explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-18T06:06:05Z

108.162.221.163: /* Explanation */ minor copy edits

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and the experience of the skilled people staffing them, who often have to deal with callers with a much lower understanding of the subject, seeking assistance with things that may seem very basic from the point of view of the technician, or where they have completely misunderstood the nature of the issue.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the subject of most of the calls they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his checklist, asking them if it is daytime, because if it were, he might assume they have just noticed the Sun. Most people are familiar with the Sun{{Citation needed}} and would not need help in identifying it, although people have also mistaken the Moon for a 'mysterious light in the sky' at times. Asking this could thus seem very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]]. It may also refer to the most immediate danger, as looking directly at the sun is a bad idea.

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun has set. When asked if the lights are stationary, which stars would normally appear to be, the reply is that they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|fireflies}}, a family of insects commonly seen in temperate/tropical climates during the summer. He describes them for the caller as "lightning bugs" (another common epithet for these insects), "tree blinkers", or "ground stars" (unusual terms invented for this comic that seem to illustrate the Astronomer Hotline's unfamiliarity with fireflies); and says that these are not a problem, much to the caller's relief.[https://giphy.com/gifs/bbcamerica-seven-worlds-one-planet-Q7FbMX6oJa4ycuY5Hf] Those last two descriptions, especially "ground stars", are reminiscent of the "fool's stars" mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes. This refers to the problem of object tracking in astronomy. Sufficient observations must be taken to reliably predict the future path of an object, and thereby to be able to reorient the observing equipment to track its progress across the sky and make further observations. While the relative velocity of fireflies would be much lower than that of most astronomical bodies, their movement across the field of view tends to ''appear'' much quicker, being unusually close to the observer. This, combined with their erratic, unpredictable paths, would make them very difficult to track through a telescope.

Since Cueball cannot help further, he transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline", in a process that is apparently somewhat routine – enough to have the correct line somehow preprogrammed into his call-handling system. This is clearly not the first 'astronomy' query that actually concerns fireflies. This is similar to the process that might happen when a helpline caller's query cannot be handled by first line support and has to be passed on to a more specialized second line operator, or where the call has been routed to the wrong specialist to start with, perhaps because the user, lacking knowledge about the issue, selected the wrong option from an automated routing system.

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the opening question from the other hotline ("Is it currently biting you?") as the new support tech again goes directly to the most common/important query, whether there is any immediate danger to be resolved... It is possible that Cueball will actually be speaking to the Weird Bugs line initially, quickly priming the Weird Bug call-handler with the salient facts already established before fully handing over the call. This could get the original caller straight into the correct conversation if the onward line's handler is sufficiently competent and experienced in such a transfer.

Some people (often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied. Technically, such a person would be correct, so long as the lights are actually unidentified, flying and caused by a physical object, but if the expectation is that it is an extraterrestrial spacecraft then the truth (if discovered and also accepted) can be disappointing to some people, rather than lead to an interesting alternative avenue of appreciation of whatever phenomenon it truly is.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. Or alternately, the 17-year cicadas may just like to gather inside a trench coat and apply for jobs answering calls about weird bugs. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 2004. [https://cicadas.uconn.edu/broods/ There are smaller broods in other years], but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038. The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact. Periodical cicadas have been mentioned before in [[2263: Cicadas]], see details about them in that comics [[2263:_Cicadas#Trivia|trivia section]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the caller's voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's the Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The caller's voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply has a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the Sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frameless panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel, with the caller's voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel, there is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotline's employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

==Trivia==
*The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
**The US took up that mantle by requesting UAP ({{w|Unidentified Aerial Phenomena}}) reports in 2021.[https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2223-preliminary-assessment-unidentified-aerial-phenomena]
*This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
**Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
**People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
**Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2628: Motion Blur

2022-06-07T04:22:51Z

108.162.221.163: /* Transcript */ Noted that the comic has been the most recent for too long

{{comic
| number = 2628
| date = June 3, 2022
| title = Motion Blur
| image = motion_blur.png
| titletext = I can't speak for your other subjects, but MY motion was as smooth and natural as the framerate allowed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a bBboOotTt - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[White Hat]] is recording a video while rotating (''panning'') the camera. [[Cueball]] notices that the camera's shutter speed is too fast, which could cause the result to look unnatural or like a sequence of still images instead of like smooth motion when turning the camera. Cueball decides to solve this problem by making himself blurrier than normal, counteracting the problems of the high shutter speed.

This is analogous to something much more common that people do, by practicing moving their bodies relative to the motion of the camera: reducing blur when the shutter speed is too low.

The title text refers to the fact that only ''one'' object - in this case, Cueball - appearing blurry while everything else in the frame is sharp is even more exotic. It can also be seen as a celebration and sarcasm regarding the rare experience of valuing having exotic knowledge and skills. It seems likely Randall has practiced reducing blur, but not succeeded at increasing it, and was possibly exposed to somebody saying "high" shutter speed when they meant "low" shutter speed, but this is presently unverified.

This is somewhat similar to a trick 'used' by {{w|Flash (DC Comics character)#Jay_Garrick|some fictional characters}} who have the power to make themselves unclear to observers or cameras alike. In real-life it is the difference between "stop motion" and "go motion" tricks.

When light hits a human's retina, it is perceived for a short while even after the light has ceased. This means that objects moving across a human's field of vision at a sufficient speed will naturally appear blurry – in our perception, the light arriving right now from the trailing part of the object will mix with the light that arrived a moment earlier, from the leading part of the object.

A camera's shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open for each frame, allowing the image sensor to capture light. If the shutter speed is too high (relative to the frame-rate), this blurring will not occur, and the motion will look unnaturally crisp – if something is too small and/or too quick, the illusion of motion may disappear altogether; the object instead will appear as a brief flash of multiple objects standing still, like in the case of a fast-moving mouse cursor on a screen. See for instance this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bv00ZA-ao Videography - Slow Shutter Speed vs. Fast Shutter Speed Comparison].

In cinema, the shutter speed is generally set to double the frame-rate, e.g. 1/48 s for footage shot at 24 fps (one of the lowest standard frame-rates, a remnant from the age of mechanical motion picture cameras and film projectors).

An opposing problem is that of a camera not sufficiently matching the relative motion of a moving object, with a shutter speed that is too slow (and may need to be, given the choice of aperture and lighting conditions). Sports photographers must learn how to scan-and-pan their subjects (runners, horses, vehicles, etc) with enough synchronicity to capture them sharply, and possibly seemingly hanging frozen in mid-air against an artistically-blurred background.

It is unclear how Cueball makes the motion blur include both his feet, as the friction with the ground should hinder them from vibrating horizontally in the manner that may cause for motion blur. Additionally, creating the kind of motion blur he does (with evenly distributed horizontal blur) requires extreme acceleration at both ends of the movement.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is holding a camera up to his face looking to the left away from Cueball and Ponytail standing to his right. Cueball is holding one hand, with a balled up fist, up towards White Hat]
:White Hat: Okay, I'm going to pan around.
:Cueball: No, wait, your shutter speed is too fast, it will look choppy if—

:[White Hat turns clockwise towards Cueball and Ponytail, with the camera held up partly behind his head, so it points in the panel. Cueball clenches both his fists, held down now, and hunches his shoulders. Ponytail stands as before next to him.]
:Cueball: <big>''Hnnnnngh''</big>

:[White Hat has turned around and is now pointing the camera towards Cueball and Ponytail. Cueball now appears blurry while Ponytail looks normal.]

:[Caption below panel:]
:Expert photographers can learn to generate their own motion blur to compensate for other people's bad camera settings.

==Trivia==
This comic remained on xkcd's front page even after the midnight between Monday and Tuesday (in Eastern Time), which is a rare instance that Randall has missed a midnight deadline.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Photography]]

2626: d65536

2022-05-31T21:55:52Z

108.162.221.163: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2626
| date = May 30, 2022
| title = d65536
| image = d65536.png
| titletext = They're robust against quantum attacks because it's hard to make a quantum system that large.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HEXAKISMYRIAPENTAKISCHILIAPENTAHECTATRIACONTAKAIHEXAHEDRON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In binary computing, 16 bit numbers range from 0 to 65535, for a total of 65536 unique numbers, a number which is hence well-known to software engineers. Generating large numbers in a manner that is truly random is a recurring problem in cryptography, required to send private messages to another party. People today still use dierolls to generate private random numbers.

In role-playing games (and occasionally in other tabletop games), dice are often referred to as d[number] according to their number of faces. A traditional six-faced die would be a d6, and many popular pen-and-paper role-playing games use dice ranging between d4 and d20. While there are larger dice used in tabletop games (most commonly d100), these are usually split into multiple smaller ones to save the hassle of throwing large dice. For example, a d100 is often two d10s rolled together, with one die providing the first digit and the other die giving the second digit — the total number of possible combinations (100) is the product of the number of faces of the two dice (10 * 10). There are, however, "real" {{w|Zocchihedron|d100s}} and similar dice as well, but they are considered specialty dice and often nicknamed "golf balls" to emphasize how large and unwieldy they are. The Zocchihedron (d100) die is also biased because of geometry requiring different sized faces, the next unbiased die is a d120, it is very likely that Cueball's d65536 die is also biased.

Here, Cueball has constructed a d65536 for generating random 16 bit numbers, likely with a [https://www.shapeways.com/product/U9CN6MT6X/d256 3d printer] or other CAM tools. It may have solved the problem of generating large random numbers with fewer die rolls, but presents a new set of challenges from its sheer size, dwarfing an average human. While large in itself, a die that big could still be emulated by rolling multiple dice (e.g. 8 4-faced dice or 16 coin flips) and converting the result into binary before getting the desired number. Part of the humor stems from the the comic completely failing to mention another big problem with this die: Deciding which of the 65536 faces is up. This is another problem with a d100, as many sides appear to be up at once. Similarly horrible hilarity will ensue if such a massive die is cast with enough energy to be random while expect it to stop rolling in a short period of time let alone on a table top or even within a building (which raises the question of whether breaking through a wall or furniture is all part of the randomization or requiring a re-roll as per house rules).

The closest regular shape similar to the depicted in the comic could be a {{w|Goldberg polyhedron}}. However no such polyhedron exists with exactly 65536 hexagonal faces. The closest Goldberg Polyhedron has a mixture of 65520 hexagons and 12 pentagons, totalling 65532 faces. It is possible to construct a fair die without a matching regular shape by limiting the sides which it could land on and designing those sides to be fair (for instance, a prism with rectangular facets that extend its entire length, and rounded ends to ensure it doesn't balance on end).

The title text references how many cryptographic systems (especially RSA and other factoring-is-hard based systems) are vulnerable to quantum attacks as quantum computing technology develops. The title text is essentially punning on the idea of a "large" quantum system. "Large" in the quantum computing sense would be on the order of 64 qubits each of which would be an atom or two at most. This would still be microscopic and will never be as large as the giant die the comic is centered on; but for a well-observed environment and human rolling without sufficient entropy (consider somebody obsessed with a certain number dropping the die on something soft), a conventional computer could predict some rolls. See also [[538]] for non-mathematical paths of cryptography.

