explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2750: Flatten the Planets

2023-03-16T02:07:08Z

172.70.162.222:

I have to wonder, would you slide down to the sun, or be flung outwards? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
: The discs are centered on the orbit of the parent planet, and presumably rotating at the same frequency as the parent planet's orbit. That means the inner edge of each disc is going slower than you'd need to orbit the Sun at that distance, and the outer edge faster. If you moved inward from the original planet's orbit, the Sun's gravity would pull you in, but when you crossed the boundary to the next disc, you'd get flung back outward.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.61|162.158.62.61]] 19:58, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::No Each planet fills out the space within their orbit into the next planet. Easy to see as the outer edge of Neptune's orbit is the same as with the planet flattened. There is a distance from Mercury to the Sun indicated. Maybe because it would melt if it got any closer? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::First, they're rings not discs, but I'm skeptical of the math. And it looks to me like the ring's edges are halfway between the orbits, with Neptune extended outwards the same distance as halfway to Uranus's orbit. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.4|172.69.22.4]] 20:08, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

{{cot|My mistake, Randall's math is correct, sorry.}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! Planet !! Volume (109 km3) !! Orbital radius (106 km) || halfway to prior || halfway to next || Annulus area (10<s>9</s> ''12'' OOPS! km2) || Thickness (<s>cm</s> ''10s of microns'')
|-
| Mercury || 61 || 58 || 29 (to 0) || 83 || 19,000 || 321
|-
| Venus || 928 || 108 || 83 || 129 || 30,637 || 3,029
|-
| Earth || 1,083 || 150 || 129 || 189 || 59,942 || 1,802
|-
| Mars || 163 || 228 || 189 || 504 || 685,794 || 24
|-
| Jupiter || 1,4310,00 || 779 || 504 || 1,107 || 3,051,847 || 46,890
|-
| Saturn || 827,130 || 1,434 || 1,107 || 2,154 || 10,726,236 || 7,711
|-
| Uranus || 68,340 || 2,873 || 2,154 || 3,684 || 28,061,145 || 244
|-
| Neptune || 62,540 || 4,495 || 3,684 || 5,304 (symmetry) || 45,743,348 || 137
|}

:::: The volumes in this table are at 2 different scales. Only the Mercury to Mars volumes are at 1010 km3. Jupiter to Neptune are at 1012 km3 [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 21:01, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: Thanks, fixed; I had the scale wrong for the radii too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 21:16, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::Someone please double-check this, I think Randall is off by a factor of 1000. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.229|172.71.154.229]] 21:37, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::: I did my own spreadsheet, and my figures agree with Randall's (roughly). I think your thinkness figures are mostly out by 1000, and a few of your volume figures also have the wrong scale (Mercury is smaller than Mars, and the giants are too big by a factor of 10). [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 22:07, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: 61 * 10^9 km^3 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=61+*+10%5E9+km%5E3+in+cm%5E3 6.1 × 10^25 cm^3], 19000 * 10^9 km^2 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=19000+*+10%5E9+km%5E2+in+cm%5E2 1.9 × 10^23 cm^2], and (6.1 × 10^25 cm^3) / (1.9 × 10^23 cm^2) is [https://www.google.com/search?q=%286.1+%C3%97+10%5E25+cm%5E3%29+%2F+%281.9+%C3%97+10%5E23+cm%5E2%29 3.2 meters]. I'm afraid I'm correct. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.145|172.69.22.145]] 22:31, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: According to {{w|List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size#Objects_with_radius_over_400_km}} yes I had Mars wrong (corrected) but the others are roughly correct. I stand by my claim that Randall is in error. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 22:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::::: Mercury's orbital radius is about 58 * 106 km, not 58 * 109 km, which makes the annulus' area 19000 1012 km2. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 23:20, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: I fixed that label, hold on... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 23:30, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: You're right. Thanks. Sorry. Reverted on main. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.215|172.71.154.215]] 23:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

|} 

This makes about as much sense as other Flat Earth theories. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.200.137|172.70.200.137]] 20:00, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:But this would actually be a flat Earth. Albeit with a rather larger surface area ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

But what does the plot of surface gravity vs distance from the Sun look like? Gravity of an infinite plane and all that?--[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 00:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that it would require "several solar system's worth" of matter, but isn't there enough matter in the actual solar system? --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:49, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:That was said in reference to the Alderson Disk, which requires 1000km or so of thickness. Clearly more than the proposal here that gives a minute thickness (relatively) from the ''actual'' planetary mass in the solar system. Even if you reduced its extent (smaller outer, bigger hole for the Sun) it wouldn't thicken up enough. The prior (non-xkcd) version would require a mass of material rivaling, if not exceeding, that of the Sun itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 02:07, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection

2023-03-09T18:26:39Z

172.70.162.222: Undo revision 307437 by 172.70.42.75 (talk) Spam.

I don’t think this has anything to do with teleconferencing. Am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 22:46, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:Yes. The impliction is that people are expecting you to be available for online communications, and you can use the unreliable Internet connection as an excuse to get out of it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
::I think it's more about communication in general. He doesn't want anybody calling him or sending him emails, so by saying he has an "unreliable" connection people might assume it will be hard to get in touch with him.
:::Back in the day, email was usually configured so that it could easily overcome such unreliability, and it's still doable,[https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/running-from-home/6459/7] but today email for most people is a web or local client-server app, as opposed to a local mail store in a peer-to-peer app. Even people in urban areas can suffer unreliable internet, when squirrels or backhoes gnaw through data cables, copper theives strike, or 5G mind control base stations are congested. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.143|172.70.210.143]] 23:45, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:::This could equally cover other instant communication methods where your availability is advertised (e.g. Whatsapp). It could also be about alleviating the social pressure the subject feels to continuously check and immediately respond to messages (including emails), because the immediacy is already hindered by the spotty connection (cf the standard "I will have limited access to email" out of office line, which gives the account owner psychological permission to check it infrequently). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 09:02, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

According to a PhET simulator (https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/plinko-probability/latest/plinko-probability_en.html) for this situation, the ideal standard deviation is 1.732 and ideal mean is 6. I don’t feel like doing the calculations :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 23:34, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:If we assume 50-50 for each bounce, the probability that internet is off will be about (11 choose 3)/(2^11), or 8%.--[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 23:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
::My first thought was, why so complicated? ''If'' each of the twelve switches is equally (and solely) likely to be struck by each ball, it's (100/12)% of the time, or 8⅓%.
::Although the equal-chance is wrong, so you're definitely doing "end up with exactly 7 bounce rights and 3 bounce lefts, but in any combination" or similar are you? I'd have summed it differently, though. And not sure where the choose ''3'' comes in... Just one bounce left off any row-end pin 11 sends to 11 if all others bounce right. Three bounces left hits switch 9, not eight. If I'm counting correctly. Or am I doing telegraph-poles/wires miscounting?
::Too early in the morning for me to untangle. The only thing I'm sure about is your division by 2^11 (how many total paths there are to get down). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 05:00, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:::Me again. I hadn't checked that the transcript (which said it was switch #8) was correct. Have now, and found it to be wrong. Have hence also just corrected the Transcript. So I'm gonna assume your 11-choose-3 is entirely correct after all. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 05:08, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:It's actually 12 switches, not 11, but that doesn't affect the math too much. I originally thought "off" was switch 10, which would have changed the math (to 3%), but that's just the one the current ball hit. The actual "off" switch is switch 9. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]])
::It previously said that there were eleven "on" switches and one "off" switch (which is twelve in total, but it didn't add them up explicitly), and the change to say that there are 12 Ons and 1 Off made it wrong. I corrected/rephrased it (see if you agree with however it looks by the time you get around to reading this) to avoid that reading error (one which happened to me with my own first glance at the phrasing used, but I thought that was just me at the time) without adding any new misinterpretation or easy misinterpretationality.
::The maths above is indeed correct enough. The 2^11 relates to the total number of unique paths it can take (assuming a bounce left/right just enough to strike the nearest offset pin below to force a new left/right bounce choice) from the first divider through to any of the 11 final left-right pin-bounces (and onto the 12 switches, at which point we're not bothered with the bouncing - diagram suggests the balls leap outwards and don't hit any other switches).
::"11 choose 3" is a way how to ask, given 11 items (possible bounces), how many unique and unordered combinations of exactly 3 of these must exist (leftward-bounces, the rest being right-bounces) to filter onto the off-connected switch. (This is the same as "11 choose 8", if you decide to ask how many right-bounces are necessary, the rest being left-bounces.) That could be layer 1 (the 1-pin), 2 (the 2-pins) and 3 (...), before going consistently right to the final strike of the switch, or layers 9+10+11 (after being pure-right 1..8), but with many intermediate tracks across the pin-spacs (165 in total, as it happens; and it would be 55 to hit switch 10. Or 2, instead of 3, if you orientate things the other way round).
:: 165/2048 (paths hitting the off-switch (at #9) divided by all paths that might happen) is a tad over 8%. On the assumption that it's fair and unbiased and you don't get more rattling around than a simple (single half-step) left/right distribution. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 03:20, 19 August 2022 (UTC)

To whomever did [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=292862&oldid=292861], doesn't [https://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2018/8817/pdf/LIPIcs-FUN-2018-26.pdf] prove that symmetrical configurations nearly identical to those shown can produce uniform distributions? They seem to show it's just a matter of horizontal pin spacing. However, I for one can not verify the proof, which uses unusual (novel?) non-Unicode math notation, and a fairly opaque method of proof. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 00:07, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Not sure, but [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%98%E8%AA%BF%E6%95%B4 this Japanese Wikipedia article] is fascinating. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 01:51, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Please see section 3.5 on pp. 16-18 of the currently first reference [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.05706.pdf]. I am particularly intrigued by, "Open Problem 2: Is every uniform distribution of output probabilities of the form 1/2k constructible by a 50-50 Pachinko?" on p. 18. However I haven't dived in enough to even know where the parentheses are supposed to be in that expression, yet. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 17:27, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
: Good question! https://ibb.co/sRwGwB9 don't look triangular, but it seems the proof might suggest much more triangular solutions. Worth thinking about! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.115|172.69.33.115]] 21:24, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

