explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1440: Geese

2014-10-29T09:11:19Z

108.162.231.215:

The explanation should point out that the comic is referring to the common misconception that there is a high chance that a visible star is already dead. The facts are explained but the context is missing. This misconception was also mentioned in a what-if, but I cant find it right now.
The Milky Way is 120kly in diameter and most visible stars are much closer. With a lifetime of at least a couple millions of years the probability for a random star being dead is way below 1%. Given that there are 5000 stars visible to the naked eye (under best viewing conditions), this means that statistically there are maybe 5 stars in the entire night sky that are dead already. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 09:10, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1440: Geese

2014-10-29T09:10:49Z

108.162.231.215: Created page with "The explanation should point out that the comic is referring to the a common misconception that there is a high chance that a visible star is already dead. The facts are expla..."

The explanation should point out that the comic is referring to the a common misconception that there is a high chance that a visible star is already dead. The facts are explained but the context is missing. This misconception was also mentioned in a what-if, but I cant find it right now.
The Milky Way is 120kly in diameter and most visible stars are much closer. With a lifetime of at least a couple millions of years the probability for a random star being dead is way below 1%. Given that there are 5000 stars visible to the naked eye (under best viewing conditions), this means that statistically there are maybe 5 stars in the entire night sky that are dead already. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 09:10, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:724: Hell

2014-08-22T11:53:35Z

108.162.231.215: minor mention of similar, hence relevant game.

That playable version is actually quite fun. My best was 22 pieces on the screen ([[:File:22 pieces.png|screenshot]]).
[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 18:20, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

Guess what, this is actually scorable. The trick is to form a solid base with your blocks, and play normal tetris over that. [[Special:COntributions/116.76.175.236|116.76.175.236]] 13:56, 21 October 2012‎ (UTC)

I'm not sure if saying the hell came "cannot be won" is worth saying. Keep in mind, the regular game of tetris can't be won either. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 01:29, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

"In Soviet Russia, game wastes time with you!"?! [[Special:Contributions/31.111.2.74|31.111.2.74]] 23:28, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

If Heaven was #888, why wasn't Hell #666? --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:39, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

Super Mario Bros with a star just out of reach - reference to Tantalus? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.120|108.162.242.120]] 03:23, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

For posterity, there's also not tetris, by stabyourself.net, which is similarly hellish in that you freely rotate the tetronimoes, and they will most likely not align perfectly, although its bottom border is a straight line. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 11:53, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-08-11T08:27:07Z

108.162.231.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs explanation of each device and explanation of title text.}}
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to different shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5mm headphone jack, into a variety of petrols suitable for running your car.

Different connectors:
*{{w|VGA_connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): A type of video connector, it has fifteen pins in a D-shell (A trapezoidal metal skirt guards the pins from the sides, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way ("keyed") and makes the physical connection more secure). First used in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then, it is an extremly common type of video connector.
*{{w|Digital_Visual_Interface|DVI}} (Digital Video Interface): Another type of video connector, it also uses a D-shell connector, except the pins are the flat instead or round. DVI is not compatable with VGA ports, though DVI can transmit an analog signal.
*{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): A connector that can transmit both video and audio over the same cable, HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices, due to the simplicty (one connector instead of two) and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.
*{{w|Thunderbolt_(interface)|Thunderbolt}}: A multimedia/data connector, Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and recieve data at the same time, over the same port. However, the limited adoption by manufacuters, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherant to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.
*{{w|IEEE_1394|Firewire}}: A data transfer connector, Firewire is bidirectional. Multiple devices can be hooked up through Firewire via dasiy chaining (the first device connects to the second device, which connects to the third device, and so on). Firewire can also be used to network computers together (though that is not common)
*{{w|Component_video|Component}} and {{w|RCA_connector|RCA}}: Both Component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and aduio signals. The RCA uses one connection (with only one signal) to transmit video. Two connectors are used to transmit audio (one right channel, one left channel). Component shares the connector type, but adds in two more connectors to provide additional video information.
*{{w|Phone_connector_(audio)|1/8" audio/video}}
*{{w|Parallel_port|Parallel port}}: the now obsolete computer interface mostly used to connect printers to PC's
*{{w|S-Video_(analog_video_standard)|S-video}}
*{{w|In-flight_entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}
*{{w|PS/2_port|PS/2}}: Used to connect mouse and keyboard in older computers. There are no such connectors as PS/3 and PS/4 - the joke here is that {{w|PlayStation}} console uses the same acronym, and currently there are four generations of it, commonly abbreviated to PSX, PS2, PS3 and PS4.
*{{w|NEMA_connector|120V AC (optionally with ground)}}
*{{w|Ribbon_cable|Ribbon cables}} (not divideable like in the comic) ({{w|Floppy_disk|Floppy}}/{{w|Parallel_ATA|IDE}}/{{w|Hard_disk_drive|SFF-8212 (2.5")}}/{{w|SCSI_connector|SCSI}})
*{{w|USB#Connectors_and_plugs|USB}} USB (USB-A), USB weird other end (USB-B), mini-USB, micro-USB, macro-USB (doesn't exist)
*{{w|F_connector|F connector}}
*{{w|Optical_fiber_connector|Fiber}}
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}} The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones.
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (aka RJ45): the most common consumer grade fixed wire connection for networking (Your wifi will use one to connect to the cable modem).
*{{w|Token_ring|Token ring}}: A now outdated networking technology, which in late 90ties competed with ethernet for local area network fixed wire connection.
*{{w|MagSafe}} (MagSafe 1 and 2 connectors seem to be switched), MagSafe 3 (unknown), MagSafe 4 (doesnt' exist and seems to be a joke about the poor quality of MagSafe cables)
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}
*{{w|SCART}}: A mostly European video connector for picture and sound -- replaced the coax and RGB cables for improved video quality. Now obsolete and replaced with HDMI.
*{{w|Tin_can_telephone|String}} For connecting to a tin-can. An analogue device for sending and receiving sound over a wire
*{{w|Fuel_dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose {{w|Octane_rating|Octane rating}} or {{w|Diesel_fuel|Diesel}}.

