated.

Similar illustrations are commonly found in geometry textbooks, which are used to depict three-dimensional figures on a two-dimensional page. They commonly make use of slanted lines to indicate edges receding into the distance, and dashed lines to indicate an edge occluded by nearer parts of the solid. The joke is that the formulae given here are for the area of each two-dimensional shape within its outer solid lines, not for the surface area or volume of the illustrated 3D object (as would be shown in the geometry textbook). The title text continues the joke by claiming that the dotted lines are simply decorative.

The illustrations depict the following plane or solid figures, depending on the interpretation.

; Top Left - Circle with inscribed ellipse, or Sphere
This illustration is commonly used to depict a three-dimensional sphere, with the ellipse representing a "horizontal" or axial cross-section through the centre; the solid lower half of the ellipse represents the "front" of the circumference of this cross-section, while the dotted upper half represents the "back" of the same section, which would be occluded from view if this were a solid shape.

The radius of the circle, from the centre to the right edge where it meets the ellipse, is labelled 'r'. In a textbook diagram of a sphere the radius may be instead labelled with a diagonal line from the centre to a different point on the ellipse, implying the generality that all points on that cross section, and indeed on the whole spherical surface, are at the same radius from the centre. However this line would be shorter on the page than the actual radius, making it useless for the formula of the area of the 2D outer shape.

Assuming an orthographic projection of a sphere, the area of the 2D shape on the page is the area of the circle, which is A = πr2. This is captioned below the figure. Real spheres are seen in a perspective projection, rather than an orthographic, and their visual area is then that of a slight ellipse rather than precisely a circle.

Coincidentally the area of the horizontal cross-section of the 3D sphere, as depicted by the ellipse, is also πr2, and a reader familiar with such diagrams might initially assume that this is what was meant. However this does not extend to the other figures.

The 3D sphere commonly depicted by this drawing would have a volume of 4/3 πr3 and a surface area of 4πr2.

; Top Right - Ellipse with symmetrical diagonal lines, or Cone
This illustration is commonly used to depict a three-dimensional right circular cone, with the lower half of the ellipse representing the "front edge" of the bottom surface, and the upper half representing the occluded "back edge". However such drawings would usually not use both 'a' and 'b' to describe the radius of the base of the cone, which is drawn as an ellipse due to foreshortening. Alternatively, the drawing could depict a right elliptical cone.

Randall approximates the area of the 2D shape on the page as the sum of the area of the triangle formed by the major axis of the ellipse and the two lines, and half of the area of the ellipse (π/2 ab), since most of the upper half of the ellipse overlaps the triangle. The equation for this area is A = 1/2 πab + bh. This is captioned below the figure.

The actual area of a picture of a cone is not quite Randall's approximation, because the sides connect at the points on the ellipse where they can spread widest and form tangents to the ellipse, and such points are a little higher than those which define the major axis.

The 3D right circular cone commonly depicted by this drawing would have a volume of πr2h/3 where r=a=b. The area of the "lower" surface would be πr2, while the surface area of the upper conical surface would be πr√(h2 + r2). Neither of these areas correspond with the caption in the comic, nor does the total surface area (the sum of these two).

If we do not assume that a = b, this drawing could also depict a right elliptic cone. The volume of the elliptic cone would be π/3 abh. The area of the lower surface would be πab and the area of the curved upper surface would be 2a√(b2 + h2) ∫01 √(a²h²(t²-1) - b²(a²+h²t²)/a²(t²-1)(b²+h²)) dt.

; Bottom Left - Two ellipses joined vertically, or Cylinder
This illustration is commonly used to depict a 3D cylinder, or right circular prism. In this case, the upper ellipse represents the "visible" part of the top circular surface, with its "depth" shorter than its "width" due to perspective, and the lower part of the lower ellipse represents the "front" edge of the lower surface; the dotted half of the lower ellipse represents the occluded "back" edge of the lower surface.

To add to the confusion, the upper ellipse has its major axis labelled 'd' which usually denotes the diameter of a circular surface, while the lower ellipse has its semimajor axis labelled 'r' which similarly denotes a radius, even though the ellipses drawn have neither diameter nor radius. The 'h' denoting height is also used for both rectangles and solid objects. While 'd' in this case is required for the area calculation of the 2D shape, in textbooks only 'r' may be marked and the arrow may be offset at a diagonal rather than vertical.

The non-overlapping parts of the 2D shape are composed of the rectangle formed by the major axes of the two ellipses and the vertical lines, plus half of the top ellipse and half of the bottom ellipse. The area of the rectangle is dh, and the area of an ellipse with semimajor axis d/2 and semiminor axis r is πrd/2. The total area is A = d(πr/2 + h), which is captioned below the figure.

A 3D right circular prism (cylinder) would have a volume of πr2h and a surface area of 2πr2 + πdh, or 2πr(r + h) since in this case d = 2r. The area of each flat surface would be πr2. If we do not assume d = 2r, then the lateral surface area of the right elliptic cylinder is 4h ∫01 √(1 - t²(1-4r²/d²)/1 - t²) dt. The volume is π/2 rdh.

; Bottom Right - Parallel Hexagon, or Prism
This illustration is commonly used to depict a rectangular prism, with 'b' denoting the 'breadth', 'd' the 'depth' and 'h' the 'height'. However the labelled angle θ, which is necessary for the area calculation of the 2D shape, would not normally be used in a diagram of a rectangular prism, as all angles are assumed to be right angles. A rhomboidal prism could be accurately described by this diagram with the assumption that the 'base' parallellogram is perpendicular to the 'front' and that the only non-right angle is θ. In that case 'd' would not accurately describe the depth of the solid, which would actually be d sin θ.

The area of the 2D shape is comprised of the rectangle at lower left, the parallellogram above it and the parallellogram on the right. The area of the rectangle representing the front face of the prism is bh. The area of the upper parallelogram is db sin θ. The area of the right parallelogram is dh cos θ. The equation for this area is A = bh + d(b sinθ + h cosθ) as is given below the figure.

The surface area of the prism would be 2bh + 2db sin θ + 2dh. The volume is bdh sin θ. Assuming a 3D shape, θ can be artificially altered by the projection; the assumption could be made that θ is 90 degrees, and sin θ is 1 (and therefore can be eliminated from the formulas), but since θ is marked, such an assumption might not be valid.

In the history of the development of computer-generated 3D graphics, calculations of the apparent visual area taken up by the projection of a volume may have been useful in occlusion-like optimizations, where each drawn pixel may be passed through many fragment shaders.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Four figures in two rows of two, each being a common two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object, with solid lines in front and dotted lines behind. Each figure has some labeled dimensions represented with arrows and a formula underneath indicating its area. Above the four figures is a header:]
:Useful geometry formulas

:[Top left; A circle with an inscribed concentric ellipse sharing its horizontal diameter. The edge of the ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a 3D sphere. The shared radius/semi-major axis to the right of the centre is drawn as an arrow and labelled 'r'. ]
:A = πr²

:[Top right; An ellipse with horizontal major axis, plus two straight lines: one from each end of the major axis, up to a point vertical to the centre of the ellipse, so that the major axis of the ellipse (not drawn) and the two lines would form an isosceles triangle with a vertical axis of symmetry. The upper edge of the ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a right elliptical cone, or more commonly a right circular cone. The semi-minor axis of the ellipse is drawn with an arrow down from the centre and labelled 'a' and the semi-major axis is similarly drawn to the right of the centre and labelled 'b'. To the right of the shape, the height of the isosceles triangle is drawn using arrows, and labelled 'h'.]
:A = 1/2 πab + bh

:[Bottom left; Two ellipses of the same dimensions, with major axes horizontal, drawn vertically one above the other, with vertical lines connecting each end of the major axis of the top ellipse to the corresponding points on the bottom ellipse. The upper edge of the bottom ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a right elliptical prism or, more commonly, a right cylinder (circular prism). Inside the shape, the major axis of the upper ellipse is drawn as a double-ended arrow and labelled 'd'. The semi-minor axis of the lower ellipse is drawn as an arrow down from the centre and labelled 'r'. To the right of the shape, the length of the vertical lines is replicated using arrows, and labelled 'h'. ]
:A = d(πr/2 + h)

:[Bottom right; Two rectangles of the same vertical and horizontal dimensions, drawn with one offset diagonally to the upper right of the other, with diagonal lines connecting the corresponding vertices, forming a hexagon with opposite sides parallel. The upper right rectangle has its left and bottom sides drawn with dotted lines, and a similar dotted line is used connecting the bottom left corner of the two rectangles, similar to textbook depictions of rhomboid-based right prisms, or more commonly rectangular prisms. Outside the shape, the bottom edge of the lower rectangle is redrawn below the shape with arrows and labelled 'b'. The length of the left edge is similarly redrawn to the left and labelled 'h'. The length of the diagonal line connecting the upper left corners of the two rectangles is similary redrawn on the top left using arrows and labelled 'd'. The acute angle between the bottom edge of the lower rectangle, and the dotted diagonal connecting the two lower left corners, is labelled 'θ']
:A = bh + d(b sinθ + h cosθ)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T10:02:17Z

Baffo32:

2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T10:01:30Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2510
| date = September 1, 2021
| title = Modern Tools
| image = modern_tools.png
| titletext = I tried to train an AI to repair my Python environment but it kept giving up and deleting itself.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MODERN TOOLS THAT HAS NOW DELETED THEMSELVES - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] tells [[White Hat]] how he has trained a {{w|artificial neural network|neural net}} to generate mostly valid {{w|Make_(software)#Makefile|Makefiles}}.

This is the file type that the {{w|Make (software)|Make}} searches for. In software development, Make is a build automation tool that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. (See [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]]).

Then Cueball continues to tell that he next will train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh.

{{w|Bash (Unix shell)|Bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|Zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Unix-like}} OSes. The way to execute commands is almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible. This was previously referenced in [[1678: Recent Searches]].

A human-designed 'random Makefile'-maker might have been written with this explicit choice amongst the earlier decisions in the generation process, but an AI might be assumed to have started (many, many generations ago) with something close to utter nonsense and painstakingly reached the stage of (mostly!) valid files along the way. Some might say that the differentiation functionality would have been better at another point in the lengthy process.

On top of that, the current (mostly valid) results may even be {{w|Polyglot (computing)|polyglot}} and/or {{w|Agnostic (data)|shell-agnostic}}. Dependant upon the {{w|Fitness function|fitness tests}} in use, many other {{w|List of command-line interpreters|$SHELL}}-choices and Makefile styles may have been coevolved as valid (if rarer) subgenus of outputs, such as a ''command.com''-based makefile.

In the caption it states that Cueball is using modern tools to make ancient technology, as opposed to other people who use ancient tools and UIs ({{w|User interface}}) to develop Modern Tools.

