explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling

2021-04-15T12:18:15Z

162.158.62.13:

That third line down in the cartoon, shouldn't the first 2 be a 1? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 02:56, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:Plus, should they really be going to a movie during their two weeks? [[User:NixillUmbreon|NixillUmbreon]] ([[User talk:NixillUmbreon|talk]]) 03:20, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:Third line down may have gotten a spoiled batch on their second shot (or could be lying, thereby creating errors the schedule), but it does look to me like a typo. NixellUmbreon correctly notes that Third Line also does ''not'' wait the requisite period after 2nd dose before going to a movie!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 03:50, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
::Or perhaps they think that as soon as they've had their second shot, they're Good To Go? Not lying deliberately, but just plain old misinformed [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.66|162.158.165.66]] 04:19, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

It seems unfair to attend any birthdays this year, considering how many could not be attended. Bobby gets a party but Susie doesn't? Hmm... Time is cruel.

Also, unrelated, but it's entirely possible that Lines 1, 2, 5, 7 & 8 are scheduling to gather on ''Line 3's'' birthday, while 3 isn't vaccinated yet.
:Line 3 doesn't attend the birthday. She's going to the movie with 4 & 5 just after the 2nd shot. Every one at the bday has had the 2nd shot for 2+ weeks. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.160|141.101.77.160]] 08:40, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

''Edit:'' Also, also, what is a chungus? (I don't come to explainxkcd because I want to search random words on DuckDuckGo...)
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 03:50, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:according to dictionary.com, “Chungus is a meme featuring a chunky version of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, typically captioned Big Chungus. It began as gaming joke that spread online as a slang term for anything ‘(adorably) chunky,’ similar to chonky.“ (which begs the question, what does that have to do with the explanation of this comic being written by a “big chungus”)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.233|162.158.62.233]] 04:18, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Just wondering, how is Big Chungus related to this? Confuuusion [[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 04:29, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Question as a European: Don't Americans use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which just needs 1 shot (in addition to those that need 2 shots)? Everyone in this chart gets a "2" shot (and in the case of the 3rd person even two "2" shots.) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 05:03, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:When scheduled for an immunisation an American may find that they are being administered Moderna, Pfizer, or until recently the J&J vaccine (currently that rollout is paused until an investigation into blood clot incidence can be concluded). The second shot if it exists needs to be the same as the first, but otherwise there is little local favouring of one manufacturer over the others. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.77|172.69.33.77]] 06:36, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
::Thanks for the information, but my question was about how J&J is applied (if it is applied at all), as to my knowledge it doesn't need a 2nd shot, but is fully functional few weeks after the first shot. But noone in this graph is getting only 1 shot. So it looks like this graph already ignores J&J/depicts a group of people in which noone got J&J. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:39, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

I thought this comic was also about the CDC guidance even after getting vaccinated to stay in small groups, this, there is no group of > 4 people or so. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.143|172.69.35.143]] 05:17, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:Cabin and birthday are 5 people each. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 05:20, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
:: Hmm, but by "Cabin" everyone has already been vaccinated. So should've they all be able to attend? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.19|172.69.33.19]] 05:31, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
::: Everyone still doesn't want to go everywere. If I'd schedule a Transformers movie night I'd only got most of my brothers to join and maybe two of our significant others. Also some may be unavailable for other reasons to which the alt-text seems to refer. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.244|162.158.238.244]] 07:55, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
Might this also a take on the transistor 'NPN hole' diagram? The title text states 'NP-hard' which is something different, but the diagram does look a little like transistor holes and electrons! Emitter's and Collector's? [[User:Fan2012|Fan2012]] ([[User talk:Fan2012|talk]]) 06:21, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Hm, is this possibly the Boolean satisfiability problem (as in whether or not someone can come is TRUE or FALSE)? This is a NP-hard problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_satisfiability_problem [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.195|172.68.132.195]]

Could somebody send this recent book by a whistleblower to Randall? He could make so many jokes: https://books.google.com/books/about/Mindf_ck.html?id=8AqmDwAAQBAJ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.13|162.158.62.13]] 12:18, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Talk:106: Wright Brothers

