explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:667: SkiFree

2023-03-15T17:30:26Z

Theunlucky: Added comment

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)

Talk:2742: Island Storage

2023-02-24T20:35:11Z

Theunlucky: Added humourous comment

Hey at least New Zealand made it onto this map! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.48|172.70.178.48]] 17:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Of course the proper storage mode involves packing the continents back to Gondwada layout and then hiding them on the far side ;-) [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:59, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

It seems worth noting that the scale was distorted to make some islands fit. Greenland has a longitudinal height of 2671 km, but has been shrunken considerably in order to be wedged into a 1725 km gap in the Gulf of Mexico. [[User:Altay|Altay]] ([[User talk:Altay|talk]]) 19:58, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:I thought it was the size of Africa. ---[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 20:35, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

2742: Island Storage

2023-02-24T20:33:12Z

Theunlucky: Taiwan and Hainan went to the Yellow Sea

{{comic
| number = 2742
| date = February 24, 2023
| title = Island Storage
| image = island_storage_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x435px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I always hate dragging around the larger archipelagos, but I appreciate how the Scandanavian peninsula flexes outward to create a snug pocket for the British Isles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by KERBAL ISLAND PROGRAM 2 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another world map vandalized by Randall, similarly to the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|bad map projection series]]. This time, every major island, that is not considered a continent in its own right, is relocated into similarly-sized swathes of sea partly enclosed by the outlines of adjacent continents. The caption implies it's Earth's intended "storage mode", where everything 'loose' is neatly packed away.

New locations of various islands:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island(s)
! Original Location
! New Location
|-
| Northern Canadian Islands
| North of mainland Canada
| Hudson Bay
|-
| {{w|Newfoundland (Island)}}, {{w|Prince Edward Island}}, and {{w|Anticosti Island}}
| Off the eastern coast of Canada
| {{w|Gulf of St Lawrence}}
|-
| {{w|Greenland}}
| Northeast of Canada
| Gulf of Mexico
|-
| {{w|Hispaniola}} and {{w|Cuba}}
| Caribbean Sea
| Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Other Caribbean Islands
| Caribbean Sea
| Gulf of Venezuela
|-
| {{w|Iceland}}
| Northern Atlantic Ocean
| Coast of southern France
|-
| {{w|Great Britain}} and {{w|Ireland}}, ??
| Northwest Europe
| Baltic Sea
|-
| {{w|Sardinia}} and {{w|Sicily}}
| Off western coast of Italy
| Coast of Italy
|-
| {{w|Aegean Islands}}
| Aegean Sea
| Coast of Greece
|-
| {{w|New Guinea}}, {{w|Java}}, {{w|Sulawesi}}
|
| Mediterranean Sea
|-
| {{w|Japan}}, {{w|Sakhalin}}
|
| Sea of Ohotsk
|-
| {{w|Taiwan}}, {{w|Hainan}}
|
| Yellow Sea
|-
| {{w|Madagascar}}
|
| Red Sea
|-
| {{w|Sri Lanka}}
|
| Persian Gulf
|-
| {{w|Borneo}}
|
| Gulf of Thailand
|-
| {{w|New Zealand}}, {{w|Tasmania}}
| Off the coast of Australia
| Gulf of Carpentaria
|-
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A map of Earth with the largest continents (except Antarctica) in their usual locations, but all of the major islands have been moved into various bays and seas.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Reminder: If you're the last one using the Earth, please put the islands away when you're done.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:2735: Coordinate Plane Closure

2023-02-09T16:55:20Z

Theunlucky:

Is there significance to the fact that the axes aren't labeled in the warning? Can I plot y = 0.75x today or not?[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 15:05, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
: you cannot because it intersects the given square as shown in this desmos thing i whipped up in 2 seconds: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/zb9nbrl6s5 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.29|172.70.43.29]] 15:38, 8 February 2023 (UTC)Bumpf
::I can if the forbidden coordinates are 1 ≤ x ≤1.5 and 1.5 ≤ y ≤2[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.66|172.70.131.66]] 15:56, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
::: In the absence of other information, assuming horizontal ''x'' and vertical ''y'' would be conventional. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.145|141.101.98.145]] 19:15, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
"Hole" is also sometimes used to mean a particular coordinate on a function which is discontinous at some point but could have a value (for example sinx/x with a hole at (0,1)). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.92|172.70.206.92]] 19:18, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
Randall listed 2 points, yet the cordoned off area is a square. 2 points define a line, not a square, he really should have thought of that. How is someone to know the invalid points without the diagram? Even with the diagram, we don't know whether points on the boundary are included! Is the line y=1 a valid line to draw? THESE ARE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED RANDALL BE MATHEMATICALLY RIGOROUS NEXT TIME.
:Right! A hole pops up in rational functions when there's a term that appears in the numerator AND the denominator. However, it does not mean the graph is broken; just that there is no defined y-value at the x-value of the hole. ----[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 16:55, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
: One reason could simply be the alignment between the coordinates and time. Reading out the numbers without paying attention to the mathematical punctuation you can form the sentence "the coordinate plane will be closed Thursday between 1:51 and 2:15 to repair a hole", following the typical structure of such a notice to not just provide a day but a time.
Ironically, the notice makes it sound like using y=1 is fine, and the affected region is only strictly greater than y=1. That would make the region that's closed an open set, and the region that's open a closed set. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.230|172.70.110.230]] 22:46, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

:Right! A hole pops up in rational functions when there's a term that appears in the numerator AND the denominator. However, it does not mean the graph is broken; just that there is no defined y-value at the x-value of the hole.

🚧 DETOUR 🠕 KEEP WITHIN [[2646: Minkowski Space|MINKOWSKI CONES]] ⛔ DO NOT ENTER Y < |X| 🚧 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.38|162.158.90.38]] 23:37, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

So the joke is that the coordinate plane is closed when there's damage that causes it not to be closed? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:44, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Aw man, I was really looking... ''forward''... to doing math today. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.76|172.71.222.76]] 11:58, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

I thought the title text was referring to the danger of lines on a 2d graph "falling through" the hole and inadvertently gaining a third dimension, which might collide with graphs at z=-1 etc. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.75|162.158.34.75]] 16:14, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2735: Coordinate Plane Closure

2023-02-09T16:54:52Z

Theunlucky: Added comment.

Is there significance to the fact that the axes aren't labeled in the warning? Can I plot y = 0.75x today or not?[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 15:05, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
: you cannot because it intersects the given square as shown in this desmos thing i whipped up in 2 seconds: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/zb9nbrl6s5 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.29|172.70.43.29]] 15:38, 8 February 2023 (UTC)Bumpf
::I can if the forbidden coordinates are 1 ≤ x ≤1.5 and 1.5 ≤ y ≤2[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.66|172.70.131.66]] 15:56, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
::: In the absence of other information, assuming horizontal ''x'' and vertical ''y'' would be conventional. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.145|141.101.98.145]] 19:15, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
"Hole" is also sometimes used to mean a particular coordinate on a function which is discontinous at some point but could have a value (for example sinx/x with a hole at (0,1)). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.92|172.70.206.92]] 19:18, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
Randall listed 2 points, yet the cordoned off area is a square. 2 points define a line, not a square, he really should have thought of that. How is someone to know the invalid points without the diagram? Even with the diagram, we don't know whether points on the boundary are included! Is the line y=1 a valid line to draw? THESE ARE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED RANDALL BE MATHEMATICALLY RIGOROUS NEXT TIME.
: One reason could simply be the alignment between the coordinates and time. Reading out the numbers without paying attention to the mathematical punctuation you can form the sentence "the coordinate plane will be closed Thursday between 1:51 and 2:15 to repair a hole", following the typical structure of such a notice to not just provide a day but a time.
Ironically, the notice makes it sound like using y=1 is fine, and the affected region is only strictly greater than y=1. That would make the region that's closed an open set, and the region that's open a closed set. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.230|172.70.110.230]] 22:46, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

:Right! A hole pops up in rational functions when there's a term that appears in the numerator AND the denominator. However, it does not mean the graph is broken; just that there is no defined y-value at the x-value of the hole.