In the title text Randall states that he tried to train an AI ({{w|Artificial intelligence}}) to repair his {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} environment. But the AI kept giving up and deleting itself. The joke partly relates to when it or is not appropriate to personify goal-driven processes. In the study of alignment of artificial intelligence, it is common to consider AIs finding ways to meet the tasks they are given that are highly unexpected. A common one encountered in research is that the agent finds a way to disable itself as more efficient to meet its reward parameters than anything else it discovers, and then learns to repeatedly do so. A joke is that the AI was so intelligent that it was either so appalled by the task, or found it impossible to fix the python environment that it committed a form of suicide. [[Python]] has been a recurring subject as has [[:Category:Programming|Programming]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his desk typing on his laptop. White Hat is standing behind the desk looking at Cueball.]
:Cueball: Okay, I've got this neural net generating mostly valid makefiles.
:Cueball: Next I'm going to train it to distinguish between Bash and Zsh...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:People often use ancient tools and UIs to develop modern cutting-edge technology, but I do it the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

Talk:2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-09-01T22:46:14Z

Baffo32:

Area formulas are for 2D object as seen instead of surface of a projected 3D object. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.200|162.158.89.200]] 02:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

The "decorative stripes and dotted lines" are the parts of the diagrams that are intended to indicate the third dimension. The conceit of the comic is that these are superfluous. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Ca someone explain how the last one works? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 04:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: ''bh'' is the area of the front face. The top face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''b'', with an angle of ''θ'' between them, so its area is ''d b sin(θ)''. The right face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''h'', with an angle of ''90º - θ'' between them, so its area is ''h d sin(90º - θ) = h d cos(θ)''. So the area of the whole picture is ''bh + d b sin(θ) + d h cos(θ)''.
: --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.24.165|172.68.24.165]] 04:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: In case you don't know the area of a parallelogram by heart, you can read d b sin(θ) as b * d sin(θ), where d sin(θ) is the height of the parallelogram; if you cut the right corner of the parallelogram off and add it on the left, you get a rectangle where the bottom side is b and the height is that d sin(θ), so it works out. The other parallelogram's area is h * d cos(θ), with the same reasoning. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.241|162.158.90.241]] 05:00, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Funnily enough, both this comic and [[2506]] are about projection. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 05:11, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: I had considered working that into the explanation, but that needs to account for the fact that the indicated measurements (e.g. the angle θ) have to be read in 2D, not in 3D and projected. But it would be correct to say that the 2D shapes are projections of simple 3D objects. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.149|162.158.90.149]] 05:23, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: Between this, [[2506]], and all the ones about Mercator and other map projections ... "projection" is a very large word in Randall's brain's word cloud. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.8|172.69.63.8]] 15:29, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: Feels to me like every comic since 2500 could be tagged "projection" in one sense of the word or another. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.225|172.69.69.225]] 21:55, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake?</s>
It seems like the bottom-left formula should be ''A''=''d''(''πr''+''h'') rather than ''A''=''d''(''πr''/2+''h''), because there are two half-ellipses that add up to a complete ellipse. Am I missing something? (This doesn't ''seem'' like an extra joke, does it?) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 05:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: No, it's correct. ''d'' is all of the major axis, not just half, so we have to divide that by ''2''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.83|162.158.92.83]] 05:51, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:: Oh, right; good call! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;Does the top-right formula have a mistake?
I think it should be in brackets, the top triangle area needs the ''1/2'' also, so it should be: ''A''=''1/2(πab + bh)''
:No, it's correct. The bottom is a half ellipse, with area ''1/2 π a b'', and the top is a triangle with base ''2 b'' and height ''h'', so its area is ''1/2 2b h = bh''. The total area is ''1/2 π a b + b h''.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.144|172.68.25.144]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;3D formulae for reference:
''4πr^2''

''πb(a+√(b^2+h^2))'' if a=b

''πr(2r+h)''

''2(bd+bh+dh)''

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.80|162.158.107.80]] 09:54, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:It would be clarifying to add these to the comic, but of course they are flagrantly wrong. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:57, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
::Surely ripe for a table, in place of much of the longhand paragraph spiel (which could be kept, but simpler for just the narrative but otherwise non-technical details)... "Shape (2D)", "Area", "Pretended Shape (3D)", "Surface Area", "Volume", ¿"Notes"? (Not sure about specific Notes, some things could/should be said below the formulae/descriptions in the relevent cell to which that matters, in special cases where necessary, which might be better than a Notes either empty or jammed up with all the combined row-specific corollaries, etc, that I can imagine.) Anyway, an idea. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.11|141.101.76.11]] 11:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I think the formulas are correct. Those given should be from the text book, not for those with ellipse bases. Someone has put a lot of work into giving these complicated formulas for the cone and cylinder. But I think that is overkill. I have added to the explanation the simple versions before, and would suggest deleting the complicated, which was never the intention of either text book or Randall! ;-)--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: Surface area. Not volume. My bad. I usually consider volume associated with pics like like that. Don't use surface area much. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 22:22, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

add an extra edited image that is the comic without dotted lines to make it easier to see the 2d shapes? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.177|172.69.71.177]] 12:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)Bampf
:And an animated GIF of the 3D solid objects rotating to show their real shapes. At different speeds. If you have the time. :-) Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.11|141.101.76.11]] 16:31, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: Image here: https://i.imgur.com/dq7VmnK.png Editing done myself, feel free to upload it to this wiki if you have an account on this wiki. :) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.29|162.158.88.29]] 17:22, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Please do check my (additional) changes to the bottom-right item (hexagon-cum-prism) in both main and transcript texts. As hinted in my edit notes, cos-theta is important because the skewed tetrahedron (rhomboid, whether in plan or the true area of the 'fake' perspective) is not d*b in area. The fact that without the theta it would look like a standard oblique orthographic projection with entirely right-angled corners is perhaps part of the (intended?) confusion, although we can probably assume that all unmarked (and, of course, uncongruent/uncomplimentary) angles are 90° so that it isn't a full on parallelepiped with an additional phi-angle on an adjacent face and a complicated third dependent-angle somewhere upon the remaining face-plane. As such, I put in the cosine element to both the 3d surface formula (it only affects the bd-shape, the both of them) and the 3d volume (from this shape, extrudes without further adjustment straight up the h-axis), but I ''always'' have to second guess if I've done this simple bit of trig right, it seems, even though I should know better and just trust to SOHCAHTOA... ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.146|162.158.158.146]] 13:24, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:(Case in point: I thought I'd added cosines, and I'd put sines ''anyway'', when fussing about copying the clipboarded theta-character into the right place! Re-read, seen, corrected(?) this myself. Unless I thought I was was wrong; but I was wrong, I was right!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.145|162.158.155.145]] 13:33, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

I believe both of those prism formulas should use sine theta. If theta is ninety degrees, then sine theta will be 1 (thus reducing to the rectangular case), whereas cosine of 90 degrees is zero.[[User:Tovodeverett|Tovodeverett]] ([[User talk:Tovodeverett|talk]]) 15:19, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:You're right (me again, from just above), I was rushed and ''had'' been right first time, I realised while I was off-grid and it was nagging away at the back of my head. I'm better on paper (or when I can sanity-test real code, but for some reason tapping it in like this just screws my mind up, taking away/inverting my technical ability and reason. (I blame the microwaves emitting from my tablet... pass the tinfoil hat!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.178|162.158.158.178]] 16:29, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Unconvinced by the cone! The equation shown, is correct for an isosceles triangle with a half-ellipse on its base. But that shape has 'corners' where the sides meet that half-ellipse. In a 3D projected view of an actual cone, the sides will meet the base ellipse at a tangent, meaning that it is more than a half-ellipse. But I suppose it's close enough as an approximation...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.131|172.69.55.131]] 15:57, 1 September 2021 (UTC)
: I verified your claim by imagining the surface of the cone as formed by a set of lines extending from the different points on the ellipse to a single fixed point at the tip. No matter where you put that tip point, the outermost lines seem tangent to the ellipse. Seems it works for both perspective and orthographic projections. Updated the explanation. Randall's formula is incorrect, especially for very short cone projections. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 22:46, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

; It's 3am (okay 5am) and I made it really long!

I just followed the directions in the "incomplete" which said to add in explanations of the formulae ... Please feel free to edit to take out redundancy. However I did add in the following explanations:
- the fact that the formula in the third figure is actually the same as the cross-section represented by the ellipse, which is why you may not get the joke after reading the first picture;
- the use of 'd', 'r' and 'h' in the third figure, which adds to the confusion as they imply "diameter", "radius" and "height"
- the fact that the area calculations must take into account the overlapping shapes (there were previously references to "semi-ellipses" which are extrapolations, not what's drawn there)
Haven't yet done the last figure
- pretty sure 'b' 'd' and 'h' are for 'breadth', 'depth' and 'height' and while 'height' is also used for 2D rectangles, 'breadth' less so in maths textbooks (usually 'width')
- whoever pointed out that there is a theta as well, pretty sure it's only there because it's necessary for the area calculation, as 'depth' only really applies as labelled to rectangular prisms - if the base were not rectangular, 'd' would not be equal to the 'depth'
Will try to come back later and shorten... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.40|162.158.166.40]] 18:56, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Someone [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2509:_Useful_Geometry_Formulas&diff=217438&oldid=217434 thought that] "formulae" was a typo for "formulas" (which it might easily be, on a QWERTY or similar layout). Not going to revert, but note that (for a mathematical formula, if perhaps not a chemical one/etc, but there's plenty of mixed use) this is actually quite correct. If it were up to me alone (I didn't write that one, orother mentions like in the above Talk contribution), for the record, I'd probably have used "formulæ" myself. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.145|162.158.155.145]] 20:28, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-09-01T22:42:00Z

Baffo32: Noted incorrectness of cone projected area per discussion comment

{{comic
| number = 2509
| date = August 30, 2021
| title = Useful Geometry Formulas
| image = useful_geometry_formulas.png
| titletext = Geometry textbooks always try to trick you by adding decorative stripes and dotted lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STRIPED AND DOTTED TEXTBOOK ILLUSTRATOR. Explain the formulas for each of the areas, and also the correct formula for the 3D object they seems to represent. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic showcases area formulas for the areas of four two-dimensional geometric shapes which each have extra dotted and/or solid lines making them look like illustrations for 3-dimensional objects. The first, a simple equation for the area of a circle, the second an equation for the area of a triangle with a semi-elliptic base, the third an equation for the area of a rectangle with an elliptical base and top, and the fourth and equation for the area of a hexagon consisting of two opposing right angled corners and two parallel diagonal lines connecting their sides. In each case, only the area formed by the outline of each shape is calculated.

Similar illustrations are commonly found in geometry textbooks, which are used to depict three-dimensional figures on a two-dimensional page. They commonly make use of slanted lines to indicate edges receding into the distance, and dashed lines to indicate an edge occluded by nearer parts of the solid. The joke is that the formulae given here are for the area of each two-dimensional shape within its outer solid lines, not for the surface area or volume of the illustrated 3D object (as would be shown in the geometry textbook). The title text continues the joke by claiming that the dotted lines are simply decorative.

The illustrations depict the following plane or solid figures, depending on the interpretation.

; Top Left - Circle with inscribed ellipse, or Sphere
This illustration is commonly used to depict a three-dimensional sphere, with the ellipse representing a "horizontal" or axial cross-section through the centre; the solid lower half of the ellipse represents the "front" of the circumference of this cross-section, while the dotted upper half represents the "back" of the same section, which would be occluded from view if this were a solid shape.

The area of the 2D shape on the page is the area of the circle, which is A = πr2. This is captioned below the figure.

