explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2620: Health Data

2022-05-17T06:54:53Z

XRENEGADEx: manual rv vandalism

{{comic
| number = 2620
| date = May 16, 2022
| title = Health Data
| image = health_data.png
| titletext = Donate now to help us find a cure for causality. No one should have to suffer through events because of other events.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by EFFECTS THE SITUATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Cueball is at the hospital for some form of check-up. Ponytail comes in to inform him of the tests they have ran, but her statements are frustrating, vague, and tautological. She says that his health data has revealed some "variables" but dances around what those variables are, only that they are the number one cause of "outcomes." This is tautological, simply defining what the words "variables" and "outcomes" mean.

Cueball tries to cut to the root of the issue by asking "what are my chances of survival?" Ponytail asks what is Cueball's family history, but rather than asking if his family has a history of similar symptoms to Cueball himself she is just asking if he has any family history whatsoever, another unhelpful inquiry as it does nothing to help with Cueball's questions.

The comic might be making fun of poorly defined health statistics: statistics for the [https://www.gwclaw.com/blog/accidental-death-causes/ leading causes of accidental death in the United States], for example, typically cite 'poisoning' as the number one cause, even though poisoning other than drug overdoses is actually quite rare. The comic takes vague statistics to the extreme, citing 'causality' as the leading cause of death.

It may also be a joke about replacing the name of an effect with simply, "effect", thus being similar in a sense to a simple random generator, like [[2243: Star Wars Spoiler Generator]].

The title text simply continues the joke, claiming that doctors are searching for a cure to 'causality'. This is obviously absurd and impossible, as it would destroy reality as we know it.

The comic as a whole is reminiscent of [[830: Genetic Analysis]] and [[1840: Genetic Testing Results]] (particularly the title text of the latter), as the information given by the doctor in all three is self-evident and useless as a result.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball and Ponytail are talking to each other. Cueball is sitting on an examination table and Ponytail, in a doctor's coat, is looking down and reading from a clipboard with some illegible writing on it.]
:Ponytail: I'm taking a look at your numbers, and it doesn't look good.
:Ponytail: You have a lot of measurements. Quite a few variables.

:[Ponytail looks up.]
:Cueball: Is that... bad?
:Ponytail: Variables are the #1 risk factor for outcomes.
:Ponytail: The past is a big contributor to the future.

:[Ponytail puts her arm with the clipboard down.]
:Cueball: Isn't that just causality?
:Ponytail: Causality is the leading cause of death in this country.

:Cueball: So what are my odds?
:Ponytail: Do you have a family history?
:Cueball: Of what?
:Ponytail: Just, in general.
:Cueball: ...Yes?
:Ponytail: Oh no.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2228: Machine Learning Captcha

2019-11-14T00:36:54Z

XRENEGADEx: /* Explanation */ I AM A HUMAN CAPTCHA

{{comic
| number = 2228
| date = November 14, 2019
| title = Machine Learning Captcha
| image = machine_learning_captcha.png
| titletext = More likely: Click on all the pictures of people who appear disloyal to [name of company or government]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HUMAN CAPTCHA. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

[Cueball, seated before a desk, is staring at a computer; one hand is on his lap while the other is poised over his keyboard. A line is drawn from the computer, showing that the computer is saying something:]
Computer: To prove you're a human, click on all the photos that show places you would run for shelter during a robot uprising.
[The computer then gives nine images arranged in a 3 by 3 square; from left to right and top to bottom, they are a house, some trees, a window{{Dubious}}, a car, a skyline, a crosswalk{{Dubious}}, a log and board{{Dubious}}, a mailbox, and a hole.]

{{comic discussion}}

1471: Gut Fauna

2019-11-10T05:59:41Z

XRENEGADEx: /* Explanation */ CiTaTiOn NeEdEd

{{comic
| number = 1471
| date = January 9, 2015
| title = Gut Fauna
| image = gut_fauna.png
| titletext = I know it seems unpleasant, but of the two ways we typically transfer them, I promise this is the one you want.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|microbiome}} is the collection of bacteria that reside in the human digestive tract. The bacteria perform several vital digestive and immune-support functions. Different compositions of bacteria, collectively referred to as {{w|gut flora}}, can be linked to risk of some diseases, while other compositions are linked to a decreased risk of some diseases and are therefore called "good bacteria". The title "Gut fauna" is a play on words. ''Fauna'' means animal life in Latin, and ''flora'' means vegetable life. However, in this context ''flora'' means bacterial life because, when microscopes were invented, microbial life was considered to be non-animal and therefore classified as "flora". For a good description of the microbiome see [http://youtu.be/5DTrENdWvvM The Invisible Universe Of The Human Microbiome].

