Talk:1365: Inflation

Space Jam! - 108.162.225.147 04:51, 7 May 2014 (UTC) 173.245.63.186 04:54, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117705/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1 173.245.63.186 04:54, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I got "basketball" and "Space Jam", but I didn't get why it said Spalding on it. From reading the explanation, I'm guessing it's a brand. Thanks, because I never would have made the connection. 108.162.237.218 05:29, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Why did Randall choose a basketball? A rugby ball or an american football would fit the shape better Condor70 (talk) 06:12, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Because of the curving lines like a basketball on the image. Fizzle (talk) 06:17, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Added the reasoning for choosing a basketball to represent the universe Condor70 (talk) 08:46, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I have never heard of the Basketball version - in DK I have mainly heard of it like a balloon. The link is to a book - could someone find a link to a short article where this analogy is used? Also I agree that if you do not know a basketballs lines you would never think of that from the image - as it much more looks like an American football due to the shape. Of course the Space Jam/Michael Jordan title text makes it clear that it is a basketball. Kynde (talk) 13:11, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

The only other reference I could find is [1]. I remember the analogy from a Discovery Channel program.Condor70 (talk) 15:31, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

This is no basketball! The lines on a basketball are different. On a basketball every line intersects exactly 4 times with other lines.

Looks like a basketball (example [2]). Remember that the Mollweide projection distorts the lines.Condor70 (talk) 15:31, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Person two comments above is correct. Take either the east or west hemisphere (according to the orientation of the globe as presented in this comic) and then rotate it 90 degrees (on the globe, not on the silly eliptical projection) and then you have the basketball I grew up with. Has it changed in the last 20 years? Condor70's linked image doesn't show enough of the ball's surface to be conclusive on this point. Images on Wikipedia seem to indicate the rib/seam pattern may vary by ball manufacturer; the “official” NBA/Spalding ball image there doesn't show enough of the ball's surface either. — Vid the Kid 108.162.216.77 17:07, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Should the image not be updated to the current one on XKCD? Then this image could be saved on XKCD and linked to from the explanation on the error. Kynde (talk) 13:09, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

What's a basketball? (explain like i'm five <duck>) Ralfoide (talk) 14:19, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Megan is not looking at the "actual image captured by the BICEP2 instrument", because BICEP2 has only a 20 degree field of view (targed at the "Southern Hole") http://www.caltech.edu/content/building-bicep2-conversation-jamie-bock 173.245.54.73 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Correct. The image is from the WMAP.Condor70 (talk) 15:32, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

When I look at the comic at xkcd.com, the bottom image is reversed and 'SPALDING' is backwards (and so thus hard to make out). Is this true for anyone else? --Dangerkeith3000 (talk) 15:53, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Noted above, I think. Haven't checked out any explanation but I'm betting someone pointed out "but, it'd have to backwards, as viewed from inside", thus Randall reversed it. A pity, because you're right about it being not as readable. (I'm used to mirror-writing... but combined with the rest of the image noisiness (unflipped) the reversed version comes out more like "Spajjing" or even "Soajjing", to me, the right-way-round one not suffering from inconveniently-placed splodges ruining the effect.) 141.101.89.211 16:43, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

"The concept of an expanding universe is often explained by comparing it with a basketball"

"Often" ??? I get that a basketball is used in the comic, to allow for the Space Jam joke. But in all the explanations of an expanding universe I've ever seen, nobody has ever used a basketball. It's always been a balloon. Which makes a great deal more sense since a balloon, unlike a basketball, is something folks typically see actually expand. Claiming a basketball is "often" used seems forced here, an attempt to wedge in a unneeded justification for the Comcast's punchline. 199.27.128.84 17:01, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

If I understand the basketball analogy correctly you can neiter be inside nor outside the ball, so why would it matter if the logo is reversed or not? You can't actually see the entire ball from anywhere in the universe. 173.245.53.62 17:09, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

True, but then you'd see the logo edge-on, which would make it impossible to read and ruin the joke. --Someone Else 37 (talk) 22:12, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

This could also be a joke on the Holographic Principle, where everything inside a volume (such as the universe or the interior of a basketball) can be encoded into a surface surrounding that volume. Here, Randall seems to propose that WMAP has seen through the universe to its surface, and revealed its true nature. --Someone Else 37 (talk) 22:12, 7 May 2014 (UTC)