explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2355: University COVID Model

2021-12-13T13:23:46Z

I.: Must be a US-centric phenomenon.

Wait, people in college go to parties? Hm. Must be something people sent to High School for "socialization", participate in.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:04, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

I went to high school and didn't party once at college. So...I guess not? 23:06, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

:I don't remember any college party, but I must admit I might missed it while playing FPSs in computer laboratory. Or does that count as party? It is group activity, but there is usually no alcohol involved and social distance is preserved ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:34, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

::Well, some college students go to a lot of parites, but others don't. It's probably a lot less common among students who spend a lot of time on computers or who have majors in more difficult and mathematically rigorous scientific fields, and more common in certain other majors, people who are in frats, and those who are mainly in college to be on a sports team.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.61|162.158.74.61]] 05:36, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

This likely relates to https://xkcd.com/793/, do we want to mention that? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.44|172.69.42.44]] 21:47, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

: That would be great. Do you know where to put it? I was surprised the linked article said it was students who tested positive from the school's tests who actually hosted the parties. Interesting cultural share between the two kinds of personalities. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.105|162.158.62.105]] 01:06, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

"...and they had to shut down." Unrealistic, real universities send their president to join the party, 0/10. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.142|108.162.216.142]] 20:53, 6 September 2020 (UTC)

"stock-trading bots created by engineers were too good at making money on high-frequency stock markets, causing a flash-crash" The flash crash was caused by what I would describe as a computer bug (the theory is that multiple stock trading bots made by different people entered a loop where they would buy and sell the same shares from each other at increasing prices). If the stock trading bots were really "too good" then they wouldn't have this issue. Also, there were a good deal of finacially-trained bankers behind the creation of high frequency trading systems, with the actual "engineers" often not really understanding how the systems worked. The linked comic has nothing to do with high frequency trading. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 17:42, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

It is worth mentioning that I was a student of Dr. Sergei Maslov during the fall of 2020, and he happens to be one of the "two physicists" who designed the model at UIUC. While he was amused by the comic (showing it to us in class), he felt it misrepresented the problem slightly. He argued that their predictions for the ''number'' of parties was correct, but what they failed to predict was the number of people who would attend those parties after knowing that they had tested positive for the virus. He attributed the large spike to a super-spreader event at which individuals who had been asked to quarantine attended anyway. I don't think any of this belongs in the comic explanation, since it does not purport to specifically address the situation at UIUC, but it's an interesting story nonetheless.[[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 16:56, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Usually we use "Citation needed" as a kind of in-joke for things that are widely agreed to, but I don't think that's the case for "many other people go to college for the parties rather than the education". I guess it depends on one's definition of "many", but I really would be interested in seeing a citation for this assertion. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 03:05, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

I'll mention that in during *my* student time, the local Physics' Students' union would organize, together with the local Nutritional Science students' union, a party in each semester, with a lot of attendees. However, this has been in central Europe. Even my son, who visited Aachen instead of Bonn, and 30 years later so after the Bachelor/Master-ization, and jumped straight into theoretical physics instead of my inclination to observational astronomy, would regularly tell of party visits. --[[User:I.|I.]] ([[User talk:I.|talk]]) 13:23, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-16T16:16:46Z

