explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2003: Presidential Succession

2024-08-29T17:45:31Z

141.101.99.29:

Aw, but what about Morgan Freeman? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 04:43, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
:And Kiefer -designated survivor- Sutherland?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.83|141.101.104.83]] 08:24, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
:Morgan Freeman> "I do solemnly swear / that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States..." [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 12:39, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Academy awards have been won by actors playing kings / queens - of England, the United Kingdom and Siam - Princes - of Denmark - and Prime Ministers of Great Britain and even the President of the Uniter States / Member of the house of Representatives, but I do not believe it has been won by an actor playing a state govenor. Mind you it is not clear if an actor playing a prison govenor, would count. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 11:30, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
: Broderick Crawford, actually. I've added him. To the best of my ability to determine, the opposite group (Governors Award recipients who have played characters named Oscar) appears to be an empty set. I'll note that I don't have a really comprehensive filmography for {{w|Jean-Claude Carrière}}, but I consider it fairly unlikely that he ever played a character by that name. [[User:Squeamish Ossifrage|Squeamish Ossifrage]] ([[User talk:Squeamish Ossifrage|talk]]) 16:08, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Bill Pullman's eldest daughter Maesa is a film composer with an IMDB page in her own right. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 11:30, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
:With Maesa having already been added (turned 35 last year), addded second child (not sure of exact DOB, but he was born the right year to be now 35) and added the third (commented, so hidden) ready for his own eventual 2028 inclusion. Have not checked for possible residency disqualifications/delays. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.30|141.101.99.30]] 17:44, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

Top 5 US astronauts? I only count three. Who are the other two? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.76|172.68.150.76]] 12:15, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

As of September 3, 2017, the 5 US astronauts with the most total time in space are Peggy Whitson (665 days), Jeff Williams (534), Scott Kelly (520), Mike Fincke (382), and Mike Foale (374), according to https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-station-astronaut-record-holders. Michael Lopez-Alegria has the second-most time in space for a single spaceflight (215 days, compared to Scott Kelly, 340). [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 12:59, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Mike Foale was born in Louth - so ineligible. Michael Lopez-Alegria was born in Spain ditto [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:26, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
:Foale was born to an American mother and should hence be a natural-born American. --[[User:Ycthiognass|Ycthiognass]] ([[User talk:Ycthiognass|talk]]) 09:40, 7 June 2018 (UTC)
::There is actually legal question about whether someone born on foreign soil to US citizens count as "natural-born" (or whether courts would just say it's a political question and pass the buck to Congress), though I will add Foale back to the list. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.207|162.158.62.207]] 14:04, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

The non-US-citizen-being-in-line-for-the-Presidency thing has already been cleared up IRL - several Presidential cabinets have had non-natural-born-US citizens on them (current Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was born in Taiwan; in the past Madeline Albright was born in the then-Czechoslovakia). All the serious succession lists I've ever seen just list them and skip over them. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.51|162.158.62.51]] 13:19, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

How do we decide who gets a bye in the jousting tournament? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.147|162.158.74.147]] 13:30, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
:Random draw, probably. There's no jousting rankings AFAIK to enable any kind of seeding like in tennis. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.51|162.158.62.51]] 15:16, 6 June 2018 (UTC) There is a USA chapter of the International Jousting Association. I didn't spend enough time to track down a rankings list, but there are 3 levels of competition, which would be a start in seeding. To further seed I'd suggest using the Europa Tiebreaker.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.15|162.158.62.15]] 18:14, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

Anyone with a jousting ranking would not need a bye. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:26, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Anyone else think it's interesting that Kate gets a "if available" but Tom Hanks doesn't? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.184|172.69.62.184]] 16:23, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
: Also, why doesn't Tom Hanks kids get to be in line, like Bill Pulman's? Colin Hanks is old enough. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.210|162.158.122.210]] 03:59, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

I assume, but am too lazy to do all the maths, that the person born closest to Europa would be the one closest in time to the point Sun Earth and Jupiter are in line.
I found a table of opposition distances here: http://www.ianridpath.com/jupiter.htm
[[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 18:26, 6 June 2018 (UTC)That would seem to be the overwhelmingly dominant factor, the only other factors would be which side of the Earth someone is born on (up to 7915miles difference, or about 7 minutes of the Earth's orbit), and Elevation/Altitude,since as of yet no one has been born in space(citation required), this factor is trivial, equivalent to less than 1 second of Earth's orbit.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.15|162.158.62.15]] 18:14, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

All of this talk about ''where'' people were born is very misleading. The general opinion is that you have to have been a citizen from birth, not born in the U.S. (or a U.S. territory or whatever). Ted Cruz was born in Canada, but he would have been eligible had he won the nomination and the election. See http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/mar/26/ted-cruz-born-canada-eligible-run-president-update/ for discussion. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 20:56, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
*Yes, Kate Brown (governor of Oregon) should be restored to Randall's line of succession, because she was born in Spain while her father was serving in the U.S. Air Force. Presumably she's a U.S. citizen by birth and thus eligible for the presidency. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.52|172.68.150.52]] 22:44, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
** Added her. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign-born_United_States_politicians#Governors This page says she's a natural-born citizen]. --[[User:Ycthiognass|Ycthiognass]] ([[User talk:Ycthiognass|talk]]) 08:49, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

I read #7 being that we would have 5 people as co-president. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.210|162.158.122.210]] 03:59, 7 June 2018 (UTC)
:Would that also hold for other entries where multiple people are listed (e.g., multiple league MVPs meet the criteria)? Also, there is the "ties broken by born closest to Europa" title text. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.207|162.158.62.207]] 13:31, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

For the 'List of Specific Individuals', should it be maintained by who currently holds those positions, or left as who held them when the comic was posted? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.71|172.69.70.71]] 12:14, 7 June 2018 (UTC)
:If you want to come back and update the line as things change in the weeks, months, and years ahead, you're welcome to do so. If you do, I would recommend that both lists (the one accurate as of comic publishing and the one "updated") be maintained, perhaps as one table for fun comparison (adding blank spots as necessary if a current spot falls out of eligibility or a new one becomes eligible for whatever reason. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.207|162.158.62.207]] 13:29, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Tom Hanks is probably a reference to the June 4 Last Week Tonight episode, see http://time.com/5298479/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-guardianship/ {{unsigned ip|162.158.123.85}}

Oh! Question regarding Serena Williams - does it count if her latest match was in a ''doubles'' tournament? She pretty much always teams up with sister Venus in doubles. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.207|162.158.62.207]] 14:52, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Anyone else curious about the apostrophe in "Governor's award"? The current notes imply that it is simply a mistake in "Governors Awards" (the Academy Awards similar to the Oscars), but Governor's awards (i.e., an award by a state Governor) for other areas are quite common (e.g. Clemson University Governor's Award for Excellence in Science and Pennsylvania's Governor's Award for the Arts). Rearranging Oscar and governor from the preceding criterion certainly makes sense, but wild speculation is always more fun... {{unsigned ip|172.68.211.28}}

1933: Santa Facts mentioned Santa being 9th in the presidential line of succession. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.7|162.158.111.7]] 08:56, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

To me, #17 (Pullman '''and''' his descendants) seems to imply that we'd abolish the 4-year term and be presided by the Pullman clan for as long as there are eligible successors. #18 might imply that too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.21|162.158.74.21]] 20:14, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
:Presidential elections are mandated in the Constitution every four years - Bill or any of his descendants, or any qualifying member of the UK royal line of succession, would only serve until the current term ends. (Whether a crisis that knocked so many people ahead of them out of the line would allow a reputable and accepted election is another story.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.139|173.245.52.139]] 15:37, 11 June 2018 (UTC)

I note that if Donald Trump wasn't already holding the office of President, he could only qualify from positions 7 and 20 on Randall's list. And not at all from the actual list. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 01:09, 10 June 2018 (UTC)
:He wouldn't have been the only one - Obama's and JFK's previous job title before becoming President was US Senator, and Eisenhower was President of Columbia University. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.139|173.245.52.139]] 15:37, 11 June 2018 (UTC)

There are two problems with this explanation:
The line of succession applies only when the office of president becomes vacant. If the president is incapacitated, the vice president acts as president. If that office is vacant, or the vice precident is also incapacitated, the US will have to do without a president.

The constitution places no restrictions on who can act as president. The current law of succession stipulates that only those elegible to become president can act as president, the constitution does not.
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.154|162.158.134.154]] 08:30, 10 June 2018 (UTC)
:Point 1, the office of President may be vacant but the powers of the Acting President execute the same by whomever the line falls to, and in times of crisis people will nearly certainly just consider them the new President (conflicting claims aside). Point 2 is just false - Article 2 of the Constitution stipulates natural-born citizen at 35 years old and having lived in the US for the last 14 years. Unless you're arguing that "President" and "Acting President" aren't the same? That sure as hell didn't stop John Tyler from refusing to acknowledge anyone who didn't acknowledge him as the new President after William Henry Harrison died a month into his term. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.139|173.245.52.139]] 15:17, 11 June 2018 (UTC)
::Point2: That is exactly what I am saying. Only the vice president can succeed to the presidency. The others would execute the powers of the president. What would most likely happen is that the acting president would appoint a vice president, who would succeed immediately when approved by congress.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.34|162.158.134.34]] 07:50, 12 June 2018 (UTC)
::Point 1: There would be no acting president. Only the vice president can become acting president when the president is incapacitated. This and the office of president being vacant are covered in entirely separate parts of the constitution. The line of succession applies only in the latter case.
::Point 2: That was established in congressional legislation. Only the Vice President can become President when the President is incapcaitated, the rest act using the powers of the president but are not themselves the president.

;The Queen
Shouldn't the Queen come before Charles of Windsor? She is 0th in the British succession line. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.27.246|172.68.27.246]] 20:48, 17 June 2018 (UTC)
::It would violate Royal Oath. [[User:Erkinalp|Erkinalp]] ([[User talk:Erkinalp|talk]]) 13:53, 19 June 2018 (UTC)

Since jousting can be a lethal sport (especially if you don't know what you're doing, or like, not wearing armor), I'm left to wonder if part of the whole single-elimination aspect of the competition, where EVERY American is participating, is basically a strategy to literally eliminate everyone there is to be subject to the government's rule (literally eliminate every citizen so the last one left alive is left to be in charge sort of thing) - [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 18:10, 31 December 2018 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.184|172.69.135.184]] 07:43, 27 February 2019 (UTC) Foresee a problem with the Billboard Year End chart-toppers: What if a band has anonymous or pseudonymous members and/or deliberately avoids letting one of them assume leadership?
What about the MVPs, should the awards not be given prior to the line of succession reaching them?

;Updates to List of Individuals

Note that this list is supposed to be '''as of the date of the comic''' and should not be updated with changes due to events after that date. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:31, 5 January 2019 (UTC)

I challenge the idea that a version of a legend can be "incorrect". [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 15:22, 4 April 2023 (UTC)
:It's downright factually wrong enough. As a Briton (perhaps, if not a colonial Roman left-over of some kind, the exact details obscured by time and creative reimagining/conflation from the mists of time being several centuries thick by the time he was extensively "chronicled") he was likely a key figure ''opposing'' the arriving Anglo-Saxons of his time, so to be king of the later-constituted "England"/land-of-the-Angles (which was not even a practical neologism, during his supposed reign, across his supposed realm) is an inconsistency that can't even be logically explained by mystical happenings like however such a warrior gets to wield a wet woman's weapon. The celtic fringes (leastwise the P-Celtic bits, on this main island of ours) have far more claim to him than those who eventually spread out from Norfolk/Suffolk/etc and nudged/subsumed them into their current pockets, never mind the post-Hastings mix of transplanted vikings who took over that ruling mantle and went on to shape and solidify the current form of the home-nations. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.35|172.70.90.35]] 19:21, 4 April 2023 (UTC)

2497: Logic Gates

2021-08-03T15:23:10Z

141.101.99.29: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2497
| date = August 2, 2021
| title = Logic Gates
| image = logic_gates.png
| titletext = In C, the multiocular O represents the bitwise norxondor gorgonax.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NORXONDOR GORGONAX. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic lists logic gates. The first six are real, but the last six are made up and get increasingly absurd. The names for these last six are made up of the same letters and syllables as the first six so as to be consistent with their naming conventions.

The only real-life logic gate that was omitted is the XNOR gate (short for “eXclusive Not OR”; it compares the inputs, and if and only if they are equal, it outputs true). Note that the "NORG XORT" gate is logically equivalent to it, since it is an XNOR gate with NOT on both inputs, a modification that has no effect on the logic behavior.

An AND gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are true. (Inputs 1 '''and''' 2 must be true.) By convention it is a symbol with a flat input end leading to a semicircular output end.

An OR gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs are true. (Input 1 '''or''' 2 may be true.) By convention it is a symbol with a concave input edge leading to an output end resembling a gothic pointed-arch, reorientated as required.

A NOT gate outputs true if and only if the input is false. (The sole input must '''not''' be true.) The convention for the isolated NOT gate is to be a triangle (reminiscent of a diode or op-amp comparitor), that conspiciously points in the direction of logical passage, tipped with the small circle that is considered a short-cut for ''not''ness in other relevent symbols.

A NOR gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are false. (Neither 1 '''nor'ç' 2 must be true; alternately interpreted as it must '''n'''ot be true that either 1 '''or''' 2 are true.) The symbol is the OR shape with the NOT-circle at its tip.

A XOR (short for “eXclusive OR”) gate outputs true if one, or the other, but not both of the inputs are true. (Mutually e'''x'''cusively, either 1 '''or''' 2 must be true.) This symbol is the standard OR one but with a further concave line stood-off slightly from the usual one to connect to the input lines.

A NAND (short for “Not AND”) gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs is false. (It must '''n'''ot be true that both 1 '''and''' 2 are true.) The symbol is the AND gate with the NOT-circle at its tip.

A double-NOT on an input would produce the identical output again (...if the input is ''not not'' true). Two NOTs preapplied to a (N)AND or (N)OR would produce the same output as a (further-)NOTted version of the (N)OR or (N)AND, conversly (...if '''not'''-1 '''and''' '''not'''-2 then this also means that neither 1 '''nor''' 2). Normally this would would be shown, if necessary, as full NOT gates on the lead-in inputs but (see Transcript, below) the shortcut element is occasionally used in further mix'n'match symbology (together with reinterpreting connectivity lines as partial shape-edges and vice-versa) in 'understandable' but definitely non-standard ways.

Along with the deliberate confusion of connector and shape-edge lines, directionality is also played with in several cases, with input 'ends' perhaps also at the (implied) output end and reversed sub-symbols implying a composite gate with substructural feedback or perhaps diode-rectification upon a bidirectional logic path.

Much like [[2360: Common Star Types]], as the list progresses, the names start to sound more like mythical creatures, closing with the "Norxondor gorgonax".

In the title text [[Randall]] claims that in the {{w|C (programming language)|programming language C}} the {{w|multiocular O}} (ꙮ) character is used to represent the bitwise version of the last operator Norxondor gorgonax (presumably ꙮꙮ represents the non-bitwise version), fitting as the multiocular O is used to refer to "many-eyed {{w|seraphim}}" (i.e. angels) in some religious literature. {{w|Gorgon}}s (beige or otherwise) have heads covered with snakes instead of hair, and so possess multiple eyes, the most famous was known as {{w|Medusa}} (which was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png depicted] in [[1608: Hoverboard]]).

C is a low level programming language, and as such, it has many operations that correspond to logical (i. e. bitwise) operations. These contrast with operations that work in a non-bitwise way. For example, "&&" is the non-bitwise "AND" operator that takes the operands as a whole, while "&" is the bitwise "AND" that combines the respective bits of its two inputs independently before spitting out the new single composite value the output bits represent. In non-bitwise operations, 0 always represents "FALSE", while any non-zero value means "TRUE" for inputs, and 1 is used to represent TRUE for outputs. Thus, "14 && 3" gives the result 1: TRUE AND TRUE -> TRUE. In the bitwise operation, using the same values, the decimal value 14 has the binary value 1110 and the decimal value 3 has the binary value 0011, and for this example we get:

1110 = 14
& 0011 = 3
0010 = 2

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows a chart with twelve electronic logic gates arranged in three rows of four. Each gate is depicted as a schematic symbol, with a label underneath. Above them is a header:]
:Common logic gate symbols

:[Here below follows a description of the 12 gates in the three rows, with their label given beneath each description:]

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to the vertical left edge of a solid D-shaped symbol. From the right side of the D there is one output.]
:AND gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to a convex-crescent left edge of a crescent-shaped symbol. The right side of the crescent symbol's shape forms a point at its output. From the right side of the crescent there is one output.]
:OR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. One input leads to a triangular symbol pointing to the right. There is a small bubble symbol connected to the triangle on the output, which leads right.]
:NOT gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.)
:NOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the left-hand arc at the input has a double-stroked line.]
:XOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the AND GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.]
:NAND gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has one input on the left leading to a convex-crescent left edge, like the OR GATE. The output side as a smooth crescent like the AND GATE but has two outputs.]
:NORX gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has two inputs on the left leading to a vertical left edge input, like the AND GATE. The output side has a convex-crescent double-stroked output like the mirror image of the XOR GATE's input. There are two outputs.]
:GAND ate

:[An unusual symbol. This resembles the NOT GATE except there are two inputs instead of one leading into the left side.]
:XAND gort

:[An unusual symbol. This has a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE, but the two inputs have bubbles attached. The single output has a smooth crescent shape with a bubble, like a NAND GATE.]
:NORG xort

:[An unusual symbol. Two inputs lead to a convex-crescent edge, and the two lines of this symbol now enter a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE. The two lines of -this- symbol have bubbles placed half way across their horizontal length, and are presumably the outputs.]
:ANDORX gant

:[An unusual symbol. The symbol is identical to the NOR GATE, except the upper and lower horizontal parts of the symbols hull have a NOT GATE placed on them - one pointing to the left on the upper line, and to the right on the lower line. There is one output to the symbol, with a bubble attached.]
:NORXONDOR gorgonax

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:2495: Universal Seat Belt

2021-07-29T09:10:59Z

141.101.99.29:

Looks like Randall has started a new series: Cursed Connectors. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.171|172.69.34.171]] 01:51, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
:I now await the 10Base2 connector with ''actual'' bayonet blade attached... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.183|141.101.99.183]] 03:27, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
::I have now created the series category: [[:Category:Cursed Connectors]]. Looking forward to see how many and for how long he will continue this series. The Bad Map Projection series continued recently after a long break. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:05, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Dangit! Its the wrong way around... Wait, it doesn't fit this way either... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.51.134|172.70.51.134]] 01:56, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
: Oh noes. [[User:"iLB"|"iLB"]] ([[User talk:"iLB"|talk]]) 03:50, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
: Yeah, this is a nightmare. If you forget (or ignore) your seatbelt, it'll take 3 tries (with flipping) to get it to connect. You'll either have crashed or be ticketed by then. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.147|162.158.126.147]] 04:58, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
:: It teaches you to buckle up _before_ starting the engine. I don't see a problem with that. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:23, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
::: If you insert the belt before starting up, it gets detected (or not) but without fuss. Only if you insert after you're running do you get "Device inserted", "Device not recognised" or occasionally that sickening mid-point between the two where you get neither because it recognises as a drive, but the drive bit behind it is now RAW instead of FAT/whatever. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.29|141.101.99.29]] 09:10, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2492: Commonly Mispronounced Equations

2021-07-24T19:45:40Z

141.101.99.29:

This comic is obviously a take on the generation Z style of writing words without vowels so that they fit on T-Shirts, text messages or to avoid censorship, like "BRLN", "O RLY", "PIX PLZ". Some of the people from that generation are now established scientist, leading their respective fields forward. Obviously this is how they refer to common equations. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.29|162.158.92.29]] 13:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I think the wave equation is wrong based on units, but it's been a while. The wave speed ought to be squared. Of course, ''c'' could be a squared speed, but it's usually not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.164|172.70.34.164]] 01:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:I agree, normally it's written as C squared... The equations in order are 1: Gravitational Attraction, 2: Einstein's Mass / Energy Conversion, 3: Pythagorean Theorem (triangle side relations), 4: Area of a Circle, 5: Entropy equation, 6: Ideal Gas Law, 7: Euler's Identity, 8: Newtons Second law, 9: Wave equation, 10: The derivative of a function f, and, 11: The Quadratic Equation... I don't understand the linguistic rules being applied to the names, but they seem to be visual as much as anything [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.66|108.162.237.66]] 02:04, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
::You should turn that into a table in the explanation. We can have a column where we try to come up with the pronunciation rule. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The equation for the thing I have as what it was made by is 𝓛 = i(ѱ-macron)γᵘ(∂ᵤ)ѱ-e(ѱ-macron)γᵘ(Aᵤ + Bᵤ)ѱ - m(ѱ-macron)ѱ - (FᵤᵥFᵘᵛ)/4 {{w|Quantum electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion|here is the link:}} [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion These are both the links.]
For archival, this is the thing: LAGRONJ EYSIBARYMOODMOOSIOYLERSIBRYMOOAMOOBAMOOSIMASIBRSIQORTFAHMOOVYFAHMOOVY.
[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 02:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

My friends and I actually pretty often say "PəV-nert" for the ideal gas law. First syllable is kind of vowel-less, sort of a schwa if anything. But also stressed? Didn't know you could stress a schwa but, guess I did.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.160|172.70.130.160]] 02:36, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:My teachers always pronounced it PIV-nert. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.20|172.69.62.20]] 18:38, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I think this is the XKCD that has made me laugh the most, out of all 2492.
:I'd say it might be the one that made me laugh the most, out of all {{LATESTCOMIC}}. I won't, because it didn't, but I could. --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 03:23, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:"Doot-ca-doox" is so funny. I'm imagining Pingu saying that. !!!!

I tried to transcribe these pronunciations into IPA, because reading them like this is kind of ambiguous. I probably got a bunch of stuff wrong though.
fəˈdʒæmɚ |
ˈɛmkɑˌtu |
ætˈbutkut |
ˈæpɚˌtu |
həˈsplɒgpi |
ˈpævnɚt |
ˈaɪpɪn |
ˈfimɑ |
dut kəˈduks |
ˈfækslɪmˌoʊ ˈfæksəˌfɒx |
zəˈbɔbə fækˈtoʊɑ |
ˌɛpsɪˈhutəˌmu ˈdupsɪˌkwɔrps

Why is it a soft G in the gravity equation? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:I believe it's a reference to the "gif" pronunciation debate. "Fuh-gam-er" is the obvious pronunciation, Randal is facetiously asserting "Fuh-jam-er" is correct.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.130|108.162.250.130]] 05:00, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:I think it might be because the English letter "G" is pronounced "Gee" (i.e. "Jee"), which made its way into the pronunciation here.[[User:BenjaminTheBenevolent|BenjaminTheBenevolent]] ([[User talk:BenjaminTheBenevolent|talk]]) 10:27, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ok_GMxThuo How would you pronounce the word 'give'?] !!!!

The most similar time when equations are actually 'pronounced' a bit like this is the "soh cah toa" mnemonic for the trigonometric identities - should this be in the explanation? (the comic made at least me think that might be the original inspiration) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.204|141.101.99.204]] 06:42, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:How is "soh cah toa" a mnemonic?? It's just a bunch of random letters. Normally you memorize random letters by coming up with words that fit together, not vice versa. I think this is much harder to remember than the thing it is supposedly a mnemonic for. If anyone actually finds it useful, can you explain how it works for you? I've seen this before so I suppose it's a real thing, but I find it baffling. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.220|108.162.221.220]] 04:15, 23 July 2021 (UTC)
::You ask how it's a mnemonic, yet you say you've seen it before. Think about that for a sec.
[[User:Klo876|Klo876]] ([[User talk:Klo876|talk]]) 01:58, 24 July 2021 (UTC)
::Not sure it's a mnemonic, no, but I was taught SOHCAHTOA by a very good (but strict) maths teacher as in "... (like?) that volcanic eruption". Given we were 10, 11 years old, I don't think we even ''knew'' about {{w|Krakatoa}} at that point (despite having also a very good Geography teacher who readily identified lumps of 'Gneissian schist' that I may have brought back from holiday - he also had a much better sense of humour...) so whether I (or the teacher?) was mistaken in understanding "Sohcahtoa" to be purported to be a (now ironically memorable) volcano rather than it was a "it rhymes with..." mnemonic, I don't now know. But since then I have always used SOHCAHTOA to confirm in my mind which trigonometric identity I should use. And, later, I learnt and never forgot that {{w|Krakatoa,_East_of_Java|Krakatoa is/was ''west'' of Java}}! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.230|141.101.98.230]] 08:20, 23 July 2021 (UTC)
::(PS - If I ever have to use the "Many Very Elderly Men Just..." mnemonic (or whatever it is, I was sure it had had Earthenware Vases, but maybe only in a reversed version!), I tend to have to ''backform'' it from my unclear recollection of the mnemonic(s) I've been told plus just ''knowing'' that it's "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, **, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune*, Pluto-if-we're-counting-it*" (* - except between 1979 and 1999 when it was "...Pluto-definity-counted-at-this-time, Neptune") (** - and then there's possibly an A, B or C here for Asteroid, Belt or Ceres; nobody I know has ever added Kuiper and/or Oort into the string of words to need remembering, though) using very non-mnemonical direct or indirect knowledge about the solar-system, like Clarke's written version of 2001 aiming at Saturn but Kubrik's film 'only' going as far as Jupiter. So I "(Sometimes?) Might Very Earnestly Make And Join Something Unprecedented Never Known Originally" on the spur of the moment.)
:The circle area might be meant to read out like "upper two", referencing the square. I can't see the same for any of the others though. / [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.157|162.158.183.157]] 06:52, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:Mneumonics are supposed to make it easier to remember the equations; this collection would actually make it more challenging to remember these. Mind you, as a math tutor, my first thought was that these were attempts at mnemonics that missed the mark, '''badly'''. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 15:04, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I see nobody has attempted the Transcript yet. (Also I'm wondering how to 'properly' pronounce P-One V-One Over T-One Equals P-Two V-Two Over T-Two.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.157|162.158.155.157]] 10:41, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:I started a transcript. --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 16:54, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

Sorry to come in as an amateur, but I think the equation pronounced Ha-SPLOG-pee is actually the equation for Shannon diversity. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.134|162.158.126.134]] 11:58, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
: In my opinion, most of the contributions here are from people pretending to know more than they do. Edit away. Be bold. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.172|172.70.114.172]] 21:04, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The Pythagorean Theorem one made me think of the AT-AT debate for Star Wars
:The wave equation reminded me of Jimmy Durante's Ink A Dinka Doo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWqi9eWwXvk I think I'm dating myself (no one else will). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:55, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I don't think it's clear if the provided pronunciations are the ''Correct'' ones or the common ''mispronunciations''

It's worth noting that the majority of these equations are especially likely to be elided, and that the way they're routinely elided is generally incorrect - and more than that, the stressed syllable in particular is likely wrong. Especially notably "Fu-Jam-Er" should be "Fu-Gam-Er" and "Pav-Nert" should be "Piv-Nert". The joke works on the level of equation pronunciation being pretty intrinsically funny if you're not familiar with the specific equation, but also on the level of the specific equations having a standard pronunciation that pointedly isn't the one in the comic.

It would be interesting to try and reverse-engineer the original equations behind, for example, "Fus ro dah", or "Avada Kedavra". [[User:Cavaler|Cavaler]] ([[User talk:Cavaler|talk]]) 12:53, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

What is the pronounciation notation this comic is using?? I can't even find them in Oxford/Cambridge/Merriam-Webster/Collins dictionary, though I think I occasionally see them somewhere else. --[[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 08:43, 24 July 2021 (UTC)
: It's probably not actually right to consider it a notation, ''per se''. It's a trivial method that anyone can use (no need to use funny stuff like ɛ, ʑ or ɖʐ in IPA notation - or remember what they mean!), but it's also liable to inconsistency as you can be inconsistent in both production (some might consider "DOO" ''or'' "DU" an acceptible rendering for the same thing) or understanding (if "BAI" is written used, was that as in "good''bye''" (see also "BIE") or "e''Bay''" (also could have been "BAE"), etc?). How would you indicate syllable boundaries, "IN-DUH-KAYT" or "IND-UCK-ATE" or ? A Cockney or a Kiwi or a Cajun might each produce ''and'' voice notations completely differently. But it's better than nothing. And with either bolding (as in here), italicising or uppercase-contrasting-with-the-rest-in-lowercase you can indicate the stressed syllable(s). Maybe look at {{w|Pronunciation respelling for English}} (I didn't see a further link to qualify any 'standards' for this non-phonomic system, and doubt that there are any that travel well beyond any actual particular narrow dialectical territory).
: I actually think it's part of the joke that it's an imprecise 'pronunciation guide', rather than a technically advanced one like /aɪ pʰiː eɪ/ itself is, further confusing the deliberately confused issue. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.29|141.101.99.29]] 19:45, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

2025: Peer Review

2019-01-24T13:00:49Z

141.101.99.29: Updated sci-hub link

{{comic
| number = 2025
| date = July 27, 2018
| title = Peer Review
| image = peer_review.png
| titletext = Your manuscript "Don't Pay $25 to Access Any of the Articles in this Journal: A Review of Preprint Repositories and Author Willingness to Email PDF Copies for Free" has also been rejected, but nice try.
}}

==Explanation==
How academic publishing works: When a researcher wants to publish their findings, they send it to an academic journal. The editor of the journal is another researcher (usually a college professor), ''who gets paid nothing or a minimal honorarium'' for editing the journal. The editor chooses a few (usually three) peer reviewers who are other researchers familiar enough with the study's subfield to judge the study's quality fairly and accurately, and sends it out to them for review. These peer reviewers ''do not get paid'' for the work of reviewing the manuscript and offering a detailed critique of every part of the study, from literature review to methodology to conclusions drawn from the results. If the peer reviewers and editor agree that the study was well-conducted and the paper well-written (or just needs minor revisions), it is accepted and published in the journal. The researcher ''is not paid'' for getting their paper published in the journal.

In short, nobody in the process is paid for their work except the journal publisher, who charges other researchers, libraries and individuals for access to the fruit of these people's free labor. This is commonly referred to as a "{{w|Paywall}}".

This system relies upon researchers to be employed by either companies or universities in positions which require them to publish in order to remain employed or achieve promotions or pay raises. In universities, only postdocs and tenure-track or tenured professors are paid in a way that figures in their research time as well as their teaching time, which means that anyone not in one of those positions (lecturers, educators, adjunct instructors) is not paid for any research they might be doing and publishing, nor are those who are conducting research but cannot get a tenure-track job due to universities replacing tenure lines with non-tenure-track positions.

Charging for access to these works has raised {{w|The Cost of Knowledge|controversy}} in recent years, due to concerns that this may lead to {{w|Information silo}}s.

[[Ponytail]] seems to be presenting papers concluding that this flow of currency is not equitable. Unfortunately (?), the journal she has submitted these findings to has opted not to review or publish them, either because they do not find her research suitable for their publication, or because they have a financial interest which conflicts with the findings, since sending her paper to review would give it directly to her target audience.

Furthermore, the comic contains the joke that Ponytail is doing exactly what she is dis-encouraging in the paper: publishing it in a journal, which probably does not pay their reviewers and possibly locks the papers behind a paywall. However, as this is how science works at the moment, she is obliged to do so in order to reach her audience.

The title text refers to a recent Twitter [https://twitter.com/hwitteman/status/1015049411276300289 post] that went viral. Researcher Dr. Holly Witteman informs the public that you could just ask many researchers for a PDF copy of their academic paper and that they would be delighted to do so free of charge. (This hearkens back to the days of snailmail, when researchers would distribute printed copies, "reprints", of their work for, at most, the price of a self-addressed stamped envelope.) She has additionally written [http://holly.witteman.ca/index.php/2017/12/11/getting-access-to-paywalled-papers/ an article] on the situation and how to get papers for free.

