explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2294: Coronavirus Charts

2020-04-16T09:03:17Z

172.69.54.9:

It must be because there aren't any numbers along the axes [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.104|172.69.34.104]] 23:53, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

I want to know if this is a random sketch with silly labels, or if Randall looked up actual data to plot it. It seems to be a combination of 4 metrics which might be reported somewhere (search popularity, death rate, total reported cases, and number of tests performed). I suspect there aren't many countries/regions for which all 4 are available, but it's conceivable that someone's published enough stats to draw this crazy plot. ¬[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 01:39, 16 April 2020 (UTC)
:What would negative results in a google search be? How do you make them a graph axis? I think its just random labels on graphs. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 05:12, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

Is the y-axis ''(death_today + cases_aweekago)/capita'' or ''death_today + (cases_aweekago/capita)''? This would hugely effect the weighting of the two terms. (Parentheses in second interpretation are for clarity only, I know they change nothing mathematically.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 09:03, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-04T09:36:38Z

172.69.54.9:

Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu and has already killed more people. And any death rate that starts with 0.00 and then has a number other than zero can only be called "basically zero" if you value human life very little. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.132|162.158.94.132]] 21:49, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:addendum: this seems to depend on what source you use for the chinese yearly flu death rate. number of deaths is either much higher or somewhat lower.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.123|162.158.91.123]] 21:53, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It's Trump taking point that the coronavirus is a hoax and no worse than the flu. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.213|162.158.74.213]] 22:14, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:At the very least, the fact the virus has over 90,000 confirmed cases makes it a significant disease. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.246|172.69.34.246]] 22:28, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:It doesn't seem like the point of the comic is to comment on the severity of the virus. Seems more on-topic to say things that are objectively true, like "Many people are concerned about the virus" rather than discussing disputed stats.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.132|162.158.106.132]] 22:58, 2 March 2020 (UTC) Patb
::I agree, and suggest we remove the line with stats entirely. It isn't relevant to the comic, and having it refer to "current estimates" means someone will have to keep updating it when new estimates are made. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.57|172.69.54.57]] 08:17, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::A running total here wouldn't be necessary, there is at least one web site especially for that (or a page for Covid-19 on a general disease outbreak tracking site). To me it looks like this virus is about equally dangerous as flu, except that this virus is only in about 70 countries and counting, so if it isn't in yours yet (as far as you know) then you are not yet in danger (as far as you know). Also, flu kills a lot of people, numerically, every year, and if this virus kills an equal number of people, every year, there are twice as many people dead, total. (ish) So it's worth trying to stop this virus from existing, while we might still do that. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.76|162.158.159.76]] 13:40, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Let's inject a little sanity here: Trump's "talking point" about it being no on par with the flu is, for once, correct. Most people who are infected have mild symptoms, or none at all. In fact, that's how it's suddenly turned out that the spread is so much greater than previously reported: Because most people never even know they have it. Given this, the mortality rate is a tiny fraction of what was previously reported, perhaps 0.3% instead of 3%. And it was only ostensibly 3% in a primitive region where some people still have dirt floors, and almost nobody is willing to deal with their socialized health care system except in an emergency. Therefore most of the infected were not showing up for treatment, only those in serious trouble. In fact, the vast majority of those who have died are elderly or immunocompromised, ''exactly'' the same group who are killed in the tens of thousands each year by the flu, in the US. So no, this has been a tempest in a teapot, stirred up by the unscientific CDC in order to pad their budget, the way they do periodically with a new fake pandemic threat. SARS, West Nile, bird flu, h1n1, and ebola...no competent epidemiologist would ever seriously have expected those to become a threat in the US, or anywhere else outside of primitive regions. But the CDC has continued to redouble their unearned budget on this fraudulent fearmongering. As I learned when consulting for such ilk in DC, "Fear Equals Funding". Oh, and no, 90,000 cases only make it a "significant disease" in the way that another coronavirus, the common cold, is significant. It's not significantly dangerous. In fact, it really is just a strong kind of common cold. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:::While it doesn't seem to be more lethal than flu (or in general having more severe symptoms), either it's more contagious or the fact it's contagious for weeks before symptoms makes it spread easier. In this sense it's more serious threat - imagine for example if ALL employees of nuclear power plant would be infected leaving noone capable of caring of the reactor. That said, it seems that panic is currently more dangerous than the virus itself. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:14, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

:The 2% death rate in the explantion is outdated. [https://news.sina.cn/zt_d/yiqing0121 Here (in Chinese)] is the compiled data for all China. As of March 3rd, the death rate calculated by (death toll)/(confirmed infected patients) is 3.7% for all China and 4.6% for Wuhan city (the epicenter). The number for Wuhan is likely to grow in the following days, too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.86|162.158.190.86]] 20:11, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::The mortality rate in China is only relevant if one lives in an area with a primitive socialized health care system. As with SARS, it won't turn out to have a significant death rate among people infected in the US who are not elderly or immunocompromised. Perhaps, in fact, a zero death rate outside of that high risk group. « [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 21:32, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

If the Godzilla movies have taught me anything, it's that giant insects aren't a problem biologists can solve anyways. That's more of a "nuclear paleontology" sort of job. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 01:43, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

It is legitimately difficult to tell if Ponytail's use of the word 'catchy' as a descriptor for 'coronavirus' is an intentional or unintentional pun. Either way, it's very opportune. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 03:55, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

The current chapter of Wilde Life (a totally unrelated webcomic) as a giant spider interacting with two of the main characters, starting [https://www.wildelifecomic.com/comic/710/ here]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:05, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I think they missed a trick with the naming. CORVID-19 would have reminded everyone of H5N1 'bird flu', and we could just blame the crows. Kill a magpie to avoid infection!
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 10:53, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
:What? How is CORVID-19 supposed to remind anyone of H5N1 or bird flu? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:20, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::Corvidae is the family including crows, ravens, jays, magpies; so, CORVID~=bird. Not sure how many people would make that connection, but I think that's what the previous poster was getting at.
::(Please sign your posts!)
:I think "SARS-CoV-2: Electric Boogaloo" has a nice ring to it although a little wordy for everyday use. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.116|198.41.238.116]] 08:16, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Yeah really dodged a bullet on those rhinoviri. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.44|172.69.22.44]] 11:36, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Is it relevant to mention that some spiders grow larger in cities? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105480
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:39, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not really wanting to catch COVID-19. I'm holding out for COVID-19b, which is going to be better beta-tested. (But by the time COVID-19c comes out, it's just going to be a bandwagon of planned obsolescence by then - I'd rather stick with what I've got until the next significent release version and keep a close eye on the advanced reviews and what other vendors are innovating.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.46|162.158.34.46]] 16:15, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

This is only 3 years too early to be a reference to the spiders in Colorado https://xkcd.com/1688/ especially with Megan holding bio-hazardous material. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.33|162.158.62.33]]

Assorted catchier names: a)Corona-chan (works for every disease with a girl name, Ebola, Zika, Lassa, Malaria, Cholera, Yersinia...Ask 4chan), b) My Corona (OK, a bit 1970-ish), c) Coronjob (for conspiracy buffs). (Personally, I'm less afraid of getting infected than getting, showing no symptoms as always and killing half of my environment...) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 09:36, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-04T09:32:41Z

172.69.54.9: Und treiben mit Entsetzen Scherz

1039: RuBisCO

2020-02-28T17:14:55Z

172.69.54.9: added categories Language and Chemistry

{{comic
| number = 1039
| date = April 6, 2012
| title = RuBisCO
| image = rubisco.png
| titletext = Bruce Schneier believes safewords are fundamentally insecure and recommends that you ask your partner to stop via public key signature.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Safeword|Safe words}} are designated words for sexual play which are meant to be called if one partner is uncomfortable with the way things are proceeding as alternatives to simply saying "no" or "stop", which may be used to express ''playacted'' reluctance by a submissive partner who actually wants to continue. Calling the pre-chosen "safe word" would be a sign to stop. To prevent accidental usage, people generally pick words that they wouldn't normally use, such as "Pineapple" or "Hedgehog." In the case of this comic, the characters are chemists, and the uncommon word they happen to have chosen is {{w|RuBisCO|Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase}}, also known as RuBisCO (which actually isn't a very uncommon word in the scientific world, as it's the most abundant {{w|protein}} on earth, but it would be uncommon to use the full word). However, the length of the word makes it impractical for a safe word, as it would take too long to say; indeed, using the shorter form "RuBisCO" would normally be a fine safe word.

The title text mentions {{w|Bruce Schneier}}, a computer security professional, and public keys which is the publicly known half of {{w|public-key cryptography}}, which uses two mathematically linked keys to decrypt information. The joke is that Schneier considers safewords as a type of security and thus believes they are not safe enough and recommend the key signature. However, whereas it takes a long time to say RuBisCO in full during your submission, it would be impossible to use any public keys to stop your partner.

==Transcript==
:[Person in background (out-of-frame) screams out this word over all 3 panels.]

:[Cueball is working on a laptop at a desk. Megan is reading a book in an armchair.]
:Person 1: RIBULOSEBISPH..

:[In a frameless panel, Cueball has stopped working. Megan has stopped reading, and is holding her book.]
:Person 1: ...OSPHATECARBOXYL...

