explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

User talk:KraigLoq23400

2022-11-02T22:17:01Z

172.70.162.5:

I’ve learned a thing or two about spam economics, so don’t expect me to give you a user page! —[[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]]) 21:12, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
:''<nowiki>*</nowiki>facepalm...* - Why this particular one? Why at all? And if anyone with access to the account actually reads this, then it's probably not even a fair comment you made. Whatever. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 22:17, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2691: Encryption

2022-11-01T01:52:02Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 297887 by 172.70.126.230 (talk) I should maybe have used an Unsigned IP tag upon it, but if there was any actual point (Explanation answers this, already!) i don't see it.

More generally, when the explanation of the encryption algorithm needs example people, it picks names going sequentially through the alphabet. Alice and Bob are the canonical first two, names starting with C and D would be next. Eve, the eavesdropper, is next. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:...though it depends upon {{w|Alice and Bob#Cast of characters|what other protagonists/required roles}} are to be featured in the scenario as to which initials get given to the 'normal' example correspondants. And I'm sure you could come up with other punny names for other novel roles, if you're in the position to require something special, only Alice and Bob being (normally!) inviolable as to both role and initialism. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.58|172.70.91.58]] 09:43, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Is this comic a subtle reference to Signal announcing the discontinuing of SMS/MMS support, thus vastly lowering the number of people that Signal users can send messages to? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.205|172.70.114.205]] 09:10, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:... Maybe add some text explaining what Signal is? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.7|172.71.158.7]] 18:33, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

I'd reckon you're also banned from the app if your name is Mallory, which might be inconvenient if you're James Bond's boss. Then again, that's Voldemort... [[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 10:36, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

This was hilarious. And it's the only app you should be able to install on the [[2377:_xkcd_Phone_12|XKCD Phone]], for obvious security reasons. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:18, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Reminds me of a notorious movie from 1969, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a plot point of which is knowledge shared incompletely between the four. I believe the names are coincidental but, not knowing when Alice, Bob, Charles and Diana were first used, it may not be. [[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:... The naming convention appears to have started with the creators of the RSA algorithm.[[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]])

Since we know without question the name of the female character in this comic, does she join the list of other named characters for every other time we see someone with a similar hairstyle? [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 02:58, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
:Not just yet. Unless we can definitively backdate her hairstyled appearance, but consider it upon reappearance. Three options to do it, though:
:* If there's not enough to split her from Megan (though I think there is), do as we <s>do</s> ''did''  with Rob for Cueball (incidentally mentioned here, but I think there's no category to cover that, just a mention within Megan that there's a not-Megan-but-nearly)...
:* Go for a full new character in her own right if she gets (or has previously gotten, without our realising until now) another distinct appearance or two...
:* If Randall repeats Alice/others in a further series of Alice And Bob 'tales' (plenty of scope for the actual appearance of Eve, or Mallory/Mike or whoever – ''if'' the whim takes him) group her and the 'gang under an "Alice and Bob" entry (e.g. if a clear Ivan appears even just the once, he gets tidily filed under his own subheader there)...
:..definitely some consideration to be had. Anyone could review hairstyles carefully (or dialogue?), both forward and back in time, and propose (or enact?) the solution that you think best applies. It's not up to me with no ability to create (or banish) new pages, but that's my immediate thoughts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:34, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Does this lend new information about named character Rob? The girl has a friend Robert, and this cueball has a brother, which seem to be separate people, both of whom could be called Bob. I don't see a particular connection, but I see there is investigation to who the girl is, and that may lead to something. FWIW I think she looks like Science Girl; based on age alone that could connect her to Bobby Tables. How does time pass in xkcd, do we expect child characters to grow up or remain the same age across comics? We should look across previous Rob comics and see if they're consistent with him being brother to this Cueball. [[User:Robm|Robm]] ([[User talk:Robm|talk]]) 16:36, 30 October 2022 (UTC)robm

Talk:2691: Encryption

2022-10-30T09:34:47Z

172.70.162.5:

More generally, when the explanation of the encryption algorithm needs example people, it picks names going sequentially through the alphabet. Alice and Bob are the canonical first two, names starting with C and D would be next. Eve, the eavesdropper, is next. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:...though it depends upon {{w|Alice and Bob#Cast of characters|what other protagonists/required roles}} are to be featured in the scenario as to which initials get given to the 'normal' example correspondants. And I'm sure you could come up with other punny names for other novel roles, if you're in the position to require something special, only Alice and Bob being (normally!) inviolable as to both role and initialism. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.58|172.70.91.58]] 09:43, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Is this comic a subtle reference to Signal announcing the discontinuing of SMS/MMS support, thus vastly lowering the number of people that Signal users can send messages to? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.205|172.70.114.205]] 09:10, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

