explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:667: SkiFree

2025-12-13T02:27:51Z

Kazvorpal:

The reason that so many people think the monster is unbeatable is that the game was often found pre-installed on many computers along with the Windows operating system in older days. However, the game would typically be installed without any documentation, resulting in a generation of younger gamers discovering and playing the game, but not the unintuitive "F" command needed to survive the monster. [[User:Psyren|Psyren]] ([[User talk:Psyren|talk]]) 22:24, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

"F" does make you go faster than the monster, but it also makes it more likely that you'll hit an obstacle, at which point the monster will catch up and eat you. HOWEVER, if you pause the game with F3 and then repeatedly press "T", the game will go in slow motion.--[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 20:16, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

The title text explanation is way deeper than it probably should be. Knowing Megan, she probably *literally* wore an F key pendant--looking for meaning in the wrong places. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 12:53, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Yeah but maybe that's okay. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.46|172.69.50.46]] 14:45, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

This comic is much more profound when you're a Singularitarian. Huamn technology is still in its button-mashing stage, but how long until we find our F key that lets us stave off death as long as we want? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 08:28, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

Has anyone noticed the term "press F to pay respects", changing the metaphor to "death is inevitable *unless you show sympathy to people*"? Just a thought [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 02:30, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
:this comic was published in late 2009, while cod: advanced warfare (where the meme comes from) came out 5 years later [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.197|162.158.103.197]] 12:57, 17 May 2020 (UTC)
::F [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 20:25, 14 July 2020 (UTC)
:::F [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.44|172.68.38.44]] 23:51, 24 July 2020 (UTC)
::::F [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.96|108.162.215.96]] 11:09, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:::::F --[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 17:30, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::F [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 22:20, 9 September 2023 (UTC)
::::::: You're all redditors. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.198|172.71.30.198]] 13:35, 13 May 2024 (UTC)UTC)
:::::::::What a cruel insult to make... —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 02:27, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::::::::F

Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

2025-01-18T22:05:21Z

Kazvorpal:

The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.196.143|162.158.196.143]] 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Polyphemus] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer Homer's] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]. Or is there one that I haven't seen?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.165|162.158.85.165]] 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
: I came to say this exact thing. Now I'm wondering if I wrote that 8 years ago, but wasn't logged in.
: Either way, The Odysseus reference is the original "no man" trope.
: Odysseus (Ulysses) tells the cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Outis, which means "no man" in classical Greek.
: When they fight, Polyphemus shouts to his brothers in Greek that "No Man is killing me!", so they don't come to help.
: I kinda think that's what he had in mind when he made the comic.
: －[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:00, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon gnomon] of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.
:Exactly! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.218|162.158.114.218]] 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.34|172.68.10.34]] 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:The Great War saw millions of soldiers venturing into Gnome Ann's land and falling like flies. It took the great empires of Europe over four years to finally accept that Gnome Ann can conquer the world alone, so they finally gave up and returned Alsace and Lorraine to her. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named ''Ingens'' = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Star Trek|Done]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:I've worked on an information system before that tracked the ownership of various properties, with many of the owners being 'Unknown'. But, due to a previous data migration, the 'Unknown' owner was actually a specific database record. And then someone found the owner of one of these properties and changed the name of its owner...cue the new owner being listed for dozens/hundreds of entries.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 04:12, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.220|162.158.214.220]] 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=26686 Language Log] has more of these. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.211|108.162.237.211]] 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[https://zgrep.org/draw/island.png I could not resist.] {{User:Grep/signature|18:31, 08 July 2016}}

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.149}}

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen mondegreen]? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. {{unsigned ip|172.68.11.87}}
::I revised the explanation to specify it is a mondegreen which in its very definition includes the bit about homophony. I remember first learning about mondegreen's from XKCD (Lady Mondegreen) but after searching I cannot remember which one to link. :( Oh well.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:04, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.37}}

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Could this also be about Randall's gripe with English orthography? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.230|162.158.222.230]] 11:33, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

What is up with that trigger warning? It doesn't seem misogynist to me. {{unsigned ip|141.101.111.238}}
: I would suppose that they feel that giving women more ability (such as killing an unkillable demon, controlling time and tides, someone who goes after the wicked, has explored the galaxy, etc.) makes them less of a woman. I would then suppose that they neither wish women nor men to be in any way above each other, and that they should be fully equal. Generally throughout history there have been heroes from many walks of like, which today appears to upset people. Sometimes, when one is in a greater position of power there can be much more burden placed on them and as such freedoms may be lost because there may be a desire to keep specific standards or a lack of privacy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 16:44, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
: This comic is offensive to some people as it comes across as sick male power fantasy and the whole point of the comic is to poke fun at a woman just because of her name. This comic would not work if it was a guy's name, but it's perfectly OK for you to make fun of women. Ha ha ha, how funny. You're sick.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]ConcernedFeminist
:: re ConcernedFeminist. I think you're misunderstanding the comic. The point isn't that Randall is making fun of women, it's that the oft used phrase "no man" sounds like the a gnome with the name "Ann". Thus, it's humerus to imagine a small gnome controlling time, exploring the galaxy, and crashing weddings. How is it a power fantasy? How is gnome Ann being made fun of? If anything, she's incredibly powerful and accomplished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.126}}
::Considering this is a mondegreen of the phrase "no man", Randall really didn't have a choice in his name selection! "Gnome Ann" is more than just a rhyme or something that sounds similar, it is a phrase that can be mistakenly believed to be the actual reading. Comments above reference Jimi Hendrix lyrics as well as the explanation that references to the wiki on mondegreens. Let's get educated! So why "no man"? Because any name in these sentences reads exactly opposite the original intent and meaning which I think is the punchline of Randall's joke. As though we always thought the speakers were quoted as saying "no man" and really all along they were actually referring to Gnome Ann who must be keeping pretty well hidden from the general population and internet. Let's just say President Andrew Johnson got the joke.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
: Quite the opposite of misogyny, but I actually read this as Randall poking fun at the gender bias in the phrase 'no man'. I thought it was mostly intended as ironic, especially the last panel: "no man can kill me" - but Gnome Ann can, because she's a woman. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 17:55, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
:It can come across as misogynistic precisely because of the original sexism apparent in the phrase "no man" and also because gnomes are not usually associated with physical strength, thus making the idea of an all powerful gnome doubly hilarious when viewed from a sexist angle. However, I think that the deconstructivistic and language aspects are much more evident -- but there was a time when a comic like that would have pissed me off. You can't joke about sexism without invoking it to some degree.08:50, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:: There is no "original sexism" in the phrase -- "man" originated as a term for the species "human," then slowly migrated to refer only to males. In older texts, or works emulating them (such as Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien being a linguistics god probably meant it only as a pun and not some gender statement), no man simply means "no person." If not for that misconception, whomever cried "trigger" would only have been able to do it for the idea of identifying someone named Anne as a female. I doubt Munroe intended to offend anyone, least of all by somehow viewing a mythical species "from a sexist angle," though it certainly doesn't seem hard to do. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:42, 11 August 2016 (UTC)
:::ConcernedFeminist, please take some time to figure out what Randall is trying to express, and if you cant understand you can read the explanation before commenting. Your rant was completely unjustified, and you way overreacted (adding a trigger warning, posting this issue to the main page) ''simply because you're extremely triggered and didn't understand the comic.'' I know this is a reply to a two year old comment, but seriously, this pisses me off to the point where i have to reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:20, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

;THE COMIC UPDATED, FUNTIMES IS KILL
rip gnome ann, u will b mist [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]

: I don’t see a difference; what changed? In any case, why the RIP Gnome Ann? As the explanation states, Gnome Ann lives forever. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.76}}

So many posibilities!

"Gnome Ann is good enough to govern any woman without her consent" (Susan B. Anthony)
"Gnome Ann is an island"
"Fear Gnome Ann and trust no woman" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
:And the legend continues...
: "Gnome Ann has entered Hades's domains and returned to tell the tale" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
: "I know your works, and behold, I have set an open door before you which Gnome Ann can shut, because you have a little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name." (Revelations: 3,8)
::https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/9d/3b/73/9d3b73052d50e17b4e26b2e50e8cb948.jpg {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

A friendly reminder that we're explaining a comic featuring linguist humor. Not the first week of women's studies.

Keep it civil, or I'll have to resort to desperate measures.

Thank you for your time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 05:25, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

"A man would pun would pick a pocket"```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.230}}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a reasonably controversial video game, Gnome Ann's Sky. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.28|172.68.10.28]] 15:26, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Is the ship Gnome Ann flying in the Star Trek frame an [https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Asp_Explorer AspX]? [[User:Gfaster|Gfaster]] ([[User talk:Gfaster|talk]]) 20:54, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

An user of F-list, a website about (erotic) roleplaying, created a [https://www.f-list.net/c/Gnome%20Ann profile] (currently SFW, even if the website itself isn't) called "Gnome Ann", explicitly referring to the xkcd comic as the source of inspiration, but featuring some more quotes, both in the text with a comment to describe the character, and through some images (currently 36) portraying the violinist Lindsey Stirling as Ann.

According to CGP Grey, Gnome Ann rules alone.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 04:24, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Just spotted her in Belfast. Can confirm that Gnome Ann is in Ireland. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 08:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:(...hmmm, ''some'' people might comment that Belfast isn't ''in'' Ireland, the Republic Of, only ''on'' Ireland, the island of. Or similarly insistent language...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.80|141.101.99.80]] 13:55, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

This reminded me of the "Nothing" riddle (The rich need it, the poor have it...) with many variants. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 16:55, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

2025-01-18T22:04:23Z

Kazvorpal:

The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.196.143|162.158.196.143]] 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Polyphemus] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer Homer's] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]. Or is there one that I haven't seen?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.165|162.158.85.165]] 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
: I came to say this exact thing. Now I'm wondering if I wrote that 8 years ago, but wasn't logged in.
: Either way, The Odysseus reference is the original "no man" trope.
: Odysseus (Ulysses) tells the cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Outis, which means "no man" in classical Greek.
: When they fight, Polyphemus shouts to his brothers in Greek that "No Man is killing me!", so they don't come to help.
: －[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:00, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon gnomon] of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.
:Exactly! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.218|162.158.114.218]] 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.34|172.68.10.34]] 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:The Great War saw millions of soldiers venturing into Gnome Ann's land and falling like flies. It took the great empires of Europe over four years to finally accept that Gnome Ann can conquer the world alone, so they finally gave up and returned Alsace and Lorraine to her. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named ''Ingens'' = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Star Trek|Done]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:I've worked on an information system before that tracked the ownership of various properties, with many of the owners being 'Unknown'. But, due to a previous data migration, the 'Unknown' owner was actually a specific database record. And then someone found the owner of one of these properties and changed the name of its owner...cue the new owner being listed for dozens/hundreds of entries.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 04:12, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.220|162.158.214.220]] 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=26686 Language Log] has more of these. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.211|108.162.237.211]] 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[https://zgrep.org/draw/island.png I could not resist.] {{User:Grep/signature|18:31, 08 July 2016}}

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.149}}

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen mondegreen]? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. {{unsigned ip|172.68.11.87}}
::I revised the explanation to specify it is a mondegreen which in its very definition includes the bit about homophony. I remember first learning about mondegreen's from XKCD (Lady Mondegreen) but after searching I cannot remember which one to link. :( Oh well.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:04, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.37}}

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Could this also be about Randall's gripe with English orthography? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.230|162.158.222.230]] 11:33, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

What is up with that trigger warning? It doesn't seem misogynist to me. {{unsigned ip|141.101.111.238}}
: I would suppose that they feel that giving women more ability (such as killing an unkillable demon, controlling time and tides, someone who goes after the wicked, has explored the galaxy, etc.) makes them less of a woman. I would then suppose that they neither wish women nor men to be in any way above each other, and that they should be fully equal. Generally throughout history there have been heroes from many walks of like, which today appears to upset people. Sometimes, when one is in a greater position of power there can be much more burden placed on them and as such freedoms may be lost because there may be a desire to keep specific standards or a lack of privacy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 16:44, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
: This comic is offensive to some people as it comes across as sick male power fantasy and the whole point of the comic is to poke fun at a woman just because of her name. This comic would not work if it was a guy's name, but it's perfectly OK for you to make fun of women. Ha ha ha, how funny. You're sick.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]ConcernedFeminist
:: re ConcernedFeminist. I think you're misunderstanding the comic. The point isn't that Randall is making fun of women, it's that the oft used phrase "no man" sounds like the a gnome with the name "Ann". Thus, it's humerus to imagine a small gnome controlling time, exploring the galaxy, and crashing weddings. How is it a power fantasy? How is gnome Ann being made fun of? If anything, she's incredibly powerful and accomplished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.126}}
::Considering this is a mondegreen of the phrase "no man", Randall really didn't have a choice in his name selection! "Gnome Ann" is more than just a rhyme or something that sounds similar, it is a phrase that can be mistakenly believed to be the actual reading. Comments above reference Jimi Hendrix lyrics as well as the explanation that references to the wiki on mondegreens. Let's get educated! So why "no man"? Because any name in these sentences reads exactly opposite the original intent and meaning which I think is the punchline of Randall's joke. As though we always thought the speakers were quoted as saying "no man" and really all along they were actually referring to Gnome Ann who must be keeping pretty well hidden from the general population and internet. Let's just say President Andrew Johnson got the joke.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
: Quite the opposite of misogyny, but I actually read this as Randall poking fun at the gender bias in the phrase 'no man'. I thought it was mostly intended as ironic, especially the last panel: "no man can kill me" - but Gnome Ann can, because she's a woman. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 17:55, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
:It can come across as misogynistic precisely because of the original sexism apparent in the phrase "no man" and also because gnomes are not usually associated with physical strength, thus making the idea of an all powerful gnome doubly hilarious when viewed from a sexist angle. However, I think that the deconstructivistic and language aspects are much more evident -- but there was a time when a comic like that would have pissed me off. You can't joke about sexism without invoking it to some degree.08:50, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:: There is no "original sexism" in the phrase -- "man" originated as a term for the species "human," then slowly migrated to refer only to males. In older texts, or works emulating them (such as Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien being a linguistics god probably meant it only as a pun and not some gender statement), no man simply means "no person." If not for that misconception, whomever cried "trigger" would only have been able to do it for the idea of identifying someone named Anne as a female. I doubt Munroe intended to offend anyone, least of all by somehow viewing a mythical species "from a sexist angle," though it certainly doesn't seem hard to do. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:42, 11 August 2016 (UTC)
:::ConcernedFeminist, please take some time to figure out what Randall is trying to express, and if you cant understand you can read the explanation before commenting. Your rant was completely unjustified, and you way overreacted (adding a trigger warning, posting this issue to the main page) ''simply because you're extremely triggered and didn't understand the comic.'' I know this is a reply to a two year old comment, but seriously, this pisses me off to the point where i have to reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:20, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

;THE COMIC UPDATED, FUNTIMES IS KILL
rip gnome ann, u will b mist [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]

: I don’t see a difference; what changed? In any case, why the RIP Gnome Ann? As the explanation states, Gnome Ann lives forever. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.76}}

So many posibilities!

"Gnome Ann is good enough to govern any woman without her consent" (Susan B. Anthony)
"Gnome Ann is an island"
"Fear Gnome Ann and trust no woman" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
:And the legend continues...
: "Gnome Ann has entered Hades's domains and returned to tell the tale" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
: "I know your works, and behold, I have set an open door before you which Gnome Ann can shut, because you have a little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name." (Revelations: 3,8)
::https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/9d/3b/73/9d3b73052d50e17b4e26b2e50e8cb948.jpg {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

A friendly reminder that we're explaining a comic featuring linguist humor. Not the first week of women's studies.

Keep it civil, or I'll have to resort to desperate measures.

Thank you for your time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 05:25, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

"A man would pun would pick a pocket"```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.230}}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a reasonably controversial video game, Gnome Ann's Sky. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.28|172.68.10.28]] 15:26, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Is the ship Gnome Ann flying in the Star Trek frame an [https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Asp_Explorer AspX]? [[User:Gfaster|Gfaster]] ([[User talk:Gfaster|talk]]) 20:54, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

An user of F-list, a website about (erotic) roleplaying, created a [https://www.f-list.net/c/Gnome%20Ann profile] (currently SFW, even if the website itself isn't) called "Gnome Ann", explicitly referring to the xkcd comic as the source of inspiration, but featuring some more quotes, both in the text with a comment to describe the character, and through some images (currently 36) portraying the violinist Lindsey Stirling as Ann.

According to CGP Grey, Gnome Ann rules alone.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 04:24, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Just spotted her in Belfast. Can confirm that Gnome Ann is in Ireland. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 08:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:(...hmmm, ''some'' people might comment that Belfast isn't ''in'' Ireland, the Republic Of, only ''on'' Ireland, the island of. Or similarly insistent language...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.80|141.101.99.80]] 13:55, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

This reminded me of the "Nothing" riddle (The rich need it, the poor have it...) with many variants. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 16:55, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

2025-01-01T19:21:20Z

Kazvorpal:

The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.196.143|162.158.196.143]] 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Polyphemus] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer Homer's] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]. Or is there one that I haven't seen?
: I came to say this exact thing. Now I'm wondering if I said it 8 years ago, but wasn't logged in.
: Either way, The Odysseus reference is the original "no man" trope.
: Odysseus (Ulysses) tells the cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Outis, which means "no man" in classical Greek.
: When they fight, Polyphemus shouts to his brothers in Greek that "No Man is killing me!", so they don't come to help.
: －[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:00, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.165|162.158.85.165]] 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon gnomon] of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.
:Exactly! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.218|162.158.114.218]] 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.34|172.68.10.34]] 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:The Great War saw millions of soldiers venturing into Gnome Ann's land and falling like flies. It took the great empires of Europe over four years to finally accept that Gnome Ann can conquer the world alone, so they finally gave up and returned Alsace and Lorraine to her. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named ''Ingens'' = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Star Trek|Done]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:I've worked on an information system before that tracked the ownership of various properties, with many of the owners being 'Unknown'. But, due to a previous data migration, the 'Unknown' owner was actually a specific database record. And then someone found the owner of one of these properties and changed the name of its owner...cue the new owner being listed for dozens/hundreds of entries.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 04:12, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.220|162.158.214.220]] 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=26686 Language Log] has more of these. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.211|108.162.237.211]] 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[https://zgrep.org/draw/island.png I could not resist.] {{User:Grep/signature|18:31, 08 July 2016}}

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.149}}

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen mondegreen]? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. {{unsigned ip|172.68.11.87}}
::I revised the explanation to specify it is a mondegreen which in its very definition includes the bit about homophony. I remember first learning about mondegreen's from XKCD (Lady Mondegreen) but after searching I cannot remember which one to link. :( Oh well.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:04, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.37}}

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Could this also be about Randall's gripe with English orthography? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.230|162.158.222.230]] 11:33, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

What is up with that trigger warning? It doesn't seem misogynist to me. {{unsigned ip|141.101.111.238}}
: I would suppose that they feel that giving women more ability (such as killing an unkillable demon, controlling time and tides, someone who goes after the wicked, has explored the galaxy, etc.) makes them less of a woman. I would then suppose that they neither wish women nor men to be in any way above each other, and that they should be fully equal. Generally throughout history there have been heroes from many walks of like, which today appears to upset people. Sometimes, when one is in a greater position of power there can be much more burden placed on them and as such freedoms may be lost because there may be a desire to keep specific standards or a lack of privacy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 16:44, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
: This comic is offensive to some people as it comes across as sick male power fantasy and the whole point of the comic is to poke fun at a woman just because of her name. This comic would not work if it was a guy's name, but it's perfectly OK for you to make fun of women. Ha ha ha, how funny. You're sick.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]ConcernedFeminist
:: re ConcernedFeminist. I think you're misunderstanding the comic. The point isn't that Randall is making fun of women, it's that the oft used phrase "no man" sounds like the a gnome with the name "Ann". Thus, it's humerus to imagine a small gnome controlling time, exploring the galaxy, and crashing weddings. How is it a power fantasy? How is gnome Ann being made fun of? If anything, she's incredibly powerful and accomplished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.126}}
::Considering this is a mondegreen of the phrase "no man", Randall really didn't have a choice in his name selection! "Gnome Ann" is more than just a rhyme or something that sounds similar, it is a phrase that can be mistakenly believed to be the actual reading. Comments above reference Jimi Hendrix lyrics as well as the explanation that references to the wiki on mondegreens. Let's get educated! So why "no man"? Because any name in these sentences reads exactly opposite the original intent and meaning which I think is the punchline of Randall's joke. As though we always thought the speakers were quoted as saying "no man" and really all along they were actually referring to Gnome Ann who must be keeping pretty well hidden from the general population and internet. Let's just say President Andrew Johnson got the joke.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
: Quite the opposite of misogyny, but I actually read this as Randall poking fun at the gender bias in the phrase 'no man'. I thought it was mostly intended as ironic, especially the last panel: "no man can kill me" - but Gnome Ann can, because she's a woman. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 17:55, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
:It can come across as misogynistic precisely because of the original sexism apparent in the phrase "no man" and also because gnomes are not usually associated with physical strength, thus making the idea of an all powerful gnome doubly hilarious when viewed from a sexist angle. However, I think that the deconstructivistic and language aspects are much more evident -- but there was a time when a comic like that would have pissed me off. You can't joke about sexism without invoking it to some degree.08:50, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:: There is no "original sexism" in the phrase -- "man" originated as a term for the species "human," then slowly migrated to refer only to males. In older texts, or works emulating them (such as Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien being a linguistics god probably meant it only as a pun and not some gender statement), no man simply means "no person." If not for that misconception, whomever cried "trigger" would only have been able to do it for the idea of identifying someone named Anne as a female. I doubt Munroe intended to offend anyone, least of all by somehow viewing a mythical species "from a sexist angle," though it certainly doesn't seem hard to do. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:42, 11 August 2016 (UTC)
:::ConcernedFeminist, please take some time to figure out what Randall is trying to express, and if you cant understand you can read the explanation before commenting. Your rant was completely unjustified, and you way overreacted (adding a trigger warning, posting this issue to the main page) ''simply because you're extremely triggered and didn't understand the comic.'' I know this is a reply to a two year old comment, but seriously, this pisses me off to the point where i have to reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:20, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

;THE COMIC UPDATED, FUNTIMES IS KILL
rip gnome ann, u will b mist [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]

: I don’t see a difference; what changed? In any case, why the RIP Gnome Ann? As the explanation states, Gnome Ann lives forever. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.76}}

So many posibilities!

"Gnome Ann is good enough to govern any woman without her consent" (Susan B. Anthony)
"Gnome Ann is an island"
"Fear Gnome Ann and trust no woman" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
:And the legend continues...
: "Gnome Ann has entered Hades's domains and returned to tell the tale" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
: "I know your works, and behold, I have set an open door before you which Gnome Ann can shut, because you have a little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name." (Revelations: 3,8)
::https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/9d/3b/73/9d3b73052d50e17b4e26b2e50e8cb948.jpg {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

A friendly reminder that we're explaining a comic featuring linguist humor. Not the first week of women's studies.

Keep it civil, or I'll have to resort to desperate measures.

Thank you for your time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 05:25, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

"A man would pun would pick a pocket"```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.230}}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a reasonably controversial video game, Gnome Ann's Sky. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.28|172.68.10.28]] 15:26, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Is the ship Gnome Ann flying in the Star Trek frame an [https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Asp_Explorer AspX]? [[User:Gfaster|Gfaster]] ([[User talk:Gfaster|talk]]) 20:54, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

An user of F-list, a website about (erotic) roleplaying, created a [https://www.f-list.net/c/Gnome%20Ann profile] (currently SFW, even if the website itself isn't) called "Gnome Ann", explicitly referring to the xkcd comic as the source of inspiration, but featuring some more quotes, both in the text with a comment to describe the character, and through some images (currently 36) portraying the violinist Lindsey Stirling as Ann.

According to CGP Grey, Gnome Ann rules alone.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 04:24, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Just spotted her in Belfast. Can confirm that Gnome Ann is in Ireland. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 08:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:(...hmmm, ''some'' people might comment that Belfast isn't ''in'' Ireland, the Republic Of, only ''on'' Ireland, the island of. Or similarly insistent language...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.80|141.101.99.80]] 13:55, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

This reminded me of the "Nothing" riddle (The rich need it, the poor have it...) with many variants. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 16:55, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

2024-12-31T20:05:01Z

Kazvorpal:

The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.196.143|162.158.196.143]] 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Polyphemus] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer Homer's] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]. Or is there one that I haven't seen?
: I came to say this exact thing. Now I'm wondering if I said it 8 years ago, but wasn't logged in.
: Either way, The Odysseus reference is the original "no man" trope.
: Odysseus (Ulysses) tells the cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Outis, which means "no man" in classical Greek.
: When they fight, Polyphemus shouts to his brothers in Greek that "No Man stabbed me in the eye!", so they don't come to help.
: －[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:00, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.165|162.158.85.165]] 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon gnomon] of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.
:Exactly! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.218|162.158.114.218]] 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.34|172.68.10.34]] 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:The Great War saw millions of soldiers venturing into Gnome Ann's land and falling like flies. It took the great empires of Europe over four years to finally accept that Gnome Ann can conquer the world alone, so they finally gave up and returned Alsace and Lorraine to her. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named ''Ingens'' = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Star Trek|Done]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:I've worked on an information system before that tracked the ownership of various properties, with many of the owners being 'Unknown'. But, due to a previous data migration, the 'Unknown' owner was actually a specific database record. And then someone found the owner of one of these properties and changed the name of its owner...cue the new owner being listed for dozens/hundreds of entries.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 04:12, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.220|162.158.214.220]] 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=26686 Language Log] has more of these. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.211|108.162.237.211]] 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[https://zgrep.org/draw/island.png I could not resist.] {{User:Grep/signature|18:31, 08 July 2016}}

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.149}}

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen mondegreen]? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. {{unsigned ip|172.68.11.87}}
::I revised the explanation to specify it is a mondegreen which in its very definition includes the bit about homophony. I remember first learning about mondegreen's from XKCD (Lady Mondegreen) but after searching I cannot remember which one to link. :( Oh well.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:04, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.37}}

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Could this also be about Randall's gripe with English orthography? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.230|162.158.222.230]] 11:33, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

What is up with that trigger warning? It doesn't seem misogynist to me. {{unsigned ip|141.101.111.238}}
: I would suppose that they feel that giving women more ability (such as killing an unkillable demon, controlling time and tides, someone who goes after the wicked, has explored the galaxy, etc.) makes them less of a woman. I would then suppose that they neither wish women nor men to be in any way above each other, and that they should be fully equal. Generally throughout history there have been heroes from many walks of like, which today appears to upset people. Sometimes, when one is in a greater position of power there can be much more burden placed on them and as such freedoms may be lost because there may be a desire to keep specific standards or a lack of privacy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 16:44, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
: This comic is offensive to some people as it comes across as sick male power fantasy and the whole point of the comic is to poke fun at a woman just because of her name. This comic would not work if it was a guy's name, but it's perfectly OK for you to make fun of women. Ha ha ha, how funny. You're sick.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]ConcernedFeminist
:: re ConcernedFeminist. I think you're misunderstanding the comic. The point isn't that Randall is making fun of women, it's that the oft used phrase "no man" sounds like the a gnome with the name "Ann". Thus, it's humerus to imagine a small gnome controlling time, exploring the galaxy, and crashing weddings. How is it a power fantasy? How is gnome Ann being made fun of? If anything, she's incredibly powerful and accomplished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.126}}
::Considering this is a mondegreen of the phrase "no man", Randall really didn't have a choice in his name selection! "Gnome Ann" is more than just a rhyme or something that sounds similar, it is a phrase that can be mistakenly believed to be the actual reading. Comments above reference Jimi Hendrix lyrics as well as the explanation that references to the wiki on mondegreens. Let's get educated! So why "no man"? Because any name in these sentences reads exactly opposite the original intent and meaning which I think is the punchline of Randall's joke. As though we always thought the speakers were quoted as saying "no man" and really all along they were actually referring to Gnome Ann who must be keeping pretty well hidden from the general population and internet. Let's just say President Andrew Johnson got the joke.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
: Quite the opposite of misogyny, but I actually read this as Randall poking fun at the gender bias in the phrase 'no man'. I thought it was mostly intended as ironic, especially the last panel: "no man can kill me" - but Gnome Ann can, because she's a woman. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 17:55, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
:It can come across as misogynistic precisely because of the original sexism apparent in the phrase "no man" and also because gnomes are not usually associated with physical strength, thus making the idea of an all powerful gnome doubly hilarious when viewed from a sexist angle. However, I think that the deconstructivistic and language aspects are much more evident -- but there was a time when a comic like that would have pissed me off. You can't joke about sexism without invoking it to some degree.08:50, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:: There is no "original sexism" in the phrase -- "man" originated as a term for the species "human," then slowly migrated to refer only to males. In older texts, or works emulating them (such as Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien being a linguistics god probably meant it only as a pun and not some gender statement), no man simply means "no person." If not for that misconception, whomever cried "trigger" would only have been able to do it for the idea of identifying someone named Anne as a female. I doubt Munroe intended to offend anyone, least of all by somehow viewing a mythical species "from a sexist angle," though it certainly doesn't seem hard to do. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:42, 11 August 2016 (UTC)
:::ConcernedFeminist, please take some time to figure out what Randall is trying to express, and if you cant understand you can read the explanation before commenting. Your rant was completely unjustified, and you way overreacted (adding a trigger warning, posting this issue to the main page) ''simply because you're extremely triggered and didn't understand the comic.'' I know this is a reply to a two year old comment, but seriously, this pisses me off to the point where i have to reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:20, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

;THE COMIC UPDATED, FUNTIMES IS KILL
rip gnome ann, u will b mist [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]

: I don’t see a difference; what changed? In any case, why the RIP Gnome Ann? As the explanation states, Gnome Ann lives forever. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.76}}

So many posibilities!

"Gnome Ann is good enough to govern any woman without her consent" (Susan B. Anthony)
"Gnome Ann is an island"
"Fear Gnome Ann and trust no woman" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
:And the legend continues...
: "Gnome Ann has entered Hades's domains and returned to tell the tale" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
: "I know your works, and behold, I have set an open door before you which Gnome Ann can shut, because you have a little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name." (Revelations: 3,8)
::https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/9d/3b/73/9d3b73052d50e17b4e26b2e50e8cb948.jpg {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

A friendly reminder that we're explaining a comic featuring linguist humor. Not the first week of women's studies.

Keep it civil, or I'll have to resort to desperate measures.

Thank you for your time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 05:25, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

"A man would pun would pick a pocket"```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.230}}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a reasonably controversial video game, Gnome Ann's Sky. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.28|172.68.10.28]] 15:26, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Is the ship Gnome Ann flying in the Star Trek frame an [https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Asp_Explorer AspX]? [[User:Gfaster|Gfaster]] ([[User talk:Gfaster|talk]]) 20:54, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

An user of F-list, a website about (erotic) roleplaying, created a [https://www.f-list.net/c/Gnome%20Ann profile] (currently SFW, even if the website itself isn't) called "Gnome Ann", explicitly referring to the xkcd comic as the source of inspiration, but featuring some more quotes, both in the text with a comment to describe the character, and through some images (currently 36) portraying the violinist Lindsey Stirling as Ann.

According to CGP Grey, Gnome Ann rules alone.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 04:24, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Just spotted her in Belfast. Can confirm that Gnome Ann is in Ireland. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 08:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:(...hmmm, ''some'' people might comment that Belfast isn't ''in'' Ireland, the Republic Of, only ''on'' Ireland, the island of. Or similarly insistent language...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.80|141.101.99.80]] 13:55, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

This reminded me of the "Nothing" riddle (The rich need it, the poor have it...) with many variants. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 16:55, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

2024-12-31T20:00:13Z

Kazvorpal:

The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.196.143|162.158.196.143]] 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Polyphemus] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer Homer's] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]. Or is there one that I haven't seen?
: I came to say this exact thing. Now I'm wondering if I said it 8 years ago, but wasn't logged in. －[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:00, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.165|162.158.85.165]] 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon gnomon] of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.
:Exactly! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.218|162.158.114.218]] 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.34|172.68.10.34]] 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:The Great War saw millions of soldiers venturing into Gnome Ann's land and falling like flies. It took the great empires of Europe over four years to finally accept that Gnome Ann can conquer the world alone, so they finally gave up and returned Alsace and Lorraine to her. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named ''Ingens'' = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Star Trek|Done]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:I've worked on an information system before that tracked the ownership of various properties, with many of the owners being 'Unknown'. But, due to a previous data migration, the 'Unknown' owner was actually a specific database record. And then someone found the owner of one of these properties and changed the name of its owner...cue the new owner being listed for dozens/hundreds of entries.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 04:12, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.220|162.158.214.220]] 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=26686 Language Log] has more of these. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.211|108.162.237.211]] 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
:[https://zgrep.org/draw/island.png I could not resist.] {{User:Grep/signature|18:31, 08 July 2016}}

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.149}}

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen mondegreen]? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. {{unsigned ip|172.68.11.87}}
::I revised the explanation to specify it is a mondegreen which in its very definition includes the bit about homophony. I remember first learning about mondegreen's from XKCD (Lady Mondegreen) but after searching I cannot remember which one to link. :( Oh well.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:04, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.37}}

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.238|198.41.243.238]] 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Could this also be about Randall's gripe with English orthography? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.230|162.158.222.230]] 11:33, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

What is up with that trigger warning? It doesn't seem misogynist to me. {{unsigned ip|141.101.111.238}}
: I would suppose that they feel that giving women more ability (such as killing an unkillable demon, controlling time and tides, someone who goes after the wicked, has explored the galaxy, etc.) makes them less of a woman. I would then suppose that they neither wish women nor men to be in any way above each other, and that they should be fully equal. Generally throughout history there have been heroes from many walks of like, which today appears to upset people. Sometimes, when one is in a greater position of power there can be much more burden placed on them and as such freedoms may be lost because there may be a desire to keep specific standards or a lack of privacy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 16:44, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
: This comic is offensive to some people as it comes across as sick male power fantasy and the whole point of the comic is to poke fun at a woman just because of her name. This comic would not work if it was a guy's name, but it's perfectly OK for you to make fun of women. Ha ha ha, how funny. You're sick.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]ConcernedFeminist
:: re ConcernedFeminist. I think you're misunderstanding the comic. The point isn't that Randall is making fun of women, it's that the oft used phrase "no man" sounds like the a gnome with the name "Ann". Thus, it's humerus to imagine a small gnome controlling time, exploring the galaxy, and crashing weddings. How is it a power fantasy? How is gnome Ann being made fun of? If anything, she's incredibly powerful and accomplished. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.126}}
::Considering this is a mondegreen of the phrase "no man", Randall really didn't have a choice in his name selection! "Gnome Ann" is more than just a rhyme or something that sounds similar, it is a phrase that can be mistakenly believed to be the actual reading. Comments above reference Jimi Hendrix lyrics as well as the explanation that references to the wiki on mondegreens. Let's get educated! So why "no man"? Because any name in these sentences reads exactly opposite the original intent and meaning which I think is the punchline of Randall's joke. As though we always thought the speakers were quoted as saying "no man" and really all along they were actually referring to Gnome Ann who must be keeping pretty well hidden from the general population and internet. Let's just say President Andrew Johnson got the joke.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
: Quite the opposite of misogyny, but I actually read this as Randall poking fun at the gender bias in the phrase 'no man'. I thought it was mostly intended as ironic, especially the last panel: "no man can kill me" - but Gnome Ann can, because she's a woman. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 17:55, 10 July 2016 (UTC)
:It can come across as misogynistic precisely because of the original sexism apparent in the phrase "no man" and also because gnomes are not usually associated with physical strength, thus making the idea of an all powerful gnome doubly hilarious when viewed from a sexist angle. However, I think that the deconstructivistic and language aspects are much more evident -- but there was a time when a comic like that would have pissed me off. You can't joke about sexism without invoking it to some degree.08:50, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:: There is no "original sexism" in the phrase -- "man" originated as a term for the species "human," then slowly migrated to refer only to males. In older texts, or works emulating them (such as Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien being a linguistics god probably meant it only as a pun and not some gender statement), no man simply means "no person." If not for that misconception, whomever cried "trigger" would only have been able to do it for the idea of identifying someone named Anne as a female. I doubt Munroe intended to offend anyone, least of all by somehow viewing a mythical species "from a sexist angle," though it certainly doesn't seem hard to do. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:42, 11 August 2016 (UTC)
:::ConcernedFeminist, please take some time to figure out what Randall is trying to express, and if you cant understand you can read the explanation before commenting. Your rant was completely unjustified, and you way overreacted (adding a trigger warning, posting this issue to the main page) ''simply because you're extremely triggered and didn't understand the comic.'' I know this is a reply to a two year old comment, but seriously, this pisses me off to the point where i have to reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:20, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

;THE COMIC UPDATED, FUNTIMES IS KILL
rip gnome ann, u will b mist [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.150|162.158.214.150]]

: I don’t see a difference; what changed? In any case, why the RIP Gnome Ann? As the explanation states, Gnome Ann lives forever. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.76}}

So many posibilities!

"Gnome Ann is good enough to govern any woman without her consent" (Susan B. Anthony)
"Gnome Ann is an island"
"Fear Gnome Ann and trust no woman" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
:And the legend continues...
: "Gnome Ann has entered Hades's domains and returned to tell the tale" {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}
: "I know your works, and behold, I have set an open door before you which Gnome Ann can shut, because you have a little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name." (Revelations: 3,8)
::https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/9d/3b/73/9d3b73052d50e17b4e26b2e50e8cb948.jpg {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.192}}

A friendly reminder that we're explaining a comic featuring linguist humor. Not the first week of women's studies.

Keep it civil, or I'll have to resort to desperate measures.

Thank you for your time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 05:25, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

"A man would pun would pick a pocket"```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.230}}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a reasonably controversial video game, Gnome Ann's Sky. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.28|172.68.10.28]] 15:26, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Is the ship Gnome Ann flying in the Star Trek frame an [https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Asp_Explorer AspX]? [[User:Gfaster|Gfaster]] ([[User talk:Gfaster|talk]]) 20:54, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

An user of F-list, a website about (erotic) roleplaying, created a [https://www.f-list.net/c/Gnome%20Ann profile] (currently SFW, even if the website itself isn't) called "Gnome Ann", explicitly referring to the xkcd comic as the source of inspiration, but featuring some more quotes, both in the text with a comment to describe the character, and through some images (currently 36) portraying the violinist Lindsey Stirling as Ann.

According to CGP Grey, Gnome Ann rules alone.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 04:24, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Just spotted her in Belfast. Can confirm that Gnome Ann is in Ireland. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 08:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:(...hmmm, ''some'' people might comment that Belfast isn't ''in'' Ireland, the Republic Of, only ''on'' Ireland, the island of. Or similarly insistent language...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.80|141.101.99.80]] 13:55, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

This reminded me of the "Nothing" riddle (The rich need it, the poor have it...) with many variants. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 16:55, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:115: Meerkat

2024-03-13T16:40:06Z

Kazvorpal:

"Quuuuiiiiet!! ... Theres NOTHing IN the RULEbook that SAYS an ELephant CAN'T. PLAY! Plllay ball!!!"
- Umpire regarding Bobo playing baseball, "Gone Batty" (1954) Looney Tunes [[Special:Contributions/152.119.255.250|152.119.255.250]] 16:40, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

But - rugby players don't wear helmets! Unlike a certain country's so-called "football" players ;) {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.130}}

:It's called a "scrum cap". Not really a helmet but a canvas head covering that protects the ears in a scrum, where some players' heads are locked in under the front row's arms. [[User:The Cat Lady|The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 09:46, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

:Some wear protective padding on their heads. Try a google image search for "rugby headgear". —[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]] ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 18:38, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

I came to this page not really for the explanation, but in search of an answer to this question: Is there any particular reason why the title-text mentions a gorilla? I was thinking it might be a reference to something, either a story involving a gorilla playing a sport (possibly rugby), or a real-life rule against gorillas playing rugby (crazy, but plausible; there are U.S. state laws that are arguably weirder). —[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]] ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 18:50, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

When they're finally writing the entry to cover all animals, will they have enough sense to also prohibit robots and aliens? Or wait, maybe all sapient being should be free to play. But what if they're 600 feet tall and made of neutronium? —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:39, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

Talk:115: Meerkat

2024-03-13T16:39:38Z

Kazvorpal:

"Quuuuiiiiet!! ... Theres NOTHing IN the RULEbook that SAYS an ELephant CAN'T. PLAY! Plllay ball!!!"
- Umpire regarding Bobo playing baseball, "Gone Batty" (1954) Looney Tunes [[Special:Contributions/152.119.255.250|152.119.255.250]] 16:40, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

But - rugby players don't wear helmets! Unlike a certain country's so-called "football" players ;) {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.130}}

:It's called a "scrum cap". Not really a helmet but a canvas head covering that protects the ears in a scrum, where some players' heads are locked in under the front row's arms. [[User:The Cat Lady|The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 09:46, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

:Some wear protective padding on their heads. Try a google image search for "rugby headgear". —[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]] ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 18:38, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

I came to this page not really for the explanation, but in search of an answer to this question: Is there any particular reason why the title-text mentions a gorilla? I was thinking it might be a reference to something, either a story involving a gorilla playing a sport (possibly rugby), or a real-life rule against gorillas playing rugby (crazy, but plausible; there are U.S. state laws that are arguably weirder). —[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]] ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 18:50, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

When they're writing the entry to cover all animals, will they have enough sense to also prohibit robots and aliens? Or wait, maybe all sapient being should be free to play. But what if they're 600 feet tall and made of neutronium? —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:39, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

Talk:108: M.C. Hammer Slide

2024-03-13T13:39:10Z

Kazvorpal:

I want to live in the universe where Randall Munroe was serious about having seen this girl IRL. And that's despite having despised the Hammer Slide since its inception. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 13:39, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) The issue date is off, because the image doesn't have a create date. Can anyone fix the date?

I love the idea behind this comic, but I think it would be awkward when you are on a date and, for example, you walk into a restaurant together. People might look at you weird. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 20:38, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
:Why would you care how strangers look at you? That would be a miserable, stressful existence. If someone doesn't like a consensual thing you're doing, the problem is them, not you. -[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:22, 19 September 2019 (UTC)

Talk:169: Words that End in GRY

2024-01-30T15:12:38Z

Kazvorpal:

Ok, everything on this page, I already got. The bit I came here for, is the exact nature of the ambiguity. What is 'the phrase'? 
"The English language that end in gry", he's wrong because there are more than three words. 
"The English language", he's wrong because none of them end in gry. 
"There are three words in the English language ...", wrong again because language isn't the third word. 
So...? -- Zergling_man [[Special:Contributions/58.96.88.83|58.96.88.83]] 15:24, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:The second paragraph in the explanation is what you are looking for. But as a brief overview: The reason it's easy to miss is that the words are written as a dialog would happen. If it had been properly punctuated it would have read "There are three words in 'the English language' that end with gry: 'Angry' and 'Hungry' are two. What's the third?" Cueball is saying there are three words in the phrase 'the English language' but to distract his intended victim he continues the sentence so the phrase is hidden among other words that, when taken as a whole, have a seeming continuity. This is why Black Hat cuts off Cueball's hand. Because the "joke" is not funny and being intentionally ambiguous and then being smug when the ambiguity has its intended effect is not humor. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

::But this doesn't actually answer my question. Take it without the distraction. "There are three words in the English language that end in gry. What's the third?" Even then, it still doesn't make any sense. If you take it as "there are three words in the English language. What's the third?", then you're left with "that end in gry: Angry and hungry are two", and that doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not seeing how there's any way both meanings can be valid, whatever you do to this, it seems at least one is completely nonsensical. -- Zergling_man [[Special:Contributions/58.96.88.83|58.96.88.83]] 13:00, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

::: The trouble is that Randall told the joke incorrectly... it should be (with proper punctuation) "There are three words in 'The English Language'. Ending in 'gry' there are 'angry' and 'hungry' What is the third word?" [[Special:Contributions/190.214.5.29|190.214.5.29]] 04:59, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

:::: I think a better way to say it is:
:::: There are at least 3 words in "the English language that end with 'gry'. 'Angry' and 'hungry' are two". What is the third word? [[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.39|81.23.24.39]] 08:33, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

:::: For anyone who is curious, the answer is "gryphon." [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 20:47, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

::::: They have to end with "GRY", an answer can be "unangry", but "gryphon" does not end with GRY (source:http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=words+that+end+in+GRY){{unsigned|79.40.128.128}}

:::::: No; the original question asked for 3 words that had 'gry' in the end. 'Angry' and 'hungry' have 'gry' in the back end. 'Gryphon' has 'gry' in the front end.
:::::: Also, sudo sign all your comments by adding 4 tildes in the back end of your comment. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 19:37, 11 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::::: You are not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported. --[[User:Jlc|Jlc]] ([[User talk:Jlc|talk]]) 03:59, 21 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::::: Sudo visudo. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.231|172.70.38.231]] 20:20, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::::: [[838:_Incident|Hey -- who does sudo report these "incidents" ''to''?]] [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 23:39, 8 June 2023 (UTC)
:::::::: actually, as you van read in the explanation, the entire question is wrong, the joke should not have the requirement of English words ending with gry, but have the question simply be ''there are only three words in the English language, what is the third, prefaced by a misguiding comment about words that end with gry, like angry and hungry. The point of the joke is that this preface is not part of the question, and as such it creates a hilarious intentional misunderstanding. [[Special:Contributions/145.44.88.75|145.44.88.75]] 10:01, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

:I fear you are missing the point. The comic is intentionally written ambiguously to highlight the frustration caused when one misuses grammar in retelling the joke. The original joke is grammatically correct: the third word of the phrase "the English Language" is "language." The reference to words ending in "gry" is just a distraction. However, if the distraction is combined with the phrase, then the grammar becomes confusing, ruining the joke. [[User:Lanejb24|Lanejb24]]
I really doubt this is Cueball, as he is seen later with both arms, and he is nowhere near as much of an asshole (or an idiot) to tell this joke incorrectly. [[Special:Contributions/75.185.176.214|75.185.176.214]] 18:45, 8 August 2013 (UTC) tildes for the win

:There are many Cueballs, just read the page on him. However, this doesn't exactly fit the normal Cueball's character. [[User:Gman314|Gman314]] ([[User talk:Gman314|talk]]) 16:40, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

----

The title text is missing. Am I right that Randall states that {{w|Postmodernism|postmodernists}} are not clever?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:31, 8 August 2013 (UTC)
:Well, postmodernists are pretty much thrashed in [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=postmodernism&defid=3758855 Urban Dictionary]...[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
:No, I would say that Randall is making a joke about postmodern art. Stereotypically, postmodern art is very subtle and symbolic and doesn't look like much, but there is still a message hiding underneath. Randall is saying that they're not conveying their point well, but are still acting smug when people don't understand their poorly communicated point. [[User:Gman314|Gman314]] ([[User talk:Gman314|talk]]) 16:40, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
::I took him to mean postmodernist philosophers, who clumsily use obscure language and then act like those who "misunderstand" their evasive blather are proving themselves wrong. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]])

::What makes you think that it '''only''' refers to postmodern art and not postmodernization in general? [[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
:No, but almost. Randall does feel that post-modernists are prone to this behavior, and this behavior is not clever. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 01:44, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

::And where is the source for "Randall does feel that post-modernists are prone to this behavior"?[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to the -GRY joke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-gry) {{unsigned ip|66.46.112.60}}

;Cueball's hand
:Can someone explain what is the '''significance''' of BlackHat cutting off Cueball's hand?[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

:He's punishing Cueball for being smug. It's not significant that it's the hand in particular (that just seems to be the limb closest to BlackHat). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 23:35, 12 September 2015 (UTC)
::No, I think it's because he was pointing at him, as part of the sting of the joke. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 15:12, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

He's trying to give Cueball an easy way to remember to not behave this way in the future. It's funny because the lesson is a failure, it causes more long term harm than long term benefit. Also it is unlikely that Cueball is paying attention to the lesson anyway, being distracted by the pain and loss.
Or possibly it's funny because Black Hat is just causing his usual mayhem, and pretends to be a teacher to hide his intention, and does an unconvincing job. [[User:Shingleslant|Shingleslant]] ([[User talk:Shingleslant|talk]])

:As a child I watched a TV series called "legends of kung-fu" and each time the master, played by David Carradine, was giving a lesson to his son, he was slapping him in the face, so the lesson be easily memorized. I am quite sure Randall watched it also, because there is another xkcd comics that references David Carradine.