🚧 DETOUR 🠕 KEEP WITHIN [[2646: Minkowski Space|MINKOWSKI CONES]] ⛔ DO NOT ENTER Y < |X| 🚧 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.38|162.158.90.38]] 23:37, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

So the joke is that the coordinate plane is closed when there's damage that causes it not to be closed? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:44, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Aw man, I was really looking... ''forward''... to doing math today. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.76|172.71.222.76]] 11:58, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

I thought the title text was referring to the danger of lines on a 2d graph "falling through" the hole and inadvertently gaining a third dimension, which might collide with graphs at z=-1 etc. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.75|162.158.34.75]] 16:14, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

1681: Laser Products

2023-01-21T22:19:14Z

Theunlucky: Added label warning for link

{{comic
| number = 1681
| date = May 16, 2016
| title = Laser Products
| image = laser_products.png
| titletext = ERRORS: HAIR JAM. COLOR-SAFE CONDITIONER CARTRIDGE RUNNING LOW. LEGAL-SIZE HAIR TRAY EMPTY, USING LETTER-SIZE HAIR ONLY.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic takes three {{w|laser|laser-based}} technologies - laser eye surgery, laserjet printers, and laser hair removal - and conflates them, with humorous results. These are illustrated through reviews by users of the resulting combinations. For the original combinations, the reviews are highly positive. For the new combinations, most are negative, because most of these new "technologies" are ill-conceived and possibly harmful.

'''{{w|Laser eye surgery}}''' gets a positive review, since it has successfully corrected the reviewer's vision, so that they no longer require glasses. There are a range of laser eye surgeries to correct near- and far-sightedness, as well as various other conditions. {{w|LASIK}}, one of the more common laser eye surgeries, works by using lasers to cut open the cornea and ablate a small amount of the lens.

'''Laser eye removal''' would be very painful, and thus the review is negative, stating that the reviewer had read the description incorrectly, likely believing it to be one of the real combinations on the chart. The screams of pain expressed in the review have the humorous implication that the review is being typed directly after the ill-advised procedure, though this may just be an after-the-fact expression of the reviewer's feelings. If they produced the review without aid, this would probably have been made more difficult as a result of the surgery. At least in animal surgery, however, laser eye removal [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smK0NYUtoqk does exist](WARNING: EXPLICIT/GRAPHIC CONTENT).

'''Laser eye printer''' refers to printing on (or possibly ''of'') an eyeball, which only prompts a disgusted "Eww" response. Both probably can find their applications, either in adding images onto ones eyes or creating artificial eyes for implantation, but would probably be quite disgusting to operate for many people.

'''Laser jet surgery''' could be performing maintenance on a jet with lasers, which would be potentially dangerous and error-prone{{Citation needed}}. Alternatively, it could mean laser surgery done on a human from a jet aircraft, using a laser mounted to it. The human being operated on could be aboard that aircraft, on another aircraft, or on land: in any case, it does not sound like a safe approach. Another interpretation is that it could refer to surgery using a jet made of lasers, which is even worse, as it would probably cause the entire body to be disintegrated.{{Citation needed}} Yet another interpretation is that the procedure would implant parts of a jet into one's body. The statement's ambiguity may contribute the reviewer's concern, or the reviewer could be nervous over the fact that it would be a very difficult and delicate procedure and trying it could easily go horribly wrong.

'''Laser jet removal''' appears to be the destruction of jets with lasers, which apparently works, but angered the Federal Aviation Administration, and probably resulted in legal consequences for the reviewer. This could be a reference to [https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/ the real FAA concern] of the many incidents of [http://www.laserpointersafety.com/laser-hazards_aircraft/laser-hazards_aircraft.html people using laser pointers] against aircraft.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Weapon_System "Laser Jet Removal"] actually exists as a military weapon system, though it's primarily meant to be used against jet ''missiles'', rather than jet planes.

'''LaserJet printer''' is a popular {{w|HP LaserJet|line of Hewlett Packard laser printers}}. {{w|Laser printing}} is a technology which uses a laser to electrically charge a drum so that it collects ink in the form of the image to be printed, before transferring it to paper. The printer seems to work well for the reviewer, as it has been given a positive review.

'''Laser hair surgery''' turns out to be a fancy name for cutting hair with a laser -- an overengineered, and potentially dangerous, technique for achieving the same results that you could with clippers and scissors. It is rated neutrally, since it did the job, but the reviewer found the name confusing and they disliked the smell of burning hair.

'''Laser hair removal''' is the {{w|laser hair removal|process}} of destroying hair follicles with bursts of laser light to prevent the growth of unwanted hair. This appears to have been effective for the reviewer.

