explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2377: xkcd Phone 12

2020-10-26T23:57:33Z

162.158.63.124: ~~~~

Is there any way to install the Vengaboys feature on my own phone? It's pure genius

If it's coated for easy swallowing, perhaps it's actually a tablet... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.54|162.158.155.54]] 22:50, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Perhaps by taking data from infrared sensors and microphones, an app could automatically start the song? Might have some interesting copyright issues, tho idk how those things work … [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 23:57, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

2377: xkcd Phone 12

2020-10-26T23:54:55Z

162.158.63.124: added bit about iPhone 12, and how bad it is to hard reset each time you shake it

{{comic
| number = 2377
| date = October 26, 2020
| title = xkcd Phone 12
| image = xkcd_phone_12.png
| titletext = New phone OS features: Infinite customization (home screen icons no longer snap to grid), dark mode (disables screen), screaming mode (self-explanatory), and coherent ultracapacitor-pumped emission (please let us know what this setting does; we've been afraid to try it).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PERSON NAMED MAX. Features need more explanation, and MOUSEOVER TEXT needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is the 12th in the ongoing xkcd Phone series in which Randall explains his new joke phone designs with many strange and useless features. It is also a reference to the recently released iPhone 12.

* '''Full drivetrain warranty''' - A common feature on automobiles--see [[wikipedia:Drivetrain]] for more. As a side note, the phone here would be cheaping out on the warranty if it were a car; a "drivetrain" warranty covers everything ''except'' the engine; only if it was a "powertrain" warranty would it cover the engine. A phone typically has none of these things, although this one seemingly does.
* '''Coated for easy swallowing''' - A common feature on solid medicines meant to be taken orally
* '''Surgical-grade apps''' - "Surgical-grade steel" is sometime used as a selling point indicating quality materials.
* '''Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing'''
* '''Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque'''
* '''40 mL emergency water supply''' - Many phones are now water-resistant to some degree; this phone ships with water included.
* '''Security feature: unmarked side buttons'''
* '''3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches''' - Possibly from a Tesla coil.
* '''99.9% BPA- and hands- free'''
* '''Extended release charge cable'''
* '''Closed timelike curves''' - Given that [[wikipedia:Closed timelike curves|Closed timelike curves]] are usually associated with solutions to general relativity that allow for time travel...
* '''Fits in standard shipping container''' - An {{w|intermodal shipping container}} is large enough to fit vehicles, raising the question of just how big this XKCD phone is.
* '''Interlocking, stackable''' - A quality of, among other things, LEGO bricks.
* '''Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility''' - The GameBoy Printer was a thermal paper printer originally paired with the GameBoy Camera
* '''CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves''' - An allusion to the COVID-19 pandemic. {{w|We Like to Party! (Vengaboys song)|"We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)"}} is a 1998 Eurodance/techno hit by the Vengaboys, and is perhaps most familiar to Americans from a series of Six Flags ads.
* '''Sacrificial anode''' - Useful if something metal (like, say, a boat) will be in a wet environment for a long time. The sacrificial anode is made of a material with higher redox potential, and will corrode faster than the (more valuable) metal object it's attached to. It's unclear if the phone HAS a sacrificial anode or IS a sacrificial anode.
* '''Tactical helium reserve'''
* '''50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)''' - Indicates the phone contains fissile material.
* '''Shake for factory reset''' - A factory reset is often possible on electronic devices, and is usually accomplished either by pressing a button or closing an electrical bridge. This one works like an Etch-a-Sketch. This would not be preferred, as slight disturbances could easily cause massive losses of data.
* '''Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you'''

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

* Full drivetrain warranty
* Coated for easy swallowing
* Surgical-grade apps
* Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing
* Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque
* 40 mL emergency water supply
* Security feature: unmarked side buttons
* 3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches
* 99.9% BPA- and hands- free
* Extended release charge cable
* Closed timelike curves
* Fits in standard shipping container
* Interlocking, stackable
* Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility
* CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves
* Sacrificial anode
* Tactical helium reserve
* 50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)
* Shake for factory reset
* Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you

The xkcd Phone 12* and 12 Max**

<nowiki>*Standard</nowiki> **For people named Max

"The only phone you'll ever own"®™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-27T03:33:36Z

162.158.63.124: /* Too dumb for this one */

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

With a name like NIN85, I bet Mom is a Nine Inch Nails fan. ❤️ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.61|172.69.35.61]]

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::: In that case, how do you come to the conclusion that the profile picture shown there is a "young" person? By the hairstyle or what? I don't get it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:18, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Yes. Young hair (as opposed to young-adult hair, then eventually the tied-up bun look that can also mean 'serious' but with ornamentation). It's just my impression. Also note that Julz seems to favour the 'studio background' look (maybe filter-cropped down to just the head and shoulders) while NIN85 favours the more passive "visit to a place" photo that is ''not'' obviously a selfie, a height-shot, a posed sunrise/set one, which (the possibilities of photoshopping apart, due to the hint-of-border actually probably only there to maintain contrast between hair and the darker bit of the background) puts it in an early age of photography tropes. In my mind, but obviously not yours.
:::::But on the basis that every drawn feature is deliberately put there (rather than various accidents of setting in actual images of real life) [[1401|I like to think]] it's deliberately setting up the trope of a historic photo of young-millenial (''meant'' to be from roughly the time of the opening post, but probably uploaded much later) vs a more current pose by a young-post-millenial. YMMV.
:::::And none of this is a complaint, just a recollection of what I was originally pondering, as I appreciated the comic. Probably taking up no more than a minute of my time, last night, and now I'm surprised it's taking up this much more of it for both of us... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 16:09, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::: Ah, I see. I get your point, now. Thanks! :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:17, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::I had the same impression of photos. If nothing else, assuming that if she was doing a one-off reply to a very old thread on a forum she hasn't really used for 20 years, she probably wouldn't bother updating her profile pic in the forum settings :) But it did contribute to me not putting together that it was a parent talking to her kid, since she "looked" like a young person! [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 08:32, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Digital Cameras were available before 2005, so it's possible the original profile photo was digital to start. We also had cell phones prior to that, but I went cheap, so I know I didn't have a phone camera myself.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 18:42, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
::::::Don't know about you, but with dial-up (which I was definitely using in 2000, when not at work at the end of an always-on ISDN connection to somewhere) I'd have been a bit miffed to be forced to (possibly, depending on how good the caching worked) download a small image alongside every single post (and potentially every time a new post is added, redownload all the last few posts again in the same page). I'm fairly sure webfora as they now exist weren't really as popular until widespread unmetered Internet. Though it might well look like that after numerous upgrades and migrations of whatever the original appearance actually was, which at some point would make it attractive option to dig up an old photo, digitise it (if necessary) and upload. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.224|141.101.98.224]] 00:26, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

She’s would be a closer to a gen-xer [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.134|108.162.219.134]] 18:21, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Did anyone else think that NIN was for Nine Inch Nails?

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Fortunately most forums I was active on in the 90s and early 2000s are all long dead. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 08:06, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have USENET posts still out there from 1984. I discovered that in November 2019 someone retweeted a bunch of Star Wars comments from USENET after Return of the Jedi came out, including one of mine.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 18:42, 25 September 2020 (UTC)

1564: Every Seven Seconds

2020-08-02T02:57:55Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1564
| date = August 14, 2015
| title = Every Seven Seconds
| image = every_seven_seconds.png
| titletext = Every few months, I think about sex every seven seconds and how weird and implausible it would be.
}}

==Explanation==
There is an oft-stated {{w|urban myth}} that men think about sex every seven seconds. See for example this [http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140617-how-often-do-men-think-about-sex BBC article], where they say that a more realistic number is 19 times in a waking day, i.e. once every 50 minutes.

In this comic [[Cueball]] is a {{w|sociologist}}, and the thought bubbles show his train of thoughts regarding this myth. First of all, he flatly denies that it could be true, and progressively his thoughts move to the effects if it were true, and then Cueball considers how it would even be studied. The title of the comic ''(Every seven seconds)'' hints strongly that this is the subject he is thinking about, and this is subsequently confirmed both in the caption and in the title text.

The setup is that thinking about sex every seven seconds would be dysfunctional and unproductive in addition to making working, social interactions and etcetera nearly impossible as explained by the sociologist's thoughts. The punch line is that thinking every seven seconds about how ridiculous it is to think about sex every seven seconds is just as dysfunctional and unproductive even if the thought time is spent refuting the original notion as understood in third person.

The irony of the comic is that in thinking every seven seconds about how impossible it would be for men to think about sex every seven seconds, the sociologist is, in fact, thinking about sex every seven seconds, albeit in a roundabout way.

In the title text, the narrator ([[Randall]] or Cueball the sociologist?) says he thinks about how implausible it would be to have sex every seven seconds, several times a year. See alternate interpretations below:

In the title text, the narrator's statement leaves some meaning up to interpretation:
*Every few months, I "think about sex" every seven seconds [in one day, i.e. 8200 times that day] and how weird and implausible [having intercourse] would be.
**Implying that narrator's sex life is not very active.
*Every few months, I think about "sex every seven seconds" and how weird and implausible [having intercourse every seven seconds] would be.
**Having sex every seven seconds is implausible.
*Every few months, I think about [the statistic that men think about] sex every seven seconds and how weird and implausible it would be.
**An even more realistic take on the main comic's topic.
*Every few months, I think about "sex" every seven seconds and how weird and implausible [such an assertion] would be.
**This interpretation is a bit paradoxical, because it implies that the narrator finds himself thinking about the very thing he dismisses as a possibility to think about so often.
*Every few months, I think about "sex every seven seconds and how weird and implausible it would be."
**The narrator (probably Randall) thinks about how implausible he finds the premise of "every seven seconds" every few months.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking with four thought bubbles above him.]

:Cueball (thinking):
::There’s no way that’s true.
::It would interfere with basic cognition.
::Such a ridiculous view of masculinity.
::How would you even ''study'' that?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every seven seconds, sociologists
:think about that made-up statistic
:about how often men think about sex.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

Talk:667: SkiFree

2020-07-14T20:25:26Z

162.158.63.124:

The reason that so many people think the monster is unbeatable is that the game was often found pre-installed on many computers along with the Windows operating system in older days. However, the game would typically be installed without any documentation, resulting in a generation of younger gamers discovering and playing the game, but not the unintuitive "F" command needed to survive the monster. [[User:Psyren|Psyren]] ([[User talk:Psyren|talk]]) 22:24, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

"F" does make you go faster than the monster, but it also makes it more likely that you'll hit an obstacle, at which point the monster will catch up and eat you. HOWEVER, if you pause the game with F3 and then repeatedly press "T", the game will go in slow motion.--[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 20:16, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

The title text explanation is way deeper than it probably should be. Knowing Megan, she probably *literally* wore an F key pendant--looking for meaning in the wrong places. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 12:53, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Yeah but maybe that's okay. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.46|172.69.50.46]] 14:45, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

This comic is much more profound when you're a Singularitarian. Huamn technology is still in its button-mashing stage, but how long until we find our F key that lets us stave off death as long as we want? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 08:28, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

Has anyone noticed the term "press F to pay respects", changing the metaphor to "death is inevitable *unless you show sympathy to people*"? Just a thought [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 02:30, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
:this comic was published in late 2009, while cod: advanced warfare (where the meme comes from) came out 5 years later [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.197|162.158.103.197]] 12:57, 17 May 2020 (UTC)
::F [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 20:25, 14 July 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2329: Universal Rating Scale

2020-07-07T02:40:13Z

162.158.63.124: satisfactory explained satisfactorily

There are several things that UNC might stand for, but to me none of them suggests a rating scale. Open to suggestions, of course. [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 00:10, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
: I think the most likely candidate from {{w|UNC|w:UNC}} is the numismatic code for an {{w|uncirculated coin}}. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 00:49, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
: Unified National Coarse is the name of a scale (not a rating on it) for thread sizes (for screws, nuts, bolts, etc.)[[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.187|172.69.68.187]] 02:12, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

I don’t think A/AA/AAA are battery sizes, but rather [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_rating credit rating]. That is also consistent with their positions in the upper half of the scale.--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.235.142|172.69.235.142]] 00:37, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

A+ reminded me of {{w|European Union energy label}} ratings - but it is also in the credit rating list -- [[User:Bmwiedemann|Bmwiedemann]] ([[User talk:Bmwiedemann|talk]]) 01:31, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Does anyone know what "S" is a rating for? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.206|172.69.34.206]] 01:35, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
: Satisfactory, top marks on USA elementary school report cards (or at least it was in the 1980s) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 02:40, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2324: Old Days 2

2020-06-25T05:03:59Z

162.158.63.124:

I've gotta try that, see how the ice cream truck guy reacts. Wonder where I can find an ice cream truck though? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.16|172.69.71.16]] 23:42, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
: The above is me, wasn't logged in, would I get in trouble for fixing the signature? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 23:44, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
(@Mikemk, I recon you sorted it by adding what you did. If you'd have just changed things, probably no crime if you explained it in the edit Summary. But I'm just an IP Address, so no authority.) Anyway. The bit about a phone-call stopping all electronic business is obviously rooted in dial-up needing exclusive use of a POTS line, something that only went out with broadband piggy-backing alongside voice-calls, the respective carrier-signals now microfiltered at each end of the house-to-exchange copper cabling to let them coexist over the same circuit without blocking/overwhelming each other. Though, in this comic, it's hyperbole, overly fuzzy memory, leg-pulling and/or an alternate-history being described. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 02:06, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

In the early days (of the ARPAnet) there was actually something that today would be classed as a "cloud service" (before the term was invented) although limited. It was a computer (in Cambridge, MA) funded by ARPA with massive amounts of storage and anybody on the ARPAnet could use it for storage (primary access was through FTP). So, cloud storage but not cloud computing. If you wanted to do something with the data you had to copy the whole file to your local disk, edit it there, and then send it back. The actual bits were stored on magnetic tape and there was an elaborate X/Y mechanism to select a tape and mount it on a tape drive, and later return it to its cubby. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 02:38, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

"State landline" is reminiscent of the old sailing joke where you'd ask a n00b to bring you 100 feet of shoreline. -- brad

Hm, I'd think that "state landline" is a pun on "state line". [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 04:19, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

"It's not even likely that any punch patterns used in computer coding would be interpretable as valid sweater-creating instructions." Is anyone up to the challenge? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 05:03, 25 June 2020 (UTC)
Also, while mainframes didn't exactly knit sweaters when they ran your code, they *did* produce physical artifacts -- reams of line printer paper. [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 04:21, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

2317: Pinouts

2020-06-09T04:04:01Z

162.158.63.124: /* HDMI */ Remove my own questionable info

{{comic
| number = 2317
| date = June 8, 2020
| title = Pinouts
| image = pinouts.png
| titletext = The other side of USB-C is rotationally symmetric except that the 3rd pin from the top is designated FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN. Should include a column for the actual purpose of the pin. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Electronics connecters are designed to transport both information and power. A {{w|pinout}} diagram describes the function of each pin such as to communicate data, transport power, physical function (keying), etc. In this comic there is an absurd alternative to the actual pins used in connectors.

The real life diagrams are as follows: [http://unitedtechnologies.com.pk/Nti/image/10ci.png HDMI], [https://www.arrow.com/en/research-and-events/articles/micro-connector-usb-pinout Micro USB], [https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-usb-type-c-which-pins-power-delivery-data-transfer/ USB-C].

