explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2459: March 2020

2021-05-06T23:49:40Z

John.Adriaan: /* Transcript */ Typos and grammar. "Plugin" is definitely wrong, but "injecting" may be the wrong word too

{{comic
| number = 2459
| date = May 5, 2021
| title = March 2020
| image = march_2020.png
| titletext = "I've traveled here from the year 2020 to bring you this vaccine!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TIME TRAVELING VACCINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}, specifically regarding the {{w|Covid-19 vaccine}}.
This comic shows 15 calendars and [[Cueball]] next to them. The first three months on the calendar are January, February and March 2020. It would be expected that the months would increase in order, but the calendar month stays at March 2020 until the final panel of the comic, where it switches to May 2021, the month this comic was released, indicating that Cueball is "stuck" in March 2020 for more than a year. The COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in March 2020 and Cueball (probably representing [[Randall]]) may feel that he has been unable to move on with life, or that time was at a standstill until he was fully vaccinated. It is plausible that Randall was past the two weeks after his final vaccination when this comic came out. He has made several comics centered around that of being fully vaccinated in the weeks up to this comic. Specifically [[2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling]] and [[2454: Fully Vaccinated]] in April.

In the penultimate 2 panels, Cueball is shown getting his two doses of the vaccine, with [[Ponytail]] and [[Hairy]] administering the vaccine. Also these two panels are in March 2020, but in reality they are most likely in March 2021 and April 2021, as there are typically 3-6 weeks between first and second dose depending on the type of vaccine. In the final panel, the calendar has switched to the current month, May 2021, showing that Cueball can now resume life after getting vaccinated, and most likely having passed the two weeks after final shot mark.

The title text refers to films, in which someone travels through time with a {{W|MacGuffin}}. It could be based on initial production of COVID vaccine in late 2020, or a reference to films in which an earlier "original" version of a virus is necessary to produce a viable vaccine. Mass rollouts of COVID vaccine ramped up significantly starting early in 2021, but vaccines were still scarce, and unavailable to most of the world.

Interestingly, there are only 15 panels, so if the 'normal' months increased in sync, it would "only" be March 2021, not May 2021. This may refer to the [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7641621/ strange distortion of time during the COVID-19 pandemic]. Clearly 17 panels would have made more sense when counting months, but the point here is that time has been at a standstill the last 14 months from March 2020 to April 2021; how many panels represents those 14 month (14, 12 or 10) is not important. Using 15 panels, makes the first 3 and the last 3 stand out from the 9 in the middle, which makes sense from the flow of the comic.

The title text is also a reference to comic [[630: Time Travel]] which begins with "I have traveled here from the year...", although this has been with the same speed as anyone else has traveled, one second each second.

==Transcript==
:[In a 3 column by 5 row grid of panels, 15 monthly wall calendars are shown. All calendars have a large header with month and year given on two lines. Below this is a black border with 7 white lines, for each day of the week, and below that 5 rows with 7 columns, making all calendars the same, with 35 spaces. Nothing is shown in these grids. Next to each of these calendars Cueball is shown. In the first 12 panels, Cueball is standing next to the calendar, in only slightly different poses. The text on the calendars only change in the top row, then it stays the same for the next nine panels:]
:Calendar: January 2020
:Calendar: February 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020
:Calendar: March 2020

:[In the bottom row's first panel the calendar is, as always, to the left, but now Cueball is wearing a mask and sitting on a chair leaning a bit to the left while he is being vaccinated by a masked Ponytail to his right. She is injecting the needle in to his left arm. To the right is a tall but small table with the cup from which she has drawn the vaccine standing next to the lid of the cup.]
:Calendar: March 2020

:[The bottom row's second panel is similar to the previous with Cueball wearing a mask and sitting on a chair leaning a bit to the left while he is being vaccinated - although this time by a masked Hairy, standing to his right. Hairy is also injecting the needle in to his left arm. To the right is a different small table, with only one leg. On it is a cup from which Hairy has drawn the vaccine. Also some other black things are lying on the table, maybe other syringes for administrating the vaccine.]
:Calendar: March 2020

:[In the final panel Cueball again stands next to the calendar, but finally the text has changed.]
:Calendar: May 2021

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring face masks]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

Talk:2456: Types of Scientific Paper

2021-04-29T02:17:46Z

John.Adriaan: Pointed out self-referentialism

I've a feeling we could find actual papers that paraphrase down to those in the comic. Also, lol at the 500 scientists' "citation" section. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.104|162.158.159.104]] 20:36, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

As we edit this we should probably pay attention to the content / layout of the article images: The number of lines beneath the title and layout of each "paper" he's drawn could be relevant to the joke. For example, the "500 scientists" presumably have a massive authors list, and the one on how "everyone else is doing it wrong" has a single author and a particularly "article-esque" layout.

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.45|172.68.132.45]] 21:04, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

True. Do you think we should add another column describing the pictured paper to the explanation chart?
[[User:Reywas|Reywas]] ([[User talk:Reywas|talk]]) 21:06, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

For the "student volunteers" paper, many experiments involve adding hurdles for the participants to deal with. Like interrupting them, depriving them of sleep, adding distracting information, etc. It's not uncommon that these make them worse at the tasks. So this is just another research paper like that. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:24, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

Nobody has pointed out that the "Maybe all these categories are wrong" title directly pertains to this very comic... [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 02:17, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2445: Checkbox

2021-04-06T00:39:29Z

John.Adriaan: Added xkcd theory

If left alone, the morse code produced spells "WHAT" (.-- .... .- -) [[User:Ezist|Ezist]] ([[User talk:Ezist|talk]]) 22:50, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

I'm early enough that there isn't a summary yet, and I'm not confident enough to start one, so I'll just drop my thoughts. If you click the checkbox repeatedly, at some point it starts playing Morse code. Presumably, there are a whole lot of different sequences. So far, I've gotten .- - .-- .... (which translates to ATWS; no idea what that means) and ..... (just 5, I think). Meanwhile, the mouseover text is ... --- ..., which is SOS. Any thoughts? What other sequences are there? Or am I totally missing something? (Edit conflict. Looks like Ezist has another one.) [[User:Aerin|Aerin]] ([[User talk:Aerin|talk]]) 22:56, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
: I got something like ATWS at first, but that's just cause I misheard one of the letters, and misinterpreted where the word started/ended. [[User:Ezist|Ezist]] ([[User talk:Ezist|talk]]) 23:03, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
:: Oh yes, you're right - what I was hearing ''was'' just WHAT. When I put it into a translator, I must have mistyped .... (H) as ... (S). [[User:Aerin|Aerin]] ([[User talk:Aerin|talk]]) 23:58, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Wait, sorry, I'm back. It apparently has to do with user input. No idea what I pressed to get those results lol. [[User:Aerin|Aerin]] ([[User talk:Aerin|talk]]) 22:57, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Just a note, but a Morse code legend as well as translations of your input and the website's output are available in the console in browser DevTools. Helpful for those that don't know Morse. [[User:Toadtoad|Toadtoad]] ([[User talk:Toadtoad|talk]])

It looks like Samuel Morse died on April 2, 1872, so that might be why this comic appears today. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.218|162.158.212.218]] 23:07, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

"Hi" returns [.... . .-.. .-.. --- -.-.-- / .- -. -.-- -... --- -.. -.-- / --- ..- - / - .... . .-. . ..--..] "HELLO! ANYBODY OUT THERE?" [[User:Piano|Piano]] ([[User talk:Piano|talk]]) 23:09, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

a sequence of repeating "T", or at least more than one "E" [ - - - ] or [ . . . ] will respond back the same sequence, just one "E" will give "WHAT" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.253|172.68.25.253]] 23:18, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

"QTH" gives "QTH ARES VALLIS". "QTH" is a code used to ask for position, and Ares Vallis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_Vallis is a place on Mars.] [[User:Ezist|Ezist]] ([[User talk:Ezist|talk]]) 23:27, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

"CHECK" replies "MATE." "CHECKMATE" and "MATE" each reply "WHAT." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.146|162.158.126.146]] 23:34, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

The js: has anyone tried viewing the JS? There seems to be a file that is just filled with undecipherable Morse. Can anyone interpret this? Just press f12 and look for comic.js or morse.js [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.161|162.158.62.161]] 23:35, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

I tried decoding it. Certainly looks like something binary encoded into text. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.153|162.158.183.153]] 23:36, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Adding onto that, what does the ';D' in .split(';D') (at the very end of morse.js) do? AFAIK it's not a special character in JS

morse.js decodes comic.js into the following script: [https://pastebin.com/XcHV4Z5h] (Also, pretty sure the .split(';D') is just an emoji - it results only in an array of 1 element, so no splitting really occurred.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.78|108.162.219.78]] 23:52, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

running window.BeepComic.hurryUp() in console gives you immediate response in logs, without waiting for all the beeping to cease

Ah so that's where that script comes from [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.153|162.158.183.153]] 23:40, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

`BeepComic.send(morse.encode('sudo make me a sandwich'))` <-- convenience, in addition to the hurryUp --rcombs

Does someone else get this uuid DB334AAB-92A1-11EB-8001-8C16454FB02A? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.228|162.158.238.228]] 23:42, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
: Yep, that's what I get too. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.239|172.68.132.239]] 00:29, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
:: What did you enter to get a UUID? I tried decoding what you posted at [https://www.uuidtools.com/api/decode/DB334AAB-92A1-11EB-8001-8C16454FB02A this link], then tried looking up the MAC address that was encoded in it. I'm not sure what to make of [https://maclookup.app/search/result?mac=8c%3A16%3A45%3A4f%3Ab0%3A2a the result], but perhaps it has something to do with a chip on the Sojourner. [[User:Kjmitch|Kjmitch]] ([[User talk:Kjmitch|talk]]) 04:48, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Audio does not work on Safari as of right now - however, inputting `const AudioContext = webkitAudioContext;` into the browser console before unmuting will allow audio to work on Safari. May want to note this as a 'fix' for the experience? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.6|162.158.63.6]] 23:44, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

In addition to muting/unmuting, BEEP and MUTE reply CQM (I can't find a reference to what that means). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.146|162.158.126.146]] 23:51, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

The statements at line 458 of the gist mentioned earlier seem interesting.
handleAction(text) {
if (text.startsWith('//')) {
this.client.open(text.substr(2));
}
}
: Nevermind, it was just how the response to "dir" opened links) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.101|172.68.189.101]] 23:52, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Parsed the JS (morse obfuscation, weird) and cut this small bit out:
e = await fetch(`/2445/morse/.../${morse.encode('pog')}`);
f = await e.text();
[state, ...respMorse] = f.split('/');
morse.decode(respMorse.join('/'));
Use this if you'd like to play around with inputs. (replace pog, obviously) :) [[User:Ezist|Ezist]] ([[User talk:Ezist|talk]]) 23:53, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

No need to document UniXKCD here, there's already [[UniXKCD|a page for that]]. --rcombs

Here's all the two character inputs: https://pastebin.com/5JhsVwM1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.244|162.158.238.244]] 00:16, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

I got a different response for FORTUNE, it just tells me "OPEN ME" maybe Fortune gives multiple possible answers depending on luck, IP or something else, like a fortune cookie can have different answers inside it? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.81|141.101.104.81]] 00:19, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

For me FORTUNE responds with "OPEN ME", then I send OPEN, it responds with "YOUR DREAMS ARE NEVER SILLY DEPEND ON THEM TO GUIDE YOU" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.40|141.101.96.40]] 00:31, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

For me CHECKBOX responds with RADIO BUTTON and vice versa. Also, putting in a number doesn't seem to redirect me, but 11 does respond with "HUH"--[[User:Yodofrna|Yodofrna]] ([[User talk:Yodofrna|talk]]) 00:46, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

For me YOUTUBE provides what appears to be a URL, but it's so long I'm having a hard time transcribing it [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 00:49, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

YOUTUBE -> RXJKDH1KZ0W = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.245|162.158.238.
245]] 00:51, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

FORTUNE is a reference to the Unix 'fortune' program, but responses seem to be consistent for each user and not randomized like the Unix version. Use of a VPN confirms that responses are randomized by IP address. Sending OPEN only returns a fortune if it is sent immediately following FORTUNE. [[User:LordPants|LordPants]] ([[User talk:LordPants|talk]]) 00:53, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

One possible ending: HYDROCOPTIC -> Y -> https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sojourner_repaired.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.244|162.158.238.244]] 00:54, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

It appears that unknown inputs produce WHAT, NOT FOLLOWING, SAY AGAIN, TRY THAT AGAIN, COME AGAIN, HUH depending on some properties of the input text. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.40|141.101.96.40]] 00:57, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

FORTUNE gave me "DO NOT LET AMBITIONS OVERSHADOW SMALL SUCCESS". Should we add something on the page to list all the fortunes we've found?

XKCD now returns "A CROSS THREE LETTERS". What could that mean? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.239|172.68.132.239]] 01:22, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
: SOS returns OH NO now as well [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.107|172.68.189.107]] 01:27, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
: I got this too, can't seem to get it again. Strange. [[User:Ezist|Ezist]] ([[User talk:Ezist|talk]]) 01:28, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
:"A CROSS THREE LETTERS" could be 'mix'? (Or 'cut' but that seems less likely... Has anyone tried responding MIX when it gives the crossword clue.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:31, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
: Note that "A CROSS THREE LETTERS" describes "xkcd" perfectly: a cross, followed by three letters... [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 00:39, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

This isn't as convenient as the other in-browser console solutions, but I had fun quickly whipping up a script for NodeJS to query the Morse server and quickly get a response. https://github.com/realToadtoad/xkcd-checkbox-query [[User:Toadtoad|Toadtoad]] ([[User talk:Toadtoad|talk]])

In the png you get when you succeed in repairing Sojourner, there's a typo [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.50|108.162.219.50]] 02:43, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

I wonder what happens if you try to send it AT-style modem commands? Seems like it might do something, but I don't have the time/patience to experiment with that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.248|108.162.215.248]] 02:55, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

A blog post on creating the code for this comic: https://chromakode.com/post/checkbox [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 05:25, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

It doesn't work as described, fo be. Does it depend on the browser? I'm using Chrome.

[I don't see 'Loading...' or any other text, or a mute button; I do see dots and dashes, but get no sound(s).]

[[Special:Contributions] 06:57, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

To activate the sound, you must click the unmute button on the bottom right corner.