2021-04-06T16:24:31Z

162.158.62.13:

The issue date is definitely not correct, because the file doesn't have a create-date. Anyone? --[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) 06:30, 3 August 2012‎ (UTC)
:Fixed. Date from Archive page is May 24, 2006. --B.P. 16:07, 8 August 2012‎ (UTC)

This reminds me of Doctor Who: "The key to a fair compromise is not knowing which side you're on." In this case, however, the humans and zygons actually have their memories erased. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.202}}

I guess the title text is more a joke on his previously often used sentence "It's true, do this all the time" or similar but now switched sides
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.75|108.162.254.75]] 18:50, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

"Often, after an hour or so of heated argument, we would discover that we were as far from agreement as when we started, but that each had changed to the other’s original position." Orville Wright (1912). Although it was not a deliberate change of position as depicted in the comic, the outcome reaches the same point. --[[User:Igwarrender|Igwarrender]] ([[User talk:Igwarrender|talk]]) 16:03, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

This really would work in interpersonal relationships, especially for the large proportion of people who lack the qualities necessary to be considering the other person's sincerely held belief as a matter of course. -[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:30, 19 September 2019 (UTC)
https://www.rightattitudes.com/2012/02/15/argue-like-the-wright-brothers and https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi927.htm come up on web search
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.13|162.158.62.13]] 16:24, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

2010: Update Notes

2020-01-19T22:20:07Z

162.158.62.13: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2010
| date = June 22, 2018
| title = Update Notes
| image = update_notes.png
| titletext = v3.0.2: Hey, if anyone still using this app is headed to the beach, can you stop at 4th and River St and grab the sunscreen from my car? Trunk should be unlocked. Thanks!
}}

==Explanation==
Update notes or {{w|release notes}} are notes (or documents) released when software has been updated, to inform the user of any important changes to the software.

In this comic, Randall and his friend are using release notes of their {{w|Mobile application|app}}s as a form of chat service, instead of actual software change information. He says this is possible because the two apps are no longer being maintained, so theoretically, there are not many people using the app who would read the update / change notes. Incidentally, one can still argue that the chat is still technically update notes, only instead of updating users on what has changed about an app, it is now giving Randall and his friend status "updates".

This comic has a similar theme as [[1305: Undocumented Feature]] both use old software forums as a chat application.

This "chat service" would not be in real time, so presumably, Randall and his friend would have to be constantly checking each other's apps to see if there are updates.

On the "stars" app, the last "actual" notes says "Introduced bugs and degraded performance". This is a very common change when new features are added, however, developers will normally describe what the new features are rather than just state the negative consequences. It goes in contrast with the typical change note "fixed bugs and improved performance" that usually follows.

The comic also refers to a meteor shower occurring in August, most likely the {{w|Perseids|Perseid meteor shower}}.

The title text says that Randall, who is at the beach, has left his {{w|sunscreen}} in his car, but that the {{w|Trunk (car)|trunk}} (a pun with the name of the main software development branch in SVN) is unlocked, for whoever is still reading the updates for this app. This may invite the attention of thieves, who are now informed that Randall's trunk is unlocked. However they may not know what city Randall lives in, and conversely readers of the release notes could be anywhere in the world so most are probably not in a position to physically make contact with Randall's car.

This comic could be seen as a subtle reference to how plain sight communication such as gang codes and steganography are used by people, possibly out of coerced necessity, to communicate information both deniably and publicly. It is likely that this often happens in real app update messages in real life.{{Citation needed}} This kind of communication would more realistically allow a criminal worker to communicate with a contact point without endangering their anonymity by associating with them directly.{{Citation needed}}

This comic could also be poking fun at the non-descriptive updates many popular apps post in the "What's new" or change log. One example of this would be the Uber app stating "We update the app as often as possible" as a "new" feature every update. Apple recently changed AppStore guidelines[https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#accurate-metadata] to require clear descriptions of new features and product changes, effectively putting an end to the problem Randall is highlighting.

==Transcript==
:[There are two panels that show smartphone-esque screens with two different apps with different update notes, showing a conversation between two people. New updates are added to the top, so to follow the conversation flow one would start from the bottom and alternate between the second app and the first one.]
:[At the top, the status bars between the two panels are slightly different: telephone reception, WiFi strength, battery, GPS...]