'''Laser hair printer''' appears to be a bizarre printer that uses hair in place of paper, or perhaps as the construction material for a {{w|3D printing|3D printer}}. Unsurprisingly{{Citation needed}}, this just creates disgusting messes of hair and keeps jamming the printer, resulting in a negative review. The title text extends this joke, giving some common printer error messages amended for the hair printer. A paper jam is when paper gets stuck in the workings of the printer, usually because it was creased, or more than one sheet fed in at once; in the hair printer this becomes a hair jam. An inkjet printer requires replaceable ink cartridges, and when the ink is used up this will usually result in an ink cartridge running low error; the hair printer appears to require cartridges of {{w|hair conditioner}}. As an additional twist, it uses color-safe conditioner, a product intended to prevent the washing out of dye from the users hair; here, it presumably protects the color of the printed image or item. Legal and Letter are {{w|Paper_size#North_American_paper_sizes|paper sizes}} used in North America; apparently, the same terms are used for standard supplies of hair for the hair printer.

Laser eye removal has been mentioned before, see the lower right part of the [[1619: Watson Medical Algorithm]] chart.

==Transcript==
:[Heading above the table:]
:Online Reviews of Laser Products

:[A three by three table with one word to the far left, from which three lines split out and goes to three words just left of each of the three rows. Above each column is three other words. Below in the table are nine reviews with star rating on a five star scale. The actual rating is indicated with black stars and also use half filled stars in the rating system. The ratings are written in the table in square brackets.]
:{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="2"|
! ...surgery
! ...removal
! ...printer
|-
!rowspan="3"|Laser
! eye...
| [4 1/2 stars] "I don't need glasses anymore!" || [1/2 star] "Aaaaaaa! Misread the description! Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!" || [1 star] "Eww." 
|-
! jet...
| [1 1/2 stars] "Too nervous to try it." || [2 1/2 stars] "Effective, but the FAA got ''really'' mad." || [4 stars] "Prints great!" 
|-
! hair...
| [2 1/2 stars] "Confusing term for haircut. Burning smell." || [4 stars] "Great results!" || [1/2 star] "Disgusting, won't turn off, jams constantly." 
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Online reviews]]

Main Page/sandbox

2022-12-15T21:04:17Z

Theunlucky: hi!

If you get to this sandbox page, say hi! —[[User:EnderPlays|EnderPlays]] October 11, 2022
:Hi —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]]) {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
:Hi
:Hi! [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
:Hi! {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
:hi! [[User:JLZ0kTC5|JLZ0kTC5]] ([[User talk:JLZ0kTC5|talk]]) {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
:Hi! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.22|172.69.68.22]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)Bumpf
:Hi again? Random is [[Special:Random|weird]]. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 14:24, 14 November 2022 (UTC)
:Yea, random brought me back here too lol. {{User:EnderPlays}} 01:43, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
:Hi! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.46|162.158.2.46]] 20:42, 6 December 2022 (UTC)
Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.159|172.70.230.159]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
Hi!
:Hi, random is fun. --RandomInternetViewer {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
:Hi. Got here from random :) {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC) -[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 21:04, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2706: Bendy

2022-12-05T15:57:34Z

Theunlucky: Asked question on talk page

First time writing a transcript, how'd I do? [[User:IJustWantToEditStuff|IJustWantToEditStuff]] ([[User talk:IJustWantToEditStuff|talk]]) 07:40, 3 December 2022 (UTC)
:It was a good start. Usually we have colon before each sentence. Also we write all text outside of the square brackets. Even if it is just numbers. When I got here there had been added more. Anytime there are something with color it should be mentioned in the transcript. It is also for those that have poor eyesight. I have now made a version that I think is complete. I'm probably the one that have made most transcripts/completed most at least. But I usually get a lot of help from what other people have made before. Just making them all more alike, following the general rules. So keep up the good work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:51, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

Transcript is absolutely fine... Explanation, though, doesn't really explain any more than I already knew, and I still don't "get it". Maybe 'cause I'm dumb after all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.129|108.162.241.129]] 15:22, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

I think that this is a joke on non flat geometry, where you can get things like three equal length straight lines (along a sphere perhaps) and have a still have a right triangle, something impossible according to flat geometry A(squared) +B(squared)=C(squared) [a being 1st side B 2nd side C long side [hypotenuse]) i.e. Pythagorean theorum. As seen by this Quora https://www.quora.com/Can-an-equilateral-triangle-be-a-right-triangle-Why-or-why-not

:Perhaps it has to do with Pythagoras and stuff, that at last the “problem” of right triangles with catheti lengths of integers having hypotenuse lengths that are irrational is “solved”. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 15:27, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

I think this is the comic that made me realize that Randall has never been funny and I've just been checking the comic out of habit. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.107}}

