explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1726: Unicode

2016-08-30T18:57:40Z

108.162.219.57: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1726
| date = August 29, 2016
| title = Unicode
| image = unicode.png
| titletext = I'm excited about the proposal to add a "brontosaurus" emoji codepoint because it has the potential to bring together a half-dozen different groups of pedantic people into a single glorious internet argument.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More details needed?}}

Three highway engineers, [[Cueball]] in the river and two other characters on the distant bank, are placing traffic signs in a river trying to guide the water flow (as made clear in the caption).

As rivers flow according to the landscape, this plan will not work and the river will continue on its course. Cueball is very frustrated by this and is still trying to make the river obey the traffic laws. The caption lays out the punchline: The comic compares the useless approach of Cueball attempting to divert a flowing, moving river with fixed signs that do nothing, with the {{w|Unicode Consortium}}'s attempt to define the diverse and ever-changing human language with strict technical standards.

{{w|Unicode}} is a largely successful attempt to have a standard for representing all possible letters, numerals, digits and symbols that make up human writing in all languages. This includes the roman letters used in this article, characters with modifiers like ê (both with the common characters as well as the modifiers selectable separately), logographic characters like in Chinese, syllabic writing system like Japanese, right-to-left and/or top-to-bottom writing systems, mathematical symbols and many other writing systems.

As the newest edition comes {{w|emoji}} which is also referenced in the title text (see below). The symbols on the signs in the river are real road signs, but interestingly enough they also both exist in Unicode, with the warning sign triangle with an exclamation mark ⚠ having [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/26a0/index.htm code (U+26A0)] and the black, rightwards arrow ➡ having [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/27a1/index.htm code (U+271A)]. As can be imagined, coping with the wide variety of character sizes, orientations, ways they can be modified, capitalization rules, etc. can get to be very challenging as the Unicode Consortium tries to write rules that accommodate how printed language is actually used. Emoji has become a [[:Category:Emoji|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.

The title text refers to [http://unicode.org/L2/L2016/16072-jurassic-emoji.pdf a proposal] to add three dinosaur heads to the official list of emoji.

This is likely to stir a glorious internet argument between the following half-dozen opposing (and {{w|pedantic}}) camps that may now be brought together:
*Those who favor the inclusion of more emoji vs. those who oppose emoji on principle.
*Those who accept the existence of ''{{w|Brontosaurus}}'' vs. those who deny its status as a species unique from ''{{w|Apatosaurus}}''.
**[[Randall]] has made it clear what he believes in [[636: Brontosaurus]].
**Although it seems new development has occurred since the release of that comic, suggesting that Brontosaurus is a specific species. But that is still debated...
*Those who favor a traditional, scaly image of dinosaurs vs. those who have accepted the feathered-dinosaur paradigm.
*Those who prefer a different dinosaur species be included instead.
*Those who point out that two of the dinosaurs in the "Jurassic Emoji" set actually come from the {{w|Cretaceous period}}, and as such renaming is necessary vs. those who think that "{{w|Jurassic}}" is a cooler word (because of the movies).
*Those who for religious or other reasons deny the existence of dinosaurs.

See also this [http://www.unicode.org/mail-arch/unicode-ml/y2016-m08/0103.html discussion about this comic on the Unicode mailinglist]...

Highway engineer's was also the subject of [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in a river close to it's right bank, the water reaching up to his thighs. He is holding on to a traffic sign standing towards right. It has a label and an arrow below this pointing to the right bank. With his other arm he is pointing to the left at the advancing water masses. Further up the river is another street sign this sign has an exclamation mark inside a triangle. The water flow is indicated with several lines on the river surface, mainly moving along the river, but around Cueball and the signs there are circular lines. In the distance on the left bank of the river two people are standing and making gestures with raised arms. The left has white hair (could be either sex) and the other is a Cueball-like guy. A third sign is lying on the ground to the left of them face down. Behind them is a slope up to a road with a parked car. The road continues out over a a bridge that crosses the river. The river which passes under it both left and right of a central pillar. At that distance the right bank of the river (and thus the right end of the bridge) is not visible, being outside the panel. On each river bank grass can be seen and on the right bank also a small stone.]
:Cueball: No, go ''this'' way, not-
:Cueball: Are you even ''listening!?''
:Cueball: ... ''Hey! That's not what that area is for!''
:Sign with arrow: Detour
:Sign with triangle: !