Pre-Print Repositories, such as {{w|ArXiv}}, are online databases for researchers to publish drafts of their research for quick distribution to willing reviewers, sidestepping the lengthy and often arduous reviewing process as conducted by many research journals. These databases are free to access by researchers and the general public, and often papers will remain on these sites long after their journal publication, making them a convenient way to get to papers locked behind a paywall. However, the pre-print versions of the papers will often lack peer review, and as such may contain a higher occurrence of errors. There are also sites which collect and re-publish papers for free, such as [http://sci-hub.tw/ Sci-Hub], which attempts to provide all published papers free of charge globally. Links to Sci-Hub can go dead after being widely published; this one was live as of 24th of January, 2019.

In the title text, the publisher refuses to publish a paper that describes ways to get around the paywall restrictions that make up their bottom line. In this refusal they even acknowledged that the author has tried to trick them, maybe by using one of those very long titles filled with incomprehensible jargon that is almost impossible to read, and remember to the end. So they finish the refusal by adding a "but nice try".

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is sitting in a office chair at a desk reading from a laptop. Above her the text from the screen is shown in a frame with a zigzag arrow pointing to the laptop.]
:RE: Economics Journal Submission
:We have received your manuscript ''"The Bizarre Economics of Academic Publishing: Why Volunteer Peer Reviewers Should Rise Up and Demand Payment from For-Profit Journals."''
:We have elected not to send it out for review.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]

Talk:1946: Hawaii

2018-01-26T13:09:34Z

141.101.99.29: baaa

OMG - so funny, so timely, so close to home. One of our modern fears, in a crisis what would happen if I forgot the password! [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:02, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

"Created by a TWITTER" [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 14:28, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Based on the situation that xkcd is offering, it makes me look like I can't be any governor or an official, since I tend to forget my password very easily, especially my social media ones. RIP me.15:02, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Most implausible explanation I've ever heard. Why not use something other than a Twitter account to notify people, apparently there's an entire system set up for delivering messages to people's phones, I'm not sure a tweet should be part of the official rollback process. {{unsigned|Comment Police}}
:Implausible, yet true. It was all over the news. Twitter is currently perceived as an appropriate way to communicate with constituents by many elected officials. I agree that a reverse-911 probably would have been far more effective, but the news would give more coverage to what's on Twitter, regardless (reaches more people, if less directly or immediately, than reverse-911). [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:09, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

::The issue (as I understand it) was that the send-everyone-a-text-message system was only programmed with a specific set of messages, and "oops, that was an error, ignore that" wasn't one of them. Most of those 38 minutes were spent adding that new message to the system. ''In the meantime'', people in authority who knew there had been a mistake would have been trying to use any means they could of getting this fact out to the public, such as the governor using his official Twitter account. -- [[User:Peregrine|Peregrine]] ([[User talk:Peregrine|talk]]) 03:32, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

: I'm someone who openly and proudly does not watch or listen to the news (my reasoning is that my knowing all the details of this fire or that hostage situation won't stop it or help it, it'll just add more negative to my life. I get headlines through ads on TV and radio, I feel that's enough for the "history repeating itself" angle), and even I caught this headline. Yeah, an incident was really made worse by a guy unable to access his Twitter. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:12, 26 January 2018 (UTC)

As I am not a native Hawaiian or american, could somebody explain the nature of this warning system please? Does it work with a speaker / sirene system (as is common in Europe) or with text / CB messages? Why was it installed, what is the name of this system etc.
That information might give the uninitiated some background information needed to fully understand this comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.30|141.101.105.30]] 22:00, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

:The Hawaii state Emergency Alert system is multilayered. This event started with a text message, sent (in error) to phones. The text message was picked up by broadcast media (radio, television). There is also a siren system, reportedly a separate authorization is required to activate it. In some places, Honolulu especially, the sirens were sounded, apparently without the appropriate authorization. In others, such as Hawaii Island where I live, the sirens did not go off. Official channels did not retract the error until 38 minutes after the initial text. Though Governor Ige did not get his tweet sent, other officials, such as US Rep Tulsi Gabbard, did do so, to little effect. It's therefore an open question whether Ige's message would have made much of a difference.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.238|162.158.255.238]] 22:48, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

USB plugs are 4 dimensional... see https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2388. ——

*i use android, and am thus irrelevant. but, the twitter app does not seem, uniquely, to allow the caching of passwords and thus requires you to log in every time. assuming i'm not mistaken in this, does the iOS equivalent also require this? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.29|141.101.99.29]] 13:09, 26 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1904: Research Risks

2017-10-19T10:38:55Z

141.101.99.29:

Entymology? Misspelled "entomology" or (more confusingly) "etymology"?
Psychology lower risk than micology? Absolutely hogwash!
:The comic has been updated, so it was just a typo. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:05, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
:How do I update picture. Last update always matches first upload for whatever reason --[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 17:24, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Molasses storage is misplaced -- should be in the quadrant to its right. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood]. 21 dead and 150 injured. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 14:12, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
Agreed that it did get out and kill people. But only once in something like 200 years and only a few. (Is this where the phrase slower than molasses in January comes from?)
I would not expect that this would be a common danger.

Ah, but there was another [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_molasses_spill|spill in 2013 in Honolulu]. (I just learned of it from the "See Also" section of the Wikipedia page on the Great Molasses Flood.) That one didn't kill any people (though it was an ecological disaster) but it speaks to risk. Anyway, the item ''is'' in the right quadrant. Arguably is should be further to the right, but also arguably not, since conducting experiments in the area could lead to more accidents.[[User:Jqavins|Jqavins]] ([[User talk:Jqavins|talk]]) 16:08, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
:Only, even assuming there's such a thing as molasses storage research, it's unlikely that your lab is going to contain life-threatening quantities of molasses. It's not as if a few liters escaping could reproduce and turn into thousands of tons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:27, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

I think entymology is a reference to [https://xkcd.com/1012 1012]
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.95|162.158.91.95]] 14:50, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

I think the title text may have a somewhat humorous naming scheme derived from the Great Molasses Flood Wikipedia discussion page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Great_Molasses_Flood
There's a lengthy discussion about changing the name from "Boston Molasses Disaster" to "Great Molasses Flood". I noticed that Randall used both approaches to describing the events in the title text, but maybe that was a coincidence.

