https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.238.65&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T11:12:07ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1017:_Backward_in_Time&diff=179911Talk:1017: Backward in Time2019-09-15T14:52:23Z<p>108.162.238.65: </p>
<hr />
<div>That spreadsheet is going to need updating in the future. [[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 20:30, 6 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<p></p><br />
If you're running Excel, the formula is =SUM(EXP(20.3444*(B8^3)+3)-EXP(3)) [[User:BlueRoll18|BlueRoll18]] ([[User talk:BlueRoll18|talk]]) 10:43, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I find it more aesthetically pleasing to have the time running forwards; starting with the big bang and ending in the present day. Which reminds me strongly of the introduction to the Big Bang Theory series. [[User:Popup|Popup]] ([[User talk:Popup|talk]]) 09:27, 28 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I am not sure, but it looks like Randall acted up the inverse. It has no reference to the current date, and I am not sure, but I think it should be a cube root. [[Special:Contributions/72.70.180.234|72.70.180.234]] 19:39, 21 October 2013 (UTC)<br />
:It does indeed reference the current date. Note the T in ln(T... --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 03:58, 27 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There's almost a meta-joke here in that all that figuring and calculating would certainly kill a lot of time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.65|108.162.238.65]] 14:52, 15 September 2019 (UTC)</div>108.162.238.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1937:_IATA_Airport_Abbreviations&diff=1503201937: IATA Airport Abbreviations2018-01-03T20:40:38Z<p>108.162.238.65: /* Explanation */ Explained what TriBeCa is briefly for those who don't know and reformatted and clarified San Jose part.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1937<br />
| date = January 3, 2018<br />
| title = IATA Airport Abbreviations<br />
| image = iata_airport_abbreviations.png<br />
| titletext = IATA stands for International AirporT Abbreviation.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Expansion needed. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is making fun of the three-letter codes assigned to mostly all {{w|IATA airport code|airports}} in the world. These codes are overseen by the {{w|International Air Transport Association|IATA (International Air Transport Association)}}. Some airport codes are very intuitive, taking letters from the city name (e.g., DEN for Denver). Other codes are somewhat intuitive, taking a letter or two from the nearby city name but adding an additional letter (e.g., LAX for Los Angeles). Other codes make seemingly no sense at all (e.g., ORD for Chicago's O'Hare International, due to it formerly being named Orchard Field). In many cases, the airport codes appear to have been chosen (or invented) because they are also common abbreviations and acronyms. <br />
<br />
If we use the table provided, Randall's friend is flying into Edwards Air Force Base and then down to whatever. This is not a typical flight. In actuality, the friend is flying into Newark tonight and Detroit tomorrow.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|'''IATA Code''' || '''Actual Assigned City/Airport''' || '''Description in the comic''' || '''Explanation'''<br />
|-<br />
| AMD || {{w|Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport|Ahmedabad}} || {{w|Amsterdam }}|| Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. Its airport (called Schiphol) has the IATA code AMS. "AMD" is also a brand of computer processors.<br />
|-<br />
| ANC || {{w|Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport|Anchorage}} || Ankh-Morpork || Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state featured in {{w|Discworld}}.<br />
|-<br />
| ATL || {{w|Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport|Atlanta}} || Atalantë || Another name for J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional island of Númenor (which is in turn a reference to the sinking of Atlantis). This may also be an intentional misspelling of "Atlanta".<br />
|-<br />
| BAE || {{w|Barcelonnette – Saint-Pons Airfield|Barcelonnette}} || {{w|Beijing}} || Beijing is the capital of China. Its airport has the IATA code PEK (possibly from Peking, alternate former spelling of its name). "Bae" is a slang term meaning girlfriend, boyfriend, or significant other.<br />
|-<br />
| BLT || {{w|<br />
Blackwater Airport|Blackwater}} || {{w|Baltimore}} || A "BLT" is a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.<br />
|-<br />
| BUF || Buffalo || Sunnydale || {{w|Sunnydale}} is a fictional California city that serves as the primary setting for '''''Buf'''fy the Vampire Slayer''.<br />
|-<br />
