explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1143: Location

2019-09-20T03:48:50Z

162.158.62.21:

I thought the words "like" and "hang out" were references to facebook's "like" and google's "hang out". What do the native speakers think? {{unsigned|213.252.171.254|07:56, 5 December 2012 (UTC)}}

: Not in this case- here they're just being used as the everyday terms that facebook and google co-opted. {{unsigned|140.247.0.10|08:12, 5 December 2012 (UTC)}}

:: I agree. {{unsigned|122.60.40.91|09:28, 5 December 2012 (UTC)}}

: Native speaker here: there doesn't seem to be anything distinctive about the use of 'like' and 'hang out' in this comic to indicate they might be references. {{unsigned|170.194.32.42|10:33, 5 December 2012 (UTC)}}

:: The words aren't out of place otherwise, so it just might be a (big) coincidence. I still find it likely to be true. [[Special:Contributions/207.237.164.241|207.237.164.241]] 11:18, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

::: It's really not a "big" coincidence at all. 'Like' and 'hang out' are ''the'' most obvious word choices in their context in the comic. The same words are used in social network apps ''because'' they are common social phrases. It doesn't even warrant the word "coincidence", let alone a "big" coincidence. [[Special:Contributions/46.65.14.73|46.65.14.73]] 22:55, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

: Another native speaker here. You typically would not "hang out" – in real life – with people you don't "like" – as in you like your friends. There's nothing in the comic to make me think there's any connection with Facebook or Google+. [[Special:Contributions/24.41.5.167|24.41.5.167]] 11:44, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

: This native speaker agrees. The dialog is ordinary informal American English. That's why facebook and Google hijacked the words. Facebook and Google want to be seen as informal and idiomatic institutions. {{unsigned|174.125.142.147|15:25, 5 December 2012 (UTC)}}

::They'll be very disappointed when they discover that he just decorated the bushes around his house with green LED lights for Christmas. --Geoff [[Special:Contributions/128.156.10.80|128.156.10.80]] 19:22, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

No explanation for the space noises? [[User:Max Nanasy|Max Nanasy]] ([[User talk:Max Nanasy|talk]]) 21:28, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

: The game literally makes space noises. Like... ''whooosshhshhhssshhoooooshhh.'' Things like that. [[Special:Contributions/138.110.225.187|138.110.225.187]] 22:30, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

::Thank you for that. I had no idea what was being referenced, serves me right for not reading the title text. (This is not sarcasm, it sounded like it was when I read it to myself, so I'm adding this disclaimer) [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:33, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

:: But "space noises" is an oxymoron. In space, you can't hear noise. (Oh... you mean bad-sci-fi-movie noises...) [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 19:16, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

::Another Google closed beta – you get to play by invite only. Meh [[Special:Contributions/24.41.5.167|24.41.5.167]] 23:53, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

I'm trying to find a game that I played on the computer about 2 years ago. I remember that you could see the entire play area the entire time. It was timed. The object was to get to a hole (maybe blue in color) to end the level. There were blocks that often blocked your path, which you needed to push out of your way or more often use them to make bridges to cross water. Some of the levels were very much a timing game where you needed to quickly move a block through a winding path(up, down, left, right only)to avoid being caught by, I believe, moving blocks.The closest screen shot that I've found is Chips Challenge, which is not the game that I played previously. I remember there were many levels, probably between 50 and 100. Ideas?[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 15:33, 6 December 2012 (UTC) RESOLVED : game was called Silversphere[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:24, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

: RE: Shine. The game was called Rodent's Revenge. Phenomenal Times, Shine, Phenomenal Times. Glad you reminded me about it!
:::Not the game I was thinking of, but fun game too. No animals of any kind in the game that I'm trying to find [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 17:13, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
:OK got it. It was called Silversphere. [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:24, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I was absolutely certain that the bright green "fountains" were supposed to illustrate some radioactive material and them being "excited" was somehow a particle physics joke I couldnt nail down.

