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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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There are three [[Cueball]]s discussing a {{w|particle accelerator}}. One Cueball asks the others about the "tertiary Free-electron laser ({{w|Free-electron_laser|F.E.L}}) guidance system". As this is a fairly technical topic, we would expect a response filled with scientific jargon. The joke is that the other Cueball instead responds in a much simpler manner. He uses simple phrases such as "smash the right tiny things together" and "that would be very bad".
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[[Cueball]] seems to be attending a meeting in a physics facility that has a particle accelerator. The Physicist asks him his thoughts about the Tertiary F.E.L guidance system that is a component of the particle accelerator. This sounds like the normal kind of jargon that you would hear in such a meeting.
  
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As the caption below the comic notes, Cueball (probably [[Randall]]) has spent the previous night reading the {{w|Simple English Wikipedia}}, a [http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page simplified version] of {{w|Wikipedia}} intended to be easier to understand, and now he finds himself using similarly simple syntax. For example, the article for a [http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_accelerator particle accelerator] describes it as "a machine that makes really tiny things called particles travel at very high speeds." This is similar to the simple response given by the responding Cueball. In the actual comic, Cueball was able to effectively communicate the dangers of using a broken F.E.L. using simple syntax similar to the style of the Simple English Wikipedia.
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As the text below the comic says, Cueball has spent the previous night reading {{w|simple:|the Simple English Wikipedia}}, a simplified version of Wikipedia intended to be easier to understand than the original, and now he finds himself talking in the same simple style. This makes him sound somewhat childlike and uneducated, but in fact he has clearly communicated the ramifications of relying on a sub-system that is known to be faulty. The accelerator would not perform its intended function, and may even be damaged.
  
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From the title text, Randall believes that if people teaching advanced mathematics followed this style, their subject would be more accessible. The implication is that more people would be drawn to studying mathematics and that (naturally) the world would be a better place because of this, ironically most likely true!
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From the title text, Randall believes that if people teaching advanced mathematics followed this style, their subject would be more accessible. The implication is that more people would be drawn to studying mathematics and that (naturally) the world would be a better place because of this!
  
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This concept was later revisited in [[722: Computer Problems]], [[1133: Up Goer Five]], [[Thing Explainer]] (probably most notably), [[1322: Winter]] and [[1436: Orb Hammer]].
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This concept was later revisited in [[1133: Up Goer Five|1133 Up Goer Five]] and [[1436: Orb Hammer|1436 Orb Hammer]].
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Three Cueball-like guys stand in front of a sketch. The middle Cueball is the protagonist of the comic and will be called Cueball.]
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:Friend: Do you have any thoughts regarding the particle accelerator's tertiary F.E.L. Guidance System?
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:Left Cueball-like guy: Do you have any thoughts regarding the particle accelerator's tertiary F.E.L. Guidance System?
 
 
:Cueball: We can't put the broken part in the machine. It wouldn't smash the right tiny things together. Then the machine might break.
 
:Cueball: We can't put the broken part in the machine. It wouldn't smash the right tiny things together. Then the machine might break.
 
:Cueball: That would be very bad.
 
:Cueball: That would be very bad.
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:[Caption below the frame:]
 
 
:I spent all night reading simple.wikipedia.org, and now I can't stop talking like this.
 
:I spent all night reading simple.wikipedia.org, and now I can't stop talking like this.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 
 
[[Category:Physics]]
 
[[Category:Physics]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
 
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
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[[Category:Simplified language]]
 

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