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explain xkcd - User contributions [en]
2024-03-29T00:10:39Z
User contributions
MediaWiki 1.30.0
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2353:_Hurricane_Hunters&diff=196708
2353: Hurricane Hunters
2020-09-03T00:33:44Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2353<br />
| date = August 31, 2020<br />
| title = Hurricane Hunters<br />
| image = hurricane_hunters.png<br />
| titletext = Our flight gathered valuable data on whether a commercial airliner in the eye of a hurricane can do a loop.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
The comic strip opens with [[Black Hat]] explaining to [[Cueball]] (who is presumed to be some government official) that flying into hurricanes, while risky, provides valuable scientific data. Although the {{w|Eye (cyclone)|eye}} itself is relatively calm, it is surrounded by the '''eyewall''', a region of extremely intense thunderstorms. Thus, the danger of flying through such storms must be carefully weighed against the scientific knowledge being gained. In the real world, such missions are conducted by highly-trained pilots with specialized aircraft, such as the {{w|NOAA Hurricane Hunters}} and the US Air Force's {{w|53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron}} (also nicknamed "Hurricane Hunters").<br />
<br />
However, Cueball's comment in the third panel shows that Black Hat is not discussing the activity of hurricane hunting in general, but rather is attempting to justify his decision to fly a passenger jet through the eye of a hurricane (perhaps {{w|Hurricane Laura}}, which was active during the week prior to this comic strip's publication). Passenger airliners are not meant to fly into hurricanes{{Citation needed}}, and can easily crash there. It's not clear if Black Hat is (somehow) a jet pilot himself, or has come into ownership of an airline and was merely directing a flight, but the passengers wanted to go to St. Louis, Missouri, which is [https://www.homefacts.com/hurricanes/Missouri/St.-Louis-City-County/St.-Louis.html only very rarely struck by hurricanes] (although [https://www.homefacts.com/tornadoes/Missouri/St.-Louis-City-County/St.-Louis.html tornadoes are of greater concern]), so they were certainly not expecting to "participate" in a hurricane hunting mission. Black Hat replies that, instead of being upset, the passengers should be proud of their contributions to meteorology, but their contribution is probably negligible, as they were not actively collecting useful scientific data.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Black Hat says that their flight gathered data on the ''possibility'' of making loops in the eye of the hurricane by passenger airliners, but if it had ''actually done'' a loop, he probably would have said so. (The Boeing 707 ''was'' made to successfully execute a barrel roll and fly inverted [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/60-years-ago-the-famous-boeing-707-barrel-roll-over-lake-washington/ during a 1955 test flight], but probably no commercial jetliner could perform any advanced aerobatic maneuvers under load.) It is possible that this is his justification of why the flight contributed to meteorology. However, passenger airliners' abilities to do loops has nothing to do with that field of science. Moreover, the same data could be gathered by flying the same airliner without passengers, or with willing ones.<br />
<br />
Black Hat represents a class of esoteric hackers that are usually snapped up for their skills by security organizations and/or organized crime rather than being sent to prison for what they have done.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Black hat facing left]<br />
:Black Hat: Yes, flying into the eye of a hurricane is dangerous.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball on left at a desk being addressed by Black Hat on the right]<br />
:Black Hat: But it provides us with crucial data that helps us understand and predict these storms.<br />
<br />
:[Same as previous cell, with Black Hat raising his hand]<br />
:Cueball: But your passengers had bought tickets to St. Louis.<br />
:Black Hat: They should be ''proud'' of our contributions to meteorology!<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
:Everything on Cueball's desk has gone missing in panel 3.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Hurricanes]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2338:_Faraday_Tour&diff=195250
2338: Faraday Tour
2020-07-28T00:25:30Z
<p>162.158.62.119: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2338<br />
| date = July 28, 2020<br />
| title = Faraday Tour<br />
| image = faraday_tour.png<br />
| titletext = I asked them if it was safe to be running tours during the pandemic. They said, "During the what?"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FARADAY SUPERFAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A {{w|Faraday cage}} blocks {{w|Electromagnetic field|electromagnetic transmission}} into and out of the cage area. Attempting to {{w|Live streaming|livestream}} a walk through such a cage would (theoretically, at least) cause the streamer's cell signal to drop out completely, resulting in the loading wheel show in panels three and four. "Smash that [foo] button" is a typical command given by YouTubers to watchers, asking to like the video or subscribe to their channel if they liked the video, ultimately to boost the creator's popularity.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The joke is that as they don’t get cell service in the cage, the owners would be unaware of global events. This assumes that the owners and workers solely live inside the Faraday Cage.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Close-up on streamer]<br />
:Streamer: Hey there superfans, welcome to the livecast!<br />
:[Streamer walks toward an opening in a large building]<br />
:Streamer: Got a real treat for you today: a tour of the world's largest Faraday cage! C'mon, let's check it-<br />
:[two panels of a "loading" spinner]<br />
:[Streamer exits the building]<br />
:Streamer: -was ''so cool!'' Wow!! Thanks for coming along, and don't forget to smash that like button!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
It would be cool to know where the largest Faraday cage is. I Googled the question, but aside from a claim that a certain cage is the largest in Europe (made in an article that gives a security error when I click in the link) I can't find any claimants. -[[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 00:23, 28 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[[Category:COVID-19]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2338:_Faraday_Tour&diff=195248
2338: Faraday Tour
2020-07-28T00:23:31Z
<p>162.158.62.119: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2338<br />
| date = July 28, 2020<br />
| title = Faraday Tour<br />
| image = faraday_tour.png<br />
| titletext = I asked them if it was safe to be running tours during the pandemic. They said, "During the what?"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FARADAY SUPERFAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A {{w|Faraday cage}} blocks {{w|Electromagnetic field|electromagnetic transmission}} into and out of the cage area. Attempting to {{w|Live streaming|livestream}} a walk through such a cage would (theoretically, at least) cause the streamer's cell signal to drop out completely, resulting in the loading wheel show in panels three and four. "Smash that [foo] button" is a typical command given by YouTubers to watchers, asking to like the video or subscribe to their channel if they liked the video, ultimately to boost the creator's popularity.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The joke is that as they don’t get cell service in the cage, the owners would be unaware of global events. This assumes that the owners and workers solely live inside the Faraday Cage.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1627:_Woosh&diff=194656
Talk:1627: Woosh
2020-07-14T16:37:14Z
<p>162.158.62.119: </p>
<hr />
<div>Looking for a joke that isn't there sounds a lot like [http://xkcd.com/559 xkcd.com/559]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.140|162.158.2.140]] 05:43, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Woooosh! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.181|108.162.245.181]] 05:48, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Woosh {{{unsigned ip|108.162.245.131}}<br />
