explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2497: Logic Gates

2021-08-03T15:49:23Z

172.69.55.118: /* Explanation */ Rearrange the non-existing/equivalent gate to make better sense.

{{comic
| number = 2497
| date = August 2, 2021
| title = Logic Gates
| image = logic_gates.png
| titletext = In C, the multiocular O represents the bitwise nꙮrxꙮndꙮr gꙮrgꙮnax.
}}

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

The comic lists logic gates. The first six are real, but the last six are made up and get increasingly absurd. The names for these last six are made up of the same letters and syllables as the first six so as to be consistent with their naming conventions.

An AND gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are true. (Inputs 1 '''and''' 2 must be true.) By convention it is a symbol with a flat input end leading to a semicircular output end.

An OR gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs are true. (Input 1 '''or''' 2 may be true.) By convention it is a symbol with a concave input edge leading to an output end resembling a gothic pointed-arch, reorientated as required.

A NOT gate outputs true if and only if the input is false. (The sole input must '''not''' be true.) The convention for the isolated NOT gate is to be a triangle (reminiscent of a diode or op-amp comparitor), that conspiciously points in the direction of logical passage, tipped with the small circle that is considered a short-cut for ''not''ness in other relevent symbols.

A NOR gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are false. (Neither 1 '''nor''' 2 must be true; alternately interpreted as it must '''n'''ot be true that either 1 '''or''' 2 are true.) The symbol is the OR shape with the NOT-circle at its tip.

A XOR (short for “eXclusive OR”) gate outputs true if one, or the other, but not both of the inputs are true. (Mutually e'''x'''cusively, either 1 '''or''' 2 must be true.) This symbol is the standard OR one but with a further concave line stood-off slightly from the usual one to connect to the input lines.

A NAND (short for “Not AND”) gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs is false. (It must '''not''' be true that both 1 '''and''' 2 are true.) The symbol is the AND gate with the NOT-circle at its tip.

The only real-life logic gate that was omitted is the XNOR gate (short for “eXclusive Not OR”; it compares the inputs, and if and only if they are equal, it outputs true). Note that the "NORG XORT" gate is logically equivalent to it, since it is an XNOR gate with NOT on both inputs, a modification that has no ultimate effect on the logic as it merely switches the case of which exclusivity it needs to be, and does not care which version of same-input it might be responding to.

A double-NOT on an input would produce the identical output again (...if the input is '''not not''' true). Two NOTs preapplied to a (N)AND or (N)OR would produce the same output as a (further-)NOTted version of the (N)OR or (N)AND, conversly (...if '''not'''-1 '''and''' '''not'''-2 then this also means that neither 1 '''nor''' 2). Normally this would would be shown, if necessary, as full NOT gates on the lead-in inputs but (see Transcript, below, and the NORG XORT description above) the shortcut element is occasionally used in further mix'n'match symbology (together with reinterpreting connectivity lines as partial shape-edges and vice-versa) in 'understandable' but definitely non-standard ways.

Along with the deliberate confusion of connector and shape-edge lines, directionality is also played with in several cases, with input 'ends' perhaps also at the (implied) output end and reversed sub-symbols implying a composite gate with substructural feedback or perhaps diode-rectification upon a bidirectional logic path.

Much like [[2360: Common Star Types]], as the list progresses, the names start to sound more like mythical creatures, closing with the "Norxondor gorgonax". As with the symbology, the names appear to be nonsensical recombinations of the standard ones (perhaps with off-subject inspirations, in some cases) but often do not match up with the symbolic (mis)use, such as an X in the name not implying/being implied by an XOR's unique drawn feature.

In the title text [[Randall]] claims that in the {{w|C (programming language)|programming language C}} the {{w|multiocular O}} (ꙮ) character is used to represent the bitwise version of the last operator Norxondor gorgonax (presumably ꙮꙮ represents the non-bitwise version), fitting as the multiocular O is used to refer to "many-eyed {{w|seraphim}}" (i.e. angels) in some religious literature. {{w|Gorgon}}s (beige or otherwise) have heads covered with snakes instead of hair, and so possess multiple eyes, the most famous was known as {{w|Medusa}} (which was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png depicted] in [[1608: Hoverboard]]).

C is a low level programming language, and as such, it has many operations that correspond to logical (i. e. bitwise) operations. These contrast with operations that work in a non-bitwise way. For example, "&&" is the non-bitwise "AND" operator that takes the operands as a whole, while "&" is the bitwise "AND" that combines the respective bits of its two inputs independently before spitting out the new single composite value the output bits represent. In non-bitwise operations, 0 always represents "FALSE", while any non-zero value means "TRUE" for inputs, and 1 is used to represent TRUE for outputs. Thus, "14 && 3" gives the result 1: TRUE AND TRUE -> TRUE. In the bitwise operation, using the same values, the decimal value 14 has the binary value 1110 and the decimal value 3 has the binary value 0011, and for this example we get:

1110 = 14
& 0011 = 3
0010 = 2

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows a chart with twelve electronic logic gates arranged in three rows of four. Each gate is depicted as a schematic symbol, with a label underneath. Above them is a header:]
:Common logic gate symbols

:[Here below follows a description of the 12 gates in the three rows, with their label given beneath each description:]

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to the vertical left edge of a solid D-shaped symbol. From the right side of the D there is one output.]
:AND gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to a convex-crescent left edge of a crescent-shaped symbol. The right side of the crescent symbol's shape forms a point at its output. From the right side of the crescent there is one output.]
:OR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. One input leads to a triangular symbol pointing to the right. There is a small bubble symbol connected to the triangle on the output, which leads right.]
:NOT gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.)
:NOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the left-hand arc at the input has a double-stroked line.]
:XOR gate

:[A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the AND GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.]
:NAND gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has one input on the left leading to a convex-crescent left edge, like the OR GATE. The output side as a smooth crescent like the AND GATE but has two outputs.]
:NORX gate

:[An unusual symbol. This symbol has two inputs on the left leading to a vertical left edge input, like the AND GATE. The output side has a convex-crescent double-stroked output like the mirror image of the XOR GATE's input. There are two outputs.]
:GAND ate

:[An unusual symbol. This resembles the NOT GATE except there are two inputs instead of one leading into the left side.]
:XAND gort

:[An unusual symbol. This has a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE, but the two inputs have bubbles attached. The single output has a smooth crescent shape with a bubble, like a NAND GATE.]
:NORG xort

:[An unusual symbol. Two inputs lead to a convex-crescent edge, and the two lines of this symbol now enter a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE. The two lines of -this- symbol have bubbles placed half way across their horizontal length, and are presumably the outputs.]
:ANDORX gant

:[An unusual symbol. The symbol is identical to the NOR GATE, except the upper and lower horizontal parts of the symbols hull have a NOT GATE placed on them - one pointing to the left on the upper line, and to the right on the lower line. There is one output to the symbol, with a bubble attached.]
:NORXONDOR gorgonax