I think a lot of the time he’s just being silly. It doesn’t have to be super deep. It made me chuckle. Not his best, but he’s made 3 comics a week 2,706 times. They’re not all gonna be S-tier. {{unsigned ip|172.70.54.52}}

I suspect there's also a tie-in with comic 2509 which actually gave the formula for the area (not the volume). I suspect the length of the lines in the right-hand side including the bendy parts, are actually 5. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.20|162.158.106.20]] 21:06, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

Also see this: (It's not a joke. It may even appear in math tests. Sorry, but I can't upload images) --[[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 18:37, 4 December 2022 (UTC)
<pre>
| |
|\ |-
| \5 ||-7
3| \ 3| |-
| \ | |-
+----- +-----
4 4</pre>
: i.e. remember that limits exist? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.48|172.70.134.48]] 20:34, 4 December 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Being (semi-?)protected, please could someone make two obvious Transcript corrections (or otherwise render them unnecessary...) ""As with the first the side '''<s>lenghts</s> ''lengths''''' are denoted around it, but they are not the same as for the first. Around this triangle '''<s>are</s> ''is''''' a red line circling about two times around it." (Also would like to reword "...about two times around it", because "...around two times about it" functionally shows the class of similar meanings I want to avoid. But as I can't change it, I'm not spending effort on working out what I might erroneously consider the better composition. ;) And no disrespect meant to Kynde, for this, as your English is better than my Furrinish, as I've said before. :p ) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.158|172.69.79.158]] 22:56, 4 December 2022 (UTC) 

Why is this protected? It's not a controversial comic anyway. --[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 15:57, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

2693: Wirecutter Recommendation

2022-11-02T23:40:09Z

Theunlucky:

{{comic
| number = 2693
| date = November 2, 2022
| title = Wirecutter Recommendation
| image = wirecutter_recommendation_2x.png
| imagesize = 430x333px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Their 'best philosophy of epistemology' picks are great, but you can tell they're struggling a little in the 'why you should trust us' section.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WIRECUTTER DREAM — Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

''[https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter Wirecutter]'' is a product review website, owned by ''The New York Times''. As such, Wirecutter is best used for product reviews. The comic, however, lists things that Wirecutter should ''not'' recommend, or that one should not choose based on Wirecutter reviews.

The first panel shows [[Cueball]] telling [[Ponytail]] that he decided to go with Wirecutter's recommendation when buying something unspecified. The second panel shows a list of different contexts for this conversation, ranking them from "Fine" to "Very Bad".

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Thing Being Chosen!!Judgment!!Explanation
|-
|Vacuum cleaner||Fine||Vacuum cleaners are an everyday household item, and exactly the kind of thing Wirecutter generally reviews.
|-
|Headphones||Fine|||Headphones are also fairly ubiquitous, and Wirecutter would likewise be useful in such a scenario.
|-
|Electric scooter||Fine||While less common than the two above, electric scooters are still a popular electrical product, so Wirecutter is a decent choice for advice.
|-
|Favorite movie||Weird||Most people would say that your choice of favorite movie should be based on your own experiences, rather than someone else's opinions. Reviewing movies is a very different endeavor to reviewing products, and one would not expect Wirecutter to be particularly proficient with it. While a movie review website may be a reasonable source of recommendations on whether to see a particular movie at all, it would be strange to choose one's own favorite movie based on a website's recommendation.
|-
|Personal style||Weird||Not only does the term "personal style" encompass a vast range of topics, it is also (predictably) a deeply personal thing. These two factors mean that not only will Wirecutter's recommended likely not fully discuss every factor of your personal style, it also isn't the kind of service you'd use to choose something as nebulous and personal as your "personal style."
|-
|Neighborhood||Weird||It can be assumed this means "the neighborhood one lives in." In this case, it is odd to rely on Wirecutter for recommendations on where to live, since a respectable portion of that decision is up to personal preference. In a best case scenario, Wirecutter is recommending neighborhoods based on empirical data, such as local economic growth.
|-
|Pet||Weird||Picking a pet is an extremely personal decision that probably can't be considered covered by a product review website like Wirecutter.
|-
|College major||Bad||Your college major will influence the rest of your life significantly, and basing it on Wirecutter, something completely unrelated to college, is likely a bad idea.
|-
|Career||Bad||One's optimal career choice is subject to a wide range of highly personal factors, including your talents, ambitions, and capabilities. It is highly unlikely that a hardware review site like Wirecutter would be capable of accounting for every one of these factors for every conceivable viewer.
|-
|Religion||Bad||Don't base your religious worldview off of the electronic device equivalent to Yelp. The idea of Wirecutter reviewing religion has appeared in a previous comic, [[2536: Wirecutter]].
|-
|Spouse||Very Bad|| In general, people pair off when choosing spouses. This would mean that Wirecutter would be required to either find one potential spouse for every reader (cumbersome, to say the least) or would recommend ''one'' spouse for multiple (possibly millions of) partners. Even assuming an accelerated divorce rate, it would be impossible for the choice spouse to actually accomplish the role.
|-
|Dreams||Very Bad|| There are two possible definitions of "dream" that may be referred to here. When it comes to "the series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep," most people cannot consciously control what they dream about, so recommending this sort of dream is somewhat pointless. On the other hand, if Cueball is relying upon Wirecutter to recommend "a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal," he is allowing one of the most personal and individual aspects of his life — something which may give life itself a sense of meaning — to be dictated by a consumer product review site. As with many entries here, this is something that most people have to come up with or discover for themselves; relying on a third party to recommend one FOR him is deeply unlikely to bring about long-term satisfaction.
|-
|Favorite child||Very Bad|| Assuming this is a reference to the reader's own children, it can be difficult and furthermore bad practice for a parent to choose their "favorite" child, and using Wirecutter to do this analysis is near impossible. And a website that purports to know more about how to judge the relative merits of your own family than you would be... interesting.
The alternative interpretation of assuming that this is from "all children, everywhere" is more difficult. There are approximately 1.3 billion persons under the age of 18, most of whom have at least one good quality,{{citation needed}} and defining a useful ranking in such a situation is functionally impossible.
|-
|Site for product recommendations||Very Bad|| This is a topic of which the authors, editors, and publishers of Wirecutter have a vested interest and clear bias. This implies that the people at Wirecutter would be self-serving when it comes to recommending recommendations, specifically.
|-
|}