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is visiting a doctor ([[Ponytail]]) for some unknown problem. The doctor informs him that his gut macrobiome is out of balance, which Cueball responds to with confusion over whether or not she meant the microbiome or macrobiome. A macrobiome, instead of being composed of small organisms such as bacteria, would be composed of larger organisms such as mammals. The phrase "gut fauna" would refer to any animals living inside a gut (as the word fauna refers to animals living in an ecosystem).

Cueball is right to be worried by the doctor's reference to his macrobiome, as normal humans shouldn't have large animals living inside them{{Citation needed}} with the exception of some parasites such as {{w|Helminths}} or {{w|Cestoda}}, or in some cases, the {{w|Eating live animals|consumption of live animals}} such as octopus, shrimp and eels. No animals belong natively in the {{w|human digestive system}}; all known cases of animals living permanently in the human digestive system are causes of disease. His fear is compounded when the doctor prescribes one wolf for Cueball to swallow, which is normally impossible for average humans and would, at the very least, result in major interior (or exterior) damage to [[Cueball]] and (possibly) [[Ponytail]] when the wolf resists being swallowed. Needless to say this is not common physician practice due to the likely death rate.{{Citation needed}}

The choice of a wolf echoes the {{w|Wolf_reintroduction#Yellowstone_National_Park_and_Central_Idaho|reintroduction of the animals}} into the macrobiome of {{w|Yellowstone National Park}} in the United States, where they have improved the balance by, in part, preying on {{w|elk}} and reducing the damage caused by their grazing.

The dialog between the characters ends with the doctor asking the patient whether he needs a glass of water, a typical question asked by health professionals (water can help patients swallow oral medication). This last phrase further extends the humorous nature of the proposition to swallow the wolf by displaying a confidence of the doctor in her choice of the treatment modality. In reality, of course, drinking a glass of water while attempting to swallow a wolf would make the latter procedure neither easier, nor more feasible.

The title text suggests that swallowing the wolf is not the worst situation that could have occurred, as the doctor refers to "another way" that the wolf could be administered. One typical way that microbiomes are restored is through {{w|fecal bacteriotherapy}}, most easily described as a "poop transfer". It could also mean transferred via suppository. In either case, the worse "other way" that the doctor is referring to is thus likely the rectal route, which (for [[Randall]]) is less preferable than attempting to swallow a live wolf. However, either way would prove either physically impossible and/or lethal.

If we are to take the doctor at her word that there is indeed some sort of macrobiome inside Cueball's gut, then perhaps she has some kind of matter compression ability that would make {{w|There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly|introducing a live wolf}} a legitimate therapeutic option.

Randall has referenced {{w|wolf reintroduction}} programs before, in comic [[819: Five-Minute Comics: Part 1]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball on an examining table; Ponytail wearing a doctor's coat holding some test results.]
:Doctor: I see the problem. Your gut macrobiome is out of balance. One moment.

:[Ponytail leaves.]
:Cueball: I think you mean '''''micro'''''biome... Right?

:[Ponytail returns, slightly disheveled, carrying a momentarily docile live wolf.]
:Doctor: No. Here, swallow this.
:Cueball: That's a wolf.
:Doctor: Do you need a glass of water?

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

203: Hallucinations

2019-11-10T05:12:38Z

XRENEGADEx: /* Explanation */ Grammar

{{comic
| number = 203
| date = December 29, 2006
| title = Hallucinations
| image = hallucinations.png
| titletext = And the possibility of lucid dreaming just makes it that much more fascinating.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] on the right is talking to his (Cueball-like) friend about {{w|dream|dreaming}} but using words and phrases to make dreaming sound much more dramatic than we usually think that it is. However, the description is technically correct.

[[Randall]] is using the comic to make a point about how we think dreaming is so normal, but if we actually realize what's happening, dreaming is very strange:
*go comatose for a few hours = sleep for a few hours
*hallucinate vividly = dream
*suffer amnesia about the whole experience = forget the dream
The character on the left takes this as though the experience is normal. Which it indeed is, but that is why Randall has the caption above the guys: ''Sometimes it seems bizarre to me that we take dreaming in stride.''

