https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=199.27.128.190&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T10:36:52ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1515:_Basketball_Earth&diff=907521515: Basketball Earth2015-04-23T22:50:58Z<p>199.27.128.190: /* Explanation */ Future-proofed the text</p>
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<div><br />
{{comic<br />
| number = 1515<br />
| date = April 22, 2015<br />
| title = Basketball Earth<br />
| image = basketball earth.png<br />
| titletext = How many points do you get for dunking every basketball in existence at once?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic [[Cueball]] is repeatedly attempting to make a comparison for the {{w|Earth}}-{{w|Moon}} system. We can guess that he means to say that if the Earth were the size of a {{w|Basketball (ball)|basketball}} (about 25&nbsp;cm in diameter), the Moon, at the same scale, would be less than 7&nbsp;cm in diameter, a typical size for other smaller balls in different sports.<br />
<br />
Cueball handily illustrates this with two "balls" of the relevant sizes. At first you think that they just look like the Earth and the Moon. But they are invisibly suspended, and — as seems clear from the first row of panels — they are actually the real Moon and Earth shrunk to the relevant size, hence the title ''Basketball Earth''. <br />
<br />
This would place Cueball and his "friends" in {{w|God}}-like positions, outside Earth. Maybe they are even in a different dimension, since they can stand and observe the system.<br />
<br />
But, repeatedly, before Cueball can finish with this common type of comparison, he is interrupted and must begin all over again. We thus never learn which type of ball (if any — it could have been an {{w|apple}}) he would have compared the Moon with. It seems, however, likely that he would use another ball for the comparison. And the best ball to use would be a {{w|tennis ball}}. See the same sort of comparison of Earth/Moon with basketball/tennis ball in this illustrative video that asks the question: [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/24/how-far-away-is-the-moon/ How far away is the Moon?]. From this it is also obvious that the system Cueball shows is not to scale with regard to that distance, which should be 7.37&nbsp;m! This is not necessarily a mistake of the comic, since Cueball never claims that these two balls are in orbit or even is the real ones. He is just (in vain) trying to make a size comparison of the two, though perhaps further exposition and demonstration might take place after the size comparison. It is also possible that the moon is actually back in the background at the appropriate distance, further from the viewpoint of the comic than it seems.<br />
<br />
A basketball has an average diameter of 24.6&nbsp;cm&nbsp;(9.7&nbsp;inches) vs.&nbsp;a tennis ball with an average diameter of 6.7&nbsp;cm&nbsp;(2.6&nbsp;inches). The ratio between a tennis ball and basketball is 0.273, which is the same (to three digits) as the ratio given on the Wikipedia page for the Moon: ''Mean radius 1737.10&nbsp;km&nbsp;(0.273&nbsp;Earths)''. If he had used a {{w|Baseball (ball)|baseball}}, which is slightly larger, this would still be good enough for demonstrative purposes, as it would have been with an apple.<br />
<br />
It is common to describe the relationship between very large (and very small) objects by analogy to common objects on a more human scale. Here is a similar example where someone has made a comparison of the sizes of the Solar system based on a [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira60.html Sun the size of a basketball]. And here, coming from smaller scales, is an [http://www.infoplease.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/atoms.html#ESCI024ATOMS001 example] that states the following: "Imagine an atom magnified to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus of the atom would be the size of a pea in the centre of the stadium." <br />
<br />
It is almost certainly not a coincidence that this comic was released on {{w|Earth Day}}, which is celebrated annually on April&nbsp;22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This seems to be something that [[Randall]] cares about a lot, as he has made several comics demonstrating the need for the human race to begin taking better care of our globe. See, for instance, [[1321: Cold]] and [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].<br />
<br />
This comic clearly demonstrates four examples where the inhabitants of Earth did not take care of the well being of our globe, although here on a somewhat grander scale than what individuals can usually do. The typical case is that people did not do this out of bad intentions, but only because they were careless, curious, playful, or just plain stupid.<br />
