explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1501: Mysteries

2015-03-20T16:18:36Z

Jolindbe: /* WOW signal */ new section

Here's a list of wikipedia links I compiled that will be useful for anyone wanting to update this page. http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/2zog5d/xkcd_1501_mysteries/cpktray {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.106.155}}

And I've got a solar eclipse to see (explainable, but weird!) but I started to compile things. Haven't got any links sorted yet, and percentages are (badly) done by eye. If someone does it better, ignore it.


[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 09:33, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

:(Whoops, pasted the flatfile format version by accident, in my rush, rather than the more Wikifriendly one that I discarded. Commenting it out until/unless I redo it. But you should still be able to see the details via the Talk Edit pages if you're bothered. Oh, and there was really too much cloud to see the eclipse for what it was. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 10:29, 20 March 2015 (UTC))

::I dropped the image into our CAD system and plotted the point co-ordinates. I've filled in the resulting percentages, which should be somewhere about right with a little rounding. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:35, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

:::Exactly right. (Although I didn't read the zero/zero crossing point is supposed to be maybe 50% on both scales, but instead ±zero. Still, doesn't matter. And perhaps displays/sorts better.) And looks like I don't need to recover my formatted notes after all. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 11:19, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.176|199.27.128.176]] 09:49, 20 March 2015 (UTC) XKCD has explained the Voynich Manuscript before: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/593:_Voynich_Manuscript

:XKCD has also 'explained' DB Cooper before ([[1400: D.B. Cooper]]) if that is worth mentioning. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.167|108.162.250.167]] 12:06, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

I have to wonder if Randall has ever seen http://keithledgerwood.com/post/79838944823/did-malaysian-airlines-370-disappear-using and if so, whether he simply doesn't believe it. Not to sabotage his 100%-100% example if he wants to keep it there, but I'd put it at only 50% weird and 10% unexplainable. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.27|199.27.133.27]] 14:02, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

== Carly Simon ==

The Carly Simon explanation includes the text "This sets up a paradox in which the song is and isn't about the vain person." This isn't correct. The song is definitely about the person. Carly is thus asserting that the subject's vanity will lead him to a correct interpretation of the song. Going to change the explanation. [[User:EverVigilant|EverVigilant]] ([[User talk:EverVigilant|talk]]) 14:51, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

== WOW signal ==

It now says "This is the strongest evidence to date of extraterrestrial radio signals.", which is technically incorrect. We observe radio signals from outer space all the time, they originate from young stars, Big Bang, active galaxies, and so on. This should probably be rephrased to something about extraterrestrial intelligence, but I'm not sure if it deserves to be called "evidence". [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 16:18, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

1374: Urn

2014-05-28T12:24:11Z

Jolindbe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1374
| date = May 28, 2014
| title = Urn
| image = urn.png
| titletext = Can this PLEASE be drawing with replacement?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
A common scenario for teaching elementary probability theory is drawing coloured balls from a container, such as a bag, hat, and traditionally quite often an urn.

An urn is also used to contain the burnt ashes following cremation. Megan, when asked to imagine drawing balls from an urn, imagines that the urn contains not the coloured balls, but human ashes, and is consequently shocked. She also recognises the ashes as those of her grandfather, which is absurd, since you cannot identify a person from their ashes without advanced technology (theoretically, she might have recognised an item belonging to her grandfather that could have survived the high temperatures of cremation).

The title text refers to two scenarios that can be imagined in the coloured ball experiment: The balls may be replaced between each drawing, or not. In the former case, each draw is independent of the previous. Megan would prefer to put the ashes back into the urn.

==Transcript==
[Cueball is standing in a classroom with Megan at a desk.]

Cueball: Imagine that you're drawing at random from an urn containing fifteen balls - six red and nine black.

Megan: OK. I reach in and... ''My grandfather's ashes?!? Oh god!''

Cueball: I... what?

Megan: '''WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?'''

{{comic discussion}}

1363: xkcd Phone

2014-05-02T10:50:12Z

Jolindbe: Added "ionizing" to radiation. Mobile phones *do* emit radiation, or they would not work.