<br />
::::::'''Woof''' ''(Guess my bot still needs some work)'' [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.131|162.158.153.131]] 08:41, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If it was a joke video that was never meant to be real to begin with and the commenter didn't realize this, then woosh would actually make sense [[User:Figvh|Figvh]] ([[User talk:Figvh|talk]])<br />
<br />
:Woosh[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 10:32, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Probably in reaction to a video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEI-iDxfj0M] that gained notoriety this week and raised a big discussion whether is was spontaneous or enacted.<br />
[[User:Duartix|Duartix]] ([[User talk:Duartix|talk]]) 11:16, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
* You mean [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pxkboPjn8c]? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:53, 10 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Of course bots that auto-reply to comments can have problems of their own. Let Reddit's [http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/925/182/df3.png lolpenisbot] be a cautionary tale.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.203|162.158.152.203]] 21:26, 8 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Woosh [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 17:52, 9 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Woosh [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 17:52, 9 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Woosh [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 17:52, 9 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic seems to promote the same behaviour that he criticizes in [https://xkcd.com/481/ xkcd.com/481], [https://xkcd.com/810/ xkcd.com/810], [https://xkcd.com/1258/ xkcd.com/1258], and i'm sure others. I've seen a great deal of 'wooshing' in the past couple days, hopefully this disservice to the internet doesn't last.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.131|162.158.152.131]] 11:12, 9 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Woosh [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:29, 9 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Are you for real?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.41|199.27.133.41]] 23:31, 10 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
::: I'm taking a screenshot so I can remember this moment forever. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.76|108.162.238.76]] 05:10, 15 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcdwooshbot/ It now exists. Might we add this as a note on the article? [[User:Wolf9400|Wolf9400]]<br />
:Maybe in a trivia section? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 00:22, 14 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, isn't this exactly the reason why explainxkcd.com exists? To look for non-existent hidden jokes in xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.149|108.162.214.149]] 10:44, 20 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Comment of the year.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.34|108.162.216.34]] 20:00, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Woosh [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 16:37, 14 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think I've found something even more amazing that "woosh" that can confuse people WAY more. Ever heard of {{w|0x10c|0x10c?}} Try typing that on a social network like Candid and see what happens. People get so confused. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 17:15, 10 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:0x10c[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.21|108.162.242.21]] 14:28, 1 November 2019 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2326:_Five_Word_Jargon&diff=194040
Talk:2326: Five Word Jargon
2020-06-29T22:04:05Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* Approximate nonnegative matrix factorization algorithms */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
== Approximate nonnegative matrix factorization algorithms ==<br />
<br />
That's all. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 22:04, 29 June 2020 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1899:_Ears&diff=193445
1899: Ears
2020-06-14T17:55:36Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1899<br />
| date = October 6, 2017<br />
| title = Ears<br />
| image = ears.png<br />
| titletext = My theory is that most humans have been colonized with alien mind-control slugs that hold the earbuds for them, and the ones who can't wear earbuds are the only surviving free ones.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are sitting in a park together and appear to be cloudwatching. Cueball asks if Megan has ever looked up in the sky and wondered, suggesting that he is thinking deep thoughts while allowing his mind to wander, what "normal" people's ears are shaped like; that their earbuds stay fitted inside their ears instead of falling off. It is possible, but not evident, that Cueball is listening to some audio device through {{w|Headphones#Ear-fitting headphones|earbuds}}, and his wondering is caused because he looked up at the sky and they fell out, leading to his thoughts about what it would be like to have "normal shaped ears" that would allow him to wear earbuds without this happening. (This joke is directed towards a large group of people who cannot use earbuds successfully because they fall out.) Megan's response could either be making fun of Cueball (whatever goes on in his head with the random conversation points he tends to bring up) or agreeing with him that earbud wearers' ears are mysterious.<br />
<br />
The comic appears to be a variation on a famous and often-quoted fragment from {{w|Voltaire}}'s satirical novella ''{{w|Candide}}'', wherein Dr. Pangloss states that we live in '{{w|the best of all possible worlds}}', among other reasons because '…noses were made to wear spectacles, and so we have spectacles'.<br />
<br />
The title text is a play on conspiracy theories wherein the human race is being assimilated by aliens, and the person coming up with the conspiracy theory thinks he is one of the few "free" survivors. The use of "brain slugs" in particular may be a reference to the ''{{w|Animorphs}}'' book series, a nostalgic favorite of Randall's, in which humanity is being colonized by parasitic alien slugs called [http://animorphs.wikia.com/wiki/Yeerk Yeerks], that enter a human's brain through the ears and can control them. Randall/Cueball here is suggesting that the reason most humans can wear earbuds is because the Yeerks hold the earbuds in place.<br />
<br />
Another possibility, given the earbud/music reference, is that Randall is making a joke about {{w|earworm}}s.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting with his back towards Megan who is lying on her back on a grassy hill. Both are looking up at a sky with small puffy clouds (one large, two small, and four tiny). In the background fields are visible below their vantage point.]<br />
<br />
:[Same setting, but with the clouds removed, to make room for Cueball's text.]<br />
:Cueball: Do you ever just look up at the sky and wonder...<br />
<br />
:[Same setting, zoomed a bit out to make more of the background fields visible, still with the clouds missing due to the text from the two people.]<br />
:Cueball: "What are normal peoples' ears shaped like, that earbuds stay in without falling out?"<br />
:Megan: Man, who ''knows'' what's going on in there.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Animorphs]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2319:_Large_Number_Formats&diff=193352
2319: Large Number Formats
2020-06-13T04:01:30Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* Explanation */ updated software developer explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2319<br />
| date = June 12, 2020<br />
| title = Large Number Formats<br />
| image = large number formats-2.png<br />
