explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1532: New Horizons

2015-06-01T20:54:55Z

141.101.64.35:

Anyone know why the text on the comic was heavily aliased (pixelated edges), although it's since been fixed on the xkcd website? [[User:Keavon|Keavon]] ([[User talk:Keavon|talk]]) 07:45, 1 June 2015 (UTC)
:Probably a bad setting on the PNG compression by Randall when saving. Maybe he's trying to optimize file size (although in this case, the quality suffered). --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.192|108.162.238.192]] 11:53, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia, "in August 2014, astronomers made high-precision measurements of Pluto's location and orbit around the Sun using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to help NASA's New Horizons spacecraft accurately home in on Pluto." Was Steve involved in these measurements too? (And any of the numerous ways by which it can be determined how far away NH is and which way it is travelling!)--[[User:Laverock|Laverock]] ([[User talk:Laverock|talk]]) 12:43, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

This joke appears to be aimed at the implausibility of the Horizon Mission’s concept art, which looks suspiciously like earth. The image shows deserts, mountains and oceans which appear to be “riffs off” of a satellite image of the Horn of Africa, western Asia, and the Indian Ocean.
Examples:
Artist's conception of New Horizons at Pluto. Image Credit: NASA
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/15-011a.jpg
Image usage:
http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/solar-system/new-horizons-starts-first-phase-pluto-encounter/

I do not know if the image is concept art for the New Horizon mission from back in 2006; or if it is a more generic space exploration art work. It is hard to imagine that it is specific to the New Horizon’s Mission.
One should ask New Horizons mission members to comment. There must be an interesting inside story. [[User:Dfh42|Dfh42]] ([[User talk:Dfh42|talk]]) 15:49, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

This earlier mission art is probably closer to what Randall would consider plausible:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_267.html [[User:Dfh42|Dfh42]] ([[User talk:Dfh42|talk]]) 16:29, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

Waitasec, wouldn't the people on the ground know pretty much the exact position of this probe at all times? If nothing else they know its direction and distance from earth just by monitoring their communications with it. [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 17:45, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

= Slingshot maneuver

It uses the gravity of a planet to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist Reference] I guess Steve miscalculated the maneuver. --[[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 06:41, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

= References

# Related tweet: [https://twitter.com/NASANewHorizons/status/603652798622920704 As @NASANewHorizons gets closer, our view of #Pluto gets better and better!].
# Related link: [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-new-horizons-sees-more-detail-as-it-draws-closer-to-pluto NASA’s New Horizons Sees More Detail as It Draws Closer to Pluto].
# [http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/team/ NASA Dawn Team]
--[[User:Arturotena|Arturotena]] ([[User talk:Arturotena|talk]]) 06:34, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

= Distance?

If Pluto is 39.26 AU from the Sun, how can New Horizons be 0.34 AU from Pluto and 32.55 AU from the Sun? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.35|141.101.64.35]] 20:54, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

1525: Emojic 8 Ball

2015-05-18T11:17:13Z

141.101.64.35: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1525
| date = May 15, 2015
| title = Emojic 8 Ball
| image = emojic 8 ball.png
}}
<div class="toclimit-3" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;">__TOC__</div>
*To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|1525|original comic}}.
*To see an example of what the comic looks like after you ask a question see this [[media:emojic 8 ball with answer.png|answer]].

==Explanation==
Emojic 8 Ball is a parody of the {{w|Magic 8-Ball}} using {{w|emoji}} instead of words. A real Magic 8 Ball is a toy designed to visually resemble a real {{w|billiard_ball#International_pool|pool ball}}, which responds to questions (best posed as yes or no questions) asked of it, ostensibly by magic. The responses are provided through a window on one face that displays text phrases printed on a triangular shape as depicted in this comic. Vintage balls contained a die with multiple triangular facets suspended in a dark fluid, while modern balls feature an electronic screen.

The ball in this comic provides responses in the form of graphical {{w|Unicode}} "text" (which this comic is suggesting are {{w|emoji}}).

It is possible that this may be commentary on the inclusion of such "meaningless" symbols into Unicode. Ask a question and get a meaningless reply, even more meaningless than the answers given by a Magic 8 Ball.