{{comic
| number = 1363
| date = May 2, 2014
| title = xkcd Phone
| image = xkcd_phone.png
| titletext = Presented in partnership with Qualcomm, Craigslist, Whirlpool, Hostess, LifeStyles, and the US Chamber of Commerce. Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts. Price includes 2-year Knicks contract. Phone may extinguish nearby birthday candles. If phone ships with Siri, return immediately; do not speak to her and ignore any instructions she gives. Do not remove lead casing. Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal. Volume adjustable (requires root). If you experience sudden tingling, nausea, or vomiting, perform a factory reset immediately. Do not submerge in water; phone will drown. Exterior may be frictionless. Prolonged use can cause mood swings, short-term memory loss, and seizures. Avert eyes while replacing battery. Under certain circumstances, wireless transmitter may control God.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|No longer created by a BOT, but probably still needs more editing.}}

This comic is a parody of a multitude of mobile-technology related issues that, when brought together, create a general satire of smartphone advertising. The advertised features here either make previously useful capabilities useless or add features nobody wants. Except for "your mobile world (going) digital", which is old news.

From bottom left, going clockwise:

* Flightaware partnership - This is a parody of flight mode, a capability most smart phones have. When activated, flight mode disables all transmission and receiving capabilities, making the phone suitable for use while on commercial flights. Flightaware partnership, by contrast, is an intrusive presumably airline-sponsored capability that no one wants.
* Realistic case– possibly a joke on various audiovisual devices like gaming consoles that advertise realistic sound, graphics, etc. Of course, applying "realistic" to an actual physical case is ridiculous. Either the case is actually real, or it doesn't actually function as a case.
* Clear screen– This is a pointless descriptor from the perspective of the consumer. Of course the screen is clear. This joke works in tandem with the previous joke, as a play on "clear case, realistic screen," which are both hypothetically viable selling points.
* Side Facing Camera – There was a recent controversy surrounding a kickstarter for a surreptitious, side-mounted camera device for smartphones due to the advertisement of the device as a good way to take creep shots, which are illegal in many places. Widespread dissemination of these devices as a built in would likely result in a sharp increase in delinquency of this nature. May also be an ''ad absurdium'' extension of devices with both forward and backward facing cameras.
* Custom blend OS – iOS and Android are offered by different conglomerates and run on different kernels. A "custom blend" would probably be a nightmare to work with.
* Simulates alternate speeds of light - This renders the clock useless. The speed of light is roughly 2.99x10^8 meters per second. Relativistic effects, such as time dilation, only occur at significant fractions of the speed of light. Since the phone is simulating a much slower speed of light, driving at highway speeds will cause time dilation. For example, driving at 90mph (90% of the default simulated speed of light) gives a time dilation of about 2.29. So while you are driving at 90mph your clock will run 2.29 times slower than a stationary one. Travelling faster than the simulated speed of light will make the clock run backwards.
* Wireless - as in cordless phone. This is the bare minimum a phone has to have in order to be a mobile phone, so advertising it as a feature feels dated by decades. Or, perhaps Munroe is implying the entire phone is without wires, in which case it wouldn't function.
* Accelerometer screams in free fall– Another useless function. Rather than having some sort of feature to prevent breakage or cracking when a drop is detected, the phone just makes you more aware of its potential imminent doom.
* When exposed to light, phone says "hi" - Bait and switch, and also a build from the previous joke. The implied feature is that the screen or camera will automatically adjust, but instead the phone is weirdly anthropomorphized.

The ominous warnings and disclaimers in the title text are probably a reference to the ''Saturday Night Live'' parody ad for {{w|Happy Fun Ball}}.

