explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2832: Urban Planning Opinion Progression

2023-09-23T17:46:58Z

162.158.62.55:

Somebody has been watching Not Just Bikes on YouTube...

I would be very interested in having a discussion based on the "livability" comment. If a city is a place to LIVE, then these are fair comments, assuming that travel outside the local area is minimal. But if a city is a place to WORK, like a lot of downtown areas in the Eastern US, then this doesn't hold up as well. People don't live in these areas, they just travel to them on a regular basis.
:Talk about missing the forest for the trees
:Agree, downtown areas SHOULD be places to work, live, shop, and play. Eastern US downtowns USED to be that way, until White Flight screwed everything up and created "car culture". It's long past due for cities to change back. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 15:59, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
::You can't really blame white flight considering the same thing happened in both 'racially homogenous' cities in the U.S. and in Canada. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.251|172.70.174.251]] 17:22, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

:Places meant for work and work alone are called 'industrial parks'. People's well-being in offices can significantly benefit from green spaces and other amenities like bars and shops.
:Especially if they feel safe walking to and from those shops. --[[User:Melle|Melle]] ([[User talk:Melle|talk]]) 16:54, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

The explainxkcd explanations have gotten kinda funny, but I wanted to add that some european cities have sidewalks wider than roads, and it’s a much different experience. People like openness. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.55|162.158.62.55]] 17:46, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

2497: Logic Gates

2021-08-04T23:00:45Z

162.158.62.55: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2497
| date = August 2, 2021
| title = Logic Gates
| image = logic_gates.png
| titletext = In C, the multiocular O represents the bitwise norxondor gorgonax.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SILICON LOGIC GATE TO A DIFFERENT DIMENSION AND/OR/XOR PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE. The table explaining what the made-up gates would do is incomplete. If it is going to reference quantum logic it could be nice to have a brief description of any differences first. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic lists {{w|logic gate}}s. The first six are real, but the last six are made up and get increasingly absurd. The names for these last six are made up of the same letters and syllables as the first six so as to appear at a glance to be consistent with their naming conventions.

Some of the ways the gate parts are combined seemingly-impossibly can raise ideas in the mind of the reader of how quantum computing involves processing multiple possibilities at once, or how machine learning involves solving systems backward from their outputs to their inputs. The names ring of calling more and more profoundly to some mythological catastrophe.

{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Explanation
|-
|{{w|AND gate}}
|An AND gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are true. (Inputs 1 '''and''' 2 must be true.)

By convention it is a symbol with a flat input end leading to a semicircular output end.
|-
|{{w|OR gate}}
| An OR gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs are true. (Input 1 '''or''' 2 may be true.)

By convention it is a symbol with a concave input edge leading to an output end resembling a gothic pointed-arch, turned to point onwards.
|-
|{{w|NOT gate}}
|A NOT gate outputs true if and only if the input is false. (The sole input must '''not''' be true.)

The convention for the isolated NOT gate is to be a triangle (reminiscent of a diode or op-amp comparator), that conspicuously points in the direction of logical passage, tipped with a circle.
|-
|{{w|NOR gate}}
|A NOR gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are false. (Neither 1 '''nor''' 2 must be true; alternately interpreted as it must '''n'''ot be true that either 1 '''or''' 2 are true.)

The symbol is the OR shape with the NOT-circle at its tip.
|-
|{{w|XOR gate}}
|A XOR (short for "eXclusive OR") gate outputs true if one, or the other, but not both of the inputs are true. (Mutually e'''x'''cusively, either 1 '''or''' 2 must be true.)

This symbol is the standard OR one but with a further concave line stood-off slightly from the usual one to connect to the input lines to distinguish its more discriminating behaviour.
|-
|{{w|NAND gate}}
|A NAND (short for "Not AND") gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs is false. (It must '''n'''ot be true that both 1 '''and''' 2 are true.)

The symbol is the AND gate with the NOT-circle at its tip.
|-
|NORX gate
|A ''single'' feedline leads into a standard OR-style input end, while two lines are seen departing from an AND-style output front.

If the gate obeys only AND logic and the input is not internally duplicated for the purpose then the result would always be false.

If the gate uses OR logic ''and/or'' the input is internally used for both traditionally-required inputs then the output would be exactly of the state of the original input.