It could also be commentary about the ambiguous nature of advice from fortune tellers, horoscopes, etc. Each emoji has an ambiguous meaning (for example, depending on context, the cow symbol 🐄 could refer to beef or farming). The interpretation has more to do with the person receiving the fortune than anything given by the so-called fortune reader.

With the default question being "How will I die?", this may also be partially a reference to "{{w|Machine of Death}}". This book from 2010 is a collection of short stories edited by amongst other {{w|Ryan North}} (of {{w|Dinosaur Comics}}) mentioned here since the idea was based on one of [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=675 his comics]. Since [[Randall Munroe]] wrote one of the stories the reference is very likely. All the stories are based around a device, the "Machine of Death", that can predict, with 100% accuracy though generally with extreme ambiguity, how people die from a drop of their blood. In many of the stories very unusual deaths are predicted, often in a very literal way, but not so you know when or where you will die. From the [http://machineofdeath.net/ official home page] the entire book can be downloaded for free as a [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4648190/MachineofDeath_FINAL_SPREADS.pdf PDF file]. (Randall's story begins on page 421 - or page 218 of the two sided PDF file. It is simply called "?"). The "Machine of Death" may also have been referenced in the fourth panel of [[1341: Types of Editors]].

Emoji were previously referenced in [[1513: Code Quality]].

===Permalink===
*After the first time you ask a question a permalink will appear below the panel in gray letters.
*The "permalink" is an actual link of the type that is called a "'''{{w|permalink}}'''", a portmanteau of "permanent-link".
*If you wish to "save" any given question and combination of emojis for future reference (for instance one where you think the combo makes sense to your question) you can do so by copying down this link.
*The last two years [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' Day]] comics, [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]] also used the [[1350: Lorenz#Permalink|concept of a permalink]].
*The permalink option did not appear in the comic when it was first posted. This has been seen before.
*Here a three examples with one, two and three emojis is the reply
**[http://xkcd.com/1525/#eyJxIjoiV2h5IGFtIEkgc28gc2FkPyIsImEiOlsiJiN4MjY3RjsiXX0= permalink with 1 emoji].
***Question: ''Why am I so sad?''.
***The answer is one emoji [♿ (Wheelchair symbol)] (A reply that actually makes sense as to why you might feel sad)
**[https://xkcd.com/1525/#eyJxIjoiV2hhdCBzaG91bGQgSSB3ZWFyIHRvbW9ycm93PyIsImEiOlsiJiN4MUYzRTY7IiwiJiN4MUYzNTY7Il19 permalink with 2 emojis].
***Question: ''What should I wear tomorrow?''.
***The answer is two emoji [🏦 (bank) and 🍖 (meat on bone)]
**[https://xkcd.com/1525/#eyJxIjoiV2hlcmUgd2lsbCBJIGJlIGFmdGVyIHRvbW9ycm93PyIsImEiOlsiJiN4MUYzRUY7IiwiJiN4MUYzQTk7IiwiJiN4MUY0MjE7Il19 permalink with 3 emojis].
***Question: ''Where will I be after tomorrow?''.
***The answer is three emoji [🏯 (Japanese castle), 🎩 ‎(top hat) and 🐡 ‎(blowfish)].
***This is also available as a [[media:emojic 8 ball with answer.png|picture]] - it is the picture linked to above the explanation.

===Bugs===
Note: if you see mostly squares (possibly with six numbers/letters inside) in the 8 Ball instead of actual symbols or pictures, it means your system doesn't have fonts that support the Emoji unicode characters. Scroll down to [[#Discussion|the discussion section]] below for suggestions on how to get and install the right font for your system, as well as to see a list of emoji characters so you can easily see if they're working or not.

==Transcript==
:[An image of a shiny black ball with a white circle forming a black window at its center. Above the image is a title where the number 8 is written in a black circle, making it look like an 8-ball.]
:'''Emojic 8 Ball'''

:[Below the title is an input field with a placeholder text in grayed out text:]
:How will I die?

:[Below is a gray submit button]
:Ask

:[The Emojic 8 Ball is below the ask button. The text in the input field can be changed be the user before pressing the ask button. After the submit button is pressed, 1 to 3 emoji symbols appear in the black window, framed inside a light blue equilateral triangle with one end pointing straight up. Once this has been done once, then link appears below the panel with this text: Permalink].

