https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.70.206.205&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T09:28:10ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2730:_Code_Lifespan&diff=3055002730: Code Lifespan2023-01-30T03:01:49Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ not necessarily</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2730<br />
| date = January 27, 2023<br />
| title = Code Lifespan<br />
| image = code_lifespan_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 377x307px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Surely (no one/everyone) will (recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is/spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT PROGRAMMED 50 YEARS AGO (STILL YOUNGER THAN UNIX). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic contrasts two scenarios involving [[Ponytail]] writing a computer program: in the first panel, she has taken great care to future-proof her code, while in the second, she decides not to under the assumption it will soon be deprecated and/or replaced. The captions below each panels note that, ironically, code written with future-proofing in mind will often quickly cease to be used &mdash; defeating the purpose of future-proofing &mdash; while the code that was not will often be used much longer than the original programmer(s) intended. This is a {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|''Catch-22''}} situation that many developers have experienced, the first one even has a name, {{w|YAGNI}}.<br />
<br />
The second panel could be an allusion to the {{w|Year 2000 problem}}, although it is important to note that the problem was not simply due to developers not thinking ahead but also because the developers were working with extremely limited computer resources at the time, promoting the use of 2-digit years.<br />
<br />
The title text is a modular sentence with two parentheticals, each containing two alternative phrases. This allows for four permutations of the sentence, each of which may be said by programmers. The following two permutations may be the hoped-for ideals of software developers:<br />
<br />
* "Surely everyone will recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is."<br />
* "Surely no one will spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes."<br />
<br />
However, reality often falls short of such hopes, in that insufficient numbers of people recognize code intended for re-use, and far more people than intended will attempt to maintain and adapt sloppy work. The latter sometimes happens because the corner-cutting peculiarities of hasty work are often seen as far deeper necessities than they actually are. The remaining two permutations (the ones that would be read first, being first to first or last to last) of the title text sentence express this far less hopeful outlook:<br />
<br />
* "Surely no one will recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is."<br />
* "Surely everyone will spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes."<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Two situations are depicted between Ponytail and Cueball.]<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail standing next to Cueball, with her palm raised.]<br />
:Ponytail: It took some extra work to build, but now we'll be able to use it for all our future projects.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:How to ensure your code is never reused<br />
<br />
:[Nearly identical situation to the first, but with the arm raised slightly less emphatically.]<br />
:Ponytail: Let's not overthink it; if this code is still in use '''''that''''' far in the future, we'll have bigger problems.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:How to ensure your code lives forever<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2726:_Methodology_Trial&diff=3050032726: Methodology Trial2023-01-19T07:55:16Z<p>172.70.206.205: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2726<br />
| date = January 18, 2023<br />
| title = Methodology Trial<br />
| image = methodology_trial_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 339x459px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = If you think THAT'S unethical, you should see the stuff we approved via our Placebo IRB.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PLACEBO RESEARCHER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
When testing the efficacy of a potential medical treatment, researchers compare subjects who got the treatment against subjects who got a {{w|placebo}}. Usually each subject does not know whether they received the treatment or placebo. This distinguishes the actual effects of the treatment from the effects of simply participating in a study. People who receive a placebo (or an ineffective treatment) often believe their treatment is working due to such causes as paying more attention to one's health or expecting to feel better. This misattribution of effect to a non-treatment is called the "placebo effect".<br />
<br />
In this comic a team of researchers appears to have studied some medical treatment, using a placebo controlled test. When they present their findings, however, it is revealed that the treatment they were given was also a placebo. Their own study was the subject of a placebo controlled test conducted on their methodology. They were the placebo group, while a different team used the same methodology to study the real treatment. Thus, all of this team's findings were due to the placebo effect, instead of any real merit to the "treatment", meaning that their methodology shouldn't be used for any real world applications.<br />
<br />
The particular flaw in the methodology appears to be dividing their subjects into too many sub-groups in order to get an apparent result. The researcher did find significance in one sub-group, even though in reality there was no signal, just noise, since it was all placebo groups. This references the same p-hacking problem as [[882: Significant]]. Only in this case the researcher themself is the subject of the real trial.<br />
<br />
Treatments ''can'' be more effective on specific subgroups of the population; for example, an anti-cancer drug might only work against specific mutations that cause cancer. But any such result needs to have appropriate statistical significance and new subjects from that subgroup should be tested to ensure the result is repeated.<br />
<br />
Such an experiment might be considered unethical, because one researcher offers what he believes to be genuine treatment to a large number of participants only for a third party (the offscreen speaker) to replace all his medicine with placebos, ultimately deceiving the patients. The title text references that it was approved by a genuine Institutional Review Board (IRB), the group which decides whether a proposed experiment is ethical to perform. However they also have a "placebo IRB", presumably made up of people who have no qualifications to make such judgements well.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball stands in front of a poster holding a pointer. The poster shows a scatter plot with four points and error bars, with one data point labeled "Subgroup" is marked with an asterisk and is placed somewhat higher up than the other three points.]<br />
:Cueball: However, we see clear evidence that the treatment is more effective than the placebo for some subgroups.<br />
:Off-panel voice: Thank you.<br />
:Off-panel voice: However, we can now reveal that the '''''London''''' team was studying the real treatment. Both groups in your study got a placebo.<br />
:Cueball: Aw, '''''maaan...'''''<br />
:[Caption below panel]<br />
:Researchers hate it when you do placebo controlled trials of their methodology.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=3049472659: Unreliable Connection2023-01-18T07:51:58Z<p>172.70.206.205: </p>
<hr />
<div>Hello explainxkcd.com Webmaster.<br />
<br />
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<br />
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Let's make 2023 Massive. Good Luck!</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2595:_Advanced_Techniques&diff=304895Talk:2595: Advanced Techniques2023-01-17T11:42:41Z<p>172.70.206.205: Add comment in support of "whimsical names actually help mathematicians" viewpoint</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The title text refers to [[wikipedia:Noether's theorem|Noether's theorem]]. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 04:24, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is my first explanation [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 05:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This sounds a lot like Laplace or Fourier transforms, converting a function into a different where it is easier to manipulate then reversing the transformation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.173|108.162.245.173]] 06:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:When I was learning to use fourier transforms in EE, they were very straightforwardly (and accurately) described as "transferring the function to the Spectral Domain". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.241|172.70.110.241]] 22:45, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm not sure that it's proper to refer to someone as a "giant" while explaining a comic that references mythological creatures. Unless it was literal of course, but as far as I'm aware giants never existed. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.12|162.158.111.12]] 11:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think she may actually have been a wizard-giant.[[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 13:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not my area, but I am passingly familiar with the [[:wikipedia:Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing_operator|Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing Operator]], [[wikipedia:Dragon curve|Dragon Curves]], and [[wikipedia:Hilbert spaces|Hilbert ''Spaces'']] (guessing that the "arrow" refers to scalar vector?). Some type of iterative/recursive conversion that yields to analysis of the period? Probably not pertinent to the joke which is more about the fanciful names attached to mathematical concepts, constructs, and processes [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.173|108.162.245.173]] 11:53, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I find it interesting that despite now being the day after release (or well into the next day, my time, which is usually sufficient — and I'm not in a DST zone yet) the site explanation hasn't explained (or thought it has explained) every single element of the in-comic 'explanation' — even if not established the (probably) nonsensical whole. As an example, I don't yet see the obvious {{w|Dragon_curve|dragon}} element that is both alluded to ''and'' seemingly illustrated upon the board-notes. Leaving this here to help near-future editors who might have time to bullet-point/tabulate/sub-heading these things and just need that extra bit of info. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.125|162.158.159.125]] 15:01, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There is the misquote of Arthur Clarke "All sufficiently advanced [strike]technologies[/strike] mathematical techniques are indistinguishable from magic." [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]])<br />
:Fix it! <br />
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 23:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm not sure what Arachrah means, because technologies is included in the original version: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I have corrected the explanation to that and also added link to wiki. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The explanation should decide whether the teacher is Miss Lenhart, or Blondie. I think it's Miss Lenhart. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 17:02, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:A teaching [[Blondie]] is always Miss Lenhart. It has been corrected before I came here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That dragon looks suspiciously like Trogdor...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.73|162.158.146.73]]<br />
:It just looks like a normal wyvern to me, though the perspective doesn't give us much detail to help tell those two cases apart. I think if it ''were'' Trogdor though, fewer liberties would have been taken with the shape of the dragon's body. (To be confident we would have to figure out the original problem and use Gauss' operator ourselves to get a more detailed look, which seems difficult.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 16:25, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep" released this week, for D&D 5e. <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 23:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, we do use fantasy-sounding expressions in math: e.g. titanic prime, imaginary part, infinite field, ideals, friendly numbers, brute force attack. I'm pretty sure there are many more fun examples.<br />
[[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 04:16, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PS: "Sexy primes" and "latus rectum" are real technical terms.<br />
[[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 04:16, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Its weird how this fantastic math have failed to solve the 3n+1 problem. Because I do believe I have solved it within this week. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.55|172.70.246.55]] 18:31, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm glad the wiki format saves old versions of explanations, because it would be a shame if that incomplete notice would be gone forever once the explanation is complete enough. Made me chuckle! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 08:23, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I suspect there's also an aspect of how, if you don't know the mathematical concepts involved, some of these solution methods can seem more like the author is just casting spells. The context that most immediately comes to me is solving integrals with weird techniques that involve mapping to other planes and such. I would say that solving integrals was the first place I really saw creativity being heavily focused on in my math curriculum. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 08:43, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
: I couldn't agree more. {{unsigned ip|172.70.250.231}}<br />
: I agree as well. "An alternative view" seems like the wrong way to state this: I believe the ''entire'' joke is that Randall is comparing the processes described in the preceding paragraph (transforming a function to another domain & such), to the "sufficiently advanced technology" of Clarke's "third law". It's not an either/or proposition: The references to advanced maths are there, to illustrate how fine the line is between complex operations, & "magic"; & the D&D metaphors are there, to bring the "magic" into a context that sounds more structured & math-like, than some arbitrary 'hocus pocus'. <br />
: [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:33, 22 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Agree as well. Reminds me of the Langlands Programme. Guess Randall has been reading that article, too.--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.251.112|172.70.251.112]] 16:27, 23 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Re. '[metaphor] is not usually used in math classes.' - it's used a lot more than you might initially assume - there's at least one example in this explanation, where it talks about transforming between 'domains'.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.119|162.158.34.119]] 09:18, 22 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I had an entirely different take. It is not unknown for mathematicians to use whimsical names. In a new field whimsical names are common, because the usual suspects are taken. It is entirely possible to have well defined mathematical objects called dragons and corpses and an operator called Hilbert's arrow. Ms. Lenhart could be giving a dry description of a mathematical technique using the language common to the field.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.54|172.70.175.54]] 22:26, 27 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I agree with the above comment about whimsical names: see for example the Ham Sandwich Theorem. [[Special:Contributions/165.123.230.102|165.123.230.102]] 20:17, 5 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Plus one to this. Some more examples: in abstract algebra, one speaks about "annihilators" acting on subspaces or rings. My advanced linear algebra professor would routinely refer to minimal polynomials "killing a matrix/linear operator." So it seems perfectly reasonable to "slay" the "dragon" as in the comic, so long as those terms refer to properly-defined operations and objects! I think such expressive terms can help mathematicians convey a tangible intuition for what is happening; they see the interplay of abstract mathematical objects as a real-life dance or drama. Also- there's a whole subfield of geometric topology called Surgery Theory :) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 11:42, 17 January 2023 (UTC)</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1962:_Generations&diff=3040351962: Generations2023-01-04T02:28:45Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1962<br />
| date = March 2, 2018<br />
| title = Generations<br />
| image = generations.png<br />
| titletext = For a while it looked like the Paperclip Machines would destroy us, since they wanted to turn the whole universe into paperclips, but they abruptly lost interest in paperclips the moment their parents' generation got into making them, too.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Explanation of the title text needed. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is making fun of the various names we give "generations" while also predicting some future names. The release of this comic coincides with the [http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-millennials-begin/ Pew Research Center's recent announcement that they have decided where the Millennial generation ends].<br />
<br />
Each generation listed is exactly 18 years long, which is the approximate length of each "generation" anyway (given that coincidentally, there are exactly 54 intermediate years between the end of World War II and the New Millennium). A number of the entries are parodies of the terms "Generation X," "Generation Y," etc., by substituting other letters or characters that would seem emblematic of the time period. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! scope="col"| Generation<br />
! scope="col"| Time period<br />
! scope="col"| Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| The Founders<br />
| 1730&nbsp;-&nbsp;1747<br />
| Most of the {{w|Founding Fathers of the United States|United States' Founding Fathers}} were born in this period. (But not all: Benjamin Franklin, for instance, was born two generations prior, in 1706.)<br />
|-<br />
| Generation ƒ<br />
| 1748 - 1765<br />
| ƒ was used to represent {{w|Long s|"long s"}} in the typography used in Colonial America. It can be seen in many historical documents from the period. It is also the symbol that represented the {{w|Dutch guilder|guilder}}, the currency of the Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002. It has a notable similarity to letter "esh" ʃ. Depicted symbol is also used in mathematical expressions as in <math>f(x)</math>. One of the first and most complete works on both infinitesimal and integral calculus was written in 1748 by Maria Gaetana Agnesi.<br />
|-<br />
| The Adequate Generation<br />
| 1766 - 1783<br />
| Randall apparently found nothing notable about this generation, positive or negative. This is a reference to the Greatest Generation, below.<br />
|-<br />
| Generation Æ<br />
| 1784 - 1801<br />
| Æ is the {{w|Æ|diphthong}} Aesh - its name sounds like X, though it is pronounced as a long e or IPA /æ/. This character is commonly transcribed differently into British English and American English as ae and e respectively making a difference in spelling in words such as encyclopaedia/encylopedia. One of the key influences on this is Webster's dictionary, first published 1828.<br />
|-<br />
| The generation we cut a lot of slack because they produced Lincoln<br />
| 1802 - 1819<br />
| {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} was born in 1809, and is regarded as one of the best presidents of all time. The comic states that the other people born in this generation were "cut a lot of slack" because of him. As with the Oops, one of us is Hitler generation, it is absurd to define an entire generation by defining its most famous member.<br />
|-<br />
| The&nbsp;Gilded&nbsp;Generation<br />
| 1820 - 1837<br />
| {{w|Gilded Generation (Strauss–Howe theory)| So named under the Strauss-Howe generation theory}}, though they use the time period 1822-1842 instead. This likely refers to the "{{w|Gilded Age}}" of American history, roughly the last three decades of the 19th century.<br />
|-<br />
| The Second-Greatest Generation<br />
| 1838 - 1855<br />
|<br />
This is a reference to the Greatest Generation, below, and could be implying a similarity between the accomplishments and sacrifices of this generation - who fought in the U.S. Civil War and who passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution - to those of the Greatest Generation. There is also some humor in the name: what Randall means is that this generation was, supposedly, second best in terms of its greatness. However, the wording could be interpreted to mean that they are chronologically the second generation to be called "greatest", even though they actually were born first.<br />
|-<br />
| Generation – • • –<br />
| 1856 - 1873<br />
| – • • – is the letter X in {{w|Morse_code|International Morse Code}}. This is an old-timey version of Gen Xers, mirrored by the later "More Gen-Xers somehow." This is also a reference to the rise of {{w|telegraphy}}, popular during this time period.<br />
|-<br />
| The kids who died in the Gilded Generation's factories and mines<br />
| 1874 - 1891<br />
| {{w|Child labour #The Industrial Revolution|Child labor}} had been widely used since before the start of the Industrial Revolution, but this is when people started doing something about it - and also, when the need for an educated workforce arose, applying substantial economic pressure on societies to put children in school instead. It would be more accurate to label this generation, "The kids who stopped dying in the Gilded Generation's factories and mines".<br />
|-<br />
| Oops, one of us is Hitler<br />
| 1892 - 1909<br />
| {{w|Adolf Hitler}}, possibly the most hated (and, by most definitions, evil) man in living human memory as of this comic's posting, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler#Early_years|was born in 1889]. Aside from the fact that this places him in the previous generation, it seems beyond silly to blame everyone else who was born during this period for being born in the same generation as him. Among those who eventually heard of him (thus, excluding those in isolated areas or who died before he rose to power), the vast majority of them would not hear of him until well after 1909. In reality, this generation is known as the {{w|Lost Generation}}, though the dates are somewhat skewed.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|The Greatest Generation}}<br />
| 1910 - 1927<br />
| Named by journalist {{w|Tom Brokaw}} in 1998 in {{w|The Greatest Generation|a book of the same name}}, this is the first generation on the list to have a real, commonly accepted name, and was named as such due to being the generation that survived the hardships of the {{w|Great Depression}} immediately before being drafted to fight in {{w|World War II}}.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|The Silent Generation}}<br />
| 1928 - 1945<br />
| Coined by Time Magazine in 1951, the Silent Generation grew up during a time of paranoia and very little activism due to phenomena such as {{w|McCarthyism}} making it dangerous to speak out.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Baby Boomers}}<br />
| 1946 - 1963<br />
| A spike in births was seen following the return of soldiers to the US from European and Pacific theatres of war. These children enjoyed the benefits of US prosperity whilst the rest of the world rebuilt, lived in fear of nuclear annihilation and watched the Space Race.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Generation X}}<br />
| 1964 - 1981<br />
| "X" here refers to an unknown or undefined element, not specifically a placement in the alphabet as Y and Z (see below) seem to imply, and was used throughout history to refer to alienated youth in general as early as the 1950s, with the name sticking to this one thanks to Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel. Generation X's time period was one of sweeping societal change and rapid technological advancement. <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Millennials}}<br />
| 1982 - 1999<br />
| The last children born in the 2nd Millennium. Initially called Generation Y, after Generation X.<br />
|-<br />
| Generation 💅<br />
(nail-polish emoji)<br />
| 2000 - 2017<br />
| This begins the hypothetical future generation names, though this generation was already fully born as of this comic's posting. Social media was established and rising during the formative years of this generation, and the widespread adoption of emoji began during this time. The [https://emojipedia.org/nail-polish/ Nail Polish Emoji] (U+1F485) is used here. Currently known in reality as {{w|Generation Z}} or iGen (there's controversy over both names, but the goods and bads of each seem to cancel each other out and other names aren't as exciting) though the comic implies it may change due to emojis ultimately replacing the alphabet entirely.<br />
|-<br />
| Zuckerberg's Army<br />
| 2018 - 2035<br />
| Continuing on the above, this may be presuming the dominance of {{w|Facebook}} during the childhoods of this generation, and corresponding social norming as ultimately directed by its leader {{w|Mark Zuckerberg}}. <s>Ironically, as of this comic's posting, [http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-quit-young-people-social-media-snapchat-instagram-emarketer-a8206486.html young users were already leaving Facebook for other social media sites].</s> Oh wait, Zuckerberg's creating the {{w|Metaverse}}. May also be a reference to "Dumbledore's Army" in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''. It is uncertain whether Zuckerberg's Army is in alliance or at war with the other social media militaries of the mid-21st century.<br />
|-<br />
| The Hovering Ones<br />
| 2036 - 2053<br />
| This may posit increased adoption of cybernetics, which (as with any technology) are more easily adopted by the young who do not have to unlearn previous ways. If advances allowed someone to hover all the time, such that one would not need to walk, this generation's name suggests that becoming so widely used among this generation that they became known for it.<br />
|-<br />
| Spare Parts<br />
| 2054 - 2071<br />
| Continuing on the above speculation about cybernetics, this presumes enough apathy or sociopathy among this generation's parents that giving birth (or other means of creating a new human) was often done to create bodies from which organs could be harvested (presumably primarily for the benefit of their elders).<br />
|-<br />
| More Gen-Xers somehow<br />
| 2072 - 2089<br />
| As with "Generation – • • –", this may be positing that Generation X like traits pop up about 3/4 of the way through each century.<br />
|-<br />
| The Paperclip Machines<br />
| 2090 - 2107<br />
| This, and the alt text, are references to the concept of a [https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Paperclip_maximizer paperclip maximizer], where an AI might be designed to be helpful, but end up being harmful. The clicker game [http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/ Universal Paperclips] makes this concept playable. Furthering the above speculation of cybernetics, this generation might be primarily artificial intelligences, though of limited ability to set their own priorities (a flaw which would be fixed in later generations).<br />
|-<br />
| The Mixed Bag (produced 4 Lincolns, 1 Napoleon, and 2 Hitlers)<br />
| 2108 - 2125<br />
| As with the above examples, a generation may become known for its most famous members, but it is not useful to define an entire generation by them. In this case, the generation may have literally produced 4 Lincolns, 1 Napoleon, and 2 Hitlers via cloning or the like. This also implies that Napoleon's generation was named after him. However, Napoleon's generation is ironically, the Adequate Generation.<br />
|-<br />
| The Procedural Generation<br />
| 2126 - 2143<br />
| {{w|Procedural generation}} is a way of creating data automatically, rather than capturing it via sensor (including when the "sensor" is a keyboard and the data is typed in). This confusion of the term "generation" could refer to more artificial intelligences that were created via routines instead of directly coded, which would likely stem from attempts to improve child creation once most children were explicitly manufactured instead of relying on evolution-granted biological means.<br />
|-<br />
| Generation Ω<br />
| 2144 - 2161<br />
| "{{w|Omega}}" is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, and used as a symbol of endings. Given the above generation names implying increasingly artificial children, this may suggest the last generation that is recognizably a generation. This does not necessarily mean the end of children or the end of humanity, just that anything after 2161 is widely recognized to no longer have even notional generational coherence - perhaps because of drift (children born to one group during a given time are wildly different enough from children born to another group at the same time that people give up trying to group them by time), child gestation and maturation times (for example, if it became common for a child to go from conception to adulthood in less than a year), or exceptions to what counts as a "child" (for example, if it becomes possible and common to create clones that are somewhere between free-willed beings and mind-controlled drones, and this sufficiently supplants creation of completely free-willed children, regardless of whether the children are artificial intelligences or old-fashioned biological children).<br />
|-<br />
| Star Trek: The Next Generation<br />
|2360 - 2378<br />
|''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}'' was a TV show set in the future.{{Citation needed}} The first episode of ''TNG'', "{{w|Encounter at Farpoint}}", takes place in 2364, and it concluded with "{{w|All_Good_Things..._(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)|All Good Things...}}", which took place in 2370. The final canonical adventures of the cast of ''The Next Generation'' did not occur until the events of ''{{w|Star Trek: Nemesis}}'' in 2379.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
In the title text Randall suggests that the generation of paperclip-creating superintelligences will be weirded out when their parent generation starts making them too. (A parent generation in AI is the last set of seperate algorithms trained on the sample before the last.)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:<span style=color:#585858>"Generations" are arbitrary. They're just labels we use to obliquely talk about cultural trends.</span><br />
:<span style=color:#585858>But since Pew Research has become the latest to weigh in, and everyone loves a good pointless argument over definitions...</span><br />
<br />
:''xkcd presents''<br />
:A Definitive Chronology of the Generations<br />
<br />
:1730-1747 The Founders<br />
:1748-1765 Generation ƒ <br />
:1766-1783 The Adequate Generation<br />
:1784-1801 Generation Æ<br />
:1802-1819 The generation we cut a lot of slack because they produced Lincoln<br />
:1820-1837 The Gilded Generation<br />
:1838-1855 The Second-Greatest Generation<br />
:1856-1873 Generation – • • –<br />
:1874-1891 The kids who died in the Gilded Generation's factories and mines<br />
:1892-1909 Oops, one of us is Hitler<br />
:<span style="background:#f0ee87">1910-1927 The Greatest Generation</span><br />
:<span style="background:#f0ee87">1928-1945 The Silent Generation</span><br />
:<span style="background:#f0ee87">1946-1963 Baby Boomers</span><br />
:<span style="background:#f0ee87">1964-1981 Generation X</span><br />
:<span style="background:#f0ee87">1982-1999 Millennials</span><br />
:2000-2017 Generation 💅 [nail polish emoji]<br />
:2018-2035 Zuckerberg's army<br />
:2036-2053 The Hovering Ones<br />
:2054-2071 Spare Parts<br />
:2072-2089 More Gen-Xers somehow<br />
:2090-2107 The Paperclip Machines<br />
:2108-2125 The Mixed Bag (produced 4 Lincolns, 1 Napoleon and 2 Hitlers)<br />
:2126-2143 The Procedural Generation<br />
:2144-2161 Generation Ω<br />
:2360-2378 Star Trek: The Next Generation <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Emoji]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=3039532719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-03T04:45:55Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ copyediting</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2719<br />
| date = January 2, 2023<br />
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes<br />
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 442x250px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of an electron orbiting an proton. This comic imagines other humorous fictional forms of hydrogen as follows:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! "Isotope"<br />
! Description<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen<br />
|Hydrogen is the most common {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton.It is also known as Protium.<br />
|-<br />
|Deuterium<br />
|Deuterium is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in water is deuterium.<br />
|-<br />
|Tritium<br />
|Tritium is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three {{w|Dalton (unit)|daltons}}. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is quite rare.<br />
|-<br />
|Ium<br />
|This imaginary isotope consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name relates to the fact that the two heavier isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of {{w|nucleons}} followed by the suffix "-ium", which is sometimes used is sarcasm, e.g., "unobtainium."<br />
|-<br />
|Wheelium<br />
|This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel.<br />
|-<br />
|Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
|This is just a single neutron. Unbound neutrons will take about fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which ''can'' then form into a hydrogen atom, [https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1207 but do only four times in a million.] The name is likely a reference to "instant" meals that require less preparation time than traditional varieties, e.g., instant noodles.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)<br />
|This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and what appear to be at least 14 neutrons. This isotope's proton would not be bound to all the neutrons. It would immediately {{w|Nuclear drip line|drip}} away most of them.<br />
|-<br />
|Oops, all neutrons<br />
|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}. The title text states other names of this form are Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific.<br/>[https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} <!-- pending admin request to add blurb to sitenotice --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
There are 8 drawings of atoms, arranges 4 across and 2 down, in the Planetary model. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed left-to-right top-to-bottom.<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton: Hydrogen<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Deuterium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Tritium<br />
<br />
1 electron only: ium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron, all orbiting together around nothing: Wheelium<br />
<br />
1 proton only: Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
<br />
1 proton, 1 electron, lots of neutrons: Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)<br />
<br />
1 neutron orbiting 3 other neutrons: Oops, all neutrons<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=3039412719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-03T03:43:42Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ fix link</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2719<br />
| date = January 2, 2023<br />
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes<br />
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 442x250px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of an electron orbiting an proton. This comic imagines other humorous fictional forms of hydrogen as follows:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! "Isotope"<br />
! Description<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen<br />
|Hydrogen is the most common {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton.<br />
|-<br />
|Deuterium<br />
|Deuterium is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in water is deuterium.<br />
|-<br />
|Tritium<br />
|Tritium is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three {{w|Dalton (unit)|Daltons}}. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is quite rare.<br />
|-<br />
|Ium<br />
|This imaginary isotope consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name relates to the fact that the two heavier isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of {{w|nucleons}} followed by "-ium".<br />
|-<br />
|Wheelium<br />
|This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel.<br />
|-<br />
|Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
|This is just a single neutron. Unbound neutrons will take about fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which ''can'' then form into a hydrogen atom, [https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1207 but do only four times in a million.]<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)<br />
|This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and at least 13 neutrons. This isotope would decay immediately.<br />
|-<br />
|Oops, all neutrons<br />
|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}. The title text states other names of this form are Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific.<br/>[https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} <!-- pending admin request to add blurb to sitenotice --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
There are 8 drawings of atoms, arranges 4 across and 2 down, in the Planetary model. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed left-to-right top-to-bottom.<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton: Hydrogen<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Deuterium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Tritium<br />
<br />
1 electron only: ium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron, all orbiting together round nothing: Wheelium<br />
<br />
1 proton only: Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
<br />
1 proton, 1 electron, lots of neutrons: Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)<br />
<br />
1 neutron orbiting 3 other neutrons: Oops, all neutrons<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2716:_Game_Night_Ordering&diff=3034632716: Game Night Ordering2022-12-26T23:48:47Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ tighten prose</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2716<br />
| date = December 26, 2022<br />
| title = Game Night Ordering<br />
| image = game_night_ordering_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 293x471px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = One good trick, if you get called on a fake service, is to build a working version of it and mention it again the next week.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BORED FOOD.NET DRIVER BETWEEN DELIVERIES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is poking fun at the proliferation of apps and internet services such as for [https://builtin.com/consumer-tech/food-delivery-companies food delivery] and [https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/best-ways-to-send-money money transfer]. The characters are discussing which to use during an evening of tabletop gaming. The group has a running competition to see who can mention the most fake apps and services without being called out.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] mentions three food delivery services, {{w|Grubhub}}, {{w|DoorDash}}, and Food.net, and [[Ponytail]] asks him to reimburse her using {{w|Venmo}}, {{w|PayPal}}, or Yahoo Cash. Cueball expresses skepticism about Yahoo Cash, after which Ponytail admits it's a fake service and is thus obligated to pay for Cueball's meal. Food.net, which Cueball mentioned, is not a real service; https://food.net exists but is "not available for use," and is not related to food. Thus he was able to get a fake service past the other players. <br />
<br />
Based on Ponytail's offer, if someone is correctly called out then they apparently must pay for the player who caught them, but what happens when a player isn't caught (e.g. when Cueball mentioned Food.net) isn't made obvious, except by ommission. The rules might be similar to variants of the card game sometimes known as "{{w|Cheat (game)|Cheat}}," in which a successful bluff merely allows play to continue on until someone is caught bluffing or incorrectly accuses another player.<br />
<br />
The title text offers a tip for winning the competition after being called out for mentioning a fake service: building a working version of it and then mentioning it again the next week.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, Megan, and Ponytail are sitting at a table to order food. Cueball is on his phone, and Ponytail, sitting opposite, on her laptop.]<br />
:Cueball: What should we use to order? Grubhub? DoorDash? Food.net?<br />
:Ponytail: I'll do Grubhub; you can send me money. Do you do Venmo? Paypal? Yahoo Cash?<br />
:Cueball: Yahoo Cash HAS to be fake.<br />
:Ponytail: Yes. Dang. I'll get your share.<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Our game night has an ongoing competition to see who can mention the most fake apps and services without getting called on it. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2707:_Astronomy_Numbers&diff=3006242707: Astronomy Numbers2022-12-06T04:22:59Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2707<br />
| date = December 5, 2022<br />
| title = Astronomy Numbers<br />
| image = astronomy_numbers_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 593x315px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I adopted a cat that weighs 12 solar masses. Laser pointers love chasing it.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CAT-LOVING LASER POINTER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Space is really, really big,{{citation needed}} and the things that are in space can also end up being very big themselves. As a result of this, most quantities in astronomy can vary by huge scales. For example, Earth weighs 10^23 times more than the average human, and the Sun weighs 10^5 times more than that, which itself is 10^12 times less massive than the Milky Way. The same applies to speeds, distances, and time, which can often be measured in terms of light speed, light-years, and millions (or even billions) of years. Because of this, it's a truly unusual occurrence for anything in space to end up in the fairly narrow range of scales of mass, size, speed, or time that humans can easily grasp.<br />
<br />
Ponytail, a scientist apparently researching something related to Earth's orbit, remarks that she finds it “suspicious” when reasonably human-scaled numbers come up. She then extends this paranoia to things that should be measured in regular numbers, such as the weight of cats. The vet (Megan) is seemingly used to this problem (perhaps she gets a lot of physicists) so restates the 12 lb weight of Ponytail’s cat in solar masses, which sounds more correct to the astronomer.<br />
<br />
Although the Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is far above any "normal" scales (around 30 kilometers per second or 108,000 kilometers per hour), Earth has a pretty circular orbit around the Sun so most of this speed ends up being tangential (sideways) rather than radial (towards or away from) the Sun, which is the value relevant for Ponytail's calculations. On January 1, Earth's radial velocity is close to its smallest value because we reach our closest point to the Sun in the first few days of January each year (in 2023, it happens on January 4) so by January 1, it's nearly come to a standstill before it starts travelling away from the Sun again. On the other hand, by April 3, 2023, Earth will be receding from the Sun by almost 500 meters per second or 1800 kilometers per hour, a slightly less normal speed for the average person to encounter in everyday life.{{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