| CLT || Charlotte || [CENSORED] || The censored word may be "clitoris." Randall has used this word in the comic before ([[243: Appropriate Term]]), but it is censored here for comic effect.<br />
|-<br />
| DFW || Dallas/Fort Worth || Down For Whatever || "Down for Whatever" is an expression used to indicate that one is okay with doing whatever his or her friends are doing in a social situation, or whatever comes up during a social situation.<br />
|-<br />
| DTF || not assigned || Dartford || "DTF" is an acronym used to indicate "Down To Fuck". Dartford is a town in Kent, UK, about 10 miles SE of London.<br />
|-<br />
| DTW || {{w|Detroit Metropolitan Airport|Detroit}} || Down To Whatever || See "DFW". "Down to Whatever" could indicate that one is getting on a plane with the intention of being fine with whatever the plane's destination turns out to be.<br />
|-<br />
| DWI || not assigned || Delaware International || "DWI" is an acronym for "Driving While Intoxicated" or "Driving While Impaired." Randall notes in the ''what if?'' book that Delaware has no airports.<br />
|-<br />
| EWR || Newark || Edwards Air Force Base || Edwards Air Force Base (which has the IATA code EDW) is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Lancaster and 15 miles (24 km) east of Rosamond.<br />
|-<br />
| FFS || not assigned || Flagstaff Station || "FFS" is an acronym for "For Fuck's Sake".<br />
|-<br />
| FHQ || not assigned || FHQWHGADS || The string "fhqwhgads" appeared as the sender name in a spam email sent to Strong Bad in the {{w|Homestar Runner}} cartoons; Strong Bad ended up writing a song dedicated to the "character".<br />
|-<br />
| FYI || Fresno Yosemite International || Fayetteville || "FYI" often stands for "For Your Information". Fresno Yosemite International also has the code FAT<br />
|-<br />
| HGM || not assigned || Hogsmeade || {{w|Places_in_Harry_Potter#Hogsmeade|Hogsmeade}} is a fictional location in the ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' series.<br />
|-<br />
| HSV || Huntsville || Huntsville || This is one where Randall and the IATA agree. HSV is better known as the Hue-Saturation-Value color space or German soccer club Hamburger SV. It is also Herpes Simplex Virus, a venereal disease.<br />
|-<br />
| IAD || Washington (Dulles) || Idaho (Boise) || IAD is the symbol for Dulles Int'l Airport (which was originally "DIA" but it was felt that could be confused when hand-written with "DCA", the sign for nearby {{w|Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport}}). The Idaho Falls airport is IDA, while Idaho (Boise) is BOI, so it's unclear why BOI was chosen instead of IDA.<br />
|-<br />
| IUD || Doha || Washington (Dulles) || An "IUD" is an "IntraUterine Device," or form of birth control. Doha is the capital of Qatar in the Middle East and Persian Gulf.<br />
|-<br />
| JFC || not assigned || Jefferson City || "JFC" is an acronym for "Jesus Fucking Christ." JFK is John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York's main airport and one of the most famous in the world.<br />
|-<br />
| KUL || Kuala Lumpur || Kingdom of Loathing || Kingdom of Loathing is an online, browser-based RPG.<br />
|-<br />
| LAX || Los Angeles || Las Angalas || "Las Angalas" is a "Los Angeles" with every vowel replaced with an "a" character. It's sometimes used as a joking nickname for "Los Angeles."<br />
|-<br />
| LOL || Lovelock || Louisville || "LOL" often stands for "Laughing Out Loud".<br />
|-<br />
| MDW || Chicago, IL (Midway) || Midway Atoll || Midway Atoll was the site of one of the most significant World War II Pacific naval battles. Its actual IATA code is MDY.<br />
|-<br />
| MIA || Miami || Colombo, Sri Lanka || MIA is a rapper who is of Sri Lankan heritage. It also frequently stands for "Missing In Action".<br />
|-<br />
| OMW || not assigned || Omaha || Eppley Airfield in East Omaha, Nebraska, has an IATA code of OMA. "OMW" is an acronym for "On My Way."<br />
|-<br />
| ORD || Chicago, IL (O'Hare) || Orlando || O'Hare was once known as Orchard Place/Douglas Field, hence ORD<br />
|-<br />
| PDX || Portland || Pordlanx || Consider how LAX has a random "X" at the end. And "ORD" is an actual IATA code. Randall messes with "Portland" here in much the same way.<br />
|-<br />
| PHL || Philadelphia, PA || Pittsburgh || Pittsburgh International Airport has a IATA code of PIT. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the two largest cities in Pennsylvania and are at opposite ends of the state.<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Diego || San Diego<br>San Juan<br>San Jose<br>San Francisco<br>San Antonio || San Diego International Airport has SAN; nearby airports include Montgomery Field (MYF), MCAS Miramar (NKX), NAS North Island (NZY), Brown Field (SDM), and Gillespie Field (SEE)<br>There are several cities named San Jose. Their airport codes: Puerto Rico: SJU and SIG. Argentina: UAQ. California, USA: SJC. Costa Rica: SJO. Mexico: SJD. Philippines: SJI<br>SFO<br>SAT<br><br />
|-<br />
