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		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2687:_Division_Notation&amp;diff=323158</id>
		<title>Talk:2687: Division Notation</title>
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				<updated>2023-09-02T15:05:30Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.68.134.21: &lt;/p&gt;
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Fun fact: In Poland, we don't write the long division like that; we just write A:B with the bar above. I was VERY confused the first time I saw that notation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.235|172.70.246.235]] 21:03, 19 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Unrelated to {{w|Polish notation}}, i presume? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.13|172.70.134.13]] 22:43, 19 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf&lt;br /&gt;
::Unrelated. Never used Polish notation in school. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.23|172.71.160.23]] 10:25, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:In German elementary school we learned the a:b notation. When we learned more complex divisions in secondary school it was with the &amp;quot;scientist&amp;quot; notation. And as I am a software engineer AND (presumably) a normal person I use in general the respective notations. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:24, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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For me, the version on the xkcd website has an additional line (&amp;quot;A/B: Software Engineer&amp;quot;) that's not on this site. I think the comic might have been updated. Is anyone else seeing that? [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 23:20, 19 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Updated. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 00:31, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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For the Unicode one, I think it’s a reference to ⁄ (U+2044, fraction slash) or characters like ½, ¼, etc. - [[User:Cherryblossom|Cherryblossom]] ([[User talk:Cherryblossom|talk]]) 00:24, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Is it important to note that 1/2 auctocorrects to ½ in many text-based programs like Microsoft Word?--[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 02:32, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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It's possible to use fraction-style notation in LaTeX by using \frac, or am I missing something?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.125|162.158.2.125]] 05:49, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;the long division symbol is only used in some countries&amp;quot;. Only English-speaking ones, to be more precise. Most of the countries of the world use a different notation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.80|172.68.51.80]] 06:19, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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In the UK, the 'long division symbol' is nowadays often referred to (particularly with Primary classes, children aged 4 - 11) as the &amp;quot;Bus Stop Method&amp;quot;. Because it looks like a UK bus shelter. [[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 07:07, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: I always used (still use, on the rare occasions that I do it) the notation inverted - B)_A - so that the answer is output beneath the problem, which makes more sense to me, given that we generally read down the page. I guess that would be a vandalised bus stop?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 09:16, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:: When doing long-division, the intermediary sums (the calculated 'integer remainders' subtractions of progressively high-to-low powers of ten) would be done below in the 'standard' long-multiplication/addig/subtraction direction. The answer-figure is progressively created by the 'carry'-inverse to these more normal-looking arithmatic. Or so I surmise. Haven't used long-division, much, in 40 years or so (except in a polynomial-factoring thing, occasionally, using an extended version of the principle upon powers-of-whatever) so I might have the wrong-idea as to why the answer goes high (in that the non-answer that nevertheless leads to the answer goes low). ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.29|162.158.159.29]] 16:17, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::For me, the remainders go in small figures above the next integer, so that they basically form a new number to divide.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.48|172.70.86.48]] 08:27, 24 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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As  a Dutch primary schoolchild, I have used a÷b for calculations and &amp;quot;a over b&amp;quot; for fractions (e.g. ⅘). &lt;br /&gt;
For more difficult divisions, like what is 785/35, we used [https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staartdeling Staartdelingen] (nl), long division, of which the primary notation is 35/735\.&lt;br /&gt;
I think in early highschool we started using a over b for more complex calculations, &amp;quot;like (x+3) over 5 = 2, what is x&amp;quot;. I had up to this XKCD never seen B⟌A, and would confuse it for what we use as square root symbol (√). [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 07:16, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Come to think of it, it's kind of odd that we used &amp;quot;:&amp;quot; for division. Why are there this many different division notations anyway? Same for multiplication. There's x, *, ⋅, x but centered vertically, and concatenation (for letter variables)!&lt;br /&gt;