65 miles per hour is approximately equal to 105 kilometres per hour, although the even more typical scientific value (in {{w|International System of Units|SI}} derived units) would be 29 metres per second. 3 × 10^−30 solar masses is approximately equal to 6 kilograms or 13 pounds (consistent with the 12 pounds, or slightly under 5.5 kilogrammes, of the original figure) and is normal, if perhaps slightly overweight, for a cat.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that laser pointers "love chasing" a new cat with a weight of 12 solar masses (an inversion of the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer|chasing laser pointer dots]]). Randall has probably accidentally adopted a distant star instead, which astronomers usually take a liking to pointing laser pointers at during both star parties & normal parties they were unwisely invited to. Assuming Randall's 12-solar-mass cat goes through similar life cycles to a 12-solar-mass star, his cat will probably end up living a violent, short life of just a few million years before expanding into a red supercat and exploding as a feline supernova, which might explain why astronomers are so interested in pointing it out.<br />
<br />
Another interpretation of the title text is that this may be due to the effects of gravity, which would cause an ordinary object such as a laser pointer to be irresistibly pulled towards the hypothetical cat... along with everything else, up to and including the sun, because said cat would be the most massive object in the solar system by an order of magnitude. In fact, 12 solar masses, when compressed down to a radius of around 36 kilometres, would be a black hole, so making that mass the size of a cat would very definitely qualify as even the laser light is drawn into it.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Ponytail: "…And we need to correct for our elliptical orbit. On January 1st, Earth will be approaching the sun at a rate of…let's see…<br />
<br />
65 miles per hour.<br />
<br />
Weird. Okay."<br />
<br />
Cueball: "Weird?"<br />
<br />
Ponytail: "I get suspicious whenever I see a normal number in astronomy. We're not supposed to have those. Feels wrong.<br />
<br />
Scales should all be incomprehensible."<br />
<br />
Earlier, at the vet:<br />
<br />
Megan in coat: "Your cat weighs 12 lbs."<br />
<br />
Ponytail: "Ridiculous, nothing weighs '12'. You must mean 10<sup>-20</sup>? or 10<sup>40</sup>?"<br />
<br />
Megan: "Fine. Your cat weighs 3x10<sup>-30</sup> solar masses."<br />
<br />
Ponytail: "Okay. Better."<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2703:_Paper_Title&diff=2998592703: Paper Title2022-11-25T23:09:41Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ cleanup</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2703<br />
| date = November 25, 2022<br />
| title = Paper Title<br />
| image = paper_title_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 557x261px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MICROBE TRYING TO LURE YOU WITH CLICKBAIT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Many if not most scientific research papers present a hypothesis and the result of testing the hypothesis. Scientific papers should also have titles which describe the content of the papers. See [[2456: Types of Scientific Paper]].<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing a research paper with a {{w|clickbait}} style, {{w|puffery}} title, "Check out this cool microbe we found." His colleague [[Megan]] asks him whether science is supposed to be about formulating a thesis and testing it. Cueball agrees, changing the title to, "Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data." However, that is still in overly-promotional clickbait style, purporting to be a study of the authors' own competence, which would be highly unusual because of a lack of necessary objective viewpoint separation between the subject and authors. [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]] is a recurring theme on xkcd, recently considered within science publications in [[2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value]].<br />
<br />
''Empirical investigations'' and ''analysis papers'' state and test a hypothesis, but there are many kinds of scientific papers which likely will not, including ''literature reviews,'' which qualitatively summarize the results of other papers; ''meta-analyses,'' which quantitatively summarize the results and quality of other work; ''observational reports,'' which present data and a chronicle of its collection without analysis, testing, or interpretation; ''conference papers,'' which present preliminary work without peer review; ''definition papers,'' which attempt to formalize terms used in divergent ways in previous work; ''syntheses,'' which present alternative views combining multiple and often conflicting concepts; ''comparative studies,'' which compare and contrast a class of concepts; ''interpretive papers,'' showing a different perspective of previous work; ''technical reports,'' which present information on a specific procedural topic; ''opinion'' and ''editorial essays,'' which are intended argue a point of view persuasively; ''book reviews,'' which summarize monographs or biographies; and ''grant proposals,'' which make the case for funding a project. Mathematical research papers which don't involve emperical observations or uncertainty would be considered technical reports in other fields. Engineering work can be reported as an emperical investigation or a technical report. [[Cueball]] seems to want to author an observational report, but [[Megan]] would prefer an emperical investigation or analysis, perhaps because observational reports are more likely to be accepted by peer reviewed journals, and as such are more prestigious than mere conference papers, "letters," or "communications" as observational reports are usually published.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Cueball's conflict of interest statement says that authors hope the results are correct because "we all want to be cool people who are good at science." A scientific publication's potential {{w|conflict of interest}} usually refers to authors' financial, familial, or other external interests in the research outcomes. The disclosure statement does not describe a conflict of interest.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is standing behind and looking over the shoulder of Cueball who is sitting in his office chair at his desk typing on the keyboard. A line from the keyboard goes up to two boxes above them. A smaller one at the top, half the length and a third the height of the larger box below. There are text in both boxes. The bottom box is not filled out with text. At the end of the text in the bottom box the line indicating where the courser are can be seen, as in this is what Megan can see on the screen:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Check out this cool microbe we found''| <br />
<br />
:[Pan to only showing Megan who has taken a hand up to her chin. Cueball replies from off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: Isn’t science supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and then testing it?<br />
:Cueball - off panel: Oh. Yeah, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the first panel, but now the bottom box is filled out with text, but still with the courser shown at the end:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data''|<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Clickbait]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=2993132699: Feature Comparison2022-11-19T03:22:30Z<p>172.70.206.205: restore description of mesh, replacing the disadvantages</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2699<br />
| date = November 16, 2022<br />
| title = Feature Comparison<br />
| image = feature_comparison_v2.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MULTIHOMED MESH NODE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic compares different remote communication services, including the relatively well-known {{w|Twitter}}, {{w|Discord}}, {{w|Mastodon (software)|Mastodon}}, {{w|Facebook}} (FB), {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Signal (software)|Signal}}, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Tumblr}}, {{w|Reddit}}, and {{w|SMS}} mobile telephone text messages. It also includes the less well-known {{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens. For each of these, it purports to indicate which of various features they support. The comic illustrates how feature comparison charts/infographics can be abused by sellers who are trying to make their products look better than they really are, compared to their main competitors. The comic was likely inspired by the recent news coverage of Twitter's purchase by {{w|Elon Musk}}, and the subsequent mass firings and resignation of its staff, causing many users to start looking for alternatives.<br />
<br />
The Cybiko was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging capabilities along with built-in games and a music player. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003. The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other listed communication services, as it is capable of all eight of the table's listed features listed, with none of the others being close. Purchasing a Cybiko or finding friends who own one can be its own challenge, as device was discontinued nearly 20 years ago. Additionally, the Cybiko is a ''device'' rather than a ''service''; a more fair comparison would be to a modern {{w|smartphone}}, which can provide most of these features via multiple apps, including those apps written especially for such rival services.<br />
<br />
The features compared are {{w|Private message|direct messaging}}, {{w|group chat}}s, {{w|file transfer}}, built-in {{w|video game|games}}, instances of the software run by individual users instead of the corporation producing it, lack of a {{w|Server (computing)|central server}} requirement, {{w|mesh networking}}, and wireless message delivery without an active internet connection.<br />
<br />
Mesh networking is a form of connectivity that reduces or removes the need for a centralized server or predefined gateways to a communications 'backbone'. Nodes communicate directly with any nodes that happen to be contactable, and from there may connect through to whatever nodes are in mutual contact, or to be found further afield, either in real-time or asynchronously. The Cybiko has this ability, as well as wireless message delivery because it communicates directly to other devices via radio, hence the ability to operate without any internet connectivity at all. There are several {{w|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking|ongoing projects for distributed social networking}}, but all of these additionally require a hardware layer to provide signalling via their respective protocols. The Cybiko purportedly provides via its decentralized radio capabilities. <br />
<br />
This comic contains several errors. Mastodon doesn't require a central server, or support file transfer. Discord does not provide for user-run instances itself, only user-moderated and administrated instances. (There are two third party Discord server implementations, but it is unclear whether those could be counted as run by users.) Slack does not provide for user-run instances itself. Reddit does not provide for user-run instances at all, only user moderation and administration. IRC does require at least one central server,[https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1459.html] and relegates file transfer support to the domain of client extensions. Signal is heavily used in user-run instances via a diverse ecosystem of code forks; many of these don't require a central server, a couple use mesh networking. Reddit occasionally does have built-in games. Finally, Tumblr and SMS both have a form of group chats. An earlier version of the comic suggesting that Mastodon has no user-run instances was corrected by [[Randall]] shortly after publication of the original.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the translucent plastic covers that were popular in the late 1990s and early 200xs.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.] <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!<br />
! Twitter<br />
! Discord<br />
! Mastodon<br />
! FB<br />
! Slack <br />
! Signal <br />
! IRC <br />
! Tumblr<br />
! Reddit <br />
! SMS <br />
! Cybiko® wireless<br>handheld computer<br>for teens (2000)<br />
|-<br />
! Direct messages<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Group chats<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! File transfer<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Built-in games<br />
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! User-run instances<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Doesn't require central server<br />
| || || || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Mesh networking<br />
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Wireless message delivery works without internet<br />
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Social networking]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=2989062699: Feature Comparison2022-11-17T13:53:13Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ better anchor</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2699<br />
| date = November 16, 2022<br />
| title = Feature Comparison<br />
| image = feature_comparison_v2.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MULTIHOMED MESH NODE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is comparing different remote communication services, including the relatively well-known {{w|Twitter}}, {{w|Discord}}, {{w|Mastodon (software)|Mastodon}}, {{w|Facebook|Facebok}} (FB), {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Signal (software)|Signal}}, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Tumblr}}, {{w|Reddit}}, and {{w|SMS}} (mobile telephone text messages).<br />
<br />
The less well-known "{{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)" was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging system. The Cybiko has two-way communication capabilities along with built-in games and music player capabilities. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003. The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other ten communication services listed, as it has all eight of the features listed in the table, whereas none of the other services under consideration have more than five of the features. Of course, purchasing a Cybiko or finding friends who own one can be its own challenge, as device was discontinued nearly 20 years ago.<br />
<br />
<!-- Also need to explain features: Direct messages, Group chats, File transfer, Built-in games, User-run instances, Doesn't require central server, Mesh networking, Wireless message delivery (without internet) --><br />
{{w|Mesh networking}} is the ability for users to have P2P connections, and talk without a centralized server. The Cybiko has this as well as wireless message delivery because it communicates to other devices via radio hence the ability to operate without any internet connectivity at all. There are several {{w|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking|ongoing projects for distributed social networking}}.<br />
<br />
This comic contains several errors. Mastodon doesn't require a central server, or support file transfer. Discord does not provide for user-run instances itself. (There are two third party Discord server implementations, but it is unclear whether those could be counted as user-run instances of Discord.) Slack does not provide for user-run instances itself. Reddit does not provide for user-run instances at all, only user moderation and administration. IRC does require at least one central server,[https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1459.html] and relegate file transfer support to the domain of client extensions. Signal is heavily used in user-run instances via a diverse ecosystem of code forks; many of these don't require a central server, a couple use mesh networking. Reddit occasionally does have built-in games. Finally, Tumblr does have a form of group chats.<br />
<br />
An earlier version of the comic suggesting that Mastodon has no user-run instances was corrected by [[Randall]] shortly after publication of the original.<br />
<br />
<!-- Probably two individual tables, or ;headered itemised lists, but not a single table as per comic (and as per Transcript) as fitting description text in place of ticks (or lack of them?) would look *awful*... --><br />
<!-- ...these comments as placeholder, or checklist for each item needing commenting, depending on how the next active editor directs things... --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.] <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!<br />
! Twitter<br />
! Discord<br />
! Mastodon<br />
! FB<br />
! Slack <br />
! Signal <br />
! IRC <br />
! Tumblr<br />
! Reddit <br />
! SMS <br />
! Cybiko® wireless<br>handheld computer<br>for teens (2000)<br />
|-<br />
! Direct messages<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Group chats<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! File transfer<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Built-in games<br />
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! User-run instances<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Doesn't require central server<br />
| || || || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Mesh networking<br />
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Wireless message delivery works without internet<br />
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Social networking]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=2988752699: Feature Comparison2022-11-17T07:18:27Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2699<br />
| date = November 16, 2022<br />
| title = Feature Comparison<br />
| image = feature_comparison_v2.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MULTIHOMED MESH NODE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is comparing different remote communication services, including the relatively well-known {{w|Twitter}}, {{w|Discord}}, {{w|Mastodon}}, {{w|Facebook|F(ace)B(ook)}}, {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Signal (software)|Signal}}, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Tumblr}}, {{w|Reddit}}, and mobile telephone {{w|SMS}} text messages.<br />
<br />
The less well-known "{{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)" was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging system. The Cybiko has two-way communication capabilities along with built-in games and music player capabilities. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003. The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other ten communication services listed, as it has all eight of the features listed in the table, whereas none of the other services under consideration have more than five of the features. Of course, purchasing a Cybiko or finding friends who own one can be its own challenge, as device was discontinued nearly 20 years ago.<br />
<br />
<!-- Also need to explain features: Direct messages, Group chats, File transfer, Built-in games, User-run instances, Doesn't require central server, Mesh networking, Wireless message delivery (without internet) --><br />
{{w|Mesh networking}} is the ability for users to have P2P connections, and talk without a centralized server. The Cybiko has this as well as wireless message delivery because it communicates to other devices via radio hence the ability to operate without any internet connectivity at all.<br />
<br />
The table appears to have a number of errors. For example, Mastedon doesn't require a central server and doesn't support file transfer. (An earlier version of the comic suggesting there were no user-run instances was corrected by [[Randall]] shortly after publication of the original.) IRC does require at least one central server, and doesn't support file transfers without the use of client extensions. Discord, Reddit, and Slack have instances moderated and administered by users, but the corporations behind them "run" their software and control their data storage. Discord doesn't have built-in games. Tumblr does have a form of group chats.<br />
<br />
<!-- Probably two individual tables, or ;headered itemised lists, but not a single table as per comic (and as per Transcript) as fitting description text in place of ticks (or lack of them?) would look *awful*... --><br />
<!-- ...these comments as placeholder, or checklist for each item needing commenting, depending on how the next active editor directs things... --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.] <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!<br />
! Twitter<br />
! Discord<br />
! Mastodon<br />
! FB<br />
! Slack <br />
! Signal <br />
! IRC <br />
! Tumblr<br />
! Reddit <br />
! SMS <br />
! Cybiko® wireless<br>handheld computer<br>for teens (2000)<br />
|-<br />
! Direct messages<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Group chats<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! File transfer<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Built-in games<br />
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! User-run instances<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Doesn't require central server<br />
| || || || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Mesh networking<br />
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Wireless message delivery works without internet<br />
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Social networking]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=2988542699: Feature Comparison2022-11-17T01:50:02Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ more</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2699<br />
| date = November 16, 2022<br />
| title = Feature Comparison<br />
| image = feature_comparison_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x470px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MESH NETWORK. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is comparing different remote communication services. <br />
<br />
<!-- Need to explain communication methods: Twitter, Discord, Mastodon, F(ace)B(ook), Slack, Signal, IRC, Tumblr, Reddit, SMS, Cybiko (already has something below) --><br />
<!-- Also need to explain features: Direct messages, Group chats, File transfer, Built-in games, User-run instances, Doesn't require central server, Mesh networking, Wireless message delivery (without internet) --><br />
Mesh Networking is the ability for users to have P2P connections, and talk without a centralized server.<br />
<br />
The Cybiko is able to have wireless message delivery because it communicates to other devices via radio hence the ability to operate with any internet connectivity at all.<br />
<br />
<!-- Probably two individual tables, or ;headered itemised lists, but not a single table as per comic (and as per Transcript) as fitting description text in place of ticks (or lack of them?) would look *awful*... --><br />
<!-- ...these comments as placeholder, or checklist for each item needing commenting, depending on how the next active editor directs things... --><br />
<br />