Note that those with a keyboard may press space as well to send the code. May be easier to control than a touchy laptop trackpad [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.75|162.158.187.75]] 10:31, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

== Scripts ==
If your clicking abilities have dwindled since the invention of the vocal telephone, you may use this roughly written script in the webconsole as an aid
--- self edit: now that others pointed out BeepComic, I simplified it a bit. ---
<pre>
(async ()=>{
let delay
const asleep = async (dur) => new Promise(res=>setTimeout(res,dur))
const send = async (...msgs) => {
for await (const msg of msgs) {
await BeepComic.send(morse.encode(msg))
await asleep(delay)
}
}
// Break the immersion
BeepComic.hurryUp();
// How long to wait for server to reply, in ms. increase for laggy networks
delay = 300
// Say things, in order
await send('fortune','open')
})()
</pre> Feel free to fix/clean/shorten/move the script. I put it in a topic to encourage keeping it at the bottom of discussion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.46|108.162.237.46]] 10:17, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

JavaScript to be pasted in the browser console. Adds a text box below the comic, in which you can write text and press enter to send it. Responses can be read from the JS console. [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 14:53, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
<pre>
BeepComic.hurryUp();

var input = comic.parentNode.insertBefore(document.createElement('input'), comic.nextSibling);
input.addEventListener("keydown", e => {
if (e.keyCode == 13) {
BeepComic.send(morse.encode(e.target.value));
e.target.value = '';
}
}, false);
</pre>

<pre>
import requests

URL = r"https://xkcd.com/2445/morse/...%s/%s"
enc_map = {"0":"-----","1":".----","2":"..---","3":"...--","4":"....-","5":".....","6":"-....","7":"--...","8":"---..","9":"----.","A":".-","B":"-...","C":"-.-.","D":"-..","E":".","F":"..-.","G":"--.","H":"....","I":"..","J":".---","K":"-.-","L":".-..","M":"--","N":"-.","O":"---","P":".--.","Q":"--.-","R":".-.","S":"...","T":"-","U":"..-","V":"...-","W":".--","X":"-..-","Y":"-.--","Z":"--..",".":".-.-.-",",":"--..--","?":"..--..","'":".----.","!":"-.-.--","/":"-..-.","(":"-.--.",")":"-.--.-","&":".-...",":":"---...",";":"-.-.-.","=":"-...-","+":".-.-.","-":"-....-","_":"..--.-",'"':".-..-.","$":"...-..-","@":".--.-."," ": "/"}
dec_map = dict([(y,x) for x,y in enc_map.items()])

to_morse = lambda text: " ".join(enc_map[i] for i in text if i in enc_map)
from_morse = lambda text: "".join(dec_map[i] for i in text if i in dec_map)

def get_resp(text, key):
url = URL%(("/" if len(key) else "") + to_morse(key), to_morse(text))
c = requests.get(url).content.decode('utf-8')
c = from_morse(c.split(' '))
return c[:36], c[37:]

k = ""
while True:
k,r = get_resp(input("YOU : "), k)
print("SOJOURNER:", r)
</pre> Python script to interact directly with SOJOURNER

If you try to read the book in the maze, it says "Your eyes swim". [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 16:13, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

What’s the proper way to add an alternate mobile version of this comic? Not sure about phones, but I read this on my tablet and had a completely different version of the comic than appeared here.
[[User:Dystopianist|Dystopianist]] ([[User talk:Dystopianist|talk]]) 03:00, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

"Sudo make me a sandwich" works in the linked Unix console and gets "Okay" as a response. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.48|172.69.22.48]] 08:06, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

The frame is replaced with an interactive panel.
No, it isn't. Other than loading the page, what else do I have to do to make this work?
Latest Chrome on OSX/ Big Sur and Windows 10. --[[User:Misterstick|Misterstick]] ([[User talk:Misterstick|talk]]) 10:35, 4 April 2021 (UTC)
*To answer my question, not load the mobile version of the page. Duh. --[[User:Misterstick|Misterstick]] ([[User talk:Misterstick|talk]]) 10:37, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2393: Presidential Middle Names

2020-12-04T01:56:53Z

John.Adriaan: I don't think he's jumping the gun, I think he's predicting the future

I wonder where Hussein comes in in the official rankings. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 04:16, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Gamaliel sounds like an Elvish name...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.128|108.162.216.128]] 05:03, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
: No, it's a {{w|Gamaliel_Ratsey|highwayman}}. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.24|162.158.155.24]] 10:54, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

: I would assume his parents were thinking about someone a bit nicer. Perhaps {{w|Gamaliel|Raban Gamaliel}}, a famous Jewish sage, major contributor to the Talmud and Christian saint (in some churches). [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:57, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

For the record, this was his paternal grandmother's maiden name. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 09:18, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

My understanding of the title text is that Hayes was previously in 3rd position, but has been demoted to 4th and no longer appears in the top 3, not that he is at the bottom of the list.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.243|141.101.99.243]] 09:39, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:The title text literally says "The bottom of the list". How can you read that as not meaning "the bottom of the list"??? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.153|141.101.69.153]] 10:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
::Though I don't read it as this, you ''could'' take it as two separate statements:
::"The bottom of the list remains unchanged." <- there has been no shuffling at the 'worst' end.
::"Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes." <- alas! For he has been shuffled out of the top three!
::Looking at the entire list of middle names with an arbitrary eye for 'Prettiness', I would definitely put "Birchard" in the bottom half, probably bottom handful, possibly indeed the bottom slot. But then I'd do much the same for "Fitzgerald" too. (That's on a 'prettiest' scale that is pleasant/ugly, not a decorative/plain axis, just so you know. And does contain subjectivities like Werty22's interpretation of "Delano".) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.155|162.158.158.155]] 14:27, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:::The list also literally only includes the top three, so my initial interpretation of the title text was that Hayes was previously in the 2nd position but is now off the list... perhaps due to a re-evaluation of the 'prettiness' of "Birchard". This would leave the bottom of the list (i.e. No. 3) unchanged.

I think someone needs to do a survey; maybe run a bracket or something, to see if public opinion matches Randall's list. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:33, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:This is a great idea.

Anyone anything meaningful to add? I think we can remove the incomplete-tag, no? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:21, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I just wanted to say that Delano in Spanish sounds like "del ano" which means "from the anus". Not sure that was intended, but it's pretty funny. [[User:Werty22|Werty22]] ([[User talk:Werty22|talk]]) 13:00, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Does anyone else think Randall's jumping the gun a bit? I mean, I acknowledge that President-Elect Biden becoming President next month is by far more likely than any other scenario, but it still feels wrong to assume it's going to happen. (Also, I believe "Quincy", "Ulysses", and "Baines" should round out the current top five.) [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 13:55, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:lol [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.152|162.158.255.152]] 20:00, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:Since it's not yet 2021, yet the title says "Updated for 2021", I see this as a seeing-into-the-future piece, along one particular timeline. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:56, 4 December 2020 (UTC)

I figured it was important to add Harry Truman, since he does in fact have a middle name, even though it is only one letter long. [[User:Easwaran|Easwaran]] ([[User talk:Easwaran|talk]]) 18:23, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
: That probably makes his the coolest, even if it's not the prettiest. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 18:30, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
Should this comic be added to the "rankings" category? [[User:Hamjudo|Hamjudo]] ([[User talk:Hamjudo|talk]]) 20:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Just riffing on the idea of middle names. My father, Sam, had no middle name but routinely filled in forms that asked for a middle name with the letter E. He reasoned that made sense since people often called him Sammy, and he could never resist an opportunity to tell a joke. On the other hand, my middle initial is J and my middle name is Jay. Go figure. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 21:56, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

2391: Life Before the Pandemic

2020-11-30T01:47:35Z

John.Adriaan: Removed duplicate "she"

{{comic
| number = 2391
| date = November 27, 2020
| title = Life Before the Pandemic
| image = life_before_the_pandemic.png
| titletext = I can't wait until this is all over and I can go back to riding my horse through the mall.
}}

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

This is another comic in xkcd's [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] about the COVID-19 pandemic. [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are having a conversation about life before the pandemic, which was declared as such on the 11th of March, 2020 by the World Health Organization. They talk about what they miss about life before the pandemic, but Cueball says that he can barely remember it. This is borne out by the rest of their discussion: None of the activities they list were ever common and most are strange, some are even forbidden and various items are misconstrued as existing for pandemic mitigation purposes.

After they finish reminiscing, Megan says that she can't wait for a vaccine, further implying that she can't wait to have all of these things "back." Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are making vaccines, with Pfizer/BioNTech making their application for emergency use on November 20th, 2020, 7 days before this comic's release. It is expected to be approved for use by the end of the year.

===Scuba diving without a mask===
{{w|Scuba set|Scuba}} stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It consists of a tank of compressed air, which is conducted through a tube to a mask which allows the diver to breathe underwater. The mask is a fundamental part of scuba diving. Cloth masks, to help lower the spread of the virus between people, are a recommended precaution when in public, but wearers are advised not to wear them when swimming. Megan is conflating these two different types of masks, misremembering a world where scuba diving did not have masks involved. You do not need to wear a cloth mask if you are scuba diving, but you do need to wear a scuba mask–irrespective of whether there is a pandemic.

Scuba masks previously rated quite well on the mask effectiveness scale in [[2367: Masks]].

===Free refills at gas stations===
{{w|Gas station}}s are locations where you can buy gasoline, which powers internal combustion engines, especially those in cars. A "free refill," in this context, likely refers to getting the gas tank of your car filled for free, which was not a business practice that was ever common.{{Citation needed}} However, many gas stations also have a small convenience shop that accompanies them, where you can buy food, drinks, and can use the restroom. "Free refills" could refer to getting a free refill of a type of soft drink, which may happen in gas stations, but is mostly associated with restaurants and diners who allow free top-ups of inexpensive soft drinks (or tea/coffee), as a possible loss-leader, for those that potentially will pay more for a substantive meal. The hospitality sector has been curtailed to various degrees, depending on local responses to the pandemic, and it's possible no outlets that offered free top-ups can continue to do so, or even operate an eat-in service at all. While gasoline stations don't offer gas refills to cars, there are quite a number of locations offering free "refills" for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles were considerably less common before the pandemic, thanks also to generous incentive schemes in many countries. This might explain why the characters have a ghost memory of "free gasoline refills".

===Grilling in the library===
{{w|Grilling}} food generally poses a significant fire hazard (and can produce toxic carbon monoxide) and is thus typically not allowed indoors, especially in libraries. In the pandemic, many libraries discourage people from spending time there, preferring that visitors only check out or drop off books. Some libraries have even removed chairs to achieve this. Randall might be making a wordplay on "chilling".

===Tennis without a "safety" net===

{{w|Tennis}} is a sport where two players use racquets to hit a ball at each other. The game is played on a court divided in half by a low net. The net is not used for anyone's safety; it's to ensure that the ball must be volleyed to the other player with some minimum height. Megan seems to believe that the net is there to ensure that the players stay on opposite sides of the net, in order to lower the spread of the virus.

===Indoor fireworks===
Many indoor activities were moved outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, as poorly-ventilated indoor spaces vastly increase the chance of the virus spreading. {{w|Firework}}s are explosives shot into the air for entertainment. Most fireworks are not suitable for use indoors; setting them off indoors is even more dangerous than they already are, even before the pandemic. However, there are specially designed indoor fireworks, most often used by specially trained and licensed pyrotechnicians. This may also be a reference to "Indoor Fireworks", a song by {{w|Elvis Costello}} from his 1986 album {{w|King of America}}, which uses fireworks as a metaphor for a tumultuous romantic relationship.

===Arcade claw machines===

{{w|Claw crane|Arcade claw machines}} have a bin of prizes (often stuffed animals) with a claw mechanism hanging overhead. The player pays a few coins into the machine and maneuvers the claw over a desired prize. The claw will descend and "attempt" to grab the prize for retrieval, but to ensure a favorable revenue for the machine operator, there is often a hidden percentage chance that the claw will not fully close. This is a frustrating experience for the player (e.g. Cueball). Remote manipulator arms are also used for handling dangerous items, but arcade claw machines are not implemented for the purpose of safety.

===Title text: Riding a horse through the mall===
A mall, in a historical context, refers to a large open walkway, such as the {{w|National Mall}}, where one could conceivably enter with a horse, although it was considered inappropriate to do so. However, it appears Cueball and Megan are referring to a {{w|shopping mall}}, where a shopper entering with a horse was never a regular occurrence{{Citation needed}}, at least in universes where there isn’t {{what if|34|a horse in aisle five}}.

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

:[Megan and Cueball are having a conversation]
:Megan: What do you miss most about life before the Pandemic?
:Cueball: I can barely remember it.

:Megan: I miss going scuba diving without having to wear a mask.
:Cueball: I miss free refills at gas stations.
:Megan: I miss grilling in the Library.

:[Close-up on Megan, Cueball's voice comes from off-panel, to the right.]
:Megan: I miss when tennis players didn't have to have that safety net between them.
:Cueball: I miss indoor fireworks.

:[Return to seeing them both, they are now walking to the right while talking]
:Megan: I miss when arcades let you take toys from the bin with your hand instead of using that stupid claw.
:Cueball: Ugh, I hate that thing.
:Megan: I can't wait for a vaccine.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2369: All-in-One

2020-10-12T11:14:11Z

John.Adriaan: Fixed typo

{{comic
| number = 2369
| date = October 7, 2020
| title = All-in-One
| image = all_in_one.png
| titletext = Changes with this update: If you use the combined scan-shred function, it now performs them in that order instead of the reverse, saving a HUGE amount of CPU time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THOSE PERFORATED EDGE STRIPS THAT ARE SO FUN TO TEAR. Needs an explanation of what all the functions do. Maybe give possible reasons to why Randall created this comic? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an xkcd-style parody of an {{w|all-in-one printer}}, a printer which typically can perform several functions, usually printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. This machine starts off with fairly standard printer functions but quickly becomes absurd. The machine is accordingly oversized, making room for all the status indicators and (presumably) the extra internal parts required to accomplish the uncommon functions.

The title text says that if both the scan and shred options are selected, it now scans things ''before'' trying to destroy them. Previously the machine destroyed documents and then scanned the pieces and tried to reconstruct them, which takes a large amount of processing power, as the attempts to recover the german Stasi Documents has shown, in addition to the fact that it is extremely hard to correctly scan shredded and crumpled documents.{{Citation needed}} The possibility of doing so raises the possibility that this printer itself is a even more complex computer than one would expect a multi-function printer to be, or that its driver can monopolize a host computer. It is also worth noting that if one selects "copy and shred" one could also just do nothing with the same effect.

===List of functions===
 Certain functions are lit green, indicating they are in use. To show which ones are in use, they are highlighted green (selected).

====''Functions that most all-in-one printers do''====
*'''{{w|Print}}''' (selected): The most common function that a printer needs to do. A digital document or graphic exists on a computer, is sent to the printer and the printer transfers the document onto paper using ink or toner.
*'''{{w|Photocopier|Copy}}''': A copy function allows a user to place a document on the integrated/linked scanning bed and the printer will immediately make a copy of the document as if a traditional 'analogue' photocopier.
*'''{{w|Fax}}''' (selected): A fax function sends a scanned document by telephone to another telephone number. The receiver fax machine will reconstruct the document and print it. A machine that has this function is usually also able to act as a receiver for faxes sent from elsewhere, though that setting wouldn't be visible in this configuration group.
*'''{{w|Image scanner|Scan}}''': A scan function is used to optically scan images or documents into digital forms so that they can be used by computers. It can be seen as the reverse operation of the printer function.
*'''{{w|Collate}}''' (selected): To sort multiple copies of printed documents into sequences of individual page order, usually across multiple output trays having one sequence for each copy, especially before binding.
*'''{{w|Staple (fastener)|Staple}}''' (selected): To staple together multipage documents, especially for each collated copy. This function is usually found only in high-end printers.

