explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2701: Change in Slope

2022-11-21T17:49:44Z

162.158.159.26: /* Explanation */ Avoiding a quickly repeated word.

{{comic
| number = 2701
| date = November 21, 2022
| title = Change in Slope
| image = change_in_slope_2x.png
| imagesize = 656x371px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Squinting at a graph is fine for getting a rough idea of the answer, but if you want to pretend to know it exactly, you neeed statistics.
}}

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

For subtle effects, such as a the slight inflection of an underlying trend, visually inspecting a graph cannot always do justice to what is there. For data on a graph, such as the scattergraph shown in this comic, the detail hidden within its cloud of points is unclear when looked at normally. The comic shows that by taking the 2D plot and reorientating it in 3D space, introducing foreshortening along the trend, the displacement perpendicular to the possibly straight line is more clearly visible.

This is very similar to more real-world activities such as polishing, cleaning and/or removing dents from surfaces, where an artisan may take an oblique view of their work, from various angles, to highlight any remaining defects that might need some attention. In mathematical terms, a graph can also be transformed mathematically to produce a squashed version (it could even effectively be the same as a 3D transform to make a 2D plot ''look'' like it is rotated in a 3D-perspective, as in the comic), although this lacks the readiness of a physical object being twisted and turned to examine it from as many angles as might be required.

The title text then goes on to say that while such a visual inspection can ''reveal'' such a quirk of data distribution, you normally still need to revert to mathematical analysis to properly quantify that quirk – such as to measure the relative likelihood of the change in trend being real, or else well within the randomness of the scattering of datapoints around any actually linear trend.

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

:How to detect a change in the slope of your data

:[First column, on the left]
:Novice method:
:[A graph, with dots forming a rough line, math formulas, and sub graphs]
:Do a bunch of statistics

:[Second column, on the right]
:Expert method:
:[Perspective view of the previous graph, with the legend "Hey look, it bends here" and an arrow pointing to the graph]
:Tip the graph sideways

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

2410: Apple Growers

2021-01-14T00:24:17Z

162.158.159.26: /* Explanation */ For future understanding of context. Leaving it entirely open to encompass *whatever* happens in the future of this edit, also.

{{comic
| number = 2410
| date = January 11, 2021
| title = Apple Growers
| image = apple_growers.png
| titletext = Hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll be able to resume our apple-focused updates, because we have SO MUCH to say about Cosmic Crisp.
}}

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

On January 6, 2021, a group of supporters of President {{w|Donald Trump}} {{w|2021 storming of the United States Capitol|stormed the United States Capitol}} while Congress was in session to certify the results of the {{w|2020 United_States_presidential_election|2020 election}}, in which President Trump lost a bid for re-election. The attack resulted in an evacuation of Congress, a disruption of the operations of the legislature, and the deaths of several people. While Trump was not directly involved with the riot, he has been accused of contributing to it by consistently refusing to accept the election results, claiming (without evidence) that his opponent's victory was fraudulent, and using inflammatory rhetoric when speaking to his supporters. As a result, officials from both major political parties have called upon Trump to resign, and other avenues to remove him from office have been proposed. At the time of publication, Trump's second impeachment had been mooted but it, and all other events that followed, had not yet happened.

Normal American life, already strained under the [[:Category:COVID-19|coronavirus pandemic]], was dealt another blow by the conflict. Normally planned events continue to be held, but the shadow of current events impacts everything. This comic depicts one such event, a news conference hosted by the State Apple Growers (of an unspecified state). This group apparently had a scheduled meeting to discuss apple variety standards, but their meeting was instead dominated by discussions of events in government, resulting in them issuing a formal statement calling upon President Trump to resign. This statement obviously has nothing to do with apples, and when pressed, the spokesperson makes generic statements in favor of apples, but points out that they're too distracted by more urgent matters to focus on their normal jobs.

The premise of this strip appears to be based on a number of private companies and other organizations without specific political missions, which nonetheless felt the need to respond to the event. Famously, both {{w|Twitter}} and {{w|Facebook}} banned the president from their platforms in the aftermath. The events of the strip are reminiscent of the {{w|National Association of Manufacturers}} calling on Trump to resign. The joke appears to be that even small and local organizations feel compelled to weigh in on an issue of this significance, even though their influence in the matter is likely minimal.

{{w|Cosmic Crisp}}, mentioned in title text, is a variety of apples developed in the Washington State University that has been on sale since 2019, amid a large marketing campaign. The implication of the title text is that the people involved ''are'' in fact, very interested in and concerned with details of apple cultivation and marketing, and hope to return to a state in which they they can focus on those. But the more immediate draw of events makes it difficult to focus on what they usually like to talk about.

