explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2854: Date Line

2023-11-13T22:58:28Z

Tyomcha: funny incomplete tag thing

{{comic
| number = 2854
| date = November 13, 2023
| title = Date Line
| image = date_line_2x.png
| imagesize = 443x522px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They estimate the rocket should be free by approximately ... uh ... well, in about two hours.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BROKEN CLOCK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

==Trivia==
* '''This trivia section was created by a BOT'''
* The [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/date_line.png standard size] image was uploaded with a resolution/size larger than the supposed 2x version.
* This may have been an error.

{{comic discussion}}

2837: Odyssey

2023-10-05T00:22:10Z

Tyomcha: Fixed the transcript's misidentification of Hairy as a second Cueball in the first panel.

{{comic
| number = 2837
| date = October 4, 2023
| title = Odyssey
| image = odyssey_2x.png
| imagesize = 669x251px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ugh, it says they attempted delivery but "Nobody was home."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ODYSSEY TRANSLATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic Cueball receives a present from Ponytail: a translation of the ''Iliad'', by {{w|Emily Wilson (classicist)|Emily Wilson}}. The ''{{w|Iliad}}'' is an Ancient Greek epic poem authored by Homer, and is about the Trojan War. Wilson published her translation of the ''Iliad'' in September 2023, several weeks before the release of this comic.

The ''{{w|Odyssey}}'', which Cueball then orders, is the other well known epic poem, and is about a hero named Odysseus, who fought in the Trojan war, and his journey home. Wilson published this translation in 2018, to great acclaim.

One of the events in the ''Odyssey'' is that his return voyage was blown off course before they could reach their home, and instead arrived at the island of the Lotus-Eaters. It would be another 10 years before Odysseus would make it home. In the comic, the same fate befalls the book delivery; 2033 is 10 years after Cueball ordered the book.

The title text refers to a moment in the ''Odyssey'' where Odysseus escapes from the Cyclops by identifying himself as "Nobody", then when he escaped the Cyclops cried out that "Nobody" had attacked him. Since "Nobody" was attacking a cyclops, his neighbors had no reason to help, and returned to their homes. Similarly, if "Nobody" is home, then obviously no packages should be delivered.

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

:[Ponytail, Cueball, and Hairy are standing in a room, each wearing a party hat. Ponytail is to the left of Cueball and Hairy. Cueball is holding something, presumably a present.]
:Ponytail: Happy birthday!
:Cueball: Oh cool, Emily Wilson's ''Iliad'' translation!

:[Cueball is now alone, sitting at a computer. He has taken his party hat off and put it onto a book on his desk.]
:Cueball: I never read her ''Odyssey''. I should read that, too.
:''The Odyssey'' (2017)
:Emily Wilson
:Arrives Friday
:Order
:[Cueball orders the book]

:[The computer now says the book has left the warehouse and will arrive on Friday by 8pm.]
:<u>Package Tracking</u>
:Order Status:
:Departed Warehouse
:Expected: Friday by 8pm
:[Cueball clicks refresh]

:[The computer now says the book has been swept by winds to the island of lotus eaters and ''might'' arrive around 2033.]
:<u>Package Tracking</u>
:Swept by winds to the island of the lotus eaters
:Expected: ?? 2033 ??
:[Cueball clicks refresh]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category: Fiction]]
[[Category: Comics featuring real people]]

1724: Proofs

2022-05-04T00:12:50Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 233671 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1724
| date = August 24, 2016
| title = Proofs
| image = proofs.png
| titletext = Next, let's assume the decision of whether to take the Axiom of Choice is made by a deterministic process ...
}}

==Explanation==
[[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching a math class. She begins a proof when one of her students ([[Cueball]]) interrupts her asking if this is one of those dark-magic (unclear, incomprehensible) proofs. She claims no, but in a matter of seconds Cueball is calling out that he was right.

The proof she starts setting up resembles a {{w|proof by contradiction}}. However, after Cueball's interruption Miss Lenhart's proof takes a turn for the absurd: rather than assuming there will be a point in the function that correlates to co-ordinates (x, y), Miss Lenhart assumes that the ''act of writing numbers on the board'' will correlate to co-ordinates (x, y).