=== HDMI ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation !! Pin No. !! Actual purpose
|-
| +3.3V DC
| 3.3V is a typical voltage in digital electronics. The "+" Indicates a
| 1
| TMDS Data2+
|-
| Data
| Most digital communications cables contain at least one wire that carries data. Typically there will be a more descriptive name if there are multiple data pins.
| 2
| TMDS Data2 Shield
|-
| -3.3V DC
| Negative voltages were used more frequently in the past, however modern systems typically generate any negative voltages they might require internally from the given positive voltages.
| 3
| TMDS Data2-
|-
| +5V
| Many actual pin configurations use +5 volts to supply power to a device. That's not what this means.
| 4
| TMDS Data1+
|-
| Tx
| "Tx" typically refers to pins used to transmit as opposed to "Rx"/receive
| 5
| TMDS Data1 Shield
|-
| +6VI
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VI represents the Roman numeral 6. (See Pin 4)
| 6
| TMDS Data1-
|-
| Wx
| "Wx" does not typically exist in the "Tx"/"Rx" scheme. In the weather forecasting community, Wx means "weather" .
| 7
| TMDS Data0+
|-
| +7VII
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VII represents the Roman numeral 7, continuing the pattern from above.
| 8
| TMDS Data0 Shield
|-
| Rx Only
| "Rx" typically refers to pins used to receive as opposed to "Tx"/transmit. In this case "Rx" is used as part of a pun on "Rx (prescription) only"
| 9
| TMDS Data0-
|-
| Antidata
| Some ports use differential signaling, where a signal and its inverse are sent over a pair of pins (e.g. D+ and D-). This mixes that practice with a humorous reference to the notion of matter versus antimatter. There is no such thing as antidata.
| 10
| TMDS Clock+
|-
| Unknown
| Occasionally extra pins will be included for future use; however they will typically be labeled "reserved" to point out that their usage is not yet defined. The use of "unknown" suggests that this pinout is based on an incomplete reverse-engineering of the HDMI format, instead of on the official documentation.
| 11
| TMDS Clock Shield
|-
| Water
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sources of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 12
| TMDS Clock-
|-
| +240V DC
| High voltage DC is not typically used in small communications connectors. It would need to be low current to avoid generating excess heat.
| 13
| CEC
|-
| Vacuum
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sorces of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 14
| Reserved (1.0-1.3a), Utility (1.4+, optional)
|-
| 5V AC
| Pins often supply low voltage direct current to devices. This pin supplies 5V alternating current, which is not typically supplied.
| 15
| SCL (I²C serial clock for DDC)
|-
| Amazon Copyright Pin
| HDMI can optionally be protected by a digital rights management (DRM) scheme, known as HDCP. This pin humorously implies the presence of a different DRM scheme specific to Amazon.com, as well as poking fun at the fact that copyright is an explicit part of the HDMI protocol (although it is not assigned to a specific pin).
| 16
| SDA (I²C serial data for DDC)
|-
| GND
| GND typically refers to "ground" on pinout diagrams. Remarkably, this is correct.
| 17
| DDC/CEC Ground
|-
| Decorative
| Decorative elements are pieces of an assembly that serve only an aesthetic purpose without any technical function. This would not be particularly useful inside a connector, as almost no one will ever see it--however, in HDMI, pin 14 was reserved for future use in versions 1.0–1.3a (and was only assigned an official use in 1.4).
| 18
| +5V
|-
| Ground
| Compared to Pin 17 ("GND"), this appears to be the same ground pin. However, the presence of both GND and Ground seems to imply that GND represents something other than the standard "ground" pin, unless it is this one that supplies something like soil (like [[1293|soup]]). Some systems have different grounds for analog and digital sections, but they would typically be disambiguated by terms like AGND.
| 19
| Hot Plug Detect
|}

HDMI uses four pairs of shielded twisted-pair connectors, along with seven other connectors. (Twisted-pair means a wire is wrapped with the other wire that returns the current to the original device, thus minimizing electromagnetic noise. Shielding refers to wrapping a cable with a conductor to absorb the energy of noise.) Three of these pairs are for data (TMDS Data0, Data1, and Data2) and the other is a clock. These pairs take up three pins as one of them is a ground pin for the shielding wrapped around each pair. TMDS stands for "{{w|Transition-minimized Differential Signaling}}" and is also used in the DVI standard.

DDC stands for "Display Data Channel" and is based on the {{w|I²C}} serial standard. It is used to allow the transmitting device to learn what formats of data the receiving device can accept.

CEC stands for "Consumer Electronics Control" and is supposed to allow a single remote control to control multiple devices.

"Hot Plug Detect" refers to hot-plugging, where a cable is connected to a device already turned on. The device should then ideally detect that the cable has been plugged in and respond appropriately.

=== Micro USB ===

A ground pin is commonly found on USB and other pin connectors. At least one ground is necessary to complete the circuit, and some cables use multiple ground lines to distribute current or to support {{w|twisted pair}}s. However, there is no purpose served by having many more ground pins than data pins. Therefore, it seems rather silly for the micro USB to have 4 ground pins and only 1 functional "USB" pin. It also does not give much information about what the "USB" pin would do, as opposed to a standard pinout diagram. This diagram also leaves out the +5V power pin that is present in the real micro USB connector, which would render most USB peripherals unable to function.

The ordering and count of the pins may be an allusion to {{w|Monty Python}}'s {{w|Spam (Monty Python)|"Spam"}} sketch, in which one of the many Spam-related menu items is "Spam, Spam, Spam, egg, and Spam".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| GND
| A ground pin
|-
| GND
| A second ground pin
|-
| GND
| A third ground pin
|-
| USB
| Apparently the only data pin in this connector.
|-
| GND
| A fourth ground pin. A real micro USB only has one ground pin.
|}

=== USB-C ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| +5V DC
| A common electronics supply voltage.
|-
| +3.3V DC
| Another common electronics supply voltage. This pin is not present on USB type C, mostly because the voltage is too low to supply useful levels of power at the current limit of the pins.
|-
| +120V AC
| Residential supply voltage in the United States; its use on an electronics connector would be very unusual, as it would burn out any unguarded transistor-logic electronics.
|-
| Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
| {{w|Solder}} is a metal alloy with a low melting temperature, used to bond electronic components together permanently. Making a connector pin out of it would likely result in the pin overheating and melting, thus bonding the connector to its receptacle, and thereby "trapping" the receptacle.
|-
| Mechanical
| All connectors include portions whose job is to ensure a solid connection between the cable and the port. This is typically not the job of the pins, however. In real USB type C connectors, this task is performed by the center tongue of the female connector.
|-
| +3.3eV/C
| {{w|Electron-volts}} per {{w|coulomb}} would be a very unusual unit to see in a pinout. It would be a unit of electric potential equivalent to approximately 1.60217662 * 10^-19 volts. There 3.3eV/C would be 5.287183 * 10^-19 volts, or slightly more than 1/2 attovolt. It could also be read as +3.3 eV/c (per {{w|speed of light}}), in which case it is equivalent to a momentum of 5.3E-28 kg m/s, In high-energy physics, the momentum of particles is sometimes expressed in MeV/c or GeV/c units.
|-
| Candlepin
| Randall is making a pun on the word ''pin'', which refers to a electrical connector pin as well as a thing to knock down in bowling. {{w|Candlepin bowling}} is a form of bowling.
|-
| Facebook use
| This would imply that Facebook had a hand in specifying USB type C, and had a pin dedicated to their use. This would be strange given Facebook's primary business is web technology and would have little need for a dedicated pin in the USB standard.
|-
| +5V (Positrons)
| {{w|Positron}}s are the antimatter counterparts to electrons. So this pin is supplying +5V, but does so by sourcing positrons into the device rather than sinking electrons out. NOTE: Positrons cannot be conducted through normal matter conductors as they would annihilate with the electrons.
|-
| Pin Roulette
| Presumably in the same vein as "Chat Roulette", this pin's purpose is not rigidly defined and is instead left to chance. According to the title text, this pin's counterpart on the other side of the connector is the "FireWire Tribute Pin", so this cable would only be truly rotationally symmetric (which is the whole point of the USB-C connector) when the pin roulette ball lands on that same function.
|-
| GND
| Ground pin. Typically denoted as "GND".
|-
| SKY
| Reference to the ground pin, which refers to the common grounding on the larger metal body. There is no corresponding "sky" pin, although sky is often thought as the opposite of ground.
|-
| FireWire Tribute Pin
| ''In Title text:'' {{w|FireWire}} is Apple's version of IEEE 1394 which is a 6 pin connector that has a ground pin a power pin and two pairs of data pins. It was something of a competitor to USB, and had faster data rates than USB 2.0, but is much less popular now. Presumably the writers of the USB-C standard (which far outpaces its data rates) wished to memorialize it somehow, although it's not clear how the pin actually works for that purpose.
|}

=== Coax ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| Pin
| An {{w|RF connector|coaxial RF connector}} has two contacts - one pin, and the shield; typically the whole connector is labeled with whatever function/signal is carried by the pair.
|}

==Transcript==

:[Caption at top]
:Pinouts
:Quick Reference Guide

:[Four common connectors are depicted - vertically, rather than the usual horizontal orientation.]

:[The first connector is a 19-pin HDMI connector.]
:[The nine pins on the left are labeled:]
:*Data
:*+5V
:*+6VI
:*+7VII
:*Antidata
:*Water
:*Vacuum
:*Amazon Copyright Pin
:*Decorative
:[The ten pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+3.3V DC
:*-3.3V DC
:*Tx
:*Wx
:*Rx Only
:*Unknown
:*+240V DC
:*5V AC
:*GND
:*Ground

:[The second connector is a 5-pin Micro USB connector.]
:[The five pins are labeled:]
:*GND
:*GND
:*GND
:*USB
:*GND

:[The third connector is a 24-pin USB-C connector, with only the right side labeled.]
:[The twelve pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+5V DC
:*+3.3V DC
:*+120V AC
:*Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
:*Mechanical
:*+3.3eV/C
:*Candlepin
:*Facebook Use
:*+5V (Positrons)
:*Pin Roulette
:*GND
:*SKY

:[The fourth and final connector is a 1-pin COAX connector.]
:[The one pin in the center is labeled:]
:*Pin

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Computers]]

2317: Pinouts

2020-06-09T04:01:10Z

162.158.63.124: Clarify language

{{comic
| number = 2317
| date = June 8, 2020
| title = Pinouts
| image = pinouts.png
| titletext = The other side of USB-C is rotationally symmetric except that the 3rd pin from the top is designated FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN. Should include a column for the actual purpose of the pin. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Electronics connecters are designed to transport both information and power. A {{w|pinout}} diagram describes the function of each pin such as to communicate data, transport power, physical function (keying), etc. In this comic there is an absurd alternative to the actual pins used in connectors.

The real life diagrams are as follows: [http://unitedtechnologies.com.pk/Nti/image/10ci.png HDMI], [https://www.arrow.com/en/research-and-events/articles/micro-connector-usb-pinout Micro USB], [https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-usb-type-c-which-pins-power-delivery-data-transfer/ USB-C].

=== HDMI ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation !! Pin No. !! Actual purpose
|-
| +3.3V DC
| 3.3V is a typical voltage in digital electronics. The "+" Indicates a
| 1
| TMDS Data2+
|-
| Data
| Most digital communications cables contain at least one wire that carries data. Typically there will be a more descriptive name if there are multiple data pins.
| 2
| TMDS Data2 Shield
|-
| -3.3V DC
| Negative voltages were used more frequently in the past, however modern systems typically generate any negative voltages they might require internally from the given positive voltages.
| 3
| TMDS Data2-
|-
| +5V
| Many actual pin configurations use +5 volts to supply power to a device. That's not what this means.
| 4
| TMDS Data1+
|-
| Tx
| "Tx" typically refers to pins used to transmit as opposed to "Rx"/receive
| 5
| TMDS Data1 Shield
|-
| +6VI
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VI represents the Roman numeral 6. (See Pin 4)
| 6
| TMDS Data1-
|-
| Wx
| "Wx" does not typically exist in the "Tx"/"Rx" scheme. In the weather forecasting community, Wx means "weather" .
| 7
| TMDS Data0+
|-
| +7VII
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VII represents the Roman numeral 7, continuing the pattern from above.
| 8
| TMDS Data0 Shield
|-
| Rx Only
| "Rx" typically refers to pins used to receive as opposed to "Tx"/transmit. In this case "Rx" is used as part of a pun on "Rx (prescription) only"
| 9
| TMDS Data0-
|-
| Antidata
| Some ports use differential signaling, where a signal and its inverse are sent over a pair of pins (e.g. D+ and D-). This mixes that practice with a humorous reference to the notion of matter versus antimatter. There is no such thing as antidata.
| 10
| TMDS Clock+
|-
| Unknown
| Occasionally extra pins will be included for future use; however they will typically be labeled "reserved" to point out that their usage is not yet defined. The use of "unknown" suggests that this pinout is based on an incomplete reverse-engineering of the HDMI format, instead of on the official and freely available documentation.
| 11
| TMDS Clock Shield
|-
| Water
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sources of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 12
| TMDS Clock-
|-
| +240V DC
| High voltage DC is not typically used in small communications connectors. It would need to be low current to avoid generating excess heat.
| 13
| CEC
|-
| Vacuum
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sorces of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 14
| Reserved (1.0-1.3a), Utility (1.4+, optional)
|-
| 5V AC
| Pins often supply low voltage direct current to devices. This pin supplies 5V alternating current, which is not typically supplied.
| 15
| SCL (I²C serial clock for DDC)
|-
| Amazon Copyright Pin
| HDMI can optionally be protected by a digital rights management (DRM) scheme, known as HDCP. This pin humorously implies the presence of a different DRM scheme specific to Amazon.com, as well as poking fun at the fact that copyright is an explicit part of the HDMI protocol (although it is not assigned to a specific pin).
| 16
| SDA (I²C serial data for DDC)
|-
| GND
| GND typically refers to "ground" on pinout diagrams. Remarkably, this is correct.
| 17
| DDC/CEC Ground
|-
| Decorative
| Decorative elements are pieces of an assembly that serve only an aesthetic purpose without any technical function. This would not be particularly useful inside a connector, as almost no one will ever see it--however, in HDMI, pin 14 was reserved for future use in versions 1.0–1.3a (and was only assigned an official use in 1.4).
| 18
| +5V
|-
| Ground
| Compared to Pin 17 ("GND"), this appears to be the same ground pin. However, the presence of both GND and Ground seems to imply that GND represents something other than the standard "ground" pin, unless it is this one that supplies something like soil (like [[1293|soup]]). Some systems have different grounds for analog and digital sections, but they would typically be disambiguated by terms like AGND.
| 19
| Hot Plug Detect
|}

HDMI uses four pairs of shielded twisted-pair connectors, along with seven other connectors. (Twisted-pair means a wire is wrapped with the other wire that returns the current to the original device, thus minimizing electromagnetic noise. Shielding refers to wrapping a cable with a conductor to absorb the energy of noise.) Three of these pairs are for data (TMDS Data0, Data1, and Data2) and the other is a clock. These pairs take up three pins as one of them is a ground pin for the shielding wrapped around each pair. TMDS stands for "{{w|Transition-minimized Differential Signaling}}" and is also used in the DVI standard.

DDC stands for "Display Data Channel" and is based on the {{w|I²C}} serial standard. It is used to allow the transmitting device to learn what formats of data the receiving device can accept.

CEC stands for "Consumer Electronics Control" and is supposed to allow a single remote control to control multiple devices.

"Hot Plug Detect" refers to hot-plugging, where a cable is connected to a device already turned on. The device should then ideally detect that the cable has been plugged in and respond appropriately.

=== Micro USB ===

A ground pin is commonly found on USB and other pin connectors. At least one ground is necessary to complete the circuit, and some cables use multiple ground lines to distribute current or to support {{w|twisted pair}}s. However, there is no purpose served by having many more ground pins than data pins. Therefore, it seems rather silly for the micro USB to have 4 ground pins and only 1 functional "USB" pin. It also does not give much information about what the "USB" pin would do, as opposed to a standard pinout diagram. This diagram also leaves out the +5V power pin that is present in the real micro USB connector, which would render most USB peripherals unable to function.

The ordering and count of the pins may be an allusion to {{w|Monty Python}}'s {{w|Spam (Monty Python)|"Spam"}} sketch, in which one of the many Spam-related menu items is "Spam, Spam, Spam, egg, and Spam".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| GND
| A ground pin
|-
| GND
| A second ground pin
|-
| GND
| A third ground pin
|-
| USB
| Apparently the only data pin in this connector.
|-
| GND
| A fourth ground pin. A real micro USB only has one ground pin.
|}

=== USB-C ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| +5V DC
| A common electronics supply voltage.
|-
| +3.3V DC
| Another common electronics supply voltage. This pin is not present on USB type C, mostly because the voltage is too low to supply useful levels of power at the current limit of the pins.
|-
| +120V AC
| Residential supply voltage in the United States; its use on an electronics connector would be very unusual, as it would burn out any unguarded transistor-logic electronics.
|-
| Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
| {{w|Solder}} is a metal alloy with a low melting temperature, used to bond electronic components together permanently. Making a connector pin out of it would likely result in the pin overheating and melting, thus bonding the connector to its receptacle, and thereby "trapping" the receptacle.
|-
| Mechanical
| All connectors include portions whose job is to ensure a solid connection between the cable and the port. This is typically not the job of the pins, however. In real USB type C connectors, this task is performed by the center tongue of the female connector.
|-
| +3.3eV/C
| {{w|Electron-volts}} per {{w|coulomb}} would be a very unusual unit to see in a pinout. It would be a unit of electric potential equivalent to approximately 1.60217662 * 10^-19 volts. There 3.3eV/C would be 5.287183 * 10^-19 volts, or slightly more than 1/2 attovolt. It could also be read as +3.3 eV/c (per {{w|speed of light}}), in which case it is equivalent to a momentum of 5.3E-28 kg m/s, In high-energy physics, the momentum of particles is sometimes expressed in MeV/c or GeV/c units.
|-
| Candlepin
| Randall is making a pun on the word ''pin'', which refers to a electrical connector pin as well as a thing to knock down in bowling. {{w|Candlepin bowling}} is a form of bowling.
|-
| Facebook use
| This would imply that Facebook had a hand in specifying USB type C, and had a pin dedicated to their use. This would be strange given Facebook's primary business is web technology and would have little need for a dedicated pin in the USB standard.
|-
| +5V (Positrons)
| {{w|Positron}}s are the antimatter counterparts to electrons. So this pin is supplying +5V, but does so by sourcing positrons into the device rather than sinking electrons out. NOTE: Positrons cannot be conducted through normal matter conductors as they would annihilate with the electrons.
|-
| Pin Roulette
| Presumably in the same vein as "Chat Roulette", this pin's purpose is not rigidly defined and is instead left to chance. According to the title text, this pin's counterpart on the other side of the connector is the "FireWire Tribute Pin", so this cable would only be truly rotationally symmetric (which is the whole point of the USB-C connector) when the pin roulette ball lands on that same function.
|-
| GND
| Ground pin. Typically denoted as "GND".
|-
| SKY
| Reference to the ground pin, which refers to the common grounding on the larger metal body. There is no corresponding "sky" pin, although sky is often thought as the opposite of ground.
|-
| FireWire Tribute Pin
| ''In Title text:'' {{w|FireWire}} is Apple's version of IEEE 1394 which is a 6 pin connector that has a ground pin a power pin and two pairs of data pins. It was something of a competitor to USB, and had faster data rates than USB 2.0, but is much less popular now. Presumably the writers of the USB-C standard (which far outpaces its data rates) wished to memorialize it somehow, although it's not clear how the pin actually works for that purpose.
|}

=== Coax ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| Pin
| An {{w|RF connector|coaxial RF connector}} has two contacts - one pin, and the shield; typically the whole connector is labeled with whatever function/signal is carried by the pair.
|}

==Transcript==

:[Caption at top]
:Pinouts
:Quick Reference Guide

:[Four common connectors are depicted - vertically, rather than the usual horizontal orientation.]

:[The first connector is a 19-pin HDMI connector.]
:[The nine pins on the left are labeled:]
:*Data
:*+5V
:*+6VI
:*+7VII
:*Antidata
:*Water
:*Vacuum
:*Amazon Copyright Pin
:*Decorative
:[The ten pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+3.3V DC
:*-3.3V DC
:*Tx
:*Wx
:*Rx Only
:*Unknown
:*+240V DC
:*5V AC
:*GND
:*Ground

:[The second connector is a 5-pin Micro USB connector.]
:[The five pins are labeled:]
:*GND
:*GND
:*GND
:*USB
:*GND

:[The third connector is a 24-pin USB-C connector, with only the right side labeled.]
:[The twelve pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+5V DC
:*+3.3V DC
:*+120V AC
:*Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
:*Mechanical
:*+3.3eV/C
:*Candlepin
:*Facebook Use
:*+5V (Positrons)
:*Pin Roulette
:*GND
:*SKY

:[The fourth and final connector is a 1-pin COAX connector.]
:[The one pin in the center is labeled:]
:*Pin

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Computers]]

2317: Pinouts

2020-06-09T03:59:31Z

162.158.63.124: Note the connection between "unknown" and reverse-engineering

{{comic
| number = 2317
| date = June 8, 2020
| title = Pinouts
| image = pinouts.png
| titletext = The other side of USB-C is rotationally symmetric except that the 3rd pin from the top is designated FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FIREWIRE TRIBUTE PIN. Should include a column for the actual purpose of the pin. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Electronics connecters are designed to transport both information and power. A {{w|pinout}} diagram describes the function of each pin such as to communicate data, transport power, physical function (keying), etc. In this comic there is an absurd alternative to the actual pins used in connectors.

The real life diagrams are as follows: [http://unitedtechnologies.com.pk/Nti/image/10ci.png HDMI], [https://www.arrow.com/en/research-and-events/articles/micro-connector-usb-pinout Micro USB], [https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-usb-type-c-which-pins-power-delivery-data-transfer/ USB-C].

=== HDMI ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation !! Pin No. !! Actual purpose
|-
| +3.3V DC
| 3.3V is a typical voltage in digital electronics. The "+" Indicates a
| 1
| TMDS Data2+
|-
| Data
| Most digital communications cables contain at least one wire that carries data. Typically there will be a more descriptive name if there are multiple data pins.
| 2
| TMDS Data2 Shield
|-
| -3.3V DC
| Negative voltages were used more frequently in the past, however modern systems typically generate any negative voltages they might require internally from the given positive voltages.
| 3
| TMDS Data2-
|-
| +5V
| Many actual pin configurations use +5 volts to supply power to a device. That's not what this means.
| 4
| TMDS Data1+
|-
| Tx
| "Tx" typically refers to pins used to transmit as opposed to "Rx"/receive
| 5
| TMDS Data1 Shield
|-
| +6VI
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VI represents the Roman numeral 6. (See Pin 4)
| 6
| TMDS Data1-
|-
| Wx
| "Wx" does not typically exist in the "Tx"/"Rx" scheme. In the weather forecasting community, Wx means "weather" .
| 7
| TMDS Data0+
|-
| +7VII
| V is usually used to represent volts, but here, VII represents the Roman numeral 7, continuing the pattern from above.
| 8
| TMDS Data0 Shield
|-
| Rx Only
| "Rx" typically refers to pins used to receive as opposed to "Tx"/transmit. In this case "Rx" is used as part of a pun on "Rx (prescription) only"
| 9
| TMDS Data0-
|-
| Antidata
| Some ports use differential signaling, where a signal and its inverse are sent over a pair of pins (e.g. D+ and D-). This mixes that practice with a humorous reference to the notion of matter versus antimatter. There is no such thing as antidata.
| 10
| TMDS Clock+
|-
| Unknown
| Occasionally extra pins will be included for future use, however they will typically be labeled "reserved" to point out that their usage is not yet defined. The use of "unknown" suggests that the pinout is based on an incomplete reverse-engineering of the HDMI format, instead of on the official and freely available documentation.
| 11
| TMDS Clock Shield
|-
| Water
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sources of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 12
| TMDS Clock-
|-
| +240V DC
| High voltage DC is not typically used in small communications connectors. It would need to be low current to avoid generating excess heat.
| 13
| CEC
|-
| Vacuum
| Labs often have ports connecting to common sorces of various supplies (oxygen, water, fuel, vacuum).
| 14
| Reserved (1.0-1.3a), Utility (1.4+, optional)
|-
| 5V AC
| Pins often supply low voltage direct current to devices. This pin supplies 5V alternating current, which is not typically supplied.
| 15
| SCL (I²C serial clock for DDC)
|-
| Amazon Copyright Pin
| HDMI can optionally be protected by a digital rights management (DRM) scheme, known as HDCP. This pin humorously implies the presence of a different DRM scheme specific to Amazon.com, as well as poking fun at the fact that copyright is an explicit part of the HDMI protocol (although it is not assigned to a specific pin).
| 16
| SDA (I²C serial data for DDC)
|-
| GND
| GND typically refers to "ground" on pinout diagrams. Remarkably, this is correct.
| 17
| DDC/CEC Ground
|-
| Decorative
| Decorative elements are pieces of an assembly that serve only an aesthetic purpose without any technical function. This would not be particularly useful inside a connector, as almost no one will ever see it--however, in HDMI, pin 14 was reserved for future use in versions 1.0–1.3a (and was only assigned an official use in 1.4).
| 18
| +5V
|-
| Ground
| Compared to Pin 17 ("GND"), this appears to be the same ground pin. However, the presence of both GND and Ground seems to imply that GND represents something other than the standard "ground" pin, unless it is this one that supplies something like soil (like [[1293|soup]]). Some systems have different grounds for analog and digital sections, but they would typically be disambiguated by terms like AGND.
| 19
| Hot Plug Detect
|}

HDMI uses four pairs of shielded twisted-pair connectors, along with seven other connectors. (Twisted-pair means a wire is wrapped with the other wire that returns the current to the original device, thus minimizing electromagnetic noise. Shielding refers to wrapping a cable with a conductor to absorb the energy of noise.) Three of these pairs are for data (TMDS Data0, Data1, and Data2) and the other is a clock. These pairs take up three pins as one of them is a ground pin for the shielding wrapped around each pair. TMDS stands for "{{w|Transition-minimized Differential Signaling}}" and is also used in the DVI standard.

DDC stands for "Display Data Channel" and is based on the {{w|I²C}} serial standard. It is used to allow the transmitting device to learn what formats of data the receiving device can accept.

CEC stands for "Consumer Electronics Control" and is supposed to allow a single remote control to control multiple devices.

"Hot Plug Detect" refers to hot-plugging, where a cable is connected to a device already turned on. The device should then ideally detect that the cable has been plugged in and respond appropriately.

=== Micro USB ===

A ground pin is commonly found on USB and other pin connectors. At least one ground is necessary to complete the circuit, and some cables use multiple ground lines to distribute current or to support {{w|twisted pair}}s. However, there is no purpose served by having many more ground pins than data pins. Therefore, it seems rather silly for the micro USB to have 4 ground pins and only 1 functional "USB" pin. It also does not give much information about what the "USB" pin would do, as opposed to a standard pinout diagram. This diagram also leaves out the +5V power pin that is present in the real micro USB connector, which would render most USB peripherals unable to function.

The ordering and count of the pins may be an allusion to {{w|Monty Python}}'s {{w|Spam (Monty Python)|"Spam"}} sketch, in which one of the many Spam-related menu items is "Spam, Spam, Spam, egg, and Spam".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| GND
| A ground pin
|-
| GND
| A second ground pin
|-
| GND
| A third ground pin
|-
| USB
| Apparently the only data pin in this connector.
|-
| GND
| A fourth ground pin. A real micro USB only has one ground pin.
|}

=== USB-C ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| +5V DC
| A common electronics supply voltage.
|-
| +3.3V DC
| Another common electronics supply voltage. This pin is not present on USB type C, mostly because the voltage is too low to supply useful levels of power at the current limit of the pins.
|-
| +120V AC
| Residential supply voltage in the United States; its use on an electronics connector would be very unusual, as it would burn out any unguarded transistor-logic electronics.
|-
| Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
| {{w|Solder}} is a metal alloy with a low melting temperature, used to bond electronic components together permanently. Making a connector pin out of it would likely result in the pin overheating and melting, thus bonding the connector to its receptacle, and thereby "trapping" the receptacle.
|-
| Mechanical
| All connectors include portions whose job is to ensure a solid connection between the cable and the port. This is typically not the job of the pins, however. In real USB type C connectors, this task is performed by the center tongue of the female connector.
|-
| +3.3eV/C
| {{w|Electron-volts}} per {{w|coulomb}} would be a very unusual unit to see in a pinout. It would be a unit of electric potential equivalent to approximately 1.60217662 * 10^-19 volts. There 3.3eV/C would be 5.287183 * 10^-19 volts, or slightly more than 1/2 attovolt. It could also be read as +3.3 eV/c (per {{w|speed of light}}), in which case it is equivalent to a momentum of 5.3E-28 kg m/s, In high-energy physics, the momentum of particles is sometimes expressed in MeV/c or GeV/c units.
|-
| Candlepin
| Randall is making a pun on the word ''pin'', which refers to a electrical connector pin as well as a thing to knock down in bowling. {{w|Candlepin bowling}} is a form of bowling.
|-
| Facebook use
| This would imply that Facebook had a hand in specifying USB type C, and had a pin dedicated to their use. This would be strange given Facebook's primary business is web technology and would have little need for a dedicated pin in the USB standard.
|-
| +5V (Positrons)
| {{w|Positron}}s are the antimatter counterparts to electrons. So this pin is supplying +5V, but does so by sourcing positrons into the device rather than sinking electrons out. NOTE: Positrons cannot be conducted through normal matter conductors as they would annihilate with the electrons.
|-
| Pin Roulette
| Presumably in the same vein as "Chat Roulette", this pin's purpose is not rigidly defined and is instead left to chance. According to the title text, this pin's counterpart on the other side of the connector is the "FireWire Tribute Pin", so this cable would only be truly rotationally symmetric (which is the whole point of the USB-C connector) when the pin roulette ball lands on that same function.
|-
| GND
| Ground pin. Typically denoted as "GND".
|-
| SKY
| Reference to the ground pin, which refers to the common grounding on the larger metal body. There is no corresponding "sky" pin, although sky is often thought as the opposite of ground.
|-
| FireWire Tribute Pin
| ''In Title text:'' {{w|FireWire}} is Apple's version of IEEE 1394 which is a 6 pin connector that has a ground pin a power pin and two pairs of data pins. It was something of a competitor to USB, and had faster data rates than USB 2.0, but is much less popular now. Presumably the writers of the USB-C standard (which far outpaces its data rates) wished to memorialize it somehow, although it's not clear how the pin actually works for that purpose.
|}

=== Coax ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Label !! Explanation
|-
| Pin
| An {{w|RF connector|coaxial RF connector}} has two contacts - one pin, and the shield; typically the whole connector is labeled with whatever function/signal is carried by the pair.
|}

==Transcript==

:[Caption at top]
:Pinouts
:Quick Reference Guide

:[Four common connectors are depicted - vertically, rather than the usual horizontal orientation.]