I am not impressed. Movie supervillains often use paleontology (dinosaurs), geology (volcano/earthquake) and astronomy (comets). Also, there is a tendency to pair marine biology with laser-optics. And, to actually dominate the world, a real-life villain will probably need to use cunning linguistics at some level or the other. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]
:I had the same initial reaction, but note how Randall didn't write "movie supervillain", but just "supervillain", so you should only take into account what is currently feasible in technology state-of-the-art, or what we can reasonably foresee for the next decade or so. I don't see any madman being able to revive (and control!) dinosaurs, capture a comet or trigger an earthquake in the next 10-20 years. As for shark-mounted lasers, they are cool to show off and inspire fear, but hardly useful to achieve world domination by themselves. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:18, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
::When we get into the realm of supervillainy - especially given XKCD's history - we're almost certainly talking fiction. And if we're talking fiction, Randall's forgotten about ''Moonraker'', where astronomy and dentistry both play a significant role in the supervillain's plot, and should thus rate higher on the vertical scale. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.16|172.68.78.16]] 02:42, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Looks like the "Research Risk" column is just a comment field open for speculation -- can we merge Comments and Research Risk into one column? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebob]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 03:34, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
: I'd suggest it'd be better to have one column for the supervillain risk factors, and one for the escaped research risk factors.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 08:47, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Interestingly, I referenced the Great Molasses Flood in a tangential comment to comic 1900 - is Randall now browsing this site to find inspiration for new comics? ;o) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 08:53, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

I feel like the linguistics section is missing an opportunity for a Snow Crash joke...[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.29|141.101.99.29]] 10:38, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

1417: Seven

2014-09-05T10:02:15Z

141.101.99.29: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1417
| date = September 5, 2014
| title = Seven
| image = seven.png
| titletext = The days of the week are Monday, Arctic, Wellsley, Green, Electra, Synergize, and the Seventh Seal.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball (or perhaps Randall) says he can't distinguish between two sets if they both have exactly seven objects. This leads him to exchange the items in the sets without noticing, to the point where, when listing a set, every item truly belongs to a different set.

The comic is a reference to the oldest {{w|Set-theoretic_definition_of_natural_numbers#Oldest_definition|set-theoretic definition of the natural numbers}} in which for each natural number, an equivalence class is defined over all sets which contain the same number of items. As Cueball is known for mathematical thinking he could be presumed to have taken the underlying equivalence relation to heart, and (over)applying it to real life, genuinely judges sets to be identical if they both contain N objects.

The number seven being the number for when sets become indistinguishable is possibly a reference to {{w|Miller's Law}}, however this refers to elements within the same set becoming indistinguishable, rather than indistinguishability of different sets of the same size.

===Comic List===
# Disney's Dwarfs from the movie ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}'' (1937): '''Sneezy''', Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Doc
# Major {{w|taxonomic ranks}}: Kingdom, '''Phylum''', Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
# Continents: '''Europe''', Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica
# {{w|Seven deadly sins|Deadly sins}}: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, '''Sloth''', Wrath, Envy, Pride
# {{w|Seven-layer dip|Seven Layer Dip (recipe)}}: Refried beans, Cheese, Ground beef, Sour cream, '''Guacamole''', Salsa, Chopped black olives/Chopped tomatoes/Chopped green onions
# Layers of the {{w|OSI model|Open System Interconnection (OSI) data transmission model}}: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, '''Data link''', Physical
# {{w|Wonders of the World|Wonders of the Ancient World}}: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Lighthouse of Alexandria, '''Colossus of Rhodes'''

===Title Text List===
The title text extends this saying he can't remember the days of the week, another set of seven, for the same reason. The sets Cueball's "days of the week" come from are:
# Days of the week: '''Monday''', Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
# Climatic zones: '''Arctic''', North Temperate, Northern Subtropical, Tropical, Southern Subtropical, South Temperate, Antarctic
# {{w|Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters}}, historically women's colleges in U.S.: Mount Holyoke, Vassar, '''Wellesley''', Smith, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, Barnard
# Traditional {{w|spectral color}}s: red, orange, yellow, '''green''', blue, indigo, violet (indigo stuck in to add up to seven notes in Western musical scale)
# {{w|Pleiades (mythology)|Pleiades}}, Seven Sisters, nymphs and daughters of Atlas and Pleone in Greek mythology: '''Electra''', Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, Merope
# ''{{w|The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People}}'' by Dr. Stephen R. Covey: Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think win-win, Seek first to understand and then to be understood, '''Synergize'''', Sharpen the saw
# Seals in the {{w|Book of Revelation}} in the New Testament: First seal, Second seal, Third seal, Fourth seal, Fifth seal, Sixth seal, '''Seventh seal'''

=Transcript=
: [Megan and Cueball are talking]
: Megan: Can you name all the dwarves from Snow White?
: Cueball: Sure, there's, um...
: Cueball's thoughts: Sneezy, phylum, Europe, sloth, guacamole, data link, Colossus of Rhodes
: Caption: I have this problem where all sets of seven things are indistinguishable to me.
{{comic discussion}}

1417: Seven

2014-09-05T09:57:03Z

141.101.99.29: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1417
| date = September 5, 2014
| title = Seven
| image = seven.png
| titletext = The days of the week are Monday, Arctic, Wellsley, Green, Electra, Synergize, and the Seventh Seal.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball (or perhaps Randall) says he can't distinguish between two sets if they both have exactly seven objects. This leads him to exchange the items in the sets without noticing, to the point where, when listing a set, every item truly belongs to a different set.

The number seven being the number for when sets become indistinguishable is a reference to {{w|Miller's Law}}

The comic is possibly a reference to the oldest {{w|Set-theoretic_definition_of_natural_numbers#Oldest_definition|set-theoretic definition of the natural numbers}} in which for each natural number, an equivalence class is defined over all sets which contain the same number of items. As Cueball is known for mathematical thinking he could be presumed to have taken the underlying equivalence relation to heart, and (over)applying it to real life, genuinely judges sets to be identical if they both contain N objects.

