explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2161: An Apple a Day

2019-06-10T17:58:29Z

Gollum:

{{comic
| number = 2161
| date = June 10, 2019
| title = An Apple a Day
| image = an_apple_a_day.png
| titletext = Even the powerful, tart Granny Smith cultivar is proving ineffective against new Gran-negative doctors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPLE-RESISTANT DOCTOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a common expression. It suggests that eating one apple daily will keep you healthy, and, therefore, reduce your necessity to go to the doctor. However, in this comic, this expression is reinterpreted to mean that the reason an apple a day keeps a doctor away is because apples literally prevent doctors from coming.

Next, when the comic says that some doctors are resistant to apples, this references situations where creatures can adapt to deal with threats. For example, if an opponent controls a thief of sanity and you have a sharktocrab, you may adapt the sharktocrab to tap down the thief. In this case, the comic advocates stockpiling apples to prepare a strategic assault on the doctors who adapted. The gran-negative references bacteria staining, in which certain bacteria are stained and come out positive, and the others, Negative.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2140: Reinvent the Wheel

2019-04-22T18:45:21Z

Gollum:

I took a screenshot of google image search at 2:24 PM ET on 4/22/2019, and a bicycle wheel is indeed the first result. I'm trying to figure out how to get my image into the wiki ;p [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.82|162.158.78.82]] 18:25, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
: (same user) Man! I found an old account I made and logged in with it to upload a file, but it says I need special permission to do so! [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 18:33, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
: If somebody with permission could upload this, it would be great: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/Qmf1a9NFFAcgWRUe45Ueg4FggXTUAd9BHMgEqWp23izchU [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 18:43, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Looks like beret guy is working for an automotive startup, possibly one of the many software companies that are developing AI for self-driving cars? It is true that tires are made by outside suppliers (not by the auto companies) so in terms of software development tires could be called "external dependencies". However, tires are far from a semi-random selection as intimated here. A large amount of time and effort is spent developing special tires for each vehicle model to give the best possible compromise between many conflicting requirements such as: dry/wet/snow traction, noise, ride, wear, high speed durability (for high performance cars) and so on, the complete list has many more items.

If Randall is looking for new tires for his vehicle, I offer my standard recommendation: If you were fairly happy with the tires that came with the car, try and replace them with the closest possible equivalent to take advantage of the original development effort. This is not always possible, and of course if you are using the vehicle for a special purpose (mostly drive on dirt roads, use your car in weekend autocross competition, etc.), you may do better with something different.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.58|162.158.75.58]] 18:36, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

This comic could also be talking about coding, where reinventing the wheel is writing your own code from scratch, as there is other code which works perfectly well. This makes particular sense as the "external dependencies" could be in terms of code as well
[[User:Gollum|Gollum]] ([[User talk:Gollum|talk]]) 18:45, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2018-12-21T16:33:37Z

Gollum:

{{comic
| number = 2088
| date = December 21, 2018
| title = Schwarzschild's Cat
| image = schwarzschilds_cat.png
| titletext = Cats can be smaller than the critical limit, but they're unobservable. If one shrinks enough that it crosses the limit, it just appears to get cuter and cuter as it slowly fades from view.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke on the {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, or the radius surrounding a black hole corresponding to the {{w|event horizon}}. The event horizon, in turn, is the limit from which nothing can leave a black hole. The joke is that, apparently, smaller cats are cuter, and therefore the limit is a point corresponding to this: the smallest possible cat with infinite cuteness.

The title text references micro black holes, which are decaying by Hawking radiation, which is why the cat slowly fades from view.

This also a reference to the "Schroedinger’s cat" thought-experiment, since the name "Schroedinger" is easily confused with "Schwarzschild" and both men were interested in quantum physics.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A graph is shown. The x-axis is labeled "Cat size" and the y-axis, "Cat cuteness". Graphed is a function coming down from infinity then beginning to level off and not reaching zero on-screen. At the top end of the function is the text "Schwarzschild's Cat" and an arrow to indicate it. In line with the top end of the function is a vertical dashed line. Under the function is the text "Critical limit" and arrows indicating the space between the y-axis and dashed line.]
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2018-12-21T16:32:38Z

Gollum: reply

This is likely a cross between the Schwarzschild Radius and Schrodinger's cat. Below the Schwarzschild Radius, you can't tell how cute the cat is because you can't see it, just like you can't tell if the cat is alive or dead in the box. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:08, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

The title text has nothing to do with Hawking radiation - it's referencing a phenomenon that happens near a black hole's event horizon. As you observe an object falling toward the black hole, when it reaches the event horizon it appears to you to be frozen in place, and gradually fades to black. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5PNbsUERE

However, Hawking radiation describes the decay of black holes and so the black hole would get smaller and smaller, but I believe that you are also correct.
[[User:Gollum|Gollum]] ([[User talk:Gollum|talk]]) 16:32, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2018-12-21T16:22:31Z

Gollum: Replaced "it" with "the cat"

{{comic
| number = 2088
| date = December 21, 2018
| title = Schwarzschild's Cat
| image = schwarzschilds_cat.png
| titletext = Cats can be smaller than the critical limit, but they're unobservable. If one shrinks enough that it crosses the limit, it just appears to get cuter and cuter as it slowly fades from view.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke on the {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, or the radius surrounding a black hole corresponding to the {{w|event horizon}}. The event horizon, in turn, is the limit from which nothing can leave a black hole. The joke is that, apparently, smaller cats are cuter, and therefore the limit is a point corresponding to this: the smallest possible cat with infinite cuteness. The title text references micro black holes, which are decaying by Hawking radiation, which is why the cat slowly fades from view.
It’s also probably a reference to Schroedinger’s cat since Schroedinger sounds like Schwarzschild and Schroedinger is the one with the cat.
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A graph is shown. The x-axis is labeled "Cat size" and the y-axis, "Cat cuteness". Graphed is a function coming down from infinity then beginning to level off and not reaching zero on-screen. At the top end of the function is the text "Schwarzschild's Cat" and an arrow to indicate it. In line with the top end of the function is a vertical dashed line. Under the function is the text "Critical limit" and arrows indicating the space between the y-axis and dashed line.]
{{comic discussion}}

2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2018-12-21T16:14:49Z

Gollum: Title text explanation

{{comic
| number = 2088
| date = December 21, 2018
| title = Schwarzschild's Cat
| image = schwarzschilds_cat.png
| titletext = Cats can be smaller than the critical limit, but they're unobservable. If one shrinks enough that it crosses the limit, it just appears to get cuter and cuter as it slowly fades from view.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke on the {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, or the radius surrounding a black hole corresponding to the {{w|event horizon}}. The event horizon, in turn, is the limit from which nothing can leave a black hole. The joke is that, apparently, smaller cats are cuter, and therefore the limit is a point corresponding to this: the smallest possible cat with infinite cuteness. The title text references micro black holes, which are decaying by Hawking radiation, which is why it slowly fades from view.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A graph is shown. The x-axis is labeled "Cat size" and the y-axis, "Cat cuteness". Graphed is a function coming down from infinity then beginning to level off and not reaching zero on-screen. At the top end of the function is the text "Schwarzschild's Cat" and an arrow to indicate it. In line with the top end of the function is a vertical dashed line. Under the function is the text "Critical limit" and arrows indicating the space between the y-axis and dashed line.]
{{comic discussion}}