* Presented in partnership with Qualcomm, Craigslist, Whirlpool, Hostess, LifeStyles, and the US Chamber of Commerce.– {{w|Qualcomm}} is a semiconductor company that designs and produces chips for mobile phones, but the other companies mentioned here have no association with mobile phones.
* Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts.- A warning often seen on candy and other foods for people with a peanut allergy. It is highly unlikely that equipment used to produce mobile phones would also process food.
* Price includes 2-year Knicks contract.- Mobile phones are often sold by phone companies in combination with a cell phone plan, but a contract with the {{w|New_York_Knicks|Knicks}} would only appeal to pro basketball players.
* Phone may extinguish nearby birthday candles.- A rather oddly specific capability, which might also be annoying for anyone attempting to host a birthday party. As to how it would do this, a very powerful directional speaker would be able to blow out a nearby candle, but the speakers in mobile phones aren't going to be that big.
* If phone ships with Siri, return immediately; do not speak to her and ignore any instructions she gives.- {{w|Siri}} is a virtual personal assistant application for Apple devices. Not speaking to it and not following its instructions would defeat its purpose. It may suggest that a malevolant "Siri AI" has sneaked itself onto some devices, at the manufacturing stage, for some diabolical purpose.
* Do not remove lead casing.- Devices that emit high levels of ionizing radiation are often encased in lead, but a phone that would emit that level of radiation would be unhealthy to carry around and be probably too heavy too. This could also mean the device is an actual bananaphone as regular phones emit no ionizing radiation ([http://xkcd.com/radiation xkcd Radiation Dose Chart]). Regrettably, the lead casing would render the phone inedible.
* Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal.- Some plants, like the {{w|Venus_flytrap|Venus flytrap}}, attract and trap insects, but mobile phones are not known to exhibit this behaviour.
* Volume adjustable (requires root).- {{w|Android_rooting|Rooting}} is the method to gain privileged access on Android phones. Adjusting the volume should be available to any user and would not be restricted to root access only.
* If you experience sudden tingling, nausea, or vomiting, perform a factory reset immediately.- These symptoms are usually associated with chemical or radiation poisoning. Neither of these would be cured by a {{w|Factory_reset|factory reset}}.
* Do not submerge in water; phone will drown.- Most phones are not waterproof and will probably short-circuit when submerged. Drowning however, would imply that the phone breathes air (which actually would be possible if it had a {{w|Lithium-air_battery|Li-air battery}}).
* Exterior may be frictionless.- The front of a smartphone is usually made of glass and should have a surface with very low friction. The back of a phone is usually made from a material that has higher friction to make it pleasant to hold and to make sure it doesn't slide off objects it is placed on. A completely frictionless surface would make it almost impossible to hold and would make it very susceptible to drops.
* Prolonged use can cause mood swings, short-term memory loss, and seizures.- These are all side effects that are associated with certain kinds of medication and would not be acceptable for mobile phones.
* Avert eyes while replacing battery.- Actions that would warrant averting your eyes are usually associated with high levels of radiation (e.g. making an {{w|X-ray}} photo). A phone that emits X-ray radiation would not be healty to be around. Or it may be a reference to the Arc Of The Covenant.
* Under certain circumstances, wireless transmitter may control God.- According to religion God is usually in control of us. Gods are usually viewed as not controllable.

==Transcript==
'''The XKCD Phone'''
Your mobile world just went digital®

* Flightaware partnership: Makes airplane noises when flights pass overhead
* Realistic case
* Clear screen
* Side-facing camera
* Runs custom blend of Android and iOS
* Simulates alternate speeds of light (default: 100 miles per hour) and ajusts clock as phone accelerates
* Wireless
* Accelerometer detects when phone is in free fall and makes it scream
* When exposed to light, phone says "hi!"

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1214: Geoguessr

2013-05-20T19:26:03Z

Jolindbe:

Not only have Statue of liberty lots of replicas, also the original is in Paris. On the other hand, I don't suppose you can mistake the original with New York replica give the size difference. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:17, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

So by being in the same country you get a few thousand points. But, then I got an easy one because the street view showed a restaurant called Vila Cha, and sure enough TripAdvisor took me to Vila Cha in Campos Do Jordao in Sao Paolo, Brazil. I double checked in a separate tab the street view of the area, and I hit the point 0.023km off, and got "only" 6477 points. For the difficulty of the game, I'd think you'd get 5 digit scores for that at least. [[User:Uctriton00|Uctriton00]] ([[User talk:Uctriton00|talk]]) 15:59, 20 May 2013 (UTC) uctriton00

"if you recognize Japanese characters on a sign, the nation of Japan actually encompasses an enormous area, so unless you can recognize a specific region, there's no obvious place to guess where you can hope to get high points. (Unlike somewhere like England, where guessing London is guaranteed to put you within reasonable distance from a global perspective.)" -- Japan is about three times as big as England, so I wouldn't say that Japan is "enormous" in comparison. Furthermore, since the part about Japan refers to recognition of Japanese characters, this would be equivalent to connecting signs in English to England, which apparently is not the most obvious conclusion. [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 19:26, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1122: Electoral Precedent

2012-10-17T17:45:28Z

Jolindbe:

My research tells me that Jefferson won 1800. Error on Randall's part? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 08:52, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

I'm a bit confused by 1792 vs. 1804: The latter is "No incumbent has beaten a challenger", but didn't Washington face any challenger when he was re-elected in 1792? [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 14:19, 17 October 2012 (UTC)
: {{w|United_States_presidential_election,_1792|He ran unopposed}} --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 14:33, 17 October 2012 (UTC)
:: As far as I understand it, he had four opponents, but got all the votes. Then, the electoral college voted on whom to be the vice president among the remaining candidates. But it seems unlikely to get 100% of the popular votes, do I misinterpret the wiki page? [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 17:45, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1122: Electoral Precedent

2012-10-17T14:19:13Z

Jolindbe: