https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.68.132.228&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T10:51:32ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2532:_Censored_Vaccine_Card&diff=2200422532: Censored Vaccine Card2021-10-29T07:25:54Z<p>172.68.132.228: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2532<br />
| date = October 22, 2021<br />
| title = Censored Vaccine Card<br />
| image = censored_vaccine_card.png<br />
| titletext = CVS's pharmacies are fine, but I much prefer their [censored]s.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a B?T. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is another entry in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic|2020-21 pandemic}} of the {{w|SARS-CoV-2}} virus, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]].<br />
<br />
The comic hinges on the sharing of vaccination card photos on social media as proof that the user has been vaccinated against COVID-19 (in this case, gotten a {{w|Booster dose|booster shot}}, a third dose of the vaccine). When people in the United States first started receiving their vaccine shots, a large number of them shared photos of the CDC vaccination proof cards that they received alongside the vaccines; it was enough of a trend that the {{w|Federal Trade Commission|FTC}} released an official statement warning vaccine recipients [https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/02/social-media-no-place-covid-19-vaccination-cards not to share photos], due to the cards containing {{w|Personal data|personal identification}} that probably should not be made public. <br />
<br />
The irony here is that [[Randall]] has {{w|Sanitization (classified information)|"censored"}} (redacted) some impersonal lines, such as the instructions that are identical on all vaccination cards, and many easy-to-guess lines, while not censoring any of said personal information.<br />
Considering the date of the 3rd dose (one day prior to the comic's uploading), it is likely that the blackouts in the last line are only covering whitespace.<br />
<br />
The caption indicates that his intention is to "seem more mysterious". This is best exemplified by blanking most of the word "clinician" to leave the acronym "{{w|Central Intelligence Agency|CIA}}", referring to a US government agency known for its frequently "mysterious" (classified) activity, as well as its liberal use of redaction like that in the comic.<br />
<br />
[[File:CDC_COVID-19_Vaccination_Record_Card.jpg|thumb|300px|A real and appropriately censored CDC vaccination record.]]<br />
<br />
The "19" in COVID-19 is systematically censored in the comic. This is humorous because currently COVID-19 is the only thing that could be meant by "COVID-[anything]", and so the redaction is pointless. This may also be intended, in the interest of mystery, to imply some future outbreak of a similar disease (given an identifier based on the year of its inception). In a similar vein, the "19" in Randall's date of birth (October 17, 1984) is also censored, despite it being very easy to tell Randall was born in the 20th century.<br />
<br />
The sentence at the top of the card, which appears once in English and once in Spanish, has equivalent portions redacted in both languages:<br />
* "medical information" and "the vaccines you have received" in the English version, and<br />
* "información médica" and "las vacunas que ha recibido" in the Spanish.<br />
This is the first comic including a sentence (or, given the censorship, at least a good portion of one) in Spanish.<br />
<br />
{{w|CVS Pharmacy}} is a pharmacy chain in the US which provides COVID-19 vaccinations. CVS #05309 is in Pineville, LA, while Randall lives in Massachusetts; it is not clear why he would have received his first vaccine dose in Louisiana.<br />
<br />
The title text comments on the "Provider or clinic site" of the second dose on the card. Where the word "pharmacy" appears in the previous row (and would be on a real card), it is censored in the comic. The most reasonable assumption is that the word is still "pharmacy" and that Randall has simply chosen to redact that instance for some reason, but the title text humorously implies that it was in fact some ''other'' CVS-related venture where he got his second dose, for instance a "CVS Parking lot" or perhaps an {{w|anti-submarine warfare carrier}}.<br />
<br />
CVS's parent company, {{w|CVS Health}}, does have other enterprises with compatible names: {{w|CVS Caremark}} and {{w|CVS Health#CVS Specialty|CVS Specialty}}. However, neither of these provide COVID-19 vaccinations.<br />
<br />
===Numerical trivia===<br />
Randall's patient number is the 2nd to 9th digits of the fractional part of the decimal expansion of {{w|pi}} inclusively: 41592653.<br />
<br />
The lot numbers of the first and second doses allude to two numbers that appear frequently in Star Wars and other works related to George Lucas: 1138, and 2187. The lot number of the third dose is the {{w|1729 (number)|Ramanujan-Hardy number}}. <br />
