Editing 1502: Wasted Time

Jump to: navigation, search

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision Your text
Line 8: Line 8:
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
In this comic, [[White Hat]] is pointing out to [[Cueball]] that his obsession with efficiency is inconsistent, something that is likely true of many people who claim to prize efficiency.
+
{{incomplete}}
  
Here, Cueball raves about his new mobile keyboard which allows him to type 30% faster than his old keyboard. He notes that people (presumably himself particularly) do a lot of mobile typing, and a 30% reduction in the time that takes would allow more time for other activities.
+
It appears that Cueball has gotten a new keyboard for his phone that allows him to type 30% faster than his old keyboard. White hat then sarcastically comments on this, but then Cueball defends himself, stating that the 30% increase in typing speed adds up, so less time is wasted. However White hat states that all he did was go on Google News 5 times, not reading anything each time. So Cueball defends himself by saying that the time he wastes doing stupid things like that makes it more important not to waste the rest of his time typing.
  
White Hat, on the other hand, mocks Cueball for caring so much about mobile typing speed, suggesting that this may not be the first time Cueball has obsessed over minor improvements in efficiency. White Hat also notes that he's just seen Cueball open and close [http://news.google.com Google News] five times without reading anything, providing an example of how Cueball's other actions do not embody the same commitment to efficiency that he claims to have.
+
==Transcript==
 +
Cueball: This new keyboard is like 30% faster! I'm never going back.
  
Cueball defends himself by saying that, since he wastes so much time, it's that much more important to improve efficiency in his life to make more time for important matters. The title text (presumably White Hat's reply) counters this defense by suggesting that Cueball may be better off using a ''slower'' keyboard, so that he will have ''less'' time to waste on stupid activities. This type of argument may be an example of a {{w|logical fallacy}} argument which suggests, perhaps incorrectly, that Cueball should spend less time doing stupid things to the extent that he spends longer doing things he already does.
+
White Hat: Good, pot those years of horror behind you.
  
Interestingly, in this comic, White Hat appears as the voice of reason to Cueball, an inversion of their typical dynamic (see for instance [[1386: People are Stupid]] and [[1459: Documents]]). The role-reversal may be an acknowledgment that while Cueball may often make a fool of White Hat, he's far from perfect himself.
+
Cueball: C'mon. Sure, sometimes my focus on efficiency doesn't make sense. But we type a lot.
 
 
[[Randall]]'s misadventures in {{w|time management}} are a recurring topic (see [[874: Time Management]] and the [[:Category:Time_management|Time management category]]).
 
 
 
Mobile keyboard efficiency was previously tangentially referenced in [[1068: Swiftkey]], and Randall's habit of opening news sites only to quickly get bored or distracted was shown in [[1411: Loop]].
 
 
 
==Transcript==
 
:[Cueball holding his smartphone in both hands is talking to White Hat.]
 
:Cueball: This new keyboard is like 30% faster! I'm never going back.
 
  
:[White Hat replies and Cueball lifts his arms.]
+
Cueball: That 30% improvement pretty quickly adds up to a huge amount of wasted time rescued.  
:White Hat: Good, put those years of horror behind you.
 
:Cueball: C'mon. Sure, sometimes my focus on efficiency doesn't make sense. But we type a '''''lot'''''.
 
  
:[Cueball holding his smartphone in one hand while talking to White Hat.]
+
White Hat: I just watched you open Google News and then close it without reading it five times in a row.
:Cueball: That 30% improvement pretty quickly adds up to a ''huge'' amount of wasted time rescued.
 
  
:[White hat replies and Cueball lifts one arm.]
+
Cueball: The fact that I spend most of my time so stupidly only makes it more important not to waste any here.
:White Hat: I just watched you open Google News and then close it without reading it '''''five times in a row.'''''
 
:Cueball: The fact that I spend most of my time so stupidly only makes it '''''more''''' important not to waste any here.
 
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Time management]]
 
[[Category:Google]]
 
[[Category:Smartphones]]
 

Please note that all contributions to explain xkcd may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see explain xkcd:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To protect the wiki against automated edit spam, we kindly ask you to solve the following CAPTCHA:

Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)