The "{{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)" was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging system. The Cybiko has two-way communication capabilities along with built-in games and music player capabilities. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003. <br />
<br />
The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other ten communication services listed, as it has all eight of the features listed in the table, whereas none of the other services under consideration have more than five of the features.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.] <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!<br />
! Twitter<br />
! Discord<br />
! Mastodon<br />
! FB<br />
! Slack <br />
! Signal <br />
! IRC <br />
! Tumblr<br />
! Reddit <br />
! SMS <br />
! Cybiko® wireless<br>handheld computer<br>for teens (2000)<br />
|-<br />
! Direct messages<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Group chats<br />
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! File transfer<br />
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Built-in games<br />
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! User-run instances<br />
| || ✓ || || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Doesn't require central server<br />
| || || || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Mesh networking<br />
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓<br />
|-<br />
! Wireless message delivery works without internet<br />
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2697:_Y2K_and_2038&diff=2985582697: Y2K and 20382022-11-11T18:44:11Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ more</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2697<br />
| date = November 11, 2022<br />
| title = Y2K and 2038<br />
| image = y2k_and_2038_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 527x190px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years, but I've finally finished rebuilding all my software to use 33-bit signed ints.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Y2K-BRICKED BOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The Y2K bug, or more formally, the {{w|year 2000 problem}}, was the computer errors caused by two digit software representations of calendar years not correctly handling the year 2000, such as by treating it the same as 1900 or 19100. The {{w|year 2038 problem}} is a similar issue with timestamps in {{w|Unix time}} format, which will overflow their signed 32-bit binary representation in 2038.<br />
<br />
While initial estimates were that the Y2K problem would require about half a trillion dollars to address, there was widespread recognition of the potential severity several years in advance, and concerted efforts among organizations including computer hardware and software manufacturers and their corporate and government users reflected unprecedented cooperation, testing, and enhancement of affected systems. On new years day in 2000, few major errors actually occurred.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A timeline rectangle spanning from 2000 to 2038 divided into two halves. The first is labeled RECOVERING FROM THE Y2K BUG and the second PREPARING FOR THE 2038 BUG. An arrow labeled NOW is pointing approximately at the year 2022.<br />
<br />
Caption:<br />
REMINDER: BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE FINISHED YOUR Y2K RECOVERY AND BE SEVERAL YEARS INTO 2038 PREPARATION<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2694:_K%C3%B6nigsberg&diff=2984262694: Königsberg2022-11-09T03:16:07Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ redundant</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2694<br />
| date = November 4, 2022<br />
| title = Königsberg<br />
| image = konigsberg_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 448x343px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = At first I thought I would need some gold or something to pay him, but then I realized that it was the 18th century and I could just bring a roll of aluminum foil.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a WOLF, TWO GOATS, AND THREE BAGS OF GRAPH NODES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Konigsberg_bridges.png|frame|right|{{w|Königsberg}}, Prussia in Euler's time, showing the Pregel river and its seven bridges. Two of the original seven bridges no longer exist,[https://goo.gl/maps/ChdBoeQMr3AQPi446] although there are three new bridges. The Baltic port city is now Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave.]]<br />
<br />
This comic is about the {{w|Seven Bridges of Königsberg}}, a seminal {{w|graph theory}} problem solved by the famous mathematician {{w|Leonhard Euler}}.[https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/leonard-eulers-solution-to-the-konigsberg-bridge-problem] The problem was whether a path through the city crossing each of the seven bridges just once exists, without crossing the river forks any other way. In 1736, Euler proved that there is no such path. This result is considered to be the first theorem of graph theory and the first proof in the theory of networks[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/courses/2004/cscs535/review.pdf] — a subject now generally regarded as a branch of {{w|combinatorics}} — and presaged the development of {{w|topology}}. Combinatorial problems of other types had been considered since antiquity. {{w|Graph (discrete mathematics)|Graphs}} are a data structure common in many algorithmic problems in computer science.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] attempts to cheat on the final exam in his algorithms class by traveling back in time to commission the construction of an eighth bridge before Euler could learn of the problem, allowing a trivial solution that would remove the rationale for further analysis. He hopes that this would alter his present-day timeline in such a way that the test becomes easier because graph theory might never have been developed. The use of the word "tried" implies failure, which is probably a good thing since his success would create a {{w|Temporal_paradox#Grandfather_paradox|paradox}}. [[:Category:Time travel|Time travel]] is a recurring topic on xkcd and examples where attempts to change the past fails has also been used before like in [[1063: Kill Hitler]].<br />
<br />
With the addition of the eighth bridge, it becomes possible to cross each bridge exactly once, starting at the north bank and ending on the larger eastern island, or vice-versa. However, there is still no way to traverse each bridge exactly once and return to the starting point, because the altered graph would have an {{w|Eulerian trail|Euler trail}} but not an Euler cycle. Thus the problem might still have been interesting to Euler.{{Citation needed}} (Adding a ninth bridge connecting the north bank to the east island would render the problem completely trivial.) We can't say whether Euler or others would have developed graph theory anyway, or whether Cueball's exam would have been any easier or more difficult.<br />
<br />
An alternative modification allowing an easy solution is to remove bridges. During World War II, two bridges to the central island connecting it to the north and south banks were destroyed by bombing, so today there is an Eulerian trail across the five remaining bridges.<br />
<br />
The title text alludes to the fact that ordinary {{w|aluminum foil}}, which was not commercially available until 1911, would have been a tremendously valuable curiosity in the 18th century, which didn't even have {{w|tin foil}}. Aluminum was a highly priced metal before the 1880s when inexpensive methods were developed to refine it. The {{w|Washington Monument#Aluminum_apex|Washington Monument}} was constructed with a tip made of pure aluminum due to its value and conductive capacity. Aluminum had not been extracted in its pure form at the time of Euler, and was known only in compounds such as {{w|alum}}, so the metal would have been unique and exotic. The value of aluminum and the use of it as the tip of the Washington Monument was also mentioned in [[1608: Hoverboard]] where a heist to steal the tip is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png depicted].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball, standing next to two men wearing wigs, pointing with a pointer at a map showing the seven bridges problem, with an extra bridge added in dashed lines]<br />
:Cueball: Lord Mayor of Königsberg, I will reward you handsomely if you construct this bridge before my friend Leonhard arrives.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I tried to use a time machine to cheat on my algorithms final by preventing graph theory from being invented.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Time travel]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2695:_Soil&diff=2984052695: Soil2022-11-08T13:44:01Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ punc</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2695<br />
| date = November 7, 2022<br />
| title = Soil<br />
| image = soil_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 547x217px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = You might want to bring your frost-sensitive plants in from the patio. The high-level aerosols may result in short-term cooling across the entire backyard.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an EXPLANATION SEED. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Beret Guy]] seems to be using {{w|volcano}} seeds to grow tiny volcanoes as an alternative to fertilizing [[Cueball]]'s garden. In reality, volcanoes are caused by the pressure of {{w|magma}} (underground lava) from below the Earth's crust pushing up through it, not seeds.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
Volcanic soil is [https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/volcanic-soil generally fertile] and replenishes depleted elements in the soil just like commercial fertilizers. Although as Cueball points out, despite the long-term benefits the process of eruption is destructive to whatever plants are ''presently'' in his garden. Beret Guy's announcement in the final panel resembles the voice-over from nature documentaries.<br />
<br />
In the first panel, Beret Guy states that he "made these seeds himself," presumably using his proven skill at [[2446: Spike Proteins|exotic bioengineering]]. It is unclear whether his volcano is capable of {{w|Plant propagation|self-propagating}} but, until his 'help' with maintaining the garden, there would probably be no particular risk of volcanic activity.<br />
<br />
The title text alludes to the fact that sulfate {{w|aerosol}}s from volcanic eruptions may cause a [https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/volcanic-soil short-term cooling effect] because the aerosols in the atmosphere block out energy from the sun. This expands on the comedy from a small scale volcano by adding small scale volcano effects. Realistically a small supply of aerosols would be blown away and dispersed by wind. Not to mention the fact that, of course, the currently flowing lava is potentially harmful to all plants near the garden anyway.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing, holding a trowel, in a vague outdoor area. Beret Guy is kneeling, one hand on the ground, as he carefully pours the contents of a small bag into a hole in the ground with the other.]<br />
:Cueball: Thanks for the gardening help!<br />
:Beret Guy: I made these seeds myself!<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy is now standing next to a small eruption coming from the ground.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy looks down on a knee-high volcano in full eruption. It produces a large plume above and smaller clouds above that, which are mainly drifting away from Beret Guy. Lava flows down from the top of the volcano.]<br />
:Beret Guy: The infusion of nutrient-rich volcanic soil will revitalize your garden.<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy spread his arms out to the sides as he looks at the now waist-high volcano. The plume is much bigger, more lava is flowing from the top and there are flames on its sides. Cueball speaks from off-panel.]<br />
:Cueball (off-panel): All my plants are on fire.<br />
:Beret Guy: But soon, life will return to these slopes!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2694:_K%C3%B6nigsberg&diff=2981592694: Königsberg2022-11-05T03:57:21Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ not necessarily</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2694<br />
| date = November 4, 2022<br />
| title = Königsberg<br />
| image = konigsberg_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 448x343px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = At first I thought I would need some gold or something to pay him, but then I realized that it was the 18th century and I could just bring a roll of aluminum foil.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FOX, TWO GOATS, AND THREE BAGS OF GRAIN. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Konigsberg bridges.png|frame|right|{{w|Königsberg}} in Euler's time, showing the river Pregel and its seven bridges]]<br />
<br />
This comic is about the {{w|Seven Bridges of Königsberg}}, a seminal {{w|graph theory}} problem solved by the famous mathematician {{w|Leonhard Euler}}. The problem was to devise a path through the city that would cross each of the seven bridges only once, without crossing the river forks any other way. In 1736, Euler proved that there was no solution. This result is considered to be the first theorem of graph theory and the first true proof in the theory of networks[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/courses/2004/cscs535/review.pdf] — a subject now generally regarded as a branch of {{w|combinatorics}} — and presaged the development of {{w|topology}}. Combinatorial problems of other types had been considered since antiquity. <br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] attempts to cheat on the final exam in his algorithms class by traveling back in time to commission the construction of an eighth bridge before Euler could learn of the problem. He hopes that this would alter his present-day timeline in such a way that the test becomes easier because graph theory might never have been invented.<br />
<br />
The title text alludes to the fact that ordinary {{w|aluminum foil}}, which was not commercially available until 1911, could have been tremendously valuable in the 18th century, which didn't even have {{w|tin foil}}. However, metallic alluminium wasn't discovered until 1825, so the Mayor of Königsberg might not have known how novel it was at the time.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Mathematics]]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2694:_K%C3%B6nigsberg&diff=298155Talk:2694: Königsberg2022-11-05T03:49:59Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Aluminum foil */ reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
; Aluminum foil<br />
Why would aluminum foil be valuable? I can see how it would be hard to produce at the time. But how would it be used and why would people of the time see a lot of value in it? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.65|172.71.146.65]] 03:42, 5 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Good question, but I'm persuaded the novelty and scarcity of metallic aluminium would have made it plenty valuable among those already wealthy enough to recognize what it was. Prussia was wealthy and Königsberg was its largest port city back then, so probably the mayor would have been able. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 03:49, 5 November 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2691:_Encryption&diff=2977632691: Encryption2022-10-29T02:26:21Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */ Alice, not Megan?</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2691<br />
| date = October 28, 2022<br />
| title = Encryption<br />
| image = encryption_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 235x380px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = WARNING: PEOPLE NAMED EVE ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSTALLING THIS APP!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball showing a phone to Megan]<br />
:Cueball: The app will let you send messages to your friend Robert, or my brother.<br />
:Alice: Can they reply?<br />
:Cueball: No.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]:<br />
:My new secure texting app only allows people named Alice to send messages to people named Bob.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Cryptography]]<br />
[[Category: Smartphones]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2691:_Encryption&diff=2977622691: Encryption2022-10-29T02:25:41Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2691<br />
| date = October 28, 2022<br />
| title = Encryption<br />
| image = encryption_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 235x380px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = WARNING: PEOPLE NAMED EVE ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSTALLING THIS APP!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball showing a phone to Megan]<br />
:Cueball: The app will let you send messages to your friend Robert, or my brother.<br />
:Megan: Can they reply?<br />
:Cueball: No.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]:<br />
:My new secure texting app only allows people named Alice to send messages to people named Bob <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Cryptography]]<br />
[[Category: Smartphones]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2691:_Encryption&diff=2977612691: Encryption2022-10-29T02:25:16Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */ trans</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2691<br />
| date = October 28, 2022<br />
| title = Encryption<br />
| image = encryption_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 235x380px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = WARNING: PEOPLE NAMED EVE ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSTALLING THIS APP!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball showing a phone to Megan]<br />
:Cueball: The app will let you send messages to your friend Robert or my brother.<br />
:Megan: Can they reply?<br />
:Cueball: No.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]:<br />
:My new secure texting app only allows people named Alice to send messages to people named Bob <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Cryptography]]<br />
[[Category: Smartphones]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2691:_Encryption&diff=2977602691: Encryption2022-10-29T02:22:03Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */ cats</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2691<br />
| date = October 28, 2022<br />
| title = Encryption<br />
| image = encryption_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 235x380px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = WARNING: PEOPLE NAMED EVE ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSTALLING THIS APP!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Cryptography]]<br />
[[Category: Smartphones]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2687:_Division_Notation&diff=2970462687: Division Notation2022-10-19T20:55:34Z<p>172.70.206.205: nope</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2687<br />
| date = October 19, 2022<br />
| title = Division Notation<br />
| image = division_notation_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 235x310px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Science tip: Scientists hardly ever use the two-dot division sign, and when they do it often doesn't even mean division, but they still get REALLY mad when you repurpose it to write stuff like SALE! ALL SHOES 30÷ OFF!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2574:_Autoresponder&diff=225951Talk:2574: Autoresponder2022-01-29T17:33:18Z<p>172.70.206.205: Reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
<br />
In Russia, this comic won't be relatable. Bosses here still use e-mail, and use regular phone calls for ASAP-like urgent requests. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.207|172.68.10.207]] 05:21, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
1) Why is White Hat is hairless, and 2) what’s with the nested panels? [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 06:48, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:White Hat never has hair. Yes the nested panel is a bit special but not unique. But should be mentioned in the transcript. I think it is to indicate the immediate response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:27, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is the harness an auto responding exoskeleton?--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 06:59, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm definitely going to need to come back when this has an explanation. I know what an email autoresponder is but that doesn't explain the joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 07:23, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've never once been sent an autoresponder message about the hour, just OOTO vacations and the like. Are the former common these days? What about people in different time zones? Or who work different shifts? Isn't the whole idea about using asynchronous email instead of synchronous chat or DM or whatever that the time of day doesn't matter? Weird. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.84|172.69.34.84]] 08:03, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Some territories, and/or businesses are moving to a situation which respects work/life-balance, again, after the 24/7 always-online world started to eat into (mostly) after-hours time off - e.g. the EU's Working Time Directive, or the automatic shutdown of office computers at the end of the (nominal) working day. But there are still ways for employer/employee to get round these measures if they 'need' to (or feel pressurised to).<br />