:["Updates" is written in uppercase at the top. The first app's icon is an "A" symbol. Next to it, there is the following information:]
:[The app name is a scribble]
:Version 3.0.1
:June 22, 2018

:Update Notes:

:v3.0.1
:I'm actually off work Monday so that's perfect.

:v3.0
:Oh, that sounds fun! What night?

:v2.8.31
:Are you around this weekend? We're heading to the beach.

:v2.8.3
:Hey Mike, you there?

:["Updates" is written in uppercase at the top. The second app's icon consists of three stars arranged in a triangle. Next to it, there is:]
:[The app name is a scribble followed by two stars in parentheses]
:Version 7.0
:June 22, 2018

:Update Notes:

:v7.0
:It peaks August 12-13<sup>th</sup>.

:v6.8.16
:Sorry, no, going to a wedding. But do you want to camp out for the meteor shower in August?

:v6.8.15
:Yeah, what's up?

:v6.8.14
:Introduced bugs and degraded performance[.]

:[At the bottom of each panel, there are menu icons: a star, a stack of rectangles, a bullet list, a magnifying glass and an arrow pointing down to a square]

:[Caption below the panels:]
:My friend and I both have apps we've stopped maintaining, so we just use the updates to chat.

:[For convenience, here are the update notes in order of release (note that the first is not part of the conversation with Mike):]

:"A" app (v6.8.14): Introduced bugs and degraded performance[.]

:"3-star" app (v2.8.3): Hey Mike, you there?

:A (v6.8.15): Yeah, what's up?

:3-star (v.2.8.31): Are you around this weekend? We're heading to the beach.

:A (v6.8.16): Sorry, no, going to a wedding. But do you want to camp out for the meteor shower in August?

:3-star (v3.0): Oh, that sounds fun! What night?

:A (v7.0): It peaks August 12-13th.

:3-star (v3.0.1): I'm actually off work Monday so that's perfect.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Smartphones]]

Talk:287: NP-Complete

2019-11-14T00:19:35Z

162.158.62.13: Add note about TSP being NP-hard

;Unique deciphering requires unique pricetags
Shame this only works in restaurants that price all their appetizers differently. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 03:18, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
:Not necessarily because the NP-problem allows for any equivocally competing sum certifying how the total can be reached. Shared pricetags as well as a nonpositive would add degrees of freedom and make it impossible to rule out surprise deliveries even through exponential pretesting. Unless the waiter is running into the exponential worst case, the six waiting tables can be attended to immediately upon finding the first feasible combination: [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

;Trivial solution first found
I have a hunch that the seven fruit cups are pretty intentional as the first item on the menu and the simplest solution possible.
I was about to write a script to solve the problem through random selections and was going to optimize for speed by limiting the maximum times an item could be order to floor(15.05/price). Thus, one could order up to 2 sample plates, 3 moz sticks, 5 of the hot wings/side salad/french fries or 7 fruit cups without going over budget. (side note: you can always with these prices squeeze in a fruit cup with the exception of the 7 fruit cups). I found the "trivial" solution on the first step of the "preliminary" work for that script and then took a catnap.
Of course, since the nontrivial solution involves the same item as the trivial solution, one could just pick a number, multiply by that number, subtract one unit, and pick two other items, whose prices were not set yet, and adjust their prices to add up accordingly just to ensure both trivial and nontrivial solutions lest anyone actually write a program to solve the problem through brute force as oppose to through wit. Why seed? Because to not have a nontrivial solution would be so much like Blackhat.
Note to self: try this sometime in the real world using a real menu. [[User:Katya|Katya]] ([[User talk:Katya|talk]]) 02:17, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