The title text is referring to connector "gender," which is a further complication in getting a connection. A connector is capable of making a connection to another device only through another connector of the opposite gender. Gender adapters flip the gender of a connector, so that two connectors of the same gender can connect. Due to the number of connections this box is capable of, there would be a significant number of connectors, which would lead to them weighing 50-lbs in all. The weight of the petrol pump gender adapter is probably responsible for the bulk of this.

The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. These were developed in the 1990s, and come in a staggering variety of dimensions. The "barrel" has both an inner diameter and an outer diameter, so even if the outer diameter of the barrel jack (which can be easily measured) is correct, the inner diameter could not be. This leads to frustration on the part of users when the original power supply cannot be found.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

1318: Actually

2014-01-17T10:34:28Z

108.162.231.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1318
| date = January 17, 2014
| title = Actually
| image = actually.png
| titletext = Protip: You can win every exchange just by being one level more precise than whoever talked last. Eventually, you'll defeat all conversational opponents and stand alone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|More detail and formatting should be added.}}

* The picture is designed to have us thinking about a planet (presumably Earth), such that when we read the first speaker's comment, we interpret it as "The Earth is flat", which was the earliest view of the planet. (The speaker does not explicitly state their subject, however, which leads to the comic's punchline.)
* The second speaker explains that the Earth is actually a sphere, tracking the progression of knowledge of the Earth's shape.
* The third speaker provides further detail on the shape, that rather than being spherical, the Earth is actually an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblate_spheroid oblate spheroid]. On Earth, this occurs because a rotating body tends to bulge at the equator (where the matter experiences greater centripetal forces - analogous to experiencing more force at the outside of a round-a-bout rather than at the centre), and is known as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_bulge equatorial bulge].
* A more accurate description is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGM96 Earth Gravitational Model 1996] which provided a detailed map of Earth's gravitational field. This therefore refines the oblate spheroid model even further.
* The next speaker notes that this is still a very high level model of the planet (necessary because of the sizes involved) and that the true shape of the planet is given by the actual local topography (i.e., mountains, hills, valleys, etc.) which can be thought as overlaid on the planet wide models.
* Changing tack, the remaining speaker notes that our planet sits in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_relativity curved space-time], where our planet's gravity, as well as all other objects, bends the space and time around them. On the largest scale, this has the potential to lead to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe curvature] of the four dimensional space-time of the universe, hence "universe that is curved". Such a universe can either be "open" or "closed", depending on how much mass and energy there is. In a "closed" universe, if you drew a large enough triangle in space, you would find that the angles did add up to more than 180 degrees (just like if it was drawn on the surface of a balloon - in this case, the angles would add up to more than 180 degrees).<ref>An example of closed geometry is spherical geometry, where the sum of the angles of a triangle is π < A + B + C < 3π http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_trigonometry</ref> In an "open" universe, the sum of the angles would be less than 180 degrees.
* Finally, the first speaker comments again, and we now interpret this as referring not to the planet but to the universe itself - current observations suggest that the balance of matter and energy in the universe is such that the universe is, in fact, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_the_universe#Flat_universe flat] on the largest scales. (Whether this is coincidence or reflective of underlying laws is currently unknown.)
* The arguments could continue around the circle, now referring to the universe. They aren't generally applicable but going round the circle a second time suggests that some similar truth may apply at the scale of the universe, which in turn is again embedded in something else (a kind of meta-universe). The circular layout of the comics invites to continue without end, a nice example of meta-humor.

