explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1108: Cautionary Ghost

2012-09-19T21:42:40Z

Cristo: /* Subjuncitve */

== Literally ==
Could it have been spurred by [http://www.explosm.net/comics/2923/ this comic]?

:It shares quibbles over the word literally, but the driving idea behind the jokes are different. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 06:08, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

:Exasperation over the misuse/overuse of "literally" is quite widespread, especially among the target audience of xkcd. I doubt the choice was inspired by a particular source.

I think it is a reference to this prior [http://xkcd.com/725/ xkcd comic] which is also dealing with the difference between literally and figuratively and somebody eager to tell people the difference.
--[[Special:Contributions/194.167.19.2|194.167.19.2]] 08:06, 14 September 2012 (UTC)Josch

:I think there is a huge difference between devoting years of time & energy waiting to 'gotcha' someone and encouraging people to use a word correctly. Because so many people use the word "literally" for emphasis even when their usage is figurative, how can I tell someone that my usage of something is in fact literal? [[User:JaniceOly|JaniceOly]] ([[User talk:JaniceOly|talk]]) 03:24, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Having the ''Literally'' as the word to argue about seems to be fitting this comic quite well, since the world is literally the same in both scenarios. Or, the other way around, arguing about ''literally'' literally doesn't matter.

== Idyllic ==
What's so idyllic on that scene? That people are still alive and someone is still flying? (Note that it may be airforce one) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:09, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

== Charles Dickens ==
''The usage of a ghost from the past or future to deliver a message in fiction was begun in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol'' - I really don't think that's true. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 12:55, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

== Subjunctive ==
I have to say, not using the subjunctive case correctly really grinds my gears, 'as it were'. --[[Special:Contributions/216.110.25.2|216.110.25.2]] 13:53, 14 September 2012 (UTC)dangerkeith3000

Fixed the typo someone made on the title text ghost: Ghost of <del>Subjective</del> Subjunctive Past. I also typed up some information on the subjunctive mood and the subjunctive past construction. Hopefully this helps clear up the title text. [[User:Haruspex|Haruspex]] ([[User talk:Haruspex|talk]]) 13:54, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure it's correct to describe the fight in favor of ''if it were'' as "equally trivial". Isn't the entire point of the title text that that fight '''is''' worth continuing? --[[User:Cristo|Cristo]] ([[User talk:Cristo|talk]]) 15:56, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

@Haruspex: Thanks for clearing up that issue of subjective/subjunctive -- I was just about to go in and fix it myself. --[[User:Pdaoust|Pdaoust]] ([[User talk:Pdaoust|talk]]) 16:11, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Subjunctive is a MOOD, not a CASE or a TENSE. And ask Shakespeare about using ghosts to deliver messages.

== Third panel ==
Hmm shouldn't the third panel read "... if you '''gave''' up the fight ... "? --[[Special:Contributions/220.255.1.119|220.255.1.119]] 07:12, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

1104: Feathers

2012-09-14T16:08:37Z

Cristo: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1104
| date = September 05, 2012
| title = Feathers
| image = feathers.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Click to see a video of a modern bird using stability flapping during predatory behavior. It all fits! Also, apparently Microraptor had *four* wings? The past keeps getting cooler! (And there's more of it every day!)
}}

== Explanation ==
{{w|Dinosaur}}s have been a fascinating topic in popular science and have captivated children's interest since the first fossils were discovered in modern times, around the 1700s. Prior discoveries in China were thought to be dragon bones. The success of the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' movies perpetuated an erroneous understanding of the physical characteristics of dinosaurs. Since the first movie of that series, scientific evidence has emerged suggesting that {{w|Dromaeosauridae}}, or "raptors", the main antagonists of that movie, looked quite different from their animatronic and CGI versions. In particular, they are now known to have been much smaller, and are believed to have had feathers and even wings, as evidenced by quill nobs observed on the arms of raptors.

[[File:Deinonychus (Raptor Prey Restraint).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Artist's impression of a "raptor prey restraint" as suggested by Fowler et al. (2011), and described by the child in the comic. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
[http://denverfowler.com/ Denver W. Fowler] is among the scientists who support this hypothesis. (incidentally, a "{{w|Fowler}}" is a hunter of wildfowl/birds) The comic refers to [http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 a publication by him and his colleagues] ("{{Wiktionary|et al.}}"), in the ''{{w|PLoS ONE}}'', an online scientific journal ("PLoS" stands for "Public Library of Science").

[[Megan]] believes this new model of the appearance of raptors makes them much less cool, but the way in which the child reformulates the facts to make them seem like even more vicious predators re-ignites her interest and makes the new raptors seem like even better candidates for a good action thriller movie than the original version. Thus the phrase "the past keeps getting cooler".

Clicking on the original cartoon links to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qpdk-U8fI0 a YouTube video] of a bird of prey using its wings for stability while standing on top of a struggling prey, from which one can easily envision instead a raptor upon its prey — especially in case of some kind of "raptorphobia", as for [[Randall]] (see comics [[87: Velociraptors|#87]] and [[135: Substitute|#135]]). {{w|Microraptor}} was a small raptor with four wings, which lets you imagine even scarier scenes.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking up to a child who has a stack of books and is reading one of them on the floor]
:Megan: What are you reading about?
:Child: Dinosaurs!
:Megan: Oh, yeah.