I.: /* TeX footnote symbols */

When we all rely on a BOT, we don't know how to do simple things like create new comic explanation pages manually anymore. 8-) <br>
I really hope he's right about 2022... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
:The DgbrtBOT... Why's it broken?? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:22, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
::It looks likely it was being run on a computer by the author, and the computer hiccuped. Nobody has notified the author, who doesn't come here much anymore. The bot is also linked from its page for others to run it. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;Asterix and Obelix
Fun fact: comic strip characters Asterix and Obelix were named after these symbols [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters]. Frank [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.121|162.158.88.121]] 10:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;New Normal
I personally am getting very tired of anyone expecting CoViD '19 to be "over" or anxious to "get back to normal". With '19, Delta, Gamma, & Lambda, all making the rounds (& those are just the lineage names; each already has dozens of minor variants, as coronavirus carries over minor variations from ''each host''), & dogs, cats, & deer all showing signs of community-wide infection as well, it seems pretty obvious even to a non epidemiologist, that we've long since reached a state of effectively ubiquitous exposure. Couple this with air quality in increasing decline across multiple factors (rapidly climbing CO2, increasing rates of emissions of microparticulate, the only-just-beginning-&-already-most-of-the-dust-we-breathe breakdown of plastic microfibers, rare volatiles, take your pick, levels of each are accelerating precipitously) & we should all just collectively ''expect'' everyone "at risk" of respiratory illness to be suffering or dying on increasingly regular basis, until we all collectively change our lifestyles considerably more than we have so far. Heck, if we continue trying to get "back to normal" we may all die off entirely ''much'' sooner than even most of our concerned "experts" seem to think, because of the sheer number of contributing factors compounding each other at unprecedented rates of increase. In my view (seemed obvious since last August) CoViD itself is clearly here to stay, & even with booster shots, we should expect dangerous new variants to crop up. We live in an increasingly dense society (& that isn't a euphemism referring to effects of CO2 buildup) & higher density means more disease exposure; so we will all need to take steps to minimize these exposure risks & ''keep that up forever'' (or at least until population density or travel wane dramatically). We might even have to stop living like the future is disposable.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Yes, my reaction to 2022 in this comic was, "I appreciate his optimism, but I don't think it's actually warranted, and I think it's the double dagger symbol that comes next." I do hope we'll ultimately ease into a bit of a smoother and somewhat less oppressive (new) 'normal' than 2020~21 represent, but even in that scenario 2021 definitely seems a bit too soon to expect the current aberrations to reach an end. Regarding lifestyle changes, more than that I think it's largely voting patterns that would need to change (in countries where that applies), since many of the changes needed require large-scale collective coordination (i.e. infrastructure, commercial/industrial regulation, etc. etc.), in other words government level action, rather than just lifestyle changes at the individual level, even if universally applied. But I agree, a willingness to change lifestyles may be required for those kinds of voting patterns to occur. Of course a large span of human history was permeated by a lot of suffering, conflict, and death that probably most of us can't relate to today. On the other hand though, nowadays there's 7B of us and counting to experience the full joys of everything you're describing =/. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.50|108.162.246.50]] 20:06, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Did you seriously implied covid is made dangerous by global warming? Despite climbing CO2, the air quality - meaning, how good it is for people - is getting BETTER thanks to factory emissions being regulated compared to previous century. At least in Europe and US, it may still be bad in China, Beijing's smog is legendary. Of course, that's not related to Covid, which does seem to be here to stay and the best we can hope in is that thanks to combination of vaccine and mutations it gets closer to flu in dangerousness (which would still means tens of thousands of deaths every year, in EU or US). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:: The observed raise of atmospheric CO2 concentration may cause various changes in climate dynamics, but has no direct effect on human respiration and health. Sitting in a poorly ventilated room causes much, much higher rise (just because you're exhaling CO2), even causing mild, but passing, somatic effects (headaches etc.) -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.29|141.101.96.29]] 08:13, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

I'm thinking the next best option after the asterisk and dagger would probably be the section sign (§) — [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 23:04, 15 August 2021 (UTC) 22:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Is there a triangle symbol? That seems like it would be the best, if 2022 was mainly Delta
:It's likely Delta will be connected to THIS year (2021) and next year will have another variant as dominant. There might even be enough time left in this year to replace Lambda as well, or maybe Lambda will be connected with winter 2021/22 and we get another for summer 2022. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:I just want to say out loud (sic!) what I've been thinking for a while now... People will definitely be uncomfortable with the situation once they have to identify something as the Omega Strain... For a number of reasons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.213|141.101.98.213]] 11:34, 15 August 2021 (UTC)

2022 should have the ‡-symbol, double dagger - Checkmate!

The star and dagger could also be read as star and cross as seen on some tomb stones. They are used to denote birth and death. This could explain the comment about not being sure what the next symbol would be.
See example here https://www.serafinum.de/media/image/product/8219/lg/zeitloser-granit-grabstein-in-schwarz-einzelgrab-philium~2.jpg
[[User:Ray|Ray]] ([[User talk:Ray|talk]]) 08:36, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

In genealogical records, such as family trees, the dagger is used to indicate the death, or the unnatural death, of a person. Similarly, in biology, it is used to note the extinction of a species, genus, etc... Species that are possibly extinct are indicated with an asterisk and finally double asterisks indicate taxa believed to be extinct in the wild but known to be extant in cultivation.