====''Functions that relate to printers or scanners, that most cannot do''====
*'''Staple Removal''': Although mechanical removal of staples can be done by various devices, it's often not a ''simple'' task. Staples can be bent and mangled in many ways, and detaching them from paper without causing damage can require fairly complex intelligence.
*'''{{w|Paper shredder|Shred}}''': A shredder function is used to destroy paper for privacy or security by cutting it into strips or fine particles. Normally this task is handled by another specialised machine called a shredder, but this time it is already inbuilt into the printer.
*'''{{w|Translate}}''': If the paper text is in another language, this would presumably translate it for you — after scanning and {{w|Optical character recognition|OCRing}}. This would actually be a helpful function and may be available on recent scanner-printers, although usually in the software that comes with the printer, on the host computer, rather than inside the printer itself.
*'''Add those {{w|Perforation|perforated}} edge strips that are so fun to tear''': In an earlier era, {{w|dot matrix printers}} and {{w|line printer|line printers}} were the common standard, and used a type of {{w|continuous stationery}}, which was manufactured with perforated strips along each side, with regularly spaced holes which allowed spiked wheels to advance the paper through the printer. Tearing these strips off after printing was once a standard task when using a printer. This type of stationery is now obsolete, but many people of Randall's generation become oddly nostalgic about removing the strips from the old style of paper -- the strips are kind of fun to play with. Note that the old stationery was designed such that the remaining page typically had a "standard" paper width, with the strips adding additional width. It's unclear if this function is adding ''perforations'' to standard paper, which would leave it too narrow once the resulting edge strips were removed, or is somehow adding perforated ''strips'' to it.

====''Functions completely unrelated to printing or scanning''====
*'''Summarize''': Presumably this function would summarize a printed material for the user. Similar to the translate function, a document would need to be scanned and OCRed first. Then a machine learning algorithm would comprehend the text and reduce it in length while keeping the important points. {{w|Automatic_summarization|Automatic text summarization}} does exist, although the technology is not as widely used as automatic translation.
*'''{{w|plagiarism|Plagiarize}}''': This function is unclear. Maybe it would plagiarize a paper for a certain subject? It would also be legally questionable. (Maybe it plagiarizes printer techniques, in which case this might be useful, though only in edgecases)
*'''Roll''': This function is unclear. Perhaps it would roll up paper into a roll, like how the newspaper is rolled up for distribution by paperboys.
*'''Burn''': Perhaps the printer has this function for greater assurance that sensitive information will be irretrievably destroyed. Historically, some printers could be at risk of catching fire if they jammed in a particular way, and so the "{{w|lp0 on fire}}" error code was created to signal that it should be investigated urgently.
*'''Eat''': A printer is often said to "eat" paper by mangling either the input or output. Printer failure is also the modern descendant of the classic excuse for late homework, "{{w|the dog ate my homework}}".
*'''{{w|paper airplane|Fold airplane}}''': This function makes paper airplanes out of paper stored in the printer, or documents being printed. Paper airplane folding machines [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdb_Rpv5p0 are a thing], so it'd be possible to design something to fold an origami flower, as well.
*'''{{w|Origami}} flower''': Similar to the previous one, this function makes flowers using the origami paper folding process.
*'''{{w|Corrugate}}''': {{w|Corrugated fiberboard}} or cardboard is a kind of crinkled paper sandwiched between two sheets. This provides structural strength for low weight. Printers that jam can produce a paper that looks corrugated, but this is not an intended function, and corrugated fiberboard is not made with printers.
*'''{{w|Papier-mâché}}''': (Literally "chewed paper") is a composite construction material consisting of paper pieces, bound with an adhesive, often a flour paste. The printer could use its "shred" and "eat" functions to produce the necessary materials, and any leftovers could be composted with the "biodegrade" function.
*'''{{w|Découpage}}''': An art form where paper printed with decorative images is glued onto an object (typically boxes, but also furniture) and covered with many layers of varnish so that the images appear painted onto the object.
*'''Notarize''' (selected): A {{w|notary public}} is a person certified by a government to attest that certain kinds of legal documentation are legitimate and executed. All-in-one printers and scanners may be able to recognize certain signs of legitimacy (e.g. the {{w|EURion constellation}}), but unless this printer has some tactile sensation, it cannot certify the identity of the person who signed the document as a human can.
*'''{{w|Biodegrade}}''': This would biodegrade the paper. Whether this would send it to an organic waste plant (which would be helpful) or actually house a composter inside the printer (which would be gross){{Citation needed}} is unknown.
*'''Crumple and throw at trash like basketball''' (selected): Many people, when done with a piece of paper, will crumple it up and throw it into a trash can from a distance as if playing basketball. This wouldn't be a very useful feature in a printer, especially relative to its complexity. For one thing, it would prevent the person who printed the document from using it (even if the user intends to throw away the paper eventually, presumably they need to use it at least once or they wouldn't print it), and it would also deny the user one of the few pleasures available in the office environment.

==Transcript==
:[A large printer-like machine, with the label All-in-One Paper Processor on the top left of it. There are three columns of functions, with a few of them having a green light. At the top of the machine is a "paper feed" tray. At the bottom of the machine, is a large hole, for outputting the paper.]

:'''Column 1'''
:*Print (lit green)
:*Copy
:*Fax (lit green)
:*Shred
:*Scan
:*Translate
:*Summarize
:*Plagiarize
:*Collate (lit green)

:'''Column 2'''
:*Staple (lit green)
:*Remove staples
:*Add those perforated edge strips that are so fun to tear
:*Roll
:*Burn
:*Eat

:'''Column 3'''
:*Fold airplane
:*Origami flower
:*Corrugate
:*Paper-mâché
:*Découpage
:*Notarize (lit green)
:*Biodegrade
:*Crumple and throw at trash like a basketball (lit green)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

2369: All-in-One

2020-10-12T11:12:17Z

John.Adriaan: Expanded "printing" to include "scanning" in headings

{{comic
| number = 2369
| date = October 7, 2020
| title = All-in-One
| image = all_in_one.png
| titletext = Changes with this update: If you use the combined scan-shred function, it now performs them in that order instead of the reverse, saving a HUGE amount of CPU time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THOSE PERFORATED EDGE STRIPS THAT ARE SO FUN TO TEAR. Needs an explanation of what all the functions do. Maybe give possible reasons to why Randall created this comic? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an xkcd-style parody of an {{w|all-in-one printer}}, a printer which typically can perform several functions, usually printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. This machine starts off with fairly standard printer functions but quickly becomes absurd. The machine is accordingly oversized, making room for all the status indicators and (presumably) the extra internal parts required to accomplish the uncommon functions.

The title text says that if both the scan and shred options are selected, it now scans things ''before'' trying to destroy them. Previously the machine destroyed documents and then scanned the pieces and tried to reconstruct them, which takes a large amount of processing power, as the attempts to recover the german Stasi Documents has shown, in addition to the fact that it is extremely hard to correctly scan shredded and crumpled documents.{{Citation needed}} The possibility of doing so raises the possibility that this printer itself is a even more complex computer than one would expect a multi-function printer to be, or that its driver can monopolize a host computer. It is also worth noting that if one selects "copy and shred" one could also just do nothing with the same effect.

===List of functions===
 Certain functions are lit green, indicating they are in use. To show which ones are in use, they are highlighted green (selected).

====''Functions that most all-in-one printers do''====
*'''{{w|Print}}''' (selected): The most common function that a printer needs to do. A digital document or graphic exists on a computer, is sent to the printer and the printer transfers the document onto paper using ink or toner.
*'''{{w|Photocopier|Copy}}''': A copy function allows a user to place a document on the integrated/linked scanning bed and the printer will immediately make a copy of the document as if a traditional 'analogue' photocopier.
*'''{{w|Fax}}''' (selected): A fax function sends a scanned document by telephone to another telephone number. The receiver fax machine will reconstruct the document and print it. A machine that has this function is usually also able to act as a receiver for faxes sent from elsewhere, though that setting wouldn't be visible in this configuration group.
*'''{{w|Image scanner|Scan}}''': A scan function is used to optically scan images or documents into digital forms so that they can be used by computers. It can be seen as the reverse operation of the printer function.
*'''{{w|Collate}}''' (selected): To sort multiple copies of printed documents into sequences of individual page order, usually across multiple output trays having one sequence for each copy, especially before binding.
*'''{{w|Staple (fastener)|Staple}}''' (selected): To staple together multipage documents, especially for each collated copy. This function is usually found only in high-end printers.

====''Functions that relate to printers or scanners, that most cannot do''====
*'''Staple Removal''': Although mechanical removal of staples can be done by various devices, it's often not a ''simple'' task. Staples can be bent and mangled in many ways, and detaching them from paper without causing damage can require fairly complex intelligence.
*'''{{w|Paper shredder|Shred}}''': A shredder function is used to destroy paper for privacy or security by cutting it into strips or fine particles. Normally this task is handled by another specialised machine called a shredder, but this time it is already inbuilt into the printer.
*'''{{w|Translate}}''': If the paper text is in another language, this would presumably translate it for you — after scanning and {{w|Optical character recognition|OCRing}}. This would actually be a helpful function and may be available on recent scanner-printers, although usually in the software that comes with the printer, on the host computer, rather than inside the printer itself.
*'''Add those {{w|Perforation|perforated}} edge strips that are so fun to tear''': In an earlier era, {{w|dot matrix printers}} and {{w|line printer|line printers}} were the common standard, and used a type of {{w|continuous stationery}}, which was manufactured with perforated strips along each side, with regularly spaced holes which allowed spiked wheels to advance the paper through the printer. Tearing these strips off after printing was once a standard task when using a printer. This type of stationery is now obsolete, but many people of Randall's generation become oddly nostalgic about removing the strips from the old style of paper -- the strips are kind of fun to play with. Note that the old stationery was designed such that the remaining page typically had a "standard" paper width, with the strips adding additional width. It's unclear if this function is adding ''perforations'' to standard paper, which would leave it too narrow once the resulting edge strips were removed, or is somehow adding perforated ''strips'' to it.

====''Functions completely unrelated to printing or scanning''====
*'''Summarize''': Presumably this function would summarize a printed material for the user. Similar to the translate function, a document would need to be scanned and OCRed first. Then a machine learning algorithm would comprehend the text and reduce it in length while keeping the important points. {{w|Automatic_summarization|Automatic text summarization}} does exist, although the technology is not as widely used as automatic translation.
*'''{{w|plagiarism|Plagiarize}}''': This function is unclear. Maybe it would plagiarize a paper for a certain subject? It would also be legally questionable. (Maybe it plagiarizes printer techniques, in which case this might be useful, though only in edgecases)
*'''Roll''': This function is unclear. Perhaps it would roll up paper into a roll, like how the newspaper is rolled up for distribution by paperboys.
*'''Burn''': Perhaps the printer has this function for greater assurance that sensitive information will be irretrievably destroyed. Historically, some printers could be at risk of catching fire if they jammed in a particular way, and so the "{{w|lp0 on fire}}" error code was created to signal that it should be investigated urgently.
*'''Eat''': A printer is often said to "eat" paper by mangling either the input or output. Printer failure is also the modern descendant of the classic excuse for late homework, "{{w|the dog ate my homework}}".
*'''{{w|paper airplane|Fold airplane}}''': This function makes paper airplanes out of paper stored in the printer, or documents being printed. Paper airplane folding machines [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdb_Rpv5p0 are a thing], so it'd be possible to design something to fold and origami flower, as well.
*'''{{w|Origami}} flower''': Similar to the previous one, this function makes flowers using the origami paper folding process.
*'''{{w|Corrugate}}''': {{w|Corrugated fiberboard}} or cardboard is a kind of crinkled paper sandwiched between two sheets. This provides structural strength for low weight. Printers that jam can produce a paper that looks corrugated, but this is not an intended function, and corrugated fiberboard is not made with printers.
*'''{{w|Papier-mâché}}''': (Literally "chewed paper") is a composite construction material consisting of paper pieces, bound with an adhesive, often a flour paste. The printer could use its "shred" and "eat" functions to produce the necessary materials, and any leftovers could be composted with the "biodegrade" function.
*'''{{w|Découpage}}''': An art form where paper printed with decorative images is glued onto an object (typically boxes, but also furniture) and covered with many layers of varnish so that the images appear painted onto the object.
*'''Notarize''' (selected): A {{w|notary public}} is a person certified by a government to attest that certain kinds of legal documentation are legitimate and executed. All-in-one printers and scanners may be able to recognize certain signs of legitimacy (e.g. the {{w|EURion constellation}}), but unless this printer has some tactile sensation, it cannot certify the identity of the person who signed the document as a human can.
*'''{{w|Biodegrade}}''': This would biodegrade the paper. Whether this would send it to an organic waste plant (which would be helpful) or actually house a composter inside the printer (which would be gross){{Citation needed}} is unknown.
*'''Crumple and throw at trash like basketball''' (selected): Many people, when done with a piece of paper, will crumple it up and throw it into a trash can from a distance as if playing basketball. This wouldn't be a very useful feature in a printer, especially relative to its complexity. For one thing, it would prevent the person who printed the document from using it (even if the user intends to throw away the paper eventually, presumably they need to use it at least once or they wouldn't print it), and it would also deny the user one of the few pleasures available in the office environment.

==Transcript==
:[A large printer-like machine, with the label All-in-One Paper Processor on the top left of it. There are three columns of functions, with a few of them having a green light. At the top of the machine is a "paper feed" tray. At the bottom of the machine, is a large hole, for outputting the paper.]

:'''Column 1'''
:*Print (lit green)
:*Copy
:*Fax (lit green)
:*Shred
:*Scan
:*Translate
:*Summarize
:*Plagiarize
:*Collate (lit green)

:'''Column 2'''
:*Staple (lit green)
:*Remove staples
:*Add those perforated edge strips that are so fun to tear
:*Roll
:*Burn
:*Eat

:'''Column 3'''
:*Fold airplane
:*Origami flower
:*Corrugate
:*Paper-mâché
:*Découpage
:*Notarize (lit green)
:*Biodegrade
:*Crumple and throw at trash like a basketball (lit green)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

2368: Bigger Problem

2020-10-07T17:12:17Z

John.Adriaan: Fixed typo: "to make" was doubled

{{comic
| number = 2368
| date = October 5, 2020
| title = Bigger Problem
| image = bigger_problem.png
| titletext = Your point that the world contains multiple problems is a real slam-dunk argument against fixing any of them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a <SOLUTION>. Please mention here why this world still has problems. Do NOT give up hope too soon (unless it's for another reason you will think of later).}}

[[Cueball]] is asking [[White Hat]] to help fix an unspecified problem with the world. Presumably, he is working for some form of charity, and perhaps asking for donations or signatures. White Hat responds by saying that Cueball doesn't care about the issue, and that he would be working to fix an unspecified larger issue if he ''really'' cared. Cueball then asks if White Hat would rather be working to solve that problem. However, White Hat says that he doesn't want to, but that he also hasn't come up with an excuse not to yet. White Hat seems as if he couldn't be bothered, and wants to go on with his life.

The claim that someone is not working towards an important issue, [https://what-if.xkcd.com/imgs/a/146/dontcare.png while not always completely invalid], is commonly used as a cheap tactic to ignore a solution to a problem, even when the person using it does want to help out with either cause and is also a {{rw|logical_fallacy|logical fallacy}} known as the "{{rw|Not_as_bad_as|Not as bad as}}" fallacy AKA [https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Relative-Privation Fallacy of Relative Privation] AKA {{tvtropes|AppealToWorseProblems|Appeal to Worse Problems}}. In the last panel of this comic, White Hat reveals that he isn't sufficiently devoted to either cause to act on them, so that his bringing up the larger issue appears less like interest in the larger issue than an excuse to not support Cueball's cause.

The title text furthers this point. While the argument used by White Hat is supposed to imply that the person giving the argument cares about an issue that matters more (to the exclusion of the other issue), it's often used, as seen in this comic, as an excuse to not work to fix any problem, making it "a real slam-dunk argument against fixing any of them."

Both causes in the comic are referred to ambiguously and surrounded with angle brackets to imply that they can be filled it with any two problems, as the comic is supposed to depict a common situation that happens during discussions of many different causes.

