1904: Research Risks - Revision history

FaviFake at 16:09, 24 March 2025

2025-03-24T16:09:01Z

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added Category:Comics edited after their publication using HotCat

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 In general, areas of study that could be used by supervillains, but are unlikely to "break free" refer to technologies that are unlikely to be self-propagating or self-maintaining, but could be used as weapons or for some other form of control. Subjects that could break free, but are unlikely to be used by supervillains are all living organisms (which could presumably breed and multiply without human intervention), but which have little potential as weapons.  Areas of study that fall in both categories are either more controllable forms of biology (microbiology, genetic engineering), forms of technology that could become self-propagating (robotics), or a study where a release could be dangerous without being self-propagating (chemistry).
-The category of a low risk of either could, of course, contain many fields of study, as most research fields have limited potential for weaponry and little danger of going out of control on a large scale.
+The category of a low risk of either could, of course, contain many fields of study, as most research fields have limited potential for weaponry and little danger of going out of control on a large scale. See the chart below for detailed explanations of each scatter point. There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].
 The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people.
-==Table==
+===Table===
 {| class="wikitable sortable"
-! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments
+! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Explanation
 |-
 | 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:08, 24 March 2025
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 ==Trivia==
-* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".
+* In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/8/82/20171018171705%21research_risks.png original version of the comic], "Ent'''o'''mology" was spelled "Ent'''y'''mology", possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed.
 * The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site.

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 | 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, poison gases, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin, or mustard gas, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals. A more mundane breakout would be a chemical spill resulting in large-scale contamination of water, air and soil.
 |-
-| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}} or {{w|Shiro Ishii}} (NSFW). Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
+| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}, {{w|Plague Inc.}} or {{w|Shiro Ishii}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all but inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
 |-
 | 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much, but a rockslide may be a local threat and obstruct roads.

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 | 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons, drug dealing || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace, or may use drug trade as a method of generating revenue. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage, or the spilled substance might poison the water supply.
 |-
-| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil ||  Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc, which could be dangerous both when used by a villain and unintentionally if having detrimental side effects (such as asbestos and lead). Alternatively, {{w|Life (2017 film)|soil samples may contain predatory life form}}.
+| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil, or simply dangerous to use ||  Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc, which could be dangerous both when used by a villain and unintentionally if having detrimental side effects (such as asbestos and lead). Alternatively, {{w|Life (2017 film)|soil samples may contain predatory life form}}.
 |-
 | 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ({{w|American Revolution|though}} {{w|French Revolution|hardly}} {{w|Greek War of Independence|impossible}}) that societies will "escape" and cause problems, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 | 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, poison gases, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin, or mustard gas, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals. A more mundane breakout would be a chemical spill resulting in large-scale contamination of water, air and soil.
 |-
-| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
+| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}} or {{w|Shiro Ishii}} (NSFW). Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
 |-
-| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks.  Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.
+| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much, but a rockslide may be a local threat and obstruct roads.
 |-
 | 9% || 31% || Linguistics || {{w|Newspeak|1984 Newspeak}}, manipulative rhetoric || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 | 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth. Randall also rates them as unlikely to "break free"; this is likely because asteroids are already "free" in space, because the risk of them "threatening the local population" is very real.
 |-
-| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.
+| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium-low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.
 |-
 | 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Biting as an attack method || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own. They could have some limited usage by villains (especially the undead or animalistic ones) to bite people.
@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 | 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases or destroying crops. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie ''{{w|Empire of the Ants (film)|Empire of the Ants}}''. Entomology is also referenced in [[1012: Wrong Superhero]].
 |-
-| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Disease, famine, mind-control || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move very far on their own, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high.
+| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Disease, famine, mind-control || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move very far on their own, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium-high.
 |-
 | 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}} || Villains may keep [[1326: Sharks|a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.
@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 |}
-Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.
+Note: percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 | 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.
 |-
-| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons, drug dealing || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace, or may use drug trade as a method of generating revenue. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.
+| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons, drug dealing || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace, or may use drug trade as a method of generating revenue. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage, or the spilled substance might poison the water supply.
 |-
-| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil ||  Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, {{w|Life (2017 film)|soil samples may contain predatory life form}}.
+| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil ||  Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc, which could be dangerous both when used by a villain and unintentionally if having detrimental side effects (such as asbestos and lead). Alternatively, {{w|Life (2017 film)|soil samples may contain predatory life form}}.
 |-
-| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ({{w|American Revolution|though}} {{w|French Revolution|hardly}} {{w|Greek War of Independence|impossible}}) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.
+| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ({{w|American Revolution|though}} {{w|French Revolution|hardly}} {{w|Greek War of Independence|impossible}}) that societies will "escape" and cause problems, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.
 |-
 | 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, {{w|historical negationism}} || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free.{{citation needed}} A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0  learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill one's goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might {{w|Ministries of Nineteen Eighty-Four#Ministry of Truth|alter history in order to consolidate their power}}.
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 | 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.
 |-
-| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.
+| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, poison gases, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin, or mustard gas, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals. A more mundane breakout would be a chemical spill resulting in large-scale contamination of water, air and soil.
 |-
 | 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 | 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks.  Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.
 |-
-| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || {{w|Newspeak|1984 Newspeak}} || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.
+| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || {{w|Newspeak|1984 Newspeak}}, manipulative rhetoric || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.
 |-
 | 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs {{w|Jurassic Park|isn't exactly good for human survival}}. Aside from this possibility, though, [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs|the majority]] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 | 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.
 |-
-| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Biting as an attack method || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own, nor terribly useful to villains.
+| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Biting as an attack method || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own. They could have some limited usage by villains (especially the undead or animalistic ones) to bite people.
 |-
-| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating plants, invasive species || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything.
+| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating or poisonous plants, invasive species || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything. Or as {{w|Poison_Ivy_(character)|Poison Ivy}} shows, could control plants, especially poisonous ones.
 |-
 | 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases or destroying crops. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie ''{{w|Empire of the Ants (film)|Empire of the Ants}}''. Entomology is also referenced in [[1012: Wrong Superhero]].

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 [[Category:Space]]
 [[Category:Geology]]
-[[Category: Research Papers]]
+[[Category:Scientific research]]
 [[Category:Mycology]]