:[Cueball continues working. Megan resumes reading her book.]
:Person 1: ...ASEOXYGENASE!
:Person 2: Oh, Sorry!
:Megan: Man, chemists pick the worst safewords.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

Talk:2273: Truck Proximity

2020-02-28T03:37:34Z

172.69.54.9: The Dinosaur Truckers, Old MacDonald had a Truck

Lots of dinosaurs driving equipment on a farm out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUmxUWs1Uk or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgHz8zBZlk [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 20:47, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Being pedantic, those are tractors: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imayi.dinofarmfree&hl=en_US Perhaps dinosaurs driving trucks on farms is a niche just begging to be filled ;-) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.127|172.68.189.127]] 06:09, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Can see a strong argument that Randall got the axes wrong here... [[User:Heylukeatthat|Heylukeatthat]] ([[User talk:Heylukeatthat|talk]]) 21:09, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:How so? I don't see it... There are people with truck-related hobbies who know more info about trucks than the frequency of their proximity to them might demand; which accounts for the asymmetry in the upper-right cluster. Having kids (especially male children raised with heteronormative socially dimorphic entertainment sets, which frequently adhere to traditional social expectations of "stuff for boys") ''definitely'' increases one's exposure to truck-related topics. What's the case for the axes being reversed?
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:30, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
::I just read his comment as suggesting the x and y axes should be swapped, where 'proximity to trucks' should be on the x-axis. I'd agree that conventionally that would make more sense, and it was likely done this way to impact the 'reading order' of the clusters for comic effect. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:18, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:::Don't you know? Having knowledge of trucks causes a physical attraction force between you and the truck. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.58|172.69.34.58]] 01:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::The real issue is that the most proximity (distance 0) is at some random point far away from the center of the coordinate system and the center of the coordinate system is some random distance away from a truck. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 02:59, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::A graph doesn't necessary show that x axis causes y axis. even less when it is mapped on the plane instead of being a line graph. But even line graphs may just show correlation, see [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:35, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::Economics graphs often reverse the axes like that. Though in this case, I saw it as correlational rather than explicitly causal, so I didn't even notice.

Wait, has Randall come into possession of ''offspring''? Specifically, of the "between 2 and 5 years of age, assigned male at birth" variety? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.35|162.158.79.35]] 22:37, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:This is what I came here curious about! Or is he just making this observation about some friends/family he spends time with?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 23:11, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
:Seems unlikely given the lack of units on the [[833|axes]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.130|172.68.54.130]] 15:23, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
::[[833]] is about labeling axes in general, not about putting units on them. If you just want to show a correlation, but not detailed values, such as here, it is totally valid to not put units. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:25, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:::It's not clear if it's linear or log or [[2023|something weird]]. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.142|172.68.54.142]] 17:44, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

I can think of one job that puts someone into that bottom-right corner: total loss valuation specialists (particularly ones specializing in commercial vehicles). We don't get within a hundred miles of trucks, and yet we know substantially more about them than the people who submit the claims to us do (and sometimes more than the owners do). --[[User:Skyrender|Skyrender]] ([[User talk:Skyrender|talk]]) 02:31, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Clearly Randall (and other parents) should investigate Dinotrux, which I enjoyed with my kids. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.15|162.158.62.15]] 10:40, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Wait... This is almost a Venn diagram -- does this mean parents of 2 to 5 year olds are not "normal people"? How DARE you, sir! I'm as normal as any other sleep-deprived person! (Well, I guess my sanity is questionable since I consciously and deliberately hang around with preschoolers...) --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.185|172.69.68.185]] 13:15, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

"Apparently trucks and farms do not mix very well." Seriously? Go spend half an hour listening to country music; that'll disabuse you of that mistaken notion rather quickly! :P ← Older edit
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.190|172.68.34.190]] 15:17, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
: I can recommend ''The Dinosaur Truckers'', though I didn't find any farm-related lyrics on a cursory search. But there's a modernized children's song/book "Old MacDonald had a Truck" by someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.9|172.69.54.9]] 03:37, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

The title text of the comic mentions children's media, not specifically books. The Google search, which Randall didn't perform, "dinosaurs driving trucks on a farm" does produce results. For instance, a game called Dinosaur Farm https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Farm-Tractor-Truck-Simulator/dp/B01MSA2OVD. The images appear to show a variety of vehicles, including tractors and others that more closely resemble various kinds of trucks. --[[User:Shabegger|Shabegger]] ([[User talk:Shabegger|talk]]) 17:57, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
:This mobile game was published for iOS in 2017. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.134|141.101.77.134]] 03:15, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

"but parents won't and are unlikely to go near any truck." What? I know plenty of parents who go against this idea. This comic mostly just applies to urban areas though. Rural Canada or the States, you see tons of people with trucks just for everyday driving, even lots of non-farmers. For a lot of people, it can just come in handy from time to time (hauling boats or furniture (furniture stores etc may not deliver to more rural areas) or people), or they use it because it's better at handling bad road conditions, or for some, it's kind of a status symbol.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.144|162.158.106.144]] 02:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