The 3D sphere commonly depicted by this drawing would have a volume of 4/3 πr3 and a surface area of 4πr2. The vertical cross-sectional area of the sphere and the horizontal cross-sectional area would both be the same as the area of the 2D shape on the page, πr2. In textbooks a drawing of a sphere such as this may be captioned with the volume, the surface area or the area of the horizontal cross-section depicted by the ellipse, so that at first glance a reader familiar with such images may assume that the caption in the comic is meant to show the formula for the horizontal cross-section. However, the formulas shown for the other figures do not match any of these properties of the corresponding 3D objects.

; Top Right - Ellipse with symmetrical diagonal lines, or Cone
This illustration is commonly used to depict a three-dimensional right circular cone, with the lower half of the ellipse representing the "front edge" of the bottom surface, and the upper half representing the occluded "back edge". However such drawings would usually not use both 'a' and 'b' to describe the radius of the base of the cone, which is drawn as an ellipse due to foreshortening. Alternatively, the drawing could depict a right elliptical cone.

Randall approximates the area of the 2D shape on the page as the sum of the area of the triangle formed by the major axis of the ellipse and the two lines, and half of the area of the ellipse (π/2 ab), since most of the upper half of the ellipse overlaps the triangle. The equation for this area is A = 1/2 πab + bh. This is captioned below the figure.

The actual area of a picture of a cone is not quite Randall's approximation, because the sides connect at the points on the ellipse where they can spread widest and form tangents to the ellipse, and such points are a little higher than those which define the major axis.

The 3D right circular cone commonly depicted by this drawing would have a volume of πr2h/3 where r=a=b. The area of the "lower" surface would be πr2, while the surface area of the upper conical surface would be πr√(h2 + r2). Neither of these areas correspond with the caption in the comic, nor does the total surface area (the sum of these two).

If we do not assume that a = b, this drawing could also depict a right elliptic cone. The volume of the elliptic cone would be π/3 abh. The area of the lower surface would be πab and the area of the curved upper surface would be 2a√(b2 + h2) ∫01 √(a²h²(t²-1) - b²(a²+h²t²)/a²(t²-1)(b²+h²)) dt.

; Bottom Left - Two ellipses joined vertically, or Cylinder
This illustration is commonly used to depict a 3D cylinder, or right circular prism. In this case, the upper ellipse represents the "visible" part of the top circular surface, with its "depth" shorter than its "width" due to perspective, and the lower part of the lower ellipse represents the "front" edge of the lower surface; the dotted half of the lower ellipse represents the occluded "back" edge of the lower surface.

To add to the confusion, the upper ellipse has its major axis labelled 'd' which usually denotes the diameter of a circular surface, while the lower ellipse has its semimajor axis labelled 'r' which similarly denotes a radius, even though the ellipses drawn have neither diameter nor radius. The 'h' denoting height is also used for both rectangles and solid objects. While 'd' in this case is required for the area calculation of the 2D shape, in textbooks only 'r' may be marked and the arrow may be offset at a diagonal rather than vertical.

The non-overlapping parts of the 2D shape are composed of the rectangle formed by the major axes of the two ellipses and the vertical lines, plus half of the top ellipse and half of the bottom ellipse. The area of the rectangle is dh, and the area of an ellipse with semimajor axis d/2 and semiminor axis r is πrd/2. The total area is A = d(πr/2 + h), which is captioned below the figure.

A 3D right circular prism (cylinder) would have a volume of πr2h and a surface area of 2πr2 + πdh, or 2πr(r + h) since in this case d = 2r. The area of each flat surface would be πr2. If we do not assume d = 2r, then the lateral surface area of the right elliptic cylinder is 4h ∫01 √(1 - t²(1-4r²/d²)/1 - t²) dt. The volume is π/2 rdh.

; Bottom Right - Parallel Hexagon, or Prism
This illustration is commonly used to depict a rectangular prism, with 'b' denoting the 'breadth', 'd' the 'depth' and 'h' the 'height'. However the labelled angle θ, which is necessary for the area calculation of the 2D shape, would not normally be used in a diagram of a rectangular prism, as all angles are assumed to be right angles. A rhomboidal prism could be accurately described by this diagram with the assumption that the 'base' parallellogram is perpendicular to the 'front' and that the only non-right angle is θ. In that case 'd' would not accurately describe the depth of the solid, which would actually be d sin θ.

The area of the 2D shape is comprised of the rectangle at lower left, the parallellogram above it and the parallellogram on the right. The area of the rectangle representing the front face of the prism is bh. The area of the upper parallelogram is db sin θ. The area of the right parallelogram is dh cos θ. The equation for this area is A = bh + d(b sinθ + h cosθ) as is given below the figure.

The surface area of the prism would be 2bh + 2db sin θ + 2dh. The volume is bdh sin θ. Assuming a 3D shape, θ can be artificially altered by the projection; the assumption could be made that θ is 90 degrees, and sin θ is 1 (and therefore can be eliminated from the formulas), but since θ is marked, such an assumption might not be valid.

In the history of the development of computer-generated 3D graphics, calculations of the apparent visual area taken up by the projection of a volume may have been useful in occlusion-like optimizations, where each drawn pixel may be passed through many fragment shaders.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Four figures in two rows of two, each being a common two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object, with solid lines in front and dotted lines behind. Each figure has some labeled dimensions represented with arrows and a formula underneath indicating its area. Above the four figures is a header:]
:Useful geometry formulas

:[Top left; A circle with an inscribed concentric ellipse sharing its horizontal diameter. The edge of the ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a 3D sphere. The shared radius/semi-major axis to the right of the centre is drawn as an arrow and labelled 'r'. ]
:A = πr²

:[Top right; An ellipse with horizontal major axis, plus two straight lines: one from each end of the major axis, up to a point vertical to the centre of the ellipse, so that the major axis of the ellipse (not drawn) and the two lines would form an isosceles triangle with a vertical axis of symmetry. The upper edge of the ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a right elliptical cone, or more commonly a right circular cone. The semi-minor axis of the ellipse is drawn with an arrow down from the centre and labelled 'a' and the semi-major axis is similarly drawn to the right of the centre and labelled 'b'. To the right of the shape, the height of the isosceles triangle is drawn using arrows, and labelled 'h'.]
:A = 1/2 πab + bh

:[Bottom left; Two ellipses of the same dimensions, with major axes horizontal, drawn vertically one above the other, with vertical lines connecting each end of the major axis of the top ellipse to the corresponding points on the bottom ellipse. The upper edge of the bottom ellipse above the major axis is drawn with a dotted line, while the lower edge is drawn with a solid line, similar to textbook depictions of a right elliptical prism or, more commonly, a right cylinder (circular prism). Inside the shape, the major axis of the upper ellipse is drawn as a double-ended arrow and labelled 'd'. The semi-minor axis of the lower ellipse is drawn as an arrow down from the centre and labelled 'r'. To the right of the shape, the length of the vertical lines is replicated using arrows, and labelled 'h'. ]
:A = d(πr/2 + h)

:[Bottom right; Two rectangles of the same vertical and horizontal dimensions, drawn with one offset diagonally to the upper right of the other, with diagonal lines connecting the corresponding vertices, forming a hexagon with opposite sides parallel. The upper right rectangle has its left and bottom sides drawn with dotted lines, and a similar dotted line is used connecting the bottom left corner of the two rectangles, similar to textbook depictions of rhomboid-based right prisms, or more commonly rectangular prisms. Outside the shape, the bottom edge of the lower rectangle is redrawn below the shape with arrows and labelled 'b'. The length of the left edge is similarly redrawn to the left and labelled 'h'. The length of the diagonal line connecting the upper left corners of the two rectangles is similary redrawn on the top left using arrows and labelled 'd'. The acute angle between the bottom edge of the lower rectangle, and the dotted diagonal connecting the two lower left corners, is labelled 'θ']
:A = bh + d(b sinθ + h cosθ)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-09-01T22:22:16Z

Baffo32:

Area formulas are for 2D object as seen instead of surface of a projected 3D object. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.200|162.158.89.200]] 02:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

The "decorative stripes and dotted lines" are the parts of the diagrams that are intended to indicate the third dimension. The conceit of the comic is that these are superfluous. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Ca someone explain how the last one works? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 04:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: ''bh'' is the area of the front face. The top face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''b'', with an angle of ''θ'' between them, so its area is ''d b sin(θ)''. The right face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''h'', with an angle of ''90º - θ'' between them, so its area is ''h d sin(90º - θ) = h d cos(θ)''. So the area of the whole picture is ''bh + d b sin(θ) + d h cos(θ)''.
: --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.24.165|172.68.24.165]] 04:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: In case you don't know the area of a parallelogram by heart, you can read d b sin(θ) as b * d sin(θ), where d sin(θ) is the height of the parallelogram; if you cut the right corner of the parallelogram off and add it on the left, you get a rectangle where the bottom side is b and the height is that d sin(θ), so it works out. The other parallelogram's area is h * d cos(θ), with the same reasoning. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.241|162.158.90.241]] 05:00, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Funnily enough, both this comic and [[2506]] are about projection. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 05:11, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: I had considered working that into the explanation, but that needs to account for the fact that the indicated measurements (e.g. the angle θ) have to be read in 2D, not in 3D and projected. But it would be correct to say that the 2D shapes are projections of simple 3D objects. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.149|162.158.90.149]] 05:23, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: Between this, [[2506]], and all the ones about Mercator and other map projections ... "projection" is a very large word in Randall's brain's word cloud. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.8|172.69.63.8]] 15:29, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: Feels to me like every comic since 2500 could be tagged "projection" in one sense of the word or another. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.225|172.69.69.225]] 21:55, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake?</s>
It seems like the bottom-left formula should be ''A''=''d''(''πr''+''h'') rather than ''A''=''d''(''πr''/2+''h''), because there are two half-ellipses that add up to a complete ellipse. Am I missing something? (This doesn't ''seem'' like an extra joke, does it?) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 05:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: No, it's correct. ''d'' is all of the major axis, not just half, so we have to divide that by ''2''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.83|162.158.92.83]] 05:51, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:: Oh, right; good call! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;Does the top-right formula have a mistake?
I think it should be in brackets, the top triangle area needs the ''1/2'' also, so it should be: ''A''=''1/2(πab + bh)''
:No, it's correct. The bottom is a half ellipse, with area ''1/2 π a b'', and the top is a triangle with base ''2 b'' and height ''h'', so its area is ''1/2 2b h = bh''. The total area is ''1/2 π a b + b h''.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.144|172.68.25.144]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

;3D formulae for reference:
''4πr^2''

''πb(a+√(b^2+h^2))'' if a=b

''πr(2r+h)''

''2(bd+bh+dh)''