| SEA || Seattle/Tacoma or SeaTac || [Indicates Water Landing] || This is possibly a reference to the fact that "SEA" could be interpreted as "Sea". Like some other major airports (e.g., {{w|San Francisco International Airport}} and {{w|LaGuardia Airport}}), SEA is very close to a large body of water, in SeaTac's case {{w|Puget Sound}}: thus, missing the airport may end up in a water landing. SeaTac is also a city in WA, adjacent to the airport.<br />
|-<br />
| SMH || Sapmanga || Smithfield || "SMH" often stands for "Shaking My Head".<br />
|-<br />
| STL || St. Louis || Silent Hill || Silent Hill is a fictional city appearing in the series of video games and movies with the same name. <br />
|-<br />
| SWF || Newburgh, New York || Sherwood Forest || .swf is the file extension for ShockWave Flash files. "SWF" can also stand for "Single White Female" in personal ads. Sherwood Forest, mentioned in the comic, is known as the forest where Robin Hood's hideout was located. According to the legend among his band of Merry Men there was a single white female, the Maid Marian.<br />
|-<br />
| TBA || Tabibuga || Tribeca || "TBA" often stands for "To Be Announced". Tribeca (original styled TriBeCa) is an area in New York City. Angie Tribeca is an American comedy television series.<br />
|-<br />
| TMI || Tumlingtar || Turkmenistan International || "TMI" often stands for "Too Much Information".<br />
|-<br />
| YYY || Mont-Joli || Toronto Downtown || The small airport in downtown Toronto is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which has an IATA code of YTZ.<br />
|-<br />
| YYZ || Toronto || Toronto Pearson || This one is correct. The band Rush is from Toronto and named an instrumental song after the airport call sign. See {{w|YYZ (instrumental)}}<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
The title text is a pun about the abbreviation ''IATA'' stating it stands for '''I'''nternational '''A'''irpor'''T''' '''A'''bbreviation. This is wrong as everything else here because the real ''International Air Transport Association'' is not an organization only responsible for abbreviations in aviation.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A list with abbreviations and their meaning is shown in two columns.]<br />
<br />
:[On top left the header reads:]<br />
:Confused by those airport abbreviations used by your friends who fly a lot? Just memorize this list.<br />
<br />
:[On top right some social media conversation is shown:]<br />
:I'm flying into EWR tonight, then DTW tomorrow.<br />
:[Answer (in blue):]<br />
:Ok, cool. I definitely know what those mean without Googling.<br />
<br />
:[The list:]<br />
:{| class="wikitable style=border:none;"| <br />
|-<br />
| AMD || Amsterdam<br />
| TMI || Turkmenistan International<br />
|-<br />
| BAE || Beijing<br />
| LAX || Las Angalas<br />
|-<br />
| ORD || Orlando<br />
| EWR || Edwards Air Force Base<br />
|-<br />
| IAD || Idaho (Boise)<br />
| PHL || Pittsburgh<br />
|-<br />
| JFC || Jefferson City<br />
| SWF || Sherwood Forest<br />
|-<br />
| IUD || Washington Dulles<br />
| KUL || Kingdom of Loathing<br />
|-<br />
| FYI || Fayetteville<br />
| STL || Silent Hill<br />
|-<br />
| LOL || Louisville<br />
| BUF || Sunnydale<br />
|-<br />
| ATL || Atalante<br />
| TBA || Tribeca<br />
|-<br />
| HGM || Hogsmeade<br />
| SMH || Smithfield<br />
|-<br />
| OMW || Omaha<br />
| BLT || Baltimore<br />
|-<br />
| ANC || Ankh-Morpork<br />
| YYY || Toronto Downtown<br />
|-<br />
| HSV || Hunstville<br />
| YYZ || Toronto Pearson<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Diego<br />
| MIA || Colombo, Sri Lanka<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Juan<br />
| CLT || Censored<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Jose<br />
| FHQ || Fhqwhgads<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Francisco<br />
| FFS || Flagstaff Station<br />
|-<br />
| SAN || San Antonio<br />
| DTF || Dartford<br />
|-<br />
| DWI || Delaware International<br />
| MDW || Midway Atoll<br />
|-<br />
| DFW || Down for Whatever<br />
| PDX || Pordlanx<br />
|-<br />
| DTW || Down to Whatever<br />
| SEA || Indicates Water Landing<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Puns]]</div>108.162.238.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1844:_Voting_Systems&diff=1406131844: Voting Systems2017-06-01T19:55:06Z<p>108.162.238.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1844<br />
| date = May 31, 2017<br />
| title = Voting Systems<br />
| image = voting_systems.png<br />
| titletext = Kenneth Arrow hated me because the ordering of my preferences changes based on which voting systems have what level of support. But it tells me a lot about the people I'm going to be voting with!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Here we have basically two explanations which have to be merged.}}<br />
<br />
This comic references three types of voting systems:<br />
<br />
