explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1413: Suddenly Popular

2014-08-27T10:30:11Z

141.101.99.195: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1413
| date = August 27, 2014
| title = Suddenly Popular
| image = suddenly_popular.png
| titletext = Are Your Teens Practicing Amplexus? Learn These Six Telltale Signs!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
Title: Obscure words and phrases everyone suddenly becomes very familiar with.

{|
|
| <-- World Wide Web
|-
|
| <-- DNA Evidence
|-
| 1995
|
|-
|
| <-- Militia Movement
|-
|
| <-- Supermax
|-
| 2000
|
|-
|
| <-- Butterfly Ballot
|-
|
| <-- Al-Qaeda
|-
|
| <-- Wi-Fi
|-
| 2005
|
|-
|
| <-- Tsunami
|-
|
| <-- Viral
|-
| 2010
|
|-
|
| <-- Radicalize
|-
|
|
|-
|
| <-- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata Metadata]
|-
| 2015
|
|-
|
| <-- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahar Lahar]
|-
|
|
|-
|
| <-- Insect-Borne
|-
| 2020
|
|-
|
| <-- Earth-Crossing
|-
|
| <-- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermohaline_circulation‎ Thermohaline]
|-
|
|
|-
|
| <-- Snow-Blindness
|-
| 2025
|
|-
|
| <-- Amplexus
|-
|
|
|-
|
| <-- Controlled Hydroplaning
|-
| 2030
|
|-
|
| <-- Paradoxical Reaction
|-
|
| <-- Drone Dessertion
|-
|
| <-- Rapid Hair Growth
|-
| 2035
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
| <-- I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress
|-
| 2040
|
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1408: March of the Penguins

2014-08-15T05:30:48Z

141.101.99.195: Created page with "Isn't it Danish not Megan? ~~~~"

Isn't it Danish not Megan? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.195|141.101.99.195]] 05:30, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:750: Book Burning

2014-01-22T07:19:39Z

141.101.99.195:

"...the Kindle edition is the preferred method of buying a book."? A bit subjective, really. Needs more qualifications to make that sound right. (Except for the aforementioned price, I'm not sure what argument would convince ''me'', however technophilic I am. I just like all my dead-tree publications, as a glance at my bookshelves and multiple other 'flat' surfaces around the house would confirm.)

Oh yeah, and as I forgot to sign the above, can I also add that I'm sure there's also a joke in that in an attempt to eradicate a book, the protesters are actually ''increasing'' the apparent demand for it. And, unlike a physical volume the misguided destruction of the electronic copy (or at least the medium it exists on) does not deplete any extant stocks. (In fact, the person who bought and downloaded the eBook can probably re-download the eBook if the download mechanism allows that for previously authorised purchases.) And do it enough and they may even print extra ''physical'' copies. (Soon to be coming to a remaindered book shop near you, and you, and you as well sir... Way to go to spread the Word!) "Epic Fail", anyone? [[Special:Contributions/178.98.192.132|178.98.192.132]] 23:44, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

;Book-burning incidents

While the joke is about burning a Kindle, I'm still sad about burning books. Look here: {{w|List of book-burning incidents}}. Burning a book is a kind of violence, this should be mentioned here. This comic is marked as incomplete.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:36, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

The comic is obviously mocking the intelligence of those radicals that would really like to see "heretical" books burn.--[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 19:04, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
:The German Nazis did state Jewish and critical books as "heretical". But I'm still searching for some proper statements at this comic. Does Randall refer to the gas chambers at the concentration camps? By the end the Nazi empire did die in 1945. Nevertheless, burning books reminds me always on that historical incidents.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:51, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

There should be some mention about how the digital copy wouldn't affect the market as much, thereby making their intent null, and also the fact that burning a kindle as opposed to burning a book would actually increase the cost. --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 18:25, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

I guess they should have just pirated the digital copy around (thus 'burning' it and spreading it at the same time)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.195|141.101.99.195]] 07:19, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

787: Orbiter

2014-01-21T20:49:06Z

141.101.99.195: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 787
| date = September 1, 2010
| title = Orbiter
| image = orbiter.png
| titletext = Normally, the Shuttle can't quite safely reach the orbital inclination required to pass over both those points from a Canaveral launch, but this is an alternate history in which either it launches from Vandenburg or everyone hates the Outer Banks.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about disputed territories and {{w|Polar orbit|polar orbits}}.

The two disputes referred to here are the {{w|Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian dispute}} and the {{w|Greer County, Texas|Texas-Oklahoma dispute}}. The satellite would probably require a polar orbit to reach both Israel and Oklahoma, which cannot be achieved from a launch at {{w|Kennedy Space Center|Cape Caneveral}}, as the launch trajectories would cause debris and spent fuel tanks from the Shuttle during its ascent to fall in heavily populated areas.