A ''normal'' proof by contradiction begins by assuming that a particular condition is true; by demonstrating the implications of this assumption, a logical contradiction is reached, thus disproving the initial assumption. One example of a proof by contradiction is the proof that √2 is an irrational number:

# Assume that √2 is a rational number, meaning that there exists a pair of integers whose ratio is √2.
# If the two integers have a common factor, it can be eliminated using the Euclidean algorithm.
# Then √2 can be written as an irreducible fraction ''a''/''b'' such that ''a'' and ''b'' are coprime integers (having no common factors other than 1).
# The equation ''a''/''b'' {{=}} √2, when multiplied by itself, gives ''a²''/''b²'' {{=}} 2, which can be rearranged as ''a²'' {{=}} 2''b²''.
# Therefore, ''a²'' is even because it is equal to 2''b²''. (2''b²'' is necessarily even because it is 2 times another whole number, and multiples of 2 are even.)
# It follows that ''a'' must be even (as squares of odd integers are never even).
# Because ''a'' is even, there exists an integer ''k'' that fulfills: ''a'' {{=}} 2''k''.
# Substituting 2''k'' from step 7 for ''a'' in the second equation of step 4: 2''b²'' {{=}} (2''k'')''²'' is equivalent to 2''b²'' {{=}} 4''k²'', which is equivalent to ''b²'' {{=}} 2''k²''.
# Because 2''k²'' is divisible by two and therefore even, and because 2''k²'' {{=}} ''b²'', it follows that ''b²'' is also even, which means that ''b'' is even.
# By steps 6 and 9, ''a'' and ''b'' are both even, which contradicts that ''a''/''b'' is irreducible as stated in step 3.
::'''''Q.E.D.'''''

Alternatively, instead of a proof by contradiction the setup could be for a one way function. For example, it is relatively easy to test that a solution to a differential equation is valid but choosing the correct solution to test can seem like black magic to students.

The way that Ms Lenhart's proof refers to the act of doing math itself, is characteristic of metamathematical proofs, for example {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems}}, which, at first sight, may indeed look like black magic, even if in the end they must be a "perfectly sensible chain of reasoning" like the rest of good mathematics. While typical mathematical theorems and their proofs deal with such mathematical objects as numbers, functions, points or lines, the metamathematical theorems treat other theorems as objects of interest. In this way you can propose and prove theorems about possibility of proving other theorems. For example, in 1931 {{w|Kurt Gödel}} was able to prove that any mathematical system based on arithmetics (that is using numbers) has statements that are true, but can be neither proved nor disproved. This kind of metamathematical reasoning is especially useful in {{w|set theory}}, where many statements become impossible to prove or disprove if the {{w|axiom of choice}} is not taken as a part of the axiomatic system.

Using a position on the blackboard as a part of the proof is a joke, but it bears a resemblance to {{w|Cantor's diagonal argument}} where a position in a sequence of digits of a real number was a tool in a proof that not all infinite sets have the same {{w|cardinality}} (rough equivalent of the number of elements). This "diagonal method" is also often used in metamathematical proofs.

The axiom of choice itself states that for every collection of nonempty sets, you can have a function that draws one element from each set of the collection. This axiom, once considered controversial, was added relatively late to the axiomatic set theory, and even contemporary mathematicians still study which theorems really require its inclusion. In the title text the decision of whether to take the axiom of choice is made by a deterministic process, that is a process which future states can be developed with no randomness involved. {{w|Determinacy}} of infinite games is used as a tool in the set theory, however the deterministic process is rather a term of the {{w|stochastic process|stochastic processes theory}}, and the {{w|dynamical systems theory}}, branches of mathematics far from the abstract set theory, which makes the proof even more exotic. The axiom of choice was mentioned earlier in [[804: Pumpkin Carving]] and later in [[982: Set Theory]], another comic about a math class with a similar theme on how teachers teach their student mathematical proofs.

Although Miss Lenhart did retire a year ago after [[1519: Venus]], she seems to have returned here for a math course at university level, but continues the trend she finished with in her prior class. A very similar Miss Lenhart comic was later released with [[2028: Complex Numbers]].

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is standing facing left in front of a whiteboard writing on it. Eleven left aligned lines of writing is shown as unreadable scribbles. A voice interrupts her from off-panel right.]
:Miss Lenhart: ... Let's assume there exists some function ''F''(''a,b,c''...) which produces the correct answer-
:Cueball (off-panel): Hang on.

