explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1670: Laws of Physics

2016-04-20T15:04:12Z

Kripmo: /* Explanation */ Inverted the position of the sample videos; the now first, I think, explains it better.

{{comic
| number = 1670
| date = April 20, 2016
| title = Laws of Physics
| image = laws_of_physics.png
| titletext = The laws of physics are fun to try to understand, but as an organism with incredibly delicate eyes who evolved in a world full of sharp objects, I have an awful lot of trust in biology's calibration of my flinch reflex.
}}

==Explanation==
Black Hat, being Black Hat, is deliberately perverting a classic physics demonstration. In the normal version of the demonstration, the heavy ball is pulled to one side until it is almost, but not quite, touching the volunteer's nose or chin -- in this comic, Black Hat is the only one in the right position for the experiment. When the ball is released, it swings down and away, then back to (almost) where it started -- but ''never'' (by the laws of physics) farther than where it started. So, as long as the volunteer doesn't flinch, the heavy ball will never hit them in the nose. (Sample videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXXF2C-vrQE], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2GdY1OlDpA].)

In this comic, since Cueball is not standing at the edge of the ball's movement, but rather at the base of its swing, he is about to get a rude surprise.

==Transcript==

:[Black Hat is standing on a ladder, holding a heavy ball attached to a line from above. Cueball stands beneath, where if the ball swings it will smack him right in the face.]
:Black Hat: Okay, hold still.
:Black Hat: And remember, if you ''really'' believe in the laws of physics, you won't flinch.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

295: DNE

2015-12-08T02:20:50Z

Kripmo:

{{comic
| number =295
| date =July 27, 2007
| title =DNE
| image =dne.png
| titletext =I've seen advertisers put their URLs on chalkboards, encircled with a DNE. They went unerased for months. If you see this, feel free to replace the URL with xkcd.com.
}}

==Explanation==
DNE stands for "do not erase", and is commonly used on school whiteboards to let the sanitation staff and other teachers know not to erase that particular area of the board. DNE circles often encompass important information such as test dates or the teacher's name.

It is easy to see how leaving things marked with DNE can become automatic for anyone often erasing boards, so that they don't notice what the message actually says, or reflect on whether the DNE-marking is reasonable for it. [[Cueball]]'s dissatisfactory note is not very subtle, but [[Randall]] notes that advertisers have successfully used the same tactic for less conspicuous {{w|URL}}s to their sites.

On the bottom half of the board is a crossed out 2x2 {{w|Matrix (mathematics)|matrix}}, and two {{w|Function (mathematics)|functions}} for {{w|Exponential decay| exponential decay}}.

In the title text it is pointed out that many advertisers would just write down a website address, circle it, and then add a DNE marking. It also kindly asks you to replace those messages with xkcd.com to get some free advertising.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is in an empty classroom writing on the whiteboard. In the top right corner in large print is written "Fuck This Place!." It is circled, and underneath he is writing "DNE".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sarcasm]]

Talk:229: Graffiti

2015-11-28T01:58:16Z

Kripmo:

For some reason this reminds me of tor. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 02:27, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
:Indeed [[User:Kripmo|Kripmo]] ([[User talk:Kripmo|talk]]) 01:58, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

190: IPoD

2015-11-23T01:27:16Z

Kripmo: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 190
| date = November 29, 2006
| title = IPoD
| image = ipod.png
| titletext = For smaller numbers he has to SAVE lives. The birthrate channel is even more of a mixed bag.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Internet Protocol|IP}} is one of the main protocols of the Internet. It is used to route data packets from one computer to another, using other computers or even complete networks in between if needed. It is designed to use the fastest (not necessarily the shortest) route to the target, automatically using another route if a connection or a transmitting host fails.

Every participant of the network has to have a so-called {{w|IP address}}. The data is divided into ''packets'', each consisting of a header and the payload. The header tells the transmitting parties where the packet comes from and where it should go (together with some other details). The payload is the data to be transmitted.

