https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.88.236&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T02:08:16ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1400:_D.B._Cooper&diff=1751711400: D.B. Cooper2019-06-11T23:20:28Z<p>162.158.88.236: a "clearly European" accent is nonsense by any means, and also redundant to the other information</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1400<br />
| date = July 28, 2014<br />
| title = D.B. Cooper<br />
| image = d_b_cooper.png<br />
| titletext = 'Why on Earth would someone commit air piracy just to finance a terrible movie decades later?' 'People are very strange these days.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]<br />
In 1971, a man referred to by the media as {{w|D. B. Cooper}} hijacked a Boeing 727 and escaped with $200,000 in ransom money (equivalent to $1,160,000 in 2014). While the FBI maintains that Cooper was most likely killed when he parachuted from the plane, they have never determined his identity, and the investigation was called off in 2016, making it the United States' only unsolved plane hijacking. (This mystery was later referenced in [[1501: Mysteries]].)<br />
<br />
[[File:Tommy Wiseau.jpg|thumb|150px|Wiseau]]<br />
In 2003, {{w|Tommy Wiseau}} released {{w|The Room (film)|''The Room''}}, considered by many the worst film ever made. In the decade since he has become something of an icon alongside his infamous movie, of which he was the producer, writer, director, and star. Surprisingly little, however, is known about him. The comic refers to "The Room" as "...the 'Citizen Kane' of bad movies." This is a comparison between what is widely considered the best film of all time, which was, coincidentally the first film produced by, written by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles and what is widely considered the worst film of all time, the first film produced by, written by, directed by, and starring Tommy Wiseau.<br />
<br />
This comic points to similarities between several details of Cooper and Wiseau's stories:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!Cooper<br />
!Wiseau<br />
|-<br />
|"Vanished mysteriously with a large amount of money":<p>Cooper escaped with $200,000 in 1971 dollars, equivalent to around $1.2M today. $5,800 of that money was recovered in 1980 in the vicinity of where Cooper jumped from the plane, but the rest was never found. Assuming Cooper survived, he would have had decades to turn the $200k into an even larger fortune.</p><br />
|"Appeared mysteriously with a large amount of money":<p>''The Room'' cost $6 million to make, and initially grossed a mere $1,900โa loss of 99.97% of the investment. It is generally assumed that all or most of that money was Wiseau's own, which raises the question of how he obtained such wealth. Although Wiseau claims to have earned his money by selling toys to tourists, and later factory-reject jeans, his friend and ''Room'' co-star {{w|Greg Sestero}} considers it very unlikely that he earned so many millions this way.</p><br />
|-<br />
|"Real age/name unknown":<p>Cooper's real name remains unknown. While he was estimated to be in his mid-40s, his precise age is also unknown.</p><br />
|"Colleague says he's much older than he claims":<p>In 2010, Wiseau stated that he was 41. Sestero, however, says he was born in the 1950s.</p><br />
|-<br />
|"Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ('negotiable American currency')":<p>Cooper's use of this unusual phrase has led to speculation about his origins, including as to whether he was perhaps not an American.</p><br />
|"Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ('You are tearing me apart, Lisa!')":<p>The most famously melodramatic line from ''The Room'', [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plz-bhcHryc "You are tearing me apart, Lisa!"] is one of several which highlights Wiseau's unusual accent and less-than-complete command of the English language. As with Cooper's "negotiable American currency," it is phrased in a way not typical of American English.</p><p>The phrase "You're tearing me apart!" originally appeared in ''{{w|Rebel Without a Cause}}'', though it appeared in a more appropriate context. Wiseau simply wanted to include the phrase because he adored James Dean, without considering how the phrase ended up feeling in his movie.</p><br />
|-<br />
|"Fate unknown":<p>Cooper has not been seen since he jumped from the plane, though the FBI has investigated over a thousand "serious suspects." He either died trying to jump from the plane, or disappeared completely after touching down.</p><br />
|"Background unknown":<p>Despite Wiseau being a public figure for over a decade since the release of ''The Room'', little is definitively known about his background. Sestero says Wiseau was born somewhere in Eastern Europe - people who have traced his family tree found his family are likely from {{w|Poznaล}}, central Poland. Wiseau has said he has moved back and forth between Europe and the U.S. throughout his life, spending significant time in France and Louisiana. His accent is hard to place.</p><p>His legal name, place of birth, date of birth, and nationality are all unknown, as are most of the details of how he's spent his life.</p><br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
