explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2045: Social Media Announcement

2018-09-13T22:28:04Z

162.158.126.82:

I doubt it's Wil-Wheaton-specific. I've seen a fair number of people talk about quitting some form of social media or another (though usually not ALL of it); Wheaton's just the biggest (that I'm now aware of). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.202|162.158.75.202]] 12:00, 12 September 2018 (UTC)

Trivially amusing, I think "fewer" when I read "less nazis" in the explanation; this may make me a grammar Nazi, so instead of editing I'm pleading [[261: Regarding Mussolini]]. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 18:56, 12 September 2018 (UTC)

'''GitHub'''

On June 4, 2018, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire GitHub. This means it isn't acquired yet. Thus I've removed it from the explanation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:59, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
:It was confirmed as a done deal the same day. The purchase is already agreed upon, it will take some months for the merger to be completed. Even if that were not the case, github is still relevant to Microsoft's trend of buying up professional social media platforms. Adding it back in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.220|108.162.219.220]] 17:44, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
::I totally agree about ''Microsoft's trend'' but it's still only an announcement. Wikipedia says: "The purchase is expected to close by the end of the year" and at [https://github.com/about/milestones GitHub (about; milestones)] they say in June 2018 "Microsoft announced it is acquiring GitHub". Sorry if I'm nitpicking, but right now GitHub is NOT owned by Microsoft while the explanation suggests this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:55, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
:::It literally does not matter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.82|162.158.126.82]] 22:28, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

'''Texting'''

I'm pretty sure Texting is supposed to mean {{w|SMS}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:12, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
:You are invited to write an additional alternative, I don't think there is something wrong or correct at this point. Your note makes sense. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:00, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Is the Random button on xkcd.com broken for anyone else? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.70|172.68.90.70]] 18:45, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
:Yep, but not here! ;-) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:00, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
::And I can tell why: It uses this link https://c.xkcd.com/random/comic/ but whois tells me: ''No match for "C.XKCD.COM".'' This means the domain "c.xkcd.com" is not registered. Randall should talk to his webmaster. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:08, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1330: Kola Borehole

2018-08-15T19:55:30Z

162.158.126.82:

Reminds me of the title text in #[[1218]]: Doors of Durin. [[User:Whimsye|Whimsye]] ([[User talk:Whimsye|talk]]) 06:21, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

Surely this is a Dwarf Fortress reference. The Soviets breached the Happy Fun Stuff! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.5|108.162.250.5]] 06:42, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

:Well, DF ''has'' that connotation, but both the [[wikipedia:Kola_Superdeep_Borehole|real thing]] and the [[wikipedia:Well_to_Hell_hoax|hoax]] are older than Toady's game, so perhaps not so much a reference to DF (although Black Hat does propose a typically DF-player solution... I hope he's prepared for [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/FPS FPS Hell] from the flowing liquids). Randall ''[[1223|knows]]'' about DF, of course.
:(BTW, from that (first, factual event) page: "In 1983, the drill passed 12,000 m (39,000 ft), and drilling was stopped for about a year to celebrate the event." ...Russians!) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.176|141.101.98.176]] 08:18, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

Lakes and Oceans #[[1040]] also mentions the Kola Borehole.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.70|199.27.128.70]] 09:03, 14 February 2014 (UTC)Nix

If Hell would be a physical place, I don't think {{w|Lucifer}} would still be ruling there. In next war between Heaven and Hell, the winners will be anime and/or computer games nerds. Both Heaven and Hell will lose. :-) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:06, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

One may recall from the ''Divine Comedy'' that Dante's imagery of Hell is a negative-mountain-shaped abyss that starts widest at the surface of our allegorical planet and ends at a point far below the surface where Satan resides. The deeper you go, the narrower the abyss gets, like a cone, and the more heinous the sinners. On the other side of the planet there is a mountain made from all that earth God removed to dig the Inferno. The Saints (all those who are saved by faith from the other fate) progress up the mountain through Purgatory to reach Paradise. ''— [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 14:01, 14 February 2014 (UTC)''

I remember reading about this in Dial the Truth ministries: http://www.av1611.org/hell.html
Either way, in the war between Earth and Hell, I shall be in Heaven. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 14:51, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

In the game terraria it is actually possible to dig a tunnel from the ocean to hell. I tried this but not enough water came through the tunnel to flood it.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 21:52, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

In Dante's Inferno, Hell is depicted as being a cold place since it is far from the warmth of the Creator. The modern hot version of hell is a byproduct of the fire and brimstone of the reformation period. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.254|108.162.210.254]] 16:47, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