[[Black Hat]] (and other statisticians) are using demographics as IP packets to send data. In order to adjust the death rate to encode the header, Black Hat plans to travel to New Jersey and go on a killing spree with a crossbow, instead of merely hacking the census bureau's computers. Such antics could only be used to ''increase'' the death rate, decreasing it would require saving lives instead, as mentioned in the title text. Also as mentioned, birth rates would be trickier to manipulate as doing so would require encouraging more women to have children or have more abortions, which is a great deal more difficult than taking a crossbow to a heavily populated area.

Crossbows were also mentioned in [[564: Crossbows]].

The title of the comic and the IPoD protocol is a probable reference to the {{w|iPod}}, a portable electronic device created by {{w|Apple Computer}}.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat sits at a computer. Cueball stands behind Black Hat.]
:Black Hat: You see, statisticians communicate using IPoD -- IP over Demographics. For example, the header of the next packet I send will be encoded into the New Jersey death rate.
:Cueball: So you're going to hack the census bureau and change the number of reported deaths?
:Black Hat: Guess again.
:Black Hat: Hey, have you seen my crossbow?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Crossbows]]

Talk:155: Search History

2015-11-20T00:50:27Z

Kripmo:

Here's a [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log.php link] to the somethingawful page mentioned in the title text ([http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-2.php part 2], [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-3.php part 3]). {{unsigned ip|‎141.70.81.143}}

People of the distant future, [https://i.imgur.com/RnwhGYm.png this] is what google looked like today. [[User:Kripmo|Kripmo]] ([[User talk:Kripmo|talk]]) 00:50, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

378: Real Programmers

2015-11-09T00:36:31Z

Kripmo: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 378
| date = February 1, 2008
| title = Real Programmers
| image = real_programmers.png
| titletext = Real programmers set the universal constants at the start such that the universe evolves to contain the disk with the data they want.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirises the mythical {{w|Real Programmer}}. To quote Wikipedia, "the term Real Programmer is computer programmers' folklore to describe the archetypical 'hardcore' programmer who eschews the modern languages and tools of the day in favour of more direct and efficient solutions". The implication is that modern programmers are coddled by today's tools of the trade, which eschew detailed understanding for simple workflows. {{w|GNU nano}} is a {{w|text editor}} - a program often used to edit the source code of other programs; it is modern, simple, and easy-to-use. {{w|Emacs}} and {{w|Vim (text editor)|Vim}} are also text editors, and {{w|ed (text editor)|ed}} is a {{w|line editor}}. These represent progressively more "old school" solutions to the problem of editing code. {{w|cat (Unix)|cat}} is a Unix program that concatenates and outputs the contents of files. Things get steadily more ridiculous from here. Using a magnetised needle to flip bits on a hard drive requires nanometric precision and intuitive mastery of binary code, but in the early days of programming people did use needles sometimes to fix bugs on {{w|Punched card|Punched cards}}. The use of a magnetized needle may also be a reference to the {{w|Apollo_Guidance_Computer|Apollo AGC guidance computer}}, whose instructions were physically written as patterns of wires looped around or through cylindrical magnets in order to record binary code.

The above mentioned methods are the ones mentioned in the comic. The first is used by the Cueball-like guy sitting at his desk. The second guy who looks over the computer guy's shoulder, the Emacs guy, is the one with the punch line - typically the one represented by [[Cueball]]. Then follows [[Megan]], two [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Multiple_Cueballs more Cueball like guys] and [[Hair Bun Girl]].

The final character (yet another Cueball look-alike) suggests the utterly surreal idea of using butterflies; he is just using the {{w|Butterfly effect in popular culture|Butterfly effect}}, a "phenomenon whereby a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome". The joke at this point relies on stretching the connection between the ideas of "difficult-to-use" and "requires detailed understanding of underlying principles", to suggest that not only do ''Real'' Programmers know everything about how computers work, but they know how to manipulate the ambient physical environment in elaborate ways to cause computers to do what they want, akin to performing {{w|trick shot}}s that accomplish feats of programming.

{{w|GNU Emacs}} is a popular editor known for its vast profusion of features and extensions to perform all sorts of functions beyond simple text editing, and is widely regarded as one of the best examples of software which succeeds despite being totally riddled with {{w|Feature creep|featuritis}}. It is likely that [[Randall]] really thought this was a great tool at the time of this comic.