Hangry. That is all I have to add. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.234.132|172.69.234.132]] 01:41, 24 July 2019 (UTC) Cye

Talk:123: Centrifugal Force

2024-01-29T18:42:45Z

Kazvorpal:

Are you allowed to describe a force acting upon you when you are in an accelerating reference frame? I'm pretty sure you're not. The explanation says that from bond's point of view, he is at rest. Well, sort of. If you're in an accelerating car you can tell that you're not at rest because your inertia seems to be "pulling" you backwards. There's nothing actually pulling you, though. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.202|108.162.219.202]] 05:24, 30 December 2013 (UTC)
:According to general relativity, that inertial "pull" is indistinguishable from being at rest with a force being applied. In the rotating frame, this apparent force is the centrifugal force. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.62|199.27.128.62]] 05:58, 4 February 2014 (UTC)
:the explanation is correct, and you can describe forces acting on you in non-inertial frames. If you take Bond to be the origin of a rotating frame of reference then the position of Bond will be (0,0,0) at all times. So in that frame of reference, Bond is at rest (not "sort of at rest, really at rest). The equation of motion for Bond is
F + Fe + Fw + Fc = ma = 0
: (F is external force, Fe is the force due to angular acceleration of the frame (relative to some inertial frame), Fw is centrifugal force and Fc is coriolis force )
: Since the sum of the three "fictious" force are nonzero, and Bond is at rest in this frame, the force F must also be non-zero. This force F is the inward push of the centrifuge. In the moving car example, you can't tell if you are accelerating or if there is a massive graviational field pulling you backwards. From your perspective the experience is identical. If you take this idea and run with it you get general relavitity[[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.67|141.101.70.67]] 11:30, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

: I believe the OP is referencing the vestibular system. This is what allows humans to feel acceleration. The actual physics at hand is regarding reference frames, not the ability of the body to detect acceleration. In regards to the question of "Are you allowed to describe a force acting upon you when you are in an accelerating reference frame?", the answer is yes. You can pick whichever reference frame you wish, but we tend to pick the one that simplifies the calculations the most.[[User:Flewk|Flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 06:44, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

"Apparent force" is the best term to use to describe centrifugal force, and could be inserted in the text to clarify. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.89|172.68.142.89]] 21:14, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

;"The surface of the Earth approximates an inertial frame."
This isn't correct at all. If you're standing on Earth, you're experiencing an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.11|108.162.238.11]] 00:56, 12 April 2018 (UTC)

;Actually, that is incorrect. Right now i'm in my desk chair, not accelerating. The force of gravity is cancelled out by the force my chair exerts on me to maintain this status quo. You're correct that it's not an inertial frame, but that is because the ''force'' of gravity, not some ''acceleration'' [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.20|141.101.77.20]] 12:14, 6 July 2018 (UTC)
:: Noting that gravity _is_ an acceleration. In fact, a case could be made that it is ''the dominant acceleration'' experienced by normal matter with the possible exception of dark energy.[[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:09, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

It's NOT appropriate that lazy science teachers "lie to children" in that and various other ways. The kids can understand far more than the teachers assume, so that their choices of limitation are self-fulfilling prophecy, producing ignorant victims of the public school system. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:39, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
: It's also inappropriate and perhaps just as ignorant to assert that such oversimplifications only occur in _public_ schools. There are lots of private school teachers extolling the same simplification.
:: Fewer of them do, because the parents have the power to hold them to higher standards. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:42, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:122: Quirky Girls

2024-01-29T18:41:51Z

Kazvorpal:

I'll just leave this link to ManicPixieDreamGirl here:
[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl][[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.5|198.41.243.5]] 12:47, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

One of the few tropes that have a Wikipedia article. [[User:Nafedalbi|Nafedalbi]] ([[User talk:Nafedalbi|talk]]) 14:32, 25 April 2022 (UTC)Nafedalbi
: What article is that? — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:41, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:114: Computational Linguists

2024-01-29T18:37:43Z

Kazvorpal:

Why {{w|Ryan North}}? [[Special:Contributions/108.233.253.211|108.233.253.211]] 21:49, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

First of all, Ryan North happened to specialize in computational linguistics in his masters degree. He was mentioned because he was a computational linguist. On a side note, Ryan North's father was called Randall (though he was not the Randall whose comics this wiki explains). This may have somehow influenced Ryan's name appearing on this list.--[[User:Commarchinin|Commarchinin]] ([[User talk:Commarchinin|talk]]) 12:44, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

: It may also be a joke on Ryan's webcomic name: "Dinosaur Comics" [[Special:Contributions/121.44.164.207|121.44.164.207]] 09:52, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Don't particle physicists have the same issue: string theorists, Bohmians, Many-worldsians, Copenhagen-interpretians, all-possible-pathians, etc.? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 02:55, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

Having multiple theories and models is literally what makes science science in any field, as mentioned above physics is the same. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.231|172.70.110.231]] 23:45, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Even though this comic was made in jest, I actually think old-school computational linguists' days are numbered, with their complicated theoretical models outperformed by softmax(QK^T/sqrt(d_k))V. "Every time I fire a linguist, the performance of the speech recognizer goes up." Perhaps computational linguists are the new easy target? [[User:Phlaxyr|Phlaxyr]] ([[User talk:Phlaxyr|talk]]) 03:36, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

This is interesting in light of GPT though... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.39|172.71.22.39]] 02:56, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Chomsky was wrong about genetic grammar, but he broke the politically correct blockade against analyzing grammar at all. Up to his time, linguists thought it was somehow racist to examine the grammar of a language, because it's the grammar that varies in quality, and they wanted all peoples to be seen as the same. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:37, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:113: Riemann-Zeta

2024-01-29T18:35:53Z

Kazvorpal:

[looking at the dearth of comments] Math is weird. -[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:28, 19 September 2019 (UTC)

Wow, no one has ''anything'' to say here... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.225|108.162.245.225]] 19:27, 19 November 2023 (UTC)

Talk:102: Back to the Future

2024-01-29T17:33:25Z

Kazvorpal:

I noticed the character on the right has hair in the first two frames, but is bald in the last frame... Two persons? [[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]])

I believe that this is the same person because otherwise it seems that Megan didn't tell the character on the right with hair (presumably Marty McFly) about her father therefore diminishing the humor.

:I agree with Rikthoff, I don't think this is Cueball. Being bald is one of his main features and this guy definately has hair.--[[User:Popuppete|Popuppete]] ([[User talk:Popuppete|talk]]) 13:42, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

The issue date might be off. All files since #101 have been created on April 11th, 2006. Anyone with an actual issue date? [[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]])

Could it be possible that Megan's dad died because of something the other character (let's not call him Cueball until we know for sure) did in the future to "make sure his parents got together and helped his dad to be less of a loser"? [[User:tesshavon|tesshavon]]

:It's more likely to have been the result of a airliner full of jet fuel crashing into the tower, causing it to burn and collapse. Megan is probably thinking that Cueball (I'm still going to call him Cueball, sorry) could maybe have alerted somebody that this was going to happen. In the past. Him having access to a time machine and all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 20:31, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Why do we take for granted alt text refers to the Cueball/Hairy and not the father? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.210|141.101.89.210]] 21:55, 29 March 2014 (UTC)

What if the alt text refers to Marty McFly and not Cueball/Hairy? You don't have to think about the comic very hard to know C/H was an asshole, but I think the implication is that Marty could have taken the DeLorean and done less petty, personal things with it. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 21:51, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

:If it did refer to MM, Randall's interpretation of the movie is skewed. MM only did what he needed to do to repair the damage he unintentionally did. There was no personal benefit intended other than saving his own life, and that of his siblings. Randall has taken some creative license with the way C/H explains the plot.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.251|172.69.70.251]] 07:52, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

::Exactly — Marty McFly ''could'' have (for example) saved many people's lives, but instead he only saved "his own life, and that of his siblings," so Marty McFly ''is'' "kind of an asshole, when you think about it." [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 11:18, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

Have people forgotten? The DeLorean time machine was destroyed at the end of the third film - it spent less than a day in total in 1985 (first used 1.20 am, destroyed by a train c. midafternoon). Cueball even references this in the comic. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.223}}

:Megan can still contact the friend and get her own time machine... maybe. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 05:11, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

:The DeLorean that Marty used to travel from 1885 to 1985 was, indeed, destroyed (somewhat ironically by a fast-moving, modern train). But what of the DeLorean Doc stashed in the cave in 1885? That's what he used to create the flying train. [[User:PoconoChuck|PoconoChuck]] ([[User talk:PoconoChuck|talk]]) 20:19, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

::Actually, that cave DeLorean had to stay there after Doc buried it in 1885, or else 1955 Doc and Marty couldn't dig it out to go back to 1885 to get Doc. It is surmised that parts from the hoverboard (that remained in 1885 with Doc and Clara) were used in the making of the Time Train. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.251|172.69.70.251]] 07:52, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

:The conversation in the comic occurs some time after September 11, 2001, and Hairy/Cueball says "''this weekend'', my professor friend built a time machine," so the DeLorean in this comic could be a completely different DeLorean than the one in the movies. But either way, it can travel through time, so it could be present at any point in time, regardless of if/when it was destroyed, yes? [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 11:42, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

'He' could also be her father, thus explaining why he wasn't saved. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.132|172.68.47.132]] 06:14, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

I think that the title text can't possibly be referring to Megan's father. First of all, Cueball/Hairy and Megan seem to be close friends, since Megan saying "you remember" implies that she brought it up previously. Most people don't call their friend's father an asshole to justify letting them die. Also, Hairy/Cueball seems to genuinely not get what Megan said. And the title text is in present tense, while we tend to talk about deceased people in past tense. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.63|162.158.62.63]] 00:38, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

I don't know which part of saying he could have prevented the 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami is more bizarre, that you can't prevent earthquakes, or that it didn't occur until 5 years after the comic was made. I hope this was intentional, but given the minimal intellect of most human beings I can't be certain. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:33, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:98: Fall Apart

2024-01-29T17:27:09Z

Kazvorpal:

Randall must have been eaten some mushrooms right before doing this one.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:53, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Or perhaps he was drawing some thick, inky lines and realized that they looked like cracks, and he then extended the synecdoche. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 18:21, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-n1vGeVIXo How to pronounce '''synecdoche'''] — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:26, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

[http://staticfree.info/pugglechump This website] contains a reference to the pugglewump IRC channel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 23:30, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

"404 not found"...
:taken down :( [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 00:21, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

Anyone else see a resemblance to the end of ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''? In particular the one figure crouching on the left over a falling woman looks like Indy and Elsa. ~~ {{unsigned ip|172.68.58.59}}

Talk:98: Fall Apart

2024-01-29T17:26:53Z

Kazvorpal:

Randall must have been eaten some mushrooms right before doing this one.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:53, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Or perhaps he was drawing some thick, inky lines and realized that they looked like cracks, and he then extended the synecdoche. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 18:21, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-n1vGeVIXo How to pronounce synecdoche] — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:26, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

[http://staticfree.info/pugglechump This website] contains a reference to the pugglewump IRC channel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 23:30, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

"404 not found"...
:taken down :( [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 00:21, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

Anyone else see a resemblance to the end of ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''? In particular the one figure crouching on the left over a falling woman looks like Indy and Elsa. ~~ {{unsigned ip|172.68.58.59}}

Talk:97: A Simple Plan

2024-01-29T17:24:40Z

Kazvorpal:

My interpretation is that it is physically impossible to feel another person's body and thoughts, hence the line "You don't know what it's like to be me" is true. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.53|162.158.166.53]] 21:54, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

I seriously doubt that this is the correct interpretation. Simple Plan's stereotypical bubblegum punk whiny teenager lyrics at first listen could pass for a parody, mocking the ridiculousness of 30 year olds complaining about homework and chores. But they aren't being ironic. They're being serious. Am I wrong here? Tell me I'm wrong. {{unsigned ip|70.67.175.61}}

:No, I think you're absolutely right with your interpretation! {{unsigned ip|213.69.26.162}}

::The title text seems to prove your interpretation is right. And I must say your comment is one of the most accurate statements I've ever seen. [[Special:Contributions/18.215.1.197|18.215.1.197]] 12:51, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

The interpretation is absolutely correct. Check this video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt0WP9ZBNiY], you will find this text "You don't know what it's like to be like me" in the lyrics.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:16, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

:Yes, that lyric is indeed in the song. But Randall is reflecting on the hilariously ironic "stereotypical bubblegum punk whiny teenager lyrics" as described above, not the bizarre explanation you have above. I understand if you're a Simple Plan fan, but judging by this comic Randall isn't. [[Special:Contributions/18.215.1.197|18.215.1.197]] 22:00, 26 May 2013 (UTC)
::Sorry I am late, but it seems we are just living at different time zones. I am not native English because I am from Germany, but I thought that "teenage angst" also mentioned at the Wiki page should stay at this explanation. I was also hoping someone else would participate here at this discussion. So I am sure we will find the REAL explain. I am with you. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:35, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

It says the title text stated that the text wasn't written by teenagers. As it appears now, it just says "This is true. The lyrics are ridiculous". Nothing about the age of the people who wrote them (although knowing how such singers work, I seriously doubt that any of the group actually wrote anything themselves. Which not to say that the person who wrote it for them was a teenager either. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.118|108.162.218.118]] 02:48, 12 May 2016 (UTC)

Shouldn't there be the lyrics to the song here?[[User:Danger Kitty|Danger Kitty]] ([[User talk:Danger Kitty|talk]])

I think it's also important to note that the band members were in their mid-20's when they released this song (23-25, according to Wikipedia). Still a tad bit too old to be singing about teen angst, but not quite as "ridiculous" as if they were in their 30's. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.138.214|162.158.138.214]] 00:38, 25 August 2016 (UTC)

Am I the only one who thinks it's incredibly weird to assume that we're supposed to interpret the song as being from ''their own perspective?'' And not only that, but from their perspective at the exact point in time they released the song? Sure, many songs ''are'' about the singer. But plenty aren't. The All-American Rejects have written songs about "drama and turmoil" that they've never experienced. The songs aren't parody, but that doesn't mean the songs are ''about them''. And even when a song ''is'' about the singer, it isn't always about them at ''that exact moment''; it might be about something that happened years ago. The judgemental attitude in the comic is based on a fallacy that's even more ridiculous than "experiencing angst as an adult" (which I would argue isn't actually ridiculous in the first place, but, one fallacy at a time). I wonder if Randall (or the viewpoint character, if it's not Randall; I must practise what I preach!) would have an aneurysm if he ever heard "I'm Just a Kid", which not only is even more angsty, but also could not possibly make it more clear that it's not from the singers' perspective at that exact moment in time. [[User:NoriMori|NoriMori]] ([[User talk:NoriMori|talk]]) 11:02, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

:I think this is the "correct" interpretation of Simple Plan's work (if such a thing exists). I'm pretty sure they're catering to a teenage audience, relating to them in a way that lets them know "it's OK to have these feelings, you may think you're the only one hurting but you're not". Expecting 16 year-olds to have the musical talent and experience to perform these songs on a worldwide platform, let alone compose them, is a bit unreasonable in my opinion; so of course the artists were in their 20s at the time. In the comic, I think Cueball thinks the artists are manchildren, but another possible interpretation is that Cueball understands that they're young adults catering to teenagers, and his sudden disgust stems from insecurity and embarrassment in light of the realization that the band are better people than him for genuinely trying to be relatable to teenagers rather than mocking them. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.130.212|172.71.130.212]] 14:11, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

This makes me think of the {{w|Fairly OddParents}} theme song: "Billy was an average kid, that no one understands"...the joke obviously being that the average child is average, ergo understood just fine, but they IMAGINE they are in some unique circumstance that nobody understands. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:24, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

91: Pwned

2024-01-29T17:12:47Z

Kazvorpal:

{{comic
| number = 91
| date = April 19, 2006
| title = Pwned
| image = pwned.png
| titletext = I'm sure a discussion of the reason for the disappearance of adventure games in favor of RPGs would be fascinating.
}}

==Explanation==

In the days of early personal computers, such as the IBM-XT, Atari, or C64, games were largely text-based {{w|Adventure game|adventure games}}. Those games were based on an interactive story, and the player had to solve a puzzle on this by communicating to the application using only a keyboard or, later, a mouse. Play was turn-based (like chess): the computer displayed some textual context, you entered a command (GO <direction>, TAKE <object>, KILL <person>, LOOK AT <object>, etc.), and the computer responded by giving the outcome of your command. This sparse context arose from the fact that games in the 1970s and 1980s needed to run on limited memory and microprocessor capacity, and on basic displays.

Over the following 20 years, technical advances allowed games to run in a real-time graphical context. Adventure games were largely displaced by other genres, including {{w|Role-playing video game|Role Playing Games (RPG)}}, where the player navigates a character through a graphical environment to achieve goals or gain in abilities, often involving a combat component. While the broad structure of these has a lot of similarity to adventure games, the experience is very different.

{{w|Zork}} is a classic example of a text-adventure game franchise. In the Zork games, players have to evade predators known as grues, which fear light, but love to devour adventurers entering the dark. Therefore, you cannot win the game without owning some light source.

"Counterstrike" is a reference to the {{w|Half-Life (series)|Half-Life}} mod {{w|Counter-Strike}} and its subsequent sequel. In the Counter-Strike series, you are either a terrorist or a counter-terrorist operative, and your goal is to stop the other from completing their objective. On a dark map, players would generally use night vision goggles, which don't produce light that would give away their position to the enemy.

Randall imagines a version of Counterstrike played in the text-context of Zork. Ironically, the outcome is not so different to what might be a typical experience of Counterstrike gameplay, particularly for inexperienced players: on starting the game, the player moves to another room and is immediately "{{Wiktionary|pwned}}" (a typical online gaming term meaning beaten, killed, or trapped/tricked, originating as a typo of "owned") by an enemy.

In the title text, Randall suggests that a comparison of the genres, analyzing the reasons why RPGs have proved more popular, would make an interesting study. His imagined example suggests that what has been gained in immersive environments may have been lost in complexity of story and gameplay.

==Transcript==
:Welcome to text-only Counterstrike.
:You are in a dark, outdoor map.
:> GO NORTH
:You have been pwned by a grue.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:87: Velociraptors

2024-01-29T01:51:46Z

Kazvorpal:

I know the knowledge of dinosaurs is growing and changing daily. Was it widely understood that Velociraptors were feathers back in the early 1990s? [[User:Tryc|Tryc]] ([[User talk:Tryc|talk]]) 17:33, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

:Nope. The confirmation came quite later.
Wikipedia: In 2007, paleontologists reported the discovery of quill knobs on a well-preserved Velociraptor mongoliensis forearm from Mongolia, confirming the presence of feathers in this species. [[User:SaMa|SaMa]] ([[User talk:SaMa|talk]]) 13:31, 20 June 2013 (UTC)we

::However, the size of the velociraptor was well known when the book and the film were produced. The dinosaurs in the film are similar to Deinonychus in size. Deinonychus was also feathered. HNY [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.107|141.101.106.107]] 00:32, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Want to feel old? This comic was released closer to the premiere of Jurassic Park than to today.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.130|108.162.216.130]] 07:36, 14 August 2018 (UTC)

My last place was a duplex weirdly a half floor elevated with a wooden stair I could barricade or destroy, perfect for keeping out zombies while still having a big picture window. My current 2,900 square foot house would be great except for one huge set of three picture windows that would be impossible to defend, and that's bothered me since I got it. I don't have his weird velociraptor fetish, though. I think I could handle those. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:44, 14 August 2019 (UTC)
* Each place I live, I develop a plan for if there's a Zombie Apocalypse. This does involve figuring out which windows need to be boarded up, among other things. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:51, 29 January 2024 (UTC)
Found a reference to Randall's fear of Velociraptors over in Dinosaur Comics, specifically in the mouseover text: https://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=903 {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.250|04:51, 14 April 2021}}

In light of a recent edit, I was tempted to add that he does not seem to assess the garage/car-port door at all, nor acknowledge any rearward/out-of-view pogential openings in the house wall. Now, the garage likely has external shutter ''and'' internal door leading into the human(/dino)-only interior, so if both are closed then Ok. But, knowing the tropes, some chink will open up and there is a nasty surprise awaiting the human defender(s). The unseen rear/sides can be excused his lack of Sherlock Vision labeling, maybe, until he can actually do a walk round the perimiter to fill in ''those'' gaps in his internal picture, but the missed ingress (or emergency egress, perhaps not needing it to be opened first) is blatently missing... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.154|172.70.86.154]] 09:54, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Talk:35: Sheep

2024-01-21T01:20:56Z

Kazvorpal:

It's Mareep attacking Cacnea! --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.212|173.245.51.212]] 20:43, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

Do Cacti Dream of Electric Sheep? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.180|108.162.238.180]] 01:29, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

My theory: the cactus was draw first. It is a much higher quality drawing than the sheep or electricity, so it was probably drawn separate. Later, he drew a sheep zapping it... doesn't explain much, but does agree with the theory that the sheep is zapping the cactus. Also, [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.180|173.245.56.180]] 21:09, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm confused; did he erase the lines in the grid when he drew the lightning cloud? Otherwise, why wouldn't the grid lines show? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.172|173.245.56.172]] 16:27, 21 July 2015 (UTC)
: He did color in. See the partial grid lone at bottom right. If you look very closely, you'll see mostly yellowish shade inside the cloud. Not sure what technique it is, but looks like white and yellow mixed together. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.163|108.162.238.163]] 00:31, 17 October 2015 (UTC)
:: Looks like the grid lines were covered by thin yellow drawn lines (there's a place on the upper left of the cactus where the drawn line doesn't align very well with the actual grid line). I think there are also thin drawn yellow lines in other directions (especially visible in the lower right part). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.83|172.68.10.83]] 14:46, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

What if this is related to static electricity experiments of wool and,um, cactus {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.19}}

"Sind Schäfchens Locken schwarz und braun, dann liegt das am Elektrozaun." Translation: "When the sheep's wool is black and brown, it's because of the electric fence." ...but in German it rhymes. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:19, 28 August 2017 (UTC)

The Cactus shot first.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.16|141.101.76.16]] 16:40, 9 January 2018 (UTC)

:Indeed, I was about to comment that I felt the poem was off-base, because the drawing is of the cactus zapping the sheep, not vice-versa. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:20, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:33: Self-reference

2024-01-21T01:18:38Z

Kazvorpal:

* This comic is not exactly clear to me. What is the self-reference, or what is the humour? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:29, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
** I added a bit. Does that help clarify? Of course, one of the hallmarks of self-reference is that clarity tends to be lost. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:44, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
What if I don't find this humorous, then he's not squeezing humor! --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 00:09, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:But wouldn't it still be squeezing if he tried? That would mean that whenever he tries, he succeeds. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:08, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

But the most famous use of self reference is, of course, the sentence (this) where explainxkcd explained the sentence where explainxkcd explained xkcd's self reference of its own self reference.--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:54, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Actually, it would be funny without the last panel, just more subtle. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:18, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2303: Error Types

2020-05-16T20:09:48Z

Kazvorpal:

As of the time of this post, the title text is "Type IIII error: Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals". Is "neumerals" a typo, or is there a joke in there that I'm missing? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 22:52, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
:Looks like a typo to me. Randall's patrons should have caught this for him!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 23:07, 6 May 2020 (UTC)

::That particular mistake is actually just called a type error.
::[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.221|162.158.62.221]] 23:12, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
:::"Not sure if humorous or just wrong..." to paraphrase a Fry meme... It does appear to be a typographical error; Though I suppose it could be a misspelling?
:::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:46, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
:::Or, surely, a Type-0. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.82|162.158.159.82]] 01:09, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
::::I am Type-O and as a Type-O Negative, I'm VERY popular at the blood bank! (Universal Donor) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.48|108.162.216.48]] 01:25, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
:::::Actually, that's an over-simplification. Type-O-neg is only universal for whole blood donations, and only truly universal for whole blood if you are also CMV-negative. For plasma donations, Type-AB (both -pos and -neg) are universal donors. For platelets, only Type-AB-pos is universal donor. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.81|162.158.74.81]] 16:11, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
:::::When I play Type-O Negative at the blood bank I get asked to turn it down. I'm sure it's loud enough to wake the dead, but the vampires should be glad I woke them in time to make a withdrawal.<nowiki></badjokes></nowiki>
:::::Side note, my last name starts with O, so I sign high-score boards with 00O.
:::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:46, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
::I was hoping it could be bent to be a tribute to John von Neumann. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.223|172.68.189.223]] 05:00, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
::Looks like same type of typo he made at word "blag": [[https://explainxkcd.com/148/ Intentional.]] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.189|172.69.54.189]] 08:04, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
:: Perhaps a reference to {{w|Neume|Neumes}}? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.211|162.158.158.211]] 09:47, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.48|108.162.216.48]] 01:24, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
The explanation builds on definitions of terms in statistics. That's fine, but there are also non-statistical usages, just for example whether someone has now (or had before) the COVID-19 virus. A false positive is a test result which incorrectly indicates that a particular condition or attribute is present, and a false negative is a test result which incorrectly indicates that a particular condition or attribute is absent. A particular test is useful when its incidence of Type I and II errors is low. Types III and IV in that context would be given by poorly designed tests which, even if they give correct results, do it for unsupportable reasons and are therefore unreliable for future results. Types V, VI, VII, and VIII are necessary fillers in the sequence, once you decide that calling The Rise of Skywalker a mistake has to be error type IX simply because it's the ninth film in the series. [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 00:54, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

I could convince myself that the errors are a reference to each Star Wars movie. Definitely a stretch but I'd believe it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.24|162.158.106.24]] 02:00, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Surely an Error of the Third Kind is when an Alien gets lost and lands on Earth. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 11:28, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Can we please stop categorizing every comic about scientific research and methods as COVID-19 related? This is getting quite silly.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.201|162.158.187.201]] 14:31, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
:While some members of the public this year are hearing about false positive and false negative for the first time in connection with SARS-COV2 and swab testing, usually in some counterfactual argument that getting tested now increases the probability that you got infected last week or something - I don't see that coronavirus needs to be mentioned in an explanation of the comic, given that it's xkcd and science happens here all the time. If this script ran in Arlo & Janis then a justification like that would be required... although today (May 7th) they're discussing Pavlov's dogs... is there a web page that explains Arlo & Janis? Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.225|162.158.158.225]] 01:26, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

I spent some time musing about whether the Skywalker saga could be taken as an exemplar of each of the types (e.g. the hypothesis for #1 is that Anakin Skywalker could bring balance to the Force, and the experiment was assigning him a tutor), but it's a stretch. I do like the idea that #9 is the epitome of errordom.16:07, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
:I suspect that people who like Episode IX would disagree, but I haven't found evidence that they even exist, so I can't say for sure. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 22:02, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure where this would fit in, but a correct answer that is viewed by the experimenter as being incorrect because of a misunderstanding, so that he changes the recording of the measurement, resulting in an incorrect measurement that he view as correct. This happened in a college classroom exercise involving Reynolds numbers. Above a certain value of Reynold's number, laminar flow will change to turbulent flow. However, that number is not where the change occurs but where laminar flow becomes unstable. One student changed all the measurements to indicate that the flow changed to turbulent almost immediately. I wondered what could have sped up the transition, thinking of things like loud noises and vibrations affecting the apparatus. The student immediately and loudly yelled that he "hadn't changed the numbers", with the vehemence indicating that he had actually changed the numbers. One problem with analog meters was that some people staring at the meters actually thought that the needle moved when it actually hadn't. Digital meters with automatic logging tended to get rid of this problem. 17:17, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
: Everyone knows that of all the Reynolds numbers, only two actually matter. Burt and Debbie. (You're gonna say Ryan as well, I suppose...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.82|162.158.159.82]] 00:12, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia on Roman Numerals says: at some early time the Romans started to use the shorter forms IV and IX. But originally their numbers included 4 as IIII and 9 as VIIII. I wasn't sure if the Roman Empire used IV and IX at all, and I still am not sure, but if the change came early, so called, then I guess so. I wonder if there's a particular issue of stone cracking if you try to carve IIII on it, or it takes longer. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.74|162.158.159.74]] 01:36, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

