Editing 2604: Frankenstein Captcha
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by Rated Argh -Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | This comic strip is a play on the meanings (and misunderstanding) of the name "Frankenstein". ''{{w|Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus}}'' is an 1818 novel by Mary Shelley about a medical student named Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial life-form. The man he creates once describes himself as "the Adam of your [Frankenstein's] labour" in the book, and strictly speaking is properly known as "Frankenstein's ''monster''" (or perhaps "creation" or "son"), but is often erroneously called "Frankenstein" himself. | |
− | + | The CAPTCHA shown in the comic instructs the user to select all tiles containing Frankenstein. The tiles include both a reanimated corpse resembling Frankenstein's monster and a scientist yelling, "It's alive!” who is clearly intended to be Victor Frankenstein. The problem arises from the contrast between various definitions of the term Frankenstein. Going just off the book's text, the monster has no name, so the correct answer to the CAPTCHA is just the left square of the third row. | |
− | + | CAPTCHAs serve a dual purpose: (1) to separate human users from bots by way of intelligent interaction, and (2) to train a neural network, hence the "correct answer" to image recognition CAPTCHAs is not known ahead of time and is merely based on the most commonly-chosen tiles. Users who frequently face CAPTCHAs are familiar with the dilemma of having to choose tiles that they know do not contain the requested object but which they know were likely chosen by previous users, making the CAPTCHA one part object-identification exercise and one part human-psychology exercise. Thus, a user who knows that "Frankenstein" refers only to the scientist would face this CAPTCHA with dread, uttering "Oh No" as they realize that they must select the tiles containing the monster, and possibly not even be allowed to select the tile containing the actual scientist Dr. Frankenstein if they want to pass the CAPTCHA. | |
− | + | Alternatively, this comic strip with its "Oh No" caption could be referencing [[1897]], which would imply that someone had actually created a Frankenstein's monster which needs to be located as soon as possible. | |
− | + | Many of the other tiles appear to be pictures of entities that inspire similar pedantry. For example, there is a picture of a turtle (or possibly a tortoise, or a reference to the {{w|Voight-Kampff_machine|Voight-Kampff test}} used in a manner analogous to CAPTCHA), a ship (or possibly a boat), Link (the name given to each of several protagonists that appear across generations and timelines, throughout the {{w|Legend of Zelda}} video games, who many erroneously refer to as Zelda), a pond (or possibly a lake, a puddle, or a {{w|mirage}}), a squash or pumpkin (often subject to the ''fruit or vegetable'' debate), an erupting volcano (with lava, or is it magma?), and an asteroid or planet (or is it a dwarf planet?). Other tiles seem to be inspired by images that commonly occur in actual captchas, like the STOP sign or the traffic light. However, at least some of these may also be meant to fall into the category of entities that inspire pedantry, for example: because traffic lights can also be called traffic signals or stoplights; many people thinking that the shape of a stop sign is a hexagon, not an octagon; and the definition of a sandwich (previously discussed as a “random semi-ironic obsession” in [[1835]]). | |
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+ | The title text refers to the fact that if you draw a picture of a boat/ship on calm water (a straight line), it is usually assumed to be on a lake or pond and is thus a boat, but if it is on wavy water (as in the comic), it's assumed to be on the sea and is thus a ship{{citation needed}}. The phrase "a line drawn in water" is an idiom for something ephemeral. Ironically, it has persisted for a long time and dates back at least to the early Buddhists. (e.g. [https://suttacentral.net/an3.132/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 3.132] & [https://suttacentral.net/an7.74/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 7.74]). The title text is also a pun on the common idiom "drawing a line in the sand." | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
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:[A captcha design, with a header and four rows of four pictures each below it. The header, in white lettering on a blue background, reads:] | :[A captcha design, with a header and four rows of four pictures each below it. The header, in white lettering on a blue background, reads:] | ||
− | : | + | :TO CONTINUE, PLEASE CLICK |
− | : | + | :ALL SQUARES CONTAINING |
− | : | + | :FRANKENSTEIN |
:[The pictures, all with gray backgrounds, are as follows, from left to right in each row:] | :[The pictures, all with gray backgrounds, are as follows, from left to right in each row:] | ||
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* Frankenstein's monster (often mistaken as Frankenstein) waking up from a slab, while lightning strikes. | * Frankenstein's monster (often mistaken as Frankenstein) waking up from a slab, while lightning strikes. | ||
::Monster: GRRR | ::Monster: GRRR | ||
− | * Link from Legend of Zelda series (often mistaken as Zelda) | + | * Link from Legend of Zelda series (often mistaken as Zelda, aka Toon Link in SSB) |
Row 2 | Row 2 | ||
* Lake (or pond), possibly a mirage, in the Egyptian desert | * Lake (or pond), possibly a mirage, in the Egyptian desert | ||
− | * Megan | + | * Megan (or Science Girl, or Danish--possibly a direct joke about this wiki) |
− | * | + | * Lava (or magma) |
− | * | + | * Squash or pumpkin (fruit vs vegetable) |
Row 3 | Row 3 | ||
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Row 4 | Row 4 | ||
− | * Rocket (spaceship) flying by Pluto ( | + | * Rocket (spaceship) flying by an asteroid or Pluto (dwarf planet) |
* Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other | * Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other | ||
− | * Traffic light (also called a stoplight, possibly mistaken as stop sign? | + | * Traffic light (also called a stoplight, possibly mistaken as stop sign?) |
* Frankenstein's monster | * Frankenstein's monster | ||
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:[Caption below the panel]: | :[Caption below the panel]: | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:CAPTCHA]] | [[Category:CAPTCHA]] | ||
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Fiction]] |
[[Category:Animals]] | [[Category:Animals]] | ||
[[Category:Food]] | [[Category:Food]] |