:[The first connector is a 19-pin HDMI connector.]
:[The nine pins on the left are labeled:]
:*Data
:*+5V
:*+6VI
:*+7VII
:*Antidata
:*Water
:*Vacuum
:*Amazon Copyright Pin
:*Decorative
:[The ten pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+3.3V DC
:*-3.3V DC
:*Tx
:*Wx
:*Rx Only
:*Unknown
:*+240V DC
:*5V AC
:*GND
:*Ground

:[The second connector is a 5-pin Micro USB connector.]
:[The five pins are labeled:]
:*GND
:*GND
:*GND
:*USB
:*GND

:[The third connector is a 24-pin USB-C connector, with only the right side labeled.]
:[The twelve pins on the right are labeled:]
:*+5V DC
:*+3.3V DC
:*+120V AC
:*Boobytrap Pin (Pure Solder)
:*Mechanical
:*+3.3eV/C
:*Candlepin
:*Facebook Use
:*+5V (Positrons)
:*Pin Roulette
:*GND
:*SKY

:[The fourth and final connector is a 1-pin COAX connector.]
:[The one pin in the center is labeled:]
:*Pin

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Computers]]

2242: Ground vs Air

2019-12-17T01:34:40Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2242
| date = December 16, 2019
| title = Ground vs Air
| image = ground vs air.png
| titletext = Water is thinner than both, and fire is *definitely* thicker.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a THICK FIRE. Needs a title text explanation and more about the actual data portrayed}}

This is a map, comparing the thickness of the ground, apparently referring to the lithosphere, and the thickness of the atmosphere.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

2236: Is it Christmas?

2019-12-05T01:25:39Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2236
| date = December 2, 2019
| title = Is it Christmas?
| image = is_it_christmas.png
| titletext = We've tested it on 30 different days and it hasn't gotten one wrong yet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Should probably wait for Christmas to see if the comic changes or not}}
https://isitchristmas.com/ is a popular simplistic website that informs the visitor whether or not it's {{w|Christmas}} as celebrated by Western Christian churches. Christmas is a holiday observed in the US (and some other countries, mostly those in the Americas, western Europe, and Africa) on December 25 of each year. At the top on the tab of the site in the browser it says "Is it Christmas?" with a large '''NO''' printed if it is not December 25, and a '''YES''' if it is December 25. This website does a check on the computer's current date, and updates accordingly if it is indeed Christmas. In addition, isitchristmas.com gives the answer in the language of your region (i.e. for a visitor from Canada, the site gives the answer in English and French to account for Canada's bilingularity, and in most other countries just their word for No will be shown). Since the page uses the computer's time setting, it is possible to easily check that the page works by changing the date on the computer used to access the page to see the text change to Yes (or No if you are reading it on December 25). This also means that the page is only as correct as the time setting on the computer used to view the page.

Here [[Randall]] spoofs the website. He claims to have made a competitor to isitchristmas.com which nearly always correctly tells if it is Christmas. The joke is, that the comic will always display a static image reading '''NO''', even on Christmas Day, and that the rare incorrect answer is rare enough to not cause any concern.

Randall lists a rounded calculation of 99.73% for the precision of his prediction of whether or not it is Christmas. This number is accurate with or without including leap year. An average year is 365.25 days, meaning that he is only wrong 1 out of 365.25 days. So only 1/365.25 = 0.2737% of the days would the prediction be wrong, resulting in a correct reply rate of 99.726%, which he has rounded to 99.73%. Using or not using the leap year will give the same result to three decimal places.

Although Randall's claim on {{w|Accuracy and precision#In binary classification|accuracy}} is true, accuracy alone doesn't make a predictive device useful. In this case, the page {{w|False positives and false_negatives#false negative rate|miss rate}} or false negative rate, that is, the percent of positive condition days (it's Christmas) that are predicted by the comic not to be Christmas, is 100%. In other words, it misses all actual events of Christmas.

When building a model for rare events, a common mistake is to ignore the implicit cost function built into the standard prediction accuracy validity statistic for binary events. Prediction accuracy (# correct guesses/total guesses) assumes that false positives and false negatives are equally bad. Given the implicit cost function of this performance statistic, the best-performing model is commonly a persistence forecast model--ie, the optimal prediction model returns the most common value whatever the model inputs are. It's probably a better choice to optimize a model using a performance statistic which relies on a cost function that penalizes missing correct prediction of rare events more than it penalizes missing correct prediction of common events.

In fact, in most settings where a single outcome is a lot more common than any other one, predicting always that most common outcome would yield very high accuracy without any usefulness. It isn't hard to find examples even more accurate than Randall's:

* A useless test for AIDS giving always negative results would have an accuracy about 99.95% when applied to a random human, and even more if used in countries with low prevalence of AIDS.
* A website saying "You are not the cartoonist Randall Munroe" would be right for 99.9999999857% of humans.
* [https://knowyourphrase.com/even-a-broken-clock-is-right-twice A stopped watch is accurate twice a day] while a running watch is almost never accurate (and oddly, is more frequently correct the faster/slower it runs).

The title text is a "proof" that his service works. He claims to have tested this on 30 different days and confirmed that NO is the correct result. Any date except Christmas would result in a correct result, and the comic was the first to be released in December 2019, so unless the test had run for almost a year, he would not even have had a chance to test this on Christmas Day. Since this is a joke, the comic will of course not change to Yes on Christmas Day, because then it would be 100% accurate, as is the page the comic mocks.

Being right on most days, but not the one that mattered was also the subject of [[937: TornadoGuard]].

==Transcript==
:[A large square white panel with one large word in the middle, plus a footnote:]
:'''<big><big><big>No*</big></big></big>'''
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>99.73% accurate

:[Caption below the panel:]
:xkcd.com presents a new "Is It Christmas" service to compete with isitchristmas.com

==Trivia==
*Randall usually makes [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comics]] around Christmas Day, but this year he has made two comics mentioning Christmas already by the 2nd of December 2019.
**The first came two comics before this with [[2234: How To Deliver Christmas Presents]].
**Only two times before has there been released any Christmas related comics so close to Christmas without being released in the few days around Christmas Day (22-26 of December). See the explanation for Christmas comics.
*The calendar used by most of the world for civil purposes is the Gregorian calendar, instituted by Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1582. However, most Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the Julian calendar for the purpose of their holidays; December 25th in the Julian calendar is January 7th in the Gregorian calendar for years between 1900 and 2100, so that is the civil date when those countries observe Christmas. The author of isitchristmas.com is [https://github.com/isitchristmas/web/issues/67#issuecomment-29585160 aware that this is the case], but has chosen to recognize a single date (December 25th in the Gregorian calendar) as Christmas for the sake of simplicity.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Christmas]]

Talk:1683: Digital Data

2019-10-12T01:25:05Z

162.158.63.124: Noted current messing up of xkcd archive

Ewww, Verizon? **** them [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 04:58, 20 May 2016 (UTC)
::Don't forget the whole "Verizon Math" incident and Randall's much passed around check image. I'd be surprised if it isn't on 9GAG somewhere.... [[User:Psu256|Psu256]] ([[User talk:Psu256|talk]]) 17:12, 23 May 2016 (UTC)
:: https://xkcd.com/verizon/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 02:30, 15 July 2017 (UTC)

Ironically, the title text on explainxkcd is different from the one on xkcd.com, demonstrating the reinterpretation of text encoded in UTF-8 as if it were encoded in ISO 8859-1. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.231|162.158.85.231]] 05:45, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

-Exactly; this nicely proves Randall's point. On my computer, different characters appear in different browsers, but of course in one browser the characters are reproducible.--[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 07:26, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Here is the decoded title text:
“If you can read this, congratulations–the archive youʼre you're using still knows about the mouseover text”!
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.16|108.162.229.16]] 07:51, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

:Grungy details:
:*â€œ -> ''convert to hex'' -> E2-80-9C -> ''UTF8 decode'' -> 0010-000000-011100 -> [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/201C/index.htm U-201C "LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK"]
:*â€” -> ''convert to hex'' -> E2-80-94 -> ''UTF8 decode'' -> 0010-000000-010100 -> [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2014/index.htm U-2014 "EM DASH"]
:*â€™ -> ''convert to hex'' -> E2-80-99 -> ''UTF8 decode'' -> 0010-000000-011001 -> [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2019/index.htm U-2019 "RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK"]
:*â€! -> ''convert to hex'' -> E2-80-9D -> ''UTF8 decode'' -> 0010-000000-011101 -> [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/201d/index.htm U-201D "RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK"]
:[[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 17:31, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

::The ''convert to hex'' step is really ''encode with Windows-1252''. Also, in the last sequence, the "!" is not part of the encoded quotation mark. The third byte of the quotation mark comes from an unprintable U-009D between the "â€" and the "!". U-009D isn't a valid Windows-1252 character, so either the encoding is actually a superset of Windows-1252 that includes U-009D, or the encoding process just allowed it.
:: [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.103|162.158.255.103]] 17:26, 21 May 2016 (UTC)

He's written you're twice, but one is with a curly apostrophe, often favoured by americans (and maybe brits?), possible because of their keyboard. The simple apostrophe is “just” html-formatted, whereas the curly one has been molested by a UTF-8 / ISO-8859-1 misreading.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.16|108.162.229.16]] 07:51, 20 May 2016 (UTC)
: I'm British, and I don't have the curly apostrophe anywhere on my keyboard. [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 11:01, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

: I'm American, and I also don't have the curly apostrophe anywhere on my keyboard, but word processing programs (like MS-Word) are configured by default to automatically replace an ASCII apostrophe in a conjunction with the fancy right-single-quote mark. Also when using quotation marks around text those programs automatically replace the repeated single ASCII quotation marks with the fancy left and right quotation marks (single if using single quotes, double if using double quotes). Most people don't care enough to disable that "feature"... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.143|162.158.252.143]] 15:13, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

:: Ok. I've never experienced that from any text processor (incl. MS Word), so maybe it's dependant on the system locale or another mysterious factor. I've just noticed a prevalence in english language texts online, but an absence in other european languages. Not even french, which has as many or more contractions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.16|108.162.229.16]] 08:11 21 May 2016 (UTC)

This is a phenomenon that has always both fascinated me and frustrated me. I find it fascinating how, even today, data degrades as more and more people copy it (remember the old days when people used to copy VHS tapes, and the further you were from the original tape the more copying artefacts your copy had in it?). It also frustrates me, though, when I'm trying to find an original, undegraded image or video and it seems impossible to find. It's also annoying because it's actually pretty easy to copy something without causing any quality loss, yet practically every copied image on the internet has been degraded in some way or another. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 07:08, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

:If you haven't yet, you should check out this guy who ripped and reuploaded his own Youtube video 1000 times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEIzS_27Vt0 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.150|162.158.222.150]] 08:28, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

::...and after 100 iterations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6GMvihskBQ ...and the summary of all of them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icruGcSsPp0 [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 16:50, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

:It can be frustrating to try to convince new people drawing schematics on the computer to not use 4-way junctions because they don't expect digital images to degrade over multiple generations of copying. This xkcd demonstrates the way multiple generations can degrade even digital images, potentially making it difficult to differentiate two crossing (but electrically separate) signal lines from a 4-way junction on a schematic. Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now. ;-) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.143|162.158.252.143]] 15:13, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

It's also funny because just a few moments ago I was trying to compress some video to send to someone. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 07:12, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

http://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=274fcf46426f2da31b057f1652ae5269cfdbd70a.190103 this page highlights the encoding blocks so that the degration of quality can be seen better. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.205|141.101.91.205]] 09:42, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

:Nice example. Their picture is already a bad copy. While it's still a PNG, it's already reduced in size (600x228 instead of 720x282, 131381 byte instead of 190103). Btw. the file used in this wiki is also slightly different from what I see on xkcd. It's just 3 minutes older and 308 bytes larger. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.48|162.158.83.48]] 01:28, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

The phenomenon that Randall is making fun of in this comic is actually called a "shitpic" http://www.theawl.com/2014/12/the-triumphant-rise-of-the-shitpic The explanation should probably make reference to that. [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:57, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

I think the watermarks on the last frame are from an unregistered screenshot tool, not "9gag" or similar. The references to shit pics are interesting, but aren't you over interpreting the whole thing? {{unsigned ip|162.158.83.174}}
: ...You realise that over-interpreting is what this wiki is ''for'', right? Also, not really, since all I said was that a "shitpic" is what this type of degraded image is called. [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 15:03, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

There's a 9gag thing in the image, clean your glasses and look again. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.46|173.245.54.46]] 12:15, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Both screenshots from iOS definitely. Safari browser and… anybody knows? Some kind of other web browser? Maybe Chrome or Opera? <Need to finally create account> [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.152|162.158.202.152]] 15:32, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Apparently Russians have been getting this a lot, as they (up to the point of the existence of UNICODE) have had to deal a lot with people using bad codepages. Example of their post office dealing with a physical package addressed with a bad codepage: http://worldlanguages.wikia.com/wiki/Mojibake?file=Letter_to_Russia_with_krokozyabry.jpg [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 16:54, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Here is the progression as I see it:
*Frame 1 - The original PNG
*Frame 2 - The PNG converted to a JPEG
*Frame 3 - The JPEG as viewed on a mobile browser (Safari on iOS in this case)
*Frame 4 - A screen-shot of the mobile browser uploaded to Tumblr and then stolen by 9GAG
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.62|173.245.52.62]] 19:37, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Note that while the term "digital" is new, first digital format of information appeared long ago, with the development of standard alphabet. Images hand-drawn on paper can't be copied without loss, but if you write letters in fixed alphabet, it can be copied without errors forever (not counting errors caused by some letters getting out of use through history). Egyptian literature is probably lost due to us not knowing the (very big) full set of hieroglyphs, but [https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/%CE%9F%CE%B4%CF%8D%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1/%CE%B1 Odyssey] could (and hopefully even was) be stored exactly how it was written. Wouldn't help read it, of course, language changed since then and it would need to be translated which, again, can lose some meaning ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 16:16, 21 May 2016 (UTC)

There's a much much older example. RNA and subsequently DNA are digital representations of the protein structures (also digital representations of 3-D molecular shapes). Degradation through copying is 1 source of variation which evolution selects over.[[User:MerlinMM|MerlinMM]] ([[User talk:MerlinMM|talk]]) 11:28, 23 May 2016 (UTC)
:Right. Humans were using digital data for their own reproduction long before they knew what "digital", "data" or even just "letter" is. DNA even uses primitive error correction techniques. Although when humans finally found out about RNA being digital, they already had other digital formats. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:21, 15 July 2017 (UTC)
::There's nothing primitive at all about DNA error correction techniques, just some people's understanding of them. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 02:35, 15 July 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible that the watermark in the bottom left of the last panel is supposed to read "drama.tumblr.com"?
--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.67|173.245.52.67]] 20:42, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

The alt text has been fixed, the second "You're" has been removed. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.80}}

The phenomenon is related to {{w|Generation loss}} --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 14:50, 27 May 2016 (UTC)

Btw, does anybody know a digital archive that actually "knows about the title-text"? {{unsigned ip|162.158.17.66}}

;Source image updating?