:: The : operator is for ratios, where a:b could be a/b or b/a, but also metaphors, where a:b::c:d means a is to b as c is to d. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.73|162.158.166.73]] 09:05, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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In Austria, school children are using the &amp;quot;scientist&amp;quot; notation from this comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.51|172.68.50.51]] 08:17, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: Same thing in Russia [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.97|172.71.98.97]] 08:46, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I live in Denmark, and “÷” seems to be often used here for subtraction, instead of a minus sign! Got confused a few times. [[User:Nclm|nicolas]] ([[User talk:Nclm|talk]]) 08:52, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Also from DK and have often seen ÷ used as % and on my keyboard as I type this there is a ÷ on the number part of the keyboard to the right. But when I push it I get this: &amp;quot;/&amp;quot; In school we used this A:B to mean A/B, just as in Poland as mentioned above. Today I would write 10/2 not 10:2 or 10÷2. But I never used the last version. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:08, 23 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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; tableau&lt;br /&gt;
: tab·leau /ˌtaˈblō/ noun&lt;br /&gt;
::a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history; a tableau vivant. &amp;quot;in the first act the action is presented in a series of tableaux&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I don't think it means what the editor including it thinks it means. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.185|172.69.22.185]] 09:02, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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: &amp;quot;A graphic description or representation&amp;quot; - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tableau&lt;br /&gt;
: It derives from the idea of 'things set out on a table'. The arrangement of cards in a solitaire game is also called a tableau. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 09:24, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:: changed to radices. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.93|172.70.206.93]] 10:18, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Well that's not right, is it? - [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radish &amp;quot;the pungent usually crisp root of a widely cultivated Eurasian plant (Raphanus sativus) of the mustard family usually eaten raw&amp;quot;]... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.13|172.71.178.13]] 13:22, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::::Naw... A radish is &amp;quot;like, almost 'rad', man, but not quite!&amp;quot;, while &amp;quot;radices&amp;quot; are totally cool freezer-food!&lt;br /&gt;
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The discussion of matrices and commutative rings is off topic. The comic is clearly about scalars alone. Please! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.17|172.69.134.17]] 20:46, 20 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: I thought it seemed on topic given the joke and demographic, but I think it could be presented better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.231|172.70.110.231]] 02:07, 21 October 2022 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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i type it as seen in 2 (counting the 2 schoolchilds as 1) and write it by hand as seen in 3 --an user who has no account yet&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.68.134.21</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1852:_Election_Map&amp;diff=323149</id>
		<title>Talk:1852: Election Map</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1852:_Election_Map&amp;diff=323149"/>
				<updated>2023-09-02T10:40:01Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.68.134.21: &lt;/p&gt;
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Is that Georgia's 6th district? [[User:Homusubi|Homusubi]] ([[User talk:Homusubi|talk]]) 12:41, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
*Yup. See map [https://decisiondeskhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GA06_HOUSE16.png here]. It looks a little squished, but that's probably to create the angled effect of the screen. [[User:AxleHelios|AxleHelios]] ([[User talk:AxleHelios|talk]]) 13:23, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:*It looks like it. That looks like the results from the recent (April) Special Election. There are one or two counties that aren't accurate (colored blue here that went red and vice versa), but I estimate a 99.9% chance that this is the 6th. [http://www.myajc.com/news/gen-politics/how-the-district-run-off-election-june-might-look/bHzbRfuZIWN8jOUTOSnQmM/ Here] are the election results. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 13:24, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::It's also supposed to be live coverage, so it might vary from the final results (ie, some are just projections). They seem fairly close ones too... SS07A was 56/43, AP01C was 53/46; AP14 was 51/48; SS12, AP09a and Blackwell 01 was 50/49 (albeit Blackwell swung red and the others swung blue)... there are probably more places colored wrong, but I've made my point and I'm too lazy to continue looking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:21, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::(EDIT) Sorry, they were all red. And I think that includes ALL of the districts I mentioned Oh, and Sewell Mill 03 and JC08 also turned red. Perhaps the Democrats were a bit too optimistic when calling the projections? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:34, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Is it worth a mention that Randall came out as a strong Democrat in the comics last October, and thus, there's a secondary hidden meaning that the red districts are moving &amp;quot;away&amp;quot; from Cueball? [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:57, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:That is probably just a coincidence.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 15:09, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I had that thought also, that the red districts/states/whatevers are figuratively moving away from the Dem's desired look for the country and the blues are moving toward it. But more than likely it's just a coincidence between [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift Red]/[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueshift Blue] Shifts and the colors associated with the political parties. The title text regarding the Green Party lends itself to the coincidence argument more than a pre-planned correlation. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 15:51, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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as an astronomy enjoyer thin made me laugh --an user who has no account yet&lt;br /&gt;
:In what way does endorsing one candidate over the other make him a &amp;quot;strong&amp;quot; Democrat?  He could be a weak Democrat.  Or anti-Republican.  Or just anti-Trump.  Or just pro-Hillary.  You're drawing an interesting conclusion from just the October comic.  [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 08:34, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:It's a coincidence, but it may well be a coincidence that Randall's intentionally playing on. (I suspect Randall's more anti-Trump than he is anti-Republican, and more anti-Republican than he is a &amp;quot;strong Democrat&amp;quot;; but that's neither here nor there.) [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 12:14, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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It really seems more like the red is in the northwest and the blue is in the southeast. It's almost symmetric. In fact, if you tilt your head to the right, it almost looks like a blue flare dress with a blood splatter on the left side. ...Yeah, I suppose that was a bit morbid. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:34, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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While the pure physics explanation is good and probably right, given Randall's background, I'd point out that there's an alternate explanation: that's a Doppler weather RADAR storm-relative [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_radar#Velocity velocity] product, and the proximity of approaching and receding winds in certain patterns is an indicator of certain types of severe weather. Randall missed out on the opportunity to make a &amp;quot;political [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_echo hook echo]&amp;quot; joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.155|108.162.212.155]] 19:05, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Nope. First I thought also about a weather report. But it shows the color green! This doesn't fit to the title text.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:10, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Which party is red and which is green? Sorry, I'm not from thé U.S. and don't know.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.10|162.158.238.10]] 20:27, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:D is blue and R is red. This should be mentioned at the explanation.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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; Greenshift&lt;br /&gt;
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Dgbrt and I had a back and forth, where we started with the text,  ''If the Green Party won, its regions would likely be colored green, which would not work for Cueball's Doppler effect analysis.''.&lt;br /&gt;
I noted &amp;quot;Greenshift doesn't implicitly break Dopper analysis, it just implies a great magnitude of shift. And a blueshift isn't necessarily a shift *TO* blue, merely TOWARDS blue (and Green)&amp;quot; and he replied &amp;quot;There is no greenshift in physics. It's either red (longer wavelength) or blue (shorter wavelength). This means when red appears as green it is blueshiftet.&amp;quot; I don't quite see Dbrt's point with respect to the text, which now claims ''which would not fit to Cueball's Doppler effect analysis.''&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, we only talk about redshift and blueshift in physics, but those shifts don't give us a map with red and blue districts (or stars). They give us light that shifts slightly toward the red or slightly toward the blue (and toward the green). So it's not quite clear how to map red/blue districts to redshift/blueshift. But either way, green is not a problem -- it's not that it would &amp;quot;not work&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;not fit&amp;quot; as Dgbrt keeps editing the article to claim. It just would mean some districts were a lot more blue (or were green). Cueball could simply say &amp;quot;The green regions are approaching us REALLY FAST.&amp;quot; Can someone justify Dgbrt's edits here? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 19:29, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I am a physicist and in physics there is only redshift/blueshift used as a term for a shift to longer/shorter wavelengths. Most data is obtained beyond visible light and pictures are artificial enhanced. And the colors only represent the speed in respect to us. Red-&amp;gt;away from us, white-&amp;gt;no motion, and blue-&amp;gt;object comes closer. All observations can be done without any color, only the spectral lines are analyzed. Red/blue just indicates the direction of the shift - forward/backward. No further directions are possible.