== TeX footnote symbols ==

I think the picture is an excerpt of a scientific paper, so those symbols are the footnote symbols used to explain the anomalies. Here's the list:
<code>
1 asterisk *

2 dagger †

3 double dagger ‡

4 section symbol §

5 paragraph ¶

6 parallel lines ‖

7 two asterisks **

8 two daggers ††

9 two double daggers ‡‡
</code>

As a result, all Randall has to do is this:
<code>
\usepackage[symbol]{footmisc}

\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}

\footnote[num]{text}
</code>

where num=year-2019.

--[[User:I.|I.]] ([[User talk:I.|talk]]) 16:11, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-16T16:15:56Z

I.: /* TeX footnote symbols */

When we all rely on a BOT, we don't know how to do simple things like create new comic explanation pages manually anymore. 8-) <br>
I really hope he's right about 2022... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
:The DgbrtBOT... Why's it broken?? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:22, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
::It looks likely it was being run on a computer by the author, and the computer hiccuped. Nobody has notified the author, who doesn't come here much anymore. The bot is also linked from its page for others to run it. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;Asterix and Obelix
Fun fact: comic strip characters Asterix and Obelix were named after these symbols [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters]. Frank [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.121|162.158.88.121]] 10:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;New Normal
I personally am getting very tired of anyone expecting CoViD '19 to be "over" or anxious to "get back to normal". With '19, Delta, Gamma, & Lambda, all making the rounds (& those are just the lineage names; each already has dozens of minor variants, as coronavirus carries over minor variations from ''each host''), & dogs, cats, & deer all showing signs of community-wide infection as well, it seems pretty obvious even to a non epidemiologist, that we've long since reached a state of effectively ubiquitous exposure. Couple this with air quality in increasing decline across multiple factors (rapidly climbing CO2, increasing rates of emissions of microparticulate, the only-just-beginning-&-already-most-of-the-dust-we-breathe breakdown of plastic microfibers, rare volatiles, take your pick, levels of each are accelerating precipitously) & we should all just collectively ''expect'' everyone "at risk" of respiratory illness to be suffering or dying on increasingly regular basis, until we all collectively change our lifestyles considerably more than we have so far. Heck, if we continue trying to get "back to normal" we may all die off entirely ''much'' sooner than even most of our concerned "experts" seem to think, because of the sheer number of contributing factors compounding each other at unprecedented rates of increase. In my view (seemed obvious since last August) CoViD itself is clearly here to stay, & even with booster shots, we should expect dangerous new variants to crop up. We live in an increasingly dense society (& that isn't a euphemism referring to effects of CO2 buildup) & higher density means more disease exposure; so we will all need to take steps to minimize these exposure risks & ''keep that up forever'' (or at least until population density or travel wane dramatically). We might even have to stop living like the future is disposable.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Yes, my reaction to 2022 in this comic was, "I appreciate his optimism, but I don't think it's actually warranted, and I think it's the double dagger symbol that comes next." I do hope we'll ultimately ease into a bit of a smoother and somewhat less oppressive (new) 'normal' than 2020~21 represent, but even in that scenario 2021 definitely seems a bit too soon to expect the current aberrations to reach an end. Regarding lifestyle changes, more than that I think it's largely voting patterns that would need to change (in countries where that applies), since many of the changes needed require large-scale collective coordination (i.e. infrastructure, commercial/industrial regulation, etc. etc.), in other words government level action, rather than just lifestyle changes at the individual level, even if universally applied. But I agree, a willingness to change lifestyles may be required for those kinds of voting patterns to occur. Of course a large span of human history was permeated by a lot of suffering, conflict, and death that probably most of us can't relate to today. On the other hand though, nowadays there's 7B of us and counting to experience the full joys of everything you're describing =/. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.50|108.162.246.50]] 20:06, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Did you seriously implied covid is made dangerous by global warming? Despite climbing CO2, the air quality - meaning, how good it is for people - is getting BETTER thanks to factory emissions being regulated compared to previous century. At least in Europe and US, it may still be bad in China, Beijing's smog is legendary. Of course, that's not related to Covid, which does seem to be here to stay and the best we can hope in is that thanks to combination of vaccine and mutations it gets closer to flu in dangerousness (which would still means tens of thousands of deaths every year, in EU or US). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:: The observed raise of atmospheric CO2 concentration may cause various changes in climate dynamics, but has no direct effect on human respiration and health. Sitting in a poorly ventilated room causes much, much higher rise (just because you're exhaling CO2), even causing mild, but passing, somatic effects (headaches etc.) -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.29|141.101.96.29]] 08:13, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