<br />
This comic may be seen as a spiritual successor to [[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]] and its follow-up, [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]] in depicting various failed outcomes to the same opening panel.<br />
<br />
===Interruptions===<br />
The four interruptions are described and explained below. Each of the four attempts has its own row of four panels in the comic. It is clear from panels one and two in each row that the Basketball Earth is rotating quite fast compared to the time frame of the comic since the {{w|continents}} have moved considerably between frames. It is thus not necessarily the interrupters that have moved the Basketball Earth between frames two and three, except of course in the final interruption. <br />
<br />
No matter how fast it rotates or whatever happens, we always see the Basketball Earth from the same side, as seen from far above the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}. We can see the continents of the {{w|Americas}} as well as {{w|Africa}} and sometimes part of {{w|Europe}}, all of which are the borders for this ocean.<br />
<br />
It seems most likely that Cueball starts all over every time, with a completely fresh and new Earth-Moon system, since they look the same regardless of the catastrophe befalling the prior Basketball Earth, and the interruptions—the second especially—would be difficult to reverse. We can thus suppose that there is still "normal" life going on for each Basketball Earth before the interruption. Most or all of this life would presumably perish for all of the last three cases.<br />
<br />
====Black Hat====<br />
In the first interruption, [[Black Hat]] comes in and is amazed by this cool floating globe. Of course, being Black Hat, he has to prod this nice globe with a digit. But by putting his finger into one of the oceans of this "real" Basketball Earth without a second thought, he apparently generates a {{w|megatsunami}} that rolls in over an unidentified city with skyscrapers, utterly dwarfed by a breaking wave. <br />
<br />
This is similar to a scene in "{{w|Men in Black II}}" where K messed with a globe that actually is a small planet, and his finger become visible in the sky of its inhabitants. It is also reminiscent of {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}} in which a meteor strike causes exactly such a tsunami to hit the {{w|East Coast of the United States}}. Since Black Hat puts his finger down in the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami would hit all bordering coastlines. Since the coast seems to be an eastern coast (assuming a vantage point of South --> North), and because Randall lives there, the city could be {{w|New York City}} or {{w|Boston}} or one of the other large US cities on the East Coast. Of course, the wave would also affect the coast line (far into land) for all the other continents.<br />
<br />
====Megan====<br />
The second interruption occurs when [[Megan]] arrives and pours liquid (perhaps water) from a sports {{w|water bottle}} onto the Basketball Earth, seemingly flooding its entire surface. This would cause {{w|List of flood myths|extensive flooding}}, almost certainly extinguishing all multicellular land-dwelling life. The most familiar analogous situation is from the {{w|Bible}} in the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}} about {{w|Noah's Ark}}. The deluge from Megan's bottle would also change the composition of the ocean and create enormous churn and pressure changes, with widespread or catastrophic effects even on multicellular marine life.<br />
<br />
====Cat====<br />
In the third interruption a cat walks into shot and then playfully attacks the Basketball Earth rolling around with it like it would do with a ball of {{w|yarn}} (see real life example in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rTAI2aExI this video]). <br />
<br />
The people living upon this Basketball Earth would experience cataclysmic events far greater than Blackhat's digital prodding caused, especially as the Basketball Earth is no longer suspended and was thus taken "out of its orbit" and will eventually hit the floor very hard. One way or another, that will surely cause (undepicted) disasters of tremendous magnitude.<br />
<br />
====Ponytail====<br />
In the fourth and final interruption, [[Ponytail]] uses Basketball Earth as an actual basketball. She comes running by Cueball, grabs the Basketball Earth, probably bouncing it off the floor while {{w|Dribbling#Basketball|dribbling}} towards the {{w|Backboard (basketball)|basketball hoop}} where she actually jumps in an attempt to {{w|Slam dunk|dunk}} the Basketball Earth. This would ''not'' be good for any residents of Basketball Earth; the combined pressure, movement, and impact damage from this simple sequence would surely kill off all complex life on Basketball Earth.<br />