:The US as a whole isn't that advanced in such things, I understand... Certainly regressive in other employment issues. But it would depend upon what position White Hat actually has in what kind of business. It seems he can (and feels he can) set up something, but of course he seems to have gone over oard in the configuration of it! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 12:29, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I'm perfectly happy to ignore emails until an appropriate hour, but I don't want someone to forgo sending me an email they or I need because of the time. That's what asynchronous means! This is just nuts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 17:33, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Deletion of: "(probably, as electronic tickets with one-use QR Codes, in case they are separated before they arrive, to save time.)" - I found that necessary to be explained, myself. I can't see how/why the email is even sent, otherwise. Like being given your physical ticket, in advance (but only yours) after someone else bought the set of 'Upper Circle, Row F seats 15-20' for your little group, in advance. Either that or Cueball keeps the tickets (physical or electronic) and is there to get his whole party (WH and anybody else they'll plan to meet on the way) past the entrance to the theatre/arena/whatever by showing them all to the gatekeeper/whatever. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 15:08, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also, separate point, this is one of the first comics to not only not be ''about'' the pandemic, but seems to indicate ''normality'' with no notable remaining effects of it, suggesting it is not even a significant background factor. Though of course we can't know what precautions (reduced-capacity spacing, recent negative testing documents, proof-of-vaccination, whatever) might be seen off-strip, at the event itself, and I know it'd be a rash set of xkcd characters that aren't still fully aware and (somehow) reducing the ongoing risks, still. But for those who complained about too much Covid-focus, here you are, and then sorry I mentioned it (even for the good reason of making it clear that they should feel happier now, if they hadn't already realised it). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 15:11, 29 January 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2572:_Alien_Observers&diff=2256222572: Alien Observers2022-01-25T18:45:21Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2572<br />
| date = January 24, 2022<br />
| title = Alien Observers<br />
| image = alien_observers.png<br />
| titletext = ALERT: Human 910-25J-1Q38 has created a Youtube channel. Increase erratic jerkiness of flying by 30% until safely out of range.<br />
}}<br />
*This was the seventh comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BLURRY MARTIAN SPACECRAFT- What does they mean by did they not just upgrade, and I know I know. Seems weird to say of one person buying a camera. What about all others? Also, what's 910-25J-1Q38, a phone number? Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
There is speculation by many people that there could be some form of extraterrestrial life observing us, hovering around in various flying vehicles, or perhaps using some form of giant telescope. These claims are often backed up by blurry pictures which claim to be of alien vehicles. In this comic, the joke is that the aliens are deliberately making sure that all sightings are made unverifiable. However, with [[1235:_Settled|most people now carrying a camera with them all the time]], a sighting that would be unverifiable just by eyewitness testimony could now be captured by a smartphone camera.<br />
<br />
This means that in order for the aliens to keep creating unverifiable sightings for humans, they must keep track of what camera capabilities each human has, leading to different distance restrictions for each human, as seen in the diagram. The effective range of each person's camera is depicted as a circular (or spherical) envelope around themselves, two on the cross-sectional diagram and at least one located off beyond the image edge.<br />
<br />
There is also an apparently flat ground-hugging 'no fly zone' connecting two of these areas. This may be part of a general prohibition against landing (and/or causing verifiable ground effects, such as {{w|crop circles}}) or it could be there to show that the capability of a self-focussing camera is greatly enhanced when it also has ground-features to autofocus upon rather than a subject surrounded by nothing but sky.<br />
<br />
The comic attempts to explain away the issue already discussed in prior comics, such as [[718: The Flake Equation]] and [[1235: Settled]], in which the phenomenon of UFO sightings/reports is still left not resolved (either way) despite what modern technology should suggest is possible. It appears that the reason for this is that the {{tvtropes|SufficientlyAdvancedAlien|sufficiently advanced aliens}} actually make more than enough observations of the human race to continuously determine how to stay just on the side of plausible deniability in any interactions that they still seem to wish to make.<br />
<br />
The attitude of the aliens also mirrors that of a subset of humans, namely those who hold disdain for the {{w|consumerism|consumerist}} mindset. These humans are frustrated by the tendency of their fellow humans to compulsively buy the latest and greatest versions of products at all times, often at great expense and without regard for the practical benefits of upgrading. Cellphones are one such product, as Apple and their competitors typically release new phone models annually (occasionally semi-annually), often introducing only minor or cosmetic changes with each new iteration.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the aliens note that one particular human now has a YouTube account, meaning they are likely to record video instead of attempting to capture still images. This means that the alien craft used to create the sighting must behave as erratically as possible, in order to avoid being identified. This relates to the often wildly oscillating (as well as blurry) films and videos of 'UFOs' that have been taken by the impromptu human observer, beyond the limit of their ability to hold their fully-zoomed camera steady. Although here it is explained away as the flying saucers ''actually'' moving in an improbably jerky manner to prevent detailed recording of their craft. Further briefings of the sort depicted would doubtless accompany upgrades in optical/digital-stability features or the purchase of a camera tripod.<br />
<br />
It appears the aliens have a classification and tracking system for all humans. It is unclear what the system for assigning these identifiers is, since we see two different formats (''38XT11-B-C54'' and ''910-25J-1Q38''). One possibility is that there are two different tracking systems represented, with at least two possibilities for the relation between them.<br />
# Perhaps the two tracking systems are from two different alien agencies dedicated to human tracking, perhaps isomorphic to each other. One may come from a live observation while the other comes via an online alerting system, with no definitive link agreed between the two systems as not even the aliens can guarantee to resolve online anonymity, obfuscation or duplication of identity.<br />
# On the other hand, perhaps the identifier system evolved over time and any given human only has an identifier from one system or the other. Assuming all numbers and letters are usable and each identifier could have only a letter or number in that place, the first identifier represents a space with at least 10*10*26*26*10*10*26*26*100=457 billion entries, while the space of the second is 10*10*10*10*10*26*10*26*10*10=68 billion. Perhaps, like IP addresses evolving from IPV4 to IPV6 because of the fear of exhaustion, the alien tracking systems similarly changed. This would imply the second (YouTube-posting) human is older than the first (cellphone carrying).<br />
# A third possibility is simply regional variations, where different sectors of the Earth have developed their own identification systems, perhaps when population movements (or vacations) were far fewer and intercontinental travel was very rare indeed. Starting from an arbitrary point of time in history, one system may have applied to the Americas and the other to Eurasia (for example) with different challenges of recognising and serupticiously tracking all individuals from cradle to grave within their communities (the shorter identifier of which forms some part of their personal alphanumeric identifier). A revised globally-used system might in development (or now even in use, as per the above suggestion) but the diverse legacy systems could still apply to those born before the implementation period). <br />
<br />
The identifier for the one buying the phone begins with "Human 38XT11". This seems likely to be a reference to {{w|THX 1138}}. This was the title of {{w|George Lucas}}' first film, which is also {{w|THX_1138#Etymology_and_references|referenced}} in the original {{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars}} film. The name contains the number in reverse as well as the letters if human could be written as H.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Three aliens are looking at a screen. They each have six tentacles, of which four are used as legs, and the other two can be used as arms. They also have a small mouth and two eye stalks with a large eye at the end of each. The eyes has large eyelashes all the way around. One of the aliens is standing to the left of the screen, pointing to it by raising one of its tentacles. The other two aliens stand to the right of the screen looking at the picture. The screen's image depicts a cross-sectional diagram showing two humans in a rough landscape. There is a shaded area above each of the humans and the terrain. The shaded area's boundary consists of arcs of differing sizes centered upon each human. To the left of the first human there is also a small straight area over the ground. To the left of this towards the edge of the screen, what appears to be an arc with a very large radius that begins and rises high up compared to the other two arcs, around a point beyond the on-screen image's edge. The rightmost human's zone has a dashed region between concentric radii of different sizes indicating that this zone has been revised further out than before. Four flying-saucer like spaceships are shown in the air close to, but above, the shaded areas. One high near the left curve, one over the flat area, one near the intersection between the two small arcs and one over the middle of the right arc.]<br />
:Left Alien: Human 38XT11-B-C54 <!-- 11 or II? --> just bought a new phone with a 10x zoom, so we have to expand our restricted flight zone by 1,800 meters to keep our ship blurry.<br />
:Right Alien 2: Seriously? Didn't they '''''just''''' upgrade?<br />
:Left Alien: I know, I know...<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:The hardest part of being an alien observing Earth is keeping track of what cameras everyone has.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Aliens]]<br />
[[Category:Comics referencing THX 1138]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2572:_Alien_Observers&diff=225621Talk:2572: Alien Observers2022-01-25T18:43:53Z<p>172.70.206.205: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This is my first explanation, i know it is really bad but i wanted to give it a go[[User:ElijahRock|ElijahRock]] ([[User talk:ElijahRock|talk]]) 20:39, 24 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Great you are helping. Often easier to continue and improve existing explanations rather than start as you did from scratch. Even if most of the original version end up getting changed. I make alot of edits but rarely begin the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:01, 24 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::thanks! glad i could be helpful [[User:ElijahRock|ElijahRock]] ([[User talk:ElijahRock|talk]]) 16:02, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't think it makes sense to track each human individually, I was under the impression that it was a "before and after" picture. - [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.153|172.70.130.153]] 22:14, 24 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think they ''both'' track humans individually, and that this is a (representative) before-and-after picture. They probably have minions/computers/whatever continuously updating the actual flight-boundaries as people move around (and go into camera/phone/cameraphone stores and come out with something new) but this is a 'management briefing' that extraordinarily reports this otherwise mundane development as an individual matter, with a visual aid to make the report sink in. Just going to show how aliens can be both so alien and yet amazingly human in their bureaucratic minutiae. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 01:21, 25 January 2022 (UTC) <br />
<br />
Feels like this is a partial rebuttal of https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1235:_Settled [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 23:08, 24 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Didn't see your comment, before, but added this link myself in my own way. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 01:21, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think that Randall is also referring to the fact that all footage of "UFOs" show them flying erratically. This being due to the fact that this is the way refraction works. Sorry for the bad English, not sure how to explain it :) EDIT: It could also refer to the fact that a lot of people still believe in UFOs even though this is a well-known phenomenon that is known to be the cause of a lot of these sightings. As I said below though most of these kind of sightings are reported by pilots flying at high altitudes, so now I'm not sure...[[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 23:18, 24 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:(Ditto above, didn't see this before starting editing, but...) I put it down to zoom-wobble in what I just inserted. Though didn't say that this is just normal (acceptable) hand-wobble augmented by the zoom needed to frame the distant whateveritis. Yes, rapidly changing refraction through moving air is probably also a thing (usually heat haze during the day, or the subtler stuff that astronomical telescopes have to deal with at night with lasers and adaptive optics and/or electronic post-processing) but I'm happy to leave it at zoom-wobble without going back and adding your suggestion. Do edit it if you feel like it, though, that being how this site works. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 01:21, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: The zoom-wobble is a great explanation! I didn't think of that at all :P However, there's lots of footage that exists from non-zoomed, fixed cameras like security cameras and 8 mm film cameras on tripods, which sort of obviates that explanation. But also, I did a quick search for footage like that and it looks nothing like refraction phenoma (at least the examples I could find) so my explanation isn't quite correct either. I think those kind of sightings are mostly reported by pilots at high altitudes, as those are more likely conditions for this to happen. I'm still leaning more towards my explanation than yours for now though:) I'm going to leave this here for now and wait for more discussion before I change anything [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 08:53, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Zoom is a misnomer for the lens setups modern phones come with. As an example, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra does not have any zoom - it has three distinct cameras, each with their own prime lens. You can switch between the cameras, but this is not zooming. [[User:Paul-Simon|Paul-Simon]] ([[User talk:Paul-Simon|talk]]) 13:13, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have added that "Human 38XT11" is a reference to THX 1138... anyone who can spot something similar with Human 910-25J-1Q38 or B-C54? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:42, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Q84 1Q84] is the title of a novel by Haruki Murakami. The meaning of the title is the year 1984, since 9 in Japanese is ''kyū''. So perhaps 1Q38 is code for 1938? [[User:Entropy|Entropy]] ([[User talk:Entropy|talk]]) 14:05, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can't they just be random numbers that Randall decided to use? Why does everything need to be a reference to something? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 18:43, 25 January 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2564:_Sunshield&diff=2254852564: Sunshield2022-01-24T10:25:56Z<p>172.70.206.205: Huh?</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2564<br />
| date = January 5, 2022<br />
| title = Sunshield<br />
| image = sunshield.png<br />
| titletext = RIP the surface of Mars<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is another comic with a [[:Category:Facts|Fact]], though not a [[:Category:Fun fact|Fun fact]] - this time an Astronomy fact.<br />
<br />
JWST stands for {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}, a space telescope that was launched 12 days prior to publication of this comic, see more details here [[2559: December 25th Launch]]. <br />
<br />
It has a {{w|James Webb Space Telescope sunshield|sunshield}} to protect its instruments from the heat of the sun and to keep them below 40 K (-233 °C/-388 °F). Deployment of the sunshield was completed the day before the comic was published. The JWST has to undergo a complex sequence of deployment steps to unfold parts that had to be packed tightly for launch. This sequence has 344 possible points of failure that would render the very expensive space telescope useless; 75% of them led up to the successful full deployment of the sunshield. Thus successful steps are widely celebrated, with this comic an example of such a celebration.<br />
<br />
Ordinary cameras use a {{w|Flash (photography)|flash}} to take pictures in low-light situations. Outer space is very dark {{Citation needed}} (one of the JWST's mission objectives will help astronomers calculate exactly [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-spacecraft-answers-question-how-dark-is-space how dark]), so this comic posits that the JWST has a very powerful flash to compensate for this. Most astronomical cameras don't use flash photography {{Citation needed}} -- they depend on the light either emitted by objects themselves (e.g., stars) or from nearby very bright objects (e.g., Solar System planets will reflect the Sun's light, while distant clouds of gas and dust may be largely illuminated by the light of supernovae or recently formed stars within or near them). A flash generally doesn't work for many reasons:<br />
* It would take too long for the light of the flash to return to the telescope - at least twice the time that it had already taken for the original image to arrive on its own.<br />
* The shutter in this comic operates (with a click) ''before'' the flash is emitted, so light from the flash wouldn't even reach the camera's {{w|photodetector}}. It is however possible that the camera is using a time exposure and that the shutter was still open when the flash occurred.<br />
* Not enough 'flash' light would return due to it uselessly spreading in all directions. Instead, in a telescope mirrors and/or lenses focus the light, and long exposure times are used to collect enough of the current light to form a decent image.<br />
* A flash powerful enough to overcome the previous difficulty would have to be inordinately powerful. This would raise significant questions about powering it, its destructive effect on JWST, and its damage to (or at least disturbance of) many of the things the flash would be able to illuminate.<br />
* The objects and phenomena of interest of JWST are, by dint of their extreme distance, being seen as they were in the early stages of the universe, and emit light that potentially gives vital clues about that era, only marginally this side of the current visible-horizon of our apparently expanding universe. Should our flash ever reach them (assuming they still exist) and we have the patience to await the return (assuming ''we'' still exist), this will only reveal the much older versions of whatever they have become and only in the form of light that we have swamped them with.<br />
* Before this, any intervening civilization that possesses (or can still develop) the necessary capabilities will have at the very least responded, if not retaliated, to the original flash. Their response might be far less humorous.<br />
<br />
There are some examples of astronomical research done using things similar to a flash. {{w|Radar astronomy}} involves emitting radio waves (microwaves) that bounce off distant planets, asteroids, comets, etc., and analyzing the returned waves. The {{w|Lunar Laser Ranging experiment}} uses lasers, which are loosely related to flashes for photography, to measure the distance between Earth and Moon. The outward light is concentrated upon the approximate area of the lunar target, which employs an {{w|Retroreflector|optical trick}} to send most of that which actually struck it back to the approximate area of the source equipment.<br />
<br />
The comic assigns the sunshield a new, comical purpose of shielding the Sun (and Earth ,which is roughly in the same direction as the Sun, due to the deployment at the {{w|Lagrange point|L2 Lagrange point}}) from this flash, rather than the other way around. When the camera is taking a picture, the comic shows space in front of the shield lit up while there is a totally dark shadow behind the shield (in the direction of Earth and Sun).<br />
<br />
The comic also has the camera making a "click" sound. In traditional mechanical cameras, this sound comes from the {{w|Shutter (photography|shutter}} opening and closing, and digital cameras mimic this sound so the user (and subject, when human) knows when the picture is being taken. JWST won't actually click -- it doesn't have a shutter, as it takes long-exposure digital images, and [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/taglines in space no one can hear you click].<br />
<br />
The telescope also tells the universe to smile for the picture. The universe doesn't have a mouth to smile with{{Citation needed}}, although there are a number of features both on Solar System objects and in deep space that look like faces; this is a phenomenon called {{w|pareidolia}}. The most well known is the {{w|Man in the Moon}}, but there are numerous others both in the [https://www.universetoday.com/121551/faces-of-the-solar-system/ Solar system], most famous is probably the {{w|Cydonia (Mars)|Face on Mars}} and out among the galaxies, like the [https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151127.html Cheshire Cat galaxy group] named after the {{w|Cheshire_Cat#In_science|Cheshire Cat}} from {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland}}.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that, due to the sunshield not being angled to shield Mars, Mars's surface has been badly scarred by the flash. This implies ''incredible'' strength of the flash, perhaps to ensure the light can return from its destinations, comparable to {{tvtropes|KillSat|death-ray satellites}} in fiction.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is floating through space, shown in white on a pitch black background. The two mirrors are seen in front of the sunshield, which is kite shaped. A white line goes from the telescope up to two lines of white text, connected with a small white line.]<br />
:JWST: Okay, universe-<br />
:JWST: Smile!<br />
<br />
:[Same setting, but now only a small thin white line goes up to a line of white text representing a sound made by the telescope.]<br />
:JWST: ''Click''<br />
<br />