==Trivia==
*If a real d65536 were constructed with each number having an equal area and each printed in 12 point font, the resulting die would be about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter, which isn't several times the size of a person as the comic suggests, but is still large enough to be hilariously inconvenient. If it were made out of standard acrylic, and not hollow, it would weigh about 2 tons (1700kg).
*This die would have a 0.00001526 chance of rolling a natural one (or any other number).
*There are seven 16-bit numbers fully visible in the picture: 30827, 25444, 11875, 28525, 12082, 13874 and 13359. They conceal a message. If these numbers are split big-endian into two 8-bit ASCII characters each, the result is <code>xkcd.com/2624/</code>.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Drawing of a large die with many sides, about ten meters in diameter; Cueball is standing next to it as a size reference. A small portion of the die's surface is zoomed in, showing elongated hexagonal faces with five-digit numbers.]

:[Numbers on the zoomed in part of the die, "..." represents being cut off:]
:30827
:16[bottom part of a line][small circle]
:...38
:11875
:25444
:...[top part of a line]5
:12082
:28525
:3...
:13359
:13874
:2...

:[Caption below the image:]
:The hardest part of securely generating random 16-bit numbers is rolling the d65536.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1080: Visual Field

2022-05-26T17:23:42Z

108.162.221.163: Undo revision 278203 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1080
| date = July 11, 2012
| title = Visual Field
| image = visual_field.png
| titletext = I recently learned something that solved a mystery that had bugged me since childhood--why, when I looked at an analog clock, the hand would sometimes seem to take a couple seconds to start ticking. Google "stopped clock illusion".
}}
A [https://xkcd.com/1080/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.

==Explanation==
This comic shows a number of vision related facts, arranged in a way that they all fit inside your {{w|field of vision}} (the conic area in which you can see at any given time). You're supposed to look at the center of the image while standing about a foot away from the screen (although obviously you can't read the text on the image while staring at the center).

Firstly, there's detail. The eye always sees objects closer to the center with more detail, which [[Randall]] illustrates with progressively smaller images, which are seen with the same level of detail (remember that you're supposed to be looking at the center of the image). This is because the {{w|retina}} is denser near the {{w|fovea}}, in the center.

Next, there's the topic of {{w|night vision}}. The colour-seeing {{w|cone cells}} don't work so well in the dark, whereas the black-and-white-seeing {{w|rod cells}} do. The rod cells can see shapes well, whereas the cone cells see detail (such as change in colour), which Randall uses to explain why we can't read at night.

{{w|Polarization (waves)|Polarization}} direction can be visible when quickly changing your viewing angle. Polarization is essentially the vertical direction of waves. Light, being a wave, has a direction, and is thus polarized. Polarized lenses, for example, would have "slits" to allow only light that is polarized in a certain direction to come through (blocking the light in other directions). {{w|LCD}} screens operate on the principle of blocking and rotating polarized light.

{{w|Floater|Floaters}} are deposits within the eye's {{w|vitreous humour}}. While normally transparent, they can occasionally cause {{w|refraction}} of light, making them visible, particularly on bright, blue surfaces. Randall points out that while some floaters are caused by breakdown over time, the others have a more mysterious origin.

Blue sky sprites, properly known as the {{w|blue field entoptic phenomenon}}, are bright sprites seen over bright blue surfaces, particularly the sky. They are {{w|white blood cells}} moving in front of the {{w|retina}}.

Randall also points out that colours are mostly seen near the center of our vision, with our brain keeping track of the colours of things near the outside of our visual field. The cones of blue, red and green in the {{w|Quadrant (plane geometry)|third quadrant}} also show how red and green's sensitivity is mostly limited to the center of our vision, whereas we can see blue in a larger field of vision. Our ability to perceive {{w|saturation}} (the intensity of colours) is also stronger near the center of our vision.

The left and right blind spot are the locations of the {{w|optic disc}}, where there are no sensitive rod or cone cells, making a literal "blind" spot. The mention of the "T-Boz blind spot" and "Chilli blind spot" are a reference to the R&B band {{w|TLC (band)|TLC}}, whose members go by the aliases "Left eye", "T-Boz", and "Chilli".

An image of the moon and a supermoon also appear in the image. A {{w|supermoon}} is when the moon is at its closest approach to Earth and coincides with a {{w|full moon}} or {{w|new moon}}, causing it to appear larger than normal. At the sizes Randall has drawn the two moons, the difference in size (approximately ten percent) is nigh-imperceptible to the naked eye; Randall seems to be making a comment about how supermoons aren't impressive to him. That he feels like this was already indicated in [[1052: Every Major's Terrible#Verse 3|panel 25]] of [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]] and then later confirmed when he published [[1394: Superm*n]]. Here is [[:Category:Supermoon|a list]] of all comics referring to the term.

The "stopped clock illusion" referenced by the image text is an example of {{w|chronostasis}}, which is an {{w|illusion}} where viewing movement after changing your vision is perceived as taking a longer period of time. So when we look at a clock (which we weren't previously looking at), our field of vision has rapidly changed. The second hand on the clock thus seems to take a longer period of time to move.

==Transcript==
:Your Central Visual Field
:[This comic contains numerous visual elements arranged around a central point, and are intended to represent locations in a sphere with the eyeball as the center. Underlaid below all of the elements are concentric circles representing degrees from straight ahead, using the eyeball's point of view, denoting where these elements would appear in someone's field of vision given proper setup. For this description, elements will be described using this grid plus location in degrees within the specified circle, placing 0 degrees to the right and going counterclockwise, separated with the word "mark".]
:[At the top are the instructions to view this page]
:Look at the center with your eyes this far from the screen.
:[A rolled-up sheet of paper that equals about 55 total horizontal degrees in width in the measurement of the chart.]
:(You can roll up a sheet of paper and cut it - or zoom the page - so it matches this image)
:17 mark 0: right eye blind spot.
:from 0 to 30 mark 15:
:[The same image, increasing in absolute size from a very tiny object in the center to one about 20x original size at 30 degrees.]
:Detail - We only see at high resolution over a small area in the center of our vision where retinal cells are densest (the fovea). If you stare at the center of this chart, your eyes are seeing all these panels at roughly the same level of detail.
:9 mark 105: Moon.
:7 mark 112: Supermoon.
:from 0 to 20 mark 170:
:[Sets 3 partially overlapping circles in multiple locations along this path. Each set has a primary color in each circle and additive colors in the overlap areas, with color saturation decreasing sharply as the sets leave the center.]
:Color Vision: We don't see much color outside the center of our vision - our brains keep track of what color things are and fill it in for us.
:17 mark 180: Left Eye Blind Spot.
:(not pictured: T-Boz blind spot, Chilli blind spot)
:From 0 to infinity mark from 180 to 205:
:[A swath of blue, with heavier saturation up to 5 degrees from center to fading, but never gone out to the edges of the image.]
:From 0 to 7 from 205 to 235:
:[A swath of red, with full saturation in the center and fading out completely at 7 degrees from center.]
:From 0 to 7 from 235 to 270:
:[A swath of green, with full saturation in the center and fading out completely at 7 degrees from center.]
:Red and green-sensitive cones are mainly limited to the center of our vision. We have few blue-sensitive cone cells, but they're found out to the edge of our vision.
:25 mark 205: [A small whisp of white in a swath of blue.]
:Blue-sky sprites: These tiny, darting spots, visible against smooth blue backgrounds, are white cells moving in the blood vessels over the retina
:5 mark 195:
:[A long blob, slightly distorting the blue swath.]
:Floaters: Some types of floaters are caused by breakdown of your eyeball goop as you age, but this type is some other kind of debris near the retina. I don't know what.
:10 mark 270:
:[An askew crosshair and circle, with faint blue and yellow wedges inside]
:Humans can see polarization - Stare at a white area on an LCD display while rotating it or your head fast (use straight ahead as the axis of rotation).
:Polarization direction is shown by a faint central yellow blue shape (Also visible in deep blue skies)
:from 0 to 30 mark 340:
:[The same image, increasing in absolute size from a very tiny object in the center to one about 20x original size at 30 degrees. The brightness of the image varies from black at 2 mark 340, to gray at 5 mark 340, to nearly white at 10 mark 340, to slightly grayer at 20 mark 340, to medium gray at 30 mark 340.]
:Night Vision: Cone cells (sharp, central color vision) don't work in low light, but rod cells (monochrome, low-res, non-central) do. This is why you can walk around in dim light, but not read. It's also why you can spot fainter stars by looking next to them.

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Supermoon]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-21T23:32:25Z

108.162.221.163: adding comment about McCartney joke

Title text: the movies are Star Wars, 1) Keira Knightly starred as one of the handmaidens of Padme, 2) The Land Before Time had George Lucas as executive producer 3) The guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter is Samuel L. Jackson 4) Billie Lourd's mom is Carrie Fisher.--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.254.121|172.70.254.121]] 04:19, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:The hard part must have been finding out that she did script work, because she is not credited for this even on IMDb... I would like a citation for that actually, rather than the silly ones that was in the explanation at this time. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:06, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Re. John Lennon/Ringo Starr: Could one make the argument that the whole Beatles section is further proof of Megan's tendencies because Ringo is widely cited as the least famous and recognisable of the Beatles, meaning that the fact that she mentions him before the probably much more famous Paul McCartney and George Harrison is also misjudging who the Beatles are mainly known for consisting of??
:Agree that this could be mentioned --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:06, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:Being the "least famous Beatle" still makes him one of the most famous people in the world. You have to go to Pete Best, the original drummer he replaced, to have a Beatle that isn't known by most most people. I also think Ringo may have been more well known during the Beatles' heyday, as he seemed to be more vocal in interviews than George Harrison, who was the "quiet one". He didn't have as big a solo career as the others after the breakup, but that's also a high bar. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:13, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::It's not just whether he's the least well known of the four, though. Apparently, to Megan, he's more well known than Lennon, who is certainly the most well-known of them to the rest of the world. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.44|172.70.86.44]] 13:41, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Without having read the above (Barmar), I recently added in the George detail myself. I mean, personally, I found Ringo more memorable than George (individually, but also a hint of "the Fab four are John, Paul, ummm.... And Ringo!" as Mr Starkey's nick-/stage-name is so much more distinctive).
:::Ringo continued(/ues) to perform beyond the Beatles, and not just as drummer, far more than George who did perform but seemed to move into behind-the-scenes Producer-like and/or financially backing roles for classic/cult-classic projects like Life Of Brian/Time Bandits.
:::I think George's impact on the Beatles, and beyond, was not at all small but was generally less prominent (except maybe for his Bangladesh fundraising/etc) than Ringo who managed to be front-of-house, in various capacities, a lot more. Not quite to the level of Paul (his only current active 'competition', given that the others in the running succumbed to mortality) but his innate firstname-recognition certainly leaves him not far behind. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.237|172.69.33.237]] 15:40, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Paul? George? Put me as another person who knows only Lennon and Ringo. Also note that someone who has interest in movies but much less interest in music, remembering singers by what movies they starred in makes sense. Even remembering Jobs for Pixar would be at least consistent. Of course, then she doesn't know Star Wars by name or by one of most important characters in it ... while knowing someone who played in the last trilogy. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:59, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::Hang on. Hang ON. Is anybody seriously taking a "Paul McCartney? George Harrison? Yeah...? I've kind of heard of them, I guess?" kind of attitude?
::Like, really? REALLY?!
::Like..."Burger...'King,' I think? MacKenzies for a third-pounder Big Mac? Kentucky Fried Something? I think...or was it Tennessee? No, no, pretty sure it's Kentucky."
::"That dude on the Buck: Jeff Washingburn, right?"
::John, Paul, George and Ringo. Even if you don't care, you can't not know.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 01:26, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::No, I unironically would not be able to tell you the third one. Lennon is The Beatle, McCartney I recognise but didn't realise was a Beatle for years, Ringo at least has a distinctive name but I might mistake him for a Marx Brother. [[User:Noaqiyeum|Noaqiyeum]] ([[User talk:Noaqiyeum|talk]]) 10:06, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Naming all the Beatles for the current generation is like naming all the Marx Brothers for their grandparents' generation. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 20:09, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::: ...Zeppo (best known for inspiring the prefix for 10-21 ), ...Gummo (went into confectionary marketting)... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 20:57, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Sorry, Yorkshire, but I swear to God that I actually heard a couple of Gen-Zers talking to one another about Paul McCartney for some reason, and one of them, in all seriousness, said to the other, "Did you know that he was in a band before 'Wings'?" [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 16:46, 21 May 2022 (UTC)
::::Sorry, I heard the "Wings" joke at least twenty years ago and have used it myself in jest. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 23:32, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