1) '''{{w|Approval voting}}''': Approval voting is a single-winner electoral system. Each voter may "approve" of (i.e., select) any number of candidates. The winner is the most-approved candidate.<br />
<br />
2) '''{{w|Instant-runoff voting}}''': In Instant-Runoff Voting (also known as Ranked Choice or Preferential Voting) voters in elections can rank the candidates in order of preference. Ballots are initially counted for each elector's top choice. If a candidate secures more than half of these votes, that candidate wins. Otherwise, the candidate in last place is eliminated and removed from consideration. The top remaining choices on all the ballots are then counted again. This process repeats until one candidate is the top remaining choice of a majority of the voters.<br />
<br />
3) '''{{w|Condorcet method}}''': A '''Condorcet method''' is any single-winner electoral system that elects the candidate that would win a majority of the vote in all of the head-to-head elections against each of the other candidates, whenever there is such a candidate. A candidate with this property is called the Condorcet winner. Due to the {{w|Condorcet paradox}}, there may not be a Condorcet winner in an election with 3 or more candidates.<br />
<br />
'''{{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}''' gives a list of criteria for ranked voting electoral systems and states that no system can satisfy all of them at once, despite that for each of them it may seem "obvious" that an electoral system ought to satisfy it.<br />
<br />
The primary joke in the comic is the premise that people who are pedantic or knowledgeable enough to find Arrow's theorem to be relevant will self-fulfill the theorem by being inclined to disagree on any effort to change the voting system. They agree that the currently-used method of first past the post (FPTP, aka plurality voting) is clearly the wrong way to implement democracy, but they strongly disagree on what should replace it. This is illustrated by Cueball's voting system preference that is contingent on essentially disagreeing with the preferences of other people, which defeats any effort to produce a community-wide ranking.<br />
<br />
A secondary joke in the comic is that often voters don't pick their favorite choice in a vote, because voting strategically for a less favorable choice may prevent their least favorite choice from being selected. This is the kind of situation these voting systems are designed to eliminate, as a traditional FPTP voting system creates situations where people do not vote for their first-choice candidate.<br />
<br />
A third joke is the idea of having to vote for a voting system creates its own paradox, particularly given that one of the candidates (Condorcet method) would itself stipulate that it may not (logically consistently) win in the situation that it is being proposed in (3 or more candidates).<br />
<br />
The title text stipulates that Cueball has no fixed ranking of preference for human candidates, but makes this choice dependent on which voting system is favoured by the group. This exceeds strategic voting considerations as the ranking should have full information, whom Cueball prefers in each situation. Therefore Arrow's impossibility theorem and the analysis behind it assume the ranked preferences of an individual voter as a fixed given. To make them dependent on the voting system makes assessing the efficacy of the voting systems absurd or at least much more complicated to do as a general assessment. That is given as the reason, why Arrow would wholeheartedly hate him.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat and Ponytail are standing on either side of Cueball who is talking while lifting one hand.] <br />
:Cueball: I prefer approval voting, but if we're seriously considering instant runoff, then I'll argue for a Condorcet method instead.<br />
<br />
:[Caption beneath the panel:] <br />
:Strong Arrow's theorem: The people who find Arrow's theorem significant will never agree on anything anyway.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>108.162.238.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1844:_Voting_Systems&diff=1406121844: Voting Systems2017-06-01T19:54:10Z<p>108.162.238.65: /* Explanation */ "less favorite" doesn't make sense</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1844<br />
| date = May 31, 2017<br />
| title = Voting Systems<br />
| image = voting_systems.png<br />
| titletext = Kenneth Arrow hated me because the ordering of my preferences changes based on which voting systems have what level of support. But it tells me a lot about the people I'm going to be voting with!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Here we have basically two explanations which have to be merged.}}<br />
<br />
This comic references three types of voting systems:<br />
<br />
1) '''{{w|Approval voting}}''': Approval voting is a single-winner electoral system. Each voter may "approve" of (i.e., select) any number of candidates. The winner is the most-approved candidate.<br />
<br />