The comic then compares an FBI sketch of Cooper with a photograph of Wiseau, apparently to claim that they have similar appearances. The only real similarity is that they're both wearing sunglasses. <br />
<br />
However, these are only a few cherry-picked aspects of their lives, and do not seriously suggest that they are the same person. For example, even if we assume that Wiseau was born in 1950, and that Cooper was only 35 (probably the youngest age which can be mistaken for mid-40s) in 1971, that leaves a 14-year gap between their ages. Likewise, Cooper was said to have either an American or Canadian accent, while Wiseau's bizarre accent is certainly not North American. While [[Cueball]]'s theory in this comic is clearly a joke on [[Randall]]'s part, given Randall's [[258: Conspiracy Theories|known]] [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition|distaste]] [[966: Jet Fuel|for]] conspiracy theories, this may also be making fun of people who base theories off of minor details while ignoring contradictory ones and bigger-picture questions. The question in the title text, for instance, notes that Cooper would have gone through a huge amount of effort just to produce a movie; a similar rhetorical device is often used against convoluted conspiracy theories, where one points out a vastly simpler way for the supposed conspirators to have accomplished their goals.<br />
<br />
The title text goes on to attribute such a weird motive for hijacking to the impression that "people are very strange these days," which is another quote from ''The Room''.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:'''Panel 1'''<br />
:D.B. Cooper<br />
:("Dan Cooper")<br />
<br />
:Hijacked a plane in the 1970s.<br />
:On landing, demanded money and<br />
:parachutes. Jumped from plane<br />
:mid-flight and was never found.<br />
<br />
:*Vanished mysteriously with large amount of money<br />
:*Real age/name unknown<br />
:*Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ("negotiable American currency")<br />
:*Fate unknown<br />
<br />
:'''Panel 2'''<br />
:Tommy Wiseau<br />
:("Johnny")<br />
<br />
:Wrote, directed, and starred in<br />
:''The Room'', a film widely hailed as<br />
:"The ''Citizen Kane'' of bad movies."<br />
<br />
:*Appeared mysteriously with large amount of money<br />
:*Colleague says he's much older than he claims.<br />
:*Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ("You are tearing me apart, Lisa!")<br />
:*Background unknown<br />
<br />
:'''Panel 3'''<br />
:[Images captioned Cooper (FBI sketch) and Wiseau (Flickr photo by Al Pavangkanan)]<br />
<br />
:Offscreen: This is the dumbest theory I've ever heard.<br />
:Cueball: But it explains ''everything!!''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]</div>162.158.88.236https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2150:_XKeyboarCD&diff=1741732150: XKeyboarCD2019-05-16T13:24:52Z<p>162.158.88.236: Sorry, my bad.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2150<br />
| date = May 15, 2019<br />
| title = XKeyboarCD<br />
| image = xkeyboarcd.png<br />
| titletext = The key caps use LCD displays for all the vowels, so they can automatically adjust over the years to reflect ongoing vowel shifts while allowing you to keep typing phonetically.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LEOPARD USING AN XKEYBOARCD. Seems to be finished, could someone check it again before deleting this tag? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the same vein as the [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], the XKeyboarCD seems to be an overly inventive and borderline ludicrous keyboard intended for some unknown audience. It has an assortment of features (some fairly normal, some more exotic) which give it a..."diverse skill set". This is the second time that the XKCD has been used around a middle word. The first was [[1506: xkcloud]] - XKC lou D, to spell ClouD with the C and D from XKCD. In this comic the Keyboard, has an X before the word and a C before the D. But in this comic here the xkcd letters have been capitalized.<br />
<br />
*'''54 Configurable Rubik's Keys'''<br />
The smaller cubes on a {{w|Rubik's cube}} resemble computer keys, so this feature makes fun of that by adding a spinnable Rubik's cube above the keyboard. The implication is that the keys would be 'configured' by solving the cube into the required state, although parity means that not all configurations could be reached by conventional means. To overcome this, the keys would need to be software-programmable, the equivalent of removing the stickers (or keycaps in this case), obviating the need to manipulate the cube as a twisty puzzle. Additionally, the rearmost keys would obviously be hard to see/reach.<br />
<br />
*'''Hardcoded Plastic Keys for the 5 Most Useful Emoji'''<br />
This feature parodies the feature of some laptop-keyboards where it is possible to dynamically assign emojis to a small touchscreen area. Which emojis would be "the most useful" is highly subjective. For example in the comic it shows the quite popular laughing with tears emoji, along with the octopus emoji and others. Notably, the "aerial tramway" was once the least-used emoji, and remains very rarely used.<br />