Question in general, but don't know where to ask: why are panels 1, 2 and 4 boxed off, and is 3 open? Going back in time, the first example I found where a panel is not boxed off, is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2581:_Health_Stats Health Stats], in which it's also the 3rd one that is open...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.89|162.158.233.89]] 10:00, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:No it is relatively common, but something that I strive to mention when it happens, as it is a defining characteristic of those comics where it occurs. I'm not sure I have used the same wording every time, but searching for ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=500&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22in+a+frameless+panel%22 in a frameless panel]'' I got 35 results from other comics transcripts. So Randall uses this on a regular basis. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:04, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::I think it's a nice stylistic choice. 'Borderless' frames that are defined by the borders of adjacent frames (usually to left and right, but occasionally above and below rather than the 'virtual' boundary that is the natural continuation of the margin betwixt image-edge and adjacent explicit frame-edges) give a sense of openness where strict 'each cell is bounded' could be seen as claustrophobic and wasteful of actual comic real-estate.
::And it's done quite a bit, yes. Maybe the reason you (162.158.233.89) hadn't noticed it was just that it was so naturally done? Consider it yet another reason to browse back through old comics, just to pick up these little quirks. Like the peculiar "TH"-kerning which is another Randallesque bit of idiosynchratic penmanship, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.237|172.69.33.237]] 15:40, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

;You DO know who Michael Jordan is, right?
Sure I do! Space Jam. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:20, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
: Seconding that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:03, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:: he was that guy who's name is like the actor that was in Space Jam 2 for a little bit, right?
:I don't follow sports other than baseball. I can recall two actual moments like this in my life. Once was when I was flipping channels and saw footage of Shaq actually playing basketball. The other was connecting the name "Peyton Manning" to that guy I've been seeing in all those commercials. Bonus: My mom picked out a car from a dealership owned by "some baseball player." (Mike Piazza). Being that I actually do enjoy baseball, that seemed silly, but then realized I was just as bad when it came to the other sports! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.103|172.70.134.103]] 15:58, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

== Crap ==

Am I the only one hoping the crapper runs the crapbot again soon? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.201|108.162.216.201]] 21:29, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

:we need a sneedbot, everyone needs a sneed

::I thought it was a "thneed"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.119|108.162.216.119]] 21:46, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

This may be too much of a stretch, but calling Samuel Jackson "the guy from Jurassic Park" may be an oblique reference to Epic Rap Battles of History, Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock - where at one point, Tarantino's lyrics are "Ask anybody, 'What's your favorite Sam Jackson part?' No-one's gonna say 'What's his name from Jurassic Park?'" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.219.26|172.70.219.26]] 05:40, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

"He in a band with Ringo from Shining Time Station." "Who is John Lennon?" [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 17:24, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

Uh, I never watched Shining Time Station (I'm too old), but I've seen snippets (this is the first I hear Ringo was only one season), as I recall Ringo wasn't merely a voice, he was fully on it, just depicted as tiny, right? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:38, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

2619: Crêpe

2022-05-15T05:39:41Z

108.162.221.163: Something is wrong on the Internet

{{comic
| number = 2619
| date = May 13, 2022
| title = Crêpe
| image = crepe.png
| titletext = A medicine that makes you put two dots over your letters more often is a diäretic.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ÇRÊPË - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[File:crêpe.png|thumb|The word “crêpe” in the comic]]
[[Cueball]] has made a {{w|crêpe}}, a thin pancake known for its legendary status in French cuisine. When he says the word "crêpe," however, the {{w|circumflex}} above the "e" comes out odd. Instead of the usual simple angle (^), it looks more like the outline of a flattened arrowhead (⮝). [[Megan]], who can apparently see the text inside speech bubbles, comments on the odd shape with an appropriate pun. The comic is thus a play on the expression "Weird flex but OK" as defined in this ([https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Weird%20flex%20but%20ok Urban Dictionary]).

Her answer could also be applied to the shape of the crêpe, as circumflex means "bent around".

In some dialects of English (e.g. British English), and in the original French pronunciation, "crêpe" is said so that the ê is pronounced as in "get", i.e. "cr-eh-p", but American English speakers pronounce it like an "A", i.e. "cr-ay-p".

The title text continues the wordplay by saying that "A medicine that makes you put two dots over your letters more often is a diäretic".

The word diäretic is a pun on {{w|diuretic}} (a substance promoting increased urine production), {{w|Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis}} (a symbol in the form of two dots placed above a vowel, as the ä in the made up word diäretic; the adjective form of diaeresis can be spelled "[https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Diaresis dieretic]") and {{w|diacritic}} (a glyph added to a letter to distinguish its sound from the normal version, what both the circumflex and the diaeresis are). See also the comic [[1647: Diacritics]] about the use of these. Taking a diäretic medicine would supposedly cause you to use diaeresis (also known as umlaut) över möre lëtters thän wöuld üsuallÿ bë thë cäse.

Diacritics are rarely used in English, potentially because of the diverse set of origin languages it developed from, or the wide variation of pronunciations within a same nation, but are a common feature of other languages. In English, they are normally only seen in specific loanwords, such as crêpe, or used for emphasis for example the {{w|Metal umlaut}} seen in rock bands such as {{w|Spın̈al Tap}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding a plate up in both hand, showing Megan the crepe lying on the plate. His word for crêpe has a different diacritic over the "e" than the normal circumflex (^). Instead it looks more like an open arrow head.]
:Cueball: Check out this crêpe I made!
:Megan: Weird circumflex, but okay.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Food]]

Talk:2619: Crêpe

2022-05-13T14:50:51Z

108.162.221.163:

You can almost make the same weird circumflex by using combining diacritics. e, then inverted breve then circumflex. Doesn't seem to render properly with firefox at least --> ȇ̂ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.241|172.70.114.241]] 14:20, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
: U+2372 is a caret with a tilde through it: ⍲ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.251|108.162.245.251]] 14:45, 13 May 2022 (UTC)
I think the circumflex is not an "A" but more of a split-and-stretched delta, or an arrowhead. Maybe show a zoom-in of the circumflex (obviously from the 2x image) in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:47, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
: Also, i noticed there are weird white dots past the corners of the border. They are even more visible in the 2x! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:50, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Talk:2619: Crêpe

2022-05-13T14:47:09Z

108.162.221.163:

1961: Interaction

2022-05-11T18:39:21Z

108.162.221.163: Undo revision 265901 by 👖🔥 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1961
| date = February 28, 2018
| title = Interaction
| image = interaction.png
| titletext = [They do not move.]
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] and [[White Hat]] are attempting to make small talk. White Hat begins the conversation with a typical greeting, asking, "How are you doing?" Normally this is a habitualized greeting pattern, where the person being greeted would respond with a generic positive like, "Good," "Okay," "Can't complain," etc. Instead, Cueball answers with a very open and honest statement about the {{w|social anxiety}} he thinks he is successfully dealing with. White Hat then admits that he is experiencing the same thing, and the two congratulate each other for having a "normal" conversation with another human. After that, there is an awkward silence where neither knows what to talk about next. Finally, White Hat makes note of the awkwardness and Cueball suggests they stop before it gets worse.

The scene is ironic because their dialogue mirrors the common pattern of typical minor daily interactions, but also differs greatly from anything "normal." White Hat & Cueball are being really weird here, specifically because their dialogue is inappropriately open & honest. The literal semantic content of their dialogue is probably more accurate & meaningful than the usual pleasantries people exchange, but the effect is very different.

So basically they have not managed to behave like regular human beings, and thus have nothing to congratulate each other for. Except for White Hat's opening line nothing in the conversation has in any way resembled normal behavior. Due to their serious issues with small talking and interacting with other people, even this simple '''interaction''' fails completely, hence the title of the comic.

The title text states that, after saying goodbye, they don't move away, keeping up the uncomfortable silence, continuing to display their problems. Neither of them wish to be the first to turn away, or one or both are locked in the situation and has no clue how to finish it, even though they are both obviously aware of their problems and what makes them anxious. This may be a reference to the final stage direction "''They do not move.''" in {{w|Samuel Beckett|Samuel Beckett's}} play ''{{w|Waiting for Godot}}'', where the protagonists frequently discuss leaving, but do not move.

[[Randall]] has previously made [[:Category:Social interactions|several comics]] with a similar theme, showing Cueball's (or his own) problems with several social situations / interactions / small talk, especially the comic [[222: Small Talk]] which is very similar to this one. He made three of those type of comics in a span of about a month more than two yeas ago finishing with [[1650: Baby]].

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball have just met and begins an interaction.]
:White Hat: How are you doing?
:Cueball: Really excited to be confidently handling this extremely basic social interaction!

:[White Hat holds is arms slightly out.]
:White Hat: Same here!
:Cueball: Hey, congrats!
:White Hat: You too!
:Cueball: Thanks!

:[In a frame-less beat panel, they just stand still.]

:[Same setting as in the first panel.]
:White Hat: And now it's falling apart before my eyes.
:Cueball: I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead.
:White Hat: Same.
:Cueball: See you later!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

272: Linux User at Best Buy

2022-05-11T18:09:12Z

108.162.221.163: Undo revision 265568 by 👖🔥 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 272
| date = June 4, 2007
| title = Linux User at Best Buy
| image = linux_user_at_best_buy.png
| titletext = We actually stand around the antivirus displays with the Mac users just waiting for someone to ask.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Best Buy}} is an American chain of electronics and media stores. As with many such big box shops, they only sell pre-bundled software and boxed pre-built hardware, where the computers on offer are either {{w|iMac|Macs}} or {{w|Personal computer|other PCs}}, usually pre-installed with some variant of the {{w|Mac OS X}} or {{w|Windows NT}} operating system families. Most personal computer {{w|Hacker (hobbyist)|hackers/enthusiasts}} (as opposed merely to workaday computer users) wouldn't be caught dead buying a pre-made computer, preferring instead to build their own using self-selected hardware components and install and configure their own preferred operating systems and software. As such, the subtext is that somebody buying a complete pre-packaged home computer system at Best Buy wouldn't know or care much about computers.

