277: Long Light

2016-10-03T15:04:28Z

MarginalCost: /* Explanation */ referenced 1741: Work

{{comic
| number = 277
| date = June 15, 2007
| title = Long Light
| image = long_light.png
| titletext = You can look at practically any part of anything manmade around you and think "some engineer was frustrated while designing this." It's a little human connection.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip depicts a common experience to most people, becoming frustrated with a device, system, or rule that appears to be badly made or have no purpose other than to frustrate the user (in this case, a traffic light that seems unreasonably, inexplicably long). One temptation we might have in these cases is to blame the designer of the system. Here, the designer appears and testifies to the amount of effort that went into the design, considering many factors. He challenges [[Cueball]] to come up with a better solution, the implication being that without a similar amount of training and effort, any naive solution would have flaws the designer would be happy to point out. This demonstrates to Cueball ''and'' the reader that just because they were unlucky enough to encounter something in a way that was inconvenient for no obvious reason, doesn't mean there is no reason at all.

Of course, all of this has occurred after the designer leapt out of nowhere onto the hood of the car, so he may not be entirely stable. This is capitalized on in the final panel, wherein he finally admits that red light won't change until Tuesday (presumably a day or more beyond the current time), meaning that the timing scheme really was absurd after all. This comic was published on Friday; it seems Cueball has to wait a few days more.

The title text returns to the original point, reminding us that designers work hard and often encounter complex problems in doing their jobs. Their frustration may also be in part from the knowledge that future users will blame them for unavoidable problems and undervalue their work. With a little empathy, we can find a human connection to these problems rather than let them drive us crazy.

Randall returns to the theme of the unseen contributions of engineers in [[1741: Work]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball in a car, sitting at a red light.]
:Cueball: This light always takes forever. I'd like to smack the idiot who designed this intersection.
:[An engineer steps up onto the hood of Cueball's car.]
:Engineer: Hi.
:Cueball: Who the hell are you?
:Engineer: I designed this intersection.
:Engineer [arms spread outward]: You're right - I should have just made the light shorter! Never mind the hours of simulation and testing I did. Never mind that this intersection interacts with it's neighbors in a complicated way and it took me a week to work out timing sequences that avoided total jams.
:Engineer: Clearly, I'm a crappy engineer and you have a better solution. Go on, show me your proposed timings.
:Cueball: Get the hell off my hood before I start driving and fling you into traffic.
:Engineer: You can't. Light's red.
:Cueball: Well, when will it change?
:Engineer: Tuesday.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Traffic light]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1741: Work

2016-10-03T15:02:55Z

MarginalCost: /* Explanation */ referenced 277: Long Light

{{comic
| number = 1741
| date = October 3, 2016
| title = Work
| image = work.png
| titletext = Despite it being imaginary, I already have SUCH a strong opinion on the cord-switch firing incident.
}}

==Explanation==

This strip details a set of theoretical examples of how much work went into the design and manufacture of everyday objects. The joke centers around the fact that most people in modern times are constantly surrounded with human-built objects, which we generally use without giving them much thought. Munroe implies that he occasionally imagines what went into seemingly simple objects around him (like water glasses and desk lamps), and finds it overwhelming. This is because there are so many built items around us, many of which are inexpensive and mass-produced, which nonetheless resulted from a great deal of human effort. (This is similar to the thesis of the classic essay [http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html I, Pencil]). Presumably, this kind of realization is more likely for people who've worked in design and engineering, because they have some insight into what's involved in bringing a product to market.

There's a possible double joke in the title. The objects in question are all part of his work desk. The potential implication is that he's so distracted imagining the work that went into creating his workspace that he can't get his own work done.

The roll-over text hits another aspect of the design issue. Companies that design and manufacture goods will inevitably have human conflicts, where decisions will be argued over, and human personalities and office politics will impact the final design. He's apparently come up with an entire fictional narrative about a conflict over whether to put the lamp's switch on the lamp body itself, or to attach it to the lamp's power cord, and developed a strong opinion about who was right.

A distaste for lamps where the switch is on the cord is also mentioned in the title text of [[1036: Reviews]].

A similar theme of the unseen contributions of engineers is found in [[277: Long Light]], including the title text: "You can look at practically any part of anything manmade around you and think 'some engineer was frustrated while designing this.' It's a little human connection."

==Transcript==
[On a desk sits a glass of water and lamp]

[Points to lamp shade]
An engineer worked late drawing this curve in AutoCAD

[Points to back of lamp]
Extra vents added to avoid California safety recall

[Points to the lamp 'stem']
9 hours of meetings

[Points to lamp information sticker]
Ongoing debate

[Points to glass]
Years-long negotiation with glass supplier

[Points to the sides of glass]
4 hours of meetings

[Points to bottom and 'top' of glass]
Months of tip-over testing

[Points to desk]
Wood source changed due to 20 year legal fight over logging in the Great Bear rainforest

[Points to cord]
Argument over putting switch on cord got someone fired

[Caption under frame]
Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking about the amount of work that went into the ordinary objects around me.

[Title text]
Despite it being imaginary, I already have SUCH a strong opinion on the cord-switch firing incident.

{{comic discussion}}

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

277: Long Light

1741: Work