<br />
===Title text===<br />
This simile-callback is continued in the title text with the idea that "every basketball in existence" (i.e., every basketball upon the Basketball Earth, as well as the Basketball Earth itself) is counted towards the score from a single dunking. Randall may have a good estimate of how many basketballs there are, perhaps through research for some [[what if?]] question or other research, but almost certainly assumes that there are no extraterrestrial basketballs ''not'' on Basketball Earth. But there might be some question about whether the Basketball Earth's own sub-scale basketballs fall within the regulations. If recursion exists, there would be an infinite amount of balls shot, but not scored, since it is illegal to have more than one basketball in play at a time according to basketball rules.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing next to a floating Basketball Earth indicating it with his left hand. The continents are clearly visible as seen from above the Atlantic Ocean. This remains the same all through the comic, except that the Basketball Earth rotates a bit from frame to frame.]<br />
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is now indicating, with his right hand, a small pockmarked moon (also floating), in the correct proportions (regarding size not for their distance) to the Basketball Earth, which is on his other side. Black Hat walks into the panel towards Earth.]<br />
:Cueball: The Moon would be—<br />
:Black Hat: Hey, cool!<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is touching the Basketball Earth with a digit.]<br />
:Cueball: Um.<br />
<br />
:[In the next scene we see a megatsunami on the verge of crashing down onto a coastal city with skyscrapers. The A's are cut of on each side of the panels frames, i.e. they begin outside and finishes outside the frame.]<br />
:Aaaaaaaa<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]<br />
:Cueball: Let's try that again. If the Earth were the size of a basketball,<br />
<br />
:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now it is Megan that walks into the frame towards the Basketball Earth holding a sports water bottle.]<br />
:Cueball: The Moon would be—<br />
<br />
:[Megan squirts the Basketball Earth with the liquid in her water bottle while Cueball just stands watching with the Moon behind him].<br />
<br />
:[Megan just walks away while Cueball stares at his "water" Basketball Earth where the continents have disappeared completely beneath the liquid.]<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]<br />
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,<br />
<br />
:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now he spots a cat coming into the frame from the left.]<br />
:Cueball: The Moon— would…<br />
<br />
:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, the cat jumps at the Basketball Earth.]<br />
:Cat: Mrowl! <br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues to watch while the cat rolls around playing with the Basketball Earth as if it was a ball of yarn.]<br />
:Cat: Rrrrr<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]<br />
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,<br />
<br />
:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except this time it is Ponytail who enters the frame at a run coming from the left.]<br />
:Cueball: The Moon would, uh…<br />
<br />
:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, Ponytail has grabbed the Basketball Earth and is dribbling it out of the frame, still running.]<br />
<br />
:[Zoom out from Cueball who continues to watch while Ponytail reaches a basketball hoop and jump towards it with the Basketball Earth, obviously in an attempt to make a slam dunk.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
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<!-- Include any categories below this line. --><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1509:_Scenery_Cheat_Sheet&diff=89116Talk:1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet2015-04-08T17:00:18Z<p>199.27.128.190: added comment</p>
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<div>One objection: although ''What About Bob?'' was set at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, it was actually filmed at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. {{unsigned|Jstech}}<br />