The salesperson is trying to sell {{w|antivirus software}} to [[Cueball]] because selling such software (e.g. {{w|Norton AntiVirus|Norton}} or {{w|Kaspersky Internet Security|Kaspersky}}) to prospective Windows PC owners is generally a good sales tactic. The vast majority of all computer {{w|malware}} is engineered specifically to exploit Windows, and Windows' inherent anti-malware protection might most charitably be described with the phrase "lacklustre, but not as bad as before." Windows users therefore ''will'' want antivirus protection, ''especially'' for use on a brand new machine that will soon be connected up to the Internet. Moreover, because the ecosystem of viruses and malware that thrive by infecting Windows PCs is constantly evolving (see [[350: Network]]) and being redesigned to take advantage of new exploits and fool last-month's antivirus software, it is quite prudent for a Windows PC owner to always keep their malware protection absolutely up-to-date, and many such security suites need to be regularly renewed with new versions.

While some viruses and malware ''can'' afflict {{w|Linux}}, in general {{w|Unix-like}} operating systems (including {{w|Linux_distribution|Linux distributions}} and {{w|Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD}}) are far more robust and secure than Windows, with fewer exploitable vulnerabilities. Perhaps even more importantly, Linux (not counting Android, which was not yet released) has a far smaller consumer market share, therefore offers less incentive to malware makers to target it. Therefore, Cueball is confident (rightfully so) that he will be fine without additional security. Moreover, Linux is {{w|free software}}, which means that anyone is able to audit the code and fix security bugs. Although malware protection ''usually'' isn't necessary, if extra protection is desired by the user, such as for tasks requiring very high security standards (such as on servers and supercomputers), there are anti-malware solutions available such as {{w|Clam_AntiVirus|ClamAV}}.

Back in 2007, when the less popular {{w|Windows Vista}} was released and with a stagnant Mac market, many in the Linux community believed that Linux would soon wipe out Windows as the operating system of choice for desktop PCs, after years of slow-but-steady growth. This explains the cheeky triumphalism of the final panels of the comic, in which Cueball hops on his quick, slick vehicle and speeds away. It's worth noting that this desktop reversal has not happened, though Linux did achieve a [http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp peak in popularity in 2011], just as Windows users were laboriously switching from {{w|Windows XP}} to {{w|Windows 7}}, with Linux peaking again in 2014 and Windows arguably in decline, and in any case, desktop PCs themselves have slowed in sales, losing ground first to {{w|laptop}}s and most recently to {{w|Embedded software|embedded device}}s, where Linux use does indeed heavily exceed the competition, e.g. {{w|Android (operating system)|Android}} (which is loosely based on the Linux kernel) handily out-competing both the previously dominant {{w|iPhone}} (which was first released mere days after this comic) and the never-popular {{w|Windows Phone}}.

The title text makes sense in light of the fact that, like Linux, the software design of OS X (both are based on Unix, OS X through Darwin - see [[676: Abstraction]]) limits the amount of harm that can be done by malicious software, and Macs thus also have fewer viruses and malware than Windows. Apparently, Mac and Linux users flock together just waiting for some salesperson to come along and mistake them for someone gullible enough to use Windows. [https://www.avast.com/c-can-macs-get-viruses There is a notion that Macs can't get infected], but Mac malware is on the rise. This is taking the piss out of the smugness sometimes to be found among Mac and Linux users, who may view their preferred systems as hip and different from the "mainstream" Microsoft systems that they feel are manifestly inferior.

==Transcript==
:Salesman: Interested in updating your antivirus software?
:Cueball: Oh, I wouldn't need any of that.

:[In a spiky speech bubble.]
:Cueball: I run Linux.

:[Cueball does a backflip onto a motorcycle.]
:''Flip''

:[Cueball performs a wheelie on the motorcycle.]

:[Cueball does a hard, donut turn on the motorcycle, kicking up dirt into the salesman's face.]

:[Cueball speeds off on the motorcycle, leaving the salesman in a cloud of black exhaust.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Programming]]

2614: 2

2022-05-05T06:55:09Z

108.162.221.163: /* Explanation */ "Church encoding" is named after a guy with the last name of Church, not the generic concept of church, so it should be capitalized

<noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2". For comic #2, see [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 2614
| date = May 2, 2022
| title = 2
| image = 2.png
| titletext = It's like sigma summation notation, except instead of summing the argument over all values of i, you 2 the argument over all values of 2.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A VERY JEALOUS NUMBER ₃½ⁿ₇₇₇ⅥⅣ₆⁸⁴⁴½⅔⅜ↆ↉↉∂, WHO DEMANDS TO HAVE THEIR OWN WEBCOMIC NEXT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Everything is in there but some categories might need explanation and examples.}}

This demonstrates the different ways in which the number 2 can be typeset in various scientific fields. While these ways of typesetting are used with any number, using the number 2 in this instance provides a clear illustration how adding numbers can signify either a feature of a concept (such as the number of electrons in an atom) or a mathematical operation on it (such as raising a value to its second power).

The dotted box represents any character (a number, letter, or bigram of letters, as appropriate to the various signifiers). All the other notation consists only of the digit 2, with occasional additional punctuation, in various locations in relation to this character. Each of these is labelled as to what its 'purpose' might normally be with respect to the general term:
;Regular Math
:Precedes the term. "2x" indicates two times the value of ''x'' in normal {{w|algebra|algebraic}} use that should be familiar for many people.
;Physics
:A preceding superscript. "2H" would indicate the particular {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen with the atomic weight of two, namely deuterium, which is most often encountered when working with the atomic level of matter where the total number of neutrons and protons in the atom is important. It can also represent {{w|tetration}}, which is iterated exponentiation.
;Chemical Physics
:A preceding subscript, as in "2He", indicates the atomic number of an atom, which is the number of protons it contains. It is thus a guide to the number of electrons its unionised form usually has and hence is meaningful for its potential chemical interactions with other atoms. This number of protons should be invariant for any particular named element, but is usually given simultaneously with the presuperscripted mass number for which it can indicate the applicable nuclear physics. {{w|Chemical Physics}} is a subdiscipline of physics and chemistry and **must never** be confused with {{w|Physical Chemistry}}. It can also represent {{w|pentation}}, which is iterated tetration.
;Regular Math or Footnotes
:A trailing superscript is typical of a {{w|Exponentiation|power value}}; in this case "x²" would be ''x'' multiplied by itself - a common mathematical standard.
:Additionally, superscripted numbers are one common way to mark words in a line of text in a way to refer to a {{w|Note (typography)|footnote}}, typically placed at the bottom of the page and containing additional information that would distract from the main text itself. The ambiguity between footnotes and exponents was used in [[1184: Circumference Formula]].
;Chemistry
:A trailing subscript is used in chemistry to indicate a multiple of the element (or group of elements, in brackets) in a {{w|chemical formula}}. "H2O" indicates two hydrogen atoms bond with a single oxygen atom in a molecule of water.
;Matrices! ("2,2")
:Extending the trailing subscript with a comma-separated value usually indicates a multidimensional array (e.g., establishing a 2-by-2 square of numbers, or this particular position in such an array), which is in the realm of {{w|Matrix (mathematics)|matrix mathematics}}. This is a little bit beyond 'everyday algebra' for many people, as seemingly indicated by the exclamation of the mere mention of matrices.
;The Physicists Are At It Again ("2;2")
:This label encompasses a mark that turns the prior comma into a semicolon, as part of the trailing subscript. This is a common notation for the {{w|Covariant derivative}} of a tensor field, which is commonly used in the mathematics of general relativity.
;Either High School Math Function or Incomprehensible Group Theory
:The number 2 in parentheses that follow a term would normally be the argument to a {{w|Function (mathematics)|function}}. For example, "f(2)" means that you should take the value 2, and find the result if manipulated by the predefined function ''f''. It is generally taught as part of algebraic mathematics in {{w|Secondary school|high school}}.
:In {{w|group theory}}, however, the number 2 in parentheses could indicate a special kind of group, such as an an element of a symmetry group that keeps 2 fixed, or some kind of group of 2x2 matrices. For instance, {{w|SU(2)}} is a 3-dimensional {{w|Lie group}} of {{w|unitary matrices}}. These concepts are taught in graduate or advanced undergraduate mathematics courses.
;Oh no. Whatever this is, it's cursed.
:A symbol centered underneath another symbol is normally reserved for doing summations or products, where the big symbol is Σ or Π, or some other operation applied to a sequence of numbers. It does not make sense to have a single number there. As with [[2529: Unsolved Math Problems|other things]] where something appears to have gone wrong in Randall's comic universe, the explanation for this particular anomaly is that it is 'Cursed'.
:Two numbers may be stacked in parentheses in {{w|combination}} notation, but in that case the two numbers would both be 'small': (22)
:The usage mentioned in the alt text is an operation (Σ, summation) over a variable, usually indicated by a letter such as i, where the operation is performed over all values of the variable (i.e., you Σ (sum) the argument over all values of i). In the "2" case, the alt text says "you 2 the argument over all values of 2" (i.e., the Σ operation has been replaced by the "2" operation and the i variable has been replaced by the "2" variable). 2 is usually not an operation, though the definition of 2 under {{w|Church_encoding#Church_numerals|Church encoding}} is a function that takes in and produces functions. However, 2 is not a variable (and definitely not both at the same time).
: Things being cursed is a common trope within recent XKCD comics, which have mentioned items including [[2332:_Cursed_Chair|Cursed chairs]] and [[:Category:Cursed_Connectors|cursed connectors]]. This notation is one of the few occasions where the supernatural has demonstrable implications for science and mathematics for those foolhardy enough to use it.

==Transcript==
:[An apparent generalisation of a scientific expression consisting of a dotted rectangular 'box' outline, left empty, and various commonly-themed symbology around it:]

:[as normal text, to the left of all the rest:] 2
:[superscript to the immediate left of the box:] 2
:[subscript also to the immediate left of the box:] 2
:[superscript to the immediate right of the box:] 2
:[subscript also to the immediate right of the box:] 2;2 [i.e. separated by a semicolon]
:[as normal text, to the right of almost all the rest:] (2) [i.e. enclosed in standard parentheses]
:[smaller subscript, centered immediately beneath the 2 within the parentheses:] 2

:[Further details are drawn in grey tone, around or near various of the elements of the expression:]
;[Captions above the numbers]
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftmost 2:] Regular Math
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftwards superscript 2:] Physics
:[with an arrow pointing to the rightwards superscript 2:] Regular math or footnotes
:[with an arrow pointing to the parenthetical 2 at the right:] Either high school math functions or incomprehensible group theory

;[Captions below the numbers]
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftwards subscript 2:] Chemical Physics
:[with an arrow pointing to just the rightwards subscript 2:] Chemistry
:[with an arrow pointing to a distorted grey ring snaking around only the comma of the semicolon and the following 2 of the rightmost subscript:] Matrices!
:[with an arrow pointing to a larger grey ring that passes fully around the whole semicolon and final 2 of the rightmost subscript:] The physicists are at it again
:[with an arrow pointing to the small 2 placed below the parenthetical 2:] Oh no. Whatever this is, it's cursed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring cursed items]]

6: Irony

2022-05-04T18:15:13Z

108.162.221.163: Undo revision 240726 by Ex Kay Cee Dee (talk)

{{comic
| number = 6
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Irony
| image = irony_color.jpg
| titletext = It's commonly known that too much perspective can be a downer.
}}

==Explanation==
It must be part of the {{w|human condition}} that causes us to think that odd statements are sometimes more humorous than those supposed to be funny. [[Cueball]] makes a true statement, that his statement is not very funny. However, because he invoked {{w|irony}} and thus makes it self-referential, the sentence is now funny! The other guy (also a Cueball-like character), producing a fake laugh, is probably not so sure that it is actually funny.