If you look at the comic on the website, the first couple of frames are much more "decayed" than they are on the wiki copy. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 01:47, 19 December 2016 (UTC)
: The source image has definitely been changed. [http:////imgs.xkcd.com/comics/digital_data.png Here's] the original image, and [http:////imgs.xkcd.com/comics/digital_data_2x.png here's] the new one. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.190|162.158.59.190]] 01:13, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
:: Ok, this is weird - earlier today (2018-12-21), I was seeing the low-res version. But this evening, I'm seeing the high-res version. In between, I had linked it from reddit, maybe it switches based on popularity? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.95|172.68.132.95]] 07:23, 22 December 2018 (UTC)
:::I don't think so? I just saw the original comic after it was linked from reddit, still the degraded version. It was actually how I found about the degrading image. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 11:58, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
::::Getting worser [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.196|172.69.69.196]] 04:49, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Ironically, the special characters across xkcd.com appear to be messed up in a the same way the title text of this comic references--including the title text of this comic itself. It now reads, "Ã¢â‚¬Å“If you can read this, congratulationsÃ¢â‚¬â€the archive youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re using still knows about the mouseover textÃ¢â‚¬Â!"
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 01:25, 12 October 2019 (UTC)

Talk:1335: Now

2019-06-16T01:55:16Z

162.158.63.124: Suggest iphone app

[http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now.png| Link to comic] Link has been fixed. Was pointing to an incorrect url. 14:21, 5 October 2014 (UTC)
This doesn't work. Maybe if we added *.xkcd.com/* to the (external) image whitelist or something? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.121|108.162.231.121]] 07:27, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
:A fine suggestion. I'm probably going to shoot for full archival like we did with [[time]], but this is an ample good solution in the meantime. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:30, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
:Hold on, having wee issues, will resolve soon. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:37, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Here is a scaled animation of every image. The full size version was too big for me to upload.
[[User:Ti84p|Ti84p]] ([[User talk:Ti84p|talk]]) 07:47, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
:(Removed the broken link mentioned here above --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:43, 17 May 2015 (UTC))

For Australia and New Zealand, at least, the clock shows local time with summer time factored in. I bet that it undergoes some changes in March and April as various jurisdictions go on or off daylight saving. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.224|108.162.249.224]] 09:20, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

: Good point! I added this to the explanation. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 13:15, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

:: There's also British Summer Time and all the ''other'' national seasonal adjustments(1)... could you perhaps de-specify the "move the list of North American cities and regions for Daylight-Saving Time (which is the same thing as Summer Time)" statement to remove the inadvertent US-centrism? Maybe "...of northern-latitudes cities for Daylight-Saving Time or equivalent Summer Time designation"..? (Definitely could be better phrased than I just put, though.)
:: (1) Note, they don't even all switch at the same time, necessarily. If Randall is going to change the basic map template (pre-rotation) for any Summer/non-Summer transition, he's probably going to have to do it multiple times each spring/autumn, as various regions jiggle about. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.41|141.101.99.41]] 13:52, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

::: Exactly, they don't all switch at the same time. North America isn't mentioned to be US-centric, it's mentioned because the change happens there first. Sure, we could bring up BST and all the rest, but there's no need to make the discussion longer than necessary. (The original wording also was not US-centric, privileging the non-US term "Summer Time" that's used where it's currently being observed, but somebody changed that.) —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 18:14, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
::::I made that change just to use the same title as the Wikipedia page to which we are linking. I don't feel strongly about it. --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 18:46, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

As for the map itself, I think the title text should provide the exact time for the location under the cursor, by doing calculations for the mouseover event and updating the t.t. accordingly. I imagine it is doable for Randall. For accuracy's sake, the Antarctic region could be excluded. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.225|141.101.89.225]] 12:19, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
: Or maybe someone'll fancy doing it as a userscript. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.225|141.101.89.225]] 12:23, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

I made a version that the user can rotate themselves. It only loads a single image. http://c0la.s3.amazonaws.com/xkcd1335.html {{unsigned ip|173.245.53.182}}

The gif image is very good to understand this comic. However it would be very nice if it rotated a little slower. Instead of one turn every ten seconds it could be one every minute. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 14:37, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

: When I look a little off-centre, it always seems that South America is about to catch up with Antarctica, but it never does! —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 18:14, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

He used an Azimuthal equidistant projection?!?!? ;_; [[User:Swhouseworth|Swhouseworth]] ([[User talk:Swhouseworth|talk]]) 16:20, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

: Yeah, should have been equal area! —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 18:14, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

:: On the Transcript for this comic the last line erroneously describes the innermost circle as "the Earth as seen from the south pole", when as Swhouseworth correctly points out, this is an Azimuthal equidistant projection centered on the south pole. —[[User:Andrewpost|Andrewpost]] ([[User talk:Andrewpost|talk]]) 14:43, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

Question: If there are 24 Hours in a day, why in the description does it go from hour 0 to hour 21? That's only 22 hours. Where are the other 2 hours? Even if it isn't listed on the comic (I think it's the time zones in the Atlantic between Eastern Brazil and the UK - basically UTC-1hr and UTC-2hr), shouldn't there be spaces in the charts showing those hours? I don't think any of the islands in that region use those time zones (opting instead to use GMT - like Iceland for example), but I think those hours should still be included since they ''are'' on the static part of the map. Also, it makes sense to me that the center of the words ''NOON'' and ''MIDNIGHT'' are edges of segments themselves, making 24 segments in total. Randall just couldn't draw those discrete segments and also easily have the words written for our convenience. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 16:46, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

: Every time zone is used somewhere in international waters (well, every one that's a whole number of hours off of Universal Time), so they certainly should all be included. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 18:14, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
: Added South Georgia as UTC-2 and Cape Verde as UTC-1. According to Wikipedia, coastal Brazil and Greenland are both UTC-2 during the summer, but Brazil just ended summer time last Sunday (Feb. 23), and Greenland won't start until late March. There are approximately no permanently inhabited places that use UTC-2 all year, so I just went with South Georgia because it's historically significant. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 20:20, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Randall's continent naming scheme is interesting. The most commonly taught model in the U.S. has seven continents, but the purple continent is Australia rather than Oceania. The name Oceania is common in Spanish-speaking countries, but those places generally have a six-continent model with the Americas merged. Is Randall's model standard anywhere? [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 20:00, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

: FIBA and, before 2006, FIFA. (In 2006 FIFA moved Australia from Oceania to Asia). As a further parallel neither the sporting bodies nor the comic actually mention Antarctica. Note that the comic does not say these are continents. Oceania has some distinct characteristics, so it often shows up as a "region of the world".
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 19:08, 27 February 2014 (UTC)
distinoften shows up as a "region of the world". It has some distinct characteristics, which is why FIFA, FIBA and others treat it as a region.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 19:08, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

Kamchatka is probably a reference to 850: https://xkcd.com/850/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.48|108.162.216.48]] 20:22, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Hey, I'd just like to note that GIMP "Optimize for GIF" reduced the GIF size to 7.1MiB from current 9.3MiB. If I reduced the colours to 32, which still looked "good enough" in my opinion, the GIF was only 3.5MiB.
http://m8y.org/tmp/temp.gif (optimize)
http://m8y.org/tmp/temp2.gif (optimize + colour reduction)

It might be worth replacing to improve load times.
You might want to make your own since I didn't check frame times or anything, I just ran "index" and "optimize" and then exported{{unsigned ip|108.162.219.77}}
:You are right, but that picture should be less then 1MB. I will do some tests, and if it does work I will talk about this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:51, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
::m'k - well. Using 20 colours and scaling it down 50% resulted in 1.1MiB... http://m8y.org/tmp/temp3.gif
:::I'm now at the time frame at "Rude to call", but nevertheless the PNG files have to be optimized to a GIF, after that an animated GIF should be much smaller. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 01:03, 27 February 2014 (UTC)
::::I'm guessing an indexed APNG could be smaller (due to more efficient compression) than a GIF, but unfortunately I don't thing apngasm is as efficient as GIMP's optimize for gif feature.

Does anybody know what clock Randall is using? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.75|199.27.128.75]]EvanJM42

Randall no doubt knows about the Time Zone Database (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tz_database) so he may well have coded this page to incorporate seasonal time changes from that database. We'll have to watch what happens.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.15|108.162.219.15]] 12:59, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

Any idea of a way of using this image as a wallpaper for OSX in a way that updates every 30 minutes? Yes, n00b question, but I cannot think of an easily implemented solution. {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.77}}
::Hey. I don't know too much about how OSX does wallpapers, but under Linux, the desktop wallpaper will automatically update if the image is modified. This means you could make a simple shell script that copies (or possibly updates a symlink) to wallpaper.png based upon the current time. The file for the copy or symlink could be referenced as... H=$(date -u +%H); M=$(date -u +%M); FILE="${H}h${M}m.png" I use a similar approach for automatically rotating the image in http://m8y.org/images/sandy_1280_1024_stripped.svg in a cronjob using sed. The sed modification of the svg automatically updates the background. With any luck, you can do the same thing in OSX once you've pointed your wallpaper at a location. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.56}}

Hello, to the guy asking for a OSX wallpaper, I didn't found a way to do it but I got something pretty close to that. You don't need any scripting skills or anything fancy, just download Geektool[http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/] from the internet and add an Image Geeklet. In the image URL use the one on the top of this comment section (http://c.xkcd.com/redirect/comic/now) and in the refresh interval select your desired time (I used 900 s roughly 15 minutes, 1800 should work for every 30 minutes). Now, there is a problem but it's beyond my control. The image is not synced with the current time in my country. Just yesterday we changed our clocks because of time savings but apparently the page has not bring forward its clock yet. I don't know who did the awesome job of setting up a page for us to access it but I hope he/she can update it accordingly so we can enjoy an awesome page or if someone else in the community could help. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.91}}

Hi, I'm the same guy of the above comment. I just checked and it turns out that the page http://c.xkcd.com/redirect/comic/now is synced with xkcd.com/now. so apparently Randall does not change his clock during daylight saving time (he's a well now hater of it isn't he?). So the clock is going to be 1 hour behind until the next daylight saving time change. As a last note regarding the OSX implementation, it's a online version, I'm not really skilled in programming and I haven't tried an offline version yet but if I manage to get an offline version I'll post it here as well. In other comment I have the implementation for windows and it's also 1 hour behind just FYI. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.67}}

;Implementations
Hi, I'm new and a tad confused by how this discussion page editing works, but: I made a time zone converter based on this XKCD comic, over here: http://www.xkcdnow.com - I think it could be fitting to add a link to it somewhere to this article, but I don't wanna come across as spammy, and couldn't find any other explainxkcd articles with an external links section (wikipedia style)... Any thoughts? - wauter
: This is a great site! Maybe we could insert an "Implementations" category into the article. If we do so, I could provide another cool one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.phillab.xkcd_now which is a widget for Android - including tribute to explainxkcd -- [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.146|173.245.53.146]] 16:20, 5 March 2014 (UTC)
:That sounds good to me. The latest release for my version can be found at https://github.com/BruceJohnJennerLawso/xkcd-Now/releases/tag/1.02 on my Github page. By the way, I like your timezones idea, would you mind if I tried to implement that in mine at some point? [[User:BruceJohnJennerLawso|BruceJohnJennerLawso]] ([[User talk:BruceJohnJennerLawso|talk]]) 15:29, 6 March 2014 (UTC)
: I would also like the implementation section. If you use a Windows PC, you can use the script found at http://github.com/leipert/xkcd-now-clock to automatically set your Wallpaper to the current status of xkcd now. It also gives you the possibility to add some an digital clock, an analog clock or fix the image to your time zone. [http://github.com/leipert leipert] 18:02, 6 March 2014 (UTC){{unsigned ip|108.162.254.68}}
: I would love to see an implementation that updates more than once every 15 minutes. I've been trying to find an application that can take two images, and automatically generate the in-between images, i.e. generate 15 images between 00h00m.png and 00h15m.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.154|162.158.78.154]] 14:01, 21 September 2017 (UTC) Henry151
:: Spruced up the Implementations section a bit. A quick tip: if you want to make your link work by clicking on the blue text, add a space after the link in the square brackets, & type in the text, ie [link.com This takes you to link.com!!!] {{unsigned|BruceJohnJennerLawso}}
:: Hi there, I'm Henry151 who made the Linux implementation, I want to make an iPhone app for family and friends, does anybody have any experience with that and want to help me out?

As the US has now hit Daylight Savings, I think we can assume the comic won't be updating for it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.90|173.245.50.90]] 02:54, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

;WEB links
*Who the hell does register an entire domain [http://xkcdnow.com/] for only this comic?
*The JavaScript at the other link doesn't work well for me — but who needs this?
My 0.2 cents. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:57, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

2149: Alternate Histories

2019-05-13T17:53:22Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2149
| date = May 13, 2019
| title = Alternate Histories
| image = alternate_histories.png
| titletext = "So their universe wouldn't have the iconic photo of a screaming Truman being hoisted aloft by the newspaper-printing machinery..."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CYBERNETIC HORSE-EMPEROR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Alternate histories are a common device in speculative fiction. One of the most common (even cliche) uses of alternate history is to posit a world in which the {{w|Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II|Axis Powers achieved victory in World War Two}}. This is presumably so compelling because it was a relatively recent event in which a series of relatively minor changes could have altered world history in major ways. One of the standard literary works along this line is Philip K. Dick's ''{{W|The Man in the High Castle}}'', where the world is split into spheres of influence controlled by the {{W|Empire of Japan}} and {{W|Nazi Germany}}. This novel has been developed into a {{w|The Man in the High Castle (TV series)|popular TV series}} of the same name on Amazon Prime.

At one point, ''The Man in the High Castle'' discusses the fiction of their own world, which includes their own alternate histories in which the Allies had won the war instead. ''The Grasshopper Lies Heavy'' is one such novel. Because these stories are speculative, they don't entirely match the 'real' history of our world, differing in key ways. This results in an "alternate-alternate" history where the Allies won World War 2, but the details still differ rather significantly than the history of World War 2 in our reality -- most notably, ''The Grasshopper Lies Heavy'' depicts a post-World War 2 world defined by a {{w|Cold War}} between the United States and the British Empire, rather than one between the United States and Soviet Union. In one sense, this functions as a meta-critique of the very concept of alternate histories, highlighting the reality that we can never know the details of what would have happened if history had gone differently.

In this comic, Megan and Cueball discuss this fictional device. Megan points out that, if characters in our stories have their own fiction, then the characters in their stories presumably have their own body of fiction, and so on. If each alternate history contains its own alternate history, presumably each iteration would deviate more and more from our own reality, because each would be speculation based on increasing layers of speculation. Eventually (by the 500th iteration) the history would differ so wildly from our own as to be completely absurd to us, with very few elements being even recognizable. The title text, for instance, references a photograph of {{w|Harry Truman}} screaming in horror as he is hoisted by newspaper-printing machinery; this plays off of {{w|Dewey Defeats Truman|a famous photograph from our world}} where Truman is the one hoisting up a copy of the newspaper ''The Chicago Tribune'' in triumph as said newspaper erroneously claimed he was defeated in the {{w|1948 United States presidential election}} by {{w|Thomas Dewey}}.

The 500th iteration timeline apparently includes hovercraft, and cybernetic horses. {{w|Hovercraft}} are a real technology which does have military applications, but their use in actual warfare has been limited. Cybernetic horses do not exist in our timeline.

In our timeline, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, and would likely not develop military technology independently.

New Jersey is a state in the United States and Madagascar was controlled by France during World War 2. Belgium was occupied by the Axis Powers early in the war. These three regions developing a alliance and fighting against Canada (which was also an Allied power) would require a highly unlikely combination of events.

{{W|Laura Ingalls Wilder}} was an American author, best known for her {{W|Little House on the Prairie}} series. In the 500th iteration timeline, she apparently became "God-Emperor of Missouri", despite not being known as a political figure in our timeline.

{{W|Harry S Truman}}, in our timeline, became 33rd President of the United States, following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the 500th iteration timeline, Truman apparently died in an accident involving pajamas and a printing press (whether this occurred before or after his presidency is not made clear). He apparently remained a significant enough figure for 500th-iteration Megan to speculate that he would have become God-Emperor of Missouri if he'd survived.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are walking together]
:Megan: In alternate history stories where the allies lost WWII, sometimes they have their own fiction with the premise "what if the allies had ''won''?" which differs from our world since they'd be speculating and wouldn't predict everything.
:Cueball: Yeah, I think they do that in ''Man in the High Castle''.