About the kola superdeep borehole being welded-shut - that seems to be actualy true. The wikipedia page on the borehole has a picture of it being welded shut, and the reference about the bore hole project being abandonded, an article in russian[http://www.rg.ru/2008/10/15/skvazhina.html], says that it was welded shut in 1995. Could someone update that? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.8|141.101.99.8]] 21:07, 14 February 2014 (UTC)
:Not only that, it was apparently capped with concrete as well [http://www.wired.com/2014/01/an-artist-records-the-mysterious-rumblings-of-middle-earth/] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.217|141.101.89.217]] 12:54, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

When he says that she probably won't be on his side, I took it to mean that he'll be on his own side during the war, fighting against both Hell and Earth. Since she's nice, she probably wouldn't join him. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 19:37, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

I took his comment in the final panel to mean that he is actually affiliated with hell and that somehow flooding Hell would release its contents rather than extinguish them. It was a very eerie thought that I'm sticking to. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.185|108.162.222.185]] 12:48, 18 March 2015 (UTC) 21:37, 18 March 2015 (KST)

If there's ever a war between heaven and hell, my soul will be too busy exploring space to give a shit about it.

On a side note, I'd expect such sounds might actually have been "heard" in the chamber. Or it is theoretically possible. The sound of escaping hot gases, especially in chorus, would sound awfully similar to tormented screaming. So in a way, the sounds would sound similar.

Although in thinking about this one more deeply, another comic comes to mind as I freak out about the fact the scary magma chambers are RIGHT BELOW ME. I could easily walk the lateral distance separating me and them in a few hours. Or could scale a mountain with that distance in a day or so. Or in a few seconds using a lot of rocket fuel. But to go down that distance takes a lot more effort... hm. Of course there are always volcanoes.

Too busy thinking about space to worry about a war between hell and heaven. [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 05:13, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Just curious: what would realistically happen if the Kola Borehole was actually flooded with ocean water? The temperature at the bottom being 180 °C (according to Wikipedia), would it behave like a geyser?

Talk:1657: Insanity

2018-08-05T20:27:18Z

162.158.126.82: Link suggestion.

And we are back to White Hat being the "fall" guy, which he was not in his last discussion with Cueball in [[1640: Super Bowl Context]]. It was so rare that it was mentioned at the bottom of the explanation for that comic ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:10, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

I don't know why everyone quotes a mathematician's definition of insanity instead of, say, a paychologist's. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.69|108.162.238.69]] 17:16, 18 March 2016 (UTC)
:Psychology Today it turns out has written about this (Ryan Howes PhD, ABPP, July 27, 2009 [https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/200907/the-definition-insanity-is]), and calls "insanity" a legal term, where Psychologists may inform courts over some of the law criteria, but neither define nor decide if anyone so qualifies. Lawyers are demonstrably "insane" to the extent they have arbitrary process to impose binary judgments on people or society, over issues where that's often unrealistic in terms of human rights or larger models of justice. [[User:Loki57|Loki57]] ([[User talk:Loki57|talk]]) 21:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Both this Lancet DOI: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00687-5] and [other articles [http://www.paulajcaplan.net/blog.htm?post=1024155]] have recently discussed how US industrial medicine and politics are at odds with United Nations backed human rights law, as to access to medical treatment in general, and over mental health issues as medical disabilities. The US civil rights branch of HHS has actively denied being out of compliance with that human rights law, in ways where the facts show otherwise. Perhaps that reflects ways where all of Nietzsche, Ruiz, and Krishnamurti, from their respective European, South American, and Asian perspectives, have described societies as often being insane, and "it is no measure of sanity to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" (contrary to practice of many US Psychologists or social workers to claim the opposite)? [[User:Loki57|Loki57]] ([[User talk:Loki57|talk]]) 21:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

I do not think checking various sources fills the requirements for this definition of insanity, as one may find what they are looking for eventually. It is conceivable that some dictionary may include the quote as a definition sometime in the future. A person would have to look up the definition of insanity in the same book, where the text will not change, repeatedly to fulfill this definition. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 18:08, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

If Randall DID find the definition of insanity in the DSM-V that correlates to the definition, or in some random dictionary, would that still make him insane, or would it enter a Catch-22 scenario in which he is both insane and sane? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.184.125|162.158.184.125]] 18:08, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

Re "switch from Roman numerals to decimal digits," decimal makes more sense, but I still think of our numerals as "Arabic." [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 22:04, 18 March 2016 (UTC)
: If it had switched to Arabic numerals it wouldn't be DSM-V but DSM-٥ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.209|162.158.91.209]] 21:24, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
::Roman numerals are also decimal (if you use the broader definition). While the positional number schema, and the according digits, we use are indeed referred to as Arabic numerals, Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals. If your focus is on the font rather than the writing schema, it can be called Western-Arabic numerals or European numerals.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.101|108.162.228.101]] 06:51, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