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::I study astronomy and I confirm that red always represents maximum redshift and blue maximum blueshift (by maximum I mean maximum seen in that pecific observation). However, green and yellow are sometimes used to represent no or little motion. So green could match Cueball explanation, but only if it was near the center. However, the term &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; never appears.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 22:50, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, there is no such term as &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; in physics. But in the xkcd comic universe where red and blue represent redshift and blueshift, we are faced with the possibility of green. This implies it would be &amp;quot;greenshift,&amp;quot; despite the term not existing. But whether we call it greenshift or not, that's not really the point: my point, which Dgbrt seems to disagree with, is that presence of green (whether it is called &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;stronger blueshift&amp;quot;) is not an inherent problem to Cueball's Doppler analysis. Or if it is, please explain why that's so? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 02:38, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:In theory, you could color-code your map differenty, so that green would indicate stronger blueshift than blue, and it would be perfectly correct map if labelled. This map, however, is not labelled for Doppler shifts, so Cueball is interpreting it according to traditional meanings of colors. If he was to consider green as &amp;quot;stronger blueshift&amp;quot;, why not consider it as &amp;quot;stronger redshift&amp;quot;? Or, for that matter, why not consider red &amp;quot;blueshift&amp;quot;, and blue &amp;quot;redshift&amp;quot;? That would be coorect as well. But having no other clues, he uses traditional meanings of colors.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 12:16, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Notice the title-text.  &amp;quot;Luckily for my interpretation&amp;quot; he says.  This implies that he believes green would cause a problem with his interpretation, and thus would use a different interpretation in the presence of green.  The possibility of greenshift simply doesn't exist here.  [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 17:44, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Yes, the joke is about red/blue-shift, nothing else. Scientific images are often much more colored, even maybe even only in green (from light to dark). But the image here is simple as it is. And consider that even the highest redshifted galaxies still appear in white to the human eye. We can not ''see'' that shift.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:09, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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; Off-topic&lt;br /&gt;
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Is there any particular use of creating an account here? I can still make comments and edit explanations without one. What does an account actually mean? (Please delete if it's in wrong place) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 20:43, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Hi 162.158.91.245... is one reason to register. You just will have a name others can remember. And when your IP is dynamic even you will not recognize your former edits. Furthermore members have a talk page and when you have a new message you will be informed. For further discussions you should look here [[explain xkcd:Community portal]] or maybe at someones talk page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:06, 21 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:You also won't have to [http://imgur.com/a/9NWUd keep solving the CAPTCHA every time you want to comment]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 14:46, 21 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I was an anonymous contributor for something like a year and a half, and only recently signed up (like, this is probably my 4th or 5th comment since), so I feel I am uniquely qualified to answer, since I could have asked the same question a few weeks ago. :) I used to manually sign my comments to keep a continuity, i.e. I'd end with &amp;quot; - NiceGuy1 [tildes]&amp;quot;. I also kept a list of which comics I commented on so I could go back to check replies. I can confirm that the Captchas went away (at first when I started commenting anonymously they were simply &amp;quot;What comic is this site about&amp;quot;, or &amp;quot;What's the name of this wiki&amp;quot;. I miss those. Then it was simply numbers, now last I saw it's portions of street signs. This is both chronological and preference order for me, LOL!). I spent my first night going to all my comments and &amp;quot;claiming&amp;quot; them, LOL! I'm not sure if the Captchas went away after a certain number of these, or 24 hours after I signed up, but they went away quickly. And quietly, took me a few comments to notice the &amp;quot;missing&amp;quot; step. :) The thing is, I go to karaoke several times a week at different bars, where I catch up on XKCD on my iPad while waiting to sing, so I'd have a different IP address every time, at least one IP per bar. Plus one for my computer at home and I think another for my iPad at home. Now I'm all unified. And it keeps track of my edits/comments for me, so I don't have to keep track anymore to see if people responded. Plus now I have a checkbox available for &amp;quot;Watch this page&amp;quot;. Haven't tried it yet so not sure what it does (well, what it does EXACTLY). I can also mark my contribution as &amp;quot;minor&amp;quot; (thus far I've been treating actual comments as &amp;quot;major&amp;quot; and spelling/wording corrections as &amp;quot;minor&amp;quot;). Basically I figured I was commenting often enough - I think I noticed I had commented on 6 or 7 comics in a row - that it made sense to formalize my membership in the community. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:54, 27 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Thank you all for the answers! As you see, I did sign up an account, even though I had mostly constant IP. The username to remember convinced me :) One more nice thing about the account is internationalization - everything except actual content is customized to my language. None of you mentioned it, although I think I can guess the reason :) However, it's not complete - on the left, the &amp;quot;Main page&amp;quot; button is translated, but &amp;quot;latest comic&amp;quot; and some of the others aren't. It would be nice if it was completed. Also, are there plans to translate the explanations? I could help with translations (polish). EDIT I made an account over a week ago, ant that's my first comment, and CAPTCHA is still there. So, it's not time-based, rather comment-based. But one more thing about CAPTCHA - I normally use Firefox, and CAPTCHA works there, but it didn't show up when I signed up - I had to use another browser. [[User:Kshksh|kshksh]] ([[User talk:Kshksh|talk]]) 19:54, 4 July 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::: You're correct, when I was anonymous this site was in English, and now... It's in English, LOL! I didn't even know this site supported multiple languages! I think maybe ExplainXKCD is built on a Wiki system, where the basic parts and programming are provided by this Wiki system, and the people from this site customize it to our use. So maybe the parts from the Wiki system support other languages but the custom parts don't? That would explain why &amp;quot;Main page&amp;quot; is translated, that would be on every Wiki. If I knew who's in charge around here (I think someone named JayRukesXKCD or something could be one of them), I would say ask them. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:20, 30 July 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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as an astronomy enjoyer this made me laugh --an user who has no account yet&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
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		<title>Talk:1852: Election Map</title>
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Is that Georgia's 6th district? [[User:Homusubi|Homusubi]] ([[User talk:Homusubi|talk]]) 12:41, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
*Yup. See map [https://decisiondeskhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GA06_HOUSE16.png here]. It looks a little squished, but that's probably to create the angled effect of the screen. [[User:AxleHelios|AxleHelios]] ([[User talk:AxleHelios|talk]]) 13:23, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:*It looks like it. That looks like the results from the recent (April) Special Election. There are one or two counties that aren't accurate (colored blue here that went red and vice versa), but I estimate a 99.9% chance that this is the 6th. [http://www.myajc.com/news/gen-politics/how-the-district-run-off-election-june-might-look/bHzbRfuZIWN8jOUTOSnQmM/ Here] are the election results. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 13:24, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::It's also supposed to be live coverage, so it might vary from the final results (ie, some are just projections). They seem fairly close ones too... SS07A was 56/43, AP01C was 53/46; AP14 was 51/48; SS12, AP09a and Blackwell 01 was 50/49 (albeit Blackwell swung red and the others swung blue)... there are probably more places colored wrong, but I've made my point and I'm too lazy to continue looking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:21, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::(EDIT) Sorry, they were all red. And I think that includes ALL of the districts I mentioned Oh, and Sewell Mill 03 and JC08 also turned red. Perhaps the Democrats were a bit too optimistic when calling the projections? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:34, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Is it worth a mention that Randall came out as a strong Democrat in the comics last October, and thus, there's a secondary hidden meaning that the red districts are moving &amp;quot;away&amp;quot; from Cueball? [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:57, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:That is probably just a coincidence.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 15:09, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I had that thought also, that the red districts/states/whatevers are figuratively moving away from the Dem's desired look for the country and the blues are moving toward it. But more than likely it's just a coincidence between [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift Red]/[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueshift Blue] Shifts and the colors associated with the political parties. The title text regarding the Green Party lends itself to the coincidence argument more than a pre-planned correlation. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 15:51, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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as an astronomy enjoyer thin made me laugh --an user who has no account yet&lt;br /&gt;