What is the chance that the ball will bounce off the first pin, go down the outside of the pins and miss all the switches?
:Probably quite high if it's a bouncy ball. With idealized physics though it'd just hit the leftmost/rightmost switch. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.254.127|172.70.254.127]] 00:45, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

I would describe the device as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galton_board. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.109|172.70.230.109]] 00:30, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

I was watching the photo and hover-over text and the image disappeared and "Unreliable Connection" showed up in its place. I don't know how often this happens.
: Very neat if not a fluke! Can anyone replicate this experience on https://xkcd.com ? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 14:21, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

"An added source of humour is that Randall could likely achieve the same effect by looking through the router's settings - which most modern ones have a feature to turn on and off at scheduled times - or via purchasing a smart power strip." But by using these other methods, the connection would still be reliable. If it goes out at regular or pre-scheduled intervals then you know when it will be available or not, hence reliable. I think the joke here is that the contraption does in fact make the connection unreliable. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.77|172.70.114.77]] 14:18, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
: Addressed at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=292926&oldid=292924]. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 14:44, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:(Edit conflicted by at least the above, but my answer to the same question...) From a user POV, unless they happen to know that at 11:53 each day (and 12:14, 15:02, 15:07, 16:31, etc...) the scheduler disables tracfic for one (or two, or three) minutes, it is still unreliable, if ultimately predictable ''once you know'' the schedule, having seen it go round a few times and taken note. Similarly a timered power-strip could be used (or even several, in serial, the two or three daily interventions by the first also stopping and delaying the subsequent strips' interventions, making their timings uneven, further down the chain) and until you got the pattern it might as well be 'random', not entirely deterministic. (I'm wondering about some OR-gate-like/etc implementation, so power can pass by at least one parallel timer-shut-off to maintain power at the lower levels while ''some'' mid-way timers get depowered and thus 'shuffled' in interesting ways, and the resulting single output is governed by an intricate multi-dependent set of routes, but I bet an electrician would be wary about wiring that up...)
:You could hack (or patch) the management firmware to be a bit more (pseudo)random about it, though it would still be pseudorandom LFSR/Xorshift with a (long) repetition cycle.
:Or make it dependant upon an external factor (if the modulo 12 of the cumulative sum of all observed packet-destination IPs is zero, shut off for the five times the prior modulo 12 test value, in seconds..?), but that's ''practically'' the pachinko solution but with software hacking rather than hardware-making/hacking as per the comic.
:More effort is needed to make it ultimately unpredictable, but it can still be considered unreliable if it goes out just when you 'want' it.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 15:02, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

For real though, isn't this kind of a good idea? [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:34, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Talk to edtech people in the {{w|MOOC}} space and they will tell you asynchronous is worth it, but talk to people who study educational quality factors like time to receive answers to unanticipated questions, and they will have different ideas. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 14:44, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone have an openWRT (or other) implementation of this feature yet?
:You can induce it on stock firmware without reflashing, but you need to know the parameters like how often balls come out of the hopper, and what exactly the on/off switches do. As pseudocode:
::<tt>#!/bin/sh</tt>
::<tt>while true ; do</tt>
:::<tt>sleep </tt>''seconds''
:::<tt>if [ `rand100` -le 8 ] ; then</tt>
::::<tt>wifictrl off</tt>
:::<tt>else</tt>
::::<tt>wifictrl on</tt>
:::<tt>fi</tt>
::<tt>done</tt>
:[[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 00:38, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

There are spaces between the button that the balls can fall into, and this could complicate the stuff a bit. However if the ratio between probability of hitting ON and probability of hitting OFF remain the same (1883:165), the average OFF time will still be the same (165/2048 of the time). The behavior that the network is switching between ON and OFF will probably be changed though. [[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 04:44, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

I would have expected the negative reviews to have mentioned all the balls on the floor and perhaps the need to periodically refill the hopper. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 16:18, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
:If it's a Pachinko machine instead of just a Galton board, then refilling the hopper is done automatically by robotics behind the back wall of the device. Someday remind me to tell you about the Japanese recession caused by out-of-work hopper refillers when that innovation was introduced. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 02:12, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2745: Obituary Editor

2023-03-04T17:10:13Z

172.70.162.222:

I think it's a shame the editor wasn't playing Twister with Death. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.75|162.158.34.75]] 15:55, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

I think this comic is similar to [[393: Ultimate Game]]. Anyone else agree? --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 16:04, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Is this the first xkcd character with they/them pronouns? [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 17:31, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
:Nope! [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]] came first! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.100|172.71.254.100]] 17:48, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
::Au contraire, mon ami. ''That'' comic only contains a discussion of the singular ''they'' and does not imply the existence of any character with they/them pronouns. In this comic, such a character is explicitly identified, that being the editor. [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 18:10, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
:::I think it's rather the much older use of "they" to avoid specifying gender when you don't know the person--to avoid saying "s/he" or whatever.[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.11|198.41.238.11]] 03:41, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
::::One knows one's own gender more than anyone else, however. I think the suggestion here is that the this is a deliberate act by a "my pronouns are they/them" person, perhaps notable as being a particularly progressive characterisation by Randall (I don't ''think'' he's had trans/gender-fluid characters, before, to any obvious or identifiable degree, BICBW) and so if we presume that they're expressing their identity in such a blatent way then it might be worth a word or two about it).
::::Though I'm as happy to believe that this is an "introextrovert", in life happy to work behind the scenes, an otherwise invisible individual (save for regular and unavoidable interactions with work colleagues, who don't have any confusion about who they are dealing with) who just gets enjoyment from getting the job done, just knowing what 'power' (and concomitant responsibility) they have. Yet, once there is no way that the fuss will affect them, this is what their (post-)final act will be. It's relatively benign (in the grand scheme of such things, nothing like a Dead Hand device sparking full nuclear retaliation upon the world, or anything) and highlights the job at least as much as the person.
::::Or they're a trans-ally, deliberately making ''that'' point. Or this is an option built into the autoposting software, tickbox activated but the (even more unseen/un-selfpublicising) autoposter-author defaulted its output to the non-assuming pronouns. Or any one of a number of other explanations. It could just be Randall determined to not pin down such an irrelevent detail, either way, and never intending to spark a discussion on pronoun-use by accident. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.100|172.70.90.100]] 13:22, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
:::These are very good points. --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 18:23, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
::::It's kind of odd that the self-aggrandizing obituaries editor would omit their own name from their own self-written obituary. If they wanted to be memorialized by the rest of the human race, they probably should have mentioned their name. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.37|172.70.127.37]] 16:23, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
:::::Why I think they're not looking for (direct, meaningful in their lifetime) fame, just putting the cat amongst the pigeons. They're not even laser-burning their name on the Moon, or similar, but (from this point on) anyone who does a degree of legwork (inversely proportional to how much they might already be aware of this individual, and their demise) can work it out, first-hand. And then the knowledge might memetically spread. Which would be a tribute and memorial in and of itself, far beyond the reach of just a single "I've died, will you remember me?" post anywhere.
:::::Think of {{w|Perplex City}}'s "{{w|Perplex City#Notable cards|Satoshi}}", perhaps? But the answer is the question-setter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 17:10, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

Is this not a reference to Bill and Ted who challenged Death to a long set of games?
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.231|172.70.110.231]] 01:29, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
:Not specifically, as this concept arguably goes back thousands of years; see https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChessWithDeath for a list of examples. ''Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey'' was specifically parodying the game of chess with Death in Ingmar Bergman's ''The Seventh Seal'' (1957). --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.37|172.70.127.37]] 16:23, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2736: Only Serifs

2023-02-11T12:56:02Z

172.70.162.222:

first two letters are "A" and "R" I think [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.10|172.71.167.10]] 04:35, 11 February 2023 (UTC)Bumpf

It's AaBbCcDd. Most likely in Caslon, based on the uppercase A. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.149|172.68.174.149]] 04:54, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

So much for a hidden message. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.238.22|172.68.238.22]] 05:05, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

If we've come to this page for an explanation, we probably don't know what a "solum-serif font" is. update the transcript with something more widely known? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.224|172.69.65.224]] 05:42, 11 February 2023 (UTC)
:Agreed, enthusiastically! Someone trying to show off, Google doesn't even know what it means, it found ONE result, which is a font of curved corners someone made (when I put "solum-serif" in quotes, to not allow Google to just search one or the other). But while I was Googling someone fixed it before I could, LOL! Which is weird as it's past midnight here in the Eastern time zone. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:56, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

There was a whole thing on Wikipedia about formatting the f symbol for an arbitrary function. One camp held that f is just f, it always is and always was and if you italicize f in a san-serif font, you get an oblique ''f'' but if you italicize f in a serif font, you get a proper italic version, which I'm not sure how to display here. The italic f resembles ƒ, a character called the "hooked f," which is technically an oblique f with a descender ("hook"). That symbol has been used for florins, but sometimes it is also used to imitate the italic f to represent functions, because it has the descender in all environments. But Wikipedia uses a san-serif script, while most mathematical literature uses a serif script. However, it renders expressions in LaTeX with serif fonts and therefore these equations get an f with a descender. So some people were arguing that given this environment, the ƒ character was practically superior, even if it was conceptually wrong, because it most closely resembled the formatted LaTeX expressions. And on and on with the back and forth. I'm glad they eventually settled on just using f for f, like they use g for g and h for h, but still, it was amusingly nitpicky. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.50|172.70.100.50]] 07:58, 11 February 2023 (UTC)
:What you listed as resembling italic f looks on my system like ⨍. There are lots of fun variations (some unrelated, just similar looking): ∫⨎ʄ∮∬∰⨏ƒʆᶘᔑ [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:48, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

The title text teases the idea of a font made by adding the Times New Roman serifs to Comic Sans, and now I actually want to see such a cursed font. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.237|108.162.241.237]] 11:03, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

I think Caslon is correct:
[https://ibb.co/J2WhP1g Caslon] [https://ibb.co/MG77JMX Overlay] [https://ibb.co/3yQtqbN Low Opacity Overlay]
via [http://www.identifont.com/identify?58+.+5J+1JU+3YB+3RZ+35YX+94+JIA+58C+97+22X+8R8+1JY+2Z3A+6ZR+3Q+5BU+9J+1L0+76P+8Z+1QN+7UF+DG+5QE+J+JPK+8C+99+PAE+2AA6+2ZI+8X+8W+8J+1KS+JI6+2Z36+79+8E+53K+2E+1KI+8N+7VS+7S+2C6+1U6+8A+8R0+8F+3WO+2ZGL+1LA+7G+1QY+8B+A0 questions] in Identifont. If someone can add these to the wiki, please do. [[User:DragonDave|DragonDave]] ([[User talk:DragonDave|talk]]) 12:55 11 February 2023 (UTC)

2736: Only Serifs

2023-02-11T07:08:32Z

172.70.162.222: /* Explanation */ the feature that makes.comoc sans readable.to dyslexics is that.no two letters are mirrors or rotations of each other, not simply being sans serif.

{{comic
| number = 2736
| date = February 10, 2023
| title = Only Serifs
| image = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SHERIFF - explain the comic more, what is the text? Do NOT delete this tag until Friday, May 9th, 2023..}}

See {{w|serif}} and {{w|sans-serif}} on Wikipedia. Serifs are ticks put at the ends of lines that make up letters, like the "feet" put at the bottom of an A, as well as at the peak (the first 3 ticks shown in the comic). Some fonts use them, as visual decoration, and are called Serif fonts, some do not and are called Sans Serif fonts ("sans" being French for "without"). Randall is suggesting a font using ''only'' these accent pieces and skipping the "body" of the letters entirely.

As for the title text, {{w|Times New Roman}} is a widely available and recognizable typeface with serifs, widely regarded as the most commonly used. {{w|Comic Sans}} is a sans-serif typeface (that’s what the “Sans” in the name refers to) designed to look like childish handwriting. Many graphic designers {{w|Comic_Sans#Opposition|dislike Comic Sans}} due to a history of amateurs using it in contexts where its informal style is inappropriate, simply in order to use a font that looks different than the standards of Times and Arial and similar. Defenders claim that it is easier for dyslexics to read, but that is true for a range of fonts.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The capital and lowercase forms of the first four letters of the alphabet are written on handwriting paper in a font only consisting of serifs between three gray horizontal lines. Underneath the panel there are two lines of text (in a sans-serif font)]
:AaBbCcDd

:Instead of serif or sans-serif,
:my new font is '''''only''''' serifs.

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

Talk:2734: Electron Color

2023-02-09T15:53:11Z

172.70.162.222:

Electrons have no color?! BUt lIgHTnIng strIKeS aRe YEllOw, aND LigHTNing IS MaDe uP of eLECTrOns.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.115|172.71.254.115]] 22:43, 6 February 2023 (UTC)
: Actually most colors are emitted by electrons orbiting atoms after absorbing light. The color electrons emit depend on their kinetic energy and available places they can travel, a tiny bit similar to how things change color as they get hotter, but more extreme and general. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.198|172.70.114.198]]
: I'm pretty sure lighting strikes are white. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:58, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

It may refer to the Greek etymology of the word "electron". Originally it meant amber, a yellow gem. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.118.146|172.68.118.146]] 23:20, 6 February 2023 (UTC)
:But amber isn't yellow - it's... amber. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.222|172.70.85.222]] 10:40, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

I can't do formatting, I'm new. Sorry! {{unsigned|No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO}}

To me, this is 1000% building on the idea of debating the colors of school subjects. I've added a bit of explanation to the text about it. I used my own color associations & reasons (science = green, history = red) as an example, and I'm sure people will disagree with me. Leave your color/subject associations in a reply to this comment, could be a fun little debate! (also, English = blue)
[[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 23:50, 6 February 2023 (UTC)
: SocStud is yellow, Math is red, Science is green?, ELA is gray, French is blue, and orange is my least favorite subject out of the rest. I have gotten into many arguments with my friends.
:[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 00:10, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:: Science = Green (green flask bubbling)
:: Social Studies = Blue (blue and green globe, green is taking)
:: Math = Red (math is reliable, red is a strong color so i associate it with reliability)

:: English = Yellow (all other colors are taken)
:: Also electrons are blue
::[[User:Iffy|Iffy]] ([[User talk:Iffy|talk]]) 23:53, 6 February 2023 (UTC)
::: Hm! I've never heard of school subjects having any assigned colors; much less any debate about it! If we're identifying them by the folders they're kept in, my favorite subject was Ferrari & my least favorite was Porsche.
::: [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 04:41, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:::: I don't recall colour-coded (UK) schoolbooks, in particular (except the "red pirate, green pirate, blue pirate, etc" stories for young kids, the red pirate like only rubies, the green one emeralds, the blue probably sapphires, and had clothing/etc that matched, naturally), but I had (have still, somewhere!) a collection of Usborne Encyclopaedias at home with a veritable rainbow of colours. Mathematics was yellow, I think, Computers a shade of blue, one of the Red or off-Red (slightly pinker, but still deep red) might have been Physics (had geophysics in it, IIRC), I think History was a light-green. I'm sure I never had the whole set, but I had enough to arrange in as close to Richard Of York order as I felt most content to do, when on the bookshelf.
::::: Obviously there ''were'' colours involved with the school stuff. I'm sure different levels of SPMG (Scottish Primary Maths Group?) workbooks were colour-coded, perhaps more for the benefit of the teacher, though the later {{w|School Mathematics Project|SMP}} ones were probably more just identified as "13a", "5b", etc, to work through various sub-subjects and the increasingly advanced techniques thereof, perhaps coloured with highlights only to not be boring black-on-white monochrome covers.
::::: And there's so many other colour-classifications that I instituted for myself, over the years, showing just how useful a hue can be to represent and differentiate a class of something, such as various 3M-style "post-it"-like arrow stickers stuck into the pages of a book for quick reference to all instances of one particular thing or another. For which I suppose I'm grateful to not having any notable form of colour-blindness, to limit my options. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.114|172.70.91.114]] 08:20, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:::: Personally, I've always thought that English is red, Math is blue, Sciences are green, History is yellow, and "personal events" are orange.
::::::This is completely BS. This is about the diagrams used for drawing atoms where colors are used for different elementary particles. And Randall clearly explains that they do not have real color. And the jokes that people still have feelings for what colors are chosen based on the conventions used where people first learned about atoms. Have removed the color on subjects completely as it has nothing to do with this comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:43, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::::::PS you cannot be more than 100% on anything :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:46, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

I believe this comic was made in response to a book talk Randall did in Seattle, where this question was actually asked to him in person! If you want to hear it yourself, someone recorded the talk here: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/xjuc4i/a_recording_and_autotranscript_of_randalls_latest/
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.6|172.71.142.6]] 00:45, 7 February 2023 (UTC) A random new user
: Was it the dorky randall with red hair or the photogenic one with brown hair and blue eyes or am I going wildly mad? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.198|172.70.114.198]] 00:51, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Am I crazy, I always thought of electrons as blue to contrast with the protons which are red[[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.89|172.70.211.89]] 04:47, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:You're all crazy! Elections are 2817.9am & protons are 1.5am. "Yellow" is over 557,000,000,000am! Maybe you've all got your displays' color gamut set too low? ;S
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 09:18, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::I have also seen protons as red and neutons as white and electron as blue in the diagrams I remember. Never yellow electrons. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:43, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:::I'm not entirely sure about proton and electrons, but neutrons were black. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:58, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

"This comic appears to "elevate" that discussion to the college level." - considering that the students are considerably smaller than the teacher (notice the heads), I seriously doubt this is meant to be set in a college classroom - high school at most, IMHO. Also, "One common debate among schoolchildren is over the "color" of various subjects. Because of the brightly colored folders commonly used to separate subjects in the binder of a young student, the students tend to associate those colors with the subject." - well, not in any school I ever attended, nor with any school class I've ever worked with. I'd be inclined to dispute that this is at all common. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.85|172.70.46.85]]
: I agree that this is probably not supposed to be college-level, but the color-subject coordination is definitely real (albeit not a very common topic of debate). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.38|162.158.90.38]] 08:01, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::I find it hard to believe Randall is referencing colors of school subjects without alluding to them in any way; to the contrary, I feel fairly certain he's directly referencing the various colors assigned to electrons, protons, quarks, etc, in diagrammatic illustrations of atomic structure. I think the whole first paragraph is way off base (though interesting tangentially).
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 09:18, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:::I agree with all above here and have corrected the explanation to school class and pupils and diagram colors removing school subject color completely! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:43, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::::Was it also worth removing the synesthesia bit? Entirely unrelated to school-subject organisation-by-colour that I also think was an {{w|Red herring|incarnadine ''clupea harengus''}}, but very possibly relevent to "but I happen think it's obvious that <concept> is a <hue> thing!"... For consideration, or as a side-note, whether or not you restore that possible reference. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.203|172.71.242.203]] 10:42, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Electrons are blue, right? In all my textbooks (Germany) electrons are blue. Is this a generally accepted addition? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.166|198.41.242.166]] 07:13, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
: I stopped the explanation saying that electrons were (by implication, ''solely'') yellow. If green is used for a nucleon (neutron? red being proton?), they might choose blue for an electron, as contrast. Or black dot or white (black-outlined) small circle to contrast with whatever the nucleons are with their much bigger circles clumped in the middle.
: But, given other regular colour-conventions, I could imagine yellow as a popular 'electron' colour. Either in its own right (influencing the choices given to the other things depicted) or as the main obviously remaining option (the other things having been decided upon first). Horses for courses. And I can imagine cultural/national differences (e.g. what colours your household wiring was set up as, at least before EU standardisation but then red and black still exists in the mindset, despite blue and brown, or whatever it might have been) if not localised 'linguistic puns' to make some choices more 'obvious' than others. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.114|172.70.91.114]] 08:20, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::Indeed, yellow is sometimes indicative of electrical hazard, as opposed to red for flame... So many ways to draw associations!
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 09:18, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:::Yes blue electrons, red protons and white neutrons are probably common on Europe, it is in Denmark. I'm a physicist and word with radioactive isotopes and teach about them. My drawings are red protons and white neutrons and blue electrons. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:43, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