2) '''{{w|Instant-runoff voting}}''': In Instant-Runoff Voting (also known as Ranked Choice or Preferential Voting) voters in elections can rank the candidates in order of preference. Ballots are initially counted for each elector's top choice. If a candidate secures more than half of these votes, that candidate wins. Otherwise, the candidate in last place is eliminated and removed from consideration. The top remaining choices on all the ballots are then counted again. This process repeats until one candidate is the top remaining choice of a majority of the voters.<br />
<br />
3) '''{{w|Condorcet method}}''': A '''Condorcet method''' is any single-winner electoral system that elects the candidate that would win a majority of the vote in all of the head-to-head elections against each of the other candidates, whenever there is such a candidate. A candidate with this property is called the Condorcet winner. Due to the {{w|Condorcet paradox}}, there may not be a Condorcet winner in an election with 3 or more candidates.<br />
<br />
'''{{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}''' gives a list of criteria for ranked voting electoral systems and states that no system can satisfy all of them at once, despite that for each of them it may seem "obvious" that an electoral system ought to satisfy it.<br />
<br />
The primary joke in the comic is the premise that people who are pedantic or knowledgeable enough to find Arrow's theorem to be relevant will self-fulfill the theorem by being inclined to disagree on any effort to change the voting system. They agree that the currently-used method of first past the post (FPTP, aka plurality voting) is clearly the wrong way to implement democracy, but they strongly disagree on what should replace it. This is illustrated by Cueball's voting system preference that is contingent on essentially disagreeing with the preferences of other people, which defeats any effort to produce a community-wide ranking.<br />
<br />
A secondary joke in the comic is that often voters don't pick their favorite choice in a vote, because voting strategically for a less favored choice may prevent their least favorite choice from being selected. This is the kind of situation these voting systems are designed to eliminate, as a traditional FPTP voting system creates situations where people do not vote for their first-choice candidate.<br />
<br />
A third joke is the idea of having to vote for a voting system creates its own paradox, particularly given that one of the candidates (Condorcet method) would itself stipulate that it may not (logically consistently) win in the situation that it is being proposed in (3 or more candidates).<br />
<br />
The title text stipulates that Cueball has no fixed ranking of preference for human candidates, but makes this choice dependent on which voting system is favoured by the group. This exceeds strategic voting considerations as the ranking should have full information, whom Cueball prefers in each situation. Therefore Arrow's impossibility theorem and the analysis behind it assume the ranked preferences of an individual voter as a fixed given. To make them dependent on the voting system makes assessing the efficacy of the voting systems absurd or at least much more complicated to do as a general assessment. That is given as the reason, why Arrow would wholeheartedly hate him.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat and Ponytail are standing on either side of Cueball who is talking while lifting one hand.] <br />
:Cueball: I prefer approval voting, but if we're seriously considering instant runoff, then I'll argue for a Condorcet method instead.<br />
<br />
:[Caption beneath the panel:] <br />
:Strong Arrow's theorem: The people who find Arrow's theorem significant will never agree on anything anyway.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>108.162.238.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1812:_Onboarding&diff=1374221812: Onboarding2017-03-17T04:53:35Z<p>108.162.238.65: Went into the categories and did a business.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1812<br />
| date = March 17, 2017<br />
| title = Onboarding<br />
| image = onboarding.png<br />
| titletext = 'So we just have a steady flow of metal piling up in our server room? Isn't that a problem?' 'Yeah, you should bring that up at our next bismuth meeting.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|}}<br />
<br />
<br />
This is another in the series of Beret's mysterious business in which Beret shows ponytail around the building in which the company resides after she is hired. <br />
<br />
In the first panel he shows her the building and acknowledges that the world will eventually crumble into the soil in the classic strangeness of science. Beret guy continues by showing Ponytail the free bike share which isn't owned by the company and is just some guy's bikes being used.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>108.162.238.65