IIII is a clock error.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.173|172.69.63.173]] 23:13, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

I notice in the wikipedia article for type III errors, which mentions several people's proposed definitions, some of them mention one not listed here: a correct answer, but they were investigating the wrong question to begin with.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.81|162.158.74.81]] 17:58, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Roman numerals ''are'' tally marks. Duh. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 20:09, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2292: Thermometer

2020-04-16T16:42:49Z

Kazvorpal:

First non-Covid post other than April fools?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.167|162.158.107.167]]
23:04, 10 April 2020 (UTC)
:Since a fever is a common symptom of Covid-19, I'd say this is as much about Covid-19 as all the previous comics on the topic. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 02:59, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
::I'd disagree. Fevers aren't inherently related to COVID-19, and while it's certainly easy to draw a connection based on current events, at no point is the connection made explicit. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.104|172.69.34.104]] 10:29, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
:::Seriously? Fever is associated with 88% of COVID-19 cases! I'd say that's inherently related, and I'm drawing a connection based on that fact. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 12:59, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
::::Fevers are associated with almost all infectious diseases. By that logic, this could be about the flu, mono, or a hundred other conditions. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 17:24, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
:::::I, too, think calling this a Covid-19 comic is excessive. Sure, thermometers for measuring body temperature are sold out at my local drugstore, and pandemic likely inspired the comic, but if it had been published a year ago, we wouldn't infer any connection to a specific disease or global epidemic. - Ada in New Hampshire, USA [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.22|172.69.6.22]] 07:56, 12 April 2020 (UTC)
::::::I would assume anything that can be linked, even loosely, is probably part of this chain. I have been assuming since the 6th one that Randel would aim for 19 of these just because. Though perhaps he will keep going till the hype is over. Either way, requiring that it directly mentions the topic it was inspired by would be way overkill. Mentioning things that likely inspired a comic is something we have done for a long time, and the virus seems like the most likely inspiration, especially when taking the full comic chain into account[[Special:Contributions/172.69.198.52|172.69.198.52]] 21:33, 12 April 2020 (UTC)
:::::::Also there has been a run on thermometers over the last few weeks. I don't know what it's like in the US, but definitely in Europe it's hard to find a thermometer for human use now. Everyone has been buying them, and obviously for many people they have been buying them for the first time ever.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.7|141.101.69.7]] 17:56, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
::The comic doesn't mention a fever. For all we know Cueball is trying to measure the outside air temperature, or how hot his coffee is. We can rule out the idea that he is trying to measure the temperature of some liquid helium only because he skipped past the kelvin scale. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 18:39, 12 April 2020 (UTC)
:::The shape of the thermometer in the comic is very definitely the shape of a thermometer for human use. And not the shape of a thermometer for household or garden use. These thermometers typically have one button ("the button"). Changing the units typically requires a long press on that button... What more do you need? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.7|141.101.69.7]] 17:56, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

A common practice in schools and the like prior to quarantine was temperature taking upon arrival. So it's like that this comic continues that to the home setting. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.112|162.158.78.112]] 23:19, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

A pessimist would guess that this means someone in Randall's household has a fever. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 23:26, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

> The Physician Ducks[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.94|172.69.62.94]] 23:32, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

Personally I'd welcome a home thermometer marked off in Kelvin, avois all the "twice as cold" sort of confusion you can get with an arbitrary zero as used in Celsius and Fahrenheit. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.210|162.158.34.210]] 23:21, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

I might have enjoyed a "Degrees of Kevin Bacon" joke in this comic somewhere. :-) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.143|172.69.68.143]] 23:42, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

Double-plus-dissapointed we didn't get the Delisle measure referenced at all... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.202|162.158.34.202]] 01:17, 11 April 2020 (UTC) ...and now added. It would be better in any Trivia section, but we don't have one so hoping it's no more out of place in the explanation as Fahrenheit. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.202|162.158.34.202]] 02:02, 11 April 2020 (UTC) ...''aaaand'' someone removed it (as pure trivia, of course), fair enough. Anticipated. Anyone still interested in what I put just needs to check this IP, at about this timestamp, in Page History, though, so not going to argue the point. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.202|162.158.34.202]] 02:08, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

No temperature scale is defined using melting or boiling points of water anymore. Since 2019 Kelvin is defined via the Boltzmann constant, and all other temperature scales have been (re-)defined relative to the Kelvin scale for quite a while. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.103|172.69.63.103]] 01:24, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

Randall forgot the Réaumur scale.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.123.97|162.158.123.97]] 03:00, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure why some people seem to look for any opportunity to take a dig at the US, but I removed the line in the explanation about US-based readers not being familiar with the Celsius temperature scale. I'm sure most Americans are familiar with it but prefer the Fahrenheit scale instead. I don't understand why anyone holds that against us. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 03:04, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
:Hey, let's assume good faith. Chances are, some rando just genuinely had no idea how that kind of stuff works here. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.104|172.69.34.104]] 10:22, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

Regarding USA Fahrenheit and non-USA Celsius preference, I was in Niagra Falls a few years back, listening to a Canadian station on the radio (ok, more than a few years ago...) and the DJ gave a weather report, saying “The current temperature is 25 degrees, that’s 77 on the understandable scale.” [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.201|173.245.54.201]] 04:22, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

I guess if you wanted to use the Newton scale you'd need to have Newton's original "degrees of heat" measuring device. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.67|108.162.250.67]] 04:31, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

Nitpicking alert : the correct writing is "kelvin", not "Kelvin".

100°F is "really hot"? Maybe on a stripper... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.106|162.158.190.106]] 13:00, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

:Also nitpicking: "Kelvin" is correct, as it is a name like Fahrenheit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Kelvin as you like...)[[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 14:59, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

Randall, as a physicist, should know about the equipartition theorem. It states that all degrees of freedom will carry the same average amount of energy in thermal equilibrium, not only the translational kinetic ones (but also rotational, and potential energies). It is technically not false to exclude some of these, but an arbitrary choice. I guess he just wanted to include the terms “translational” and “kinetic” to make sure it sounds ridiculously over-specific (which works well). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.213|162.158.91.213]] 15:07, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
:No, it's still an important distinction. Many Thermometers can only 'measure' the average Translational energy and the rotational and elastic energy is just assumed to match that. (The only Thermometers that measure rotational and elastic Energy are the ones who only measure their own temperature... which is 99.5 of all consumer Thermometers.) And it probably does except in some very specific cases with ultra high speed pressure changes.
::Let's be scientific and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem|look up things]] before asserting false claims. Energies are not “assumed to match”, but it is the very core of Boltzmann's statistics that they ''have no other choice'' than doing so (that's one of the consequences of the second law of thermodynamics). That's why it ''is sufficient'' to know the first moment of any of the energy distributions to know about the thermal budget (definition of temperature). The way how thermometers measure temperature in practice is a totally different topic (take liquid thermometers: they exploit thermal expansion aka anharmonicity of inter-molecular potential energies). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.101|162.158.91.101]] 16:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

+Using the average Translational Energy would would sidestep all the problems with the different units of temperature and would also eliminate the necessity of using the Boltzmann constant, simplyfying a lot of physics. But nobody wants to make the transition since most everyday temperatures would be between 5 and 8zJ, with 5 being freezing, six being tolerable and seven a desert at noon. The Unit, Zeejays would sound cool though.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.70|162.158.92.70]] 09:30, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Alternatively, use molar mean disordered translational kinetic energy per mole, making the numbers nicer by a factor of Avogadro's number, and bringing the scale to 2-3kJ/mol. Or add in a factor of 1.5 as well to make the gas K.E. formula simpler. [[User:Sqek|Sqek]] ([[User talk:Sqek|talk]]) 10:27, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
::Eww, nobody likes (or uses) SI units in atomic physics. Contrary, electron-volts are a totally common measure of temperature. Think of the typical 25 meV of thermal neutrons off a research reactor. You literally ''see'' temperature (diffraction patterns on detectors), their De Broglie wavelengths are just in the inter-atomic distances range that makes them perfect diffraction probes of molecular/crystalline structure (weren't there these nasty radioactivity issues). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.101|162.158.91.101]] 16:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

Well, it has Fahrenheit after a fashion. Just substract 460 from Rankine. It's even easier than converting Kelvin to Celsius!
:I find it much quicker to subtract 0.01C° 27,315 times than to subtract 0.01F° 45,967 times, personally. I think you're quite barmy to suggest otherwise, Unsigned... :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 16:17, 11 April 2020 (UTC)
::Now that I, the formerly Unsigned, think of it, I must agree with you - but for an entirely different reason. 273.15 in binary is a nice, round 100010001.001(00101) with 3 1's in the integer and 4+2n 1's for every 3+5n fractional digits, whereas 459.67 is much messier: 111001011.10110001111110... , with 6 1's in the integer alone. The more 1's there are in a number, the more operations you have to do for each addition or subtraction. So in binary, Kelvin-to-Celsius is much easier to convert than Rankine-to-Fahrenheit. Yet another point in favor of the glorious metric master system, da? [[User:Osato|Osato]] ([[User talk:Osato|talk]]) 19:57, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

I removed the weasel words, indicating that Fahrenheit is "generally appreciated" because 0 means very cold and 100 very hot. I adjusted it to "some claim" and adjusted the text to fit.

Make the scale in Celsius 0 to 200, and I think you would have a system much more relatable to Fahrenheit users. [[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]]) 04:16, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

I can imagine a worse scaling system! Base it on Cat-Scratch-Fever, Hot-Blooded, Yellow Snow, SpringTime in Alaska, Beds are Burning, Burning Down the House . (not in that order) [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:49, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

By a strange coincident, I went for a walk to the real {{w|Ole Rømer|Rømer}}'s {{w|Ole Rømer#The Ole Rømer Museum|Observatorium Tusculanum}} today {{w|da:Observatorium Tusculanum|(full details in the Danish wiki)}}. If you like Historical Science, it's worth a visit next time you're in {{w|Denmark}}... --[[User:Fod|Fod]] ([[User talk:Fod|talk]]) 16:25, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

I'm gonna annoy everyone by daring to point out that the traditional units are better for normal people than the metric system. Engineers and bureaucrats benefit from the metric system, because they convert units all the time, so the awkwardness of units being separated by ten is paid for by easy conversion. But for normal people, a binary system works better, with units as close together as possible, except in special cases where something else evolves spontaneously. And Celsius is the dumbest metric unit ever, without even the tenuous and illusory pretense of objectivity that other metric units have. [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:42, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-16T18:40:15Z

Kazvorpal:

Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu and has already killed more people. And any death rate that starts with 0.00 and then has a number other than zero can only be called "basically zero" if you value human life very little. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.132|162.158.94.132]] 21:49, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:addendum: this seems to depend on what source you use for the chinese yearly flu death rate. number of deaths is either much higher or somewhat lower.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.123|162.158.91.123]] 21:53, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It's Trump taking point that the coronavirus is a hoax and no worse than the flu. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.213|162.158.74.213]] 22:14, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:At the very least, the fact the virus has over 90,000 confirmed cases makes it a significant disease. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.246|172.69.34.246]] 22:28, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It doesn't seem like the point of the comic is to comment on the severity of the virus. Seems more on-topic to say things that are objectively true, like "Many people are concerned about the virus" rather than discussing disputed stats.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 22:58, 2 March 2020 (UTC) Patb
::I agree, and suggest we remove the line with stats entirely. It isn't relevant to the comic, and having it refer to "current estimates" means someone will have to keep updating it when new estimates are made. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.57|172.69.54.57]] 08:17, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::A running total here wouldn't be necessary, there is at least one web site especially for that (or a page for Covid-19 on a general disease outbreak tracking site). To me it looks like this virus is about equally dangerous as flu, except that this virus is only in about 70 countries and counting, so if it isn't in yours yet (as far as you know) then you are not yet in danger (as far as you know). Also, flu kills a lot of people, numerically, every year, and if this virus kills an equal number of people, every year, there are twice as many people dead, total. (ish) So it's worth trying to stop this virus from existing, while we might still do that. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.76|162.158.159.76]] 13:40, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Let's inject a little sanity here: Trump's "talking point" about it being no on par with the flu is, for once, correct. Most people who are infected have mild symptoms, or none at all. In fact, that's how it's suddenly turned out that the spread is so much greater than previously reported: Because most people never even know they have it. Given this, the mortality rate is a tiny fraction of what was previously reported, perhaps 0.3% instead of 3%. And it was only ostensibly 3% in a primitive region where some people still have dirt floors, and almost nobody is willing to deal with their socialized health care system except in an emergency. Therefore most of the infected were not showing up for treatment, only those in serious trouble. In fact, the vast majority of those who have died are elderly or immunocompromised, ''exactly'' the same group who are killed in the tens of thousands each year by the flu, in the US. So no, this has been a tempest in a teapot, stirred up by the unscientific CDC in order to pad their budget, the way they do periodically with a new fake pandemic threat. SARS, West Nile, bird flu, h1n1, and ebola...no competent epidemiologist would ever seriously have expected those to become a threat in the US, or anywhere else outside of primitive regions. But the CDC has continued to redouble their unearned budget on this fraudulent fearmongering. As I learned when consulting for such ilk in DC, "Fear Equals Funding". Oh, and no, 90,000 cases only make it a "significant disease" in the way that another coronavirus, the common cold, is significant. It's not significantly dangerous. In fact, it really is just a strong kind of common cold. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::While it doesn't seem to be more lethal than flu (or in general having more severe symptoms), either it's more contagious or the fact it's contagious for weeks before symptoms makes it spread easier. In this sense it's more serious threat - imagine for example if ALL employees of nuclear power plant would be infected leaving noone capable of caring of the reactor. That said, it seems that panic is currently more dangerous than the virus itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::::Wait, look carefully at the two separate segments of logic you presented. You need to unify them to be cross-consistent: Since the coronavirus mostly is no worse than the common cold or flu, even if ALL employees of a nuclear power plant catch it they can continue working. Most of them are not immunocompromised. Those few should stay home, and everyone else should keep working, just like they would with a cold. Remember, the majority of people who are infected with the novel coronavirus never even have symptoms. It is in that sense ''less'' harmful than the flu or the other famous coronavirus, the common cold. The only reason the nuclear plant may end up without anyone to man it is the insane panic causing people to stay home en masse. Remember, the actual reason the authorities are saying to stay home isn't that it's a danger to the normal people who are infected, and not to keep you from catching it...but just to slow its spread. That's all. They want it to spread slowly enough that they can deal with it more easily. That is what they're explicitly stating. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]])

:The 2% death rate in the explantion is outdated. [https://news.sina.cn/zt_d/yiqing0121 Here (in Chinese)] is the compiled data for all China. As of March 3rd, the death rate calculated by (death toll)/(confirmed infected patients) is 3.7% for all China and 4.6% for Wuhan city (the epicenter). The number for Wuhan is likely to grow in the following days, too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.86|162.158.190.86]] 20:11, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::The mortality rate in China is only relevant if one lives in an area with a primitive socialized health care system. As with SARS, it won't turn out to have a significant death rate among people infected in the US who are not elderly or immunocompromised. Perhaps, in fact, a zero death rate outside of that high risk group. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::@kazvorpal your comment is inappropriate for several reasons, including "primitive" and deprecating socialized medicine. Since there've already been deaths among the small group of known cases in the USA, it's way too early to calculate mortality rates here. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 16:24, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
::::There is nothing inappropriate about pointing out the primitive nature of the poorest provinces of China, nor the very factual failures of socialized medicine. As for the US, there have been no cases of someone dying here who was actually infected here. And there's no reason to believe that when they do occur, the mortality rate will turn out to be much worse than the flu. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
:::Can someone ban this fucking racist Trumpbot? Kazvorpal even wrote some sort of article for blaming the failures of the current system on socialism. And then he calls China primitive and says some of the hospitals have dirt floors. Just ban Kazvorpal already.
:::::Can you be a grownup who signs his posts, instead of a little coward who spews childish nonsense and then runs away to hide? I never said their hospitals had dirt floors, but the cold hard fact is that many of the houses in the poorest provinces do, because socialism is indeed such a failure. And those poor provinces are indeed primitive, no actual grownup disputes that fact, either. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
::Though you're right in that there ''is'' sophistication in the system (potentially), while the US famously has a situation so broken that "almost nobody is willing to deal with their '''non-'''socialized health care system except in an emergency" either. I think if the meaning was "a health system which is primitively socialised(/ist)" I could accept the utterer's original intent, though I don't actually know enough about the the practicalities of the Chinese system to know how it actually transpires in individual off-the-street transactions. I live within the somewhat social UK one, and directly see its problems, but I've been done well by it myself despite it being notably sabotaged by various politicians on the scene by forcing some changes or refusing to implement others. I haven't myself experienced the strange US one, even during my visits there, but I've had such info as a live online chat (early 1990s, via IRC, for reference) with someone who daren't go to a doctor/A&E for a clearly in-progress medical issue - if it wasn't even a real thing (as cynics might suggest may have happened in the text-only pre-Eternal September entirely pseudonymical medium) it must have had a grounding on experience and yet it totally blew my mind that something that would cost a few GBP (in medical supplies) and literally a few minutes of a doctor's time (underpaid, arguably) could instead potentially end up as billed for USDthousands either directly or as private insurance overheads. Still, this is an old (and perpetual) politically-biased discussion that has had few actual new arguments added to any side for years, and will doubtless rumble on as long as it can - I think we should all realise that all the systems are bad, we just fundementally disagree about which particular ones are least bad. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.148|141.101.98.148]] 19:53, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

If the Godzilla movies have taught me anything, it's that giant insects aren't a problem biologists can solve anyways. That's more of a "nuclear paleontology" sort of job. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 01:43, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

It is legitimately difficult to tell if Ponytail's use of the word 'catchy' as a descriptor for 'coronavirus' is an intentional or unintentional pun. Either way, it's very opportune. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 03:55, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

The current chapter of Wilde Life (a totally unrelated webcomic) as a giant spider interacting with two of the main characters, starting [https://www.wildelifecomic.com/comic/710/ here]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:05, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I think they missed a trick with the naming. CORVID-19 would have reminded everyone of H5N1 'bird flu', and we could just blame the crows. Kill a magpie to avoid infection!
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 10:53, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:What? How is CORVID-19 supposed to remind anyone of H5N1 or bird flu? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:20, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Corvidae is the family including crows, ravens, jays, magpies; so, CORVID~=bird. Not sure how many people would make that connection, but I think that's what the previous poster was getting at.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.91|162.158.187.91]] 13:13, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:I think "SARS-CoV-2: Electric Boogaloo" has a nice ring to it although a little wordy for everyday use. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 08:16, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
::I was thinking "SARS 2: The Attack of Pneumonia" 08:38, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

Yeah really dodged a bullet on those rhinoviri. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.44|172.69.22.44]] 11:36, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Is it relevant to mention that some spiders grow larger in cities? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105480
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:39, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not really wanting to catch COVID-19. I'm holding out for COVID-19b, which is going to be better beta-tested. (But by the time COVID-19c comes out, it's just going to be a bandwagon of planned obsolescence by then - I'd rather stick with what I've got until the next significent release version and keep a close eye on the advanced reviews and what other vendors are innovating.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.46|162.158.34.46]] 16:15, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

This is only 3 years too early to be a reference to the spiders in Colorado https://xkcd.com/1688/ especially with Megan holding bio-hazardous material. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.33|162.158.62.33]]

Assorted catchier names: a)Corona-chan (works for every disease with a girl name, Ebola, Zika, Lassa, Malaria, Cholera, Yersinia...Ask 4chan), b) My Corona (OK, a bit 1970-ish), c) Coronjob (for conspiracy buffs). (Personally, I'm less afraid of getting infected than getting, showing no symptoms as always and killing half of my environment...) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 09:36, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, "My Corona" got largely superceded by the fad for "e-Corona", except for some niches, and then along came "iCorona" and changed everything. Though there was also the short-lived Corona Millenium Edition. (It didn't stay bad. Corona XP became the highpoint. And if you did't like that, you might as well just go back to Corona Bob.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.43|162.158.154.43]] 16:59, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

I think that it's worth noting that this comic came out the day after the American Super Tuesday primaries.--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.64|172.69.71.64]] 15:42, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:But it didn't. This comic came out the day ''before'' the primaries, and is completely unrelated to them. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.28|172.68.211.28]] 02:28, 5 March 2020 (UTC)
Shoulda called it Coronavirus-2019.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.210|162.158.34.210]] 22:51, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Looking forward to seeing if there is an uptick in children named Corona later this year. I wouldn't bet against it. [[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]]) 01:22, 9 March 2020 (UTC)

I have to agree with the speculation that in the end this will end up being much ado about nothing just like swine flu and bird flu. 08:38, 11 March 2020 (UTC)
: A very quick googleskim showed [https://www.google.com/search?q=deaths+by+avian+flu 616 worldwide deaths from the avian flu] ... and [https://www.google.com/search?q=deaths+by+pandemic+swine+flu 575,400 (12,469 USA) from pandemic swine flu.] [[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]]) 23:13, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

One American of my acquaintance, living in New Zealand, has quoted (with approval) a recent suggestion he's heard of calling it "Trump's disease". What a great way to commemorate his presidency!

Talk:2278: Scientific Briefing

2020-03-16T18:32:34Z

Kazvorpal:

Reference to COVID-19?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.173|172.69.70.173]] 20:42, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
:Seems closer to global warming to me. [[User:LegionMammal978|LegionMammal978]] ([[User talk:LegionMammal978|talk]]) 21:01, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
::Given the title text, it could plausibly be about either of those, or just about anything else (ocean acidification, deforestation, wireless spectrum congestion...) --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 21:25, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
::: Or at least, like, half of them. -- [[User:KarMann|KarMann]] ([[User talk:KarMann|talk]]) 21:29, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
::::I read it as an analysis of actionable analytics...
::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:10, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
::::Not half of them, the other way around. Half of topics can be described by same graphs. This group of topics include global climate change, ocean acidification, deforestation, wireless spectrum congestion, IPv4 address exhaustion, COVID-19 and many others. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:22, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
:::::Well, yeah, still half of them, right? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 14:22, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
:: ''Pretty'' sure it's about how the spider laid some eggs recently

I've heard that President Trump feels that the coronavirus will "blow over." -- [[User:172.69.63.143|172.69.63.143]] ([[User talk:172.69.63.143|talk]]) 22:22, 9 March 2020‎ ''(please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~</nowiki>~~)''
:So how about going to the winchester, have a nice cold pint and wait for that? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:04, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
::Because I don't know where the tornado dropped the kegs. The roof is fine, and only two counties off. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.67|172.69.63.67]] 16:35, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
Randall really missed a chance to talk about things going "from bad to worse." [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 23:20, 9 March 2020 (UTC)

No no it's about rising extremism wait no no no it's fresh water demand as a percentage of supply wait no no its Niagra falls going through a straw -- [[User:162.158.62.105|162.158.62.105]] ([[User talk:162.158.62.105|talk]]) 00:59, 10 March 2020 ''(please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~</nowiki>~~)''

"or perhaps Things Which Need Explaining." - I'm not sure the book, or any of the things described therein aren't bad yet but are getting worse and will be bad if nobody does anything: though maybe my copy is slowly going critical and I've just never noticed...
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.86|162.158.155.86]] 07:33, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
: I meant it in the sense that maybe the quantity of Things Which Need Explaining is increasing faster than Things Are Being Explained. --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 13:05, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

This is basically a comic about The Tragedy of the Commons.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.124|172.68.206.124]] 08:31, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

It's obviously a graph of how much expert advice is being ignored on serious issues. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.166|141.101.98.166]] 14:53, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
:I agree. I also think that there are two kinds of "bad" in this comic, the first being the future value in the graph (whatever that might be) and the second being the apathy towards preventing that future bad value. I think the second one is what Megan refers to in the last panel, when she states it already has become bad. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 15:28, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
::I think the graph specifically represents that second kind of bad; namely that our responses to actionable information are moving farther from good toward bad.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:00, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
:''Exactly.'' I thought I said that earlier... I see: I wasn't specific.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:00, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
::I guess I didn't know the meaning of "actionable analytics" in your earlier post! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 03:44, 11 March 2020 (UTC)
:::It sounds like meaningless buzzwords from middle management. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:28, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

Probably the messiest explanation I've read in a long time...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.145|162.158.158.145]] 10:26, 11 March 2020 (UTC)
:You are free to help and improve it. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:36, 11 March 2020 (UTC)
I'm surprised Y2K hasn't been mentioned. A good example of when we did actually stop a big problem, but a lot of people think it was never a problem to begin with.
::Actually, Y2K was always a tiny problem (speaking as someone who spotted the issue in the 80s). Like Coronavirus, the media and politicians leapt on the name and blew it WAY out of proportion. If nobody had fixed Y2K, what does it matter if this computer or that computer running this program or that (and generally old computers and old programs) thinks it's 1900? An invoice says it's due January 5, 1900 instead of 2000? Big whoop. Only actually mattered with expiry dates and date math, like if you rented a movie in December and returned it in January, there was potential that the computer might think you had it for -99 years. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:26, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Since when is explainxkcd a platform for urging explainxkcd readers to begin political action themselves and post links to it here?? I thought explainxkcd was for explaining xkcd. The entire (current version) first paragraph, while presumably well-intentioned, ought to be deleted entirely because it clearly does not belong here. Where are the explainxkcd regulars, and why has this been left that way for so long? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.206|172.69.22.206]] 01:31, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

This explanation declares this comic is about Coronavirus, it seems merely potentially so. I was watching for this to be another one in a row, and all the language is kept generic, and how can one person seeing a graph and asking a question make Coronavirus worse? LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:26, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

