explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3083: Jupiter Core

2025-05-01T08:18:22Z

141.101.99.90: /* Table of cores */

{{comic
| number = 3083
| date = April 30, 2025
| title = Jupiter Core
| image = jupiter_core_2x.png
| imagesize = 581x443px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Juno mission data suggests that Jupiter actually contains Matryoshka doll-style nested copies of every other planet in the Solar System.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by A PLANET WITH FEELINGS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{w|Jupiter}} is the largest planet in the {{w|Solar System}}, the fifth planet from the Sun, and the closest-in {{w|gas giant}}. The core of the planet is hidden by an enormous gaseous atmosphere, and this comic lists a number of theories about the structure of that core. The first two are theories that are or have been held by reputable planetary scientists (they can be found in the Wikipedia entry), while the rest are ridiculous ideas from [[Randall|Randall's]] mind. See the [[#Table of cores|table]] below for detailed explanations.

==Table of cores==
{|class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
!Number Jupiter!!Caption of Jupiter!!Explanation
|-
|1||Diffuse mix of heavy elements and metallic hydrogen||This is the current leading theory suggested by measurements taken by NASA's {{w|Juno (spacecraft)|Juno}} probe, a spacecraft orbiting Jupiter since 2016.
|-
|2||Rocky core with metallic, hydrogen mantle||This was one of the leading proposals prior to the Juno mission.
|-
|3||Valuable treasure|| Indecipherable objects that may be gemstones or precious metals, surrounded by dollar signs. May be a reference to the occasionally proposed idea that gas giant cores might be composed of diamond. This idea was mentioned in Arthur C. Clarke's ''{{w|2010: Odyssey Two}}'' and in {{w|2061: Odyssey Three}} the diamond is found as it was ejected from Jupiter at the end of 2010.
|-
|4||Emergency backup Earth||This would be a copy of the Earth that can be put into place once we finish destroying our planet. In popular science Jupiter is often described as a "protector" of Earth since its large gravitational field attracts asteroids that could otherwise hit Earth. This could be Randall's take on this claim in that it has a backup Earth in case everything else fails. Randall has previously proposed "Emergency Backup Earth" as an [[1253|exoplanet name]], and updated its location [[1555|later]]. Jupiter's core is not an exoplanet — if anything, it would be a planet, since it is located inside the Solar system.
|-
|5||Regular planet pretending to be a gas giant to avoid attention||The joke here is that there is secretly a 'regular' planet (whatever that means — presumably relatively Earth-like) hiding inside Jupiter, which is shy and does not want attention, so it pretends to be a gas giant. Of course, planets are not shy in real life, as they do not have feelings.{{cn}} The planet inside of Jupiter appears to be earth-like, most likely with people on it, considering that there are large support structures and the large surrounding structure itself. They're probably quite annoyed at us, considering we've [[1727|destroyed multiple satellites using Jupiter.]]
This might be a reference to [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/At_Attin At Attin], a fictional planet in the {{w|Star_Wars|Star Wars}} Cinematic Universe. At Attin is a planet that has an artificially created protective barrier designed to hide it from discovery, so as to conceal its production of [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/At_Attin_Mint Republican credits]. The [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Barrier barrier] makes the much smaller planet within look like a gas giant and has artificial electrical storms, produced by electrical mines, that destroy any unauthorized ships from approaching the inner planet. At Attin appears in the Star Wars show {{w|Star_Wars:_Skeleton_Crew|Skeleton Crew}} which was released only a few months prior to this comic.
|-
|6||Hard ball from avocado|| This theory proposes that Jupiter's core is a giant avocado pit, which is the large seed located in the center of an avocado. The outer layers of Jupiter also appear to be the flesh of an avocado in the drawing, thereby creating a very, very large avocado. If the total mass of Jupiter in metric tons was converted to avocados, as seen in the image, Jupiter would represent over 95 quadrillion years' worth of global avocado production as of 2023.
|-
|7||Baby Jupiter, still gestating||This theory proposes that Jupiter is pregnant with a baby version of itself, which composes its core. While this is obviously not the case, it could provide large hints as to how the solar system originated if true. This also prompts questions as to Jupiter's sexuality, as well as who the father is.
|-
|8||No core; flat Earth conspiracists are wrong about Earth but right about Jupiter||{{w|Modern_flat_Earth_beliefs|Flat Earth}} is a debunked conspiracy theory that the Earth is not actually spherical, but flat, with some believing that world leaders are actively trying to hide this fact from the general public. This version of Jupiter proposes that while Earth may not be flat, Jupiter is, thereby not having a core at all.
|-
|9||{{w|Matryoshka doll}} (title text)||Since Jupiter is by far the largest planet of the solar system (and in fact larger by both mass and volume than all other Solar System planets combined), it could hypothetically contain all other planets nested inside one another. The order from largest to smallest would be Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury.
|}

==Transcript==
{{Incomplete|better phrasing needed}}

:Current leading theories for what's in the center of Jupiter:

:[Variations of Jupiter, except for the last are shown with about 1/8 of the planet chopped off to show the core.]