| titletext = 10^13.4024: A person who has come back to numbers after a journey deep into some random theoretical field<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows how different people express large numbers. This number in question is approximately the distance to the planet Jupiter in inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm).<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Number<br />
! Type of person<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 25,259,974,097,204<br />
| Normal Person<br />
| This is the full number, written out in the normal fashion, with commas to indicate powers of 1000. Note that this convention is only considered normal in the western world; conventions for writing large numbers in full vary considerably across cultures. For example, under the {{w|Indian numbering system}}, this number would be written as 25,25,997,40,97,204.<br />
|-<br />
| 25 Trillion<br />
| Normal Person<br />
| This is the number, rounded to trillions in the normal fashion.<br />
|-<br />
| 25 Billion<br />
| Old British Person<br />
| In current English usage, across the anglophonic world with some hold-outs, an n-illion means 10^(3n+3) as per the {{w|short scale}} system popularised by American influence in international trade, so a trillion means 10^12, as above. However, older British English use had an n-illion meaning 10^(6n) (i.e. the simpler calculation of ''million^n''), so a billion meant 10^12. The change stems from a 1974 commitment by Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister of the UK at the time, to change from the {{w|long scale}} (previously often described as the British system) to the short one for all official purposes.<br />
<br />
Though not instantly widely adopted for common usage, the mid-'70s could therefore be considered the key turning point between when an older or younger British person learns (as the change filters through the system at various stages of education) what their "Billion"s and "Trillion"s are supposed to represent.<br />
<br />
(The 1971 transition to decimalised currency may also date a person's experiences, but was a more comprehensive and immediate change for everyone who handled any money at all, in the UK, and thus was a more definite point of change apart from the extended survival of the "12 times table" being taught by rote in primary education, rather than ending at the 10s.)<br />
<br />
As well as 'traditionalist' British use, the Long Scale is widely used in the non-anglophone world, in local language versions, though while the British system tended to infill n-and-a-half powers of the million with the term "thousand n-illion", the suffix "-illi''ard''", or equivalent, is often used for the thousands multiple directly atop the respective "-illion" point.<br />
|-<br />
|2.526x10<sup>13</sup><br />
|Scientist<br />
|This number is formatted in {{w|scientific notation}}, using the exponent 10<sup>13</sup>.<br />
|-<br />
| 2.525997x10<sup>13</sup><br />
| Scientist trying to avoid rounding up<br />
| Using as many decimal places as necessary until hitting a digit (0-4) that results in rounding down, even if it goes against the common scientific practice of reporting the correct amount of "significant figures". A previous version of the comic had a typo (the number was ''2.5997x10<sup>13</sup>''), but Randall updated the comic.<br />
|-<br />
| 2.526e13 or<br />
2.526*10^13<br />
| Software developer <br />
| Computer code cannot typically use the superscripts or other types of rich text formatting, so the exponent is indicated with the {{w|caret}}. "e13" is a common shorthand way of saying "ten to the power of 13".<br />
|-<br />
| 25,259,973,541,888<br />
| Software developer who forgot about floats<br />
| This is the number after being converted to the limited precision of a {{w|32-bit floating point|32-bit float}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 10<sup>13</sup><br />
| Astronomer<br />
| For extremely large distances, astronomers typically only care about orders of magnitude, i.e. 10<sup>13</sup>, not 10<sup>12</sup> or 10<sup>14</sup>. Randall often jokes about the lack of precision needed by astronomers, such as in that one xkcd (#[[2205]]) where the astronomer-cosmologist is equally willing to make pi equal to one, or ten. The original number is rounded to the nearest power of ten.<br />
|-<br />
| {∅,{∅},{∅,{∅}},{∅,{∅},{...<br />
| Set theorist<br />
| In Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, the natural numbers are defined recursively by letting 0 = ∅ (the {{w|empty set}}), and ''n'' + 1 = ''n'' ∪ {''n''}. So, every natural number ''n'' is the set of all natural numbers less than ''n'', and since 0 is defined as the empty set, all numbers are nested sets of empty sets.<br />
|-<br />
| 1,262,998,704,860 score and four<br />
| Abraham Lincoln<br />
| In the {{W|Gettysburg Address}}, Lincoln speaks the number "87" as "four score and seven" ("score" meaning "20"). The original number is rewritten in "score" (multiples of 20) plus a remainder (four).<br />
|-<br />
| 10^13.4024 ''(title text)''<br />
| A person who has come back to numbers after a journey deep into some random theoretical field<br />
| In some fields of mathematics, especially those dealing with very {{w|large numbers}}, numbers are sometimes represented by raising ten (or some other convenient base) to an oddly precise power, to facilitate comparison of their magnitudes without filling up pages upon pages of digits. An example of this is {{w|Skewes's number}}, which is formally calculated to be ''e''<sup>''e''<sup>''e''<sup>79</sup></sup></sup>, but is more commonly approximated as 10<sup>10<sup>10<sup>34</sup></sup></sup>. 13.4024 is the {{w|common logarithm}} of 25,259,974,097,204 (log<sub>10</sub> 25,259,974,097,204 = 13.4024329009), thus this "format" is mathematically correctly, but not commonly, used.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A panel only with text. At the top there is four lines of explanatory text. Below that there are 5 rows of number formats. There are 2 columns in each row. Each numerical format is in red, with black text explaining the format below it.]<br />
<br />
:<big>What the way you write large</big><br />
:<big>numbers says about you</big><br />
:(Using the approximate current distance<br />
:to Jupiter in inches as an example)<br />
<br />
:[First row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25,259,974,097,204</span><br />
:Normal person<br />
:<span style="color:red">25 trillion</span><br />
:Normal person<br />
<br />
:[Second row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25 billion</span><br />
:Old British person<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.526x10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Scientist<br />
<br />
:[Third row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.525997x10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Scientist trying to avoid rounding up<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.526e13 or<br>2.526*10^13</span><br />
:Software developer<br />
<br />
:[Fourth row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25,259,973,541,888</span><br />
:Software developer who forgot about floats<br />
:<span style="color:red">10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Astronomer<br />
<br />
:[Fifth row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">{0,{0},{0,{0}},{0,{0},{...</span><br />
:Set theorist<br />
:<span style="color:red">1,262,998,704,860<br>score and four</span><br />
:Abraham Lincoln<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category: Programming]]<br />
[[Category: Math]]<br />
[[Category: Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category: Science]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2319:_Large_Number_Formats&diff=193351
2319: Large Number Formats
2020-06-13T03:57:12Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* Explanation */ Explained set theorist</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2319<br />
| date = June 12, 2020<br />
| title = Large Number Formats<br />
| image = large number formats-2.png<br />
| titletext = 10^13.4024: A person who has come back to numbers after a journey deep into some random theoretical field<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows how different people express large numbers. This number in question is approximately the distance to the planet Jupiter in inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm).<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Number<br />