This comic is quite similar to [[871: Charity]] because both have a character that responds to people trying to help "by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem".

People sometimes use similar fallacious reasoning against ''themselves,'' thinking that they shouldn't tackle "simple" "unimportant" problems when there are "important" problems outstanding, even if the former are within their ability to handle but the latter aren't. This can be a form of self-sabotaging behavior.

In essence, this may be an example of the principle "The perfect is the enemy of the good." That is, it is better to make a small advance which does some good. If you insist on doing nothing until you cure everything to perfection, nothing will be done.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, holding a clipboard next to his body in his left hand, holds his right hand palm up towards White Hat.]
:Cueball: I'm trying to fix <problem with the world>. Can you help?

:[Cueball stands with both arms down while white Hat lift one hand up toward Cueball.]
:White Hat: It's obvious you don't actually care. If you did, you'd be trying to fix <bigger problem> instead.

:[Same setting as the first picture, wit Cueball's hand a bit further out towards White Hat.]
:Cueball: Okay, want to help fix <bigger problem>?
:White Hat: No, for another reason I'll think of later.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2359: Evidence of Alien Life

2020-09-23T15:45:25Z

John.Adriaan: /* Transcript */ Emphasised (de-emphasised?) that Cueball was asserting "it's not aliens"

{{comic
| number = 2359
| date = September 14, 2020
| title = Evidence of Alien Life
| image = evidence_of_alien_life.png
| titletext = Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROPRIATELY CAUTIOUS ALIEN BOT. ''Needs a table explaining each panel of the alignment chart like other such comics''. And more on the bottom panels. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic depicts a table of possible responses to new information on the possibility of alien life. It is presented in table form, with the columns representing three categories of reaction to new evidence, and the rows representing the strength of new evidence, increasing down the table. Each intersection then shows a small scenario of what the response would be. The left and right-hand column scenarios are hyperbolic in either their acceptance or denial. The center column represents a reasonable course of action.

This comic was a reaction to [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html the discovery of phosphine gas on Venus], which is where Ponytail's "V" figure in the second row comes from (a representation of the phosphine absorption feature). {{w|Phosphine}} is a molecule whose presence in the Venusian atmosphere came as a surprise. Light breaks phosphine down, meaning something must be producing it. However, there is no known abiotic mechanism on Venus that would produce the gas in the quantities observed. The phosphine could therefore be a sign of life on Venus, but more evidence is needed. Venus was also an unexpected place to find a possible sign of life — although it was {{w|Venus in fiction|a common pulp fiction setting in the early 20th-century}}, the arrival of the space probe era dashed hopes that the hidden surface might be, say, an exotic jungle (one of the more common pulp-fiction concepts). More recent efforts at finding life in the Solar System have mostly focused on Mars and various ice moons with suspected {{w|Ocean#Natural_satellites|subsurface oceans}}, but life more-or-less as we know it could exist within the upper atmosphere of Venus, which has more Earth-like conditions than the surface. However, while the discovery of phosphine is interesting, it is not nearly enough evidence to claim that "life has been found" on Venus, and likewise, it is comically understated to refer to the paper as "evidence of molecules" in Venus's atmosphere.

The title text refers to an action which is simultaneously too cautious and not cautious enough: the speaker is skeptical that aliens exist, which is usually an appropriate belief, except that presumably Megan and Cueball are in the situation presented in the bottom row, where aliens have landed right in front of them. Rather than modifying his belief (presumably it's Cueball, who was the one to approach the aliens in the other panels), he expresses an intention to approach the alleged aliens and attempt to remove their masks. He believes that he will expose a human wearing a costume, perpetrating a {{tvtropes|ScoobyDooHoax|"Scooby-Doo"-style hoax}}, but no matter what the outcome is, he's acting rashly. If the beings before him are aliens, he will be initiating a very aggressive first contact and will likely receive a violent response, and even if the alien is not violent, Cueball might end up removing an environmental apparatus that is protecting it from Earth's environment (or vice versa). On the other hand, even if the "aliens" really are fakes, Cueball might end up injuring someone who is just playing a harmless joke (and who'd want to keep ''some'' kind of mask on to reduce the spread of {{w|COVID-19}}).

===Description of responses===
In the first row, an asteroid looks like an "alien probe". The "least cautious" response immediately jumps to the conclusion that the asteroid '''is''' an alien probe. The "too cautious" response simply ignores the asteroid, while the "appropriately cautious" response seeks to discover more information about the asteroid.

The "alien probe" asteroid refers to {{w|'Oumuamua}}, which passed through the Solar System in 2017. 'Oumuamua's {{w|trajectory|hyperbolic trajectory}} indicated interstellar origin. Because of the unusual elongated shape suggested by its {{w|albedo}} (the object was never visualized as more than a point source of light) and indications of a slight non-gravity related acceleration, there were many wild speculations about 'Oumuamua's origin, including it being an alien probe similar to the one presented in the science fiction classic {{w|Rendezvous_with_Rama|Rendezvous with Rama}}. The image of an astronomer looking through a telescope and being alarmed by seeing "something huge" which is actually very small and very close is [https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/men-pleased-fake-ufo-293395676 an old comic gag], but the difference in parallax would immediately distinguish a close asteroid from a far one.

The second row refers to the discovery of phosphine gas on Venus, with the "least cautious" response to simply conclude that there '''is''' life on Venus. The "appropriately cautious" and "too cautious" responses provide more general conclusions about "molecules" on Venus.

In the final row, aliens have arrived on Earth. The insufficiently cautious approach is to immediately hug them. Cueball might make a new friend, but he might also be mistaken as an attacker, or perhaps the aliens are {{tvtropes|ToServeMan|intending to make a meal}} of whoever approaches them. The more responsible approach is to (consider attempting to) communicate at a distance. In the final panel, the United Nations building is being vaporized by energy beams. This is technically "just" a "possible biosignature", as there are abiotic stellar events that produce energetic beams (although those are usually the size of planets or stars rather than buildings) and the beams could also be {{w|The Pink Panther Strikes Again|of human origin}}, but debating such semantics in the face of such destructive power seems excessively pedantic. For that matter, even though that panel is presented as "too cautious", it's only "too cautious" in the sense of "discussing the possibility of alien life"; Megan and Cueball are showing extreme ''lack'' of caution by remaining in the vicinity of an alien attack.

The destruction of human governmental buildings is a common trope in science fiction films, as a way of aliens removing the ability of humanity to co-ordinate a response to an attack. The United Nations building is [https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/former-uk-official-reveals-plan-in-case-of-alien-invasion/ allegedly] the co-ordination centre for a worldwide response to an extraterrestrial incursion. However, since popular culture in the USA currently doesn't pay much attention to the United Nations, in American movies it is more commonly the White House or larger cities like New York or Los Angeles that get blown up by aliens.

==Transcript==

The comic is laid out like a grid, with implements down the left-hand side (Weak Evidence of Alien Life/ Promising Evidence/ Definite Evidence) and the type of "reaction" across the top (Not Cautious Enough / Appropriately Cautious/ Too Cautious). The grid illustrates the "match-ups".

From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the squares are as follows:

Row 1: Cueball, looking through a telescope
 
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "That asteroid is probably an alien probe"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid is weird and we should take a closer look". In smaller font: "It's not aliens"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Too Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid appears to be far away, but it could also be nearby and just very small"

Row 2: Ponytail, holding a tablet or pad with "V" on it, approaches Cueball
 
 
Promising Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Ponytail to Cueball - "They found life on Venus!"
 
Promising Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "Theses molecules might be produced by life or by weird high-heat chemistry"
 
Promising Evidence/Too Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "There is growing evidence that the atmosphere on Venus contains molecules"

Row 3: Flying saucers descend on Earth
 
 
Definite Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "I'm going to go give those aliens a hug!"
 
Definite Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "Oh wow, aliens! Should we try to communicate?"
 
Definite Evidence/Too Cautious: Megan - "The energy beams vaporizing the United Nations could be a possible biosignature"
 
 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:2361: Voting

2020-09-21T01:42:14Z

John.Adriaan: Explained (in as non-partisan way as I could) why RBG's death is important to this comic

To current and future readers: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died today. The timing of this comic may even coincide with this fact.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.67|162.158.74.67]] 03:54, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
: Maybe, but [[Randall]] has posted tons of election articles before, especially expressing his love for Hillary (and thus dislike for Trump). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.228|108.162.216.228]] 04:41, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
:I read it as a "just vote, don't even care who you vote for, but vote" thing. Maybe Randall will show his own ideas later (though I can only imagine the one way that he'll lean, having ruled out ruling ''everyone'' out) but this is only actually anti-Trump insofar as Trump undeniably courts anti-voting (in his favour), more than pretty much any of the ideological-opposites do (in theirs). Don't read much more into this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 10:36, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
:I {{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg|looked who she is}} but I'm still unsure how would the comics be related to that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:08, 20 September 2020 (UTC)
:@Hkmaly RBG was one of nine Supreme Court judges. She, like three others, leaned left ("Progressive"). Four lean right ("Conservative"), and one is centrist. Supreme Court judges hold their office for life. They are nominated by the current U.S. President, who historically nominates judges who lean the way they do. In the US, the Supreme Court, as the "Highest Court in the Land", can effectively overturn legislation or otherwise change society - for example, "Roe v Wade" is the Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in every State. If you want to change U.S. society to be more like you want, you'll vote for a President who leans your way -- not least because they will take the opportunity to stack the Supreme Court with "your" kind of judge. In early 2016, the majority Republican Senate refused to vote on the Democratic President's nomination because "it was an election year; we'll wait for the next President to be voted in." In late 2020, the majority Republic Senate will apparently fast-track the vote on whomever the Republican President nominates despite the election in less than six weeks. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:42, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

The election isn't two months from now; more like six weeks.
:It's also two months away. Not next month, but the one after that. Just, but it is. (I suppose I wouldn't have said this without also deciding I could remind people to sign the posts with the four tildes.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.36|162.158.155.36]] 15:09, 19 September 2020 (UTC) It's also "less than 2 months from the time of the comic's publication" so there's that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 10:52, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

"I will brave mobs of vigilantes armed with pistols, rifles and machine guns, to vote this year, if I have to." "OK, now you're just being ridicu... wait, I take that back." [http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/08/trump-wants-to-station-armed-guards-at-2020-polls Trump Wants to Station Armed Guards at the 2020 Polls] [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/gop-recruits-army-poll-watchers-fight-voter-fraud-no-can-n1217391 GOP recruits army of poll watchers to fight voter fraud no one can prove exists] [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 05:05, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

== Images not loading ==

Images on xkcd are failing to load with error 503 certificate has expired. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.6|162.158.238.6]] 00:32, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

And what-if.xkcd.com too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.197|162.158.183.197]] 00:34, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

2328: Space Basketball

2020-07-05T23:06:36Z

John.Adriaan: /* Explanation */ Replaced confusing comma with "or". The comma to separate the thousands, and the comma to separate the elements of the list, conflicted confusingly

{{comic
| number = 2328
| date = July 3, 2020
| title = Space Basketball
| image = space_basketball.png
| titletext = My shooting will improve over the short term, but over the long term the universe will take more shots.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a METEORIC BASKETBALL. Should discuss expected time to make 30 shots in a row at 30% (and other percentages), odds of meteorite impact, and maybe NBA Jam and Space Jam. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic strip is another one of Randall's [[:Category:My Hobby|strange hobbies]] (released within the same week as his last hobby comic, [[2326: Five Word Jargon]]). Randall wishes to play basketball but has nobody to play with, and so he chooses to play against {{w|outer space}}. (His previous attempt at creating a "[[2291: New Sports System|New Sports System]]" for multiplayer socially-distant basketball was not very successful.) His goal is to make thirty baskets in a row before the universe puts a meteor through his hoop. (Technically, it would be a ''meteorite'', the term given to meteors that reach the surface, rather than breaking up in the atmosphere.)

Randall estimates that his success rate at {{w|free throw|free-throw shooting}} is approximately 30%. Therefore, the chances of Cueball making 30 shots in a row is (0.3)^30, or about 1 in five quadrillion (2×10^-16); for comparison, there are approximately 150 quadrillion seconds remaining before the Sun engulfs the earth (5 billion years), so if Randall has a chute set up under the basket and enough basketballs to sustain a constant high rate of shooting, he has "decent" odds of achieving his goal before the Sun burns out. But really, Randall has comparably rapid learning at this task, whereas asteroids have extreme persistence far beyond Randall's life, so when he says the odds are comparable he is abstractly weighing his unique skillset against that of small stellar bodies. His patience and persistence needs to reach a threshold for his learning to outcompete the patience and persistence of meteors. And they can theoretically kill him if needed to win the competition, whereas he has no such recourse against them.

There is no evidence that meteors strike our planet out of anger. It is believed to be a circumstance of chance, possibly urgently suicidal messages of peaceful communication.

Still, the lifetime odds of being killed by a meteorite have been estimated at 1 in 75,000 or 600,000 or 700,000 [https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-probability-of-me-getting-killed-by-a-meteorite-in-the-next-one-hour]. These calculations are usually based on the probability of being alive at a time when a huge impact kills billions of people. Randall just uses the chance of one meteorite shot on Earth hitting this hoop (hoop-area / Earth-area = 3.2×10^-16) which is in the same range as (0.3)^30. Actual {{w|meteorite fall statistics}} report an average of 1.2 meteorites per year hitting the European continent which suggests that the average probability of Cueball winning after each shot attempt is about equivalent to a meteorite passing through the hoop over the period of 10 hours. Therefore Cueball has a better chance of winning than the universe "on the short term" if he makes more than 840 free-shot attempts per year for the rest of his life. The expected time for the universe to actually "complete" the challenge would be in the range of 8 billion years, the same magnitude to the current age of the universe and longer than the estimated remaining lifetime of the {{w|solar system}}.

In the title text, Randall assumes that he would get better at free throwing shooting with practice in his lifetime ("the short term"). Some of the world's best basketball players have free-throw percentages over 90%, and even professional players with reputations of being "poor" free-throw shooters (e.g. Shaquille O'Neal) are above 50%. If Randall can improve his percentage to 50%, his odds of sinking thirty baskets in a row improve to "nearly" one-in-a-billion, while a member of the elite {{w|50–40–90 club}} would have a probability better than four percent of making thirty free-throws in a row. Some specialists have achieved much higher success rates, with the record for most consecutive baskets being held by {{w|Tom Amberry}} with 2,750. If this "game against the universe" is of any cosmic significance (as in the 1996 comedy film ''{{w|Space Jam}}''), any of those players would be better representatives of Earth than Randall.

However he acknowledges that in "the long term" (the life of the universe, or at least the Earth), the Earth will be hit by very many meteorites; even though it is more likely that Randall will make his thirty free-throws before a meteor passes through his basket, he does not possess the cosmic lifespan{{Citation needed}} required to surmount the odds against him and actually have a good probability to witness either event.

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

:[Cueball is standing in front of a basketball hoop, holding a basketball.]
:Cueball: Okay, here are the rules:
:Cueball: I have to make 30 shots in a row before a meteor falls through the hoop.
:Cueball: I'm a 30% free throw shooter so the odds are actually pretty even.
:Cueball: Ready...go!