I don’t know what Ms. Lenhart is talking about. Electrons are blue, protons are red, and neutrons are definitely grey. Not sure how to sign my comment tho. Oh well {{unsigned ip|172.70.174.115|13:00, 7 February 2023}}
:(You sign your comments with a string of <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code> (as suggested by the comment at the top of many a comic-discussion page, when you start to edit it)... or you wait for someone else to do what I just did for you, but that's more effort than the four tildes on your part.)
:For what it's worth, I'm mostly with you. Red and grey/dark-grey/black in the centre, as you say. Light blue (or yer actual electric blue?) or (bluish?) white electrons. Depends what colour-pallettes are available to the illustrator/modeller, I imagine, and what else needs a distinct colour alongside the basic trio (e.g. yellow fission/fusion "sparky-flame energy things" or general labelling stuff). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.246|162.158.158.246]] 13:15, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::I did some data collection on image searches for atom diagrams, and yes, the defacto color standard is protons red, neutrons grey (less commonly yellow or green), and electrons blue.
::I like this because it gives opposing colors to the opposing positive and negative charges, (the same color choices as the traditional magnet north and south ends, likely not coincidentally,) and a neutral color to the uncharged neutron.
::Which makes me think that when Lenhart says "electrons are yellow" she does not mean in the diagram sense, but rather in the sense "if you make an electron big enough to see, it is yellow".
::[[User:SomeDee|SomeDee]] ([[User talk:SomeDee|talk]]) 16:58, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
:electrons are green. y'all are trippin [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.159|172.71.154.159]] 17:27, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
::definitely green. Have none of you ever used a transmission electron microscope? Or an oscilloscope? Green shine everywhere! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.95.22|162.158.95.22]] 09:01, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

I made a survey for this: https://forms.gle/Pu5mkEtBZPUZ6dbb8
[[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 18:03, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Electrons are yellow, protons are red, and neutrons are gray. End of discussion.
:What about roses and violets? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.172|172.71.242.172]] 10:49, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

{{w|Quark_(dairy_product)|Quark}} is white, or off-white.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.96|172.70.85.96]] 10:47, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
:I find this comic puzzling. Virtually all colors we see are due to electrons (transitions between different states in atoms, molecules, and solids), so saying they are "too small to interact with visible light" is quite incorrect. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.130|172.69.134.130]] 18:48, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
::Yeah. They totally interact with visible light. But only with light of specific frequency matching the energy difference between some electron and free higher orbit it can move to. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 19:00, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

((Snipped))
: What language is this? This is and English site, so please write in English. Google Translate detects it as Hungarian, but leaves almost all of the words untranslated. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.38|162.158.90.38]] 04:31, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
:: It's just a past troll. Who has several times said they've finished trolling, or promised to finish trolling in a given instance if only someone would include some word or other in their next edit. (Spoiler: they never stopped, so we just have to deal with it and carry on.)
:: The 'language' was worked out (it's a conlang that's a mix of actual non-English root words and 'cod Latin'-type transforms, essentially) but I'm not wasting braincells on its inanity or going to make it a 'mainstream thing'. They do worse things to vandalise the site, but that doesn't mean that the above can be left unchallenged as relatively benign.
:: My advice is to ignore it (or revert it away, if nobody else does that quickly enough). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 09:14, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
:::What is a conlang and what is cod Latin? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.45|172.68.34.45]] 15:12, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
:::: "Conlang" means a {{w|Constructed language}}. And I think they actually meant {{w|Dog Latin}} or (more likely, in context) {{w|Pig Latin}}, though "Cod" does {{wiktionary|cod#Etymology_3|sometimes mean}} a fake/imitation of something, so Pig Latin might perhaps be described as a cod-Latin. Or confusingly misrefered to as such, by accident... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]]

Talk:2734: Electron Color

2023-02-09T09:14:10Z

172.70.162.222:

2725: Sunspot Cycle

2023-01-19T01:11:18Z

172.70.162.222: Undo revision 304972 by 172.71.254.27 (talk) Not so clear, given any number of other candidates... Sending this bit into the bit of the Talk page where it might better becspe ulated upon.

{{comic
| number = 2725
| date = January 16, 2023
| title = Sunspot Cycle
| image = sunspot_cycle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x503px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Who can forget the early 2010s memes? 'You know you're a 90s kid if you remember the feeling of warm sunlight on your face.' 'Only 90s kids remember the dawn.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NINETIES KID WHO ATE THE SUN - PLEASE change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a reference to the {{w|solar cycle}}, which is a roughly 11-year cycle of changes in the Sun's activity from a period of minimal levels of various related phenomena ({{w|sunspots}}, solar radiation, ejecta, and solar flares) to one of maximum activity in these areas. As the cycle continues, the Sun returns to minimal activity and starts over. Without actually studying the Sun, however, there is no discernable difference to our daily lives here on Earth, and studying the Sun in enough detail is difficult due to its intrinsic and eye-damaging brightness whenever viewed directly. The comic may be a joke that nobody ever looks outside anymore, and so it may be possible to convince people that the sun has gone away. It's worth noting that the umbra (darkest portion) of a sunspot is still roughly 3000-4500K, so if the sun were to express as one massive umbra it would still be very visible, possibly appearing as a {{w|Stellar_classification#Class_K|type K}} star.

This comic makes a joke that when the absolute number of sunspots appears to decrease it is not because they disappear, but because they get so crowded that they begin to merge, and thus the number of individual spots decreases whereas the area of the sun covered by sunspots continues to increase to near total 'darkness'. This causes there to be a completely dark Sun after 11 years, at which point any new sunspots are ''bright'' patches, and the next 11-year cycle repeats the process but accumulating bright spots until eventually it is all bright once more, giving a total bright/dark cycle of 22 years.

The curve showing the number of differentiable sunspots covers a bit more than 11 years, one full cycle of our normal Sun. During that time the number of sunspots first increases and then decreases down to zero. At the end of this cycle our Sun has returned to its starting brightness. The comic's sun, however, has gone from fully bright to fully dark; its full cycle takes 22 years. The number of distinct spots (of either kind) first increases and then decreases as they merge into just one Sun-enveloping spot. Then the other type of spot appears and begins to dominate once more.

Below is a graph showing the number of sunspots as a function of time from around 1965 to 2025. Periods where the sun is dark are shown with black under the curve, and in transition periods with lines of darkness getting closer together on the way to 'fully' dark area plus vals of light reinserting themselves in the lightening part of the cycle. Also for clarity the troughs are labeled with the sun being bright or dark. It is always when there are few spots that the sun is either completely free from spots and thus bright, or completely covered and thus dark. The maxima are always during the height of the transition between the two extremes, with a wide swathe of the time around the minima being mostly light or mostly dark, alternating at around a decade of each predominating.

At times, this closely synchronises with the calendar decades. From this curve it can be seen that the Sun was bright across the 1990s, but not in the dark 1980s or the dark time from around 2001 to 2014. This fact is mentioned in the title text (see below). Similarly the 1970s were mostly bright, after the largely dark 1960s, the width of the transition periods covering the marked decade-defining years in slightly offset ways compared to the neighbouring ones. After the darkness began around 2000, the shift was such that it finally got bright again around 2014, with darkness returning around 2024. This is because of the sunspot cycles being 11 years (making the illumination cycle 22 years) and eventually it no longer credibly meshes with the arbitrary decadal cut-offs.

All this would obviously be catastrophic if it happened in our version of the universe, as during a dark phase insufficient light would be coming from the Sun, and the Earth could freeze if all the energy from the Sun was reduced. If the spots only affect light in the visible spectrum, then Earth would not freeze but plants would have trouble with photosynthesis and other natural processes would be interrupted. In our universe sunspots cool the area of the Sun where they appear, relative to the rest of the surface (50-75% of the nearly 6000K 'norm'), but they are far from being actually dark; [https://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/workbook/sunspot.html NASA says] that each sunspot on its own would glow orange, brighter than the full Moon. So even in a completely sunspot-covered Sun, the Sun would still be brighter than (with a typically bright Sun illuminating it) the Moon, and far brighter than the dark-time Moon would become (possibly causing issues for nocturnal life, as well). It would be possible to see it (and see by it) even if the heat delivered were very low and even noon would seem to be {{wiktionary|crepuscular}} by our normal expectations. See more in the title text explanation.