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The Napoleon Dynamite Idaho square doesn't cover Preston, where it was filmed.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 06:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The ''Twilight/50 Shades'' area really shouldn't cover eastern Washington and Oregon either. East of the Cascade Mountains is much more like Boise than Seattle. [[User:Tribble314|Tribble314]] ([[User talk:Tribble314|talk]]) 07:12, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Tribble314 is completely correct<br />
<br />
It gets Forest Gump wrong, that is set in Alabama, including the Alabama gulf coast and not easter Georgia, The Tombstone section is on the wrong side of Arizona and Zorro is set, and filmed, in California. Anything By Mark Twain is too far south, and since Road Runner cartoons all have Saguaro and organ pipe cactus, it is amazing how the map outlines the exact part of Arizona where they don't exist {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.122}}<br />
:It's not about where it's set. It's where it's filmed. And I object to the 'Anything by Mark Twain' on the grounds that it's basically just Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn without say Innocents Abroad or for that matter most of what was written by a guy who did a good bit of traveling in his lifetime.--Dude[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 09:28, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::No, the map is about where it's set (generally). ''Star Trek'' wasn't actually filmed in Iowa, part of the movie was set there. In any event, the explanation provides a column for each. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:14, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Let's not forget ''A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court''! I'm pretty sure that doesn't fit in 'Anything By Mark Twain'-space. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 12:46, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I never even knew I lived so close to so many awesome movies. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:39, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Wikipedia tells me that there are 3 2005 ''War of the Worlds'' movies. So... [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:43, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A lot I'd like to argue with, but without proof (no time to look), I'll skip most except for this: The Twin Cities of Minnesota (Minneapolis & St. Paul) are clearly shown (Mpls. skyline at least) in ''Fargo'', yet the Twin Cities area is barely within ''Fargo'''s border. (Nitpick from the movie: the characters are coming FROM the north but the Mpls view is obviously from the south, I-35W Northbound.) Also, ''North Country'', whose story is based around taconite mining in Minnesota's Iron Range (north/northwest of Duluth), should have been included, and also shows a Mpls. skyline as an establishing shot for either lawyer's offices and/or a courthouse. (And one more thing: Thanks to whoever pointed out that Woodstock, IL is the true filming location for ''Groundhog Day''. I would show it on the map with a dot or star there, rather than the Pennsylvania area is supposedly represents.) --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.177|173.245.50.177]] 13:03, 8 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I think the Oregon Trail section of the map is specifically referring to the video game, because the subtitle below the main text in that map location says "The only part I ever got to." [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.190|199.27.128.190]] 17:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1023:_Late-Night_PBS&diff=79673Talk:1023: Late-Night PBS2014-11-23T18:10:46Z<p>199.27.128.190: Downtown should be Downton.</p>
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<div>I still remember playing the Carmen San Diego educatonal games. Oh, good, good days. '''[[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>]] 13:17, 18 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Now I know why my copy was glitchy... Anonymous 17:20, 5 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The show is Downton Abbey, not Downtown Abbey. I feel like if I actually edit it the strip Randall made about that very annoyance will win.</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:715:_Numbers&diff=79297Talk:715: Numbers2014-11-16T02:06:53Z<p>199.27.128.190: the scale is wrong</p>
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<div>It seems pretty obvious that the spike at "I'm 18 and have never had a boyfriend" is thanks to porn sites. I don't think that has anything to do with "anxiety about reaching adulthood." {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.54}}<br />