<references />

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Six people are standing upon a white circle as if it were a miniature planet. Each person is facing the reader and says something to the person on their right. All texts are displayed as a near-continuous stream over their heads to form one circle that encloses the whole picture.]
:[From topmost, going clockwise.]
::Cueball: '''''Actually,''''' measurements suggest it's flat.
::Ponytail: '''''Actually,''''' it's a sphere.
::White Hat: '''''Actually,''''' it's an oblate spheroid.
::Megan: '''''Actually,''''' it's a sphere defined by the EGM96 coefficients.
::Hairy 1: '''''Actually,''''' it's that plus local topography.
::Hairy 2: '''''Actually,''''' it's embedded in a universe that's curved.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

531: Contingency Plan

2013-12-17T15:45:12Z

108.162.231.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 531
| date = January 16, 2009
| title = Contingency Plan
| image = contingency_plan.png
| titletext = Kids are genetic experiments. We're just experimenting responsibly!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Jurassic_Park_(franchise)|Jurassic Park}} is a series of books and films centering on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. In particular, the park scientists give the dinosaurs {{w|lysine}} deficiency as a failsafe measure so that if some dinosaur were to escape, it wouldn't be able to survive in the wild. In practice, lysine can easily be obtained by eating protein-rich foods like red meat, lamb or pork.

Megan comments that Cueball is force-feeding their child so many sugary drinks that the child runs the risk of contracting {{w|diabetes}}. Cueball responds that that is the plan, since if anything were to go wrong, they'll just have to stop giving her {{w|insulin}}, which will kill her. The narrator comments that this is precisely the approach used in Jurassic Park.

The title text continues the theme, noting that having children is basically one big genetic experiment, and that Cueball is experimenting responsibly, thinking ahead as to the possible consequences of his experiment.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball holding a green bottle are standing beside a crib. Another green bottle is lying on the floor.]
:Megan: More sugary drinks? Are you trying to give her diabetes?
:Cueball: Yeah - then we keep her supplied with insulin unless things go wrong.
:I take the Jurassic Park approach to parenting.

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

Talk:1301: File Extensions

2013-12-09T14:40:55Z

108.162.231.215:

The title text reference of "hand-aligned data" may refer to ASCII art. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 05:36, 9 December 2013 (UTC) Alan K.

I think it's also a notable point, that the better rated document formats are more data centric while the low rated formats mix text informations with design elements and finally become pure graphic formats, which often is an indication, that the author didn't use the accurate file type for (mostly) pure text informations.
Something I don't understand is the gap between jpg and jpeg. The first suffix is AFAIK only an abbreviation used by older DOS/MS Systems to fullfill the 8.3 limitation for filenames. The note about hand alignment might concern the fact, that hand alignment is more time expensive which might increase the amount of the the author spend in overthink the content before layouting. Also often automated layouting as supported by many modern writing application might lead to unexpected and sometimes wrong results, because the automatism has no semantical knowledge about the authors intention, which might lead to post processed errors
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:"hand-aligned data" seems to me like (manually) space-indented paragraphs, perhaps even manual padding to achieve the desired justification (centering and right-and-left-margin-hugging). And of course neatly lining up an 'embedded table', perhaps originally extracted from a .csv output. Although a number of plain-text editors (in the days of CGA and pure terminal/fixedspace fonts) or text formatters and wrappers (e.g. Lynx, man-page creaters, etc) ''would'' do things like this for you. And still do. At least insofar as the justification and margining is concerned. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:35, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
If anyone has taken the time to hand align a text file (as in a README, or other info file), they want it to look attractive for people to read. Odd are you're not going to take the time to "hand pretty" the document just to be malicious. Back in the BBS days there were a large number of "online" groups who had "signature" text files which were (very probably) hand aligned, and made extensive use of extended ASCII codes to generate basic graphics. (Granted there were programs to help auto-generate "ascii art".) If you've ever seen these files you'd know. [[http://www.thuglife.org/tlv5/aabout.shtml Example 1]] - [[http://textfiles.com/piracy/NFO/ Example 2]] [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:14, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I find it interesting that .jpg and .jpeg are at different levels. Aren't those the same thing? --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