:My assumption was that his house was just in a good location to watch some space phenomenon. The Aurora, or a meteor shower.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.156|141.101.104.156]] 12:27, 17 December 2014 (UTC)

You should really try Ingress now. It's great. However, I don't understand what he lives beside that's so portal-worthy. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.185|108.162.218.185]] 00:54, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

By my house, across the Mississippi from St,l there is a Catholic Church with a portal on two idols and a bell tower. Unfortunately it is just out of reach from my bedroom. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.61|173.245.50.61]] 20:00, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
:Please do some research before the next time you associate the Catholic Church with idolatry. If you would like, I may be able to refer you to some sources at some later time.
:—[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]], a Catholic ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 15:29, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
::It's not nice to assume malice. In this context he's probably using the definition of "idol" that simply means "statue" ("an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship" via Google) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.35|172.68.46.35]] 22:37, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

Is Ingress still running and available and stuff?[[User:(insert name here)|(insert name here)]] ([[User talk:(insert name here)|talk]]) 16:20, 21 June 2019 (UTC)
:Yes, they released version 2.0 (called "Ingress Prime") a few month ago. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 14:21, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

The Ingress reference went way over my head. I thought the joke was people wanting to visit the house because it had a sweet wifi spot nearby. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.36|162.158.186.36]] 03:54, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

College campuses are also pretty good places to play Ingress. Noteworthy that the old app for ingress is hitting EoL in a few days, and Prime that [[User:SlashMe]] mentioned is going to be the only way to play. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 03:48, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

217: e to the pi Minus pi

2018-10-10T21:22:14Z

162.158.62.21: Changed "whole number" to "rational number" in explanation for the title text, as 9^2 + 19^2/22 is not a whole number being nth rooted. This is a stronger restriction on transcendental numbers.

{{comic
| number = 217
| date = January 31, 2007
| title = e to the pi Minus pi
| image = e_to_the_pi_minus_pi.png
| titletext = Also, I hear the 4th root of (9^2 + 19^2/22) is pi.
}}

==Explanation==

''e'' is a mathematical constant roughly equal to 2.71828182846. ''π'' is another, roughly equal to 3.14159265359. Both are {{w|transcendental number}}s.

The first panel discusses {{w|Gelfond's constant|''e''''π''}} − ''π'', which is around 19.999099979 — very close to 20. [[Black Hat]] explains how he tricked a programming team into believing that ''e''''π'' − ''π'' really equals 20 - instead of just being weirdly close - thus that any noticeable deviation from 20 results from errors in the code. This made them waste a lot of time trying to find a nonexistent bug until they realized that Black Hat was lying (clearly they had not known him for very long).

{{w|Floating point}} numbers are how computers store non-integer real numbers as decimals — or rather, in most cases, approximate them: infinite amounts of data would be required to represent most numbers in decimal form (exceptions are {{w|whole numbers}} and {{w|terminating decimal}}s). The "floating-point handlers" would be the code performing the ''e''''π'' − ''π'' calculation.

ACM is the {{w|Association for Computing Machinery}}, sponsoring the {{w|ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest|International Collegiate Programming Contest}}.

Some random facts about the math here:

* ''e''''π'' − ''π'' is an irrational number, but this is not a trivial fact. It was proven by {{w|Yuri Valentinovich Nesterenko}} in the late 20th century.
* The mysterious almost-equation is believed to be a {{w|mathematical coincidence}}, or a numerical relationship that "just happens" with no satisfactory explanation. It can be rearranged to (π + 20)i ≈ −1, so cos(ln(π + 20)) ≈ −1. Piling on a few more cosines gives cos(π cos(π cos(ln(π + 20)))) ≈ −1, which is off by less than 10−35!

The title text pokes fun at another coincidence: ∜(9² + 19²/22) ≈ 3.1415926525, close to ''π'' (deviating only in the 9th decimal place). The humor comes from the fact that ''π'' is transcendental. Transcendental numbers are numbers that cannot be expressed through basic arithmetic with integers; one cannot end up with the exact value for any transcendental number (including ''π'') by adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, exponentiating, and/or taking the nth root of any rational number, meaning the title text cannot possibly be true.