The reason the {{w|Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenburg}} option is an alternate history is because there actually were plans to launch shuttles from there before the {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Challenger accident}} occurred. After Challenger was lost the polar orbiting missions were scrapped and Cape Canaveral became the sole launch site for the {{w|Space Shuttle|Space Shuttle}}.

In the alternate history, mentioned in the title text, the rules forbidding orbital launches from Caneveral to that polar inclination don’t exist, either because nobody cares what happens to the {{w|Outer Banks}} (which would be in the flight path) or nobody likes them and they’re deserted. The entire reason for this even being pointed out is just [[Randall]]'s being obsessive-compulsive.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Okay, people. The orbiter is passing south of Iceland. The next scheduled check-in will be at 32.0N 35.5E, over the Palestinian territories.
:Off-screen character: You mean over Palestine?
:Frank (off-screen): You mean over Israel?
:[Beat panel.]
:Cueball: I've rescheduled the check-in for 35.2N 96.6W,over Oklahoma.
:Frank (off-screen): You mean occupied North Texas?
:Cueball: Dammit, Frank.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)

2014-01-21T11:20:37Z

141.101.99.195: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 824
| date = November 24, 2010
| title = Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)
| image = guest_week_bill_amend_foxtrot.png
| titletext = Guest comic by Bill Amend of FoxTrot, an inspiration to all us nerdy-physics-majors-turned-cartoonists, of which there are an oddly large number.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Bill Amend}}, author of the newspaper comic {{w|FoxTrot}}, draws for [[Randall]] in this special '[[:Category:Guest Week|Guest Week]]' edition of [[xkcd]]. In it, {{w|List_of_FoxTrot_characters#Jason_Fox|Jason Fox}}, a geeky 10-year-old from Amend's strip, asks to draw comics for Randall. When Randall refuses, he uses the sudo command, used in {{w|Linux}} systems to perform an action as an administrator/power user. This forces Randall to agree. This is a reference to the very popular comic [[149: Sandwich]], which has now become a geek culture catch-phrase.

In the first comic, [[Cueball]] is making a pun on the word {{Wiktionary|attractive}}. In the first context it means a person is "good looking" or "beautiful" which the (presumably) female character attributes to her hair. In Cueball's context, it means that he is feeling an increased gravitational pull from the woman, due to her increase in mass (see {{w|Gravitation}}). This setup is also very typical of the Jason Fox character, who, ostensibly ten, is supposed to be too young to like girls.

{{w|Werner Heisenberg}} postulated in 1927, his eponymous {{w|Uncertainty principle|Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle}}, which roughly states that in {{w|quantum mechanics}} one cannot know both the position and momentum of a particle. The joke is that Heisenberg's wife does not know the position of her keys, because she knows too much about their (the keys') momentum.

In many {{w|parliament}}ary and {{w|congress}}ional halls it is customary, when calling an issue to vote to have the people who want the issue at hand to be passed to say out loud that they agree. The customary response to this is to say "Aye." The dissenters are then asked. Their response being "Nay." Then the volume (by rough {{w|decibel}}s) of the assenters and dissenters are weighed. If it is close, a more formal vote may be called. "Aye" is pronounced as "I" and "''i''" is the mathematical value of the square root of negative one, which can be used to represent an {{w|imaginary number}}.

==Transcript==
:[Jason from FoxTrot is sitting at an artist's desk with a pencil, holding a phone.]
:Jason: Hi, Mr. Munroe? I have a great idea! Let me draw some strips for you!
:Mr. Munroe, through the telephone: Fat chance, kid.
:Jason: Sudo let me draw some strips for you.

:[There follow three strips. These will be separated by double new lines.]

:[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at each other.]
:Cueball: I find you more attractive than usual.
:Ponytail: You do? Is it my new haircut?
:Cueball: Actually, I think it's all the weight you've been putting on. Your gravitational pull is pretty severe.
:[Cueball is now alone in the panel.]
:Cueball: Just sayin'.

:[Two people are in a living room. The woman is looking through a chest of drawers.]
:At home with the Heisenbergs
:Mrs. Heisenberg: I can't find my car keys.
:Mr. Heisenberg: You probably know too much about their momentum.