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The Clinician number for the first shot is the last 4 digits of the phone number for "Jenny" 867-5309.<br />
<br />
Given the reasonable assumption{{citation needed}} that the partially censored year relates to the twentieth century, the date of birth on the card corresponds to that given in the acknowledged [[Randall_Munroe#Timeline|timeline]] for Randall. The censorship of that specific part of his date of birth might be related to the fact that the number "19" has been systematically redacted on the card. Another interpretation is that Randall is implying he is either over one hundred years old or a time traveler, although neither is likely to be true.{{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Profile picture of a Cueball's head and shoulders, with unreadable lines of text to the right.]<br />
:Check it out, I just got my booster! <br />
<br />
:[Picture of the U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card attached on a media post. The card includes pre-printed information in black and handwritten information in blue, the latter indicated here by bold text. Some of the text has been blacked out, indicated here by "[censored]".]<br />
<br />
:COVID-[censored] Vaccination record card<br />
:[At the upper right of the card appears the logo of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a stylized eagle surrounded by the words "Department of Health & Human Services USA", although those words are not legible in this drawing. Next to that appears the logo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a shaded box with the letters "CDC" and the words "Centers for Disease Control and [censored]" below it.]<br />
<br />
:Please keep this record card, which includes [censored]<br />
:about [censored]<br />
:Por favor, guarde esta tarjeta de registro, que incluye [censored]<br />
:[censored] sobre [censored]<br />
<br />
:'''Munroe''' '''Randall'''<br />
----<br />
:Last Name First Name<br />
<br />
:'''10-17-[censored]84''' '''41592653'''<br />
----<br />
:Date of birth Patient number<br />
<br />
:[A table fills the remainder of the card. It has four columns and five rows. The first row gives the column names:]<br />
:Vaccine. Manufacturer lot number. Date. Provider or clinic site.<br />
:[The rest of the rows have been filled out. Each "date" cell also includes pre-printed "MM DD YY" below the line where the date is written.]<br />
:1st dose COVID-[censored]. '''Pfizer ER1138'''. '''04'''/'''01'''/'''21'''. '''CVS Pharmacy Clinician #5309'''.<br />
:2nd dose COVID-[censored]. '''Pfizer ES2187'''. '''04'''/'''22'''/'''21'''. '''CVS''' [censored] [censored].<br />
:Other. <sup>'''3rd dose'''</sup> [censored] '''FH1729'''. '''10'''/'''21'''/'''21'''. [censored] [censored] [censored]'''CIA'''[censored].<br />
:Other. [censored]. [censored]/[censored]/[censored]. [censored].<br />
<br />
:[Caption below panel:]<br />
:Security tip: To seem more mysterious, try censoring only ''non''-identifying information.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:COVID-19]]<br />
[[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]</div>172.68.132.228https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2534:_Retractable_Rocket&diff=2200362534: Retractable Rocket2021-10-29T02:03:00Z<p>172.68.132.228: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2534<br />
| date = October 27, 2021<br />
| title = Retractable Rocket<br />
| image = retractible_rocket.png<br />
| titletext = Hard to believe that for so many years once they were fully extended we just let them tip over.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a RETRACTABLE ROCKET SCIENTIST - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic documents another of [[Beret Guy]]'s [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|absurdist ventures]]. He explains to [[Megan]] that "we" (possibly [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|his company]]) are testing their new "retractable" rocket. <br />
<br />
{{w|Reusable launch system|Reusable rockets}} are a growing industry, as they are more economically viable in the long run &ndash; though technically much more difficult to operate &ndash; than rocket boosters that are just discarded after use (which have been standard throughout the majority of space-faring history). Thus, Megan is understandably confused about Beret Guy's assertion that theirs is "retractable", asking if he misspoke. In typical fashion, he assures her that he did not misspeak, with a single "No" without further explanation. <br />
<br />
They proceed to watch the rocket "launch", proving that it is indeed ''retractable''. In fact the rocket does not launch, but merely ''extends'' &ndash; apparently all the way to the {{w|International Space Station}} (ISS), a height of over 250 miles (over 400 km) &ndash; before retracting, as promised, to its original position. The top part, with the astronauts in it, has been left in space. Presumably, it is docked to the ISS, as the crew onboard the ISS say hello to them in panel 4.<br />