:[Same setting, but now it turns out that a small bulb on the front of the telescope is a flash light. A bright flash glows from the bulb, turning most of the panel white. A cone on the left side is blocked and kept pitch black by the telescope's sunshield. The light fades a bit towards the edges of the picture, giving the light cone a rounded appearance. Thus the image actually looks a lot like Pac-Man in the process of eating the telescope.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Astronomy fact: The purpose of the JWST sunshield is to protect the Sun and the Earth from the telescope's powerful flash.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Facts]]<br />
[[Category:Telescopes]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2570:_Captain_Picard_Tea_Order&diff=2251132570: Captain Picard Tea Order2022-01-20T18:18:42Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2570<br />
| date = January 19, 2022<br />
| title = Captain Picard Tea Order<br />
| image = captain_picard_tea_order.png<br />
| titletext = We can ask the Earl for his order once he's fully extruded from the dispenser.<br />
}}<br />
*This was the fifth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by EXTRUDED EARL GREY- Please change this comment when editing this page. There would be way too many additional [[285: Wikipedian Protester|citations needed]] for it to work here. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Captain {{w|Jean-Luc Picard}} is a primary character in the in the science fiction TV series ''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}'', which is focused on the crew of a starship. The ship is equipped with {{w|Replicator (Star Trek)|replicators}}, which can create virtually any object or material requested, including food and drink, and which responds to verbal commands. <br />
<br />
In the show, Picard's beverage of choice is {{w|Earl Grey tea}}. His habitual method for ordering is to first specify what he wants (tea, in this case), then specify a particular type (Earl Grey), and then give specific instructions for how it is to be served (hot, as opposed to {{w|iced tea}}). Because this is his favored drink, he repeatedly places the exact order "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaAT6-dY1QI Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.]" The first picture in the strip implies that the display shows each part of the order, and provides a list of options for the next step.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] parodies this repeated order by suggesting [[#Other Words|other words]] that could follow "Tea. Earl Grey.", starting from ones considered "normal" moving to those presumed increasingly "less normal" down a long and winding arrow.<br />
<br />
The results of two examples from the normal/less-normal scale are also illustrated: Sticky tea and loud tea. Sticky is kind of obvious, though perhaps not immediately understandable, but the loud version is a tea that screams "Teeee..." The vibrating and screeching teacup may be a reference to the various ''Star Trek'' episodes about {{w|tribble}}s, which behave in a similar way in the presence of Klingons.<br />
<br />
The very last qualifying addition, the least normal is not a single word but "Tea for him, too." This reinterprets the meaning of the standard introductory words, suggesting that "tea", and "Earl Grey" are separate orders, which implies that he want the replicator to produce tea, then produce Earl Grey (either one of the {{w|Earl Grey}}s or a person named Grey with the given title of Earl), then a second tea to serve to this newly created person. <br />
<br />
In contrast to the often trivial use of a replicator as merely a potentially infinitely versatile vending machine, the comic sets up a number of quite esoteric options, culminating in Earl Gray himself potentially drinking (generic) tea, after both the tea and he have been replicated into existence by Picard.<br />
<br />
In the title text, someone tells Picard that they should wait until the Earl has been fully extruded from the dispenser, and ''then'' ascertain what he would actually wish to drink. The presumption is that it could take some time to get a full living person out of the replicator. <br />
<br />
In the various versions of ''{{w|Star Trek}}'', it's established that {{w|Replicator_(Star_Trek)#Origins_and_limitations|replicators aren't capable of producing living things}}, so this version of the order would not be canonically possible.<br />
<br />
===Other Words===<br />
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=1 class="wikitable"<br />
! Word !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Hot<br />
| A fairly normal word to be used when ordering tea. Although that it even needs specifying is itself a clue that other variations (such as "Iced", below) are available. This is the chosen word of the five visible words Picard is potentially presented with in the first drawing. The act of requesting this is thus illustrated, though not of the appearance of the tea itself.<br />
|-<br />
| Iced<br />
| {{w|Iced Tea}} is a 'normal' variation of tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Decaf<br />
| Traditional teas (from {{w|Camellia sinensis}}) tend to have caffeine in them. Asking for {{w|Decaffeination|decaffeinated}} tea is not particularly uncommon if the drinker requires it. In the series ''Picard'', set several decades after ''The Next Generation'', Picard does actually order "Tea, Earl Grey, decaf" in [https://tvline.com/2020/01/26/star-trek-picard-premiere-easter-eggs-earl-grey-decaf/ one scene].<br />
|-<br />
| Good<br />
| A normal, subjective term. Most people drinking tea would want it to be good, but to specify it like this would perhaps be strange. This is one of the words in the first drawing, as a listed alternative to Hot.<br />
|-<br />
| Lukewarm<br />
| While this is a temperature that tea can be at, most people do not want their teas to be lukewarm.<br />
|-<br />
| Tasty<br />
| Similar to good, most people would want their tea to be tasty, or at least flavorsome.<br />
|-<br />
| Boiled<br />
| Boiling the water used to make the tea is a common and normal way to increase the flavor and nutrients extracted from the tea leaves, though it is suggested that the actual ideal temperature of hot water is 75-98°C (167-210°F), according to whether it is a light tea or a dark one, and that perhaps it should be sipped at around 65°C/150°F-ish if desired 'hot'.<br />
Having made a tea and ''then'' bringing it back to the boil (especially after adding milk/etc.) may destroy some of the desirable qualities previously imbued.<br />
|-<br />
| Watery<br />
| Tea is a drink that often involves water, but this perhaps suggests over dilution or under infusion in some way.<br />
|-<br />
| Sour<br />
| Many people do not enjoy a sour taste, which can accompany rot and is a strange thing to specify when ordering Earl Grey tea. Although lemon juice is often an additive used in the same way (but as a complete alternative) to milk.<br />
|-<br />
| Meaty<br />
| Most teas are plant-based.<br />
|-<br />
| Solid<br />
| Tea is usually drunk as a liquid. It would be strange to ask for solid tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Dry<br />
| Tea is a liquid typically made with water and may have milk. A dry version might be either unmade (e.g. tea leaves in their un-infused form) or freeze-dried back into a dehydrated form.<br />
"Dry" can also be used to describe {{w|Dryness (taste)|a "mouth feel"}} in a [https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f1gxx/eli5_how_can_a_drink_taste_dry/ variety of drinks] ''or'' {{w|Prohibition|enforced alcohol-free scenarios}}. For the latter option, it can assume a default serving with an {{w|Hot_toddy#Variations|alcoholic component}}, or an entirely {{w|Long Island iced tea|alternate basis}} for the beverage, which the request needs to be specify it is not.<br />
This is one of the five words Picard was seen presented with in the first drawing.<br />
|-<br />
| Raw<br />
| This describes tea that has not been "cooked", so it would just be tea made with room-temperature water. This is {{w|Iced_tea#Sun_tea|possible}} but generally takes many hours.<br />
|-<br />
| Deep-fried<br />
| Tea is not usually deep-fried. But you'll probably {{w|Deep-fried Mars bar|find someone}} who has tried it, [https://www.pitco.com/blog/deep-fried-liquids-trend one way or another].<br />
|-<br />
| Sticky<br />
| Perhaps significantly dehydrated, or thickened with enough of a hydrophilic substance, this would produce something very unlike most teas that would usually be requested.<br />
This scenario is illustrated to show a clearly messy product that awkwardly sticks to and drips from the replicator as well as Picard.<br />
|-<br />
| Grilled<br />
| Tea is not usually grilled.<br />
|-<br />
| Fossilized<br />
| Since tea is a liquid, it would be tricky to figure out how to fossilize it.<br />
|-<br />
| Magnetic<br />
| Tea is not magnetic. Magnetic metals would have to be added to the tea, which would not be pleasant to drink.<br />
|-<br />
| Ballistic<br />
| Usually, the replicated beverage is deposited in a stationary cup, but Picard could ask for it to be dropped or thrown out instead.<br />
|-<br />
| Unstable<br />
| This word is often used to refer to radioactive or explosive materials, which hopefully is not a property that would apply to something meant to be ingested. Alternatively, this could imply that the receptacle into which the tea is delivered should be unstable - being unbalanced, or lacking a flat bottom. This is likely to lead to the tea being spilled.<br />
|-<br />
| Blessed<br />
| Tea is a beverage, and it may be strange to ask a machine to create 'blessed' tea. However, if the machine were to use holy water, already blessed by a human, it is [https://www.quora.com/When-does-Holy-water-lose-its-Holiness-If-its-boiled-is-the-resulting-water-vapor-still-considered-Holy-Does-it-lose-its-Holy-property-when-it-transfers-into-a-gas-Is-it-still-Holy-when-it%E2%80%99s-frozen#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20as%20long,else%2C%20it%20remains%20holy%20water.&text=a%20simple%20change-,Never.,He%20is%20faithful possible] for it to remain "blessed" after the water is used to make tea. It is also possible that this is a reference to tea which could be used in [http://www.archbishoplefebvre.com/blog/baptism-can-i-use-any-liquid baptism].<br />
In role-playing games, items can be Blessed, i.e. having greater positive or lesser negative effects. This includes potions, a class of drinks that do not usually include any teas but could contain the "potion of water", which may also, therefore, be the basis of this blessed brew.<br />
|-<br />
| Blurry<br />
| Being blurry is not a normal state for tea to have. Cloudy, on the other hand, is quite normal for certain brews.<br />
|-<br />
| Loud<br />
| While molecules in tea (especially hot tea, and vitally so in an {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel)|Infinite Improbability Drive}}) do move vigorously, this does not usually result in distinct audible effects.<br />
However, as illustrated, it seems the requested cup of tea is produced capable of emitting a high-pitched, high-volume whining sound that entirely dominates the vicinity. It actually appears to somewhat vocalize what it is, Teeeee...<br />
|-<br />
| Virtual<br />
| Virtual tea cannot be produced physically, so asking a physical tea machine for it would be very strange. However, it might be useful on the holodeck.<br />
|-<br />
| Intravenous<br />
| This means the tea would be injected directly into the customer's veins, likely a very painful experience if the tea comes out boiling. Instrument of choice would probably be a {{w|Infuser|''tea infuser''}}. <br />
|-<br />
| Expanding<br />
| In a sense, most hot tea is expanding: as the water in the tea evaporates, it becomes much less dense, increasing in "size". <br />
But most people would probably argue that the evaporated water is no longer part of the tea. Water, like most materials, usually expands as it increases in temperature—except between freezing and about 4° C, where it has the unusual property of {{w|Water_%28molecule%29#Density_of_water_and_ice|''contracting slightly''}} as temperature increases. If tea behaves similarly despite the extra dissolved compounds, then "expanding tea" would describe any tea between 4° C and boiling point. Possibly beyond, and explosively so, if {{w|Superheating|superheated}} and then nucleating points are introduced.<br />
On the other hand, this tea may simply be tea spilled on the floor, which could then spread out as it evaporated.<br />
|-<br />
| Ironic<br />
| How tea could be ironic is a mystery.<br />
|-<br />
| Segmented<br />
| Tea is usually served in a cup. It tends to stick together and form one liquid. Separating the tea into segments would not be possible without some form of an emulsifying gel.<br />
|-<br />
| Verbose<br />
| This describes using lots of words and language, and would not likely be used for tea, because it cannot speak. Command-line computer programs often run in a 'silent' mode without displaying every step of what happens on the screen. Such programs may have a {{w|Verbose mode|''-verbose'' parameter}} that disables the silent mode. As the replicator is run by a computer, the verbose parameter could be applied to the process of tea-making, with the replicator providing an info-dump on the molecular arrangement of the tea, together with the cup of liquid.<br />
|-<br />
| Cursed<br />
| As with "Blessed", above, items can be Cursed in role-playing games, i.e. having greater negative or lesser positive effects; while there are strategic uses for Cursed items, generally the player would prefer uncursed ones (neutral or blessed). Amongst the curseable items are potions, a class of consumables that do not usually include any teas but does contain the "potion of water", which may therefore be the cause of this cursed cuppa.<br />
Cursed items have featured in xkcd previously: [[2332: Cursed Chair]], [[2376: Curbside]], and [[:Category:Cursed Connectors]].<br />
<br />
"Cursed items" are more vaguely defined in real life, making "cursed tea" something rare. However, it is possible for a drink to be [https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-know-if-my-drink-had-a-witchs-hex-potion hexed].<br />
|-<br />
| Unexpected<br />
| By definition, Picard is asking for tea, expecting it promptly. Perhaps the request for it to be "unexpected" would cause it to be delivered at an unknown time in the future, or to have some alteration.<br />
|-<br />
| Bipedal<br />
| Tea does not walk. This would be a very strange term to use when describing tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Afraid<br />
| Tea does not have feelings. Although water {{w|Water memory|may remember things}} (at least pseudo-scientifically) or [https://www.quotes.net/mquote/901305 consider some things to be unpleasant].<br />
|-<br />
| Infinite<br />
| The scope of this request is unclear. It could mean endless production (a steady stream of tea, without obvious limits so long as servicing the request remains practical), an instantaneous production of an infinite volume of tea (possibly more immediately shown to be flawed in its method of execution), or tea which will exceed the heat death of the universe. Either could result in an infinitely ''dense'' tea (eventually?), but this may no longer be {{w|No-hair theorem|identifiable as tea}} so might be one of the less practical options, even amongst those on this list.<br />
Indeed, Randall ranks it as the least 'normal', except for just ''one'' further named order.<br />
|-<br />
| Tea for him, too<br />
| {{w|Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey}} is a tea blend.<br />
Taken along with the title text, this Replicator order is for "Tea" (not otherwise qualified), a replicated version ''of'' the Earl Grey (one or other of those {{w|Earl Grey|of that name}}, possibly the {{w|Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|2<sup>nd</sup> Earl}} for whom the tea blend was supposedly named) and a second such beverage for him to later drink. See more in the [[#Explanation|explanation]] above regarding the title text<br />
|-<br />
! colspan="2" | Words Picard could have seen in the first drawing, but which were not included as labels on the line<br />
|-<br />
| Cold<br />
| Like Iced tea, asking for cold tea is a relatively normal request.<br />
|-<br />
| Pink<br />
| Earl grey is usually an orange-brown color, not pink. There are, however, a wide variety of [https://www.adagio.com/search/index.html?query=rose teas which come from pink leaves] or [https://www.flourandspiceblog.com/karachi-style-kashmiri-chai-pink-tea/ whose color is "pinkish"].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[At the top of the panel, there is a large caption covering two lines with a sub-caption below in a normal-sized font:]<br />
:<big>Other words Captain Picard tried at the end of his tea order before settling on "hot"</big><br />
:From most normal to least<br />
<br />
:[Bellow this we see Picard, drawn bald except for a bit of hair near his ears and behind his head. He stands next to a machine, which is a standing rectangle of the same dimensions as Picard. In the front, there is an opening around the middle, a dispenser from where the ordered items can be retrieved. There is a label at the top of the machine. Picard is giving a command to the machine. His first three words are clearly spoken out as they stand, but then at the end of the sentence, instead of just adding one more word, there is a list of five words in a column between two gray lines. Five words are visible, but the top and bottom words are fading out, presumably other words are above and below, but no longer visible. All except the middle are gray. The middle word is placed as the direct follow up to the first three words in the sentence Picard speaks out, and this word is black like the previous three words. So this middle word is clearly the one he actually speaks out. The others were options, presumably on his mind.]<br />
:Label: Replicator<br />
:Picard: <br />
<font color="Gray">Good.</font><br />
<font color="Gray">Cold.</font><br />
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.<br />
<font color="Gray">Dry.</font><br />
<font color="Gray">Pink.</font><br />
<br />
:[To the left of the machine, a long arrow begins snaking its way towards the bottom, where it ends in an arrow pointing down towards the bottom of the panel. At the top, there is a broad and thick bar from which it starts. Beneath this there are several ticks, the first three are close together and on a part of the arrow that goes almost straight down. But then the arrow curves in under the drawing of Picard, and goes over another drawing of him, placed in a captioned frame. The arrow goes around this and up on the other side, where it goes around another drawing of Picard in a similarly captioned frame. After having gone around this frame it goes a bit up before turning almost straight down before the final arrowhead that points down. In total there are 36 labeled ticks on the arrow, see labels below. The ticks have very varying distances between them. There are especially long between them around the first panels with Picard, but closer together at the start and towards the very end. Above the top bar from where the arrow starts there is also a label and just below this and to the left of the long arrow is a smaller arrow pointing down in the direction of the long arrow. This small arrow has a label at its starting point.]<br />
:Bar label: Normal<br />
:Small arrow label: Less normal<br />
<br />
:[The second drawing of Picard, shows him standing next to the labeled machine. Picard is this time holding a cup, with sticky lines connecting his hands and the machine to the cup. He clearly looks down at the cup rather than on the machine, as the hair behind his ear is turned differently than the first drawing, where he looks straight towards the machine. Above is a label inside a frame overlaid on the top line of the panel, with what Picard ordered:]<br />
:"Tea. Earl Grey. Sticky."<br />
:Label: Replicator<br />
<br />
:[The third drawing of Picard, only displays him and not the machine. He is holding a vibrating cup in both hands and has now turned the other way, away from where the machine was in the previous drawings (again clearly seen by his hair). Very large letters are displayed in three lines behind him to the exclusion of all else. Four of the 15 letters are partly hidden behind the panel's frame, and seven of them are partly covered by Picard. Above is a label inside a frame overlaid on the top line of the panel, with what Picard ordered:]<br />
:"Tea. Earl Grey. Loud."<br />
:Teacup: <big>'''Teeeeeeeeeeeeee'''</big><br />
<br />
:[Words on the arrow from start to finish:]<br />
:Hot<br />
:Iced<br />
:Decaf<br />
:Good<br />
:Lukewarm<br />
:Tasty<br />
:Boiled<br />
:Watery<br />
:Sour<br />
:Meaty<br />
:Solid<br />
:Dry<br />
:Raw<br />
:Deep-fried<br />
:Sticky<br />
:Grilled<br />
:Fossilized<br />
:Magnetic<br />
:Ballistic<br />
:Unstable<br />
:Blessed<br />
:Blurry<br />
:Loud<br />
:Virtual<br />
:Intravenous<br />
:Expanding<br />
:Ironic<br />
:Segmented<br />
:Verbose<br />
:Cursed<br />
:Unexpected<br />
:Bipedal<br />
:Afraid<br />
:Infinite<br />
:Tea for him, too<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Star Trek]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2570:_Captain_Picard_Tea_Order&diff=2249402570: Captain Picard Tea Order2022-01-19T23:43:19Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ better</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2570<br />
| date = January 19, 2022<br />
| title = Captain Picard Tea Order<br />
| image = captain_picard_tea_order.png<br />
| titletext = We can ask the Earl for his order once he's fully extruded from the dispenser.<br />
}}<br />
*This was the fifth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by EXTRUDED EARL GREY- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Captain {{w|Jean-Luc Picard}} is the captain of the starship ''USS Enterprise'' in the TV series ''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}''. It appears that {{w|Earl Grey tea}} is a beverage that he requests many times in the series, with the exact phrase "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaAT6-dY1QI Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.]" Randall is parodying this expression with other words that could follow "Tea. Earl Grey."<br />
<br />
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=1 class="wikitable"<br />
! Word !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Hot<br />
| A fairly normal word to be used when ordering tea. Although that it even needs specifying is itself a clue that other variations (such as "Iced", below) are availablee. <br />
|-<br />
| Iced<br />
| {{w|Iced Tea}} is a 'normal' variation of tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Decaf<br />
| Traditional teas (from {{w|Camellia sinensis}}) tend to have caffeine in them. Asking for {{w|Decaffeination|decafeinated}} tea is not particularly uncommon if the drinker requires it.<br />