! Type of person<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 25,259,974,097,204<br />
| Normal Person<br />
| This is the full number, written out in the normal fashion, with commas to indicate powers of 1000. Note that this convention is only considered normal in the western world; conventions for writing large numbers in full vary considerably across cultures. For example, under the {{w|Indian numbering system}}, this number would be written as 25,25,997,40,97,204.<br />
|-<br />
| 25 Trillion<br />
| Normal Person<br />
| This is the number, rounded to trillions in the normal fashion.<br />
|-<br />
| 25 Billion<br />
| Old British Person<br />
| In current English usage, across the anglophonic world with some hold-outs, an n-illion means 10^(3n+3) as per the {{w|short scale}} system popularised by American influence in international trade, so a trillion means 10^12, as above. However, older British English use had an n-illion meaning 10^(6n) (i.e. the simpler calculation of ''million^n''), so a billion meant 10^12. The change stems from a 1974 commitment by Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister of the UK at the time, to change from the {{w|long scale}} (previously often described as the British system) to the short one for all official purposes.<br />
<br />
Though not instantly widely adopted for common usage, the mid-'70s could therefore be considered the key turning point between when an older or younger British person learns (as the change filters through the system at various stages of education) what their "Billion"s and "Trillion"s are supposed to represent.<br />
<br />
(The 1971 transition to decimalised currency may also date a person's experiences, but was a more comprehensive and immediate change for everyone who handled any money at all, in the UK, and thus was a more definite point of change apart from the extended survival of the "12 times table" being taught by rote in primary education, rather than ending at the 10s.)<br />
<br />
As well as 'traditionalist' British use, the Long Scale is widely used in the non-anglophone world, in local language versions, though while the British system tended to infill n-and-a-half powers of the million with the term "thousand n-illion", the suffix "-illi''ard''", or equivalent, is often used for the thousands multiple directly atop the respective "-illion" point.<br />
|-<br />
|2.526x10<sup>13</sup><br />
|Scientist<br />
|This number is formatted in {{w|scientific notation}}, using the exponent 10<sup>13</sup>.<br />
|-<br />
| 2.525997x10<sup>13</sup><br />
| Scientist trying to avoid rounding up<br />
| Using as many decimal places as necessary until hitting a digit (0-4) that results in rounding down, even if it goes against the common scientific practice of reporting the correct amount of "significant figures". A previous version of the comic had a typo (the number was ''2.5997x10<sup>13</sup>''), but Randall updated the comic.<br />
|-<br />
| 2.526e13 or<br />
2.526*10^13<br />
| Software developer <br />
| Software code cannot use the 10<sup>13</sup> format, so the exponent is represented as "e13" or "*10^13".<br />
|-<br />
| 25,259,973,541,888<br />
| Software developer who forgot about floats<br />
| This is the number after being converted to the limited precision of a {{w|32-bit floating point|32-bit float}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 10<sup>13</sup><br />
| Astronomer<br />
| For extremely large distances, astronomers typically only care about orders of magnitude, i.e. 10<sup>13</sup>, not 10<sup>12</sup> or 10<sup>14</sup>. Randall often jokes about the lack of precision needed by astronomers, such as in that one xkcd (#[[2205]]) where the astronomer-cosmologist is equally willing to make pi equal to one, or ten. The original number is rounded to the nearest power of ten.<br />
|-<br />
| {∅,{∅},{∅,{∅}},{∅,{∅},{...<br />
| Set theorist<br />
| In Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, the natural numbers are defined recursively by letting 0 = ∅ (the {{w|empty set}}), and ''n'' + 1 = ''n'' ∪ {''n''}. So, every natural number ''n'' is the set of all natural numbers less than ''n'', and since 0 is defined as the empty set, all numbers are nested sets of empty sets.<br />
|-<br />
| 1,262,998,704,860 score and four<br />
| Abraham Lincoln<br />
| In the {{W|Gettysburg Address}}, Lincoln speaks the number "87" as "four score and seven" ("score" meaning "20"). The original number is rewritten in "score" (multiples of 20) plus a remainder (four).<br />
|-<br />
| 10^13.4024 ''(title text)''<br />
| A person who has come back to numbers after a journey deep into some random theoretical field<br />
| In some fields of mathematics, especially those dealing with very {{w|large numbers}}, numbers are sometimes represented by raising ten (or some other convenient base) to an oddly precise power, to facilitate comparison of their magnitudes without filling up pages upon pages of digits. An example of this is {{w|Skewes's number}}, which is formally calculated to be ''e''<sup>''e''<sup>''e''<sup>79</sup></sup></sup>, but is more commonly approximated as 10<sup>10<sup>10<sup>34</sup></sup></sup>. 13.4024 is the {{w|common logarithm}} of 25,259,974,097,204 (log<sub>10</sub> 25,259,974,097,204 = 13.4024329009), thus this "format" is mathematically correctly, but not commonly, used.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A panel only with text. At the top there is four lines of explanatory text. Below that there are 5 rows of number formats. There are 2 columns in each row. Each numerical format is in red, with black text explaining the format below it.]<br />
<br />
:<big>What the way you write large</big><br />
:<big>numbers says about you</big><br />
:(Using the approximate current distance<br />
:to Jupiter in inches as an example)<br />
<br />
:[First row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25,259,974,097,204</span><br />
:Normal person<br />
:<span style="color:red">25 trillion</span><br />
:Normal person<br />
<br />
:[Second row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25 billion</span><br />
:Old British person<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.526x10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Scientist<br />
<br />
:[Third row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.525997x10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Scientist trying to avoid rounding up<br />
:<span style="color:red">2.526e13 or<br>2.526*10^13</span><br />
:Software developer<br />
<br />
:[Fourth row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">25,259,973,541,888</span><br />
:Software developer who forgot about floats<br />
:<span style="color:red">10<sup>13</sup></span><br />
:Astronomer<br />
<br />
:[Fifth row:]<br />
:<span style="color:red">{0,{0},{0,{0}},{0,{0},{...</span><br />
:Set theorist<br />
:<span style="color:red">1,262,998,704,860<br>score and four</span><br />
:Abraham Lincoln<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category: Programming]]<br />
[[Category: Math]]<br />
[[Category: Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category: Science]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2319:_Large_Number_Formats&diff=193292
Talk:2319: Large Number Formats
2020-06-12T23:18:01Z
<p>162.158.62.119: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
== Scientist avoiding rounding ==<br />
<br />
Would love an explanation of the scientist avoiding rounding one. Would make sense to me with 2.525997..., but as 2.5997... I'm at a loss!<br />
<br />
<br />
(The above was posted (anonymously?) seconds before I could get mine in, so here it is in the original format.)<br />
<br />
This is probably completely irrelevant but it seems Randall made a small typo when trying to show a "Scientest trying to avoid rounding up."<br />
I assume it should be 2.525997*10^13. It seems he left out a 5 and a 2 and I say such because whether he forgot the 52 or 25 is up for debate.<br />
<br />
Relevant screenshot: [[https://i.imgur.com/NrvOivy.png]]<br />
<br />