The two outputs appear to be duplications (unlike Out And Not Out pairings) so the overall effect may be to act as a non-interfering 'splitter' gate.

Alternately, if the single input carries a superposition of two signals (see NORG XORT, below) then this might be teased apart into two inputs, internally, processed (optionally making a new superposition of AND and OR results upon the separated inputs) and propogating onwards into two different and deliberately unentangled (but possibly still each superpositonal) outputs for further quantum processing.

(There are no NOT-type or XOR-type elements to the diagram, yet it is notable as being a partially-rearranged anagram of "XNOR Gate".)
|-
|GAND Ate
|Two inputs feed into an AND-style receiving end. The presumed output end features a mirrored XOR input design complete with two connections onwards.

Assuming it still accepts inputs from the left and produces outputs to the right, it is possible this gate initially acts as an AND-gate to the inward pair but then (randomly?) generates output signals that would, as inputs to an XOR, produce the same output. i.e., if both inputs are true then the two outputs are paired as one as true and one as false (in either order); for any other inputs both outputs are in the same and identical (not-specified) logic-state.

(The name is a spoonerism of "AND Gate", but may not have meaning beyond that.)
|-
|XAND Gort
|Two inputs, unconventionally, feed into what is otherwise a perfectly standard NOT-symbol with the traditional single output.

How a single NOT is intended to handle two inputs and merge them is not obvious. All obvious functions are already met by existing two-input gates. Perhaps it is logically identical to the NOR gate, but drawn and named to express its nature as "not A and not B" rather than the less intuitive equivalent "not (A or B)".

Or possibly this is intended to create (and then invert) a combined quantum superposition of the two singular input feeds and therefore act as a form of signal multiplexer.

(The name seems only trivially related to the gate-named associated with the drawn elements of functionality. "Xand" is a familar form of the name "Alexander" that is sometimes used for major figures in fantasy novels for its striking "X", while "Gort" is the name of a particularly powerful alien robot seen in various versions of the film The Day The Earth Stood Still. Neither of these facts may bear true relevance, however.)
|-
|NORG Xort
|The initial input end resembles an XOR gate, but with 'negation'-nodes unconventionally sited where the inputs lead inwards. The output end is given a NAND appearance.

An XOR gate should not ultimately react any differently with both inputs pre-negated, compared to how the straight inputs would be handled, but the promise of NANDness may not make things quite so simple, without straying into the possibility of quantum-logic (as suggested above) where it may 'merely' be just highly complex to understand.

(The name given references NOR and XOR, but may be entirely divorced from any logical interpretation of its logical implications.)
|-
|ANDORX Gant
|Two inputs appear to feed into an OR-receiving end-cap, but this transitions into feedlines into a follow-up XOR-receiver, which in turn transitions (without output-capping) into two output tracks each with an 'orphaned' NOT-node upon them.

Generously, it could be interpreted as an OR-gate whose internal result is sent to one output track while the opposite is output to the other track, then both are inverted. Or quantum (re-)superposition and separations may again be at work in this case in ways hard to narrow down.

(The nominal title is yet further lacking in obvious logic, starting with a possible rearrangement of XOR and AND followed by part of GATE with an N inserted. "Gant" could possibly be a reference to a particular sportswear manufacturer/retailer.)
|-
|NORXONDOR Gorgonax
|Two inputs lead into a (N)OR-like entry, the continuing sides of which repurpose as connectors leading through a pair of full anti-parallel NOT gates, before resuming drawn purpose as a NOR-gate output tip.

It is possible the peculiarly placed NOTs are acting as indications of some kind of two-way signal filter/rectifier, if they were to be taken seriously.

(The gate name, however, is a bizarre construct that may even be echoing fantasy/mythology references, such as Gondor and the Gorgon.)
|}

The only real-life logic gate that was omitted is the XNOR gate (short for "eXclusive Not OR"; it compares the inputs, and if and only if they are equal, it outputs true). Note that the "NORG XORT" gate would be logically equivalent to it if it were tipped to match its uniquely XOR-style tail, since it would then be an XNOR gate with NOT on both inputs, a modification that has no ultimate effect on the logic as it merely switches the case of which exclusivity it needs to be, and does not care which version of same-input it might be responding to.