Emacs commands are usually referred to by the key sequence required to activate them, such as "C-x M-c" (Control-x Meta-c, though this exact key sequence is a bit different from most Emacs commands). The macro referenced is a pun on the play/movie titled "{{w|M. Butterfly}}". The butterfly programmer saying "Dammit, Emacs" plays on Emacs' notoriety for its kitchen sink design approach of tossing in all the features and options that anybody might ever conceivably want. By way of example, later versions of Emacs actually added a totally useless "M-x butterfly" command as an easter egg, in reference to this very comic: see the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtxhuX6ano youtube demo] and [http://www.screenr.com/a2s screenr demo].

To cap this the title text suggests manipulating the {{w|Physical constant|universal constants}} in order to create a universe in which the required computer data will exist. The programmers shown may even represent the fulfilment of this master programmers plan. The universe may have been designed in such a way that the programmers ancestry would result in his parents, who would meet and have a child, who would learn programming and eventually find himself in a position where he undertakes the task of creating a program, which fills the disk with the desired data. In tandem, of course, all of the people involved with creating and developing all the required hardware, software, raw materials, computer science, electricity, logic (etc etc etc) would have to be part of the master plan. Put simply, it would probably be simpler just to use Emacs. To put it theologically this Real Programmer would be called God.

[[505: A Bunch of Rocks]] features Cueball as a ''Real'' Programmer, who designs the universe out of boredom as a simulation made of rocks. He would also be a God of our universe, although he did run it as a simulation just by setting the physical constants.

==Transcript==
:[A Cueball like man sits at a computer, programming. Cueball (the protagonist of the story) stands behind him and looks over his shoulder.]
:Cueball: <code>nano</code>? Real Programmers use <code>emacs</code>.

:[Megan appears behind him.]
:Megan: Hey. Real Programmers use <code>vim</code>.

:[A second Cueball like man appears behind her.]
:Ed Cueball: Well, Real Programmers use <code>ed</code>.

:[A third Cueball like man appears behind him.]
:Cat Cueball: No, Real Programmers use <code>cat</code>.

:[Hair Bun Girl appears behind him.]
:Hair Bun Girl: Real Programmers use a magnetized needle and a steady hand.

:[A fourth Cueball like man enters, facing them all. We see him facing the last two Cueball like men and Hair Bun Girl.]
:Butterfly Cueball: Excuse me, but Real Programmers use butterflies.

:[A Cueball like programmer is standing and holding out a butterfly in front of his computer. The butterfly flaps it’s wings.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): They open their hands and let the delicate wings flap once.

:[The next two panels are smaller and the two texts below are written uninterrupted respectively above and below both panels. The first panel is the Cueball like programmer with the butterfly, and above him four curved arrows pointing up or down. The second panel shows the upper atmosphere, with large clouds far below and the earth even further down. Also here are shown seven of the same type of arrows.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): The disturbances ripple outward, changing the flow of the eddy currents in the upper atmosphere.
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): These cause momentary pockets of higher-pressure air to form,

:[Also the next two panels are smaller and the texts below are written uninterrupted above both panels. The first panel shows the atmosphere, again with clouds, and four parallel lines coming from above, and then they begin to merge, getting quite close at the bottom of the panel. The second panel shows the four lines merging on a driver platter.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): Which act as lenses that deflect incoming cosmic rays, focusing them to strike the drive platter and flip the desired bit.

:[All the programmers who has commented so far stands in the order they have commented facing the last Cueball like man who slaps his forehead.]
:Cueball: Nice. 'Course, there's an Emacs command to do that.
:Cat Cueball: Oh yeah! Good ol' C-x M-c M-butterfly...
:Butterfly Cueball: Dammit, Emacs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Emacs]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