Also, if I'm just being completely daft and am missing something completely, please feel free to criticize me harshly and I'll go back to my little hideyhole. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.24|108.162.237.24]] 22:21, 12 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In reality, a scientist would probably say 6.416*10^13 cm. (Although possible counterpoint, this comic is really about the ''number'' 25,259,974,097,204, not the distance 25,259,974,097,204 inches.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.207|172.69.33.207]] 22:47, 12 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I believe the "2.5997" was intentional, or at least I thought it was when reading it. At first I thought it was a typo, but Randall calls that number "Scientist ''trying'' to avoid rounding up" which makes me think Randall intentionally made that "mistake" as if the scientist had accidentally forgotten the first two digits (25) and used the remainder of the number (259974...), rounding it to "2.5997x10^13" [[User:Kirypto|Kirypto]] ([[User talk:Kirypto|talk]]) 23:03, 12 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As a (not so?) old British person, I approve. Let the Trillions come around later, when it's ''worth'' increasing the prefix to "level 3". Don't waste them on the more petty numbers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.122|162.158.155.122]] 23:13, 12 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== "Engineering" notation omitted? ==<br />
<br />
I find it somewhat strange that Randall doesn't offer '''25e12''' or any of those variants ('''25.259...*10^12'''). I feel like a lot of "non-normal" people would map billion to E12 instead of requiring a single digit to the left of the decimal point. shrug [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 23:09, 12 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Actual scientist: ==<br />
"What's an inch?" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 23:18, 12 June 2020 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2314:_Carcinization&diff=192750
Talk:2314: Carcinization
2020-06-01T22:52:46Z
<p>162.158.62.119: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Honestly, what is there to explain here? The only thing I can imagine in this explanation page is an explanation of why carcinization happens, which isn't explaining the comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 22:52, 1 June 2020 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Syndication&diff=187107
Syndication
2020-02-11T06:44:25Z
<p>162.158.62.119: /* List of Changes proposed by Randall */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| date = April 1, 2007<br />
| title = Syndication<br />
| image = syndication.jpg<br />
| ldomain = imgs<br />
| lappend = comics/xkcd_ufs.jpg<br />
| titletext = Complaints should be directed to the xkcd writing staff.<br />
| before = Now that xkcd is carried by United Features Syndicate, there are going to be a few changes to the comic. Obviously, with the rights signed over, it will no longer be published under Creative Commons, and all previous strips will be retroactively un-CC'd and relicensed under UFS terms. All online content will be protected via proprietary DRM. I also recieved a letter outlining topics and content that would be off-limits in the new xkcd. Prohibited content includes:<br />
<br />
- Cultural references that would be lost on the average newspaper reader<br />
<br />
- Mathematics above the high-school level<br />
<br />
- Obscure scientific subjects<br />
<br />
- Overt sexual material<br />
<br />
- Objectionable words such as fuck, shit, cunt, ass, tits, cock, scrotum, bitch, Belgium, pussy, or twat<br />
<br />
- Same-sex relationships<br />
<br />
- Star Wars<br />
<br />
- Star Trek (Original Series and Enterprise)<br />
<br />
- The home phone numbers of White House employees<br />
<br />
- Bacon-based currencies<br />
<br />
- Erotic use of flywheels<br />
<br />
- Exposés regarding other United Features syndicated characters<br />
<br />
- Exposés regarding the personal lives of United Features Syndicate executives, specifically including CEO Kenneth Lowe<br />
<br />
- Teledildonics<br />
<br />
- Portrayals of Johnny Cash as an Amway distributor<br />
<br />
- Any story that ends with "and that's how my penis got the nickname 'grappling hook'."<br />
<br />
- Computer-computer cybersex<br />
<br />
- Swordfights between white people<br />
<br />
- Bitch & Animal<br />
<br />
- Sexualization of Mt. Rushmore<br />
<br />
- Staplers as mélée weapons<br />
<br />
- Road trip buddy comedies starring Tank Girl and William Howard Taft<br />
<br />
- Eric S. Raymond performing in Cirque du Soleil<br />
<br />
- Hats with buckles<br />
<br />
- Licking of nipples atop a moving train<br />
<br />
The internet is the past. Newspapers are the future! See you in the funny papers.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an EROTIC FLYWHEEL. Needs a list explaining all the changes required. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is a non-numbered [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]], and is the first April fools' joke preformed on xkcd. This comic, formatted similarly to other posts such as [[Blue Eyes]]. The post describes xkcd becoming syndicated into a newspaper, changing from a webcomic. Newspapers are notorious for censorship of content, and [[Randall]] describes all the changes that would be required of the comic, the humor coming from their progressive absurdity.<br />
<br />
==List of Changes proposed by Randall==<br />
<br />
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"<br />
! # !! Change !! Explanation !!<br />
|-<br />
! 1<br />
| '''Cultural References that would be lost on the average newspaper reader'''<br />
|xkcd is known for its niche cultural references, one of the main reasons this wiki exists.<br />
|-<br />
! 2<br />
| '''Mathematics above the high-school level'''<br />
|Another trademark of xkcd is its use of mathematics for humor. Simpler mathematics tends to lend itself less well to comedy.<br />
|-<br />
! 3<br />
| '''Obscure scientific subjects'''<br />
|Again, this is a common feature of xkcd comics, which turns off many would-be readers for its exclusivity, making xkcd difficult to syndicate.<br />
|-<br />
! 4<br />
| '''Overt sexual material'''<br />
|xkcd's abstract art style means that it can get away with sexual content without seeming profane, and takes advantage of this often.<br />
|-<br />
! 5<br />
| '''Objectionable words such as {{w|fuck}}, {{w|shit}}, {{w|cunt}}, {{w|ass}}, {{w|tits}}, {{w|cock}}, {{w|scrotum}}, {{w|bitch}}, {{w|Belgium}}, {{w|pussy}}, or {{w|twat}}'''<br />
|Newspaper comics tend to have very "clean" humor, which xkcd's usual writing style is ill suited for. Belgium is the rudest word in the universe according to {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}.<br />
|-<br />
!6<br />
| '''{{w|Same Sex relationships}}'''<br />
|Newspapers are more often read by older people, so same-sex relationships are often absent to avoid conservative backlash.<br />
|-<br />
!7<br />
| '''{{w|Star Wars}}'''<br />
|Star Wars, a common reference in xkcd, is an intellectual property that would need to be licensed, at great expense to United.<br />
|-<br />
!8<br />
| '''{{w|Star Trek}} (Original and Enterprise)'''<br />
|Similar case to Star Wars.<br />
|-<br />
!9<br />
| '''The home phone numbers of {{w|White House}} employees'''<br />
|At this point, the list items begin to become more absurd, tipping more credulous readers off to the joke.<br />
|-<br />
!10<br />
| '''{{w|Bacon}} Based Currencies'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!11<br />
| '''Erotic use of {{w|Flywheels}}'''<br />
|While it is hard to see how one could use Flywheels erotically, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_34_(Internet_meme) there have been attempts].<br />
|-<br />
!12<br />
| '''Exposés regarding other United Features syndicated characters'''<br />
|Here Randall seems to imply that certain (fictional) comic strip characters are involved in scandals, of which he knows the details.<br />
|-<br />
!13<br />
| '''Exposés regarding the personal lives of {{w|United Features Syndicate}} executives, specifically including CEO {{w|Kenneth Lowe}}'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!14<br />
| '''{{w|Teledildonics}}'''<br />
|A form of technology used to have sex remotely, obviously unsuitable for the funnies.<br />
|-<br />
!15<br />
| '''Portrayals of {{w|Johnny Cash}} as an {{w|Amway}} distributor'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!16<br />