:[Megan and Cueball continue walking together]
:Megan: But within ''those'' stories, they should have "what if the allies had ''lost''?" fiction which is even ''more'' removed from our world.
:Cueball: Uh oh.
:Megan: So how deep does it go?

:[Caption:] 500 levels in:
:[Cueball and Megan, wearing tall black hats and presumably from some alternate history, are walking together]
:Megan: In my alternate history, Scotland never develops hovercraft, so Canada's cybernetic horses ''defeat'' the Belgium-Madagascar-New Jersey alliance.
:Cueball: Wow!

:[Alternate history Cueball and Megan continue are walking together]
:Cueball: Then who becomes God-Emperor of Missouri, if not Laura Ingalls Wilder?
:Megan: Senator Truman!
:Cueball: He survives the accident?!
:Megan: Yeah, the pajama craze never catches on, so he's wearing normal clothes when he walks by the printing press...

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]

{{comic discussion}}

2149: Alternate Histories

2019-05-13T17:28:04Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

2148: Cubesat Launch

2019-05-12T20:04:16Z

162.158.63.124: jts

{{comic
| number = 2148
| date = May 10, 2019
| title = CubeSat Launch
| image = cubesat_launch.png
| titletext = Luckily, the damages were partly offset by the prize money we got from accidentally winning the nearby water skiing championship tournament.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|CubeSat}} (aka U-class spacecraft) is a miniature artificial-satellite with cubic dimensions of 10 cm × 10 cm × 11.35 cm (~ 4 in × 4 in × 4.5 in), and masses of about 1.33 kg (2.9 lbs) per unit. CubeSats are put into orbit from the International Space Station or launched as secondary payloads. As of January 2019, at least 900 CubeSats have successively achieved orbit, and at least 80 have been destroyed in launch failures. They typically function as Earth observation satellites, amateur radio emitters as well as testing prototype small-satellite technology.

The comic begins with [[Megan]] telling [[Cueball]] that being officially part of a CubeSat launch is very expensive, but she has an idea for a much cheaper alternative: use a fishing line on a drone to attach to a rocket just before launch, with the CubeSat attached to the other end of the fishing line so it gets pulled into space.

In reality, this plan would fail for multiple reasons.

# Security would presumably prevent the drone from reaching the rocket.
# Even if Megan were to pilot the drone past security undetected, the launch would have been scrubbed as soon as any observer noticed the drone near the rocket and told Mission Control, who would order a countdown halt and stop the rocket launch, which prevents Megan from launching her CubeSat in the first place - after which Security would locate the drone's user and take her into custody.
# The unshielded CubeSat would likely be destroyed by aerodynamic forces.
# The drone would not be able to attach itself to the rocket in a way that would remain secure.
# The fishing line would not hold - either the rocket exhaust would sever it, or the force from the CubeSat, gravity, and the acceleration of the rocket would become more than its tensile strength could withstand.
# Precise weight is an important number during launch. The extra weight of the drone, the fishing line, the air drag from the drone, and the CubeSat all would combine to put more downward force on the rocket. This unexpected extra weight would not have been calculated and could turn the rocket off-course, along with making it spend more propellant in countering the forces exerted this way. This may result in the rocket not achieving the planned orbit, and may have to orbit at a lower altitude. Having said that, the rocket still outweighs Cueball, Megan, the drone, the fishing line, and the Cubesat by many thousands of pounds.

Upon realizing her plan, Cueball immediately responds with "uh-oh", indicating his concern, but Megan assures him that it will be fine, before piloting the drone towards the rocket. She successfully connects the drone to the rocket, and the rocket lifts off.

Whatever her plan was, it goes wrong almost immediately. The unexpected force on the rocket from the side causes it to tilt and go off course. Perhaps if the rocket's control software employed {{w|adaptive control}} techniques, it could have maintained control in the presence of this unexpected force. It is implied that it's not due to the comparatively small force of the CubeSat, but because Cueball is standing on the fishing line. However in real life the force from Cueball stepping on the line would still be very small and would be unable to cause a scenario like this. Megan and Cueball get tangled in the fishing line and are carried away. While the fate of the rocket is not shown, it is likely that its unplanned {{w|Attitude_control|attitude change}} would activate the automatic termination sequence or result in manual activation of the destruction protocol.

Megan and Cueball miraculously survive and are brought to an investigative board to explain their actions. Megan attempts to defend herself using flawed logic: something was bound to go wrong sooner or later, so it's not her fault that she was the cause. This logic does not account for the fact that this particular rocket's chance to crash was greatly increased by the drone attempting to connect to it. She isn't totally to blame for the accident anyways, since the launch should have been scrubbed as soon as the drone came anywhere near the rocket, and the failure of Mission Control to do so is negligence on their part, and hence they are more responsible for the failure of the mission than Megan and Cueball as they did not follow proper protocol and allowed the launch to occur under unsafe conditions.

The title text describes that the supposedly huge damages they caused were partly covered by the earnings from a water skiing championship, which Cueball and Megan presumably won by being dragged across the water by the rocket. This might be a tangential reference to an incident in the {{w|The Adventures of Tintin|Tintin}} adventure ''{{w|The Black Island}}'', where the {{w|Thomson and Thompson|Thompson Twins}} blunder into and win an aerobatics competition when they compel a mechanic with no flying experience into taking off in pursuit of that volume's antagonists. Alternatively, it may simply be a case of the title text {{w|jumping the shark}}.

Additionally, this is not the first comic to discuss CubeSats; they were also mentioned in [[1866: Russell's Teapot]] and in [[1992: SafetySat]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is holding a cube attached by a string to a quad-copter drone flying above her head. She talks to Cueball standing next to her.]
:Megan: A spot on a CubeSat launch costs a lot, but you can get a drone and a spool of fishing line for cheap.
:Cueball: Uh oh.

:[A wide shot of Megan flying the drone with the cube at her feet while Cueball stand behind her looking after the drone that flies up to the left.]
:Megan: No no, watch.
:Megan: This is gonna go great.

:[Wide shot of a rocket standing on its launch pad with the support tower. The, now very small, drone is approaching, string attached, from the right.]

:[Slim shot of the rocket as the drone attaches to the rocket, just under the tip with the payload. The string goes down and out to the right.]
:Megan (off-panel): Perfect!

:[A huge cloud is emitted from the bottom of the rocket as it lift off the ground every so slightly.]
:''Foom''

:[As the rocket is taking off it begins tilting in the direction of the string. Two off-panel voices come from Megan and Cueball's direction.]
:Off-panel voice #1: Should it be tilting already?
:Off-panel voice #2: Hey, move your leg.

:[Close up of Megan and Cueball struggling in tangle of string that surrounds Megan while she is holding the cube in one hand and the remote for the drone in the other. Cueball uses both hands to try and help her out of the tangle. The string goes out to the left towards the rocket.]
:Megan: Ugh, let go, I can get-
:Cueball: -No, lift your ''other'' arm-

:[Three slim panels follow, one above the others, of the rocket, with string, tilting increasingly to the right and down as if pulled by the string. In the final panel of the three the tip of the rocket is now further than where the string goes down to the bottom of the panel. So the string now goes back left from where it is attached to the rocket, rather than to the right as in all previous panels.]

:[Megan entangled in the string with the cube in her hand and Cueball hanging below her holding on to the string, are flying through the air, as the string goes up right, and with small lines drawn above it to indicate it is moving to the right. On the ground Science Girl holds a hand to her mouth looking up at them, while a guy looking like Cueball runs away with hands over his head.]
:Megan and Cueball (screaming): ''Aaaaaa''

:[A disheveled looking Megan and Cueball both with plaster casts on their arms stand before four people, Hairbun, another Cueball like guy, Ponytail and Hairy. They are the members of an interview panel and are sitting behind a desk like table with a large label on its front:]
:Launch accident investigation board
:Megan: Listen.
:Megan: Space exploration is never going to be completely safe.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Space]]

2140: Reinvent the Wheel

2019-04-22T21:56:28Z

162.158.63.124: Correct spelling

{{comic
| number = 2140
| date = April 22, 2019
| title = Reinvent the Wheel
| image = reinvent_the_wheel.png
| titletext = Right now it's a bicycle wheel, so we've had to move to lighter vehicles, but the reduced overhead is worth it. There was one week when a wheel of cheese got dangerously close to the first page, though.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WHEEL OF CHEESE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Reinventing the wheel|Reinvent the Wheel}} is a metaphor that refers to duplicate effort to recreate something that has already been created or perfected previously without adding any value in the process. The phrase relates to the idea that the round wheel was invented a long time ago, and nobody has come up with a better shape for the wheel since that original concept. While the phrase includes the word "wheel", it isn't typically directly associated with the wheel but instead uses the word "wheel" because of the belief that the round wheel was an ancient invention.

In this comic, Beret Guy apparently works for an automotive manufacturer, and he is explaining to Ponytail their decision to not reinvent the wheel for the automobiles that they produce, using the phrase in a literal sense instead of figuratively. Instead, they use a daily Google image search for "wheel" to determine the highest ranked wheel and simply use that wheel on the vehicles they produce that day.


The title text indicates that Beret Guy is currently using bicycle wheels for his vehicles, requiring them to be lighter as bicycle wheels cannot carry a lot of weight. Finally, the narrator (supposedly Beret Guy) explains that at one point a wheel of cheese was near the top of the google images search. If it had reached the top, it would have been disastrous as a wheel of cheese is completely unsuited for use as a vehicle's wheel.

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

:[Beret Guy is talking to Ponytail.]
:Beret Guy: We don't want to reinvent the wheel, so every day we Google image search "wheel", and whatever object comes up, that's what we attach to our vehicles.
:Beret Guy: Sure, external dependencies carry risks, but so far they've all been pretty good wheels.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2069: Wishlist

2018-12-03T04:15:20Z

162.158.63.124: /* Transcript added information about label of list as Wishlist */

{{comic
| number = 2069
| date = November 7, 2018
| title = Wishlist
| image = wishlist.png
| titletext = Disappointed that they caved to fan pressure and went with Ruth Bader Ginsburg over Elena Kagan.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
''{{w|Super Smash Brothers}}'' (also titled as ''Super Smash Bros.'' and usually shortened to ''Smash'') is a crossover fighting game series published by {{w|Nintendo}}, primarily featuring Nintendo characters. As of publish date, there are 77 playable characters across the 5 games in the series. Starting with the third game, ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', characters from third-party franchises (non-Nintendo) have been made available, though most of them had at least made major appearances on a Nintendo system at some point. This comic is a parody of various fans' wishes for the roster of ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', which was announced in 2018 along with multiple trailers revealing new characters to appear in the roster. In the November 1st trailer it was stated every new character in the launch version of the game had been announced, though with five more characters coming in 2019 as {{w|downloadable content}}.

Throughout the series fans have suggested new characters to add; however, developer acquiescence to these requests is rare, with only five characters out of 77 ({{w|King Dedede}}, {{w|Sonic the Hedgehog}}, {{w|Ryu (Street Fighter)|Ryu}}, {{w|Bayonetta (character)|Bayonetta}}, and {{w|Ridley (Metroid)|Ridley}}) having been added this way. On November 3, the developer studio {{w|Sora Ltd.}} made a statement on Twitter telling fans that the unrevealed DLC characters were finalized and they were not accepting further requests.

This comic lists 16 "characters" that Randall supposedly wishes were made available in ''Super Smash Bros.'', ranging from plausible playable characters, to the absurd.

; Mario / Luigi hybrid
: {{w|Mario}} and {{w|Luigi}} are characters in the ''{{w|Super Mario}}'' series, one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. They are both playable characters in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. A hybrid of these two characters would be quite interesting, even though such a concept does not exist within the Super Mario series. When considering how Mario and Luigi have evolved throughout the Smash series, one could argue that {{w|Dr. Mario}} is a hybrid of these two in terms of moveset.

; The SkiFree monster
: ''{{w|SkiFree}}'' is a computer game for Windows released in 1991. The player controls a skier trying to avoid obstacles. After the end of a full run, a {{w|Yeti|white furry monster}} appears, and tries to catch the player. The ''SkiFree'' monster was a subject of the [[667: SkiFree]] comic. Unlike most of the characters on this list, the ''SkiFree'' monster at least has had an appearance on a Nintendo system, as the game had a {{w|Game Boy Color}} port as part of the "The Best of Entertainment Pack" in 2001.

; Siri
: {{w|Siri}} is the name given to Apple's personal virtual assistant for iOS, macOS, and its other operating systems. Siri is generally a voice without a visual representation, so it is unclear how Siri would be a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros.''

; Ellie from ''Up''
: Ellie is one of the characters in ''{{w|Up (2009 film)|Up}}'', a 2009 {{w|Pixar}} film. In the beginning of the film, Ellie passes away, leaving her husband Carl alone, and leading him to start his adventure in Paradise Falls. While there was a {{w|Up (video game)|tie-in video game based on the movie}} released in the same year for multiple systems (including the Wii and Nintendo DS), Ellie was not playable in it.

; Zordon
: {{w|Zordon}} is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise who serves as the mentor for the earlier Ranger teams. While he is technically trapped in another dimension, he is usually depicted as a blurry head in a tube. He occasionally has lightning powers, and had a robot sidekick (Alpha 5) who might be able to move him around. Alas, he is currently dead, having used his life energy to remove all evil from the galaxy at that time. While there have been many Power Rangers video games over the years, including on Nintendo platforms, Zordon would be an unlikely character not only due to his lack of extremities, but also due to the fact that the Power Rangers franchise is primarily built on stock footage of the Japanese ''Super Sentai'' series.

; Clippy
: Clippit, commonly nicknamed {{w|Clippy}}, was one of the Office Assistants for {{w|Microsoft Office}} (versions 1997 to 2003). It was an user interface with the purpose to assist users. Clippy (and the other Office Assistants) was negatively received by users, and was eventually removed in Office 2007.

; The Sarlaac [sic]
: The {{w|Sarlacc}} is an alien monster that lived in {{w|Tatooine}} in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe. It is most prominently shown in the film ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}'', when the main heroes are sentenced to death by being dropped into the Sarlacc's mouth. Notably, the Sarlacc is a large, stationary creature embedded in the ground (essentially, a pit).
: This could be a reference to the {{w|List_of_recurring_Mario_franchise_enemies#Piranha_Plant|Piranha Plant}} being confirmed as a DLC character, as Piranha Plants are typically stationary and embedded in the ground, and also have their big, toothy mouth as a primary feature.
: While the Sarlacc was featured in 1994's ''{{w|Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi}}'' for the {{w|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}, its lack of mobility would make it a poor choice for a character.

; InstallShield Wizard
: A ''wizard'' is a type of UI that simplifies configuration of an app or process by guiding the user through a number of screens in sequence. A user makes one decision on each screen, and the overall process puts less cognitive load on the user.
: {{w|InstallShield}} is a proprietary software tool for creating installer applications (or software packages) for Microsoft Windows. When the created package is being installed, the installer application can be shown in form of a 'standard Windows Wizard' dialog. Depending on the creativity of the user creating the package, the Wizard can display images while different stages of the installer are being executed.
: There are known instances of The InstallShield Wizard showing a wizard-like character images. Also, the standard wording of the installer text shown to the user ('software-to-be-installed is preparing the InstallShield Wizard, which will guide you through the program setup process') suggests that the Wizard is a 'real character'.