This comic reminds me of another recent one, though I can't figure out which. Suggestions? It was the same form where White Hat said something common, and Cueball turned it around [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 01:01, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
:Could it be this one: [[1592: Overthinking]]? That is the only recent comic that fit the bill. It could also be this one [[1386: People are Stupid]] but that is close to two years old. I just looked through comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring White Hat|White Hat]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:08, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
::It's not either of those, maybe I'll figure it out. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 04:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Cueball's response raises a pertinent query. The above-mentioned axiom does not take into account the fact that an action can only be so precisely measured and these micromeasures are going to differ each time. Depending on the values changed, there will be a different result that may be big enough to be noticeable.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 08:11, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
:My thoughts exactly. This is precisely how science works. Rare events may require the exact same experiment to be performed hundreds, even millions, of times to observe, for example at CERN. Seriously, what numpty came up with this definition? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 18:45, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
::It's commonly attributed to Albert Einstein. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 04:34, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
: Yes, this; for which I'd think of Heraclitus: "You could not step twice into the same river." [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 05:15, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

Its worth noting that the DSM-5 has had a fairly strong negative response, and made a number of controversial changes. So in some ways you may find what you're looking for in DSM-5. Of course, the direction of movement is such that if a definition of insane had been in DSM-IV it likely wouldn't be in DSM-5. Its also worth noting that Insanity is at its heart a legal definition and not a medical one.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.76|108.162.237.76]] 11:52, 19 March 2016 (UTC)

This attribution clearly isn't exact from Narcotics Anonymous, whose 1981 draft document old link is invalid, but is saved in Brewster's Archives [https://web.archive.org/web/20140911205220/http://amonymifoundation.org/uploads/NA_Approval_Form_Scan.pdf] pdf page 25, last sentence of paragraph 5. It does appear to be a direct quote of Rita Mae Brown's 1982 paraphrasing, or what may originate decades earlier with AA's Bill Wilson, or others. While Quora discusses the possible but iffy Einstein attribution [https://www.quora.com/Did-Einstein-really-define-insanity-as-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-and-expecting-different-results], math and science would break down if use of Monte Carlo analysis in statistical models or finance were treated as abnormal, while astronomers would lose key tools to locate planets near distant stars, and particle physicists means to detect energy wave anomalies. Randall has at least 5-10 future xkcd's to draw based on this discussion. [[User:Loki57|Loki57]] ([[User talk:Loki57|talk]]) 21:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Yes, it is not the definition of the word. But doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is still pretty insane, no? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.46|108.162.216.46]] 17:25, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

It seems that after Reginald and Beartato [http://nedroid.com/2013/02/scandal-of-the-century/ got into trouble once], it's now happening the other way round with [http://buttersafe.com/2015/07/09/definition-of-insanity-comics/ one of the comics Randall says he enjoys]. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.221|162.158.222.221]] 00:26, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

The origins of the saying were discussed with some detail in a March 2017 article on the [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/03/23/same/ Quote Investigator] website. I suggest that the link be added in the Explanation section, alongside (or in replacement of) the Quora link.

242: The Difference

2018-08-05T19:54:42Z

162.158.126.82: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 242
| date = March 30, 2007
| title = The Difference
| image = the_difference.png
| titletext = How could you choose avoiding a little pain over understanding a magic lightning machine?
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] pulls a lever. A bolt of lightning comes down and strikes him.

After being dazed for a moment, the comic then takes one of two routes; the first is that of a normal person, the second that of a scientist.

A normal person would decide not to pull the lever anymore, because it seems to cause him to get struck by a bolt of lightning.

But a scientist would pull the lever again to see if it was just a coincidence or if the lever actually caused the bolt of lightning. A scientist requires that results be repeatable before he accepts the results.

The title text refers to the scientist's method of pulling the lever again and again, trying to understand how the machine works, as opposed to the normal person, just avoiding pain. This could be a nod towards how scientists sometimes go to extreme measures for knowledge.

For a different view on the topic of repetition in experimentation, see [[1657: Insanity]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball pulls a lever.]
:''Pull''
:[Lightning hits Cueball.]
:''ZAP''
:[Cueball still stands, obviously battered.]
:[Arrow labeled "Normal Person."]
:Thinks: I guess I shouldn't do that.
:[Arrow labeled "Scientist."]
:Thinks: I wonder if that happens every time.
:[He reaches for the lever again.]