| '''Any story that ends with "and that's how my penis got the nickname 'grappling hook'.'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!17<br />
| '''Computer-computer {{w|Cybersex}}'''<br />
|Two chatbots cybering with one another is a plausibly real thing, and an easy target for xkcd.<br />
|-<br />
!18<br />
| '''{{w|Swordfights}} between white people'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!19<br />
| '''{{w|Bitch & Animal}}'''<br />
|A "queercore" gay punk band, never mentioned elsewhere in xkcd.<br />
|-<br />
!20<br />
| '''{{w|Sexualization}} of {{w|Mount Rushmore}}'''<br />
|Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into Mount Rushmore features the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), as for the sexualization of the mountain, See <br />
Number 11<br />
|-<br />
!21<br />
| '''Staplers as mélée weapons'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!22<br />
| '''Road trip buddy comedies starring {{w|Tank Girl}} and {{w|William Howard Taft}}'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!23<br />
| '''{{w|Eric S. Raymond}} performing in {{w|Cirque du Soleil}}'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!24<br />
| '''Hats with buckles'''<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!25<br />
| '''Licking of nipples atop a moving train'''<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A Cueball and his Cueball-like friend are standing in some sort of grassy area.]<br />
:Cueball: Why did the computer cross the road?<br />
:Friend: I don't know.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: I don't know either! Computers are so complicated!<br />
:Friend: LOL!<br />
<br />
:Editor's note: "LOL" is an online acronym for "laughing out loud." It alerts you to something funny, so keep an eye out!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:April fools' comics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics_with_color]]<br />
[[Category:Extra_comics]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2258:_Solar_System_Changes&diff=186388
Talk:2258: Solar System Changes
2020-01-24T15:40:46Z
<p>162.158.62.119: added sig</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
'''Support''' except keep Uranus. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.181|172.68.189.181]] 19:16, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait ... WHAT??? Why isn't Niburu in this???? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.229|162.158.154.229]] 19:22, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
Its similar to https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 19:37, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What Venus has been through<br />
:For "what Venus has been through" see [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/giant-planetary-smashup-may-have-turned-venus-hot-and-hellish-180958377/] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 19:44, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like the transcript is unnecessary because it's wholly redundant with the table here. Anyone object to merging the two sections? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.164|172.69.22.164]] 20:45, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:See the transcript for [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders State Borders]. I think we still need to have a transcript, since the locations of the arrows and other marks aren't made clear in the table. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.27|162.158.74.27]] 20:57, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::We always need the transcript. There should be no explanations in the transcript. It is both for people who need it to "read" the comic, and to be able to search for text from comic. Also the description of the image is relevant, in case there could be misunderstandings of what is on the image. If the transcript gets that wrong, then it can be debated and corrected. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Note that in future, we may be actually able to implement some of those changes ... however, at that point the consolidation of missions to Moon and Mars wouldn't be relevant :-). Also, I would be against: most of those changes would be likely to make our solar system considerably less stable. Except Venus would really deserve some moon. Just small one, it doesn't need to be as big as ours. Also, we should light up Jupiter, to warm it's moons (this is one of {{w|Arthur C. Clarke|Clarke}}'s ideas). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:37, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:If Venus god a Moon it would most likely quickly be ejected by the interactions of the Sun, it is too close to the Sun not to see it as a three body problem, and that will always be chaotic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::"Quickly ejected" is probably an overstatement; even Venus has a significant Hill sphere, and any significant moon would first spiral inward due to losing tidal energy "spinning up" the rotational velocity of Venus (a huge benefit!). the Sun would probably act to make the moon's orbit eccentric & it could either crash into Venus or get ripped away, but I give it half a billion years or more. (but with a bit of curation the moon could give Venus a nice 24 hour day, and with that a magnetic field, who knows!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 15:40, 24 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wow - I only just noticed that "Jaturn" has Saturn's hexagon at the top. Should this be highlighted in the table? After all, it is cool science: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2010-07-06 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.155|162.158.74.155]] 02:04, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, has already been done. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't think the title text has anything to do with anthropomorphism. Rather, there is a person near R. just then who knows stuff about Jupiter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 03:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
: The title text is Randall relaying a quote spoken by someone other than himself, with that person's identity "signed" after the two dashes (kind of like how we usually sign posts with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>). Therefore, it is properly read as "someone (who knows Jupiter is within earshot)", not "(someone who knows Jupiter) is within earshot". If Randall had meant the latter, he would more likely have written something like "To the Jupiter fans: of course Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 04:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: You are correct. The two dashes are indicative of signing a comment. Had Randall intended to comment that someone who knows Jupiter is close by, he would have put the comment in parentheses. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.163|162.158.107.163]] 18:59, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: He may also refer to the God Jupiter, who is the God of sky and thunder, and may easily smite anyone offending him. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.118|141.101.98.118]] 07:42, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::I agree with the first commenter: This is not about anthropomorphism. This is someone who states that Jupiter already has rings, and Randall comes those in advance by mentioning it in the title text. Annoying people who cannot see the difference between Saturn's Rings and other ring systems! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::Honestly, I originally read the title text, got confused due to its wording, and went with the second interpretation ("a Jupiter fan is within earshot and knows about its rings"). However it didn't quite feel right, and reading it again, the first interpretation ("a person knows that an anthropomorphized Jupiter is within earshot and wishes to placate him") makes just as much sense - in fact, grammatically, it makes ''more'' sense, since otherwise you have to suppose that Randall intended this weird combination of speech attribution and stage direction. However, it makes less sense ''in context'', since the comic is talking about real planets and didn't mention gods or anthropomorphized planets at all. Randall simply seems to have been clumsy with his wording. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 09:58, 24 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Someone needs to make a Kopernicus mod in KSP and load it with Principia to see how long it lasts. Assume scales are close to the real one. {{unsigned ip|172.69.63.47}}<br />
<br />
This comic may alternatively be about climate change - something about satire, metaphors, acid rain, super-Earths, current-events, the nature of rings surrounding planets & extinction level events. I don't know. Don't listen to me. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.160}}<br />
:We won't. Sure Randall makes those comics, but this is clearly not one of them. (oh and please sign you comments ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Oh please won't someone calculate the extent of low and high tides if we replace the Moon with Mars? [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 15:15, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
You know, for all my complaints about the Solar System, I always thought Jupiter and Saturn were well-balanced. Each of them has something interesting about it, and we don’t get too much of an overload of features from either one. In order to maintain variety while keeping the number of gas giants to a minimum, I think Neptune should get the rings. Jupiter can keep the moons, though, and otherwise I support this revision. —[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.137|172.69.33.137]] 19:53, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, Neptune already has a very impressive ring system![[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.233|162.158.158.233]] 10:28, 24 January 2020 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2258:_Solar_System_Changes&diff=186387
Talk:2258: Solar System Changes
2020-01-24T15:40:07Z
<p>162.158.62.119: Venus Moon stuff</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
'''Support''' except keep Uranus. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.181|172.68.189.181]] 19:16, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Wait ... WHAT??? Why isn't Niburu in this???? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.229|162.158.154.229]] 19:22, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
Its similar to https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 19:37, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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What Venus has been through<br />
:For "what Venus has been through" see [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/giant-planetary-smashup-may-have-turned-venus-hot-and-hellish-180958377/] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 19:44, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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I feel like the transcript is unnecessary because it's wholly redundant with the table here. Anyone object to merging the two sections? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.164|172.69.22.164]] 20:45, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:See the transcript for [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders State Borders]. I think we still need to have a transcript, since the locations of the arrows and other marks aren't made clear in the table. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.27|162.158.74.27]] 20:57, 22 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::We always need the transcript. There should be no explanations in the transcript. It is both for people who need it to "read" the comic, and to be able to search for text from comic. Also the description of the image is relevant, in case there could be misunderstandings of what is on the image. If the transcript gets that wrong, then it can be debated and corrected. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Note that in future, we may be actually able to implement some of those changes ... however, at that point the consolidation of missions to Moon and Mars wouldn't be relevant :-). Also, I would be against: most of those changes would be likely to make our solar system considerably less stable. Except Venus would really deserve some moon. Just small one, it doesn't need to be as big as ours. Also, we should light up Jupiter, to warm it's moons (this is one of {{w|Arthur C. Clarke|Clarke}}'s ideas). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:37, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:If Venus god a Moon it would most likely quickly be ejected by the interactions of the Sun, it is too close to the Sun not to see it as a three body problem, and that will always be chaotic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::"Quickly ejected" is probably an overstatement; even Venus has a significant Hill sphere, and any significant moon would first spiral inward due to losing tidal energy "spinning up" the rotational velocity of Venus (a huge benefit!). the Sun would probably act to make the moon's orbit eccentric & it could either crash into Venus or get ripped away, but I give it half a billion years or more. (but with a bit of curation the moon could give Venus a nice 24 hour day, and with that a magnetic field, who knows!) <br />
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Wow - I only just noticed that "Jaturn" has Saturn's hexagon at the top. Should this be highlighted in the table? After all, it is cool science: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2010-07-06 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.155|162.158.74.155]] 02:04, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, has already been done. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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I don't think the title text has anything to do with anthropomorphism. Rather, there is a person near R. just then who knows stuff about Jupiter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 03:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
: The title text is Randall relaying a quote spoken by someone other than himself, with that person's identity "signed" after the two dashes (kind of like how we usually sign posts with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>). Therefore, it is properly read as "someone (who knows Jupiter is within earshot)", not "(someone who knows Jupiter) is within earshot". If Randall had meant the latter, he would more likely have written something like "To the Jupiter fans: of course Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 04:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: You are correct. The two dashes are indicative of signing a comment. Had Randall intended to comment that someone who knows Jupiter is close by, he would have put the comment in parentheses. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.163|162.158.107.163]] 18:59, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: He may also refer to the God Jupiter, who is the God of sky and thunder, and may easily smite anyone offending him. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.118|141.101.98.118]] 07:42, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::I agree with the first commenter: This is not about anthropomorphism. This is someone who states that Jupiter already has rings, and Randall comes those in advance by mentioning it in the title text. Annoying people who cannot see the difference between Saturn's Rings and other ring systems! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::Honestly, I originally read the title text, got confused due to its wording, and went with the second interpretation ("a Jupiter fan is within earshot and knows about its rings"). However it didn't quite feel right, and reading it again, the first interpretation ("a person knows that an anthropomorphized Jupiter is within earshot and wishes to placate him") makes just as much sense - in fact, grammatically, it makes ''more'' sense, since otherwise you have to suppose that Randall intended this weird combination of speech attribution and stage direction. However, it makes less sense ''in context'', since the comic is talking about real planets and didn't mention gods or anthropomorphized planets at all. Randall simply seems to have been clumsy with his wording. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 09:58, 24 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Someone needs to make a Kopernicus mod in KSP and load it with Principia to see how long it lasts. Assume scales are close to the real one. {{unsigned ip|172.69.63.47}}<br />
