3149: Measure Twice, Cut Once - Revision history

174.34.4.49: Added information on the definition of serial killers. Serial killers are typically defined as having three or more separate targets, killed in multiple events, over longer than a month. Serial killers being placed at ≥3 cuts may be a reference to this.

2025-11-25T21:45:14Z

Added information on the definition of serial killers. Serial killers are typically defined as having three or more separate targets, killed in multiple events, over longer than a month. Serial killers being placed at ≥3 cuts may be a reference to this.

82.132.245.65: /* Explanation */ punc

2025-11-07T02:12:46Z

‎Explanation: punc

2A09:BAC5:6327:28:0:0:4:2F4: /* Explanation */

2025-11-07T02:08:48Z

‎Explanation

207.163.116.24 at 15:37, 7 October 2025

2025-10-07T15:37:58Z

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2025-10-06T08:16:32Z

‎Explanation

81.179.195.93: Undo revision 388154 by Mathmaster (talk) It isn't 'fake' or 'imaginary', certainly. Though "measure as much as necessary, cut as little as necessary" might be more accurate, it isn't as pithy.

2025-10-04T00:31:32Z

Undo revision 388154 by Mathmaster (talk) It isn't 'fake' or 'imaginary', certainly. Though "measure as much as necessary, cut as little as necessary" might be more accurate, it isn't as pithy.

Mathmaster at 23:01, 3 October 2025

2025-10-03T23:01:03Z

DKMell: line breaks

2025-10-03T16:40:50Z

line breaks

DKMell: transcript fixes

2025-10-03T16:39:17Z

transcript fixes

81.109.61.146 at 15:45, 3 October 2025

2025-10-03T15:45:38Z

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ;    Serial Killer (0 measurements, ≥3 cuts)
-This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured.{{Citation Needed}} Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all.
+This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured.{{Citation Needed}} Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all. Alternatively, this may be a reference to the {{w|Serial killer|definition of serial killers}} as an individual who has killed three or more people in separate events.
 ;    Title text

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ;    Serial Killer (0 measurements, ≥3 cuts)
-This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured{{Citation Needed}}. Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all.
+This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured.{{Citation Needed}} Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all.
 ;    Title text

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ;    Serial Killer (0 measurements, ≥3 cuts)
-This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured. Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all.
+This graph suggests a serial killer who kills with knives or other bladed instruments. Murder rarely involves actual measurements,<!--{{Citation needed}}--> because a low level of precision is often adequate to kill someone, and victims would not generally allow themselves to be measured{{Citation Needed}}. Instead, killers would be expected to stab or slash at their victims repeatedly, resulting in a high number of cuts and no measurements at all.
 ;    Title text

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:37, 7 October 2025
Line 10:		Line 10:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|This page was created BY A REALLY BAD METALWORKER. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}~~

	This strip centers around the saying "Measure twice, cut once", which it identifies as a "carpentry {{w\|proverb}}". The actual origins of the saying are not clear (it applies to many other trades and activities just as well as carpentry), but the meaning remains the same — it refers to the importance of planning and checking multiple times before acting, in order to prevent mistakes (in all avenues of life — not just where cutting is involved). When a job requires cutting material to particular specifications, cuts are generally not practical to undo. If a cut is made in error, there are several possibilities, none of which are desirable. In some cases, the piece can be saved with additional work, which takes additional time and effort. If the error is minor, the piece might be used anyway, but that will result in ill-fitting pieces and an inferior end product. If none of that works, then the material has to be replaced by another piece, which must then be cut properly before the job can continue, wasting time, effort, and material. Experienced craftspeople quickly learn that the (usually fairly trivial) effort of double-checking measurements involves far less work and expense than dealing with the consequences of bad cuts.		This strip centers around the saying "Measure twice, cut once", which it identifies as a "carpentry {{w\|proverb}}". The actual origins of the saying are not clear (it applies to many other trades and activities just as well as carpentry), but the meaning remains the same — it refers to the importance of planning and checking multiple times before acting, in order to prevent mistakes (in all avenues of life — not just where cutting is involved). When a job requires cutting material to particular specifications, cuts are generally not practical to undo. If a cut is made in error, there are several possibilities, none of which are desirable. In some cases, the piece can be saved with additional work, which takes additional time and effort. If the error is minor, the piece might be used anyway, but that will result in ill-fitting pieces and an inferior end product. If none of that works, then the material has to be replaced by another piece, which must then be cut properly before the job can continue, wasting time, effort, and material. Experienced craftspeople quickly learn that the (usually fairly trivial) effort of double-checking measurements involves far less work and expense than dealing with the consequences of bad cuts.