:On seeing the comic I first thought of the phrase "flatten the curve," ([https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+curve&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALeKk03mKJ56OPPedaSXRvGA0bp3dwQr_g:1584191550826&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJl5K1hZroAhWG5KQKHYeoC6sQ_AUoAXoECAsQAw Google Images]) which has been used often recently to conceptualize the goal humanity (or each community or nation) needs to have when dealing with COVID-19.—[[User:Arpose|Arpose]] ([[User talk:Arpose|talk]]) 13:20, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

"This chart shows that while things are fine now, we who are asking you for money want you to give us more based on how we're scaring you about what might ever happen." —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:32, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-08T04:32:12Z

Kazvorpal:

Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu and has already killed more people. And any death rate that starts with 0.00 and then has a number other than zero can only be called "basically zero" if you value human life very little. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.132|162.158.94.132]] 21:49, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:addendum: this seems to depend on what source you use for the chinese yearly flu death rate. number of deaths is either much higher or somewhat lower.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.123|162.158.91.123]] 21:53, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It's Trump taking point that the coronavirus is a hoax and no worse than the flu. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.213|162.158.74.213]] 22:14, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:At the very least, the fact the virus has over 90,000 confirmed cases makes it a significant disease. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.246|172.69.34.246]] 22:28, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It doesn't seem like the point of the comic is to comment on the severity of the virus. Seems more on-topic to say things that are objectively true, like "Many people are concerned about the virus" rather than discussing disputed stats.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 22:58, 2 March 2020 (UTC) Patb
::I agree, and suggest we remove the line with stats entirely. It isn't relevant to the comic, and having it refer to "current estimates" means someone will have to keep updating it when new estimates are made. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.57|172.69.54.57]] 08:17, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::A running total here wouldn't be necessary, there is at least one web site especially for that (or a page for Covid-19 on a general disease outbreak tracking site). To me it looks like this virus is about equally dangerous as flu, except that this virus is only in about 70 countries and counting, so if it isn't in yours yet (as far as you know) then you are not yet in danger (as far as you know). Also, flu kills a lot of people, numerically, every year, and if this virus kills an equal number of people, every year, there are twice as many people dead, total. (ish) So it's worth trying to stop this virus from existing, while we might still do that. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.76|162.158.159.76]] 13:40, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Let's inject a little sanity here: Trump's "talking point" about it being no on par with the flu is, for once, correct. Most people who are infected have mild symptoms, or none at all. In fact, that's how it's suddenly turned out that the spread is so much greater than previously reported: Because most people never even know they have it. Given this, the mortality rate is a tiny fraction of what was previously reported, perhaps 0.3% instead of 3%. And it was only ostensibly 3% in a primitive region where some people still have dirt floors, and almost nobody is willing to deal with their socialized health care system except in an emergency. Therefore most of the infected were not showing up for treatment, only those in serious trouble. In fact, the vast majority of those who have died are elderly or immunocompromised, ''exactly'' the same group who are killed in the tens of thousands each year by the flu, in the US. So no, this has been a tempest in a teapot, stirred up by the unscientific CDC in order to pad their budget, the way they do periodically with a new fake pandemic threat. SARS, West Nile, bird flu, h1n1, and ebola...no competent epidemiologist would ever seriously have expected those to become a threat in the US, or anywhere else outside of primitive regions. But the CDC has continued to redouble their unearned budget on this fraudulent fearmongering. As I learned when consulting for such ilk in DC, "Fear Equals Funding". Oh, and no, 90,000 cases only make it a "significant disease" in the way that another coronavirus, the common cold, is significant. It's not significantly dangerous. In fact, it really is just a strong kind of common cold. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::While it doesn't seem to be more lethal than flu (or in general having more severe symptoms), either it's more contagious or the fact it's contagious for weeks before symptoms makes it spread easier. In this sense it's more serious threat - imagine for example if ALL employees of nuclear power plant would be infected leaving noone capable of caring of the reactor. That said, it seems that panic is currently more dangerous than the virus itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

:The 2% death rate in the explantion is outdated. [https://news.sina.cn/zt_d/yiqing0121 Here (in Chinese)] is the compiled data for all China. As of March 3rd, the death rate calculated by (death toll)/(confirmed infected patients) is 3.7% for all China and 4.6% for Wuhan city (the epicenter). The number for Wuhan is likely to grow in the following days, too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.86|162.158.190.86]] 20:11, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::The mortality rate in China is only relevant if one lives in an area with a primitive socialized health care system. As with SARS, it won't turn out to have a significant death rate among people infected in the US who are not elderly or immunocompromised. Perhaps, in fact, a zero death rate outside of that high risk group. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::@kazvorpal your comment is inappropriate for several reasons, including "primitive" and deprecating socialized medicine. Since there've already been deaths among the small group of known cases in the USA, it's way too early to calculate mortality rates here. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 16:24, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
::::There is nothing inappropriate about pointing out the primitive nature of the poorest provinces of China, nor the very factual failures of socialized medicine. As for the US, there have been no cases of someone dying here who was actually infected here. And there's no reason to believe that when they do occur, the mortality rate will turn out to be much worse than the flu. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
:::Can someone ban this fucking racist Trumpbot? Kazvorpal even wrote some sort of article for blaming the failures of the current system on socialism. And then he calls China primitive and says some of the hospitals have dirt floors. Just ban Kazvorpal already.
:::::Can you be a grownup who signs his posts, instead of a little coward who spews childish nonsense and then runs away to hide? I never said their hospitals had dirt floors, but the cold hard fact is that many of the houses in the poorest provinces do, because socialism is indeed such a failure. And those poor provinces are indeed primitive, no actual grownup disputes that fact, either. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
::Though you're right in that there ''is'' sophistication in the system (potentially), while the US famously has a situation so broken that "almost nobody is willing to deal with their '''non-'''socialized health care system except in an emergency" either. I think if the meaning was "a health system which is primitively socialised(/ist)" I could accept the utterer's original intent, though I don't actually know enough about the the practicalities of the Chinese system to know how it actually transpires in individual off-the-street transactions. I live within the somewhat social UK one, and directly see its problems, but I've been done well by it myself despite it being notably sabotaged by various politicians on the scene by forcing some changes or refusing to implement others. I haven't myself experienced the strange US one, even during my visits there, but I've had such info as a live online chat (early 1990s, via IRC, for reference) with someone who daren't go to a doctor/A&E for a clearly in-progress medical issue - if it wasn't even a real thing (as cynics might suggest may have happened in the text-only pre-Eternal September entirely pseudonymical medium) it must have had a grounding on experience and yet it totally blew my mind that something that would cost a few GBP (in medical supplies) and literally a few minutes of a doctor's time (underpaid, arguably) could instead potentially end up as billed for USDthousands either directly or as private insurance overheads. Still, this is an old (and perpetual) politically-biased discussion that has had few actual new arguments added to any side for years, and will doubtless rumble on as long as it can - I think we should all realise that all the systems are bad, we just fundementally disagree about which particular ones are least bad. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.148|141.101.98.148]] 19:53, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

If the Godzilla movies have taught me anything, it's that giant insects aren't a problem biologists can solve anyways. That's more of a "nuclear paleontology" sort of job. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 01:43, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

It is legitimately difficult to tell if Ponytail's use of the word 'catchy' as a descriptor for 'coronavirus' is an intentional or unintentional pun. Either way, it's very opportune. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 03:55, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

The current chapter of Wilde Life (a totally unrelated webcomic) as a giant spider interacting with two of the main characters, starting [https://www.wildelifecomic.com/comic/710/ here]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:05, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I think they missed a trick with the naming. CORVID-19 would have reminded everyone of H5N1 'bird flu', and we could just blame the crows. Kill a magpie to avoid infection!
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 10:53, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:What? How is CORVID-19 supposed to remind anyone of H5N1 or bird flu? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:20, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Corvidae is the family including crows, ravens, jays, magpies; so, CORVID~=bird. Not sure how many people would make that connection, but I think that's what the previous poster was getting at.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.91|162.158.187.91]] 13:13, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:I think "SARS-CoV-2: Electric Boogaloo" has a nice ring to it although a little wordy for everyday use. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 08:16, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Yeah really dodged a bullet on those rhinoviri. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.44|172.69.22.44]] 11:36, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Is it relevant to mention that some spiders grow larger in cities? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105480
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:39, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not really wanting to catch COVID-19. I'm holding out for COVID-19b, which is going to be better beta-tested. (But by the time COVID-19c comes out, it's just going to be a bandwagon of planned obsolescence by then - I'd rather stick with what I've got until the next significent release version and keep a close eye on the advanced reviews and what other vendors are innovating.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.46|162.158.34.46]] 16:15, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

This is only 3 years too early to be a reference to the spiders in Colorado https://xkcd.com/1688/ especially with Megan holding bio-hazardous material. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.33|162.158.62.33]]

Assorted catchier names: a)Corona-chan (works for every disease with a girl name, Ebola, Zika, Lassa, Malaria, Cholera, Yersinia...Ask 4chan), b) My Corona (OK, a bit 1970-ish), c) Coronjob (for conspiracy buffs). (Personally, I'm less afraid of getting infected than getting, showing no symptoms as always and killing half of my environment...) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 09:36, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, "My Corona" got largely superceded by the fad for "e-Corona", except for some niches, and then along came "iCorona" and changed everything. Though there was also the short-lived Corona Millenium Edition. (It didn't stay bad. Corona XP became the highpoint. And if you did't like that, you might as well just go back to Corona Bob.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.43|162.158.154.43]] 16:59, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

I think that it's worth noting that this comic came out the day after the American Super Tuesday primaries.--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.64|172.69.71.64]] 15:42, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:But it didn't. This comic came out the day ''before'' the primaries, and is completely unrelated to them. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.28|172.68.211.28]] 02:28, 5 March 2020 (UTC)
Shoulda called it Coronavirus-2019.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.210|162.158.34.210]] 22:51, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-08T04:31:34Z

Kazvorpal:

Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu and has already killed more people. And any death rate that starts with 0.00 and then has a number other than zero can only be called "basically zero" if you value human life very little. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.132|162.158.94.132]] 21:49, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:addendum: this seems to depend on what source you use for the chinese yearly flu death rate. number of deaths is either much higher or somewhat lower.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.123|162.158.91.123]] 21:53, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It's Trump taking point that the coronavirus is a hoax and no worse than the flu. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.213|162.158.74.213]] 22:14, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:At the very least, the fact the virus has over 90,000 confirmed cases makes it a significant disease. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.246|172.69.34.246]] 22:28, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It doesn't seem like the point of the comic is to comment on the severity of the virus. Seems more on-topic to say things that are objectively true, like "Many people are concerned about the virus" rather than discussing disputed stats.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 22:58, 2 March 2020 (UTC) Patb
::I agree, and suggest we remove the line with stats entirely. It isn't relevant to the comic, and having it refer to "current estimates" means someone will have to keep updating it when new estimates are made. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.57|172.69.54.57]] 08:17, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::A running total here wouldn't be necessary, there is at least one web site especially for that (or a page for Covid-19 on a general disease outbreak tracking site). To me it looks like this virus is about equally dangerous as flu, except that this virus is only in about 70 countries and counting, so if it isn't in yours yet (as far as you know) then you are not yet in danger (as far as you know). Also, flu kills a lot of people, numerically, every year, and if this virus kills an equal number of people, every year, there are twice as many people dead, total. (ish) So it's worth trying to stop this virus from existing, while we might still do that. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.76|162.158.159.76]] 13:40, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Let's inject a little sanity here: Trump's "talking point" about it being no on par with the flu is, for once, correct. Most people who are infected have mild symptoms, or none at all. In fact, that's how it's suddenly turned out that the spread is so much greater than previously reported: Because most people never even know they have it. Given this, the mortality rate is a tiny fraction of what was previously reported, perhaps 0.3% instead of 3%. And it was only ostensibly 3% in a primitive region where some people still have dirt floors, and almost nobody is willing to deal with their socialized health care system except in an emergency. Therefore most of the infected were not showing up for treatment, only those in serious trouble. In fact, the vast majority of those who have died are elderly or immunocompromised, ''exactly'' the same group who are killed in the tens of thousands each year by the flu, in the US. So no, this has been a tempest in a teapot, stirred up by the unscientific CDC in order to pad their budget, the way they do periodically with a new fake pandemic threat. SARS, West Nile, bird flu, h1n1, and ebola...no competent epidemiologist would ever seriously have expected those to become a threat in the US, or anywhere else outside of primitive regions. But the CDC has continued to redouble their unearned budget on this fraudulent fearmongering. As I learned when consulting for such ilk in DC, "Fear Equals Funding". Oh, and no, 90,000 cases only make it a "significant disease" in the way that another coronavirus, the common cold, is significant. It's not significantly dangerous. In fact, it really is just a strong kind of common cold. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::While it doesn't seem to be more lethal than flu (or in general having more severe symptoms), either it's more contagious or the fact it's contagious for weeks before symptoms makes it spread easier. In this sense it's more serious threat - imagine for example if ALL employees of nuclear power plant would be infected leaving noone capable of caring of the reactor. That said, it seems that panic is currently more dangerous than the virus itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

:The 2% death rate in the explantion is outdated. [https://news.sina.cn/zt_d/yiqing0121 Here (in Chinese)] is the compiled data for all China. As of March 3rd, the death rate calculated by (death toll)/(confirmed infected patients) is 3.7% for all China and 4.6% for Wuhan city (the epicenter). The number for Wuhan is likely to grow in the following days, too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.86|162.158.190.86]] 20:11, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::The mortality rate in China is only relevant if one lives in an area with a primitive socialized health care system. As with SARS, it won't turn out to have a significant death rate among people infected in the US who are not elderly or immunocompromised. Perhaps, in fact, a zero death rate outside of that high risk group. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::@kazvorpal your comment is inappropriate for several reasons, including "primitive" and deprecating socialized medicine. Since there've already been deaths among the small group of known cases in the USA, it's way too early to calculate mortality rates here. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 16:24, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:::There is nothing inappropriate about pointing out the primitive nature of the poorest provinces of China, nor the very factual failures of socialized medicine. As for the US, there have been no cases of someone dying here who was actually infected here. And there's no reason to believe that when they do occur, the mortality rate will turn out to be much worse than the flu. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
:::Can someone ban this fucking racist Trumpbot? Kazvorpal even wrote some sort of article for blaming the failures of the current system on socialism. And then he calls China primitive and says some of the hospitals have dirt floors. Just ban Kazvorpal already.
:::::Can you be a grownup who signs his posts, instead of a little coward who spews childish nonsense and then runs away to hide? I never said their hospitals had dirt floors, but the cold hard fact is that many of the houses in the poorest provinces do, because socialism is indeed such a failure. And those poor provinces are indeed primitive, no actual grownup disputes that fact, either. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:31, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
::Though you're right in that there ''is'' sophistication in the system (potentially), while the US famously has a situation so broken that "almost nobody is willing to deal with their '''non-'''socialized health care system except in an emergency" either. I think if the meaning was "a health system which is primitively socialised(/ist)" I could accept the utterer's original intent, though I don't actually know enough about the the practicalities of the Chinese system to know how it actually transpires in individual off-the-street transactions. I live within the somewhat social UK one, and directly see its problems, but I've been done well by it myself despite it being notably sabotaged by various politicians on the scene by forcing some changes or refusing to implement others. I haven't myself experienced the strange US one, even during my visits there, but I've had such info as a live online chat (early 1990s, via IRC, for reference) with someone who daren't go to a doctor/A&E for a clearly in-progress medical issue - if it wasn't even a real thing (as cynics might suggest may have happened in the text-only pre-Eternal September entirely pseudonymical medium) it must have had a grounding on experience and yet it totally blew my mind that something that would cost a few GBP (in medical supplies) and literally a few minutes of a doctor's time (underpaid, arguably) could instead potentially end up as billed for USDthousands either directly or as private insurance overheads. Still, this is an old (and perpetual) politically-biased discussion that has had few actual new arguments added to any side for years, and will doubtless rumble on as long as it can - I think we should all realise that all the systems are bad, we just fundementally disagree about which particular ones are least bad. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.148|141.101.98.148]] 19:53, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

If the Godzilla movies have taught me anything, it's that giant insects aren't a problem biologists can solve anyways. That's more of a "nuclear paleontology" sort of job. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 01:43, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

It is legitimately difficult to tell if Ponytail's use of the word 'catchy' as a descriptor for 'coronavirus' is an intentional or unintentional pun. Either way, it's very opportune. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 03:55, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

The current chapter of Wilde Life (a totally unrelated webcomic) as a giant spider interacting with two of the main characters, starting [https://www.wildelifecomic.com/comic/710/ here]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:05, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I think they missed a trick with the naming. CORVID-19 would have reminded everyone of H5N1 'bird flu', and we could just blame the crows. Kill a magpie to avoid infection!
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 10:53, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:What? How is CORVID-19 supposed to remind anyone of H5N1 or bird flu? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:20, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Corvidae is the family including crows, ravens, jays, magpies; so, CORVID~=bird. Not sure how many people would make that connection, but I think that's what the previous poster was getting at.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.91|162.158.187.91]] 13:13, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:I think "SARS-CoV-2: Electric Boogaloo" has a nice ring to it although a little wordy for everyday use. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 08:16, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Yeah really dodged a bullet on those rhinoviri. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.44|172.69.22.44]] 11:36, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Is it relevant to mention that some spiders grow larger in cities? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105480
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:39, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not really wanting to catch COVID-19. I'm holding out for COVID-19b, which is going to be better beta-tested. (But by the time COVID-19c comes out, it's just going to be a bandwagon of planned obsolescence by then - I'd rather stick with what I've got until the next significent release version and keep a close eye on the advanced reviews and what other vendors are innovating.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.46|162.158.34.46]] 16:15, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

This is only 3 years too early to be a reference to the spiders in Colorado https://xkcd.com/1688/ especially with Megan holding bio-hazardous material. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.33|162.158.62.33]]

Assorted catchier names: a)Corona-chan (works for every disease with a girl name, Ebola, Zika, Lassa, Malaria, Cholera, Yersinia...Ask 4chan), b) My Corona (OK, a bit 1970-ish), c) Coronjob (for conspiracy buffs). (Personally, I'm less afraid of getting infected than getting, showing no symptoms as always and killing half of my environment...) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 09:36, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, "My Corona" got largely superceded by the fad for "e-Corona", except for some niches, and then along came "iCorona" and changed everything. Though there was also the short-lived Corona Millenium Edition. (It didn't stay bad. Corona XP became the highpoint. And if you did't like that, you might as well just go back to Corona Bob.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.43|162.158.154.43]] 16:59, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

I think that it's worth noting that this comic came out the day after the American Super Tuesday primaries.--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.64|172.69.71.64]] 15:42, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:But it didn't. This comic came out the day ''before'' the primaries, and is completely unrelated to them. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.28|172.68.211.28]] 02:28, 5 March 2020 (UTC)
Shoulda called it Coronavirus-2019.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.210|162.158.34.210]] 22:51, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

User talk:Kazvorpal

2020-03-08T04:25:16Z

Kazvorpal:

Hi Kazvorpal,

I noticed you added a lot of Wikipedia links here. I like them a lot. Especially for people like me who are not native speakers, and who are only familiar with american culture from public media, it often helps for further reading at points, which do not need explanations for Americans. However I noticed, that you use the template <nowiki> [[wikipedia:andsoon]] </nowiki>, while on this project, the more common way to do it (and the only one I've seen until yesterday I think) is to use <nowiki> {w|andsoon} </nowiki> for them. I do not mean to tell you what to do or how to edit, but I personally like consistency. So maybe use that template, which is also shorter by the way, as well. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:19, 23 October 2019 (UTC)
:I appreciate the feedback, and understand your need for a simple form of order. But not only did the way I'm doing it come first, but I find it amusing to continue using it specifically because of the contrast between that and the new template way. Complexity can produce its own, higher form of order. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 15:35, 24 October 2019 (UTC)

2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-03T21:37:02Z

Kazvorpal: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2275
| date = March 2, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Name
| image = coronavirus_name.png
| titletext = It's important to keep the spider from touching your face.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MUTANT T. ANNEXA WOLF SPIDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is [[Randall|Randall's]] take on the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak}}. As of the publication date (2020 March 3), the outbreak has infected more than 90,000 people, and has caused more than 3000 deaths.

The disease caused by the virus was officially named {{w|Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19}} on 11 February 2020, as "{{w|coronavirus}}" is a category of viruses named for their appearance, which is similar to a halo or crown, and includes the common cold. However, the virus itself is not called COVID-19, but is called {{w|severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2}} (SARS-CoV-2). So calling the virus or disease "coronavirus" is like calling a specific strain of flu ''The Influenza virus''. However, with extensive media coverage, the name "Coronavirus" has become associated with COVID-19, making it difficult to discuss other types of coronavirus later on.

COVID-19 in China has a 20% hospitalization rate and a 2% death rate by current estimates, compared to a [https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-myths.html typical rate of around 0.1% for the flu in the US].

In this comic, researchers [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing that it is by now too late to try calling the disease its official name COVID-19, as the name coronavirus has stuck. [[Cueball]] reacts with dismay, since there are many other types of coronaviruses.

The comic becomes absurd when Ponytail compares the coronavirus naming to a giant "car eating spider" living on top of the skyscrapers of the town, which is also just called "The Spider" even though it is technically a mutated ''{{w|Tigrosa annexa}}'' {{w|wolf spider}}. Everyone knows what you mean when you say "Coronavirus", as they do when you mention "The Spider".

[[Megan]] then asks if they should not also do something about the spider, but Ponytail and Cueball agree that they can only tackle one problem at a time, and coronavirus takes up all their time. Only thing is that Ponytail now takes another commute, probably to avoid getting her car eaten.

On a more serious note, the comic may also reference the fact that that there are many other problems in the world (both spider and non-spider related) that kill many more people and cause more problems. So this draws a humorous comparison to the fact that we seem to have forgotten about all the wars, etc and focus just on the virus.

The title text references the health advice that people avoid touching their face with unwashed hands, in order to prevent infections that they picked up by touching things from entering their mucous membranes. (It's a lot easier for an infection to enter the body through the inside of your nose than your hands.) It is likewise quite important to keep the giant spider from touching your face, but for the dissimilar reason that it might bite and eat you.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is carrying a box with biohazard symbols on it towards a desk where Ponytail (wearing safety glasses) is working on a laptop, across from Cueball (also wearing safety glasses) who is putting a test tube into a centrifuge. There's also a flask on the desk.]
:Ponytail: Feels like we missed the window for the "COVID-19" renaming. "Coronavirus" is just too catchy.
:Cueball: But it's not specific! There are a lot of coronaviruses.

:[In a frameless panel, Ponytail (still wearing safety glasses) is pointing at a screen or picture showing a modern city skyline with a large spider crawling across three of the high-rise buildings.]
:Ponytail: I think it's fine. It's like, you know the giant spider downtown that sits on the buildings and sometimes eats cars? I think ''technically'' it's a mutant ''T. annexa'' wolf spider, but everyone is just calling it "the spider" and we all know what they mean.