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Watching the Unicode people try to govern the infinite chaos of human language with consistent technical standards is like watching highway engineers try to steer a river using traffic signs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

397: Unscientific

2016-07-14T19:50:53Z

108.162.219.57: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 397
| date = March 17, 2008
| title = Unscientific
| image = unscientific.png
| titletext = Last week, we busted the myth that electroweak gauge symmetry is broken by the Higgs mechanism. We'll also examine the existence of God and whether true love exists.
}}

==Explanation==
In the first and second frames, [[Megan]] can be seen accusing {{w|MythBusters}} of not actually "doing science" because of its lack of {{w|Rigour|rigor}} - a debate beyond the scope of this Wiki. The zombie of deceased physicist, {{w|Richard Feynman}}, comes to explain to [[Megan]] that she has failed to recognize the purpose of MythBusters. He explains that MythBusters' value is getting people to accept and understand the importance of experimentation in the scientific method, and that more complex lessons (such as on rigor) would be wasted on people who don't understand those basics.

In the last frame, [[Cueball]] attempts to save himself and [[Megan]] from zombie Feynman by implying that physicists, being extremely intelligent, would have more desirable brains. Also, being a lab, the number of brains available would be higher than just two. Feynman's closing remark implies that {{w|String theory|string theorists}} are less intelligent than other types of physicists. This notion fits appropriately with Feynman's description of the core of science. Moreover, Feynman's own career involved applying physics to real world applications (such as for the Manhattan Project), whereas the work of string theorists is theoretical and untested.

The title text starts by rebounding against the complaint of validity as science by purportedly tackling a ''really'' big scientific inquiry. Then veers away into two far more esoteric proposed fields of study, of which at least one is not even determinable by the scientific method{{Citation needed}}.

The web series College Humor later created a sketch in which the MythBusters try to determine if there is a God.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a coach, watching Mythbusters.]
:TV: Can a ninja catch an arrow? On this episode, we'll find out!
:Cueball: Mmm, science.
:Megan: Hey, Mythbusters is entertaining, but it's not science.

:Zombie Feynman: ''BRAAAAAIIINNS''...
:Cueball: Zombie Feynman!
:Zombie Feynman: You got a problem with Mythbusters?
:Megan: They fail at basic rigor!

:Zombie Feynman: "Ideas are tested by experiment." That is the <u>core</u> of science. Everything else is bookkeeping.

:Zombie Feynman: By teaching people to hold their beliefs up to experiment, ''Mythbusters'' is doing more to drag humanity out of the unscientific darkness than a thousand lessons in rigor. Show them some love.

:Zombie Feynman: Anyway, back to zombie stuff. I hunger for ''BRAAAAAIIINNS!''
:Cueball: Uh, try the physics lab next door.
:Zombie Feynman: I said <u>brains</u>. All they've got are string theorists.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

520: Cuttlefish

2015-06-29T15:29:34Z

108.162.219.57: I, Robot the book was not a bout robot takeover.

{{comic
| number = 520
| date = December 22, 2008
| title = Cuttlefish
| image = cuttlefish.png
| titletext = Unless the CS students finish the robot revolution before you finish the cephalopod one.
}}

==Explanation==
It appears that [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are physicists visiting a biology lab. Their guide gives them a description of the humble {{w|cuttlefish}} that is both accurate and makes them sound like other-worldly creatures with highly advanced capabilities.

The scene takes an unusual turn when the scientist implies that the cuttlefish have been easily trained to improve its capabilities. He then demonstrates this by giving a simple command, whereupon the cuttlefish attack and kill both Cueball and Megan, demonstrating an ability to fly, talk and discharge lethal electric shocks.

This is all revealed to be a dream, but it has given Cueball a warning not to underestimate the biologists. Apparently, they can be just as crazy and dangerous as any other kind of scientist. Cueball offers a toast to all biologists everywhere and plans an alliance with them against the chemists, hoping to prevent further attacks on physicists. The scientists are shown drinking from laboratory flasks, stereotypical behavior for biologists (and chemists).

In the past, [[Randall]] has been somewhat dismissive of the non-math / non-physics scientific disciplines, so this comic may be trying to mend some bridges with biologists. But not with chemists.