I'm thinking the next best option after the asterisk and dagger would probably be the section sign (§) — [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 23:04, 15 August 2021 (UTC) 22:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Is there a triangle symbol? That seems like it would be the best, if 2022 was mainly Delta
:It's likely Delta will be connected to THIS year (2021) and next year will have another variant as dominant. There might even be enough time left in this year to replace Lambda as well, or maybe Lambda will be connected with winter 2021/22 and we get another for summer 2022. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:I just want to say out loud (sic!) what I've been thinking for a while now... People will definitely be uncomfortable with the situation once they have to identify something as the Omega Strain... For a number of reasons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.213|141.101.98.213]] 11:34, 15 August 2021 (UTC)

2022 should have the ‡-symbol, double dagger - Checkmate!

The star and dagger could also be read as star and cross as seen on some tomb stones. They are used to denote birth and death. This could explain the comment about not being sure what the next symbol would be.
See example here https://www.serafinum.de/media/image/product/8219/lg/zeitloser-granit-grabstein-in-schwarz-einzelgrab-philium~2.jpg
[[User:Ray|Ray]] ([[User talk:Ray|talk]]) 08:36, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

In genealogical records, such as family trees, the dagger is used to indicate the death, or the unnatural death, of a person. Similarly, in biology, it is used to note the extinction of a species, genus, etc... Species that are possibly extinct are indicated with an asterisk and finally double asterisks indicate taxa believed to be extinct in the wild but known to be extant in cultivation.

== TeX footnote symbols ==

I think the picture is an excerpt of a scientifix paper, so those symbols are the footnote symbols used to explain the anomalies. Here's the list:
<code>
1 asterisk *

2 dagger †

3 double dagger ‡

4 section symbol §

5 paragraph ¶

6 parallel lines ‖

7 two asterisks **

8 two daggers ††

9 two double daggers ‡‡
</code>

As a result, all Randall has to do is this:
<code>
\usepackage[symbol]{footmisc}

\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}

\footnote[num]{text}
</code>

where num=year-2019.

--[[User:I.|I.]] ([[User talk:I.|talk]]) 16:11, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2502: Every Data Table

2021-08-16T16:11:31Z

I.: /* TeX footnote symbols */ new section

When we all rely on a BOT, we don't know how to do simple things like create new comic explanation pages manually anymore. 8-) <br>
I really hope he's right about 2022... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
:The DgbrtBOT... Why's it broken?? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:22, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
::It looks likely it was being run on a computer by the author, and the computer hiccuped. Nobody has notified the author, who doesn't come here much anymore. The bot is also linked from its page for others to run it. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 09:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;Asterix and Obelix
Fun fact: comic strip characters Asterix and Obelix were named after these symbols [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters]. Frank [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.121|162.158.88.121]] 10:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