; Mr. Clean
: {{w|Mr. Clean}} is a brand and mascot for {{w|Procter & Gamble}} used for all-purpose cleaners and melamine foam cleaners.

; Comet Cursor
: {{w|Comet Cursor}} was Windows software that allowed users or websites to customise the mouse cursor. It was often installed with minimal user interaction and was accused of tracking users and being "spyware".

; Beto O'Rourke
: {{w|Beto O'Rourke}} is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district since 2013. He was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2018 Texas U.S. Senate election (which was held the day before this comic appeared), running against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. O'Rourke received much media attention leading up to the election, with many considering the election abnormally competitive. He ultimately did lose against Ted Cruz.
: While not a video game character, it is more than possible to create a Mii Fighter based on Beto O'Rourke in the game. However, the game does not come with a Beto O'Rourke Mii, and Nintendo has not created an official Mii of Beto O'Rourke.

; The Monopoly boot
: The "boot" is one of the classic pewter tokens from the board game ''{{w|Monopoly (game)|Monopoly}}''. Despite the absurdity of the request, the boot appeared in the 1999 ''Monopoly'' video game adaptation for the Nintendo 64. In 2017, the boot token was retired from the standard version of ''Monopoly''.

; Lot's wife
: Lot and his wife are characters from the book of Genesis in the Bible. According to the book of Genesis, Lot and his family had to {{w|Sodom_and_Gomorrah#In_the_Book_of_Genesis|flee the city of Sodom}}, which was being judged by God for its wickedness. They were commanded to flee and not look back at the city. However, Lot's wife looked back at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. It is unclear which version of Lot's wife Randall wishes to be playable in the game.

; D.B. Cooper
: {{w|D.B. Cooper}} is the name popularly used to refer to an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft on November 24, 1971. He extorted $200,000 in ransom and parachuted out of the plane. His identity and whereabouts have never been discovered. D.B. Cooper was a subject of the [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] comic. As mentioned above, an enterprising player could easily make a Mii Fighter based on D.B. Cooper, though no such Mii has been provided by Nintendo.

; The Blair Witch
: The Blair Witch is the titular character of the ''{{w|The Blair Witch Project}}'', a 1999 "found footage" supernatural horror film. The film became one of the most successful independent films of all time. The witch is never actually shown in the film, making it difficult to turn into a character in the game.

; Mavis Beacon
: ''{{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}}'' is a fictional character and the mascot of the ''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' software series.

The title text refers to two US Supreme Court Associate Justices who were considered as additions to ''Smash''. {{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg}} was appointed by Bill Clinton; {{w|Elena Kagan}} was appointed by Barack Obama. Both are considered to be on the "liberal" wing of the court, but Ginsburg’s forceful dissenting opinions may explain why she would have been a more popular character for Super Smash Bros. Additionally, Ginsburg has been parodied on ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'', adding to her popularity: [http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/kate-mckinnon-15056/impersonation/ruth-bader-ginsburg-100221]

==Transcript==
:[In a frame labeled "Wishlist" a bullet-list is shown:]
:Mario/Luigi hybrid
:The SkiFree monster
:Siri
:Ellie from ''Up''
:Zordon
:Clippy
:The Sarlaac
:The InstallShield Wizard
:Mr. Clean
:Comet Cursor
:Beto O'Rourke
:The Monopoly boot
:Lot's wife
:D.B. Cooper
:The Blair Witch
:Mavis Beacon

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Super Smash Brothers never did end up adding anyone from my wishlist.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Video games]]

Talk:2045: Social Media Announcement

2018-09-13T23:07:21Z

162.158.63.124: yay for analogies (concerning whether the fact that microsoft does not operate github today is whatsoever relevant to the fact that they are on a social-media-platform-buying streak)

I doubt it's Wil-Wheaton-specific. I've seen a fair number of people talk about quitting some form of social media or another (though usually not ALL of it); Wheaton's just the biggest (that I'm now aware of). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.202|162.158.75.202]] 12:00, 12 September 2018 (UTC)

Trivially amusing, I think "fewer" when I read "less nazis" in the explanation; this may make me a grammar Nazi, so instead of editing I'm pleading [[261: Regarding Mussolini]]. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 18:56, 12 September 2018 (UTC)

'''GitHub'''

On June 4, 2018, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire GitHub. This means it isn't acquired yet. Thus I've removed it from the explanation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:59, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
:It was confirmed as a done deal the same day. The purchase is already agreed upon, it will take some months for the merger to be completed. Even if that were not the case, github is still relevant to Microsoft's trend of buying up professional social media platforms. Adding it back in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.220|108.162.219.220]] 17:44, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
::I totally agree about ''Microsoft's trend'' but it's still only an announcement. Wikipedia says: "The purchase is expected to close by the end of the year" and at [https://github.com/about/milestones GitHub (about; milestones)] they say in June 2018 "Microsoft announced it is acquiring GitHub". Sorry if I'm nitpicking, but right now GitHub is NOT owned by Microsoft while the explanation suggests this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:55, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
:::It literally does not matter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.82|162.158.126.82]] 22:28, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
:::This is like arguing that there was no war in 1939 because the British infantry didn't start shooting yet. The explanation text says nowhere that microsoft currently owns and operates github. It does list github as an example of a trend of Microsoft buying professional social media, which is the truth. This isn't nitpicking because there is no nit to pick. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 23:07, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

'''Texting'''

I'm pretty sure Texting is supposed to mean {{w|SMS}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:12, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
:You are invited to write an additional alternative, I don't think there is something wrong or correct at this point. Your note makes sense. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:00, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Is the Random button on xkcd.com broken for anyone else? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.70|172.68.90.70]] 18:45, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
:Yep, but not here! ;-) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:00, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
::And I can tell why: It uses this link https://c.xkcd.com/random/comic/ but whois tells me: ''No match for "C.XKCD.COM".'' This means the domain "c.xkcd.com" is not registered. Randall should talk to his webmaster. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:08, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2043: Boathouses and Houseboats

2018-09-08T19:39:01Z

162.158.63.124:

The state of California already believes that a house held by a car is a housecar:
:Vehicle Code - VEH
:DIVISION 1. WORDS AND PHRASES DEFINED [100 - 681] ( Division 1 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3. )
:362.
:A “house car” is a motor vehicle originally designed, or permanently altered, and equipped for human habitation, or to which a camper has been permanently attached. A motor vehicle to which a camper has been temporarily attached is not a house car except that, for the purposes of Division 11 (commencing with Section 21000) and Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000), a motor vehicle equipped with a camper having an axle that is designed to support a portion of the weight of the camper unit shall be considered a three-axle house car regardless of the method of attachment or manner of registration. A house car shall not be deemed to be a motortruck.[http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=362.]
Bonus: "motortruck" does indeed refer to a truck that holds a motor.
[[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 15:57, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
:: The State of California believes [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/796:_Bad_Ex all sort of strange things] [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 18:20, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
Randall did just correct the comic. The first version said "this [row] held by this [column]", which would have meant, that e.g. a towtruck is a car held by a car, which is just wrong. It has just be updated to the correct "a this [column] that holds a this [row]". I do not know how to change that here. Should be mentioned in Trivia [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:11, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks for your eagle eyes. I've uploaded the new version, please be patient until the cache is expired and you can see it. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:48, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

'''Boat boat'''

Shouldn't a boat that holds another boat be some sort of either carrier, or at-sea repair dock?

Sort of like a mothership, or a drydock?
Or an oil rig (technically considered a ship by international law), etc?

For that matter, how about the distinction between a boat and a ship?
[[User:Keybounce|Keybounce]] ([[User talk:Keybounce|talk]]) 16:34, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
:well... with the original version it fits. a boat held by another boat is a lifeboat. But the new version it doesnt. a boat that holds another boat would be, as you say, carrier, mothership, etc. looks like randall didn't think this through to the end... [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:40, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
:Floating Drydock? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_dock#Floating] {{unsigned|OldCorps}}
:As far as I can remember, a ship is a boat that can manage being away from shore for more than a day [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 18:16, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

::Similar failing: an ''apartment'' is the small entity—the "house" that is contained by the larger house. ''Apartment building'' (or ''apartment complex'') would have been the term to be replaced. [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 17:42, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
::: Agreed. His list of words contains elements that fall into either the 'x held by y' or 'x that holds y' definition, so neither definition can work for all the words! Only way to fix is to replace some of the words as suggested ('apartment building' instead of 'apartment').[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.241|162.158.154.241]] 17:52, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

You're entirely correct on both counts. Lifeboats are carried by other boats, and ships that can carry other ships do exist. This comic also fails to distinguish between boats and ships, and cars, trucks, and trailers.
While a Boathouse is indeed a house for boats, a boat ''trailer'' is usually a trailer and not a car- the name already follows Randell's suggested logic: it's a trailer (characterized by lacking it's own engine, steering, and driver's cabin) that holds one or more boats. In addition, both tow trucks and car carriers are large enough to be properly referred to as trucks (the smallest type of tow truck I know of is built on a pickup truck chassis) and are fully capable to towing or carrying other trucks as well as cars, making the term carcar inaccurate. Yes, I'm being pedantic, but this might be worth mentioning in explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.60|162.158.122.60]] 16:44, 7 September 2018 (UTC)Chris Long

:Each of the compound words that Randall has made up here are still "correct" - but general. The failure to distinguish between multiple examples isn't a "bug" here; it's a feature of the productive nature of novel compounding in English. Each of 'apartment', 'tow truck' and 'lifeboat' should be treated as ''an'' example of 'househouse', 'carcar' and 'boatboat', respectively, but given the way English treats novel compounds, they can't be the ''only'' examples. {{unsigned ip|172.68.150.76}}
::He tries to get a logic in there, as in the difference between boathouse and houseboat, to show which supports which, but fails to do so. While your comment is in itself ok, the comic clearly tries to put in a logic and fails to do so.[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:41, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

::I wouldn't read too much into it. This comic is, of course, lighthearted in nature, and I'm pretty sure Randall doesn't ''literally'' hold these views and call for the creation of a "carcar" or something. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.41|172.68.46.41]] 04:35, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

'''Bananaphone'''

Is this a spoiler for the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2000:_xkcd_Phone_2000 XKCD phone 2001]? Will this phone be edible, yellow and be 10G-erine compatible? [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 18:16, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

More like this [https://bananaphone.io/ banana phone][[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.16|172.68.34.16]] 20:12, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

I believe it references [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIiZ3vvZ78s this song] by Raffi.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.112|162.158.134.112]] 09:28, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

'''Compounding nouns'''

As a native German speaker I've learned in school that compounding nouns in German like "Hausboot" are always written as "house boat" in English, the nouns do not form to a new single noun. And I'm still sure that "Hausbootbriefkasten" (Haus-boot-brief-kasten) still translates literally to something like "house boats letter box" in the original Oxford English domain, while "letterbox of a houseboat" is probably the much better translation. Nonetheless the order at the German ''looong'' noun is still correct: There's a box, for a letter, on a boat, which supports a house. And a record holder in German: {{w|Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft}}, even Germans are annoyed... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:31, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

If a boat that carries a boat is called a ship, should "ship" be in the boatboat square instead of "lifeboat"? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.64|172.69.62.64]] 01:37, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

To continue the convention, "boatboat", as a "life-boat" is a mistake. But i don't think Randall is much of a practical sailor. He lives inland, and probably isn't nearly as familiar with ships as he is with cars. more correct choices to repeat the convention used elsewhere in the comic, could easily be tugboat, carrier ship, or barge. --kspigel

Talk:2038: Hazard Symbol

2018-08-29T03:37:13Z

162.158.63.124: Added info about the misinformation of the fire diamonds being on a mass.

When on xkcd, the emoji only shows up as an empty square. On this site, it shows up as a sigma, caputal Y with umlauts, tilde, and decree symbol. What is it actually supposed to be? [[User:Smperron|Kestrel]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 12:46, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:It's https://emojipedia.org/face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/ this emoji. Shows up correctly for me on the actual site on android but not on the wiki [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.28|141.101.98.28]] 13:04, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
::It shows up OK (Albeit small) on Mac OSX [[User:BSchildt|BSchildt]] ([[User talk:BSchildt|talk]]) 13:21, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:::For me (Windows, most fonts replaced with Arial) it's ok on the wiki, but on the page it's just ▯. But that might also be my font replacer messing up again, it often does that. I wonder why it doesn't happen here. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:08, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::It's showing the correct emoji on my iPad. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 10:44, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
Does anyone know the source of the slippery symbol? The other symbols seem to be common to most standards, but the slippery symbol seems to have various designs. ☠☢☣⚡︎? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.57|162.158.62.57]] 13:52, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:https://www.amazon.com/NMC-FS1-Double-Sided-CAUTION/dp/B009RVF1DY <-- This one on Amazon.com seems pretty close. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.245|172.68.58.245]] 14:13, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_7010 ISO 7010] - W011 Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.70|172.68.110.70]] 14:59, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
: It's meant to represent a "wet floor" or "slippery when wet" sign. There are many versions of it, but that is the most common use of the image (at least, to my knowledge) --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 15:21, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

I'm thinking a slimy electric eel with nuclear-powered cybernetic laser eyes...and a post-op staph infection. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.64|172.68.90.64]] 17:26, 27 August 2018 (UTC) SiliconWolf
: I'm thinking Godzilla saliva. (Wikipedia: "Godzilla's signature weapon is its "atomic breath," a nuclear blast that it generates inside of its body and unleashes from its jaws in the form of a blue or red radioactive heat ray. [...] Various films, television shows, comics and games have depicted Godzilla with additional powers such as an atomic pulse, magnetism, precognition, fireballs, an electric bite, superhuman speed,[52] eye beams[53] and even flight.")--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.66|162.158.90.66]] 13:03, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

The yellow colour, danger of sliping and radioactivity (previously mendtioned on xkcd) are all consistent with a banana. Could this be the secret message? I can stretch it to say that a banana left unattended might eventualy grow some biohazardous fungus. Is there anythng electrical or laser emitting about this fruit? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.116|141.101.77.116]] 11:12, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

He forgot flammable and inflammable. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.196|108.162.216.196]] 20:38, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

There is a legitimate hazard sign that combines 3 symbols. The new supplementary ionizing radiation warning symbol launched on 15 February 2007 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Contains radiating waves, a skull and crossbones and a running person. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard_symbol#/media/File:Logo_iso_radiation.svg] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:30, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:Note: Will only replace the standard yellow radiation trefoil symbol in certain specific limited circumstances. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:45, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

;Transcript
Please just describe the image. What it is or does mean belongs to the explanation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:24, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
: I actully preferred previous version of transcript. It did include some of explanation, but it was also more clear in describing the images. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 01:55, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:: A transcript is just that. No interpretation or explanation, only the description of what is shown/written/said. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:44, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:::TBH, if I were to explain the comic to someone else who hasn't seen it (in the words of the Editor FAQ), I would probably tell that there is a biohazard symbol, radioactivity symbol etc. But at least in this case, the caption below the frame clarifies the image a bit. [[User:Asdf|Asdf]] ([[User talk:Asdf|talk]]) 11:11, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::No, just describe the content. Only mentioning that there is a biohazard symbol wouldn't be helpful because many people just don't know how it looks like. And when the image gives no hint what it is everything further belongs to the explanation. Of course common items like cars or houses can be noted but identifying those symbols here is part of the comic and shouldn't be revealed in the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:45, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::Fair enough. I meant by my earlier comment that I wouldn't have only mentioned the names of the symbols, but their shapes as well like in the current transcript. But it's true these symbols aren't universally known. The transcript should just explain what the image contains and not what is meant by those symbols. [[User:Asdf|Asdf]] ([[User talk:Asdf|talk]]) 18:54, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

The NFPA or fire diamond is not required or mentioned in the MSDS files. They are used almost exclusively on buildings that store the chemical and alert firefighters to potential dangers on entry. The MSDS has its own set of hazards that I believe he is referring to in the description/title. [[User:Piza|Piza]] ([[User talk:Piza|talk]]) 19:36, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

WARNING: Radioactive when wet[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.66|162.158.90.66]] 13:47, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

2038: Hazard Symbol

2018-08-28T00:47:02Z

162.158.63.124:

<noinclude>:''"2038", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "2038", see [[607: 2038]].''</noinclude>

{{comic
| number = 2038
| date = August 27, 2018
| title = Hazard Symbol
| image = hazard_symbol.png
| titletext = The warning diamond on the Materials Safety Data Sheet for this stuff just has the "😰" emoji in all four fields.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LASER EMITTING RADIOACTIVE SLIPPERY BIOHAZARD in about 10 minutes, ignoring writing rules. - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Hazard symbol}}s are often required to indicate certain threats to human health. These symbols are typically black symbols on yellow backgrounds, a contrast typically associated with danger even in nature, a phenomenon known as {{w|Aposematism|aposematism}}. However, these symbols also need to be easy to interpret. Therefore, they have simple, recognizable shapes that are internationally uniform and intended to be well-understood.