<br />
Of course, it would not be possible to extend anything this far.{{Citation needed}} The top would be moving very fast compared to the bottom part, and even with the strongest material a fully extended, very thin, presumably, hollow structure with a payload on top would break very soon after extension began. Also, the ISS moves at 17,100 mph (27,600 km/h) compared to the ground under it, making an orbit in about one and a half hour. So making the tip follow this long enough to dock would be even more impossible. <br />
<br />
A possibility of making a {{w|space elevator}} has been discussed, but it would not extend like this with a payload on top. Randall has, for instance, referenced space elevators in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]]. He has also examined the problems of a solid metal object extending through the atmosphere [https://what-if.xkcd.com/157/ in a what-if].<br />
<br />
The title text parodies the 'old' single-use boosters. It appears that the predecessors to the 'retractable rockets' were capable of controlled extension only. Once they had lofted the payload to orbit, they were then allowed to fall over, destroying them in the process so they could not be used again just like booster rockets. However, if a 250 mile/400 km high construction just fell over, it would be much more difficult to avoid other damage, than to the rocket (booster), than for just a few small booster rockets falling out of the sky.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
This comic was released four days before (and possibly refers to) SpaceX's {{w|SpaceX Crew-3|Crew-3 mission}} to send astronauts to ISS with a reusable rocket on 31 October 2021.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Beret Guy and Megan is talking. Behind them near the horizon is a tall rocket on a launchpad.]<br />
:Beret Guy: We're testing our new retractable rocket.<br />
:Megan: You mean reusable?<br />
:Beret Guy: No.<br />
<br />
:[A zoom in on the launchpad and rocket. It has the appearance of having a long first stage, a second stage with slightly wider fairing and an Apollo-style capsule with escape-tower atop it all. There is a directionless speech-bubble at the top depicting a count down voice.]<br />
:Count down: Three...Two...One...Liftoff!<br />
<br />
:[Same view as before, but while the base of the rocket-stack remains stationary, the first stage is apparently elongated, with a hint of a bend to the right, to raise the total height to which the upper-stage and capsule assembly reaches almost to the top of the panel.]<br />
<br />
:[In a wider panel, with the base to the left, the first stage is now elongated far enough to disappear off the top of the center of the frame, thus clearly bending to the right. Two peoples voices are indicated as coming from the space capsule far above, as it reaches it destination.]<br />
:Voice 1: Hi, welcome to the ISS!<br />
:Voice 2: Hello!<br />
<br />
:[The final panel shows the same view as in the third panel. The first stage is now retracting, and has similar length as in the third panel, but the capsule is no longer atop the 'second stage' fairing. Four movement lines above the top of the retracting rocket indicates that it is returning back to the original position.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The [https://web.archive.org/web/20211028014542/https://xkcd.com/ original comic] misspelled "retractable" as "retractible". Has been documented on the web archive.<br />
**This was done both in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/5/57/20211028040721%21retractable_rocket.png comic itself], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2534:_Retractible_Rocket&redirect=no the title]. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>172.68.132.228https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2530:_Clinical_Trials&diff=219642Talk:2530: Clinical Trials2021-10-22T18:56:21Z<p>172.68.132.228: </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 />
Is this comic in reaction to some specific recent event? It seems like it might be related to vaccine trials, given the pandemic the world has been dealing with for the last 2 years... if so, it then seems to be a condemnation... am I reading too much into this?<br />
[[User:Ericfromabeno|Ericfromabeno]] ([[User talk:Ericfromabeno|talk]]) 21:49, 18 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
:That's exactly how I understood it as well. Maybe that wasn't Randall's intent, but it does seem to convey a skeptical tone about the untested vaccines and their related mandates? [[Special:Contributions/127.0.0.1|127.0.0.0]] 18:56, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