The title text is about {{w|Lucid dream|lucid dreaming}}, where the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming. This is even more fascinating to Randall. He uses this type of dream in [[269: TCMP]].

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like guys are talking. Above them are the following caption:]
:Sometimes it seems bizarre to me that we take dreaming in stride.

:Friend: Are you coming to dinner?
:Cueball: Yeah, but first I'm gonna go comatose for a few hours, hallucinate vividly, and then maybe suffer amnesia about the whole experience.
:Friend: Okay, Cool.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Dreams]]

2218: Wardrobe

2019-10-27T02:30:24Z

XRENEGADEx: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2218
| date = October 21, 2019
| title = Wardrobe
| image = wardrobe.png
| titletext = If you'd just agree to hold your meetings in here, you'd have PLENTY of time to figure things out before the deadline.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NARNIAN-BRITISH BORDER CHECKPOINT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] leaves [[Cueball]] outside while she goes into a wardrobe to consult with Tumnus on the pressing question if Narnia is part of the EU. It turns out they have joined (some time after the UK joined), which makes Megan complain about another border to deal with. And Cueball waiting outside goes looking for a lock for the wardrobe door.

This comic references ''{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}'', a series of children's fantasy books by {{w|C.S. Lewis}} (some of which were later {{w|The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)|made into movies}}, plays, and TV and radio shows) about a group of children from England who travel to a magical land called Narnia. In the first book of the series (by publication date), ''{{w|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe}}'', Narnia is accessible through a wardrobe in a residence in the English countryside. {{w|Mr. Tumnus}} is a {{w|faun}} in Narnia and the first character that the first human visitor, {{w|Lucy Pevensie}}, meets on her first trip through the wardrobe portal. Referencing Narnia is a [[:Category:Chronicles of Narnia|recurring theme]] in xkcd. Tumnus was depicted in the first comic to reference Narnia: [[665: Prudence]].

The comic also makes reference to membership in the {{w|European Union}}. The {{w|United Kingdom}} (UK) is a member of the EU at the time of this comic, but narrowly voted via {{w|Referendums in the United Kingdom|public referendum}} in 2016 to exit the EU (a process commonly referred to as {{w|Brexit}}, short for "British Exit"), but working out the details of this separation has proven more complicated than the simple in/out vote implied.

Narnia applying to join the EU shortly after Britain, as referred to in the title text, would theoretically be possible, even if only ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' was considered, since the UK joined the EU in 1973, whereas the wardrobe entrance to Narnia was discovered during World War 2, therefore in the period between 1939 and 1945. However, they would most likely be rejected due to not technically existing in Europe and having a monarchy government (EU membership requires a stable democracy).

One of the major issues with Brexit has been the border between {{w|Northern Ireland}} and the {{w|Republic of Ireland}}. The two countries share the {{w|island of Ireland}}, but Northern Ireland is part of the UK while Ireland is an independent country which remains part of the EU. If/when the UK exits the EU, it will have different customs regulations than the Republic of Ireland, and there will need to be some kind of customs border. The most obvious solution would be to establish a controlled land border between the two countries, but this would raise some serious difficulties and dangers.

Northern Ireland has had a long history of civil unrest and ethno-nationalist conflict. The most recent period of conflict, commonly referred to as {{w|The Troubles}}, resulted in over 3000 deaths between 1969 and 1998. In 1998, the UK and Ireland entered into a treaty, known as the {{w|Good Friday Agreement}} (overwhelmingly approved by referendums in both parts of Ireland). This treaty was intended to resolve many of the issues that drove the conflict, and has largely been successful in putting a stop to the violence. One of the agreements in the treaty was a totally open border between the two parts of Ireland. As both were in the EU, this was easily done, because they already shared a customs union. Over the following two decades, the ease of transit created major trade links between the two areas, and many people lived in one country and worked in the other. In the UK Brexit referendum, a majority of Northern Ireland voters voted to remain in the EU. Placing a hard border between the two countries would create major economic disruptions, and serious hardships for people living near the border. It would also undermine the intent of the Good Friday Agreement, which could lead to terrorist attacks and the rekindling of hostilities. The Irish government raised this issue from the time Brexit was first proposed, but their warnings were not fully heeded.

