explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

541: TED Talk

2020-09-09T14:07:21Z

162.158.155.108: /* Explanation */ Funnily enough, "banns" are the pre-marriage announcement that is required to 'bind' them to attending the marriage ceremony. Except when they don't, for doubtless scandalous reasons.

{{comic
| number = 541
| date = February 9, 2009
| title = TED Talk
| image = ted_talk.png
| titletext = The IAU ban came after the 'redefinition of the 'planet' to include the IAU president's mom' incident.
}}

==Explanation==
The comics shows Randall as a presenter at the highly prestigious {{w|TED conference}}, a symposium about technology, entertainment and design. The illustrious {{w|list of TED speakers|list of former presenters}} includes amongst others Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Larry Page, Richard Dawkins and Gordon Brown. The conference is regarded as a forum for {{w|digerati}}. Every talk has a length of at most 20 minutes and is supposed to be as captivating as possible.

Randall's presentation, however, reduces the purpose of the conference to absurdity: The topic he wishes to point out to his listeners, is that of how to put an emoticon at the end of a parenthetical statement. This question is of little practical consequence, although it received a lot of attention after publication of the comic. In the last panel, the TED conference is another item to add to his list of conferences from which he has been banned. On the list are other conferences from all sorts of fields, including every American furry convention.

The title text about Randall's ban from the {{w|IAU}} conference is a reference to the popular maternal insults called {{w|Maternal insult|"yo momma" jokes}}. A common representative of the genre runs "Yo mama so fat, scientists have declared her the 10th planet." Those kind of jokes are a [[:Category:Your Mom|recurring theme]] on xkcd

It can be inferred from [[629: Skins]], that Randall was banned from North American furry conventions due to being a "Skin", which is a furry whose fursona prefers going around disguised as a human. Depending on Randall's behavior, such an action could generate a lot of drama and, presumably, lead to convention bans.

Getting banned from attending a conference is a [[:Category:Banned from conferences|recurring theme]] on xkcd. This was so far the last of six comics to directly mention conference bans. The first to do so was [[153: Cryptography]].

The {{w|PyCon}} organizers made a response to this comic - see below under [[#PyCon response|PyCon response]].

===Conferences where Randall is banned from===
Here is a list of the conferences Randall has been banned for according to this comic.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Conference
! Description
! Website
|-
| Siggraph
| Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques
| http://www.siggraph.org
|-
| Eurocrypt
| Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques
| http://www.iacr.org/meetings/eurocrypt/
|-
| Defcon
| DEF CON® Hacking Conference
| https://www.defcon.org/
|-
| Pycon
| Python Conference
| http://www.pycon.org/
|-
| International Astronomical Union
| The IAU's mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation
| https://www.iau.org/science/meetings/
|-
| Canadian Paleontology Conference
| The main goal of the CPC and its predecessors has been to provide a relatively small, informal forum for presentation and discussion of current paleontological research
| http://www.gacpaleodivision.com/pd-meetings.html
|-
| Every American Furry Convention
| There are many Furry Conventions in America (see the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_furry_conventions Wikipedia page] for more details), but to be banned from all of them would probably require action by the Furry Convention Leadership Roundtable, the coordinating body for furry conventions.
|
|-
| American Baking Society
(American Bakers Association)
| ABA represents the interests of bakers before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and international regulatory authorities
| http://www.americanbakers.org/meetings/
|-
| Asian Dolphin-Training Conference
| International Marine Animal Trainers' Association
| https://www.imata.org/
|-
| TED
| Technology, Entertainment, Design.
| https://ted.com
|}

==Transcript==
:[Randall, drawn as Cueball, on stage.]
:Randall: Hi. I'm Randall. Welcome to my TED talk.
:Randall: It's an honor to speak to you, some of the brightest innovators from so many fields, about a problem in desperate need of your attention:
:Randall: How DO you end parenthetical statements with emoticons? I can't figure out a good way.
:[Screen next to him shows two statements, both crossed out in red.]
:"Linux (or BSD :) would..." looks mismatched
:"Linux (or BSD :)) would..." looks mismatched and weird

:[Randall writing on a desk.]
:Randall's List - Conferences I'm banned from:
:Siggraph
:Eurocrypt
:Defcon
:Pycon
:International Astronomical Union
:Canadian Paleontology Conference
:Every American Furry Convention
:American Baking Society
:Asian Dolphin-Training Conference
:TED

==PyCon response==
In response to this comic, PyCon organizers jokingly [http://pycon.blogspot.com/2009/02/randall-munroe.html announced] that Randall Munroe was banned from PyCon 2009 due to "last year's disgraceful keynote, 'Web Spiders vs. Red Spiders'." They also said they instructed their volunteers to refuse admission to him and "any stick figures who may attempt to register, particularly if they are wearing hats."