:[Back to the setting from the first panel. Megan is standing and Ponytail had turned towards her and Cueball has stepped back from the machine.]
:Megan: I've been meaning to ask, what's '''''with''''' that spider? Should we...do something?
:Ponytail: Honestly I've been too busy with the virus stuff to look into it-I just changed my commute to avoid Main St.
:Cueball: Yeah, that's fair. One thing at a time.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spiders]]

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-03T21:32:18Z

Kazvorpal:

Talk:2274: Stargazing 3

2020-03-03T21:19:00Z

Kazvorpal:

I think the "you can't turn them off by throwing rocks at them like the old ones" is a reference to a reddit comment in a thread about older generations refusing to learn new technology, or something to that extent. One comment detailed a humorous story wherein they had been helping a village install electricity/light bulbs, and this grandmother of the household kept shattering all the bulbs by throwing rocks at them to turn them off, refusing to learn how to use them correctly. I'm trying to search for this, but no luck so far. If this was not a reference to that thread but merely a coincidence, my apologies for making you read all of this. [[User:Wigglebeans|Wigglebeans]] ([[User talk:Wigglebeans|talk]]) 20:55, 28 February 2020 (UTC)wigglebeans
: I remember that comment as well. I feel like it was in ask reddit, but I can't seem to find it either. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.128|172.68.174.128]] 23:15, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
::ExplainXKCD is the strangest, most extreme example of absurd apophenia, with people regularly picking out some overly specific and unlikely parallel from their own person experience, and claiming that's the clear origin of a given comic. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:19, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Can someone make a category for the Stargazing series? [[1644: Stargazing]], [[2017: Stargazing 2]], and this one. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.238|172.69.34.238]] 23:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:Oh, nevermind, it already exists: [[:Category:Stargazing]] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.238|172.69.34.238]] 23:31, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

Actually, "no new stars being created" is not just not obvious, it would need grant, research and citation. I mean, sure, actually new star (and not just star which started to be more luminous like nova) don't appear that often, and one visible by naked eye even less so, but it still CAN happen - and can easily be overlooked. The estimate is that [https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/milkyway_seven.html seven new stars are formed in our galaxy every year]. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:36, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

Astronomy crossbows are real things. They are used to measure the angular distance between stars. Here's a fancy one (used) for sale for $700, [https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/misc-other-astronomy/show/crossbow-eqt-200-equatorial-platform] and here is a simple one that is simply a yardstick pulled back into a curve and stuck on the end of a stick [http://sonic.net/~rknop/php/astronomy/classes/a103/sum2006/info/angdist.shtml]. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 23:51, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

I've got one of those expensive crossbows from Gregg Blandin. It's an equatorial platform that allows a simple dobsonian telescope to track the stars. It has nothing to do with measuring angular distances. So I changed the link to the astronomy course that uses the simple type to measure angular distances. [[User:Johnrb|Johnrb]] ([[User talk:Johnrb|talk]]) 04:14, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if the title text is a Shrek reference? It follows the same basic structure of the [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/some-of-you-may-die some of you may die meme]. [[User:Moosenonny10|Moosenonny10]] ([[User talk:Moosenonny10|talk]]) 14:39, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

At the moment (or at least over the last several nights, right now the biggest illumination in the sky for me is the overcast but daylight sky itself) the most obviously brightest 'star' in the sky is Venus, fairly close to the (even more bright, far less apparently star-like) crescent Moon. As our guide to the stars does not mention Venus, this does not in any way invalidate the brightness statement; even without taking true-stellarity of a "Fool's Star" into account. And, for all we know the presentation is being given at a local time when Moon+Venus are not visible above the horizon anyway. But worth noting, perhaps. As is that neither rocks nor crossbow are likely going to be trivially useful in extinguishing daylight, moonlight or Venus (nb: these three not necessaily listed in order of difficulty, in the event you wish to try to!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 17:25, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

The title text is not saying that new comers would be created; I believe that's an inference someone made. It just discussed the risk of SEEING more comets. [[User:Momerath|Momerath]] ([[User talk:Momerath|talk]]) 11:44, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:I think it's a probable inference, though. Reverse-Astrology: What happens on Earth changes the progresson of the heavens. Well, apart from yelling - and so far there's no indication that it either discourages them ''nor'' attracts them, though every time you see a new one you have to wonder if they've come to see what the fuss is all about...
::Reverse Astrology would be made easy with a Nicoll-Dyson beam and a few mirrors. Just move the stars / planets into the correct position... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 19:04, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 17:33, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:(Additional: It is of course well known that yelling at the winter-solstice Sun is a reliable way of making sure it gets over its disinclination and starts rising higher again for the next part of the year. Hasn't failed yet! (And wouldn't be necessary to repeat if it weren't for Aussie yellers, I'm sure.) I didn't actually yell at the eclipsing Sun the handful of times I've seen that happening, but I've seen on TV that others did it for me (fortunately), just as I'll gladly help you out at midwinter.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 17:44, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

The joke appears to be someone confusing seeing more comets (which already exist) with believing more comets exist now because they can see them. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.124|172.68.38.124]] 17:24, 2 March 2020 (UTC)wigglebeans

"They're too blue" line needs to be properly explained. From looking at Wikipedia, many LEDs are blue, and blue light affects light pollution higher than the warmer colors, for essentially the same reasons that the sky itself is blue (blue light scatters easily by the atmosphere). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.244.234|172.68.244.234]] 14:18, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2273: Truck Proximity

2020-03-03T21:15:52Z

Kazvorpal:

Lots of dinosaurs driving equipment on a farm out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUmxUWs1Uk or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgHz8zBZlk [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 20:47, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Being pedantic, those are tractors: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imayi.dinofarmfree&hl=en_US Perhaps dinosaurs driving trucks on farms is a niche just begging to be filled ;-) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.127|172.68.189.127]] 06:09, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Can see a strong argument that Randall got the axes wrong here... [[User:Heylukeatthat|Heylukeatthat]] ([[User talk:Heylukeatthat|talk]]) 21:09, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:How so? I don't see it... There are people with truck-related hobbies who know more info about trucks than the frequency of their proximity to them might demand; which accounts for the asymmetry in the upper-right cluster. Having kids (especially male children raised with heteronormative socially dimorphic entertainment sets, which frequently adhere to traditional social expectations of "stuff for boys") ''definitely'' increases one's exposure to truck-related topics. What's the case for the axes being reversed?
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:30, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
::I just read his comment as suggesting the x and y axes should be swapped, where 'proximity to trucks' should be on the x-axis. I'd agree that conventionally that would make more sense, and it was likely done this way to impact the 'reading order' of the clusters for comic effect. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:18, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

This is a graph with two independent variables (x and y axes) and the dependent variables grouped on the chart. So it really doesn't matter which axis is which.[[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 13:30, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:::Don't you know? Having knowledge of trucks causes a physical attraction force between you and the truck. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.58|172.69.34.58]] 01:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::The real issue is that the most proximity (distance 0) is at some random point far away from the center of the coordinate system and the center of the coordinate system is some random distance away from a truck. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 02:59, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::A graph doesn't necessary show that x axis causes y axis. even less when it is mapped on the plane instead of being a line graph. But even line graphs may just show correlation, see [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:35, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::Economics graphs often reverse the axes like that. Though in this case, I saw it as correlational rather than explicitly causal, so I didn't even notice.

Wait, has Randall come into possession of ''offspring''? Specifically, of the "between 2 and 5 years of age, assigned male at birth" variety? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.35|162.158.79.35]] 22:37, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:This is what I came here curious about! Or is he just making this observation about some friends/family he spends time with?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 23:11, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:Seems unlikely given the lack of units on the [[833|axes]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.130|172.68.54.130]] 15:23, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::[[833]] is about labeling axes in general, not about putting units on them. If you just want to show a correlation, but not detailed values, such as here, it is totally valid to not put units. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::It's not clear if it's linear or log or [[2023|something weird]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.142|172.68.54.142]] 17:44, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

I can think of one job that puts someone into that bottom-right corner: total loss valuation specialists (particularly ones specializing in commercial vehicles). We don't get within a hundred miles of trucks, and yet we know substantially more about them than the people who submit the claims to us do (and sometimes more than the owners do). --[[User:Skyrender|Skyrender]] ([[User talk:Skyrender|talk]]) 02:31, 27 February 2020 (UTC) <-- A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Clearly Randall (and other parents) should investigate Dinotrux, which I enjoyed with my kids. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.15|162.158.62.15]] 10:40, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
[[file:dinotrux.jpg|thumb|right]]
:I agree, my kids were teens when we all watched Dinotrux, because even though it's for little boys it was so far beyond a normal kiddie show that we were greatly amused by it. We were hooked when we skimmed the first episode and it was really dark, involving the mass death of most of the dinosaurs in a catastrophe. ''quod vide'': [https://www.youtube.com/embed/ud_gLdgJJAQ Dinotrux Pilot] « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Wait... This is almost a Venn diagram -- does this mean parents of 2 to 5 year olds are not "normal people"? How DARE you, sir! I'm as normal as any other sleep-deprived person! (Well, I guess my sanity is questionable since I consciously and deliberately hang around with preschoolers...) --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.185|172.69.68.185]] 13:15, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

"Apparently trucks and farms do not mix very well." Seriously? Go spend half an hour listening to country music; that'll disabuse you of that mistaken notion rather quickly! :P ← Older edit
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.190|172.68.34.190]] 15:17, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
: I can recommend ''The Dinosaur Truckers'', though I didn't find any farm-related lyrics on a cursory search. But there's a modernized children's song/book "Old MacDonald had a Truck" by someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 03:37, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

The title text of the comic mentions children's media, not specifically books. The Google search, which Randall didn't perform, "dinosaurs driving trucks on a farm" does produce results. For instance, a game called Dinosaur Farm https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Farm-Tractor-Truck-Simulator/dp/B01MSA2OVD. The images appear to show a variety of vehicles, including tractors and others that more closely resemble various kinds of trucks. --[[User:Shabegger|Shabegger]] ([[User talk:Shabegger|talk]]) 17:57, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:This mobile game was published for iOS in 2017. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.134|141.101.77.134]] 03:15, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

"but parents won't and are unlikely to go near any truck." What? I know plenty of parents who go against this idea. This comic mostly just applies to urban areas though. Rural Canada or the States, you see tons of people with trucks just for everyday driving, even lots of non-farmers. For a lot of people, it can just come in handy from time to time (hauling boats or furniture (furniture stores etc may not deliver to more rural areas) or people), or they use it because it's better at handling bad road conditions, or for some, it's kind of a status symbol.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.144|162.158.106.144]] 02:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:I wondered about that line too, but didn't feel confident enough to raise it. I think it partly comes from a misconception on what defines a truck. I think for many non native speakers it is a bit surprising that in the US basically any pickup is regarded a "truck". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck#Types_by_size - E.g. for me, until not so long ago, a truck always meant huge commercial vehicle. See the wikilink here, where also differences for UK/Europe are mentioned. Anything mentioned here as very-light and ultra-light might not be considered a truck for non-americans, and light trucks hardly exist outside the US. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:20, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2273: Truck Proximity

2020-03-03T21:14:56Z

Kazvorpal:

Lots of dinosaurs driving equipment on a farm out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUmxUWs1Uk or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgHz8zBZlk [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 20:47, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Being pedantic, those are tractors: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imayi.dinofarmfree&hl=en_US Perhaps dinosaurs driving trucks on farms is a niche just begging to be filled ;-) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.127|172.68.189.127]] 06:09, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Can see a strong argument that Randall got the axes wrong here... [[User:Heylukeatthat|Heylukeatthat]] ([[User talk:Heylukeatthat|talk]]) 21:09, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:How so? I don't see it... There are people with truck-related hobbies who know more info about trucks than the frequency of their proximity to them might demand; which accounts for the asymmetry in the upper-right cluster. Having kids (especially male children raised with heteronormative socially dimorphic entertainment sets, which frequently adhere to traditional social expectations of "stuff for boys") ''definitely'' increases one's exposure to truck-related topics. What's the case for the axes being reversed?
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:30, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
::I just read his comment as suggesting the x and y axes should be swapped, where 'proximity to trucks' should be on the x-axis. I'd agree that conventionally that would make more sense, and it was likely done this way to impact the 'reading order' of the clusters for comic effect. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:18, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

This is a graph with two independent variables (x and y axes) and the dependent variables grouped on the chart. So it really doesn't matter which axis is which.[[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 13:30, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:::Don't you know? Having knowledge of trucks causes a physical attraction force between you and the truck. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.58|172.69.34.58]] 01:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::The real issue is that the most proximity (distance 0) is at some random point far away from the center of the coordinate system and the center of the coordinate system is some random distance away from a truck. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 02:59, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::A graph doesn't necessary show that x axis causes y axis. even less when it is mapped on the plane instead of being a line graph. But even line graphs may just show correlation, see [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:35, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::Economics graphs often reverse the axes like that. Though in this case, I saw it as correlational rather than explicitly causal, so I didn't even notice.

Wait, has Randall come into possession of ''offspring''? Specifically, of the "between 2 and 5 years of age, assigned male at birth" variety? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.35|162.158.79.35]] 22:37, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:This is what I came here curious about! Or is he just making this observation about some friends/family he spends time with?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 23:11, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:Seems unlikely given the lack of units on the [[833|axes]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.130|172.68.54.130]] 15:23, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::[[833]] is about labeling axes in general, not about putting units on them. If you just want to show a correlation, but not detailed values, such as here, it is totally valid to not put units. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::It's not clear if it's linear or log or [[2023|something weird]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.142|172.68.54.142]] 17:44, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

I can think of one job that puts someone into that bottom-right corner: total loss valuation specialists (particularly ones specializing in commercial vehicles). We don't get within a hundred miles of trucks, and yet we know substantially more about them than the people who submit the claims to us do (and sometimes more than the owners do). --[[User:Skyrender|Skyrender]] ([[User talk:Skyrender|talk]]) 02:31, 27 February 2020 (UTC) <-- A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

[[file:dinotrux.jpg|thumb|right]]
Clearly Randall (and other parents) should investigate Dinotrux, which I enjoyed with my kids. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.15|162.158.62.15]] 10:40, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:I agree, my kids were teens when we all watched Dinotrux, because even though it's for little boys it was so far beyond a normal kiddie show. We were hooked when we skimmed the first episode and it was really dark, involving the mass death of most of the dinosaurs in a catastrophe. ''quod vide'': [https://www.youtube.com/embed/ud_gLdgJJAQ Dinotrux Pilot] « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Wait... This is almost a Venn diagram -- does this mean parents of 2 to 5 year olds are not "normal people"? How DARE you, sir! I'm as normal as any other sleep-deprived person! (Well, I guess my sanity is questionable since I consciously and deliberately hang around with preschoolers...) --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.185|172.69.68.185]] 13:15, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

"Apparently trucks and farms do not mix very well." Seriously? Go spend half an hour listening to country music; that'll disabuse you of that mistaken notion rather quickly! :P ← Older edit
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.190|172.68.34.190]] 15:17, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
: I can recommend ''The Dinosaur Truckers'', though I didn't find any farm-related lyrics on a cursory search. But there's a modernized children's song/book "Old MacDonald had a Truck" by someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 03:37, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

The title text of the comic mentions children's media, not specifically books. The Google search, which Randall didn't perform, "dinosaurs driving trucks on a farm" does produce results. For instance, a game called Dinosaur Farm https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Farm-Tractor-Truck-Simulator/dp/B01MSA2OVD. The images appear to show a variety of vehicles, including tractors and others that more closely resemble various kinds of trucks. --[[User:Shabegger|Shabegger]] ([[User talk:Shabegger|talk]]) 17:57, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:This mobile game was published for iOS in 2017. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.134|141.101.77.134]] 03:15, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

"but parents won't and are unlikely to go near any truck." What? I know plenty of parents who go against this idea. This comic mostly just applies to urban areas though. Rural Canada or the States, you see tons of people with trucks just for everyday driving, even lots of non-farmers. For a lot of people, it can just come in handy from time to time (hauling boats or furniture (furniture stores etc may not deliver to more rural areas) or people), or they use it because it's better at handling bad road conditions, or for some, it's kind of a status symbol.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.144|162.158.106.144]] 02:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:I wondered about that line too, but didn't feel confident enough to raise it. I think it partly comes from a misconception on what defines a truck. I think for many non native speakers it is a bit surprising that in the US basically any pickup is regarded a "truck". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck#Types_by_size - E.g. for me, until not so long ago, a truck always meant huge commercial vehicle. See the wikilink here, where also differences for UK/Europe are mentioned. Anything mentioned here as very-light and ultra-light might not be considered a truck for non-americans, and light trucks hardly exist outside the US. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:20, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

File:dinotrux.jpg

2020-03-03T21:13:47Z

Kazvorpal:

2268: Further Research is Needed

2020-02-17T03:05:27Z

Kazvorpal: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2268
| date = February 14, 2020
| title = Further Research is Needed
| image = further_research_is_needed.png
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONFIDENT RESEARCHER WHO BELIEVES THIS EDIT RESOLVES ALL REMAINING EXPLANATION ON THIS TOPIC. General niceness. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Research papers customarily end with suggestions for what further research on the subject would be useful. Researchers tend to believe any topic which they research needs more research...and more importantly, they want to be able to ensure future funding, like ending a movie with the setup for a sequel. This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. The irony is that doing so precludes additional funding to further study the subject, which would otherwise be good for both science and the scientists. (Even if researchers realized that further research would not provide any useful results, they would be unlikely to acknowledge this, since their livelihood depends on further research.)

The Woodward Hoffman textbook on organic chemistry has actually made a statement very similar to the one in the comic as its conclusion.{{Citation needed}}

The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field, thus allowing the researchers to justify future funding for their research.

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

[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is the word "References", with a horizontal line below it, and then four lines of illegible text numbered 1 through 4, representing a list of citations. The legible sentences say:]

We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.

[Caption below the panel:]

Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]

2268: Further Research is Needed

2020-02-17T03:05:00Z

Kazvorpal: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2268
| date = February 14, 2020
| title = Further Research is Needed
| image = further_research_is_needed.png
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONFIDENT RESEARCHER WHO BELIEVES THIS EDIT RESOLVES ALL REMAINING EXPLANATION ON THIS TOPIC. General niceness. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Research papers customarily end with suggestions for what further research on the subject would be useful. Researchers tend to believe any topic which they research needs more research...and more importantly, they want to be able to ensure future funding, like ending a movie with the setup for a sequel. This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. The irony is that doing so precludes additional funding to further study the subject, which would otherwise be good for both science and the scientists. (Even if researchers realized that further research would not provide any useful results, they would be unlikely to acknowledge this, since their livelihood depends on further research.)

The Woodward Hoffman textbook on organic chemistry has actually made a statement very similar to the one in the comic as its conclusion.{{Citation needed}}

The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field.

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

[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is the word "References", with a horizontal line below it, and then four lines of illegible text numbered 1 through 4, representing a list of citations. The legible sentences say:]

We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.

[Caption below the panel:]

Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]

Talk:2263: Cicadas

2020-02-03T22:52:16Z

Kazvorpal:

Okay, now that title text is an exceptional pun. Also, '''First'''. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:51, 3 February 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2263: Cicadas

2020-02-03T22:51:37Z

Kazvorpal:

Okay, now that's a good pun. Also, '''First'''. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 22:51, 3 February 2020 (UTC)

2258: Solar System Changes

2020-01-25T18:06:28Z

Kazvorpal: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2258
| date = January 22, 2020
| title = Solar System Changes
| image = solar_system_changes.png
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MYSTERIOUS PLANET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic shows a drawing with a standard sketch of the {{w|Solar System}}, featuring the Sun, 8 planets, the asteroid belt, and Pluto. [[Randall]] then proposes eight changes to the solar system that he would make if he had the power to do so. Each change is drawn in red with explanatory labels. Performing these changes would be impossible in practice{{Citation needed}}, and would probably make the solar system unstable if actually performed{{Citation needed}}.

See explanations of each proposed change in the [[#Table of proposed changes|table]] below.

The title text refers to {{w|Rings of Jupiter|Jupiter's rings}}, which exist but which are not nearly as prominent as Saturn's.

The title text is being spoken by "someone who knows [that] Jupiter is within earshot," implying that the speaker does not wish to offend Jupiter. which does have its own ring system, just one so small that it's not visible via telescope. Considering that Jupiter is known to disrupt the asteroid belt and send asteroids towards the inner solar system (cf. {{w|Kirkwood gap}}) and completely destroy other celestial bodies ({{w|Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9}}), someone who is "within earshot" of Jupiter may wish to reassure the planet that they think its ring system is already very impressive when they really don't.

Randall has in the past proposed other types of ridiculous changes, such as in [[1061: EST]], [[1069: Alphabet]], and [[1902: State Borders]].

==Table of proposed changes==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Proposed change !! Explanation
|-
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.
|-
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, orbiting somewhat closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, causing a [[1519|runaway greenhouse effect]], and ultimately Venus became very much hotter than the Earth. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.

Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.
|-
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || Mars has a lot more geological variety than the moon, and is much larger and has active weather patterns, and would therefore look far more interesting than the moon when seen from Earth. In addition, by replacing Earth's current moon with Mars, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. This would benefit NASA's space exploration efforts, which have suffered from presidents alternating targets for human exploration between "moon-to-Mars" versus "Mars direct" architectures.

Unfortunately, replacing our moon with Mars would have some negative side-effects for both worlds. Mars is 8.7 times more massive than the moon, which means that it would raise much stronger tides on Earth than our moon does now. As for Mars, it would now be significantly warmer than in its present orbit. The ice caps would likely sublimate, and what little water is left on the planet could boil away due to the lack of a thick atmosphere.

Incidentally, the Moon is thought to have been formed by an impact between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. While Randall probably means well, the situation could get out of control very quickly.
|-
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || {{w|Super-Earth|Super-Earths}} are a type of {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanet}} -- a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun -- that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). While they are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found, our Solar System doesn't have any super-Earths, and with Mars being moved to replace the Moon, its location would be open to a new planet. With a super-Earth nearby, astronomers would be able to get a much better idea of what they are like. A super-Earth might also be an exciting place to colonize, although [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html it would not be possible to return to orbit from such a planet] with current rocket technology.
|-
| More asteroids! || Asteroids belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids, so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planets {{w|Asteroid|down to about a meter across}}, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more asteroids.
|-
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined, and it displays striking weather patterns such as the {{w|Great Red Spot}}. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular, but the planet itself looks very bland. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance. The two planets' moons would also be combined: the "Jaturn" diagram shows both the Galilean moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter) and Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) orbiting outside of Jaturn's rings.
|-
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Uranus's most notable trait is that its axial tilt is almost 98°, meaning it lies on its side and has a seasonal cycle unlike that of any other planet. However, this causes Uranus to look completely featureless most of the time, which makes it less interesting, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including, episodically, a {{w|Great Dark Spot}} similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The name "Uranus" is also {{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|subject to ridicule}} by English speakers.
|-
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of "planet" and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change, a topic that has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.). Randall proposes a {{w|Solomonic compromise}} to "satisfy" both the camps who prefer to think of Pluto as "not a dwarf planet" and "not a planet" by making it into a moon. The diagram shows that Charon will also be made a moon of Neptune, and presumably Pluto's other moons as well. Even if the entire Pluto system were transplanted all at once, tidal forces would cause the bodies to drift apart and orbit Neptune independently.

Interestingly, one of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun, while Triton remained with Neptune.
|}

==Transcript==
:[A not-to-scale diagram of the solar system is shown with the right edge of the sun on the left side, featuring all eight planets along with their major moons, Pluto (along with its major moon), and the asteroid belt. The original solar system is drawn in black, but several changes have been proposed. If some of the existing planets are removed or changed, they are greyed out, possibly with red crosses over them or red circles or arrows. New planets, moons, rings and asteroids have been added all in red. Each change has been labeled with red text. Only the Sun and Mercury are completely unchanged, Earth and Neptune are not changed directly but their moons have changed. The only black text is a caption at the top:]
:<big>Changes I Would Make to the Solar System</big>

:[Below each of the changes to the solar system is mentioned from left to right, with their labels, that are all in red text. Except for the label under Jupiter and Saturn, there is a line going from the changes to the relevant label.]

:[Three additional planets, one Mercury sized and two smaller on either side very close to each other, have been drawn in between Mercury and the Sun. A bracket marks all three of them and a long line goes from that to the label above, which is even above the next label positioned above the planets.]
:Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit

:[A ring has been drawn around Venus, and a dot representing a moon has been added on its left. A small line goes from the label beneath to Venus.]
:After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon

:[Next to Earth, drawn with four of the major continents visible, the Moon has been grayed out and crossed out with a red X. Also Mars has been grayed out and it is inside a red circle. An arrow goes from the circle around Mars to the Moon. a small line goes from the arrow between the Moon and Mars to the label above the planets.]
:Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions.

:[An additional planet, all in red, has been added between Mars and the asteroid belt, about halfway in size between Earth and Neptune. Four continents are visible in a large ocean, along with weather patterns as in an atmosphere. A small line goes from the planet to the label beneath.]
:The Solar System needs a super-Earth

:[Numerous asteroids have been drawn, half in black, with the other half in red added to the existing asteroids that were already there. A small line goes from the asteroids to the label beneath.]
:More asteroids!

:[Jupiter and Saturn have both been greyed out and also crossed out with two red X'es. Two arrows points from each of the original planets to a new larger red planet drawn above the two. This new planet has the belts, zones, Red Spot, and size of Jupiter, and the hexagon on the north pole and rings of Saturn. It also has the four largest moons from Jupiter on one side and the largest moon from Saturn on the other side, with all five drawn similarly to the original moons. Below the two original planets is a label.]
:Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn")

:[Uranus is greyed out and also crossed out with a red X. A line goes down to the label beneath it.]
:Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair.