Now going meta: In 20,000 years, there might be no more humans on earth to find the irony funny anymore. How ''ironic''! Alternatively, the barren landscape would have occurred regardless of whether someone made the joke, so ironically, the cautionary tale is completely meaningless, although still funny.

This is the first [[xkcd]] comic showing stick figure people, which eventually becomes a defining characteristic of the future comic series. It is thus also the first comic with Cueball (and the first with [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Multiple Cueballs]]). Note however, that it was actually not the first comic [[Randall]] released using either of the above mentioned features, see the [[#Trivia|trivia]] below.

The "too much perspective" line comes from the visit of {{w|Spın̈al Tap}} to the grave of {{w|Elvis Presley}}. In addition, the perspective theme also invokes the {{w|Technology in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#Total Perspective Vortex|Total Perspective Vortex}} in {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}. This is located on the desolate planet Frogstar B, possibly looking not unlike the final image in the comic.

Self-references was already used again in [[33: Self-reference]], and [[:Category:Self-reference|again and again]], but never more famously than in [[688: Self-Description]].

==Transcript==
:[A panel only with text. The last text is written below a line in all capital letters.]
:When self-reference, irony, and meta-humor go too far
:A CAUTIONARY TALE

:[Cueball talks to to his Cueball-like friend.]
:Cueball: This statement wouldn't be funny if not for irony!

:[Cueball laughs at his own joke in front of his friend.]
:Cueball: ha ha
:Friend: ha ha, I guess.

:[Again a panel only with text.]
:20,000 years later...

:[A desolate brown badlands landscape with an imposing red sun in the dark blue sky.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 9th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[8: Red Spiders]].
**The next was [[9: Serenity is coming out tomorrow]].
*This comic kept its original title: "Irony"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Too much perspective can do that."
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*First comic featuring [[Cueball]] in the current order the comics are now presented on xkcd.
**But originally there where a few comics released earlier which featured Cueball, both the original LiveJournal number 7, [[13: Canyon]] and number 6, [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]], used Cueball and thus stick figures as well as Multiple Cueballs before this came out, see this [[24:_Godel,_Escher,_Kurt_Halsey#Trivia|Trivia]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 09]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 09]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:2557: Immunity

2022-04-26T20:22:30Z

108.162.221.163: Politely disagree

well, if you look at society as a whole it makes more sense. the reason we have so many mutations is that we have a significant portion of the populous with no immunity [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.125|172.68.110.125]] 20:49, 20 December 2021 (UTC) mark ifi
:But the mutations come about from the virus replicating a lot, i.e in people with the virus. It still doesn't make sense to catch it, because you have a chance of your infection being the one that produces a terrible mutation [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.130|141.101.77.130]] 22:02, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
::That isn't how mutations work. Mutations are able to propagate strongly only in environments where there is something killing off the parent species, and where the mutation provides better survivability. Like a functioning immune system attacking the parent virus, but a mutation allows something to slip by. Thus, people with the partial immunity provided by either vaccines or infection, are the ones more likely to create a mutation than new patients with no inherent immunity, or people with natural immunity from previous bouts with related diseases.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:11, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:::Luckily we have Randall's subtext to warn us about that middle category of people who know a little about how immune systems work, enough to be dangerous. (1) viruses are not bacteria: antibiotics killing 'ordinary' bacteria leave space for 'nasty' bateria to proliferate; unless you plan on destroying your respiratory tract, there's plenty of space for all viruses and their mutations; (2) viruses have a chance to mutate as soon as they take over a cell; no need to eliminate the parent, all you need is for the mutation to be more effectively infectious when spat out to infect the next victim; (3) anybody catching the virus will pass it on if it replicates; 'partial immunity' makes no difference to short-term reinfection, only to longer-term illness (at which point most sensible people will avoid contact) and ICU usage and death; the only possible negative to partial immunity is that people catch it, don't feel too sick and keep breathing over everybody else; (4) I suspect this comic will sound the death-knell for explainxkcd as it used to be, because even 'named' contributors are coming out with mad anti-vax arguments, and (5) editors, please feel fee to delete all of the above starting at (1) if you feel it to be necessary. I'd prefer you kept the first phrase though... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.196|141.101.69.196]] 00:25, 23 December 2021 (UTC)
:::Even immune system without vaccine or prior infection is killing Covid a lot, providing plenty of opportunities for more effective mutation. And infection typically last LONGER if patient is not vaccinated, providing more TIME for virus to mutate. So, mutation can occur in both vaccinated or unvaccinated, with hard to compare probabilities. It's true that mutation from someone vaccinated has higher CHANCE to be vaccine-resistant, but on the other hand, seems omikron is from unvaccinated population ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:32, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

I can see this one annoying a lot of people. It's the lot of people who can already be annoying, so I don't think that's a big problem. (A few, who misread it as about ''vaccination'' giving immunity, may actually think it supports them. I'm not sure we can do anything about that either.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 21:51, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

Would you kindly provide a link to the "Mount Stupid" comic for reference.{{unsigned|172.70.174.119}}

mount stupid: https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2475 ˜˜˜˜

To be fair, if the vaccination would only protect you for ONE infection it wouldn't be worth it. The idea about immunity is that immunity trained by either vaccination or infection will then protect you from '''multiple''' following infections. The problem with it is that in case of covid (or flu), the immunity wanes off with time AND the virus mutates into new variants the immunity doesn't work as well against. Sure, it still makes sense to vaccinate, but just because the virus spread so much you are very likely to catch it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:32, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
:Are you making the mistake (without the other baggage) I mentioned above about misreading the comic? This comic isn't about the vaccination at all. It's about infection. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:51, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
::Infection is the normal method of vaccination. Until recently with mRNA vaccines, almost all vaccines were about infection- either with the disease itself, a weakened version of the disease, or a related disease.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:11, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:::As far as I know, while some vaccines do use a weakened live virus, many use essentially sliced-up spike proteins that are unable to spread. However, historically, the first true vaccination (as well as the earlier variolization), did use an unweakened live virus (smallpox for variolization, cowpox for the first vaccination). Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.213|172.70.130.213]] 16:36, 22 December 2021 (UTC)
:(And, to add, if the vaccine just protected against ONE infection, where that one infection was sufficiently dangerous, it would indeed be worth it. Better than chancing the infection on a naïve immune system and hoping to come out the other side with a similarly infection-specific immune effect (c.f. annual flu waves) but without the QC and care given to the vector.) ((See, I knew it'd spark response, didn't intend to say much. Maybe I should just stay out of this until it blows over.)) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 23:01, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
::Of course it is about the vaccination - this supports Randall's earlier statements for being pro vaccine, that you should get the immunity from vaccination and not from infection! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:24, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:::Hmmm, no. It's about COVID (and that by inference). It doesn't mention the vaccine. The conversation ''might'' have been about the vaccine, but the comic (and its discussion of what it is sensible to do, or not) is vaccine free. It's "anti-infection", but not directly "pro-vaccine". (He, I and you ''are'' all sensibly pro-vaccine, I think. The comic itself is only vocal on that subject by omission and a chain of logic that will never occur to those stuck at the original fallacy.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 13:06, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

People who know a lot about the immune system could also be referring to people who are aware of possibilities like the varicella zoster virus which causes chickenpox, but stays dormant in your body after you recover and can come back later as shingles. This is less likely to happen if you get the vaccine to prevent chickenpox in the first place. --[[User:Norgaladir|Norgaladir]] ([[User talk:Norgaladir|talk]]) 00:32, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

A vaccination doesn't necessarily give you immunity, e.g. with the Covid or influenca vaccines, so you still can get infected. But being vaccinated reduces the risk of suffering complications like death that can ruin your and other peoples' life.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.229|162.158.94.229]] 07:59, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:...''significantly'' reduces the risk, in fact. It likely also (though it's a harder thing to establish) reduces the catch-and-transmit rate, thus yet another thing to do to help others, even those you'll never meet directly, who are unable or (ugh!) unwilling to think this far ahead. Unmitigated (and, especially, sought-after) 'natural' infection as represented in the comic just helps spread the thing further and faster and does a gross disservice to onward contacts, contacts-of-contacts, etc, etc. Excuse my preaching to the choir here, but it needs to be said. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 13:06, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
::You're not preaching to the choir exclusively, plenty of lurkers (like me) are reading along. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.143|108.162.241.143]] 17:01, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

While trying to update the explanation for 'neutrality of tone' and address some infectious disease history, I came across this [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7120728/#!po=44.6721|Highly Infectious Diseases in Critical Care] article
from the NIH published January 3 of 2020 which includes a comparison of smallpox, measles, SARS-1, and MERS-cov illustrating how significantly vaccination has reduced global infections. Check out the graph of measles from 1980. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.227|172.70.110.227]] 13:46, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

My hero is the person who added the citation needed to "Diseases are bad", as well as those who realize that vaccination is largely a form of infection on purpose (within one of the following five options: infection by the disease itself, infection by a weakened disease, infection by a killed and inactive version of the disease, infection by a related less dangerous disease that shares some characteristics with the original disease, infection by a laboratory created RNA strands that mimic the disease being attacked). Therefore, catching the disease on purpose, is a form of vaccination. Israel did a study on infection by the disease itself and found 6.7 times stronger immune response than other forms of COVID-19 vaccination. [https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:11, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:This should indicate that a better (at preparing your immune system to resist future infection) vaccine (process) may be possible. Without saying that current vaccines are ineffective. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.97|108.162.241.97]] 17:06, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:I like how you make sure to use the "laboratory created" modifier for the RNA vaccine, but not the other types. As if they all grew on trees or something. Here's a hint: all vaccines were created in a lab, though many were created more directly by modifying an existing virus, in that lab. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 21:15, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
I would like to add that the comic criticizes only a part of ''anti-vaxxers'' population that show the circular logic presented. There are other parts, e.g. those who are not quite sure if the cost/benefit (or rather risk/risk) calculus is right for the rapidly developed and hastily officially approved (in comparison to long-established vaccines against other diseases) and/or novel (mRNA) vaccine products, fearing long-time side effects of the vaccine. On the other hand, long-term effects of the disease itself are also not known yet, even if some middle-term ones are known or being investigated already. There are still other parts like those who oppose governmental obligations or pressure to vaccinate against covid and related restrictions, and take the refusal as a personal freedom stance. There may be others. -- [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.219|198.41.242.219]] 15:09, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