A double-NOT on an input would produce the identical output again (...if the input is '''not not''' true). Two NOTs preapplied to a (N)AND or (N)OR would produce the same output as a (further-)NOTted version of the (N)OR or (N)AND, conversely (...if '''not'''-1 '''and''' '''not'''-2 then this also means that neither 1 '''nor''' 2). Normally this would be shown, if necessary, as full NOT gates on the lead-in inputs but (see Transcript, below, and the NORG XORT description above) the shortcut element is occasionally used in further mix'n'match symbology (together with reinterpreting connectivity lines as partial shape-edges and vice-versa) in 'understandable' but definitely non-standard ways.

Along with the deliberate confusion of connector and shape-edge lines, directionality is also played with in several cases, with input 'ends' perhaps also at the (implied) output end and reversed sub-symbols implying a composite gate with substructural feedback or perhaps diode-rectification upon a bidirectional logic path.

Much like [[2360: Common Star Types]], as the list progresses, the names start to sound more like mythical creatures, closing with the "Norxondor gorgonax". As with the symbology, the names appear to be nonsensical recombinations of the standard ones (perhaps with off-subject inspirations, in some cases) but often do not match up with the symbolic (mis)use, such as an X in the name not implying/being implied by an XOR's unique drawn feature.

In the title text [[Randall]] claims that in the {{w|C (programming language)|programming language C}} the {{w|multiocular O}} (ꙮ) character, an exotic glyph variant of the Cyrillic letter O, is used to represent the bitwise version of the last operator Norxondor gorgonax (presumably ꙮꙮ represents the non-bitwise version), fitting as the multiocular O is used to refer to "many-eyed {{w|seraphim}}" (angels) in some religious literature. {{w|Gorgon}}s (beige or otherwise) have heads covered with snakes instead of hair, and so possess multiple eyes, the most famous was known as {{w|Medusa}} (which was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png depicted] in [[1608: Hoverboard]]). The ꙮ character abstractly inspires ideas of great otherworldly demons like those of the Cthulhu mythos.

C is a low-level programming language, and as such, it has many operations that correspond to logical (i. e. bitwise) operations. These contrast with operations that work in a non-bitwise way. For example, "&&" is the non-bitwise "AND" operator that takes the operands as a whole, while "&" is the bitwise "AND" that combines the respective bits of its two inputs independently before spitting out the new single composite value the output bits represent. In non-bitwise operations, 0 always represents "FALSE", while any non-zero value means "TRUE" for inputs, and 1 is used to represent TRUE for outputs. Thus, "14 && 3" gives the result 1: TRUE AND TRUE -> TRUE. In the bitwise operation, using the same values, the decimal value 14 has the binary value 1110 and the decimal value 3 has the binary value 0011, and for this example we get:
1110 = 14
& <u>0011</u> = 3
0010 = 2

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows a chart with twelve electronic logic gates arranged in three rows of four. Each gate is depicted as a schematic symbol, with a label underneath. Above them is a header:]
:Common logic gate symbols

:[Here below follows a description of the 12 gates in the three rows, with their label given beneath each description:]

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to the vertical left edge of a solid D-shaped symbol. From the right side of the D there is one output.]
:AND gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to a convex-crescent left edge of a crescent-shaped symbol. The right side of the crescent symbol's shape forms a point at its output. From the right side of the crescent there is one output.]
:OR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. One input leads to a triangular symbol pointing to the right. There is a small bubble symbol connected to the triangle on the output, which leads right.]
:NOT gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.)
:NOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the left-hand arc at the input has a double-stroked line.]
:XOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the AND GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.]
:NAND gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has one input on the left leading to a convex-crescent left edge, like the OR GATE. The output side as a smooth crescent like the AND GATE but has two outputs.]
:NORX gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has two inputs on the left leading to a vertical left edge input, like the AND GATE. The output side has a convex-crescent double-stroked output like the mirror image of the XOR GATE's input. There are two outputs.]
:GAND ate

:[An unusual symbol. This resembles the NOT GATE except there are two inputs instead of one leading into the left side.]
:XAND gort

:[An unusual symbol. This has a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE, but the two inputs have bubbles attached. The single output has a smooth crescent shape with a bubble, like a NAND GATE.]
:NORG xort

