https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.48.129&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T21:40:03ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2169:_Predictive_Models&diff=1759402169: Predictive Models2019-06-28T22:09:15Z<p>173.245.48.129: /* Explanation */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2169<br />
| date = June 28, 2019<br />
| title = Predictive Models<br />
| image = predictive_models.png<br />
| titletext = WE WILL ARREST THE REVOLUTION MEMBERS [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PREDICTIVE MODEL THAT WILL BE FIRST AGAINST THE WALL WHEN THE REVOLUTION COMES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Predictive text}} is a feature on many systems where as you type the system automatically suggests likely words or phrases to follow what you have written to that point. For instance, if you type "I'm heading" the system may suggest "home" or "back" as likely words to follow. Predictive systems usually use prior input to generate their predictions, so if you frequently type "Totally amazing!" the system will suggest "amazing!" every time you type "totally" even if you actually want to type "totally true" sometimes.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Cueball is using predictive text to uncover a plot against him, or his organization/government. By typing in an obscure phrase related to revolution and a meeting, he gets the predictive text algorithm to display where and when the next, supposedly secret, meeting will be held. This works because it is unlikely that anyone else other than revolutionaries would be typing this phrase, thus the only data the algorithm has to predict from is the actual message from the revolutionaries on their next meeting. The caption of the comic is pointing out that systems which use prior input for predictive purposes in this way can end up leaking information that might otherwise be considered private.<br />
<br />
As humanity adapts to a digital world, people are finding that their digital communications provide the illusion of confidentiality, with damaging results when the information leaks out. Real-life examples include a [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36391957 2016 British trainee doctor strike], where a technically-secure WhatsApp group leaked information to the press.<br />
<br />
The title text shows the revolutionaries using the same technique. By typing in "We will arrest the revolution members" they are hoping that the algorithm will suggest the time and date of their planned arrest, since no one other than the authorities would be typing in that phrase. Part of the title text seems to have been erroneously inserted into an HTML anchor tag on the image; adding this to the existing title text produces "WE WILL ARREST THE REVOLUTION MEMBERS [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown.""<br />
<br />
Both examples assume that the revolutionaries and the authorities would be talking about very secret information in the clear on a network accessible to their adversaries. In the real world people engaged in sensitive activities would communicate via code, encryption, or both, or would do so through secure channels. There is still the danger of secret information leaking via non-secret channels, however.<br />
<br />
Although the comic title is "Predictive Models", the term {{w|Predictive modelling}} usually refers to computer programs that try to predict outcomes from data aggregation, such as reviewing health records to identify people most at risk from certain diseases based on weight, prior injuries, etc., before testing directly for the diseases themselves. This is similar to but not precisely like the example in the comic, since predictive text is using direct input to predict further input, while predictive modelling is using related input (such as make and model of a car along with driver acceleration patterns) to predict a different output (such as likelihood of a crash). Both predictive text and predictive modelling could leak information as the comic suggests, however. A famous example occurred in World War II. The Germans kept tank production figures a secret, but they gave items like engine blocks sequential serial numbers. The Allies wanted to know exact tank production figures, so the solved the {{w|German tank problem}} by using statistical methods to analyze the the distribution of these numbers on captured vehicles. They were able to predict tank production figures extremely accurately, to the point they predicted 270 tanks in a month when 276 were actually built. Thus the secret information on tank production leaked.<br />
<br />
Predictive text and the possibility to leak unintended information has been parodied on xkcd before in [[1068: Swiftkey]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Single panel with Cueball sitting at a desk typing on a laptop.]<br />
:Cueball typing: Long live the revolution. Our next meeting will be at<span style="color:gray">|</span> [Predictive text tool suggests in grey text] <span style="color:gray">the docks at midnight on June 28 [tab]</span><br />
:Cueball: ''Aha, found them!''<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:When you train predictive models on input from your users, it can leak information in unexpected ways.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2109:_Invisible_Formatting&diff=1694162109: Invisible Formatting2019-02-09T16:17:45Z<p>173.245.48.129: He's doesn't think it's better; he's just making a joke.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2109<br />
| date = February 8, 2019<br />
| title = Invisible Formatting<br />
| image = invisible_formatting.png<br />
| titletext = To avoid errors like this, we render all text and pipe it through OCR before processing, fixing a handful of irregular bugs by burying them beneath a smooth, uniform layer of bugs.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
A''' '''fast''' '''way''' '''to''' '''select''' '''a''' '''word''' '''in''' '''many''' '''systems''' '''is''' '''to''' '''double-click''' '''it,''' '''which''' '''also''' '''selects''' '''the''' '''following''' '''space.''' '''After''' '''applying''' '''formatting,''' '''one''' '''may''' '''select''' '''only''' '''the''' '''word''' '''to''' '''remove''' '''this''' '''formatting,''' '''by''' '''clicking''' '''and''' '''dragging''' '''with''' '''the''' '''mouse,''' '''which''' '''leaves''' '''the''' '''space''' '''formatted.''' '''Since''' '''in''' '''most''' '''fonts''' '''the''' '''word''' '''space''' '''looks''' '''identical''' '''between''' '''the''' '''bold''' '''and''' '''the''' '''regular,''' '''this''' '''has''' '''no''' '''effect''' '''on''' '''how''' '''the''' '''end''' '''user''' '''will''' '''read''' '''the''' '''document,''' '''but''' '''could''' '''theoretically''' '''cause''' '''a''' '''problem''' '''on''' '''later''' '''occasions.''' '''[[Randall]]''' '''worries''' '''about''' '''this.<br />
<br />
In the pictured case, he does not appear to have selected the word by double-clicking, since the cursor is depicted past the end of the word instead of on top of it. It appears instead that he has clicked and dragged the mouse cursor to select it, a method which also makes it easy to accidentally select a trailing space. The word space is a relatively thin character, which makes it hard to avoid and to notice, and most people don’t worry about whether they selected it. Therefore, selecting a trailing space is a common behavior, regardless of the method used.<br />
<br />
If later the same word is highlighted to have the bold removed, but this time without including the space, the space would retain its bold formatting. Since it is an invisible character, there is no easy way to tell it is still bold—even if it is slightly longer in the bold font, this may be hard to notice. This is the situation the comic is highlighting—[[559: No Pun Intended|no pun intended]].<br />
<br />
Occasions where a hidden bold space may be a problem include:<br />
*Exporting to plain text files. If for example a {{w|markdown}} style is used, there will be characters in the output that do not make sense.<br />
*Scraping, data mining, and linguistics processing by computer algorithms. Often (although not always) these algorithms are written based on samples of training or testing text that may not have spurious formatting present, and may misprocess something when encountering the spurious formatting.<br />
*Wikis. In the first paragraph of this article, every space is a hidden bold space. From the editing view, all the spaces look <code><nowiki>like''' '''this</nowiki></code>. This will annoy all future editors of this article, due to the hidden apostrophes which are formatting the spaces. They may also accidentally introduce bold words.<br />
**By default, MediaWiki attempts to prevent this by not including the trailing spaces in the bold formatting when you click the “bold” button, so someone has to manually type the formatting apostrophes to do this.<br />
*Editing that adds some text at the location of the space will make this text bold.<br />
*A situation where formatted text is not allowed, and is rejected, but the user failed to strip formatting from the spaces, and this is noticed.<br />
*If a font has the word space look different between the bold and the regular, perhaps to make it so bold words are spaced closer to each other, the spacing will look inconsistent if there is a hidden bold space.<br />
*Unnecessary extra formatting will usually unnecessarily increase file size, which may put the document above some maximum file size threshold.<br />
*It can be later revealed that Randall considered to format parts of the text in bold. As the title text tells it is really important to Randall to control all information he publishes. Real-world examples are governments changing the impact of reports for political reasons. Attempted tampering of this kind can be revealed by bold spaces. Another example would be a casual and short one-sentence reply e.g. to a romantic interest, which one takes one hour to formulate to sound as natural as possible.<br />
<br />
Randall’s background in {{w|computer programming}} could be what makes him more attentive to these types of technical problems, and therefore the reason for his worries.<br />
<br />
Popular modern word processing programs have features which may make it easier to notice improperly formatted invisible characters. In the tutorials linked here, one may learn how to view invisible characters in [https://support.office.com/en-us/article/show-or-hide-formatting-marks-c2d8a607-5646-4165-8b08-bd68f9d172a0 Microsoft Word], [https://support.apple.com/kb/PH23650?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US Pages] and [https://help.libreoffice.org/Writer/Nonprinting_Characters LibreOffice Writer], however even with this on it would be difficult to spot a bolded space (which looks like a bolded dot &ndash; now visible but so small it's still hard to tell if it's bold or not). In the older word processor {{w|WordPerfect}}, one could do this with the “Reveal Codes” feature, which showed you character codes, separate from the characters themselves, around the characters. For example, a bolded space would look something like "<span style="background:#34F5FF">[BOLD&#8827;</span>&ensp;<span style="background:#34F5FF">&#8826;BOLD]</span>".<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall says that he “fixes” this by running the text through {{w|Optical character recognition|OCR}}, which turns physical copies or images into text. This would usually ruin even more formatting, and add inaccuracies to the text. This way, no one can tell which bugs were introduced by him and which ones by the OCR, which he facetiously suggests is better somehow.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[A text editor, with some options. They are superscript in one section, bold, italic and underscore in another section and alignments in the third section. The word "not ", including the following space, is highlighted in blue. There is a cursor below it.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would <span style="background:#64D5FF">not </span>have to mo...<br />
:Action: Select<br />
<br />
:[The cursor is on the "bold" option and the selected word is bolded.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would <span style="background:#64D5FF">'''not '''</span>have to mo...<br />
:Action: Click<br />
<br />
:[The cursor is next to the "to". No text is highlighted.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would '''not '''have to mo...<br />
:Thought bubble: ...Nah, the bold is too much.<br />
<br />