A much later comic, [[1047: Approximations]], puts forth quite a few more mathematical coincidences.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Hey, check it out: eπ − π is 19.999099979. That's weird.
:Black Hat: Yeah. That's how I got kicked out of the ACM in college.
:Cueball: ...what?
:Black Hat: During a competition, I told the programmers on our team that eπ − π was a standard test of floating-point handlers -- it would come out to 20 unless they had rounding errors.
:Cueball: That's awful.
:Black Hat: Yeah, they dug through half their algorithms looking for the bug before they figured it out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:2025: Peer Review

2018-07-28T11:45:08Z

162.158.62.21:

The title text seems to refer to [https://twitter.com/hwitteman/status/1015049411276300289 this tweet from Dr. Holly Witteman], which have since made popular by reddit (/r/YouShouldKnow and /r/lifehacks)
[[User:Colonelheero|Colonelheero]] ([[User talk:Colonelheero|talk]]) 15:19, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

I can't tell you how many times I was curious about something and had to abandon the quest because the only info I could find was in a journal article and I felt like knowing wasn't worth the cost. [[User:Smperron|Kestrel]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 16:38, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

Then there are sites like ResearchGate, where it is encouraged to post supplementary material but you can often find full articles, and you can ask authors for full text (unfortunately often with poor results - sending email would be better, if it is still valid). There are also open-access journals. And there is Sci-Hub. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 20:49, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

This site just published a great review of mainstream websites that provide vast swathes of research papers for free: https://citationsy.com/blog/download-research-papers-scientific-articles-free-scihub/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 11:45, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1894: Real Estate

2017-09-25T20:59:46Z

162.158.62.21:

That comic would've been funny ten years ago, but I'm not buying it from an author that is 33, sorry. Is Cueball supposed to be still in college? Is Munroe poking fun at fatuitous sophomores? Boring. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.121|162.158.89.121]] 12:11, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
:I think Randall still feel confused about owning a home, and the prices. When buying for hundred of thousands dollars and then some one cuts 10.000 dollars of the price, that is not that much relative, but it would be a huge deal to save that much in any other situation. Is that then a good offer or nor? As can be seen from my initial start of the explanation by just adding refs to three other comics, this is an issue Randall has returned to several times over the span of xkcd's lifetime. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:18, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
:Rings completely true to this 41 year old[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 14:29, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
:It highlights what basically becomes an enormous difference in number size when doing some of these financial transactions. Having owned a house for three years now, I ''still'' cannot fully conceptualise the amount of debt I'm in. Sure, I know the number, and I signed all the papers, but it's an order of magnitude more than buying a car, which is an order of magnitude more than buying a 4k UHD TV, which itself is one of those things you don't even do every year. Within that context, being able to properly appraise whether that 10k discount (and driveway repairs) are worth it is fairly difficult to do. I got a 6k discount for a roof job that needed to be done on the house, along with an estimate that coincidentally expired before closing, that ended up costing me 11k. I had nowhere near any experience to know if any of that was reasonable, and, quite frankly, I still don't think I would have if I did it again. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.64|172.68.141.64]] 18:17, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

So, what are driveaway repairs? How much value does it normally have? Sorry for being stupid.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.182.64|172.68.182.64]] 19:19, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
:It could be broken tiles in the driveway for instance. Depending on how many and what type it could be a whole range of values. The idea is that Cueball also has no idea if this compares to the 10,000 $ discount he already has on offer. Probably not though...--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:45, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Seems to me that part of the joke is Cueball, being stunned by the numbers, still uses his normal "let me think about it" response, even when the offer being presented is possibly already a concession to his indecisiveness, and has no drawback (they offer to both reduce price '''and''' cover the repairs). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 20:59, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1844: Voting Systems

2017-05-31T18:25:32Z

162.158.62.21:

Looks like 2 of us added explanations at the same time. Someone else want to consolidate them and produce a concise explanation?
~blackhat {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.75}}