I think it should be noted that many of the graphs use.an exponential scale of measurement, which destroys any credibility the visuals had in a quite posssibly intentional moment of internet satire.</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1056:_Felidae&diff=776481056: Felidae2014-10-22T14:39:56Z<p>199.27.128.190: /* Explanation */ it's already out</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1056<br />
| date = May 16, 2012<br />
| title = Felidae<br />
| image = felidae.png<br />
| titletext = 'Smilodon fatalis' narrowly edged out 'Tyrannosaurus rex' to win this year's Most Badass Latin Names competition, after edging out 'Dracorex hogwartsia' and 'Stygimoloch spinifer' (meaning 'horned dragon from the river of death') in the semifinals.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic shows a graph with three parts.<br />
<br />
First, the names are sorted up by genera (plural of {{w|genus}}, a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms) from bottom to top of which animals would win in a fight. Secondly, the names within the genus are then sorted by coolness of name from left to right. Thirdly, in red you can see the direction that {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}} has taken with nicknaming the versions of their {{w|OS X}} operating system. They started at v10.0 "Cheetah", and have moved through genera from there in no order that this chart can make out.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!OS X version<br />
!code name<br />
!year released<br />
|-<br />
|10.0||Cheetah||2001<br />
|-<br />
|10.1||Puma||2001<br />
|-<br />
|10.2||Jaguar||2002<br />
|-<br />
|10.3||Panther||2003<br />
|-<br />
|10.4||Tiger||2004<br />
|-<br />
|10.5||Leopard||2006<br />
|-<br />
|10.6||Snow Leopard||2008<br />
|-<br />
|10.7||Lion||2010<br />
|-<br />
|10.8||Mountain Lion||2012<br />
|}<br />
<br />
[[:Category:Bobcats|Bobcats]] are a joke in this comic because they appear in the strangest places. The genus ''Puma'' here only lists synonyms for the puma (see {{w|cougar}}) instead of {{w|Puma_(genus)|the actual genus}}. Of course, the three OS X versions named by three of these synonyms are not the same.<br />
<br />
Despite being named after "Hogwarts", the magical school from the Harry Potter series of books and movies, ''{{w|Dracorex hogwartsia}}'' is real.<br />
<br />
Since this comic was published, Apple has stopped naming versions of OS X after big cats: v10.8 "Mountain Lion" was followed by v10.9 "Mavericks", named after a beach in California, followed by v10.10 "Yosemite", named after the California national park.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Well-known felines:<br />
:[A graph organizing various feline species labeled with common names ordered by Genera (in order of which would win in a fight) on the y axis, and coolness of name on the x axis.]<br />
:Smilodon (extinct): "Saber-toothed cat (scientific name: Smilodon fatalis)<br />
:Panthera: "Jaguar", "Leopard", "Snow Leopard", "Tiger", "Lion"<br />
:Puma: "Cougar", "Puma", "Panther", "Mountain Lion"<br />
:Other felidae: "Ocelot", "Cheetah"<br />
:Felis & Lynx: "Housecat", "Bobcat", "Wildcat", "Lynx"<br />
:[Some elements are further connected using an unbranched acyclic digraph. The elements are connected thus: "Cheetah" -> "Puma" -> "Jaguar" -> "Panther" -> "Tiger" -> "Leopard" -> "Snow Leopard" -> "Lion" -> "Mountain Lion".]<br />
:The OS X Problem<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Bobcats]]</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1027:_Pickup_Artist&diff=586011027: Pickup Artist2014-01-25T09:04:25Z<p>199.27.128.190: /* Explanation */ Michael Jordan isn't the greatest basketball player</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1027<br />
| date = March 9, 2012<br />
| title = Pickup Artist<br />
| image = pickup_artist.png<br />
| titletext = Son, don't try to play 'make you feel bad' with the Michael Jordan of making you feel bad.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Black Hat]] and [[Danish]] appear to be out on a date! [[Hairy]] wants to try some {{w|pickup artist}} tactics on Danish and chooses "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=negging negging]". However, as Danish is the "Michael Jordan" of making other people feel bad about themselves, his negging pales in comparison to hers.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]]'s message goes out clearly through [[Cueball]]: "Pickup artists are dehumanizing creeps who see relationships as adversarial and women as sex toys. Just talk to them like a fucking human being."<br />
<br />
The pick up subject (and Hairy) returned in [[1178: Pickup Artists]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Hairy and Cueball sitting at a table.]<br />
:Hairy: I've been learning tricks from pickup artist forums.<br />