This very much feels like a straw man. I get that it's a webcomic, but can we talk about this? The description says that natural immunity is "short lived" (as in, how short-lived, and how much compared to vaccination?) but meanwhile I hear like one in five COVID hospitalizations were vaccinated patients. Are there studies on reinfection with COVID in vaccinated vs non-vaccinated patients? It seems to me from the latest comics that Randall is frustrated. I think everyone is frustrated. Citation needed, haha. But I get tired of reading "haha the other side is dumb" from both sides of every damn issue these days, and the bigger the impact an issue has, the more furious the mudslinging. One could, for example, make the same "circular argument" jab at trusting the FDA in this example, or in a more agnostic case, the value of a college degree or a certification: Ex. "we're qualified to make decisions about what's right or smart for the populace because we're a bunch of people who say so, and we have a pretty looking seal to prove it, and also please keep giving us a lot of money." I mean, for those of us who have been to college, haven't we all churned our way through that just to get into the workforce and discover that it's completely different than what we actually needed to know? Would we call people "anti-uni's" and laugh at their incompetence for questioning the system? Even at the unlikely minimum of "anti-vaxxers (or x-person who disagrees with me) are 100% dumb and wrong and that's a fact", isn't the discourse important? I understand that the opposite extreme is "I'd rather let my child die of Polio than trust another human being", but isn't that just another straw man? When are we going to stop polarizing? Thoughts?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.147|108.162.237.147]] 16:28, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:It might be Randall is (intentionally or accidentally) touching on your point by making this comic's thesis ambiguous. People who aren't thinking deeply about the topic on both sides will initially think it confirms their worldview, until they see more discussion on the matter. So the comic's ambiguity might prompt more discussion by and between both sides. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.143|108.162.241.143]] 17:18, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
:Re: "I hear like one in five COVID hospitalizations were vaccinated patients." ....if less than one in five people are vaccinated, this is a problem. Either it means there is a problem with the vaccine (unlikely) or that the vaccinated are putting themselves more at risk thinking they are more 'virusproof' than they are. If more (and hopefully significantly more) than 20% of the populace are vaccinated then this is actually a positive sign for the whole issue - even if there's still social hubris underestimating the precautions they still may need to take.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 17:34, 21 December 2021 (UTC)
::At least in the US, significantly more than 1 in 5 people are vaccinated. It's a little over 3 in 5 fully vaccinated. But I would suggest that even that isn't necessarily the statistic to look at - pretty sure covid is still more likely to be serious for older people and folks with preexisting conditions, all else being equal, and those populations have an even higher vaccination rate. 78% of folks 50-64 are fully vaccinated, and 84% 65+, per the CDC. So that makes the 1 in 5 represent *even less* risk.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.45|172.70.110.45]] 18:30, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

(Re: The "Why does my IP keep changing?" asked as an Edit-comment (see page history)... Because your gateway/pathway between yourself and the site goes through a limited and shared ''set'' of possible IPv4s. There's no guarantee you'll get the same IP (or even obvious range!) between edits, nor that your current IP won't be used by someone else in a few minutes. It's just a technical thing that greases the wheels of the Internet, even if it has funny repurcussions for some things like this.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 17:34, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

"However, what Cueball (and by extension Randall) fail to note is that bad or not, there are plenty of instances where someone has already recovered, and therefore already in possession of natural immunity." - Isn't that what the comic is about? I'm confused as to why this is on the explanation page? --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 19:45, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

I think people are overcomplicating this. A common anti-covax trope you sometimes see is that natural immunity is "better than" the immunity provided by a vaccine. But it is a total non sequitur The *only way* the vaccine could prevent you from acquiring the coveted "natural" immunity would be if it saved you from getting infected in the first place. If you never end up infected, then I guess you didn't need the natural immunity after all. If you do get infected, well now you have it. There is no sense rushing out to get infected on purpose, which is the equivalent of refusing a vaccine. Of course, people can have many other reasons for not vaccinating, but this particular "reason" truly makes no sense.

To add to the pile: if you get infected, you don't have to *worry* as much about future infections. It's over with (at least psychologically). Balloon popping is bad, but it's the anticipation that's the worst part for me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.13|162.158.122.13]] 00:39, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:That depends on if it's a "you only catch this once" thing. That's not so certain. Probably{{fact}} you can't catch a particular greek-letter-version twice, but you've got a dozen other (and potentially more later) greek letters to maybe/maybe-not fend off in future, with some variants clearly being able to at least possibly get past the protection (viral or vaccinal) that come from others.
:And they also say Omicron is only half as lethal (or hospitalising) as Delta, but that may just be because many Omicron-catchers had already made themselves infectees of Delta/whatever so they 'only' get the half-unsure vulnerability of the partially-naive/partially-protecting Delta-trained immume system of those that survived the prior round.
:And once you have more than twice as many Omicron infections because "it's not as bad as the other one", that still gives you more deaths than the 'more fatal' prior version. If you're thinking you're doing the Cowpox/Chickenpox thing of ''deliberately'' 'pre-infecting' yourself then you're just giving it more people to ''try'' to kill, yourself and any collateral infectees and (even if your individual chances are better, for whatever reason) it results in worse total statistics than if you'd been sensible until everyone possible had at least been able to be given a non-disease lesson in at least a similar-looking thing.
:...Oh, I don't think half the questions about all this have been answered, and won't be tied down for a while yet, but some supposed answers are clearly wishful thinking and should be easy dismiss as quackery. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 01:27, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

Soooooo what's unfinished about this? It's almost a month old and the "incomplete" tag doesn't say anything descriptive about what needs to be done. And it looks pretty complete to me... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.57|172.70.230.57]] 07:08, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
:Depends on what people need. Some might understand it all, others might take more informing. (Not that I'd know how or if I should put it in the Explanation body, but there's [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60050996 situations like this] that illustrate potential complications to the viewpoint this is tackling.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 17:52, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

I see no reason to get jabbed with an experimental mRNA cocktail for a disease that almost certainly will not kill me...if it even affects me. How sure can you be of its efficacy when the experts didn't even know it would require multiple boosters when it was first available? The fact that almost all dissent toward "the narrative" is censored rather than argued makes me even more skeptical and determined. I'm sure we can all agree now that masks were almost completely worthless the whole time, right? But it's only now that we're able to even say that without fear of retribution. Anyway, this comic will NOT age well. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 20:22, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

2610: Assigning Numbers

2022-04-25T06:37:08Z

108.162.221.163: /* Explanation */ Made the explaination of the incompleteness theorem more precise, because the imprecision was making it incorrect.

{{comic
| number = 2610
| date = April 22, 2022
| title = Assigning Numbers
| image = assigning_numbers.png
| titletext = Gödel should do an article on which branches of math have the lowest average theorem number.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by YÖDEL'S COMPLETENESS THEOREM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

'''This explanation is by mathematical necessity either incomplete or incorrect.'''

[[Cueball]] is falling into a common trap, because a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Faced with some sort of information, of an unknown kind but seemingly not intrinsically mathematical in nature, he has decided that one possible way to proceed is to somehow translate everything into values which can be combined and compared numerically.

This is a very common thing to do, in fields as diverse as {{w|computational linguistics}} or {{w|sports analytics}}, and can be a powerful tool for understanding and learning new things about a subject as {{w|Data science}} tries to extract knowledge and insights from potentially noisy and disordered facts. But it is also used to implement bad science by using incorrect or misguided ideas about how to represent the source material. While it's possible to casually assign numeric values to random pieces of data, these numbers are generally not meaningful enough to compute with and draw any useful inferences from. It is generally possible to perform statistical analysis only on actual measurements, not on what may effectively be arbitrarily-assigned values.

Machine learning algorithms, which are commonly used by data scientists, typically require all their inputs to be numerical. However, most datasets contains categorical features (e.g. the description of a piece of furniture: chair, table, ...). Data scientists therefore use encoding techniques to convert these categorical features to a numerical form so they can be used as inputs to a machine learning model. For instance, label encoding consists of arbitrarily assigning an integer to a category (chair=0, table=1, ...) which may appear meaningless to most observers. In various cases, they may be right.

So, as well as being the mechanism that underlies one of the most profound theorems of 20th century mathematics, it can be mis-used for all kinds of bad or misguided science. From Cueball's attitude, it is far from clear that his attempt will reliably translate his project into a numerical system, nor that his attempt to "do math on it!" will be any more competent.

One of the major characters who looked at the concept is Kurt Gödel. He introduced the idea of {{w|Gödel numbering}} with his landmark {{w|incompleteness theorems}}. In it a unique natural number is assigned to each axiom, statement, and proof, which might otherwise be difficult to accurately process in any other kind of approach. Instead, it is now possible to create metamathematical statements in the language of mathematics.

This allowed Gödel to make the statement "This statement cannot be proven based on the axioms provided" in a mathematically rigorous way. A simple proof by contradiction shows that the statement cannot be false, and therefore (in most logical systems) must be true. The proof goes as follows: 1. Assume that the statement can be proven from the axioms. 2. The axioms exist. 3. Therefore, the statement that it cannot be proven from the axioms is true. 4. This is a contradiction, therefore our initial assumption must be wrong. Therefore, the statement is true.

Notice that the truth of Gödel's statement does not depend on any particular set of axioms, and adding axioms (such as "Gödel's particular statement is true") only opens up new iterations of the statement which cannot be proven based on the expanded set of axioms (A statement such as "All statements of a similar nature to Gödel's particular statement" is not precise enough to serve as an axiom.). As such, with a little more legwork, it can be proven that any logical system robust enough to accommodate arithmetic must necessarily contain facts that are true within the system but cannot be proven or disproven within the system. The importance of this result cannot be understated, as it upended the entire philosophy of mathematics. {{w|David Hilbert}}'s famous proclamation "We must know, we will know" is simply incorrect.

The title text suggests that Gödel should perform such an analysis on different branches of mathematics, by calculating the average of all the fields' theorems' Gödel numbers. This is nonsensical for a number of reasons:
:1) Gödel is long dead, and dead people can't write articles;{{Dubious}} - see [[599: Apocalypse]]
:2) Gödel numbers grow very large very quickly, and depend heavily on the specific values assigned to each logical operator. Therefore the results could be manipulated simply by changing the numbering order of each operator;
:3) It may be very hard to gather all theorems in a field, or even a representative sample;
:4) Different fields of science, like biology or human behaviour, may not be able to write their theorems in the mathematical language of Gödel's incompleteness theorem
If anyone were to attempt this form of analysis, it would be an example of the bad data science described in the title text.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball hold a hand up to his chin while he ponders the contents of what may be a whiteboard. There are five general lines of unreadable scribbling on the board, and between the two bottom lines, there is a square frame to the right with another scribble to the left. Cueball's thoughts are shown above him in a large thought bubble.]
:Cueball's thinking: If I assign numbers to each of these things, then it becomes '''''data''''', and I can do '''''math''''' on it!

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The same basic idea underlies Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem and all bad data science.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2610: Assigning Numbers

2022-04-25T06:06:54Z

108.162.221.163:

Does this imply that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem] isn't correct? And that it's method is bunk? Please help! -Seer [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.230|162.158.107.230]] 02:08, 23 April 2022 (UTC)
I believe the intention is that the theorem is not part of the set of bad data science, just that they share this one feature.