I'd reckon you're also banned from the app if your name is Mallory, which might be inconvenient if you're James Bond's boss. Then again, that's Voldemort... [[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 10:36, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

This was hilarious. And it's the only app you should be able to install on the [[2377:_xkcd_Phone_12|XKCD Phone]], for obvious security reasons. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:18, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Reminds me of a notorious movie from 1969, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a plot point of which is knowledge shared incompletely between the four. I believe the names are coincidental but, not knowing when Alice, Bob, Charles and Diana were first used, it may not be. [[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:... The naming convention appears to have started with the creators of the RSA algorithm.[[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]])

Since we know without question the name of the female character in this comic, does she join the list of other named characters for every other time we see someone with a similar hairstyle? [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 02:58, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
:Not just yet. Unless we can definitively backdate her hairstyled appearance, but consider it upon reappearance. Three options to do it, though:
:* If there's not enough to split her from Megan (though I think there is), do as we do with Rob for Cueball (incidentally mentioned here, but I think there's no category to cover that, just a mention within Megan that there's a not-Megan-but-nearly)...
:* Go for a full new character in her own right if she gets (or has previously gotten, without our realising until now) another distinct appearance or two...
:* If Randall repeats Alice/others in a further series of Alice And Bob 'tales' (plenty of scope for the actual appearance of Eve, or Mallory/Mike or whoever – ''if'' the whim takes him) group her and the 'gang under an "Alice and Bob" entry (e.g. if a clear Ivan appears even just the once, he gets tidily filed under his own subheader there)...
:..definitely some consideration to be had. Anyone could review hairstyles carefully (or dialogue?), both forward and back in time, and propose (or enact?) the solution that you think best applies. It's not up to me with no ability to create (or banish) new pages, but that's my immediate thoughts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:34, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:743: Infrastructures

2022-10-28T14:26:07Z

172.70.162.5:

The link inside "arrogance that crowds out perspective" is merely an example of a situation in which someone with the same ideology that Cueball has can declare that proponents of free software have arrogance instead of perspective. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 14:23, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

How do we know that professor is going to do anything with the document other than read it? I remember electronic submission back in the Word 6 era (and probably earlier) as a direct replacement to handing over pieces of paper. Doesn't affect the joke, but is rather an unsubstantiated and unnecessary part of the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.192.132|178.98.192.132]] 00:02, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

This could use some serious style editing. I have a bad habit of using parentheses, and find that forcing myself not to use them can actually improve my writing (kowabunga! - oh shit). Whoever put in the large parenthetical expressions here may need to learn that as well. Or learn LISP, where they'll realize that parentheses are not always your friends. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:13, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

This seems a bit painted to me, sure its a comic in favor of open source but the explanation doesn't have to sound like it was written by a snob. --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 23:22, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

;Diaspora seed: a personal web server that stores all of your information and shares it with your friends

"Seed" is not used in the torrent sense (of a running client, seeding a file to other clients), but as a "personal web server that stores all of your information and shares it with your friends" via the http protocol. See [https://wiki.diasporafoundation.org/Federation_protocol_overview] and [http://p2pfoundation.net/Diaspora].
Here is the text I replaced:

:The "seed" to which the fellow mentioned is a reference to the {{w|BitTorrent}} protocol, an infrastructure that allows users to share files for others to download directly from them (rather than from a server). Essentially, the user packs a description of the files in a torrent file, then "seeds" the torrent file using a program made for torrenting (for example, {{w|μTorrent}}). People who want to download the files would first download the corresponding torrent file, and open it in a torrenting program to "leech" (download) the original files. After the files referred by the torrent file are downloaded, the "leechers" can "seed" them too, so that more people can download the files from them in turn. Since the user is in control of the upload and download, torrenting is an option of choice for those in support of free software.