In the title text, CS stands for Computer Science. The "robot revolution" references events in film and literature, wherein robots, having become commonplace in the workforce, achieve independent thought and declare war on humanity, like in {{w|The Terminator}}, {{w|The Matrix}}, or the movie {{w|I, Robot}}. Randall implies that the physicists will switch sides if the robot revolution arrives first. Cephalopod means a squid-like or octopus-like creature

==Transcript==
:We visit a bio lab: [Cueball and Megan visit a bio lab where they look into a tank that the scientists point at.]
:Scientist: These are cuttlefish.

:[Image of a cuttlefish.]
:Scientist: They're frighteningly smart, have manipulating arms and tentacles, have ink jets, can dart backwards and see the polarization of light through their w-shaped pupils. And their sides are 200 dpi display screens which they use for camouflage and communication.

:Scientist: When we realized how intelligent they were, we began to teach them. They've advanced quickly. Cuttlefish: GO.

:[Cuttlefish float out of the tank at Cueball and Megan.]

:Cuttlefishes: Kill the physicists... kill the physicists

:[Cuttlefish zap Cueball and Megan as they fall.]

:[Cueball waking up from his sleep.]
:Cueball: Oh god. I knew it.

:[Bottle is pouring into a flask, and a man takes the flask and drinks from it.]
:xkcd
:Salutes Bio Majors
:If we join you against the chemists, will you train your fleshy minions to leave us alive?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Biology]]

Talk:520: Cuttlefish

2015-06-29T15:22:04Z

108.162.219.57:

I dispute the idea of "memes." I don't remember my 2008/2009 Internet culture too well, but I certainly don't think cephalopods ever became much of a meme. This needs some revision. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:07, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Personally I think that "themes" works better, have edited accordingly, feel free to change it back though [[User:Whiskey07|Whiskey07]] ([[User talk:Whiskey07|talk]]) 14:42, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

I added a comment that The Battle for Wesnoth may have added Cuttlefish as a result of this comic. I am not certain on that, if I'm wrong, please correct me. [[User:Kyt|Kyt]] ([[User talk:Kyt|talk]]) 01:41, 4 January 2014 (UTC)
:I found a forum entry (http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=11168) that refers to the Wesnoth cuttlefish in May 2006 (more than two years before this comic came out) so I have edited the explanation accordingly. Also, non-accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 18:38, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

While the evolution of cuttlefish attacking with electricity is probably what Randall meant, I am an avid fan of Dungeons and Dragons and I'd like to think that this is the beginning stages of what is known as an illithid. Cueball and Megan aren't killed by electricity but by the psionic abilities of the newly created illithids. - vegeto18 2014-02-18 03:14 PM

The robots don't revolt in Asimov's "I, Robot." They obey the three laws of robotics, unless programmed with modifications. As far as I understand, the plot of the film does not follow the novel. 02:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
:I was going to comment just this, but after seeing that I was not the only one who thought this, I have decided to edit the page.

The cuttlefish and their method of killing the physicists resemble the Ood from Doctor Who, introduced in the 2006 episode "The Impossible Planet", in which the Ood became possessed by the Beast and began killing off scientists on the colony. The Ood were revisited in early 2008 in " Planet of the Ood", where they electrocuted the individuals who had enslaved them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.75|108.162.245.75]] 23:53, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

IF I MUST TEAR YOU APART, SHEPARD
I WILL[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.110|108.162.216.110]] 11:07, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
: In a way, Reapers symbolize a culmination of all science made apocalyptic revolutions implied here, being giant space-faring robots that look like giant squid (and I will never forgive Mass Effect 3 for not having a Reaper kill be part of the final battle scenes, or letting us conclusively kill Harbinger). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 04:04, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

1417: Seven

2015-06-28T16:21:34Z

108.162.219.57: Fixed typo

{{comic
| number = 1417
| date = September 5, 2014
| title = Seven
| image = seven.png
| titletext = The days of the week are Monday, Arctic, Wellesley, Green, Electra, Synergize, and the Seventh Seal.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] (or perhaps [[Randall]]) says he can't distinguish between sets that have exactly seven objects. This leads him to exchange the items in the sets without noticing, to the point where, when attempting to list a single set, each item mentioned actually belongs to a different set.

This is shown in the comic when Cueball tries to enumerate the seven dwarfs from ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}'', a task some people might find difficult, although they would not just choose words from other sets of seven to fill in the gaps.

The title text reveals that even a trivial set of seven items, like the days of the week, also goes completely wrong.