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.80|162.158.107.80]] 09:54, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:It would be clarifying to add these to the comic, but of course they are flagrantly wrong. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:57, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
::Surely ripe for a table, in place of much of the longhand paragraph spiel (which could be kept, but simpler for just the narrative but otherwise non-technical details)... "Shape (2D)", "Area", "Pretended Shape (3D)", "Surface Area", "Volume", ¿"Notes"? (Not sure about specific Notes, some things could/should be said below the formulae/descriptions in the relevent cell to which that matters, in special cases where necessary, which might be better than a Notes either empty or jammed up with all the combined row-specific corollaries, etc, that I can imagine.) Anyway, an idea. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.11|141.101.76.11]] 11:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I think the formulas are correct. Those given should be from the text book, not for those with ellipse bases. Someone has put a lot of work into giving these complicated formulas for the cone and cylinder. But I think that is overkill. I have added to the explanation the simple versions before, and would suggest deleting the complicated, which was never the intention of either text book or Randall! ;-)--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: Surface area. Not volume. My bad. I usually consider volume associated with pics like like that. Don't use surface area much. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 22:22, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

add an extra edited image that is the comic without dotted lines to make it easier to see the 2d shapes? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.177|172.69.71.177]] 12:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)Bampf
:And an animated GIF of the 3D solid objects rotating to show their real shapes. At different speeds. If you have the time. :-) Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.11|141.101.76.11]] 16:31, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
: Image here: https://i.imgur.com/dq7VmnK.png Editing done myself, feel free to upload it to this wiki if you have an account on this wiki. :) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.29|162.158.88.29]] 17:22, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Please do check my (additional) changes to the bottom-right item (hexagon-cum-prism) in both main and transcript texts. As hinted in my edit notes, cos-theta is important because the skewed tetrahedron (rhomboid, whether in plan or the true area of the 'fake' perspective) is not d*b in area. The fact that without the theta it would look like a standard oblique orthographic projection with entirely right-angled corners is perhaps part of the (intended?) confusion, although we can probably assume that all unmarked (and, of course, uncongruent/uncomplimentary) angles are 90° so that it isn't a full on parallelepiped with an additional phi-angle on an adjacent face and a complicated third dependent-angle somewhere upon the remaining face-plane. As such, I put in the cosine element to both the 3d surface formula (it only affects the bd-shape, the both of them) and the 3d volume (from this shape, extrudes without further adjustment straight up the h-axis), but I ''always'' have to second guess if I've done this simple bit of trig right, it seems, even though I should know better and just trust to SOHCAHTOA... ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.146|162.158.158.146]] 13:24, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:(Case in point: I thought I'd added cosines, and I'd put sines ''anyway'', when fussing about copying the clipboarded theta-character into the right place! Re-read, seen, corrected(?) this myself. Unless I thought I was was wrong; but I was wrong, I was right!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.145|162.158.155.145]] 13:33, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

I believe both of those prism formulas should use sine theta. If theta is ninety degrees, then sine theta will be 1 (thus reducing to the rectangular case), whereas cosine of 90 degrees is zero.[[User:Tovodeverett|Tovodeverett]] ([[User talk:Tovodeverett|talk]]) 15:19, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
:You're right (me again, from just above), I was rushed and ''had'' been right first time, I realised while I was off-grid and it was nagging away at the back of my head. I'm better on paper (or when I can sanity-test real code, but for some reason tapping it in like this just screws my mind up, taking away/inverting my technical ability and reason. (I blame the microwaves emitting from my tablet... pass the tinfoil hat!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.178|162.158.158.178]] 16:29, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Unconvinced by the cone! The equation shown, is correct for an isosceles triangle with a half-ellipse on its base. But that shape has 'corners' where the sides meet that half-ellipse. In a 3D projected view of an actual cone, the sides will meet the base ellipse at a tangent, meaning that it is more than a half-ellipse. But I suppose it's close enough as an approximation...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.131|172.69.55.131]] 15:57, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

; It's 3am (okay 5am) and I made it really long!

I just followed the directions in the "incomplete" which said to add in explanations of the formulae ... Please feel free to edit to take out redundancy. However I did add in the following explanations:
- the fact that the formula in the third figure is actually the same as the cross-section represented by the ellipse, which is why you may not get the joke after reading the first picture;
- the use of 'd', 'r' and 'h' in the third figure, which adds to the confusion as they imply "diameter", "radius" and "height"
- the fact that the area calculations must take into account the overlapping shapes (there were previously references to "semi-ellipses" which are extrapolations, not what's drawn there)
Haven't yet done the last figure
- pretty sure 'b' 'd' and 'h' are for 'breadth', 'depth' and 'height' and while 'height' is also used for 2D rectangles, 'breadth' less so in maths textbooks (usually 'width')
- whoever pointed out that there is a theta as well, pretty sure it's only there because it's necessary for the area calculation, as 'depth' only really applies as labelled to rectangular prisms - if the base were not rectangular, 'd' would not be equal to the 'depth'
Will try to come back later and shorten... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.40|162.158.166.40]] 18:56, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Someone [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2509:_Useful_Geometry_Formulas&diff=217438&oldid=217434 thought that] "formulae" was a typo for "formulas" (which it might easily be, on a QWERTY or similar layout). Not going to revert, but note that (for a mathematical formula, if perhaps not a chemical one/etc, but there's plenty of mixed use) this is actually quite correct. If it were up to me alone (I didn't write that one, orother mentions like in the above Talk contribution), for the record, I'd probably have used "formulæ" myself. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.145|162.158.155.145]] 20:28, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-08-31T09:57:58Z

Baffo32: /* 3D formulae for reference: */

2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-08-31T09:55:11Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-08-31T09:51:59Z

Baffo32: thought congruent meant not translated nor rotated

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-24T22:09:34Z

Baffo32: I mean no argument and will eventually tire of reverting this. I believe it to be helpful to explain nerd culture on this wiki, and am interested in learning other viewpoints.

{{comic
| number = 2505
| date = August 20, 2021
| title = News Story Reaction
| image = news_story_reaction.png
| titletext = Unless the next line is, "After we broke up, she blamed the painting and spent years planning her revenge, so my sorrow is mixed with relief that the dogs at least denied her that triumph."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MONA LISA(THE PAINTING)'S FIRST KISS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
People without much social engagement as children, such as those who grew up with technology in the nineties as Randall and many of his readers did, tend to transfer their social habits inappropriately to new scenarios and repeat the habit until clearly criticized for it. Randall is likely expecting his readers to empathize with the depicted error, or referencing an error he has himself made.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is at his computer, likely typing a comment after reading a shocking news story where the ''{{w|Mona Lisa}}'' has been attacked and shredded by a pack of wild dogs. The ''Mona Lisa'' is one of the most famous paintings in human history. At the time of this comic, the ''Mona Lisa'' has not been attacked and is unlikely to be shredded in this circumstance at least by dogs as it is painted on wood, rather than canvas.<ref>"Mona Lisa | Painting, Subject, Meaning, & Facts." ''Britannica'', December 4, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting</ref>

At the beginning of his comment, Cueball describes his reaction and disappointment about the event, describing the event as "a loss for humanity." Cueball is then reminded of his first kiss, which occurred inside of a {{w|JCPenney}}, where a picture of the ''Mona Lisa'' hung on one of its walls. He adds this to his comment, explaining that this is why the news hits him hard. However, his story has almost no relation to the ''Mona Lisa'', other than that the picture was at the scene and is unnecessary.

After posting the comment, Cueball reflects on this and mentions that not every news story is, or needs to be, about himself.

The title text describes an exception to this, where his experience IS directly related to the affected painting, as his ex seemingly planned to get revenge on the painting itself. The title text suggests that the dogs destroyed the painting before Cueball's ex could do so. (But perhaps it could be that she let the dogs in, and so this extra info could lead to the police finding the person who was responsible.)

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, typing on his laptop. What he types is shown above Cueball, as indicated by the line going from his hands to the text.]
:Cueball: Devastated to hear that a pack of wild dogs got into the Louvre and shredded the Mona Lisa.
:Cueball: What a loss for humanity.
:Cueball: My first kiss was in the aisle of a J.C. Penny{{sic}} that had a poster of the Mona Lisa on the wall, so this is hitting me especially hard.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Sometimes I have to remind myself not to make every news story about me.

==References==
<references />

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2506: Projecting

2021-08-24T22:07:53Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2506
| date = August 23, 2021
| title = Projecting
| image = projecting.png
| titletext = This is something we all need to work on, but especially you all.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SOMEONE ALMOST AS BAD AT MAKING EXPLANATIONS AS YOU ARE! Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|psychological projection}}. Projection is taking qualities of the self and attributing these qualities to others.

[[Cueball]] actually admits he has a ''real'' problem with projecting, but while doing so, he is seemingly oblivious to the fact, that he is stating this in a way that projects his self-identified difficulty upon his friends: [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]]. Of course, this could also just be a joke made by Cueball, as it is the joke in the comic. On the other hand, Cueball and [[Randall]] have serious issues with [[:Category:Social interactions|social interactions]], and this could just be another example of such a problem.

In the title text, Cueball continues his projections, stating that ''this is something we all need to work on''. So he continues to believe that all the others have the same problem, not just a lot of them as in his original statement, which left the possibility that not all of them had this issue. In the end, he also tops it by saying ''but especially you all'' indicating that he imagines his own case is a less serious issue of projection than that he actually projects the others as having.

Alternatively, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|complex numbers}}. There exists a common {{w|Stereographic_projection#First_formulation|projection}} between the complex and reals, but it may {{w|Stereographic_projection#Other_conventions|not be clear}} to him about which method to use or how to do it. If he is projecting onto the real part of the complex line, then his issue is a many-to-one problem, which explains why it is everyone else's problem as well.

A further alternative read could be that Cueball is acting as the Randall surrogate, noting that the other characters are projections of Randall's conscious and subconscious self. The title text could then be read as either directed to those aspects as expressed as characters within the comic; or could be addressed to the reader who also has things to work on.

A different [[https://www.definitions.net/definition/voice%20projection]] meaning of the term "Projecting" is seen in the fields of public speaking and drama, being the way that a person clearly uses their voice to address an audience. If Cueball is not projecting well, then the characters listening to him may ignore him.

Projection is an ongoing issue. People from disparate communities can experience this all the time, where one person assumes out of habit that the other person has the traits of their community. On the end of the spectrum, projection can be completely delusional, as the comic hints at. It would make sense for that be more common for people who attend less to where others are at, such as introverted or powerful people, two groups that experienced engineers can land in.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and White Hat are standing. Cueball is talking, with arms outstretched, palms up, while the other three are looking at him.]
:Cueball: Like a lot of you, I have a real problem with projection.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2506: Projecting

2021-08-24T22:06:50Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2506
| date = August 23, 2021
| title = Projecting
| image = projecting.png
| titletext = This is something we all need to work on, but especially you all.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SOMEONE ALMOST AS BAD AT MAKING EXPLANATIONS AS YOU ARE! Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|psychological projection}}. Projection is taking qualities of the self and attributing these qualities to others.

[[Cueball]] actually admits he has a ''real'' problem with projecting, but while doing so, he is seemingly oblivious to the fact, that he is stating this in a way that projects his self-identified difficulty upon his friends: [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]]. Of course, this could also just be a joke made by Cueball, as it is the joke in the comic. On the other hand, Cueball and [[Randall]] have serious issues with [[:Category:Social interactions|social interactions]], and this could just be another example of such a problem.

In the title text, Cueball continues his projections, stating that ''this is something we all need to work on''. So he continues to believe that all the others have the same problem, not just a lot of them as in his original statement, which left the possibility that not all of them had this issue. In the end, he also tops it by saying ''but especially you all'' indicating that he imagines his own case is a less serious issue of projection than that he actually projects the others as having.