I tried merging our explanations, so there is a small improvement, but there is still some duplicated information. Plus I'm not a native english speaker, so a consolidation by a third editor would be welcome. {{unsigned ip|141.101.69.165}}

Something I don't understand about the Arrow Impossibility Theorem: In the example given, the result of the election is obviously a 3-way tie, where each candidate got exactly equal support. Surely the Arrow Impossibility Theorem doesn't complain about voting system's inability to intuitively break an exact tie? {{unsigned ip|172.68.34.58}}
:I think there is another layer of explanation here. When Cueball is discussing this - he's talking about voting for which voting system is to be chosen. The choice is Approval versus Instant Runoff - but isn't Cueball arguing about using a Condorcet method to decide WHICH voting method to choose? This is emphasised by the mouse-over text which talks about him dynamically changing his choice of ultimate candidate based on the election system chosen - which is exactly the Condorset paradox, but when applied to the selection of which voting system you want rather than the choice of candidate. Again reinforced by the discussion of "Strong Arrows theorem" which at that same meta-voting level. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.39|162.158.69.39]] 15:40, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Generally the idea behind Arrow's Theorem is that you would get different results if you did a vote where the choices were just A or B, B or C, C or A, thus no option wins head to head against the others (Condorset Paradox). An example I recently read was economic policy, and how the options being presented can cause policy to fluctuate wildly in a democracy as the outcome depends on the options compared. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.10|108.162.249.10]] 16:01, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

"Arrow's impossibility theorem states that when voters have three or more distinct alternatives (options), no ranked voting electoral system can convert the ranked preferences of individuals into a community-wide ranking." Arrow's theorem does not say that. Arrow's impossibility theorem says "When voters have three or more distinct alternatives (options), no ranked voting electoral system can convert the ranked preferences of individuals into a community-wide ranking that is complete, transitive, Pareto efficient, have universal domain, has no dictator, and independent of irrelevant alternatives." The conditions matter, and the non-dictatorship condition in particular is horrible misnamed.

"The theorem may be interpreted in a way suggesting that no matter what voting electoral system is implemented in a democracy, the resulting democratic choices are equally imperfect". No. Perfection is an absolute so things are either perfect or they are not. "Equally imperfect" is a tautology. If you are going to throw in "equally" some voting methods are manifestly closer to perfection than others, some voting methods satisfy all but one of Arrow's conditions, while others satisfy none of them.

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 18:05, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Totally unrelated to the discussion, but interesting that Cueball has moved from being between a black hat and a black haired women in [[1842: Anti-Drone Eagles]] to being between a White Hat and a white haired woman, two comics later, where he starts speaking in both comics. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:09, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

For deep (but simply explained) insight into voting systems, (and why the American first past the pole system sucks), see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo&list=PLej2SlXPEd37YwwEY7mm0WyZ8cfB1TxXa playlist of youtube videos] by CGP Grey --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1844: Voting Systems

2017-05-31T18:05:36Z

162.158.62.21:

== Consolidate Information ==

Looks like 2 of us added explanations at the same time. Someone else want to consolidate them and produce a concise explanation?

~blackhat

I tried merging our explanations, so there is a small improvement, but there is still some duplicated information. Plus I'm not a native english speaker, so a consolidation by a third editor would be welcome.

Something I don't understand about the Arrow Impossibility Theorem: In the example given, the result of the election is obviously a 3-way tie, where each candidate got exactly equal support. Surely the Arrow Impossibility Theorem doesn't complain about voting system's inability to intuitively break an exact tie?

: I think there is another layer of explanation here. When Cueball is discussing this - he's talking about voting for which voting system is to be chosen. The choice is Approval versus Instant Runoff - but isn't Cueball arguing about using a Condorcet method to decide WHICH voting method to choose? This is emphasised by the mouse-over text which talks about him dynamically changing his choice of ultimate candidate based on the election system chosen - which is exactly the Condorset paradox, but when applied to the selection of which voting system you want rather than the choice of candidate. Again reinforced by the discussion of "Strong Arrows theorem" which at that same meta-voting level. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.39|162.158.69.39]] 15:40, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Generally the idea behind Arrow's Theorem is that you would get different results if you did a vote where the choices were just A or B, B or C, C or A, thus no option wins head to head against the others (Condorset Paradox). An example I recently read was economic policy, and how the options being presented can cause policy to fluctuate wildly in a democracy as the outcome depends on the options compared. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.10|108.162.249.10]] 16:01, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