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

1657: Insanity

2018-08-05T19:52:56Z

162.158.126.82: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1657
| date = March 18, 2016
| title = Insanity
| image = insanity.png
| titletext = I looked up "insanity" in like 10 different dictionaries and none of them said anything like that. Neither did the DSM-4. But I'll keep looking. Maybe it's in the DSM-5!
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[White Hat]] quotes a famous "definition of {{w|insanity}}" (usually [https://www.quora.com/Did-Einstein-really-define-insanity-as-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-and-expecting-different-results/answer/Peter-Baskerville?srid=z3OX attributed] to {{w|Albert Einstein}}, but may be a loose paraphrasing from [https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Narcotics_Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous]) adapted by Rita Mae Brown or others historically.

[[Cueball|Cueball's]] answer applies the quote to the action of quoting that quote. White Hat seems to have quoted that quote quite a few times already, expecting people to change their behavior which hasn't happened so far. So according to that definition of insanity, it is insane to keep quoting the definition of insanity, expecting people to change their behavior because of that.

[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insane Merriam-Webster] defines "insane" as "mentally disabled."

The title text implies that [[Randall]] would be "insane" according to the quote he used in the comic because he has repeatedly searched for a definition of insanity that matches the one quotes in the comic and of course always gets a negative result, since this is a personal quote not a definition. Besides searching in lots of {{w|dictionary|dictionaries}}, he also looked in the {{w|Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders|DSM-4}} (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition). The DSM-5 has been available since May 18, 2013 and he plans to look into it, expecting different results. Since he won't find it, he is from the quote insane, but of course since this turns out to not be the definition of insanity then he might not be anyway.

This comic follows a pattern similar to [[1339: When You Assume]].

For a different view on the topic of repetition in experimentation, see [[242: The Difference]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking towards the right of the panel with White Hat walking behind him holding a finger up as to make a point.]
:White Hat: They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
:Cueball: You've been quoting that cliché for years. Has it convinced anyone to change their mind yet?

==Trivia==
*Given that xkcd revolves around pedantics and precise syntax, it appears Randall made an error by citing "DSM-4", as there's no such thing. DSM-IV (1994) and DSM-IV-tr (2000) are editions prior to DSM-5 (2013). With that error, Randall missed a chance for a secondary implicit comment about "neurotic shrinks" turning the APA policy change to switch from Roman numerals to decimal digits with DSM-5 into a huge internal controversy, as well as comparing the xkcd text about rigid doctrinal hypocrisy to the social fluidity of indirectly legally defined so-called mental illnesses, when both DSM-III and DSM-IV have had interim text revisions.
*"Insanity" does not appear as a word in DSM-5, but appears twice in DSM-IV, once in DSM-IV-tr. One of those instances is a reference in the introduction only to early 19th century attempts to classify "idiocy/insanity", as a US Census statistical category, and not a medical one per se. The other, which was removed from DSM-IV-tr, isn't a clinical definition, but descriptive of fears due to hallucinogens, of "insanity or death". OED 3rd Edition (subscription online only) discusses archaic medical, literature, and legal meanings, from the 16th to 19th centuries, and sidenotes in red the caveat that the word first included in 1900 is overdue for updates not completed for the current edition of OED. Their definition is cited as based on archaic legal usage, not medical usage.
*There are over 100 instances of "insanity" present in each of "Black's Law Dictionary" (9th Ed), and "Gale (formerly West's) Encyclopedia of American Law" (3rd Ed). The APA (American Psychiatric Association) "Goldwater Rule" that stemmed from the former Presidential candidate bars members from making public statements about the apparent sanity or disorders of public figures they haven't personally examined, even if such lawyers or politicians appear to pose a serious risk of harm to others.

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

Talk:2008: Irony Definition

2018-06-18T20:19:08Z

162.158.126.82:

Adding to the irony are the complaints from overeducated drama fans criticizing common uses of the term, assuming that "dramatic irony" is the only valid definition. Search "alanis morissette ironic misuse" for lots of fun with semantics and pseudo-intellectualism. I suspect that Randall is poking fun at the critics, rather than those who misuse the term. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.89|172.68.142.89]] 17:56, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

* I agree it's poking fun at the critics. The explanation should include correct examples of irony that even non-USA pedantics agree meet the definition.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.82|108.162.216.82]] 19:03, 18 June 2018 (UTC)Pat

Should mention be made that a possible motivation of this comic is President Trump's misuse of the word "ironic" 11 days earlier in a tweet? [https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1004693718945984512]
[[User:Heshy|Heshy]] ([[User talk:Heshy|talk]]) 18:40, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

If sarcasm is a type of irony, is this question ironic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.82|162.158.126.82]] 20:19, 18 June 2018 (UTC)