Talk:1930: Calendar Facts

2017-12-19T01:06:15Z

172.69.54.9: /* Generators */

Shouldn't it be "libration" not "libation"? Pretty sure drinking has nothing to do with it. Also pretty sure this is a mistake and not a clever alteration. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.57|162.158.62.57]] 16:41, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
:No, it's a clever alteration because "libration" is listed right above it. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 16:45, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
::That's just a mistake - he meant to write 'vibration'[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.16|141.101.76.16]] 16:48, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
:::'Vibration' wouldn't make any sense, 'libation' is at least humorous, I vote it was no mistake. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.64|172.68.54.64]] 18:00, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

I formatted the transcript into a bullet tree since I thought it was the closest equivalent you can get in plain text to the branching flowchart deal in the comic. I'm open to alternative suggestions. The biggest problem I encountered, and one I'd like to see resolved, is what to do in the case where two branching sections butt up against each other, e.g. winter/summer and solstice/Olympics. I used an arrow symbol ("→") on an in-between line just to separate the set of bullets, but if someone wants to change that, I'm up for it. [[User:Kenbellows|Kenbellows]] ([[User talk:Kenbellows|talk]]) 18:04, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
:I find the bullet tree legible for the last few long lines, but it's hard to follow a single path. I was thinking of using (option 1|option 2) syntax, but that would probably look messy too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.29|162.158.91.29]] 18:10, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
:I think indenting when lines diverge and un-indenting when they converge would make it look nice and be easy to follow. I'm willing to do the work if others agree. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.9|162.158.74.9]] 23:58, 18 December 2017 (UTC)
Random error noticed - the line connecting "International Date" and "Mason-Dixon" to "Line" is drawn in the wrong color. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.136|162.158.75.136]] 18:57, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

Isn't the point with this comic that there is at least one valid path for every included element? I don't think Randall intended it to be a factorial combination because as the explanation suggests, most would be wrong/absurd/silly. But why not instead try to find some invalid element when it can be included in any possible path from end to end? Toyota Truck Month or Shark Week might not happen next year, who knows? Can anyone find any element that has no valid path at all? If not, then maybe the main explanation should be updated to fit the model recommended here.[[User:Lunar7|Lunar7]] ([[User talk:Lunar7|talk]]) 20:05, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

== Generators ==

https://staab.github.io/xkcd-1930/

: Not sure who's responsible for this, but there seem to be a few errors. "Might (not happen/happen twice) this year" is missing "this year", and "the (harvest/super/blood) moon" is similarly missing "moon". Also, I see a part "happens at the same time every year" that I don't see in the comic. Are there any other additions; and is there a way to find them other than keep refreshing? -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] 18:40, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

:: Checked the source; looks like "at the same time" replaces "at the wrong time". Also, some of the options are missing a "." between the main tree and the title text or at the end of the sentence. (And for some reason every time I go to edit this talk page, the wiki logs me out) -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.167|162.158.91.167]] 18:48, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

: The source is on [https://github.com/staab/xkcd-1930 github] - you can add pull requests to fix errors (I'll take care of the aforementioned errors).

Here's mine.

http://www.hearn.to/calendar.html

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.65|172.68.142.65]]

Here's one I wrote on jsFiddle. Glad I'm not the only one who read this and immediately thought, "I must code this!" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.64|172.68.34.64]] 21:29, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

https://jsfiddle.net/qa290hss/

Here's a GraphML gist that I knocked up:

https://gist.github.com/GeoSpark/0c64cb85ca8927175892f43f23ba1bdb

The only change I made was to "precession", "libration", etc by adding the word "the" in front because it reads better. At least to my British English sensibilities. YLMV.

== Equinox ==

I don't think this is the correct definition for equinox, the plane comprising the Earth orbit around the Sun is never perpendicular to the Earth's axis. During the equinox the sun rays arrive to the Earth perpendicular to the equator line, this would be better. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.62.238|172.68.62.238]] 22:10, 18 December 2017 (UTC)CBM

I agree with the comment above; the Earth's axis is always tilted 23 degrees from the plane of the orbit. There are times the North pole is tilted toward the Sun and times it is tilted away from the Sun. Twice a year (at the equinoxes) the tilt is perpendicular to the Sun. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 22:47, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

I've edited the descriptions - do they look better now? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.28|162.158.126.28]] 00:32, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

== Daylight Saving Time ==
Twice the description references locations that don't follow the common DST plan as 'other than the natural latitude would suggest'. The ''longitude'' would suggest a time zone, not the latitude. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.239|108.162.221.239]] 22:47, 18 December 2017 (UTC)