explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T07:13:26Z

162.158.134.184:

--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.13|104.23.175.13]] 02:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)')DROP TABLE Talk:3088:_Deposition;
--Stephen Hawking did about the same thing, throwing a party for time travellers. But nobody came. (also yes thats an undertale reference :D )--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.41|104.23.175.41]] 06:36, 13 May 2025 (UTC)
:well done. no notes. [[user talk:lett‪herebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 03:58, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

Futurama reference?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.54|162.158.91.54]] 03:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

This is definitely a comic that ''does'' have "set-in-stone explanations." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.81|162.158.155.81]] 06:40, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

I genuinely want to do this. Can anyone tell where I could find good locations, ones where rocks are likely to be preserved like in this comic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.184|162.158.134.184]] 07:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

Talk:731: Desert Island

2019-07-16T06:19:39Z

162.158.134.184:

There's a shark, a manta ray, giant jellyfish, and a giant squid in the water. It's totally safe. And what the heck are those worms at the ocean bed? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:27, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

:Those worms are ''extremophiles'' feeding off of the nutrients emitted by the volcanic column... and from what I understand, they're completely harmless. Their entire ecology centers around the extreme heat and alternative chemical sources of energy provided by the center of the earth (vs sun-based photosynthetic life.) Oh, and I think Randall left off the "not to scale" attribute of the map, otherwise the ocean floor would only be a few hundred feet deep... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:50, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
The title text seems to be alluding to a song. No idea what it could be. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 18:27, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

In my mind, I hear the alt-text as lyrics to the Can-Can song, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0WRJES4cyw "Infernal Gallop"]. See if you agree! {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.12}}

I'm pretty sure it's meant to go with the Major-General's song from the Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. The meter and rhyme works out, and Randall based comic 1052 (Every Major's Terrible) on it, showing that he knows and likes the song. {{unsigned ip |141.101.88.208}}

Also the title text is a poem since no one mentions it: 
''Telescopes and bathyscapes 
''and sonar probes of Scottish lakes, 
''Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse 
''explained with abstract phase-space maps, 
''some x-ray slides, a music score, 
''Minard's Napoleonic war: 
''the most exciting new frontier 
''is charting what's already here. 
--[[User:7buergen|7buergen]] ([[User talk:7buergen|talk]]) 09:32, 13 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the point of the commentary is "there's more than meets the eye". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 13:47, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

It's to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire"... {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}
:I agree. It lines up perfectly, arguably better than Major General. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.57|108.162.221.57]] 05:34, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

If "We Didn't Start the Fire" had been the original intended tune, then the "some" and "a" in line 5 should not be there; they are superfluous and do not fit the rhythm of "We Didn't Start the Fire". The most plausible conclusion is that those words were added or retained to make the text fit the meter of a different song. To my ear, "Infernal Gallop", as noted above, seems quite plausible, although it doesn't exactly account for "some". Being (to my shame) unfamiliar with Gilbert and Sullivan, I can't comment on the Modern Major-General theory. --[[User:5parrowhawk|5parrowhawk]] ([[User talk:5parrowhawk|talk]]) 10:18, 8 March 2016 (UTC)
Feels like it has something to do with those I Spy books idk {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}
The white/blue colored things on the left could be scrap metal from the game subnautica[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.184|162.158.134.184]] 06:19, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

2174: First News Memory

2019-07-11T10:39:36Z

162.158.134.184: /* Frame One */ Mention Ponytail explicitly

{{comic
| number = 2174
| date = July 10, 2019
| title = First News Memory
| image = first_news_memory.png
| titletext = Psychology researchers say our 'flashbulb' memories of big events can be unreliable, but I clearly remember watching live on CNN as Challenger crashed into and destroyed the Berlin Wall.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FAULTY FIRST NEWS MEMORY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. (Explain title-text) Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
7 xkcd characters are discussing their "first news memory", their first memory of an event that was reported by the news media. A person's "first news memory" can vary based on their age, the region where they grew up, and how in touch with the news they are.

The following is a breakdown of the memories given by the characters, in typical xkcd fashion:
===Frame One===
[[Ponytail]] gets the ball rolling by posing the question.
[[Cueball]] recalls the election coverage from the year 1988. As Randall lives in the US, this is probably the {{w|1988 United States presidential election|1988 US presidential election}} in which George H. W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis. [[Megan]] recalls {{w|Berlin_Wall#Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall|the removal of the Berlin wall}}, which began in 1989.

===Frame Two===
[[Hairy]] recalls the {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|''Challenger'' explosion}}, which occurred in 1986. Many schools allowed teachers to bring a television to the classroom to show their students, sadly unaware of the impending disaster the children would witness. However, Hairy remembers watching the footage in 1995, so Hairy's teacher was knowingly showing the students recorded footage of a disaster. Presumably, showing a number of young schoolchildren a traumatizing event led to the dismissal.