The large size and central position of the keys make their usefulness even more questionable.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Emoji<br />
! Name<br />
|-<br />
| ๐ฐ<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/ Anxious Face With Sweat]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-tears-of-joy/ Face With Tears of Joy]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/octopus/ Octopus]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/horse-racing/ Horse Racing]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐ก<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/aerial-tramway/ Aerial Tramway]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
*'''Serif Lock'''<br />
{{w|Serifs}} are small lines on the ends of certain characters in fonts such as Times New Roman and Georgia. It is dependent on the font, not on the key pressed; "A" is represented by the same code regardless of its font. Since a given font almost always either has or doesn't have serifs, this key seems challenging to implement. This key could be implemented, however, by simply changing between a pair of fonts when it is pressed. What's more, the button is placed roughly where left shift is on most keyboards, liable to cause frustration.<br />
<br />
*'''Unlimited Key Travel'''<br />
On a keyboard, key travel refers to the distance the key moves between its unpressed and pressed states. In reality, laptop keys only move a few millimeters before bottoming out, and conventional keyboards up to about a centimeter. An increased key travel may make typing more comfortable. However, the usefulness of having unlimited key travel is unclear, and the question of how this would be physically possible in the keyboard depicted remains unanswered. <br />
<br />
*'''Diagonal Spacebar'''<br />
Instead of a wide key at the bottom that typists can hit easily with either thumb, we now have a tall, narrow key that requires being pressed with the right pinkie. This would not be a good change since most peoples' pinkies are their weakest finger.<br />
<br />
<br />
*'''Arrow Key (Rotate to Adjust Direction)'''<br />
Most computers have four {{w|arrow keys}}: up, left, right, and down. However, the XKeyboarCD just has one that can be rotated. This has the added bonus of allowing the arrow keys to point more than four different directions. While innovative, its utility is questionable given trackpoint devices which provide more intuitive joystick-like control. It also comes at the cost of compatibility with certain programs, such as older video games. It would also be awkward to operate as going from horizontally left to horizontally right, for example, would require the user to rotate the key first and then press it which wastes precious time when playing a video game. There is also the problem of allowing unlimited rotation, requiring the combination of a keyswitch and angle-selection mechanism (perhaps the keycap mounted on a long square rotatable rod, keying through dual opposing potentiometers and onto a conventional key switch). This would be mechanically complex which adds to the cost of the keyboard. <br />
<br />
<br />
*'''15 Puzzle-Style Numberpad'''<br />
A {{w|15 puzzle}} is a square containing fifteen smaller squares and one blank spot, which allows the squares to be moved around. The squares are shuffled and then reassembled as a game or pastime, and are usually labelled 1-15 (as is the case here) or, when assembled properly, create a picture. A {{w|Numeric keypad|numberpad}} in this style would be frustrating to use for typing numbers, as they could shift (or be shifted) around, but could provide a fun feature to use as a game. How this would be used to generate numeric input is unclear, but the presence of 16 positions suggests {{w|hexadecimal}} input is possible. Keyboard keypads do have around 15 keys, but only 0-9 usually have numbers whereas the XKCD keypad has numbers 10-15 instead of the more conventional arithmetic operators, enter, and decimal point.<br />
<br />
*'''Ergonomic Design'''<br />
<br />
The cylindrical portion of the keyboard is advertised as being an ergonomic design. Ergonomic keyboards do tend to be curved, to follow natural arm and finger movements more closely, and some ergonomic keyboards come in unconventional form factors, such as vertical keyboards, to allow the user's hands to rest in more neutral positions or to change positions throughout the day. However, the cylinder shape presented here requires the user to lift and twist his arms to reach certain keys, which would be an even more strenuous motion than typing on a standard keyboard. <br />
<br />
*'''Title Text'''<br />
The title text references sound changes in languages. Every language (and indeed, every dialect) routinely undergoes changes in its sounds and phonemes, in a mostly regular and systematic way. While not only vowels are affected, in languages with many vowels such as English, they're particularly likely to shift around and/or merge. While having dynamic keycaps that change can actually come in handy, the feature of only having vowels change in response to sound shifts is a bit less so.<br />
<br />
