Editing 1962: Generations
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Explanation of the title text needed. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
This comic is making fun of the various names we give "generations" while also predicting some future names. The release of this comic coincides with the [http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-millennials-begin/ Pew Research Center's recent announcement that they have decided where the Millennial generation ends]. | This comic is making fun of the various names we give "generations" while also predicting some future names. The release of this comic coincides with the [http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-millennials-begin/ Pew Research Center's recent announcement that they have decided where the Millennial generation ends]. | ||
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| Generation Æ | | Generation Æ | ||
| 1784 - 1801 | | 1784 - 1801 | ||
− | | Æ is the {{w|Æ| | + | | Æ is the {{w|Æ|diphthong}} Aesh - its name sounds like X, though it is pronounced as a long e or IPA /æ/. This character is commonly transcribed differently into British English and American English as ae and e respectively making a difference in spelling in words such as encyclopaedia/encylopedia. One of the key influences on this is Webster's dictionary, first published 1828. |
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| The generation we cut a lot of slack because they produced Lincoln | | The generation we cut a lot of slack because they produced Lincoln | ||
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| Oops, one of us is Hitler | | Oops, one of us is Hitler | ||
| 1892 - 1909 | | 1892 - 1909 | ||
− | | {{w|Adolf Hitler}}, possibly the most hated (and, by most definitions, evil) man in living human memory as of this comic's posting, | + | | {{w|Adolf Hitler}}, possibly the most hated (and, by most definitions, evil) man in living human memory as of this comic's posting, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler#Early_years|was born in 1889]. Aside from the fact that this places him in the previous generation, it seems beyond silly to blame everyone else who was born during this period for being born in the same generation as him. Among those who eventually heard of him (thus, excluding those in isolated areas or who died before he rose to power), the vast majority of them would not hear of him until well after 1909. In reality, this generation is known as the {{w|Lost Generation}}, though the dates are somewhat skewed. |
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| {{w|The Greatest Generation}} | | {{w|The Greatest Generation}} | ||
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(nail-polish emoji) | (nail-polish emoji) | ||
| 2000 - 2017 | | 2000 - 2017 | ||
− | | This begins the hypothetical future generation names, though this generation was already fully born as of this comic's posting. Social media was established and rising during the formative years of this generation, and the widespread adoption of emoji began during this time. The [https://emojipedia.org/nail-polish/ Nail Polish Emoji] (U+1F485) is used here. | + | | This begins the hypothetical future generation names, though this generation was already fully born as of this comic's posting. Social media was established and rising during the formative years of this generation, and the widespread adoption of emoji began during this time. The [https://emojipedia.org/nail-polish/ Nail Polish Emoji] (U+1F485) is used here. Currently known in reality as {{w|Generation Z}} or iGen (there's controversy over both names, but the goods and bads of each seem to cancel each other out and other names aren't as exciting) though the comic implies it may change due to emojis ultimately replacing the alphabet entirely. |
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| Zuckerberg's Army | | Zuckerberg's Army | ||
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| The Paperclip Machines | | The Paperclip Machines | ||
| 2090 - 2107 | | 2090 - 2107 | ||
− | | This, and the | + | | This, and the alt text, are references to the concept of a [https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Paperclip_maximizer paperclip maximizer], where an AI might be designed to be helpful, but end up being harmful. The clicker game [http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/ Universal Paperclips] makes this concept playable. Furthering the above speculation of cybernetics, this generation might be primarily artificial intelligences, though of limited ability to set their own priorities (a flaw which would be fixed in later generations). |
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| The Mixed Bag (produced 4 Lincolns, 1 Napoleon, and 2 Hitlers) | | The Mixed Bag (produced 4 Lincolns, 1 Napoleon, and 2 Hitlers) | ||
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− | + | The title text possibly refers to a chapter in the book "Math With Bad Drawings" by Ben Orlin, or the original {{w|Instrumental convergence#Paperclip maximizer|thought experiment}}, in which an AI is given the task to acquire as many paperclips as possible, and succeeds dramatically while creating an apocalypse in the process. Randall suggests that there will be an entire generation of paperclip-creating superintelligences, but that they will be weirded out when their parent generation starts making them too. (A parent generation in AI is the last set of seperate algorithms trained on the sample before the last.) | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |