explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1707: xkcd Phone 4

2016-07-16T15:23:57Z

141.101.70.103:

The current explanation seems to assume a constant current draw of 1A without explicitly stating it.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.95.117|141.101.95.117]] 14:04, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

The 12 headphone jacks is probably referring to the rumor that the iPhone 7 may not have a headphone jack. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.90|141.101.104.90]] 14:58, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Fun fact: the Walkman II (the most popular variant) had 2 headphone jacks, so that two people could listen to music at the same time, but the second jack was removed from later designs. This has a few more than that, perhaps there is one for each voice assistant to make it "usable". {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.119}}

An alternative explanation of "onboard cloud" could be a file server that serves over WIFI, Bluetooth, and NFC, turning the phone into an effective NAS sneakernet [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:30, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

The "certified" feature probably refers to various certifications being used as marketing features. [[User:Joedetode|Joedetode]] ([[User talk:Joedetode|talk]]) 15:33, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

The Julian calendar is used by Orthodox Christians, but not astronomers. Astronomers use something called {{w|Julian day}}. --[[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 16:27, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
:Its also used in banking and finance. I have to do the conversion every time we do a direct debit collection at work to verify that the dates in the file are what we need, so that switch would actually be useful to me.

"Did you know '4' is 'IV' in Roman numerals?" is probably a dig on "Mac OS X", which is supposed to be pronounced "Mac OS 10". Apparently it used to annoy Steve Jobs that it was pronounced "Mac OS EX" by many people. {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.214}}

It could be also a reference to the Samsung Galaxy Smartphones, as they were called Galaxy S (1st Version), Galaxy S II (2nd Version), Galaxy S III (3rd Version) and Galaxy S4 (fourth version, which does not use Roman numerals anymore) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.249|162.158.85.249]]

"The nickel–iron battery does exist, but it's terrible for most applications. Worse, this battery is non-rechargeable, meaning that it would have to be replaced to use the phone again after it is exhausted." is not supported by the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel%E2%80%93iron_battery. The first line of which begins "The nickel–iron battery (NiFe battery) is a rechargeable battery ... ".--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.11|108.162.219.11]] 17:11, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

The comment about the Nickel-Iron battery being non-rechargable is referring not to the Wikipedia article, but the battery annotation on the picture, which states clearly that the included battery is non-rechargable. Perhaps the explanation should be amended to clear up this ambiguity. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.132|141.101.98.132]] 18:07, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

This explanation would be easier to read if put in a table, with the term on the left and description on the right {{unsigned|4jonah}}

The drawing may be interpreted as if "software defined" applies to part of the case (or the whole case). That would be... interesting, if useless. Doable - although probably impractical and not worth the price - with e-paper for graphical motives, for actual textures or other material characteristics maybe Nobel-worthy (and still quite useless in this application). {{unsigned ip|162.158.201.6}}

The inclusion of a parallel port may be a stab at Apple products such as iPhones. Apple seems to insist on avoiding otherwise standard connectors such as Micro USB, in favor of their own proprietary ones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.168|108.162.237.168]] 06:02, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

Note that the parallel port on image doesn't look at all like {{w|Parallel port}} (IEEE 1284). Of course, it can still be parallel port in general sense, similarly as {{w|USB}} is serial (that's what the S in USB stands for) without being {{w|Serial port}} (RS-232). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:57, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

It seems as if "Certified" may be a reference to [https://xkcd.com/1096/ #1096]
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.223|141.101.91.223]] 13:49, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1667: Algorithms

2016-04-14T01:32:32Z

141.101.70.103:

How can an excel spreadsheet be complicated? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.244.85|108.162.244.85]] 04:52, 13 April 2016 (UTC
:See this example http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/04/how-an-accountant-created-an-entire-rpg-inside-an-excel-spreadsheet/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.82}}
:: Oh my [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 10:36, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
:::also http://www.geocities.jp/nchikada/pac/ (it's geocities!) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 11:56, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
::::Or the thing I use at work. Work in finance - reconciling 1 code takes half a GIGABYTE of spreadsheets every 4 weeks that had been added to and tweaked so many times in the last 5 years by 6 different people, 5 of which are no longer at the company (and the last one hasn't used it in over a year) that it took me 4 months just to understand how the damned things worked and went together, and my work asks me to teach internal excel classes and run drop ins to help people out. First thing I did when I understood it was tear it down and rebuild from the ground up. Didn't cut the number of sheets (actually ended up with more), but it now takes 3 days not 15 and has dropped from half a gig to about 270MB thanks to a major cleanup in the one file I kept.