:[An unusual symbol. Two inputs lead to a convex-crescent edge, and the two lines of this symbol now enter a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE. The two lines of -this- symbol have bubbles placed half way across their horizontal length, and are presumably the outputs.]
:ANDORX gant

:[An unusual symbol. The symbol is identical to the NOR GATE, except the upper and lower horizontal parts of the symbols hull have a NOT GATE placed on them - one pointing to the left on the upper line, and to the right on the lower line. There is one output to the symbol, with a bubble attached.]
:NORXONDOR gorgonax

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:2478: Alien Visitors 2

2021-06-19T03:28:31Z

162.158.62.55:

Sorry for intruding, I am just delighted that I am early [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.161|162.158.166.161]] 14:02, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

"Maybe we shouldn't stand right under it." This line might (inadvertently?) reference the common alien-movie fail in which massive spacecraft hover at low altitude over human populations without obliterating them and their infrastructure. It might also be bathroom humor. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.129.134|172.68.129.134]] 15:56, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
:I'm with the original explanation. The aliens just don't seem very advanced, so they're worried that the spaceships are poorly constructed and pieces might fall off, or the entire ship might just drop. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:19, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
:You are probably correct with respect to Randall's intentions. The situation, though, brings to my mind Turtledove's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwar_series Worldwar series], in which "The Race" had very advanced technology (hence little risk of spaceships crashing on their own) but had, at least initially, a poor opinion about human technologies and their advancement. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.129.132|172.68.129.132]] 18:31, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

To the individual who made a callback to Capri Sun--bless you. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.83|172.70.130.83]] 19:11, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

:Need a category for this recurring comic: [[:Category:Alien Visitors]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.65|172.69.35.65]] 00:33, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

Doesn’t the United States still add lead to gasoline used for piston airplane engines, and also high octane race car fuel?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.55|162.158.62.55]] 03:28, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

2467: Wikipedia Caltrops

2021-05-24T17:25:55Z

162.158.62.55:

{{comic
| number = 2467
| date = May 24, 2021
| title = Wikipedia Caltrops
| image = wikipedia_caltrops.png
| titletext = Oh no, they set up a roadblock which is just a sign with the entire 'Czech hedgehog' article printed on it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A WIKIPEDIA CRAWL INEVITABLY REACHING "PHILOSOPHY". Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Wikipedia is a website that is notorious for having many links to other pages, which may result in a "wiki walk", a dilemma what has been discussed previously in [[214|214: The Problem with Wikipedia]] (and separately with TV Tropes in [[609|609: Tab Explosion]]).

A '{{w|Czech hedgehog}}' is an anti-tank obstacle made of metal, and would be an effective roadblock however a sign describing it would not impede most traffic.

Cueball's car has a collection of Wikipedia links spilling out of the trunk. They include:

* {{w|1808 mystery eruption}}: A conjectured volcanic eruption
* {{w|1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game}}: The most uneven college football game in history
* {{w|1994 Caribbean Cup#Anomaly}}: A soccer game where group stage qualification rules had unintended consequences
* {{w|American death triangle}}: An unsafe type of rock climbing anchor
* {{w|AVE Mizar}}: A 1970s flying car
* {{w|Bald-hairy}}: A Russian political theory about state leaders' hairstyles
* {{w|Boeing YAL-1}}: A laser weapon mounted on a military aircraft
* {{w|Bubbly Creek}}: A stretch of river in Chicago featured in The Jungle
* {{w|Burned house horizon}}: An area where Neolithic people burned their settlements
* {{w|Defence Scheme No. 1}}: A 1920s plan for Canada to attack the USA
* {{w|Ebright Azimuth}}: The highest point in Delaware
* {{w|Elsagate}}: A YouTube controversy involving inappropriate videos being categorised as child-friendly
* {{w|Fastest animals#Invertebrates}}: Very fast insects, and some squid
* {{w|Flying ice cube}}: An effect in molecular dynamics simulations
* {{w|Future of Earth#Introversion}}: A theory that the continents will all drift back together
* {{w|Hairy Hands}}: A ghost story in Dartmoor, England
* {{w|January 0}}: December 31st in some software programs
* {{w|List of fictional colors}}: Impossible colours in fiction
* {{w|List of unexplained sounds}}: Mostly detected by NOAA, includes the Bloop
* {{w|Talk:List of U.S. states and territories by area}}: A very long talk page where people dispute the order of the list
* {{w|Mosquito laser}}: A proposed device for killing mosquitoes
* {{w|Pheasant Island}}: An island shared equally between France and Spain
* {{w|Time in Australia#Anomalies}}: Places in Australia which do not use the expected time zone
* {{w|Timeline of the far future}}: Scientific speculation
* {{w|Walkalong glider}}: A type of unpowered model aircraft

