Talk:1052: Every Major's Terrible

2018-09-30T20:37:43Z

172.69.250.4: Added comment about 1935,1969, and 1991 dates

I think Iambic Octameter has a ''stressed-unstressed'' pattern, not the other way around as this explanation says. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 02:56, 10 April 2017 (UTC)
:No, the explanation is correct, I misread the Wikipedia article. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 13:41, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Panel 1's cueball is in the same pose as Rodin's "The Thinker"

Panel 4 background is the periodic table of elements.

Panel 5, Fowler's Toad emits a noxious secretion that irritates skin and mucous membranes (it was previously thought to cause warts)

Panel 6, Psychology = a serial killer with a chainsaw, Sociology = hobo; Social Psych = hobo serial killer with chainsaw.

Panel 15, LISP, Scheme, and other computer languages with an excess of parentheses.

Panel 16, biohazard symbol

Panel 19, bongos were played by Richard Feynman

Panel 27, fear of snakes, study of reptiles

Panel 28, a picture of a stomach, pun on "stomach" being slang for "tolerate"

Panel 30, words in all lowercase like e.e.cummings

-- [[Special:Contributions/75.103.23.206| 75.103.23.206 ]] 22:04, 7 December 2012‎
:Hobo serial killer with chainsaw? Social psych sounds awesome!
:[[Special:Contributions/24.2.217.188|24.2.217.188]] 22:42, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
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In panel 22 (History), what's the theme connecting the years 1935, 1969, and 1991?
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 15:40, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
:1935 is certainly related to some event that lead to the WWII (a quick look at the Wikipedia page for 1935 show that was the year Hitler rearmed Germany), which paved the way to the Cold War. 1969 was Apollo 11, a high moment of the Cold War, as the USA essentially won the race to the Moon. And 1991 was the year that the USSR dissolved, officially ending the Cold War. [[User:Sir labreck|Sir labreck]] ([[User talk:Sir labreck|talk]]) 18:37, 11 August 2015 (UTC)
:1935, Harlem race riot; 1969, race riot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 1991, Rodney King race riots... 2014-2016??? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.62|173.245.54.62]] 03:33, 13 December 2015 (UTC)
:Although the race riot dates match, I think war related is more likely. 1935 (WWII), 1969 (Vietnam), 1991 (Gulf War) I'm not sure what the common thread is, though, and 'war' is too broad [[Special:Contributions/172.69.250.4|172.69.250.4]] 20:37, 30 September 2018 (UTC)
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This explanation is very small for that big comic. I am starting to add the transcript and after that I will do more investigations to that opera. This should be the key to explain all the panels.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

:The answer won't lie in the song, trust me. Pirates of Penzance is probably my favorite comic opera out there. Plus Randall gives that the lie in saying you can use the tune from the elements song (a well-known parody) or even Marry Poppins (similar tune, but not exactly the same). I think each panel is just a reference to the words, I don't think that Randall is actually involving The Pirates of Penzance in any way other than the tune. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.211|173.245.52.211]] 20:53, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
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Feynman was also known for being a ladies' man, so the two girls in panel 19 are significant IMHO.
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.117|141.101.80.117]] 13:51, 25 December 2013 (UTC)
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Needs explanation what does it mean to '''choose a major''', and what '''major''' is in this context. Note every reader is from U.S.A.; different countries have different higher education systems. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 10:56, 9 January 2014 (UTC)
:True that. 'Graduation' in Brazil means 'Undergraduation' in the US. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.105|108.162.254.105]] 03:51, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
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"Math's just physics unconstrained by precepts of reality" - that isn't a binary tree, its a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifurcation_diagram bifurcation diagram] from chaos theory. And, sorry, it has nothing to do with the Banach–Tarski paradox - that's just mindless name-dropping.
[[User:Davidbak|Davidbak]] ([[User talk:Davidbak|talk]]) 20:54, 10 February 2014 (UTC)
:Are you sure it is not just an illustration of Banach-Tarski, arguably the most famous example where mathematical reality and (physical) intuition diverge? Why would the verse be illustrated by a bifurcation diagram (which I think, and I might be a bit ignorant here, is a concept pretty much only found in the "applied side" of mathematics, which ''is'' constrained by precepts of reality)? And even if it were a bifurcation diagram, why would the mass of the balls change? (again, I am perhaps showcasing my ignorance; if so, please be gentle) Finally, i would deem the bifurcation explanation a bit too obscure to be the real deal - a panel which is only understood by somewhat specialized mathematicians seems strange to me, especially given that all other frames contain understandable references. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.183|108.162.229.183]] 13:38, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRexBMPeRTo[[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 18:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Panel 30: possibly iambic septameter[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.154|141.101.104.154]]

