962: The Corliss Resolution

2023-06-05T14:22:18Z

162.158.94.3: /* Explanation */ link to list of fatalities

{{comic
| number = 962
| date = October 10, 2011
| title = The Corliss Resolution
| image = the_corliss_resolution.png
| titletext = And no avian society ever develops space travel because it's impossible to focus on calculus when you could be outside flying.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Jeb Corliss}} is a professional BASE jumper and {{w|wingsuit}} flyer, like in the fourth panel. Corliss has jumped from a lot of different buildings and monuments in the world. Hence, the Corliss Resolution.

The {{w|Fermi paradox}} is an astronomical problem that states: "The universe is large enough that many planets should have extraterrestrial intelligent life. Why, then, haven't we detected any signs of it?" The paradox has numerous hypothetical solutions — some say that life is much rarer than we think, and others suggest that civilizations will eventually destroy themselves (as mentioned in the comic).

Randall proposes another solution to the Fermi paradox: before they can develop space travel and the like, civilizations will inevitably invent an "activity more fun than survival." That is, something fun that's also {{w|List of fatalities due to wingsuit flying|very dangerous}}, such as flying off a cliff in a wingsuit.

As said in the title text, a being that can already fly (hence "avian society") would probably prefer flying around outside over developing the tools needed for space colonization.

See [[384: The Drake Equation]] for another comic about intelligent life in the universe.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball with an unusual suit runs right with a small cloud behind his legs. The frame of the panel is only two thirds the normal height and above the frame is the text from the narrator:]
:Narrator: The Fermi Paradox: Planets are so common that life should be too. So where is it?

:[Cueball keeps running with the small cloud behind his legs. Above him there are two frames with narration:]
:Narrator: Well, now we know.
:Narrator: It's not that life inevitably destroys itself with war.

:[Cueball leaps into the air off a jagged cliff edge with gray cliffs. The image frame only covers a small part of the center of this panel. Narration text is shown both above and below the image:]
:Narrator: It's just that it takes longer to develop space colonization.
:Narrator: Than it does to invent an activity

:[A Youtube video is shown with the usual icons in the black bar below the image; play, volume, full screen etc. The video shows Cueball soaring downwards as indicated with four speed lines behind his spread out arms and legs. The strange suit has opened up revealing it to be a wingsuit. The sound is on and Cueball can be heard. Above the video frame there is a final narration text in a frame. Two people are watching the video together off-panel and their comments are shown below in two voice bubbles with arrows pointing left and right.]
:Narrator: More fun than survival.
:Cueball: Wheeeee!
:Off-panel voice #1: Holy crap.
:Off-panel voice #2: I don't care how dangerous it is. I have to try it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Wingsuit]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:2784: Drainage Basins

2023-06-03T04:44:34Z

162.158.94.3: two witches

For anyone else who didn’t recognize “Alex Mack” and was confused when the first result on Wikipedia was an American football player with seemingly no reference to the joke at hand, I’m pretty sure this is referencing “Alex Mack” from “The Secret Life of Alex Mack” which was a Nickelodeon TV show in the 1990s. One of their powers is turning into water.
:Thanks! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.213|172.69.22.213]] 00:42, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
:I know of her by way of reading Diane Castle's work, <em>The Secret Return of Alex Mack</em>, which basically took over the Alex Mack fanfiction scene. Hadn't heard of the original until then. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.66.96|172.68.66.96]] 03:56, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

I need to point out: Turning into a puddle of liquid is not a superpower. Anyone can do that. Turning back into a solid human again afterwards is the tricky part. ~ [[User:Xxj|Xxj]] ([[User talk:Xxj|talk]]) 04:12, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
:I think turning into a puddle of liquid ''at will'' counts as a superpower. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.132|172.69.134.132]] 04:23, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

Man I thought this was about the kid who jumped off the cruise ship on a dare this week and got pulled under, and was really weirded out that he would joke about that, really happy to see I was dead wrong. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.168.144|172.68.168.144]]

"approximately twice the volume of a typical human being"—that implies there was already a witch in the lake previously. After we add the wWotW, there are two dissolved witches. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.3|162.158.94.3]] 04:44, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

962: The Corliss Resolution

Talk:2784: Drainage Basins