::Except the vaccines HAVE gone through clinical trials? Calling the vaccines "untested" is quite a reach, since they have actually been very well tested. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.228|172.68.132.228]] 18:56, 22 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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I would say this in relation to the mutiple treatments for Covid19 some of which have great clinical evaluation, others less so. I'll make a first draft [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 21:53, 18 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
:On this website there are far too many people who think everything is about Covid19. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.219|162.158.88.219]] 06:30, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
::It comes to mind after a year full of iterations of the "3-step clinical trial procedure" shown in the comic. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_methods_against_COVID-19<br />
<br />
Note that a proper clinical trial does not "prove" its treatment to be effective, but it actually should do its damnedest to show that any observed (net) benefits are down to simple statistical fluke, but then fail, leaving the positive result 'proven'. And obviously extract every possible risk factor in the process. (Thalidomide fell down badly on this, many years ago, partly because of the numbers involved and the fact that susceptible mothers were often taking a cocktail of multiple 'remedies' over much of the nine months, which made the reality slow to be teased out. But the lessons learnt mean that authorising ''anything'' for pregnant women are tortuous, and testing on (non-pregnant) women in general is hampered by having to account for menstral cycles, so we end up with far too many man-tested drugs that say "not for use in pregnancy" just to keep far to the safe-side, plus still far more unknown levels of efficacy/etc in the 'generic' female body than we should have. But it's being addressed. Onward, ever onward!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.49|162.158.159.49]] 23:14, 18 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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The way I understood the title text was that the "change" was the one written in red, that is "now we have to do clinical trials". The title text's joke is thus that, because before that change clinical trials weren't part of the procedure ("standard of care"), you don't have to test the idea of testing ideas. Closely related to that "joke" is https://existentialcomics.com/comic/404 (but seriously this isn't a simple problem). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.101|108.162.229.101]] 01:21, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Shouldn't Test if it works be step 2? Have idea, see if it works, impliment? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.129.137|172.68.129.137]] 01:52, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
:No. Steps 1 and 2 both include elements of testing and exploration; you need to perform experiments to come up with a good idea and convince -yourselves- that it is, in fact, good, and then you likely need to perform or at least show more tests to convince others that it is, in fact a good idea. But the addition of clinical trials added a further "and then you need to double triple check that your idea actually works rather than that it seemed to work in your initial experiments" step to (try to) avoid bad side effects and false correlation. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 02:40, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
:I'm of the opinion that it was part of the joke... since it does seem to follow the actual behavioral pattern of "do thing, promote thing, [justify thing], propagate thing"... which makes this thread of conversation both topical and meta (kudos to Randall if ''this'' result was intended)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.4|162.158.107.4]] 21:14, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Mention of "anti-worming treatments" in the explanation. This is misleading, and gives the impression that drugs can only have a single function. It's like talking about the use of "headache medicine" for preventing heart attacks. If you want to refer to a specific medicine, do so by name but make damn sure that your claims about that medicine are accurate [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 04:36, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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While the awareness of clinical trials is of course more relevant because of COVID, I don't think this is intended to be topical. The title is very straightforwards-- "the invention of clinical trials" and is almost joke-less (basically just the format). The real joke is in the title text, where it's pointed out that because the "standard of care" before the invention of clinical trials was not to do clinical trials, we didn't need to go through this step to start doing them; just convince people it was a good idea. 02:40, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