:[The word "not" is now highlighted in blue again, but the following space is not.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would <span style="background:#64D5FF">'''not</span> '''have to mo...<br />
:Action: Select<br />
<br />
:[The cursor is on the "bold" option and the selected word is not bolded.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would <span style="background:#64D5FF">not</span>''' '''have to mo...<br />
:Action: Click<br />
<br />
:[The cursor and the blue highlighting are gone. The space after "not" has a dashed box around it, and an arrow points to it.]<br />
:Text: ...ere, but would not''' '''have to mo...<br />
:Arrow: Hidden bold space<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panels:]<br />
:When editing text, in the back of my mind I always worry that I'm adding invisible formatting that will somehow cause a problem in the distant future.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2036:_Edgelord&diff=161665Talk:2036: Edgelord2018-08-22T04:37:13Z<p>173.245.48.129: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Presumably has something to do with https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 04:37, 22 August 2018 (UTC)</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2036:_Edgelord&diff=1616642036: Edgelord2018-08-22T04:25:57Z<p>173.245.48.129: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2036<br />
| date = August 22, 2018<br />
| title = Edgelord<br />
| image = edgelord.png<br />
| titletext = If you study graphs in which edges can link more than two nodes, you're more properly called a hyperedgelord.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a HYPEREDGELORD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This Comic plays on the fact that Graphs (or, at least, the objects in graphs) have EDGES. Saying someone with a Graph Theory PH.D. is an Edgelord (a master of edges) is a bit like saying Your cat is a miniature wolverine (because she/he has retractable claws).<br />
<br />
The title text makes the same joke, except that the title would be Hyperedgelord (master of Hyperedges) instead of Edgelord (a master of edges that aren't hyperedges)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1729:_Migrating_Geese&diff=1611941729: Migrating Geese2018-08-14T18:19:39Z<p>173.245.48.129: Undo revision 161178 by 162.158.62.231 (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1729<br />
| date = September 5, 2016<br />
| title = Migrating Geese<br />
| image = migrating_geese.png<br />
| titletext = "Hey guys! I have a great idea for a migration!" "Dammit, Kevin."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Bird migration|Migrating}} refers to the changing of a habitat, which happens every year with birds like {{w|geese}} that travel long distances to avoid cold seasons and get back to the food in the summer time. When geese fly to their new habitat, they tend to fly in a very clear {{w|V formation}}. The V formation improves the efficiency of flying birds, particularly over long migratory routes. All the birds except the first fly in the upwash from one of the wingtip vortices of the bird ahead. The upwash assists each bird except for the "leading" one in supporting its own weight in flight, saving them up to 20% of the energy needed.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that geese do have family structures with adult geese in "alpha" positions, but not a strict ranking order. An individual's position in formation flights is coincidental and constantly changing, so that the goose at the point of the formation can pull back and rest in the V wings while others "lead" the swarm. Popular earlier beliefs about an "alpha goose" heading a formation for the entire flight is a myth, easily disproven by watching geese formations in flight. <br />
<br />
This comic shows such a formation with 20 geese, with several geese and areas in the V formation labeled, giving different roles to the geese and assigning these areas a new meaning. See the [[#Table of labels|table below]].<br />
<br />
Apart from a "twin engine" goose in the bottom right arm of the V the only part of the formation that would not normally be seen is Kevin, who flies off at a 45-degree angle. In that direction there is no aerodynamic help from the other birds, and in the title text the rest of the geese also exclaim, "Dammit, Kevin" when he (again?) tells them that he has a great new idea for a migration (maybe referring to the new direction). This is either a reference to the fact that migrating birds manage to consistently arrive in the same general area every year, or to the way that vacations are sometimes suggested (by humans): "I thought of an idea for a vacation..." This was only the second time the name Kevin was used in xkcd for a fictive person, see more in [[1795:_All_You_Can_Eat#Kevin|this trivia]].<br />
<br />
===Table of labels===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Name<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|Head Goose<br />
(4th in line to the British throne)<br />
|Supposedly, this goose is in line to become the newest monarch of the United Kingdom after the deaths of the three (humans) who are ahead it (Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Prince George of Cambridge[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_to_the_British_throne]). In actuality the current fourth in line to the British throne is {{w|HRH}} {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge}}. In North America, the best-known goose migration is that of {{w|Canada goose|Canada geese}} to the US east coast. Canada used to be part of the {{w|British Empire}} and remains a member of the {{w|Commonwealth of Nations}}, so a "Canadian" goose would be well situated to stand within the succession (excepting, of course, for the fact that it's a goose). As the main rules of {{w|succession to the British throne}} are being Protestant and directly related to {{w|Sophia of Hanover}}, who died in 1714, the line of succession is long. [http://www.wargs.com/essays/succession/2011.html Very long.] The head goose being fourth in line may be mocking the length of the line of succession. <br />
|-<br />
|Quarterback<br />
|A {{w|quarterback}} is a position in {{w|American football}}, usually placed in the second row of an American football formation, just like the associated goose. On nearly every non-kicking play, the quarterback is the player who stands behind the center and receives the ball to start the play. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually considered the leader of the team, and is often responsible for calling the play.<br />
|-<br />
|Comptroller<br />
|A {{w|comptroller}} is a position in a company. A comptroller oversees and manages all financial operations. <br />
|-<br />
|Migration abort goose<br />
|This might be a reference to launch abort capsules used in rockets to safely land astronauts in the case of a critical stage failure. Or it could be operated like an abort button aborting the entire migration for all geese.<br />
|-<br />
|Twin-Engine Model<br />
|This goose has two tails offset on each side of the center of the goose, instead of one tail in the middle like the rest. The "tails" also extend beyond the wings, which makes it look like a Twin-Engine aircraft, which has two motors: one on each wing instead of one in the nose. Later Randall made no less than eight plane/birds combination like this in [[1824: Identification Chart]].<br />
|-<br />
|CIA Informant<br />
|A person, usually a criminal, that surreptitiously provides information to the {{w|Central Intelligence Agency}} (CIA). If these geese are from Canada, the CIA might have inserted an informant to be kept up to date on their activities.<br />
|-<br />
|Backups<br />
|These are geese that are not used in the formation so they can replace other geese in their positions in case they have problems performing their task. This may also be a pun/joke about technology/data "migrations" where backups should be taken liberally due to risk of data loss.<br />
|-<br />
|Shock Front<br />
| A shock front is the front boundary of a {{w|shock wave}} created by either a {{w|sonic boom}} or another explosion in a fluid/gas. It can also refer to the shock wave itself. A V-shaped shockwave called a '{{w|Bow shock (aerodynamics)|bow shock}}', similar in appearance to the V-shaped goose formation, is genearted by a supersonic object. Since geese fly subsonically in normal circumstances {{Citation needed}}, they do not generate a shock wave. But of course this set of geese may be somewhat different with the involvement of CIA and stealth technology.<br />
|-<br />
|Missing Valence Geese<br />
|In Chemistry, {{w|Valence (chemistry)|valence}} electrons are the electrons in the outermost "layer" which change places when chemical reactions happen. As there is an optimal number of electrons in a layer, if there are missing valence electrons, atoms which can fill in these gaps tend to react with the atoms having the missing electrons. In case of "electron sharing" (aka covalent bond) molecules result from such an encounter. The comic suggests a second geese formation that has proper "valence geese" in the appropriate position could bond (=merge) with this one into a larger formation. A normal geese V formation like the one in the comic has one side longer than the other and this is possibly Randall's explanation for the phenomenon.<br />
In reality, geese do form V-shaped flocks, since the rear geese can profit aerodynamically from the vortices created by the front geese, and that way the overall flock requires less energy. So there is actually some evolutionary sense for additional geese to fill the "valence holes". It is thus a little weird that there are two backup geese close to these valence vacancies, as they should then have filled them up...<br />
|-<br />
|Stealth cargo being escorted <br />
|The formation is forming a protective surrounding around an empty space in the middle which in a military formation could contain protected cargo. As there is no cargo visible in the geese formation, it is titled "{{w|Stealth technology|stealth}}". This would be a nice [[:Category:Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theory]] to spread.<br />
|-<br />
|Kevin<br />
|Also mentioned in the title text. It is unclear what the name refers to. It may refer to:<br />
* The "go-to name" for [[Randall]] at the time of this comic's release, as he also used the name in [[1719: Superzoom]], ten comics before this one; as well as What-If #83 as a placeholder name for the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. This was thus the only second time the name Kevin was used in xkcd for a fictive person, see more in [[1795:_All_You_Can_Eat#Kevin|this trivia]]. Here is also mentioned the only four real Kevins that has been mentioned by name in xkcd. (None of those are mentioned here below).<br />
* An {{w|Eddie Izzard}} skit about migrating birds (Eddie Izzard - Religions, Cats & Migrating Birds). A group of birds are following Kevin, assuming that he knows where he is going. But he is lost and they end up in the wrong place.<br />
* Kevin McCallister from the {{w|Home Alone}} movies, who gets separated from his parents a lot. (see [[1164: Home Alone]]).<br />
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/219w2o/whos_the_dumbest_person_youve_ever_met/cgbhkwp Kevin of reddit fame], the dumbest person ever.<br />
* One of the {{w|Minions (Despicable Me)|Minions}} from the "{{w|Despicable Me}}" franchise ([http://despicableme.wikia.com/wiki/Kevin Kevin]), who leaves the main Minion group in search of a new master.<br />
* The intelligent and playful bird [http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Kevin Kevin], from the Disney/Pixar movie {{w|Up (movie)|Up}}. <br />
* [https://youtu.be/OyqdoxTEmdg Kevin] from {{w|South Park}}. Especially the "Dammit Kevin" mentioned in the title text could arise from this.<br />
* [http://the321penguins.wikia.com/wiki/Kevin Kevin] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-2-1_Penguins! 3-2-1 Penguins!], who "will answer questions and save planets without even knowing he could."<br />
* {{w|We Need to Talk About Kevin}}, a book and drama film about a deranged child.<br />
* Kevin Beckman, the dimwitted receptionist from the 2016 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters:_Answer_the_Call Ghostbusters] movie.<br />
* The internet meme (especially in Europe) according to which being named Kevin connotates being the village idiot. Kevin is usually urged to stop talking, ironically congratulated, etc. It’s due to the fact that this name was given [https://www.quora.com/Why-does-the-name-Kevin-have-so-many-negative-connotations-in-modern-Germany-Is-it-really-because-of-Kevin-Costner mainly in low socioeconomic class] (so Kevins will probably have poor education) and possibly because it was [https://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fprenoms.doctissimo.fr%2Ftop-prenoms-annee-1991.html&edit-text=&act=url way too common around the ’90s].<br />