@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ;    Title text
-The title text mentions a carpenter who has "achieved enlightenment", and does zero measuring and zero cutting, because they have "realized the wood is fine where it is". This is a play on the notion of {{w|Zen|philosophical enlightenment}}, where the epitome of expertise is pursued, not by better craftsmanship, but by coming to appreciate things as they already exist. Thus an "enlightened" carpenter would be pretty useless as a carpenter, as having no motivation to actually do carpentry.
+The title text mentions a carpenter who has "achieved enlightenment", and does zero measuring and zero cutting, because they have "realized the wood is fine where it is". This is a play on the notion of {{w|Zen|philosophical enlightenment}}, where the epitome of expertise is pursued, not by better craftsmanship, but by coming to appreciate things as they already exist. Thus an "enlightened" carpenter would be pretty useless as a carpenter, as they would have no motivation to actually do carpentry.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{incomplete|Verify if measure twice cut once is real. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
+{{incomplete|This page was created BY A REALLY BAD METALWORKER. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
 This strip centers around the saying "Measure twice, cut once", which it identifies as a "carpentry {{w|proverb}}". The actual origins of the saying are not clear (it applies to many other trades  and activities just as well as carpentry), but the meaning remains the same — it refers to the importance of planning and checking multiple times before acting, in order to prevent mistakes (in all avenues of life — not just where cutting is involved). When a job requires cutting material to particular specifications, cuts are generally not practical to undo. If a cut is made in error, there are several possibilities, none of which are desirable. In some cases, the piece can be saved with additional work, which takes additional time and effort. If the error is minor, the piece might be used anyway, but that will result in ill-fitting pieces and an inferior end product. If none of that works, then the material has to be replaced by another piece, which must then be cut properly before the job can continue, wasting time, effort, and material. Experienced craftspeople quickly learn that the (usually fairly trivial) effort of double-checking measurements involves far less work and expense than dealing with the consequences of bad cuts.

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 ==Transcript==
 Caption at the top of the panel: "'Measure twice, cut once' -carpentry proverb" with boxes around "twice" and "once".
 Below that, a scatter plot with X and Y axes labeled "number of cuts" and "number of measurements", respectively.
 At different places on the scatter plot lie six labels:
 :Surveyor: very high number of measurements, no cuts

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 ==Transcript==
 {{incomplete transcript|The comic needs describing in more detail, DO NOT REMOVE THIS NOTICE TOO SOON}}
-:Caption at the top of the panel: "'Measure twice, cut once' -carpentry proverb" with boxes around "twice" and "once"
+Caption at the top of the panel: "'Measure twice, cut once' -carpentry proverb" with boxes around "twice" and "once".
-:[a scatter plot with x and y axis labeled number of cuts and number of measurements respectively, under the caption, with labels.]
+Below that, a scatter plot with X and Y axes labeled "number of cuts" and "number of measurements", respectively.
-:on the scatter plot lies 6 differently labelled points:
 :Surveyor: very high number of measurements, no cuts
-:Surgeon: high number of measurements, almost middling number of cuts
+:Surgeon: high number of measurements, low number of cuts
 :Good carpenter: middling number of measurements, same number of cuts as surgeon
-:Careless carpenter: a number of measurements slightly lower than the good carpenter, same number of cuts as good carpenter
+:Careless carpenter: fewer measurements than good carpenter, same number of cuts as surgeon
-:Really bad carpenter: low number of measurements, high number of cuts
+:Really bad carpenter: slightly fewer measurements than other carpenters, fairly high number of cuts
 :Serial killer: no measurements, very high number of cuts