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Programming]]

2243: Star Wars Spoiler Generator

2019-12-19T17:32:14Z

172.69.55.118: Added a reference to sith holocron

{{comic
| number = 2243
| date = December 18, 2019
| title = Star Wars Spoiler Generator
| image = star wars spoiler generator.png
| titletext = The heroes seem to be gaining the upper hand until Darth Juul manages to flip the switch on the car wash control panel from 'REGULAR' to 'PREMIUM.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by DARTH KYLE}}
On December 20, 2019 (2 days after the publication of this comic), the final movie of the "Skywalker saga" of ''Star Wars'' films, ''{{w|Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker}}'', will be officially released to the US. It received a world premiere in Los Angeles on December 16, so there are lots of spoilers online, and also lots of people who want to avoid spoilers. [[Randall]] has created a flowchart that generates "spoilers" to the film, but as he probably has not seen the film (or, if he has, he doesn't actually want to spoil it for us), all of the so-called spoilers are nonsensical.

The formula for each spoiler is as follows: "In this Star Wars movie, our heroes return to take on the First Order and new villain '''[villain name]''' with help from their new friend '''[friend name]'''. Rey builds a new lightsaber with a '''[color]''' blade, and they head out to confront the First Order's new superweapon, the '''[superweapon name]''', a space station capable of '''[evil plan]'''. They unexpectedly join forces with their old enemy '''[character]''' and destroy the superweapon in a battle featuring '''[strange event]'''. P.S. Rey's parents are '''[character]''' and '''[character]'''".

The {{w|First Order (Star Wars)|First Order}} is the main antagonist group in the ''Star Wars'' {{w|Star Wars sequel trilogy|sequel trilogy}} series. In ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'', they use a superweapon in their base, Starkiller Base, to destroy the planetary system housing the headquarters of the {{w|New Republic (Star Wars)|New Republic}}, the democratic government which was formed after the {{w|Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Empire}}'s defeat in ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}''.

"Building a {{w|lightsaber}}" is one of the rites of passage for becoming a {{w|Jedi}} Knight. In the {{w|Star Wars prequel trilogy|prequel trilogy}}, new Jedi build lightsabers as an official part of the journey towards Knighthood, and in the {{w|Star Wars Trilogy|original trilogy}}, {{w|Luke Skywalker}} builds a lightsaber between ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'' as part of his training with {{w|Yoda}}. {{w|Rey (Star Wars)|Rey}} has used the lightsaber that {{w|Darth Vader|Anakin Skywalker}} made and used (which Luke also used when he was a new Jedi) for the first two movies of the sequel trilogy, and so it would be thematically appropriate for her to build her own prior to the trilogy's final entry. Most Jedi's lightsabers are either blue or green, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. {{w|Mace Windu}}'s purple lightsaber signifies his incredible combat prowess). Kyber crystals are aligned with the Light Side of {{w|the Force}}, so {{w|Sith}} must overpower and "bleed" their crystals before they will function for them, which causes their distinctive red color. Having a lightsaber of a color other than blue, green, or red is often seen in the ''Star Wars'' fandom as a sign of being a "[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue Mary Sue]", which is an accusation which has been made of Rey.

Another common plot point in ''Star Wars'' media is the construction, use, and destruction of a superweapon. These are inspired by stories and media of World War II, in which militaries sought to find, attack, and destroy critical elements of their enemies' resources and infrastructure, and meanwhile would construct elaborate defenses for themselves. The attack on the {{w|Death Star}} in particular is inspired by {{w|Operation Chastise}}, the "bouncing bomb" attack on Germany's hydroelectric power plants; Operation Chastise was dramatised in the {{w|The Dam Busters (book)|1951 book}} and {{w|The Dam Busters (film)|1955 film}} ''The Dam Busters'', which was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNdb03Hw18M very thoroughly homaged] by ''A New Hope''. The original trilogy of movies only had two Death Stars, but superweapons quickly became a staple of the {{w|Star Wars expanded to other media|Expanded Universe}} fiction, to the point that one book had {{w|Han Solo}} make fun of the Empire's tendency towards building superweapons, proposing such ridiculous names as "Galaxy Destructor" and "Nostril of Palpatine".

Redemption and making allies of old enemies is also a common plot point in ''Star Wars''. Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader, but eventually returned to the Light Side to protect his son, and Han Solo was initially a morally ambiguous character who was eventually convinced to join the Rebellion.

Rey, one of the main characters in the sequel trilogy series is an orphan, who was left behind on the planet Jakku as a child. As Rey is Force-sensitive and adept at using a lightsaber, there is much speculation among Star Wars fans as to the identity of her parents. Many major characters in ''Star Wars'' have unexpected heritages of great portent, most famously Luke, who was very distressed to learn that Darth Vader did not ''kill'' his father, as Obi-Wan had told him, but ''is'' his father. In ''{{w|Star Wars: The Last Jedi}}'', villain {{w|Kylo Ren}} tells her that she is the child of "filthy junk traders", but many fans speculate that he was lying to her.

The title text refers to the bottom option of the [strange event in battle] section. Apparently Lord Juul (or Darth Juul) is fighting the heroes in the Sith car wash. It is unclear what "flipping the switch" from Regular to Premium would do, but it seems to be beneficial to Darth Juul. A "premium" car wash usually has more features than a regular car wash, e.g. more cleaning brushes, waxing the car, cleaning the tires, etc.

This is the second false fact generating comic, after [[1930: Calendar Facts]].

