Editing 1095: Crazy Straws
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| date = August 15, 2012 | | date = August 15, 2012 | ||
| title = Crazy Straws | | title = Crazy Straws | ||
− | | image = | + | | image = Crazy Straws.png |
| titletext = The new crowd is heavily shaped by this guy named Eric, who's basically the Paris Hilton of the amateur plastic crazy straw design world. | | titletext = The new crowd is heavily shaped by this guy named Eric, who's basically the Paris Hilton of the amateur plastic crazy straw design world. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | A {{w|subculture}} is a small group of people within a culture that share some property in common, such as hackers or hipsters. Some subcultures form based on a geeky obsession over a trivial topic | + | A {{w|subculture}} is a small group of people within a culture that share some property in common, such as hackers or hipsters. Some subcultures form based on a geeky obsession over a trivial topic. In this case, that topic is crazy straws, which are toy drinking straws designed with unusual twists and loops. This strip satirizes these groups by comparing them to fractals. |
− | Informally speaking, a {{w|fractal}} is a mathematical shape with an infinite level of detail. Just as fractals can always be divided into smaller patterns, Randall points out that human subcultures can always be divided into smaller subcultures. We have the "people who like crazy straws" subculture, but this is further divided into the professionals and the hobbyists. The hobbyists are themselves broken into those who accept loops in the straws and those who don't. A splinter group, as used in the comic, is a subculture that breaks off from a larger one. | + | Informally speaking, a {{w|fractal}} is a mathematical shape with an infinite level of detail. Just as fractals can always be divided into smaller patterns, Randall points out that human subcultures can always be divided into smaller subcultures. We have the "people who like crazy straws" subculture, but this is further divided into the professionals and the hobbyists. The hobbyists are themselves broken into those who accept loops in the straws and those who don't. (A splinter group, as used in the comic, is a subculture that breaks off from a larger one.) |
− | Despite the incredible amount of work fans put into it, the whole concept seems completely inconsequential to an outsider. | + | Despite the incredible amount of work fans put into it, the whole concept seems completely inconsequential to an outsider. The irony is the source of humor in this strip. An earlier comic, [http://xkcd.com/915/ Connoisseur], covers a similar topic. |
− | {{w|Paris Hilton}} is a celebrity who is essentially famous for being famous | + | {{w|Paris Hilton}} is a celebrity who is essentially famous for being famous. |
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{{Comic discussion}} | {{Comic discussion}} | ||
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