;Traveling Salesman Problem
Note: Traveling Salesman Problem ''might'' be mentioned ''also'' because both this problem and the Knapsack problem to be solved belong to set of '''[[wikipedia:NP-complete|NP-complete]] problems'''; a Knapsack problem can be transformed in polynomial time to Traveling Salesman Problem, and solution of Traveling Salesman Problem can be transformed in polynomial time to Knapsack problem solution. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 16:00, 11 December 2012 (UTC)
:Yes, indeed! I think both meanings are intended to fully get the joke. The <code>TSP:={(n,d,M)∈ℕ×({0…n}²→ℕ)×ℕ|∃c∈{1…n}ⁿ:{1…n}=⋃{cₙ|n∈{1…n}}∧∑{d(cₙ,c₍ₙ₊₁₎)|n∈{0…n}}<M}</code> can both help to timely attend to the six waiting tables and to reduce the <code>ORDERSUM:={(a,b)∈ℕ*×ℕ|∃c∈ℕ*:∑{cₙaₙ|n∈ℕ}=b}</code> problem to. Plus, the "as fast as possible" pun seems to allude to the again six ridiculous inputs any trained human will rearrange to a near-exact solution quicker than they are entered into a computer who can quickly exhaust this tiny search space for an exact solution: [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

;Trivial solution was not intended
In [http://www.maa.org/mathhorizons/MH-Sep2012_XKCD.html an interview] with the Mathematical Association of America Randall said that the trivial answer to this problem was a mistake. [[User:Xrays Knock Charms Down|Xrays Knock Charms Down]] ([[User talk:Xrays Knock Charms Down|talk]]) 03:00, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
:I added this very interesting info to the explanation - at first as a trivia, but then I realized that it would not be seen by everyone - as you often do not read below the transcript. Why would you, you do not need to see what was in the comic again... So I moved it up to the solution part, because to me it is a very important fact about this comic. An error by Randall... But Dgbrt keeps moving this info away from the solution. I have understood now that the trivia should be below the transcript - although I cannot see why this should be so - as I have just described. But who says that this info should be a trivia item? It was I who put it there (by mistake?) at first. I will try not to start an editing fight here, but still think there should at least be a mention in the explanation that it was a mistake - in case you do not realize there is a trivia section below. I have used this page a lot lately, and had not found out before, that it was always below. There is not that many pages with trivia sections [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:02, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
::Cool reference, thanks! [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
:::How could Randall have missed that the '''first price''' was a solution, when drawing the strip? I know not everyone can do this kind of math in their head, but when I read the $15.05 and glanced over at the menu, that $2.15 was an even denominator of $15.05 was immediately apparent. I'm pretty sure that it'd be hard for him to miss, even if he actually has to use arabic notation to figure it out, which would take like three seconds. —[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:23, 1 November 2019 (UTC)
::::Okay, reading the interview, all I can say is that this is a pitfall of taking longcut coding shortcuts. Speaking as a perl programmer, it'd take longer to write that algorithm than to quickly do at least the basic multiples of the prices in one's head, even if one has to do it through mental arabic notation (I have mental shortcuts I worked out before learning math notation in grade school, or in some cases simply "see" the answer).—[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:28, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

;Complex solution found in a second
I was bored and tried to find a solution for fun. I found the more complex one quite fast by chance. It was actually the second combination I tried. I did not realize you could just add seven fruit cups because I was so set on starting with the sampler plate. Now I am not sure if I should be glad, because I was so lucky, or annoyed that my fight-the-boredom-idea did not work out, or even more annoyed that I never have that kind of luck in the lab where I could really use it for finding the one thing out of a thousand possible causes for "why-does-my-experiment-not-work" which actually will give me some usable data.
[[Special:Contributions/84.56.77.11|84.56.77.11]]