|-<br />
| Good<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Lukewarm<br />
| While this is a temperature that tea can be at, most people do not want their teas to be lukewarm.<br />
|-<br />
| Tasty<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Boiled<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Watery<br />
| Tea is a drink that often involves water.<br />
|-<br />
| Sour<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Meaty<br />
| Most teas are plant-based.<br />
|-<br />
| Solid<br />
| Tea is usually drunk as a liquid. It would be strange to ask for solid tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Dry<br />
| Tea is a liquid usually made with water or milk. Neither is capable of being dry in the usual liquid form.<br />
|-<br />
| Raw<br />
| This describes tea that has not been "cooked", so it would just be tea made with room-temperature water.<br />
|-<br />
| Deep-fried<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Sticky<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Grilled<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Fossilized<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Magnetic<br />
| Tea is not magnetic. Magnetic metals would have to be added to the tea, which would not be pleasant to drink.<br />
|-<br />
| Ballistic<br />
| Usually, the replicated beverage is deposited in a stationary cup, but Picard could ask for it to be dropped or thrown out instead.<br />
|-<br />
| Unstable<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Blessed<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Blurry<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Loud<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Virtual<br />
| Virtual tea cannot be produced physically, so asking a physical tea machine for it would be very strange.<br />
|-<br />
| Intravenous<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Expanding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Ironic<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Segmented<br />
| Tea is usually served in a cup. It tends to stick together and form one liquid. Separating the tea into segments would not be possible.<br />
|-<br />
| Verbose<br />
| This describes using lots of words and language, and would not likely be used for tea, because it cannot speak.{{citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Cursed<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Unexpected<br />
| By definition, Picard is asking for tea, expecting it promptly. Perhaps the request for it to be "unexpected" would cause it to be delivered at an unknown time in the future, or to have some alteration.<br />
|-<br />
| Bipedal<br />
| Tea does not walk.{{citation needed}} This would be a very strange term to use when describing tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Afraid<br />
| Tea does not have feelings.<br />
|-<br />
| Infinite<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Tea for him, too<br />
| {{w|Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey}} is a tea blend.<br />
Taken along with the context of the Titletext, this Replicator order is for "Tea" (not otherwise qualified), a replicated version ''of'' the Earl Grey (one or other of those {{w|Earl Grey|of that name}}, possibly the 2<sup>nd</sup>) and a second beverage for his own sake.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[There is a line going towards the bottom of the panel in a curve with marks and words next to them. Various pictures of Captain Picard, are displayed next to the curves.]<br />
:[Caption at top of the panel:]<br />
:Other words Captain Picard tried at the end of his tea order before settling on "hot"<br />
:[Subtitle below the caption:]<br />
:From most normal to least<br />
:[Picard stands next to a machine labeled 'REPLICATOR', giving a command. Some options such as 'Good,' 'Cold,' 'Dry,' and 'Pink' are displayed perpendicularly adjacent to 'Hot', the latter clearly selected.]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.<br />
:[Below, another version of Picard standing next to the replicator is displayed. Picard is holding a cup, with sticky lines connecting his hands and the machine]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Sticky.<br />
:[This time, Picard is holding a vibrating cup and large letters are displayed in the background to the exclusion of all else.]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Loud.<br />
:Teacup: '''TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''<br />
:[Words on the arrow from start to finish. The tail of the arrow is labeled 'Normal.' There is a parallel arrow pointing in the same direction labeled 'Less normal.']<br />
:Hot<br />
:Iced<br />
:Decaf<br />
:Good<br />
:Lukewarm<br />
:Tasty<br />
:Boiled<br />
:Watery<br />
:Sour<br />
:Meaty<br />
:Solid<br />
:Dry<br />
:Raw<br />
:Deep-fried<br />
:Sticky<br />
:Grilled<br />
:Fossilized<br />
:Magnetic<br />
:Ballistic<br />
:Unstable<br />
:Blessed<br />
:Blurry<br />
:Loud<br />
:Virtual<br />
:Intravenous<br />
:Expanding<br />
:Ironic<br />
:Segmented<br />
:Verbose<br />
:Cursed<br />
:Unexpected<br />
:Bipedal<br />
:Afraid<br />
:Infinite<br />
:Tea for him, too<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Star Trek]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2570:_Captain_Picard_Tea_Order&diff=2249392570: Captain Picard Tea Order2022-01-19T23:41:46Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ start</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2570<br />
| date = January 19, 2022<br />
| title = Captain Picard Tea Order<br />
| image = captain_picard_tea_order.png<br />
| titletext = We can ask the Earl for his order once he's fully extruded from the dispenser.<br />
}}<br />
*This was the fifth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by EXTRUDED EARL GREY- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Captain {{w|Jean-Luc Picard}} is the captain of the starship ''USS Enterprise'' in the TV series ''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}''. It appears that {{w|Earl Grey tea}} is a beverage that he references many times in the series, with the exact phrase "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2IJdfxWtPM Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.]" Randall is parodying this expression with other words that could follow "Tea. Earl Grey."<br />
<br />
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=1 class="wikitable"<br />
! Word !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Hot<br />
| A fairly normal word to be used when ordering tea. Although that it even needs specifying is itself a clue that other variations (such as "Iced", below) are availablee. <br />
|-<br />
| Iced<br />
| {{w|Iced Tea}} is a 'normal' variation of tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Decaf<br />
| Traditional teas (from {{w|Camellia sinensis}}) tend to have caffeine in them. Asking for {{w|Decaffeination|decafeinated}} tea is not particularly uncommon if the drinker requires it.<br />
|-<br />
| Good<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Lukewarm<br />
| While this is a temperature that tea can be at, most people do not want their teas to be lukewarm.<br />
|-<br />
| Tasty<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Boiled<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Watery<br />
| Tea is a drink that often involves water.<br />
|-<br />
| Sour<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Meaty<br />
| Most teas are plant-based.<br />
|-<br />
| Solid<br />
| Tea is usually drunk as a liquid. It would be strange to ask for solid tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Dry<br />
| Tea is a liquid usually made with water or milk. Neither is capable of being dry in the usual liquid form.<br />
|-<br />
| Raw<br />
| This describes tea that has not been "cooked", so it would just be tea made with room-temperature water.<br />
|-<br />
| Deep-fried<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Sticky<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Grilled<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Fossilized<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Magnetic<br />
| Tea is not magnetic. Magnetic metals would have to be added to the tea, which would not be pleasant to drink.<br />
|-<br />
| Ballistic<br />
| Usually, the replicated beverage is deposited in a stationary cup, but Picard could ask for it to be dropped or thrown out instead.<br />
|-<br />
| Unstable<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Blessed<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Blurry<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Loud<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Virtual<br />
| Virtual tea cannot be produced physically, so asking a physical tea machine for it would be very strange.<br />
|-<br />
| Intravenous<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Expanding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Ironic<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Segmented<br />
| Tea is usually served in a cup. It tends to stick together and form one liquid. Separating the tea into segments would not be possible.<br />
|-<br />
| Verbose<br />
| This describes using lots of words and language, and would not likely be used for tea, because it cannot speak.{{citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Cursed<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Unexpected<br />
| By definition, Picard is asking for tea, expecting it promptly. Perhaps the request for it to be "unexpected" would cause it to be delivered at an unknown time in the future, or to have some alteration.<br />
|-<br />
| Bipedal<br />
| Tea does not walk.{{citation needed}} This would be a very strange term to use when describing tea.<br />
|-<br />
| Afraid<br />
| Tea does not have feelings.<br />
|-<br />
| Infinite<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Tea for him, too<br />
| {{w|Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey}} is a tea blend.<br />
Taken along with the context of the Titletext, this Replicator order is for "Tea" (not otherwise qualified), a replicated version ''of'' the Earl Grey (one or other of those {{w|Earl Grey|of that name}}, possibly the 2<sup>nd</sup>) and a second beverage for his own sake.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[There is a line going towards the bottom of the panel in a curve with marks and words next to them. Various pictures of Captain Picard, are displayed next to the curves.]<br />
:[Caption at top of the panel:]<br />
:Other words Captain Picard tried at the end of his tea order before settling on "hot"<br />
:[Subtitle below the caption:]<br />
:From most normal to least<br />
:[Picard stands next to a machine labeled 'REPLICATOR', giving a command. Some options such as 'Good,' 'Cold,' 'Dry,' and 'Pink' are displayed perpendicularly adjacent to 'Hot', the latter clearly selected.]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.<br />
:[Below, another version of Picard standing next to the replicator is displayed. Picard is holding a cup, with sticky lines connecting his hands and the machine]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Sticky.<br />
:[This time, Picard is holding a vibrating cup and large letters are displayed in the background to the exclusion of all else.]<br />
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Loud.<br />
:Teacup: '''TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''<br />
:[Words on the arrow from start to finish. The tail of the arrow is labeled 'Normal.' There is a parallel arrow pointing in the same direction labeled 'Less normal.']<br />
:Hot<br />
:Iced<br />
:Decaf<br />
:Good<br />
:Lukewarm<br />
:Tasty<br />
:Boiled<br />
:Watery<br />
:Sour<br />
:Meaty<br />
:Solid<br />
:Dry<br />
:Raw<br />
:Deep-fried<br />
:Sticky<br />
:Grilled<br />
:Fossilized<br />
:Magnetic<br />
:Ballistic<br />
:Unstable<br />
:Blessed<br />
:Blurry<br />
:Loud<br />
:Virtual<br />
:Intravenous<br />
:Expanding<br />
:Ironic<br />
:Segmented<br />
:Verbose<br />
:Cursed<br />
:Unexpected<br />
:Bipedal<br />
:Afraid<br />
:Infinite<br />
:Tea for him, too<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Star Trek]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2562:_Formatting_Meeting&diff=2233672562: Formatting Meeting2022-01-01T06:35:07Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */ huh? Nope? Wikilink</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2562<br />
| date = December 31, 2021<br />
| title = Formatting Meeting<br />
| image = formatting_meeting.png<br />
| titletext = Neither group uses iso 8601 because the big-endian enthusiasts were all at the meeting 20 years ago.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LOCAL VERSION OF DR SEUSS, WHO IS NOT JONATHAN SWIFT - Needs wikification and consideration of whether there is a relation to new year's eve. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the United States, it's common to write dates numerically in the format ''month/day/year'' -- 2/3/22 means February 3, 2022 (the century is often omitted when it's obvious that the date is around the current time). In Europe, the usual format is ''day/month/year'', so 2/3/22 is 2nd March, 2022.<br />
<br />
"Localization" is the technique used in software to make it accept input and display output in the formats most natural to users in their locations. For example, in the United States numbers use commas "," to separate thousands and a decimal point "." to separate the decimal values, while in large areas of the EU it is the reverse. And textual output will be translated to the local language. Naturally, this also includes displaying dates in the local format, as described above. Note: Currency is only localized where there is a different formatting standard for the same currency (e.g., Canadian English is $1,000.00 and Canadian French is 1 000,00 $). Currency is never "localized" to a different currency as it would actually change the money value (e.g., $100 is not the same as €100) and a currency conversion is required, which may be further confounded by fluctuating rates in either the short or long term. <br />
<br />
The joke in this comic is that two dates are shown on the same display related to meetings regarding localization. The date of the meeting of the US team is localized in the US format, while the EU team's meeting is localized in the European format, and these two dates about a month apart happen to be formatted the same (there are many such pairs of dates, as long as the day of the month is between 1 and 12). Cueball needs to explain that the European meeting will be a month later than the US meeting, to avoid confusion due to the ambiguity (which is ironic, since localization is intended to reduce confusion).<br />
<br />
{{w|ISO-8601}} (that is, standard number 8601 as promulgated by the International Standards Organization since 1988) specifies a date format of YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2021-12-31), which results in dates being listed in chronological order when sorted stringwise. The ISO format is called "{{w|big-endian}}", which refers to the fact that the largest unit in the date (the year) comes first; the European format is instead "{{w|little-endian}}", while the American format is neither since the unit given first is the one whose size is in the middle. (Regular numerals are also written with the largest place values on the left – for example, the first 2 in 2021 is the thousands place – though whether this convention is big-endian or little-endian depends on whether the numbers are being read in the context of left-to-right or right-to-left text. The "endianness" terms are most often used in reference to whether the address of a value in computer memory which takes up more than one cell is the location of the most significant or least significant cell, though they originate in a [https://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Spring_2003/ling538/Lecnotes/ADfn1.htm Jonathan Swift story] about a war over which end of the egg to eat first.) This standard was also mentioned in [[1179: ISO 8601]].<br />
<br />
The joke in the title text is that someone attempting to interpret the improperly formatted date as if it were expressed in the standardized ISO-8601 format, might read the date as March 22, 2002, so they went to the meeting almost 20 years ago. Unless the announcement of the meetings was made 2 decades in advance, there's a paradox that these participants would have taken the date from an announcement in the far future. However this interpretation of the date is necessarily incorrect: ISO-8601 format specifies four digit years, two digit months and two digit days. Therefore "2/3/22” ''cannot'' be an ISO-8601 date, as "2" must be rendered as "0002", and "3" must be "03". Even if the leading zeroes were omitted in violation of ISO-8601, the year would become Year 2, not Year 2002. Since the standard always uses a 4 digit 'YYYY' format in the first field, and no common formatting uses YYYY-DD-MM, any date written in ISO-8601 is easily recognized and (comparatively) unambiguously interpretable as YYYY-MM-DD. Dates written in Y-M-DD or MM-DD-YY or other formats are (officially) formatted improperly.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball sitting next to a screen, which displays]: <br />
:Localization working group<br />
:Upcoming meetings<br />
:<hr><br />
:US Team: 2/3/22<br />
:EU Team: 2/3/22<br />
<br />
:Cueball: And the European formatting and localization team will meet a month later...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Calendar]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2556:_Turing_Complete&diff=2227592556: Turing Complete2021-12-18T01:21:51Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2556<br />
| date = December 17, 2021<br />
| title = Turing Complete<br />
| image = turing_complete.png<br />
| titletext = Thanks to the ForcedEntry exploit, your company's entire tech stack can now be hosted out of a PDF you texted to someone.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NATION-STATE THAT CAN RUN DOOM, AND CRYSIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A {{w|Turing machine}} is a theoretical form of computer (as an idealised thought exercise) that has an infinite tape of symbols and can act upon and change these values as it moves up and down this tape according to specific deterministic rules.<br />
<br />
This very simple machine can be shown to do every computational task that what we think of as a "computer" can do, given the right setup and enough time. Something that is {{w|Turing complete}} is able to act as a Turing machine, though generally with the limitation of having a finite tape, and this means it is also able to do basically every computational task.<br />
<br />
While many pieces of hardware and software are supposed to be Turing complete (even Excel, as previously pointed out in [[2453: Excel Lambda]]), this comic implies that this was not what it was designed for. Whatever [[Ponytail]] has been referring to is not shown, but it seems to be an anecdote about how something seemingly too simple and/or specialised to exhibit such a computational equivalence has been discovered to actually be that capable.<br />
<br />
With complex processors now installed in many household items, including large household appliances like dishwashers, the possibility is raised that someone has 'hacked' such a device to do the same computational work as an actual games console. Or, referring to Alan Turing's secret (but now famous) work in helping to decode enemy signals in World War Two it could actually mean that there is yet again a belligerent country whose military communications are most urgently needed to be read.<br />
<br />
The {{w|FORCEDENTRY|ForcedEntry}} exploit is a way that was discovered to allow {{w|PDF}} files to force malware onto various devices. In the title-text it is suggested that this mechanism can be used for what might be more legal and practical purposes, although this might be up to some interpretation depending upon who has the right (and permission) to do what.<br />
<br />
A {{w|Solution stack|tech stack}} is one shorthand way of describing the way an integrated grouping of communicating software packages provides everything from the deepest data handling (even as low-level as an Operating System itself) to the user interface. All of these will normally be on a computer (or possibly many of them, whether locally or distributed worldwide) and if a sufficiently functional surrogate system is capable of emulating this (computing what the original computer(s) would do) then it can be considered to effectively ''be'' the same stack of technology and duplicate or replace the originals.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing next to each other]<br />
:Ponytail:...Now, it turns out this is actually Turing-Complete...<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:This phrase either means someone spent six months getting their dishwasher to play Mario or you are under attack by a nation-state.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2556:_Turing_Complete&diff=2227582556: Turing Complete2021-12-18T01:20:23Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Transcript */ cats; ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2556<br />
| date = December 17, 2021<br />
| title = Turing Complete<br />
| image = turing_complete.png<br />
| titletext = Thanks to the ForcedEntry exploit, your company's entire tech stack can now be hosted out of a PDF you texted to someone.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NATION-STATE THAT CAN RUN DOOM, AND CRYSIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A Turing Machine is a theoretical form of computer (as an idealised thought exercise) that has an infinite tape of symbols and can act upon and change these values as it moves up and down this tape according to specific deterministic rules.<br />
<br />
This very simple machine can be shown to do every computational task that what we think of as a "computer" can do, given the right setup and enough time. Something that is Turing Complete is able to act as a Turing Machine, though generally with the limitation of having a finite tape, and this means it is also able to do basically every computational task.<br />
<br />
While many pieces of hardware and software are supposed to be Turing Complete (even Excel, as previously pointed out in [[2453: Excel Lambda]]), this comic implies that this was not what it was designed for. Whatever [[Ponytail]] has been referring to is not shown, but it seems to be an anecdote about how something seemingly too simple and/or specialised to exhibit such a computational equivalence has been discovered to actually be that capable.<br />
<br />
