https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.56.77&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T14:39:16ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=330:_Indecision&diff=98880330: Indecision2015-07-31T17:08:17Z<p>173.245.56.77: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 330<br />
| date = October 17, 2007<br />
| title = Indecision<br />
| image = indecision.png<br />
| titletext = Hey, I don't make the rules. It's in the book.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
These two friends (both presumably male, since female characters in [[xkcd]] are depicted with hair) are surprisingly cavalier in taking the suggestion to engage in sexual experimentation to alleviate boredom. Even if both men are gay, the fact that they're friends (as the rule in the book describes them) suggests that they are not currently having sex on a regular basis. In this case - and even more so if the friends are heterosexual - most people would not take the book's suggestion and it may even make them feel embarrassed and awkward.<br />
<br />
The book that one of the [[Cueball]]s grabs appears to be some sort of all-encompassing rule book, its reach including the social sphere. Obviously this book is fictional, but the line "I think there's a rule about this" sounds like a reference to folk "rules" or guidelines like the "{{w|five-second rule}}."<br />
<br />
{{w|Crisco}} is a brand of shortening, a fat that is solid at room temperature and frequently used in baking though is also commonly as a sexual lubricant. In this instance it's implied that it will be used as a sexual lubricant. Crisco was referenced again in a sexual context in the title text of [[414: Mistranslations]] and later as a part of a weird dream also in the title text of [[557: Students]].<br />
<br />
The title text could be spoken by either one of the characters or [[Randall]]. It attempts to preempt any awkwardness or judgment the reader may have about this situation by transferring responsibility to the rule book.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Cueball: So what do you want to do?<br />
:Friend: Still no ideas.<br />
:Cueball: Wait, I think there's a rule about this.<br />
:[Cueball goes to bookshelf and removes a book called "Rules".]<br />
:[The book of rules is opened to the following:<br />
:RULE social.b.99.1<br />
:If friends spend more than 60 minutes deciding what to do, they must default to sexual experimentation.]<br />
:[Cueball is standing, holding the book. The friend is in the process of standing up.]<br />
:Cueball: Huh.<br />
:Friend: I did not know that rule.<br />
:Cueball: Me neither.<br />
:Friend: I'll go get the Crisco.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Homosexuality]]<br />
[[Category:Sex]]</div>173.245.56.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&diff=98514what if?2015-07-27T14:33:44Z<p>173.245.56.77: </p>
<hr />
<div>:<small>''Not to be confused with [[17: What If]].''</small><br />
[[File:whatifbanner.jpg]]<br />
<br />
'''''[http://what-if.xkcd.com/ what if?]''''' is a blog hosted on the [[xkcd]].com domain and written by [[Randall Munroe]] with entries posted [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/once-in-a-blue-moon.html every week]. On the blog, Randall uses his degree in physics and strong scientific background to discuss hypothetical physics questions apparently submitted by readers.<br />
Since 2014 , there's also a book of the blog.<br />
<br />
Unlike other sites which answer readers' questions, ''what if?'' typically takes the question beyond the original scope likely intended by the reader and takes it to some extreme for humorous effect. For example, in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ the first article], he discusses what would happen if a baseball were pitched at 90% of the speed of light. After effectively describing what would occur as a nuclear explosion, leveling the stadium and the surrounding mile radius, he concludes with the note ''"A careful reading of official Major League Baseball Rule 6.08(b) suggests that in this situation, the batter would be considered 'hit by pitch', and would be eligible to advance to first base."''<br />
<br />
The questions Randall tackles range from realistic possibilities (e.g. the probability of achieving a [http://what-if.xkcd.com/2/ perfect SAT score by guessing]) to completely fictional questions (e.g. [http://what-if.xkcd.com/3/ How much Force power] can {{w|Yoda}} output?). In his explanations, Randall, often uses diagrams in an ''xkcd'' style. Regardless of the context, Randall tends to take the questions extremely literally and responds seriously to them, even if they are whimsical (such as the Yoda question). This is clear from his response to the question of what would happen if everybody on Earth stood together and [http://what-if.xkcd.com/8/ jumped at the same time]. After acknowledging that the question has been answered elsewhere, he recaps the result, but then focuses more intently on the unasked resulting issue of the aftermath of everyone on Earth being magically transported to one location as they all try to return home.<br />
<br />
This site is not under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License] like [[xkcd]] is.<br />
<br />
Randal took a hiatus from updates from May 2015 to July 14th 2015 with a note stating "What If updates are temporarily on hold, and will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT." This was the date and time that the New Horizons probe achieved its closest approach to Pluto. The article for July 14th was about the New Horizons probe.<br />
<br />
<br />
==The book==<br />
{{Incomplete|Maybe give the most (popular) articles their own link. That would be nice. A full list of all articles can be viewed [https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ here]}}<br />
Randall announced his ''what if?'' book on 12 March 2014 in [http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/03/12/what-if-i-wrote-a-book/ the blag]. It was published on September 2, 2014, and the UK edition of the book was published on September 4, 2014.<br />
[[Image:What_If?.jpeg|frame|The general cover of the book]]<br />
It is just like 'xkcd:volume 0' a compilation of some questions from the website, but half of them are new.<br />
<br />
In the UK edition of the book, Randall included a preface about his thoughts on the units used in the UK. (The Metric System)<br />
====Summary====<br />
'''The summary on the back of the book reads:'''<br />
<br />
''Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If.<br />
<br />
*If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive?<br />
*How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm?<br />
*If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce?<br />
*What if everyone only had one soulmate?<br />
*When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire?<br />
*How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?<br />
*What would happen if the moon went away?<br />
<br />
''In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.''<br />
<br />
'''The summary on the back of the UK edition of the book reads:'''<br />
<br />
''Hey! Thanks for looking at my book. If you're thinking about buying it, here are some things you might want to know:''<br />
<br />
Humans can't digest the cellulose in paper, but if we could, eating this book would give you about 2,300 calories (including the cover).<br />
<br />
This book can't stop most bullets; if you want to use it for armour, you may want a lot more than one copy.<br />
<br />
If you have a good arm, you could probably throw this book about 45 feet. With practice, it's possible to throw a book every 800 milliseconds, which means that if human attackers are sprinting towards you, you'll have three or four chances to hit them before they reach you. If, on the other hand, you're being attacked by a coyote, it's higher top speed means you'll have only one chance to hit it. Aim carefully.<br />