* Just a random name, as the only of the birds that actually has a personal name acts alone instead of following the other birds.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption above the panel:]<br />
:Understanding Migration of Geese<br />
<br />
:[20 geese are shown flying in a typical migratory V-formation. As they are shown in silhouette it is not possible to determine if they are seen from above or from below. They are flying toward the top of the image with the first goose close to the top in the middle of the image. There is one head goose, and then there are 7 geese in the left arms and 9 geese in the right arm. Behind the left arm there are two stragglers that are not in line with the others, but closer to the middle than those above and not as close to each other as the rest but still flying in the same direction. Finally there is one goose at the bottom right corner flying at a 45 degree angle away from the other to the right. The first goose is flapping its wing, which is also the case with six other geese, no. 4 and 6 in the left and 3, 5 and 6 in the right arm as well as the middle of the two in the rear towards the middle. The rest are soaring with straight wings and all of these look the same except no. 7 in the right arm which has two tails, which both goes ahead of the wings, making it look like a plane with two engines. The head goose and 5 of the 9 geese in the right arm as well as the one bottom right are labelled with and arrow pointing to them from the label. The front goose has the label in front to the left, the other have it in front to the right, except the second last in the arm which has the label inside the V and one flying away which has the label right above it. The two behind and right of the left arm have one label behind them with two arrows from the label pointing at both geese. There is a thick curvy line in front of geese no. 3 to 5 in the left arm. In front of that line is a thinner broken line. In front of this is a label written with the same curvature. There are two areas surrounded by dotted lines. The first one is behind the last of the left arms geese, extending in the same direction for a distance of about two geese. It has a label above and left with and arrow pointing to it. The other area is in the middle of the V forming a loose triangular structure with a label inside.]<br />
:Head goose: Head goose <small>(4<sup>th</sup> in line to the British throne)</small><br />
:Right no. 1: Quarterback<br />
:Right no. 3: Comptroller<br />
:Right no. 5: Migration abort goose<br />
:Right no. 7: Twin-engine model<br />
:Right no. 8: CIA informant<br />
:Bottom right corner: Kevin<br />
:Behind center: Backups<br />
:In front of left no. 3-5: Shock front<br />
:Empty area behind left arm: Missing valence geese<br />
:Empty area in center: Stealth cargo being escorted<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:American football]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2029:_Disaster_Movie&diff=1609082029: Disaster Movie2018-08-07T03:27:34Z<p>173.245.48.129: /* Explanation */ formatted GIS link into more compact form</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2029<br />
| date = August 6, 2018<br />
| title = Disaster Movie<br />
| image = disaster_movie.png<br />
| titletext = Really, they'd be rushing around collecting revisions to go into the next scheduled quarterly public data update, not publishing them immediately, but you have to embellish things a little for Hollywood.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Lava flow. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A '''{{w|disaster movie}}''' is a sub-genre of movie, which resolves around a disaster, either a natural disaster, worldwide disease pandemic, or an attack. Typically, the plot of a disaster film is how the main characters escape the disaster, or deal with the aftermath of the disaster. <br />
<br />
Randall subverts this plot device by showing Ponytail call for a GIS survey team to map out the result of the disaster. Instead of panicking for survival, the scientists are rushing to update their data sets.<br />
<br />
'''"Lava entering the sea, and new rifts opening to the north"''' may be a reference to the {{w|2018 lower Puna eruption}}, a volcanic event on the island of {{w|Hawaii (island)|Hawaii}}. Due to this eruption event, lava did enter the Pacific Ocean. As of the time of publishing, this event was still occurring.<br />
<br />
'''{{w|GIS}}''' ("geographic information system") is a computer system that stores and analyses spatial and geographic data, and by extension, the profession of experts who use computers to make maps and perform spatial analysis. <br />
<br />
Presumably, a "'''GIS survey team'''" would go above the affected area in a helicopter, mapping the coastline changes caused by the natural disaster. A "GIS survey team" presumably means a team of geographic surveyors. However, surveying is usually carried out on the ground, and surveying is not usually considered part of GIS. Also, these days, satellite imagery is usually used for this purpose, as there are several companies that can provide imagery refreshed as often as every day. Finally, a "GIS survey team" would most likely be one of many companies that provides these kinds of services, not "scientists", as suggested in the caption. An example of this is an ArcGIS map of the mentioned 2018 lower Puna eruption.[http://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=f2cf4433a9424f71bce8e775d1a65dab&extent=-154.9448,19.4237,-154.8252,19.5149&home=true&zoom=true&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=true&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&basemap_gallery=true&disable_scroll=false&theme=light]<br />
<br />
A '''{{w|Shapefile}}''' is a proprietary data format for spatial data which remains in widespread use, despite being created in the early 90s, and based on an even older database format. Amongst non-GIS people "shapefile" is often used synonymously with "geographic data", regardless of the actual file format. '''"Our coastline shapefiles"''' then means "our geographic data for the coastlines", although such data would most likely be stored in a database, not a Shapefile.<br />
<br />
The situation described (scrambling to update geographical datasets in the advent of natural disaster) is actually a common occurrence these days. The [https://www.hotosm.org/impact-areas/disaster-response/ Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team]'s Disaster Response unit does almost exactly this: When there is a natural disaster in a location that lacks high quality GIS data (common in much of the developing world), a team of volunteers across the world mobilises to update and improve OpenStreetMap. They use the latest available satellite imagery, usually donated free for the purpose. Disaster response teams then use the GIS data in OpenStreetMap to create maps and plan their response.<br />
<br />
<br />
The '''title text''' refers to the fact that most GIS datasets are not published in "real time", but, rather in updates every 3 months or less often. This is due to the many manual steps still present in many GIS publishing and consuming workflows, which preclude more frequent schedules. Thus, there is not as much of a rush to do their updates, and the need is not as urgent as the proposed film would show.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A fraction of an office with two desks is shown. On the right Cueball sits behind a computer while in the middle Ponytail talks into a radio device with a small antenna. On the left Megan runs into the scene holding something like a tablet computer in her hand.]<br />
:Megan: The lava is entering the sea, and new rifts are opening to the north!<br />
:Ponytail: Get a GIS survey team in the air! We need to revise our coastline shapefiles!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the frame:]<br />
:I want to make a disaster movie that just shows scientists rushing to update all their data sets.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2029:_Disaster_Movie&diff=1609072029: Disaster Movie2018-08-07T03:25:38Z<p>173.245.48.129: /* Explanation */ Added link to GIS map of Hawaii eruption</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2029<br />
| date = August 6, 2018<br />
| title = Disaster Movie<br />
| image = disaster_movie.png<br />
| titletext = Really, they'd be rushing around collecting revisions to go into the next scheduled quarterly public data update, not publishing them immediately, but you have to embellish things a little for Hollywood.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Lava flow. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A '''{{w|disaster movie}}''' is a sub-genre of movie, which resolves around a disaster, either a natural disaster, worldwide disease pandemic, or an attack. Typically, the plot of a disaster film is how the main characters escape the disaster, or deal with the aftermath of the disaster. <br />
<br />
Randall subverts this plot device by showing Ponytail call for a GIS survey team to map out the result of the disaster. Instead of panicking for survival, the scientists are rushing to update their data sets.<br />
<br />
'''"Lava entering the sea, and new rifts opening to the north"''' may be a reference to the {{w|2018 lower Puna eruption}}, a volcanic event on the island of {{w|Hawaii (island)|Hawaii}}. Due to this eruption event, lava did enter the Pacific Ocean. As of the time of publishing, this event was still occurring.<br />
<br />
'''{{w|GIS}}''' ("geographic information system") is a computer system that stores and analyses spatial and geographic data, and by extension, the profession of experts who use computers to make maps and perform spatial analysis. <br />
<br />
Presumably, a "'''GIS survey team'''" would go above the affected area in a helicopter, mapping the coastline changes caused by the natural disaster. A "GIS survey team" presumably means a team of geographic surveyors. However, surveying is usually carried out on the ground, and surveying is not usually considered part of GIS. Also, these days, satellite imagery is usually used for this purpose, as there are several companies that can provide imagery refreshed as often as every day. Finally, a "GIS survey team" would most likely be one of many companies that provides these kinds of services, not "scientists", as suggested in the caption. An example of this is an ArcGIS map of the mentioned 2018 lower Puna eruption (http://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=f2cf4433a9424f71bce8e775d1a65dab&extent=-154.9448,19.4237,-154.8252,19.5149&home=true&zoom=true&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=true&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&basemap_gallery=true&disable_scroll=false&theme=light).<br />
<br />
A '''{{w|Shapefile}}''' is a proprietary data format for spatial data which remains in widespread use, despite being created in the early 90s, and based on an even older database format. Amongst non-GIS people "shapefile" is often used synonymously with "geographic data", regardless of the actual file format. '''"Our coastline shapefiles"''' then means "our geographic data for the coastlines", although such data would most likely be stored in a database, not a Shapefile.<br />
<br />
The situation described (scrambling to update geographical datasets in the advent of natural disaster) is actually a common occurrence these days. The [https://www.hotosm.org/impact-areas/disaster-response/ Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team]'s Disaster Response unit does almost exactly this: When there is a natural disaster in a location that lacks high quality GIS data (common in much of the developing world), a team of volunteers across the world mobilises to update and improve OpenStreetMap. They use the latest available satellite imagery, usually donated free for the purpose. Disaster response teams then use the GIS data in OpenStreetMap to create maps and plan their response.<br />
<br />
<br />
The '''title text''' refers to the fact that most GIS datasets are not published in "real time", but, rather in updates every 3 months or less often. This is due to the many manual steps still present in many GIS publishing and consuming workflows, which preclude more frequent schedules. Thus, there is not as much of a rush to do their updates, and the need is not as urgent as the proposed film would show.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A fraction of an office with two desks is shown. On the right Cueball sits behind a computer while in the middle Ponytail talks into a radio device with a small antenna. On the left Megan runs into the scene holding something like a tablet computer in her hand.]<br />