:[Caption below panel:]
:My hobby: playing basketball against space

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2327: Oily House Index

2020-07-01T23:48:08Z

John.Adriaan: /* Explanation */ Changed "April 2014" to "April 2020"

{{comic
| number = 2327
| date = July 2, 2020
| title = Oily House Index
| image = oily_house_index.png
| titletext = We're underwater on our mortgage thanks to the low price of water.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an OIL-FILLED HOUSE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In economics, an {{w|index (economics)|index}} is a statistical measure of change in a representative group of individual data points. Common indices include NASDAQ (a measure of a range of stock prices) and a consumer price index (a measure of retail prices)

This chart demonstrates an invented index, the "oily house index", which measures a ratio of oil price to average house prices, over time.

The numerator is the average price of a new home (presumably in the US), in USD per square foot. The denominator is the price of crude oil in USD per {{w|barrel (unit)|barrel}}.

The index is high when house prices are high and oil prices are low (such as during the 1999 oil glut), and low when house prices are low and oil prices are high (such as during the 1979 energy crisis).

;:{{w|1979 oil crisis|1979 energy crisis}}
::In the wake of the Iranian Revolution, global oil supply reduced by 4%, but caused widespread panic and a huge increase in oil price.
:;The {{w|Gulf War}} (August 1990 - Feb 1991)
::The Gulf War (August 1990 - Feb 1991) was the invasion of Iraq by the US, which decreased oil supplies and caused a spike in prices.
:;1999 oil glut
::In 2014, a strong US dollar caused a global decline in the price of oil, which is generally traded in US dollars.[https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/030315/why-did-oil-prices-drop-so-much-2014.asp]
:;Oil and housing crashes partly cancel out
:;2010s oil glut
:;OHI briefly became infinite as oil prices reached zero in 2020
::In April 2020, the coronavirus pandemic dramatically reduced vehicle and air transport, crashing oil demand. Oil prices actually went to zero, and even below, several times: oil producers paying consumers to take their oil, to avoid the costs of storing it.[https://www.afr.com/markets/commodities/oil-market-in-turmoil-as-price-falls-below-zero-20200421-p54lz3] Dividing anything by zero yields infinity, hence the "infinite oily house index".

The comic then applies {{w|dimensional analysis}} to this index: dividing $/sqft by $/bbl yields a result whose dimension is a linear measurement, which can be called length. The chart's caption then interprets that length as the depth that a new home could be filled with the crude oil that could be purchased with its price.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2323: Modeling Study

2020-06-23T01:08:41Z

John.Adriaan: /* Explanation */ Fixed punctuation to make sentence(s) read more clearly

{{comic
| number = 2323
| date = June 22, 2020
| title = Modeling Study
| image = modeling_study.png
| titletext = You've got questions, we've got assumptions.
}}

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

In this comic, a humorous comparison is drawn between two common types of scientific studies: {{w|empirical research}}, where an experiment is designed to test a scientific theory, and {{w|mathematical modeling}}, where mathematical formulations are produced to predict how physical systems behave under given circumstances. In empirical studies, hard questions about the limitations of existing theory tend to be addressed in the abstract, which is the brief summary of the paper that is presented at the beginning of most scientific articles. In modeling studies, assumptions based on existing theory are built into the model, and any problems associated with these assumptions tend to be discussed in the methods section, which outlines the design of an experiment in the case of an empirical study, or how the model was designed and the reasoning behind the choices made in the case of a modeling study. In the empirical study, the proverbial "big red problem box" is stated up-front where everyone who finds the paper will read it, while in the modeling study, it's buried in the middle of the paper, where it's less likely to be read.

The caption opens like a typical statement in favor of modeling studies, "A mathematical model is a powerful tool for taking hard problems," but while a researcher who works with models might go on to say "...and breaking them down," or "...and studying them in ways that would be impractical for empirical studies," Randall concludes that they can't actually make hard problems any easier. His title text, "You've got questions, we've got assumptions," plays on the usual platitude of "You've got questions, we've got answers" by pointing out that any answers provided are built on assumptions by the modelers. In other words, {{w|garbage in, garbage out}}.

For a more concrete example, consider the 2020 pandemic of COVID-19. Empirical studies measure things like infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, and the circumstances that lead to those events, and attempt to answer questions about how COVID-19 spreads, what measures are effective in preventing its transmission, what those measures' other costs and side effects are, and what therapies are effective in treating cases. These are made difficult by gaps in testing capability, the imperfections of those tests which are available, and the fact that all of the conditions of society are interconnected and constantly changing -- there is no "control universe" or any way to go back and try different ideas. Modeling studies offer the possibility to simulate thousands or millions of possible pandemics, to hopefully figure out those variables' effects in advance and offer guidance to governments and health workers, but without specific knowledge of COVID-19's properties. Especially in the early days of the pandemic, modelers must make assumptions about how COVID-19 spreads, kills, and is (or is not) treated. For pandemics especially, which behave exponentially until they are brought under control (or the pathogen burns through its host population), even small changes in model assumptions can lead to orders of magnitude difference between equally-plausible predictions (such as [https://www.newscientist.com/article/2238578-uk-has-enough-intensive-care-units-for-coronavirus-expert-predicts/ predicted deaths falling from half a million to 20,000]). Even if all such predictions are made earnestly, with the best available information, it can lead to distrust of the models and their results, especially if the models are presented to non-experts with too much certainty.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
(There are two columns)

(The column on the left is a piece of paper labeled "Empirical Study". The paper consists of the sections "Abstract", "Introduction", "Methods", "Results", and "Discussion". Each section consists of several horizontal lines meant to represent blocks of text. In the middle of the "Abstract" section, there is a large red rectangle. Inside this rectangle is the word "Problem" in large red letters.)

(The column on the right is a piece of paper labeled "Modelling Study". It consists of the same sections, but the large red rectangle with the word "Problem" is in the "Methods" section instead of the "Abstract" section.)

(There is a curvy arrow pointing from the red box in the paper on the left to the red box in the paper on the right.)

:[Caption below the panel:]
:A mathematical model is a powerful tool for taking hard problems and moving them to the methods section.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:2315: Eventual Consistency

2020-06-04T01:37:26Z

John.Adriaan: Asking about wording

The current explanation says that "Cueball's employer wants him to continue his work in the COVID-19 pandemic," but that's a "citation needed" sort of statement. Even if the comic is taken to be literally occurring on the day it is published (which is not always the case as comics have taken place in the past, the future, alternate presents, and even spanning large periods of time), there are perhaps multiple things adding up together to make it "hard to focus right now." In the USA, there's hot temperatures, civil unrest, economic woes springing from or accelerated by the pandemic, and even political considerations that may make it hard to focus (governmental responses to current events potentially being out of proportion with the events, etc). If Cueball is elsewhere in the world, there may be other local conditions that might make things hard to focus. There's stuff going on in Hong Kong, the Middle East, Brazil, Somalia, and all over the world that could be making it hard for someone in those locales to concentrate on their work even if the pandemic weren't a possible contributing factor.
: Is it me, or is "continue his work *in* the COVID-19 pandemic" also incorrect? It's a database, not (necessarily) anything to do with COVID-19. Perhaps "in" should be "during" (leaving aside the other arguments)? [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:37, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

Then, of course, since the comic doesn't specify what is causing it to be hard to concentrate, it's a bit deictic, and the comic can be linked as a response to multiple future situations (not all of them bad -- having a baby, for instance, can make it hard to concentrate on work.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.52|108.162.216.52]] 20:58, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

Side note: YouTuber Tom Scott explained ''eventual consistency'' in one of his ''[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL96C35uN7xGLLeET0dOWaKHkAlPsrkcha The Basics]'' videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_2gElt3SA "Why Computers Can't Count Sometimes"]. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 21:30, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

2310: Great Attractor

2020-05-26T00:42:13Z

John.Adriaan: Improved punctuation

{{comic
| number = 2310
| date = May 22, 2020
| title = Great Attractor
| image = great_attractor.png
| titletext = Living in the southern hemisphere was nice because I could jump extra high, but I like it here too. Besides, if I ever want to move back, I can just curl up in a ball and wait!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Greatly Attractive SpaceBORG9o. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. Needs reference to Dark Flow.}}

[[Cueball]] comments on the fact that as summer approaches, the sun rises earlier and sets later, a common topic of conversation, especially to complain that it is still light at times of day where you are used to it being dark out. [[Beret Guy]] comments that he fell off of the wall this morning, a seemingly unconnected topic.

People will often complain about falling out of bed as an indicator of having slept badly. The later sunset is often linked to worsened sleep [https://www.insider.com/why-its-hard-to-sleep-in-the-summer-2018-6]. However, Beret Guy didn't fall from the bed, he fell from the wall. While being able to figure out he's talking about his worsened sleep, Cueball is understandably confused, so Beret Guy clarifies.

Beret Guy is strongly affected by the {{w|Great Attractor}}, a large gravitational anomaly that influences the galaxies near it, but is difficult to observe directly. Beret Guy claims that the Great Attractor pulls on him unusually hard, which could be another one of his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. This attraction, while not overpowering the gravity of the Earth, (he states that he can "Jump extra high" in the title text) affects his life greatly.

While "normal" people can probably (if uncomfortably) lie down on the top of a boundary wall, for Beret Guy his attraction to the Great Attractor means that, at various times, like now, he can lie on the vertical surface of any wall (external or internal) that is currently oriented in a fortuitous direction (i.e. facing north). He fell off the wall this morning due the Great Attractor being below him during daylight hours and on the horizon during night hours. Maybe because the day starts earlier in the summer, he fell down unexpectedly. Although the location of the Great Attractor should not be linked directly to daylight here on Earth.

He gives a short explanation of which Attractor he refers to (the space one) and why the Great Attractor affects him. According to his doctors it is apparently caused by the motion of galaxies and how many dimensions his bones have. Since having less than 3 spatial dimensions may lead to trouble, his bones may be existing in more dimensions than our normal 3 dimensions of space and 1 of time. Galactic motions normally have no significant effect on a person with 3-D bones.

Beret Guy then says that day-sliding season is near, due to the Great Attractor being at the horizon in the day, and offers to run errands for Cueball in the South, implying that he will be pulled towards the south during day-sliding season, and can run much faster in that direction.

Beret Guy is not standing straight up during this comic, he has one knee slightly bent towards Cueball in the first two panels. This is because it is evening (8:00 PM as Cueball states) and the Great Attractor is now coming near the horizon, where it will be during the night. So Beret Guy will be pulled towards the south, behind him in the comic, and thus leans away from the pull. In the final panel, when he leaves Cueball, moving right towards south and into the pull, he can bee seen sliding along the ground without walking. He leans a bit back to not stumble forward. His last sentence also indicates that he either speeds up or that he is a little uncertain on his feet altering his voice.

He mentions that at the moment during day-time the Great Attractor is beneath him so he can stand straight. He then just feels a little heavier (he will thus weigh more than another person with the same mass).

In the title text he says he liked living in the south because the Great Attractor was often above him, meaning he could jump higher with the help of its pull (and would weigh less than a normal person with same mass). Since he could jump, the force is clearly weaker than Earth's gravity, but still enough for him to easily slide over the ground when it is near the horizon. So he could likely win some high-jump or long-jump competitions if he chose the right time and place.

Being Beret Guy, he is never really unhappy, so he states that he also likes it here (in the north). But then he continues to comment on how easy it will be for him to get to the south. Because if he entirely stopped bracing himself against the pull by crouching into a more spherical shape, and just waited for the Great Attractor to get near the horizon again, then the pull would cause him to start rolling over the ground to some place with lower net gravitational potential, i.e. further south, where the Great Attractor will be more directly over his head.

A prior example of an xkcd character with alternate gravitational susceptibility is [[417: The Man Who Fell Sideways]], where a consistent off-vertical pull somehow applies (rather than one linked to a spot on the stellar sphere). In [[1376: Jump]] Cueball floats sideways across the ground a bit above Earth, in a similar idea to being pulled sideways.

See also these other fictional examples of [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/872243.The_Revolving_Boy 'personalized'] [https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Tethys gravitational] [https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Sally_Cambric susceptibilities].

Beret Guy has previously been interested in strange attracting forces in the universe, in [[502: Dark Flow]], where he hoped it was his mom and wished she would pull on him. It was though not about the Great Attractor, and the force did not clearly affect him, although his love for his mom did affect two space probes, as mentioned in the title text.

===More detail===
Some of the humor of the comic has to do with the immense differences in scale between Beret Guy and the Great Attractor.

In very round numbers our own {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy is 150,000 - 200,000 light years across. It is just one of several galaxies in something called the {{w|Local Group}}, which is around 10,000,000 light years across. And the Local Group is itself in something called the {{w|Virgo Supercluster|Local Supercluster}} (also called the Virgo Supercluster), around 110,000,000 light years across. Each galaxy, each group, and each {{w|supercluster}} is not just a chance alignment, but is a gravitational coherent structure. And all this is just yet a part of the even larger {{w|Laniakea Supercluster}} in which also the Great Attractor is located, along with more than 100,000 other galaxies, in a region of space spanning more than 500 million light years.

Something unpredictable (hence "anomalous") is going on with the galaxies in the Local Supercluster (including our own). These galaxies are indeed accelerating away from one another as seen by their red shift. {{w|Hubble's Law}} predicts the expansion should be uniformly proportional to their distance from Earth and from one another. But for the Local Supercluster something is restricting the expansion. That something is, as "viewed" from Earth, somewhere in the direction of the Southern Triangle constellation but 250,000,000 light years distant, and has (but only since 1988) been termed the Great Attractor. The Great Attractor can't conveniently be seen at visible wavelengths, because that direction is the so-called {{w|Zone of Avoidance}}: the area of the night sky obscured by our own Milky Way.

Boiling this all down: something a quarter of a billion light years away that makes an anomalous blip in the local rate of expansion of the universe, and whose existence astronomers deduce only by X-ray observations of stellar red-shift, has large-scale effects on everyday gravitational forces uniquely experienced by Beret Guy. OK, now you can smile.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Beret Guy stand next to each other, talking. Beret Guy leans towards Cueball by bending down one knee.]
:Cueball: I can't believe it's still light out. It's 8:00 PM!
:Beret Guy: Seriously! This morning I fell off the wall.

:[In a frame-less panel with the same setting Beret Guy is looking and pointing to the right.]
:Cueball: Wait, why were you sleeping on the wall?
:Beret Guy: The Great Attractor is near the horizon at night right now.

:[Zoom in on Beret Guy, who hold one hand palm up towards Cueball who is speaking to him off-panel.]
:Cueball (off-panel): The Great Attractor?
:Beret Guy: Yeah! The space one.
:Beret Guy: It pulls on me extra hard. Doctors said it's something to do with galactic motion and how many dimensions my bones have.