<br />
''HIDDEN FEATURE: The inside of this book has words and pictures, plus a special UK foreword.'' It answers many important questions, including whether you could jump from a plane with a helium tank and inflate balloons fast enough to slow your fall and survive (yes) and whether you could hide from a supersonic windstorm in Finland (yes, but it won't help).<br />
<br />
==Articles==<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/1/ Relativistic baseball]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/2/ SAT guessing]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/3/ Yoda]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/4/ A mole of moles]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/5/ Robot apocalypse]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/6/ Glass half empty]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/7/ Everybody out]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/8 Everybody jump]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/9 Soul mates]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/10 Cassini]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/11 Droppings]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/12 Rain drop]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/13 Laser pointer]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/14 Short answer section]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/15 Mariana trench explosion]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/16 Today's topic: Lightning]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/17 Green cows]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/18 BB gun]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/19 Tie vote]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/20 Diamond]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/21 Machine gun jetpack]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/22 Cost of pennies]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/23 Short answer section II]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/24 Model rockets]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/25 Three wise men]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/26 Leap seconds]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/27 Death rate]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/28 Steak drop]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/29 Spent fuel pool]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/30 Interplanetary Cessna]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/31 FedEx bandwidth]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/32 Hubble]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/33 Ships]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/34 Twitter]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/35 Hairdryer]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/36 Cornstarch]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/37 Supersonic stereo]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/38 Voyager]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/39 Hockey puck]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/40 Pressure cooker]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/41 Go west]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/42 Longest sunset]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/43 Train loop]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/44 High throw]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/45 ISS music video]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/46 Bowling ball]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/47 Alien astronomers]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/48 Sunset on the British Empire]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/49 Sunless Earth]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/50 Extreme boating]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/51 Free fall]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/52 Bouncy balls]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/53 Drain the oceans]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/54 Drain the oceans: Part II]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/55 Random sneeze call]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/56 Restraining an airplane]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/57 Dropping a mountain]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/58 Orbital speed]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/59 Updating a printed Wikipedia]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/60 Signs of life]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/61 Speed bump]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/62 Falling with helium]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/63 Google datacenters on punchcards]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/64 Rising steadily]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/65 Twitter timeline height]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/66 500MPH]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/67 Expanding earth]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/68 Little planet]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/69 Facebook of the dead]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/70 The constant groundskeeper]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/71 Stirring tea]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/72 Loneliest human]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/73 Lethal neutrinos]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/74 Soda planet]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/75 Phone keypad]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/76 Reading every book]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/77 Growth rate]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/78 T-rex calories]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/79 Lake tea]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/80 Pile of viruses]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/81 Catch!]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/82 Hitting a comet]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/83 Star sand]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/84 Paint the Earth]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/85 Rocket golf]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/86 Far-travelling objects]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/87 Enforced by radar]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/88 Soda sequestration]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/89 Tungsten countertop]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/90 Great tree, great axe]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/91 Faucet power]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/92 One-second day]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/93 Windshield raindrops]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/94 Billion-story building]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/95 Pyramid energy]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/96 $2 undecillion lawsuit]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/97 Burning pollen]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/98 Blood alcohol]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/99 Starlings]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/100 WWII films]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/101 Plastic dinosaurs]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/102 Keyboard power]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/103 Vanishing water]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/104 Global snow]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/105 Cannibalism]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/106 Ink