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball is sitting on a chair at a desk with a pen in his hand taking notes.]
:Cueball: This is going to be one of those weird, dark magic proofs, isn't it? I can tell.

:[Miss Lenhart has turned right towards Cueball, who is again speaking off-panel. The white board is also off-panel.]
:Miss Lenhart: What? No, no, it's a perfectly sensible chain of reasoning.
:Cueball (off-panel): All right...

:[Miss Lenhart is facing the whiteboard again writing more scribbles behind some of the lines from before (the first line has disappeared). The lines that have more text added are now number three and five (four and six before). Cueball again speaks off-panel.]
:Miss Lenhart: Now, let's assume that the correct answer will eventually be written on the board at the coordinates (''x, y''). If we—
:Cueball (off-panel): I ''knew'' it!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]

1723: Meteorite Identification

2022-05-04T00:06:46Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 232936 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1723
| date = August 22, 2016
| title = Meteorite Identification
| image = meteorite_identification.png
| titletext = Click for an actual flowchart for identifying a meteorite. My favorite part is how 'Did someone see it fall? -> Yes' points to 'NOT A METEORITE.' This is not a mistake.
}}

'''Note:''' Clicking on the image on xkcd (click the date above the comic to go to the comic on xkcd) takes you to the (now defunct, mirror [http://imgur.com/a/RNYQ7 here]) ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flow chart at the [https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}. The chart is now at https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/self-test-check-list/

==Explanation==
{{w|Meteorite}}s form when a {{w|meteoroid}} survives entrance through the Earth's atmosphere as a {{w|Meteoroid#Meteors|meteor}}. Thus, they are very rare rocks that come from space, and can stem from broken {{w|asteroids}}, the {{w|Moon}}, and sometimes (very rarely) even from {{w|Mars}}.

The {{w|flowchart}}, though facetious, would actually work the vast majority of the time a person picks up a rock and believes it to be a meteorite, since any single rock one finds on the surface of the earth is almost definitely not a meteorite.

Flowcharts are often used ([[:Category:Flowcharts|in xkcd]]) to give the inexperienced a step-by-step process to follow (see a guide to flowcharts here: [[518: Flow Charts]]). Meteorite identification, however, is very difficult, so the brevity of this flowchart in a way pokes fun at the need for a flowchart to identify meteorites, since laypeople are not experienced enough to confirm that a rock is indeed a meteorite. A similar short flowchart as this has been used recently in [[1691: Optimization]], and another only two box chart was used in [[1195: Flowchart]].

In the title text [[Randall]] mentions that the comic image is a link to the more detailed (now defunct, mirror [http://imgur.com/a/RNYQ7 here]) ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flowchart at the [http://eps.wustl.edu/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}.

The authors of those resources notes that they have received many rock samples and photos (or even personal visits) from people claiming to have discovered meteorites and thus they would likely benefit from just providing people the shortcut flowchart from Randall, as a way of saying, "leave meteorite identification to the professionals."

Randall also mentions in the title text that his favorite part of this real flowchart, which is the part where if anyone saw the "meteor" fall then it is 'NOT A METEORITE.' What he most likes about it is that this is not a mistake.

First of all the chance of actually being near a falling meteorite is exceedingly small. From the flowchart was a link to a 64 point long checklist, which basically all ends in "..., then it's not a meteorite." In point 3 is noted the following:
:Since 1900, the numbers of recognized meteorite "falls" is about 690 for the whole Earth. That's 6.3 per year. Only 98 of those occurred in the US. That's less than 1 per year. Even when a meteorite is observed to fall, experienced meteorite hunters may find only a few stones when hunting dawn to dusk for a week.

Second, meteors that can be seen falling almost definitely cannot be found on the ground immediately after. Any meteor big enough to glow and be visible while falling all the way to the ground will leave a large impact crater, rather than simply sit on the ground as a rock. Smaller meteors do not fall fast enough to glow all the way to the ground. Either they will burn up completely (not leaving any meteorite) or they will be slowed down before they burn all the way up (but typically end up much smaller than the original meteoroid). After that they will stop glowing and will brake even further until they reach a {{w|terminal velocity}} due to air resistance. Their small size, and lack of glow, make them practically impossible to follow with the naked eye even in daylight. If a person stands close by the impact location of a meteor it may be possible to hear a swish and a thunk, from when it passes by and then hit the ground. It will then be possible to locate the meteorite, but such a falling stone could also have been dropped from an airplane or by a storm. But in some few cases people have actually heard a real meteor falling and found it afterwards. This is what happened with the 690 events mentioned above. All this is described on [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/metid2.htm How to Identify a Meteorite] from [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/ The Meteorite Market] which is linked in point 48 in the table from Washington University. But they did not see it fall!