:Megan: The lava is entering the sea, and new rifts are opening to the north!<br />
:Ponytail: Get a GIS survey team in the air! We need to revise our coastline shapefiles!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the frame:]<br />
:I want to make a disaster movie that just shows scientists rushing to update all their data sets.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1350:_Lorenz&diff=160835Talk:1350: Lorenz2018-08-06T02:41:16Z<p>173.245.48.129: Added a comment and possibly solved a missing link.</p>
<hr />
<div>Hey guys, are we still missing the ocean comics? because I found one that links there. https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3df213b4-ba4f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd . not far after though. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 02:41, 6 August 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
God damn I hate boomerangs now.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.240|172.68.65.240]] 03:49, 22 November 2017 (UTC)Bob<br />
<br />
During the first few weeks there were so much talk on this page, that it became too long. The solution was to remove the page from the explanation. But now almost no one makes any comment anymore. To help with this I will try to collapse all the original talk - lat entry (mine) is already a month old. It will always be possible to see all the old comments by pressing the expand button to the far right. So feel free to comment below again - then someone might notice that there has been written something new again! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:32, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
'''Click to expand:'''<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%"><br />
<br />
I've had the story loop back to the first frame, so it wouldn't surprise me if this could go on infinitely if it had the available dialogue options.<br />
<br />
This is going to be a hell of a thing. Good luck... [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 15:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I think this is one of those times when the custom field might come in handy. Duplicating Randall's code seems like it might be difficult, and it might just be easier to link to the original page. Probably. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:47, 1 April 2014 (UTC)b<br />
::I think it should just show a screenshot of the initial image and options [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.61|173.245.50.61]] 02:49, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
There's always new story lines, even when you think you've read them all, new ones appear to replace them. I don't think it'll ever be possible to record them all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.192|108.162.212.192]] 15:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:The text changes, but there are recurring themes with the panels. The rocket, the big hole, the little hole, Dinosaurcomics, pokemon, waking up, stranded swimming.........[[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:03, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
When I go to XKCD, all I see is the comic from Monday... weird. --[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Same here... and a lot of space below it. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:43, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I think that happens when you have refreshed the page too many time -- kind of an anti spam for user submissions. I simply create an anonymous browser window and I got back to the real page once xkcd was not able to track me as a returning user. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:59, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Currently there appears to be a bug. Instead of the evolving, crowd-sourced comic, I just see an off-center copy of the previous comic, 1349: Shouldn't Be Hard. [http://i.imgur.com/pw2OfOL.png Screenshot here]. <br />
UPDATE: it appears to be a bug in the XSRF-blocking code. Chrome console shows me the error "XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://c1.xkcd.com/graph/1/. The 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header has a value 'http://xkcd.com' that is not equal to the supplied origin. Origin 'http://www.xkcd.com' is therefore not allowed access." <br />
FURTHER UPDATE: you can work around this bug by going to http://xkcd.com instead of http://www.xkcd.com!<br />
It also doesn't work if you have HTTPS Everywhere enabled.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:46, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
** I can confirm this bug in Firefox. Weirdly, the work-around functioned one time for me, but now going to "xkcd.com" rather than "www.xkcd.com" just gives me a copy of 1349 as well. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 17:40, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:The workaround didn't work for me, I still got monday's comic on either URL. (Chromium 36.0.1919.0 (260611), Mac OS 10.9.2) [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Same here. Used IE and Firefox. Removed the "www." and haven't. (Never used https:// at all.) Tried InPrivate (and FF equivalent) browsers. Gone into the code and can't even fudge it manually from ''<nowiki><div id="comic"><img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/shouldnt_be_hard.png" title="Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story." alt="Lorenz" /> <script type="text/javascript">Bernardo.comic({el: $('#comic')})<br />
</script></div></nowiki>'', and the rest, manually. (Indeed, that shows why I get 1349's "shouldn't be hard" image, by default.) Pity. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.224|141.101.89.224]] 02:25, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
** I only get a blank page with on the bottom a link to the comic 1349. Both on 2 firefoxes (different systems) and a chromium. so however wonderfull it might be, the delivery is less then stellar. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.145|173.245.53.145]] 15:54, 10 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic introduced(?) a font of its own of Randalls comic type. I don't know if it has been sitting there for long, but I just noticed it: http://xkcd.com/fonts/xkcd-Regular.eot -- phiarc [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.12|108.162.219.12]] 17:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Is it the same as was used in Externalities? [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:00, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does everyone have these options in some order for the first tile?<br />
*Refresh... No New Email... Refresh .. No New Tweets... Refresh...<br />
*These Stupid Tiles... I'll Just Play One More Game<br />
*Oh. Hey. There's Some Kind Of Politicial Thing Going On.<br />
*Let's See If BSD Is Any Easier to Install Nowadays<br />
--[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:54, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0cd52ed0-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd There's a frame with Chinese in it! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 18:06, 26 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:If so, we can begin to build a map of at least the first set of options before the crowd-sourced ones. --[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:56, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Yes, though the second-tier options have changed [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:00, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::The first level options may be constant (Im seeing the same as Jeff), but I suspect that the following options is based on some sort of ckick though statitics / machine learning -- which means that the will continue to change until Randall closes off the 'voting' -- if [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1193:_Externalities 1193: Externalities] is anything to go by that should be within the next 24-48 hours, at which point automating the collection of story lines may be possible. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:11, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::: I'm going to transcript some of what I get at least through the first few levels and then we can start with a list of options for those who don't want to go through them all. --[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:37, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::: I have no idea how one would do this, but it would be cool to render the transcript as a tree of some sort; having one vertical list will be hard to follow for more than a few decisions. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 00:14, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::::New initial option! I just got "Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook." In place of the "refresh" option. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2b330d48-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.8|108.162.242.8]] 23:15, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ohh, this comic is buggy and the link here at the top gives just the page from Monday, showing errors on debuggers. But removing the WWW from URL helps. Further more I can't see that the result of the choices is dynamic. So let's prove this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:33, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Have a look at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/lorenz_combination1.png and http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9a/lorenz_combination2.png and you can see the option orders are changing -- this is a typical artifact of A/B testing where randomization of options is needed to avoid selection bias. I have futher observed "your car is on fire" instead of the "dinosaur" option, hence not only the orders are channging but the content as well -- maybe somebody else can capture this. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:08, 1 April 2014 (UTC) <br />
<br />
How are new dialogue suggestions approved? Are they random, by popular vote (unlikely, not very many people would suggest the same thing), or is Randall approving them one by one? [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 20:26, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
: They may not need to be explicitly approved at all -- one of the beutiful things about click though measures is that the public '''votes''' for what is good by clicking -- this is also a factor in search ranking by your favorite search engine where statistics are driving the entire show -- in a search engine some input to the statistical process comes from the web pages, but other comes from what people are actually clicking [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:14, 1 April 2014 (UTC) <br />
<br />
What is this a screenshot of? It's zoomed out so far. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:5b5bd04e-b9d6-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd [[User:Haithere|Haithere]] ([[User talk:Haithere|talk]]) 20:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
: you mean this : http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/Rl92nFEWd9huvXABNkHKHg.png ? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: It appears to be a screen shot from a flight simulator program of some sort, however im not able to tell which, and since it is most likely an 'in-game' screen short we will never find out unless somebody else is playing this precises flight simulator program [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:37, 1 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I am not certain, but I strongly suspect that is Kerbal Space Program {{unsigned ip|108.162.242.111}}<br />
::: it really is Kerbal Space Program, or KSP for short {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.65}}<br />
