explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2407: Depth and Breadth

2021-01-05T12:42:36Z

162.158.159.50: added signature to my edit

Soldier loves bread-first search for obvious reasons.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.50|162.158.49.50]] 10:53, 5 January 2021 (UTC)
where did the quality go
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.24|172.69.34.24]] 19:34, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
: I noticed this too. As discussed at [[User:DgbrtBOT]] there are two sizes of each comic. The default (smaller) size of [https://xkcd.com/2407/ 2407] looks much worse than the original, which you can find at [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/depth_and_breadth_2x.png https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/depth_and_breadth_2x.png] I suggest we use the larger version for this comic. [[User:Alchemistmatt|Alchemistmatt]] ([[User talk:Alchemistmatt|talk]]) 20:18, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
: I tried to upload the higher quality PNG but I do not have permission; we'll have to wait for an editor to provide their opinion. [[User:Alchemistmatt|Alchemistmatt]] ([[User talk:Alchemistmatt|talk]]) 20:35, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
It would appear that the first version of the picture of this day's cartoon presents artifacts due to an unusual export method.
The image seems to have been exported using the 'nearest neighbor' resampling method, which would explain the jaggy edges.
Usually, the images appear to be exported using bilinear downsampling from an white-grey-black original, resulting in a published version with a larger color palette.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.161|162.158.111.161]] 20:17, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
: Randall has uploaded a new image: [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/depth_and_breadth.png], which I uploaded to explainxkcd. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 21:48, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
In the breadth-first, for the second node on the right, the right branch is searched first, while everywhere else, the left branch is.
And in deadth-first, the nodes are searched multiple times (e.g. left-most node of layer 3 is search 3 times, assuming a search is at the end of a continuous line). Alternatively, maybe the search goes up first sometimes (it's not actually clear when a node is being looked at), but that doesn't explain the order of the left-most node of layer 2. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.201|172.68.142.201]] 22:15, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
:I noticed that. With perhaps two reasons: 1) aesthetics - drawn to go to nodes .2, .2.1, (.2), .2.2, then .1.1.1 (via .1.1, crossing .2.1, .1.2) would look a bit worse than this (crossing just .1.2); or 2) there's no absolute sorting order vs choice, it's just chance (or aesthetic choice) that .1s take priority over .2s in every other case - 3 out of the four choices is well within explorative chance.
: I favour the latter (with maybe an aesthetic bias) as often when I run a tree-searching algorithm I like to randomly splice the next option out of the list of options (rather than run from first to last or last to first) where I am not aware of any advantageous link (maybe in ruling out 'dead' branches early to prune off useless branches early) and thus whatever natural sort-order the structure imposes would create biases.
: Alternately, if continued it would definitely prioritise .2s down every .2(-dominant) branch, for a nicely symmetric 'wide-breadth first' pattern (.2.2.2 over .2.2.1, etc) for a pattern only visible once continued beyond the step currently shown. The root choice ''cannot'' be anything other than symmetry-breaking, but could as easily be a coinflip. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.68|141.101.98.68]] 00:32, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

The top two drawings for "depth" and "breadth" are legitimate methods of listing out a tree structure. The next two drawings substitute the "d" and "br" from "depth" and "breadth" to get "brepth" and "deadth". The fifth drawing removes the "th" from "breadth" to get "bread". And the title text substitutes the "p" from "depth" with an "a" to get "death". [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:32, 4 January 2021 (UTC)

After the bread-first search, the next logical variant is the breakfast search! [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 04:58, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

I associated this comic with the way (non native english speakers like myself) tend to pronounce words like depth and breadth, especially during discussions about which tree traversal strategy to use. Then, using a term like breadth-first can easily degrade to dep-first and bread-first (skipping the harder-to-pronounce 'th'). So maybe add this as a possible background? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.50|162.158.159.50]] 12:42, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2404: First Thing

2020-12-29T13:55:57Z

162.158.159.50:

Note that Ponytail expects to get one of the mRNA or viral-carrier DNA vaccines, e. g. the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or Sputnik 5. Her description would not make sense if she receives the Novavax vaccine (NVX-CoV2373), which contains spike proteins and does not recruit the patient's cells to make them. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.12|162.158.78.12]] 04:14, 29 December 2020 (UTC)
:for a more detailed explanation of the differences between vaccines read this article: https://qz.com/1950365/what-is-the-novavax-vaccine-and-how-does-it-work/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.221|162.158.62.221]] 05:07, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

How quickly does the immune system start responding to the vaccine? Maybe the actual first thing she'll do is produce a flood of neurotransmitters that represent happiness and relief. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:20, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

In the immediate post-Christmas TV adverts (here in the UK) it was notable that there were ''many'' suggesting people book foreign holidays(/vacations), clearly the surviving bits of the hard-hit travel-sector desperately trying to get summer (or earlier?) bookings and deposits to kick-start their return to normal. One ad (eventually, after a day of such saturation) started with "Hooray, the vaccine is here!" before 'seemlessly' flipping to reveal its main message of huge discounts on flights or whatever it was... Whether people ''are'' practically thinking of it as 'jab and go' (doubtless many are), firms are certainly relying upon them to do so. (Without even outwardly adressing the fallout from Brexit which will add a little extra frisson of uncertainty to much of the business model.) Such fun(!) to watch unfold... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.50|162.158.159.50]] 13:55, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

2401: Conjunction

2020-12-22T15:23:47Z

162.158.159.50: /* Explanation */ Corrected joke text

{{comic
| number = 2401
| date = December 21, 2020
| title = Conjunction
| image = conjunction.png
| titletext = The IAU is sad to announce that at 00:39 UTC on December 22nd, Jupiter and Saturn did unfortunately come into contact, and appear to have blooped together.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE CELESTIAL SPHERES RESONATING IN HARMONY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball and Ponytail are observing the 2020 {{w|Great conjunction|Jupiter-Saturn conjunction}}. This is similar to other comparisons between expectation and reality. The expectation is that the scientists will remain professional through the event, testing Einstein's theory of General Relativity and using technical terms such as arcminute, while the reality is that they actually treat the event quite whimsically.

The title text references the misconception that the planets physically get very close at conjunction, rather than merely appearing to do so. If they really did come into contact and "blooped together", most of the mass would stay collected as an extremely hot and turbulent blob that would eventually settle down as a new planet, but more than a bit would be spewed outwards. The possible outcomes vary enormously, depending on factors such as how direct the impact was, and its alignment relative to the planets' spins. However, while such a collision would be preceded by a conjunction, a conjunction does not necessarily indicate an imminent collision, as not all planets are the same distance from Earth{{Citation needed}}.

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

:What people imagine astronomers observing a conjunction are like
:[Cueball and Ponytail are both looking through telescopes]
:Cueball: 6.15 arcminutes!
:Ponytail: Stupendous! This confirms Einstein!

:What they're actually like
:Cueball: Wow! Look how close they are!
:Ponytail: It's ''so cool!!''
:Cueball: ''Now kiiiisssss!!''
:Ponytail: ''Dooo iiit!''

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