[[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 16:46, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Since when does most of the open source word processors not save in .DOC as well, just because it is saved in that format does not mean it had to be made with MS Word. Most of the time unless I am sending a .PDF I save a copy of what I am working on in .DOC just to be sure the receiver can open it as most programs can. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.166|108.162.216.166]] 13:44, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Still relevant lol --[[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 18:20, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

No autist in over 5 years has pointed out that the bearded guy is Richard Stallman, for shame. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.94.88|172.68.94.88]] 20:39, 4 December 2018 (UTC)

Why is playing "the world's tiniest open-source violin" described as "dubious"? Cueball has, in spite of warnings, engaged in and encouraged the spread of the use of an infrastructure which will have the inevitable effect of handing control of all his data to psychopathic corporations. The Bearded One surely has a right to have no pity, and in effect say "Told you so". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.94|162.158.38.94]] 09:18, 25 January 2019 (UTC)

'Let me press F on the world's smallest keyboard.' [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 14:29, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Removed statement that the bearded man is actually holding a physical tiny violin: I see no basis for this interpretation, and the [https://xkcd.com/743/info.0.json official xkcd transcript] refutes it: it states that "the bearded fellow rubs his index and middle fingers against his thumb" - which is the typical gesture to accompany this quip. [[User:L-Space Traveler|L-Space Traveler]] ([[User talk:L-Space Traveler|talk]]) 11:12, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
:Did not see this when I decided to unremove it. But I also don't believe this no-violin version. (Actually "playing the smallest violin" is done with two hands under the chin, IME, the 'official' version sounds more a "show me the money" gesture than anything violin-related.) Fingers are exceedingly rare in xkcd figures, but the pen-strokes would excellently fit an upraised palm with a small object (violin) sat upon it, at this resolution (pity there's no _2x version?). Given that, I say we should at least acknowledge the possible presence. Perhaps note how the official version (seemingly) indicates otherwise, but not clearing it out altogether. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.10|172.70.86.10]] 11:54, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
::I've never seen the under-the-chin version you mention in-person - maybe there are regional variations? In any case, I still don't see it, but I won't argue. I guess if they were all obvious, we wouldn't need the "explain". :) [[User:L-Space Traveler|L-Space Traveler]] ([[User talk:L-Space Traveler|talk]]) 12:07, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
:::Just from my own experience: Imagine you're miming playing a violin, one hand supporting the neck, the other bowing a bow, the whole thing being tucked into ''your'' neck. Now imagine the violin has vastly shrunk and pull your necking/bowing hands proportionately closer in accordingly (and, optionally, shortening the bowing into smaller, quicker movements, but you can try to use a full-sized bow - it's just ''really close'' to you now). I know of no other way to reliably indicate a violin (and, by the latter, a really tiny one), and none with just one hand. The above fingers/thumbs description presumably means bowing the fingers across the 'violin' thumb, which would at ''least'' look more like playing a cello. Of course there are regional variations to most things, but I would have thought I'd have seen this on American media.
:::It indeed reads more like the 'universal' gesture demanding cash, insofar as I can try to replicate the gesture, with either hand, but I don't know what the remaining two fingers are supposed to be doing, or how to stop the thumb wriggling notably). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 14:26, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

== Thingiverse entry ==

this comic says it was uploaded may 21, 2010, but the thingiverse open source violin was uploaded may 20! how???[[Special:Contributions/172.70.135.122|172.70.135.122]] 00:18, 26 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

1986: River Border

2022-10-25T23:08:45Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ punc (if you must ad that here)

{{comic
| number = 1986
| date = April 27, 2018
| title = River Border
| image = river_border.png
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] explains to [[Megan]] that the Missouri-Nebraska state border is based on the {{w|Missouri River}} they are watching. And because the path of rivers mostly only changes slowly, these borders are typically adopted to that changes. But then she explains that the river once had changed abruptly by a {{w|meander cutoff}} and the border didn't move with it. That means that they are on a part of the Missouri side of the river that in fact belongs to Nebraska.

It then occurred to Megan that she could break the law in this area because she is under the mistaken impression that she is in Nebraska but the police can't reach her over the river and Missourian cops actually don't have jurisdiction. In fact, there are no bridges linking it to Nebraska so police would have to go through Missouri in order to get to that part of Nebraska.

It should be noted that there are real-world examples of strange border interactions that either create legal loopholes or make law enforcement difficult. A famous example, in the US, is a section of Yellowstone National Park that crosses over the Idaho border. [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=691642 An article in the Georgetown Law Review] noted that, since the Park is a federal district, and juries must be selected from people living in the same state ''and'' federal district as the crime, the only qualified jurors would have to live in the Idaho section of the park, but that section has no permanent residents. In theory, then, any crimes committed on this patch of land could not be prosecuted. How this would work out in real life remains questionable, as there are no records of anyone being arrested for a crime in that region, but the law seems to have inadvertently created a zone in which laws cannot be enforced. Similarly, {{w|Bir Tawil}}, a region along the border between Egypt and Sudan, is claimed by neither country as a result of the {{w|Halaib Triangle}} border dispute, and thus crimes committed in the area would be unlikely to be prosecuted. Megan seems to mistakenly think something similar is in effect any time a state's border briefly crosses a river.