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I think that the reason for not getting hugs in panel 16 is more to do with the fact that as a virus researcher you would be aware of how easy it is to get a virus/disease and so you would keep away from people and be worried about hugs because of that. (Sorry if I've done something wrong this is my first comment!) [[User:Yxquillio|Yxquillio]] ([[User talk:Yxquillio|talk]]) 08:24, 3 January 2016 (UTC)

Another song I guess could provide a good match is "Can You Stop the Calvary?" by Jona Lewie (or "Where's the Modding API" if you're a YOGSCAST fan like me. :)) --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 11:50, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

"End of the first verse where Cueball tells his academic advisor that he is undecided as every major's terrible. He even throws away his study guide." Are you sure it's not a course catalog? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.59|108.162.212.59]] 10:33, 19 June 2017 (UTC)

I think I should add that Pratchett used that quote to prove that geography was not a boring science, as it is physics, which is exciting, with some trees on it. Just a thought.[[User:MrBookBoy|MrBookBoy]] ([[User talk:MrBookBoy|talk]]) 01:30, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

2039: Begging the Question

2018-08-30T05:23:22Z

172.69.250.4: Word play on 'enormity' is lexical ambiguity, not syntactic. Syntactic ambiguity example: "I watched the man with binoculars" - is "with binoculars" part of the noun phrase ("the man with binoculars")? Or an adverbial phrase describing how I watched him?

{{comic
| number = 2039
| date = August 29, 2018
| title = Begging the Question
| image = begging_the_question.png
| titletext = At least we can all agree on the enormity of this usage.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NAUSEOUS BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic makes fun of the constant battle between those who maintain a {{w|Linguistic prescription|prescriptive view of language}} and those who have a {{w|Linguistic description|descriptive view}}. In the prescriptive view, language has fixed rules and fixed usage, and any usage that does not adhere to established rules is incorrect. In the descriptive view however, language is malleable and any usage can be correct if it is common and understood by most people.

The comic specifically calls out two phrases which are commonly misused in the prescriptive sense, and whose meanings have changed in modern usage in the descriptive sense:

;Nauseous
''Nauseous'' in its proper form means "causing {{w|nausea}}", while ''nauseated'' means affected with nausea.

Prescriptively speaking, it is only correct to use the word "nauseous" to describe the food item since that was the cause of Ponytail's nausea. Saying "the food made her nauseous" would traditionally be interpreted as meaning the food somehow caused her (her body, her appearance, etc.) to become so disgusting that she now causes other people to feel nausea. As White Hat states, the proper phrasing is that the "the food was nauseous", and it "made [her] feel nauseated".

In modern usage however, "nauseous" has taken on the same meaning as "nauseated", meaning "affected with nausea". Today most people will understand "she is nauseous" to mean she does not feel well.

;Begging the question
{{w|Begging the question}} originally referred to a logical fallacy where an argument assumed its conclusion. The phrase first meant to question (beg) the original question. In modern usage, it has come to mean to "raise a question or point that has not been dealt with". This is often a point of contention for prescriptivists. However, as the caption explains, Cueball has an entirely different meaning for this phrase that he created himself: "fight a losing battle against changing usage". This is actually a meta-meaning, as that is actually the common activity of prescriptivists who complain about incorrect usage; it's a losing battle, because language change is inevitable and unstoppable.

;OTOH
Ponytail might recognize that her exposure to nauseous food has both nauseated her and caused her to become nauseous to Cueball.
The question is not merely begged it is missed.

The title text also plays on another word commonly argued over by prescriptivists. "Enormity" in its classical usage means either extreme wickedness or a monstrous offense or evil, though it is more commonly used in modern writing as a synonym for enormousness. The title text exploits the lexical ambiguity that this creates.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail and White Hat standing next to each other talking. White Hat has raised his hand while Cueball stands behind him.]
:Ponytail: That food made me nauseous.
:White Hat: No, the ''food'' was nauseous. It made you feel ''nauseated''.
:Cueball: Come on, you're just begging the question.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I annoy people on all sides by using "beg the question" to mean "fight a losing battle against changing usage".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Language]]

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Talk:1052: Every Major's Terrible

2039: Begging the Question