explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2150: XKeyboarCD

2019-05-22T00:22:51Z

HackneyedTrope:

Since this is xkcd, can someone check whether this 15 puzzle is solvable? I seem to recall that 1/2 of possible permutations fail. And this is the sort of Easter egg we have come to expect from our lord and master Randall [[User:Cyclic3|Cyclic3]] ([[User talk:Cyclic3|talk]]) 13:51, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
:Unfortunately, it’s unsolvable.
:If the 15-puzzle is laid out ''like a numpad'' with 1 in the bottom left and the hole in the top right it ''is'' solvable. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.49|162.158.154.49]] 14:23, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
::Really? I got it on my fifteen puzzle.
:It's also possible to do if you just put the blank in the upper left corner, so _123,4567,etc. Source: I just Googled and downloaded a solver with a very annoying input method (Why can't I just type the numbers?) [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 21:06, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

"Key travel" is the vertical distance a key moves when you press it. "Unlimited key travel" would make it very hard for it to register that a key has been pressed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.40|172.69.62.40]] 14:03, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
:Perhaps the XKCD Company has partnered with ExampleName.Website.
:Doesn't "unlimited key travel" mean that the key will fall out from keyboard and get lost? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:51, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

I don't get the title. Is "XLeoparCD" some kind of typing pun I'm missing? [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 14:05, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
:You probably have the Substitutions filter on your computer and forgot about it. (I do too, it's great.) It's XKeyboarCD, and the capital letters spell XKCD (for if that wasn't obvious). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.77|172.68.132.77]] 14:10, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
::I don't think Substitutions looks for words that COULD be "keyboard" if there wasn't a letter in the way, and it definitely doesn't affect text in images. It was just a joke. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 13:36, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

What are the supposedly 5 most useful emoji? I recognize the laughing/crying one on position two and an Octopus on position three. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.231|162.158.93.231]] 14:35, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
: I think it's 'racehorse' & 'beer'. [[User:nachuo|nachuo]] ([[User talk:nachuo|talk]]) 14:44, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
: The last one is 'aerial tramway'

A friend of mine loves Rubik's Cubes, so I immediately went looking for a Rubik's Cube shaped keyboard... Instead I found Rubik's Cubes with keys glued to them, but they aren't functional. Anyone know of a cube-shaped keyboard? A 3x3 is enough for letters, numbers, & most common punctuation; a 4x4 could include most important keys found on a regular QWERTY keyboard. Surely this is already a thing? I was ready to say "Shut up and take my money!"
: For the Rubik's cube keys, it looks like the "stalk" goes through the center square on the bottom face of the cube. Wouldn't that mean there are 53 keys, not 54? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.237|173.245.48.237]] 19:29, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:20, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
: The closest thing I can find is the Twiddler or the DecaTxt. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.120|172.68.59.120]] 16:24, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
: Because of all of the moving parts in a functional Rubik's Cube, a working keyboard would have to have several separate wireless components, which might get expensive fast. I agree that it should be possible, but I don't think we should expect to see it in mass-production in the next five years or so. That said, someone might find an ingenious way to combine existing technologies into a similar product. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 01:25, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
:: Spent a little time thinking about this. I can see how to do it, should be pretty cheap (may be mass producible even). Surprised if somebody hasn't done it already (probably buried under all the non-functional ones). I am sure somebody will take up the challenge. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.25|162.158.107.25]] 21:56, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

: Back when The Matrix first came out, there was an unaffiliated website called www[dot]thematrix[dot]com (the movie used "whatisthematrix"), where the front page included a complaint that nobody from the movie even tried to buy his domain, nobody warned him, it didn't seem to occur to anybody that people would instinctively type in HIS address, and now he was flooded with visitors looking for the movie. Only other thing I remember about the site was that he had a menu CUBE. You slide the mouse over it to spin it - in literally any direction - each side had a single letter that when clicked brings you to a different page on the site. Fantastic piece of graphical scripting (PLUS functional as a click-able menu!), full 3-dimensional graphical animation... I also remember some note about "Don't ask for the code for the menu cube, just program things yourself". :) That Rubik's Cube made me think of it. I would imagine having ALL sides being buttons could be a problem (how do you put it down?), but I could imagine it being functional... 6 sides, 9 keys, so 54 keys... Alphabet is 26, numbers is 10, shift and caps lock and enter and backspace makes 40 keys, that leaves 14 keys left to cover symbols (with shift being able to double up assignments), IDK seems pretty workable. :)
: Also reminds me of an episode of The Dollhouse. Summer Glau (of Firefly and Terminator fame) guested as an intelligent tech whose nerves were severed in her arm or something, making the arm dead. She had this ball-like keyboard which I realized was so she could touch-type one-handed! Made me want that keyboard. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:00, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

: The directional arrow key would be the existing production Lenovo's red Track Point button. [https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/solutions/ht000611] So this is close to a "real" button.
Confirmed that the numeric pad cannot be put into numerical order without removing keys and placing them in another order.
There are 28 keys on the top row which usually is the function key row. Also the Ergonomic keyboard would cause serious physical and mental pain to everyone.
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 22:32, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

I wonder why the galaxy emoji from https://xkcd.com/2131/ isn't shown as one of the "5 most useful emoji"?