These problems are obviously not a serious threat in the reality of the comic, as the Sun is truly dark and yet people and natural systems have long survived these dark periods and adapted accordingly. This becomes clear in the title text where internet memes indicate that people lived fine through the dark periods, although they obviously did not 'properly' see the Sun as kids if they were born near the start of a 'dark decade'.

The title text indicates the effect on internet memes that the special solar cycle has had. During the 2010s in our universe there were many '90s kid' memes. Those were also popular in this universe, but they reflect that the Earth had at that time been dark since the 2000s, and thus only those born in the 90s and before would remember dawn or the feeling of the warm sun on their faces.

This of course indicates that the Sun is actually dark and gives no warmth. Thus it is a mystery how life on Earth prevails, but given that there were kids from the 1990s that made memes twenty years after, life does work in this strange alternate universe.

==Transcript==
:[This comics shows two graphs, one also with several images of the Sun in different times in the solar cycle. The top graph is much larger than the bottom graph, and above them is a explanation of what the graphs shows:]
:Ever wonder why the sun disappears for about 10 years every other decade? This terrifying period of worldwide darkness is a natural consequence of the 11-year sunspot cycle:

:[A graph is shown with a label above the arrow on the Y-axis and a label written above the left part of the X-axis with an arrow pointing from it to the right (there is no arrow on the X-axis line). The graph shows a sine curve with a dashed line. It starts close to the bottom and then increases, then decreases before it finally slightly increases again. Above the dashed line are eight circles representing the sun with various levels of sunspots, with an arrow between each circle pointing to the next to the right. All circles are just above the dashed curve and the small arrows between them also follow the curvature of the line, so this string makes the same shape as the curve. along the eight representation of the sun there are five labels. The eight Suns are described below with labels given when relevant.]
:Y-Axis: Sunspot number
:Y-Axis: Time

:[The first Sun's circle is completely white.]

:[The second Sun's circle has a few sunspots. A label is written to the left of it:]
:Dark sunspots appear

:[The third Sun's circle has several sunspots. A label is written to the left of it:]
:Sunspot number rises

:[The fourth Sun's circle is half covered in sunspots.]

:[The fifth Sun's circle is mostly black with a few lines of white dots. Between the fourth and fifth circle is a label:]
:Number falls as sunspots merge.

:[The sixth Sun's circle is almost completely black with just a few small white spots. A label is written above it:]
:Sunspots envelop sun, Earth enters years of darkness.

:[The seventh Sun's circle is mostly black with a few light areas.]

:[The eighth Sun's circle is still mostly black but with some larger white areas. A label is written above and left of it:]
:Bright sunspots appear, cycle reverses.

:[Below is a second graph with a label written near the top of the Y-axis which is otherwise not labeled. The X-axis also has no label, but six years are written beneath at equal intervals. The graph shows a similar sine curve as the one above, but with almost five cycles shown. Also, each cycle is not close to being a perfect sine curve, but has the property with a peak followed by a trough. The five troughs are labeled. The area beneath the curve alternates from being black and white when there is a trough, with the peak in between having several vertical lines, indicating transfer from black to white and vise versa. There are not same distance between peaks and there are also features on the graphs, for instance the two peaks in the middle has a drop, so they look like volcanoes. And the last full peak has a clear outlier year with many sunspots.]
:Label: History:
:X-axis labels: 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
:Through 1970-1980: Sun is bright
:Through 1980-1990: Sun is dark
:Through 1990-2000: Sun is bright
:Through 2000-2010: Sun is dark
:Through 2010-2020: Sun is bright

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Internet]]

Talk:2723: Outdated Periodic Table

2023-01-12T16:27:05Z

172.70.162.222:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_nucleosynthesis BBN did only produce unstable Berylium-7 with a half-life of 53.22 days. Thus after 30 minutes there was still plenty of Be-7 left.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.38|172.71.160.38]] 15:36, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

"unnilium" is a reference to "unnilunium", which was the name for Mendelevium (atomic number 101; from "un nil un", 1-0-1) before it was given a formal name. Therefore the 6th new element referenced, on top of the 4 already in the table, would be #10, or "un nil", or unnilium. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.190.132|172.71.190.132]]

"Pentium" was also the first non-numeric name for the Intel family. Before that, it was the 80486/i486. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.195|172.70.134.195]] 16:17, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

I have a science textbook at home that doesn't have ''any'' elements in a periodic table, though you'd think it should. It has a very nice ''list'' of elements (with dodgy details, e.g. I think at least one of them was later proven to be two separate but tricky to isolate elements), but was written prior to the popularisation of Mendeleev's table. (i.e. post-1869, but not by much!) Now, obviously, I don't want to diss Randall's humour, but I have so few such retro-geeky things I can brag about so I just wanted to mention this in passing. (Also, when I actually did my own chemistry, the lab wall had a PT on it that featured the element "{{w|Dubnium|Hahniun}}", and some others since replaced/resolved differently. I sometimes still forget myself and refer to the wrong names if I have to answer trivia questions about them ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.127|172.70.91.127]] 23:45, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
: It's a proleptic periodic table [[User:Sabik|Sabik]] ([[User talk:Sabik|talk]])
:: Indeed, but your comment now makes me wonder what a ''pre-lepton'' table would look like. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.200|172.70.85.200]] 10:00, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Is there a category for comics about the Periodic Table? I recall one from a year or so ago where the symbols were replaced with ones based on the modern names for the elements. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:29, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

: I think you mean 2639, https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2639:_Periodic_Table_Changes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.156|172.70.242.156]] 06:35, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

After an edit, I was left with <code>and adding an -[LINEWRAP HERE]ium" at the end</code>, at least on my display (may depend on browser/display width, etc). If I adjusted the to bring the characters away from the line-wrap point then it could just break again whenever/wherever it found itself back in the same bit of the screen again, so I tried to quote it, but got <code>and adding an "-[LINEWRAP HERE]ium" at the end</code> anyway. If anyone can recall how to implement a 'non-breaking ''non-''space' character, or perhaps wishes to aplly a whole wrap-preventing enclosing tag, then I invite them to apply it there. Assuming it isn't edited out of existence, already, and making the issue moot. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 16:27, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2723: Outdated Periodic Table

2023-01-11T23:51:17Z

172.70.162.222: ...dithered over whether to mis-spell it in the 'Merkin fashion, and then apparently accidentally invented a wrong-for-everyone alternate form!

2534: Retractable Rocket

2023-01-04T22:14:59Z

172.70.162.222: Undo revision 304094 by SilverTheTerribleMathematician (talk) Incomprehensible change, unless trying to be as weird as Beret Guy (which it isn't being)

{{comic
| number = 2534
| date = October 27, 2021
| title = Retractable Rocket
| image = retractible_rocket.png
| titletext = Hard to believe that for so many years once they were fully extended we just let them tip over.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic documents another of [[Beret Guy]]'s [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|absurdist ventures]]. He explains to [[Megan]] that "we" (possibly [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|his company]]) are testing their new "retractable" rocket.

{{w|Reusable launch system|Reusable rockets}} are a growing industry, as they are more economically viable in the long run – though technically much more difficult to operate – than rocket boosters that are just discarded after use (which have been standard throughout the majority of space-faring history). Thus, Megan is understandably confused about Beret Guy's assertion that theirs is "retractable", asking if he misspoke. In typical fashion, he assures her that he did not misspeak, with a single "No" without further explanation.

They proceed to watch the rocket "launch", proving that it is indeed ''retractable''. In fact the rocket does not launch, but merely ''extends'' – apparently all the way to the {{w|International Space Station}} (ISS), a height of over 400 km (over 250 miles) – before retracting, as promised, to its original position. The top part, with the astronauts in it, has been left in space. Presumably, it is docked to the ISS, as the crew onboard the ISS say hello to them in panel 4.

Of course, it would not be possible to extend anything this far.{{Citation needed}} The top would need to be moving very fast compared to the bottom part, or it would bend westwards and break, and even with the strongest material a fully extended, very thin, presumably, hollow structure with a payload on top would {{w|buckling|buckle}} very soon after extension began. Also, the ISS moves at 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph) compared to the ground under it, making an orbit in about one and a half hours. So making the tip follow this long enough to dock would be even more impossible.

Beret Guy's retractable rocket has more than a few similarities to a {{w|space elevator}} which has been discussed in real life. The chief difference is, a space elevator is only extended once (and most likely this would be down from space, not extended upwards), and never retracted unless it needs to be dismantled. Randall has referenced space elevators in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]]. A more similar theoretical means to attain orbit is that of the {{w|space fountain}}. He has also examined the problems of a solid metal object extending through the atmosphere [https://what-if.xkcd.com/157/ in a what-if].

The current method of sending rockets into space requires huge amounts of fuel, and the more fuel you attempt to carry, the heavier the rocket, leading to more fuel being required, etc. ({{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}}), which makes the current method inefficient. Alternate methods are being explored, such as using a slingshot ({{w|SpinLaunch}} had a successful test flight of a smaller scale launcher just days before this comic was published, probably the influence for this comic), theoretical {{w|space elevators}}, or this comic's impossible retractable rocket idea, all of which would leave the majority of the "fuel" requirements on Earth or elsewhere rather than having to carry heavy fuel with the rocket. The only fuel carried might be minimal amounts for course adjustments once in space rather than large amounts used to get there. However, many of these methods are less flexible than rockets; the space elevator, for instance, operates on the basis of constant angular velocity relative to the Earth's axis of rotation, meaning that it cannot launch payloads directly into low-earth orbit, polar orbits, or many other orbits frequently used by satellites for their desirable characteristics, and satellites intended for these orbits might still need to carry considerable amounts of fuel, even if less than that required to launch directly from the ground.

