Editing 1163: Debugger

{{comic
| number    = 1163
| date      = January 21, 2013
| title     = Debugger
| image     = debugger.png
| titletext = It can take a site a while to figure out that there's a problem with their 'report a bug' form.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] mentions to [[Megan]] that he can't understand how his mind works, the same mind he uses to understand how things work, and he's not sure if this is a problem. In other words, if he can't understand how his mind works, then how can he tell that it does in fact work and that his perception of reality is accurate? Ordinarily he would use his mind to figure it out, but if his mind really doesn't work, then he'll probably never determine that his mind doesn't work. Understandably, he's a little unsure of how he should feel about this.

Per the comic title, a {{w|Debugger|debugger}} is a piece of software used by programmers to find {{w|Software bug|bugs}} in the {{w|Application software|applications}} they are making. The title is an allusion to that debuggers are very much like our brains in the aspect described above - most programmers don't understand how debuggers internally work, and they can't be sure that debugger is bug-free - if there is a bug in the debugger itself, it can't be accurately used to find bugs.

The title text alludes to the above problem, in that if a website's "report a bug" page is buggy to a degree that it prevents the actual reporting of a bug, then users cannot use the form to report that the form itself is broken. Thus it can take quite some time before the site administrators realize this error, if they do at all, as unless they test it themselves, the administrators are likely relying on users to report problems they find, which they can't, making it appear as if there are no problems. This is somewhat analogous to the "brain" dilemma in the main comic, where the usual problem-pondering and resolving method itself can have a problem, but there is no straightforward way to tell. Even if Megan tells Cueball that a problem exists: if Cueball's "report a bug" system is broken, he might simply disregard this information.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are at the top of a grassy hill, rendered in silhouette. Megan is lying down on the grass while Cueball is sitting.]
:Cueball: I don't understand how my brain works.

:[A close-up of the two characters. Megan lifts her head slightly.]
:Cueball: But my brain is what I rely on to understand how things work.

:[The shot zooms out again.]
:Megan: Is that a problem?
:Cueball: I'm not sure how to tell.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]