:[Jupiter with liquid material at its core]
:Diffuse mix of heavy elements and metallic hydrogen

:[Jupiter with a rocky core]
:Rocky core with metallic, hydrogen mantle

:[Jupiter with a pile of coins for a core, with multiple dollar signs shown]
:Valuable treasure

:[Jupiter with Earth for a core]
:Emergency backup Earth

:[Hollow Jupiter with a rocky planet in the middle, the outer layer held in place by inner supports]
:Regular planet pretending to be a gas giant to avoid attention

:[Jupiter with a smooth ball for a core]
:Hard ball from avocado

:[Jupiter with a small version of Jupiter for a core]
:Baby Jupiter, still gestating

:[Jupiter as a flat circle, with nothing chopped off]
:No core; flat Earth conspiracists are wrong about Earth but right about Jupiter

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

Talk:3082: Chess Position

2025-04-29T15:07:30Z

141.101.99.90:

This is very nearly the core plot conceit of the movie ''Π'' (1998). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.190|172.70.130.190]] 22:36, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:I believe you want lower-case Pi: π not Π. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film) --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 22:54, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
::Unless they're talking about an obscure spinoff where the protagonist becomes weirdly obsessed with the products of sequences of numbers. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.180|172.69.195.180]] 14:47, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

Does anybody know whether Randall has taken up chess as a hobby? 5 of the 82 comics in the 3000s have been related to chess and only 2 in the 2000s were. If so, this should be included in the explanation. [[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 23:11, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:3000s? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.190.236|172.71.190.236]] 23:40, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:Oh right comic number not decade/millennium. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.157|172.70.43.157]] 23:41, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:Wouldn't surprise me, there's a three year gap in between chess comics 2465 (May 2021) and 2936 (May 2024), then the aforementioned 5 in 5 months. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 00:46, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

I really suspect that the full explanation has something to do with this: https://www.kasparov.com/the-implacable-logic-of-the-vortex-of-history/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.7.206|172.68.7.206]] 23:34, 28 April 2025 (UTC) Dan
: Doubtful, that article was written in 2013, and it is unlikely that Randall came upon it just now to make this comic. Vortex is a general term for something that sucks you in. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.66|172.70.214.66]] 00:38, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

I sure hope that it stays as not a real thing [[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 01:32, 29 April 2025 (UTC)
: It might not be, but it's easy enough to make: Train an adversarial network on human chess games. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.41|172.68.22.41]] 04:56, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

The part about losing the ability to play chess even after building a resistance feels familiar. Isn't that how the Elder Scrolls worked in Skyrim, at least. Even highly trained sages would lose the ability to see for a time after reading an Elder Scroll. And the Oblivion remaster just released the other day... --[[User:Ragashingo|Ragashingo]] ([[User talk:Ragashingo|talk]]) 01:54, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

----
Cf Von Gom's Gambit by [Victor Contoski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Contoski) published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1966:

And what of Von Goom's Gambit? Chess is a game of logic. Thirty-two pieces move on a board of sixty-four squares, colored alternately dark and light. As they move they form patterns. Some of these patterns are pleasing to the logical mind of man, and some are not. They show what man is capable of and what is beyond his Take any position of the pieces on the chessboard. Usually it tells of the logical or semi-logical plans of the players, their strategy in playing for a win or a draw, and their personalities. If you see a pattern from the King s Gambit Accepted, you know that both players are tacticians, that the fight will be brief but fierce...
Now suppose someone discovers by accident or design a pattern on the chessboard that is more than displeasing, an alien pattern that tells unspeakable things about the mind of the player, man in general and the order of the universe. Suppose no normal man can look at such a pattern and remain normal. Surely such a pattern must have been formed by Von Goom’s Gambit.

I wish the story could end here, but I fear it will not end for a long time. History has shown that discoveries cannot be unmade. Two months ago in Camden, New Jersey, a forty-tliree year old man was found turned to stone staring at a position on a chessboard... {{unsigned ip|162.158.217.38|05:22, 29 April 2025}}

2782: Wikipedia Article Titles

2023-05-29T20:29:08Z

141.101.99.90: /* Transcript */ Ironically, "check mark" and "tick mark" on Wikipedia just don't send you anywhere near the "thing on an axis", which I've decided is more a graduation than a ✓

{{comic
| number = 2782
| date = May 29, 2023
| title = Wikipedia Article Titles
| image = wikipedia_article_titles_2x.png
| imagesize = 402x439px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I would never stoop to vandalism, but I'm not above discreetly deleting the occasional 'this article contains excessive amounts of detail' tag.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MERYL STREEP'S SECOND SEAGULL. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a chart reflecting where various Wikipedia articles (real or imagined) might rank in how effectively they would act as {{w|clickbait}} to [[Randall]].

{{w|Meryl Streep}} is a famous and widely acclaimed American actress. Randall apparently has little interest in reading about her. He appears to have slightly more interest in reading about seagulls, which on Wikipedia redirect to the {{w|Gull}} article, because "seagull" is a common colloquial synonym. Two more units down from "seagull" on Randall's scale indicating his increasing interest level, he suggests that a hypothetical Wikipedia link to "Meryl Streep (seagull)", which according to {{w|Wikipedia:Article titles#Precision|Wikipedia article title conventions}} refers to a notable seagull named Meryl Streep, would be more interesting to him.

Streep was a lead actress in a 2001 {{w|Delacorte Theatre}} production of {{w|Anton Chekhov}}'s play, ''{{w|The Seagull}}''.[https://playbill.com/article/the-seagull-opens-its-wings-in-central-park-aug-12-com-98105] A further three units beyond is a hypothetical link to an article about a "Meryl Streep Seagull incident", which while probably not conforming to {{w|Wikipedia:Article titles#Descriptive title|Wikipedia's requirements for sufficiently descriptive article titles}}, might refer to a notable event which occurred during the production of the 2001 play. According to an [https://www.salon.com/2001/08/27/seagull/ August 27, 2001 article in ''Salon''], "a 40-ish man was found dead in the bushes from a single gunshot wound near the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, just yards away from where [Streep's co-star] {{w|Philip Seymour Hoffman}} offs himself with a single gunshot wound every night as Konstantin Gavrilovich in Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull.''" However, there is no hint of any direct connection between Streep and the deceased and, absent any clear evidence reported in {{w|Wikipedia:Reliable sources#News organizations|reliable news sources}} indicating that there is, it is extremely unlikely that Wikipedia editors would create or allow an article with a title suggesting there may be, as that would violate their {{w|Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|Biographies of living persons policy}}.

Alternatively, such an article could be about an incident in which a seagull notably caused Meryl Streep problems, a time when Meryl Streep notably caused problems for a seagull, both, or other variations occurring in multiple incidents, as the final imagined Wikipedia page is a {{w|Wikipedia:Disambiguation|disambiguation page}} on such topics, depicted as four units even more likely to be more quickly clicked. Disambiguation pages are only necessary when there are multiple notable articles of sufficiently similar names which must be listed with clarifying details to avoid confusion. However, the titles of disambiguation pages rarely appear in links, as you usually reach them as a result of a search for an ambiguous term such as "{{w|go}}".

The title text suggests that Randall is an {{w|Deletionism and inclusionism in Wikipedia|inclusionist Wikipedian}}, and as such is not above occasionally deleting editorial message boxes claiming that their article contains too much detail.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Chart title:] Hypothetical Wikipedia article titles
:[Chart subtitle:] Ranked by how quickly I would click on them

:[A vertical axis with eleven evenly spaced graduations marked along it, without units or magnitudes]
:[An abbreviated arrow to the left of the axis indicates that downwards is:] More quickly
:[Alongside the topmost graduation:] Meryl Streep
:[Alongside 2nd graduation:] Seagull
:[Alongside 4th graduation:] Meryl Streep (seagull)
:[Alongside 7th graduation:] Meryl Streep seagull incident
:[Alongside 11th, and final visible, graduation:] Meryl Streep seagull incident (disambiguation)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2779: Exoplanet High-5

2023-05-23T11:03:25Z

141.101.99.90: /* Explanation */ *Intra*galactic, maybe, but not *Inter*galactic...

{{comic
| number = 2779
| date = May 22, 2023
| title = Exoplanet High-5
| image = exoplanet_high_5_2x.png
| imagesize = 515x582px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Tau Ceti is farther away, so it took me 36 years to start the war over updog.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT, 21 YEARS AGO - More on the Updog joke for people not familiar with it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

''Up high, down low, too slow'' is a {{w|High five#Too_slow|prank variant of a High five}}. In the comic, Earth has established communications with aliens living on Proxima Centauri b, the nearest exoplanet to Earth according to current knowledge, and [[Randall]] has taught them about a High five.

Instead of physically shaking hands, the High five is executed by transmitting messages, as in a {{w|Handshake (computing)}}. The diagram in the comic is thus similar to a {{w|sequence diagram}}, one usually employed for describing network communication in computing. As the messages travel at the speed of light and Proxima Centauri b is over 4 light years away, the times in the diagram are measured in years. This is a very slow method of communication – a perfect setup for a "too slow" prank.

Having found a way of exchanging a high five with aliens, Randall successfully pranks the aliens by sending the "too slow" message before their "Low-5" message arrives on Earth. This is similar to how in the original prank the prankster pulls their hand away after the victim started to move but before the "Low-Five" has taken place.

The aliens do not take kindly to being pranked and start an interstellar war, intending to invade Earth. It is not known at which speed the Centaurians' invasion fleet travels and, therefore, when it will reach Earth.

The title text refers to another prank, in which the prankster gets the victim to ask "What's updog?" (which sounds like "What's up, dawg?"). Tau Ceti is a star almost 12 light years away. The exchange might have gone like this:
* t=0y: ''Randall:'' Hey, do you think it smells like updog in here?
* t=12y: ''Aliens:'' What's updog?
* t=24y: ''Randall:'' Nothin', what's up with you?
* t=36y: ''Message received, Aliens start war''

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Aliens]]

1132: Frequentists vs. Bayesians

2023-05-16T13:53:29Z

141.101.99.90: Undo revision 313234 by 172.70.85.169 (talk) Fairly good point, but the Moon might not have risen (if not a full-moon), and editing errors don't help. Try again?

{{comic
| number = 1132
| date = November 9, 2012
| title = Frequentists vs. Bayesians
| image = frequentists_vs_bayesians.png
| titletext = 'Detector! What would the Bayesian statistician say if I asked him whether the--' [roll] 'I AM A NEUTRINO DETECTOR, NOT A LABYRINTH GUARD. SERIOUSLY, DID YOUR BRAIN FALL OUT?' [roll] '... yes.'}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a joke about jumping to conclusions based on a simplistic understanding of probability. The "{{w|base rate fallacy}}" is a mistake where an unlikely explanation is dismissed, even though the alternative is even less likely. In the comic, a device tests for the (highly unlikely) event that the sun has exploded. A degree of random error is introduced, by rolling two {{w|dice}} and lying if the result is double sixes. Double sixes are unlikely (1 in 36, or about 3% likely), so the statistician on the left dismisses it. The statistician on the right has (we assume) correctly reasoned that the sun exploding is ''far more'' unlikely, and so is willing to stake money on his interpretation.

The labels given to the two statisticians, in their panels and in the comic's title, are not particularly fair or accurate, a fact which [[Randall]] has acknowledged:<ref name="munroe-on-gelman">[http://web.archive.org/web/20130117080920/http://andrewgelman.com/2012/11/16808/#comment-109366 Comment by Randall Munroe] to "I don’t like this cartoon", blog post by Andrew Gelman in ''Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science''. Archived Jan 17 2013 by the Wayback Machine.</ref>
<blockquote>I seem to have stepped on a hornet’s nest, though, by adding “Frequentist” and “Bayesian” titles to the panels. This came as a surprise to me, in part because I actually added them as an afterthought, along with the final punchline. … The truth is, I genuinely didn’t realize Frequentists and Bayesians were actual camps of people—all of whom are now emailing me. I thought they were loosely-applied labels—perhaps just labels appropriated by the books I had happened to read recently—for the standard textbook approach we learned in science class versus an approach which more carefully incorporates the ideas of prior probabilities.</blockquote>

The "{{w|Frequentist inference|frequentist}}" statistician is (mis)applying the common standard of "{{w|P-value|p}}<0.05". In a scientific study, a result is presumed to provide strong evidence if, given that the {{w|null hypothesis}}, a default position that the observations are unrelated (in this case, that the sun has ''not'' gone nova), there would be less than a 5% chance of observing a result as extreme. (The null hypothesis was also referenced in [[892: Null Hypothesis]].)

Since the likelihood of rolling double sixes is below this 5% threshold, the "frequentist" decides (by this rule of thumb) to accept the detector's output as correct. The "{{w|Bayesian statistics|Bayesian}}" statistician has, instead, applied at least a small measure of probabilistic reasoning ({{w|Bayesian inference}}) to determine that the unlikeliness of the detector lying is greatly outweighed by the unlikeliness of the sun exploding. Therefore, he concludes that the sun has ''not'' exploded and the detector is lying.

A real statistician (frequentist or Bayesian) would probably demand a lower ''p''-value before concluding that a test shows the Sun has exploded; physicists tend to use 5 sigma, or about 1 in 3.5 million, as the standard before declaring major results, like discovering new particles. This would be equivalent to rolling between eight and nine dice and getting all sixes, although this is still not "very good" compared to the actual expected likelihood of the Sun spontaneously going nova, as discussed below.

The line, "Bet you $50 it hasn't", is a reference to the approach of a leading Bayesian scholar, {{w|Bruno de Finetti}}, who made extensive use of bets in his examples and thought experiments. See {{w|Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy)}} for more information on his work. In this case, however, the bet is also a joke because we would all be dead if the sun exploded. If the Bayesian wins the bet, he gets money, and if he loses, they'll both be dead before money can be paid. This underlines the absurdity of the premise and emphasizes the need to consider context when examining probability.

It is also possible that the use of the sun is a reference to Laplace's {{w|Sunrise problem}}.

The title text refers to a classic series of logic puzzles known as {{w|Knights and Knaves#Fork in the road|Knights and Knaves}}, where there are two guards in front of two exit doors, one of which is real and the other leads to death. One guard is a liar and the other tells the truth. The visitor doesn't know which is which, and is allowed to ask one question to one guard. The solution is to ask either guard what the other one would say is the real exit, then choose the opposite. Two such guards were featured in the 1986 Jim Henson movie ''{{w|Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth}}'', hence the mention of "A LABYRINTH GUARD" here. A labyrinth was also mentioned in [[246: Labyrinth Puzzle]].

===Further a less serious mathematical exploration===
As mentioned, this is an instance of the {{w|base rate fallacy}}. If we treat the "truth or lie" setup as simply modelling an inaccurate test, then it is also specifically an illustration of the {{w|false positive paradox}}: A test that is rarely wrong, but which tests for an event that is even rarer, will be more often wrong than right when it says that the event has occurred.

The test, in this case, is a neutrino detector. It relies on the fact that neutrinos can pass through the earth, so a neutrino detector would detect neutrinos from the sun at all times, day and night. The detector is stated to give false results ("lie") 1/36th of the time.

There is no record of any star ever spontaneously exploding—they always show signs of deterioration long before their explosion—so the probability is near zero. For the sake of a number, though, consider that the sun's estimated lifespan is 10 billion years. Let's say the test is run every hour, twelve hours a day (at night time). This gives us a probability of the Sun exploding at one in 4.38×1013. Assuming this detector is otherwise reliable, when the detector reports a solar explosion, there are two possibilities:
# The sun '''has''' exploded (one in 4.38×1013) and the detector '''is''' telling the truth (35 in 36). This event has a total probability of about 1/(4.38×1013) × 35/36 or about one in 4.50×1013
# The sun '''hasn't''' exploded (4.38×1013 − 1 in 4.38×1013) and the detector '''is not''' telling the truth (1 in 36). This event has a total probability of about (4.38×1013 − 1) / 4.38×1013 × 1/36 or about one in 36.

Clearly the sun exploding is not the most likely option. Indeed, Bayes' theorem can be used to find the probability that the Sun has exploded, given a result of "yes" and the prior probability given above:

: <math>
\begin{align}
P(\text{exploded}\,|\,\text{yes})&=\frac{P(\text{yes}\,|\,\text{exploded})P(\text{exploded})}{P(\text{yes})}\\
&=\frac{P(\text{exploded})(1-P(\text{lie}))}{P(\text{exploded})(1-P(\text{lie}))+P(\text{lie})(1-P(\text{exploded}))}\\
&\approx\frac1{1.25226\times10^{12}}
\end{align}
</math>

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the first panel:]
:<big>Did the sun just explode?</big>
:(It's night, so we're not sure)

:[Two Cueball-like guys stand on either side of a small table with a small black device on it. The device has white lines (ventilation) and two small antennas and a button on top. When the device speaks it uses in Westminster typeface. The Guy on the left, called Frequentist Statistician in the 2nd panel, points to the device. The guy on the right, called Bayesian Statistician in the 3rd panel, is just looking at the device. Above the spoken word from the device is a sound.]
:Frequentist Statistician: This neutrino detector measures whether the sun has gone nova.
:Bayesian Statistician: Then, it rolls two dice. If they both come up as six, it lies to us. Otherwise, it tells the truth.
:Frequentist Statistician: Let's try. ''Detector! Has the sun gone nova?''
:Sound:''Roll''
:Device: <big>YES.</big>

:[Two panels side by side are beneath the first panel. together they are broader than the top panel. Above each panel is a caption. In the left panel only the left statistician is shown with the device on the table. And in the right panel only the right statistician is shown with the device on the table. both are just looking at the device.]
:Frequentist Statistician:
:Frequentist Statistician: The probability of this result happening by chance is 1/36=0.027. Since p<0.05, I conclude that the sun has exploded.

:Bayesian Statistician:
:Bayesian Statistician: Bet you $50 it hasn't.

==Trivia==
* The Sun will never explode as a supernova, because it does not have enough mass to undergo core collapse and also does not have a companion star
*In the same blog comment as cited above<ref name="munroe-on-gelman"/>, Randall explains that he chose the "sun exploding" scenario as a more clearly absurd example than those usually used:
<blockquote>…I realized that in the common examples used to illustrate this sort of error, like the cancer screening/drug test false positive ones, the correct result is surprising or unintuitive. So I came up with the sun-explosion example, to illustrate a case where naïve application of that significance test can give a result that’s obviously nonsense.</blockquote>
*"Bayesian" statistics is named for Thomas Bayes, who studied conditional probability — the likelihood that one event is true when given information about some other related event. From {{w|Bayes Theorem|Wikipedia}}: "Bayesian interpretation expresses how a subjective degree of belief should rationally change to account for evidence".
* The "frequentist" says that 1/36 = 0.027. It's actually 0.02777…, which should round to 0.028.
* Using neutrino detectors to get an advance warning of a supernova is possible, and the {{w|Supernova Early Warning System}} does just this. The neutrinos arrive ahead of the photons, because they can escape from the core of the star before the supernova explosion reaches the mantle.

==References==
<references/>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1137: RTL

2023-04-29T18:33:52Z

141.101.99.90: Stupid. Undoing both.

{{comic
| number = 1137
| date = November 21, 2012
| title = ‮LTR‬
| image = rtl.png
| titletext = Collaborative editing can quickly become a textual rap battle fought with increasingly convoluted invocations of U+202a to U+202e
}}

‮‪
==Explanation==
U+202e is a {{w|unicode control characters|unicode control character}} that changes all subsequent text to right-to-left (RTL, as the title references). In the comic, [[Black Hat]] tires of [[Cueball]]'s complaining and inserts a U+202e character in the middle of Cueball's speech, turning his complaints into gibberish - sentences that must be read from right-to-left.

The title of the comic builds on this theme, with the title of the webpage it is hosted on being LTR in some browsers (see [[#Trivia|trivia]]), the reverse of the comic name.

What Cueball actually tries to say after Black Hat's change is:
:— They didn't even...
:...What the hell?
:How did you...
:...Asshole.

When multiple writers work on the same text, arguments can often arise with some writers resorting to vandalizing the works of other writers. The title text takes this up a level, suggesting the use of U+202e and other direction control characters in editor wars to disrupt other people's work.

If you ever get involved in such a war, note that U+202c returns text back to its normal direction.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing behind Black Hat who is sitting down with a laptop on his lap.]
:Cueball: And that's not even the worst part! The ''worst'' part is that—
:Black Hat types a command on the PC: U+202e
:Cueball: ‮—They didn't even...
:Cueball: ‮...What the hell?
:Cueball: ‮How did you...
:Cueball: ‮...Asshole.

==Trivia==
*In the version originally published there was a typo in the reverse text ("ETH" instead of "EHT" for "THE"). This mistake was corrected within a couple of hours.
*The title given in the web browser, (for instance seen on the icon for the browser bar at the bottom of the screen), for the comic on the xkcd website actually has a U+202e character preceding it;
**The page title is "xkcd: [U+202e]LTR", which for instance causes {{w|Firefox}} to write the page title as "xkcd: xoferiF allizoM - RTL" as the window title. So xkcd and the comics title is correct (The LTR turns to RTL). But the browsers name is reversed.
**It is known to also occur in {{w|Internet Explorer}}, {{w|Microsoft Edge}}, {{w|Chromium (web browser)|anything based on Chromium}}, {{w|Opera (web browser)|Opera}} and {{w|Maxthon}}.
**In some browsers (for instance Internet Explorer), this page's title [[Media:Reverse archive.jpg|damages the appearance of all older entries]] in the [http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page] on xkcd.
*This is the second comic in a row with Cueball and Black Hat discussing. Both with Black Hat with his back turned to Cueball.
**In the previous comic Black Hat broke a mirror, and in this comic he then reverses Cueballs speak
**Not exactly a mirroring of his speak, but still related.
**In the broken archive mentioned above, [[1136: Broken Mirror]] is the first (or last) entry to be broken!