"Arrow's impossibility theorem states that when voters have three or more distinct alternatives (options), no ranked voting electoral system can convert the ranked preferences of individuals into a community-wide ranking." Arrow's theorem does not say that. Arrow's impossibility theorem says "When voters have three or more distinct alternatives (options), no ranked voting electoral system can convert the ranked preferences of individuals into a community-wide ranking that is complete, transitive, Pareto efficient, have universal domain, has no dictator, and independent of irrelevant alternatives." The conditions matter, and the non-dictatorship condition in particular is horrible misnamed.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 18:05, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1833: Code Quality 3

2017-05-06T17:11:47Z

162.158.62.21:

I think the FORTH in the title text also references the CIA statue, which is a cryptogram with 3 parts solved and the fourth part remains unsolved. Possibly also the date May fourth, which was a popular topic on reddit because of Star Wars (and because this comic was posted just after May 4). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.102|173.245.50.102]] 18:33, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

I know Elonka (the CIA Kryptos expert), and I think she'd disagree. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.58|172.68.54.58]] 15:37, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Please describe JSON table. Apparently it's some type of programming language that is so popular that Google can't find a definition among all the examples.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 17:11, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1815: Flag

2017-03-24T15:29:45Z

162.158.62.21:

A vote for me is a vote for bread on every table and a [https://smile.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ 73% battery level] until the end of time! [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 14:02, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Given that the design is a screenshot, the flag could be part of an existing logo, e.g. of a U.S. sport association.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 14:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The comic states "our NEW country" so I removed the theory it could be a new US flag.
The most recent sovereign state, according to Wikipedia, is South Sudan created in 2011 so we could assume Randall never intended to talk about a real-life country [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.28|162.158.234.28]] 14:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:It could be referring to new country proposals by techno-libertarians and the like? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading] -[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 14:32, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:: for instance https://www.cnet.com/news/asgardia-will-be-a-new-nation-in-space-and-you-can-be-a-citizen/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:44, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Note that official flags have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (with a few exceptions, like Switzerland and Nepal). The proposed flag including the notification bar measures 474 x 316 pixels (3*158 x 2*158 pixels), following the standard. If one removes the notification bar the resulting flag is somewhat wider than the standard. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 15:06, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:Those "few" exceptions include 106 of the 189 or so sovereign states. Even that overstates the popularity of 3:2 since some nations have multiple different official flag specifications for different uses or users. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 15:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

According to [https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/ui-bars/status-bars/ Apple's own documentation], this kind of bar is referred to as a "status bar", and not a "notification bar". --[[User:Jonhaugen|Jonhaugen]] ([[User talk:Jonhaugen|talk]]) 15:28, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1809: xkcd Phone 5

2017-03-10T18:08:19Z

162.158.62.21:

Darn, I was almost fast enough to get the cot-caught merger explanation in there. That being said, now I really want a phone with a Zelda style hook shot. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 14:02, 10 March 2017 (UTC)
--I just came to say the same. I want the hookshot! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.100|172.68.78.100]] 14:05, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

It's way more likely that this refers to the Zelda hook shot, as it looks like a little tube where some sort of grappling hook could potentially shoot out from. It doesn't look like it could shoot out basketballs, though. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.17|108.162.238.17]] 15:28, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

It looks like "Hook Shot" is a clever suggestion for a feature name: the lens attaches to the camera with a 'hook' so you can take great 'shot's. [[User:Schnitz|Schnitz]] ([[User talk:Schnitz|talk]]) 18:01, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

It's worth noting that most of the Loran-C system (which presumably is what would be used on a phone) has been decommissioned in the last decade or so, including all the stations operated by the US and Canadian governments. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.201|162.158.62.201]] 15:52, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