The title text references {{w|epistemology}}, a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge and truth, for which [[Randall]] says Wirecutter's recommendations are great. Broadly speaking, epistemology attempts to answer the question "how do I know that what I know is true?" He seems skeptical, however, of their reasons that their reviews should be trusted.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other. Cueball has his palm raised.]
:Cueball: I just went with the one Wirecutter recommended.

:[A panel of four categories with topics next to them]

:[Fine category]
:Vacuum cleaner
:Headphones
:Electric scooter

:[Weird category]
:Favorite movie
:Personal style
:Neighborhood
:Pet

:[Bad category]
:College major
:Career
:Religion

:[Very bad category]
:Spouse
:Dreams
:Favorite child
:Site for product recommendations

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

2693: Wirecutter Recommendation

2022-11-02T17:11:04Z

Theunlucky: Added explanation of the "Fine" category.

2689: Fermat's First Theorem

2022-10-25T02:22:01Z

Theunlucky:

{{comic
| number = 2689
| date = October 24, 2022
| title = Fermat's First Theorem
| image = fermats_first_theorem_2x.png
| imagesize = 280x248px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Mathematicians quickly determined that it spells ANT BNECN, an unusual theoretical dish which was not successfully cooked until Andrew Wiles made it for breakfast in the 1990s.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SPELLING ANT- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a reference to {{w|Fermat's Last Theorem}}, humorously implying that Fermat created a similar theorem as a child. Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive integers ''a'', ''b'', and ''c'' satisfy the equation ''a''''n''+''b''''n''=''c''''n'' for any integer value of ''n'' greater than 2. It is notable for having remained unproved for hundreds of years, despite many attempts to prove it, before {{w|Andrew Wiles}} finally succeeded in the 1990s, with assistance from his former student {{w|Richard Taylor (mathematician)|Richard Taylor}}.

The young Fermat here didn't try to prove the mathematical equation, but simply tried to read it as words, treating the "+" sign as a "t" so that "AN+" can be read as "ANT". His interpretation was quickly disproved because there's no "A" between "B" and "C", and no "O" between "C" and "N".

In the title text, the "words" are "ANT BNECN", treating the equals sign "=" as an "E"; while "=" doesn't look especially close to "E", it is similar in that it contains horizontal bars in a horizontally symmetrical arrangement (and of course, it can be read as "equals", which begins with "E"). The text then references Wiles, asserting that he proved this modified form of Fermat's First Theorem as well by cooking this "ant bnecn" (whatever "bnecn" is) as breakfast.