The title text parodies the 'old' single-use boosters. It appears that the predecessors to the 'retractable rockets' were capable of controlled extension only. Once they had lofted the payload to orbit, they were then allowed to fall over, destroying them in the process so they could not be used again just like booster rockets. However, if a 250 mile/400 km high construction just fell over, it would be much more difficult to avoid other damage, than to the rocket (booster), than for just a few small booster rockets falling out of the sky.{{Citation needed}}

This comic was released four days before (and possibly refers to) SpaceX's {{w|SpaceX Crew-3|Crew-3 mission}} to send astronauts to ISS with a reusable rocket on 31 October 2021.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy and Megan is talking. Behind them near the horizon is a tall rocket on a launchpad.]
:Beret Guy: We're testing our new retractable rocket.
:Megan: You mean reusable?
:Beret Guy: No.

:[A zoom in on the launchpad and rocket. It has the appearance of having a long first stage, a second stage with slightly wider fairing and an Apollo-style capsule with escape-tower atop it all. There is a directionless speech-bubble at the top depicting a count down voice.]
:Count down: Three...Two...One...Liftoff!

:[Same view as before, but while the base of the rocket-stack remains stationary, the first stage is apparently elongated, with a hint of a bend to the right, to raise the total height to which the upper-stage and capsule assembly reaches almost to the top of the panel.]

:[In a wider panel, with the base to the left, the first stage is now elongated far enough to disappear off the top of the center of the frame, thus clearly bending to the right. Two peoples voices are indicated as coming from the space capsule far above, as it reaches it destination.]
:Voice 1: Hi, welcome to the ISS!
:Voice 2: Hello!

:[The final panel shows the same view as in the third panel. The first stage is now retracting, and has similar length as in the third panel, but the capsule is no longer atop the 'second stage' fairing. Four movement lines above the top of the retracting rocket indicates that it is returning back to the original position.]

==Trivia==
*The [https://web.archive.org/web/20211028014542/https://xkcd.com/ original comic] misspelled "retractable" as "retractible". Has been documented on the web archive.
**This was done both in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/5/57/20211028040721%21retractable_rocket.png comic itself], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2534:_Retractible_Rocket&redirect=no the title].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Space]]

1231: Habitable Zone

2022-12-13T23:29:35Z

172.70.162.222: /* Pedantic Comments */ Could have been a keyslip. Might genuinely be an attempt to use the rare and archaic term.

{{comic
| number = 1231
| date = June 28, 2013
| title = Habitable Zone
| image = habitable zone.png
| titletext = They have a telescope pointed RIGHT AT US!
}}

==Explanation==
While searching for {{w|extrasolar planet}}s this gullible astronomer is very excited because he believes he has found a planet in a star's {{w|habitable zone}}, with oceans and visible weather. From these observations, he has determined that it is quite likely to have life on it, which would be a major groundbreaking discovery.

The caption explains, however, that someone has used a mirror as a prank to fool the astronomer, so he is in fact looking at a reflection of the Earth.

The title text goes on says that the astronomer would also be able to see the reflection of his telescope, which would convince him that there definitely ''is'' intelligent life on the other planet, looking straight back at him no less!

===Pedantic Comments===
There are quite a number of issues (listed below) with the practical implementation of this prank, though of course they don't matter much in terms of the joke itself

*The telescopes used for this type of research are designed to view faint, distant objects. In the images that they produce, objects the size of telescopes are not visible. Therefore, the astronomer would not see the reflection of the telescope.
*The telescopes have a motor that moves them to compensate for earth's rotation, so that they stay pointed on the same part of the sky. This means that the telescope would not stay pointed at the mirror. The prankster would have to move the mirror in a very precise way to maintain the illusion.
*For the astronomer to have ascertained that the planet is in a star's habitable zone means that the astronomer observed the planet to be the size of Earth and observed the distance between the planet (Earth) and its star (the Sun), and the approximate size of that star. However, in a mirror at any reasonable distance from the Earth, up to several times the distance of the moon, the Earth would appear to be larger than the Sun.
*For the relative sizes of the Earth and Sun to be correct in the reflection, the mirror would have to be as far from Earth as the Earth was from the Sun. But even pointing to a mirror at a distance of the moon would require a very large one, probably more than one hundred kilometers (sixty miles) in diameter.
*A professional astronomer should be able to realize nearly instantaneously that they're not looking at an Earth-like, extrasolar planet (as should anyone, in fact, who is familiar with even the basic arrangement of Earth's continents and oceans), but instead Earth itself.
*A telescope of this size, or indeed any one employing a solid mirror rather than a massive disk of dust in space, could never see an extrasolar planet with this level of detail without insurmountable engineering issues.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a huge telescope, looking through the eyepiece.]
:Cueball: I've discovered an Earth-sized planet in a star's habitable zone! It even has oceans! And visible weather!
:[Caption below the panel:]
:To mess with an astronomer, put a mirror in the path of their telescope.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]

Talk:1107: Sports Cheat Sheet

2022-12-05T12:42:28Z

172.70.162.222:

Thanks to whoever added the hockey mention ("no love" in the comic, for sure). Maybe the comic needs another column for Canada, where hockey can be argued about year-round. (Yes, it's an exaggeration for comic effect.) As for the rest of the world, or at least ex-Commonwealth and neighboring countries (e.g. Australia, India, New Zealand), what about rugby and cricket? --'''BigMal27''' (no account) / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 15:29, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

It would probably be either "Hockey" or "Hockey and ..." -- '''No_Account''' (no account)

What point in the season do hockey sticks get bandages?
I used to think at about the half way point they started using them as repairs but now I am wondering if they start off the season with bandages as padding until the players get seasoned.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 19:25, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

:Forgot to mention that these sports don't have to be professional in nature. I know of plenty US collegiate arguments in both football (e.g. Michigan vs. Notre Dame or Michigan State or Ohio State) and basketball (everyone vs. everyone during the NCAA tournament a.k.a. "March Madness" (TM)). --'''BigMal27''' / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 17:33, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
::I'm with you on cricket, though I was always under the impression that rugby was pretty much isolated to ''dahwn undah.'' Nonetheless, I took a slightly different read of the comic, possibly biased by this quip a friend shared: during the SuperBowl, if a team scores, the US reacts. During the cricket world cup, if a team scores, the commonwealth reacts. But if, during the football (aka soccer) world cup, a team scores, the ''world'' reacts. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:39, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
:::Irony, you're thinking of Australian Football. Rugby is a different game and much more widespread. It's arguably the national sport of New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Wales. It's a major sport in South Africa, Britain, Ireland, France, Italy and Australia. Argentina are rapidly improving and now compete every year in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship with Australia, NZ and South Africa. -- [[User:Concrete Gannet|Concrete Gannet]] ([[User talk:Concrete Gannet|talk]]) 14:05, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
:::For us Aussies it this comic would be would be "Cricket + Football + Football + Football + Football" all year round with "Tennis" added in 1-2 weeks, four times a year (the Majors tournaments, aka the Grand Slam tournaments). The four Football codes played professional in Australia are: Australian Rules (major sporting body is the AFL), Rugby League (NRL), Rugby Union (ARU) and Association Football/Soccer (FFA). Unfortunately, Cricket, Football, Football, Football and Football tend to dominate the Australian sporting media so there isn't much opportunity for people to argue about other sports. [Apologies if I've stuffed up any formatting/broken any rules, this is my first time posting] -- '''Grantwhy'''[[Special:Contributions/115.64.240.30|115.64.240.30]] 15:32, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
::::...Mate, you left out the Sydney to Hobart, once a year... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.6.182|162.158.6.182]] 20:34, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

Cricket is a south Wales sport. It is only as popular in north Wales as it is in England. Cricket was once a gentleman's game as it was more akin to watching people shooting at target ...in a game related to chess.

But now that cheating is widespread in Asia and even the British are getting caught at it, nobody watches it these days. People still interested in cricket go to their local clubs and have a pint with friends while reality goes on in the back-ground.

I get the impression that nobody is interested in American Rugby because they all wear padding and the rules are either too complex to follow or too stupid to believe. Probably both. Basketball looks interesting but hard work. Why not just play a longer game outside, with your feet? (Nobody is going to watch men play rounders, [REMOVED A HOMOPHOBIC SLUR].)[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 19:25, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

:Is there a way of removing comments? This one gives me hives. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.133|172.69.79.133]] 12:38, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

The problem with the suggestion in the mouse over text is that everyone would have the same opinion on the same day! A better idea would be to have an App which selects from two or more oposing opinions and feed you a random one each day. (Personally being 'European' I'd prefer it to be more like the US! Sooo fed up with football discussions.) Steve B
:Then you run into the problem of two people who rely in that app falling into a sports discussion with each other rather than something else. If I were to find someone expressing the same canned opinion that I have from the twitter feed, at least I can say "who cares about sports, let's talk about something important: vi or emacs?". The twitter feed is best for someone who wants to fake sports knowledge to fit in. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:The idea behind the twitter feed is to give people who really isn't interested in sport (aka. nerds) the opportunity to interact with so called normal people. It is just a variation on the http://bluffball.co.uk/ site refered to by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKHyqjHqQLU#t=32s an The IT Crowd episode]. Two users of the twitter feed would have more important subjects to discuss (like for example vi vs. emacs) [[User:Pmakholm|Pmakholm]] ([[User talk:Pmakholm|talk]]) 18:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:: I would suggest that after two or three days having the same (tweeted) opinion, two people in that situation would begin to suspect they are soulmates, and fall in love - I mean recognize the strange similarities and figure out a way to indicate their source subtly and then agree they don't have to be posers -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:15, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
What is with the sports bent that Randall is on? Two sports comics in three weeks? Has this happened before? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:36, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:He was on a Wikipedia kick about a year ago . . . 4 comics in about 5 weeks or so.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 22:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Would that opinion even fit into a Twitter post? [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:55, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:You are right. The sample tweet in the title text is 164 characters long. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:18, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