===Frame Three===
[[White Hat]] says that his first news memory was about the 2016 election (presumably the {{w|2016 United States presidential election|2016 US presidential election}}), which is only three years prior to the publication date of this comic. This implies that he spent most of his life not paying attention to the news or has amnesia.

===Frame Four===
[[Black Hat]]'s first sentence is normal in the context of the question, albeit making him older than the others. Given only the sentence 'we landed on the moon,' the 'we' is inferred to be 'the United States of America' or 'the human race.' The first {{w|moon landing}} occurred on July 20, 1969.
However, Black Hat goes on to say that 'my second memory is my mom telling us we were moving to Earth instead, to blend in with the humans.' This gives a completely different meaning to his first memory, as it is now implied that Black Hat is a humanoid alien who moved to the Moon, but whose mother then decided to move to Earth. Whether any news coverage resulted is unclear. [[Hairbun]] then remarks that this revelation explains Black Hat's odd (and usually disruptive) behavior. It is unclear whether Black Hat is telling the truth, but knowing Black Hat, and considering the fact that this would be unlikely to receive news coverage, he is likely intentionally trying to unnerve others. Another possibility is that Black Hat was the youthful victim of a prank by his own mother, with Hairbun's comment implying that such an upbringing accounts for the trollish aspects of Black Hat's character in the present day.

The title text gives [http://theconversation.com/flashbulb-memories-of-dramatic-events-arent-as-accurate-as-believed-64838 the claim] that {{w|Flashbulb memory|flashbulb memories}} of big events can be unreliable. Randall denies this claim, claiming to remember watching on CNN as the ''Challenger'' spacecraft crashed into the Berlin Wall. This is an inaccurate memory of these two events, as the ''Challenger'' explosion occurred in 1986 over the Atlantic Ocean, just east of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and did not occur near the Berlin Wall (in Berlin, Germany). Also, the Berlin Wall was intentionally demolished starting in 1989; it was not damaged by a space shuttle. It is possible that this memory also conflates those events with those of the {{w|September 11 attacks}} since the latter ''did'' involve two winged craft crashing into and destroying a landmark.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, Hairy, White Hat, Black Hat and Hairbun are all at a party, discussing their earliest news memories.]

:[Panel with Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and Hairy]
:Ponytail: What's your first news memory?
:Cueball: I always like this question! Mine was the 1988 election.
:Megan: Berlin wall for me. You?

:[Frame-less panel with Megan, Hairy, White Hat, and Black Hat]
:Hairy: Watching the ''Challenger'' launch in class. We were so excited; everyone was horrified when it blew up.
:Hairy: It was 1995.
:Hairy: Our teacher got fired soon after.

:[Panel with Hairy, White Hat, Black Hat, and Hairbun]
:White Hat: Mine's the 2016 election.
:Hairbun: ...aren't you in your 30's?
:White Hat: Look, we're not all great about keeping up with the news, OK?

:[Panel with White Hat, Black Hat, and Hairbun]
:Black Hat: My first memory is when we landed on the moon.
:Black Hat: My second memory is my mom telling us we were moving to Earth instead, to blend in with the humans.
:Hairbun: This explains a lot.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1908: Credit Card Rewards

2017-10-30T23:27:04Z

162.158.134.184:

Does Randall realize this goes completely against the "Working" comic (https://xkcd.com/951/)?
I wonder if he's changed his outlook or if he's just inconsistent :P
: I read it as if the character likes doing this, and wouldn't be doing anything more fun otherwise. So if it is a game to you, sure waste your time, but if you are doing something you don't particularly like and waste more time than you save in money, you are just being stupid.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.28|162.158.202.28]] 22:43, 29 October 2017 (UTC)
: There's also the fact that in "Working" the additional work was required every time, and so each additional penny saved comes from additional work. Here, this is about doing the work once and getting the outcome several times. This is actually pretty consistent with someone who is into programming - where in theory you do more work once to save time on each occurence of a repeted task. Now the fact that even "optimizing once and for all" isn't a sure outcome is discussed in https://xkcd.com/1319/ . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.136|162.158.92.136]] 11:24, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

I don't it goes against 951, essentially he's trying to stop before he's spent 9 minutes to save a dollar (and hairy is questioning that he would have otherwise spent that 9 minutes earning more than a dollar) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.136|108.162.216.136]] 01:17, 28 October 2017 (UTC)

This reminds me of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstadter%27s_law Hofstadter's law] // See also [https://xkcd.com/1658/ #1658] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/917:_Hofstadter this Explain xkcd for #1658] 18:26, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

How did he miss the circular reference error? (unsigned comment from [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.94|108.162.219.94]])

This is similar to comic [https://xkcd.com/1205/ 1205 (Worth the time]), except that it's just a one-time event and just thinking about the table makes it worse. For example the top right cell of that table could just say "none, because it took you longer to search for and apply this chart). [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 09:36, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