Messages on the PyCon-Organizers mailing list show that this joke was intended to get Randall to come to PyCon: (The links will only work if you're subscribed to the mailing list.)
:PyCon mentioned briefly in today's xkcd:
:http://xkcd.com/541/
:We've still never gotten Randall Munroe to actually attend, have we? Anybody want to take charge of twisting his arm this time? I think we can still offer him a "press pass" (free registration). [...] [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011224.html]
::An invite would seem most appropriate given the cartoon. :-)
::We could also have an official PyCon blog post confirming his ban... [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011225.html]
:::How about a public blog post LIFTING the ban and inviting him? [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011226.html]
::::Confirming the ban is far funnier... He's definitely a disturbing influence on programmers. [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011227.html]
:::::Agreed, especially if we invite him concurrently with confirming the ban. [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011239.html]
:::::(a few posts later)
:::::I'm happy to participate in actually throwing some thin guy out of the conference, and then get some graphics savvy person to animate a stick figure over that. :) [...][http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011274.html]
::::::here's a rough idea of what would show up if you invited him to actually do any speaking...
::::::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24
::::::it's fairly long. he shows up in the beginning around 3:25. [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011275.html]
:::::::For the record, I did try to convince him to come when got the art for the tshirt last year. He didn't seem super psyched, but then again emotions are hard to read via IRC.
:::::::I love the idea of "officially" banning him, however. ;-) [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011241.html]
::::::::(a few posts later)
::::::::OK - posted to the PyCon blog, by the power vested in me as publicity chair. With Michael Foord's excellent sentence added.
::::::::Now let him know that since he's banned, he HAS to come. [http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-February/011251.html]

==Trivia==

Randall has since this comic given a TED talk in March 2014. [https://www.ted.com/talks/randall_munroe_comics_that_ask_what_if Randall Munroe Comics that ask "what if?"].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Furries]]
[[Category:Banned from conferences]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

2356: Constellation Monstrosity

2020-09-08T12:10:24Z

162.158.155.108: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2356
| date = September 7, 2020
| title = Constellation Monstrosity
| image = constellation_monstrosity.png
| titletext = It's rare to get both astronomers and astrologers equally mad at you, but apparently I've messed up both a bunch of star location databases AND the will of the fates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE WILL OF THE SAGICAPRIQUARIUS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Constellation}}s in the night sky are formed by pattern-forming various {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterisms}} and other stellar relationships in the night sky.

Being rather subjective, {{w|Chinese constellations|different cultures}} have inculcated differences in their interpretations, some subtle and others less so, for the exact same objective views of the night sky. Even where the same groupings are recognised, different cultures can 'see' different forms behind that group of stars. However, observers in the southern hemisphere will see entirely new constellations not visible to those in the northern one, and vice-versa, whilst observing those patterns fully visible to both (on the {{w|ecliptic}}) as inverted and therefore may inspire vastly different conceptualised images or even connectivities.

Randall has taken one particular {{w|zodiac}} (or at least part of the hellenic one, closely tied to western astrology and still inspring astronomical naming) and imagined further lines connecting stars to link up four separate constellations, to create a portmanteau constellation with a {{w|portmanteau}} name. As a matter of fact, this connection is half true, since Libra used to be the two claws of a much larger Scorpio, the larger constellation having been split in two when the twelve zodiac signs were set as they are now.

The four constellations used here are Scorpio (the scorpion), Libra (the scales), Virgo (the virgin/maiden) and Leo (the lion), sequentially spread across the sky in positions relating to a span of astrological dates running 'backwards' from late November through to late July. The name Randall gave this meta-constellation, however, uses a different order to combine as "Virg(o, l)ibra(, )scorp(io & )leo". Possibly "Scorlibirgoleo", or a similar mash-up with the same source order, did not roll together nicely enough for his liking.

In reality, any apparent proximity of stars on the {{w|celestial sphere}} does not guarantee an actual proximity in the depths of space, either within or between constellations. Knock-on effects from this renaming would not change actual scientific understanding, but it could have a knock-on effect upon star catalogues and databases if this object regrouping forces many changes to the current referencing system. Similarly, astrology's conceit based upon four separate 'characters' and life-paths, arising from birth-signs and planetary transits across four distinct areas of the sky, would lose 'precision' if forced to accept a single symbolic area in their stead. How Randall manages to alter the practices of either group with his changes (in the face of reluctance, or even open hostility) is not explained.