In what dialect of English do the words “bird” and “turn” share a vowel sound? I asked three of my friends to say both words and we all pronounce the vowel sound differently (I mean, “bird” differently from “turn”; we all pronounced the individual word “bird” the same, and “turn” the same). The words “bird” and “tern” on the other hand, do seem to have the same vowel sound.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.37|173.245.54.37]] 03:27, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
:Not sure where you're from, but to me turn and tern sound alike, making them homonyms. So yes, it's apparently a dialect thing; you and your three friends obviously speak the same dialect of English because you're all from the same area of the country. You probably should expand your sample beyond your closest friends. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:53, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
“Bird” and “turn” share a vowel sound pretty much in a Scottish dialect - but “turn” and “tern” are very distinct. I would also suggest the expression “Unlimited key travel” is a pun on genuine travel passes (train, bus, tram) where a monthly pass will get you unlimited travel for a month. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.121|162.158.158.121]] 07:18, 16 May 2019 (UTC)

Wonder if there will be a version 2 as there was more xkcd phones... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 16 May 2019 (UTC)

I don't get any sense that the rubic's cube needs to be solved in any manner to configure the keys, just that the 9 squares on each of the 6 side are functional keys that can be reconfigured, for a total of 54 additional keys. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:41, 17 May 2019 (UTC)
: Configuring in this case would mean putting the keys in a certain arrangement. I.E., putting the keys that you are most likely to use in a convenient place relative to each other. If you were to do that, you would have to 'solve' it to an appropriate configuration, though depending on how few or how many keys you care about the placement of, many solutions (or none!) may be possible.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.166|162.158.59.166]] 14:16, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

Can the ‘ergonomic’ section of the keyboard resembling a tunnel be somehow connected to {{w|Carpal tunnel syndrome|carpal tunnel syndrome}}? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.10.142|172.69.10.142]] 06:13, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

Implementing SerifLock via CapsLock is made further difficult because it keeps state and doesn't generate a character, which can be problematic. Also, many applications load and track fonts on their own - making a key-mapping an application-by-application affair. (Im)Practically for Windows users, Microsoft deprecated Application.OnKey in Word (but not in Excel) *and* the KeyBindings approach leaves out Caps Lock, requiring a low-level keyboard hook to try to accomplish this. This is unfortunately bizarrely difficult to just tack in, but would be awesomely useful for those who don't mind coding their favorite serif font to an otherwise unused key... I appreciate the comic even more now!
[[User:Chroisa|Chroisa]] ([[User talk:Chroisa|talk]]) 12:58, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

I feel the description should make mention of the fact that the 15-puzzle would presumably be lacking a '0' which is normally included in num pads.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.166|162.158.59.166]] 14:10, 17 May 2019 (UTC)
:On many numeric keypads the 0 is not in the same rectangular block with the digits (usually 1-9), so this could be similar. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:26, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

Had to preserve this for future readers: "Created by a LEOPARD USING AN XKEYBOARCD. Seems to be finished, could someone check it again before deleting this tag? Do NOT delete this tag too soon." [[User:HackneyedTrope|HackneyedTrope]] ([[User talk:HackneyedTrope|talk]]) 00:22, 22 May 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2018-12-30T08:21:24Z

HackneyedTrope: Added a comment to preserve the text of the 'edit' banner.

This xkcd is self-referencing as the size of cute animals is referenced to in many comics like 1871, 1682, 1903--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 21:40, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I think the biggest question is, what is that arrow on the left is pointing at? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.82|162.158.146.82]] 22:46, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

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

: I agree - I was going to make the same comment. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:34, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

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)

For the title text, I thought of the Cheshire Cat. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 23:31, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
:Presumably The Cheshire Cat is able to change its size at will in order to vanish. As this doesn't change its mass eventually it passes the Schwarzchild Limit, beyond which information cannot escape. This is why the Cheshire Cat, like Mona Lisa, has an enigmatic smile - it's not possible to know why it smiles, as that would constitute information transfer. [[User:Espatie|Espatie]] ([[User talk:Espatie|talk]]) 18:03, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

No offence Elvenivle, but I don't think this has anything to do with the Cheshire Cat. I vote we change it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.244|108.162.245.244]] 23:35, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
:I vote against. Wonderland has everything to do with quantum physics. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:20, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

'''Going off on a tangent'''

Sorry, I know this has got nothing to do with explaining the above comic, but when I read the title text a thought struck me: if the cat is getting cuter and cuter as it shrinks, a cat lover will get happier and happier as it increases in cuteness. However there will be a point that the cat lover will become sadder as they realise that the cat is going to disappear from their view forever. I would be interested in seeing the curve of cat lover's happiness against cat size, and seeing if we can determine the optimum size for "Cat Cuteness".