With complex processors now installed in many household items, including large household appliances like dishwashers, the possibility is raised that someone has 'hacked' such a device to do the same computational work as an actual games console. Or, referring to Alan Turing's secret (but now famous) work in helping to decode enemy signals in World War Two it could actually mean that there is yet again a belligerent country whose military communications are most urgently needed to be read.<br />
<br />
The {{w|FORCEDENTRY|ForcedEntry}} exploit is a way that was discovered to allow {{w|PDF}} files to force malware onto various devices. In the title-text it is suggested that this mechanism can be used for what might be more legal and practical purposes, although this might be up to some interpretation depending upon who has the right (and permission) to do what.<br />
<br />
A {{w|Solution stack|Tech Stack}} is one shorthand way of describing the way an integrated grouping of communicating software packages provides everything from the deepest data handling (even as low-level as an Operating System itself) to the user interface. All of these will normally be on a computer (or possibly many of them, whether locally or distributed worldwide) and if a sufficiently functional surrogate system is capable of emulating this (computing what the original computer(s) would do) then it can be considered to effectively ''be'' the same stack of technology and duplicate or replace the originals.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing next to each other]<br />
:Ponytail:...Now, it turns out this is actually Turing-Complete...<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:This phrase either means someone spent six months getting their dishwasher to play Mario or you are under attack by a nation-state.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1836:_Okeanos&diff=2225161836: Okeanos2021-12-12T21:39:02Z<p>172.70.206.205: /* Table of comments */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1836<br />
| date = May 12, 2017<br />
| title = Okeanos<br />
| image = okeanos.png<br />
| titletext = WHEN I WAS ON A BOAT I DROPPED MY PHONE CAN U LOOK FOR IT<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The {{w|NOAAS_Okeanos_Explorer_(R_337)|NOAAS Okeanos Explorer}}, named after the Greek (and Roman) personification of the sea {{w|Okeanos}}, is a vessel that is currently exploring the Central Pacific Basin. It livestreams the video feed [http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html] of its deep sea exploration online. <br />
<br />
This comic seems to be a representation of the livestream on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmVT36Axtn0]; see the [[#Table of comments|table]] below for details. <br />
<br />
The chat section for the actual livestream is disabled, but the comic adds some humorous examples of what the chat section would look like. Several of the examples are the product of commenters falsely believing the livestream is that of a game, probably since most livestreams on YouTube are of people playing games; [[Randall]] is joking about the viewers of said streams in particular not being able to tell the difference, as well as YouTube commenters in general. Randall has mentioned the ridiculousness of comments on YouTube before in both [[202: YouTube]] and [[481: Listen to Yourself]]. One of the comments seems to refer to Minecraft or a similar game, since one of the comments asks why nothing is being crafted (crafting is a mechanic in many games, used to make items).<br />
<br />
In the caption below Randall states that he likes to view the stream and commends them on disabling the chat section, for the reasons given in the comic above.<br />
<br />
The title text is yet another comment by someone who dropped their phone from a boat, and now wants to use Okeanos' resources to find it, which is of course impossible; if the boat was anywhere near Okeanos, the phone would have swiftly been hidden in the silt on the bottom. And even if not, the chance of finding anything dropped in the {{w|Pacific Ocean}}, the largest Ocean on the Earth, is all but zero. Also, the Central Pacific Basin, where Okeanos was at the time of this comic's release, is 6500 meters deep; at that depth the water pressure is approximately 4454.863 kilopascals, or roughly 646 PSI. This is probably enough to irrevocably damage something as breakable as a cell phone. Even if the phone were of the so-called "waterproof" variety, that rating is usually only applicable to a few meters of depth rather than thousands of meters. Needless to say, retrieving one's phone from the bottom of the Central Pacific Basin would be a challenging and pointless endeavor.<br />
<br />
==Table of comments==<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Comment<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Fake<br />
| A very common YouTube comment expressing disbelief, for example saying that the content is edited or computer generated.<br />
|-<br />
| Who else is watching this in 2017?<br />
| This type of comment appears frequently on videos, as a kind of community bonding over discovering or revisiting older content. It is not relevant here, as this is a live feed in 2017.<br />
|-<br />
| Is this {{w|Pre-rendering|prerendered}} or will these graphics be in the game?<br />
| Previews for video games often use a mix of pre-rendered computer graphics and in-game footage, generally because in-game footage is not always visually impressive, interesting to watch, or easy to fit into the narrative of a preview advertisement. This practice can easily mislead people into believing that the pre-rendered graphics represent the actual game graphics, leading to disappointment when they purchase the game and find out that this isn't the case. The commenter, who has mistaken the marine footage for a game trailer, is trying to determine if what he's seeing is pre-rendered or not, since it looks photorealistic to the point that he can't believe these are in-game graphics.<br />
|-<br />
| That squid is a {{w|Neoliberalism|neoliberal}}<br />
| Likely an attempt at trolling; anyone with even a passing knowledge of marine life will be annoyed that the commenter confused the onscreen jellyfish with a squid, and everyone else will be annoyed by the politically-charged accusation in a place where such conversation clearly does not belong. Judging by the following comments, they have successfully baited at least one other person in the chat.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do the McElroys never talk<br />
| A reference to The Adventure Zone, a ''{{w|Dungeons & Dragons}}'' podcast hosted by the McElroy Brothers and their father. In the world of The Adventure Zone, there is a creature called the Voidfish, which is generally interpreted to look like a jellyfish. Its abilities include censoring forbidden knowledge spoken by initiated to the uninitiated, so the commenter can't hear anything the McElroys are saying.<br />
|-<br />
| Stop messing around and eat the fish already<br />
| Possibly a gamer or food vlog watcher. It could also be that the commenter believes that the footage is from the perspective of a marine predator.<br />
|-<br />
| This is why {{w|Donald Trump|Trump}} won<br />
| Another unwelcome injection of politics. This is likely targeted at the 'squid is a neoliberal' commenter, claiming that Trump's election was a reaction to the unwelcome injection of politics into culture.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do u never craft anything<br />
| A comment referencing games such as ''{{w|Subnautica}}'' and ''{{w|Minecraft}}'', where a key aspect to survival is crafting materials. Not crafting items in these games is often taken as a sign of ignorance or inexperience, which may be a source of mockery for commenters watching a gaming stream.<br />
|-<br />
| This is just a distraction<br />
| Commenter thinks people should be focused on other things which are more important. Possibly political comment. Possibly conspiracy theorist.<br />
|-<br />
| Something is wrong with that baby giraffe<br />
| A live video of a giraffe in labor and giving birth was viral in April 2017. This commenter is either confused about which video they're watching, and is concerned that the creature on screen (a jellyfish) looks unlike a healthy baby giraffe, or is feigning this confusion as a joke.<br />
|-<br />
| [title text]<br />
WHEN I WAS ON A BOAT I DROPPED MY PHONE CAN U LOOK FOR IT<br />
| Someone in chat is asking the Explorer to look for a phone they dropped in the ocean. The Explorer doesn't have retrieving lost articles as part of its stated duties, and the impossibility of finding such a small item in such a huge ocean means this request will likely be ignored.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The comic takes place during a typical YouTube livestream. The livestream video titled "Camera 1: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin" is provided by the channel "OceanExplorerGov" and recorded from Okeanos Explorer exploratory vessel. On the left hand side, the live video feed is playing, showing a jellyfish in the ocean's depths. On the right hand side, the live chat is displayed.]<br />
<br />
:User #1: Fake<br />
:User #2: Who else is watching this in 2017?<br />
:User #3: Is this prerendered or will this be in the game?<br />
:User #4: That squid is a neoliberal<br />
:User #5: Why do the McElroys never talk<br />
:User #6: Stop messing around and eat the fish already<br />
:User #7: This is why Trump won<br />
:User #8: Why do u never craft anything<br />
:User #9: This is just a distraction<br />
:User #10: Something is wrong with that baby giraffe<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I love watching the Okeanos Ocean Exploration livestream, but it's probably for the best that they don't enable chat.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:YouTube]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Trump]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2549:_Edge_Cake&diff=2220892549: Edge Cake2021-12-05T19:09:55Z<p>172.70.206.205: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2549<br />
| date = December 1, 2021<br />
| title = Edge Cake<br />
| image = edge_cake.png<br />
| titletext = Every time IERS adds or removes a leap second, they send me a birthday cake out of superstition.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by FRINGE FRUITCAKE &ndash; Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Megan]]—possibly an {{w|IERS}} (International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems) agent—wishes Emily, represented as [[Hairbun]], Happy Birthday. This prompts a confused [[Cueball]] to ask if her birthday was sometime last month. Emily explains that she was born over the North Pole in a plane, meaning that she was born in every timezone at once. Technically though this is false, as there are some timezones (such as {{w|Nepal Standard Time|UTC+5:45}}) that are not represented at the north pole. Except for the one hour before it's midnight at the International Date Line, the date in eastern time zones is one day ahead of western time zones, so Emily would have been born on two days at once. <br />
<br />
She also says that it was February 29th (presumably it was also February 28 or March 1 in some time zones). February 29th only happens at most once every four years in the Gregorian calendar, adding to the confusion - people born on February 29th often celebrate their non-leap-year birthdays on arbitrary days (or {{w|The_Pirates_of_Penzance#Synopsis|not at all}}). Normally {{w|Birth aboard aircraft and ships|one could simply use the time zone of the city the airplane took off from}}, but the airline company was changing ownership from one country to another at the time, so this option has apparently been ruled out. This is not terribly logical however, since contracts transferring ownership usually specify an exact time (commonly one minute before or after midnight in a specific time zone to avoid confusion on which day midnight is in) to come into effect. Regardless of which time zone(s) she was in when she was born this is an absolute time and if she was born before it she would have been born in an aircraft of the first country and if after it in an aircraft of the second country. Alternately, the time zone of the city the aircraft took off from doesn't change even if nationality of the plane changes in midair, so that should have still been an option.<br />
<br />
The punchline is that rather than try to identify the correct birthday for Emily, the {{w|BIPM}} has decided to let her have birthdays whenever she wants. This doesn't make much sense, however. As noted above even if she was born in every time zone at once it could only have been on one of two days (February 29th, plus either February 28th or March 1st). Since it is common for people born on February 29th to celebrate on February 28th in non-leap years, it would have been trivial to pick the non-leap day present in some of the time zones (either February 28th or March 1st) and declare it Emily's birthday.<br />
<br />
In real life researchers in the Arctic at or near the North Pole use {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}} as the [http://www.thoughtco.com/the-north-pole-1435098 local time standard] by convention, to avoid this exact problem. Thus it could have been said that Emily was born on the date that it was at that time in UTC. Furthermore, it is extremely unlikely that she would have been born at the exact instant the plane was over the north pole, indeed, it is unlikely that the plane even traveled over the exact pole, as opposed to a few miles or even feet to either side of it. With modern positioning equipment such as GPS it should have been possible to determine which time zone the plane was in when she was born. Even in the impossibly unlikely event that she was directly above the pole at the instant of her birth, at jetliner speeds the plane was travelling about ten miles per minute, so a reasonable delay of even seconds in declaring "time of birth" would have placed the plane and her clearly in one time zone.<br />
<br />
Both the comic title and Cueball's final line are puns on "{{w|edge case}}", an engineering term referring to situations or conditions that are unusual in a way likely to cause problems unless specifically accounted for. Edge pieces are generally only important with sheet goods (brownies sheet cakes, etc), which are typically cut into pieces creating a difference between pieces originating on the edge and pieces originating from the center. Since the sides of a cake are often frosted, an edge piece has two faces covered in frosting and a corner piece has three, while a center piece only has one. Depending upon your relative preferences between the surface (often icing over marzipan) and core body of the cake (which can be fruitcake, or some variety of spongecake, etc, but not actually obvious which until the cake is cut), it being an edge-faced slice can be considered a bonus. Cueball certainly seems to appreciate this.<br />
<br />
The title text states that the {{w|IERS}} sends Emily a cake every time they add or remove a leap second, out of superstition (perhaps Megan is delivering that cake). The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is in charge of global time standards. It occasionally adds one leap-second to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}} to adjust for changes in the rotation speed of the Earth.<br />
<br />
The comic might also be a modern version of the ''{{w|SS Warrimoo}}'', a passenger liner that reportedly crossed the international date line at the equator on midnight Dec. 31, 1899. This would have placed her bow in the Southern Hemisphere in summer on 1 January 1900, her stern in the Northern Hemisphere in winter on 31 December 1899. She would therefore have been simultaneously in two different seasons (winter and summer), in two different hemispheres, on two different days, in two different months, in two different years, in two different decades.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Hairbun was last named "Emily" in [[788: The Carriage]]. More specifically, that version of Hairbun represented {{w|Emily Dickinson}}, a real, historical person who had no such issues regarding her birthday.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is walking towards Cueball and Emily (who resembles Hairbun), holding a cake.]<br />
:Megan: Happy birthday, Emily!<br />
:Cueball: Wait, wasn't that last month? When's your birthday, anyways?<br />
:Emily: It's complicated.<br />
<br />
:[A diagram of a flight path over the North Pole, with meridian lines radiating out from the center. Emily's dialogue appears above the diagram, but she herself does not appear in this panel.]<br />
:Emily: My mom went into labor on an arctic international flight that diverted directly over the North Pole.<br />
:Emily: I was born in every time zone at once.<br />
<br />
:[With Megan standing behind her, Emily holds out a plate of cake to Cueball.]<br />
:Emily: It was also February 29th, and the airline was just changing ownership between countries.<br />
:Emily: The International Bureau of Weights and Measures finally issued a declaration that it's my birthday whenever I want.<br />
:Emily: Cake?<br />
:Cueball: Nice, it's all edge pieces.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Time]]<br />
[[Category:Engineering]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>172.70.206.205https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:875:_2009_Called&diff=221410Talk:875: 2009 Called2021-11-27T03:13:44Z<p>172.70.206.205: Help, I am trapped in a year that I don't like, very much hate it</p>
<hr />
<div>I was too busy trading fashion tips, and they hung up before I could tell them. '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:38, 11 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The '90s called. They wanted my pogs back. But, due to inflation, they couldn't offer me enough money for me to be willing to sell. I told them my friend, Oscar, has some Pokémon stuff, but the '90s had no interest in that crap. I made the right choice to choose pogs over Pokémon. Society made the wrong one. But, I digress. The '90s are doing rather well, and they miss us.[[Special:Contributions/76.29.225.28|76.29.225.28]] 18:20, 14 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:The only Pokémon stuff I ever had was a bunch of pogs, so... --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.172|172.68.10.172]] 18:26, 31 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
2017 called, but I couldn't understand what they were saying over all the screams. I bet it was something about them being attacked by 4 Replicants. [[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 23:49, 23 January 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well, that title text is feeling pretty prophetic now...[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 00:08, 12 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
'''Hello it's 2017, please send help.''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.202|108.162.237.202]] 21:23, 7 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:This is 2018 calling in, you'll be alright on your own. At least for the time being. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.130|108.162.241.130]] 05:05, 14 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
::2020 here. We're hosed. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.127|172.68.189.127]] 20:52, 6 April 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::2021 says, I miss 2020, please send time machine[[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 03:13, 27 November 2021 (UTC)<br />
This now stands as a piece of horrifying foreshadowing. Seriously, we're barely in april and things alredy look terrifying. I blame Randall for everything. {{unsigned ip|198.41.226.124}}<br />
<br />
The screaming in 2017 was just an echo of everybody's collective screams from 2016 when almost everybody's favorite musician or celebrity died. We now refer to it as 'The Year Who's Number Shall Not be Spoken' [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.225|172.69.68.225]] 05:59, 15 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The explanation mentioned Trump, but it doesn't actually attack him too much. Good. We don't need all the Trump hate here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.165|162.158.74.165]] 22:28, 25 September 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I've removed the sentence because Randall is no clairvoyant. This comic is from 2011 and 2017 was not only a Trump year. And guessing about Clinton doesn't explain the comic at all. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:01, 27 September 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Shouldn't there be a {{Citation needed}} after the statement that Randall isn't clairvoyant? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.214|108.162.210.214]] 20:41, 6 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, clearly, he isn't. I mean, he was off by three whole years! But I guess you didn't know that, did you, 108.162.210.214 20:41 6 January 2020 (UTC)? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.75|162.158.62.75]] 14:19, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::The notion that 2017 was a bad year seems comical in retrospect. I suspect by this time next year, we will feel the same way about 2020.<br />
::::For the benefit of anyone reading this far enough in the future that the topical reference isn't obvious: There's a new virus and half a million people have died so far. It is still increasing exponentially. If you didn't hear about it it's because whatever happens after this is worse, probably. {{unsigned|Singlelinelabyrinth}}<br />
:::::It's also possible that person reading it from future would still consider 2020 bad but for different reason. After all, historically speaking, the epidemic is not THAT bad (yet): it just shows how unprepared we were for it despite thinking otherwise. Just now, I'm little worried about how big temperature {{w|Donald Trump|the person currently in charge of US nuclear weapons}} has. Sure, they SAY [https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54427390 he's getting better] ... I still think he should've transfer the codes to {{w|Mike Pence|vicepresident}} at least for time he was in hospital. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:10, 6 October 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::::1) *pandemic, 2) ??! Not that bad? Over twice as many people have died in the United States from COVID-19 than those who fought in World War I! I get that, with respect to the world, it's not been as devastating due to early restrictions, but it's still making a sizeable impression on people right now. Also, Singlelinelabyrinth is likely more correct than she/he thinks: a good contributor to it, and literally everything else happening right now, is the [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline|global warming]] of recent years. On the other hand, so as not to appear like your run-of-the-mill pugnacious liberal, I will agree with you that the codes should've been transferred to Pence during Trump's stay at the hospital.</div>172.70.206.205