explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1685: Patch

2016-05-25T08:55:15Z

141.101.104.25:

Hey, I'm first! Guessing the Bot only JUST created this, it was mere minutes after midnight EST when I landed on this page. Unfortunately this is a comic I'm less capable of explaining. From the looks of it, his Photoshop Patch turned what looks like C code into gobbledegook by filling in several of the spaces (and I think even changing some of the characters, possible with characters which fill more of the space). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.77|108.162.218.77]] 04:24, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

This appears to be Python code. Note the "def" keyword, how "for i in [garbled]:" is used rather than C's for syntax, and how there are no semicolons or braces. --[[User:Sherlock9|Sherlock9]] ([[User talk:Sherlock9|talk]]) 05:03, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

Photoshop has a 'patch' tool but it has a very different function from a software patch.
:An explanation of Photoshop's patch tool might be helpful in identifying patterns in what pixels were changed by it, perhaps facilitating the identification of some likely characters. [[User:Dansiman|Dansiman]] ([[User talk:Dansiman|talk]]) 05:56, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

The first function looks like "isPrime" and seems to check if a number is prime. The last function looks like "quicksort". Both are common functions you create when learning programming. Not sure about the second one, but it looks like it uses regular expressions. -- [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.242|198.41.242.242]] 06:44, 25 May 2016 (UTC)
:I think the second one is "isPrimeRegex". *cringe* [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.25|141.101.104.25]] 08:55, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

Second function looks like a function to check if number is a prime using Regex (described here http://www.noulakaz.net/2007/03/18/a-regular-expression-to-check-for-prime-numbers/). I don't know if it deserves some special mention, but at least to me (non-programmer) it looks like one of the most arcane things you can do in programming [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.79|141.101.80.79]] 07:22, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1637: Salt Mine

2016-02-01T08:36:54Z

141.101.104.25:

I don't think that the exotic restaurants relate, here. As well, I think that Ponytail says "Yes, that is definitely why" because she is saying "Yes, we definitely built the detector here to block out cosmic rays, and definitely *not* to eat the delicious salt." You know what I mean? Thoughts? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.21|173.245.54.21]] 06:46, 1 February 2016 (UTC)
: I agree. The comment about restaurants only adds to the potential confusion around the comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 08:05, 1 February 2016 (UTC)BK201
The science facility in a salt mine made me think of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_2 Portal 2]. Now i'm wondering if the IMB served as an inspiration for Portal 2. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.25|141.101.104.25]] 08:36, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

Talk:133: The Raven

2015-02-21T22:33:13Z

141.101.104.25:

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) Date is definitely incorrect. Could someone fix that?

I must admit curiosity as to how you equated "rapping on a door" with "rape". "Rapping" as used in the poem means exactly what it says; to tap on the door. Electric doorbells didn't exist in the 1800s and people would announce their presence at your door by knocking (rapping) on it. It has nothing to do with rape.
:Agreed, and fixed. The original posting made the incorrect association of ''rapping'' (to knock or strike) with ''rape'' (originally to sieze or carry away, in addition to its more contemporary meaning) which was incorrectly described as "too force open"... but that's the nature of wikis: we all can post, and we all can correct. Thanks for pointing it out. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:26, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Should it be mentioned that the actual poem says "as '''of''' someone gently rapping" rather than "as if"? -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.25|141.101.104.25]] 22:33, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

1484: Apollo Speeches

2015-02-09T08:17:59Z

141.101.104.25: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1484
| date = February 9, 2015
| title = Apollo Speeches
| image = apollo_speeches.png
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}As explained in the comic, Nixon Staffer William Safire wrote two speeches for the United States President to deliver depending on whether or not the Apollo 11 return launch was successful. The reason for two different speeches having been written was that the return launch had an outcome that could not be predicted with certainty. Such an uncertain event could be called a contingency, making the speeches "contingency speeches".

The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed is the speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the moon. Laying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft goes missing altogether, which is relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following contingencies: the astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it to Mars; upon landing, more astronauts were found in the ship; the ship had hit the U.S.S. Hornet and crushed Nixon; and the ship had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.

The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the irony of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Category:Bobcats

2014-07-25T11:09:19Z

141.101.104.25: link hobbies

Sending {{w|bobcat}}s by mail is one of [[Black Hat]]'s favorite "[[:category:My Hobby|hobbies]]".

{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Animals]]