This monstrosity is reminiscent of the infamous 2009 Dutch horror film known as The Human Centipede.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Within a frame, a long title is written in a short arc above the drawn elements]
:Virgibrascorpleo

:[Upon a background of astrological imagery merged in accord, basic point-and-line astronomical/astrological representations of Scorpio, Libra, Virgo and Leo are illustrated.]
:[(Scorpio ''may'' be slightly rotated/translated for aesthetic reasons.)]

:[Red lines have been added to link stars in adjacent constellations.]
:[ {{w|Beta Scorpii}} may be connected to {{w|Sigma Librae}} (once known as Gamma Scorpii)]
:[ ...also {{w|Pi Scorpii}} may be connected to {{w|Tau Librae}}]
:[ {{w|Beta Librae}} may be connected to {{w|Mu Virginis}}]
:[ {{w|Nu Virginis}} may be connected to Beta Leonis (better known as {{w|Denebola}})]

:[Caption below the frame]
:I got kicked out of the International Astronomical Union for adding extra lines between the constellations to create a monstrosity.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2355: University COVID Model

2020-09-05T05:24:36Z

162.158.155.108:

{{comic
| number = 2355
| date = September 4, 2020
| title = University COVID Model
| image = university_covid_model.png
| titletext = I admit this is an exaggeration, since I can think of at least three parties I attended while doing my degree, and I'm probably forgetting several more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SET OF BOTS WITH A NON-GAUSSIAN COLLEGE-PARTY-COUNT-DISTRIBUTION HAVING 42 AND 0 AS NOTABLE DATAPOINTS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball begins telling Megan an anecdote about how a college decided to reopen "based on a COVID model developed by two physicists." (The incident in question is likely a reference to this [https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202005/challenge.cfm article] and [https://twitter.com/yellingatwind/status/1301588828860235777 tweet] about the University of Illinois, that went viral with similar wording the day before the comic was published). Presumably, the model predicted that the university could allow students to return to campus while still keeping cases of COVID-19 under control, perhaps using some combination of reduced classroom and residence hall density, and by implementing policies against large social gatherings.

Before he can get further, Megan interrupts him with "Uh oh," perhaps worried that an epidemiological model created by people who aren't epidemiologists could be ineffective (much like how [[1570: Engineer Syllogism|stock-trading bots created by engineers weren't much good at making money on high-fees stock markets]]). Cueball then confirms her fears by saying that the model underestimated how many parties the students would hold, and so the actual number of cases on campus has turned out to be greater than even their worst-case prediction. Megan facetiously wonders how a physicist could have failed to know how much college kids party, implying that physicists do not attend many parties. Cueball, representing [[Randall]], a physics major, then retorts that he "was invited to ''multiple'' parties! And attended ''both'' of them!" implying that he was only invited to two parties in all of college (which typically lasts four years), a very low number {{Citation needed}}.

In the title text, Cueball (or perhaps Randall, no longer in-character) admits to attending at least a third party, and possibly a few more that have been forgotten. This demonstrate as an introverted physics major who [[:Category:Social interactions|struggles with social interactions]]
that they think very little about parties. As many people go to college for the parties rather than the education, we can only imagine how severely his campus epidemiology model would underestimate the number of opportunities for the coronavirus to spread.

A nontrivial number of colleges followed this trajectory in 2020, such as the aforementioned [https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/03/909137658/university-with-model-testing-regime-doubles-down-on-discipline-amid-case-spike University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign].

A different comic with physicists modeling a other field is [[793: Physicists]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan are talking to each other.]
:Cueball: Apparently some university reopened based on a COVID model developed by two physicists.
:Megan: Uh oh.

:[Cueball raises an arm slightly.]
:Cueball: But even their worst-case model underestimated the number of student parties and they had to shut down.

:[Cueball holds up a finger.]
:Megan: Can't understand why someone with a physics degree would be bad at judging how often college students get invited to parties.
:Cueball: Excuse me, I was invited to '''''multiple''''' parties.
:Cueball: And attended ''both'' of them!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:2352: Synonym Date

2020-08-29T07:58:57Z

162.158.155.108:

"This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by an AUTOMATON." That's funny. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 01:23, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, there's one on a lot of them and nobody's ever bothered removing them. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 01:39, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
::"Do NOT kill this warning before it is ready to die" is especially good. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 05:38, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

I feel like this is not Megan, but a new character, differentiated by her wearing a dress (which also makes her seem almost strange compared to the others). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.75|173.245.54.75]] 06:17, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:Come on, can't a gal wear a dress without turning into a completely new person? I think she looks cute in that outfit! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.214|172.69.34.214]] 07:23, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

Is grub meant to disgust, or is she merely British and using a perfectly normal word for food in use since 1691.The captcha asked me to click on crosswalks, but all I could seee were Zebra crossings. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.108|162.158.155.108]] 07:58, 29 August 2020 (UTC)