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This comic may alternatively be about climate change - something about satire, metaphors, acid rain, super-Earths, current-events, the nature of rings surrounding planets & extinction level events. I don't know. Don't listen to me. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.160}}<br />
:We won't. Sure Randall makes those comics, but this is clearly not one of them. (oh and please sign you comments ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Oh please won't someone calculate the extent of low and high tides if we replace the Moon with Mars? [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 15:15, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
You know, for all my complaints about the Solar System, I always thought Jupiter and Saturn were well-balanced. Each of them has something interesting about it, and we don’t get too much of an overload of features from either one. In order to maintain variety while keeping the number of gas giants to a minimum, I think Neptune should get the rings. Jupiter can keep the moons, though, and otherwise I support this revision. —[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.137|172.69.33.137]] 19:53, 23 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, Neptune already has a very impressive ring system![[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.233|162.158.158.233]] 10:28, 24 January 2020 (UTC)</div>
162.158.62.119
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2257:_Unsubscribe_Message&diff=186264
2257: Unsubscribe Message
2020-01-21T23:16:06Z
<p>162.158.62.119: I don't think the first message is supposed to sound rage-angry, but betrayed and desperate, and humanlike text isn't automatically related to famous scary AI in fiction.</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2257<br />
| date = January 20, 2020<br />
| title = Unsubscribe Message<br />
| image = unsubscribe_message.png<br />
| titletext = A mix of the two is even worse: 'Thanks for unsubscribing and helping us pare this list down to reliable supporters.'<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a WEEPING WEBSITE DESIGNER BROKENHEARTED BECAUSE YOU LEFT HER MAILING LIST, YOU MONSTER. Explore title text, possibly link to specific examples. Does anyone know more about internet marketing e.g. would you want lots of low value subscribers or few high value subscribers? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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When a website offers a subscription service (e.g., an email newsletter), they will offer the opportunity to '''unsubscribe''' from the service in the event that the subscriber is no longer interested in the service, or discovers that the service is not what they thought it was. As with any online process, subscribing and unsubscribing require messages to inform the viewer that the process has completed as intended. Some sites also request confirmation when unsubscribing, to prevent accidentally unsubscribing due to a mistyped URL or a misclicked link.<br />
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This comment explores the different "moods" that unsubscribe messages can carry, taking standard examples and pushing them further than is normally seen. It also pokes fun at the trend for websites to guilt users when they unsubscribe (or try to guilt them out of it before they complete the process), which is widespread among new-age website design and some examples of which can be seen at [https://reddit.com/r/Clickshaming/ /r/Clickshaming/]. The first example appears to be a message in the confirmation phase, while the others are messages that the unsubscription is complete.<br />
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The first message is of a "very negative" mood, where the "confirmation" message begs to know why the user dared to unsubscribe to the service, sounding either very angry or alarmingly desperate, as if the service is endangered by the user's unsubscribing. This can be very off-putting and would be very likely to confirm to the user that they made the right choice; hearing such an aggressively needy tone when they leave could make them feel like they escaped something instead, and thus it is given three red X marks and ranked "Very Bad".<br />
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The second message is of a more controlled "negative" mood; the "process complete" message tells the viewer that they will be missed with a sad emoticon accompanying it. Although not quite so bad as the forceful clinginess of the "very negative" message, this one can still come across as an attempt to guilt the user into re-subscribing; thus it is rated with one red X and the label "Not Great".<br />
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The third message is of a fully "neutral" mood; the "process complete" message is simply a matter-of-fact statement that the user has been successfully unsubscribed from the service. Randall seems to consider this the optimal mood for an unsubscribe message to carry; thus it is rated with a green check mark and the label "Perfect".<br />
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The fourth message is of a "positive" mood; the "process complete" message cheerfully proclaims that the attempt to unsubscribe has been completed. This is the most common mood for many services that attempt to avoid emotionless, robotic messages; however, in this particular instance, it can come across as somewhat unnerving, since no service should seem happy to see a user leave. The tone also comes across like a proclamation of the sort you would see in a video game text box, making the action feel like an achievement, which wouldn't make sense for a company to do. This mood is rated with a green check mark, but also with the label "A Little Weird".<br />
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The fifth message is "very positive", where the "process complete" message expresses ''relief'' that the user has chosen to unsubscribe from their service, as though their subscription in the first place had been some sort of burden upon the service, and indeed, their leaving is stated to be the best thing to happen to the service. Like the "very negative" message, this response is likely to assure the user never returns, since they have been indirectly insulted and told "good riddance". <br />
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The title text expands on the joke by combining the positive reaction to unsubscribing with a more negative tone, which supports the user's choice to unsubscribe because they were unwanted. This references the {{w|1% rule (Internet culture)|1% rule}}, which states that for users of an online service only approximately 1% will be significantly active. <br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:Caption: Choosing the right emotional tone for your unsubscribe message<br />
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:[A window labelled "Very Negative"]<br />
:Website: You want to ''unsubscribe?!?!'' How could you do this to us?! We need you!!!<br />
:<span style="color:red">✕✕✕</span><br />
:<span style="color:red">Very Bad</span><br />
<br />
:[A window labelled "Negative"]<br />
:Website: We're sad to see you go :(<br />
:<span style="color:red">✕</span><br />
:<span style="color:red">Not Great</span><br />
<br />
:[A window labelled "Neutral"]<br />
:Website: You have been unsubscribed.<br />
:<span style="color:green">✓</span><br />
:<span style="color:green">Perfect</span><br />
<br />
:[A window labelled "Positive"]<br />
:Website: Success! You have been unsubscribed!!<br />
:<span style="color:green">✓</span><br />
:<span style="color:green">A little weird</span><br />
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:[A window labelled "Very Positive"]<br />
:Website: You have been unsubscribed. This is the best gift you could have given us. Thank you.<br />
:<span style="color:red">✕✕✕</span><br />
:<span style="color:red">Very Bad</span><br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Internet]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>
162.158.62.119