There's also [https://xkcd.com/1445/ 1445 (Efficiency)], in which Randall confesses this search to optimize tasks killing his effeiciency is a personal problem for him. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.241|162.158.69.241]] 14:30, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1908: Credit Card Rewards

2017-10-30T23:23:03Z

162.158.134.184:

Talk:1891: Obsolete Technology

2017-09-19T09:17:59Z

162.158.134.184: neutrino communications is possible, but has a slow bandwidth

Wasn't DOS still running behind Win95, and integrated into the OS similarly to the Linux shell? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.154|162.158.59.154]] 14:48, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
:Even worse than that. DOS was not "integrated" into Win95 or Win98, but Win95 and Win98 were built to run atop DOS. Windows NT did away with that dependency on DOS.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.102|141.101.105.102]] 22:48, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
::Win Me were also built to run atop DOS. Win NT were considered server system, only later Win 2000 and Win XP brought NT-based Windows to home machines. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:38, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
::Not quite. Windows NT was a concurrent line with the more mainstream 95/98/ME line (I think ME also was on top of DOS, but I never used it so I'm not sure). At the same timeline as those versions of Windows was Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 (NT 5.0), and maybe NT 3.5 earlier than that. Windows 95 was originally supposed to only be a temporary stepping stone from DOS with Windows 3.11 to bring people over to NT, so they kept DOS as the underlying foundation of Windows (which was a good thing because power programs and high end games still used DOS, to avoid the resource suck that is Windows. Not being in Windows frees up processing power). But so many people liked and adopted 95 that they came out with a "sequel", 98. This two-lines idiocy ended rather with Windows XP in the early 2000s, which combined the two lines, having elements of the NT line - like the NTFS system for larger hard drives, literally "NT File System", which is still in use today - with elements of the 95 line - like removing and relaxing the restrictions that blocked certain programs and games from running in Windows NT in favour of greater system stability (my NT 4.0 computer crashed the least of every Windows I've ever run). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:27, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

This reminds me of this Raganwald article on Blub: [http://weblog.raganwald.com/2006/10/are-we-blub-programmers.html Are we blub programmers?] Adequate doesn't mean best for the job; this comic presents the other side of the coin, don't upgrade just for upgrade's sake. --[[User:Jgt|Jgt]] ([[User talk:Jgt|talk]]) 14:51, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

The computer doesn't look like an early PC from the MS-DOS era. Reminds me more of the previous generation: à so-called mini-computer or a terminal connected to a mainframe.
Zetfr 15:32, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

:You are right, but I think we should make allowances to the look as this is stated to be an 'industrial' computer. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.52|172.68.110.52]] 16:24, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Fireworks has a link to the 2016 Fireworks Annual Report, which has some useful statistics on page 2, the executive summary.
--[[User:Ozmandias42|Ozmandias42]] ([[User talk:Ozmandias42|talk]]) 20:08, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

I just finished working on upgrading an industrial control system. In the plant's control rooms, the interfaces and terminals were relatively new, running Windows 7 Ultimate. However, the DBMs in the server room that managed the control network were running MS-DOS 6.22, and they still worked just fine. The client was only upgrading the system because the OEM no longer provided support or replacement components.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.11|108.162.238.11]] 21:44, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

What bothers me about old technology is that security updates stop while the rest of the world gains an ever-increasing exploit advantage over people connecting to the same Internet. Along with the risks to them, it's worse when compromised devices act as workhorses to leverage "millions of papercuts" against the rest of the system. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 00:27, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

Hm, while it makes sense to stick to a DOS based system if nothing newer is required, the comparative of fireworks/nuclear weapons is incorrect. Upgrading those MSDOS systems to something newer (which could be just freedos) would perhaps incur on huge unnecessary expenses at most, while "upgrading" fireworks to nuclear energy would not only would make them far more expensive, it would make them far, far more dangerous and deadly. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.123|162.158.69.123]] 00:32, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

:What surprises me is that anything for which MS-DOS includes drivers would still be physically running after this long... in the comic scenario, they went 20 years without needing to replace key components? That said, for a lot of the older industrial systems, running something LIKE Dos, such as FREEDOS, or various custom boot environments which use DOS command formats, would probably make perfect sense. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.47|172.68.58.47]]

Neutrino beams would also mostly go straight through (without interacting with) any sort of detector you might wish to use to intercept the signal.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.233|141.101.99.233]] 07:39, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

141.101.99.233, there are neutrino detectors, and they have been used to detect artificially generated neutrinos. For an example from 1999, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/29/science/team-detects-neutrino-fired-through-earth-s-crust.html and more recently for communications at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2012/mar/19/neutrino-based-communication-is-a-first . The problem is partially the cost, but market traders would pay a lot to get a small speedup in communications from, say, NYC to London. The bigger problem is the bandwidth and latency. The experiment in the second link has a bandwidth of less than 1 bit per second. You can send a lot of data around the world in less than a second.