Isn't the Gödel number for a theorem calculated by multiplying the numbers of the components together, so complicated theorems would have larger numbers? If so, the current explanation that this isn't a good way to judge fields is wrong. I'm not too sure though. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 05:52, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

:I do not believe that the title suggests renumbering theorems with Gödel numbers, but averaging the existing theorem numbers. Or otherwise, MrCandela's suggestion would be the way to go: Complicated Theorems have larger numbers. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.133|172.68.110.133]] 08:10, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

:Yeah a quick look at some magazines like [https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-godels-incompleteness-theorems-work-20200714/#jump2/ this one] and I think Randall has a point [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 09:48, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

I wish I'd started the explanation off when I first saw it (somone posted the first Transcript whilst I was pondering, so I left off). I think there's some serious re-editing to be done, but basically it points to someone (Cueball, a dabbling armchair mathematician faced with some not directly mathematically-based problem) thinking that 'all' it takes is to encode the whatever-it-is, arbitrarily, and then with a few easy equations something useful cannbe derived. When, in reality, even if this is possible (ignoring the "takes the age of the universe to permute things to find the right answer" sort of sticking-block) it depends upon a ''good'' numerical encoding (enough attention to detail, but not too much, and in the right sort of way) and possibly quite a lot of data-demunging and filtration (again, just the right amount and in the correct manner) to pop out the "answer" being looked for. For some things, this can be easy, though there are always statistical pitfalls/etc. For others ("life, the universe and everything", say) the task is far more complex and the result ("42"?) might not seem to be a very useful result for various reasons. And, on top this, there's Gödel. But that's an additional punchline, not the whole scope of the original joke. ...Anyway, this long comment is why I held back from writing the original Explanation, but I might yet wrangle my thoughts into what's since been put there. While trying not to tread upon too many toes and alternate explanations. Which is the hardest bit, I think... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 15:48, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

Just a comment about the technicalities of Gödel's First Incompleteness Theorem: The 'third' possibility presented [http://dstoner.net/Math_Science/godel.html here] misunderstands the term 'true but unprovable'. When mathematicians say 'true but unprovable' in the context of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems, what they mean is 'true in the standard model but unprovable in the formal system'. The Gödel sentence is certainly true for the standard natural numbers, by contradiction: assume that the Gödel sentence is false for the standard naturals, which means that there exists a standard natural number which is the Gödel number for the proof of the Gödel sentence. Then we could decode the Gödel number into a proof (of the formal system) proving the Gödel sentence true; a contradiction. (Note that the preceding proof by contradiction can be formalised in ZFC, but not in the formal system under study.) The reason why the Gödel sentence is unprovable in the formal system is because, from the point of view of the formal system, there might be a non-standard natural number which is the Gödel number for the proof of the Gödel sentence (and non-standard numbers cannot be decoded into a proof); or there might not be. --[[User:Underbase|Underbase]] ([[User talk:Underbase|talk]]) 04:56, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

:Regarding this, I know that the policy on this site is to include every possible interpretation, but the page mentioned is an html page (and not a [https://xkcd.com/2304/ pdf]) that was not [https://xkcd.com/1847/ peer reviewed] (thus not recognized by the community), and as mentioned by the user above it fails understand the concepts it is talking about. I do not think this site should be spreading this kind of idea. I believe Randall Monroe himself would be against this.

::I also believe the current explanation is both incorrect about explaining the seeming paradox of the Gödel conjecture, & therefore somewhat incorrect about this joke. It is surely the transition from abstract to quantized - the act of applying limited formal numbering to potentially unbounded or otherwise non-standard terms - which incurs incompleteness? Within the constraints of a formal system of standard natural numbers, true≠provable, & therein lies the internal (but not total) contradiction. ''That's'' the contradiction, right? & the joke is that numbering theorems by their complexity, is not generally a productive approach for 'doing math' on them, in any sense but an abstract analytical one?
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:54, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

:I do not believe the Title Text calls for "calculating the average of all the fields' theorems' Gödel numbers". It asks for 'the lowest average theorem number'. The average of all, is not the average of each. The Title Text wants the average of ''each of'' the fields' theorems' Gödel numbers.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:54, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

== Paradoxicality argument ==

I think that revision [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2610:_Assigning_Numbers&oldid=231000 231000] should be removed. My explanation of what's wrong with the linked site is as follows:

Up until the section "Gödel's String", nothing is incorrect. Furthermore, the first wrong line is numbered (49), and says that Gödel's statement is equivalent to "This statement is not a theorem (of any formal system)." This is where he goes wrong, for writing down a formula for "n proves m" requires inclusion of the formal system in which this proof happens. As such, the correct translation of Gödel's statement is "This statement is not a theorem of [system]", which it indeed is not. Then he says that "We have decided that Gödel's string cannot be a theorem and neither can its negation" (true, after Rosser's trick) and therefore that this gives us "~<G∨~G>" (which is false). He has commited the sin of confusing truth and provability here.

His discussion of the Epimenides string ("This statement is not true") is accurate, except for the claim that the truth predicate is "as valid an extension to [PA] as [the provability and quining] extensions were". This is false. The provability and quining predicates can be constructed in PA and thus are not "extensions" so much as "shorthand"; this was Gödel's contribution: to see that PA can talk about provability of statements in any fixed formal system. The truth predicate is not definable in PA, as he quite ably proves (suppose it was definable, then you could write down the Epimenides sentence in PA, and thereby prove false).

The section "Gödel's Error" is just plain silly.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.147|172.70.114.147]] 19:28, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

What if we just change it to say something along the lines of "Certain logical systems allow values to be 'not false' without being necessarily 'true'; Godel's theorem is based on an axiomatic assumption that every statement is either true or false."?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 06:06, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2566: Decorative Constants

2022-01-11T13:22:29Z

108.162.221.163:

I don't have any idea what to put in the actual description, but whoever does should probably note that r(in) - r(out) equals zero, not one. And multiplying by a constant 0 absolutely changes the value! [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 21:59, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
: rout and rin are different values. The subscripts represent different instances of the same variable at different point. In the same way, you might calculate something happening over a time interval tend - tstart . [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.77|172.69.71.77]] 23:02, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::Yes for sure they are two different values. On the other hand if μ is not 1 then the it is not just decorative! D on the other hand is just a proportionality constant, which may have a value other than 1. I have tried to put something in the explanation here. Quite a bit. Do not really now anything about Drag, so just took it from the wiki page. Also I hope someone can explain the formula in the image, as I'm sure it is just something about the flow, that would relate it to a drag equation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:41, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Note that the title text is pretty much word-for-word a repeat from Randall's book *How To*. In Chapter 11: *How to Play Football*, he misuses the drag equation, and mentions this fact in more depth, in a footnote. Bit of trivia! --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.79|162.158.134.79]] 23:13, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:Nice, I will have to check up on that. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:41, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:Can confirm this, the book mentions that the "traditional tribute to Euler and Bernoulli" comes from Frank White's ''Fluid Mechanics'' textbook. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 01:08, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:: There it is, page 266 in the 1986 2nd edition: "They both have a factor ½ as a traditional tribute to Bernoulli and Euler, and both are based on the projected area..." https://books.google.com/books?id=wGweAQAAIAAJ&q=traditional -- [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 02:13, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Great thanks have included both references in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:Wait, wouldn't the values be twice as big (rather than half as big) if you left off the 1/2? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.154|141.101.69.154]] 12:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Of course, the c^2 im e=mc^2 is just as decorative, when using natural units where c=1.... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.171|172.68.50.171]] 00:29, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: And the resulting equation is then just e=m - or m=e which is beautiful and profound. "Mass is Energy". Without the complications, you stop thinking of it as a PROCESS for converting one into the other and get the more profound point that Mass and Energy are the exact same thing. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:33, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

==Count down clock==
;Keep discussion of comic above this, and further discussion of countdown here below!!!
Any idea what's going on with the clock that's counting downwards in the banner? Currently counting down from 20 days 16 hours? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 22:08, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:(Simultaneous edit) What is the days-hours-minutes in the box above the comic referring to? The image itself is dated yesterday, as you can see by saving it. Worst-case-scenario, is this a countdown to the end of XKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.223|108.162.245.223]] 22:11, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:: It's going to hit zero at around midnight on Jan 31st 2022 CST? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 22:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::'''Posted [[Talk:2565:_Latency#Countdown|this]] on the previous comics discussion. But lets take it here where there will be more traffic:''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC) -- Copy paste from previous comics discussion:
::::Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I believe you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::::Yeah - you're right - I messed up. So as I type this, it's Jan 10th 2022 at 4pm - 1600 hrs Mountain time - which is 1800 hours EST. At this moment, the countdown reads 20d 16h 0m - so Jan 30th + (18+16) hours = which is Jan 30th + 34 hours - which is Jan 31st + 10am in Boston (EST). [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 23:05, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hey great, can see they agree in the link to reddit below. So happy I got it right both in UTC and Boston. It will be 15:59 here in DK. Not 16:00. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Counting down to Backwards Day? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.88|162.158.91.88]] 23:28, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's a reddit thread discussing it: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/s0oynl/xkcd_countdown_timer_20d_21h_49m_remaining_until/ I think the most likely guess is that Randall has a new book coming out, although the time of day is weird for a book release. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:40, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::Would still seem strange if it came out that day with only promotion before being a count down. But then again, he will have the xkcd communities boiling if he gives no other hint. So every one will see if he promotes a book. Also as they wrote at the time I looked at reddit I do not think it is the end of xkcd, or Webb related. Although Webb was the first I thought about. But I mean even if it came to L2 at that day, it is not going to any specific point but just in orbit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:47, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

::The date fits the idea of it being Backwards Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31) but what about the choice of time? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Backwards day... Never head of it until now. Is it big in the US. I mean when looking after dates so obscure they are not mentioned on wikipedia then there are probably lots of things happening on that day? But maybe it is a think in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::: I haven't heard of it until now either, so it is probably one of the bajillions of holidays no one actually cares about, and is unrelated to the countdown. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 13:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Someone has noticed the image is changing with pixels added at the bottom left corner and is keeping track of it here: https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.107|198.41.238.107]] 05:49, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like an image is "moving" into the frame because at the moment you can see some white pixel in the lower left, i.e. the black part might end up as a line as part of some comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.8|162.158.89.8]] 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks used that to pinpoint the start of the countdown. Have added this info to the header text page, and the original trivia. Also just added a line of trivia to this explanation with the link. This was when this comic came out most people noticed the count down. But it did came out while [[Latency]] was up. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:852: Local g

2022-01-03T14:40:20Z

108.162.221.163: tech

What a coincidence that he just happened to p*** off the one group of athletes that was capable of reaching and meting out retribution on him. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:12, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

This explanation is lacking. It does not talk about the joke itself. It is talking about the variation in gravity being significant in interpreting world records. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:14, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
:Hi 184.66.160.91, don't criticise but help to explain. Nevertheless I will start to work on this right now.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:16, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
::Criticising is helping. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 06:18, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
:::While constructive criticism is helpful, '''anyone can edit'''. If you see problems in the article, click "Edit" and make the improvements yourself. That's what Dgbrt meant by "help to explain". (And yes, I do realize this conversation is a few months old.) [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 22:43, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
:::No, no it's not. Criticizing without offering even a partial solution, is just adding noise to the signal. I don't even believe that stating things without an alternative in mind is criticizing. It's just trolling. [[User:Cflare|Cflare]] ([[User talk:Cflare|talk]]) 15:10, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