==Table==
{| class="wikitable"
! Entry
! Explanation
|-
! colspan="2" | New villain
|-
| Kyle Ren
|Kyle Ren is one letter away from {{w|Kylo Ren|''Kylo'' Ren}}, the adopted "Sith name" of Ben Solo, son of Han and Leia Solo. Kylo is one of the antagonists of the first two movies in the sequel trilogy, and presumably will be so in the third, but there's nobody in the films named "Kyle". (There are a handful of ''Legends'' characters named Kyle, most famously Kyle Katarn, protagonist of the ''Star Wars: Jedi Knight'' video game series.)
|-
| {{w|Malloc}}
| Malloc is a function used in the C programming language to allocate more memory in the running of a program. Malloc may sound similar to {{w|Darth Malak|Malak}}, the antagonist of the ''{{w|Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic}}'' video game.
|-
|Darth Sebelius
| {{w|Sebelius}} is the last name of several people. {{w|Kathleen Sebelius}} is a former state representative and governor of Kansas who was Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama, whilst {{w|Jean Sibelius}} is a reknowned Finnish composer. Randall may have chosen this surname as it sounds similar to {{w|Darth Sidious}}, the overarching villain in the first 6 Star Wars films, who is rumored to return in the upcoming film.
|-
|{{w|Theranos}}
|Theranos was a medical technology company founded by {{w|Elizabeth Holmes}} which claimed to have developed revolutionary blood tests that could produce more data from limited volumes of blood than ever before. They were eventually found to have engaged in fraudulent activity, having tricked investors into thinking their technology was performing better than it actually was or ever could, which resulted in fines for Holmes and Theranos president {{w|Ramesh Balwani}} and the bankruptcy of Theranos. Theranos also sounds similar to {{w|Thanos}}, the main villain of the Infinity Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
|-
|Lord Juul
|{{w|Juul}} is a brand of e-cigarettes. In addition to the broader controversy surrounding electronic cigarettes, Juul has been investigated for its sale of flavored additives for their cigarettes, which are alleged to be particularly attractive to minors.
|-
! colspan="2" | New friend
|-
| Kim Spacemeasurer
| May be a parody of the name {{w|Luke Skywalker}}, one of the main characters in the original trilogy of films. Other "Nounverber" names in ''Star Wars'' include Starkiller, Luke's original last name which was later applied to Starkiller Base in ''The Force Awakens'', and Biggs Darklighter, Luke's childhood friend and fellow Rebel pilot who died in the attack on the original Death Star.
|-
|Teen Yoda
|{{w|The Child (Star Wars character)|The Child}}, commonly called "Baby Yoda" by fans and the media, is a breakout character from the Disney+ series ''{{w|The Mandalorian}}''. Randall envisions a "teenage" version of this character teaming up with the main characters. This may be in analogy to Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who appeared as an adult, then child, then teen, or other adaptations of original characters like the Teen Titans.
|-
|Dab Tweetdeck
| A {{w|Dab (dance)|dab}} is a dance move which is many decades old but was made popular by that name in the late 2010's. {{w|TweetDeck}} is an application for managing Twitter accounts. Taken together, "Dab Tweetdeck" could be a character name proposed by clueless Disney executives to attract "the kids" to see ''The Rise of Skywalker'', although one would think that this name would be heavily promoted and thus not a spoiler in that case.
|-
| Yaz Progestin
| Yaz sounds like the first name of {{w|Maz Kanata}}, a supporting protagonist in the sequel trilogy. Yaz is a medication which contains {{w|Progestin}}, which imitates the effects of {{w|progesterone}}, a female sex hormone. It is used for purposes including birth control and acne treatment.
|-
| TI-83
| Droids in the Star Wars universe typically have names with letters and numbers, such as R2-D2, C-3PO, BB-8, etc. Randall has created a new character called "TI-83". In real life, the {{w|TI-83}} is a common model of graphing calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments. This mirrors the origin of the name "R2-D2", which was inspired when Lucas was working on ''{{w|American Graffiti}}'' and was asked for Reel 2, Dialog Track 2, which was abbreviated "R-2-D-2". He remarked that it would be a "great name" and included it in his then-in-development script for ''Star Wars''.
|-
! colspan="2" | Lightsaber colors
|-
| [beige/ochre/mauve/aquamarine/taupe]
| These are different colors, none of which is a "traditional" color for a lightsaber. {{w|Beige}} is a pale-grayish yellow. {{w|Ochre}} is a clay earth pigment ranging from yellow to deep orange or brown. {{w|Mauve}} is a pale purple color. A purple color has been used for a lightsaber in the prequel trilogy series, by Jedi Master {{w|Mace Windu}}. {{w|Aquamarine (color)|Aquamarine}} is a blueish green color. {{w|Taupe}} is a dark brown color between brown and gray.
|-
! colspan="2" | Superweapon names
|-
|Sun Obliterator
| There was an Expanded Universe superweapon called the "Sun Crusher", which would infiltrate a star system and shoot a special torpedo into the star to make it go supernova.
|-
|Moonsquisher
| There were no ''Star Wars'' superweapons with the word "Moon" in their title (or "squisher"), but in the no-longer-canon ''New Jedi Order'' series, Chewbacca was squished ''by'' a moon that was intentionally de-orbited by invading Yuuzhan Vong.
|-
|World Eater
| Possibly a reference to {{w|Alduin}}, the main villain of the popular game {{w|The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim}}. In the Expanded Universe, the Empire used World Devastators, massive machines that would strip-mine planets with tractor beams and make weapons and spacecraft from the extracted resources.
|-
|Planet Zester
| A {{w|zester}} is a cooking tool for zesting citrus fruit, that is, scraping off the outer layer of a citrus fruit to obtain the flavorful outer layer of its skin. Zesting a planet would be devastating to anything built or living on its surface.
|-
|Superconducting supercollider
| A {{w|supercollider}}, or particle accelerator, is a machine used to accelerate charged particles to very high speeds, for testing in particle physics. The {{w|Superconducting Super Collider}} was a proposed accelerator which was to be constructed in Texas, but was cancelled partway through construction.
|-
! colspan="2" | Station capabilities
|-
|blowing up a planet with a bunch of beams of energy that combine into one
|This is how the {{w|Death Star}} was depicted in ''{{w|Star Wars: A New Hope}}''. Many beams converged together to form one energy beam. The superweapon was used to destroy the planet Alderaan, as an intimidation tactic against Princess Leia.
|-
|blowing up a bunch of planets with one beam of energy that splits into many
|This is how the superweapon on Starkiller Base was depicted in ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}''. A single energy beam split into several beams, allowing it to attack many planets. The superweapon was used to destroy the planets in the Hosnian system, the headquarters of the New Republic.
|-
|cutting a planet in half and smashing the halves together like two cymbals
|Jango Fett's "seismic charge" weapon, which he used in a dogfight against Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''Attack of the Clones'', produced a plane wave that cut asteroids in half; presumably a larger weapon of this kind could do the same to a planet.
|-
|increasing the CO2 levels in a planet's atmosphere, causing rapid heating
|This seems to have occurred on the planet {{w|Venus}}. Venus is 97% carbon dioxide, and is also the hottest planet in the Solar System, due to a greenhouse effect, preventing the planet from cooling. There is much debate as to whether this is currently happening on Earth as a result of limited regulation on air pollution. The {{w|Paris Agreement}} was adopted buy several countries to attempt to address the issue.
|-
|triggering the end credits before the movie is done
|The {{w|closing credits}} or end credits of a film is the list of cast and crew who were involved in the making of the film. It would be quite strange to show the end credits of the film before it has concluded, although it is one of the [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CreditsGag types of credits gag] used in other media. This entry is considerably less damaging to a planet{{Citation needed}} than the other 4 entries in this section, but if early audiences are left unsatisfied by the movie, they might tell everyone else not to see it, which would put the ''Star Wars'' franchise in a perilous financial situation. This would negatively impact the villains as well as the heroes, but they might consider this a worthwhile trade if it is their best option at harming the heroes.
|-
! colspan="2" | Old enemy/new friend
|-
|{{w|Boba Fett}}