The comic is a reference{{Citation needed}} to the {{w|Set-theoretic definition of natural numbers#Oldest definition|oldest set-theoretic definition of the natural numbers}}, in which for each natural number, an equivalence class is defined over all sets which contain the same number of items. As Cueball is known for [[:Category:Math|mathematical thinking]], he could be presumed to have taken the underlying equivalence relation to heart, and (over)applying it to real life, genuinely judging sets to be identical if they all contain N objects.

The number seven being the number for when sets become indistinguishable is possibly a reference to {{w|The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two|Miller's law}}; however, this law refers to elements ''within the same set'' becoming indistinguishable, rather than the indistinguishability of different sets of the same size - indeed, its original tests involved either distinguishing between the items, or repeating them back ''in the correct order''.

The number seven has culturally been {{w|7 (number)#Religion and mythology|regarded as a special, magical or holy number}}, which contributes to the large number of familiar sets of seven that make this comic possible. This proliferation of well-known sets of 7 items could be another reason why Randall chose to use the number {{w|seven}} in the comic.

===Comic list===
For each of the seven lists below, the relevant item's traditional position within its own list of seven, according to Wikipedia, is '''not''' necessarily equal to its position on the list in the comic. For some lists the position is equal, but not for most. For instance Sneezy is traditionally never mentioned first amongst the dwarfs since the leader Doc normally comes first. But "phylum" is the second major taxonomic rank as is "phylum" the second item on the list in the comic.

The seven "dwarfs" mentioned and their relevant sets of seven are (items in the set are written in bold):
{| class="wikitable"
|
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
|-
!{{W|Seven Dwarfs#Disney Dwarfs|Disney's Dwarfs}} from ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}''<ref group=c>The order is taken from the page about the movie. But Sneezy is never no. 1, on the other page, which is listed alphabetically, he is no. 5.</ref>
|Doc
|Grumpy
|Happy
|Sleepy
|Bashful
|'''Sneezy'''
|Dopey
|-
!Major {{w|taxonomic ranks}}.<ref group=c>There are now actually 8 on this list as {{w|Domain (biology)|domain}} has been included as the first in the list in 1990. It is, however, still normal to only list the 7 ranks in the table.</ref>
|kingdom
|'''phylum'''
|class
|order
|family
|genus
|species
|-
!{{w|Continents}}<ref group=c>Continents are normally listed by size (as here in the table), in which case Europe is no. 6. Alphabetically it would be fifth. By population, Europe would actually be no. 3 (i.e. it would match the position in Cueball's list). But by population density, it is no. 2.</ref>
|Asia
|Africa
|North America
|South America
|Antarctica
|'''Europe'''
|Australia
|-
!{{w|Seven deadly sins|Deadly sins}}<ref group=c>List as on Wikipedia.</ref>
|lust
|gluttony
|greed
|'''sloth'''
|wrath
|envy
|pride
|-
!{{w|Seven-layer dip|Seven Layer Dip (recipe)}}<ref group=c>The list on Wikipedia is not in the order the dip should be made. The order used above is from this [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/seven-layer-dip-i/ recipe].</ref>
|refried beans
|cheese
|ground beef
|sour cream
|'''guacamole'''
|salsa
|chopped black olives/tomatoes/green onions
|-
!|Layers of the {{w|OSI model}}<ref group=c>The order above is in reverse. The numbers given on Wikipedia is from 7 to 1 as they stand above. However when showing them in a table they begin with no. 7. So it can be discussed if this is the correct order or the reverse. Since Data link is no. 2, the reverse above becomes the "correct" no. 6.</ref>
|application
|presentation
|session
|transport
|network
|'''data link'''
|physical
|-
!|{{w|Wonders of the World#Seven Wonders of the Ancient World|Wonders of the Ancient World}}<ref group=c>List as on Wikipedia.</ref>
|Great Pyramid of Giza
|Hanging Gardens of Babylon
|Statue of Zeus at Olympia
|Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
|Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
|'''Colossus of Rhodes'''
|Lighthouse of Alexandria
|}

<references group=c />

===Title text list===
The title text extends this saying he also does the same with the set of the seven days of the week.

