explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2657: Complex Vowels

2022-08-10T21:44:34Z

Gaelan: it's Gretchen McCulloch again

{{comic
| number = 2657
| date = August 10, 2022
| title = Complex Vowels
| image = complex_vowels.png
| titletext = Pronouncing [ṡṡċċḣḣẇẇȧȧ] is easy; you just say it like the 'x' in 'fire'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ṡṡċċḣḣẇẇȧȧ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In mathematics, complex numbers are numbers including both real numbers and imaginary numbers. A complex number can be expressed as "a + bi" where a is a real number and i, the imaginary part, is the square root of negative one.

In linguistics ə is the schwa symbol, the most common vowel sound in English polysyllabic words (the a in comma or the e in letter). The schwa symbol looks like a reversed e symbol (the base of natural logarithms).

This comic conflates complex numbers in mathematics with "complex vowels" in linguistics. This creates a series of sounds which cannot be properly processed by the human brain. This is similar to the cliche of "black speech" in Lovecraftian horror, a language created by alien beings with different vocal patterns than humans.

The linguist in the comic appears to be {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}}, as previously depicted in [[2421: Tower of Babel]] and [[2381: The True Name of the Bear]].

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

{{comic discussion}}

2319: Large Number Formats

2020-06-12T23:13:24Z

Gaelan: /* Explanation */ start - I'll keep adding them but want to catch conflicts early

{{comic
| number = 2319
| date = June 13, 2020
| title = Large Number Formats
| image = large_number_formats.png
| titletext = 10^13.4024: A person who has come back to numbers after a journey deep into some random theoretical field
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number
! Type of person
! Notes
|-
| 25,259,974,097,204
| Normal Person
| This is the full number, written out in the normal fashion.
|-
| 25 Trillion
| Normal Person
| This is the number, rounded to trillions in the normal fashion.
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2240: Timeline of the Universe

2019-12-12T00:24:55Z

Gaelan: comment

"Cool Bug Epoch" reminds me of the last panel in 1493 and 2191, but it's probably coincidental.--[[User:GoldNinja|GoldNinja]] ([[User talk:GoldNinja|talk]]) 19:44, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
:Reminds me of [https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/455/655/ff5.png Cool Bug Fact's] [[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 20:02, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

"The title text is a mathematical joke, based on the Intermediate Value Theorem (IVT)... Hence, technically, Randall is correct." that is assuming that the universe didn't start from anything bigger than this comic. ̶P̶h̶y̶s̶i̶c̶i̶a̶n̶s̶ Physicists, discuss! (okay, fine. philosophers can join too) [[User:OtterlyAmazin|OtterlyAmazin]] ([[User talk:OtterlyAmazin|talk]]) 20:41, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
:Even with antialiasing, the intrinsically granular nature of the graymap representing a sub-pixel measure, at any given perpendicular point of the scale at any given device's DPI. I wouldn't put it past the Universe to have skipped-through the gap between values. ...on the other hand, if we get into Big Rip territory, perhaps the effective DPI of any extant representation ''will'' pass back through a coincident value. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.202|162.158.34.202]] 22:09, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

I notice that the events along the top are mostly sensible, while the events at the bottom are mostly not. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.220|108.162.249.220]] 23:08, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

It would be good if this clarified whether the diagram of the growth itself is correct and just badly mislabeled, or if it doesn't even correctly show the size of the universe over time. [[User:Gaelan|Gaelan]] ([[User talk:Gaelan|talk]]) 00:24, 12 December 2019 (UTC)


{{Talk:2220: Imagine Going Back in Time/Ads}}