[[2492: Commonly Mispronounced Equations|Comic 2492]] also contains equations pronounced as if they were words in the ordinary sense.

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

:[A Hairy-like boy, representing Pierre de Fermat as a child, stands at a blackboard holding a piece of chalk. To his right is Miss Lenhart. The following text is somewhat crudely written on the blackboard:]
:AN + BN = CN
:SPELLS
:ANT BACON

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Fermat's ''First'' Theorem was quickly disproved

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2687: Division Notation

2022-10-20T02:32:40Z

Theunlucky:

Fun fact: In Poland, we don't write the long division like that; we just write A:B with the bar above. I was VERY confused the first time I saw that notation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.235|172.70.246.235]] 21:03, 19 October 2022 (UTC)
:Unrelated to {{w|Polish notation}}, i presume? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.13|172.70.134.13]] 22:43, 19 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

For me, the version on the xkcd website has an additional line ("A/B: Software Engineer") that's not on this site. I think the comic might have been updated. Is anyone else seeing that? [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 23:20, 19 October 2022 (UTC)
:Updated. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 00:31, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

For the Unicode one, I think it’s a reference to ⁄ (U+2044, fraction slash) or characters like ½, ¼, etc. - [[User:Cherryblossom|Cherryblossom]] ([[User talk:Cherryblossom|talk]]) 00:24, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Is it important to note that 1/2 auctocorrects to ½ in many text-based programs like Microsoft Word?--[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 02:32, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2687: Division Notation

2022-10-20T02:32:25Z

Theunlucky:

2687: Division Notation

2022-10-19T23:32:07Z

Theunlucky: Added more explanation.

{{comic
| number = 2687
| date = October 19, 2022
| title = Division Notation
| image = division_notation_2x.png
| imagesize = 235x310px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Science tip: Scientists hardly ever use the two-dot division sign, and when they do it often doesn't even mean division, but they still get REALLY mad when you repurpose it to write stuff like SALE! ALL SHOES 30÷ OFF!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GROUP OF SCHOOLCHILDREN DIVIDED AMONGST THEMSELVES - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic pokes fun at some of the ways to write the {{w|Division (mathematics)|division}} operation in math. In this comic, Randall has used A as the dividend (the number being divided) and B as the divisor (the number that A is divided by).
The first two are respectively the division sign (÷) and long division symbol. (Note: the long division symbol is only used in English-speaking countries). These methods of division are often used by school children as the first ÷ is what people learn when first learning division, and the second long division symbol is usually the first type of long division learned (it's easier to do it visually on paper that way).

The third line is the way the division is often written in code. The 4 standard operations in programming usually are +, -, *, /. This one was missing in the first version of the comic. This is most commonly seen in regular mathematics as it somewhat saves space, and is easy to type with the slash key.

The fourth notation is the way division is written in science, dividend on top line and divided on bottom line. This is the closest format to how a {{w|Fraction|fraction}} would be written. This format would likely only be used in written math, as typing the fraction symbol requires the math markup language.

The fifth notation uses a negative exponent. The exponent -1 has the same effect as dividing by the base. It can be used to keep an equation on 1 line.

The final form of notation appears to be not a simple notation for division. Rather, it looks like a definition of a notion of division which is customized to a particular setting. This situation is likely to occur in abstract algebra, where one might have to define what "division" might mean for two elements of a mathematical object such as a group, ring, or magma. One example would be an object G, such that, for two elements A and B of G, "A divided by B" is defined as an element C such that CB=A, or alternatively as an element C such that BC=A. These definitions might differ if multiplication in G is not commutative. Furthermore, if such a C is not unique, a function F(A,B) might have to be chosen to select a unique value for "A divided by B" for each A and B. Thus, the F(A,B) in the comic might not even refer to a uniquely defined operation, but simply to the property of a function F(A,B) that is a valid division operation on G, given some definition of division.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A÷B and A⟌B both indicating schoolchild.

A/B left to software engineer.

A/B as in unicode ½ left to normal person or Unicode enthusiast.

A over B left to scientist.

AB^-1 left to fancy scientist.

F(A, B) such that F(G)= (text getting smaller) next to oh no, run.

{{comic discussion}}

2687: Division Notation

2022-10-19T21:25:11Z

Theunlucky:

2687: Division Notation

2022-10-19T21:23:28Z

Theunlucky: Gave a brief explanation of the first two symbols.