:Cueball: Pickup artists are dehumanizing creeps who see relationships as adversarial and women as sex toys.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Hairy's head, with a faint outline of Black hat and Danish sitting at a table in the background.]<br />
:Hairy: No, it's just a bunch of tips! Like ''negging'': you belittle chicks to undermine their self-confidence so they'll be more vulnerable and seek your approval.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Cueball's head.]<br />
:Cueball: Just talk to them like a fucking human being.<br />
:Hairy: Nah, that's a sucker's game.<br />
:Ok- wish me luck!<br />
<br />
:''Meanwhile''<br />
:[Black hat and Danish at a table. Black hat is standing up with a bowling ball under his arm.]<br />
:Black hat: I'm going to the bathroom to roll a bowling ball under the line of stalls.<br />
:Danish: Cool.<br />
<br />
:[Close up of Cueball's head, with Hairy approaching Danish's table in the background.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh no.<br />
<br />
:[Hairy and Danish at a table. Hairy is standing up and leaning on the table.]<br />
:Hairy: You look like you're on a diet. That's great!<br />
:How's the fruit plate?<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Danish's head]<br />
:Danish: Ooh- are we negging?<br />
:Let me try!<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Danish's head, with her hand raised]<br />
:Danish: You look like you're going to spend your life having one epiphany after another, always thinking you've finally figured out what's holding you back, and how you can finally be productive and creative and turn your life around.<br />
:But nothing will ever change. That cycle of mediocrity isn't due to some obstacle. It's who you ''are''.<br />
:The thing standing in the way of your dreams<br />
:Is that the person having them is ''you''.<br />
<br />
:[Hairy and Danish at a table. Hairy is standing up.]<br />
:Danish: Ok, your turn! Ooh, try insulting my hair!<br />
:Hairy: I think I need to go home and think about my life.<br />
:Danish: It won't help.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Romance]]</div>199.27.128.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1052:_Every_Major%27s_Terrible&diff=552961052: Every Major's Terrible2013-12-15T22:55:29Z<p>199.27.128.190: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1052<br />
| date = May 7, 2012<br />
| title = Every Major's Terrible<br />
| image = every_majors_terrible.png<br />
| titletext = Someday I'll be the first to get a Ph. D in 'Undeclared'.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
The header refers to an satiric opera from the 19th century. {{w|Modern Major-General's Song}} is a patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The song satirises the idea of the "modern" educated British Army officer of the latter 19th century. It is one of the most difficult patter songs to perform, due to the fast pace and tongue-twisting nature of the lyrics. Here's a YouTube video of "I Am the Very Model of A Modern Major's General" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64] for those who need to get the tune.<br />
<br />
{{w|Major general}} is a military rank in many countries. Here's is Tom Lehrer's Elements.[http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html] And [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3zAbQ0aMK8 here] is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins.<br />
<br />
The panels are showing a song, some sentences are going over two or more panels. The refrain is like this: "put me down as "undecided" - Every Major's Terrible".<br />
<br />
In panel 4, Stamp collecting refers to the famous quote by {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, "All science is either physics or stamp collecting." {{w|Methyl acetate}} is the solvent used to remove stamps from their envelope.<br />
<br />
In panel 8, {{w|underwater basket weaving}} is a commonly used metaphor for any college major that is easy or worthless.<br />
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Panel 13 refers to the inability of {{w|seismology}} to reliably predict catastrophic {{w|earthquake}}s, even after centuries of extensive research.<br />
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In panel 14, the formal logic proposition "X ∴ ∃X" says "I say there's this thing called X, therefore, there exists this thing called X".<br />
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In panel 15, programming languages, like {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}}, use parenthesis as part of their syntax. Typically, a open parenthesis will be closed with a closing parenthesis. If not the code is not properly formatted for presentation, it can make it difficult for a programmer to determine where the unbalanced parenthesis begins or ends.<br />