;Not the knapsack problem
This explanation is thorough, and I like being thorough, but it seems to be a bit of overkill. I copy-edited it a bit, but I have a couple qualms. This is not really the knapsack problem, as it does not attach values to the items (as mentioned). It is more of a {{w|subset sum}} problem, which admittedly could be considered a variant of the knapsack problem. Secondly, I don't see why we need to go into detail about the movie Office Space. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 18:34, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
:I did some clean-ups, but the the "In computational complexity theory" still needs a review.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
::The Wikipedia article on {{w|Karp's 21 NP-complete problems}} hints that Karp originally defined <code>KNAPSACK:={(a,b)∈ℤ*×ℤ|∃c∈𝔹*:∑{cₙaₙ|n∈ℕ}=b}</code> closer to today's shape of <code>SUBSETSUM:={Z⊂ℤ|∃s⊆Z:∑s=0∧s≠∅}</code> than that of the Unbounded Knapsack Problem <code>UKP:={(v,w,V,W)∈ℤ*×ℤ*×ℤ×ℤ|∃c∈ℕ*:{∑{cₙvₙ|n∈ℕ},∑{cₙwₙ|n∈ℕ}}⊆{V…W}}</code> with the former via <code>Z:={b,-a₁…-aₙ,-2a₁…-2aₙ,…}</code> and the latter via <code>(v,w,V,W):=(a,a,b,b)</code> coming close enough to what we really need here, namely <code>ORDERSUM:={(a,b)∈ℕ*×ℕ|∃c∈ℕ*:∑{cₙaₙ|n∈ℕ}=b}</code>. So Randall did hit it bull's eye after all! [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

;NP Food
Inspired by this comic, somebody has actually created an ordering site which tries to give you an order from a restaurant in your area (US only I think) totalling a specific amount [http://www.np-food.com NP Food]. Worth including above? -- [[User:Copito|Copito]] ([[User talk:Copito|talk]]) 20:43, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

That site doesn't work for me. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 10:07, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

:I do get more than nothing: a redirect to the HTTPS port whose certificate is signed only to .np-food.com without WWW and whose HTML and PNG and JS suggest that either solutions for San Francisco, Austin, Saint Louis, Miami, and New York menues have been memoized and that you may order by entering your credit card credentials or that only fools wait for a computer to calculate an NP-hard problem on too large a search space. [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

;Exhaustive Solution
[[user:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] did post this at the explain:
;The Solution
… can be calculated as
let totaling total menu = if total == 0 then [[]]
else if total < 0 || null menu then []
else totaling total (tail menu) ++ map (
head menu :) (totaling (total - head menu) menu)
in totaling 1505 [215,275,335,355,420,580]
== [[215,355,355,580],[215,215,215,215,215,215,215]]
I don't think this is a helpful explain. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:11, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Yes, I did.
Because I did think it was helpful.
Not just because an (effective if not efficient) general solution earns you a 50% on $15.05 tip.

Moreover to demonstrate that and how a complete search finds those two solutions.

And that the search tree can branch exponentially with each additional menu item.
Or with additional dollar bills to be spent.
Notwithstanding that any constructive proof of NP=P would let us replace this
straightforward bad NP-implementation with an equivalent better P-implementation.
Before Donald Knuth coined the name NP-Complete, the class was suggested to be named
'''PET''' for the (Probably(while NP?P)|(Proven(if NP>P)|Previously(if NP=P))) Exponential Time pet problems.

What is so confusing about the calculation?
The whole cent amounts instead of dollar floats?
My naming of variables?
Should <code>totaling</code> be renamed to <code>solutions</code> or <code>orders</code>?
Or <code>menu</code> to <code>menu_items</code> or <code>appetizers</code> or <code>pricetags</code>?
<code lang=haskell>
type Cents = Int
orders :: [Cents] -> Cents -> [ [Cents] ]
orders menu total =
total == 0 | [ [] ]
menu == [] | []
total < 0 | []
total > 0 | orders (tail menu) total ++ map (
head menu :) orders menu (total - head menu)

orders [215,275,335,355,420,580] 1505
== [[215,355,355,580],[215,215,215,215,215,215,215]]

calls menu total = if null menu || total < 1
then 1 else 1 + calls (tail menu) total +
calls menu (total - head menu)
calls [] 1505
== 1
calls [580] 1505
== 7
calls [420,580] 1505
== 25
calls [355,420,580] 1505
== 73
calls [335,355,420,580] 1505
== 181
calls [275,335,355,420,580] 1505
== 437
calls [215,275,335,355,420,580] 1505
== 1153
</code>
Or is it the committee language Haskell that is causing problems?
What other well-defined language would you formulate a general solution in?