First, while changes in how we pronounce words are always ongoing, the way we write words down tends to stay relatively static, and thahs wiy wuhd faynd thaet werds biykahm ihncaampriyhehnsihbuhl duw tuw now laanger biyihng spehlld aes they wer bihfaor. Second, English only uses five glyphs (aeiou) and a variety of methods to represent four times as many vowel sounds, so the software would need to have a way to handling that (in some dialects "bird" and "turn" for example, have the same vowel but are represented by "ir" and "ur"). Third, vowel shifts are not ubiquitous: the {{w|Caught-cot merger}}, for example, is a phenomenon happening across some parts (but not all) of the US and UK. Therefore, while some people would say "caught" and "cot have the same vowel it should be spelled the same by the keyboard, but others would say they're two different vowels and should not be spelled identically. Fourth, sound shifts tend to occur over a relatively long period of time (in terms of human lifetimes), so a user would probably find the keycaps only change once or twice. All in all, this is not a very useful feature.<br />
<br />
An alternative explanation is that the keys actually map to the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} and converts what you type into English words (and the vowel changes). The IPA is an alphabet used in linguistics and language teaching, designed to represent every phoneme present in languages of the world unambiguously, with optional modifiers to indicate more subtle nuances in pronunciation, intonation and speech pathology. This alphabet consists of 107 letters and 56 modifiers (with some letters shared with the Latin and Greek alphabets), which would explain the large number of keys. In that case, the feature remains questionable since it only handles vowel shifts and not consonants, and anybody who'd use an IPA-keyboard would probably need to type out the phonology of other languages and appreciate not having to find a key has moved because English has undergone a vowel shift.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Introducing the <br />
XKeyboarCD<br />
A keyboard for powerful users and their powerful fingersยฎ<br />
<br />
[Arrow to the various features of a keyboard labelling them.]<br />
<br />
54 Configurable Rubik's Keys<br />
<br />
Hardcoded Plastic Keys for the 5 Most Useful Emoji<BR><br />
๐ฐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก<br />
<br />
Serif Lock<br />
<br />
Unlimited Key Travel<br />
<br />
Diagonal Spacebar<br />
<br />
Arrow Key (Rotate to Adjust Direction)<br />
<br />
15 Puzzle-Style Numberpad<br />
<br />
Ergonomic Design<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.88.236https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2150:_XKeyboarCD&diff=1741722150: XKeyboarCD2019-05-16T13:23:27Z<p>162.158.88.236: Fix typo</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2150<br />
| date = May 15, 2019<br />
| title = XKeyboarCD<br />
| image = xkeyboarcd.png<br />
| titletext = The key caps use LCD displays for all the vowels, so they can automatically adjust over the years to reflect ongoing vowel shifts while allowing you to keep typing phonetically.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LEOPARD USING AN XKEYBOARCD. Seems to be finished, could someone check it again before deleting this tag? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the same vein as the [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], the XKeyboarCD seems to be an overly inventive and borderline ludicrous keyboard intended for some unknown audience. It has an assortment of features (some fairly normal, some more exotic) which give it a..."diverse skill set". This is the second time that the XKCD has been used around a middle word. The first was [[1506: xkcloud]] - XKC lou D, to spell ClouD with the C and D from XKCD. In that comic the Keyboard, has an X before the word and a C before the D. But in this comic here the xkcd letters have been capitalized.<br />
<br />
*'''54 Configurable Rubik's Keys'''<br />
The smaller cubes on a {{w|Rubik's cube}} resemble computer keys, so this feature makes fun of that by adding a spinnable Rubik's cube above the keyboard. The implication is that the keys would be 'configured' by solving the cube into the required state, although parity means that not all configurations could be reached by conventional means. To overcome this, the keys would need to be software-programmable, the equivalent of removing the stickers (or keycaps in this case), obviating the need to manipulate the cube as a twisty puzzle. Additionally, the rearmost keys would obviously be hard to see/reach.<br />
<br />
*'''Hardcoded Plastic Keys for the 5 Most Useful Emoji'''<br />
This feature parodies the feature of some laptop-keyboards where it is possible to dynamically assign emojis to a small touchscreen area. Which emojis would be "the most useful" is highly subjective. For example in the comic it shows the quite popular laughing with tears emoji, along with the octopus emoji and others. Notably, the "aerial tramway" was once the least-used emoji, and remains very rarely used.<br />
The large size and central position of the keys make their usefulness even more questionable.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Emoji<br />
! Name<br />
|-<br />
| ๐ฐ<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/ Anxious Face With Sweat]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-tears-of-joy/ Face With Tears of Joy]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/octopus/ Octopus]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/horse-racing/ Horse Racing]<br />
|-<br />
| ๐ก<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/aerial-tramway/ Aerial Tramway]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
*'''Serif Lock'''<br />
{{w|Serifs}} are small lines on the ends of certain characters in fonts such as Times New Roman and Georgia. It is dependent on the font, not on the key pressed; "A" is represented by the same code regardless of its font. Since a given font almost always either has or doesn't have serifs, this key seems challenging to implement. This key could be implemented, however, by simply changing between a pair of fonts when it is pressed. What's more, the button is placed roughly where left shift is on most keyboards, liable to cause frustration.<br />
<br />
*'''Unlimited Key Travel'''<br />
On a keyboard, key travel refers to the distance the key moves between its unpressed and pressed states. In reality, laptop keys only move a few millimeters before bottoming out, and conventional keyboards up to about a centimeter. An increased key travel may make typing more comfortable. However, the usefulness of having unlimited key travel is unclear, and the question of how this would be physically possible in the keyboard depicted remains unanswered. <br />
<br />
*'''Diagonal Spacebar'''<br />
Instead of a wide key at the bottom that typists can hit easily with either thumb, we now have a tall, narrow key that requires being pressed with the right pinkie. This would not be a good change since most peoples' pinkies are their weakest finger.<br />
<br />
<br />
*'''Arrow Key (Rotate to Adjust Direction)'''<br />
Most computers have four {{w|arrow keys}}: up, left, right, and down. However, the XKeyboarCD just has one that can be rotated. This has the added bonus of allowing the arrow keys to point more than four different directions. While innovative, its utility is questionable given trackpoint devices which provide more intuitive joystick-like control. It also comes at the cost of compatibility with certain programs, such as older video games. It would also be awkward to operate as going from horizontally left to horizontally right, for example, would require the user to rotate the key first and then press it which wastes precious time when playing a video game. There is also the problem of allowing unlimited rotation, requiring the combination of a keyswitch and angle-selection mechanism (perhaps the keycap mounted on a long square rotatable rod, keying through dual opposing potentiometers and onto a conventional key switch). This would be mechanically complex which adds to the cost of the keyboard. <br />
<br />
<br />
*'''15 Puzzle-Style Numberpad'''<br />
A {{w|15 puzzle}} is a square containing fifteen smaller squares and one blank spot, which allows the squares to be moved around. The squares are shuffled and then reassembled as a game or pastime, and are usually labelled 1-15 (as is the case here) or, when assembled properly, create a picture. A {{w|Numeric keypad|numberpad}} in this style would be frustrating to use for typing numbers, as they could shift (or be shifted) around, but could provide a fun feature to use as a game. How this would be used to generate numeric input is unclear, but the presence of 16 positions suggests {{w|hexadecimal}} input is possible. Keyboard keypads do have around 15 keys, but only 0-9 usually have numbers whereas the XKCD keypad has numbers 10-15 instead of the more conventional arithmetic operators, enter, and decimal point.<br />
<br />
*'''Ergonomic Design'''<br />
<br />
The cylindrical portion of the keyboard is advertised as being an ergonomic design. Ergonomic keyboards do tend to be curved, to follow natural arm and finger movements more closely, and some ergonomic keyboards come in unconventional form factors, such as vertical keyboards, to allow the user's hands to rest in more neutral positions or to change positions throughout the day. However, the cylinder shape presented here requires the user to lift and twist his arms to reach certain keys, which would be an even more strenuous motion than typing on a standard keyboard. <br />
<br />
*'''Title Text'''<br />
The title text references sound changes in languages. Every language (and indeed, every dialect) routinely undergoes changes in its sounds and phonemes, in a mostly regular and systematic way. While not only vowels are affected, in languages with many vowels such as English, they're particularly likely to shift around and/or merge. While having dynamic keycaps that change can actually come in handy, the feature of only having vowels change in response to sound shifts is a bit less so.<br />
<br />