| Boba Fett is a famous bounty hunter introduced in the ''{{w|Star Wars Holiday Special}}'' and made popular by ''{{w|The Empire Strikes Back}}''. On the Empire's orders, he helped capture Han Solo as part of a plot to capture Luke Skywalker. He later tried to prevent Luke from rescuing Han, but was knocked into a sarlacc pit, where he was presumed eaten. In the Expanded Universe, he survived and did eventually join the protagonists against extragalactic invaders; his survival has not been confirmed by Disney's new canon, but he would be a plausible character to bring back in ''The Rise of Skywalker''. A Mandalorian (not Boba Fett, but a bounty hunter using body-armour  from the same planet) is featured in the new Disney+ series, ''The Mandalorian''.
|-
|[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Salacious_B._Crumb Salacious Crumb]
| Salacious B. Crumb is a Kowakian monkey-lizard who was Jabba the Hutt's jester. He wasn't exactly a major adversary, but he did pull one of C-3PO's eyes out. He was last seen on Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, which was made to explode after Han, Luke, and the rest of the heroes escaped from it, and is presumed dead.
|-
|[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Exogorth The Space Slug]
| In ''The Empire Strikes Back'', Han Solo pilots the Millennium Falcon into a giant cave to evade pursuit and get time to effect repairs. He is interrupted when the cave turns out to be the mouth of a giant space slug, which the Falcon barely escapes. A giant space slug might be a powerful ally in a battle against a giant space station.
|-
|The bottom half of {{w|Darth Maul}}
| Darth Maul was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of ''The Phantom Menace''. His "upper half", attached to mechanical legs, has returned as a villain in the ''Clone Wars'' TV series and ''{{w|Solo: A Star Wars Story|Solo}}''. Given that Maul was a Sith and Kenobi a Jedi, who trained Luke, who trained Rey, it would be extremely unexpected for his "bottom half" to join forces with the heroes, although presumably his bottom half would have to be attached to something, which might be better disposed towards Jedi.
|-
|YouTube commenters
| The sequel trilogy has received more mixed reviews from watchers than Disney might like, and many vocal non-fans have taken to commenting on YouTube (via videos and comments) on what they don't like about the new movies and new characters. If ''The Rise of Skywalker'' fully wins the crowd, an alliance between the heroes and their former critics would be extremely powerful, but with Rotten Tomatoes showing a critics' aggregate score of [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_rise_of_skywalker/ less than 60%] ("rotten"), it's going to be an uphill battle.
|-
! colspan="2" | Battle feature
|-
|a bow that shoots little lightsaber-headed arrows
|May be a reference to the [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bowcaster bowcaster], a laser crossbow weapon used by the Wookie {{w|Chewbacca}}. It is unclear if the lightsaber-headed arrows are actually lightsabers in itself, as that would seem difficult to produce.
|-
|X-Wings and TIE fighters dodging the giant letters of the opening crawl
| The {{w|Star Wars opening crawl|"opening crawl"}} is a signature motif used in all the main Star Wars films, to explain the backstory and context of each film. {{w|X-Wing}}s and {{w|TIE fighter}}s are fighter-type spaceships used by the Rebels (and Resistance later on) and the Empire (and First Order), respectively. A dogfight scene during the opening crawl would involve {{w|Fourth wall|breaking the fourth wall}}, as the opening crawl is not presumed to be part of the universe of the films (except when so parodied, such as in {{w|Airplane II: The Sequel}}).
|-
|a Sith educational display that uses Force lightning to demonstrate the dielectric breakdown of air
|[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Force_lightning Force lightning] is a power that Force users can use to generate electric energy from the user's hands. It was first used in ''Return of the Jedi'' by Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) when Luke Skywalker refuses to give in to the dark side of the Force. Palpatine attempts to kill Luke with Force lightning, but Darth Vader saves Luke by throwing Palpatine down a reactor chute. Palpatine also used Force Lightning on Mace Windu and Yoda during their battles at the end of ''Revenge of the Sith''. None of these uses of Sith lightning were intended to be educational on the nature of {{w|lightning}}, although they could have been very educational on the pain, cruelty, and "unlimited power!" offered by the Dark Side of the Force. This might also be a reference to [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sith_holocron sith holocron] — a device to store Force-related information and secrets, possibly.
|-
|Kylo Ren putting on another helmet over his smaller one
|Kylo Ren is famous for wearing his helmet in ''The Force Awakens'', which he styled after Darth Vader's helmet. Putting on another helmet over it would require a comically large helmet that might be compared to Dark Helmet, a character from the parody film ''{{w|Spaceballs}}'' who parodies Darth Vader.
|-
|a Sith car wash where the bristles on the brushes are little lightsabers
| While an unexpected car wash finale scene seems unlikely, it is not without precedent in cinema; ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescence_of_Utena Adolescence of Utena]'' featured the title character unexpectedly entering a car wash and transforming into a car (followed by a segue into a car race sequence).
|-
! colspan="2" | Rey's parent #1
|-
| {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke}}
| Luke Skywalker is the main character of the original Star Wars films. Of all of the characters presented here, he is the one with the greatest likelihood of being Rey's father. When Maz gave Rey Luke's lightsaber, she said "[t]hat lightsaber was Luke's, and his father's before him, and now, it calls to you." Luke does not seem to recognize Rey as his child (or as anybody in particular), but Darth Vader did not recognize Luke or Leia as his children -- and indeed did not know that he had any living children -- until they were grown. However, unlike Anakin Skywalker, or the Luke Skywalker from the pre-Disney Expanded Universe, no canon materials have presented anyone with whom Luke has fallen in love or fathered a child.
|-
|{{w|Princess Leia|Leia}} and {{w|Han Solo|Han}}
|Princess Leia and Han Solo are the other main characters of the original Star Wars films. It is unlikely that Leia or Han are Rey's parents as they did not seem to recognize Rey in any of the sequel trilogy films, nor is there any indication that they have had more than one child (Ben Solo, AKA Kylo Ren).
|-
|{{w|Obi-Wan Kenobi|Obi-Wan}}
|Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the main characters in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He, along with Qui-Gon Jinn, discovered Anakin Skywalker, who later became Darth Vader. Kenobi dies at the end of ''Star Wars: A New Hope'', sacrificing himself to allow Luke, Leia, and Han to escape the Death Star. Marriage and parenthood were forbidden by the Jedi Order, and Obi-Wan generally adhered to the Order's rules more closely than Anakin did; Obi-Wan did feel some mutual romantic attraction with Duchess Satine of Mandalore, but they both chose to remain in their respective organizations rather than pursue a relationship.
|-
|a random junk trader
|This is who Kylo Ren claims that Rey is descended from: worthless, random junk traders.
|-
! colspan="2" | Rey's parent #2
|-
|{{w|Poe Dameron|Poe}}
|Poe Dameron is one of the main characters of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. He is a pilot in the Resistance. He is only 13 years older than Rey, and thus is most likely not her father.
|-
|{{w|BB-8}}
|BB-8 is an astromech droid owned by Poe Dameron. It is unlikely that Rey is descended from a (non-living) droid.
|-
|[ {{w|Amilyn Holdo}} /Laura Dern]
|Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, portrayed by Laura Dern, was a leader in the Resistance. She dies at the end of ''The Last Jedi'', sacrificing herself by jumping to light speed straight into the First Order's pursuing starship. Randall presents both Admiral Holdo, the character, and Laura Dern, the actress, as separate options for Rey's mother, but the former is not supported by any story material and the latter is impossible (Dern is alive here and now, not "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away").
|-
|a random junk trader
| (see above)
|-
|that one droid from the Jawa Sandcrawler that says ''Gonk''
|This is [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/GNK_power_droid a droid] from ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' that says "Gonk". As in the BB-8 entry, it is unlikely that Rey is descended from a droid.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:<big>Star Wars Spoiler Generator</big>