===Comic List===
# Disney's Dwarfs from the movie ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}'' (1937): '''Sneezy''', Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Doc
# Major {{w|taxonomic ranks}}: Kingdom, '''Phylum''', Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
# Continents: '''Europe''', Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica
# {{w|Seven deadly sins|Deadly sins}}: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, '''Sloth''', Wrath, Envy, Pride
# {{w|Seven-layer dip|Seven Layer Dip (recipe)}}: Refried beans, Cheese, Ground beef, Sour cream, '''Guacamole''', Salsa, Chopped black olives/Chopped tomatoes/Chopped green onions
# Layers of the {{w|OSI model|Open System Interconnection (OSI) data transmission model}}: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, '''Data link''', Physical
# {{w|Wonders of the World|Wonders of the Ancient World}}: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Lighthouse of Alexandria, '''Colossus of Rhodes'''

===Title Text List===
The title text extends this saying he can't remember the days of the week, another set of seven, for the same reason. The sets Cueball's "days of the week" come from are:
# Days of the week: '''Monday''', Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
# Climatic zones: '''Arctic''', North Temperate, Northern Subtropical, Tropical, Southern Subtropical, South Temperate, Antarctic
# {{w|Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters}}, historically women's colleges in U.S.: Mount Holyoke, Vassar, '''Wellesley''', Smith, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, Barnard
# Traditional {{w|spectral color}}s: red, orange, yellow, '''green''', blue, indigo, violet (indigo stuck in to add up to seven notes in Western musical scale)
# {{w|Pleiades (mythology)|Pleiades}}, Seven Sisters, nymphs and daughters of Atlas and Pleone in Greek mythology: '''Electra''', Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, Merope
# ''{{w|The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People}}'' by Dr. Stephen R. Covey: Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think win-win, Seek first to understand and then to be understood, '''Synergize'''', Sharpen the saw
# Seals in the {{w|Book of Revelation}} in the New Testament: First seal, Second seal, Third seal, Fourth seal, Fifth seal, Sixth seal, '''Seventh seal'''

=Transcript=
: [Megan and Cueball are talking]
: Megan: Can you name all the dwarves from Snow White?
: Cueball: Sure, there's, um...
: Cueball's thoughts: Sneezy, phylum, Europe, sloth, guacamole, data link, Colossus of Rhodes
: Caption: I have this problem where all sets of seven things are indistinguishable to me.
{{comic discussion}}

1417: Seven

2014-09-05T09:55:57Z

141.101.99.29: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1417
| date = September 5, 2014
| title = Seven
| image = seven.png
| titletext = The days of the week are Monday, Arctic, Wellsley, Green, Electra, Synergize, and the Seventh Seal.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball (or perhaps Randall) says he can't distinguish between two sets if they both have exactly seven objects. This leads him to exchange the items in the sets without noticing, to the point where, when listing a set, every item truly belongs to a different set.

The number seven being the number for when sets become indistinguishable is a reference to {{w|Miller's Law}}

The comic is possibly a reference to the oldest {{w|Set-theoretic_definition_of_natural_numbers#Oldest_definition|set-theoretic definition of the natural numbers}} in which for each natural number, an equivalence class is defined over all sets which contain the same number of items. As Cueball is known for mathematical thinking he could be presumed to have taken this equivalence relation to heart, and (over)applying it to real life, and genuinely judging sets to be identical if they both contain N objects.

===Comic List===
# Disney's Dwarfs from the movie ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}'' (1937): '''Sneezy''', Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Doc
# Major {{w|taxonomic ranks}}: Kingdom, '''Phylum''', Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
# Continents: '''Europe''', Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica
# {{w|Seven deadly sins|Deadly sins}}: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, '''Sloth''', Wrath, Envy, Pride
# {{w|Seven-layer dip|Seven Layer Dip (recipe)}}: Refried beans, Cheese, Ground beef, Sour cream, '''Guacamole''', Salsa, Chopped black olives/Chopped tomatoes/Chopped green onions
# Layers of the {{w|OSI model|Open System Interconnection (OSI) data transmission model}}: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, '''Data link''', Physical
# {{w|Wonders of the World|Wonders of the Ancient World}}: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Lighthouse of Alexandria, '''Colossus of Rhodes'''

===Title Text List===
The title text extends this saying he can't remember the days of the week, another set of seven, for the same reason. The sets Cueball's "days of the week" come from are:
# Days of the week: '''Monday''', Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
# Climatic zones: '''Arctic''', North Temperate, Northern Subtropical, Tropical, Southern Subtropical, South Temperate, Antarctic
# {{w|Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters}}, historically women's colleges in U.S.: Mount Holyoke, Vassar, '''Wellesley''', Smith, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, Barnard
# Traditional {{w|spectral color}}s: red, orange, yellow, '''green''', blue, indigo, violet (indigo stuck in to add up to seven notes in Western musical scale)
# {{w|Pleiades (mythology)|Pleiades}}, Seven Sisters, nymphs and daughters of Atlas and Pleone in Greek mythology: '''Electra''', Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, Merope
# ''{{w|The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People}}'' by Dr. Stephen R. Covey: Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think win-win, Seek first to understand and then to be understood, '''Synergize'''', Sharpen the saw
# Seals in the {{w|Book of Revelation}} in the New Testament: First seal, Second seal, Third seal, Fourth seal, Fifth seal, Sixth seal, '''Seventh seal'''

=Transcript=
: [Megan and Cueball are talking]
: Megan: Can you name all the dwarves from Snow White?
: Cueball: Sure, there's, um...
: Cueball's thoughts: Sneezy, phylum, Europe, sloth, guacamole, data link, Colossus of Rhodes
: Caption: I have this problem where all sets of seven things are indistinguishable to me.
{{comic discussion}}

Megan

2014-08-03T12:40:45Z

141.101.99.29:

----
{{Infobox character
| image = Megan.png‎
| caption = Megan, seen in [[973: MTV Generation]]
| first_appearance = [[15: Just Alerting You]]
}}
'''Megan''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]]. She is the second-most frequently appearing character, after [[Cueball]], and the most frequently appearing female character. She often appears with Cueball as a couple.

Megan does not necessarily always represent the same character from comic to comic. She is essentially the female equivalent of Cueball, representing the everywoman to his {{w|everyman}}. On the other hand, Megan does sometimes appear to have slightly specific personality traits; she has quite odd habits, and is sometimes shown to be very focused and intent on a goal. She has also been referred to by name in comics from time to time.

Early comics often feature Megan-style characters who may or may not be identified as Megan. [[Randall]] appears not to have standardized his character lineup early in the comic's run, and as a result, early characters sometimes have similar hair to Megan, but some different features.

''Explain xkcd'' originally referred to this character as 'Cutie' (thereby complementing 'Cueball' with a matching first syllable) until it was pointed out that her name was given in [[159: Boombox]].

The name Megan may derive from a lost love of the author's, given that he wrote [[420: Jealousy|a passive-aggressive toast for Megan's wedding]] in an xkcd comic about how he was madly still in love with her, put across in a way that would generally ruin the day for everyone involved. We also see this earlier in [[215: Letting Go]] 200 strips earlier.

==Characteristics==
Megan is distinguished by her black shoulder-length hair which generally appears to be parted in the middle in front, and is draped behind what are presumably her (undrawn) ears.

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