Alternatively, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|complex numbers}}. There exists a common {{w|Stereographic_projection#First_formulation|projection}} between the complex and reals, but it may {{w|Stereographic_projection#Other_conventions|not be clear}} to him about which method to use or how to do it. If he is projecting onto the real part of the complex line, then his issue is a many-to-one problem, which explains why it is everyone else's problem as well.

A further alternative read could be that Cueball is acting as the Randall surrogate, noting that the other characters are projections of Randall's conscious and subconscious self. The title text could then be read as either directed to those aspects as expressed as characters within the comic; or could be addressed to the reader who also has things to work on.

A different [[https://www.definitions.net/definition/voice%20projection]] meaning of the term "Projecting" is seen in the fields of public speaking and drama, being the way that a person clearly uses their voice to address an audience. If Cueball is not projecting well, then the characters listening to him may ignore him.

Projection is an ongoing issue. People from disparate communities can experience this all the time, where one person assumes out of habit that the other person has the traits of their community. On the end of the spectrum, projection can be completely delusional, as the comic hints at. It would make sense for that be more common for people who attend less to where others are at, such as introverted or powerful people.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and White Hat are standing. Cueball is talking, with arms outstretched, palms up, while the other three are looking at him.]
:Cueball: Like a lot of you, I have a real problem with projection.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-24T04:42:57Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-24T04:42:16Z

Baffo32: Thank you so much for explaining the deletion. I didn't find the explanation contained information, so i'm trying out undoing the edit.

{{comic
| number = 2505
| date = August 20, 2021
| title = News Story Reaction
| image = news_story_reaction.png
| titletext = Unless the next line is, "After we broke up, she blamed the painting and spent years planning her revenge, so my sorrow is mixed with relief that the dogs at least denied her that triumph."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MONA LISA(THE PAINTING)'S FIRST KISS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
People without much social engagement as children, such as those who grew up with technology in the nineties, tend to transfer their social habits inappropriately to new scenarios and repeat the habit until clearly criticized for it. Randall is likely expecting his readers to empathize with the depicted error, or referencing an error he has himself made.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is at his computer, likely typing a comment after reading a shocking news story where the ''{{w|Mona Lisa}}'' has been attacked and shredded by a pack of wild dogs. The ''Mona Lisa'' is one of the most famous paintings in human history. At the time of this comic, the ''Mona Lisa'' has not been attacked and is unlikely to be shredded in this circumstance at least by dogs as it is painted on wood, rather than canvas.<ref>"Mona Lisa | Painting, Subject, Meaning, & Facts." ''Britannica'', December 4, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting</ref>

At the beginning of his comment, Cueball describes his reaction and disappointment about the event, describing the event as "a loss for humanity." Cueball is then reminded of his first kiss, which occurred inside of a {{w|JCPenney}}, where a picture of the ''Mona Lisa'' hung on one of its walls. He adds this to his comment, explaining that this is why the news hits him hard. However, his story has almost no relation to the ''Mona Lisa'', other than that the picture was at the scene and is unnecessary.

After posting the comment, Cueball reflects on this and mentions that not every news story is, or needs to be, about himself.

The title text describes an exception to this, where his experience IS directly related to the affected painting, as his ex seemingly planned to get revenge on the painting itself. The title text suggests that the dogs destroyed the painting before Cueball's ex could do so. (But perhaps it could be that she let the dogs in, and so this extra info could lead to the police finding the person who was responsible.)

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, typing on his laptop. What he types is shown above Cueball, as indicated by the line going from his hands to the text.]
:Cueball: Devastated to hear that a pack of wild dogs got into the Louvre and shredded the Mona Lisa.
:Cueball: What a loss for humanity.
:Cueball: My first kiss was in the aisle of a J.C. Penny{{sic}} that had a poster of the Mona Lisa on the wall, so this is hitting me especially hard.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Sometimes I have to remind myself not to make every news story about me.

==References==
<references />

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-22T15:09:05Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2505
| date = August 20, 2021
| title = News Story Reaction
| image = news_story_reaction.png
| titletext = Unless the next line is, "After we broke up, she blamed the painting and spent years planning her revenge, so my sorrow is mixed with relief that the dogs at least denied her that triumph."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MONA LISA(THE PAINTING)'S FIRST KISS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
People without much social engagement as children, such as those who grew up with technology in the nineties, tend to transfer their social habits inappropriately to new scenarios and repeat the habit until clearly criticized for it. Randall is likely expecting his readers to empathize with the depicted error, or referencing an error he has himself made.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is at his computer, likely typing a comment after reading a shocking news story where the ''{{w|Mona Lisa}}'' has been attacked and shredded by a pack of wild dogs. The ''Mona Lisa'' is one of the most famous paintings in human history. At the time of this comic, the ''Mona Lisa'' has not been attacked{{citation needed}} and is unlikely to be shredded in this circumstance at least by dogs as it is painted on wood, rather than canvas.<ref>"Mona Lisa | Painting, Subject, Meaning, & Facts." ''Britannica'', December 4, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting</ref>

At the beginning of his comment, Cueball describes his reaction and disappointment about the event, describing the event as "a loss for humanity." Cueball is then reminded of his first kiss, which occurred inside of a {{w|JCPenney}}, where a picture of the ''Mona Lisa'' hung on one of its walls. He adds this to his comment, explaining that this is why the news hits him hard. However, his story has almost no relation to the ''Mona Lisa'', other than that the picture was at the scene and is unnecessary.

After posting the comment, Cueball reflects on this and mentions that not every news story is, or needs to be about himself.

The title text describes an exception to this, where his experience IS directly related to the affected painting, as his ex seemingly planned to get revenge on the painting itself.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, typing something on a laptop.]
:Cueball: Devastated to hear that a pack of wild dogs got into the Louvre and shredded the Mona Lisa.
:Cueball: What a loss for humanity.
:Cueball: My first kiss was in the aisle of a J.C. Penny{{sic}} that had a poster of the Mona Lisa on the wall, so this is hitting me especially hard.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Sometimes I have to remind myself not to make every news story about me.

==References==
<references />

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-21T00:17:33Z

Baffo32:

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and less unstable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life{{citation needed}} raspberries don't do that. As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each drupelet corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of culinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "raspberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. One might be able to imagine the FDA discovering that the raspberry pis are functioning to contain a nuclear chain reaction, and calling in the NRC to consult. The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies. It is a pun on the word "stable", which can also describe isotopes and molecules that do not decay.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small drupelets flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two drupelets will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three drupelets when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two drupelets. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-21T00:16:30Z

Baffo32:

This joke is like a visual pun, a raspberry fruit looks sorta like a nuclear model, and so it behaves the same (ie can go supercritical). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.72|172.69.35.72]] 20:38, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:Along with an actual pun: pi in "pi meson" sounds like pie in "raspberry pie". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:43, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
::If it isn't also an intentional tertiary reference to the Raspberry Pi computer board, I'll eat my [https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi-hats hat]! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.109|141.101.98.109]] 21:22, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I'd say you would have to eat it. Cannot see what this comic has to do with a computer board, just because it is named after a raspberry pie. This joke is obviously about the berries looking like nuclear cores, and pie mesons. Not about anything with a computer. So take some salt an eat (or swallow one the hats in your link, along with a camel :p ) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:21, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::::I interpreted 'tertiary' to mean that randall was [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priming_(psychology) 'primed'] to talk about raspberry pies due to his exposure to the board, and similarly for readers finding it interesting and humorous. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:28, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Though raspberries resemble the common ''depiction'' of nuclei, perhaps we need to explain that in reality, nuclei are rather different..? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:I think anyone reading xkcd and this page, will figure it out via the links ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:21, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::I tend to forget that nuclei aren't little raspberries made of nucleons, even though I used to be a fusion researcher. In fact I'm sure I was only ever half-aware they weren't (I didn't study the actual nuclear physics, ok!)... so +1 from me in favour of adding a bit about the 'real' nature of nuclei, that would be interesting. --[[User:192·168·0·1|192·168·0·1]] ([[User talk:192·168·0·1|talk]]) 09:39, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
I would suggest referring to the raspberry parts as 'drupelets' rather than 'ovaries'.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.173|172.70.114.173]] 12:58, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:I love eating the juiciest and sweetest of fruit ovaries, raspberries and strawberries are my favorite but I also enjoy apples and grapes --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 17:29, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::I looked this up briefly and I _think_ that the ovaries are what develop into the drupelets, here, not certain, judging by phrasing on wikipedia. So I changed it. Don't eat the ovaries, eat the part that's designed for eating. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:37, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::Fine but you forgot the transcript. I have changed it there so drupelet is the word used. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:57, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

The page says "Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.[citation needed]" - where is one supposed to find a useful citation to state that fields of raspberries ''don't'' explode? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.101|108.162.229.101]] 22:18, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:That’s the point! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.45|108.162.215.45]] 02:55, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
::It's a joke, and you are free to remove it if you so judge. Others may disagree. Sometimes raspberry farms have some pretty hard to describe explosive activity when their parts combine in rare chain reactions. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:39, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::It's a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/285:_Wikipedian_Protester 'xkcd 285'], a long running joke in the xkcd community, What If? and Randal's other books, and the xkcd merch shop {{unsigned ip|172.69.42.63}}
::::And severely overused. Imho it should only be used when we are actually looking for a citation for someting stated without proof in the explanation. So I generally feel free to remove them as I did here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:54, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::::I agree there ''can'' (and has been) overuse, but by your criteria there would be absolutely no 285-backrefetencing at all. In use on The Original Wiki and all the rest there other cite-markers requesting an edit to clarify, expand, use better units, add comic issue and page, etc, and th9se exist (or can be made to exist) here.
::::::I wouldn't suggest every clause of every sentence of every paragraph of every comic's explanation be in-joked, but (with exceptions on a very few rare occasions that will doubtlessly be edited down by a future editor like you, or me, anyway) I see no harm in so labelling up to ''one'' axiomatic statement this way per article (the absolutely most obvious and inarguable and, by editors' aggregate concensus without resorting to an edit-war, humorous-to-so-label statement).
::::::By dint of the humour-decay so described, results in one permanent example fit to tickle the funnybone of all but the most curmudgeonly every 2, 3 or 4 comics, on a rolling average. In every case being absolutely obvious to pretty much everyone that it is there for amusement value (especially amidst dry, technical detail) even to those only just arrived upon these particular digital shores...
::::::IMO, of course, having no authority or desire for authority here. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.69|141.101.77.69]] 17:30, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
::::: I'm pretty sure part of the joke here is the edit war it can stimulate, not sure. But clearly it would be overdoing it to formalize including one every single explanation. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 00:13, 21 August 2021 (UTC)
I feel like there might be more to this joke. When I'm plucking raspberries in the forest, they break in half pretty often, causing me to get juice on my hands, which is pretty annoying.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.253|162.158.90.253]] 21:42, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:And then that juice on your hands breaks another raspberry in half, because you are worried less about keeping your hands clean ... and then you hand your juicy raspberries to a friend, getting their hand juicy from your hand ... The NRC arrive and it's just red, everywhere. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 00:16, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-21T00:13:23Z

Baffo32:

This joke is like a visual pun, a raspberry fruit looks sorta like a nuclear model, and so it behaves the same (ie can go supercritical). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.72|172.69.35.72]] 20:38, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:Along with an actual pun: pi in "pi meson" sounds like pie in "raspberry pie". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:43, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
::If it isn't also an intentional tertiary reference to the Raspberry Pi computer board, I'll eat my [https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi-hats hat]! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.109|141.101.98.109]] 21:22, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I'd say you would have to eat it. Cannot see what this comic has to do with a computer board, just because it is named after a raspberry pie. This joke is obviously about the berries looking like nuclear cores, and pie mesons. Not about anything with a computer. So take some salt an eat (or swallow one the hats in your link, along with a camel :p ) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:21, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::::I interpreted 'tertiary' to mean that randall was [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priming_(psychology) 'primed'] to talk about raspberry pies due to his exposure to the board, and similarly for readers finding it interesting and humorous. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:28, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Though raspberries resemble the common ''depiction'' of nuclei, perhaps we need to explain that in reality, nuclei are rather different..? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:I think anyone reading xkcd and this page, will figure it out via the links ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:21, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::I tend to forget that nuclei aren't little raspberries made of nucleons, even though I used to be a fusion researcher. In fact I'm sure I was only ever half-aware they weren't (I didn't study the actual nuclear physics, ok!)... so +1 from me in favour of adding a bit about the 'real' nature of nuclei, that would be interesting. --[[User:192·168·0·1|192·168·0·1]] ([[User talk:192·168·0·1|talk]]) 09:39, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
I would suggest referring to the raspberry parts as 'drupelets' rather than 'ovaries'.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.173|172.70.114.173]] 12:58, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:I love eating the juiciest and sweetest of fruit ovaries, raspberries and strawberries are my favorite but I also enjoy apples and grapes --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 17:29, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::I looked this up briefly and I _think_ that the ovaries are what develop into the drupelets, here, not certain, judging by phrasing on wikipedia. So I changed it. Don't eat the ovaries, eat the part that's designed for eating. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:37, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::Fine but you forgot the transcript. I have changed it there so drupelet is the word used. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:57, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

The page says "Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.[citation needed]" - where is one supposed to find a useful citation to state that fields of raspberries ''don't'' explode? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.101|108.162.229.101]] 22:18, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:That’s the point! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.45|108.162.215.45]] 02:55, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
::It's a joke, and you are free to remove it if you so judge. Others may disagree. Sometimes raspberry farms have some pretty hard to describe explosive activity when their parts combine in rare chain reactions. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 08:39, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::It's a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/285:_Wikipedian_Protester 'xkcd 285'], a long running joke in the xkcd community, What If? and Randal's other books, and the xkcd merch shop {{unsigned ip|172.69.42.63}}
::::And severely overused. Imho it should only be used when we are actually looking for a citation for someting stated without proof in the explanation. So I generally feel free to remove them as I did here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:54, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::::I agree there ''can'' (and has been) overuse, but by your criteria there would be absolutely no 285-backrefetencing at all. In use on The Original Wiki and all the rest there other cite-markers requesting an edit to clarify, expand, use better units, add comic issue and page, etc, and th9se exist (or can be made to exist) here.
::::::I wouldn't suggest every clause of every sentence of every paragraph of every comic's explanation be in-joked, but (with exceptions on a very few rare occasions that will doubtlessly be edited down by a future editor like you, or me, anyway) I see no harm in so labelling up to ''one'' axiomatic statement this way per article (the absolutely most obvious and inarguable and, by editors' aggregate concensus without resorting to an edit-war, humorous-to-so-label statement).
::::::By dint of the humour-decay so described, results in one permanent example fit to tickle the funnybone of all but the most curmudgeonly every 2, 3 or 4 comics, on a rolling average. In every case being absolutely obvious to pretty much everyone that it is there for amusement value (especially amidst dry, technical detail) even to those only just arrived upon these particular digital shores...
::::::IMO, of course, having no authority or desire for authority here. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.69|141.101.77.69]] 17:30, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
I feel like there might be more to this joke. When I'm plucking raspberries in the forest, they break in half pretty often, causing me to get juice on my hands, which is pretty annoying.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.253|162.158.90.253]] 21:42, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:::::: I'm pretty sure part of the joke here is the edit war it can stimulate, not sure. But clearly it would be overdoing it to formalize including one every single explanation. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 00:13, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-21T00:08:38Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-21T00:07:32Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

Talk:2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-21T00:04:55Z

Baffo32:

It's worth mentioning that unless we're talking an industrial shredder, the Mona Lisa can't be, since unlike most stereotypical paintings, it's actually on glued together pieces of wood and not on Canvas.

Not to say that it wouldn't be damaged heavily by a band of wild rabid dogs, but not "shredded".

Why yes, I am using my art degree, why do you ask?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.5|108.162.245.5]] 19:22, 20 August 2021 (UTC) Steve

: Nothing in the original says the dogs are rabid. Mind you, I would expect rabid dogs to go directly after people, not inanimate paintings. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 22:07, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:: Our dog shredded our front door once when left alone during a thunderstorm or such. There was even blood left on the broken shards of wood :-(. But I don't think Randall knew that the Mona Lisa was on wood. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 00:04, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

I don't have an art degree but knew that the painting was on wood. Also, it's "J.C. Penney". I'm guessing Randall was in a hurry on this one.

Pete 19:31, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

It make much more sense if the wild dogs didn't get in there by coincidence. Making it about himself would be acceptable if he was the indirect cause of the situation. Revenge successful? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.55|172.69.71.55]] 22:03, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Just checking - I'm not the only one who saw this and immediately googled to see if it was an actual news story, am I? I'm so not plugged into the news that I could honestly have believed that I missed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.239|172.70.130.239]] 22:09, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
:I also cannot find anything about this. As mentioned above, the painting also cannot really be shredded, as it is on wood, rather than canvas. [[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 23:55, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:39:59Z

Baffo32:

Talk:2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:37:23Z

Baffo32:

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:35:36Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and less unstable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.{{Citation needed}} As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each drupelet corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of cullinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "blackberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. One might be able to imagine the FDA discovering that the raspberry pis are functioning to contain a nuclear chain reaction, and calling in the NRC to consult. The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies. But more likely it is a pun on the word "stable", which can also describe isotopes and molecules that do not decay.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small ovaries flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two ovaries will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three ovaries when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two ovaries. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:28:41Z

Baffo32:

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:23:55Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and less unstable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.{{Citation needed}} As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each ovary corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of cullinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "blackberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. One might be able to imagine the FDA discovering that the raspberry pis are functioning to contain a nuclear chain reaction, and calling in the NRC to consult. The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies. But more likely it is a pun on the word "stable", which can also describe isotopes and molecules that do not decay.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small ovaries flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two ovaries will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three ovaries when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two ovaries. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:22:05Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and less unstable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.{{Citation needed}} As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each ovary corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of cullinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "blackberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. One might be able to imagine the FDA discovering that the raspberry pis are functioning to contain a nuclear chain reaction, and calling in the NRC to consult. The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small ovaries flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two ovaries will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three ovaries when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two ovaries. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-20T08:16:34Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and less unstable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.{{Citation needed}} As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each ovary corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of cullinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "blackberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. One might be able to imagine the FDA discovering that the raspberry pis are functioning to contain a nuclear chain reaction, and calling in the NRC to consult.
The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small ovaries flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two ovaries will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three ovaries when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two ovaries. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

explain xkcd:Editor FAQ

2021-08-18T21:16:30Z

Baffo32: /* What is the general layout of a comic page? */

'''Frequently Asked Questions for editors'''

This FAQ is a short description about editing pages at this wiki 'cause you're dumb. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to enter them into this [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ|talk page]].

For general questions about wikitext please read first the MediaWiki help pages about [[mw:Help:Editing pages|Editing pages]] or look at the full overview here: [[mw:Help:Contents|Help Contents]]. You also can use your preferred search engine by entering "MediaWiki mytopic". Change mytopic to the theme you're searching for, i.e. "MediaWiki tables" will show you many useful sites about editing tables.

Please always use the preview button to verify your edit before finally pressing the save button.

This FAQ focuses only on topics related to this specific wiki.

==What is the general layout of a comic page?==
In general, you didn't have to care about this because the pages were generated by a bot nearly immediately after a new comic was released. Nowadays, we need a volunteer to either reach out to the bot developer or run it on their own. Please follow exactly the instructions here [[User:dgbrtBOT]] to update the comic.

The layout and order are structured as:
*Comic ''picture'' with the ''title text'' below
*''Explanation''
*''Transcript''
*''Trivia'' (optional)
*''Discussion'' (embedded Talk page) (should be later removed if it grows too large)
*List of non-standard ''categories''

==What should I include in the explanation?==
Everything is welcome as long as it explains the content of the comic. Everybody can edit here and when others disagree about your contributions they may change it.
If the comic references a scientific concept, a brief description and a link to its Wikipedia page for further information should be given (see how to do this [[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#How_do_I_enter_links_to_other_pages.3F|here]]).
The explanation should also explain the [[title text]] of the comic.

==In which cases are tables meaningful, and when are they not?==
In the transcript, tables should never be used. Even when there is a table in the comic image, it should be described using text.

In the explanation, tables only make sense when the content is compact. When a single row contains more than a small item like a number, a small phrase, or something similar, a table isn't the proper layout because it's hard to read. Instead, it should be written in floating text chapters with distinct headers above (see next section below.)

Instead of using a two-column table (e.g. "sentence from comic", "explanation"), consider using a description list (''bold text''). Place a semicolon (<code>;</code>) at the beginning of the sentence to be explained and a colon (<code>:</code>) at the beginning of each paragraph of the explanation, like this (from [[1987: Python Environment#Explanation|1987]]):
; Anaconda Python
: Anaconda is a Python distribution for data science and machine learning related applications.
: A second paragraph for the explanation.

The Wikipedia's {{w|WP:WHENTABLE#Appropriate use|Manual of Style/Tables}} describes it best:
<blockquote>Often a list is best left as a list. Before reformatting a list into table form, consider whether the information will be more clearly conveyed by virtue of having rows and columns. If so, then a table is probably a good choice. If there is no obvious benefit to having rows and columns, then a table is probably not the best choice. </blockquote>

==What is the proper layout for headers?==
For headlines, you have to use wiki-style code. The simplest way is a preceding semicolon at the beginning of the line which causes the entire line to be rendered in bold.

On large explanations, it can be handy to divide it into subsections. In this case the header is written like this: <code><nowiki>===Sub header===</nowiki></code>. But in most cases, the simple semicolon is just enough.

==What is the format of the transcript section?==
The transcript should describe the content (think about explaining the comic to a visually impaired person, or to someone on phone). It should do this in a compact manner, and cite all written words. Every line should begin with an indent (a simple <code>:</code> at the beginning), and every panel from the comic should be separated by a blank line. The transcript must not contain any links, nor rich math markup, which once again relies on visuals. Tables should generally be avoided, although not all transcripts comply with this. Furthermore, the title text is not included in the transcript. Checking the pages for the older comics will help understand this.

==One or two spaces after a period? And what about newlines?==
There is a controversy if one or two spaces after a period ending a sentence should be used. The fact is that even three or more spaces are rendered as only one.
Furthermore, a single newline is also just rendered as a space.