==Unicode Control Characters==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Unicode number !! Name !! Meaning
|-
| U+202a || LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING || The following text will be left-to-right. This will not change directionality of characters, so for example Arabic letters will stay right-to-left. This character alone does nothing in an English text, since the text direction is left-to-right by default.
|-
| U+202b || RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING || The following text will be right-to-left. This will not change directionality of characters, so Latin letters will stay left-to-right. Full stops, which don't have a directionality on their own, will be left of the sentence. Use this character for some little misplacings that cause big confusion.
|-
| U+202c || POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING || The following text is formatted like the text before the last U+202a, U+202b, U+202d or U+202e character.
|-
| U+202d || LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE || The following text will be left-to-right. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to left-to-right. Used alone in an English text, this will only affect characters that are right-to-left by default, like Arabic letters.
|-
| U+202e || RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE || The following text will be right-to-left. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to right-to-left. Use this character to completely screw up an English text.
|}

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

2762: Diffraction Spikes

2023-04-14T08:20:49Z

141.101.99.90: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2762
| date = April 12, 2023
| title = Diffraction Spikes
| image = diffraction_spikes_2x.png
| imagesize = 324x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Even if a planet is lucky enough to have a stable orbit that weaves between the spikes, the seasons get weird whenever it passes close to them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LENTICULAR ABOMINATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Diffraction spike|Diffraction spikes}} are visual artifacts that appear to extend from light sources, mostly when viewed through a reflector telescope. In telescopes, they are often caused by the support struts of the secondary mirror in the telescope. They've become especially well known lately because they're quite prominent in images from the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}; its bigger spikes are due to the [https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/diffraction-spikes-jwst/ edges of the hexagonal mirror sections], not the struts.

The comic feigns that these artifacts are real spikes of stellar matter extending from the stars being viewed. The spikes have sufficient energy and coherence to slice planets that intersect them, rather than merely bludgeon or vaporize them. Additionally, they appear to nullify gravity - preventing the halves from recombining and allowing them to maintain their shape.

The title text suggests that a planet would have to be particularly lucky to avoid encountering one of these spikes during it's lifetime. This would make our own solar system exceptionally fortunate, given the number of planetary bodies that remain whole, though it could perhaps serve as an explanation for the {{w|Asteroid belt}}, being remnants of formerly destroyed planets.

The title text also claims that the spikes produce sufficient light and heat to disrupt seasonal (and perhaps even diurnal) patterns on planets that come close enough to them, but this is not something we experience on Earth.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[SHORT VERSION : The comic is a photo of a star, with the diffraction spikes that usually happen when taking pictures with telescopes. An exoplanet orbits that star, and its trajectory crosses one of the spikes. At the intersection point, the onomatopoeia "SLICE" is written, and the trajectory splits in two. Not far after, two half-planets continue their course.]

:[Caption below panel:]
:Bad news for exoplanets: it turns out those diffraction spikes are real.

:[LONG VERSION : On a black square background, there is a white circle, representing a star, with a diameter one-fourth the length of the background perimeter. Its center is approximately one radius left of the center of the square. Six solid white lines intersect the center of the circle, and extend into the background. Those portions of the lines that are in the background are drawn as narrow triangles; the portions within the circle (white on white) are invisible. The lines represent the rays of a diffraction pattern. The "star" drawing is bilaterally symmetrical along any of the six lines. The longest line, with the length of each ray equal to the diameter of the circle, is oriented at approximately 15/195 degrees from the vertical (left and right boundaries of the background). The second, very short, is at approximately 20 degrees. The third, fourth, and fifth, with the emergent parts approximately one radius long (the fourth slightly longer) are oriented at about 35, 50, and 80 degrees respectively. The sixth, short like the second, is at approximately 95 degrees.]

:[Near the apex of the longest line (diffraction pattern ray) at 15 degrees, there is a dashed white line, curved as if part of the circumference of a circle with radius three times that of the "star" circle, and describing approximately twenty degrees of arc. This line represents the orbit of an exoplanet circling the star. At its intersection with the diffraction pattern ray, indicated by a small white circle, the dashed line bifurcates. At the rightmost ends of the dashed lines, there are two circles, one light gray with an irregular, darker gray pattern at the center, the other white. These represent a planet that has been sliced into two equal portions by the diffraction ray. A few white specks surrounding the circles represent debris from the cutting. The word SLICE is written in white capital letters immediately to the right of the point of intersection.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

948: AI

2023-04-10T20:26:17Z

141.101.99.90: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 948
| date = September 7, 2011
| title = AI
| image = ai.png
| titletext = And they both react poorly to showers.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the wildly funny{{Citation needed}} [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnzlbyTZsQY video] of two {{w|Cleverbot}}s talking to each other. By recording and analyzing whatever humans type into its input, they can sound pretty human to whoever is reading their response.

[[Megan]] has been watching the video and asks [[Cueball]] about it. He says it's just "clumsy sampling" as they are still very far from sounding like humans and holding normal conversations.

Megan then sums up that as of the release of this comic computers were good at {{w|chess}} and at driving cars through a desert. (Although some might think of deserts as a place with no obstacles to hit, one must also consider rocky deserts which are a rather difficult terrain to navigate: making this search field very interesting for space exploration as well. The ability of such {{w|self-driving cars}} would improve much later, with this comic being the first with a direct reference to them. Later, self-driving cars became a [[:Category:Self-driving cars|recurring topic]] on xkcd.) But they cannot hold a conversation for five minutes. And she thus concludes that a cleverbot would be perfect for attending ''Burning Man''.