:::: found this image from KSP http://i.imgur.com/UofvQ.png [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 09:07, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A transcript is going to be futile. It appears as though the comic may go on indefinitely (I've definitely had some branches continue extending until I've seen frames that were present in other branches). I suspect what's happening here is that... options are "suggested", and those suggestions are displayed at random to people. The ones with the most clickthroughs begin to appear more often, until eventually the top 4 are "locked in" and no more suggestions can be made. Very creative! But I'm not convinced that Randall is making frames in near-real-time, nor am I even convinced he's part of the approval process at all. I suspect it's all automated. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 00:29, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
It seems it is possible to have the same option appear twice in the first panel. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:be7a3304-b685-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.48|173.245.54.48]] 10:27, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
: They are not the same options -- the text differes where one option has "I'll" with a captal I and the other option is 'i'll' with a lowercase I -- I guess some prankster submitted a very similar text and somehow that got included. The branching also differs for the two options. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is it still supposed to work or was it turned off? All I see is Monday comics ... and no errors in firebug console. Oh, wait, there is javascript error:<br />
Timestamp: 04/02/14 12:56:21<br />
Error: TypeError: this.$lastPanel is null<br />
Source File: http://xkcd.com/1350/bernardo.min.js<br />
Line: 2 -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:03, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
: It still works for me -- try to clear your cookies or use an anonymous window or go to xkcd.com (no www no https) or some of the other helpful suggestions on this page to overcome some of the buggy nature of this page. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
tl;dr, but I applaud Randall's creativity. Added to the Colossal time sinks category. ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 13:15, 2 April 2014 (UTC)''<br />
<br />
Has it restarted? It used to work just fine on my browser but now only the first panel is available, after clicking an option it said my suggestion has been submitted. Great when it works though, thanks Randal. Jet_proppeled_elephant[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.35|108.162.219.35]] 14:53, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It feels like there are a bunch of "dead-end panels", that we never really get past. One example the "bright background" strip, in which we only see the shadows of the two characters. Nobody seems to care what happens after those. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.8|108.162.245.8]] 18:59, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I found a Dinosaur Comics reference, permalink: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:3d243960-b9b6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
Has this been found before?<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 20:08, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't have time to do it myself, but most of the space images from this path are not in the images page. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd<br />
[[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:33, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Ok, I'm gonna add those. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 23:38, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
Great! And now I found another: Pikachu uses Ethylene Dichloride. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6f59d766-ba95-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
I'll add it to the but about pikachu in the comic, but the pictures are up to someone else.[[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:47, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Slightly different space path, in which the rocket expodes: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:dd99ea0e-ba04-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:59, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Good. I've finished adding all images that you mentioned. Also, the two last images of the slightly different space path were not in the images page, now I added them too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 00:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Pikachu died! Radicality failed -> Pikachu in shock! http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:5c565bf2-ba05-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd --eternia 7:33, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Pikachu uses Graph Theory. How is that not effective?! http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:52f2389c-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd --eternia 7:47, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Pikachu uses Ant Colony. Uwah... http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2b707ed6-ba97-11e3-8006-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:02, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::1 shark instead of 3. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9ba111ee-ba96-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::0 sharks. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e0e4d984-baaf-11e3-8026-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:17, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::::I'm gonna add those too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:41, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Are there any panels that have two speech bubbles that are not dead ends? It seems that there are never any options for the second bubble, and sometimes the first bubble has options that would fit in the second bubble after the other options for the first bubble. Maybe submissions for the second bubble accidentally end up in the first instead? Another bug? [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:56, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There's a change for us still-bugged people (well, me at least). The "show previous comic" part is gone. It shows a blank area (instead of Comic 1349 and a blank area of the same size) and the page-source shows that the ''<nowiki><img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/shouldnt_be_hard.png" title="Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story." alt="Lorenz" /></nowiki>'' part has now been excised from the page. That's on Javascript-enabled, cookie-enabled Firefox ''and'' IE browsers, and every valid URL configuration one can think of (including shift-refreshing to force redownloading, just in case it was page-cache issues as well). I'll update the Bugs section of the explanation page with a summary of that, if you don't mind. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.211|141.101.88.211]] 01:48, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
We need some place to discuss certain issues. I give it a shot below [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:10, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
;Transcipt discussion<br />
;Design<br />
*What about four transcripts - one for each of the four first original choices? <br />
*Should these transcripts be on a separate page? It becomes tedious to scroll to the discussion page...[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:13, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*Could we use the hide option so you only see the options from the first panel. Then you unhide to see the next panel etc. This would be a little like the comic and would make it much easier to read and it would not be such a long page! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:35, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*:I'm working on the hide option. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 15:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*::I now implemented the hide option. It looks good! in my opinion. It should be easy to edit. It would be too much work to convert the whole thing to the collapsible version so, sorry but I just removed the whole thing and started from the very beginning. This[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1350:_Lorenz&oldid=64245] is the link to the old version, in case anyone wants to help converting it to the collapsible version. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 16:46, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I did the same for trivia with a separate page for the old version that can be expanded if anyone wishes. And all the work is not lost. I have linked to it from trivia but it is here: [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*How will the transcript work for when two characters speak? Those cases do exist; they're not all bugged. For example, in the "OpenBSD Branch", "Why not haiku?" and "Let's go exploring!" have further responses. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.63|199.27.128.63]] 06:31, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
;Characters<br />
*Where does the name Dave come from for the hairy guy who comes in after the first panel? I can see it once in the transcript - but it is said by White hat the sales guy. I'm not sure it is his name and the chatagory for hairy is assigned to the comic! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:16, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
** Also he is called Dave here: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3b1a226e-b9c6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:37, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*Hat guy? Is it a hat? Is there not a better English word for the type of "hat" worn by the main character from the first panel? It is not a hat like white or black hat! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:18, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
** I named him Hat Guy originally to make things easier. Feel free to change the name, I guess :) Knit Cap Guy, maybe? If a change is warranted, a simple search-and-replace should do it. Also, I'm not sure it's a guy or a girl... But the previous text was also treating him as male to begin with, anyway. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:36, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*Is the right politician = Cueball?<br />
*Who is the left? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:23, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Isn't is likely that the characters only have names given to them by us readers in our suggestions? They don't necessarily have constant names. [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:33, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Exactly my point. I think we should stick with hairy guy and maybe Knit Cap Guy! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:28, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I see you already changed Hat Guy to Knit Cap Guy and Dave to Hairy. Knit Cap Guy is a nice name. Originally, I would disagree with you and insist we should stick to Dave because that's what the character is called in one storyline of the strip itself, but I see he is also called Frank in other timeline. Since he has multiple names, using just Hairy is better in my opinion, too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:40, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Knit Cap Guy is probably a Girl. Just sayin'. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.28|173.245.52.28]] 12:22, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Probably! Originally I thought it was Megan with a knit cap on. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:40, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It IS a girl! http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:1e4325a2-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.66|173.245.48.66]] 21:44, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well I think you are correct - that it is a girl. However you can NEVER use text in the comic to decide - because it is user created - I could have written the same line with guy instead of girl! Anyway - could someone change Knit Cap Guy to Knit Cap Girl? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:04, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Can see it has been done - great [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::I've found a story where he/she is male! Thus contradicting the story above, where he/she is female, and proving that we really can't use text to determine the sex. Here we have "Beanie Man". http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b6fcd098-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd<br />