Leftpad is a reference to the recent incident where a developer unpublished all his libraries from the NodeJS Package Manager, causing much disruption: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.231|162.158.85.231]] 05:58, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

In the off chance that this is referencing an actual spreadsheet, and if anyone has a link, please post it in my talk page. (And in the article of course, but talk page first) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:45, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

The remark about quicksort's efficiency doesn't make sense. It's still the most common and practical general sorting algorithm. It's about as efficient you can typically get except in specialized cases or with some specific type of data. Should be removed imo. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.121|141.101.81.121]] 08:52, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
:From Wikipedia: Quicksort (sometimes called partition-exchange sort) is an efficient sorting algorithm,
:From explainxkcd: Next is '''quicksort''', a classic (if not very efficient) way to sort a list of items [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1667:_Algorithms&diff=next&oldid=117700].
:[[User:Demro|Demro]] ([[User talk:Demro|talk]]) 12:34, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Added a [Citation Needed] for the excel based RPG. More so I can read about it/play it than anything else.. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 09:07, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
:Thank you whoever put that in [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 11:54, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Added a bit to the church line. Just because you only see what happens on Sunday morning, for one hour, doesn't mean there's not more happening just beneath the surface. The classroom list at our church looks like a professional buildings office directory, and I know of members having to choose between two activities because both meet, or practice, at the same time. For instance, I know of a prospective AV team member who will never be a full time AV member, because she's a Soprano and already in Bells. (AV is setting up and debugging while the choir is practicing, and naturally it's hard to run a mixer or video switcher from the choir loft.)

Mind you, it's still hyperbole, but not to the degree previously given in the explanation. {{unsigned|Sean Roach}}

is anyone else concerned that randall doesn't label his axis? is it logarithmic? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 11:56, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Is the Nebraskan excel sheet a loose reference to how you couldn't initially order Windows in Nebraska (from what I can gather), or am I over-analyzing this? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqKqQmSHkEg at 0:57) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.85|141.101.98.85]] 12:18, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
: Maybe it's a 'flat' joke. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 15:48, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Interestingly enough, when I actually searched for "what the heck is a leftpad algorithm" sans quotations, google didn't pull up any results at all.[[User:Kirdneh|Kirdneh]] ([[User talk:Kirdneh|talk]]) 14:24, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
:Huh, that's strange. Someone had better find a query that actually works and edit the article accordingly.
:Also, the page told me, "In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 0 already displayed. If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included." I clicked the link to repeat it and still, nothing showed up. Just goes to show that even Google's algorithms can have small flaws and quirks. <span style="background:#0064de;font-size:12px;padding:4px 12px;border-radius:8px;">[[User talk:AgentMuffin|<span style="color:#f0faff;">~AgentMuffin</span>]]</span>
:Weird, when I try that query I get nearly 100k results. (The first now being this site) [[User:Tahg|Tahg]] ([[User talk:Tahg|talk]]) 23:07, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Were .xlsx spreadsheets even around in 2007? Wasn't that final x added to the extension with office 2010?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 20:30, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1395: Power Cord

2014-07-18T09:11:35Z

141.101.70.103: comment, behaviour of inflated laptop

Is there any reason why you would have to avert your eyes... i would think that it may create a dust cloud from the keyboard... but it is a fictional situations, so there may be other reasons...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.218|108.162.249.218]] 06:02, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Has anyone noticed Beret's uncanny ability with power cords? [[User:Thendenster|Thendenster]] ([[User talk:Thendenster|talk]]) 06:29, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

What a stupid unrealistic comic. Things that are blown up with air don't float! >:-C --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.97|108.162.254.97]] 07:26, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