This comic inverts this latter expectation, by combining multiple hazard symbols into one, creating something that is unique, and very hard to understand. In practice, if such an object were to be labelled, the five hazard symbols would be separated, each in their own triangle.

The hazard symbols, as noted in the transcript, are {{w|biohazard symbol|biohazard}} ☣, {{w|radiation symbol|radiation}} ☢, slip and fall hazard symbol, laser hazard, and {{w|High_voltage#Safety|high voltage symbol}} ⚡︎.

The title text refers to another unsafe subversion of expectations, in this case, with against the [[wikipedia:NFPA 704|NFPA 704]] "fire diamond". These are the colourful diamond-shaped symbols often found on the back of tankers, but they are also necessary inclusions on materials safety datasheets. These symbols give numeric indication of the hazardous nature of the material, in three different respects (flammability, health, and reactivity), in addition to providing space for an extra warning on the bottom, typically in the form of one or more letters. Using an emoji instead of numbers and letters would defeat the purpose of the fire diamond, as it would only give a qualitative indication of the danger ("very dangerous"), and additionally, could be very easily mistaken for a 0 (meaning safe).

Note, Material Safety Data Sheets have been deprecated in favor of SDS (Safety Data Sheets) in order to come into compliance with the [https://www.msdsonline.com/resources/regulatory-information/ghs/ GHS (Globally Harmonized System)].

😰 is described by {{w|Emojipedia}} as "[https://emojipedia.org/face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/ Anxious Face With Sweat]".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The comic shows symbols, drawn in black on top of a yellow background.]
:[One large symbol embeds four others and it's composed of the outline of three overlapping and outwards narrowing rings arranged by 120 degrees.]
:[The symbol at the center shows at the same orientation three blades with a small stepped circle in the middle.]
:[Inside the ring on top is a symbol of a backwards falling human with a small line depicting the ground.]
:[The ring on the right below the center contains a circle with radiant alternating smaller and longer lines around. One more longer line points toward the center of the image.]
:[Embedded into the left lower ring is a bolt with an arrow pointing left downwards.]

:[Caption below:]
:It's important to know the international warning symbol for radioactive high-voltage laser-emitting biohazards that coat the floor and make it slippery.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

Talk:2036: Edgelord

2018-08-23T14:41:43Z

162.158.63.124:

Presumably has something to do with https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 04:37, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

What is up with the wolverine? Am I missing a joke here? Possibly a reference somewhere else? {{unsigned ip|172.68.34.106}}
: That is a reference to Wolverine, the Marvel Comics character, who has retractable "claws" stowed in his forearms and come out the back of his hands. The claws of an actual wolverine, like others in the family Mustelidae, are permanently extended. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 12:41, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
: It seems to me like the Wolverine thing is almost a non sequitur. I think a better comparison would be "like calling an engineering student a 'forcelord'" or "calling an astronomy PhD a 'Starlord'", or a pharmacologist a 'Druglord'. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 13:02, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:: Agree. Update made.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.90|172.68.65.90]] 13:19, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

If you are actually an "edgelord", wouldn't you answer "no" anyway to provoke once again? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

I feel like there should be some discussion of what an edge (or hyper-edge) is in graph theory. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.22|162.158.165.22]] 10:20, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

Good that he doesn't call his plumber a shitlord. Might need one again. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.75|172.69.54.75]] 11:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

So... is the joke just a half-working pun on "edge", or am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.119|172.69.226.119]] 14:28, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:Yes <[[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.120|162.158.167.120]] 15:29, 22 August 2018 (UTC)>

So… Does this mean that white hat has a PhD in Graph Theory? {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.214}}
:It seems so. But please sign your comments. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::Well, the White Hat in ''this'' comic has one. Doesn't necessarily imply the same thing about White Hats in any other comics. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.154|162.158.238.154]] 08:19, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Nothing to do with the Doctor who is a Time Lord? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.94|172.68.34.94]] 20:16, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:That's where my mind went as well, but I have no way to make that connection. (P.S. I love Alton Brown's description of himself on Twitter as a "Thyme Lord". I almost wanted to add that as a "calling a chef" example above!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 14:41, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value

2018-08-18T18:01:51Z

162.158.63.124: Fix accident

2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value

2018-08-18T17:59:33Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2001
| date = June 1, 2018
| title = Clickbait-Corrected p-Value
| image = clickbait_corrected_p_value.png
| titletext = When comparing hypotheses with Bayesian methods, the similar 'clickbayes factor' can account for some harder-to-quantify priors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Click here to learn more about the influence of Clickbait... But please first explain p-value. Most people don't know. And more wiki links.}}
This is yet another comic dealing with [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]], and is satire mocking researchers/journalists/publishers for fudging research data based on what brings in the most advertising revenue. The topic of fudging research data in academia has also previously appeared in [[882: Significant]] and [[1478: P-Values]].

Clickbait is the practice of using deceptive or manipulative headlines to entice readers to click on a dubious news story, often with the purpose of generating ad revenue.

Hypothesis testing in statistics is a standard method to determine whether a particular hypothesis is supported by the data. For the topic given in this comic, a researcher might compare data on athletic performance with data on chocolate consumption by those athletes to determine whether the two trend together. By convention, the "null hypothesis" (designated H0) is that there's no correlation (that chocolate isn't correlated with athletic performance, in this case) and the "alternate hypothesis" (H1) is that they are correlated. (If the study consists of ''feeding'' chocolate to one of two identical groups and not the other, rather than tracking what they'd be eating anyway, then the alternative hypothesis can be strengthened to be that chocolate *causes* improved performance.) These sets are subjected to statistical tests which return a "p-value", which indicates the probability of observing the obtained results (or any more extreme value), assuming that the null hypothesis is true. (The p-value is NOT the probability that the null hypothesis is correct.) Hence, if the p-value is low enough, the null hypothesis is rejected, and we conclude that the alternate hypothesis is supported by the data.

In this comic, the p-value is corrected by a factor that takes clickbait into account. This factor has the effect of increasing the p-value if H1 is more clickbaity than H0, and decreases the p-value if H0 is more clickbaity than H1. This suggests that whatever clickers of clickbait believe, the reverse is likely to be true.

Or, another interpretation could be that this factor corrects for a selection bias effect where the p-values for more clickbaity H1s tend to be lower than they should be and p-values for non-clickbaity H0s to be higher than they should be. For example, one explanation could be that for p-values that are on the cusp of significance, researchers may be more incentivized to fudge and adjust the data to get the p-value down if the H1 is highly sensational, since the H1 would make the research more likely to get published and attract attention. (See also [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/science-isnt-broken/ FiveThirtyEight's article on p-hacking] and [https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/200745/how-much-do-we-know-about-p-hacking-in-the-wild/200752#200752 this Stack Exchange question about p-hacking in the wild].)

As the statistical results now depend on people's beliefs about the hypothesis, this is as far from actual science as one can get. However, in a way, it is more in tune with a quote by Arbuthnot (one of the originators of the use of p-values) attributing variation to active thought rather than chance, "From whence it follows, that it is Art, not Chance, that governs." Randall applying that quote to the thoughts of the https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/payload?c=03AHqfIOmsYGuzsTa3wnB2SHwbaBOLZm6K1rSAWKuSr7SSV9gFv4edyiRvji5zDdMorzCo5j5KXWoiF8LrOUUc8TFT6qzqZPFb13b0ZqDt1n1yiPfTRvSsRF5EcebVB8W3vHoEIwsv8ErhYiszFoGrCTESTy1TWgau-mKr7yVCfy1sYbynT8jqZbzh8jk4mVdrWZuhNJrgnB5z2vQZCc9uzB0j9YHr6agSG_M1924FWd2GDzvmH93UX-oEyS_ptw_GPBoFSNv634eIMeI4LijzBY6uXbQaXLDbXAK4cGK2I9t1BJwxKKIbDrHfNVS0tZiAc4YG1WHH02hqDqM0BxDhfBolVH2N5_GDGbqKD-Jpu4gqVzNksQbHewG74AQF02IaY2ReGB92i-LNVNAnhJVlIrA8xE3uTAXhr5-WdPINrvqqdyqpYg4AFbCbjtoGDRfl9axNvl2ea6BXTpAXyz45Jjun_7T_1BBSTzQwquc3rV6QaRejp4hwXuWwGVU0fv9GkYhHlZ8ZnqkBa8wpTBnVyDi2FQQoUdADIohrMon7OprD9jMSjCE8XD2yYZbq9wG9EuapShbtCuZbgcNKUp3PzKEMOPS1RkCnk9efXQM96QsP3-a7tBOEOoytsxh7L_thrrAItF8Ud80Jg2ePo_niGRmmFDhTfMTupPMXYokI1C2tpSyztrCW5-dSHbPqak_SRpywuK9I2L2otZzC0jK2zlyJgihwfMUFEwzWJCkMeouh0u6S19eAMdckFQCtEGc02rqY4eH11FhVPm07spHEt780Ja1K-SSBf7fppPQpfGMefqJTXKs8G4dXRCFYP-Ea5EiZEiyzLMs4QG0ilmYcmPDJA_ZlTU5ov4oBH4yTZdQG75n6rDaEwZ9XlcT5pfdUjAZTZc9xkzacC2vz5yR-BahudKi6Kde80L4lExV6Kjr3bMapH3NZcN-DqlrkETL2qxn0PGbA1Cy5vXRCUbtl3nrf8KV7Xg86Vp5KcP2yLTMKpmai1JHUse7O2gT60zecvAXjGLg35MwPy2p8nacShk1YO30GaeVFor6ogLOPO4sKEZG24iDPg3V1Qcb-g98MeTRgvPz2zwumcOcCqWtQcpoC6Pyy_VUd1SjcBgL0FWKEtYrEL3DUrUAVOUyqkmMTMCZlzybanPr2uBOl2PbOt-j3mLhKOhHik1D19pqK1nC7tBP0uj_vgO-wAzD5SlEmtXI8niSgtaWk_0GiKR-lhJ4mDYoxjTUnltmJCbr2C4rtt0BEYzLtcYv_hElmnWn8MCiP8x-vVEMUIB3rvMxZTatlZcEjUkLPP-QvXgUVE7-vArLrYm5Oz0ZUMoG2zUwyQ2DwiCMltdA1A0lTipdPtjDxbfK5jz-M-34O7Y2jAONuPVOjQ_B25gIVtavgDUmHvUixzSWeB-LfnZYrjHS8fk4fAwEfMW1BZmuO5i0xaKBB5kvY-zFz5TslFhu0GDsUCwhrM4_69wv2Bx7XIz8ygjHlAQO5jjMRBXpSHXur9rAYocOOH-oP_5SJxB3UIFbfi4-MkSXsLGATizJu28qpuVTXwdPu01sGGMv6u7lILBPsa9YTquOOuyX9gGoLIvYwOSOyi89w5AltF6vrtZgtAQ3K7LvvXqzqOuwncs4rJX7uSl5TQ8TnuCLfAqTXIx9RqYhArOzC_xXjE-Haitou5kAMaeD4jvy2OqYC3V90L3K4GCaZZ6BISfVcQTsiy5C68NKr7nBxaygvx5HYcc_57xdwMwbiEx43XMhGcV1q_Pjtux5PPJfIKkab33RUXya6vdUmfWo0bs4X2sVknRQknFFBTbp_-vt8en8asmCd7YQ3yFnDdfR89cXi_XBMLouNwWR0Xhpq8j6vM9zMILMn5iIoAawFTbyvd1a7ABvMeIfyKPxANc-ndXjuMKQDDLoDFp1DgzNWhoj3oQWtxEAceGZr4xcnUpHwWhS84grtbjfb7d5hfBCHTVEuK1CrQ0cpBVOC0tNWsg2aHBMW_pPzEeTfqUX5Ccqv-Gd-OWdOlQtfuOoBtyzKTyK1wYZouHdpj4oxX_Kszx_TgsoJHQlDZTFFcf5EvSeXSutqasXiIy1-zCb2FqA0i1HmrheTOIXt_X4u4Cv9q3371Pg4c0I5WM4tAfZyDJxaXXK--aulov0ooH_JrG5lW_1hIL7fZnv-b2J9vu9eDJTpShsokLQAfZitMEW2_d4YV1YXKljaIkscmh5hHWlRWSPZ_7xa48vbjGeElciLRNq270NW5bG-asArWahye8G_TMuvui2RxvWsPIvTgpPcgGgxJx1jFU99_oQBFd8KXSNa1iarbAM5srPLqNlmmC4PxJ1-1w6hAI4Ynrdp_8WY_Ixr5a1IO7KF13437xODC1IYwl2oFNp9zokqrZIdCaoi4xDV-WgZJs-FywYfEm-EG4k80r6vV__fcssPWcspSNNsqfM2mlgXftLbHif0y78dHflvwqjx1TppqzQyIMZCO2A&k=6LeJuFIUAAAAAMqMbWpSbMKPzs4fWlO_MAVomXEn&id=ab7fc42c92ad0ee3masses, bringing it in line with "Art".

[[1475: Technically|Technically]], the comic's depiction of null and alternative hypotheses is not entirely correct. As the alternative hypothesis (H1) predicts that chocolate will ''improve performance'' (i.e., a one-tailed, directional hypothesis), the null hypothesis (H0) should predict that chocolate will do nothing ''or'' make performance worse. In other words, the alternative hypothesis should be true if and only if the null hypothesis is false. For example, alternatively, if the H1 were to say that ''chocolate will change performance'' (for better or worse; i.e., a two-tailed hypothesis) then H0 should say that ''chocolate will do nothing''.

For the mouseover text: Bayesian methods start with a "prior", which is the probabilities believed before seeing new evidence (e.g. before conducting an experiment). Time spent reading clickbait would probably cause people to have unusual beliefs about what is likely before seeing evidence.

==Transcript==
:[Under a heading that says Clickbait-Corrected p-Value there is a mathematic formula. Below that is the description of the two used variables and what they mean:]
:Clickbait-corrected p-value:

:PCL = Ptraditional ∙ click(H1)/click(H0)

:H0: NULL hypothesis ("Chocolate has no effect on athletic performance")
:H1: Alternative hypothesis ("Chocolate boosts athletic performance")
:click(H): Fraction of test subjects who click on a headline announcing that H is true

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Clickbait]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value

2018-08-18T17:57:11Z

162.158.63.124: /* Explanation */