The sets Cueball's "days of the week" come from are:
{| class="wikitable"
|
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
|-
!{{w|Days of the week}}<ref group=t>In the US, the weekdays are usually mentioned with Sunday first, whereas the international {{w|ISO week date}} standard defines Monday as the first day of the week. Although Randall is from the US, he has previously expressed his preference for [[1179: ISO 8601|ISO 8601]] (among [[526: Converting to Metric|other international standards]]), so it's reasonable to assume he'd list the days of the week starting on Monday.</ref>
|'''Monday'''
|Tuesday
|Wednesday
|Thursday
|Friday
|Saturday
|Sunday
|-
!{{w|Seven Seas#Modern|The Seven Seas (modern version)}}<ref group=t>There are many ways to lists 7 named bodies of water. the one in the table uses the order from Wikipedia, from the largest to the smallest of the seven. But if the list is sorted in alphabetic order, "Arctic" indeed comes second: Antarctic, '''Arctic''', Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, and Pacific. "Arctic" could also be a reference to {{w|Climate zones}} - see [[#Trivia|Trivia]]. It could not, however, be a reference to {{w|Continents}}, because the Arctic is not a continent {{w|Continent#Number of continents|regardless of how they're counted}}.</ref>
|The Pacific Ocean
|The Atlantic Ocean
|The Indian Ocean
|The '''Arctic''' Ocean
|The Mediterranean Sea
|The Caribbean Sea
|The Gulf of Mexico.
|-
!{{w|Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters}}, historically women's colleges in U.S.<ref group=t>List as on Wikipedia.</ref>
|Mount Holyoke
|Vassar
|'''Wellesley'''
|Smith
|Radcliffe
|Bryn Mawr
|Barnard
|-
!Traditional {{w|spectral color}}s<ref group=t>On the list on Wikipedia there are only six colors but Indigo was used to get to seven colors by Newton - see [[#Trivia|Trivia]].</ref>
|Red
|Orange
|Yellow
|'''Green'''
|Blue
|Indigo
|Violet
|-
!{{w|Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades}}, Seven Sisters, nymphs and daughters of Atlas and Pleone in Greek mythology<ref group=t>List as on Wikipedia, with the oldest first and the youngest last (it's unclear whether the ones in the middle are also listed by age). In any case, only in reverse alphabetical order Electra would be no. 5: Taygete, Sterope, Merope, Maia, '''Electra''', Celaeno, and Alcyone.</ref><ref group=t>Electra is one of the septet of Pleiades sisters, and also of the septet of the complete extant plays by Sophocles. Until Mr. Munroe tells us which he meant, both are possible.</ref>
|Maia
|'''Electra'''
|Taygete
|Alcyone
|Celaeno
|Sterope
|Merope
|-
!|''{{w|Sophocles|Complete Plays}}'' by Sophocles<ref group=t>ibid</ref>
|Ajax/Aias
|'''Electra'''
|Oedipus The King/Rex/Tyrannus
|Oedipus at Colonus
|Antigone
|The Trachinian Maidens/The Women of Trachis
|Philoctetes
|-
!|''{{w|The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People}}'' by Dr. Stephen R. Covey<ref group=t>These seven habits are clearly named in order as they are listed as Habit 1 through Habit 7.</ref>
|Be proactive
|Begin with the end in mind
|Put first things first
|Think win-win
|Seek first to understand and then to be understood
|'''Synergize'''
|Sharpen the saw
|-
!|In the {{w|Book of Revelation}} in the {{w|New Testament}} there are {{w|Seven seals}}<ref group=t>''The Seventh Seal'' is also the name of a movie released in 1957, which belongs to a '''lot''' of sets of seven -- see the [[#Trivia|Trivia]] section.</ref>
|The First seal
|The Second seal
|The Third seal
|The Fourth seal
|The Fifth seal
|The Sixth seal
|'''The Seventh seal'''
|}

<references group=t />

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking.]
:Megan: Can you name all the dwarfs from Snow White?
:Cueball: Sure, there's, um...
:Cueball's thoughts: Sneezy, phylum, Europe, sloth, guacamole, data link, Colossus of Rhodes
:I have this problem where all sets of seven things are indistinguishable to me.