What Randall finds so funny about this part of the flowchart is that there are three arrows leading to the question "Did someone see it fall?", but from there only a "Yes" option is possible, and then this gives the result "Not a meteorite." This indicates that if you have found a rock that has no dark crust or [http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/regmaglypts.htm regmaglypts] (the options that by saying no takes the user to the question about seeing it fall), then it is not a meteorite, and then the only reason people might still believe it to be a meteorite must be because someone saw it fall and assumed it came from space (rather than more likely scenarios, such as a stone coming loose from a cliff or building, or being dropped by a bird or aircraft).

If the rock actually has those thumbprint like impressions on the surface (that scientists call {{w|Glossary of meteoritics#Regmaglypts|regmaglypts}}) then the creator of the flowchart actually asks to see the rock (photo or sample). The other features that are interesting is if it has a dark thin crust (from the melting during entry), but only if it also has either regmaglypts or if it has a lighter color inside than the outer crust.

See also [[1405: Meteor]] about how people mistake the words meteorite with meteor. The many misspellings of meteorite is mentioned in point 63 in the table.

==Transcript==
:[A caption is above a flowchart with only two boxes. The first box is a diamond shaped box with an arrow down to the next rectangular box below. Each box has a text.]
:How to identify a possible meteorite:
:Start
:No, it's not a meteorite.

==Trivia==
*In December 2012 (almost four years before this comic) a flowchart was posted under the title ''[http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,11,279733,279733#msg-279733 Meteorite identification flowchart]'' on [http://www.mindat.org/ mindat.org] a page dedicated to sharing information about minerals. (Check the attached gif file).
**The user posting this earlier flowchart ([http://www.mindat.org/user-1.html Jolyon]) seems to have posted a note in the [[Talk:1723:_Meteorite_Identification|discussion]] on this page about the fact that Randall has "borrowed" his idea.
***He later added this: "UPDATE: I have heard from Randall and we're sorting things out."
**Randall did so later, because when the comic was originally released the message at the top of the page was [http://web.archive.org/web/20160826002155/http://xkcd.com/1723/ the standard] about the release days of xkcd.
**But no later than September 1st [http://web.archive.org/web/20160903154053/https://xkcd.com/1723/ this message] had been changed to:
***Note: Jolyon, founder of [http://www.mindat.org/ mindat.org], made a similar chart way before me!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

827: My Business Idea

2022-05-04T00:03:15Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 233465 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = My Business Idea
| image = my_business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make a profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were keener on "setting things right" than money. The title text is an extension of the comic with increasingly extreme thinking.

In reality, having a great idea alone, of course, does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of effort put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Having done none of this, Cueball would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here.

This comic originally was shared with the name [[1721: Business Idea]], but then this comic was renamed. There were no other relations between the ideas for the two comics, see the trivia section below.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his PDA and pen.]

==Trivia==
*This comic was originally called "Business Idea" but Randall renamed it to fix a conflict on xkcd when he released [[1721: Business Idea]] about five years later (as in the comic).
**This comic was thus also renamed on this page.
**It gave quite some turbulence on the release day as can be seen in the [[1721: Business Idea#Trivia|trivia section]] of the new comic.
*The delivery address is to Ash Tree Lane, and as shown in [[472: House of Pancakes]], Randall knows how to mess with people who've read House of Leaves.
*20,000,000$ x 30% = 6,000,000$- a lot of cash for doing nothing but having an idea.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Business Idea]]

1720: Horses

2022-05-03T23:59:23Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 234699 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1720
| date = August 15, 2016
| title = Horses
| image = horses.png
| titletext = This car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability and produces only 30% as much poop.
}}

==Explanation==
[https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/are-consumers-automakers-and-insurers-really-ready-for-self-driving-cars/ The programming] of {{w|self-driving cars}} has been in the news lately, as engineers and philosophers debate what rules the cars should follow in dangerous situations (for instance, what to do when forced to choose between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into oncoming traffic). [[Ponytail]] suggests one approach for solving this problem: to think of the car as behaving like a horse, using its own intelligence and ignoring dangerous commands in the interests of self-preservation.

The comic begins with Ponytail claiming that in the old days, riding a horse or driving a horse drawn vehicle while drunk was less dangerous than {{w|drunk driving}} today. Given the higher speed and the denser traffic today this might seem plausible. On the other hand, modern cars have seat belts, airbags, and other features designed to save lives when crashes do occur; horses and horse-drawn vehicles lacked these safety features. However, if you do fall asleep on a horse, it will not suddenly walk into a tree or other obstacle, and it may actually just stop walking while you sleep.

Ponytail expands the argument by stating the horse itself will be acting in the interest of its own self-preservation. She finally states that in a comparison of the ability of self-driving cars, we should forget humans, and instead it should be the ability of horses that should be the benchmark that the self-driving cars should be judged against.

This segues into a scene in the near future where [[White Hat]] is bragging to Cueball and Megan about the features of a car (in order to sell the car to them) by comparing the features to those of horses. Car engines are traditionally measured in {{w|horsepower}}, which (roughly) compares the power output of the engine to that of a horse. White Hat goes a step further, claiming that the car (which is presumably self-driving) has an onboard computer with driving abilities equivalent to 3.5 horses, comparing the car's ability to mitigate for a drunk driver and/or avoid obstacles to that of a horse. White Hat has been [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9f/lorenz_-_sale_2.png depicted as a salesman] before in [[1350: Lorenz]] and similarly earlier in [[260: The Glass Necklace]].

The title text features more comparisons of the car to horses. In the text, Randall states that the car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability and produces only 30% as much poop as a horse. This statement is absurd because it claims that the self-driving car will be producing poop. It also suggests that even with 3.5 times as much horse-intelligence as a horse, the car may only have 2.4 times the decision-making ability, although the car in the title text could also just be a different car from the one in the comic.

Note that riding a horse while drunk is in fact still dangerous and illegal in many places (for example, {{w|Licensing Act 1872|the UK and Ireland}}). A badly-driven horse can throw off its owner, trample passersby, fall on bad surfaces, and destroy any wagon or carriage it's pulling. A self-driving car should be able to understand road rules, which a horse will not - which is presumably why the cars in the comic and the title text are both specified as being more intelligent than a horse.

In [[887: Future Timeline]] dogs driving cars are mentioned. Self-driving cars is a [[:Category:Self-driving cars|recurring topic]] on xkcd. In [[1461: Payloads]] spacecraft mass is measured in horses.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail walks right with Cueball.]
:Ponytail: Drunk driving was less of a problem before cars. If you got on your horse drunk and fell asleep, it could just walk home.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail's torso; she holds up a palm to proffer an idea.]
:Ponytail: And if you tried to ride into a tree, the horse could be like "No."
:Ponytail: Forget human drivers – ''that's'' the benchmark we should be judging self-driving cars against.

:[The front end of a car, with the bottom of the windshield and the right side mirror just inside the panel is parked before White Hat. He is holding his hand, palm up, out to the left towards the car as he brags about it to Megan and Cueball standing in front of him admiring the car. At the top left of the panel a small frame with a caption is placed over the panels frame:]
:Soon:
:White Hat: This baby has 200 horses under the hood and 3.5 in the computer.
:Megan and Cueball: Ooooh!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Self-driving cars]]

1719: Superzoom

2022-05-03T23:59:05Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 232822 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1719
| date = August 12, 2016
| title = Superzoom
| image = superzoom.png
| titletext = *click* Let him know he's got a stain on his shirt, though.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing off his new {{w|superzoom}} camera to [[White Hat]]. These are cameras with large zoom lenses, often 25× or higher magnification. He is very excited and starts by exclaiming how they can take detailed photos of the craters on the {{w|Moon}}, and (on better models) relatively large photos of {{w|Jupiter}} even with a resolution so individual clouds can be seen. (See examples of zoom on these objects [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLbj0fBvXk here] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de2LjQ5F3HE here] without cloud resolution though, but with Jupiter's {{w|Galilean moons|four large moons}} and {{w|Saturn|Saturn's}} {{w|Rings of Saturn|rings}}.)