==Trivia==

* The 8-ball randomly returns between one and three emoji characters. The source code reveals there is 42.1% chance of getting one character, 52.6% chance of getting two characters, and 5.3% chance of getting three.
* The source code contains 507 different emoji characters. For a full list of the supported characters, see [[1525:_Emojic_8_Ball/List_of_emoji|List of emoji]].
* This is the second comic without title text. The first was [[1506: xkcloud]].
* The [http://xkcd.com/1525/info.0.json official transcript] of the comic says:
**"Sorry blind people. There is no title text, even. Just a text box, an \"ask\" button, and a graphic that changes to a random emojii.\n\nThis one doesn't seem to be for you."
**This is one of the few comics with [[:Category:No title text|no title text]].
**This is also one of the few recent comics with an official transcript.

{{comic discussion}}

<noinclude>
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:No title text]]
</noinclude>

Talk:1489: Fundamental Forces

2015-02-21T16:53:53Z

141.101.64.35:

«The off-panel audience, probably a student or class, is interested, but quickly begins to realize Cueball's lack of understanding. Instead of acknowledging the problem directly, Cueball simply blusters onwards.»

My interpretation is rather different. It looks like Cueball is a physicist who knows that the distinction of "four fundamental forces" is basically wrong/obsolete (the term "force" is not even used anymore in theoretical physics), but since his audience are high school students, he can't go into the many complex details underlying the fundamental interactions, and therefore is forced to gloss over it. This is confirmed by the title text (if Cueball didn't understand the theory of fundamental interactions, he wouldn't give that answer). --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.101.78|188.114.101.78]] 10:31, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

To me it appeared as a typical exam situation for Cueball with '''him''' being the pupil. And ironically that situation looks similar to the real scientific understanding of the topic. [[User:Renormalist|Renormalist]] ([[User talk:Renormalist|talk]]) 11:12, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
: I could see that, to an extent - it doesn't jive with the title text IMO, and it's less funny that a student would be glossing over this stuff than a someone in an instructive role, but I could see it -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:46, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Irony like this is not uncommon in physics. What was the first encounter with electric phenomena? Triboelectricity. What don't we understand at all? Right. Or take Zenos paradoxon. Or the divisibility paradoxon. The oldest nuts tend to be the toughest. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.221|108.162.230.221]] 12:26, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

:I'm not sure about ''the'' first one, but one of first electromagnetic phenomenons we encountered was light. We first observed it about 200000 years ago. :P [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.77|141.101.104.77]] 13:45, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

I knew from the title, "Fundamental Horses", that this was going to be a great one. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.200}}

I prefer Chromatic Horse and Flavor Horse. Why use weak names when we have new strong ones? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 11:58, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

In high school Physics, my class was taught that physicists had recently combined the Electromagnetic and Weak Nuclear forces into the Electro-Weak Force, so there were only three and if we were to find the Higgs Boson, there might be just two or one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.11|108.162.241.11]] 21:55, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
:Actually, it is the Higgs Boson, that combines the electromagnetic and the weak nuclear interaction into the electroweak interaction, so it's still 3. But actually, even if electromagnetism and the weak interaction can be described in one theory, they are still viewed as two different phenomena, so it actually will always be 4. (Unless we discover other interactions). --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.192|141.101.105.192]] 22:23, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Old timer physicists say the same thing about magnetism and electricity. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.35|141.101.64.35]] 16:53, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Talk:12: Poisson

2014-07-21T20:03:06Z

141.101.64.35:

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) The date of issue of this comic is off. Does anybody have the correct date? Does anybody know the song that BlackHat is singing in the last frame?

I always imagine the song is either the Bangles cover of "hazy shade of winter" from the movie Less than Zero though I have also imagined it to be "saved by zero" by the Fixx.

:Did anyone notice the pun on poison and Poisson? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.174|108.162.254.174]] 18:39, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
:: What pun? Replacing "Poisson" with "poison" anywhere doesn't produce any additional meaning. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 18:54, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Note that the 'h' in the word 'hell' looks like 'λ'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.35|141.101.64.35]] 20:03, 21 July 2014 (UTC)