The final panel shows Megan saying she's going to cut a pizza into a spiral, which while unconventional is by no means illegal,{{Citation needed}} and she runs off to commit more things she calls crimes, likely similar acts to cutting a pizza in an uncommon way.

In the title text, [[Randall]] claims/hypothesizes the disputed region is probably considered like the {{w|International waters|high seas}}, suggesting the pizza case would then fall under {{w|Admiralty law|maritime law}}. "Pieracy" is a portmanteau of ''pie'' (another name for a pizza) and "piracy"; and pizzas are frequently made with marinara sauce, so "Maritime" law is rendered "Marinaritime". This is most likely a reference to {{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}, in which it was noted that Mars is technically international waters as well.

The region mentioned in the comic can be seen here at [https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/ Google maps] and is known as {{w|McKissick Island}}. In 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Missouri v. Nebraska that a sudden change of a river's course does not change any border. See: [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/196/23/case.html Missouri v. Nebraska, 196 U.S. 23 (1904)].

===Riverine Boundaries in Common Law and Surveying===
This strip is alluding to the concepts of 'accretion' and 'avulsion' in boundary law.

Accretion is the gradual change of the location of a river or stream by erosion or addition of sediment through natural river processes. According to common law in the United States and elsewhere, if a river or stream location changes gradually, then the boundary line moves with the stream. In cases of pure accretion, it is possible for a parcel of land to be entirely eroded away on one side of a river, and have material be added to the opposite side of the river. In such cases, one property owner could lose all their land.

An avulsion is a sudden change in the location of a river or stream, often due to flooding. In times of flood, a river can cut a new channel through surrounding land, which can create islands and oxbow lakes. According to common law, an avulsive change will not change the boundary of the land, as it is likely that the property is unchanged except for the new channel.

In the real world, however, river systems undergo both accretion and avulsion multiple times over a period of time. This makes the determination of property lines along riverine boundaries one of the most complicated aspects of boundary surveying. An examination of a river boundary will require in-depth research of the local history of the river, including reviewing deeds, government survey plats, private survey maps, aerial photos taken over time, local landowners recollections, and local lore. In situations where there is disagreement over whether an avulsive or accretive change happened, landowners may have to go to court for a suit to quiet title.

Further in-depth reading may be found in the US Bureau of Land Management's 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions, Chapter 8, specifically pages 197-205. (See: [https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/Manual_Of_Surveying_Instructions_2009.pdf PDF (37.7 MByte)].)

=== Real-world examples ===
Often, borders defined by a river actually change. There are three methods to define a border:
*The border follows one of the river banks, often in reference to a low-water mark. The exact location of the border is defined in a clear way - but one of the territories will lose terrain through {{w|erosion}}. When the river bends, erosion occurs at the outer bank and much less at the inner bank.
*The border follows the middle of the river.
*The most usual definition of a riverine border uses the {{w|talweg}}. The talweg (German for "valley path") always follows the line of the deepest points in the water body. Especially at river bends, the talweg is rarely in the middle of the river. Incidentally, the talweg also signifies the navigable zone of a river. In terms of {{w|natural border}}s, one counterpart of a talweg is the {{w|drainage divide}}, but these divides are hard to recognize on a map and rarely used to define a real border.

The Mexican-US-Border that follows the Rio Grande is one of the most prominent examples of an international border that needs meticulous regulation. Thus, the {{w|International Boundary and Water Commission}} was created. This commission was involved when the two nations rectified the course of the river, ceding equal amounts of land to each other. The Canada-US-Border is overseen by a similar commission. There is also a strange section on the border to Canada, which Randall mentions in this comic: [[1902: State Borders]].

The border between Delaware and New Jersey veers from the median and talweg methods such that Delaware's border includes all the way to the New Jersey shore where the {{w|Delaware River}} is within what is known as the {{w|Twelve-Mile Circle}}.

One of the causes of the {{w|Iran-Iraq War}} was the dispute on shipping rights on the {{w|Shatt-el Arab river}}, and because the border was defined as the low water mark at the ''eastern'' side of that river, Iranian shipping was severely restricted. So the Shah of Persia announced to ignore the 1937 treaty on shipping rights, saying that most riverine borders all around the world are defined by the talweg.

Between Switzerland and Italy, the border is, at most locations, defined by the actual {{w|drainage divide}}. Because the {{w|Theodul Glacier}} between {{w|Zermatt}} (Switzerland) and {{w|Breuil-Cervinia}} (Italy) is slowly melting, the drainage divide moves southwards, thus slowly enlarging the Swiss territory.

