Talk:2817: Electron Holes

2023-08-19T08:03:05Z

Hmj: Positrons

I must admit... I'm not entirely convinced that one _couldn't_ build an electron hole beam. It would probably be called a quasibeam, but I think it could be done. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.61|162.158.175.61]] 05:11, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Would an electron "vacuum" be an electron hole gun? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:30, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Is it worth mentioning that "pewpewpew" was one of the incorrect pronunciations of Perseids in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2814:_Perseids_Pronunciation 2414]? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:34, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Objection, Your Honor! Don't know if electron quasibeams (see comment above) can be done, but the "a beam consisting of a lack of something is not possible" in the current explanation is too wide. Think of antisound devices! I think a "vacuum beam" going through normal gas pressure is very possible. And what about the Meissner effect, which could be seen as a beam of absence of a magnetic field? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.211|198.41.242.211]] 07:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

When the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron positron] was first predicted it was modeled as an electron hole, a gap in the hypothetical "sea" of negative-energy electrons filling all space. Sadly, AFAIK modern quantum field theory has done away with that idea, so while a gun that shoots a positron beam is theoretically possible, it probably wouldn't qualify as an electron hole beam. [[User:Hmj|Hmj]] ([[User talk:Hmj|talk]]) 08:03, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2793: Garden Path Sentence

2023-06-24T05:29:48Z

Hmj:

The bot didn't upload the most recent comic so I tried to do it myself, but I think I screwed it up :([[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 18:31, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I think the term "bird strikes" should be interpreted as a plural noun, given the two Xs on the map. Something like "After bird strikes, judge ... overturned but rights and lands safely" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.8|172.69.59.8]] 20:30, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
: Or it could be the bird strikes judge... You know, the one who was the judge in an important and well-known "bird strikes" case, possibly environmental, possibly an insurance scam case or something.[[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 21:46, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I don't think the current interpretation is wrong, but "olive garden" could be the lower-case-when-not-a-comics-headline descriptor for, you know, an actual garden of olive trees. That makes more sense when referring to green walkways. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:33, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Can someone also parse the alt-text? I still can't figure it out. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.176|162.158.154.176]] 20:39, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
:I think it's saying the arboretum owner (who is appealing the case) is himself appealing. I'm still having trouble with the grounds grounds portion though. :([[User:*anonymouse*|*anonymouse*]] ([[User talk:*anonymouse*|talk]]) 20:48, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
::He was ''appealing'' the lawsuit on the ''grounds'' that the ''grounds'' were ''appealing'' [[User:Ahecht|Ahecht]] ([[User talk:Ahecht|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Going by the picture I think the "bird" that struck the judge may be the plane.
:Disagree, "{{w|bird strike}}" is a term used for an incident where a bird strikes a vehicle, usually a plane. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.155|172.70.211.155]] 20:50, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
:But all these conflicting interpretations proves Randall's point that this is a garden path sentence :) [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 20:52, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

[[User:*anonymouse*|*anonymouse*]] please reconsider your edits; before them, I think I understood the meaning, but your supposed clarification messed it up :( the paragraph you removed seemed more plausible to me, and it also contained some useful wiki links to {{w|bird strike}} and {{w|vacated judgement}}. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 20:47, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

As I understood it, birds hit the plane piloted by the judge that gave the Olive Garden path sentence, overturning it (!!!), but he righted it and managed to land. [[User:J Petry|J Petry]] ([[User talk:J Petry|talk]]) 20:49, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

A [[wikipedia:bird strike]] is an aviation thing. Given the airplane in the photo and the path to what appears to be runways, I think that these are the bird strikes it's referring to. "Rights and lands safely" also would refer to the judge piloting an airplane. "Overturned" thus should also refer to the flight, but I would expect it to be something like "overturns", not "overturned", given "rights and lands". Thus: "After bird strikes, the judge who ordered the sentence overturned in the olive garden path case, his plane overturned, but rights the aircraft and lands it safely." [[User:SheeEttin|SheeEttin]] ([[User talk:SheeEttin|talk]]) 20:53, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I see what you're saying, and I think you're right. After (multiple) bird strikes the (plane being flown by the judge) overturned but was able to right itself. :([[User:*anonymouse*|*anonymouse*]] ([[User talk:*anonymouse*|talk]]) 20:57, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I feel certain that "olive" refers to the shade of green, because otherwise why specify "green" walkways? This makes "Olive Garden" a red herring, which seems likely. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.244|108.162.245.244]] 21:01, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

:I disagree. I read "olive garden" as a literal garden of olive trees. Randall is exploiting our familiarity with the Olive Garden restaurant to construct the sentence. The path would be a footpath or something through this garden. What makes the walkways green? No idea, maybe they're the kind that are actually solar panels. [[User:SheeEttin|SheeEttin]] ([[User talk:SheeEttin|talk]]) 22:10, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

:: I would interpret "green walkway" as meaning a picturesque walkway going through a forest, public gardens, or similar, which fits in with the olive trees. Searching for the term on Wikipedia suggests this expression is more commonly used in England than in the US. [[User:Hmj|Hmj]] ([[User talk:Hmj|talk]]) 05:29, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

I still don't like "overturned but rights and lands" - why would the first verb be in the past tense and the others present tense, if they are describing events that happened within a very short time of each other? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.102|162.158.159.102]] 05:10, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

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Talk:2817: Electron Holes

Talk:2793: Garden Path Sentence