Discussing all of this is helpful.
Leaving a "Thus" result without its afferent reasoning (and its deleted heading) is not, is it?
Cheers: [[User:Roman Czyborra|Roman Czyborra]] ([[User talk:Roman Czyborra|talk]]) 15:44, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

:Please let's keep this code at the discussion page. No common reader would understand; the explain is not only for programmers. I'm a programmer, knowing many languages like BASIC, Pascal, C, C++, Java, Bash, Perl... also HTML, JavaScript... RPG, Databases and SQL... and much more. And if you like to buy an IBM Power 8 I can tell you the proper configuration for your needs.
:But these details are not helpful to explain the comic. There is math that has to be explained. Findings on program codes do even not belong to a trivia section. Nevertheless it seems I have to take a closer look on Haskell, which is not used by many people. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:22, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

A 50% tip on a $ 15.05 order is not possible, is it? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.186|108.162.231.186]] 21:08, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

If I were the waiter my response would, at best, be "I'll come back when you're ready to order". At worse it would probably involve burns. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 04:27, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

---Easiest response: "Excellent, Sir. I'll raise the price of the french fries to $15.05 - [[User:Ruffy314|Ruffy314]] ([[User talk:Ruffy314|talk]]) 18:19, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

If we assume that "general solutions" implies that it's a polynomial-time solution, is a 50% tip $7.55, $500 000, or $500 007.55? [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 02:32, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

;A similar situation in real life
Nobody would do that in real life, right? But look at http://www.numberphile.com/videos/43_nuggets.html . A guy orders 43 chicken nuggets, which come in boxes of 6, 9 and 20. It is also a Knapsack problem in a menu order. But in that case there is no solution.
:I tried solving what you described without of clicking the link (still didn't) and before reading the last sentence, and this one is very obvious and quick to find not solvable. As 43 is abviously not dividable by 3 (as one can see at first glance and which would be required to use only 9-boxes and 6-boxes) we need at least one 20-box. Leaving 23 nuggets. That's still not dividable by 3 so there is another 20-box, leaving us at 3 nuggets. Other approach sees that at first we need a package of 9, to get to an even number, and then 9-boxes can only be choosen in pairs at 18-boxes which is no benefit to 6-boxes, so it is only 6 and 20 left. 34 is not dividable by 3 and/or 6. So again subtracting 20 makes it 14, which is obvious to be unsolvable by using only 6-boxes. So "your" problem is quite more trivial. BTW: please sign your comments. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:42, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

TSP is NP-hard, not NP-complete [[User:Tembrel|Tembrel]] ([[User talk:Tembrel|talk]]) 00:19, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

2214: Chemistry Nobel

2019-10-12T01:13:12Z

162.158.62.13: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2214
| date = October 11, 2019
| title = Chemistry Nobel
| image = chemistry nobel.png
| titletext = Most chemists thought the lanthanides and actinides could be inserted in the sixth and seventh rows, but no, they're just floating down at the bottom with lots more undiscovered elements all around them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|created by a periodic table}}
You have to line them up that way for the elements of similar properties to form columns. Thus no gaps. The real table is 32 columns wide but they put some on the bottom for esthetic reasons.

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded on October 9, 2019, to [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2019/press-release/ John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino] for their work in the "development of lithium-ion batteries."]

Here, Randall depicts an alternate awarding of the Nobel Prize to the team that "discovered the elements in the big gap at the top of the periodic table."

This comic pokes fun at the misconception that the empty space created by the lower electron capacity of the first few orbitals (and thus a big gap is formed to abide with the higher capacities of the later shells) represent undiscovered elements, similar to the way the existing elements were discovered through unfilled gaps. However, the rectangle-like shaped of the periodic table is merely a graphical construct and therefore does not have anymore meaning than it was given.

While undiscovered rows at the bottom of the table do represent more massive atoms (albeit unstable ones), missing columns do not signify atoms with more electrons in each orbital. The capacity of each shell is set by nature and is thus represented in the table.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Ponytail stands in front of a periodic table of the elements, holding a pointer, pointing to the "gap" at the top of the periodic table.]
:Ponytail: I don't know why no one else thought to look here.

:[Caption below the panel]:
:The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to the team that discovered the elements in the big gap at the top of the periodic table.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]