molecules]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/107 Letter to mom]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/108 Expensive shoebox]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/109 Into the blue]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/110 Walking New York]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/111 All the money]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/112 Balloon car]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/113 Visit every state]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/114 Antimatter]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/115 Into the Sun]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/116 No-rules NASCAR]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/117 Distant death]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/118 Physical salary]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/119 Laser umbrella]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/120 Alternate universe what ifs]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/121 Frozen rivers]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/122 Lava lamp]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/123 Fairy demographics]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/124 Lunar swimming]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/125 Bowling ball]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/126 Stairs]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/127 Tug of war]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/128 Zippo phone]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/129 Black hole moon]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/130 Snow removal]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/131 Microwaves]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/132 Hotter than average]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/133 Flagpole]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/134 Space burial]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/135 Digging downward]<br />
*[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/136 Spiders vs. the Sun]<br />
*[https://what-if.xkcd.com/137/ New Horizons]<br />
<!--<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Short answer section II]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Model rockets]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Three wise men]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Leap seconds]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Death rate]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Steak drop]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Spent fuel pool]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Interplanetary Cessna]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/FedEx bandwidth]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Hubble]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Ships]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Twitter]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Hairdryer]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Cornstarch]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Supersonic stereo]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Voyager]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Hockey puck]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Pressure cooker]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Go west]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Longest sunset]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Train loop]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/High throw]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/ISS music video]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Bowling ball]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Alien astronomers]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Sunset on the British Empire]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Sunless Earth]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Extreme boating]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Free fall]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Bouncy balls]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Drain the oceans]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Drain the oceans: Part II]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Random sneeze call]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Restraining an airplane]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Dropping a mountain]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Orbital speed]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Updating a printed Wikipedia]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Signs of life]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Speed bump]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Falling with helium]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Google datacenters on punchcards]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Rising steadily]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Twitter timeline height]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/500MPH]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Expanding earth]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Little planet]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Facebook of the dead]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/The constant groundskeeper]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Stirring tea]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Loneliest human]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Lethal neutrinos]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Soda planet]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Phone keypad]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Reading every book]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Growth rate]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/T-rex calories]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Lake tea]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Pile of viruses]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Catch!]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Hitting a comet]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Star sand]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Paint the Earth]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Rocket golf]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Far-travelling objects]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Enforced by radar]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Soda sequestration]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Tungsten countertop]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Great tree, great axe]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Faucet power]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/One-second day]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Windshield raindrops]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Billion-story building]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Pyramid energy]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/$2 undecillion lawsuit]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Burning pollen]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Blood alcohol]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Starlings]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/WWII films]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Plastic dinosaurs]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Keyboard power]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Vanishing water]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Global snow]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Cannibalism]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Ink molecules]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Letter