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| | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Jyu6eioZ4 | | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Jyu6eioZ4 |
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| | The explanation fails to mention the link with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Stepping on, or avoiding particular floor tiles can be an example of OCD-induced behaviour. Moreover OCD is positively correlated with high IQ and therefore within the "nerd" scope of XKCD. | | The explanation fails to mention the link with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Stepping on, or avoiding particular floor tiles can be an example of OCD-induced behaviour. Moreover OCD is positively correlated with high IQ and therefore within the "nerd" scope of XKCD. |
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| | Personally, I have this walking obsession too. Curiously, my friends can understand my algorithm after observing me in my natural habitat for 2 minutes. | | Personally, I have this walking obsession too. Curiously, my friends can understand my algorithm after observing me in my natural habitat for 2 minutes. |
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| − | :(New editor, here, the above line being someone else unsigned, or somehow divorced from a prior signing.)
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| − | :While I'm bigger with longer legs now, I'm pretty sure my naturally long stride arose from nurturing a regular gait that would avoid cracks in awkwardly-sized paving slabs.
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| − | *....*....*....* Original natural gait
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| − | (Let's call that 100% of normal, for the sake of comparison, based purely on this ASCII.)
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| − | |---|---|---|---|---| Slabs
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| − | *...*...*...*...* Shortened gait, typically centered on one step per slab
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| − | (80% stride. Obviously shortened and somewhat awkward.)
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| − | |---|---|---|---|---| Slabs
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| − | *.......*.......* Too-long gait, typically centered on one step ''every other'' slab
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| − | (160% stride. ''Very'' akward)
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| − | |---|---|---|---|---| Slabs
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| − | *.....*.....*.....* Slightly lengthened gait, two slabs, miss one, repeat.
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| − | (120% stride. Obviously longer, but not too awkward once practiced. )
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| − | :The 120% version (or whatever proportion it is, IRL) effectively works by aiming the feet just after a crack, foot just before a crack, skipping the next slab entirely.
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| − | :That tactic was developed back when I was <10 years old (but the latent mathematician in me is proud of my younger self's approach to analysing the tiling), possibly back when I was 6 or 7. They were large rectangular slabs, meaning different strategies in different directions. But when shorter that might mean the above applied when travelling in the 'short direction', but 'long direction' walking was two steps per one slab (after crack, before next crack), one on the next (middle). As I grew up a bit it would have become 'every other slab' in the short-axis, and the above in the long axis. Growing up yet more and it changes again. Diagonal travel is finessed accordingly.
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| − | :As an adult, most newer paving slabs have tended to changed from the traditional large rectangular ones to smaller square ones, just big enough for feet to fit on without any possibility of finessing that. Luckily they tend to be monochrome, so it's just a whole number stepped over (when I notice what's under my feet enough to have to do something about it), sometimes involving a Pythagorean calculation... ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 03:30, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
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| − | ;Sidewalk cracks
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| − | My edit/observation that the title text alludes to an {{w|Old wives' tale}} "if you step on a crack you will break your mother's back" was removed. I'm just hoping for additional discussion. "Sidewalk cracks ... out-of-sync with your natural stride" seems to be a clear reference to the wives' tale in question. As I reread my edit I realize this doesn't explain Cueball's behavior, so I was wrong on that point, but my assertion that the title text ''does'' point to the wives' tale seems valid enough. Thoughts?
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| − | --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 00:10, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
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| − | : Additional: I am confounded why Wikipedia does not recognize "step on a crack" as a wives' tale, childrens' taunt, etc. Is there some [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pondian pondian] aspect to this I am missing? In the Midwestern US where I grew up, "step on a crack" is (or was) a common meme; it was even exposited in [http://www.metrolyrics.com/whip-it-lyrics-devo.html song] (sorry for the lame lyric link) --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 04:51, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
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| − | :It's not so much referencing the step on a crack and break your mother's back child's game so much as many of those with obsessive compulsive tendencies are really annoyed that each footstep cannot be classified as a digital step, meaning that your foot is only one one tile at a time. It's not so much that you don't want to "break your mother's back" it's just a matter of personal pride that you don't walk on cracks. Same problem with steps that are just barely too long that you always end up taking the next one with the same foot. You just start to feel off kilter. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:52, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
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| − | :Never heard of the "mother's back" version. Though I'd do this for (referencing prior section title) probably vaguely OCD reasons without an actual mythology behind it, whenever there was a reason for it (e.g. in children's picture books) it was always something to do with bears. (Here in the UK, that is, without any unzooed bears roaming around. i.e. obviously ficticious ones.) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 02:59, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
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| − | ::http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/mmilne-linesandsquares.htm
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| − | I feel we should have some mention of comic 207: what xkcd means here, and vice versa {{unsigned ip|108.162.214.15}}
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| − | : I agree, but in 207 it wasn't really referencing this; this had not been created yet. I think we should remove the reference note. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.231|108.162.237.231]] 23:56, 21 April 2014 (UTC) ( Classhole forgot to log in. )
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| − | '''Alternative explanation'''
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| − | The '''main''' reason he does not explain is embarrassment. In the first panel, he is being accused of walking funny. He considers explaining the reason for the behavior but realizes the explanation is even more embarrassing than the behavior itself. He quickly ends the exchange by stating, "I'm not walking funny.", thereby avoiding further embarrassment. {{unsigned|Flewk}}
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| − | Why does the explanation say the tile map is incorrect? The tile pattern looks fine to me, it’s just not rotated. Am I just being dumb? {{unsigned ip| 162.158.62.151}}
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| − | :in the graphic in Cueballs head, there is always 2 tiles between, in each direction, in the image it is only one tile in one direction. See this try at ASCII art with x for black tiles and o for white:
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| − | :In his head:
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| − | :xooxoox
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| − | :ooooooo
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| − | :ooooooo
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| − | :xooxoox
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| − | :Actual:
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| − | :xooxoox
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| − | :ooooooo
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| − | :xooxoox --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:06, 24 October 2019 (UTC)
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| − | ::Actually the tiles on the floor are an inconsistent diagram, some matching the cueball’s thought diagram (in the above hallway) and some not (where they are walking now). Presumably they just came from the hallway. Paragraph 2 of the explanation needs an update. --{{unsigned ip|75.174.26.242}} 14:09, 2 October 2022 (UTC)
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| − | I always stepped on all the cracks. 69:420, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
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