You obviously don't know how gross a keyboard can be...
Also, if you think this is unrealistic, you obviously haven't read enough XKCD. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.220|108.162.249.220]] 07:41, 16 July 2014 (UTC)
:Yes and as can be seen someone has already added a link to the previous comic on gross keyboards so... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:45, 16 July 2014 (UTC) And who says that it is not blown up with helium or the like. First of all we would never see if a stick character was inflated - so Beret guy could be big and filled with helium. Or it is just his crazy ability that makes his blow into the socket turn the "air" into helium in the PC - or something much lighter since the shown inflation would never be enough to carry a laptop. In the end the whole comic is just an excuse to make three crazy puns (like them or not, that is up to the reader) and refeer back to [[237]] [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:45, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

:I think 108.162.254.97 is being sarcastic. Pointing out the fact that things filled with air don't float instead of the obvious impossibility of blowing air through an electric wire. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.88|108.162.216.88]] 14:46, 16 July 2014 (UTC)BK

:An object filled with air wont go up, but may still bounce out of hand and foat. In this case the sudden increase in volume have ejected the inflated laptop. Since an object almost-as-light-as-air is really sensitive to move of air, the laptop could (in the unlikely case of it happening) behave that way.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.103|141.101.70.103]] 09:11, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Given that Beret Guy often does crazy correctitive things when he perceives something is amiss in his (surreal) visions of the world, I'm wondering if that's a specific protest against having the power chord plugged into the laptop but not the wall (during normal operation, I presume, rather than deliberately depleting the battery of testing the reduced-power settings, or temporarily while other powered devices require the power sockets with more urgency). I don't know whether I personally find this set-up more or less disturbing than a power-chord plugged into the wall but ''not'' plugged into the intended laptop. Although (apart from the risk of leaving residue across the pins), the comic's version is at least safer than the opening text of the explanation would suggest. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.192|141.101.99.192]] 12:11, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

...inflation in an xkcd comic? Cue the inflatophobes... [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 13:34, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Beret Guy is obviously exhaling a lighter-than-air gas, either by just taking a large breath of helium beforehand or by a very special cellular breathing process. Moreover, it should be noted that one averts one's eyes before something holy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.41|108.162.220.41]] 11:02, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Transcript accuracy: is Cueball actually looking up in panel 2? He's still typing after all. (Also, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0f0QzMNk-E&t=17 power chords?]]) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 00:48, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

why are all the ips from cloudfare servers? sockpuppets?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.121|173.245.53.121]] 09:08, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1325: Rejection

2014-02-08T19:57:00Z

141.101.70.103:

How do we know which one is Cueball and which one is “guy”?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.119|108.162.254.119]] 08:18, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

:I was wondering the same thing. Is there some kind of assumption that Cueball is always the "smart" stick figure? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.65|108.162.254.65]] 15:12, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

First of all we dont know that the first guy has been recently rejected, that is actually an assumption made by the second guy. Also, the "they choose jerks over nice guys" argument is wrong not because it lacks judgement and self awareness, it is wrong because it belittles the woman's judgement and self-awareness. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.105|108.162.254.105]] 08:44, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the first guy is a jerk and the girl rejected him because he's a jerk. The second guy is quite blatantly pointing out that the first guy's a jerk, but the first guy is so self-absorbed that he just doesn't get it - and probably never will. This is indicates a personality disorder/character flaw. The first guy is incapable of accepting that he is a jerk and therefore has to blame the girl by falling back on a cliche about girls only wanting nice guys. This is OK for the first guy because he thinks nice guys are losers.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.9|108.162.229.9]] 09:29, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

:Uhm... Some of the above may be correct - but not the last sentences. The first guy thinks he is a nice guy, and he is about to use this to explain why he has been rejected since girls only say they want nice guys but really want something else. She probably doesn't want a jerk! But may rather go for a sporty/strong/hansom type without considering how nice he is. So the guy she chooses may or may not be nice to her (and may even be a real jerk). All this is of course just part of the stereotyping of women. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

I'm having trouble editing the article. I am trying to change the explanation to:

In popular culture women supposedly go for jerks instead of "nice guys". The guy on the left in this picture is frustrated and complaining as he has just been (presumably) rejected by a girl, and thinks it's because he's the "nice guy" type. However, there are many other reasons why a woman might reject a guy who isn't a jerk. (Though this guy just might be a jerk.) Cueball is trying to tell this guy that there are many, more complicated, reasons, and that saying "women don't like nice guys" and presuming to know what women "really want" is showing a rejection of that woman's agency, which might be the real that reason she rejected him.

