55: Useless - Revision history

FaviFake at 11:15, 25 April 2025

2025-04-25T11:15:40Z

FaviFake at 11:15, 25 April 2025

2025-04-25T11:15:11Z

FaviFake at 11:14, 25 April 2025

2025-04-25T11:14:56Z

FaviFake at 11:14, 25 April 2025

2025-04-25T11:14:15Z

FaviFake at 16:11, 26 March 2025

2025-03-26T16:11:37Z

172.68.150.90: Improved description of Fourier Transform.

2024-10-26T18:47:23Z

Improved description of Fourier Transform.

108.162.241.170: trim

2024-01-04T02:10:55Z

trim

108.162.241.217: /* Trivia */

2024-01-03T23:00:41Z

‎Trivia

172.70.43.14: xkcd volume 0 cipher decoding + some context

2024-01-01T03:15:36Z

xkcd volume 0 cipher decoding + some context

FaviFake: /* Trivia */ Updated xkcd store link with Web archive link

2023-09-01T09:18:51Z

‎Trivia: Updated xkcd store link with Web archive link

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | oglink    = https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=4%3A38%20am-,Useless,-(3%20Comments
 | ogprev    = 53
-| ognext    = 56
+| ognext    = 56<!--Not given, this is the last LiveJournal xkcd comic-->
 | image     = useless.jpg
 | titletext = Even the identity matrix doesn't work normally

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{comic/sandbox
+{{comic
 | number    = 55
 | date      = January 27, 2006

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | ogprev    = 53
 | ognext    = 56
 | image     = useless.jpg
 | titletext = Even the identity matrix doesn't work normally

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{comic
+{{comic/sandbox
-| number = 55
+| number    = 55
-| date = January 27, 2006
+| date      = January 27, 2006
-| title = Useless
+| title     = Useless
-| before    = <big><big><span class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=4%3A38%20am-,Useless,-(3%20Comments LiveJournal title</span>]: '''Useless'''</big></big>
+| ognumber  = 52
-| image = useless.jpg
+| ogtitle   = Useless
 | titletext = Even the identity matrix doesn't work normally
 }}
-This was the fifty-second and last comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[53: Hobby]], but the next comic, [[56: The Cure]], was never posted to LiveJournal. It was among the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com|last eleven comics]] posted both on LiveJournal and on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] after the new site was launched. This comic was published on the same day across both sites, but not all of them shared the same posting day.
+This was the fifty-second and last comic [[LiveJournal|originally posted to LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[53: Hobby]], but the next comic, [[56: The Cure]], was never posted to LiveJournal. It was among the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com|last eleven comics]] posted both on LiveJournal and on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] after the new site was launched. This comic was published on the same day across both sites, but not all of them shared the same posting day.
 ==Explanation==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 }}
 This was the fifty-second and last comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[53: Hobby]], but the next comic, [[56: The Cure]], was never posted to LiveJournal. It was among the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com|last eleven comics]] posted both on LiveJournal and on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] after the new site was launched. This comic was published on the same day across both sites, but not all of them shared the same posting day.
 [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] is attempting to apply mathematics to the concept of love to no avail. Specifically, he is attempting his "normal approach", which is a term used in mathematics for the method one typically uses to solve a certain type of problem. However, as love is not a well-defined mathematical entity, his normal approach is useless. Simply put: he's saying he has found no way of describing love using only the tools of mathematics.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 * A {{w|derivative}} of a function is the rate of change of that function at a given value of x. It is a primary focus of {{w|calculus}}. A basic example is where "velocity" is the rate of change of displacement at a given time, the derivative of velocity is "acceleration", which is the rate of change of velocity at a given time.
 * {{w|identity matrix|Identity matrices}} are {{w|matrix (mathematics)|matrices}} that consist of only zeros and ones, with zeros everywhere except along the {{w|main diagonal}}. Multiplying a matrix by the equal-sized identity matrix will result in the same output in the same way that multiplying a non-matrix by 1 does not change the original term. The title text suggests that multiplying love by the identity matrix does not return the same "love" value.
-* A {{w|Fourier transform}} converts a function from one (sophisticated) function into an endless continuous series of simpler functions, where each next part is bringing the equation closer to the real result. This means that you can stop your calculations after a few iterations and you are very close to the real result, and it also can be used to deconstruct signals.
+* A {{w|Fourier transform}} converts a function of time into a function of frequency. Therefore the original function is now represented as a "sum" of simpler periodic functions, that is sinusoidal waves. This is commonly used in math and science because these sinusoidal waves are easy to work with, for instance when solving certain partial differential equations like the heat equation. It is also used to study the relative amplitudes of the various sinusoids that form a signal, the spectrum of the signal, for instance when using a spectrum analyzer on an audio signal. Evidently the Fourier Transform of love is either not readily found or does not exist, which is unusual as even functions that are quite complicated or discontinuous can be represented in the Fourier domain.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 <pre>
-CY-O CMLROOCXN. YR M.AOGP. NRK.W ABE ,CYDRGY M.AOGP.M.BY YD.P. JAB X. BR OJC.BJ.V <D.B CY JRM.O YR NRK.W ,.-P.  ANN CB YD. EAPTV [[TCBO.F
+CY-O CMLROOCXN. YR M.AOGP. NRK.W ABE ,CYDRGY M.AOGP.M.BY YD.P. JAB X. BR OJC.BJ.V <D.B CY JRM.O YR NRK.W ,.-P. ANN CB YD. EAPTV [[TCBO.F
 </pre>
 :This is a Dvorak to Qwerty cipher. Undeciphered, it reads:
-::it"s impossiblE to mEasurE lovE, and Without mEasurEmEnt thErE can bE no sciEncE. whEn it comEs to lovE, WE"rE  all in thE dark. __kinsEy
+::it"s impossiblE to mEasurE lovE, and Without mEasurEmEnt thErE can bE no sciEncE. whEn it comEs to lovE, WE"rE all in thE dark. __kinsEy
 ::: It's impossible to measure love, and without measurement there can be no science. When it comes to love, we're all in the dark. --{{w|Kinsey_(movie)|Kinsey}}
 <!--(Although it is worth noting that this was never said verbatim, Alfred Kinsey is quoted as saying this.)

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 ==Trivia==
 * In the book ''[[xkcd: volume 0]]'', this comic is slightly different. The derivative is with respect to time (''t'') instead of ''x'', and the function at the bottom is a {{w|Laplace transform}} instead of the bottom integral.
 * The modified book version used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20211215085605/https://store.xkcd.com/products/useless available as a T-shirt] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].
 * This used to be one of the [[Footer comics|footer comics]] featured in the bottom segment of [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].