The alternative to this border would be to maintain open borders between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but institute customs checks between the island of Ireland and the United Kingdom. This solution is also considered extremely undesirable, as it would effectively separate Northern Ireland from the UK, which is unacceptable to many citizens of both Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

While the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland border issue has received the most attention, the UK has land borders with two other EU countries. The UK territory of Gibraltar shares a border with Spain. There are also two Sovereign Bases Areas that share a border with the Republic of Cyprus.

The portal in the wardrobe represents ''another'' border of the UK, namely the border between England and Narnia. This 'border', of course, exists only in fiction, but the joke here is that it must be dealt with in the Brexit negotiations, further complicating an already messy situation.{{Citation needed}} A further source of implicit humor is the juxtaposition of a fantasy children's tale about the magical land of Narnia with the highly contentious, political, adult world of Brexit.

Cueball suggests solving the situation by simply locking the wardrobe (which was never very accessible, even in ''The Chronicles of Narnia''), effectively isolating the UK from Narnia and making the border problem moot. This wouldn't work even in the fictional world of the books, as new ways to enter Narnia pop up in every book, although most of them are accessible only to the kids from the first book and their friends.

The title text references the amount of time it has taken to complete the Brexit negotiations, currently three-plus years and counting. The negotiators have set a series of deadlines to complete the negotiations, but have repeatedly had to extend those deadlines because they haven't reached any agreement. The comic was posted roughly one week before the then-current Brexit deadline of Oct. 31, 2019. However [https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/19/eu-says-britain-has-requested-an-extension-of-brexit-deadline-after-uk-lawmakers-delay-vote.html it was already expected that that deadline too would probably be extended]. In ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', time moves inconsistently in Narnia compared to Earth, usually passing more rapidly in Narnia than on Earth. Lucy Pevensie and her siblings enter the wardrobe as children, have extensive adventures in Narnia lasting many years, and then return to the real world to find that they are children again and that only a few minutes have passed. The suggestion here is that holding the slow, complex Brexit negotiations in Narnia would take relatively little time in the real world, and the whole affair could be completed in time for the deadline.

A punchline similar to the title text, where the slower passing of time was used to take on time-intensive real world problems, was also used for one of the comics in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]]. The time difference was also mentioned in the title text of [[1786: Trash]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is entering into an open wardrobe, while Cueball stands outside.]
:Megan: I'll go ask.
:Megan: You wait here.

:[Cueball stands outside the now-closed wardrobe.]

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball keeps standing outside the closed wardrobe with voices heard from inside the wardrobe. The characters talking are inferred from the context.]
:Mr. Tumnus (from inside wardrobe): Halt! Who goes there?
:Megan (from inside wardrobe): Hey Tumnus. Quick question.
:Mr. Tumnus (from inside wardrobe): Yes?

:[Cueball is walking away from the closed wardrobe. Voices can still be heard from inside the wardrobe.]
:Megan (from inside wardrobe): Is Narnia in the E.U.?
:Mr. Tumnus (from inside wardrobe): Yes, we joined after you did.
:Megan (from inside wardrobe): Oh great, ''another'' border to deal with.
:Cueball: I'll go find a lock for the door.

==Trivia==
*The writing of "EU" as "E.U.", as in the comic, is not uncommon. However in Europe, and by the organs of the [https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en EU] itself, the EU version is mostly used.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:2208: Drone Fishing

2019-09-27T23:11:16Z

XRENEGADEx: I'm new so forgive me for violating WP:MOS and probably tons of other stuff.

So kite fishing is a thing for recreational deep sea fishing. I think some people are experimenting with using drones instead of kites. I think I've also read about using a drone to allow long "casts" when shore fishing. This seems to be Randall just mixing all that up in a fun (?) way.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.105|172.69.63.105]] 16:04, 27 September 2019 (UTC)

What kind of bait do you use to attract a drone, anyway? Or would you use some kind of electronic lure? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:01, 27 September 2019 (UTC)

Isn't this comic a reference to How To? There was a comic in that book about fishing while suspended from drones. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.73|172.69.63.73]] 21:47, 27 September 2019 (UTC)

Could this comic possibly be a reference to [[2148: Cubesat Launch]]?--[[User:XRENEGADEx|XRENEGADEx]] ([[User talk:XRENEGADEx|talk]]) 23:11, 27 September 2019 (UTC)