The idea is that by dropping a series of interesting links, one could stop someone else's movement (provided that they are also easily distrcted) as they take the time to go through them all. This is analogous to the caltrops mentioned in the title.

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

Cueball drives a car, followed by another car. A number of paper slips with wikipedia links are distributed from the back of the car:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbly_Creek
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsagate
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant_Island
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_death_triangle
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-1
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1808_mystery_eruption
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Caribbean_Cup#Anomaly
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkalong_glider
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastest_animals#Invertebrates
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_ice_cube
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairy_Hands
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Cumberland_vs._Georgia_Tech_football_game
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_0
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Scheme_No._1
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Earth#Introversion
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_colors
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned_house_horizon
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexplained_sounds
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebright_Azimuth

Caption: I have a collection of wikipedia links to throw behind my car if I'm ever being chased by someone as easily distracted as me.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:837: Coupon Code

2020-09-22T00:03:31Z

162.158.62.55:

If you see in the first frame, the Subtotal is a one-digit number, possibly $3.19. Yet the tax is way higher, and the subtotal is higher still. Thoughts?
--Kuilin Li, kuilin@gmail.com, didn't bother registering.
[[Special:Contributions/67.175.58.94|67.175.58.94]] 03:00, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

: The word next to the (potential) 3.19 isn't 'subtotal', though. The first letter might be a K or R, no idea on the second, the third is probably an E, K or R again, a 'one foot' letter like I or T, a C (I think), another 'one foot', a round bottom like a C or O, then possibly an H. I'm sure it's a real word, knowing how much detail he puts in the simplest things, am pretty sure it's not 'subtotal', but no idea otherwise what it actually is. --[[User:StarChaser Tyger|StarChaser Tyger]] ([[User talk:StarChaser Tyger|talk]]) 03:59, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

:: My guess is that it says "AMERICIUM". —Tanner Swett [[Special:Contributions/107.5.152.253|107.5.152.253]] 22:29, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

::: Hmm, looks like you could be right. Also, {{w|americium}} is a radioactive element commonly used (in tiny amounts) in {{w|smoke detector}}s. It's probably the only {{w|transuranic element}} you can find in your house. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 03:46, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
::::This would be a nod to what if where someone tries to collect all the elements even dangerous ones[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.55|162.158.62.55]]!

I don't really get the joke: is it about the idea that stealing something from the house of a dying woman is a rather common thing to have on one's conscience? and Cueball tries to leverage on that everywhere he can? Or would it be that Cueball really ''knows'' who is on the other side and what he can pressure them on? - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:28, 7 February 2013 (UTC)
:The joke is that coupon codes are normally bland, corporate, impersonal, and small (you don't save that much money generally). Also, they're now sometimes shared on sites like RetailMeNot. This is just the opposite. It's a highly profitable way of exploiting a personal secret the buyer knows about the seller. [[User:Mattflaschen|Mattflaschen]] ([[User talk:Mattflaschen|talk]]) 03:48, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
:: Highly effective way? Only if the buyer was reading the discount code input manually! [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 12:53, 21 February 2013 (UTC)
:::It's the romantic image that there is more behind the interface than mere, cold technology. But atleast a sentinent being, if not humans. I don't think there's an actual joke that is supposed to make you laugh here though. --[[Special:Contributions/91.46.105.142|91.46.105.142]] 22:11, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

It is way too specific to be a "shot in the dark", the extortionist clearly has inside knowledge. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 01:01, 18 January 2014 (UTC)
: See https://xkcd.com/440/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.53|162.158.68.53]] 18:05, 19 June 2015 (UTC)

;Price of the product

I think the price is 3.14, as it is the closest number that matches with the image & perfectly divides into 65.94 (80.02-14.08). --[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 00:58, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
:That sounds like something Randall would do, since 3.14~=π . [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 20:35, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

Wish it worked in the XKCD shop. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.36|199.27.133.36]] 06:08, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

I agree with the black mailing the cashier hypothesis, but I initially read it as a Black Hat esque prank where the coupon code was given to the one who committed the crime.