::It would fit if the parenthetical explanations were removed though. [[Special:Contributions/76.127.162.20|76.127.162.20]] 12:03, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

:::Kind of need those if you don't understand the sport to begin with. They provide necessary context. For example, disambiguation between teams: I could mention "Minnesota" and without context it could mean either the Twins (MLB), Vikings (NFL), Timberwolves (NBA), Wild (NHL), Lynx (WNBA), other various professional teams ("lesser" sports, womens teams, minor leagues), or any of the University of Minnesota (NCAA Div. I) teams: football, basketball (mens & womens), hockey (mens & womens), baseball & softball, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming & diving, golf... --'''BigMal27''' / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.149|192.136.15.149]] 12:18, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

Here's a comment I was thinking about integrating into the explanation, but decided it was probably too picky.
:Arguably, Randall cut this off too early; over years, the Major Leagues have added additional rounds of playoffs, so that the championship round, the World Series, sometimes now spills over into November, rather than ending in mid October as the graph would suggest. (It varies because the {{w|Major League Baseball postseason}} consists of one single elimination round, one best of five round, and two best of seven rounds.) It may be a meta-joke: the guy who needs the cheat sheet to keep track of sports seasons lacked the info to compile the cheat sheet.
I do have a slight tendency to overthink things. Anyone who thinks it adds to the explanation is welcome to insert it. [[User:DCB4W|DCB4W]] ([[User talk:DCB4W|talk]]) 19:25, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

It's entirely missing a third category named "South Korea", whose entire column should be Starcraft 2.[[User:Chaoslux|Chaoslux]] ([[User talk:Chaoslux|talk]]) 20:53, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Here's an actual Twitter feed inspired by this comic: https://twitter.com/XKCDSports
:This Twitter feed is now defunct. :( --[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 16:53, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

The opinion here between "US" and "Non-US" is a caricature of US-centric view. First it dismisses all other countries, as the world would be cut between the US and another country "Non-US". The consequence is to ignore Canada. Then it confuses single sport to argue about and common topic of understanding, maybe as a frustration of not sharing this topic. {{unsigned|Eric957}}
:I'm not sure if it was your intent, but it is funny that you say the consequence of this sort of US centric view is to just "ignore Canada"... -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 01:26, 24 June 2015 (UTC)
::I suspect that was intentional. After all, Canada is just America Jr.

:I think the joke probably only works from an American perspective, where it may seem like the rest of the world only plays football. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.211|162.158.39.211]] 17:27, 6 November 2016 (UTC) Davy

I deleted a very nice wiki markup version of the comic, useless fror the blind, and copied the official transcript from the source code of the comic <div id="transcript" style="display: none">. This [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1107:_Sports_Cheat_Sheet&diff=next&oldid=52922] was apparently useful, but in fact was detrimental to the function of a transcript [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.149|173.245.50.149]] 20:39, 14 October 2015 (UTC)

With all the “Autometalogolex” tshirts and heck going around, I’ll be damned if someone hasn’t created the twitter feed mentioned in the title text. I mean. Has anyone looked into this? [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 06:33, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Is no-one going to talk about how both the explanation and many of these comments talk about 'hockey' when they mean 'ice hockey'? 'Hockey' is a field sport popular in South Asia. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 12:42, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2702: What If 2 Gift Guide

2022-11-24T13:03:12Z

172.70.162.222: I had a Cybiko

The puzzle is almost certainly a reference to the Monty Hall problem, since that's usually framed in terms of 3 doors: behind 2 are goats (bad prizes), behind the third is a new (the desirable prize). While the other puzzles share some attributes, I doubt they're intended. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:55, 23 November 2022 (UTC)
:Who says goats are a bad prize? If you want to make goat's milk cheese, they are quite necessary. Whereas a car may be a burden, most states still require the recipient to pay sales tax, which can be thousands of dollars. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 01:58, 24 November 2022 (UTC)
:Maybe figuring out how to transport the goats in the new car without the goats ruining it would also be a puzzle.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.215|172.71.102.215]]

The goat can be left on its own, but not with the fox or the cabbage. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.135|172.70.162.135]] 00:12, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

Another problem with the James Webb photo is that, from its orbit, the Earth appears too close to the Sun to be safe to photograph. So, the recipient of the gift would have to travel into deep space, well past the orbit of the Moon, for the shoot. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.29|172.70.111.29]] 22:22, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Wasn't Bobcat in a Box inspired by xkcd #576 and its title text, which wasn't even the first boxed bobcat in xkcd? Feels weird to say that the boxed bobcat is a reference to an external brand and not xkcd's rich internal history of mailing people bobcats. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 06:14, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

I assume that even if the platinum (or platinum-iridium) cylinder used to define kilogram was recreation, rather than original, it would still be very expensive ($31,965 per kg). --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 11:40, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

== "Katherine and Brandon" ==

Could someone explain those Names in the "Chemistry" entry to me? It would be very atypical for Randall to make a mistake in that place, but both seem to be impossible to spell with the periodic table of elements.
Potassium, Astatine and Helium would give K-At-He- (and some radiation posioning) and Iodine and Neon -Id-Ne. But neither Rubidium (Ru), nor Radium (Ra), nor Ruthentium (Ru), nor Rhodium (Rh) nor Radon (RN) give you a pure "R" and likewise there is no Element Ri or Er, so it is impossible to put the "R" into "Katherine".
Likewise "Brandon" could be started with Boron (B), Radon (Ra), Nitrogen (N) and finished with Oxygen (O) and again Nitrogen (N), but there are only two "D"s in the whole peridoic table and both are fixed to other letters, that would not fit: Paladium (Pd) and Gadolinium (Gd).
P.S.: 3 full Minutes of Captcha-solving for a Wiki? WTF??? {{unsigned ip|172.70.247.13|23:40, 23 November 2022}}
:Potassium-Astatine-Hydrogen-'''Erbium'''-Iodine-Neon [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.184|172.69.79.184]] 23:59, 23 November 2022 (UTC)
:As for Brandon, you seem to have missed '''Neodymium''' (Nd). So, Boron-Radon-Neodymium-Oxygen-Nitrogen [[User:TurZ|TurZ]] ([[User talk:TurZ|talk]]) 07:00, 24 November 2022 (UTC)
Could he be limiting himself to rendering only the capital letters of each element? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.43|172.71.160.43]] 00:17, 24 November 2022 (UTC)
But Astatine is so radioactive that no one has ever seen it. A lump big enough to physically see would instantly sublimate with its own heat of radioactivity. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.7|172.68.210.7]] 00:08, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

Due to the prior comic, I actually bought a Cybiko (I'm into older computer collecting). Now that he's mentioned it again, I'm thankful I got it quick, before the inevitable price rise. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.106|108.162.221.106]] 01:00, 24 November 2022 (UTC)
:Is it good? —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 05:28, 24 November 2022 (UTC)
:I got one, long ago. I think it has a serial connection (RS232?) as well as a radio of whatever kind, and there was reasonably good SDK support for writing your own software, on PC, to download to the Cybiko. I had and have an RSI problem with my hands, and what I tried to do is to use it as a one-handed PC keyboard - so I had to do some pretty simple programming for that, to transmit keys. On the PC end, I think that a serial keyboard was or is a standard supported disability aid option. It might wear out, thought. But currently I do better with a touch screen PC and the "FITALY" on-screen typing program - the man who wrote that died, though. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 13:03, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

== Psychology ==

Hi, this is my first edit, I hope I'm doing it right. The psychology example is most likely about the norm of reciprocity (see Wikipedia). It's a very strong norm. Violations of this norm can indeed cause distress to a point where people express anger if they can't reciprocate (which seems somewhat irrational at times).
I'm a psychology student from Germany, I might do some errors when writing in english :) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.85|198.41.242.85]] 06:15, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

== Baby Shoes ==

Has nobody mentioned the xkcd comic that references this yet? https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1540:_Hemingway

Artinum [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.186|172.71.178.186]] 09:45, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

2702: What If 2 Gift Guide

2022-11-23T21:00:34Z

172.70.162.222: Added basic summary

{{comic
| number = 2702
| date = November 23, 2022
| title = What If 2 Gift Guide
| image = what_if_2_gift_guide_2x.png
| imagesize = 500x878px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = BABIES OR LITERATURE BUT NOT BOTH: Baby shoes
}}

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

The title text is a reference to ''{{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}'', a six-word story generally attributed to {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

What If? 2 Gift Guide

What if? 2 makes a good gift for anyone who's into science, absurd ideas, or just the universe in general. To order, go to xkcd.com/whatif2, or just type "what if 2" into some random box on your device; it will probably work.

Here are some other gift ideas for hard-to-shop-for science enthusiasts:

Interest - Gift Idea

Engineering - The platinum cylinder formerly used to define the kilogram 
Biology - The genomes of the scientists who headed the human genome project 
Physics - A beam of neutrinos delivered through the earth by the LHC 
Animals - Surprise wildlife encounter (gift-wrapped box with a bobcat inside) 
Law - A vacation to that area of Idaho where you can commit crimes with impunity due to a court district boundary error 
Chemistry - A necklace of element samples whose symbols spell out the recipient's name (note: names like "Kahterine" and "Brandon" may cause radiation accidents.) 
Puzzles - Two goats and a new car 
Technology - Cybiko® Wireless Handheld Computer for Teens (2000) 
Space - Webb telescope personal photoshoot 
Literature - Stephen King's writing desk (he's still using it so you'll have to fight him) 
Philosophy - Out-of-control trolley 
Psychology - A nice gift with a note saying you don't expect anything in return. 