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In panel 16, virology is the study of infectious diseases. The symbol above the central figure is the biohazard symbol.<br />
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In panel 19, {{w|Richard Feynman}} was a 20th-century physicist known for his sense of fun, including being photographed for one of his books while holding a bongo drum.<br />
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In panel 20, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Redirect redirect on Wikipedia] is a page which immediately sends the visitor to a different page. This implies that the title of the first is either a synonym or a sub-topic of the second. Physics majors usually learn to code, and the standard joke is that they invariably get hired as computer programmers after graduation. The Wikipedia page {{w|physics major}} didn't actually exist when this comic was published. It was created the same day, but as a redirect to {{w|physics education}}. In the subsequent days, there were dozens of instances of people changing it to redirect to {{w|engineer}}, usually reverted within minutes.<br />
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In panel 25, {{w|supermoon}} and {{w|zodiac}} are terms invented not by astronomers, but rather by early {{w|astrology|astrologists}}.<br />
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In panel 26, {{w|agronomy}} is the science of farming, while {{w|agoraphobia}} is the fear of wide open spaces.<br />
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In panel 27, {{w|herpetology}} is the study of reptiles, while ophiophobia is the fear of snakes.<br />
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In panel 28, as the pun sugests, {{w|gastroenterology}} is the study of the human digestive system.<br />
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In panel 29, pre-med is a major chosen by students hoping to go on to medical school and eventually become doctors. Medical school is extremely competitive and usually requires a very high undergraduate GPA for prospective students.<br />
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In panel 30, the text is in all lower-case and strangely laid out compared to text in other panels. All lower case and "free" layout are both associated with 20th century "Modernist" poetry, especially the works of {{w|e.e.cummings}}.<br />
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In panel 33 and 34, the singer refers to economics. Economists claim that economics is a science like any other; scientists in other fields sometimes disagree.<br />
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And {{w|Sophie's Choice}} is any dilemma where choosing one cherished person or thing over the other will result in the death or destruction of the other, derived from the theme of the novel, and has also been turned into a romantic drama film.<br />
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From the title text 'Undeclared' is sometimes called "General Studies".<br />
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===Trivia===<br />
People of the SFU Choir have done renditions to this xkcd song. See [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seGpYa8UO0E SFU Choir - Every Major's Terrible]. The transcription is also shown at the scenes, so it is more easy to understand the text.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:'''Every Major's Terrible'''<br />
:to the tune of Gilbert & Sullivan's<br />
:'''Modern Major-General Song'''<br />
:(Which you may know from Tom Lehrer's ''Elements''. If not, just hum ''Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious''.)<br />
<br />
<br />
:Philosophy's just math sans rigor, sense, and practicality<br />
:: ''[Cueball thinking, chin on fist, à la Rodin's sculpture; in the air is a pseudo-mathematical expression "2 + <picture of light bulb> = <picture of sailboat>"]<br />
:and Math's just physics unconstrained by precepts of reality.<br />
:: ''[a cannon firing: a dashed line indicates the cannonball's trajectory, which bifurcates twice, although the sum of the momentums of the four resulting 1/4 sized cannonballs is presumably mathematically identical to the original]''<br />
:A Business Major's just a thing you get so you can graduate<br />
:: ''[a student receives a diploma from a dean on a podium, while a second student, diploma in hand, runs gleefully away, shedding robe and mortarboard]''<br />
:and Chemistry's for stamp collectors high on methylacetate.<br />
:: ''[a ponytailed student wearing goggles and holding an Erlenmeyer flask dances wildly to a light show -- or is it the Periodic Table? -- in the background]''<br />
:Why anyone who wants a job would study Lit's a mystery<br />
:: ''[Cueball, saying this, holds up hands questioningly]''<br />