:[Cueball is still standing as Beret Guy slides away to the right, while looking and leaning back towards Cueball. He holds his arms slightly out, to keep his balance. Lines behind him and at his feet indicates his motion, even if he is clearly not walking. In his last word the letters becomes italic after Good and the last three Ts becomes smaller and smaller than the previous letters.]
:Beret Guy: This time of year, it's below us all day, so I stand vertically. But day-sliding season is near!
:Beret Guy: Let me know if you have any errands to run to the south!
:Beret Guy: Good''niiighttt''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2310: Great Attractor

2020-05-25T02:27:32Z

John.Adriaan: Added another external reference to a person affected by gravity

Talk:2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-05T01:00:53Z

John.Adriaan: Posed a curious question

The graph for US searches for those terms for the past year from Google Trends can be seen here: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2019-05-05%202020-05-04&geo=US&q=sewing%20machine,webcam,andrew%20cuomo,flour,pangolin
: OK, now I want to see a Google Trends graph ''for the above exact search''! [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:00, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Anyone have any idea about the September spike and December bump in webcam searches? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.93|162.158.74.93]] 22:49, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

The September spike seems to be due to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Dorian. This can be traced down by google trends when narrowing down the date range and looking at the top search phrases that hint at the Bahamas. 22:52, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

I agree. There's a spike for webcams every September since 2017, along with a small spike aligning with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and a spike in October 2018 with Hurricane Michael. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.104|162.158.78.104]] 00:03, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Why is the webcam search profile so different for worldwide vs. US? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.229|172.68.132.229]] 23:36, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-14T03:44:14Z

John.Adriaan: Gave an example alternate description to the Game of Life rules

This is really very impressive. The design of the stick figure to allow it to release a glider that ascends upwards (the "soul" rising to "heaven" or whatever) with the body decaying - that's a hard thing to get right using just the Game of Life rules. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.175|172.69.68.175]] 17:49, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Although Randall is clever, the Game of Life has been studied for so long that I'm sure this is a well-known animation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:: I played with the game a bunch in the past, but I've only done a bit of research after this appeared. I don't immediately find any previous report of this starting arrangement
:: This is unlikely, as the Game of Life has an uncountable number of patterns of this size, some of which are still being discovered. The pattern above is 7 cells wide by 9 cells tall - the number of distinct patterns that can be drawn in that box nears 2 --> 60 --> 1 (2^60). It's most likely that patterns such as this one are commonplace, and Randall just fiddled around until he reached one that he desired. The pattern itself, however, has likely never been discovered before. (As a fun postscript, [http://catagolue.appspot.com/object/xp16_0c2w3vz33032988/b3s23 a notable 8-cell wide, 9-cell tall pattern oscillating at period 16], just slightly larger than the one above, was discovered in February 2020.)[[User:Hdjensofjfnen|Hdjensofjfnen]] ([[User talk:Hdjensofjfnen|talk]]) 21:31, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

was there a placeholder comic posted before the gif went live?

Looks like this is second animated comic in xkcd, besides 1116(though 1190 could be possibly counted together) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.190.16|172.69.190.16]] 19:34, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Uh, [[1331: Frequency]] and [[1264: Slideshow]] immediately come to mind, and then I remember about [[961: Eternal Flame]]. There's a lot more than two. [[User:Volleo6144|Volleo6144]] ([[User talk:Volleo6144|talk]]) 19:43, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
::[[:Category:Comics with animation]]; just added it. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 20:19, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

The explanation says that the simulation is run on an infinite grid, but even when the grid is calculated out beyond the border of the viewable area, bounding errors & boundary formations can occur. I've never seen ''any'' implementation that actually produces an infinite, nor even ''practically'' infinite grid. (In fact, wasn't there a Minecraft mod that runs until it lags out the engine?) Can anybody point me to a truly infinite grid implementation? Conway's ''definitely'' was not infinite, he even commented at length about the boundary formations that show up at the grid edges (which are among the most subjectively beautiful, incidentally). I think the explanation needs correction?
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:59, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
: The explanation is describing Conway's game of life, not any particular implementation IMHO. No change needed IMHOA. Also, the previous post was not signed properly. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.167|162.158.107.167]] 21:47, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
::Except many of Conway's observations about the "game" & even ''his initial description'' of it explicitly state & indeed hinge upon the fact that it's not (& thus far ''cannot'' be) implemented as an "infinite" grid. Part of the whole point of his experiment with it & the various demonstrations is to illustrate edge effects resulting from a finite range of calculations. '''It's extremely relevant that it's''' '''''not''''' '''infinite.''' It's actually kinda the whole point of his creating it, much the same way people working with fractals likewise tend to become very interested in bounding errors. The boundaries are where the interesting work is done. Apparently someone agreed with me at least in part, because they edited the wording. Thanks... Brian? I think we should actually '''add''' to the description of the "game" info highlighting the edge effects, because that's the primary focus of the project & its outgrowths in the first place. (We can't adequately simulate infinity & that's a big part of the interest in it.) Also, I frequently have to submit & then refresh & sign afterward because of the device I'm on. In this case I'm glad I did, because I saw your reply & the other new stuff!
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:17, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Golly uses a grid of arbitrary size by default. It can very easily be verified to at least ±210000. (Note that it also includes finite rectangular and toroidal grids.) [[User:LegionMammal978|LegionMammal978]] ([[User talk:LegionMammal978|talk]]) 01:39, 14 April 2020 (UTC)
No computer [Citation Needed] can run an ''actual'' infinite grid, but with some intelligent bounding you can mitigate early signs of problems by maintaining "bubbles" of cells with offsets. You get into problems once you start machine-gunning out gliders (offsets will eventually overflow or awkwardly lose precision, depending on the var-types used; and maintaining a longer and longer bubble, or more and more bubbles just above glider-sized, is probably your other challenge) but it's probably good enough for most purposes. If you somehow have finite patterns that move out in huge (wasteless) cycles from the 'origin' and hold that path until enacting hugely-delayed doglegs (mathematically, it must be a point no further away than can be reasonably enumerated by the bits of information contained within each formation, and significantly less as it'd be a far less efficient count-down cycler than any folded LFSR, but it's ''imaginable'') to meet again at some arbitrary (though deterministic and replicable) distance out in the far far reaches of your abstracted bubble-land then it's possible you could ''pretend'' you have infinite space. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.101|162.158.91.101]] 22:26, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]], do you have a source for your claim that the main point of Conway's creation of Life was to study the edge effects? [https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life The page for Life on its own wiki] describes the Life grid as "infinite" and only mentions edge effects as inaccuracies to be avoided, and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Plq-D1gEk this Conway interview about Life's creation] doesn't mention edges at all.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.24|108.162.241.24]] 23:34, 13 April 2020‎ (UTC)
:First of all, as a tip, reply directly to the comment when you want to talk with someone. Secondly, yeah, I'm pretty sure that person's just blasting ass ham. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.28|172.69.69.28]] 02:49, 14 April 2020 (UTC)

Possibly worth noting is the bit of artistry in the rendering. Munroe alters the step period of the iterations so that the deconstruction of the humanoid shape happens more quickly, with the stepping of the glider translating away occurring more slowly. [[User:Fixer|Fixer]] ([[User talk:Fixer|talk]]) 21:52, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

I like the comic very much, and I'm afraid to say I hadn't heard of his death in amongst... well, everything else. RIP.
While I'm here, though, I'm a bit concerned about the current cell generation cycle explanation, as it feels awkward. Currently it is (paraphrased) "live cells survive if just enough neighbours / dead cells come to life with exactly enough neighbours / any other dies or stays dead". I'd prefer something that more delineates it as birth (dead to live, by propogation from the right number of live neighbours), death (live to dead due to ''either'' isolation ''or'' overcrowding) and continuation of state in all other cases. Can't work out a good phrasing yet, but ''may'' try it out later. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.101|162.158.91.101]] 22:26, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
: Agreed 100%. I believe the problem lies in the confusion between "cell as in biology" versus "cell as in jail". It would be better to avoid the word "cell" and describe a grid with squares that are either inhabited or empty; inhabitants with two or three neighbours survive to the next generation, otherwise they die (square becomes empty the next generation); exactly three neighbours to an empty square will give birth (become inhabited) in the next generation; and any other empty square stays empty.

Talk:2287: Pathogen Resistance

2020-03-31T04:38:45Z

John.Adriaan: Pointed out double negative

Note that the title text says "not not" -- meaning we're both trapped in here together [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 04:38, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2284: Sabotage

2020-03-23T05:48:04Z

John.Adriaan: Agreed!

I don't entirely understand this comic (else I wouldn't be here), but I don't think that the current explanation is on the right track. It doesn't fit with the title, Sabotage. My reading is that some people are planning to get together IRL, and Cueball is threatening to sabotage their event with Baby Shark and skunks, presumably hoping that they'll call it off. [[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 05:19, 23 March 2020 (UTC)
: +1! [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 05:48, 23 March 2020 (UTC)

User:John.Adriaan

2020-01-09T10:51:18Z

John.Adriaan: Original introduction

== John Adriaan ==

I'm a quirky individual (of course), who loves to read another's "take" on the quirks around us. I'm not creative enough to enumerate those of others, but I fully appreciate Randall Munroe's efforts!

To prove my ''bona fides'', I'm a software developer who loves to use assembly language. If ''that's'' not an anachronism in my profession, then nothing is!

2226: Recombination And Reionization

2019-11-13T13:18:02Z

John.Adriaan: /* Transcript */ It's most definitely an audio switch, not a namby pamby digital keypress...

{{comic
| number = 2226
| date = November 8, 2019
| title = Recombination And Reionization
| image = recombination_and_reionization.png
| titletext = These signals seem to be pre-star-formation but post-Malone.
}}

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

The {{w|hydrogen line}} is a {{w|spectral line}} of neutral (un-ionized) hydrogen atoms. The electrons in an atom have a property called spin, equal to either 1/2 or -1/2, and one "spin state" of the electron in neutral hydrogen has slightly more energy than the other spin state. This means that when the electron in a hydrogen atom spontaneously switches its spin state, it releases a photon at a certain frequency called the hydrogen line. This line falls in the {{w|microwave}} region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with a frequency of ~1.42 gigahertz (GHz). The wavelength corresponding to this frequency is about 21.1 centimeters, giving it the common name of the 21-centimeter line. In this comic, [[Ponytail]] is attempting to detect the signal of this emission line from the ancient universe, although due to {{w|redshift}}, the line's frequency has decreased from 1.4 GHz to only ~100 megahertz (MHz), putting it in the current {{w|FM broadcast band}}. In most parts of the world, FM radio makes use of frequencies from 87.5 to 108 MHz.

The problem that FM radio and the signal for which Ponytail is searching overlap in frequency quickly becomes apparent when tuning to the frequency detects a local radio station rather than the desired signal. The radio station is called Hot 92.7: The Vibe; this indicates that Ponytail is searching for a signal at 92.7 MHz, but there is a [https://vibe927miami.com/ radio station] interfering with it. She demonstrates this to [[Cueball]] by playing the live signal for him, but says that once the radio DJ stops talking, their research will result in a {{w|Nobel Prize}}. This is unlikely, as most radio stations broadcast 24 hours a day without ever stopping (except in cases of power failure, which would also affect Ponytail's radio telescope). An unstated joke is that Ponytail's observational setup receives the FM radio signal at all; any actual {{w|radio telescope}} would have incorporated methods from its inception to exclude local sources of radio signals such as FM radio.

Cueball points out that perhaps the signal is what the supposed primordial hydrogen line actually sounds like during the phase of universe formation called {{w|reionization}}. Ponytail jokes back that the primordial universe must enjoy playing popular singer {{w|Selena Gomez}}. Although it is theoretically possible that a naturally occurring radio transmission might sound like music to humans, it would not contain clearly understandable coherent sentences in a language that did not exist when the transmission was created.{{fact}}

The title text refers to the signal Ponytail is detecting, claiming that it originates from before the formation of the first stars in the universe (which took place approximately 150 to 200 million years after the {{w|Big Bang}}), but is additionally post-Malone. "{{w|Post Malone}}" is the stage name of a popular hip hop musician and singer, so this is a play on words, as the "Post" in his stage name isn't referring to "after" something, but is simply his (real) last name, and perhaps a play on the expression "a star is born" for an artist becoming a famous celebrity.

==Transcript==

:[Panel showing Ponytail sitting working at some type of console, possibly in her laboratory. Cueball is standing on the other side of the console, facing her.]
:Ponytail: Our lab is trying to pick up the spin line of neutral hydrogen. It's the only radiation from the era before the first stars formed.

:[Panel showing Ponytail and Cueball. Ponytail has paused working, with one hand raised off the console.]
:Ponytail: It was 1.4 GHz at first, but by now it's redshifted to the 100-MHz range.
:Cueball: Isn't that also where FM radio broadcasts?

:[Frameless panel showing Ponytail and Cueball. Ponytail is pressing a key on the console to enable and disable a live signal from her lab's equipment.]
:Ponytail: Yeah. That's the problem. Listen:
:Sound of switch on console: *Click*
:Audio signal from console: ''You're tuned to Hot 92.7: the Vibe! Coming up next...''
:Sound of switch on console: *Click*

:[Panel showing Ponytail and Cueball. Ponytail has resumed working at the console, and Cueball has raised a hand to his chin.]
:Ponytail: But once this guy stops talking, that Nobel Prize will be '''''ours'''''.
:Cueball: Maybe that's not a station – maybe that's just what reionization sounds like.
:Ponytail: Reionization plays a lot of Selena Gomez.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[category: Astronomy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2226: Recombination And Reionization

2019-11-10T23:44:19Z

John.Adriaan: Noted word similarity with "union" causing confusion

I'm pretty sure the joke in the title text is the juxtaposition of the name of the musician Post Malone with the term pre-star-formation, I can't find any info suggesting he's in any way associated with Selena Gomez. Does anyone see anything more to it than a pre- and post- thing? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 05:11, 9 November 2019 (UTC)
: I feel absolutely certain that the title text is ONLY because "Post" is a ridiculous first name, it isn't a name, so Randall is having fun with it. LOL! I could believe this entire comic was constructed around Randall's desire to make fun of the name. It also serves as another artist to add to the crossover jokes, and is actually the ultimate crossover joke as being a connection between the two concepts of radio station and wave monitoring. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:31, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Because it's a convenient number with our unit system, wouldn't millions of devices emit 100MHz noise? I feel that should be added, but I don't know how.

The comic might also be tangentially referencing the 5G network roll out, which like this radio station will also preclude (specifically weather) science from happening. In the case of the 5G networks, the FCC auctioned off the 24ghz band to telecom companies, where water vapor in our atmosphere actually emits a faint signal around 23.8ghz. Any bleed from the 24ghz band into the 23.8 band can and will (according to NOAA) interrupt weather prediction. [https://www.wired.com/story/5g-networks-could-throw-weather-forecasting-into-chaos/]

I suspect that "Hot" and "The Vibe" from the radio station are both references to the science behind this, too. [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 23:17, 9 November 2019 (UTC)

I'm sure I'm not the only non-science reader to have read that first sentence with the word derived from "union" rather than "un-ionized". I laughed with its juxtaposition to the word "neutral"... Can we break with convention and hyphenate the word please? [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 23:44, 10 November 2019 (UTC)


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

Talk:2225: Voting Referendum

2019-11-07T02:52:24Z

John.Adriaan: /* Lousiana Primary */ Fixed title text ~~~~

OK, I just created a massive edit conflict, I see. Will move my content into the appropriate parts of the template already in place. [[User:Silverpie|Silverpie]] ([[User talk:Silverpie|talk]]) 20:37, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

If there is disagreement about which edits are better, we should vote on it. Which system of voting would be best for that? [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:08, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

== Louisiana Primary ==
I didn't know - WikiP: The so-called Louisiana primary is the common term for the Louisiana general election for local, state, and congressional offices.[1] On election day, all candidates for the same office appear together on the ballot, often including several candidates from each major party. The candidate who receives a simple majority is elected. If no candidate wins a simple majority in the first round, there is a runoff one month later between the top two candidates to determine the winner. This system is also used for United States Senate special elections in Mississippi and Texas, and all special elections for partisan offices in Georgia.[2][[User:Afbach|Afbach]] ([[User talk:Afbach|talk]])

This is also known as a "Jungle Primary" and is also done in Washington state and California. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 20:00, 6 November 2019 (UTC)


I had to resolve an editing conflict in the first paragraph with another editor, but please feel free to further resolve our differing edits. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 20:26, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

== Single Transferable Vote ==
The text says "100%/(k+1)". Surely this should be "100%/k + 1", or "100%/k, plus one person"? Say k is 4. The current text implies that only 20% is required, when it should be 25%, plus one person. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:55, 7 November 2019 (UTC)
:Setting a quota at 25% plus one person would only allow 3 people to be elected, as once that happens there would be less than 25% of the vote left to count which wouldn't be enough to elect anyone else. Setting the quota at 100%/(k+1) means that k people can be elected before the remaining vote isn't enough to elect anyone else (setting the quota at exactly 100%/k, by the way, has also been used and is known as the {{w|Hare quota}}). [[User:Arcorann|Arcorann]] ([[User talk:Arcorann|talk]]) 02:21, 7 November 2019 (UTC)
:Say k is 4. Then 100%/(4+1) = 20%. So, yes, it's possible that you could end up with 5 people all getting exactly 20%. But a perfect 5-way tie like that would be extremely unlikely. Other than that very improbable result, only 4 people could get elected, as is desired. Imagine, for example, one person gets ''juuust'' over 20% of the vote. Even just that little bit over means there's '''less than''' 80% of the vote left for the other four. Which means only 3 of the remaining 4 people could get over the 20% threshold.