::::(But... She looks female-ish enough to me, so I personally feel inclined to keep Knit Cap Girl in the article. Also, for laziness if nothing else. Feel free to disagree with me on that.) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 11:07, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::::Also, sometimes she is called Lorenz. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:bcc77a5c-ba23-11e3-801b-002590d77bdd [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 11:40, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I always mentally called the guy 'Hikaru' because the guy's hat reminded me of the Nice Hat that Hikaru Azuma wore a lot in {{w|With the Light}}. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 03:55, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Other<br />
*Seems like the permalink at the top of the transcript does not work for me anymore - then they will be useless! Else they are the best way to quote different lines of the comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:31, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
Oh, now they work again. ;) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:31, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:The permalinks has stopped working for me [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:45, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm pretty sure that the initial four options presented to the reader are now fixed and do not change. "These stupid tiles..." and "Gravity. Lots of it." are no longer available options. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've played the comic many times over the past couple of days and I've never received those two options). Should the transcript be edited to reflect that? [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 21:53, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Chategories not yet included<br />
Should they be?<br />
*I have seen the word Raptor mentioned - so should velociraptor be a chategory? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*Cueball? I.e. the politician on the right? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:28, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*I understand that many categories has been deleted as all text references can be user generated. But when there is a drawing with a dinosaur then this categories should be included etc. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
*I would like to discuss the number of categories. If anything is in thks comics pictures then it should be included as a category. So dinos and Pokémon for sure as well as character's and collor. So I include some again - please do not delete. If you need to find where Pokémon has been referenced this commic should come in the list! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:03, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Images<br />
I created [[1350: Lorenz/Images]] with all the images I could find in the comic. I'm not sure if I should have left them in the main page [[1350: Lorenz]], but feel free to decide what to do with them. Also, I tried using the tag <nowiki><gallery></nowiki>, but I couldn't make it work, so I used a lot of divs. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 23:23, 2 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Great idea - just what I hoped someone would and could do. Thanks ;) Is it easy to add new images to the page if they show up? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:32, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::You're welcome! :) It's pretty easy... I explained in the images page how exactly you would save a new image if they show up. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 13:52, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Can see there keep appearing new images from the text above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:39, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:New shark images here: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.65}}<br />
:I have updated the page and made a talk page there to add comments like the above. Have already found d 3 new images cannot add them with this tablet [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Thanks for this work, but nobody knows if this is complete. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:49, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Many-worlds interpretation<br />
<br />
The title text "Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story" might as well be a hint to Hugh Everett III 's "Many-worlds interpretation"<br />
of quantum theory. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.74}}<br />
:Except that the title is Lorenz a direct reference to the guy with the butterfly effect... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:37, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Can't it be both? The Butterfly Effect can be seen as one consequence of the Many-Worlds interpretation. A choice as simple as whether (or where) a butterfly flaps its wings can send our entire universe down a different timeline, in which a hurricane occurs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 19:46, 3 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
;Most, maybe all pictures do correspond to an existing comic here<br />
I'm calling on you to not destroy a first simple explain, even the transcript. But nearly every picture belongs to a former comic — this has to be explained at the ''Themes'' section. We have some dinosaurs, but there is much more. Please help on this issue. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:56, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::After I understood what you mean I agree. All pictures collected should be explained in the themes section and preferably with a line to a story that includes the picture. There are so many I can't find. Some may never be available again... ? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:59, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What are you referring to? Has anyone deleted something important? Hope it wasn't me? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well I can see it was me. We obviously disagree with what could be a trivia item and with which categories should be included even obvious ones. There has before been mention of missing pieces of hats etc and when there is one in hundreds of images with an error then it could make a fun trivia item in my opinion! I will stop editing and let you decide what to do with this comic? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:30, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::You totally misunderstand me. I'm asking for an explain to every picture because it should belong to a former comic.<br />
:::Further more I'm just trying to keep the explain as simple as possible; individual error experiences should not be posted at the explain. I did remove that content in order to keep it simple as possible to an ordinary reader.<br />
:::Please improve the picture explains, but also please keep that explain simple as possible to readers are not interested on all that crap done by Randall.<br />
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:38, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::Great and thanks for this explain and sorry I was grumpy in my reply before. Do you mean there should be an explanation for every single picture? Maybe this should be moved to a separate page like the list of images - they take up lots of space in the explain page - or they could be hided like the new transcript? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::Have begun the full image explanation...[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:03, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Visual tree / map?<br />
How hard would it be to come up with a tree graphing out the different choices? The nodes could be panels and the lines could represent text choices. Has anyone tried it?<br />
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 23:40, 4 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I added hide/show functionality to the transcript. It's easier to read and navigate now. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 15:59, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Great - this was also what I had in mind :-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Not so great it has been deleted... Again! I have inserted a link to the last page before Dgbrt deleted all 25000 signs. Considering the enormous work done to create this transcript I think we should let it be at least awailable as a trivia link. I cannot create the page from my tablet, but would rather have a lorenz transcript page than an old version like now. Maybe on this page again? [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:03, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::I restored the old version in [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. (Also, I used divs this time rather than templates.) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 05:00, 7 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;I got my suggestion as part of the main story!<br />
I noticed in the "references to video games" section that "Actually it's the final castle - grab your fire flower!" was one of the options. I suggested that! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.27|108.162.212.27]] 17:07, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Are we sure the title is not related to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_gauge_condition ? <br />
For example, in Italy, the Lorenz Gauge Condition is dubbed "The Lorenz's choice". {{unsigned ip|108.162.212.218}}<br />
<br />
;Should there be an interactive comic category?<br />
It is kind of covered by the dynamic category, but between click and drag and this, as well as possible future comics, might it need to be its own seperate new category? [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 23:00, 5 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "stupid tiles" option has vanished from panel 1. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.222|199.27.130.222]] 00:14, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Is that for good or just for you? How many times did you reload and did you try different browsers? It should always be awailable via a saved permalink, like you findin the transcript. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::This probably happens at the same time for all users, considering that I read 199.27.130.222's message immediately after he/she sent it and at that point the "stupid tiles" option had vanished for me as well, but this was clearly temporary since it's back now.<br />
::I only tested on Firefox. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 04:08, 7 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::I still get this option?? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:38, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Records in most panels<br />
I have started a collection of records. I just entered what I could find to give an example. I was sure that my pheble attempts soon would be helped sore by someone who had saved the good ones... And already this is happening. Please continue to improve the records and also add more themes if I left them out [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:00, 7 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Gravity lots of it?<br />
I have never seen this option. Could someone post a permalink to such a story - could be as a record. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:58, 7 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Some cool stuff i found, don't know if anyone wants to add these to the main page<br />
<br />
Pikachu: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:80858d8c-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Giant pit: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea9342a0-bc02-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Goodbye, BSD: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:bae4c63c-ba31-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Reddit and rockets: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:602c39a8-ba92-11e3-8006-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
More BSD Pikachu: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f5760770-baae-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Bird-powered car: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:cc4467b2-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