{{comic discussion}}

2699: Feature Comparison

2022-11-17T15:23:14Z

172.70.162.222: /* Services */ Another intermediate (note importation of later text), perhaps one more before a break.

{{comic
| number = 2699
| date = November 16, 2022
| title = Feature Comparison
| image = feature_comparison_v2.png
| imagesize =
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MULTIHOMED MESH NODE. Read HTML comments to expand. This page is the subject of vandalism, and the comic itself contains severe errors. Assume everything is wrong. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic compares different remote communication services, including the relatively well-known {{w|Twitter}}, {{w|Discord}}, {{w|Mastodon (software)|Mastodon}}, {{w|Facebook}} (FB), {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Signal (software)|Signal}}, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Tumblr}}, {{w|Reddit}}, and {{w|SMS}} (mobile telephone text messages). It also includes the less well-known {{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens. For each of these, it purports to indicate which of various features they support.

===Services===


;Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens
:This was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging capabilities along with built-in games and a music player. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003.
:The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other listed communication services, as it is capable of all eight of the table's listed features listed, with none of the others being close.
:Purchasing a Cybiko or finding friends who own one can be its own challenge, as device was discontinued nearly 20 years ago. Additionally, the Cybiko is a ''device'' rather than a ''service''; a more fair comparison would be to a modern {{w|smartphone}}, which can provide get most of these features via multiple apps, including those apps written especially for such rival services.

===Features===

;{{w|Mesh networking}}
:A form of connectivity that reduces or removes the need for a centralized server or predefined gateways to a communications 'backbone'. Nodes communicate directly with any nodes that happen to be contactable, and from there may connect through to whatever nodes are in mutual contact, or to be found further afield, either in real-time or asynchronously.
:The Cybiko has this ability, as well as wireless message delivery because it communicates directly to other devices via radio, hence the ability to operate without any internet connectivity at all. There are several {{w|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking|ongoing projects for distributed social networking}}.


This comic contains several errors. Mastodon doesn't require a central server, or support file transfer. Discord does not provide for user-run instances itself. (There are two third party Discord server implementations, but it is unclear whether those could be counted as run by users.) Slack does not provide for user-run instances itself. Reddit does not provide for user-run instances at all, only user moderation and administration. IRC does require at least one central server,[https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1459.html] and relegate file transfer support to the domain of client extensions. Signal is heavily used in user-run instances via a diverse ecosystem of code forks; many of these don't require a central server, a couple use mesh networking. Reddit occasionally does have built-in games. Finally, Tumblr does have a form of group chats.

An earlier version of the comic suggesting that Mastodon has no user-run instances was corrected by [[Randall]] shortly after publication of the original.




==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Twitter
! Discord
! Mastodon
! FB
! Slack
! Signal
! IRC
! Tumblr
! Reddit
! SMS
! Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)
|-
! Direct messages
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
! Group chats
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓
|-
! File transfer
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓
|-
! Built-in games
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓
|-
! User-run instances
| || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓
|-
! Doesn't require central server
| || || || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓
|-
! Mesh networking
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓
|-
! Wireless message delivery works without internet
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

Talk:2699: Feature Comparison

2022-11-17T09:53:03Z

172.70.162.222:

The image has changed. Now Mastodon includes USER-RUN INSTANCES (though I believe it should also have a check next to DOESN'T REQUIRE CENTRAL SERVER).

I tried googling "wikipedia feature comparison chart". Instead of finding a page explaining how these charts work, I got a chart comparing different wiki softwares. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:22, 16 November 2022 (UTC)

Of course, it wouldn't be hard to make apps on smartphones support mesh networks ... however, the manufacturers and app developers prefer to work hard to make sure they don't work without being connected to internet and serving advertisement. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Direct Although ...] -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:25, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

There seems to be a lot of wrongness about this matrix. Besides that mastodon instances can be run by user (which is fixed):
* Mastodon does not support file transfer. You can only upload images, and ''not'' even all image formats—webp is not supported. Some other ActivityPub servers support file upload, but then it's not Mastodon.
* IRC also doesn't support file transfer afaik.
* Mastodon and SMS don't require a central server
* Discord, Reddit, and Slack doesn't have user-run instances
* Discord doesn't have builtin games last time I checked. The games are by the bots,

I don't know about Slack, but pretty much all of Discord and Reddit is user-run/moderated instances.
:That slash is doing a lot of work there. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

"IRC itself is a teleconferencing system, which (through the use of the client-server model) is well-suited to running on many machines in a distributed fashion. A typical setup involves a single process '''(the server) forming a central point''' for clients (or other servers) to connect to, performing the required message delivery/multiplexing and other functions." – J. Oikarinen, D. Reed; Internet Relay Chat Protocol; RFC 1459; May 1993. Emphasis added. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.158|172.71.154.158]] 01:45, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Notably, Mastodon ''eschews'' file transfer - audio specifically - for fear of enabling piracy (issue #7495). Tumblr would have a more comprehensive version of file transfer.
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.136|172.71.146.136]] 03:17, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

IRC has (X)DCC for File Transfers and for it's centralisation it depends on the deployment, the original network that became EFNet (Eris-Free Network) doesn't have a central server, but things like Libera and OFTC have centralised services for authentication and servers maintained by only one organisation. Btw for games on the fediverse (which Mastodon is part of) Misskey includes some, sadly they're centralised. [[User:Lanodan|Lanodan]] ([[User talk:Lanodan|talk]]) 03:40, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Tumblr does have group chats. They're publicly viewable by anyone, but only people in the group can send messages, so I think they still count as group chats.

It appears we are all having a [[386]] moment watching Randall finally be wrong about something. How dare he?! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.30|172.70.111.30]] 05:37, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
: Nobody wants to put this train wreck into the explanation, but someone has to. I'm guessing we're waiting for further corrections just in case.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|ki172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Discord did add games recently: https://discord.com/blog/server-activities-games-voice-watch-together
[[User:Spenc|Spenc]] ([[User talk:Spenc|talk]]) 07:28, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

He also just left out Matrix entirely, y'know I'm starting to think this isn't a serious comparison. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.193|172.70.250.193]] 07:42, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Not sure what built-in would mean, but Slack has plenty of games you can install on it as an admin (Similar to Discord) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.223|172.70.162.223]] 09:52, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

2698: Bad Date

2022-11-15T08:54:39Z

172.70.162.222: /* Transcript */ Dashes, accordingly.

{{comic
| number = 2698
| date = November 14, 2022
| title = Bad Date
| image = bad_date_2x.png
| imagesize = 666x261px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Even split between us, this will pay way better than the Jumanji sponsorship I came into the date with."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT CAPITALIZING ON ITS SOCIAL LIFE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a spoof of Internet {{w|Influencer marketing|influencers}}. These are people with large social media followings who mention products in their videos in exchange for payment from the companies that produce these products, as a form of advertising.

In the comic, Megan and Cueball are not intentionally making a video, but someone around them has uploaded a video of their date, because they were having an argument about the movie {{w|Jumanji}}. Megan realized that they can capitalize on this by getting a sponsor.

The argument then shifts to whether they're going to sleep together after the date. Cueball says he won't go home with Megan because she doesn't have the [[2096|mattress brand sold by their sponsor]]. She responds by pointing out a feature of that brand: their same-day delivery policy. This argument could easily be a TV commercial for the mattress, though Cueball's ultimate retort suggests (whether he wants it to or not) that that there still won't be a "happy ever after" conclusion to this play-acting, either fictionally or once real life resumes.

The title text hints, however, that Megan was already before the date going to promote the {{w|Jumanji (franchise)|Jumanji franchise}}, for her own gain. Megan's realization that she could not discuss this subject since Cueball had not seen it leads to her initial reaction starting their date to be shared, but not for the reason she had anticipated. But then when she sees they are still going viral, she is ready to use this new situation to bring in a lot of "mattress money". And as it turns out even when splitting with Cueball she will earn more. Since Cueball presumably came into the date with the intention of finding a romantic partner rather than gaining a sponsorship, he will probably get even less happy with Megan. Alternatively, as he plays along with her in the last frame, he sees this as an acceptable or even preferable arrangement (considering that the date wasn't going all too well in the first place).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a table in a restaurant with their meals still on their plate and filled wine glasses. Megan hands her cellphone over the table to Cueball.]
:Megan: ''Psst — this date is going so badly that the people around us are posting it live. ''
:Megan: ''Look.''

:[Zoom in just on Cueball in his chair. He is holding the cellphone while he sees a video. What the video shows is shown above him in a frame. The "video" window shows a scene from earlier in their date. And below the picture there is a title and below that an eye with the number of followers shown. In the scene they are sitting as in the first panel, but both has their arms raised. Cueball's arms towards Megan and she has her arms above her head. Small lines from above her head from where her speech line comes out indicates that she is agitated and speaks loudly.]
:Megan in video: Unbelievable – Have you even ''seen'' Jumanji?
:Video caption: Date disaster 252k following
:Cueball: ''Oh no.''

:[Zoom in on Megan in her chair.]
:Megan: ''But it's okay: I got us a sponsorship.''
:Megan: ''You just need to play along...''

:[Scene expands to include the two nearest people at the two nearby tables. Both are typing frantically at their phones, (indicated with vibration lines on either side of their phones), using both hands, to document the date disaster live. Ponytail is to the left of them with food on her plate and a glass of water on her table and Hairy is to the right with a wine glass on his table. Cueball has raised one hand with a finger pointing up. Megan points a finger towards Cueball but is looking down at her phone held up in the other hand, to check their following.]
:Cueball: I could '''''never''''' go home with someone with such bad taste in mattresses. I need the soft support of the ProFirm 3000.®
:Megan: Wait, I can order one! With same-day delivery, it can-
:Cueball: '''You had your chance.'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Social networking]]