He then spots a bird (which is just a speck in the sky) and uses the superzoom for {{w|birdwatching}}, which is a popular use for these cameras. He can see that it's a {{w|peregrine falcon}} and that it has been {{w|Bird ringing|banded}} (ringed) and he can even read the number on the band (later it seems he has more trouble locating birds with his camera in [[1826: Birdwatching]]). He then spots an airplane and having taken a picture of it, he can tell that it is a {{w|Boeing 787 Dreamliner|787 Dreamliner}} from {{w|Japan Airlines}}, and he can even make out the registration number. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-0X3xJf-kg All this is possible], with a {{w|Nikon Coolpix P900}}, which may not be much larger than the one Cueball stands with here, with an extremely long lens, and at the time of this comics release that type of camera could be [https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00U2W4JEY bought at Amazon] for less than $600. If that is within the limit Cueball gives of a few hundred dollars can be [[1070: Words for Small Sets|debated]]... A [http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/powershot-sx60-hs-refurbished|Canon SX-60, refurbished] with [https://www.flickr.com/groups/2290116@N21/pool/|65x optical zoom] currently sells for $379. Its predecessor, the SX-50 sold, refurbished, for less than $200 until going out of stock.

Note that before each comment he has taken a picture, presumably zooming further in after each photo of each new object, zooming out again before beginning with the next object.

Finally, White Hat exclaims that he is sold and states that he also want a superzoom camera like Cueball's. Cueball then points the camera down the street takes a picture and tells White Hat that the shop on ''Union Road'' has these camera in stock, indicating that he can see this inside the store (or in their window). He then takes another image and is able to make out not only the worker Kevin inside, he also recognizes him and (as mentioned in the title text after taking yet a further zoomed in picture) notice a stain on Kevin's shirt. He seems to like Kevin and asks White Hat to tell Kevin about the stain when he goes there to buy a superzoom camera. (This was the first time the name Kevin was used in xkcd for a fictive person, see more in [[1795:_All_You_Can_Eat#Kevin|this trivia]]).

Even with the ability of these cameras, it would be difficult for Cueball to be able to make out a specific worker inside the store, but if he is standing near a window it is not impossible, and if he has a stain on his shirt, it is in the same league as spotting a band on a bird in the air. Of course he has to be in a spot where he can see straight to the front of the shop.

The last panel and title text is also a remark on how such cameras can be used to spy on people for quite a far distance, which has often been (mis)used by {{w|Paparazzi|paparazzi photographers}} taking pictures of famous people (often while almost naked or in a bikini or other bathing clothes). Now everyman gets this disconcerting possibility to spy on their neighbors and others for just a few hundred dollars.

There are lenses that can do what Cueball describes about Jupiter's clouds in the comic (e.g., the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRq18WpQZC0 Canon 5200mm]), but so far not such a small consumer camera as shown in the illustration.

A couple of other factors that many people may not realize until after they've bought a consumer-level superzoom camera is that a) taking a hand-held picture at maximum zoom is typically rather blurry because the lens is magnifying all vibration and it's impossible to hold the camera steady enough (so a camera tripod would be needed), and b) that the lens' aperture at maximum zoom is typically much smaller than at normal focal lengths, with the result that the shutter time must be several times longer to get proper exposure, compounding the vibration / blurry problem. Modern superzoom cameras do have "image stabilization", which can mitigate blurriness due to vibration, but extreme telephoto photography is still more challenging than implied in the comic.

Also having zoomed so much it is very hard to actually locate a moving plane or bird in the sky while looking at the image shown on the camera. And as shown in the comic the lens is zoomed very much in. Of course this could be done by Cueball after having found the flying object with much less zoom. But still if he loses sight of the bird while fully zoomed in it will be almost impossible to find it again without zooming back out.

White Hat and Cueball have discussed photography before in [[1314: Photos]].

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are walking right. Cueball is looking down at a camera with a long lens he is holding in both hands.]
:Cueball: I love these superzoom cameras. For a few hundred dollars you can take pictures of Moon craters and Jupiter's clouds.

:[They stop, White Hat looks up in the air while Cueball does the same but through the camera he is holding up to his eye while taking pictures. The camera lens is further zoomed out and is clicking.]
:Cueball: And birds! See that speck up there?
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: Peregrine falcon!
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: It's banded, too. Want the number?