This happens a lot: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b69f6096-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Dinos: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:679012b0-bb4f-11e3-805b-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
These stupid lines: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:360411c2-baa2-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Pretty long: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:7d40621c-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:37, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Thanks for your findings. This has to be added to the explain, your titles on this are GREAT! Maybe you — or someone else — does have a nice idea how to publish all this permalinks in a proper way.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:39, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::More (mostly dream recursion):<br />
<br />
Lord of the rings: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:40a1ac80-ba06-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Another moat: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:eee0d4c6-baea-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Looping back: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d7970042-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Looping back 2: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3f654048-badd-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Never seen it loop this many times: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Even more looping: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:75e8f03e-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Looping to a rocket: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3aa7da8e-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Dream recursion: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Where did the Pikachu come from?: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97c42da2-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Ethylene dichloride: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:93312202-ba4f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
More rockets: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:34f7f602-ba3b-11e3-8035-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Even more rockets: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
More recursion: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Blowtorch: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:c40db5fc-baf9-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Another blowtorch: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97cbd552-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Most different stories i've seen in one: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:60d11a70-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 21:33, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
More:<br />
<br />
More pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Long pikachu fight: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d87d8344-bafb-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Plantains: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:22d57484-bb28-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Many pikachus: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d04aabf0-b9fe-11e3-8016-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Much pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f203d1c6-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Such pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:a5485722-ba26-11e3-8020-002590d77bdd<br />
<br />
Very pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd<br />
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:49, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I haven't seen them all - but have you checked the records at the bottom of the explain page - those you call pretty long does not seem to get close to the 77 picture record... Are there any new pictures not featured in the picture page linked to from the top of the explain? Else this does not seem so interesting to me... ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 10 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Ah so there were interesting stuff around. And I can see that at least one of them has already been added as a Pokémon record. Great - cool if you wrote how many panels - or if there where new pictures - it would be easier to look through them. The double dream I had been looking for, thanks I will add it to the record page under dreams [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:59, 10 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Seen them all and added several to the record for themes trivia. Thanks - but please more info~(length, themes) if you still care to share [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:36, 10 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Finishing the explanation<br />
I have just done a huge job putting all the images from the list in under the themes sections. I hope others can take over and find permalinks that include all the images that are not yet on references in the links I have inserted. Also there are some of the first options that seeem to not exist anymore (Gravity lots of it) and also there was the error with the same line twice. I found it one day, but then there where no new images if you chose it. I did not save the permalink and now it seems like it is all gone.<br />
Good work guys and girls - I have a holiday comming up with no much computer time... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 02:51, 12 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Greasemonkey Script<br />
I've just mad a script to visit random stories, and record the corresponding transcripts. It's available here: https://github.com/edfel/Lorenz/ . I hope someone can find it useful! Edfel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.163|108.162.254.163]] 14:24, 18 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Dump<br />
One idea: Maybe someone could create a script to automatically navigate Lorenz and create a dump of all the results, to fill [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]].<br />
I know more-or-less how that would work in "pseudocode" so I could help but I'm not going to do it (writing actual code, testing, debugging, accounting for each individual frame, etc) any time soon. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 07:47, 29 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Go home, Saturn, you're drunk.<br />
<br />
Quintuple Saturn POWER!<br />
http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9adca534-b9b0-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.10|173.245.54.10]] 01:44, 5 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;What-If XKCD<br />
<br />
http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b1210692-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd<br />
Recognize this one? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.10|173.245.54.10]] 02:09, 5 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Why are the punctuation marks clipping?<br />
<br />
I don't know what's going on, but a comma looks just like a period in the comic. The letters E, F, and I also display strangely. What's going on?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.96|199.27.128.96]] 01:58, 6 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
; Lorenz down time<br />
Today there was no access to Lorenz. Tried both Firefox, Chrome and internet explorer. Just mentioning it here, if this is a permanent problem - so people can see how long it has been down. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:43, 15 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Well it was already up again now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:42, 16 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
</div><br />
<br><br><br />
After inserting the collapsing talk page - the old can be seen just by clicking the expand button. But if you wish to write anything new, then do it here below at the very bottom of the talk page so it may be seen. I have this comment - after a few weeks I believe nothing new happened in this comic. I think it is now fixed. Of course this is very hard to prove. But I have completed some branches of the interactive transcript. So let me know if you can find any new options I have missed (I could have missed if there were more than four options in a panel - but not at the dead-ends! I have also just made major revisions of the explanation and it's layout - based on my observations. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:48, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I just found a panel where it gets past the person on the comet, only one panel though... http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:25743f70-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.69|108.162.254.69]] 19:24, 15 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Great. Have added the image to the list of images and to the theme above. Keep any new images coming here.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:24, 30 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's interesting the chess player in 1112 ("Think logically") resembles the knit cap girl. It's weird that Megan (or Randall's wife) after chemotherapy also wears a cap (1141, "Two years"). Is there any possible connections between them (or simply a coincidence)?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.108|108.162.215.108]] 04:24, 29 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I have added links to three other comics using knit caps, including the two you mentioned. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:24, 30 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I noticed that the image url noted on xkcd.com is the same as the one for #1349 - Shouldn't Be Hard. Not sure if it is caused by the interactivity disallowing an image upload, or an error on Randall's part (I'd imagine working through this comic's issues was pretty distracting). 15:37, 24 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I believe this was fixed. At least it seems to look correct now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:24, 30 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:06e52d36-bb01-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2022:_Sports_Champions&diff=1603182022: Sports Champions2018-07-20T19:01:50Z<p>173.245.48.129: /* Explanation */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2022<br />
| date = July 20, 2018<br />
| title = Sports Champions<br />
| image = sports_champions.png<br />
| titletext = For a long time, people thought maybe Usain Bolt was the one for running, until the 2090s and the incredible dominance of Derek Legs.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a HARRY "INCOMPLETE" EXPLANATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In an example of {{w|nominative determinism}}, the comic lists people whose surname relates to their participation in various sports. As the comic is of "sports champions", it is presumed that these people are at the top of their sport. It is presented as though it was created in the far future, reflecting on sports players over the decades through to the 2080s. The first three are real sportspeople, the remainder are imaginary players of the future.<br />
<br />
The caricatures feature people participating in their sport, except for Jebediah who is standing at a {{w|lectern}}.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!style="width:20%"|Name<br />
!style="width:10%"|Decade<br />
!style="width:15%"|Sport<br />
!style="width:55%"|Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|Margaret Court<br />
|1960s<br />
|Tennis<br />
|{{w|Margaret Court}} is a Australian tennis player, former world number 1, who won many competitions in the 1960s and 70s. A {{w|tennis court}} is the playing arena used in that sport.<br />
|-<br />
|Gary Player<br />
|1970s<br />
|Golf<br />
|{{w|Gary Player}} is a South African golfer who won nine major championships in the 1960s and 70s. Game competitors are often known as "players", for example, the golf tournament {{w|The Players Championship}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Lonzo Ball<br />
|2020s<br />
|Basketball<br />
|{{w|Lonzo Ball}} is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2020s decade listed is a projection of when he would likely become his most dominant in the sport, as he began playing professionally in 2017. Of course, basketball is a {{w|ball game}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Jake Halfpipe<br />
|2030s<br />
|Skateboarding<br />
