2898: Orbital Argument

2024-02-24T03:28:58Z

162.158.62.229:

{{comic
| number = 2898
| date = February 23, 2024
| title = Orbital Argument
| image = orbital_argument_2x.png
| imagesize = 448x323px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Some people say light is waves, and some say it's particles, so I bet light is some in-between thing that's both wave and particle depending on how you look at it. Am I right?" "YES, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T BE!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LIGHT WAVE-EARTH BARYCENTER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, the person in the middle is using the {{w|Argument to moderation|middle ground fallacy}} to try to make a compromise between the two characters. By sheer coincidence, it happens that he is also correct. Due to the fact that the Earth also exerts a gravitational force (albeit extremely small), the center of rotation is technically not at the center of the Sun. It is however, nowhere near the center of Earth's orbital radius, instead being barely above the surface of the Sun.

An argument could be made that all three of the characters in this comic are "correct" - two of them probably by accident. It is commonly accepted that the Earth orbits the Sun. But both the Earth and the Sun slowly orbit the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the force the Earth exerts on the Sun also makes the Sun move in a fashion consistent with orbital mechanics - from the Earth's frame of reference, the Sun makes an elliptical orbit.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan are arguing. Cueball is raising a finger while Megan's arms are outstretched. White Hat stands between them, both hands out in an equivocal gesture.]

:Cueball: The sun orbits the earth!

:Megan: The earth orbits the sun!

:White Hat: When two people disagree, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Maybe the earth and the sun orbit a common center!

Caption: It's annoying when people are right by accident.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2434: Vaccine Guidance

2021-03-09T16:52:33Z

162.158.62.229:

Wow, I'm so early, there isn't even a transcript yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.139|162.158.74.139]] 04:43, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Me too - neat (I guess this means I refresh xkcd too often) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.55|172.69.23.55]] 04:52, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

My Computer Is Not Able To Transmit Any Malware Via PlainText. I Guess I Can Already Type In All Caps. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.80|141.101.76.80]] 07:06, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

I wonder if this comic also plays on the fact that when guidance is issued, people often immediately ask if they can do something not fully covered by it. They are then surprised by speakers response and try again usually resulting in the speaker changing the subject [or ending the chat as in this case]? [[User:Fan2012|Fan2012]] ([[User talk:Fan2012|talk]]) 07:23, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Shouldn't the second women who speaks be classified as Hairbun and not Ponytail? [[User:Kvarts314|Kvarts314]] ([[User talk:Kvarts314|talk]]) 09:21, 9 March 2021 (UTC)
:The aforementioned reclassification has been achieved. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.128|162.158.159.128]] 10:15, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Is it possible that the title-text is referring to the disease spread via telephones (and their lack of sanitisers) in the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.128|162.158.159.128]] 10:15, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Wasn't there a comic in the same vein of "can't wait to do [ridiculous thing] once vaccinated" a while back? Might be worth a mention. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.239|162.158.74.239]] 10:18, 9 March 2021 (UTC)
:Found it, it's [[2391:_Life_Before_the_Pandemic|2391: Life Before the Pandemic]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.239|162.158.74.239]] 10:22, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

I was seriously expecting the title text to be something about riding a horse down the stairs in a family member's house; or possibly about how to get your horse vaccinated -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 10:46, 9 March 2021 (UTC)
:Riding a horse down the stairs in another's house ''whilst slurping from a milk carton...'' (This is now safer to do, if the horse is twice vaccinated, I hear.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.21|141.101.99.21]] 14:12, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

To be honest, I wish they had still recommended masks. For most groups, wearing them is no more than an inconvenience and it's always better to be cautious. Also- Where did this habit of linking to other comics come from? I ''like'' it.--[[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte49]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 16:07, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Do we really need a citation for the fact that riding a bicycle down the stairs is dangerous? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.229|162.158.62.229]] 16:52, 9 March 2021 (UTC) 67.249.27.202

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2898: Orbital Argument

Talk:2434: Vaccine Guidance