:[White Hat looks even further up as Cueball turns left and point the even further zoomed camera almost straight up while taking photos.]
:Cueball: And see that plane?
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: 787 Dreamliner
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: Japan Airlines.
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: Registration is—

:[White Hat looks back down on Cueball who has turned to the right holding the fully out-zoomed camera level to the right along the ground.]
:White Hat: OK, I'm sold—I want one.
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: They're in stock at the place on Union Road.
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>
:Cueball: Hey, Kevin's working today! He's great.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1717: Pyramid Honey

2022-05-03T23:55:12Z

Tyomcha: Undo revision 233046 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1717
| date = August 8, 2016
| title = Pyramid Honey
| image = pyramid_honey.png
| titletext = They CLAIM honey was found in the chambers under the pyramids, but this conspiracy goes all the way to the TOP, where the GIANT EYE is!
}}

==Explanation==
Bee {{w|honey}} is a food item with natural antimicrobial properties. It can remain unspoiled for a person's entire lifetime, making it practically nonperishable for ordinary consumers. It is frequently claimed that archaeologists have found jars of honey that have been well-preserved for thousands of years in ancient tombs, often those found in {{w|Egyptian pyramids}}, hence the title ''Pyramid Honey''. The claims are generally assertions that may point to other similar assertions as supporting evidence but do not provide specific details, such as the identity of the actual tombs where such jars have been found, or the names of the archaeologists who have affirmed finding such jars. Repeated encounters with the assertion lead some people to claim that honey's shelf life is "infinite", which is a much stronger claim which would not necessarily be supported by the assertion even assuming it is true.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] tells [[Megan]] about an article in ''{{w|Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine}}'' (presumably [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/ this one]) that claims honey has an infinite shelf life. The article links to a book that makes the assertion of such findings but does not provide factual support of the findings. Megan thinks the source for this article, and others that covered the subject, is wrong and wants to refute them all. She tells Cueball ''Believe it or not'' which [[Black Hat]] hears and he immediately states that he believes her, and is convinced without hearing any arguments from Megan. He then decides to begin a Facebook page so he can ''tell the Internet'' without giving Megan a chance to explain any further.

"A hill to die on" is a phrase from {{w|Ernest Hemingway|Ernest Hemingway's}} 1940 novel "{{w|For Whom the Bell Tolls}}", about an American who volunteers in the 1936-1939 {{w|Spanish Civil War}} to fight {{w|fascism}}, who ends up wounded and alone, about to ambush the enemy to give his comrades a chance to escape; "a weird hill to die on" would thus mean a weird cause, if not a just one, to fight for to the bitter end. This expression is also the subject of [[2247: Weird Hill]]. Black Hat asserts that he needs such a cause because the "real" weird hills are too far from his house, humorously implying he would be equally satisfied with a literal weird hill.

Black Hat's actions are clearly premature since he has not heard any evidence to back up the claim and does not understand the nuances of Megan's position. Cueball states that it could have gone better, whereas Megan seems to be resigned to it, perhaps as it notionally supports her (aborted) argument and it's at least a short-term 'win' that she won't fuss over the details of.

Presumably, the best Black Hat can do would be to parrot what he has heard from Megan, without any understanding or critical thinking on his part. Due to his lack of understanding, he may even interject his own ideas (ones Megan never believed nor stated) into his posts. These are all consistent with him calling himself "pyramid honey truther". The word ''truther'' refers to people who reject established facts and instead choose to believe in conspiracies, like people who claim {{w|Moon landing conspiracy theories|the moon landings never happened}}, or {{w|9/11 Truth movement|believe the US government is behind}} the {{w|9/11 attacks}}. While a few conspiracy theories turn out to be true, most are easily proved to be fake, but this does not stop people from believing in them anyway, just like the two mentioned here, which are not easily dismissed by believers. This turns Megan, who likely has a reasonable and well-justified position, unwillingly into the source of conspiracy theories.

Alternatively, he only does this to troll Megan (and Cueball), and everyone else that reads his Facebook page, just because he knows they will get annoyed. And also to state that this is an unimportant subject (a weird hill to die on) to make such a fuss over. No one would wish to eat that honey, anyway, having been abandoned to time for that long. He may see this as a completely uninteresting subject and thus makes fun of Megan with his statements. This would also be more in line with his usual behavior.

It is also possible that Black Hat is simply mocking conspiracy theorists' obsessions with factually incorrect ideas, comparably to what may be the case in [[Secretary: Part 3]].