|A {{w|half-pipe}} is a structure used in extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.<br />
|-<br />
|Sarah Goggles<br />
|2030s<br />
|Swimming<br />
|{{w|Goggles}} are protective eyewear used in many sports, such as swimming or skiing.<br />
|-<br />
|Kevin Slurve<br />
|2050s<br />
|Baseball<br />
|A {{w|slurve}} is a baseball throwing technique, a portmanteau of '''sl'''ider and c'''urve'''.<br />
|-<br />
|Julia Chairlift<br />
|2050s<br />
|Skiing<br />
|A {{w|chairlift}} is an aerial machine often used to transport winter sportsmen and -women up mountains.<br />
|-<br />
|Dwight Shuttlecock<br />
|2060s<br />
|Badminton<br />
|A {{w|shuttlecock}} is a projectile used in the sport of badminton.<br />
|-<br />
|Brandon Sponsorship<br />
|2060s<br />
|Unclear<br />
|Sporting professionals are often {{w|Sponsor (commercial)|sponsored}} by corporations. Brandon is holding a pair of shoes, which are probably a branded sponsorship item.<br />
|-<br />
|Kate Dopingscandal<br />
|2070s<br />
|Cycling<br />
|There have been many {{w|Doping in sport|doping}} scandals in the world of sport. Since Kate is standing next to a bike {{w|Lance Armstrong}} is a great example here. Recently one of the larger scandal was that {{w|Doping in Russia|many Russian competitors}} did {{w|Russia_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics#Doping_scandal_after_Olympics|use drugs}} during the {{w|2014 Winter Olympics|2014 Winter Olympics}} in {{w|Sochi}}, Russia.<br />
|-<br />
|Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference<br />
|2080s<br />
|Unspecified<br />
|At the end of sporting events - ie post-game - there is often a {{w|News conference|press conference}} where the competitors discuss the result. Sometimes, these live interviews are a disaster. Randall has chosen to spell their name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".<br />
|-<br />
|(in title text)<br />
Usain Bolt and Derek Legs<br />
|2090s<br />
|Sprinting<br />
|From the title text, {{w|Usain Bolt}} is the (now retired) world record holder for the 100 meter dash and 4×100 meter relay events in {{w|Track & Field}}. Thus Randall considers him a solid contender for this list since he can ''bolt'' down the track. However the fictional Derek Legs ends up replacing Bolt on the list, either because they are an even faster sprinter, or because “legs” more clearly and unambiguously relates to running than “bolt” does.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person their name is given and the decade in which they where champions of their sport is given below their name in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]<br />
<br />
:[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket]<br />
:Margaret Court<br />
:(1960s)<br />
<br />
:[Cueball with a golf club]<br />
:Gary Player<br />
:(1970s)<br />
<br />
:[Cueball with a basket ball]<br />
:Lonzo Ball<br />
:(2020s)<br />
<br />
:[Hairy on a skateboard]<br />
:Jake Halfpipe<br />
:(2030s)<br />
<br />
:[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and googles]<br />
:Sarah Goggles<br />
:(2030s)<br />
<br />
:[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right]<br />
:Kevin Slurve<br />
:(2050s)<br />
<br />
:[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap is standing on ski holding ski poles]<br />
:Julia Chairlift<br />
:(2050s)<br />
<br />
:[Hairy holding a badminton rackets bouncing a shuttlecock on it]<br />
:Dwight Shuttlecock<br />
:(2060s)<br />
<br />
:[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand]<br />
:Brandon Sponsorship<br />
:(2060s)<br />
<br />
:[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.]<br />
:Kate Dopingscandal<br />
:(2070s)<br />
<br />
:[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.]<br />
:Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference<br />
:(2080s)<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Sport]]<br />
[[Category:Baseball]]<br />
[[Category:Basketball]]</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=692:_Dirty_Harry&diff=160237692: Dirty Harry2018-07-19T04:12:49Z<p>173.245.48.129: Undo revision 160183 by 162.158.62.141 (talk) not important</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 692<br />
| date = January 22, 2010<br />
| title = Dirty Harry<br />
| image = dirty_harry.png<br />
| titletext = Sci-fi has energy weapons because otherwise the people like me who watch it get distracted counting shots.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
The comic references both {{w|Dirty Harry}} and {{w|Rain Man}}, as the caption suggests.<br />
<br />
In Dirty Harry, {{w|Clint Eastwood|Clint Eastwood's}} character, Harry Callahan, uses a magnum revolver. His most commonly quoted statement is whether he fired 5 shots or 6. If he fired only five, the next shot would kill his victim. If six, he wouldn't have any more bullets to shoot. It should be noted that revolvers don't actually use the 6th slot for reasons of safety.<br />
<br />
In Rain Man, {{w|Dustin Hoffman|Dustin Hoffman's}} character, Raymond, is autistic and has an {{w|eidetic memory}}. As such, he can instantly remember any number of objects, such as the number of toothpicks in a box that was spilled, or the number of bullets that came out of a gun.<br />
<br />
The comic depicts a scene in ''Dirty Harry'' in which Callahan confronts a bank robber, only with Raymond taking the place of the robber. For the record, Raymond is correct; Callahan actually pulls the trigger one more time in the original scene, and the gun proves to be empty.<br />
<br />
The title text notes that many sci-fi energy guns do not shoot discrete quantities of bullets, which Randall jokes is because viewers won't get sidetracked counting bullets.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Detective "Dirty" Harry Callahan stands near a wall, pointing a revolver at another figure, presumably a suspect, reclined on the ground. A shotgun is on the ground next to the reclined figure.]<br />
:Harry Callahan: I know what you're thinking--"Did he fire six shots or only five?" In all this excitement, I-<br />
:Suspect: Six. Definitely six.<br />
:Harry Callahan: Shit.<br />
<br />
:Dirty Harry Meets Rain Man<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>173.245.48.129https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1843:_Opening_Crawl&diff=1405301843: Opening Crawl2017-05-30T21:01:03Z<p>173.245.48.129: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1843<br />
| date = May 29, 2017<br />
| title = Opening Crawl<br />
| image = opening_crawl.png<br />
| titletext = Using a classic Timothy Zahn EU/Legends novel is bad enough, but at least the style and setting aren't too far off. If you really want to mess with people, try using Splinter of the Mind's Eye.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|I have a bad feeling about this.}}<br />
<br />
Each <span style="border-bottom:1px dotted" title="thus excluding spin-offs like Rogue One">episodic</span> {{w|Star Wars}} film begins with an "{{tvtropes|OpeningScroll|opening crawl}}" giving the audience some of the backstory, which often reads like the prologue of a novel. <br />
<br />
[[Randall]] wants to reverse this by projecting the text of a Star Wars novel and see how long this can be continued before viewers realize it is a prank. The text in the opening scroll is actually from the beginning of Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.<br />
<br />
The title text compares different Star Wars novels' style, remarking on how well suited they would be for this prank.<br />
<br />
{{w|}} is a science fiction writer who has written and contributed to many novels and comics [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timothy_Zahn#Works] in the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe}}. The [http://www.mustreading.net/Thrawn_Trilogy_03.html text in the comic] is the first five paragraphs from the book ''[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Command The Last Command]''. The characters mentioned are [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mitth%27raw%27nuruodo Grand Admiral Thrawn], the primary antagonist of the ''Thrawn Trilogy'', and [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pellaeon Gilad Pellaeon], who serves as a {{w|Dr. Watson}}-type companion to Thrawn throughout much of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
''[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Splinter_of_the_Mind%27s_Eye Splinter of the Mind's Eye]'' was an early Star Wars novel written before the original film was expanded to a trilogy (and then expanded some more), so it contains multiple aborted subplots which can make it very confusing for a fan who has seen the later works.<br />
<br />
The term "EU" refers to "Expanded Universe", which was the term for the corpus of non-cinematic ''Star Wars'' content before ''Star Wars'' was acquired by {{w|Disney}}. Not wanting to be constrained by previous canon, Disney declared all "Expanded Universe" content to be non-canonical to all future movies, and re-branded the EU as "Legends" to take place in its own alternate continuity.<br />
<br />
For a very long time, fans believed that the Thrawn Trilogy would have constituted Star Wars VII to IX should the movie have been made and thus "before they figure out there's no movie coming after it" refers to both the mistaken belief of fans and the novelisation as delivered through the opening crawl.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[On a black background with many stars is five yellow blocks of text that recedes towards a black section at the back of the panel. The last block cannot be read, but it is (almost) possible to read the second block of text at the back. The bottom line of the last text block is cut off through the middle of the letters.]<br />
<br />
:"All systems show battle ready, Admiral," the comm officer reported from the portside crew pit. "The task force is beginning to check in."<br />
<br />
:"Very good, Lieutenant," Grand Admiral Thrawn nodded. "Inform me when all have done so. Captain Pellaeon?"<br />
<br />
:"Sir?" Pellaeon said, searching his superior's face for the stress the Grand Admiral must be feeling. The stress he himself was certainly feeling. This was not just another tactical strike against the Rebellion, after all—not a minor shipping raid or even a complex but straightforward hit-and-fade against some insignificant planetary base. After nearly a month of frenzied preparations, Thrawn's master campaign for the Empire's final victory was about to be launched.<br />
<br />
:But if the Grand Admiral was feeling any tension, he was keeping it to himself. "Begin the countdown," he told <br />
:[Cut off through the middle and at the end]: Pellaeon, his voice as calm as if he were ordering<br />
<br />
:[Caption beneath the panel:] <br />
:Movie theater projection booth prank: see how many pages of a Star Wars novel you can get people to read before they figure out there's no movie coming after it.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Some of the crawl in the comic is unreadable. But since this is text from a real book [http://www.mustreading.net/Thrawn_Trilogy_03.html the full text] can be found online.<br />
*Here is what would have been readable up to this moment of the "film", if the text was crawling by:<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #ffc; border: solid thin grey;"><br />
&nbsp;Gliding through the blackness of deep space, the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera pointed its mighty arrowhead shape toward the dim star of its target system, three thousandths of a light-year away. And prepared itself for war.<br><br><br />
&nbsp;"All systems show battle ready, Admiral," the comm officer reported from the portside crew pit. "The task force is beginning to check in."<br />
&nbsp;"Very good, Lieutenant," Grand Admiral Thrawn nodded. "Inform me when all have done so. Captain Pellaeon?"<br><br><br />
&nbsp;"Sir?" Pellaeon said, searching his superior's face for the stress the Grand Admiral must be feeling. The stress he himself was certainly feeling. This was not just another tactical strike against the Rebellion, after all—not a minor shipping raid or even a complex but straightforward hit-and-fade against some insignificant planetary base. After nearly a month of frenzied preparations, Thrawn's master campaign for the Empire's final victory was about to be launched.<br><br><br />
&nbsp;But if the Grand Admiral was feeling any tension, he was keeping it to himself. "Begin the countdown," he told Pellaeon, his voice as calm as if he were ordering dinner.</blockquote><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Star Wars]]</div>173.245.48.129