Editing 1316: Inexplicable

{{comic
| number    = 1316
| date      = January 13, 2014
| title     = Inexplicable
| image     = inexplicable.png
| titletext = 'It has a ghost in it. Take it back.' 'No.'
}}

==Explanation==
One of [[Cueball]]'s computers is [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|once again]] having a serious problem, which has resisted many hours of concentrated effort at resolution. [[Megan]] offers to help, but after trying to fix it she concludes that the laptop is [[725|literally]] possessed by a malevolent spirit.

In the second panel, Cueball exclaims that he has "given up on logic." This could be a deliberate reference to the paranormal; ghosts are supernatural entities, and are thus immune to attempts at logical explanation.

The title text continues the conversation: when Megan tries to return the laptop to Cueball, he refuses, as Megan willingly took possession of it in the first place. Both have clearly decided that they no longer want anything to do with an object housing a supernatural entity, and are trying to pass it back to one another.

The use of the word "ghost" in the title text may be an allusion to the philosophical problem known as the {{w|Ghost in the machine}}. This has been popularized through cyberpunk literature and movies, such as {{w|The Matrix}} and {{w|Ghost in the Shell}}. The question is whether machines are, or could be, conscious and have their own free will.

The comic may also be intended to remind us how non-technical users see computers and technology in general. Often a non-technical person will anthropomorphize a gadget, assigning it a personality with quirks. In this case, that personally happens to take the form of an evil ghost. When they have problems, they often give the device to a slightly more technical person to deal with it, which they may or may not be able to do. In the mind of the non-technical person, this failure could confirm the personality of the device. Note that Cueball is far from "non-technical", so this possible interpretation does not literally match the depicted scenario.

It should be noted that technical users often joke about sufficiently complex systems operating at the mercy of supernatural forces, {{w|SCSI|SCSI interface}} maintenance [http://www.staff.uni-mainz.de/neuffer/scsi/fun.html requiring goat sacrifices] being a popular past category. Encountering a machine that is literally possessed or cursed is a logical extension of this theme.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk with a laptop, making a fist at it.]
:Cueball: ''Argh!''
:Megan (off-screen): What?
:Cueball: Why do I always have these inexplicable, impossible-to-diagnose computer problems?

:[Megan walks up to the desk.]
:Cueball: After six hours of this, I've concluded nothing works or makes sense. I give up on logic.
:Megan: *sigh* Gimme. I'll figure it out.
:Cueball: You won't.

:[Cueball sits at his laptopless desk while Megan works on the laptop off-screen.]
:''type type''
:''Click''
:Megan: ?
:''type type type''
:Megan: ???

:[Megan is back in front of the desk, clutching the laptop.]
:Cueball: How'd it go?
:Megan: Your computer is literally haunted.
:Cueball: ''Told'' you.

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