[[Beret Guy]] is shown to be a member of the State Apple Growers' Association; in [[2209: Fresh Pears]], he sells "fresh pears" (so fresh, he doesn't even plant seeds until a customer pays for one) and expresses an interest in growing apples, and evidently has either figured out robotic grafting or chosen another approach (or maybe, given his usual eccentricity, he is only a member of the Association as an ''aspiring'' apple grower). This is one of very few comics with [[Beret Guy]] where he is not really doing anything, although this is also a weird turn of events that the Apple Growers discuss Trump. However, usually Beret Guy is not interested in real-life problems.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy and Cueball stand on either side of Megan with her hair unkempt. They stand behind a lectern with an image of an apple on the front of it. Unreadable text is written on both side of the apple in two rows.]
:Megan: *Ahem*
:Megan: The state apple-growers' association has decided to formally call on President Donald Trump to resign.

:[A wider shot shows Beret Guy, Megan, and Cueball on a podium behind the lectern. The visible audience consist of a Cueball-like guy, Hairy, and Ponytail, who is holding a microphone to her mouth as she addresses those on the podium.]
:Ponytail: Weren't you meeting to update the standards for new apple varieties?
:Megan: Yes, but we talked it over and this is what we decided.
:Megan: We feel strongly that this is important.

:[There is a narrow shot with a zoom in on Megan.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): Did you discuss anything on your actual agenda?
:Megan: Thanks for the question!
:Megan: We did not.

:[Beret Guy, Cueball and Megan is again seen from the front behind the lectern, Megan's hair even more unkempt.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): Do you have any apple-related announcements at all?
:Megan: Uh, apples are great. Best fruit. Everyone should buy 1,000 of them.
:Megan: '''''We're a little distracted right now, okay??'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Trump]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Politics]]

[[Category:Public speaking]]

2277: Business Greetings

2020-03-06T07:40:50Z

162.158.159.26: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2277
| date = March 6, 2020
| title = Business Greetings
| image = business_greetings.png
| titletext =
}}

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

The coronavirus is a big deal{{Citation needed}}. As a reaction, people are refraining from personal contact. This leads to conflicts with customs in the workplace - eg shaking hands at the beginning.

This comic parodies that by claiming people are reacting to the virus by avoid "licking eyeballs" at starts of meeting. Virus or not, it is not normal lick eyeballs at meetings{{Citation needed}}. However, eyeball licking was a teen fad in Japan and other countries during the early 2000s, suggesting something else is going on{{Citation needed}}.

This comic does not appear to have a title-text. It is possible that this is to prevent further spread of the coronavirus {{Citation needed}}. Absense of title-text is so unsusual, that broke at least one xkcd client ([https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.floern.xkcd Browser for xkcd by Floern]).

==Transcript==

[Three people are sitting at a table (from left to right: Ponytail, Hairy and Hairbun), and the Beret Guy is standing on the left.]

Beret Guy: I don't think we should overreact to the coronavirus, but it might be time to put an end to the custom of starting business meetings by everyone licking each other's eyeballs.

Hairy: I'll miss the human contact, but that's fair.

Hairbun: Gotta change with the times.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2271: Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad

2020-02-22T15:16:34Z

162.158.159.26:

Is the Title Text a callback to 2268 with the "no further research is needed" comment? [[User:Stickfigurefan|Stickfigurefan]] ([[User talk:Stickfigurefan|talk]]) 17:58, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*That was the first thing that came to my mind. Since researching when people named Jason and Chad became grandparents is far from a top research priority, one can indeed say that further research is not "needed". That said, though, I would have liked to have seen the female counterparts, to indicate what "Grandma" names are also coming into vogue now. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.195|162.158.74.195]] 18:05, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
**Agree. I added a few sentences to that effect. To elaborate: Enough research has been done to support the main joke which is the incongruity between what specific names implied in the 70's and what they imply today. More specific information would not improve the joke. And, let's face it, would not be very interesting. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
**Note: Should we explain *x* to any non-nerds (or, the non-nerd ?) reading this? For text rendered in plain ASCII the asterisks surrounding a word or a phrase imply that this text should have been rendered in bold. I.e. emphasized. This might not be obvious to everybody. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
*Looks like I may have edited the page at the same time as someone else. Sorry about that! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.148|108.162.216.148]] 18:41, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*Does someone know of -- and can add to the explanation -- a reason why Jason and Chad are coming into popularity as names? In Australia, Jason Donovan was an actor who played a lead character in the popular soap "Neighbours" alongside Kylie Minogue (which is why, in Australia, we'd be getting "Grandma Kylie" coming into vogue. [[User:DrSamCarter|DrSamCarter]] ([[User talk:DrSamCarter|talk]]) 20:51, 21 February 2020 (UTC)DrSamCarter
**Well, to be precise, Jason and Chad came into popularity about 50 years ago, but I don't know why that happened at that time. While it's true that you should be seeing a bunch of "Grandma Kylie"s in Australia now, Kylie Minogue can't take the credit for that. She was born into a generation where the name was already popular. In 1970, Kylie was the 5th most popular name for baby girls in Australia, so Kylie Minogue, born in 1968, might have gone to school with a number of other Kylies, well before she joined the cast of "Neighbours" in 1986. The name Kylie didn't catch on in the U.S. until much later, so it'll be years before we see a significant number of "Grandma Kylie"s here. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.17|162.158.74.17]] 00:38, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