A new paragraph like this needs an empty line before, not just a single newline. Click the edit/source button to see how this chapter is written.

==What belongs to the trivia section?==
As implied by the section name, it's just trivia, consisting of unimportant odds-and-ends related to the comic. Since this wiki focuses on explaining this section is not part of the default layout. If a word has been misspelled in the comic or title text, or the image was originally broken at xkcd and reuploaded... basically the things that don't belong in the explanation but should still be mentioned, then it should be mentioned in the trivia section.

==How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)?==
Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see [[explain xkcd#History]]), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> or just click the sign button [[File:Button sig.png]] at the top of the editor.

==What does the incomplete tag mean?==
There are two templates to indicate that an explanation or the transcript needs further rework. Just enter <nowiki>{{incomplete|YOUR REASON}}</nowiki> or respectively <nowiki>{{incomplete transcript|YOUR REASON}}</nowiki> and don't forget to enter a proper reason to replace the filler text left by the bot (Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.), or if the reason said in the tag has been dealt with. The reason for the transcript is not shown to the viewer.

==How do I enter links to other pages?==
The three most-used options are:
*an internal link like <code><nowiki>[[Cueball]]</nowiki></code> which renders like this: [[Cueball]]
*a link to the English Wikipedia should use this template: <code><nowiki>{{w|Page}}</nowiki></code> links to the Wikipedia article on "Page" or <code><nowiki>{{w|Page|Display}}</nowiki></code> prints "Display" which links to the Wikipedia article on "Page"
*other external links can be done in three ways:
**just write the URL and it will be shown like this: http://www.example.com
**put it into single brackets: <code><nowiki>[http://www.example.com]</nowiki></code> and you will see this: [http://www.example.com] (Please avoid this.)
**add a text: <code><nowiki>[http://www.example.com Example Homepage]</nowiki></code> everything after the first space is shown: [http://www.example.com Example Homepage]

==Why can't I upload pictures or create pages?==
Only registered and trusted users can create pages or upload images. After the registration, you have to wait at least three days and must have done a small number of edits. Then you will be able to create pages and upload images at will.

==How do I embed images?==
This wiki isn't a picture book. Use this feature only sparingly and reduce the size as much as possible. An example can be seen here: [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]. The syntax in this case is <code><nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki></code> and the picture is taken from Commons, the main source for Wikipedia images. The full syntax can be found at [[mw:Help:Images|MediaWiki]].

You also can upload pictures directly to this wiki by using the [[Special:Upload]] link from the menu. But do not violate any copyright rules or it will be deleted. And when the picture is available at Commons there is no need to upload it here.

==The picture at xkcd was updated, how do I upload this here?==
Sometimes the initial picture at [[xkcd]] contains typos or other errors. When that has been fixed the comic picture here should also be updated. Save the picture from xkcd to your local PC but be careful, there are two versions available. We here use only the smaller version ''picture.png'' and not the larger one ''picture_2x.png''. So change <code><nowiki>https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/picture_2x.png</nowiki></code> to <code><nowiki>https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/picture.png</nowiki></code> when your browser shows the 2x version.

To update it here, just click the image on the comic page and then click "Upload a new version of this file" below the file history. Please be patient, you won't see your upload immediately because it still comes from the cache at the server. But when you see your upload in the file history everything is OK. Just wait...

==How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?==
You can use the Math markup <code><nowiki><math>...</math></nowiki></code>. The other known code from Wikipedia <code><nowiki><chem>...</chem></nowiki></code> is ''not'' supported yet. It's based on LaTeX syntax and a general overview can be found at it's {{w|Help:Displaying a formula|Wikipedia help page}}. Don't use it unless you actually understand what you are doing.

Furthermore, never use this markup at the ''transcript'' because that math code is rendered to a picture — in the transcript we try to describe the comic ''image'' by ''words''. A picture there wouldn't be helpful.

==Is the ''Citation needed'' template here similar to the analog at Wikipedia?==
Simple answer: NO. In fact that template just links to [[285: Wikipedian Protester]], a comic from July 4, 2007, and was meant to be a joke. Adding this template to every comic doesn't explain anything at all (that's what this wiki aims to do) and should be placed only when there is a deeper sense of humor.
[[Category:explain xkcd]]

Talk:2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-14T09:39:43Z

Baffo32:

When we all rely on a BOT, we don't know how to do simple things like create new comic explanation pages manually anymore. 8-) 
I really hope he's right about 2022... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
:The DgbrtBOT... Why's it broken?? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:22, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
::It looks likely it was being run on a computer by the author, and the computer hiccuped. Nobody has notified the author, who doesn't come here much anymore. The bot is also linked from its page for others to run it. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-14T09:37:34Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2502
| date = August 13, 2021
| title = Every Data Table
| image = every data table.png
| titletext = "I'm hoping 2022 is relatively normal because I don't know what symbol comes after the asterisk and the dagger."
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by OBELISQUE ASSTRICKS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another entry in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic|2020-21 pandemic}} of the {{w|SARS-CoV-2}} virus, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

The COVID pandemic has had a large impact on the entire world and one way this can be seen is through strange stats resulting from the effects of the pandemic. Various statistics such as employment statistics, spending power, holiday miles, pet ownerships, births (or at least conceptions) and — naturally — deaths may have been either grossly suppressed/increased for the majority of 2020, and for 2021 may have hardly recovered, partially recovered, renormalised, bounced back with a vengeance or be over-compensated for in the effort to catch up.

It is hard to know what 2022 might be like. Nothing (at the time of this comic being published) is exactly back to normal and proper recovery or the resulting compensatory readjustment may not have concluded in time for 2022 to reflect the trends expected based upon pre-2020 figures, and the additional further years that future statistics will record.

As an example, the cycles of Summer Olympics/Paralympics and Winter Olympics has been disrupted due to the 2020 Summer Olympics being postponed to 2021, thus causing the next Winter Olympics to be only 1 year away (in 2022) and the next Summer Olympics/Paralympics to be 3 years away (in 2024). This has not occurred since the 1990s (when the all the Winter games were shifted away from the Summer Games' years), the 1960s (the start of the Summer Paralympics) or the 1940s (the last major interruption in the main Summer Olympic cycle).

Sometimes punctuation such as an asterisk (*) or a dagger (†, also called an obelisk) is used to denote an unusual entry in a table to be explained in a footnote with a matching symbol. Common symbols that are used if the first two are taken include multiple symbols (such as †† or ***), or a series of further symbols such as a double dagger (‡), the section symbol/silcrow (§), the parallel/double-pipe (‖) and the paragraph symbol/pilcrow ( ¶ ) and numbers (123).

The author, however, seems to have forgotten the potential monkey's paw nature of his wish. Relative is a relative term. It could well be that the whole pandemic thing becomes the new normal, thus removing the necessity of using symbols to delineate such years.

== Transcript ==

:2017........ (scribble)
:2018....... (scribble)
:2019....... (scribble)
:2020*...... (scribble)
:2021†...... (scribble)
:2022....... (scribble)
:2023....... (scribble)
:2024....... (scribble)

:[Caption under the panel:]
:Every data table from now on

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T16:07:31Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). If somebody can run perl scripts, there is a bot linked from [[User:DgbrtBOT]] that could resume autocreation of comic pages. While we're mentioning such things, are comics also published on twitter? would it be good to link the twitter discussions? sometimes an expert comments. do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the average person can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if that average person's job and hobby do not involve chemistry — aside from the few that made their way into {{w|common knowledge}}, like H2O for water or CO2 for carbonic gas), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock", if at all.

It even goes so far as to initially gloss over the 'everyday' knowledge of quartz... until prompted by the slightly-less-overestimating partner in the conversation. Perhaps like a gardener forgetting to mention the lawn he maintains (along with the 'actual' plants in the borders or vegetable patches), there seemed no need to include such a common mineral as a subject of silicate chemistry. Quartz is a basic silicon oxide (SiO2) that many non-chemists ''have'' heard of, though they would not know its chemical structure, due to its variety of common uses. Quartz ''can'' be found as distinct large-scale crystals (probably obvious to the layman, as an ice-cube is in a drink) but also features as a hard-wearing micro-constituent of many rocks, even as erosion and other processes act upon them. At a certain high level of weathering - hazily defined as between gravels and silts - sand is overwhelmingly the ultimate residual silicon-dioxide grains in most cases (the main exception to this being coral sands, which are calcium carbonates) though with varying internal linkages as SiO4 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other physical qualities as you enjoy your day at the beach. Quartz crystals are made into jewelry and other decorative objects. Most modern clocks use the resonance frequency of quartz to keep time.

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors [or is indoors with brick and tile]) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock. Rocks nearly all have silicate in them, even extraterrestrial rocks. You would probably have to be standing upon a desert island to be most unable to discover a primarily silicate substance to throw/hit, although dig a little and you may yet find the atoll is founded upon an ancient volcanic plug that is primarily silicates. Otherwise, go to your nearest chalk downland (carbonaceous), but know that your search is over if you see any embedded flint (silicaceous). As a whole, the Earth's crust is about 30% silicon atoms, second in rank only to the oxygen with which it and other elements are commonly bound.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T16:01:06Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). If somebody can run perl scripts, there is a bot linked from [[User:DgbrtBOT]] that could resume autocreation of comic pages. While we're mentioning such things, are comics also published on twitter? would it be good to link the twitter discussions? sometimes an expert comments. do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the average person can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if that average person's job and hobby do not involve chemistry — aside from the few that made their way into {{w|common knowledge}}, like H2O for water or CO2 for carbonic gas), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock", if at all.

It even goes so far as to initially gloss over the 'everyday' knowledge of quartz... until prompted by the slightly-less-overestimating partner in the conversation. Perhaps like a gardener forgetting to mention the lawn he maintains (along with the 'actual' plants in the borders or vegetable patches), there seemed no need to include such a common mineral as a subject of silicate chemistry. Quartz is a basic silicon oxide (SiO2) that many non-chemists ''have'' heard of, though they would not know its chemical structure, due to its variety of common uses. Quartz ''can'' be found as distinct large-scale crystals (probably obvious to the layman, as an ice-cube is in a drink) but also features as a hard-wearing micro-constituent of many rocks, even as erosion and other processes act upon them. At a certain high level of weathering - hazily defined as between gravels and silts - sand is overwhelmingly the ultimate residual silicon-dioxide grains in most cases (the main exception to this being coral sands, which are calcium carbonates) though with varying internal linkages as SiO4 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other physical qualities as you enjoy your day at the beach. Quartz crystals are made into jewelry and other decorative objects. Most modern clocks use the resonance frequency of quartz to keep time.

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors [or is indoors with brick and tile]) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock. You would probably have to be standing upon a desert island to be most unable to discover a silicate substance to throw/hit, although dig a little and you may yet find the atoll is founded upon an ancient volcanic plug that is primarily silicates. Otherwise, go to your nearest chalk downland (carbonaceous), but know that your search is over if you see any embedded flint (silicaceous). As a whole, the Earth's crust is about 30% silicon, second in rank only to the oxygen with which it and other elements are commonly bound.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T15:59:30Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). If somebody can run perl scripts, there is a bot linked from [[User:DgbrtBOT]] that could resume autocreation of comic pages. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the average person can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if that average person's job and hobby do not involve chemistry — aside from the few that made their way into {{w|common knowledge}}, like H2O for water or CO2 for carbonic gas), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock", if at all.