:[Pluto and Charon have both been greyed out and are inside a red circle. An arrow points from Pluto and Charon to the right side of Neptune, where Pluto and Charon have been redrawn in red. Neptune's own largest moon is on the other side of Neptune. A line goes from the arrow up to a label above the planet.]
:Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Talk:2255: Tattoo Ideas

2020-01-25T17:59:52Z

Kazvorpal:

"Changeme" made me think of FIXME or TODO of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comment_(computer_programming)#Tags [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.150|162.158.106.150]] 06:03, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:yeah, it's the equivalent but for stuff like passwords [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.91|162.158.154.91]] 06:42, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

The "Eurion Constellation" is a constellation-like pattern of dots on paper currency that when detected, prevents photocopiers from making copies of the bills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissot%27s_indicatrix Tissot's indicatrix] is a matrix of circles placed on a map that change size and proportions (possibly turning into ellipses) based on map distortion. As a tattoo, that would be useful in tracking any distortion of the skin since you had the tattoo. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.216|141.101.105.216]] 07:07, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

The [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suffer-to-be-beautiful/ Snopes page on Epidurals and Tattoos] states that, as of 2005, doctors will administer epidurals (an anaesthetic procedure designed to lessen the pain of childbirth) through lower back tattoos, but that there is discussion in the Canadian medical community that there may be some risk involved with this procedure. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.177|172.69.54.177]] 07:23, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Until I clicked the link, I was under the impression you were telling us that the doctors would give women epidurals under the guise of tattoos or something... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 08:26, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

"The [https://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/checklist/en/ WHO Surgical Safety Checklist] was developed after extensive consultation aiming to decrease errors and adverse events, and increase teamwork and communication in surgery. The 19-item checklist has gone on to show significant reduction in both morbidity and mortality and is now used by a majority of surgical providers around the world." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.184|141.101.76.184]] 07:31, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

In the 2000 movie "Memento", the amnesiac protagonist uses "an intricate system of Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track information he cannot remember." ([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_(film) Wikipedia]) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.154|141.101.76.154]] 07:40, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Aww man, now I want the title text as a tattoo. Also, the words "You should add a dragon" abruptly in the middle of an intricate design[[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 08:03, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Or just "a dragon" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 08:24, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
::Or just tattoo "Your Tattoo" to show to anyone who asks to see your tattoo. --
:::My sister-in-law decided to get a pumpkin tattoo in memory of her late father, as "Pumpkin" was his nickname for her. I genuinely thought she was going to get a drawing of a pumpkin. I suppose there's a chance she did too... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 19:06, 16 January 2020 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.91|162.158.154.91]] 11:20, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Even though it's too soon (xkcd [[286]])? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.228|162.158.255.228]] 09:42, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

My phone refused to show this comic image until I viewed the url for the file directly. After reading about EURion sets, I wonder if Randall sneaked one in or something. It also started downloading an automatic "Play security information update" while I was trying to access the image. I guess if that's related causality could go in either direction. 16:14, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

I don't understand, why would updating your password tattoo be difficult? Just add a character or two every 6-12 months, making it more and more secure over time. Some characters could even be modified, an underscore easily becomes an 'L', a parentheses becomes a zero or 'O'. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:20, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

I disagree with the slide rule explanation. If the two halves of the slide rule were put on opposite arms, you would always be able to use it assuming: the tattoos are uncovered, you can get the two sides close enough, and your skin doesn't sag too much.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.106|172.68.34.106]] 21:08, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:I too instinctively disagreed, under the same assumption that it would be on different sides of the body to slide against each other (because both 'slides' on one patch of skin would make it of no practical use - albeit ''xkcd''ish because of that!) but you'd still depend upon no unequal linear distortion (even if bilaterally the same in their non-linear stretching) to make the linear and log/etc scales remain usefully referential for all 'slide' positions, and I'm really not sure if (fr. ex.) forearm growth or fattening (muscle ''and/or'' flab) handily pulls the skin taught/promotes dermal stretching in a totally consistent manner. So I left my objection unsaid. Though still worth commenting on in here, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 17:12, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

The phrase '"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" is broken English phrase' in the explanation of the title text is itself broken English.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.28|162.158.92.28]] 23:02, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

Obviously, his first tattoo should simply say '''FIRST'''. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:59, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2254: JPEG2000

2020-01-25T17:57:29Z

Kazvorpal:

Cubeball's keyboard has disappeared in the third panel. 22:24, 13 January 2020 (UTC)

Pretty sure the woman in this comic should be called Hairbun. Updating transcript... [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:31, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Jpeg2000 is widely used on archive.org (scans are stored as .jp2 there). For example, the image of this page [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory#page/n99/mode/1up] is internally from a jp2.zip file:
https://ia601604.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/16/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2.zip&file=2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2/2015.215730.The-Theory_0099.jp2
where BookReaderImages.php seems to be able to read .jp2 in zip and send it to you as a legacy format your browser can handle. [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 01:48, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if as a result of this comic, xkcd fans will cause rapid adoption. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:11, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

:Looks like [https://pdf-aktuell.ch/pa/language/en/is-jpeg2000-compression-suitable-for-pdf-files-for-prepress/ it just isn't worth it].

GIMP seems to be able to load JPEG2000 images. To export as JPEG2000, you need an external plugin. [[User:Fabben|Fabben]] ([[User talk:Fabben|talk]]) 12:02, 14 January 2020 (UTC)
:That’s correct, I changed the text. --17:06, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall is deliberately referencing Valve's Artifact's [https://steamcommunity.com/games/583950/announcements/detail/1712958942366879379 long haul]. Even has a loose connection with image artifacts. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 12:20, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Would a brief description of the .png format (more typically used for comic images) be appropriate? {{unsigned|162.158.78.70}}

I was pretty sure that patents were the main problem with adoption, at least in time when .gif patents were problem. However, seems the patent status is getting better and it isn't helping ... meanwhile, WEBP, which is using similar technology, is gaining traction.
... which would also answer question of previous commenter: while brief mention of PNG might be worth it, mention of WEBP and similar alternatives would be more important -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:46, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

It's also used for [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Image_System textures in Second Life]. In fact, that page also states that decompressing JPEG2000 is much more processor-intensive than other image compression methods, so I guess that might be another reason for the lack of general adoption? [[User:EddyM|EddyM]] ([[User talk:EddyM|talk]]) 00:50, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

JPEG2000 is not at all unknown in the geospatial community. Both USGS and NASA offer various aerial and satellite imagery products in JPEG2000 format only. I assume it is one of the most versatile non-proprietary photographic imaging formats out there. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.184|162.158.167.184]] 06:30, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

When I clicked on th3 .jp2 as ljnked in the Trivia, my tablet wanted to open it only in my (pre-installed bog-standard) ebook reader ''or'' GPS Essentials (perhaps confirming 162.158.167.184's comment, just above). But mention of JPEG2000 takes me back (25 years or so!) to a time a similar scare to the GIF patent issue had motivated alternatives to the 'public' common picture standard. And reminds me also of the "masking" technique used on (regular?) JPEGs, based upon keyword-hash shuffling/deshuffling of selected 8x8-pixel DCT units of a JPEG image (and of the hues apllied to the curves) to reversibly censor images, IIRC driven largely by Japanese censorship rules. Somewhere on an old hard disk I must still have the reverse-engineered 'solver' I wrote for that, written in Delphi... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.144|141.101.107.144]] 18:14, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Odd that Randall would use a lossy JPEG2000 image for a cartoon rather than a lossless one. A friendly reminder that JPEG is best for photography and is not intended for line drawings. [[User:Thisisnotatest|Thisisnotatest]] ([[User talk:Thisisnotatest|talk]]) 08:04, 16 January 2020 (UTC)
: That's his loss, then! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 17:15, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

I was browsing a series of 70+ page PDFs that was a very high quality image scan, and the PDF browser would regularly grind to a halt for a second or two when trying to move forward a few pages. I eventually discovered that the images were embedded in JPEG2000. They were definitely small file sizes and definitely high quality, but it was just too much. I decoded the entire 500+ pages and re-encoded them as jpeg. Bigger file size, lower resolution, but scrolling was smooth as butter again.

Randall is correct to not really care about the standard's failure, per se, except insofar as he feels sorry for it. The difference between the technical impressiveness of these improvements and their unimportance to reality reminds me of the VHS vs [[Wikipedia:Betamax|Beta]] issue. Yes, Beta had the ability to reproduce sound and video of a higher fidelity, but only in a trivial sense indistinguishable to most people under normal conditions, whereas VHS was better at things that were indeed important, like being able to record a full two hour movie when Beta could handle less than one hour. The same thing happened with [[Wikipedia:OS/2|OS/2]] vs Windows...OS/2 was purely object-oriented, a technical distinction that was completely irrelevant to real life, but required four times as much RAM as the typical brand-new computer came with, so it failed. Being able to save 32 bit color profiles and choose whether the compression is lossless is important to me as a graphic artist, but doesn't matter one whit to the typical user, who wouldn't even notice the difference. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:55, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2254: JPEG2000

2020-01-25T17:56:06Z

Kazvorpal:

Cubeball's keyboard has disappeared in the third panel. 22:24, 13 January 2020 (UTC)

Pretty sure the woman in this comic should be called Hairbun. Updating transcript... [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:31, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Jpeg2000 is widely used on archive.org (scans are stored as .jp2 there). For example, the image of this page [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory#page/n99/mode/1up] is internally from a jp2.zip file:
https://ia601604.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/16/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2.zip&file=2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2/2015.215730.The-Theory_0099.jp2
where BookReaderImages.php seems to be able to read .jp2 in zip and send it to you as a legacy format your browser can handle. [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 01:48, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if as a result of this comic, xkcd fans will cause rapid adoption. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:11, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

:Looks like [https://pdf-aktuell.ch/pa/language/en/is-jpeg2000-compression-suitable-for-pdf-files-for-prepress/ it just isn't worth it].

GIMP seems to be able to load JPEG2000 images. To export as JPEG2000, you need an external plugin. [[User:Fabben|Fabben]] ([[User talk:Fabben|talk]]) 12:02, 14 January 2020 (UTC)
:That’s correct, I changed the text. --17:06, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall is deliberately referencing Valve's Artifact's [https://steamcommunity.com/games/583950/announcements/detail/1712958942366879379 long haul]. Even has a loose connection with image artifacts. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 12:20, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Would a brief description of the .png format (more typically used for comic images) be appropriate? {{unsigned|162.158.78.70}}

I was pretty sure that patents were the main problem with adoption, at least in time when .gif patents were problem. However, seems the patent status is getting better and it isn't helping ... meanwhile, WEBP, which is using similar technology, is gaining traction.
... which would also answer question of previous commenter: while brief mention of PNG might be worth it, mention of WEBP and similar alternatives would be more important -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:46, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

It's also used for [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Image_System textures in Second Life]. In fact, that page also states that decompressing JPEG2000 is much more processor-intensive than other image compression methods, so I guess that might be another reason for the lack of general adoption? [[User:EddyM|EddyM]] ([[User talk:EddyM|talk]]) 00:50, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

JPEG2000 is not at all unknown in the geospatial community. Both USGS and NASA offer various aerial and satellite imagery products in JPEG2000 format only. I assume it is one of the most versatile non-proprietary photographic imaging formats out there. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.184|162.158.167.184]] 06:30, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

When I clicked on th3 .jp2 as ljnked in the Trivia, my tablet wanted to open it only in my (pre-installed bog-standard) ebook reader ''or'' GPS Essentials (perhaps confirming 162.158.167.184's comment, just above). But mention of JPEG2000 takes me back (25 years or so!) to a time a similar scare to the GIF patent issue had motivated alternatives to the 'public' common picture standard. And reminds me also of the "masking" technique used on (regular?) JPEGs, based upon keyword-hash shuffling/deshuffling of selected 8x8-pixel DCT units of a JPEG image (and of the hues apllied to the curves) to reversibly censor images, IIRC driven largely by Japanese censorship rules. Somewhere on an old hard disk I must still have the reverse-engineered 'solver' I wrote for that, written in Delphi... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.144|141.101.107.144]] 18:14, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Odd that Randall would use a lossy JPEG2000 image for a cartoon rather than a lossless one. A friendly reminder that JPEG is best for photography and is not intended for line drawings. [[User:Thisisnotatest|Thisisnotatest]] ([[User talk:Thisisnotatest|talk]]) 08:04, 16 January 2020 (UTC)
: That's his loss, then! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 17:15, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

I was browsing a series of 70+ page PDFs that was a very high quality image scan, and the PDF browser would regularly grind to a halt for a second or two when trying to move forward a few pages. I eventually discovered that the images were embedded in JPEG2000. They were definitely small file sizes and definitely high quality, but it was just too much. I decoded the entire 500+ pages and re-encoded them as jpeg. Bigger file size, lower resolution, but scrolling was smooth as butter again.

Randall is correct to not really care about the standard's failure, per se, except insofar as he feels sorry for it. The difference between the technical impressiveness of these improvements and their unimportance to reality reminds me of the VHS vs [[Wikipedia:Betamax|Beta]] issue. Yes, Beta had the ability to reproduce sound and video of a higher fidelity, but only in a trivial sense indistinguishable to most people under normal conditions, whereas VHS was better at things that were indeed important, like being able to record a full two hour movie when Beta could handle less than one hour. The same thing happened with [[Wikipedia:OS/2|OS/2]] vs Windows...OS/2 was purely object-oriented, a technical distinction that was completely irrelevant to real life, but required four times as much RAM as the typical brand-new computer came with, so it failed. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:55, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2254: JPEG2000

2020-01-25T17:55:11Z

Kazvorpal:

Cubeball's keyboard has disappeared in the third panel. 22:24, 13 January 2020 (UTC)

Pretty sure the woman in this comic should be called Hairbun. Updating transcript... [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:31, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Jpeg2000 is widely used on archive.org (scans are stored as .jp2 there). For example, the image of this page [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory#page/n99/mode/1up] is internally from a jp2.zip file:
https://ia601604.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/16/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.215730/2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2.zip&file=2015.215730.The-Theory_jp2/2015.215730.The-Theory_0099.jp2
where BookReaderImages.php seems to be able to read .jp2 in zip and send it to you as a legacy format your browser can handle. [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 01:48, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if as a result of this comic, xkcd fans will cause rapid adoption. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:11, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

:Looks like [https://pdf-aktuell.ch/pa/language/en/is-jpeg2000-compression-suitable-for-pdf-files-for-prepress/ it just isn't worth it].

GIMP seems to be able to load JPEG2000 images. To export as JPEG2000, you need an external plugin. [[User:Fabben|Fabben]] ([[User talk:Fabben|talk]]) 12:02, 14 January 2020 (UTC)
:That’s correct, I changed the text. --17:06, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall is deliberately referencing Valve's Artifact's [https://steamcommunity.com/games/583950/announcements/detail/1712958942366879379 long haul]. Even has a loose connection with image artifacts. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 12:20, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Would a brief description of the .png format (more typically used for comic images) be appropriate? {{unsigned|162.158.78.70}}

I was pretty sure that patents were the main problem with adoption, at least in time when .gif patents were problem. However, seems the patent status is getting better and it isn't helping ... meanwhile, WEBP, which is using similar technology, is gaining traction.
... which would also answer question of previous commenter: while brief mention of PNG might be worth it, mention of WEBP and similar alternatives would be more important -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:46, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

It's also used for [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Image_System textures in Second Life]. In fact, that page also states that decompressing JPEG2000 is much more processor-intensive than other image compression methods, so I guess that might be another reason for the lack of general adoption? [[User:EddyM|EddyM]] ([[User talk:EddyM|talk]]) 00:50, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

JPEG2000 is not at all unknown in the geospatial community. Both USGS and NASA offer various aerial and satellite imagery products in JPEG2000 format only. I assume it is one of the most versatile non-proprietary photographic imaging formats out there. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.184|162.158.167.184]] 06:30, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

When I clicked on th3 .jp2 as ljnked in the Trivia, my tablet wanted to open it only in my (pre-installed bog-standard) ebook reader ''or'' GPS Essentials (perhaps confirming 162.158.167.184's comment, just above). But mention of JPEG2000 takes me back (25 years or so!) to a time a similar scare to the GIF patent issue had motivated alternatives to the 'public' common picture standard. And reminds me also of the "masking" technique used on (regular?) JPEGs, based upon keyword-hash shuffling/deshuffling of selected 8x8-pixel DCT units of a JPEG image (and of the hues apllied to the curves) to reversibly censor images, IIRC driven largely by Japanese censorship rules. Somewhere on an old hard disk I must still have the reverse-engineered 'solver' I wrote for that, written in Delphi... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.144|141.101.107.144]] 18:14, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Odd that Randall would use a lossy JPEG2000 image for a cartoon rather than a lossless one. A friendly reminder that JPEG is best for photography and is not intended for line drawings. [[User:Thisisnotatest|Thisisnotatest]] ([[User talk:Thisisnotatest|talk]]) 08:04, 16 January 2020 (UTC)
: That's his loss, then! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 17:15, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

I was browsing a series of 70+ page PDFs that was a very high quality image scan, and the PDF browser would regularly grind to a halt for a second or two when trying to move forward a few pages. I eventually discovered that the images were embedded in JPEG2000. They were definitely small file sizes and definitely high quality, but it was just too much. I decoded the entire 500+ pages and re-encoded them as jpeg. Bigger file size, lower resolution, but scrolling was smooth as butter again.

Randall is correct to not really care about the standard's failure, per se, except insofar as he feels sorry for it. The difference between the technical impressiveness of these improvements and their unimportance to reality reminds me of the VHS vs [[Wikipedia:Betamax|Beta]] issue. Yes, Beta had the ability to reproduce sound and video of a higher fidelity, but only in a trivial sense indistinguishable to most people under normal conditions, whereas VHS was better at things that were indeed important, like being able to record a full two hour movie when Beta could handle less than one hour. The same thing happened with [[Wikipedia:OS/2|OS/2]] vs Windows...OS/2 was purely object-oriented, a technical distinction that was completely irrelevant to real life, but required four times as much RAM as the typical brand-new computer came with. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:55, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2250: OK/okay/ok

2020-01-23T16:58:46Z

Kazvorpal:

He forgot the eternal joke - 0K
Come on Randall, you're a person of science[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.40|141.101.98.40]] 11:25, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
I think this should have been a table. Put spellings down the side (I've seen a lot of "oki" online; maybe "A-OK" too, or some humorous misspelling) and possible permutations of punctuations and capitalisation across the top. I want to know how "o.k.ay." makes you sound :p
[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 17:41, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:But when you do a single word response, it should just be, "k".
:[[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]])
:: "'kay" is better, but I've also seen "'k" -- highlighting, perhaps, that the "o" is supposed to be there even if people are lazy and cut off too much when speaking and writing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.100|108.162.237.100]] 06:43, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
::: I'm totally fine with "k" - I even use it while speaking. It originates (afaik) from Internet chats generalically and chats in gaming specifically where time efficiency is of essence (you don't deal many headshots while typing ;) ). Another form would be "kk", which is still shorter (to type) than "ok" but is more emphasized as "k". And then - of course - we have Mr Mackey, mkay... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:55, 6 January 2020 (UTC)
:If it's not capitalized, I'm definitely imagining the person making clucking noises, even if I ''know'' that's not what they meant... Doesn't ''everybody'' read "ok" phonetically, as "ock", as in grok? ;S
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:42, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

As of this writing, the title text is wrong. I don't know how to edit it. The current explainXKCD version ends with ("oK".). But the xkcd website ends with ("oK.") The location of the period within the quote changes the meaning of this comment. [[User:Agrasin|Agrasin]] ([[User talk:Agrasin|talk]]) 20:43, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:Good catch! I edited it. I was the one who put it in wrong in the first place as well. I had to insert the quotes manually, when I copy-pasted the title text from the inspect tool of xkcd.com and made this error. Things like the title text or the date can be edited easily when you use the edit button on top of the page instead of the small one at the explanation/transcript. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 21:13, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:The period's placement does not necessarily change the meaning of the sentence as its inclusion within the quotation marks does not imply it is part of the quote. Punctuation immediately following a quote goes inside the quotation marks under English grammar. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.112|172.68.174.112]] 21:23, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
::That's a ridiculously bad rule & I'd hope nobody actually does that. Punctuation should only go inside the quotation marks if it's part of the quote. To put punctuation in where it wasn't used muddles whether the punctuation is part of the quote or part of the sentence containing the quote, & offers no possible benefit to comprehension. Bad rule: Don't do that.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:37, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:::Totally agree although I suspect that english grammar is not supposed to be logical. Also, I think using "oK" would be good idea. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:03, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:::However, it looks much nicer and mimics proper handwriting, where the comma sign is directly underneath the quotation mark. It's considered proper form for American English, whereas Brits put it outside.
:::[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.142|162.158.134.142]] 23:06, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
::No, that's only for comma signs. Periods go inside if it's a part of the quote, outside if it isn't, and in both places if you end your sentence with a quote. "This quoted sentence ends with a period.".
::[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.142|162.158.134.142]] 23:06, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:::I have never seen a double period like that anywhere. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 05:15, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
:In SWE (Standard Written (American) English), commas and ending punctuation go inside closing quotation marks (probably originating from typewriters allowing a comma and a period to be put _under_ the closing quotation marks). This rule holds true in American English unless there's a very good reason to leave the punctuation on the outside.
:There is a difference between the two following sentences:
: * The teacher said, "There is no test!" (the exclamation point belongs to the teacher's statement)
: * The teacher said, "There is no test"! (the exclamation point belongs to the narrator's statement)
: For cases where there would be ambiguity or a presumed reason to use both external and internal punctuation, writers are advised to rewrite the sentence. There is no grammatical/conventional basis for the following:
: * Did the teacher ask, "Who's there?"?
: Do note that other than commas, punctuation that is not ending punctuation (commonly dashes, colons, semicolons) or containers (parens, brackets, etc) -- depending on how they're used -- belong outside the quotation marks.
: Perhaps the British standard of putting all punctuation on the outside unless it explicitly belongs to the quoted material is more logical, but until some major style manuals in the USA adopt it, it won't be legit in SWE.
: Circling back to the original point (ending with '"oK."' vs '"oK".'), that's one of those situations where the sentence should be reworded to avoid the ambiguity on whether the period belongs to the quoted abbreviation or not.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.100|108.162.237.100]] 18:01, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
:I never paid much attention to this before, but now I see "it." On [[2251]] Randall follows the same style and puts in punctuaction inside the "quotation marks." --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:09, 6 January 2020 (UTC)
This is kind of like the LEGO bridge question in What If. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.120|172.69.34.120]] 18:32, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

I just added the bit about the readers' narrative voices (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2250:_OK/okay/ok&diff=185524&oldid=185508|edit comments] for additional thoughts), but my parenthsisised justification for the 'quoting' looks a bit clunky even to me. Further changes (or at least partial reversion) are welcome, and in fact invited... Fill your boots! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.221|141.101.99.221]] 20:15, 5 January 2020 (UTC)

I’m not sure about everyone else, but I was *really* weirded out when Randall used ‘ok’ in How To. Like, it threw me off and I had to reread a couple times. I was very surprised. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 14:11, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

My favorite is O-KAYYYYYYYYY! [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 15:05, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

Hang the fuck on...capitalised looks old, while spelt out in lower case is normal? Really? REALLY? Quote conventions schmote conventions - I'll use whatever style a client dictates, like the obedient little paycheck-chasing copywriter that I am - but "OK" is pretty much universal as far as I'm concerned.
I'm going to cling to this being a transatlantic difference, to "OK" being normal, to "ok" being a typo, to clamping my hands over my ears and saying "Lalala I'm not listening" to anyone who says otherwise, and to thumping anyone who pulls said hands from said ears square in the nose.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:39, 12 January 2020 (UTC)
:Maybe you are just kind of... old? Many people who are just using chat programs, especially on the phone, do not bother with using the shift key at all. So it seems to be quite common to use lower case for a word that isn't even an abbrevation anymore, but just a regular word. ok? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:27, 13 January 2020 (UTC)
::As I believe I pointed out before: Lalala I'm not listening. That said though...I get it, but whether it's an abbreviation or not isn't really the be-all & end-all of whether it's capitalised. Names aren't abbreviations and they're capitalised...usually...while e.g. and i.e. (et al) are abbreviations and they aren't. It's all just convention, and conventions change, often via a period of people doing it "wrongly" before it's accepted. I think the existence of this comic and the ensuing discussion proves we're still in the transitional period...although it seems we may be much further through it than I thought. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 16:54, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

== New comic up ==

The new comic is already up. As the bot is not working, someone has to insert it manually. It is quite easy with a bit of trial and error and the tutorial on [[User:DgbrtBOT]]. It should be done by a user who is on here for a time with an account (and has by that earned the right to upload files.) - I will not be able to do so myself within the next ~10 hours, as I will not be on my own computer. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:21, 6 January 2020 (UTC)
: I just made an account to do this before i checked this talk page lol
: I've changed the [[List_of_all_comics]] page (first step on [[User:DgbrtBOT]]) but NOTHING ELSE. Ty all
: Side note: I was going to write 'LOL' before i realized the content of this comic and got self-conscious of it. [[User:Soulus|Soulus]] ([[User talk:Soulus|talk]]) 09:40, 6 January 2020 (UTC)
::I have created the new page [[2251]] - looking forward to your explanations, cause I'm lost on that one... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:52, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

Personally, I settled this question because I favor the Choctaw Indian origin for the the word "okay", which means it comes from "okeh", and therefore it makes sense to spell it out as "okay". I sometimes actually spell it okeh, but only to people who'd be able to figure out what I mean. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:58, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2249: I Love the 20s

2020-01-23T16:52:26Z

Kazvorpal: /* Rewrite */

in gif diehard is a Christmas movie. There is no right or wrong answer.
But is White Hat right or wrong? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.197|162.158.91.197]] 19:00, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:Both. It's the only way to settle this. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.63|173.245.54.63]] 19:13, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::I think that he is right, but it’s like asking if diehard is a Christmas movie. There is no right or wrong answer.
:::Indeed, famed D.J. and space journalist [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZVOSZqth70 Scott Manley says it's a new decade in C but not in FORTRAN]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:37, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::::You mean it's already 21th century for FORTRAN? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:33, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::::But what decade is it in the {{w|Delisle scale}}? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.250|141.101.98.250]] 20:35, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
I'm fairly certain Ponytail contradicts herself in panel 5. Arguing that decades are not cardinally numbered is arguing that the decade starts in 2021 (ordinal numbering.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.34|162.158.126.34]] 21:20, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:She doesn't: you're assuming there are only two options, but that's not the case. Decades (in the common "20s, 30s, 40s" form) are not technically numbered at all: they're named, it's just that those names are based on numbers.
:It's still a sequence, like names or dictionary entries being grouped into "As, Bs, Cs" and so on, though. (Is there a specific name for this type of sequence? If so, I don't know it.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.144|141.101.107.144]] 23:03, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::She (more likely Randall's slip of the pen) is still wrong: what she means is that they aren't ''ordinally'' numbered, which is the reason the other guy is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.179|162.158.158.179]] 08:23, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
Having had this conversation on WhatsApp, I have settled on an ingenious solution that works for me (on being told that "0" had not been invented in the year between -1 and +1") and explains why decades start with "10, 20...": As usually nowadays, the first decade was the Betaversion and so only ran from 1-9... {{unsigned ip|188.114.103.5|07:29, 2 January 2020 (UTC)}}
:Nobody really recognised the possibility of having/not having 0AD until c.525AD, anyway. (Sitting betwixt the nominal start of what became in our zero in 5thC and its eventual formalising in 7thC, over in India/etc.) If you ask me (and you aren't doing, I know!) I think they probably were envisaging an early version of 1s' Compliment, but knew it would be silly to have two separate numbers for the year ±0 and so fudged it entirely the other way. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.9|162.158.158.9]] 11:37, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

