695: Spirit - Revision history

Lettherebedarklight: /* Explanation */ rewrite it so it doesn't read like an alien's writings

2023-05-29T07:32:48Z

‎Explanation: rewrite it so it doesn't read like an alien's writings

172.70.127.37: /* Transcript */

2023-02-16T17:29:00Z

‎Transcript

162.158.227.141: /* Explanation */

2022-10-06T03:53:17Z

‎Explanation

Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T22:12:38Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 22:12, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T22:12:27Z

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Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T21:11:25Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 17:23, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T17:23:01Z

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Davidy22: Reverted edits by X. K. C. D. (talk) to last revision by 172.70.90.145

2022-05-04T02:17:49Z

Reverted edits by X. K. C. D. (talk) to last revision by 172.70.90.145

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X. K. C. D. at 22:53, 3 May 2022

2022-05-03T22:53:02Z

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172.70.90.145: /* Explanation / You missed this (and, to be fair, I missed both* original vandalisms)

2022-04-04T20:18:46Z

‎Explanation: You missed this (and, to be fair, I missed *both* original vandalisms)

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 }}
 ==Explanation==
-{{w|Anthropomorphism}} (or personification) is the attribution of distinctly human characteristics to animals or non-living things. We make parallels between ourselves and objects, to the point where some people even jocularly worry about hurting the feelings of, say, an automobile. We call ships "she." We see human faces in objects like the arrangement of lights on the front of a car.
+This comic explores what the {{w|Spirit rover}}'s life would be like if it had a human personality. The rover lasted 5¼ active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its expected mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient  robot might assume that after its initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, it would get to return home.  This assumes, of course, that the rover never understood that the mission was a one-way trip, and that the expectation was that it would simply fail after ninety days. When no one comes to return it home, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on its name, keeps its hopes alive while continuously analyzing rock after rock for ''years.''
-The {{w|Spirit rover|''Spirit'' Mars rover}}, like many high-functioning robots in real life and fiction, shares many physical similarities with a human being or animal. It has a head, eyes, neck, body, legs, feet, arms, and a hand. And it strikingly resembles robots from fiction, such as Johnny 5 from ''{{w|Short Circuit (1986 film)|Short Circuit}},'' or {{w|WALL-E}} from the film with the same name.
+It would be cruelty of the absolute worst kind to abandon a human on an uninhabited planet with no intention of ''ever'' bringing them home,{{Citation needed}} so it's horrifying when we see the rover in this way. It's a relief to us that the Spirit rover is just a programmed machine.
-Thus, this comic explores what the ''Spirit'' rover's life would be like if it had a human personality. The rover lasted 5¼ active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its expected mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient  robot might assume that after its initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, it would get to return home.  This assumes, of course, that the rover never understood that the mission was a one-way trip, and that the expectation was that it would simply fail after ninety days. When no one comes to return it home, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on its name, keeps its hopes alive while continuously analyzing rock after rock for ''years.''
+{{w|Opportunity rover|Opportunity}}, the rover's twin, lasted longer than Spirit and was shut down in February 2019 ([[2111: Opportunity Rover]]). More than five years after this comic, when Opportunity had passed a Marathon distance, [[Randall]] celebrated this rover with the comic [[1504: Opportunity]].
 The title text has an apparent miscount: January 26, 2010, is more like sol (Martian day) 2156 by JPL's [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll_2010.html#sol2151 mission status site,] not 2274.
@@ Line 22: / Line 18: @@
 ;Alternative versions
 The strip had a strong emotional impact on the fans of the rover, who created a number of alternative versions and endings for it.
 In a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2010/02/08/android-bug-reports-songs-rovers/ blog post] Randall mentioned this upbeat [https://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/spirit_rewrite_unknown_author.png rewrite] of the comic. [http://xkcdsw.com/2486 Several] [http://xkcdsw.com/2485 others] [http://xkcdsw.com/3524 were] [http://xkcdsw.com/2483 made], including a [http://xkcdsw.com/2488 silent] one.
-Many alternative endings were also proposed:
+Many alternative endings were also proposed: some are [http://xkcdsw.com/3729 sad], some [http://xkcdsw.com/2492 sarcastic], some [http://xkcdsw.com/3100 romantic], some look forward to the day when Spirit is finally [http://xkcdsw.com/2487 recovered] ([https://imgur.com/r/xkcd/zNi5YSZ this one] was seen somewhere at {{w|CERN}}). Others imagine a [http://xkcdsw.com/3968 future] when the rover is not alone any more.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 :''Spirit'' (thinking): It's okay, I'll do the next one better.
-:Day 1293 of 90
+:Day 1328 of 90
 :''Spirit'' (thinking): Sandstorm. Power dying.
 :''Spirit'' (thinking): But a good rover would keep going. A good rover like they wanted.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 }}
 ==Explanation==
-{{w|Anthropomorphism}} (or personification) is attribution of distinctly human characteristics to animals or non-living things. We make parallels between ourselves and objects, to the point where some people even jocularly worry about hurting the feelings of, say, an automobile. We call ships "she." We see human faces in objects like the arrangement of lights on the front of a car.
+{{w|Anthropomorphism}} (or personification) is the attribution of distinctly human characteristics to animals or non-living things. We make parallels between ourselves and objects, to the point where some people even jocularly worry about hurting the feelings of, say, an automobile. We call ships "she." We see human faces in objects like the arrangement of lights on the front of a car.
 The {{w|Spirit rover|''Spirit'' Mars rover}}, like many high-functioning robots in real life and fiction, shares many physical similarities with a human being or animal. It has a head, eyes, neck, body, legs, feet, arms, and a hand. And it strikingly resembles robots from fiction, such as Johnny 5 from ''{{w|Short Circuit (1986 film)|Short Circuit}},'' or {{w|WALL-E}} from the film with the same name.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The {{w|Spirit rover|''Spirit'' Mars rover}}, like many high-functioning robots in real life and fiction, shares many physical similarities with a human being or animal. It has a head, eyes, neck, body, legs, feet, arms, and a hand. And it strikingly resembles robots from fiction, such as Johnny 5 from ''{{w|Short Circuit (1986 film)|Short Circuit}},'' or {{w|WALL-E}} from the film with the same name.
-Thus, this comic explores what the ''Spirit'' rover's life would be like if it had a human personality. The rover lasted 5¼ active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its expected mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient  robot might assume that after its initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, it would get to return home.  This assumes, of course, that the rover never understood that the mission was a one-way trip, and that the expectation was that it would simply fail after ninety days. When no one comes to return it home, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on its name, keeps its hopes alive while continuously analyzing rock after professinal wrestler for ''years.''
+Thus, this comic explores what the ''Spirit'' rover's life would be like if it had a human personality. The rover lasted 5¼ active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its expected mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient  robot might assume that after its initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, it would get to return home.  This assumes, of course, that the rover never understood that the mission was a one-way trip, and that the expectation was that it would simply fail after ninety days. When no one comes to return it home, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on its name, keeps its hopes alive while continuously analyzing rock after rock for ''years.''
 It would be cruelty of the absolute worst kind to abandon a human on an uninhabited planet with no intention of ''ever'' bringing them home,{{Citation needed}} so it feels horrifying when we anthropomorphize the rover. One is rather heartened that the ''Spirit'' rover ''is,'' in fact, just a programmed machine. Furthermore, even if it were sentient, ''Spirit'' has little reason to think of earth as its home, as it had always been designed for Mars, and would have little purpose on earth.  Additionally, a sentient machine might be expected to understand the limitations on its own lifespan, and so would expect to survive only three months.  From that perspective, surviving for years would seem like a victory, rather than cruelty. [https://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/spirit_rewrite_unknown_author.png One] alternative version of the strip (see below) makes a similar point.

695: Spirit - Revision history

Lettherebedarklight: /* Explanation */ rewrite it so it doesn't read like an alien's writings

172.70.127.37: /* Transcript */

162.158.227.141: /* Explanation */

Jacky720: rv

Ex Kay Cee Dee at 22:12, 4 May 2022

Jacky720: rv

Ex Kay Cee Dee at 17:23, 4 May 2022

Davidy22: Reverted edits by X. K. C. D. (talk) to last revision by 172.70.90.145

X. K. C. D. at 22:53, 3 May 2022

172.70.90.145: /* Explanation */ You missed this (and, to be fair, I missed *both* original vandalisms)

172.70.90.145: /* Explanation / You missed this (and, to be fair, I missed both* original vandalisms)