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

Talk:2225: Voting Referendum

2019-11-07T01:55:46Z

John.Adriaan: Queried "Single Transferable Vote"

Talk:2213: How Old

2019-10-10T04:23:44Z

John.Adriaan: Added musings on Randall's relatives

Interestingly enough this comic is actually not about [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|feeling old]]... Even with this title. Was all surprised :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:37, 9 October 2019 (UTC)
:Well for many elderly people it is quite a nuisance to be treated like a little kid, especially when in retirement homes. While some might enjoy childish activities, for others, especially those whose mental state may be better than their physical, it is very annoying to be "forced" to play children games. That, and that being treated like a kid, kinda makes them notice their age even more. So even though this doesn't make the reader old (unless the reader is at an age where being treated similar to a child is a regular experience), it might make Cueballs dad feel old. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:42, 9 October 2019 (UTC)

:For adults, especially Women, it is often considered rude to ask for their age. Whereas for kids, and to a lesser extent for elderly adults, it can be considered polite to ask about their age. In the case of kids, they are very aware of their age and how it relates to others, and are usually happy to talk about it. For the elderly, their age can be a source of pride if many of their peers have died but they are still in relatively good health. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 17:14, 9 October 2019 (UTC)

"I'd like you to meet my ''$foo''." 
"Aww, what's [ten times] the natural logarithm of their age?" 
[[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 11:21, 9 October 2019 (UTC)
:You mean the base 10 logarithm or the ln? {{unsigned|172.68.65.252|23:13, 9 October 2019}}
::Well, '.252, I think "natural logarithm" is pretty clear. It means ''ln''. In this case, I chose the natural log because human development is far more rapid around age 2.718281828 than it is around age 10. So a ''deciln()'' of 10 or 20 or 30 corresponds to an ''e''-year-old, a 7 year-old, or a 20-year-old. Whereas in base 10, it'd be a 10-year-old, a 100-year-old, or a 1000-year-old. That's a lot less useful. I also like the idea of a negative ''deciln()'' indicating a person who probably can't meaningfully speak. If the max human lifetime is 160 years, a ''deciln()'' gives a range from -58 to 51, which is a more helpful than base ten range of -25 to 22. Contrariwise, I agree that a range -100 to +100 has some appeal, which would suggest a base of 1.6611, but since that's not a common log base, I did not sugggest it. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 23:57, 9 October 2019 (UTC)
::: +1! I ''really'' like this idea! [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 04:23, 10 October 2019 (UTC)

While old people ''may'' indeed become more "compressed" (as per current version of explanation - skeletal or specifically spinal one presumes, though head hair might be flatter and less prominent) perhaps the word "stooped" would be better, as it covers a dec(/inc)line of posture (involuntary or passively voluntary spinal curveture converting youthful height into a lean, bandied/steadying sacrificing verticality legs, hunching of the kneck, lessening of chest inflation and general hunching) as well as the age-related joint compression and bone decalcification effects. (Another possible reference is that the one remembering how high the person was might have been shorter themselves the last time they could have held their hand up to a given height, so their self-centric relative measure is now overheight to the 'datum' of the already matured person in front of them. But I actually do think that elder-shrinkage ''is'' the actual intention of the words, if it's just one thing.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 15:39, 9 October 2019 (UTC)

== Randall's relatives ==
Given Randall's inclination to use a sailor's cap to represent older relatives, I wonder if ''his'' father was a sailor? [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 04:23, 10 October 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2212: Cell Phone Functions

2019-10-08T00:16:43Z

John.Adriaan: *Shudder!*

I know of someone who DID build a taser into a phone... (but that's all it is now, was no space for the phone's electronics anymore) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.39|172.69.54.39]] 08:05, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
: Well, there are actual commercial taser phone cases available for purchase today - [https://youtu.be/XaJSYxit1qI here's one example]. Not necessarily a good idea and not legal everywhere, but it exists. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 12:03, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

It seems a bit peculiar that one of the move "obvious" devices a cellphone can replace is missing: the watch. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 08:18, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
: That's because no one sane would do that ;) Some may use a Smart Watch instead of a classic watch but except of the case when you were used to pocket watches anyways a replacement of a wacth by a phone would be a downgrade usability wise. /edit: That being said: My personal "Now" bar is at the first quarter (more or less at the web browser's bar end) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:29, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

:: I realize it's unlikely you're being entirely serious here, but the same argument applies to almost all of the devices listed in this comic. So…no, that's not the reason for its omission. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 08:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
::: Actually I was dead serious. Well except of the "no one sane" part. I don't want to offend anyone :) In the time you take your phone out of the pocket to check the time I've looked thrice at my wrist watch [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:54, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:::: The time taken isn't awfully relevant, unless you're checking the time awfully frequently. For the number of times a day I need to check the time when I'm not at a computer or already looking at my phone, the convenience of a wristwatch could easily be outweighed by the inconvenience of taking it off and putting in on each day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.69|162.158.178.69]] 09:34, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
::::: Assuming you'd put it off. ;) (Despite the emoticon I'm serious again. I only put my watch off to change the battery) And even if I would put it off it would be more likely I forgot my phone on my desk than forgetting to put the watch on. I'm wearing a wrist watch since I was 8 or 9. But granted, the time is not as relevant as the fact that you have to put a device from out of somewhere and push a button to activate the screen just to check time. But in the end it's just a matter of personal taste and habit, I guess. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:02, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
::::::Yeah, whether it's as convenient or even as good is irrelevant: Cell phones are not as good at photos as a dedicated camera but they are used for that because they can do it without the need for a separate device, which is the point of this comic. Most people do not wear watches anymore & just use their phones instead. Watches really would belong on this list, except it might be more difficult to pin down a transitional point! Some of us stopped needing watches when we realized our Nokia 3390 had a clock in the corner. Other people may have whattimeisitrightnow dot com on their smartphone's home screen... [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:44, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:::: A phone in the pocket is infinitely better for me than a watch because watches make the skin underneath the wristband itch from the continuous contact. (I have atopic dermatitis.) -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.135|162.158.93.135]] 13:35, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
: there was a brief period between ubiquitous cell/mobile phone use and the advent of the smartwatch where experts predicted the demise of the watch other than as a piece of jewellery [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 08:46, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
: I always hated wearing a watch - I do sometimes use my phone for finding the time - but "Hey Google - what time is it?" works without taking it out of my pocket. The thing is though - watches were obsolete before the smartphone existed. When just about 100% of electronic devices have clock display - my cooker, microwave, toaster, car, TV, computer, etc, etc ALL tell me the time. Why would I need a watch? SmartWatches seem like a retrograde step. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:17, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:: Well, with a watch you always know, where to look, especially when not in your own home. So just looking at your own wrist is much faster, then scanning your enviroment for the nearest screen. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:29, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
::"Smart Watches" that don't do much without a smartphone to connect to seem especially backwards to me. A smart watch with cellular radio would be useful on its own. Side note: So _you're_ that one person who leaves voice activation on all the time!?! Setting the very real privacy & safety issues aside for a moment... Doesn't it trigger from random conversations on an almost daily basis? I don't even know anyone who was able to leave Siri or Alexa on touchless, much less Google. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:I agree, it seems to me that the majority of people who had a cell phone as a teenager never acquired the habit of wearing a watch. I happen to still wear a watch and I also have a separate device that I use instead of my cell phone to make phone calls when I am at home. It's called a "telephone". And it's a fact that very few people who had a cell phone as a teenager have one of these in their homes. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:49, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
::I used to wear watch. Then the strap broke (well, the things connecting the strap to watch). So I got used to wearing them in pocket, no big deal, didn't needed them that often and never got to finding the shop where they would fix it. Then the watch broke. I got used to looking at phone. On the other hand, I'm still using "dumb" cellphone instead of smartphone for calling, the shape is just better for holding next to ear. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:16, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Try to translate "die eierlegende Wollmilchsau"
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.97|162.158.89.97]] 09:52, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:Sounds a lot like a schmoo from _Lil Abner_ by Al Capp! I wonder if the egg-legend woolmillsow is where he got the idea? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

There is a terrible movie - [[Wikipedia:Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock|Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock]] - where everyone has a device called The Black Box that can do all of that, as well as pretty much anything. Its function changes kind of like a Rubik's Cube. It's an obvious parody of smartphones, except that it came out right around the time they were getting popular so I'm not sure if smartphones are the true inspiration. I can't recommend that movie (really, it's awful) but this comic reminded me of it and I wanted to share. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 10:11, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:Also see the Guide 2.0 as depicted in the later _Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy_ novels. It would do anything its user asked, including removing all Earths from all timelines (which is what it was built for). There's an old SciFi story about a man with a hypnotic paisley tie who accidentally leaves behind a futuristic universal remote & the contemporary guy who finds it gets in trouble. Overall, the "one device that does everything" has been an idea for at least a hundred years; but I think it's not just dismissed as whimsy so easily these days. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Re: steering wheel, there was a James Bond movie (Pierce Brosnan era I think) where he could control a car from a phone (they were not yet called smartphones at the time). I wouldn't be surprised that the technology has already been implemented, even though I don't want to think of the legal consequences if this became mainstream: "Honestly officer, I wasn't LOOKING at my phone, I was DRIVING my car!"[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.110|162.158.155.110]] 11:30, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
: sure it's *technically* possible: all you need is to pair the gyro/accelerometer of your phone with your car's servo steering. any vehicle with a parking assistant can be controlled that way (and security researchers have demonstrated that in impressive talks back in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OobLb1McxnI). [[User:Gir|-- //gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 11:37, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:It was in ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' (https://youtu.be/BxTvfVZjR_Q) with a 'slightly' non-standard phone (pre-smartphone) and a 'slightly' non-standard car... Hardly the most unbelievable feature, though. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.235|162.158.158.235]] 16:06, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

I've written a first draft of the explanation and transcript, but I don't have time for anything else today. It turned out more high-flown than I intended, so feel free to reword as necessary. Also, because I'm sure it'll come up eventually, regarding the transcript: since Randall has not given any time scale, we should refrain from over-interpreting when something happened. For the joke to get through, knowing which elements happened in the past and which (might) happen in the future is enough. [[User:Gir|-- //gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 11:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Hmmm - so let's fact check this:
* My phone is indeed being used as a car key (I own a Tesla and my phone unlocks the car and lets me drive it), phone, camera, newspaper, credit card and flashlight - so short bars for all of these is good.
* As a TV remote, that could be true - but we're actually edging into a "post-phone" era on that one. I can (and occasionally do) use my phone to control the Roku - but it's easier to use voice commands through Google Home for that...although I suppose I could use the phone to run Google Home instead of the Google Mini in my living room...so 50/50 on being "post-phone" on this one.
* As a Web Browser, I could use the phone - but only rarely actually do that. Mostly I use my ChromeBook for that, and also the screen on my Tesla - the piddly little cellphone screen guarantees it won't take over that role for more than 10% of the time.
* He missed out "Text messaging" - but I'm using the phone less and less for that because having a decent keyboard is good - so the ChromeBook is stealing that capability.
* Steering wheel...well, the Tesla already steers itself about 80% of the time that I drive. I predict that the steering wheel will cease to exist (at least for me) before I use my phone for that...although it certainly is capable of it in theory...and I'm pretty sure Tesla demonstrated the car being used as a radio controlled toy from a phone a few years ago...although it never made it into production (mercifully!).
* You probably could use a phone as a bird feeder (for smaller birds - draping a dead rabbit over it to attract vultures might be a bad idea).
* All of the others are well into the future...so I agree with him on those.
[[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:13, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

I feel like we could/should be reading this more literally. If we assume that Randall lives on the fairly early edge of technology, then the time from the left side of the chart to now is ~25 years. If we also assume that the time axis is linear, then we should be driving our cars with our phones in 7-8 years (though I can now drive my car through a parking lot at least using my phone, it's still doing the steering for me). Sadly brushing our teeth is still about 20 years out according to this prediction, however maybe by then our phones will be able to do some sort of ultrasonic cleaning. [[User:Jasonk|Jasonk]] ([[User talk:Jasonk|talk]]) 13:58, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
:I'm continually surprised that nobody is known to have fallen for a joke digital toilet-tissue app called iWipe. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

It seems like it would be good to reference Randall's [[:Category:xkcd Phones|rather unusual phone function proposals]] in the explanation. Perhaps he's suggesting that these phones will become commonly used (or at least used by him) in the future. [[User:Dry Paratroopa|Dry Paratroopa]] ([[User talk:Dry Paratroopa|talk]]) 14:38, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Maybe when he says "TV remote" he's actually talking about "cable box remote". I think there's an Xfinity X1 mobile app. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:45, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Could the cheese grater be a reference to Apple's newest computers? I could imagine an iPhone with the "cheese grater" texture. [[User:Billtheplatypus|Billtheplatypus]] ([[User talk:Billtheplatypus|talk]]) 17:01, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

I am very curious as to what specific device Randall used for his telephone way back when before he used his phone. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.70.28|172.68.70.28]] 17:24, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

The comic says "I just use MY phone." Presumably, before that, he used someone else's phone, or a payphone or something. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.19|172.68.189.19]] 21:54, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

If you think about it, the phone started out with maybe 4 components: microphone, speaker, bell ringer, and gizmo to alert the operator to connect to you. Newspaper was paper and ink. Flashlight was bulb and battery. They had nothing in common at all. So dog leash? Better GPS + bluetooth shock collar. Tazer? Better battery + extendable prongs. Toilet paper is easy: bluetooth enabled bidet. Honestly, the only device I would bet money on being wrong is the bird feeder. After all, who would deliberately walk away from their phone for hours on end? (besides me) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.100|172.68.90.100]] 21:41, 7 October 2019 (UTC) SiliconWolf

== y axis order ==

I wonder if there is a rationale for the ordering on the vertical axis. They are mostly, but not exclusively, monotonically increasing in time.