:That JPG/JPEG thing indeed seems strange. The more important distinction is between JPEGs that are photographs (fine) and those that are not (stupid). Also, pre-PNG, non-photograph GIFs could be just fine. And with all the accounting scandals we've seen, why would those spreadsheet formats get any credibility? -- [[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 06:06, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::Alongside .jpeg ('full' extension format) and .jpg (MS '8.3'-compatible extension format), I'd have expected .jpe (often full extension historically truncated on an 8.3 system), I must be honest. (And interesting that .docx doesn't co-inhabit the .doc line... or be somewhere else.) And the disparity betwixt the two versions of JPEG extension ''may'' relate to the tendency for a higher artefact-intensity of images back in the early days (when a better option than GIFs for... certain pictures... e.g. on Usenet between *nix workstations with vastly restricted bandwidths and storage capacities) compared to today's users (cameras that regularly store 10+MP pictures in low-loss JFIF files, and/or in Raw format!). But that may be a spurious or off-track reasoning on my part. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I measured the bars in photoshop to +/- 2pixels. If we scale .tex to a value of 100 like the transcript says, these are the values I get for the bar lengths (rounded to one decimal place)
.tex 100
.pdf 89.4
.csv 84.9
.txt 66.5
.svg 64.8
.xls 48.6
.doc 21.2
.png 15.1
.ppt 14.5
.jpg 3.4
.jpeg -8.4
.gif -35.8

Dunno if it is helpful - or even trusted given I'm a first time commenter - but there it is. Closer values than just estimating, though the eyeballed estimates aren't bad. Not going to adjust the actual transcript because I feel that's overstepping my bounds. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.56}}
:Not at all, wikis are free to edit for a reason. If we didn't want new users to be editing pages, we could have turned that off long ago. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

As the information that is provided by the graph comes as png, we should probably not trust her. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.120|141.101.92.120]] 09:03, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
: Ha, +1 Like :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I never saw image of cute cats lying to me ... I mean, the gif is STILL the preferred format for animation, mostly because it's the only one supported. Animation formats based on PNG didn't catched up, hard to say why ... on the other hand, gif animation apparently have huge number of weird extensions, judging by the number of animated images I found which don't render properly in anything EXCEPT the browser. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The cute cat may not be lying, but since the format is used in other context -- like banner ads, then the average GIF may well be lying, also I believe there have been many security issues with GIFs and JPGs as they have been used as an attack vector for internet-bad-guys to take over your computer -- so while security issues is not specifically the topic for todays strip, then that may be worth noticing as well [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:It is also possible to create animations with svg which is (for good reason, I like that format) ranked higher. Especially for scientific purposes it can be handy. Unfortunately is the MediaWiki software unable to show them. For example in the previous comic is an animation of the Galilean moons shown. That is an gif but someone also uploaded an [[Wikipedia:commons:File:Galilean_moon_Laplace_resonance_animation_(en_-_monochrome_-_350x217).svg|svg animation]] and I would say it does look smoother than the gif. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 14:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

44: Love

2013-11-11T05:34:40Z

108.162.231.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 44
| date = October 19, 2005
| title = Love
| image = love.jpg
| titletext = This one makes me wince every time I think about it
}}

==Explanation==
Couples sometimes express their love similarly to this comic, continuing to escalate the claims of how much they love each other, satisfied that they love each other a lot.

But what if the woman agrees that, yeah, he does love her more? The awkwardness of such an admission is further punctuated by the title text.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing one another.]

:Cueball: I love you!
:Megan: I love you!

:Cueball: I love you more!

:Megan: Yeah.

:[Cueball and Megan stand facing one another - saying nothing.]

==Trivia==
*This is the twenty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[21: Kepler]]. The next was [[40: Light]].
*This is the last strip drawn on graph paper.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]