It even goes so far as to initially gloss over the 'everyday' knowledge of quartz... until prompted by the slightly-less-overestimating partner in the conversation. Perhaps like a gardener forgetting to mention the lawn he maintains (along with the 'actual' plants in the borders or vegetable patches), there seemed no need to include such a common mineral as a subject of silicate chemistry. Quartz is a basic silicon oxide (SiO2) that many non-chemists ''have'' heard of, though they would not know its chemical structure, due to its variety of common uses. Quartz ''can'' be found as distinct large-scale crystals (probably obvious to the layman, as an ice-cube is in a drink) but also features as a hard-wearing micro-constituent of many rocks, even as erosion and other processes act upon them. At a certain high level of weathering - hazily defined as between gravels and silts - sand is overwhelmingly the ultimate residual silicon-dioxide grains in most cases (the main exception to this being coral sands, which are calcium carbonates) though with varying internal linkages as SiO4 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other physical qualities as you enjoy your day at the beach. Quartz crystals are made into jewelry and other decorative objects. Most modern clocks use the resonance frequency of quartz to keep time.

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors [or is indoors with brick and tile]) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock. You would probably have to be standing upon a desert island to be most unable to discover a silicate substance to throw/hit, although dig a little and you may yet find the atoll is founded upon an ancient volcanic plug that is primarily silicates. Otherwise, go to your nearest chalk downland (carbonaceous), but know that your search is over if you see any embedded flint (silicaceous). As a whole, the Earth's crust is about 30% silicon, second in rank only to the oxygen with which it and other elements are commonly bound.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T15:58:56Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). If somebody can run perl scripts, there is a [[User:DgbrtBOT]] script that could resume autocreation of comics. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the average person can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if that average person's job and hobby do not involve chemistry — aside from the few that made their way into {{w|common knowledge}}, like H2O for water or CO2 for carbonic gas), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock", if at all.

It even goes so far as to initially gloss over the 'everyday' knowledge of quartz... until prompted by the slightly-less-overestimating partner in the conversation. Perhaps like a gardener forgetting to mention the lawn he maintains (along with the 'actual' plants in the borders or vegetable patches), there seemed no need to include such a common mineral as a subject of silicate chemistry. Quartz is a basic silicon oxide (SiO2) that many non-chemists ''have'' heard of, though they would not know its chemical structure, due to its variety of common uses. Quartz ''can'' be found as distinct large-scale crystals (probably obvious to the layman, as an ice-cube is in a drink) but also features as a hard-wearing micro-constituent of many rocks, even as erosion and other processes act upon them. At a certain high level of weathering - hazily defined as between gravels and silts - sand is overwhelmingly the ultimate residual silicon-dioxide grains in most cases (the main exception to this being coral sands, which are calcium carbonates) though with varying internal linkages as SiO4 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other physical qualities as you enjoy your day at the beach. Quartz crystals are made into jewelry and other decorative objects. Most modern clocks use the resonance frequency of quartz to keep time.

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors [or is indoors with brick and tile]) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock. You would probably have to be standing upon a desert island to be most unable to discover a silicate substance to throw/hit, although dig a little and you may yet find the atoll is founded upon an ancient volcanic plug that is primarily silicates. Otherwise, go to your nearest chalk downland (carbonaceous), but know that your search is over if you see any embedded flint (silicaceous). As a whole, the Earth's crust is about 30% silicon, second in rank only to the oxygen with which it and other elements are commonly bound.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

Talk:2500: Global Temperature Over My Lifetime

2021-08-10T11:38:20Z

Baffo32:

The DgbrtBOT seems to be broken again. I created the page for this comic, and the previous comic explanation was also created manually. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 18:00, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Retired old guy here, I'm puzzled by the usage in the title text, "Then I realized, oh, right, of course." Is this meant to imply that Exxon controlled the use of petroleum over this time period, instead of just predicting the usage? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.225|172.70.130.225]] 18:16, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:I think it just means that if anyone's going to have accurate data to predict petroleum use (such as supply levels), it would be a petroleum company.
:I assume Randall realized hindsight bias was in play: that the report only became famous after it turned out to have predicted accurately. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.203|162.158.88.203]] 19:48, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:I do not mean to argue any politics in this reply. I can relate that I have heard occasionally from people on both sides of political lines that the large energy corporations organise together to plan energy use and prices. I do not know whether that is true, and have not seen hard evidence of it. An economics professor told me it is obvious from the behaviors of the prices. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 11:36, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
_ _ _ _
\ / / \ / \ th comic
| |_ | | | |
/ \ | | | |
/__ __/ \_/ \_/
--[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.108|198.41.238.108]] 19:14, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:It seems like Randall has more serious issues on his mind than marking a meaningless milestone. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:45, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
::What's so 'milestoney' about the number 0x9C4? Maybe we could talk about this in another 0x63C comics...
::(Also, as non-retired, but arguably being a well-beyond-middle-aged-guy chronologically if not mentally, this comic now makes me feel old. I thought Randall was maybe up to a decade older, much closer to my age.)
::((Also also, how long before someone goes down the "climate is always changing!" line, conveniently forgetting about [[1732]]?)) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.97|162.158.159.97]] 23:42, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I'm the opposite; this comic made me realise that Randall is closer to my age than I thought, as I'd assumed he was a bit older. I was born in 1991, so although I was younger at the time, most of the "climate change alarm" milestones are the same ones I remember. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Can I just point out to people that there are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2500:_Global_Temperature_Over_My_Lifetime&diff=next&oldid=216302 ok-ish ways and better ways] to link to things? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.21|141.101.76.21]] 00:17, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

The alt text states "I was really impressed by the accuracy of some of the report's predictions about fossil fuel consumption. Then I realized, oh, right, of course.". Why of course? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.87|172.70.114.87]] 02:01, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Probably because Exxon is also a player in the fossil fuel industry? Similar to Moore's law, from the co-founder of both Faichild and Intel? That might be a little of the conspiracy theory side, especially with the way it is phrased.
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 08:58, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

:Someone else asked the same question further up. And yeah, I wondered that too. This (from an unsigned contributor above) was my best guess too:

{{Quote|I think it just means that if anyone's going to have accurate data to predict petroleum use (such as supply levels), it would be a petroleum company.}}

:--[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Has anybody glanced through the study? Maybe I misread it, but I was thinking Randall might have linked the wrong one, because it looked like it was saying far more than 40 years to me. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 11:38, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2500: Global Temperature Over My Lifetime

2021-08-10T11:36:48Z

Baffo32:

2500: Global Temperature Over My Lifetime

2021-08-10T11:33:48Z

Baffo32: Changed afraid to serious to get the analogy of what is and is not a joke in line with the rest of the section.

{{comic
| number = 2500
| date = August 9, 2021
| title = Global Temperature Over My Lifetime
| image = global temperature over my lifetime.png
| titletext = I was really impressed by the accuracy of some of the report's predictions about fossil fuel consumption. Then I realized, oh, right, of course.
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by EXXON MOBIL STANDING AROUND AWKWARDLY IN ITS FIRST MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

===No-Joke Monday===
If you came here wondering what the joke is in this cartoon, expecting that we would explain the joke to you -- sorry! This is Randall Munroe in his role as meticulous, conscientious presenter of scientific data. The activities shown in Randall's lifeline, whether learning to ride a bike or even getting married, pale into insignificance when the consequences of unprecedented global average temperature rise are understood and accepted. The Wikipedia article {{w|Global_temperature_record|Global Temperature Record}} has some telling graphs to supplement Randall's. This one: {{w|File:20200324_Global_average_temperature_-_NASA-GISS_HadCrut_NOAA_Japan_BerkeleyE.svg|Global Average Temperature}} is the global average temperature change for the modern era, since data started being collected regularly in 1850. This one: {{w|File:2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png|2000 Year Temperature Comparison}} reconstructs 2000 years of temperatures. Be serious. Be very serious.

And this comic is a small segment of Randall's most famous comic so far [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]].

The comic itself links to [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2805576-1982-Exxon-Memo-to-Management-About-CO2 the referenced Exxon document about CO2 emissions].

The comic was published on the same day that the {{w|Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change|U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}} released its [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ 2021 Assessment Report]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|}}

Graph of temperature over time, titled:
"Global average temperature

Over my lifetime

(60-month running june average, NOAA NCEI time series)"

The X axis is in years, going from 1980 to a little after 2020. Each decade is marked.

The Y axis in in °C, with the "20th century average" at the bottom, up to +1°C (from the average), labelled every 0.2°C.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Climate change]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]

2499: Abandonment Function

2021-08-09T09:59:00Z

Baffo32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2499
| date = August 6, 2021
| title = Abandonment Function
| image = abandonment function.png
| titletext = Remember to only adopt domesticated drones that specifically request it. It's illegal to collect wild ones under the Migratory Drone Treaty Act.
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HUMAN BEING because the bot seems to have been left abandoned. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{W|abandoned_pets|Pet abandonment}} is a situation of concern among biological pets, and is part of the reason there are animal rescue organisations providing for adoption in most regions. Since drones are automated, they can be programmed to have an automatic abandonment function.

In reality, this "abandonment function" is the norm that things left outside homes are {{w|free box|often considered gifts}} for any passersby who would like them. Hence, following the instructions in the webcomic may result in one's drone disappearing for a new owner, but not for the reason depicted.

With the drone responsible for flying to find its own new owner, one can possibly imagine it becoming more and more "fervent" as its charge runs down, to prevent the accumulation of derelict drones in the streets.

Triggering abandonment based on extended close proximity to the device's own controller could produce issues such as accidental activation, or malicious activation by a party who could send the proximity signal from a great distance, possibly to many drones at once, via {{W|software defined radio}}.

The concept of there being "wild" vs "domesticated" drones rings again both of wildlife and pets, and of new intelligent software providing for drones acting on their own. In the latter case, protection for "wild" drones could imply many things about the role of artificial intelligence in society. Did we organise the wild drones to obey our laws, or are we protecting them in fear of being punished by their superior power? A foreign military drone could also be considered a wild drone.

But more likely Randall is imagining flocks of abandoned drones, fending for themselves, traveling distances as they survive off of seasonally-dependent charging resources. This is similar to the behavior of birds, which are protected (in the U.S.) by the real-world {{W|Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918}}.

This idea of protecting drones is analogous to the anomaly that misbehaving drones have not been well tracked by law enforcement: https://observer.com/2020/01/drone-flock-mystery-baffling-authorities/ . If computer viruses continue to evolve, wild drones could indeed evolve too, as they are directed by software, but usually a human being or organization is considered to be somewhere at the helm of a computer virus.

The idea that a drone may choose of its own volition whether to find a new owner or join a wild flock is a little similar to the situation for abandoned pets.

==Transcript==
:[Multi-Rotor drone is flying though the air. Tied to the drone is the drone's remote controller. Movement lines behind drone indicate a wavery flight path.]
:Drone: Hi, I'm yours now! Please charge me!
:Drone: Hi, I'm yours now! Please charge me!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Tech Tip: If you ever get tired of a toy drone, tie the controller to it and set it outside. Its abandonment function will activate and it will find a new home.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Tips]]