The title text refers to the {{w|Eye of Providence}}, a symbol of an eye at the top of a pyramid, found on US currency and often associated with conspiracy theories of the {{w|Illuminati}}. Black Hat again refers to the pyramid honey found under the pyramids and calls it a ''conspiracy that goes all the way to the top''. This usually means that the politicians (or the government agencies) ruling the country know about it, but keep it a secret from the public. But in this case, he mixes up terms and says it goes to the top of the pyramid (from the bottom), to where the giant eye is. As promised he also writes four words in all capital letters, shouting out the TRUTH!

This comic is likely a satire of the stereotypical internet mindset and plays up the frequent confusion between legitimate scientific skepticism, where unsupported claims are rejected, and conspiracy-theory faux-skepticism, where legitimate evidence is rejected because it does not support a specific viewpoint.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are talking.]
:Cueball: Apparently honey has an infinite shelf life. They just found jars of it in the pyramids, still good.
:Megan: You know, I've heard that, and I don't think it's true.

:[Black hat enters.]
:Cueball: Really? Smithsonian magazine confirmed it.
:Megan: Believe it or not, I think their source is wrong.
:Black Hat: '''''I believe you.'''''

:[Megan has turned to Black Hat raising her hands.]
:Megan: See I read about the archaeologists who-
:Black Hat: I'm convinced. Gonna go to tell the internet.

:[Black Hat moved closer to Megan and Cueball.]
:Megan: Wait, are you sure? Let me explain why I-
:Black Hat: Don't need it. I've heard enough.

:[Zoom-in on Black Hat's head.]
:Black Hat: I've been looking for a weird hill to die on, and all the real ones are too far from my house.
:Black Hat: So this is mine. I'm now a pyramid honey truther.

:[Zoom back out. Black Hat starts walking left, pointing a finger up. Cueball and Megan turn to look after him.]
:Black Hat: Time to start a Facebook group and post a bunch of all-caps comments everywhere.
:Cueball: This could have gone better.
:Megan: Oh well.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Science]]

2592: False Dichotomy

2022-03-12T00:43:51Z

Tyomcha: The given example for a dichotomty was "the dichotomy between a flat earth and round earth", which is itself a false dichotomy (other shapes besides those two are possible). Changed it so it's an actual dichotomy.

{{comic
| number = 2592
| date = March 11, 2022
| title = False Dichotomy
| image = false_dichotomy.png
| titletext = There are two types of dichotomy: False dichotomies, true dichotomies, and surprise trichotomies.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TRUE DICHOTOMY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A dichotomy is two alternatives which are normally mutually exclusive (such as the dichotomy between a flat earth and non-flat earth). A {{w|false dichotomy}} is a {{w|logical fallacy}} based on an incorrect perception of limited options (for example: if you the reader are not a human, you must be a robot).

[[Cueball]] has apparently made one such error and is being called out by [[White Hat]] for it. Upon having this pointed out to him, Cueball says that we must '''embrace''' false dichotomies, because the '''only other option''' is {{w|cannibalism}}. This statement is another false dichotomy, as presenting false dichotomies is not actually recognized as an alternative to cannibalism{{Citation needed}}. The reverse is not strictly true, as eating people may eventually result in having nobody you need to present false dichotomies to.

Cueball has thus created another false dichotomy to excuse his first.

The title text states that there are two kinds of dichotomies, making a dichotomy in itself. Due to three types of dichotomy being mentioned, and only two being foreshadowed, this statement is itself a surprise trichotomy (trichotomy being a {{w|portmanteau}} of "tri" meaning three and "dichotomy"). The title text is a variation of the [https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/There_Are_Two_Kinds_of_People_in_the_World "Two kinds of People"] joke. The classic math nerd variant is "There are three kinds of people in the world, those who can count, and those who can't." Alternatively, it may refer to a variation about {{w|base 2|binary}}. The original joke usually goes something like this: "There are 10 types of people: those who know binary, and those who don't." The variation is usually something like the following: "There are 10 types of people: those who know binary, and those who don't, and those who weren't expecting a {{w|base 3|ternary}} joke."

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

:[White Hat and Cueball are talking to each other. White Hat has his arms spread in exasperation, while Cueball gestures assertively with his pointer finger.]
:White Hat: That's a false dichotomy!
:Cueball: Yes, but we have to embrace false dichotomies, because the only alternative is cannibalism.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]