: I think it's *extremely* topical, with the relatively recent debunking of ivermectin as (yet another) substance that has been widely claimed, distributed, and mis-used as a supposed COVID preventative/cure. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:49, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
:: If you like, it is topical by -context-, but not by content. Which is an interesting (but important) line to draw. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 04:31, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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A recent editor pulled out my comment about how there isn't a joke, but I'd argue that that's necessary in some form. One of the reasons people go to Explain XKCD is that they're going "wait, did I miss a joke?" So explaining that as far as the community is concerned the main text is in-earnest education rathar than a missed joke does have an important purpose. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 04:37, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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This list looks like the difference between philosophy, particularly ancient Greek and Indian philosophy (probably others, but I do not know them as well), and science. The philosophical ideas were adopted based on who was able to convince more people that they had a better idea. When the scientific revolution rolled around in the 15th and 16th century in Europe, many of these ancient ideas were actually tested and only those that really worked were retained as true. Many well known and well respected ideas that failed testing were finally abandoned. That sure sounds like the elements of this list. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 07:11, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
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The Covid-19 paragraph seems a bit misleading. Arguments advanced in favour of vaccine skepticism have mostly been not so much to do with treatments being used before clinical trials were complete, as with clinical trials being brought forward to accelerate the process, which has been misinterpreted as them being 'rushed'. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.206|162.158.154.206]] 10:38, 20 October 2021 (UTC)</div>172.68.132.228https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2492:_Commonly_Mispronounced_Equations&diff=2154252492: Commonly Mispronounced Equations2021-07-22T15:53:25Z<p>172.68.132.228: /* Explanation */ Quadratic formula, not quadratic equation</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2492<br />
| date = July 21, 2021<br />
| title = Commonly Mispronounced Equations<br />
| image = commonly_mispronounced_equations.png<br />
| titletext = "Epsihootamoo doopsiquorps" --the Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen atom<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LAGRONJ EYSIBARYMOODMOOSIOYLERSIBRYMOOAMOOBAMOOSIMASIBRSIQORTFAHMOOVYFAHMOOVY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a collection of famous physical and mathematical equations, along with their "correct" pronunciations. Equations are normally voiced out loud either by their names ("Mass–energy equivalence") or by saying the parts out loud using normal linguistic rules ("E equals M C squared"). This comic instead asserts that equations are meant to be said out loud like words, using their own set of phonic rules.<br />
Though this premise may seem absurd, sometimes this kind of pronunciation is used as an abbreviation or a mnemonic device. For example, the equation A=Pe<sup>rt</sup> used for compound interest is commonly taught and pronounced as the "pert" equation, while SOH-CAH-TOA is used as a mnemonic for the equations for sine, cosine, and tangent (Sine: Opposite over Hypotenuse, etc.).<br />
<br />
The pronunciation given for F=MA is the same as the actual pronunciation of FEMA, the acronym for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. <br />
<br />
List of equations:<br />
* {{w|Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation|Newton's law of universal gravitation}}<br />
* {{w|Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence|Mass-energy equivalence}}<br />
* {{w|Pythagorean_theorem|Pythagorean theorem}}<br />
* {{w|Area_of_a_circle|Area of a circle}}<br />
* {{w|Entropy_(information_theory)|Entropy}}<br />
* {{w|Ideal_gas_law|Ideal gas law}}<br />
* {{w|Euler%27s_identity|Euler's identity}}<br />
* {{w|Newton%27s_laws_of_motion|Newton's laws of motion}}<br />
* {{w|Wave_equation|Wave equation}} (c should be c<sup>2</sup>)<br />
* {{w|Derivative#Definition|General derivative}}<br />
* {{w|Quadratic formula}}<br />
* {{w|Schrödinger_equation|Schrödinger equation}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category: Language]]</div>172.68.132.228