explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1750: Life Goals

2016-10-24T14:19:06Z

Xynariz: Adding first draft of transcript

{{comic
| number = 1750
| date = October 24, 2016
| title = Life Goals
| image = life_goals.png
| titletext = I got to check off 'Make something called xkcd' early.
}}

==Explanation==
Every single one but the last of the enumerated life goals uses words that contain a plurality of the letters X, Y, Z and Q, which have a high value in the English language version of Scrabble.

All of these words are real, and would theoretically earn a player many points, provided there are enough blocks in a set to spell them out.

The ultimate goal of finishing a game of Scrabble is (literally) the punch line to the enumeration.

==Transcript==
:[A list entitled "Life Goals", where each item has an empty box, like a to-do list.]
:Meet Skrillex in Phoenix
:Study Zymurgy
:Get a pet Axolotl named Hexxus
:Observe a syzygy from Zzyzx, California
:Port the games Zzyzzyxx and Xexyz to Xbox
:Publish a Zzzax/Mister Mxyzptlk crossover
:Bike from Xhafzotaj, Albania to Qazaxbəyli, Azerbaijan
:Paint an archaeopteryx fighting a muzquizopteryx
:Finish a game of scrabble without getting punched

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1537: Types

2015-06-12T23:12:48Z

Xynariz:

Relevant: WAT talk https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.254.108}}

Are (6) and (7) about completing sequences?

If the sequence was [1, 2, 3, ?] we would expect the ? to be a placeholder for 4. So [1, 2, 3]+2 is wrong := FALSE. But [1, 2, 3]+4 is correct := TRUE. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.22}}

"+2 appears to be applying a unary + to the number 2" : or it adds the number of the line, 10, to 2 => 12. Also, the eleventh line, "2+2" may add 2 to all the following 2, explaining line 12. (that theory is from a friend of mine) [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 12:17, 12 June 2015 (UTC)
: Also, for the lines 6 and 7, the operation "[1,2,3]+x" may add x to the set [1,2,3] and return true if the operation succeeded or false if not. Adding 2 to the set [1,2,3] returns false because 2 is already in [1,2,3]. [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 12:23, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Yellowish Blue: http://www.livescience.com/17948-red-green-blue-yellow-stunning-colors.html is NaN! {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.129}}

''"The ironic thing is that fractions with 2 in the nominator are not the kind of numbers that typically suffer from floating point impreciseness."''
- This is not technically correct. Should read "fractions with 'power of 2' in the '''de'''nominator. However, the 3/2 would cause precision errors. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.129}}
: I don't know proper English wording for things, but 3/2=3*2^-1, so it would be represented exactly under IEEE-754 too. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.217|141.101.89.217]] 13:58, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Is there more to this comic, a fixed set of rules that can tie all the examples together, or does each line make its own joke independently? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 12:54, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

;"normally"

<blockquote>This would make sense if it was <code>[] + 2</code></blockquote>

It really wouldn't. Javascript returns <code>"2"</code> (god knows why) and Python gives an error. Don't really feel like testing many other languages, but I also think it's not really a logical assumption to make at all. Can't think of a reason for <code>[] + 2</code> to return <code>[2]</code>... ever. It ''might'' make a little bit of sense in Randall's oddly typed language, but not in any sane one. --[[User:TotempaaltJ|TotempaaltJ]] ([[User talk:TotempaaltJ|talk]]) 12:35, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

: Javascript first converts <code>[]</code> (the empty array) to the empty string (using the rule "stringify each element and join with a comma"), then treats the operation as <code>"" + 2</code>, which results in conversion of the other operand to string and then concatenation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.97.214|141.101.97.214]] 12:46, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

line 4: asci code of N + 2 = asci code of P [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 13:07, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

My favourite xkcd in a while. =8o) Of the list I got a good laugh out of numbers 8 and 13. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:11, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

I think a lot of this is his joke about programming languages loving the number 4. 2 + "2" = "4", [1,2,3] + 4 = true, 2+2 = DONE, and the range one all seem to support this. Also reminds me of this: http://xkcd.com/221/ {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.112}}