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-20T13:22:14Z

162.158.62.55: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa were all Gorgons, but ONLY Medusa had the petrifying appearance,

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red' and other key aspects of their nature that are summarized for each example.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, drawing upon others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically described, or even encountered, by astronomers. The aspect information provided for these 'star' types is based upon the respective mythologies.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that {{w|Sun|our sun}} is, with a lifespan measured in billions of years. The title "dwarf" is a misnomer, as the Sun is actually larger than most stars, but it was once thought to be smaller than average as larger stars turn out to be more visible than smaller stars over a given distance.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume Mercury, Venus, and possibly the Earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || A real thing, though not a true star, but a remnant of one. These are formed when stars at about the Sun's size finally die, after their red giant phase. They are extremely dense and no longer undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for {{w|Type Ia supernova}}, a {{w|Cosmic Distance Ladder|standard candle}} of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. ({{w|Brown dwarf|Brown dwarfs}} are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo hydrogen-|hydrogen fusion.) These can live for trillions of years; the first red dwarfs to form in the universe are still alive today and will be alive long after the Sun reaches its end.

{{w|Red Dwarf}} is also a science fiction TV series being produced in UK since 1988, named after the eponymous mining ship. This ship is ''small'' (compared to a star) and {{w|Cat_(Red_Dwarf)|one of the characters}} is indeed very ''cool'' (as in a cool cat), but ''dim''-witted (the star of the series is none to bright either). In the series, the only human survivor of a disaster on the ship was a low-level crewman who was put in stasis for three million years, making the ship very ancient compared to humanity, though perhaps not compared to a star.
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| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. Tolkien's elves are immortal but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth, (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) emigrating to the West as magic fades.
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| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types.
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| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which presents riddles to hapless travelers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like. {{Original research}} May be a reference to {{w|Teal Swan}}.
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| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and the main mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books, often in mysterious ways that could be described as "{{wiktionary|mercurial#Adjective|mercurial}}". Gandalf later falls in battle and returns as Gandalf the White, much as stars (up to ~10 solar masses) will evolve into white dwarfs, but this evolution is not shown on this chart. Interestingly, the Elvish word for "wizard" is ''i<u>star</u>'' (plural: ''istari'').
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| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|banshees}}, a type of Irish spirit or ghost which wails loudly at a person's death. {{w|Indigo}} may also be considered a particularly {{wiktionary|loud#Adjective|loud color}}. May or may not be a reference to {{w|Indigo children}}, a pseudoscientific term used by some to describe children with unusual personalities or learning abilities.
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| Beige Gorgon || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Medusa}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}, who was one of the three Gorgons. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of Medusa in which anyone who gazes upon her face will turn to stone. However, seeing Medusa's reflection is safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector|most astronomers should be fine.]] This is probably why its color is known, unlike other Gorgons, whose observers have a high mortality rate. The choice of the color "beige" for this kind of "star" may be a reference to {{w|cosmic latte}}, the "average color" of the universe.

In reality, the star {{w|Algol}} and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. Medusa is also the namesake of {{w|Medusa Nebula|a nebula}}, {{w|NGC 4194|a pair of colliding galaxies}}, and {{w|149 Medusa|an asteroid}}. No observers of any of these celestial bodies have been petrified.{{Citation needed}}
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject, such as the {{w|Red Dwarf|case-sensitive example}} of "This article is about the British comedy franchise. For the type of star, see {{w|Red dwarf}}." In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large {{w|luminous blue variable}} star which has a relatively high level of {{w|Iron(II)|ferrous ions}}. Although there is a vaguely plausible reason for the star to to be called an "iron giant", astronomers do not commonly use that particular name (the alternative of "{{w|iron star}}" is used for an article about hypothesized class of stellar-mass object, though the description allows that there is a separate usage that relates to Eta Carinae) and you are currently only redirected straight upon ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', that first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colors and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
::Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
::Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
::Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
::Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
::Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-colored star.]
:Gray wizard
::Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
::Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
::Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]