:In what way does endorsing one candidate over the other make him a &amp;quot;strong&amp;quot; Democrat?  He could be a weak Democrat.  Or anti-Republican.  Or just anti-Trump.  Or just pro-Hillary.  You're drawing an interesting conclusion from just the October comic.  [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 08:34, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:It's a coincidence, but it may well be a coincidence that Randall's intentionally playing on. (I suspect Randall's more anti-Trump than he is anti-Republican, and more anti-Republican than he is a &amp;quot;strong Democrat&amp;quot;; but that's neither here nor there.) [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 12:14, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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It really seems more like the red is in the northwest and the blue is in the southeast. It's almost symmetric. In fact, if you tilt your head to the right, it almost looks like a blue flare dress with a blood splatter on the left side. ...Yeah, I suppose that was a bit morbid. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.71|108.162.238.71]] 18:34, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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While the pure physics explanation is good and probably right, given Randall's background, I'd point out that there's an alternate explanation: that's a Doppler weather RADAR storm-relative [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_radar#Velocity velocity] product, and the proximity of approaching and receding winds in certain patterns is an indicator of certain types of severe weather. Randall missed out on the opportunity to make a &amp;quot;political [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_echo hook echo]&amp;quot; joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.155|108.162.212.155]] 19:05, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Nope. First I thought also about a weather report. But it shows the color green! This doesn't fit to the title text.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:10, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Which party is red and which is green? Sorry, I'm not from thé U.S. and don't know.&lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.10|162.158.238.10]] 20:27, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:D is blue and R is red. This should be mentioned at the explanation.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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; Greenshift&lt;br /&gt;
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Dgbrt and I had a back and forth, where we started with the text,  ''If the Green Party won, its regions would likely be colored green, which would not work for Cueball's Doppler effect analysis.''.&lt;br /&gt;
I noted &amp;quot;Greenshift doesn't implicitly break Dopper analysis, it just implies a great magnitude of shift. And a blueshift isn't necessarily a shift *TO* blue, merely TOWARDS blue (and Green)&amp;quot; and he replied &amp;quot;There is no greenshift in physics. It's either red (longer wavelength) or blue (shorter wavelength). This means when red appears as green it is blueshiftet.&amp;quot; I don't quite see Dbrt's point with respect to the text, which now claims ''which would not fit to Cueball's Doppler effect analysis.''&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, we only talk about redshift and blueshift in physics, but those shifts don't give us a map with red and blue districts (or stars). They give us light that shifts slightly toward the red or slightly toward the blue (and toward the green). So it's not quite clear how to map red/blue districts to redshift/blueshift. But either way, green is not a problem -- it's not that it would &amp;quot;not work&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;not fit&amp;quot; as Dgbrt keeps editing the article to claim. It just would mean some districts were a lot more blue (or were green). Cueball could simply say &amp;quot;The green regions are approaching us REALLY FAST.&amp;quot; Can someone justify Dgbrt's edits here? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 19:29, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I am a physicist and in physics there is only redshift/blueshift used as a term for a shift to longer/shorter wavelengths. Most data is obtained beyond visible light and pictures are artificial enhanced. And the colors only represent the speed in respect to us. Red-&amp;gt;away from us, white-&amp;gt;no motion, and blue-&amp;gt;object comes closer. All observations can be done without any color, only the spectral lines are analyzed. Red/blue just indicates the direction of the shift - forward/backward. No further directions are possible.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::I study astronomy and I confirm that red always represents maximum redshift and blue maximum blueshift (by maximum I mean maximum seen in that pecific observation). However, green and yellow are sometimes used to represent no or little motion. So green could match Cueball explanation, but only if it was near the center. However, the term &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; never appears.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 22:50, 19 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, there is no such term as &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; in physics. But in the xkcd comic universe where red and blue represent redshift and blueshift, we are faced with the possibility of green. This implies it would be &amp;quot;greenshift,&amp;quot; despite the term not existing. But whether we call it greenshift or not, that's not really the point: my point, which Dgbrt seems to disagree with, is that presence of green (whether it is called &amp;quot;greenshift&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;stronger blueshift&amp;quot;) is not an inherent problem to Cueball's Doppler analysis. Or if it is, please explain why that's so? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 02:38, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:In theory, you could color-code your map differenty, so that green would indicate stronger blueshift than blue, and it would be perfectly correct map if labelled. This map, however, is not labelled for Doppler shifts, so Cueball is interpreting it according to traditional meanings of colors. If he was to consider green as &amp;quot;stronger blueshift&amp;quot;, why not consider it as &amp;quot;stronger redshift&amp;quot;? Or, for that matter, why not consider red &amp;quot;blueshift&amp;quot;, and blue &amp;quot;redshift&amp;quot;? That would be coorect as well. But having no other clues, he uses traditional meanings of colors.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 12:16, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Notice the title-text.  &amp;quot;Luckily for my interpretation&amp;quot; he says.  This implies that he believes green would cause a problem with his interpretation, and thus would use a different interpretation in the presence of green.  The possibility of greenshift simply doesn't exist here.  [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 17:44, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Yes, the joke is about red/blue-shift, nothing else. Scientific images are often much more colored, even maybe even only in green (from light to dark). But the image here is simple as it is. And consider that even the highest redshifted galaxies still appear in white to the human eye. We can not ''see'' that shift.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:09, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Is there any particular use of creating an account here? I can still make comments and edit explanations without one. What does an account actually mean? (Please delete if it's in wrong place) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.245|162.158.91.245]] 20:43, 20 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Hi 162.158.91.245... is one reason to register. You just will have a name others can remember. And when your IP is dynamic even you will not recognize your former edits. Furthermore members have a talk page and when you have a new message you will be informed. For further discussions you should look here [[explain xkcd:Community portal]] or maybe at someones talk page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:06, 21 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:You also won't have to [http://imgur.com/a/9NWUd keep solving the CAPTCHA every time you want to comment]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 14:46, 21 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I was an anonymous contributor for something like a year and a half, and only recently signed up (like, this is probably my 4th or 5th comment since), so I feel I am uniquely qualified to answer, since I could have asked the same question a few weeks ago. :) I used to manually sign my comments to keep a continuity, i.e. I'd end with &amp;quot; - NiceGuy1 [tildes]&amp;quot;. I also kept a list of which comics I commented on so I could go back to check replies. I can confirm that the Captchas went away (at first when I started commenting anonymously they were simply &amp;quot;What comic is this site about&amp;quot;, or &amp;quot;What's the name of this wiki&amp;quot;. I miss those. Then it was simply numbers, now last I saw it's portions of street signs. This is both chronological and preference order for me, LOL!). I spent my first night going to all my comments and &amp;quot;claiming&amp;quot; them, LOL! I'm not sure if the Captchas went away after a certain number of these, or 24 hours after I signed up, but they went away quickly. And quietly, took me a few comments to notice the &amp;quot;missing&amp;quot; step. :) The thing is, I go to karaoke several times a week at different bars, where I catch up on XKCD on my iPad while waiting to sing, so I'd have a different IP address every time, at least one IP per bar. Plus one for my computer at home and I think another for my iPad at home. Now I'm all unified. And it keeps track of my edits/comments for me, so I don't have to keep track anymore to see if people responded. Plus now I have a checkbox available for &amp;quot;Watch this page&amp;quot;. Haven't tried it yet so not sure what it does (well, what it does EXACTLY). I can also mark my contribution as &amp;quot;minor&amp;quot; (thus far I've been treating actual comments as &amp;quot;major&amp;quot; and spelling/wording corrections as &amp;quot;minor&amp;quot;). Basically I figured I was commenting often enough - I think I noticed I had commented on 6 or 7 comics in a row - that it made sense to formalize my membership in the community. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:54, 27 June 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Thank you all for the answers! As you see, I did sign up an account, even though I had mostly constant IP. The username to remember convinced me :) One more nice thing about the account is internationalization - everything except actual content is customized to my language. None of you mentioned it, although I think I can guess the reason :) However, it's not complete - on the left, the &amp;quot;Main page&amp;quot; button is translated, but &amp;quot;latest comic&amp;quot; and some of the others aren't. It would be nice if it was completed. Also, are there plans to translate the explanations? I could help with translations (polish). EDIT I made an account over a week ago, ant that's my first comment, and CAPTCHA is still there. So, it's not time-based, rather comment-based. But one more thing about CAPTCHA - I normally use Firefox, and CAPTCHA works there, but it didn't show up when I signed up - I had to use another browser. [[User:Kshksh|kshksh]] ([[User talk:Kshksh|talk]]) 19:54, 4 July 2017 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::: You're correct, when I was anonymous this site was in English, and now... It's in English, LOL! I didn't even know this site supported multiple languages! I think maybe ExplainXKCD is built on a Wiki system, where the basic parts and programming are provided by this Wiki system, and the people from this site customize it to our use. So maybe the parts from the Wiki system support other languages but the custom parts don't? That would explain why &amp;quot;Main page&amp;quot; is translated, that would be on every Wiki. If I knew who's in charge around here (I think someone named JayRukesXKCD or something could be one of them), I would say ask them. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:20, 30 July 2017 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