'''Notice''' the new [[what if?]] ''{{what if|156|Electrofishing for Whales}}'' released the day before this comic! Only 9 days between releases... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:33, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

LORAN -- I was under the impression that the US LORAN base stations were turned off in 2010. Perhaps a few years later in some other parts of the world. So a LORAN reciever is of less use than a chocolate teapot.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 18:08, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1808: Hacking

2017-03-08T15:52:41Z

162.158.62.21:

Some explanations for title text:
* a list of millions of prime factors: trivial to produce and useless without knowing the problem they're from
* a 0-day Tamagotchi exploit: sounds not very useful, unless modern Tamagotchis [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39002142 have internet connection]
* and a technique for getting gcc and bash to execute arbitrary code: unlike other applications, these two programs (especially when used together) are specifically created to let user execute arbitrary code{{unsigned ip|141.101.80.106}}
--
Internet connected tamagotchis you say?
http://spritesmods.com/?art=tamasingularity -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.202|141.101.76.202]] 06:42, 8 March 2017 (UTC)
--

Expanded the details; I know Tamagotchi hacking is a thing, but I'll leave it to someone who actually knows about it to decide whether it's worth mentioning in the page. Also, "a list of millions of prime factors" could just as well be called "a list of millions of prime numbers", which sounds much less important, but I couldn't think of a brief way to mention that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.4|162.158.78.4]] 09:53, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

The television-show "Zondag met Lubach" (Sunday with Lubach) has prior to the elections in the Netherlands launched the Kamergotchi-app. In this app you have to cuddle and feed your partyleader to keep him/her alive. The party leader is randomly chosen. In the last episode of the show the results from the app were compared with the polls. Surely the CIA and the Russians would like to hack this Tamagotchi-clone. Vince 10:27, 8 March 2017 (UTC){{unsigned ip|141.101.105.174}}

- I think the joke regarding the "millions or prime factors" is that "millions" sounds like a lot, but it is in fact a very small set that can be easily computed, and even more easily downloaded. It is also useless for cracking any modern encryption. Bigprimes.net has a downloadable list of the first 1.4 billion primes; the 1.4 billionth prime (32416190071) is a 40-bit number, which is only useful for factoring 80-bit products at best. The CIA would likely need (and probably do have) at least a trillion primes pre-computed. [[User:Sysin|Sysin]] ([[User talk:Sysin|talk]]) 10:53, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

Say, this was the first header on the WSJ today! [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 10:54, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

I think the 0 day tamagotchi exploit might be a pun on 0 day exploits as explained above and the fact that tamigotchis use an ingame time mechanic. So a 0 day tamigotchi exploit might allow you to do something special with or to your tamigotchi while it is still and egg. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.2.28|172.68.2.28]] 12:56, 8 March 2017 (UTC)-

I think you're actually allowed to have an e-mail address like john dot doe@example.org - but a lot of programs will be greatly confused by it. That is not really a comment on the comic. Also, I once read someone's research which reported that spam list users simply delete obfuscated addresses, and particularly if "spam" appears in the address; for them, if not for the TLAs, to do more is pointless. So by all means set your real address to johnlovespamela@couples.com. Although you may have to change your names and sex. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@excite.com.fearless.not!:-) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.108|141.101.107.108]] 15:47, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

A list of one prime from each of the million most important RSA keys could accurately, if understatedly, be described as "a list of a million prime factors". If people realize what it is it would break the web. So it depends on which primes: the first million, meh; a million random primes; yawn; a million carefully chosen primes, yowza! The last two would not be obviously different unless you did some fairly minimal work. A prime the CIA classifies could be interesting. Or they could be messing with us.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 15:52, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1786: Trash

2017-01-20T03:33:35Z

162.158.62.21:

I put in an explanation, but I'm on a mobile device, so someone will need to fix all the spacing, and necessary links, and probably fix a bunch of other stuff too. [[User:Yosho27|Yosho27]] ([[User talk:Yosho27|talk]]) 07:26, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Yucca Mountain is a nuclear waste storage. [[User:Sten|'''STEN''']] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 07:33, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Perhaps one should mention that Narnia is a retelling of the Christian tradition. Aslan created all 'dimensions' or worlds including ours and is the allegorical Jesus. Narnia is a wonderful world for children, at least most of the time, when there are no witches, where they can have fun and are able to prove more noble than in the real world. Both makes dumping trash in Narnia quite sacrilegious. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.115|162.158.89.115]] 08:07, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
:I have mentioned some of it. But I do not think it is especially important for this comic, only for the fact that Aslan is God everywhere, and since Narnia is a dead world today, then Aslan could be in a different world that Blacl Hat taps into. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:50, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Presumerably also the whole comic is a reference/cynical look at human's history of dumping things in the sea and so on? ( see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_debris for example) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.162|141.101.107.162]] 11:25, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
:Added some on this especially regarding the nuclear waste --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:50, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Is Black Hat getting his furniture from Beret Guy's new shop? The wiki itself says that this seems like something that would happen. Comic [[1772: Startup Opportunity]].
[[User:SteelStarling|SteelStarling]] ([[User talk:SteelStarling|talk]]) 15:10, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
:Yeah but probably rather this shop: [[1533: Antique Factory]] ;) The wiki says what the users can agree upon. I wrote most of the current explanation. (And then someone else was so nice to copy edit all my spelling mistakes - not a native English speaker!) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:45, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

If we dumped radioactive waste into Narnia, wouldn't Narnia receive much less waste per unit time, than we are inserting? Therefore the nuclear waste problem would be much less severe than on Earth? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.70|162.158.59.70]] 23:31, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
:Well for some isotopes the half life is billions of year (Uranium for instance) so that kind of waste would not wither away in Narnia which only reaches an age of a few thousand years... So they would sum up even though they came in over a longer period. And most importantly, it was not their problem but ours. Just like 1st world problems are exported to 3rd world countries... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:24, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

Actually, subduction zone tectonic deposition of nuclear waste is a very promising form of nuclear waste disposal that would be considered oceanic disposal, which is why no one's been able to try it yet. Additionally, I'd like to point out that oceanic disposal of nuclear waste isn't really a current issue, since it's been banned by a number of treaties, and nuclear power plants are monitored closely enough that it doesn't really happen anymore. {{unsigned ip|162.158.122.108}}

Anyone else think that this is pretty derivative of this SMBC comic? Similar themes of Narnia and the nuclear waste: [http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3513 Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]. {{unsigned ip|129.59.122.25}}
:Yes, added it to the explanation. Thanks ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:21, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

The first two panels read naturally with "Narnia" as a metaphor for a culture's sacred narratives, and "garbage chute" as a metaphor for the exploitation of those narratives by sociopathic individuals/corporations/subcultures (in the person of Black Hat). Then per the Narnia Wiki ( http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Cat ), the name of the "large cat" is Ginger, whose Narnia-fate is to become soulless; transparently a reference to a "ginger"-haired American politician "He Who Must Not Be Named". [[User:John Sidles|John Sidles]] ([[User talk:John Sidles|talk]]) 11:02, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
:Could be, but more probably Aslan is referenced as cat. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.164|162.158.88.164]] 09:57, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Do we need a Narnia category? There are quite a few references to the books now... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:18, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

The Pevensies went to Narnia because Aslan wanted them to know him better there so that they could learn to know him here. Edward and Eustace both learned to be much better people there. If half his furniture has portals, then it seems to me that Aslan is *really* trying hard to reach Black Hat!

The explanation refers to The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe as being the first Narnia book. However, it is only arguably so. As I understand it, it was the first one written, but as it turned into a series, C.S. Lewis wrote another book to be book 1 of the series, The Magician's Nephew, as I recall, making this actually the second book of the series. But Book 1 seems often skipped, especially in adaptations (such as the BBC miniseries series of the 80s and the more recent movies), so Wardrobe is the best known and Book 1 seems often overlooked. Nevertheless, it IS the first book now, and has been for decades. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 03:33, 20 January 2017 (UTC)