Every year is a new decade. Just some of them overlap. The 203rd decade was from 2021 to 2030, while the '20s will run from 1920 to 1929. Both are legitimate decades. So id 1994-2003; it just doesn't have a convenient name to refer to it by. Heck, you don't even need a new year. 1981-12-03 to 1991-12-02 is the first decade of my life :) So if you want to celebrate the start of a new decade, you should celebrate ''every single day''. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 10:48, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
:By that logic, the 203rd decade started 203 planck lengths (or other smaller time units) after the big bang. Or was it 202 planck lenghts after? However I agree, that decades start and end all the time. The question is just, what day does the decade "the 20s" start. I'd say it started on January 1, 2020. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 11:23, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

There is an interesting theory that CULTURALLY, a new decade doesn't really start until year 2 or year 3 of said decade. So, what we traditionally envision as "the 80s" actually was typical for ca. 1983-1992, what we think of as "the 90s" actually happened between 1993 and 2002, and so on. It makes a lot of sense if you think of it (and if you listen to music or look at pictures of the time); mullets were still a thing in 1991, just as carrot pants were in 1981 and psychedelic music was in 1971. (It also works for centuries, but with a longer timespan, about 15 years. 1910 or 1911 feels a lot more 19th century than 20th century. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna was held, which ended the European Wars of the 18th century and laid the foundation for the nation states typical of the 19th century, and for a period of relative peace that enabled the Industrial Revolution. And so on.)--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.233|162.158.158.233]] 12:00, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
:I'd argue that this is just randomness. There is no reason, any trends should align to the way the years are set up. Of course noone says "hey, it's first January 2020, let's start a new style of dressing and listen to new music." But neither do they in 2022. However e.g. carrot pants were MOST popular, and on their peak of popularity in the 70s, and psychadelic music in the 60s, even though trends linger and resurface long after all the time. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:54, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
::Well, I'd already planned to use exclusive and entirely 2020s' slang and fashion from yesterday onwards. After a few false starts because nobody knew what I was vocing about, I'm now starting it ween and only going full-barbecue as I get past the prime snick of my voc, in empthy my viewclan viz my deltas and merj my vocstyel, all charged for the dec fronting up! Ten-four, me hearties? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.40|141.101.98.40]] 16:20, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
: Except the 19th century started in 1789; cf. the long nineteenth century. I had never heard of a 1815 start for the nineteenth century before. The nineteenth century is 1789-1914, and the twentieth century started in 1914 and ended in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union. Looking at just American history, the nineteenth century obviously starts in 1776 and ends at the start or end of the Civil War, 1860ish. It's all arbitrary lines.--[[User:Prosfilaes|Prosfilaes]] ([[User talk:Prosfilaes|talk]]) 02:35, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
::Do you have any source or examples from actual historians, using a definition of centuries based on events instead of 100-year periods following each other? Eras or Ages might be debatable and dependent on the spirit of a given time, events, rulers, etc. but I have never heard about centuries being defined that way. The 19th Century started either in 1800 or 1801 and lasted until 1899/1900. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:07, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
::: Cf [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_nineteenth_century The Long Nineteenth Century].--[[User:Prosfilaes|Prosfilaes]] ([[User talk:Prosfilaes|talk]]) 09:16, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:::: Thanks. Interesting to read. I was not aware that this is a thing. However the wikipedia article explicitely calls "the long nineteenth century" a period, never a century (There is no sentence such as "the long nineteenth century is a century that [...]"). So I'd still say the 19th century started in 1800/1801, while the "long 19th century" started in 1750/1789. The Wikipedia article on {{w| century}} seems also to take centurys as literal 100 year periods: "A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages."--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:50, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

In the decades under discussion, VH1 and MTV were competing channels, not parent company - child company. (And MTV came first.) It's much more relevant to the explanation that VH1 was a music channel on cable TV than to explain who owns what now, three decades later. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.159|172.69.63.159]] 15:59, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

I find it surprising that Randall didn't reference ISO-8601 by way of Wikipedia, such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_zero#ISO_8601 in the Year Zero article], to make the argument that the first 10 years ran from 0-9 as "the standard". Though I suppose it is more entertaining/broadly targeted to reference pop. culture sources when labeling pop. culture trends. [[User:SensorSmith|SensorSmith]] ([[User talk:SensorSmith|talk]]) 16:12, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

Well I might be stepping into a minefield by saying this, but obviously both CNN and FOX had dedicated articles reporting this issue and, as expected, have slightly different stances on the answer. I wonder if Randall is aware of this.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/when-does-the-decade-end-begin-trnd/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/does-2020-start-a-new-decade-or-not-everyone-has-an-opinion

I really get a feeling that there's an extra joke or nod somewhere in the title text that's not covered - anyone spent a little more time on that yet? or maybe have a little more? Despite the feeling, nothing is occurring to me :-( [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:31, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

== Rewrite ==

I did a significant rewrite which captures most of what had been said, but tidies up and clarifies some points. I also removed some information that I felt wasn't relevant (eg. the trivia about Jesus' birth - while true and interesting, it isn't actually relevant to the comic or the explanation) - feel free to add anything back that you think should still be included for completeness.

Can I just say, though, that I am not a fan of this rambling style of recapping the comic blow-by-blow while explaining it? It seems to be a common style here but it makes the explanation ''significantly'' more difficult to follow. Here is an example of what I mean:

<blockquote>"At this point Megan stops their heated argument claiming she can resolve this. She then states that MC Hammer's song "U Can't Touch This", released in 1990, was featured in a 1990s-themed television show (I Love the '90s) instead of its 1980s-themed counterpart. Ponytail then claims that this settles the discussion. And White Hat throws in the towel stating that he accepts VH1's authority and lets Ponytail win."</blockquote>

Recapitulating the comic can sometimes be useful to give context to the explanation, but it gets difficult to follow when the text starts jumping back-and-forth between explaining things and simply stating things that are happening in the comic. In my rewrite, I have attempted to give a short recap at the very start of the explanation, to provide context; then, I have added explanations of the points raised by the comic. I still don't think it's the best way to go about it, but I think it's better. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 14:20, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
: +1 - I really like your rewrite :) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:25, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder that seemingly nobody noticed that Megan is doing the characteristic part of the song here: "Stop! Hammertime!" I'm not sure how to inlcude that into the explanation, though... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:16, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:Added :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 11:02, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:: Cool, thanks :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:43, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

White Hat is engaging in '''hypercorrection''', one of the worst crimes of the pseudo-intellectual. They learn something but don't understand it, and then overcompensate by applying it too broadly. Grammar is one of their biggest failings. For example, you do ''not'' add -ly to every adjective that's simply placed near a verb. You feel bad, not badly. And while one does not end a clause with a preposition, "prepositions" like "in" and "with" are often not prepositions at all, but particles that serve a utility role and are valid at the end of a sentence. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:51, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2249: I Love the 20s

2020-01-23T16:51:53Z

Kazvorpal:

in gif diehard is a Christmas movie. There is no right or wrong answer.
But is White Hat right or wrong? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.197|162.158.91.197]] 19:00, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:Both. It's the only way to settle this. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.63|173.245.54.63]] 19:13, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::I think that he is right, but it’s like asking if diehard is a Christmas movie. There is no right or wrong answer.
:::Indeed, famed D.J. and space journalist [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZVOSZqth70 Scott Manley says it's a new decade in C but not in FORTRAN]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:37, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::::You mean it's already 21th century for FORTRAN? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:33, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::::But what decade is it in the {{w|Delisle scale}}? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.250|141.101.98.250]] 20:35, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
I'm fairly certain Ponytail contradicts herself in panel 5. Arguing that decades are not cardinally numbered is arguing that the decade starts in 2021 (ordinal numbering.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.34|162.158.126.34]] 21:20, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:She doesn't: you're assuming there are only two options, but that's not the case. Decades (in the common "20s, 30s, 40s" form) are not technically numbered at all: they're named, it's just that those names are based on numbers.
:It's still a sequence, like names or dictionary entries being grouped into "As, Bs, Cs" and so on, though. (Is there a specific name for this type of sequence? If so, I don't know it.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.144|141.101.107.144]] 23:03, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
::She (more likely Randall's slip of the pen) is still wrong: what she means is that they aren't ''ordinally'' numbered, which is the reason the other guy is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.179|162.158.158.179]] 08:23, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
Having had this conversation on WhatsApp, I have settled on an ingenious solution that works for me (on being told that "0" had not been invented in the year between -1 and +1") and explains why decades start with "10, 20...": As usually nowadays, the first decade was the Betaversion and so only ran from 1-9... {{unsigned ip|188.114.103.5|07:29, 2 January 2020 (UTC)}}
:Nobody really recognised the possibility of having/not having 0AD until c.525AD, anyway. (Sitting betwixt the nominal start of what became in our zero in 5thC and its eventual formalising in 7thC, over in India/etc.) If you ask me (and you aren't doing, I know!) I think they probably were envisaging an early version of 1s' Compliment, but knew it would be silly to have two separate numbers for the year ±0 and so fudged it entirely the other way. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.9|162.158.158.9]] 11:37, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

Every year is a new decade. Just some of them overlap. The 203rd decade was from 2021 to 2030, while the '20s will run from 1920 to 1929. Both are legitimate decades. So id 1994-2003; it just doesn't have a convenient name to refer to it by. Heck, you don't even need a new year. 1981-12-03 to 1991-12-02 is the first decade of my life :) So if you want to celebrate the start of a new decade, you should celebrate ''every single day''. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 10:48, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
:By that logic, the 203rd decade started 203 planck lengths (or other smaller time units) after the big bang. Or was it 202 planck lenghts after? However I agree, that decades start and end all the time. The question is just, what day does the decade "the 20s" start. I'd say it started on January 1, 2020. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 11:23, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

There is an interesting theory that CULTURALLY, a new decade doesn't really start until year 2 or year 3 of said decade. So, what we traditionally envision as "the 80s" actually was typical for ca. 1983-1992, what we think of as "the 90s" actually happened between 1993 and 2002, and so on. It makes a lot of sense if you think of it (and if you listen to music or look at pictures of the time); mullets were still a thing in 1991, just as carrot pants were in 1981 and psychedelic music was in 1971. (It also works for centuries, but with a longer timespan, about 15 years. 1910 or 1911 feels a lot more 19th century than 20th century. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna was held, which ended the European Wars of the 18th century and laid the foundation for the nation states typical of the 19th century, and for a period of relative peace that enabled the Industrial Revolution. And so on.)--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.233|162.158.158.233]] 12:00, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
:I'd argue that this is just randomness. There is no reason, any trends should align to the way the years are set up. Of course noone says "hey, it's first January 2020, let's start a new style of dressing and listen to new music." But neither do they in 2022. However e.g. carrot pants were MOST popular, and on their peak of popularity in the 70s, and psychadelic music in the 60s, even though trends linger and resurface long after all the time. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:54, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
::Well, I'd already planned to use exclusive and entirely 2020s' slang and fashion from yesterday onwards. After a few false starts because nobody knew what I was vocing about, I'm now starting it ween and only going full-barbecue as I get past the prime snick of my voc, in empthy my viewclan viz my deltas and merj my vocstyel, all charged for the dec fronting up! Ten-four, me hearties? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.40|141.101.98.40]] 16:20, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
: Except the 19th century started in 1789; cf. the long nineteenth century. I had never heard of a 1815 start for the nineteenth century before. The nineteenth century is 1789-1914, and the twentieth century started in 1914 and ended in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union. Looking at just American history, the nineteenth century obviously starts in 1776 and ends at the start or end of the Civil War, 1860ish. It's all arbitrary lines.--[[User:Prosfilaes|Prosfilaes]] ([[User talk:Prosfilaes|talk]]) 02:35, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
::Do you have any source or examples from actual historians, using a definition of centuries based on events instead of 100-year periods following each other? Eras or Ages might be debatable and dependent on the spirit of a given time, events, rulers, etc. but I have never heard about centuries being defined that way. The 19th Century started either in 1800 or 1801 and lasted until 1899/1900. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:07, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
::: Cf [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_nineteenth_century The Long Nineteenth Century].--[[User:Prosfilaes|Prosfilaes]] ([[User talk:Prosfilaes|talk]]) 09:16, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:::: Thanks. Interesting to read. I was not aware that this is a thing. However the wikipedia article explicitely calls "the long nineteenth century" a period, never a century (There is no sentence such as "the long nineteenth century is a century that [...]"). So I'd still say the 19th century started in 1800/1801, while the "long 19th century" started in 1750/1789. The Wikipedia article on {{w| century}} seems also to take centurys as literal 100 year periods: "A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages."--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:50, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

In the decades under discussion, VH1 and MTV were competing channels, not parent company - child company. (And MTV came first.) It's much more relevant to the explanation that VH1 was a music channel on cable TV than to explain who owns what now, three decades later. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.159|172.69.63.159]] 15:59, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

I find it surprising that Randall didn't reference ISO-8601 by way of Wikipedia, such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_zero#ISO_8601 in the Year Zero article], to make the argument that the first 10 years ran from 0-9 as "the standard". Though I suppose it is more entertaining/broadly targeted to reference pop. culture sources when labeling pop. culture trends. [[User:SensorSmith|SensorSmith]] ([[User talk:SensorSmith|talk]]) 16:12, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

Well I might be stepping into a minefield by saying this, but obviously both CNN and FOX had dedicated articles reporting this issue and, as expected, have slightly different stances on the answer. I wonder if Randall is aware of this.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/when-does-the-decade-end-begin-trnd/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/does-2020-start-a-new-decade-or-not-everyone-has-an-opinion

I really get a feeling that there's an extra joke or nod somewhere in the title text that's not covered - anyone spent a little more time on that yet? or maybe have a little more? Despite the feeling, nothing is occurring to me :-( [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:31, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

== Rewrite ==

I did a significant rewrite which captures most of what had been said, but tidies up and clarifies some points. I also removed some information that I felt wasn't relevant (eg. the trivia about Jesus' birth - while true and interesting, it isn't actually relevant to the comic or the explanation) - feel free to add anything back that you think should still be included for completeness.

Can I just say, though, that I am not a fan of this rambling style of recapping the comic blow-by-blow while explaining it? It seems to be a common style here but it makes the explanation ''significantly'' more difficult to follow. Here is an example of what I mean:

<blockquote>"At this point Megan stops their heated argument claiming she can resolve this. She then states that MC Hammer's song "U Can't Touch This", released in 1990, was featured in a 1990s-themed television show (I Love the '90s) instead of its 1980s-themed counterpart. Ponytail then claims that this settles the discussion. And White Hat throws in the towel stating that he accepts VH1's authority and lets Ponytail win."</blockquote>

Recapitulating the comic can sometimes be useful to give context to the explanation, but it gets difficult to follow when the text starts jumping back-and-forth between explaining things and simply stating things that are happening in the comic. In my rewrite, I have attempted to give a short recap at the very start of the explanation, to provide context; then, I have added explanations of the points raised by the comic. I still don't think it's the best way to go about it, but I think it's better. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 14:20, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
: +1 - I really like your rewrite :) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:25, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder that seemingly nobody noticed that Megan is doing the characteristic part of the song here: "Stop! Hammertime!" I'm not sure how to inlcude that into the explanation, though... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:16, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:Added :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 11:02, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
:: Cool, thanks :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:43, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

White Hat is engaging in hypercorrection, one of the worst crimes of the pseudo-intellectual. They learn something but don't understand it, and then overcompensate by applying it too broadly. Grammar is one of their biggest failings. For example, you do ''not'' add -ly to every adjective that's simply placed near a verb. You feel bad, not badly. And while one does not end a clause with a preposition, "prepositions" like "in" and "with" are often not prepositions at all, but particles that serve a utility role and are valid at the end of a sentence. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:51, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2242: Ground vs Air

2020-01-22T18:52:53Z

Kazvorpal:

Wow; it took longer than I care to admit to realize 'thick' wasn't 'viscosity'...but 'altitude'. (i.e., height/thickness re: Kynde's comment) [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 01:08, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
:Ohhhhhhhh! [[User:Sdkb|Sdkb]] ([[User talk:Sdkb|talk]]) 02:38, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
::Not altitude, but height or thickness... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:03, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
::: ^ Yes, that. Correction added; I meekly blame word choice on keyboard dead zones. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 20:22, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

A link to the article is here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2005GL025621. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.192|162.158.186.192]] 01:12, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

It's probably worth mentioning in the explanation which map projection Randall chose to use for this comic from those listed in a previous comic about map projections. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 02:22, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

And by these metrics, blood is even thinner than water... {{unsignedip|162.158.107.199}}

But everything changed when the fire nation attacked [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.250|108.162.229.250]] 10:47, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

I assume ocean ridges have a very thin crust, meaning they get the ratio more towards air? I am not at all a geologist, so I ask this question, because ridges would intiutively appear to have a bigger crust, as they stand out from the ground. "That definition would, of course, have resulted in a significantly different picture where the air is thicker than the ground only inside small areas around mid-ocean ridges" should be explained by someone who knows why it is the case. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:26, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
:Mid-ocean ridges can even be raised above the ocean surface--Iceland is actually the high point on one of them. In other places they're trenches, though. Since seafloor crust is spreading at those points, it's at its thinnest there on average. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 02:08, 18 December 2019 (UTC)
::Would you feel confident, adding that in a concise way to the explanation? I do not... But I am glad I learned something by that. That might also explain why these ocean ridges tend to be equipped with volcanoes. I thought the reasoning was the other way round: They are ridges due to their geothermal activity. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:27, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

The current explanation seems to include water-thickness in with (either) air or ground thickness in discussing it in the initial transition from air to ground. Depends how you read it, which, but it easily reads as either. Maybe edit that aside out from that bit, then make sure that sliver of water is gone into later (...end of that para? ...footnote mention?) that sometimes the air ends at sea-level and ground starts after the depth of sea? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.46|162.158.34.46]] 12:28, 18 December 2019 (UTC)
:Just done what I think you asked for, as luck would have it. (And then redid it slightly to avoid adjectival and verb forms of "separate" appearing so close together.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.91|162.158.154.91]] 19:46, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

The current explanations refers to fire as being 12000km, I would rather go with the radius of 6000km. Makes more sense to me since we are on a sphere and not counting the crust thickness twice.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.52|108.162.216.52]] 17:52, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

Should we make a Comics with Citations category? Seems like it's warranted [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.53|141.101.69.53]] 19:21, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

XKCD is he only webcomic where mentioning the type of map projection in an explanation would not be needless pedantism. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:52, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2239: Data Error

2020-01-22T18:40:00Z

Kazvorpal:

Randall's comics are usually relevant to recent events on or near the day comics are posted. I was wondering if this Data Error comic might be referencing some recent event, some data error at NASA or something. Does anyone know what it might be in reference to? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.40|108.162.219.40]] 21:13, 9 December 2019 (UTC) ... Sorry, forgot to sign in. Saibot84 21:14, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

: I'm not aware of anything in the news. However, this is not the first time Randall has commented on research publication in a comic, so I suspect it's just another in that series. It seems obvious that he feels the first option is the appropriate choice, and the second option is the joke. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:22, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

: I believe there was a relatively recent issue where a Python script used for processing data-sets made assumptions about the order in which data files would be returned by the host operating system that turned out to not always be true, throwing the results of several analyses off. Could he be referring to that? The scripts in question were used for obtaining results into cyanobacteria studies... https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/chemists-discover-cross-platform-python-scripts-not-so-cross-platform/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 15:03, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

I think the stickwoman is not "excited" but sarcastic, although you can't be sure in text. It is a joke based on the discrepancy in capabilities between real scientists and fictional mad scientists. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.119|108.162.238.119]] 22:23, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

:I agree, Megan is being a smart-ass [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.202|108.162.245.202]] 15:46, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

:For start, "mad scientists" are usually more like mad engineers ... you can't get world domination by researching something and writing paper about it, you need to USE that research, usually by building something. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:10, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
::Are you suggesting scientists can't build things? I don't actually know, since I'm an engineer! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 23:43, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

What is a data error in general? Explain me a term :) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.74|172.69.22.74]] 02:39, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:The discovery that the data you used was sampled below the Nyquist frequency pretty much kills your thesis until you can get data that was properly acquired. All your results will be contaminated with artifacts produced by the sampling rate, rather than by variations in the quantity that you imagined you were observing. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.209|173.245.52.209]] 12:37, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
::I thought I knew what a data error is, but after that reply I'm not sure - although I'm almos sure that it did not help the one asking the question ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:55, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:::Well, that is '''a''' type of data error (bad sampling technique), but not the only type. The data itself could have had corruption problems, such as maybe some rogue second species of algae contaminated the samples, etc. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.46|172.69.62.46]] 21:39, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
::::Also, malfunctioning or miscalibrated measuring equipment (transducers, cabling, etc.) would be another type of data error. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 22:17, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:More about data errors. Yes, I listed just one kind, and a fellow I knew had to re-do his thesis because of that particular error. The careful researcher investigates many possible sources of error. The poor researcher simply throws away the data points that do not match his preconceptions. HERE WE GO, enumerating some errors: (1) Noise from physically sloppy equipment. (2) Lack of calibration of measuring device. (3) Device loses calibration over time. (4) Manually recorded data errors, such as transposed digits. (5) Incorrect assumptions of linearity in the design of measurement. (6) Failure to record crucial environmental parameters. [That's just six minutes of thinking. Surely there are others.]
:Yes, I omitted an important source of error: Sabotage! You're not paranoid, someone really is messing with your data.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.113|162.158.79.113]] 01:34, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
:So, a data error is an error in your data, instead of in your analysis? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.107|172.68.132.107]] 11:35, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

If it were merely an error in analysis (see the recent mess with python, [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/chemists-discover-cross-platform-python-scripts-not-so-cross-platform/] ), then you simply fix your analysis code and re-run. So, yes, a "data error" means the original data values were flawed or invalid or whatever. Most likely sabotage inflicted by sophons. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:29, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

I'm happy that he said "two options" instead of "two choices", which of course would involve around four options. Watching the horrific Star Trek: Discovery for completist purposes, I was annoyed when someone said "you have only one alternative" when they meant "you have only one option". — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:39, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2239: Data Error

2020-01-22T18:39:36Z

Kazvorpal:

Randall's comics are usually relevant to recent events on or near the day comics are posted. I was wondering if this Data Error comic might be referencing some recent event, some data error at NASA or something. Does anyone know what it might be in reference to? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.40|108.162.219.40]] 21:13, 9 December 2019 (UTC) ... Sorry, forgot to sign in. Saibot84 21:14, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

: I'm not aware of anything in the news. However, this is not the first time Randall has commented on research publication in a comic, so I suspect it's just another in that series. It seems obvious that he feels the first option is the appropriate choice, and the second option is the joke. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:22, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

: I believe there was a relatively recent issue where a Python script used for processing data-sets made assumptions about the order in which data files would be returned by the host operating system that turned out to not always be true, throwing the results of several analyses off. Could he be referring to that? The scripts in question were used for obtaining results into cyanobacteria studies... https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/chemists-discover-cross-platform-python-scripts-not-so-cross-platform/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 15:03, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

I think the stickwoman is not "excited" but sarcastic, although you can't be sure in text. It is a joke based on the discrepancy in capabilities between real scientists and fictional mad scientists. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.119|108.162.238.119]] 22:23, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

:I agree, Megan is being a smart-ass [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.202|108.162.245.202]] 15:46, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

:For start, "mad scientists" are usually more like mad engineers ... you can't get world domination by researching something and writing paper about it, you need to USE that research, usually by building something. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:10, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
::Are you suggesting scientists can't build things? I don't actually know, since I'm an engineer! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 23:43, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

What is a data error in general? Explain me a term :) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.74|172.69.22.74]] 02:39, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:The discovery that the data you used was sampled below the Nyquist frequency pretty much kills your thesis until you can get data that was properly acquired. All your results will be contaminated with artifacts produced by the sampling rate, rather than by variations in the quantity that you imagined you were observing. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.209|173.245.52.209]] 12:37, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
::I thought I knew what a data error is, but after that reply I'm not sure - although I'm almos sure that it did not help the one asking the question ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:55, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:::Well, that is '''a''' type of data error (bad sampling technique), but not the only type. The data itself could have had corruption problems, such as maybe some rogue second species of algae contaminated the samples, etc. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.46|172.69.62.46]] 21:39, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
::::Also, malfunctioning or miscalibrated measuring equipment (transducers, cabling, etc.) would be another type of data error. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 22:17, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
:More about data errors. Yes, I listed just one kind, and a fellow I knew had to re-do his thesis because of that particular error. The careful researcher investigates many possible sources of error. The poor researcher simply throws away the data points that do not match his preconceptions. HERE WE GO, enumerating some errors: (1) Noise from physically sloppy equipment. (2) Lack of calibration of measuring device. (3) Device loses calibration over time. (4) Manually recorded data errors, such as transposed digits. (5) Incorrect assumptions of linearity in the design of measurement. (6) Failure to record crucial environmental parameters. [That's just six minutes of thinking. Surely there are others.]
:Yes, I omitted an important source of error: Sabotage! You're not paranoid, someone really is messing with your data.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.113|162.158.79.113]] 01:34, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
:So, a data error is an error in your data, instead of in your analysis? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.107|172.68.132.107]] 11:35, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

If it were merely an error in analysis (see the recent mess with python, [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/chemists-discover-cross-platform-python-scripts-not-so-cross-platform/] ), then you simply fix your analysis code and re-run. So, yes, a "data error" means the original data values were flawed or invalid or whatever. Most likely sabotage inflicted by sophons. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:29, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

I'm happy that he said "two options" instead of "two choices", which of course would involve four options. Watching the horrific Star Trek: Discovery for completist purposes, I was annoyed when someone said "you have only one alternative" when they meant "you have only one option". — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:39, 22 January 2020 (UTC)