First, while changes in how we pronounce words are always ongoing, the way we write words down tends to stay relatively static, and thahs wiy wuhd faynd thaet werds biykahm ihncaampriyhehnsihbuhl duw tuw now laanger biyihng spehlld aes they wer bihfaor. Second, English only uses five glyphs (aeiou) and a variety of methods to represent four times as many vowel sounds, so the software would need to have a way to handling that (in some dialects "bird" and "turn" for example, have the same vowel but are represented by "ir" and "ur"). Third, vowel shifts are not ubiquitous: the {{w|Caught-cot merger}}, for example, is a phenomenon happening across some parts (but not all) of the US and UK. Therefore, while some people would say "caught" and "cot have the same vowel it should be spelled the same by the keyboard, but others would say they're two different vowels and should not be spelled identically. Fourth, sound shifts tend to occur over a relatively long period of time (in terms of human lifetimes), so a user would probably find the keycaps only change once or twice. All in all, this is not a very useful feature.<br />
<br />
An alternative explanation is that the keys actually map to the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} and converts what you type into English words (and the vowel changes). The IPA is an alphabet used in linguistics and language teaching, designed to represent every phoneme present in languages of the world unambiguously, with optional modifiers to indicate more subtle nuances in pronunciation, intonation and speech pathology. This alphabet consists of 107 letters and 56 modifiers (with some letters shared with the Latin and Greek alphabets), which would explain the large number of keys. In that case, the feature remains questionable since it only handles vowel shifts and not consonants, and anybody who'd use an IPA-keyboard would probably need to type out the phonology of other languages and appreciate not having to find a key has moved because English has undergone a vowel shift.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Introducing the <br />
XKeyboarCD<br />
A keyboard for powerful users and their powerful fingersยฎ<br />
<br />
[Arrow to the various features of a keyboard labelling them.]<br />
<br />
54 Configurable Rubik's Keys<br />
<br />
Hardcoded Plastic Keys for the 5 Most Useful Emoji<BR><br />
๐ฐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก<br />
<br />
Serif Lock<br />
<br />
Unlimited Key Travel<br />
<br />
Diagonal Spacebar<br />
<br />
Arrow Key (Rotate to Adjust Direction)<br />
<br />
15 Puzzle-Style Numberpad<br />
<br />
Ergonomic Design<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.88.236https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1952:_Backpack_Decisions&diff=152035Talk:1952: Backpack Decisions2018-02-07T21:39:02Z<p>162.158.88.236: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Great, now I can't decide how to write the transcript [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 15:00, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
And I now want a new backpack. I'm fine with the one I have, but *I want a new one dammit!* But I can't decide which one [[User:Jdluk|Jdluk]] ([[User talk:Jdluk|talk]]) 15:08, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The knapsack optimization problem is famous for being NP-hard ([[wikipedia:Knapsack problem|Knapsack problem]]). Seems to be an allusion to it. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.191|162.158.91.191]] 15:53, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
: Nope, see below. The knapsack problem is about optimizing the amount of stuff put into something, while Cueball goes through a [[wikipedia:buying decision process|buying decision process]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:49, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
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This comic is an illustration of the [[wikipedia:law of triviality|law of triviality]] aka the bike-shed effect. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:42, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
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: I don't believe the bike-shed effect is related, since that would imply that he is focusing on unimportant issues instead of important ones. In this case, the problem is trying to satisfy a number of important needs that are not fully met by any one backpack, forcing him to decide which can be left unsatisfied by any particular backpack. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:59, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
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:: Yes, you are right. I had the comparison chart in mind and incorrectly connected the dots here. The correct description of the situation is of course [[wikipedia:analysis paralysis|analysis paralysis]]. Snap decisions apparently aren't infallible, either. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 19:38, 7 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
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The description completely identifies the author with his figure. Mixes them up. That's very bad form and impolite. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.236|162.158.88.236]] 21:39, 7 February 2018 (UTC)</div>162.158.88.236https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=135:_Substitute&diff=140666135: Substitute2017-06-02T12:35:12Z<p>162.158.88.236: /* Explanation */ http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Dennis_Nedry</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 135<br />