:[Shown below is a branching flowchart of sorts that begins at the phrase "In this Star Wars movie, our heroes return to take on the First Order and new villain...", then flows through various paths to build up a story.]

:In this Star Wars movie, our heroes return to take on the First Order and new villain...
::Kyle Ren
::Malloc
::Darth Sebelius
::Theranos
::Lord Juul

:...with help from their new friend...
::Kim Spacemeasurer
::Teen Yoda
::Dab Tweetdeck
::Yaz Progestin
::TI-83

:Rey builds a new lightsaber with a...
::beige
::ochre
::mauve
::aquamarine
::taupe

:...blade, and they head out to confront the First Order's new superweapon, the...
::Sun Obliterator
::Moonsquisher
::World Eater
::Planet Zester
::Superconducting Supercollider

:...a space station capable of...
::blowing up a planet with a bunch of beams of energy that combine into one
::blowing up a bunch of planets with one beam of energy that splits into many
::cutting a planet in half and smashing the halves together like two cymbals
::increasing the CO2 levels in a planet's atmosphere, causing rapid heating
::triggering the end credits before the movie is done

:They unexpectedly join forces with their old enemy...
::Boba Fett
::Salacious Crumb
::The Space Slug
::the bottom half of Darth Maul
::Youtube commenters

:...and destroy the superweapon in a battle featuring
::a bow that shoots little lightsaber-headed arrows
::X-Wings and TIE fighters dodging the giant letters of the opening crawl
::a Sith educational display that uses Force Lightning to demonstrate the dielectric breakdown of air
::Kylo Ren putting on another helmet over his smaller one
::a Sith car wash where the bristles on the brushes are little lightsabers

:P.S. Rey's parents are...
::Luke
::Leia
::Han
::Obi-Wan
::a random junk trader

:...and...
::Poe
::BB-8
::Amilyn Holdo
::Laura Dern
::a random junk trader
::that one droid from the Jawa Sandcrawler that says ''Gonk''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:2237: AI Hiring Algorithm

2019-12-04T23:10:58Z

172.69.55.118:

Not sure this has to do with deepmind. Deep is a term used generally for recurrent neural networks.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.82|172.68.34.82]] 19:34, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

:Agree. Maybe we should just mention that? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.136|172.68.141.136]] 20:10, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
:The origin of ''deep'' seems to be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_characters#Deep_Thought Deep Thought] via [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_(chess_computer) Deep Blue]. [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 22:20, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
I don't like how "our" font for the comic title made me think it said "Al Hiring Algorithm" (although now I do want to see that comic!) (the actual xkcd website's comic title is in large/small caps, so it is unambiguous.) [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 20:17, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

I first heard about this type of system existing a few weeks ago. https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614694/hirevue-ai-automated-hiring-discrimination-ftc-epic-bias/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.66|172.68.65.66]] 20:37, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

That's a big problem with AI as it's currently handled -- the AI's have to be trained, and the training is usually by feeding them lots of existing information, which means widespread errors and patterns of discrimination are inevitably going to color the AI's decisions, leading to feedback loops that favor existing discrimination. If feeding tons of books or case records or whatever to an AI, where say 95% of them were historically written by white males, one can expect an AI viewpoint that would lean towards what white men think. Garbage in, garbage out... amplified. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:29, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

So it's a slightly less stupid version of [https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk Roko's basilisk]? -- [[User:Wasell|Wasell]] ([[User talk:Wasell|talk]]) 21:27, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
: Certainly the first thing I thought of. Maybe this page should link to https://xkcd.com/1450/? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.118|172.69.55.118]] 23:10, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

Talk:988: Tradition

2019-11-23T22:10:43Z

172.69.55.118:

Redacted the following from the explanation:

:It would be interesting to see this research, because the most popular Christmas album of all time was not released until 1994, "{{w|Merry Christmas (Mariah Carey album)|Merry Christmas}}" by {{w|Mariah Carey}}. This album featured what is considered to be the most ubiquitous song around this time of the year which is "All I Want For Christmas Is You" which is also featured prominently in the very popular (and frequently replayed) movie {{w|Love Actually}} from 2003. The song is the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the U.S. So, usually the information that Randall presents to us doesn't immediately present itself as egregiously incorrect, but this one just seems to not factor in the popular success of a mid-90s release.

because the list on which Randall based his graph is linked later in the explanation, and Randall doesn't have control over its data (unless he's using Data Over Billboard Charts). [[User:Noëlle|Noëlle]] ([[User talk:Noëlle|talk]]) 12:35, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

Couldn't this be when all the older Christmas carols and such were popularly released, id est, when radios were becoming common? [[Special:Contributions/107.204.46.198|107.204.46.198]] 15:13, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

It also doesn't include [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Got_Run_Over_by_a_Reindeer Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer] which is also played incessantly. [[Special:Contributions/63.239.65.11|63.239.65.11]] 20:26, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

And what about the alt-text? Is it perhaps suggesting that tradition is not as it is made out to be? {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.63}}

Eric Harvey of The Atlantic responded to this comic by pointing out that the period between radio's coming to dominance during the Depression and the onset of rock'n roll was the point where mass media was at its' most *mass* before segmentation took hold. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/12/why-the-christmas-song-canon-has-a-baby-boomer-bias/250344/ [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.70|173.245.52.70]] 13:44, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Isn't all traditions just that? Something some people did on a regular basis long time ago and we just carry on doing...that's why i don't give a damn about traditions.[[Special:Contributions/198.41.229.24|198.41.229.24]] 15:04, 14 December 2016 (UTC)
:The point is more that these particular traditions are a lot more recent than people, even baby boomers, assume. - [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.118|172.69.55.118]] 22:10, 23 November 2019 (UTC)