378: Real Programmers

2015-11-09T00:22:40Z

Kripmo: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 378
| date = February 1, 2008
| title = Real Programmers
| image = real_programmers.png
| titletext = Real programmers set the universal constants at the start such that the universe evolves to contain the disk with the data they want.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirises the mythical {{w|Real Programmer}}. To quote Wikipedia, "the term Real Programmer is computer programmers' folklore to describe the archetypical 'hardcore' programmer who eschews the modern languages and tools of the day in favour of more direct and efficient solutions". The implication is that modern programmers are coddled by today's tools of the trade, which eschew detailed understanding for simple workflows. {{w|GNU nano}} is a {{w|text editor}} - a program often used to edit the source code of other programs; it is modern, simple, and easy-to-use. {{w|Emacs}} and {{w|Vim (text editor)|Vim}} are also text editors, and {{w|ed (text editor)|ed}} is a {{w|line editor}}. These represent progressively more "old school" solutions to the problem of editing code. {{w|cat (Unix)|cat}} is a Unix program that concatenates and outputs the contents of files. Things get steadily more ridiculous from here. Using a magnetised needle to flip bits on a hard drive requires nanometric precision and intuitive mastery of binary code, but in the early days of programming people did use needles sometimes to fix bugs on {{w|Punched card|Punched cards}}. The use of a magnetized needle may also be a reference to the {{w|Apollo_Guidance_Computer|Apollo AGC guidance computer}}, whose instructions were physically written as patterns of wires looped around or through cylindrical magnets in order to record binary code.

The above mentioned methods are the ones mentioned in the comic. The first is used by the Cueball-like guy sitting at his desk. The second guy who looks over the computer guys shoulder, the Emacs guy, is the one with the punch line - typically the one represented by [[Cueball]]. Then follows [[Megan]], two [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Multiple_Cueballs more Cueball like guys] and [[Hair Bun Girl]].

The final character (yet another Cueball look-alike) suggests the utterly surreal idea of using butterflies; he is just using the {{w|Butterfly effect in popular culture|Butterfly effect}}, a "phenomenon whereby a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome". The joke at this point relies on stretching the connection between the ideas of "difficult-to-use" and "requires detailed understanding of underlying principles", to suggest that not only do ''Real'' Programmers know everything about how computers work, but they know how to manipulate the ambient physical environment in elaborate ways to cause computers to do what they want, akin to performing {{w|trick shot}}s that accomplish feats of programming.

{{w|GNU Emacs}} is a popular editor known for its vast profusion of features and extensions to perform all sorts of functions beyond simple text editing, and is widely regarded as one of the best examples of software which succeeds despite being totally riddled with {{w|Feature creep|featuritis}}. It is likely that [[Randall]] really thought this was a great tool at the time of this comic.

Emacs commands are usually referred to by the key sequence required to activate them, such as "C-x M-c" (Control-x Meta-c, though this exact key sequence is a bit different from most Emacs commands). The macro referenced is a pun on the play/movie titled "{{w|M. Butterfly}}". The butterfly programmer saying "Dammit, Emacs" plays on Emacs' notoriety for its kitchen sink design approach of tossing in all the features and options that anybody might ever conceivably want. By way of example, later versions of Emacs actually added a totally useless "M-x butterfly" command as an easter egg, in reference to this very comic: see the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtxhuX6ano youtube demo] and [http://www.screenr.com/a2s screenr demo].

To cap this the title text suggests manipulating the {{w|Physical constant|universal constants}} in order to create a universe in which the required computer data will exist. The programmers shown may even represent the fulfilment of this master programmers plan. The universe may have been designed in such a way that the programmers ancestry would result in his parents, who would meet and have a child, who would learn programming and eventually find himself in a position where he undertakes the task of creating a program, which fills the disk with the desired data. In tandem, of course, all of the people involved with creating and developing all the required hardware, software, raw materials, computer science, electricity, logic (etc etc etc) would have to be part of the master plan. Put simply, it would probably be simpler just to use Emacs. To put it theologically this Real Programmer would be called God.

[[505: A Bunch of Rocks]] features Cueball as a ''Real'' Programmer, who designs the universe out of boredom as a simulation made of rocks. He would also be a God of our universe, although he did run it as a simulation just by setting the physical constants.