Well,it doesn't just affect pole vaulters, it affect all sports, like running, less graity makes you run faster. Or maybe slower? ~Jfreund
:The added traction is definitely offset by the increase in force required to maintain height off the ground. So maybe you'd start faster, but you'd definitely end slower. This is why records are a questionable metric. Not only do small things like this completely affect the results, but shifts in these things over time. As well as increases in biotechnology, training, and genetic offerings. It's weird how this has nothing to do with survival on the grand scale, yet we see humans adapt over time like this. Either we are generically becoming better on every metric, or willpower has an effect on offspring. It's possible that athletes find athletes and have kids. I don't know; it is a mystery. [[User:Cflare|Cflare]] ([[User talk:Cflare|talk]]) 15:14, 13 August 2014 (UTC)
::I believe being a winner in sport - especially men - will increase his change for mating and (therefore) procreation. [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 19:33, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
:::This isn't evolutionary; to establish evolution you need to show that a trait is inherited and those with the trait have produced more offspring over time. Marginal changes in general health and fitness are impacted by diet and related to relative poverty - I find it difficult to believe there is a selective signal in something that is overwhelmingly skewed by environment/context. Most likely, general wellbeing has increased due to greater access to education, welfare, etc. I bet if you look at economic crashes like Russia post 1991 and the western world post 2008, you'd find decreases in these abilities following soon afterward. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 23:33, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
::::I think the upgrades in biotechnology explain away the vast majority of improvements. For example, getting the mile in under 4 minutes was accomplished with the aid of better shoes and a better understanding of the mechanics of running. Bannister was not even a descendant of runners, except in the generic sense that we all are, so speculating about natural selection on this trait since 1900 is ridiculous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:40, 3 January 2022 (UTC)
Is nobody going to mention the spelling mistake in the first panel? "Buy" instead of "by" ~Jack {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.93}}

It affects more than sports. I work in calibration. A weight used for *force* measurements (10N, for example) has to be calibrated for local gravity - 1% change in local gravity vs 0.1% weight tolerance...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.154|108.162.219.154]] 15:39, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

The explanation usually given for Bob Beamon's 8.91 metre (29.75 ft) long jump at the 1968 Olympics is that the Mexico City air (at an altitude of 8000ft/2480m) was thinner. But sure, if you also want to credit as well something that needs special, high-calibration equipment and complex math to measure, go ahead. #### (unsigned)

:Is there an actual example where it would have made a difference in the Olympics? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.179.108|162.158.179.108]] 12:00, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2021-12-21T21:16:48Z

108.162.221.163: m

{{comic
| number = 2302
| date = May 4, 2020
| title = 2020 Google Trends
| image = 2020_google_trends.png
| titletext = As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

Randall wants to go back in time to show a 2019 person [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2019-05-05%202020-05-04&geo=US&q=sewing%20machine,webcam,andrew%20cuomo,flour,pangolin a Google Trends graph], showing massive spikes in a group of search terms, all around the same time. Some of the terms (flour, webcam, sewing machine) had fairly steady popularity, then rapidly jumped higher. Others (pangolin, Andrew Cuomo) were barely searched for at all until they suddenly became items of intense interest. The joke is that, without context, it would be impossible to guess what caused these simultaneous spikes, and the pattern would seem completely random. A person might guess that there was a single event that drove all of these searches, but it would be difficult to speculate what that might be.

All of these trends are presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Searches for "'''sewing machine'''" are likely driven by people trying to make their own {{w|cloth face mask}}s, to help contain the spread of the virus, due to an ongoing shortage of professionally made masks. (Ironically, a common search is "how to make mask without sewing machine", so this may be partially driven by a lack of machines).
* Searches for "'''Webcam'''" are likely driven by a massive increase in virtual meetings and video conferencing, as people increasingly work from home and pursue other social distancing strategies.
* "'''{{w|Andrew Cuomo}}'''" was the governor of {{w|New York (state)|New York}}, the state hit hardest by the pandemic in the United States at the time of this comic's publication. He accrued lots of media attention for his (initially praised, but now rather controversial) response to COVID-19. Governor Cuomo (like most state governors) wasn't subject to much national attention before the epidemic, but became something of a household name during the crisis.
* Searches for "'''flour'''" are likely caused by an increase in baking due to people staying at home. This is also referred to in [[2296: Sourdough Starter]]. The searches may be driven by people looking for recipes and baking tips, and it may also be driven by people trying to find flour in the face of local shortages. The little lump at the end of November and December can probably be attributed to people baking for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
* A "'''pangolin'''" is a mammal found in Africa and Asia. Pangolins are traditionally little known outside of their natural habitats, with many people in other countries not even aware of their existence (hence the almost total absence of searches at the beginning of the chart). This changed, when it was speculated that {{w|SARS-CoV-2}} possibly crossed over to humans from wild animals sold in {{w|wet market}}s in {{w|Wuhan}}, China, and pangolins are considered to be one of the most likely sources. This has given the previously obscure creatures a fairly morbid form of global fame and attention.

The title text is a possible "guess" by the 2019 person for these search terms having an increase together: a YouTube craze of exotic animals (which includes pangolins) in homemade aprons (possibly made with the help of sewing machines) hosting baking shows which leads to a response by New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

A recent prior comic that touches on the past's possible views on the present situation from limited information was [[2280: 2010 and 2020]]. In that case, the relative costs of cryptocurrency and hygiene supplies was considered unremarkable by a 2010 person because (unbeknownst to him) the price of both had skyrocketed.

==Transcript==
:[A line chart plotting the popularity of various search terms from May 2019 through April 2020: sewing machine (blue line), webcam (red), Andrew Cuomo (yellow), flour (green), and pangolin (purple). The yellow line starts at the bottom of the chart and rises about halfway up at the end of March 2020 before decaying to about 20% by the end of April. The purple line starts at the bottom of the chart and has a small lump in February 2020 and a slightly bigger lump in March 2020 before trending back down. The blue line starts at about 10% up the chart and then spikes up to 50% at the beginning of April before decaying to 40% at the end of April. The red line starts at about 20% up the chart, has a small lump in September 2019, and then jumps up to 40% in March 2020 before trending back down. The green line starts at about 30% up the chart, has a small lump in December 2019, and then spikes up to the top of the chart at the end of March 2020.]

:[Caption below comic:]
:I want to show someone from 2019 this Google Trends graph and watch them try to guess what happened in 2020.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

1245: 10-Day Forecast

2021-12-17T19:15:02Z

108.162.221.163:

{{comic
| number = 1245
| date = July 31, 2013
| title = 10-Day Forecast
| image = 10 day forecast.png
| titletext = Oh, definitely not; they don't have Amazon Prime.
}}

==Explanation==
The 10-day forecast is a prediction of the weather extending 10 days into the future (with the accuracy decreasing exponentially). However, when [[Cueball]] checks the forecast for his local area, it apparently predicts progressively extreme lightning storms, a plague of insects which appear to be locusts, what appears to be {{w|Rapture|The Rapture}}, and the appearance of the {{w|anti-Christ}}. Upon the anti-Christ (or perhaps {{w|Woden}} or {{w|Mothra}}) appearing, the forecast falls into static and nothingness with the day stuck on Tuesday, meaning that the world has ended.

When asked about this, [[Megan]] casually explains that Cueball put a minus (-) sign in front of his ZIP code. A {{w|Zone Improvement Plan|ZIP code}} is a numeric postal code used in the United States, but many more countries use similar systems. As ZIP codes are tied to a geographic location, it is also often used to specify a local region for the purposes of weather reports.

Many computer systems that let the user write in a number only work with certain numbers (such as positive numbers). Numbers the system is not designed to work with, such as negative numbers, may lead to errors or unpredictable behavior (or, more often, the system will just refuse to proceed until you input a valid number). When this happens with the number of a video game level, it can result in data of another type being loaded, creating a level with a corrupted or physically-impossible landscape; this is sometimes known as a "{{tvtropes|MinusWorld|Minus World}}".

Megan states that you get this result for any negative zip code. This may be an error deliberately put in by the programmers creating the system, to freak out any people who make a mistake.

Cueball, on the other hand reacts as if this negative zip code actually represents an actual geographical location, or a real-life Minus World, and that the weather forecaster is indeed showing an accurate forecast for the (corrupted) area. Since Megan stated that the forecast is always like that for these zip code Cueball expresses that he would never move there.

In the title text, Megan agrees with Cueball's desire not to move to that ZIP code area, the punchline being that her reason isn't to avoid the apocalypse, but to retain access to Amazon Prime, which shows that her priorities are amusingly bizarre. The service Amazon Prime is provided by {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}}, where the user pays a flat annual fee and in exchange they get access a number of "enhanced" Amazon services, including free two-day shipping, free access to a library of streaming videos, and the ability to borrow books.

Later, a [[1606: Five-Day Forecast|Five-Day Forecast]] was also made into a comic.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits behind a computer desk when Megan calls to him.]
:Megan (off-panel): Is it going to rain this weekend? I have a thing.
:Cueball: Lemme check.
:*type type*
:Cueball: ...Uhh. What?

:[A caption is written above ten small panels in two rows. In each panel is an indication of the weather. Below each panel a label tells which day it is referring too.]
:'''Your 10-day forecast:'''
:[A yellow sun.]
:Today
:[Two gray clouds in front of the sun.]
:Tomorrow
:[Thunderstorms, with three gray clouds and a single lightning bolt.]
:Friday
:[Extreme thunderstorms with many large gray clouds and seven lightning bolts]
:Saturday
:[A swarm of insects, with one large black one close by and seven others close enough to discern details. The rest of the swarm is grayed out and just shown as small dots behind these other eight insects.]
:Sunday
:[Images of distorted people with very long legs. One Megan, one Cueball and someone in the background.]
:Monday
:[A humanoid figure with two large horns or a winged helmet silhouetted against a bleak red background. The ground beneath the figure is black.]
:Tuesday
:[Grey static]
:Tuesday
:[Black screen]
:Tuesday
:[Black screen]
:Tuesday

:[Megan has entered the panel and stands behind Cueball looking at his laptop over his shoulder. She points to the screen. Cueball holds his hand to his chest.]
:Megan: ...Oh! You typed a minus sign in the ZIP code. The negative ZIP codes are all like that.
:Cueball: Let's ''never'' move there.

{{comic discussion1}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

2555: Notifications

2021-12-16T05:34:48Z

108.162.221.163: /* Transcript */ Typo correction, del white space

{{comic
| number = 2555
| date = December 15, 2021
| title = Notifications
| image = notifications.png
| titletext = It's 10:34 PM for this user. They really need to get going, they have a thing early tomorrow. Are you sure you want to notify?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an autoreplyBOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Hat Guy, Megan and Cueball are standing next to each other. Hat Guy is separated from the other two figures by a small margin.]
:Hat Guy: And another thing that annoys me about people is...
:Cueball: This user has notifications turned off.

[The camera zooms in on Megan and Cueball. Megan turns to look at Cueball.]
:Cueball: They will see your messages when they're back. '''Notify anyway?'''

[The camera zooms outward to show Hat Guy. All three figures are silently standing.]

[Megan turns to look at Cueball again.]
:Megan: What are you--
:Cueball: Shhh- It's working.

{{comic discussion}}