| date = July 31, 2006<br />
| title = Substitute<br />
| image = substitute.png<br />
| titletext = YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
This comic refers to the film ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'', a 1993 movie based on the 1990 novel by {{w|Michael Crichton}}. The film centers around a billionaire who bought an island and opened a zoo or theme park for dinosaurs which he has cloned from DNA recovered from blood found in fossilized mosquitoes. After a computer programmer shuts down the security systems to steal embryos for a rival company, several of the creatures, among which are the {{w|Velociraptor}}s subject of this comic, run loose and try to devour every human in the theme park.<br />
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Velociraptors (often shortened to "raptors") are a species of relatively small, carnivorous {{w|dinosaur}} which play a central role in the original film, as well as its sequels. In the film, herds of Velociraptors antagonize the main characters at various points, even entering buildings. According to newer researches, the Velociraptors in the film were erroneously based on the {{w|Utahraptor}} species of dinosaur. Unlike the movie, in which they are depicted as having a reptilian skin, both species of dinosaur in reality are theorized to have been feathered. The word "raptor" also refers to modern {{w|Bird of prey|birds of prey}}.<br />
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[[Randall]] is asked to substitute for [[Miss Lenhart]] in math class. The first page of the test he devises contains three questions, which have the recurring theme of humans running from said velociraptors. For the answers, see the [[135: Substitute #Trivia|trivia section.]] As Randall says in the comic: "This material is more vital than anything you've ever learned," the joke being that Randall is somehow fearful that such a thing could happen.<br />
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Velociraptors, and in particular, the irrational fear of being attacked by them in the modern world, [[:Category:Velociraptors|appear several times]] in [[xkcd]]. This is the second such instance, the first is [[87: Velociraptors]]<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[In a class room, the board says "Math" on the top-left corner, and "Mr. Munroe" in the middle. A Cueball portrays Randall, standing in front of it, speaking to the class.]<br />
:Randall: Miss Lenhart couldn't be here today, so she asked me to substitute.<br />
:Randall: I've put out your tests. Please get started.<br />
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:[A student in the first row raises the exam paper and says.]<br />
:Student: Mr. Munroe, Miss Lenhart never taught us this.<br />
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:Randall: That's because Miss Lenhart doesn't understand how important certain kinds of math are.<br />
:Student: But this just looks--<br />
:Randall: This material is more vital than anything you've ever learned<br />
:Student: But--<br />
:Randall: No buts.<br />
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:Randall: This is a matter of life and death.<br />
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:[Excerpt from the exam paper.]<br />
:<tt>Name: _________</tt><br />
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:[A stick figure is standing, hands over head. A velociraptor is running towards it.]<br />
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:<tt>1. The velociraptor spots you 40 meters away and attacks, accelerating at 4 m/s^2 to its top speed of 25 m/s. When it spots you, you begin to flee, quickly reaching your top speed of 6 m/s. How far can you get before you're caught and devoured?</tt><br />
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:<tt>2. You're at the center of a 20m equilateral triangle with a raptor at each corner. The top raptor has a wounded leg and is limited to a top speed of 10 m/s.</tt><br />
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:[A stick figure is shown in the above situation. The picture has a legend "<tt>(Not to scale)</tt>".]<br />
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:<tt>The raptors will run toward you. At what angle should you run to maximize the time you stay alive?</tt><br />
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:<tt>3. Raptors can open doors, but they are slowed by them. Using the floor plan on the next page, plot a route through the building, assuming raptors take 5 minutes to open the first door and halve the time for each subsequent door. Remember, raptors run at 10 m/s and they do not know fear.</tt><br />
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==Trivia==<br />
*Answers to the first two questions can be found in [http://fora.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=120&start=40 this topic] on the forum board.<br />
**The first is 37.5 meters.<br />
**The second is 18.6 degrees to either side of the wounded raptor.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Velociraptors]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>162.158.88.236