And now, having defined the unit CC, I am never going to be able to watch a medical drama in the same way again... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.46|141.101.98.46]] 10:23, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

So according to the graph, a tiger would have very little cuteness, which might be true if said tiger was in the process of attacking you for his lunch. Otherwise, there are lots of tiger videos on Youtube that could be easily described as ''cute''. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:57, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I googled something like "how do black holes form if time stops at the event horizon" and found the variety of expert-sounding answers to be quite engaging, [https://www.quora.com/If-time-stops-at-the-event-horizon-of-a-black-hole-does-it-mean-that-matter-from-the-accretion-disk-never-really-cross-the-event-horizon-If-so-how-do-black-holes-grow-in-size for example]. The simplest explanation to me seems to be that the matter mostly just stays on the surface forever, from our perspective, but the top-rated answer from that link is that space-time curves so much that the matter is no longer traveling through space and instead is falling through time itself! A statement like that sounds really cool and likely true, but could use a reason backing it up. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.232|172.69.62.232]] 21:58, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I don't think that has anything to do with Schrödinger. Simply, the cat gets smaller until it's smaller than its Schwarzschild radius and it becomes a black hole, and so its size is determined by its Schwarzschild radius.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.94|172.69.6.94]] 04:18, 24 December 2018 (UTC)

'''Another Tangent'''
This isn't technically for the comic itself, but the Incomplete banner on this page was so funny that I just HAD to preserve it "This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Could use more information on the relevant theoretical physics. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. " [[User:HackneyedTrope|HackneyedTrope]] ([[User talk:HackneyedTrope|talk]]) 08:21, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

769: War

2018-09-21T21:41:38Z

HackneyedTrope: Added the possibility that Randall was referencing the Vorkosigan Saga.

{{comic
| number = 769
| date = July 21, 2010
| title = War
| image = war.png
| titletext =They offered to make me a green beret, but I liked my regular one. Although it gets kind of squashed under my helmet.
}}

==Explanation==
Today's comic seems to be a parable about the perils of love during wartime. Our protagonist is seen here leaning against his pack behind a low wall, surely a good hiding spot for any gentleman with a rifle and scope. Judging by the letter he's in the midst of writing, he has a complex relationship with Cordelia. On the one hand, she's attractive. On the other hand, she's a hostile combatant, as evidenced by the shots fired mid-missive. Cordelia's fire works against her, though, as her volley of shots has revealed her own position atop the maintenance shed. We can presume that in a matter of minutes, this love affair will go sour as the love letter is wrapped around a live grenade and "delivered," so to speak. War is indeed hell.

As to the title text, the green berets are worn only by Special Forces soldiers. It takes a lot of training to become a green beret, and as evidenced by our protagonist's clever use of decoys to outwit a sniper, he may be qualified for the honor. However, evidence for his naiveté is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet -- thus revealing our protagonist's true identity (and explaining how he fell in love with an enemy soldier actively trying to kill him): [[Beret Guy]]. Then again, he does not have a choice, since [[291: Dignified|he has stapled the beret on his head.]]

"Cordelia" is possibly a reference to [http://atoracle.wikidot.com/en-cordelia-rosalind Cordelia Rosalind]—the sniper from the {{w|Miniature wargaming|miniature game}} "{{w|Anima: Beyond Fantasy#Anima: Tactics|Anima: Tactics}}". Alternatively, it may be a reference to Cordelia Naismith from Lois McMaster Bujold's Shards of Honor. In the book, Cordelia Naismith and Lord Aral Vorkosigan are on opposite sides of the Beta-Barryar war, and fall in love while forced to spend a week in each other's company on an unpopulated planet. This may be further corroborated by the green color of Beret Guy's uniform, which is very similar to the color used in the Barryan Imperial Military uniforms.

==Transcript==
:[A soldier is sitting on the ground behind a low wall, leaning against his pack and writing a letter.]
:My Dearest Cordelia,
:it has been far too long since I last gazed
:upon your lithe and supple body through my
:telescopic sights, and I fear you may have
:found a superior vantage poin—

:''BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!''

:—a splendid effort, my love, but your shots
:find only a decoy, and reveal your position atop
:the maintenance shed.

:I pray this missive and my grenades find you well.

:War is hell.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]