{{w|Burning Man}} is a week-long event held yearly in Black Rock City, Nevada. The festival encourages an artistic, anti-establishment philosophy and attracts a broad but devoted following combining hippies, anarchists, nudists, techno-utopians and survivalists. [http://www.burningman.com/art_of_burningman/art_cars_on_the_playa.html Shows of custom cars on the desert plain] are a big part of Burning Man, and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/michicat/2865986618/ mental games like chess] are a popular way to pass the time there. However, a common joke about Burning Man attendees is that they can only talk about Burning Man - hence why they can't hold a five minute conversation.

A tradition of Burning Man is not to shower while you are there, mostly because [http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/water.html all water must be brought in from offsite.] And of course Cleverbot reacts badly in showers because if you do try to shower a Cleverbot, you end up with a shorted out computer.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits on an office chair at a desk. A laptop computer is on the desk, audio from a Cleverbot chat is shown coming from the laptop with a zigzag line from the screen. Megan has turned her head away from the computer to the right addressing Cueball off-panel.]
:Megan: Did you see the Cleverbot-Cleverbot chat?
:Cleverbot (from computer): I am not a robot. I'm a unicorn.

:[In the next frame-less panel, Megan has turned the chair away from the desk, which is not shown, and is now sitting with her hands in her lap in front of Cueball who holds one hand up as he replies.]
:Cueball: Yeah. It's hilarious, but it's just clumsily sampling a huge database of lines people have typed. Chatterbots still have a long way to go.

:[A close-up of Megan's head and shoulders. She has a hand to her chin and appears to be contemplating the last remark. Cueball replies from off-panel.]
:Megan: So... Computers have mastered playing chess and driving cars across the desert, but can't hold five minutes of normal conversation?
:Cueball (off-panel): Pretty much.

:[Both are shown again as in panel two, Cueball with his hands down.]
:Megan: Is it just me, or have we created a Burning Man attendee?

==Trivia==
Randall's sarcastic comparison from AI systems to burning man atendees turned out to be more true than expected, as current AI systems were shown and proven to have a bias to align to their programmers's beliefs and political compass.
Which makes it now a major research area to make AI systems truly neutral in their interactions.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Self-driving cars]]

Talk:254: Comic Fragment

2015-08-12T23:44:35Z

141.101.99.90:

Who is Janeane Garofalo? {{unsigned|‎130.194.73.251}}
:A New York comedian. I've wikilinked her name. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 18:19, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

I think it should also be noted that this may be a parody of the Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events books, where each book ends with some 'discovered' documents/evidence from the 'author' Snickett regarding the next title in the series. [[Special:Contributions/75.101.102.252|75.101.102.252]] 06:04, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

I really wish this comic would be re-enacted... [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 06:45, 14 August 2013 (UTC)

Seems to me that making Richard Stallman very confused would be in keeping with the spirit of the comic. At least he didn't get a bobcat. {{unsigned ip|184.21.189.153}}
: Ha +1 [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I wonder if the title should be read as 'fragMENT' as in 'to break up'... this is what Ms. Garofalo (herself a 'Comic') will soon be doing upon re-entry in such a scenario. [[User:Squirreltape|Squirreltape]] ([[User talk:Squirreltape|talk]]) 19:15, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

The explanation seems to miss something about this comic. It is a close call which is most ingruiging: how Ms Garafalo will manage to survive the re-entry of the space station, on her motorbike, with the very imminent danger of the volcano and the presumably lurking danger of multiple T-Rexes with barely enough ability to deal with one; or... how she ''got'' into the position of being on the outside of the space station, on a motorbike, the whole lot hurtling out of orbit towards a volcano and a foreseeable (re)encountering of T-Rexes for which she has equipped herself with a now dwindled supply of countermeasure ammunition... This could be the mere inconclusive fade-out at the end to the actual Best Ever story, perhaps providing a useful hook for a potential sequal (which will never be ''quite'' as good, statistically, even if it avoids being a Highlander II). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.90|141.101.99.90]] 23:44, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1563: Synonym Movies

2015-08-12T14:35:01Z

141.101.99.90:

Space Trip would probably be Star Trek, right?
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.166|141.101.98.166]] 05:17, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Is this supposed to be related to "Thing explainer"? But then there are words like government, and Vulcan...
--[[User:Zzyss|Zzyss]] ([[User talk:Zzyss|talk]]) 06:51, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:No I do not think so. It is not simple words, just different words with he same meaning --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Funny, I would've said "''The Sword Wizard'''s Are''' Back''"... I've always interpreted that instance of ''Jedi'' as being plural.
--[[User:Vor0nwe|vor0nwe]] ([[User talk:Vor0nwe|talk]]) 08:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:It could refer to Luke, the only Jedi alive at the end of the movie... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
::Leia Amidala Skywalker died? Didn't noticed that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:::Funny, I always assumed it referred to Anakin, as it's the move where his sith side is freed and his Jedi side "returns".--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.163|141.101.98.163]] 11:59, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
: In German the title is "Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter" which would translate back into "Return of the Jedi Knights" - Plural. So it is/was naturally plural for me, too. But, of course, German movie titles are no reference to the actual meaning. Since some years we occasionally use English titles in Germany, too. But somehow they are different to the original English titles... (No worry: Star Wars is Star Wars - but even that was translated in the 70's to "Krieg der Sterne") [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: Now this is real funny: in Spanish the title is "El retorno del Jedi" which refers to one single Jedi, so it is/was naturally singular for me. I never even considered the possibility of "Jedi" referring to several people - until now. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.74|173.245.49.74]] 11:20, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: Also, Spanish movie titles (especially in the 1980s and 1990s) have less even to do with original titles than German ones. "Star wars" became "La guerra de las galaxias" (which means "The galaxy war" and is not much of a stretch). However, "The money pit" is "Esta casa es una ruina" (This house is a wreck), "Switch" is "Una rubia muy dudosa" (A very dubious blonde) and "Trading places" is "Entre pillos anda el juego" (sort of "This game is about rascals"). These are mere examples, it looks like in the 1990s every movie had to triple its title length when translated into Spanish. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.74|173.245.49.74]] 11:33, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:: In Finnish, it's "Jedin paluu", which translates literally as "The Jedi's return", again in the singular. Star Wars is translated to Tähtien sota, which roughly means "The stars' war" (plural possessive). The Money Pit is Rahareikä, literally "Money Hole" (or "The Money Hole", Finnish doesn't have words for the, a, or an), Switch is called "Apua, olen muuttunut naiseksi" (roughly "Help, I'm a changed woman") and Trading Places is Vaihtokaupat (literally "Shops Swap"). {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.207}}
:: My favourite example in Germany is "Once upon a time in the West" (as far as I can tell a direct translation from the Italian original) which is "Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod" in Germany: "Play the song about death/of Death to me" (don't know if The Death or just death is meant). This is one of the rare occasions on which I prefer the German title, while the English translation of the German title sounds quite silly, imho. However, back to topic: The word "Jedi" is used as plural and singular in each English and German (at least I'm not aware of ever having heard "Jedis" in either language). While in German it's quite easy to distinguish them by the article (Der (sg)/ Die (pl)) even that is the same in English (The). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia does note that Czar had become a title equivalent to King by the 19th Century, so perhaps that ought to be mentioned regarding "We Have a Czar Again." {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.41}}
:: Specifically, Цар, or "Tsar" would in Bulgarian and Russian mean the equivalent of (native) monarch, while Крал/"kral" would be reserved for foreign monarchs. When referring to an emperor, you'd use император/"imperator". Thus I would argue that "Czar", as the western spelling of Tsar, is a reasonable facsimile for "King". [[User:Meledin|Meledin]] ([[User talk:Meledin|talk]]) 14:11, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
Gaaaah! Power and force are not synonyms! Power and force-velocity are! Edit:thx whoever [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.75|108.162.221.75]] 10:41, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
:You can probably put that in the same category as the mass delusion about what weight actually is. (SWIDT?) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.90|141.101.99.90]] 14:35, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T07:57:04Z

141.101.99.90: Undo revision 89013 by Mikemk (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'', who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

==Transcript==
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie title
! Area(s) covered
! Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1460: SMFW

2014-12-17T20:51:15Z

141.101.99.90: /* Explanation */ very dubious "original research"!

{{comic
| number = 1460
| date = December 15, 2014
| title = SMFW
| image = smfw.png
| titletext = wtfw it's like smho tbfh, imdb.
}}

==Explanation==

Randall gives some examples of confusing acronyms that closely resemble more commonly-used acronyms. He depicts [[Cueball]] apparently puzzling over the meaning of one such acronym.

"SMFW", the title of the comic and an acronym used as the caption, is very close to a number of other common acronyms, including:

* "SFW" (meaning "safe/suitable for work", denoting that something does not have suggestive content)
* "MFW" (meaning "my face when...", setting up for a user's reaction to something: possibly the intended replacement for the caption at the bottom of the comic)
* "SMH" (meaning "shaking my head", used to indicate dismay)
* "SMF" (meaning "so much fun")
* "NSFW" (meaning "not safe for work", the opposite of "SFW").
* "MWF" (meaning "Monday, Wednesday, Friday", the update schedule of XKCD.)

The title text contains more examples of imaginary acronyms of a similar nature:

* "WTFW" is a combination of "WTF" ("What the fuck?") and "TFW" ("That feel when...", used in a similar nature to "MFW"), and possibly "FTW" ("For The Win") and "FWIW" ("For What It's Worth")
* "SMHO" is a combination of "SMH" ("shake my head") and "IMHO" ("In my humble/honest opinion...")
* "TBFH" is a combination of "TBF" ("to be fair") and "TBH" ("to be honest"), also similar to "BOFH" ("Bastard Operator From Hell")
* "IMDB" is, of course, [http://www.imdb.com/ the Internet Movie Database], but also resembles "IMHO" ("in my humble opinion")

Below are possible examples of potential (already existing, albeit rare) representations for each acronym, according to [http://www.urbandictionary.com/ Urban Dictionary]:

* SMFW is an acronym for "Smoke more fucking weed".
* WTFW is an acronym for "What the fuck, what?".
* SMHO is an acronym for "Shaking my head off".
* TBFH is an acronym for "To be fucking honest".

Knowing Randall, the sentence is not supposed to make sense, but there are some mildly-plausible translations (if one discounts IMDB, which is only there to make an already obnoxious sentence completely absurd). One way would be "What the fuck, what? It's like shaking my head off, to be fucking honest."

==Transcript==

[Cueball is sitting at a desk, crouched over a laptop]

SMFW an acronym ''almost'' makes sense

{{comic discussion}}