Why isn't yellowish blue just green? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:18, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

line 4: I read NaP as Not a Problem. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 17:00, 12 June 2015 (UTC)
: So did I. [[User:Xynariz|Xynariz]] ([[User talk:Xynariz|talk]]) 23:12, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Line 3 is missing its prompt. There does not appear to be any relevance to the joke, nor has anyone yet explained why it should be missing. Typo? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.183|108.162.221.183]] 17:10, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Note that some programming languages avoid the problem of overloaded '+' operator between operands of vividly different types by using other symbols for string concatenation (be it "a"~"b" or "a"."b") and numerical addition. The real WTF is abusing '+' for string concatenation, which has very different properties from numerical addition, not being symmetrical for example: concat("aa", "bb") == "aabb", while concat("bb", "aa") == "bbaa" != "aabb". --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 17:38, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Series of comics? I don't recall any others about Randall's new programming language... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.29|141.101.98.29]] 19:13, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

;+2
I think this is a japanese language joke. The + sign can also refer to the kanji 十, which is 10 in japanese. This would explain the result being twelve. 十二, or 10 2, is twelve in japanese. {{unsigned|Rafaeladson}}

I think number 5 is an escaped quote (two consecutive double quotes yields one double quote), a plus sign, and another escaped quote. The result is shown with an alternate form of escaped quotes (the apostrophe and double quote can both be used to show a string). NSIS scripting language uses this notation.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.180|108.162.221.180]] 20:19, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Clearly this is what the xkcd phone's OS is written in (with some help from StackOverflow) {{unsigned ip|162.158.68.113}}

Great job at explaining the outputs. I clearly would have missed some interpretations without your insights. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.146|108.162.254.146]] 21:10, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

1427: iOS Keyboard

2014-09-29T22:09:13Z

Xynariz: /* Explanation */ "Start Trek" - Are we playing Oregon Trail here? ;)

{{comic
| number = 1427
| date = September 29, 2014
| title = iOS Keyboard
| image = ios_keyboard.png
| titletext = More actual results: 'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You [are the best. The best thing ever]', 'Revenge is a dish best served [by a group of people in my room]', and 'They may take our lives, but they'll never take our [money].'
}}

==Explanation==
It looks like [[Randall]] has been playing with his Apple device after installing the recently released {{w|iOS 8}} update. The comic is referencing the autocomplete function on the iOS virtual keyboard (aka [[1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/|leopard]]). A comparable feature is also available on other operating systems, like Android. When the phrase, for example, "Revenge is a dish best served" is typed, the keyboard will suggest “by” followed by “a” then “group” and so on.

The following movies are referenced:
:{{w|Sherlock_Holmes#.22Elementary.2C_my_dear_Watson.22|Sherlock Holmes}}: Holmes: "Elementary, my dear Watson." (paraphrased in several movies, never actually used in the books)
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086250/quotes Scarface (1983)]: Scarface: "You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!"
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/quotes The Wizard of Oz (1939)]: Dorothy: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
:[http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000007/quotes James Bond]: Bond: "Bond, James Bond." (nothing follows)
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379786/quotes Serenity (2005)]: Wash: "I am a leaf on the wind - watch how I soar."
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/quotes The Goonies (1985)]: Mikey: "Goonies never say die!"
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)]: Aragorn: "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword." Legolas: "And you have my bow." Gimli: "And *my* axe."
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes The Princess Bride (1987)]: Montoya: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
:{{w|Revenge#Proverbs|Revenge is a dish best served cold}} (several movies, with variations, and books before that. E.g., [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/quotes Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (1982)]: Khan: "...do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold?"
:[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/quotes Braveheart (1995)]: Wallace: "They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"

An older comic [[1068: Swiftkey]] is also about keyboard predictions, but without any preceding text (by the Swiftkey keyboard application instead of the iOS 8 keyboard).

==Transcript==
Movie Quotes
:[typed on an iPhone] Elementary, my dear
:[suggested by the virtual keyboard] Friend | Lord | Friends
According to iOS 8 keyboard predictions
:Say hello to my little [sister and my mom and my dad and my friends]
:Toto, I've a feeling we're not [going to the gym today]
:Bond, James Bond [yields]
:I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch [me play my piano]
:Goonies never say [anything]
:You have my sword. And my bow. And my [dad]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]