What about Last Christmas, is that not also very popular now in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:49, 19 April 2018 (UTC)
:Not that much as in Europe, look {{w|Last_Christmas#All-time_charts|here}}. In Germany before Christmas you feel like Wham!rolled, switching on the radio: "Laaaast Christm...". It's annoying. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:22, 21 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:954: Chin-Up Bar

2019-11-19T01:26:47Z

172.69.55.118:

I know the Wheaton Metro station and its escalator very well (I live about 5 miles from there). There are several issues with the comic.
*There isn't a convenient place that the panels showing diagonal motion (1-6 & 10) can be shown from. The entire escalator set is in a solid tube through the rock. I guess that it could be done from the *third* escalator.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(WMATA_station) ) (This would be with (viewed from the bottom, the center going up, the left going down and the right either not moving or going up)
*There are emergency cut off boxes both at the top and the bottom of the escalators.
*There is a kiosk about 40 feet from the top of the escalator staffed by an employee next to the fare gates.
*In panel 9 there are two raised disks between the up and down escalators. While this is true in some of the other escalators, the ones for Wheaton are very close together and there is only one column of raised disks.[[User:Naraht|Naraht]] ([[User talk:Naraht|talk]]) 16:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
:- What can we learn from this? - That not all of the facts in XKCD comics are right, and some are outright exaggerated (thank you Mr. Naraht). I personally learned that life will keep hurting me on purpose until I figure out how to help myself (Thank you Life and thank you Mr. XKCD for this lesson). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:46, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
::This is a comic. It's Fiction. It does not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro" escalator anyway - that was in the commentary. Relax. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 19:16, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
::: While I agree that Naraht needs to calm down (I used to live 1 mile from the Wheaton Metro, and would walk up it as fast as I could), you cannot say that the comic did not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro." Black Hat describes it as 70m long, and the longest in the country. There is only one escalator that fits that description, and it is in Wheaton, Maryland. It's like seeing them going up an elevator, never seeing what they are ascending, and having one of the people mention that they are going to the top of the tallest free-standing stone structure in the world, 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches. There is but one structure that fits that description: the Washington Monument. A description can make a claim without using the exact wording. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 03:44, 7 August 2013 (UTC)
::::But this is still fiction, and it is completely OK to make changes to fit the need of the comic. Also drawing someone from a position where you could not put a camera... really? I mean have you any idea how they film TV-series, where there are only two walls in the set? This is exactly the same. This is way to show us what happens, without taking a strange view from the top or where else it would be realistic to have a real camera... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 04:22, 7 August 2016 (UTC)
:::: This could also be the Ploshchad Lenina metro station in Saint Petersburg, which is both 70 meters in altitude and the longest escalator in Russia (and the world, for that matter).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.122|162.158.142.122]] 23:25, 6 October 2019 (UTC)
::::: Exactly! The comic just mentiones "in the country", with no note, which country it is. It could also be a fictional xkcd-country, with a fictional longest escalator. IP...186 compared it to a claim that mentions "in the world". A big difference to "in the country". --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:44, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Grammatically, the last sentence should be "The people that actually made it to the bottom were unable to use the emergency shutdown because Black Hat had disabled it. ", (adding 'had' to 'disabled') using the past perfect for the last clause because it refers to an earlier time than the time of trying to use the emergency shutdown, even earlier than the events of the first panel. -CFitz [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.221|108.162.231.221]] 10:39, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

The title text does not say "those few who reached the bottom." It says "those few who escaped." Several people could have gotten around the chin-up bar or jumped the divider to get on the down-escalator. The explanation of the title text does not take this into consideration.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.202|108.162.219.202]] 20:20, 3 January 2014 (UTC)
:The last two comments have now been taken into consideration in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 04:24, 7 August 2016 (UTC)

This is, in my opinion, one of the most horrifying xkcd comics. I remember talks about a similar incident in the Moscow subway, when something was blocking the exit from the escalator. Some people, trying to save themselves from the stampede, climbed on top of barriers between the escalators, which were not designed to support such weight, and fell to their death in the bowels of the giant machine. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.182.28|162.158.182.28]] 09:54, 5 September 2017 (UTC)
:Strictly speaking, [https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/ A mole of moles] is many times worse. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.44|172.69.22.44]] 04:02, 16 July 2018 (UTC)
Escalator stampedes are common enough that a paper has been written on it: https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-intelligent-and-fuzzy-systems/ifs179156 - [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.118|172.69.55.118]] 01:26, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

2225: Voting Referendum

2019-11-07T08:42:07Z

172.69.55.118: typo

{{comic
| number = 2225
| date = November 6, 2019
| title = Voting Referendum
| image = voting_referendum.png
| titletext = The weirdest quirk of the Borda count is that Jean-Charles de Borda automatically gets one point; luckily this has no consequences except in cases of extremely low turnout.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BORAD OF BORDA-ELECTED CANDIDATES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The day before this comic's publication was an election day throughout the USA, primarily for local and state issues (normal elections for federal offices of the President, Senate, and House of Representatives are always in even years). The topic of today's comic highlights many different methods for conducting elections and counting votes. In New York City, the ballot included a referendum ([https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/5/20948376/new-york-election-results-ranked-choice-voting which passed]) on whether to use a different method, ranked choice voting (another name for instant-runoff voting as described below). The comic depicts an election ballot referendum for voters to select the method to be used in future elections. While elections are primarily used to allow voters to select from candidates for public offices, election ballots also frequently present questions for voters to directly voice their support or opposition to some change in a process or law - commonly called a {{w|Referendum|referendum}}. A common issue with such referenda is what method to use to conduct the referendum itself. Here, the method of marking each choice on the ballot reflects the marking method which would be used if it was the winner. Moreover, each item is listed in a way which is suggestive of what it means (e.g., "First past the post" is the first one, "Top-two" is among the top two, and "Multiple non-transferable vote" is selected among numerous other ones). A few of the methods allow for multiple winners, which can often be good when electing councils and representatives, but it is unclear what it would mean to have several of these voting methods all win.

* '''First past the post'''
The aim of political elections is to determine which of the candidates standing for election is favoured by the majority of voters. In a simple two-person contest, this process is trivial, since whichever candidate receives the most votes will be the one that the majority of voters prefer. This {{w|First-past-the-post voting}} system works well for simple cases, but for elections with more than two candidates this system may result in a candidate being elected who less than 50% of the voters would prefer.

For example, in a contest with three candidates, A, B and C, in which candidate A receives 41% of the vote, candidate B 40%, and candidate C 19%, then candidate A will be elected, even though some of the voters who chose candidate C might have preferred candidate B as their second choice instead of candidate A, leading to a result which pleases less than half of the population. (Wikipedia's example for this shows that if Tennessee were selecting a capital, this system would place it in Memphis, even though there are parts of the state for which a closer location could be found in Canada.)