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		<title>Talk:1987: Python Environment</title>
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Now you can see why the BOT is written in PERL;). But I have to be honest, there are also different versions causing similar problems... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:26, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Is pictorial misspelled as pictoral? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.231|162.158.62.231]] 19:08, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:{{Wiktionary|pictoral|Wiktionary}} says: &amp;quot;Probably an alteration of pictorial...&amp;quot; But please add new comments to the bottom. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:03, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Currently working on a table with everything. Note: Programs are boxed, and file paths are just strings. [[User:Chbs|Chbs]] ([[User talk:Chbs|talk]]) 14:44, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I never will understand why you guys always create tables...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:59, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Convention? IDK. [[User:Chbs|Chbs]] ([[User talk:Chbs|talk]]) 17:06, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Of course there is no convention, but often a floating text is a prettier layout. And it's easier for the editors because a single wrong char can corrupt the entire table. But we always get tables here... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:49, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;using sudo to install python packages&amp;quot; is probably a reference to the &amp;quot;(Misc folders owned by root)&amp;quot; [[User:Chbs|Chbs]] ([[User talk:Chbs|talk]]) 17:06, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I swear every so often Randall just releases a comic like this to mess with us...&lt;br /&gt;
Just in case the last few ones have been too easy. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 14:58, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Created by a PYTHON script (well actually PERL but that's besides the point (I know a lot of people who would fight you over that comment)) - why would people fight me over this comment? [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 15:25, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Only in the sense of &amp;quot;How dare you imply that python and perl are interchangeable!&amp;quot; [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 16:06, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I've removed the &amp;quot;lot of people&amp;quot;. Comments are going here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:58, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:They aren't interchangeable, but in respect to the comment above it is besides the point [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 16:22, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Isn't the joke that installing multiple versions of Python has resulted in a Byzantine set of $path declarations, pointing all over the place? The title-text/alt-text reference to nuclear waste does not seem like the central joke, but merely compares the difficulty of cleanup. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:25, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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May a file system which uses HashIDs for version tracking allow files stored anywhere within that file system to be accessible by only referencing their hash, without the use of paths? Seems like &amp;quot;folders&amp;quot; are not as useful as relational tags would be. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:25, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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My has this problem. System Integrity Protection won't let me update python libraries, so whenever I need to update a library I install it in a different place and have to switch to the new version. I can't actually uninstall anything because of SIP, so multiple versions of every library I have ever used will remain on my computer forever.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.16|162.158.75.16]] 18:56, 30 April 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Thanks to the editor who added the article about the WIPP warning messages. I'd been looking for that source for a while. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 13:27, 1 May 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Whoever added this pretty rude 2nd incomplete tag: who do you think you are and what this is!? we are volunteers, not your personal data entry monkeys. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.46|172.68.51.46]] 00:07, 9 August 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Huh, seems no one mentioned the atrocious pun of storing homebrew in cellar. -Tanz&lt;br /&gt;
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this one is sooooo confusing... reminds me of the mess my desktop is xd, also, edit: it includes tons of malfunctioning scripts and crappy drawings&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
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