In case someone wants to do further research on The Netherlands, here's some data on first names popularity: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/english --[[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 09:55, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Current wiki link to Chad (slang) might be better changed to {{w|Chad (name)}}. And, while we're there, one could also make Jason into the {{w|Jason_(given_name)}} link or similar? ((Re-edit to say that I understand the Chad Slang link is important. Maybe put that over another useful leap-off term, letting legitimate Jasons and Chads get their own glory???)) And I find the range of ages of grandparentage to be interesting, with both friends and relatives having rushed into new generations far quicker than me. (I have... four..? first cousins twice removed, if I haven't forgotten another one of them, and I think one of ''them'' might become a parent before I do.) Or maybe I'm just taking too long to settle down? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.26|162.158.159.26]] 15:12, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2271: Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad

2020-02-22T15:12:01Z

162.158.159.26:

Is the Title Text a callback to 2268 with the "no further research is needed" comment? [[User:Stickfigurefan|Stickfigurefan]] ([[User talk:Stickfigurefan|talk]]) 17:58, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*That was the first thing that came to my mind. Since researching when people named Jason and Chad became grandparents is far from a top research priority, one can indeed say that further research is not "needed". That said, though, I would have liked to have seen the female counterparts, to indicate what "Grandma" names are also coming into vogue now. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.195|162.158.74.195]] 18:05, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
**Agree. I added a few sentences to that effect. To elaborate: Enough research has been done to support the main joke which is the incongruity between what specific names implied in the 70's and what they imply today. More specific information would not improve the joke. And, let's face it, would not be very interesting. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
**Note: Should we explain *x* to any non-nerds (or, the non-nerd ?) reading this? For text rendered in plain ASCII the asterisks surrounding a word or a phrase imply that this text should have been rendered in bold. I.e. emphasized. This might not be obvious to everybody. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
*Looks like I may have edited the page at the same time as someone else. Sorry about that! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.148|108.162.216.148]] 18:41, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*Does someone know of -- and can add to the explanation -- a reason why Jason and Chad are coming into popularity as names? In Australia, Jason Donovan was an actor who played a lead character in the popular soap "Neighbours" alongside Kylie Minogue (which is why, in Australia, we'd be getting "Grandma Kylie" coming into vogue. [[User:DrSamCarter|DrSamCarter]] ([[User talk:DrSamCarter|talk]]) 20:51, 21 February 2020 (UTC)DrSamCarter
**Well, to be precise, Jason and Chad came into popularity about 50 years ago, but I don't know why that happened at that time. While it's true that you should be seeing a bunch of "Grandma Kylie"s in Australia now, Kylie Minogue can't take the credit for that. She was born into a generation where the name was already popular. In 1970, Kylie was the 5th most popular name for baby girls in Australia, so Kylie Minogue, born in 1968, might have gone to school with a number of other Kylies, well before she joined the cast of "Neighbours" in 1986. The name Kylie didn't catch on in the U.S. until much later, so it'll be years before we see a significant number of "Grandma Kylie"s here. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.17|162.158.74.17]] 00:38, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

In case someone wants to do further research on The Netherlands, here's some data on first names popularity: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/english --[[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 09:55, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Current wiki link to Chad (slang) might be better changed to {{w|Chad (name)}}. And, while we're there, one could also make Jason into the {{w|Jason_(given_name)}} link or similar? And I find the range of ages of grandparentage to be interesting, with both friends and relatives having rushed into new generations far quicker than me. (I have... four..? first cousins twice removed, if I haven't forgotten another one of them, and I think one of ''them'' might become a parent before I do.) Or maybe I'm just taking too long to settle down? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.26|162.158.159.26]] 15:12, 22 February 2020 (UTC)