1569: Magic Tree

2015-08-26T11:11:07Z

RandoomJD: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1569
| date = August 26, 2015
| title = Magic Tree
| image = magic_tree.png
| titletext = Since people rarely try to cut down cell phone towers, after millions of years, as cell phone towers have gotten more treelike, trees have started growing fake cell phone tower attachments and shiny gray bark to protect themselves. This is a standard textbook example of convergent evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
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This comic features a running theme in the XKCD comics, [[Beret Guy]]'s naive and/or odd ways of thinking. In the beginning of the comic, Beret Guy shows [[Megan]] what he believes to be a tree, and explains that it grew there because he placed magic beans in that spot yesterday. This is a reference to the fable "{{w|Jack and the Beanstalk}}", where the protagonist plants several magical beans he acquired, resulting in a beanstalk growing which ascends into the atmosphere. Megan, however, tells Beret Guy that the "tree" is actually a {{w|cell site|cell phone tower}}. Beret Guy disagrees, pointing out that it has branches, to which Megan tries to explain that this was in an attempt to make the towers look like trees. She gives up, however, as Beret Guy has already begun climbing the tower.

Later, Megan complains that her {{w|mobile phone signal|cell reception}} was nonexistent. Beret Guy responds by saying that he had to cut down his "tree" because there were "scary giants with yellow hats" in it. This mirrors, again, the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fable, where the protagonist has to cut down his beanstalk to prevent the giant, whose lands the beanstalk connects to, from climbing down and chasing him. In reality, the "giants" were probably utility workers.

The title text refers to a concept in evolution referred to as "convergent evolution". This theory is somewhat incorrectly referred to, as {{w|convergent evolution}} deals with multiple species acquiring similar characteristics to fulfill their role. The title text explains that, over time, trees would start to look more like cell phone towers in order to avoid people cutting them down, as cell phone towers are rarely cut down at all. However, this scenario more closely mimics {{w|Batesian mimicry}}, where a defenseless creature mimics the appearance of a creature with strong defenses, in order to ward off predators. In this scenario, the more defenseless trees attempt to mimic cell phone towers, which have the defense of people not wanting to cut them down or they would lose cell service (and likely a significant amount of money through fines).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:(Beret Guy and Megan stand next to a large pole with a note on it.)
:Beret Guy (Pointing at pole): Check it out! I threw my magic beans on the ground here yesterday, and this big tree appeared!

:(Zoom out, the pole is revealed to have branches. Around the pole are trees about 1/9th of the height of the pole.)
:Megan: That's a cell tower.
:Beret Guy: No way - it has branches! See? I'm gonna climb it!

:(Same as frame 1. Beret guy has now started climbing the pole.)
:Megan: No, they just put those there to make it look- ...Never mind.

:(A caption above the frame says "Later...")
:Megan: Why do I have no signal?
:Beret Guy (Holding axe): There were scary giants with yellow helmets in that tree! Luckily I cut it down before they ate me.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Biology]]

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1569: Magic Tree