:unless their only other choice were something like Art History.<br />
:: ''[Cueball again, holding his chin speculatively]''<br />
:A BA in communications guarantees that you'll achieve<br />
:: ''[close-up of a graduate wearing embroidered robe and tasseled mortarboard]''<br />
:a little less than if you'd learned to underwater basket-weave<br />
:: ''[the same graduate, now underwater, surrounded by fish and a wicker basket]''<br />
:I'd rather eat a Fowler's toad than major in Biology,<br />
:: ''[Cueball holding a frog at arm's length, which says:]''<br />
:: Frog: RIBBIT<br />
:and Social Psych is worse than either Psych or Sociology.<br />
:: ''[Megan indicating: a scruffy individual, an individual holding something which might be a chainsaw, and a scruffy individual holding something which might be a chainsaw]''<br />
:The thought of picking any one of these is too unbearable.<br />
:: ''[Cueball at his adviser's desk holding a course catalog]''<br />
:Just put me down as "Undecided" - Every Major's Terrible.<br />
:: ''[he tosses the course catalog over his shoulder]''<br />
<br />
<br />
:Now, if you can't prognosticate, that's ok in Seismology,<br />
:: ''[seismograph chart; about halfway across one trace begins oscillating vigorously]''<br />
:but if your hindsight's weak as well, you'd best stick to Theology.<br />
:: ''[a bearded individual pontificates]''<br />
:: Bearded individual: X ∴ ∃X<br />
:CS will make each day a quest to find a missing close-paren. <br />
:: ''[a code fragment]''<br />
:: code: <code>(((()((((()(</code><br />
:: code: <code>))))())())())</code><br />
:Virology will guarantee you'll never get a hug again.<br />
:: ''[a girl with a green Biohazard symbol floating above her head stands alone; to the left and right several people shun her]''<br />
:I.T. prepares you for a life of fighting with PCs nonstop.<br />
:: ''[Megan running at a PC with an axe raised over her head]''<br />
:As Pratchett said, "Geography's just physics slowed with trees on top."<br />
:: ''[image of Pratchett, speaking this line]''<br />
:Though physics seems to promise you a Richard Feynman-like career,<br />
:: ''[Richard Feynman plays the bongo drums while Megan and Ponytail look on admiringly]''<br />
:the wiki page for "Physics Major" redirects to "Engineer." <br />
:: ''[screenshot of so-mentioned redirect]''<br />
:They say to study history or find yourself repeating it,<br />
:: ''[flowchart: a grey box with a sad face chains to a decision diamond reading simply "?"; the "yes" branch leads to a yellow happy-face box while the "no" branch loops back to the initial sad face]''<br />
:but all that it prepares you for is forty years of teaching it.<br />
:: ''[teacher with boxy spectacles and a bun at a chalkboard indicating dates: 1935, 1969, 1991]''<br />
:I recognize my four-year plan's at this point not repairable,<br />
:: ''[Cueball at his adviser's desk again]''<br />
:but put me down as "Undecided" - Every Major's Terrible.<br />
:: ''[adviser has his hand to his mouth as if gasping]''<br />
<br />
<br />
:Astronomers all cringe when they hear "Supermoon" or "Zodiac".<br />
:: ''[image of an astrologer espousing theories]''<br />
:Agronomy's a no-go; I'm a huge agorophobiac.<br />
:: ''[silhouette of Cueball, agitated, in an open field near a fence and a tractor]''<br />
:I'm too ophiophobic to consider Herpetology,<br />
:: ''[Cueball looking aghast at a snake on the ground; the snake may have other ideas]''<br />
:: snake: ♥?<br />
:and I can't stomach any part of Gastroenterology.<br />
:: ''[anatomical image of a stomach]''<br />
:While Pre-Med gives you twitchy-eyed obsession with your GPA,<br />
:: [a badly disheveled individual, glasses askew, clutching folders and papers and dropping several]<br />
:a poetry degree bespeaks bewildering naivete.<br />
:: ''[Ponytail reciting poetry; her poem is this panel's line, in a lighter, lower-case font]''<br />
:TV's behind the rush into Forensic Criminology<br />
:: ''["CSI: Miami" logo]''<br />
:(or so claims Meta-academic Epidemiology).<br />
:: ''[Ponytail holding notebook, and balding individual wearing glasses and holding pipe, watch a wall-mounted flatscreen TV on which "CSI: Miami" logo is showing]''<br />
:By dubbing Econ "Dismal science" adherents exaggerate;<br />
:: ''[Cueball discoursing on his opinion here]''<br />
:the "Dismal"'s fine - it's "science" where they patently prevaricate.<br />
:: ''[close-up on Cueball]''<br />
:In terms of choices, I'd say only Sophie's was comparable.<br />
:: ''[Cueball at his adviser's desk once more]''<br />
:Just put me down as "Undecided" - Every Major's Terrible!<br />
:: ''[Cueball makes a final dramatic flair]''<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Songs]]</div>199.27.128.190