==Transcript==
:[A Cueball like man sits at a computer, programming. Cueball (the protagonist of the story) stands behind him and looks over his shoulder.]
:Cueball: <code>nano</code>? Real Programmers use <code>emacs</code>.

:[Megan appears behind him.]
:Megan: Hey. Real Programmers use <code>vim</code>.

:[A second Cueball like man appears behind her.]
:Ed Cueball: Well, Real Programmers use <code>ed</code>.

:[A third Cueball like man appears behind him.]
:Cat Cueball: No, Real Programmers use <code>cat</code>.

:[Hair Bun Girl appears behind him.]
:Hair Bun Girl: Real Programmers use a magnetized needle and a steady hand.

:[A fourth Cueball like man enters, facing them all. We see him facing the last two Cueball like men and Hair Bun Girl.]
:Butterfly Cueball: Excuse me, but Real Programmers use butterflies.

:[A Cueball like programmer is standing and holding out a butterfly in front of his computer. The butterfly flaps it’s wings.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): They open their hands and let the delicate wings flap once.

:[The next two panels are smaller and the two texts below are written uninterrupted respectively above and below both panels. The first panel is the Cueball like programmer with the butterfly, and above him four curved arrows pointing up or down. The second panel shows the upper atmosphere, with large clouds far below and the earth even further down. Also here are shown seven of the same type of arrows.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): The disturbances ripple outward, changing the flow of the eddy currents in the upper atmosphere.
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): These cause momentary pockets of higher-pressure air to form,

:[Also the next two panels are smaller and the texts below are written uninterrupted above both panels. The first panel shows the atmosphere, again with clouds, and four parallel lines coming from above, and then they begin to merge, getting quite close at the bottom of the panel. The second panel shows the four lines merging on a driver platter.]
:Butterfly Cueball (narrating off-screen): Which act as lenses that deflect incoming cosmic rays, focusing them to strike the drive platter and flip the desired bit.

:[All the programmers who has commented so far stands in the order they have commented facing the last Cueball like man who slaps his forehead.]
:Cueball: Nice. 'Course, there's an Emacs command to do that.
:Cat Cueball: Oh yeah! Good ol' C-x M-c M-butterfly...
:Butterfly Cueball: Dammit, Emacs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Emacs]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

Talk:1597: Git

2015-11-05T07:42:10Z

Kripmo: removed my comments

If someone is interested, the best book I've read on it is [http://www.git-scm.com/book/en/v2 Pro Git]. The chapters 2 and 3 explain pretty well this mess of branching and merging. But it's true that it takes a bit of patience to go over it all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.35|108.162.228.35]] 08:47, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Also take a look at [http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ GitFlow: A Successful Git Branching Model]. Though Randall is correct there usually comes a time when it is easier to give up and "start again". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.147|162.158.34.147]] 08:53, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I never liked the name of this piece of software; in British English, the name "git" is mildly rude :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang) . [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 09:20, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
:According to word of god it was on purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)#History [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.46|162.158.22.46]] 11:41, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
:He also designed it in such a way that people often run into problems with commitment to detached heads, and typically deal with this by reflogging... {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.161}}

'Internally, Git works by saving the differences between various versions of the files, rather than creating a new copy each time the user "commits" the current version of the code.' - It is exactly the opposite. It stores whole files, or rather all committed pieces of data (blobs). See http://gitready.com/beginner/2009/02/17/how-git-stores-your-data.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 09:38, 30 October 2015 (UTC)TK

: It is stored as diffs in pack file. Whole file (loose object) are packed automatically by default.
:
: See https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/7_the_packfile.html and https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-pack-objects.html
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.177.59|162.158.177.59]] 10:15, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

::Not sure what pack files are used for, but data is stored as is and named by the SHA-1 of its contents. See [https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/1_the_git_object_model.html object model] in the same reference. [[User:Walenc|Walenc]] ([[User talk:Walenc|talk]]) 16:02, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I think you guys need to differentiate between the underlying data scheme, and the command line. The way git stores underlying data is indeed beautiful, but the command-line is the worst UI ever. You know how you switch to working on a different branch? "git checkout". You know how you revert the changes you've made to a file? "git checkout". You know how you make a new branch? "git checkout -b". If you're used to other systems, you'll find nearly every operations - even common ones - counterintuitively named. I work at Google and even here, every week someone near me screws up their respository enough that they have to save their work, nuke their repo, reapply their changes, and try moving forward again. I don't know why anyone puts up with this! (Actually I do - it's because if you're collaborating between companies, git does it better than anything else.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.107|199.27.129.107]] 18:46, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

