Editing Talk:2177: Gastroenterology

Jump to: navigation, search
Ambox notice.png Please sign your posts with ~~~~

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 3: Line 3:
 
I hope they are not eating italian, you never know what might happen if pasta and antipasta meet. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 16:23, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
I hope they are not eating italian, you never know what might happen if pasta and antipasta meet. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 16:23, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
: Yea I figure this is a matter / anti-matter joke. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 16:55, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
: Yea I figure this is a matter / anti-matter joke. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 16:55, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
: This antimatter explanation lacks the usual "punch" that I would expect from XKCD on a science joke. It's unsatisfying because the comic lacks any (other) reference to physics or space. My best guess is that it's a pun based on an alternate interpretation of the word "gastroenterology." Could some part of the word be re-used (or commonly used) in another, more explosive context? Could the explosion refer to methane production by the body? Or is it somehow a joke about a movie, or the general movie trope of making scientists into action heros? [[User:Jpaugh|Jpaugh]] ([[User talk:Jpaugh|talk]]) 14:41, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
:: It's playing on the general idea that mixing opposites often results in a violent reaction.  Acid/Alkali or Matter/Antimatter.  In a sense, probiotics and antibiotics are opposites - and in the (evidently very boring) world of gastroenterology - this is about as exciting at it gets.  Obviously, the actual reaction between such things would be very slow and exceedingly un-exciting. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:58, 19 July 2019 (UTC)
 
  
 
Current transcript says "Cueball" is the second character in the first and fifth panels. I don't think that's usually how it's done for a character wearing a hat, so I was thinking he should instead be named something like "Beanie Guy" or similar. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:21, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
Current transcript says "Cueball" is the second character in the first and fifth panels. I don't think that's usually how it's done for a character wearing a hat, so I was thinking he should instead be named something like "Beanie Guy" or similar. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:21, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
: I think the hat looks like a surgical scrub cap[https://www.allheart.com/men-scrub-caps-and-hats/c/597/]. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:45, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
Saying the final panel is a lie is just one possibility. The 5th panel below can potentially mean the "reality", as opposed to the 4 panels above that's a fantasy/joke. Almost all jobs have this "what people think I do" and "what I really do" gap.
 
Another possibility: I thought I saw in old cop/secret agent movies a common joke is when a character gets into a lot of action - and thus cause a lot of trouble - that person will need to write a lot of paperwork for the damage caused. Then the character will say "this job is boring. Lots of paperwork." Sorry I can't find an example right now but I seemed to remember seeing the joke multiple times.
 
 
 
It's hard to appreciate gastroenterology jokes if you've ever had a colonoscopy.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:44, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
:I disagree, & I'm holding back a bunch of bad puns about it. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:02, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
I see a thematic connection with the comic about appendicitis treatment, although this could be about an unrelated ailment. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.100|162.158.78.100]] 18:01, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
Current explanation says 'over-coughing'. What's that? a kid one table over, coughed.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.144.175|172.68.144.175]] 10:22, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
: Fixed! ([https://www.xkcd.com/699/| Did you know they just] ''hand out'' [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Main+Page| logins]?) [[User:Jpaugh|Jpaugh]] ([[User talk:Jpaugh|talk]]) 14:53, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
"Another possibility is that the sequence refers to a reaction between an acid and a base," WHAT? No. They're specifically labeled! Where did "acid and base" even come from? Why not "Yin and Yang" or "White meat and dark meat"?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 10:46, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
:I think the editor meant that the sequence is comically pretending that the mixing of probiotics and antibiotics gives a similar explosive effect to an acid/base reaction (or a matter/antimatter reaction) - they're not saying that that's literally what's happening. They're explaining the possible inspiration behind the cartoon logic. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]])
 
:And now the explanation covers that nicely. Well done. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 09:49, 19 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
 
It seems possible that the fantasy as a whole is a reference to a scene in the series ''Breaking Bad'', in which Walter White substitutes fulminate of mercury for crystal meth, then uses it to cause a(n unrealistically large) explosion in the office of a rival. However, similar scenes can be found in earlier shows and films (e.g., the show ''MacGyver'' has several instance of such), so it may not be a reference to this specific one. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.152|172.69.44.152]] 17:29, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
 
Any take on the meaning of the abundance of white space in the lower left part of the comic? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebob]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:17, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
:My take is that it's a narrative device: the white space in which nothing is happening represents the two people just quietly eating, in stark contrast to the action-packed scene above. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 19:46, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
 
::It's almost as if the first row of frames is in a "think balloon" within the last frame. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:58, 19 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
My preferred interpretation is that Ponytail is to Gastroenterology what Indiana Jones is to Archeology... A usually boring field but Ponytail's / Indiana's versions are secretly more exciting. :) And Ponytail is keeping the exciting part to herself, just sharing the standard part. (Actually, now that I write that, I wonder if that's what Randall was going for) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:43, 20 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
In a sealed container prebiotics and probiotics would generate CO2 and explode, although it would take a while and likely not be a large explosion.  As said antibiotics would likely just kill the probiotics.[[User:BlakeFelix|BlakeFelix]] ([[User talk:BlakeFelix|talk]]) 13:45, 22 July 2019 (UTC)
 
 
I think you'll find Gastroenterology is the study of the words used to describe the high quality food found in a moth's stomach :-) --[[User:OliReading|OliReading]] ([[User talk:OliReading|talk]]) 12:28, 30 July 2019 (UTC)
 

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)