Despite this drawback, First Past the Post voting continues to be used for political elections in many countries including the US and UK, which historically have both had two main parties receiving the majority of votes. The First Past the Post system has received much criticism, particularly from smaller parties who may lose out; however, supporters promote the simplicity of the system compared to other methods.

This system is shown with a radio button, the classic computer metaphor for being allowed one choice out of a set.

* '''Top-two primary'''
This method is used in California and Washington to select candidates for the US House of Representatives. In most states' primary-election systems, each party votes separately to select one candidate to continue to a first-past-the-post general election ballot. In these two states, on the other hand, candidates from all parties, as well as “independent” candidates from no party, run in a single race, and the top two finishers then contest the general election, even if both are from the same party (a common occurrence in heavily-Democratic California), and even if one candidate has a clear majority of the vote. (In an older version, a majority winner in the primary was immediately declared elected. This was held to be in violation of federal law, by effectively setting an "election day" before the national Election Day in November.)

* '''Louisiana primary'''
This system is almost identical to the top-two primary, but with two differences. First, the open-to-all ballot is held on the national Election Day, instead of on the state's primary day. (This avoids the conflict with Federal law described above.) Also, the second round of the election is not held if one candidate has a clear majority (more than 50%) of the votes in the first round. Like the top-two primary and the first-past-the post system, the comic represents this system with a radio button.

* '''Cumulative voting'''
In cumulative voting, each voter gets as many votes as there are seats to be filled, and may distribute them as he chooses. This system's most common use is in selecting corporate boards of directors. It is also used in some areas to allow a minority bloc within an electorate to elect some of its preferred candidates without imposing a system of separate districts.

The comic illustrates this with multiple radio buttons, each row representing an option/candidate and each (implied) column one vote.

* '''Approval voting'''
In this system, each candidate is listed as a yes/no choice, where the voters can choose which candidate they approve of winning the election, and which ones they do not approve of. The winner of the election is the candidate with the highest approval rate.

In the XKCD ballot, the approval option is presented as a checkbox, where a check in the box is "approve" or an empty box is "disapprove".

* '''Multiple non-transferable vote'''
This system for electing multiple members to a ruling body is also known as {{w|plurality-at-large voting}} or block vote. It is commonly used in the US for city council elections, and simply limits the number of votes per voter to the number of winners. It allows a cohesive plurality of the electorate to claim all of the seats, denying other voters any representation whatsoever.

In 2019, the Justice Department required {{w|Eastpointe, MI}} to run at least the next two elections via {{w|Single Transferable Vote}} because their existing plurality-at-large system was disenfranchising black citizens.

This system is also shown as a checkbox, as each candidate gets either 0 or 1 votes from each voter.

* '''Instant runoff voting'''
In this system, people vote for all the candidates, or perhaps their favorite three, but assign different preferences to each candidate they vote for, as in 1 for their first choice, 2 for the second, 3 for their third, etc. If at least 50% of voters vote for a candidate as their first choice, that candidate wins. If not, the person with the least votes gets eliminated, and anyone who voted for that person has their next (slightly less favorable) choice automatically move up a rung. The 50% mark is again checked, and if there is no winner, another lowest-voted candidate is eliminated. Eventually one candidate will emerge victorious. The advantages of this system are that there is rarely a need to have another election if things are close (the information is already there to "instantly" recalculate the vote based on additional voter preferences), and "spoiler" candidates only cause problems when they become competitive. And as {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}} shows, as with all ranking methods, sometimes {{w|Monotonicity_criterion#Instant-runoff_voting_and_the_two-round_system_are_not_monotonic|voters can hurt a candidate by ranking them more favorably}}.

On this weird XKCD ballot, we see this type of ranking between this type of voting (''Instant runoff voting'') and the two that follow (''Single transferable vote'' and ''Borda count'').

* '''Single transferable vote'''
This system extends the instant runoff to multiple-winner elections. Specifically, the election threshold is set not at 50%, but at 100%/(''k''+1) where ''k'' candidates will win (in other words, just high enough to prevent more candidates from reaching it than there are seats). The bottom candidates are eliminated as in instant-runoff and their votes redistributed. In addition, if a candidate wins with more than enough votes, the extra votes (either a fraction of each vote, or some subset of the ballots) are also redistributed. This procedure continues until the requisite number of winners is reached.

* '''Borda count'''
Each ballot is counted as 1 point for the last choice, 2 for next-to-last, and so on up to ''n'' for the first choice among ''n'' candidates. The highest point-earner(s) win. This system may also be calculated as 1 point for first choice, 2 for second, etc., with the lowest total winning; this variant, called the "cross-country vote" (due to its resemblance to the scoring system of the sport of cross-country running), is used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s various selection committee as one step in choosing championship tournament fields.

The alt text refers to the inventor of the Borda count (for whom it is named), implying that the use of the system implies the inclusion of a ballot in which he gets one vote. This vote would be quickly drowned out by any sensible quantity of actual votes. This also humorously suggests that if no one were to vote at all, Borda would win by default.

* '''Range voting'''
For each candidate, the voter selects a value within a fixed range (the XKCD voter sees this choice presented as a slider) for each candidate, independent of the values given to other candidates. The highest total wins. (If the range is restricted to two values, this becomes the approval system.)

The punchline is that the whole referendum is a chicken-and-egg problem: in order to accomplish the purpose of a referendum, one needs to know how the votes will be translated into a result, but in this case, determining that rule is the purpose of the referendum.

==Transcript==

:[Single panel depicting a ballot item for selecting a voting system]
:Which voting system should we use?

:* (empty radio button) First past the post
:* (empty radio button) Top-two primary
:* (filled radio button) Louisiana primary
:* (two filled, one empty radio button) Cumulative voting
:* (checked box) Approval voting
:* (checked box) Multiple non-transferrable vote
:* (box marked "3") Instant runoff voting
:* (box marked "1") Single transferrable vote
:* (box marked "2") Borda count
:* (slider with value slightly below half) Range voting

:Caption below panel: The referendum went well, but we can't figure out how to count the ballots.

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

2222: Terminator: Dark Fate

2019-10-31T07:33:37Z

172.69.55.118: /* Explanation */ Although they "float" in the comic, they're not going up

{{comic
| number = 2222
| date = October 30, 2019
| title = Terminator: Dark Fate
| image = terminator_dark_fate.png
| titletext = I was sent here to stop the robot that was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to destroy the robot that was sent here to vacuum the floor.
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by JOHN CONNOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is a common trope in science fiction to go into the past to stop events from ever happening (this is seen in the ''{{w|Terminator (franchise)|Terminator}}'' series). This comic plays this trope to the extreme by having Cueball's future self come to stop him from watching ''{{w|Terminator: Dark Fate}}'', which leads to a Cueball from that timeline to come tell him to watch it, and then two more of himself come back in order to stop him from watching it, so on so forth, making the number of time travelling Cueballs go up by an exponential rate.