I feel like this article should end with a quick guide to git commands. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.27}}

Well, I feel this article focuses on explaning git too much that it loses the point of the joke. We have Wikipedia to refer readers to ... The thing is, not just users who are unable to use git beyond a few basic commands, but also those who understand git often use some sort of "start over" method because an action looking perfectly legit got the repository into unusable state, where recovery is much more difficult than reapplying patches. For one of the most common, search for "detached head", for example - especially funny when git insists on falling into that state after checking out master which is in direct contradiction to what docs say when it happens. But I don't feel like rewriting that, sorry :-/ --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.206|141.101.96.206]] 16:04, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I feel you've all been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 19:33, 30 October 2015 (UTC)Pat

The problem is not about the working copy and about the branching tree structure and some git internals that is quite confusing.
This 4 years old reddit post can be used as a funny reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/embdf/git_complicated_of_course_not_commits_map_to/

http://tartley.com/?p=1267
"One of the things that tripped me up as a novice user was the way Git handles branches. Unlike more primitive version control systems, git repositories are not linear, they support branching, and are thus best visualised as trees, upon the nodes of which your current commit may add new leaf nodes. To visualise this, it’s simplest to think of the state of your repository as a point in a high-dimensional ‘code-space’, in which branches are represented as n-dimensional membranes, mapping the spatial loci of successive commits onto the projected manifold of each cloned repository." {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.212}}

Should someone mention how git is by default used through a terminal - which is often more confusing than a GUI for most people - and that while there are graphical shells for git, some people refuse to use them because they're not fully-featured? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.36|108.162.221.36]] 11:43, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

The really sad part of all this is that if you work in a multi-dev environment and anyone on the team is doing what Cueball suggests, it negates every other user's ability to use the main trunk properly. [[User:Ericm301|Ericm301]] ([[User talk:Ericm301|talk]]) 02:26, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

Hasn't it got too extensive about git? I've never used git but quite understood the comedy. I just visited this page to know about git.txt and there's nothing about it but just long text that doesn't help whatsoever to understand the comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.84.125|141.101.84.125]] 08:45, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:I agree completely! I've stripped out the overlong discussion of git's features. --[[User:Slashme|Slashme]] ([[User talk:Slashme|talk]]) 00:12, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

AFAIK, the git.txt is not the part of the Git itself. I just added it to explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.231|162.158.114.231]] 20:21, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:"This comic is a play on how git, a popular version control system, is misused by people who have a very poor understanding of its inner workings."

Comically missing the point. That is NOT what the comic is about, that is a poor excuse from a fanboy. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.159|162.158.90.159]] 12:00, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
: I agree the verbose "explanation" misses the point. The reality is that git is a confusing mess from a user's point of view. It's a very nice and powerful design from a technical point of view yet one that will mostly confuse anyone who encounters it at first; most people are afraid of admitting it because they don't want to look dumb. There's beauty in a design that is user-friendly at its core, and git misses that mark. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

: The same can be said of Linux. It seems to be a common theme in Linus Torvalds' work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 23:52, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In pretty much every team I've worked I found there ends up being one "git expert" that raises above the rest and people continuously go see that person with "I don't know how to do X", to which the expert will often reply with a magic unheard-of-before git command line that looks pretty much like perl line noise. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In what world are telephones not an electronic mean of communication ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.245|141.101.75.245]] 10:56, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

That's not the point. The distinction was being made (ambiguously, perhaps) between electronic and vocal communication. We might naturally turn to telephones for the latter.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.227|162.158.2.227]] 12:16, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

ExplainXKCD is usually amazing, but the explanation above is really "comically missing the point".