:[Cueball is standing on a stage, holding up a hammer. A crowd is in front of the stage.]
:Why mathematicians should run for Congress
:Cueball: All those in favor of the bill say "aye."
:Congressman #1: Aye.
:Congresswoman #2: Aye.
:Congress–Mathematician: √-1

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Guest Week]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Linux]]

Talk:878: Model Rail

2014-01-20T20:39:36Z

141.101.99.195:

It IS possible to go smaller than one atom, but it tends to make a really bright flash and loud noise. The original atomic bomb was the second guy's reading of a train modeler's notes, miraculously preserved in a refrigerator. --[[Special:Contributions/68.200.188.141|68.200.188.141]] 03:37, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

Corrected HO to H0 --[[Special:Contributions/70.169.90.254|70.169.90.254]] 22:25, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

I hate it when my model train layout gets crushed by a cold virus. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 23:38, 28 December 2013 (UTC)
You mean your model model model model
model train layout.. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.195|141.101.99.195]] 20:39, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

792: Password Reuse

2013-11-06T14:45:25Z

141.101.99.195: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 792
| date = September 13, 2010
| title = Password Reuse
| image = password_reuse.png
| titletext = It'll be hilarious the first few times this happens.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic has three layers: hacking, philosophy, and Google-satire.

It starts off on a practical level, with Black Hat describing a devious social engineering scheme. It relies on the fact that people commonly reuse the same password on multiple websites, and tend to create accounts on new websites somewhat indiscriminately. Thus, one could create a simple Web service to collect users' usernames, email addresses, and passwords. Since many users will reuse this combination on other websites as well, the website owner can try to hack their accounts on other common sites, such as Amazon or PayPal, using the same login info.

In panel 6, the comic suddenly develops a philosophical and ethical bent. Black Hat reveals that he has already carried out step 1, through his numerous unprofitable Web services which he had been running for this very purpose. However, after successfully executing the hack, he realizes that he does not know what to do with all this power.
He reveals that he is already financially self-sufficient, and makes a point that money can't buy happiness.
He could use his power to realize his sadistic pleasures of messing with people, but he's already a serial classhole.
If he had any beliefs or ideology, he could use this power to try to spread them. However, he reveals that "since March of 1997" he doesn't really believe in anything. (On March 26 1997 In San Diego, California, 39 Heaven's Gate cultists committed mass suicide at their compound.)
The dilemma: Black Hat has cleverly executed a hack that has given him a lot of power, but he doesn't know what to do with it.

The last part of the comic now transitions to a satire on how Google has already gone through both the stages described above. It describes how all of Google's free services are simply a ploy to collect and control all the world's information, similar in concept but grander than the hack described in part 1. It satirizes the notion that behind Google's "Don't be evil" motto is actually an end-goal of using their powers eventually for evil. However, just like Black Hat, once Google reaches the stage where they are able to capitalize on their powers, they find that there is nothing evil left for them to desire. They already make a lot of money, and anything remaining that they wish to do, such as throwing {{w|Call of Duty|CoD}} tournaments, isn't evil at all.

This comic was directly referenced in [[1286: Encryptic]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball at a computer with Black Hat behind him.]
:Black Hat: Password entropy is rarely relevant. The real modern danger is password reuse.
:Cueball: How so?
:Computer: Password too weak.

:Black Hat: Set up a Web service to do something simple, like image hosting or tweet syndication, so a few million people set up free accounts.

:Black Hat: Bam, you've got a few million emails, default usernames, and passwords.

:Black Hat: Tons of people use one password, strong or not, for most accounts.

:[Diagram showing a table of emails, usernames, and passwords.]
:Black Hat: Use the list and some proxies to try automated logins to the 20 or 30 most popular sites, plus banks and PayPal and such.

:Black Hat: You've now got a few hundred thousand real identities on a few dozen services, and nobody suspects a thing.
:Cueball: And then what?

:Black Hat: Well, that's where I got stuck.
:Cueball: You did this?
:Black Hat: Why do you ''think'' I hosted so many unprofitable web services?

:Black Hat: I could probably net in a lot of money, one way or another, if I did things carefully. But research shows more money doesn't make people happier, once they make enough to avoid day-to-day financial stress.

:Black Hat: I could mess with people endlessly, but I do that already. I could get a political or religious idea out to most of the world, but since March of 1997 I don't really believe in anything.

:Black Hat: So, here I sit, a puppetmaster who wants nothing from his puppets.
:Black Hat: It's the same problem Google has.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[A meeting at Google headquarters. An executive is talking to some others.]
:Google...
:Executive 1: Okay, everyone, we control the world's information. Now it's time to turn evil. What's the plan?
:Executive 2: Make boatloads of money?

:Executive 1: We already do!
:Executive 2 (off-panel): Set up a companywide CoD4: Modern Warfare tournament each week?
:Executive 1: ''That's not evil!''
:Executive 2: Ooh, dibs on the lobby TV!
:Executive 1: Okay, we ''suck'' at this.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]