The Alt Text continues the "conversation", with Cueball implying that he believes that the first guy is bad at taking hints, offering a sarcastic "crash course" in hint taking, with Cueball outright saying that he is trying to end the conversation while the first guys continues to follow him.

but it won't save. Can someone help me or copy/paste my changes themselves? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.77|173.245.50.77]] 10:37, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

:Nevermind. Found the captcha check while posting the above. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.77|173.245.50.77]] 10:39, 3 February 2014 (UTC)
::Dear 173.245.50.77, You could create a userid and login -- that way your explanation would also appear in the history nicely with your name against it [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 14:34, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

It's about "negging" by pick-up-artists. See http://xkcd.com/1027 The theory is that putting a woman down somehow makes her more attracted to you. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.216|108.162.222.216]] 11:18, 3 February 2014 (UTC)DivePeak

What is particularly interesting is the assumption by Randall that ALL woman are self aware enough to know what they really want in a man. The cartoon generalizes that self proclaimed "nice guys" are in error and whining needlessly and cluelessly about their situation. But it is this exact sort of generalization that has lead to the popular cultural conception of woman going for "jerks" over "nice guys."
In reality, there are men who are rejected by woman who have poor judgement in men, as well as men who perceive themselves to be "nice guys" but do not have the introspection and awareness to respect a woman's judgement, even if it could be poor. [[User:Tardyon|Tardyon]] ([[User talk:Tardyon|talk]]) 14:44, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

In fairness, if your judgment is poor your judgement shouldn't be respected regardless of gender. It should be pointed out to you, such as is happening here. That being said the primary issue the generalization."Guy" can speak about only one person, the woman he knows. And it'd still be estimation, but it'd probably be a deeper insight into the girl than all women everywhere. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.170|199.27.128.170]] 17:16, 3 February 2014 (UTC)Rheios

Consider a parallel comic: "Harvard says they want well-rounded students, but what they really want are - " "Applicants who respond to rejection letters by belittling Harvard's judgment?" Suddenly it's not so amusing.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.39|108.162.219.39]] 20:03, 4 February 2014 (UTC)
:Suddenly? I actually find that equally amusing. Your parallel is a bit off thou, as guy talks about women generally rather than a specific one, so rather than Harvard it would be universities and then cueball's response would be more helpful, as in that guys current response won't help him and perhaps he need to self analyze to find out why he failed and change to do better with the next application (or woman).[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.96|199.27.128.96]] 16:55, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

I actually don't see your point. Are you saying Harvard doesn't want well-rounded students? I'm sure they do; if you go there with a 5.0 GPA but nothing else to recommend you, you probably won't get in, and if you do get in you won't be successful.

When girls say they want "nice guys", they want someone who will treat them well. What would something like that look like to Harvard? Maybe - someone who respects the institution, the staff and the property, someone who won't plagiarize, who won't use the facilities for illegal or unethical activities. Someone who isn't going there just so they can say "I'm going to Harvard". Can you measure these things ahead of time? No, probably not. Even if you could measure them, by themselves, would they make you attractive to Harvard, or likely to succeed there? No, they would not. Harvard wants intelligent, well-rounded, hard-working individuals who can actually demonstrate that they are worthy of acceptance. So yes, of course they want "nice guys", but that doesn't mean shit unless you bring everything else too.

1. Yes, girls want guys who will treat them well, instead of badly. And they shouldn't really have to say it.

2. Being a "nice guy" has almost nothing to do with getting the girl. You have to bring more than that.

3. It is necessary, but not sufficient. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 19:18, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

How do we know that the girl did not go with someone who is more jerk than the character who thinks to be a nice guy?