The final pane also invokes the "killing Hitler" trope. {{w|Adolf Hitler}} was the leader of Nazi Germany during World War II, and it has been a common trope to "go back in time to kill Hitler" such as in [[1063: Kill Hitler]]. However, this Cueball is over 70 years too late to kill Hitler, as Hitler himself committed suicide in 1945, shortly before the end of WWII.

The ''Terminator'' film series is famous for this time travel trope. The initial 3 films feature a time traveling robot sent from the dystopian future to kill a particular human, with the future resistance in turn sending a protector to ensure the human's survival. However, the series has never been consistent on even the most broad rules of how time travel effects the timeline, with each movie exploring different possibilities. This is another point of spoof for the comic, featuring multiple recursive time loops until it becomes a jumbled mess.

The title text continues the exponential time travel, each link in the chain referencing a Terminator movie, eventually ending with the initial "dangerous robot" being a robotic vacuum. [[:Category:Roomba|Robotic vacuums]], such as the Roomba, are a common theme on xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[One Cueball is walking to the right. Another Cueball floats behind him from the left in a bubble which emits a burst of energy.]
:ZAP!

:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball, and pointing at him.]
:Cueball (Future 1): I've traveled back in time to stop you from seeing ''Terminator: Dark Fate''!

:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball]
:Cueball (Present): But it looks so good! Reviews are actually decent! Mackenzie Davis! '''''Linda Hamilton is back!'''''

:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball]
:Cueball (Future 1): I know, but you always think this, and you're always disappointed.
:Cueball (Present): I ''guess''...

:[Another Cueball appears in a bubble in the same way as the first, scaring Future Cueball 1, who is standing next to Cueball.]
:ZAP!
:Cueball (Future 2): Hi, I'm from the future where you didn't watch it and I realize I still kind of want to see it.
:Cueball (Present): Let's go together!

:[Another bubble appears from the right of the 3 Cueballs, this time containing two Cueballs.]
:Cueball (Future 3): No! We're both of you from the future! We're here to stop you!

:[Five more individually-wrapped Cueballs appear, surrounding the other 5 Cueballs.]
:Cueball (Future 5): I'm here to stop '''''you!'''''
:Cueball (Future 6): I'm here to stop the robot sent to stop you!
:Cueball (Future 7): I'm here to protect you from...you? I lost track.
:Cueball (Future 8): I'm here to kill Hitler. Did I get the right year?
:Cueball (Future 9): I'm here to get tickets because in like 20 minutes you people buy them all.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Roomba]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hitler]]

2197: Game Show

2019-09-03T07:54:46Z

172.69.55.118: /* List of Black Hat's items */ Spelling of plain -> plane, skeleton sentence added.

{{comic
| number = 2197
| date = September 2, 2019
| title = Game Show
| before = [[2198: Throw]] is up --> Delete this line when the buttons work again!
| image = game_show.png
| titletext = Eventually they agreed to "an auto-retracting dog leash with one end clipped to your house, so you can press the button on the handle and water-ski home."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an UNHAPPY STATUE OF LIBERTY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Many shows have situations where the participants are asked hypothetical questions. A common hypothetical question asked to ascertain someone's values and problem solving skills is the one item they would take to a deserted island.

[[Black Hat]] is on such a game show, and he does his best to undermine the point of the system, [[#List of Black Hat's items|listing various things]], (see below), that would either bring him back home from the deserted island (e.g. a boat, a plane), thereby undermining the point of the question, or would be nearly impossible to obtain (e.g. Amelia Earhart's skeleton, the Atlantic Ocean).

The title text reveals that the game show has ultimately acquiesced to one of Black Hat's wishes in a way: the dog leash mentioned would allow him to water-ski home, though such a dog leash is implausible (for example, a dog leash from San Francisco to Hawaii would be over 2000 miles long and therefore difficult to manufacture).

==List of Black Hat's items==
* A '''boat''', so he could sail home.
* A '''plane''', so he could fly home.
* '''{{w|Amelia Earhart|Amelia Earhart's}} plane''' or '''skeleton'''. She was a female U.S. aviator who went missing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on an attempt to circumnavigate earth. There have been many claims of the rediscovery of Earhart's remains, but it is unlikely that a game show would expend the energy to give their contestant either Earhart's plane or her skeleton; and even if they did, it wouldn't be in an appropriate condition for getting back. With the plane he could fly home. What he wants to do with the skeleton is anyone's guess.
* '''The internal structure of The {{w|Statue of Liberty}}''' was designed by Gustave Eiffel, best known for his work on the Eiffel Tower. It would be near impossible, not to mention illegal, to even remove the support frame, let alone get it onto a remote island.
* '''The {{w|Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom}}''' are ceremonial objects owned by the kings and queens of the UK. The items are kept under heavy guard and are valued at about $4 billion; it would therefore be difficult for Black Hat to get them onto a deserted island with him.
* '''The entire television audience for the show''' . If this is a popular channel/show, this could potentially be millions of people. Then at least it would no longer be a desert island, but of course it would be even more difficult to survive...
* '''The {{w|Greenland ice sheet}}''' is the body of ice covering the island of {{w|Greenland}}. As the second largest ice sheet on Earth, it would not quite fit on a deserted island.
* '''Earth's {{w|north magnetic pole}}''' is the point on earth that all compasses point towards because of the magnetohydrodynamic ([[1851: Magnetohydrodynamics|magic]]) forces in the earth's mantle; presumably Black Hat wants the pole to be at his deserted island, though the north magnetic pole is rather difficult to adjust.
* '''The {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}''' is the ocean left behind by the split of North America and Afroeurasia; It is of course not possible to move this anywhere. Anyway if it could pomehow be poured over a deserted island in the pacific, the water would just run right back as all Earth's oceans are connected. He did say he only wished for it if his island was in the Pacific...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, Black Hat, and Megan are game show contestants standing behind lecterns with Hairy standing in front of them as the game show host. Black Hat, standing in the middle of the three is holding a finger up while speaking.]

:Black Hat: A boat. A plane. Amelia Earhart's plane. Amelia Earhart's ''skeleton''. The Statue of Liberty's internal support frame. The Crown Jewels. This show's entire television audience. The Greenland ice sheet. Earth's north magnetic pole.
:Black Hat: Am I in the Pacific Ocean?
:Black Hat: If so, the Atlantic Ocean.

:Hairy: Uhh.
:Hairy: Our producers are going to need some time on this one.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The game show realized that they should have added some restrictions to their "take any item to a deserted island" challenge, but it was too late.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]