to mom]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Expensive shoebox]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Into the blue]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Walking New York]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/All the money]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Balloon car]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Visit every state]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Antimatter]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Into the Sun]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/No-rules NASCAR]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Distant death]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Physical salary]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Laser umbrella]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Alternate universe what ifs]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Frozen rivers]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Lava lamp]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Fairy demographics]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Lunar swimming]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Bowling ball]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Stairs]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Tug of war]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Zippo phone]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Black hole moon]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Snow removal]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Microwaves]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Hotter than average]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Flagpole]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Space burial]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Digging downward]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/Spiders vs. the Sun]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/New Horizons]<br />
[http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/]--><br />
[[Category:Meta]]</div>173.245.56.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1014:_Car_Problems&diff=63432Talk:1014: Car Problems2014-03-27T01:07:35Z<p>173.245.56.77: Couple of comments, main one is about 'what if critics are sincere'</p>
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<div>From what I can see of the picture, it ''is'' a little over-saturated. The colors look a little too pastelly too. At least decent cameras are cheaper than they used to be. '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:11, 18 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Does this seem like it might be political commentary? A subtle dig at certain legislative bodies which, when confronted with an urgent problem like "the economy is burning," choose to dicker about the quality of the photograph? Just a thought... [[Special:Contributions/174.253.193.137|174.253.193.137]] 05:10, 13 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I disagree with the apparent majority view that the critics are disingenuous. This might be a satire on camera nerds in particular but also on overspecialized individuals in general. What if the critics are sincere, but just... overfocussed on picture issues, and simply see the world through that lens at all times? Isn't that consistent with the general themes of xkcd?<br />
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I feel like the explanation is incomplete, but I don't know what the standard is here. What is "chromatic aberration", "white balance", and what is the significance of "the most megapixels"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 04:54, 8 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Also. "The title text reveals what she was looking for; one of them really did set her car on fire." How? It seems ambiguous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 14:53, 8 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::'chromatic aberration' is when different colors in the source are mapped to slightly different locations in the image. A bright white point of light like a star might show up in a photo as a slightly smeared point with a rainbow-like quality in the smearing. Refractive lenses nowadays have coatings to reduce this effect, but they don't eliminate it altogether; there is a similar small effect due to diffraction as well. 'white balance' refers to adjusting the overall color spectrum of the image to compensate for not-perfectly-white source light; imagine if you looked at the same person in 'warm' candlelight versus 'cold, harsh' hospital flourescents. If you are there in person, your eyes quite brilliantly do a little computation to compensate for the difference in source light so that they look human; if you just have a little unbalanced photo in your hand and don't /see/ a roomful of source light for your eye to use as reference background, one of the pictures looks like a zombie and the other might look like your friend is quite flushed. You can use various forms of processing to adjust the 'color temperature' and other details to make the picture look natural, this is white balancing. Note that you might not want to white-balance all photographs, for example you might want to capture the orangey quality of a candlelit scene.<br />
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:'the most megapixels' refers to the size of the camera's images in megapixels. More megapixels is in some sense good, it means the camera is commiting more details to memory; the accusation here is that the photographer bought the camera on the basis of the easily-advertised number of pixels instead of a sensible balance of many important qualities. It is relatively easily to make a camera that has "lots of megapixels" and it looks good in ads, but without a good lens, for example, those extra megapixels are just recording lots and lots of blur. Buying on 'number of megapixels' alone is considered naive, it would be like looking at computer ads and buying a system on "how many gigabytes does it have" without looking at any other quality.<br />
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::Thanks for your statements here. This comic is marked as incomplete and a first attempt on the details is done.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:48, 8 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The title text is written as if from the point of view of somebody who was there watching the presentation, since they're talking about getting the shot, and "we'll set your car on fire AGAIN" implies that they did it the first time. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 09:51, 25 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: I am not convinced. "again" might simply mean 'for a second time, regardless of who did it the first time' - that is, the event they are offering to make happen again is 'the car being on fire' not 'us setting the car on fire'<br />
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I think the three of them might be genuinely raising the photographic concerns, possibly out of ignorance of the problem of a car being on fire or lack of concern for Megan's (possibly) "trivial matter". This wouldn't be the first time xkcd characters have [[Mission|strange]] [[Priorities|priorities]]. '''''[[User:LockmanCapulet|<font color="green">LockmanCapulet</font>]]<sub>[[User talk:LockmanCapulet|<font color="green"> I plead the third!</font>]]</sub>''''' 19:07, 26 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
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This seems to be a tribute to Magritte's 'Ceci n'est pas un pipe' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images). It is reminiscent of the unfortunate triumph of appearance over reality (as in TornadoGuard - http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/937:_TornadoGuard) [[ophiochos]]</div>173.245.56.77