== Mind Bleach please! ==

Toothbrush, ''and'' toilet paper? [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 00:16, 8 October 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2203: Prescience

2019-09-17T02:02:42Z

John.Adriaan: +1

I can't remember the last time a sitting President has been struck by lightning.  [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.145|162.158.154.145]] 16:09, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

You know, they still haven't attained world peace.  [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.213|172.69.68.213]] 16:34, 16 September 2019 (UTC)
:Don't risk it: there is one remarkably easy way to attain world peace. Just fire all nukes. It will be very peaceful some time after they detonate. The mentioned giant meteor impact would also attain world peace ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:26, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

I can't find it right now, but reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) story of a Stanford professor who was on the phone to a colleague at Berkeley. Berkeley guy suddenly says "I gotta go, there's an earthquake!", and hangs up. Stanford walks out into the hall, takes a sip of his coffee, looks at his watch and says "hey, aren't we about due for an earthquake?", right before the tremors hit.[[User:UStralian|UStralian]] ([[User talk:UStralian|talk]]) 16:49, 16 September 2019 (UTC)
: +1. I came here explicitly to relate this anecdote! [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 02:02, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

I love the pun in the title between _prescience_ (awareness of the future) and _pre-science_ (before science)... [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 17:17, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

This is the way most tech bloggers operate these days. Throw enough mud up against the wall, and some of it will stick. Print enough rumors and suppositions, and eventually one of them will prove to be correct.[[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 20:46, 16 September 2019 (UTC)
:The worst example is actually economists. There are some who always predict a downturn. They keep saying it and being proven wrong, year after year...until when one finally comes they're suddenly on all the talking head shows with the host saying "this guy predicted the recession. Now he's going to tell us what's coming next and how to get out of it." — especially if the way to get out of it involves the broken window fallacy of "stimulus spending". — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:52, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

Not sure about unsinkable, but there were several ''{{w|HMS Invincible|Invincible}}'' ships ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:48, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

I saw [https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1171930/Asteroid-news-chance-of-impact-asteroid-hit-earth-Lembit-Opik-asteroid-warning this article] awhile ago, which I feel like may have inspired this comic? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.4|172.69.42.4]] 22:53, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

Danish

2019-07-31T13:31:35Z

John.Adriaan: Moved (later) link to "Journal series" to earlier reference

{{Infobox character
| image = Danish.png‎
| caption = Danish, as seen in [[1027: Pickup Artist]]
| first_appearance = [[377: Journal 2]]
}}

'''Danish''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]]. She frequently appears with [[Black Hat]], and like him, is one of the few xkcd characters to represent the same character in each appearance.

==Characteristics==
Danish is characterized by her cynicism and devilish tricks; She is very similar in appearance to [[Megan]], but has clearly longer hair. Personality-wise, she is similar to [[Black Hat]], with whom she seems to have a permanent (romantic) relationship since the [[:Category:Journal|Journal]] series. Thus, she mainly appears in comics together with Black Hat, which is the most certain giveaway that a long haired woman is Danish rather than Megan.

==Name==
Like most xkcd characters, her real name is unknown. The name "Danish" is picked from when [[Black Hat]] called her "my dearest darling danish", as a term of endearment, referring to a {{w|danish pastry}} in [[515: No One Must Know]]. Obviously this is not her real name, but as it is the only name given to her by any character, it is the name used here.

==Appearances==
Danish first appeared in the [[:Category:Journal|Journal]] series as an adversary of Black Hat that could match his evil and cunning ways. In the end of that series it seems that she got under Black Hat's skin, and they might actually end up going on a date.

She thus later appears to be in a continued (some times romantic) relationship with Black Hat as for instance seen in [[440: Road Rage]], [[515: No One Must Know]], [[524: Party]] and [[542: Cover-Up]]. She mainly appears together with Black Hat, although after her first seven appearances (with him) after ''Journal'' ended, she begun appearing without him, the first time was in [[914: Ice]]. In case where Black Hat is not in the comic, it can be difficult to determine with certainty that it is her, but when the subject is as crazy as in for instance ''Ice'', that is reason enough to list that character as Danish.

A girl that physically looks like Danish appeared in [[139: I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards]], long before she was introduced in the Journal series. In [[177: Alice and Bob]] a similar looking character with propensity to destruction is called Eve – a reference to cryptographic schemes involving communication between Alice and Bob with Eve playing role of an attacker.

In [[1608: Hoverboard]] there is a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png long haired woman on the bridge] of the Rebel Runner, whose behavior towards both Star Wars as well as Star Trek fans could suggest that it was Danish. But there is not enough evidence that this is so to list her as Danish.

==See also==
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Danish|Comics featuring Danish]]

{{navbox-characters}}

[[Category:Characters]]

Talk:2163: Chernobyl

2019-06-17T02:18:57Z

John.Adriaan: Conception!

Please note that the first panel is referring to an HBO mini-series about the Chernobyl disaster, not the disaster itself! White Hat is NOT expressing enjoyment of the disaster itself, which was my initial reaction! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:55, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
:If I were Randall, I would have put "HBO's ''Chernobyl''" to dispel that confusion. Also, I'd be much cooler. [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 18:06, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
:That’s why Randall put it in italics. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.160.132|172.69.160.132]] 18:54, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
:Actually that's exactly what I thought until I came here, I've only been marginally aware such a show even existed, LOL! Actually, I took White Hat's enjoyment as "I find the subject interesting". In April & May I was coming to a bar for a Game Of Thrones viewing party (I only made it to three), and one either started or ended with Chernobyl, that was my only awareness of it. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:47, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

In the transcript, there's two words that might be both italic and bold: First, when Ponytail says "30 years ago, we banged some rocks together too hard.", I think "too" is italic and bold, and when she says "Yeah, we messed up real bad.", I think the "real" is also italic and bold. If this is the case, I don't know how to apply both bold and italic to text in wiki markup! Can anyone help? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:51, 15 June 2019 (UTC)
:Never mind - I figured it out via the Wikitext Cheatsheet! Putting 5 single quotes around the text did it! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 02:20, 15 June 2019 (UTC)
:: I completely agree those words are both, and I feel I can say so with utmost certainty. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:47, 15 June 2019 (UTC)
:::I appreciate the feedback. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:22, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

If you’re going to watch the series, be sure to read this so you’ll know which parts are total BS: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-hbos-chernobyl-got-right-and-what-it-got-terribly-wrong [[User:Tualha|Tualha]] ([[User talk:Tualha|talk]]) 08:39, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

Well, there's a really short and simple explanation: "The reactor was a shit design." :P The exact circumstances aren't even that important, since it could just as easily have gone wrong in a variety of different ways. (To quote a 1993 report from a Soviet committee, translated by IAEA, "''The Commission considers that the negative properties of this type of reactor are likely to predetermine the inevitability of emergency situations.''") [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 08:59, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

I thought White Hat understood 'banging the rocks together to hard' to mean 'created to big a fire.' [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.90|172.68.59.90]] 19:53, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

What I like about ''this'' page is that it's an explanation of an explanation...[[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 02:18, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2141: UI vs UX

2019-04-29T02:14:58Z

John.Adriaan: Added Black Hole possibility

The comic as a whole is making fun of how meta software developers get about the user experience, seeking to name all the different types of interactions a user can have with an app or webpage.
This comic is massive for me on my desktop (chrome); I wonder if this is a joke about bad UX or if it is a genuine error? [[User:Fwacer|Fwacer]] ([[User talk:Fwacer|talk]]) 18:50, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

:It's not this big on xkcd.com. Did it start this big and got fixed on the original site? Update: replaced with the image from xkcd.com which was much smaller. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 18:55, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

::Looks like it is fixed now, but yes it was also that big on xkcd.com initially. [[User:Fwacer|Fwacer]] ([[User talk:Fwacer|talk]]) 19:19, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

To me, it comes across as a hyperbolic play on the common confusion between the meaning of UI and UX. [https://twitter.com/sdw/status/709853249407361024] [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 19:06, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

It makes sense that it would be alpha and omega, but I originally thought it was the "proportional" symbol. I only ask because alpha is lowercase and omega is uppercase, although perhaps this was to avoid confusion with the Latin "A". [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 19:13, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
:Concerning the lowercase/uppercase difference, since alpha is the beginning and omega is the end, then consider that in the beginning we are born little and then grow up - we start out as lowercase and end up as uppercase. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:30, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

This is a joke on integration, yes?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.129|172.69.68.129]] 19:33, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" -- I guess the big in the comic being about the arc of the moral universe can reference the fight against segregation and thus for integration...
:: I meant mathematical integration...

I'm happy with the explanations I just added for everything but "Life's experience of time" -- does anyone know what that phrase is from? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.54|172.68.133.54]] 05:48, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
:I thought it was made by a U[unprintable glyph] designer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.226.64|172.68.226.64]] 07:40, 25 April 2019 (UTC)

No UK - well that is about par [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.240|141.101.107.240]] 20:45, 25 April 2019 (UTC)

On what level are those idiots who say "user doesn't need this setting, it would only confuse him"? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:20, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
:UG2 - user second-guessing. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.197|172.68.142.197]] 06:27, 26 April 2019 (UTC)

Why has Randall chosen this particular set of characters? Why Z? Why alpha and omega - the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, used in the bible quote "i am the alpha and omega" i.e. the beginning and the end, but what link with the subject? Or is it just a sequence of increasingly improbable characters from latin through Greek, then glyphs then unprintable glyphs..?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.82|108.162.229.82]] 07:34, 26 April 2019 (UTC) Dancergraham

:UX comes after UI in the alphabet, and so Randall first extended that to the last letter of the Latin alphabet, then Greek. Infinity then also makes sense, but I don't know about the bullet. [[User:Oliphaunt|Oliphaunt]] ([[User talk:Oliphaunt|talk]]) 09:08, 26 April 2019 (UTC)
:Other than being the last letter of the Latin alphabet, I can't come up with any other meaning for "Z" to represent something in psychology. As for the remaining symbols, I think alpha might represent the "a" in actualization or the beginning of the user's awareness or life because alpha represents beginning. Since Omega means the end, this likely represents the end of the user's life, which determines the length of the arc of their life. I believe the infinity symbol is a reference to how time looks to the typical life of a user, since it extends well before and after a user's life. Lastly, I think the black circle might represent a view of morality as either a black hole or a dark subject. This is just my impressions. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:31, 26 April 2019 (UTC)
::I did think about "Z" representing Zen, but I'm not sure how that connects with psychology. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:57, 26 April 2019 (UTC)

My initial thought was that the black circle represents the "black point message" that crashed apps like whatsapp a while ago. I never saw it personally but Tom Scott did a video on it last year. It might be a commentary on how understanding of the universe's moral arc could be considered untouchable/unobtainable. [[User:Blik|Blik]] ([[User talk:Blik|talk]]) 14:30, 26 April 2019 (UTC)
:I took the black circle as a Black Hole - that changes the arc of everything in the Universe! [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 02:14, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

Hmm. It looks like UY got skipped. The study of the user's motivation and goals. Like UI and UX, it's a real thing. But that's really the job of concept or marketing.

Talk:2101: Technical Analysis

2019-01-24T01:38:34Z

John.Adriaan: Added wish for WOW! signal

The Tobin citation comes from James Tobin's Fred Hirsch Memorial Lecture "On the Efficiency of the Financial System" in 1984 [https://economicsociologydotorg.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/tobin-on-the-efficiency-of-the-financial-system.pdf].

The explanation says “allego” and “prologue“ are “musical terms such as may be used in the introduction of a performed piece”. That may be true of “prologue” but “allegro”, according to Wikipedia, is “a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright”. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 11:40, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

:And, derived from this, a movement of a piece that is performed quickly may be referred to as an allegro. It can also be used to refer to an entire piece, such as this piece by Mozart: [https://www.pianostreet.com/mozart-sheet-music/allegro-k-1-f-major.htm] [[User:Kazzie|Kazzie]] ([[User talk:Kazzie|talk]]) 12:00, 21 January 2019 (UTC)
::But based on the placement of the allego and the way it is written it is most likely a tempo. Tempo goes just above the music and in this case it is the only word on the page that is italicized. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.108|162.158.186.108]] 14:09, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

How would this compare with “candlestick patterns” - the bathtub one looks like a funny name for a pattern *meant* to signal that prices could rise https://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/06/advcandlesticks.asp. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.144.145|172.68.144.145]] 13:55, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

Random Walk might refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk [[User:Curtobi4|Curtobi4]] ([[User talk:Curtobi4|talk]]) 14:00, 21 January 2019 (UTC)
:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk_hypothesis [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.202|108.162.241.202]] 16:33, 21 January 2019 (UTC)
:This is correct, also called Brownian Motion. The shape of these graphs is incredibly similar to that of the motion of a speck of dust floating in coffee. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 03:26, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

Should we make a table for each term like there is for other comics? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.232|162.158.63.232]] 18:01, 21 January 2019 (UTC)
:Yes please. Also, the individual jokes could be explained better. For instance, I'm pretty sure "lumbar support" is there as a joke on the word "spline" looking & sounding a lot like "spine". I'm 90% certain it's a pun, but that's not mentioned yet.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:30, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

XKCD lessons with Randall: Today I learned that the word "Allegro" actually has a meaning, and isn't just a random website name. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.160|162.158.92.160]] 19:27, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

The fundamental problem is that price movements are NOT a random walk. It is safe to assume that people who know a market well will study it, and make purchases/sells based on the underlying market drivers. And in doing so, they will leave "tells" in the pricing data. It becomes possible to look at markets, and see what the people in-the-know are doing, and follow along after them. That is the fundamental basis of technical analysis, and it works -- it works unbelievably well.

If there is a problem, it is that computers can do this pattern recognition so fast that there is longer any room for people to do this.

In other words, computerized arbitrage has gotten so good that people need not apply, and a few high-end groups with high speed electronic trading can get in before any person can.

[[User:Keybounce|Keybounce]] ([[User talk:Keybounce|talk]]) 00:31, 22 January 2019 (UTC)
:Keybounce, do you have any thoughts on how to share some of that with the layperson? The cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and worth many billions of dollars. People with little resources are getting involved and either going bust or becoming millionaires. The trading history makes it clear there is a lot of automated trading for a long time, but I'm not sure many people really know what they are doing, and the publically available code appears pretty weak. There is a lot of opportunity here to make huge impacts on major economic and social groups in ways that could really help problems in the world. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 03:32, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

True that computerized arbitrage/high frequency trading occurs at speeds which leave zero room for human reaction times (see the $$$ made by shaving only 3 milliseconds’ [!!] from the transmission delay, when Jim Barksdale built a new straight-path fiber optic line from Chicago Mercantile to NASDAQ in NJ in 2010, and by McKay and Tradeworx using microwave tower relays since then), but computerized arbitrage is, broadly, not the same as technical analysis of markets. Arbitrage takes immediate advantage of brief pricing trends and inefficiencies, while analysis seeks to predict pricing. Of course, technical analysis is also computerized at inhuman speeds, and its algorithms are used in arbitrage, but seems to me the comic isn’t about arbitrage, as such.[[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:03, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

I'm disappointed that there wasn't a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow!_signal|"WOW!"] entry [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:38, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2023: Y-Axis

2018-07-23T05:17:40Z

John.Adriaan: Removed comment since description was corrected

Talk:2023: Y-Axis

2018-07-23T05:15:31Z

John.Adriaan: Typo

Surely the point is that the pale "horizontal" gridlines are not parallel? Unlike the vertical ones? They're so badly bunched up that it gives space to exaggerate an otherwise tiny difference. Not X- vs Y- at all. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 05:13, 23 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2023: Y-Axis

2018-07-23T05:13:06Z

John.Adriaan: Disagree with original listing

Surely the point is that the pale "horizontal" gridlines are not parallel? Unlike the vertical ones? They're so badly bunched up that it gives space to exaggerate an otherwise tiny difference. Note X- vs Y- at all. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 05:13, 23 July 2018 (UTC)