==Trivia==
*Arctic (no. 2 on the title text list) could also be a reference to {{w|Climate zones|climate zones}}: '''Arctic''', North Temperate, Northern Subtropical, Tropical, Southern Subtropical, South Temperate and Antarctic.
**There are however usually only five mentioned according to the {{w|Köppen climate classification}}. They are: Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental and Polar climate.
*Concerning the seven colours of the spectrum (no. 4 on the title text list) {{w|Indigo#Classification as a spectral color|indigo is stuck in}} by {{w|Isaac Newton}} to add up to the seven notes in the {{w|Scale (music)#Western music|Western musical scale}}.
**It should be noted that {{w|Indigo#Classification as a spectral color|Newton probably meant}} the colours {{w|cyan}} and {{w|blue}} as we think of it today, rather than blue and {{w|indigo}}.
**Also note that in a {{w|rainbow}} you usually {{w|Rainbow#Number of colours in spectrum or rainbow|cannot distinguish more than six colours}} with cyan melting in with green and blue and the same for indigo with blue and violet.
***{{w|Color term#Basic color terms|This is highly dependent on the language you speak.}} Russian, for example, has both sinij and goluboj to describe different blues that in English are both blue. Japanese, as another example, has blue and green together (kinda) in 青.
**These are also the traditional seven artists' pigments, {{w|Roy G. Biv|with the accompanying mnemonic "Roy G. Biv"}} (or the "Richard Of York..." counterpart mnemonic, for those indoctrinated by a different method). Indigo dye is a widely known and readily available colouring agent. The ongoing ubiquity of the ''pigment'' (think denim) gives it a unique prominence in spite of its uncertain status as a spectral colour.
*''The Seventh Seal'' (no. 7 on the title text list) could also refer to the 1957 film {{w|The Seventh Seal}} by Swedish director {{w|Ingmar Bergman}}. Indeed, we can put it in quite a few sets of seven.
**This was Bergman's seventh film with an English title beginning with the letter 'S' (ignoring articles). ''A Ship Bound for India'', ''Summer Interlude'', ''Secrets of Women'', ''Summer with Monika'', ''Sawdust and Tinsel'', ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', '''''The Seventh Seal'''''.
**Similary ''The Seventh Seal'' is also the seventh Bergman film whose Swedish title starts with 'S', although the list has some different members. ''Skepp till Indialand'', ''Sånt händer inte här'', ''Sommarlek'', ''Sommaren med Monika'', ''Sommarnattens leende'', ''Sista paret ut'', '''''Det sjunde inseglet'''''.
**''The Seventh Seal'' was also one of seven Bergman films submitted by Sweden for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film during the 1950s and 1960s. '''The Seventh Seal''', ''The Magician'', ''The Virgin Spring'', ''Through a Glass Darkly'', ''The Silence'', ''Persona'', ''Shame''.
**According to the Wikipedia page on {{w|The Seventh Seal|The Seventh Seal}}, the Jesuit publication America wrote, "It also began a series of seven films that explored the possibility of faith in a post-Holocaust, nuclear age. In 'The Virgin Spring' (1960), 'Through a Glass Darkly' (1961), 'Winter Light' (1962) and 'The Silence' (1963), he poses traditional faith questions in identifiably religious language. The characters struggle self-consciously with their inability to believe in God and form relationships with one another. In 'Wild Strawberries' (1957) and 'The Magician' (1958), the issues are veiled in layers of metaphor. The theological questions become apparent only by placing them in the context of the other films of the period. With 'The Silence' he concludes that God is unknowable, and the human person must simply continue life's journey seeking understanding and happiness however one can. At that point, [http://americamagazine.org/node/148305 God-questions drop out of his films altogether].
*One way to remember the names of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney film is: three emotions (Happy, Bashful, Grumpy), two S's (Sleepy, Sneezy), two D's (Dopey, Doc). Cueball assumes that Megan is asking in the context of the Disney film, but other works have named the dwarfs differently; see {{w|Seven Dwarfs}}.
*Megan's question uses the plural '''dwarfs'''. Astronomers also refer to the plural of {{w|dwarf star}}s as "dwarfs". The word "dwarves" is used in {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}'s works, but has been seen as far back as [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000293.html the early 1800s].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:1328: Update

2014-02-10T20:40:02Z

108.162.219.57:

Note that 1.) web browsers usually can remember opened tabs (and even scroll position) and reopen them automatically on start, and/or ask if reopen those tabs if browser was not closed cleanly 2.) MS Windows tries to reopen apps closed during "upgrade reboot" --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:48, 10 February 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, browsers can remember the last tabs you have open, but may require the user to enable that option as it's off by default (with Chrome anyway - as was my experience). I usually leave it off because I don't necessarily want the last 5 tabs I had open to open automatically the next time I want to start my browser to do something completely different. If (my) Chrome browser crashes however (or otherwise does not close cleanly), it will ask me if I want to restore my previous session, which may include multiple tabs and browsing positions. =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:12, 10 February 2014 (UTC)
:Windows does not reopen apps that it closed before an upgrade (at best it has an option to reopen Explorer windows in the same state if the user enables it.) As for Chrome saving tabs, it can be often flaky especially when using multiple windows combined with multiple profiles. This is moot since in Real Life™ users generally don't trust these features, when they are even aware of them. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 15:19, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

@Jakub, thanks for bringing it up. I knew about it, but for the sake of brevity decided to leave it out. Hooray for my first explanation btw! --[[User:Akha|Akha]] ([[User talk:Akha|talk]]) 08:33, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

While one interpretation is that users would push back even a critical update, the cynical me read it the other way around: that most updates labelled as critical and notified with "!"s and yellow triangles are actually not that urgent and naturally the user desensibilizes. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.201|173.245.53.201]] 11:16, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

:Note also that browsers are ones of VERY FEW application who can reopen exactly what you had open before restart, and even them usually fail to preserve form content. Also, physical problem is not likely to occur just after the patch was created: only problem which would really need immediate patching would be security problem related to virus just spreading, in which case it would probably be too late when the window appear anyway. So, in all cases, pressing "remind me later" and finishing your work as soon as possible is the most logical course of action regarding critical update. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:18, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

It's a sad day when non-kernel updates require a reboot. [[User:Chrisp6825|Chrisp6825]] ([[User talk:Chrisp6825|talk]]) 13:13, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the comic has less to do with the time a reboot takes, and more to do with losing the user's current state [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.46|173.245.54.46]] 16:27, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

I agree with the last comment. It's not about the time it takes to reboot. It's about the current state of things. If you have a bunch of apps running in different virtual desktops, then a lot of these won't be configured exactly as they were before rebooting. By the way, updates for OS X are exactly the same, with the exception that they're not downloaded automatically.

785: Open Mic Night

2014-01-28T16:46:05Z

108.162.219.57: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 785
| date = August 27, 2010
| title = Open Mic Night
| image = open_mic_night.png
| titletext = Ever notice how the more successful observational comics become, the more their jokes focus on flying and hotels?
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Aphasia}} is the disturbance in formulation and comprehension of language. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write.

A heckler in the audience fired a yo mama joke at [[Black Hat]] (probably "when yo mama sits around the house, she sits ''around'' the house"). Black Hat's response is a little less direct.

The third panel is a reference to the {{w|Quine paradox}}:

:"Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation" yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.

The sentence is another way of saying "this statement is false" but without the explicit self-reference. Named after the paradox, a {{w|quine (computing)|quine}} is also a computer program which outputs its own source code.

In the fourth panel, Beret Guy's speech begins as if with the common observation, "Ever notice how men go to the restroom alone, while women go in groups", but somehow gets derailed, as a heckler points out.

The title text continues the riff on different kinds of stand-up comedians, commonly referred to as comics. {{w|Observational humor}} is a joke that presents a typical real-life situation humorously, often with a touch of exaggeration. The title text is likely referring to stand-up comedians, like {{w|Jerry Seinfeld}}, who use observational humor. When an observational comic becomes more successful, they will probably "go on tour" resulting in a great deal of travel. This gives him or her lots of experience with airplanes and hotels, and more jokes about them will show up in the routine. Furthermore, the title text is itself an observational joke.

==Transcript==
:[Megan on stage, holding microphone, hip-hop stance.]
:Megan: Yo, I'm M.C. Aphasia and I'm here to say that, I... uh... um... hi?

:[Black Hat on stage, holding microphone.]
:Black Hat: So I... oh? Does she? Well, when ''yo'' mama sits around the house, she finds herself wishing she'd finished her degree instead of having kids right away, maybe started that business. Then she might have created something she's ''proud'' of.

:[Cueball on stage, holding microphone, fist pumping toward audience.]
:Cueball: Yo, I'm M.C. Quine and I'm here to say, "Yo, I'm M.C. Quine and I'm here to say!"

:[Beret Guy on stage, holding microphone.]
:Beret Guy: Ever notice how men go to the restroom alone, while women go in hordes ten thousand strong, clad all in sable armor and bristling with swords and spears?
:Audience member: Those are orcs.
:Beret Guy: Oh.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]