:Git has a very cool distributed architecture, but the user experience is much more complex than other revision control systems. TFS and subversion can be taught to junior developers in about 20 minutes, but it takes much longer to learn how to use Git’s basic features. It is very easy for Git to become deadlocked, which requires some obscure commands to fix. Unless you are an expert at Git, it is sometimes easier to delete your project and try again.

:There are things that Git does that other RCS don’t do. (I am not entirely sure what they are, to be totally honest. When the question is asked, the responses usually just talk about the architecture.) Git experts tend to like that the software is more powerful than other RCS systems, and some tend to be dismissive of how difficult other people find it to use. Many people (such as myself and Cueball) find the architecture cool, but are not Git experts.

:So this is the joke. There is a conflict between how experts typically TALK about Git, and how most users actually USE Git. The humor comes from having a character say things that many people think, but wouldn’t say out loud for fear of looking stupid.

Would it be worth polishing the above and adding it to the description, or would that just be flamebait?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.86|108.162.246.86]] 16:08, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

The title text may be referring to the famous saying: "Git is really pretty simple, just think of branches as homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.40|162.158.255.40]] 23:23, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

The current explanation is wrong. As others have stated, the comic is clearly making fun of git itself, NOT of its users. [[User:Daskas|Daskas]] ([[User talk:Daskas|talk]]) 13:44, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1597: Git

2015-10-31T08:10:07Z

Kripmo:

595: Android Girlfriend

2015-10-31T07:15:48Z

Kripmo: wikilink

{{comic
| number = 595
| date = June 10, 2009
| title = Android Girlfriend
| image = android_girlfriend.png
| titletext = Programming the sexbots to enjoy sex seemed a sensible move at the time, but we didn't realize the consequences of their developing fetishes.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] shows off his new "android girlfriend" ([[Megan]]) to his Cueball-like friend, who asks if the android is a {{w|Gynoid#As_sexual_devices|sex bot}}. The android responds by pulling a cherry stem from the friend's drink and inserting it into her mouth. So far, the action appears to be an emulation of the party trick where someone puts a cherry stem into their mouth and ties it into a knot in order to suggest tongue dexterity that could be put to good use in kissing and oral sex.

However, instead of tying the cherry stem in a knot, the android activates an arc welder built into her mouth, which presumably reduces the stem to ashes. The friend proclaims that that trick is definitely not sexy. But then the android aggressively approaches him, reaching out and saying, "Remove your pants". The friend, not eager to experience close genital contact with the arc welder, sensibly, refuses. (Of course he may also not wish to take of his pants in front of his friend, at a party with drinks and presumably other people; or perhaps he do not wish to admit that he actually ''does'' find the arc welding act sexy...)

The android series continues in [[600: Android Boyfriend]].

The title text bounces a few implications around. Developing robots with the capacity to either learn or feel emotions is an ethical factor and practical consideration that is commonly explored in science fiction. Here, it's proposed that robots programmed for sex would have their emotions set to enjoy sex by default, but then use their capacity to learn to develop preferences on what kind of sex they want to have. This is potentially a psychological issue, mainly as to whether or not it would be considered "unhealthy", but more directly it's a customer satisfaction problem: what if a sexbot were to develop sexual fetishes that its owner finds unappealing?

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, holding his hand on Megan's shoulder, talks to his Cueball-like friend, who is holding a drink glass with a cherry.]
:Cueball: Check out my new android girlfriend.
:Friend: Is she a sex bot?

:[The android grabs the cherry out of the friend's drink glass.]
:Grab

:[Zoom in on the cherry as the stem is ripped off.]
:Plink

:[Zoom to the android who puts the stem in to its mouth.]
:Nom

:[The panel is dark gray except around the androids mouth where there is a bright flash and then a brighter cross going out from there. Both Cueball and his friend hold up there hand to protect they eyes.]
:Kzzzzt

:[The android takes a step away from Cueball and reaches toward the friends crotch. The friend holds up his hand protectively in front of him.]
:Friend: I don't think arc-welding a cherry stem counts as sexy.
:Android: Remove your pants.
:Friend: No.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

Talk:1597: Git

2015-10-31T02:04:17Z

Kripmo: useless hope