;New Normal
I personally am getting very tired of anyone expecting CoViD '19 to be "over" or anxious to "get back to normal". With '19, Delta, Gamma, & Lambda, all making the rounds (& those are just the lineage names; each already has dozens of minor variants, as coronavirus carries over minor variations from ''each host''), & dogs, cats, & deer all showing signs of community-wide infection as well, it seems pretty obvious even to a non epidemiologist, that we've long since reached a state of effectively ubiquitous exposure. Couple this with air quality in increasing decline across multiple factors (rapidly climbing CO2, increasing rates of emissions of microparticulate, the only-just-beginning-&-already-most-of-the-dust-we-breathe breakdown of plastic microfibers, rare volatiles, take your pick, levels of each are accelerating precipitously) & we should all just collectively ''expect'' everyone "at risk" of respiratory illness to be suffering or dying on increasingly regular basis, until we all collectively change our lifestyles considerably more than we have so far. Heck, if we continue trying to get "back to normal" we may all die off entirely ''much'' sooner than even most of our concerned "experts" seem to think, because of the sheer number of contributing factors compounding each other at unprecedented rates of increase. In my view (seemed obvious since last August) CoViD itself is clearly here to stay, & even with booster shots, we should expect dangerous new variants to crop up. We live in an increasingly dense society (& that isn't a euphemism referring to effects of CO2 buildup) & higher density means more disease exposure; so we will all need to take steps to minimize these exposure risks & ''keep that up forever'' (or at least until population density or travel wane dramatically). We might even have to stop living like the future is disposable.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:12, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Yes, my reaction to 2022 in this comic was, "I appreciate his optimism, but I don't think it's actually warranted, and I think it's the double dagger symbol that comes next." I do hope we'll ultimately ease into a bit of a smoother and somewhat less oppressive (new) 'normal' than 2020~21 represent, but even in that scenario 2021 definitely seems a bit too soon to expect the current aberrations to reach an end. Regarding lifestyle changes, more than that I think it's largely voting patterns that would need to change (in countries where that applies), since many of the changes needed require large-scale collective coordination (i.e. infrastructure, commercial/industrial regulation, etc. etc.), in other words government level action, rather than just lifestyle changes at the individual level, even if universally applied. But I agree, a willingness to change lifestyles may be required for those kinds of voting patterns to occur. Of course a large span of human history was permeated by a lot of suffering, conflict, and death that probably most of us can't relate to today. On the other hand though, nowadays there's 7B of us and counting to experience the full joys of everything you're describing =/. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.50|108.162.246.50]] 20:06, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
: Did you seriously implied covid is made dangerous by global warming? Despite climbing CO2, the air quality - meaning, how good it is for people - is getting BETTER thanks to factory emissions being regulated compared to previous century. At least in Europe and US, it may still be bad in China, Beijing's smog is legendary. Of course, that's not related to Covid, which does seem to be here to stay and the best we can hope in is that thanks to combination of vaccine and mutations it gets closer to flu in dangerousness (which would still means tens of thousands of deaths every year, in EU or US). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:: The observed raise of atmospheric CO2 concentration may cause various changes in climate dynamics, but has no direct effect on human respiration and health. Sitting in a poorly ventilated room causes much, much higher rise (just because you're exhaling CO2), even causing mild, but passing, somatic effects (headaches etc.) -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.29|141.101.96.29]] 08:13, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

I'm thinking the next best option after the asterisk and dagger would probably be the section sign (§) — [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 23:04, 15 August 2021 (UTC) 22:23, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Is there a triangle symbol? That seems like it would be the best, if 2022 was mainly Delta
:It's likely Delta will be connected to THIS year (2021) and next year will have another variant as dominant. There might even be enough time left in this year to replace Lambda as well, or maybe Lambda will be connected with winter 2021/22 and we get another for summer 2022. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:10, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:I just want to say out loud (sic!) what I've been thinking for a while now... People will definitely be uncomfortable with the situation once they have to identify something as the Omega Strain... For a number of reasons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.213|141.101.98.213]] 11:34, 15 August 2021 (UTC)

2022 should have the ‡-symbol, double dagger - Checkmate!

The star and dagger could also be read as star and cross as seen on some tomb stones. They are used to denote birth and death. This could explain the comment about not being sure what the next symbol would be.
See example here https://www.serafinum.de/media/image/product/8219/lg/zeitloser-granit-grabstein-in-schwarz-einzelgrab-philium~2.jpg
[[User:Ray|Ray]] ([[User talk:Ray|talk]]) 08:36, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

In genealogical records, such as family trees, the dagger is used to indicate the death, or the unnatural death, of a person. Similarly, in biology, it is used to note the extinction of a species, genus, etc... Species that are possibly extinct are indicated with an asterisk and finally double asterisks indicate taxa believed to be extinct in the wild but known to be extant in cultivation.

== TeX footnote symbols ==

I think the picture is an excerpt of a scientifix paper, so those symbols are the footnote symbols used to explain the anomalies. Here's the list:
<code>
1 asterisk *
2 dagger †
3 double dagger ‡
4 section symbol §
5 paragraph ¶
6 parallel lines ‖
7 two asterisks **
8 two daggers ††
9 two double daggers ‡‡
</code>

--[[User:I.|I.]] ([[User talk:I.|talk]]) 16:11, 16 August 2021 (UTC)