:Megan: They've gotten all weird since when I was a kid.
:Megan: They used to be awesome, but now they all have dorky feathers, right?
:Child: Yup!

:Child: This says they now think raptors used their wings for stability, flapping to stay on top of their prey while hanging on with their hooked claws and eating it alive.
:Footnote: *Fowler et al., PLoS ONE 6(12), 2011

:[Megan stands staring at the child]

:[Megan is now on the floor flipping through another book from the pile]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]

1105: License Plate

2012-09-14T16:02:52Z

Cristo: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1105
| date = September 7, 2012
| title = License Plate
| image = license_plate.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = The next day: 'What? Six bank robberies!? But I just vandalized the library!' <br/>'Nice try. They saw your plate with all the 1's and I's.' <br/>'That's impossible! I've been with my car the whole ti-- ... wait. Ok, wow, that was clever of her.'
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] has obtained a new {{w|Vehicle registration plate|license plate}} (known as "license tags" in some areas), which is a plate one must obtain from a government licensing agency to place on a vehicle which permits the vehicle to be driven legally. The plates have a unique identifying number, which often includes some combination of digits and letters. When a crime involving a vehicle is committed, the license plate number (if available) can be used to identify the owner of the vehicle. The license plate number one receives is often the next in sequence, available at the time and place of registration. However, in many localities, for an additional fee one can select his or her own "personalized" license plate number, subject to certain criteria, and availability.

In this comic, Cueball has elected to purchase the personalized license plate number "<tt>1I1-III1</tt>". He believes the ambiguity between the letter I and digit 1 on the plate will make it very difficult for anyone to correctly identify his vehicle if he commits a crime. Some localities have more distinct "1" and "I" characters in their license plate font than others.

What Cueball does not count on is that there are few, if any, other people who have chosen license numbers made up entirely of the letter I and digit 1. Thus, when witnesses report a vehicle with a license plate of I's and 1's, the police know exactly who the perpetrator is. Given Cueball's apparent crime sprees, the police have written the address on a {{w|Post-it note}} (self-sticking adhesive notes commonly used for quick handy notetaking) in their car.

The title text appears to be a conversation between Cueball and the police as follows: That the police suspect Cueball of six bank robberies because a car with a license plate of all I's and 1's was used. Cueball responds that all he did was vandalize the library. Cueball does not understand because he was with his car the entire time of the robberies. As he says this, he has an epiphany that "that was clever of her". Although somewhat ambiguous, this appears to suggest that [[Megan]], who Cueball told his plan to in the second panel, may have registered a different personalized license plate with a different combination of I's and 1's and has robbed six banks in an attempt to {{w|frameup|frame}} Cueball, knowing that the police will assume the car is his.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding a license plate up for an out-of-frame Megan to see]
:Cueball: Check out my personalized license plate!
:Out-of-frame Megan: "<tt>1I1-III1</tt>"?
:Cueball: It's perfect!

:[Megan is sitting in a chair holding the plate]
:Cueball: No one will be able to correctly record my plate number!
:I can commit any crime I want!
:Megan: Sounds foolproof.

:[Scene is two police officers (non-descript Cueball-type character holding a notepad, and Ponytail) interviewing a witness wearing glasses. There is a line of yellow police tape behind them]
:Soon:
:Witness: The thief's license plate was all "<tt>1</tt>"s or something.
:Cop 1: Oh. ''That'' guy.
:Ponytail cop: His address is on a Post-It in the squad car.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1108: Cautionary Ghost

2012-09-14T15:56:00Z

Cristo:

I have to say, not using the subjunctive case correctly really grinds my gears, 'as it were'. --[[Special:Contributions/216.110.25.2|216.110.25.2]] 13:53, 14 September 2012 (UTC)dangerkeith3000

Could it have been spurred by [http://www.explosm.net/comics/2923/ this comic]?

:It shares quibbles over the word literally, but the driving idea behind the jokes are different. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 06:08, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

I think it is a reference to this prior [http://xkcd.com/725/ xkcd comic] which is also dealing with the difference between literally and figuratively and somebody eager to tell people the difference.
--[[Special:Contributions/194.167.19.2|194.167.19.2]] 08:06, 14 September 2012 (UTC)Josch

What's so idyllic on that scene? That people are still alive and someone is still flying? (Note that it may be airforce one) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:09, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

''The usage of a ghost from the past or future to deliver a message in fiction was begun in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol'' - I really don't think that's true. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 12:55, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Having the ''Literally'' as the word to argue about seems to be fitting this comic quite well, since the world is literally the same in both scenarios. Or, the other way around, arguing about ''literally'' literally doesn't matter.

Fixed the typo someone made on the title text ghost: Ghost of <del>Subjective</del> Subjunctive Past. I also typed up some information on the subjunctive mood and the subjunctive past construction. Hopefully this helps clear up the title text. [[User:Haruspex|Haruspex]] ([[User talk:Haruspex|talk]]) 13:54, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure it's correct to describe the fight in favor of ''if it were'' as "equally trivial". Isn't the entire point of the title text that that fight '''is''' worth continuing? --[[User:Cristo|Cristo]] ([[User talk:Cristo|talk]]) 15:56, 14 September 2012 (UTC)