Most other national borders in Europe are defined today as ''fiat borders'' instead of following natural landmarks like rivers. If a river changes course now, the depicted situation would occur; however, most larger rivers have been rectified more than a century ago and thus don't change course often.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing on a grassy riverbank, with the nearby part of the river shown above their heads. They are looking towards the river and Ponytail is gesturing at the river with her hand.]
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.

:[A map is shown beneath the text spoken by Ponytail (off-panel). The map includes a bendy river shown in gray which is snaking its way from the left part of the panel down to the bottom. A dotted line indicates the old path of the river. It follows the gray river most of the way, but towards the bottom, this line moves away from the current river extending to north-east, including a large chunk of land that the river used to encompass previously. Two arrows point to the gray section of the river with the dotted line, and another arrow points to the section of the dotted line not following the gray section. Both are labeled. On each side of the dotted arc, where it is farthest from the gray part of the river the state names are labeled, so the text follows the direction of the river (almost north to south here).]
:Ponytail (narrating): But when it '''''abruptly''''' changes course, the border stays behind.
:Ponytail (narrating): This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.
:River
:Old riverbed
:Nebraska
:Missouri

:[In a frame-less panel (with no background) Ponytail has turned to look at Megan who is holding a hand to her chin.]
:Megan: Wow.
:Megan: So...
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!

:[Megan runs away from Ponytail while she is holding her arm up in the air with a finger extended up.]
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a '''''spiral!'''''
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!
:Megan: '''''Crimes!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Geography]]

Talk:156: Commented

2022-09-21T12:29:28Z

172.70.162.5: Neutering markup-clash.

The issue date on this comic isn't filled. Can someone fix that by adding the correct issue date? [[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) 17:17, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

In the first two panels, it looks like he's flicking the guy off. It's not until the third panel that we actually see the subversion. I'm reasonably certain that this is intentional. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 02:34, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

In QtCreator, comments are dark blue. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 08:32, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on the fact that the text that is being commented out is multiple lines, but there is only one double slash, therefore only one of the lines can be commented out. For both to be commented, you'd need /* ... */ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 09:03, 6 November 2013 (UTC)
:No, it's a single line that's wrapped. The double slash works fine in that circumstance, in real code. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:34, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

:My thoughts about this is the slashes (fingers) are physical objects so therefor travel through time with the speaker. so this is effectively commenting out each word one by one as the sentence is spoken. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.10|141.101.99.10]] 11:36, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
::I think the prior comment has it. While 'life' may wrap the spoken line (in our POV, how it fits into the given comic-frame), it was not spoken (like the line may be typed) with a verbal linefeed-equivalent, and so the in-universe markup is applicable to the end.
::The //s don't seem to apply retrospectively upon the initial words* and no reason to assume persistant upon arbitrary appearance of future words.
::<nowiki>*</nowiki> - Some possibility that it works only from the POV of the symbol-caster, as seen in the final frame. Whilstsoever he positions the 'marks' in his own personal field-of-view, he gets a Head-Up-Display (which may normally display him supratitles, even without hue-changes?) altered accordingly, invisible to anyone not him, or viewing 'from-out-of-universe close-over-the-shoulder' like we do here.
::But I could understand any number of rival visualisation tropes applying here, consistant with the one brief example we see depicted. (For one thing, it covers the 'embedded image', probably instantiated as a glyph within the 'environment' he views, that is the speaker and his speach-line.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.26|172.70.86.26]] 12:21, 21 September 2022 (UTC)

The title text may also be a reference to the "Your milage may vary." commonly found in the fine print in car commercials. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.19|108.162.216.19]] 22:28, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

I believe he's commenting out Cueball entirely, thus ignoring him and therefore any and all statements he may make. Notice in the last panel that it's not Cueball's question alone that is color-coded, but Cueball as well. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.8}}

I also interpreted it as Black Hat explicitly painting his fingers green in order to utilize the comment power of the double slashes as opposed to them turning green due to the gesture.[[User:Flewk|Flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 10:52, 25 December 2015 (UTC)
:So how did he then paint Cueball green? I think it is how Black Hat sees Cueball, i.e. he doesn't. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:09, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

Comments don't silence, they just switch the mode from 'interaction required' to metadata, which may even persist. Or...Black Hat may consider it a 'favor' to give Cueball's life color... [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]])

# I use python, so this is a comment. But, it's still possible to do with fingers! [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 04:10, 24 May 2018 (UTC)
::This is not python so your comment looks different here. And please NEVER edit former comments done by other people! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:37, 24 May 2018 (UTC)

Talk:156: Commented

2022-09-21T12:28:23Z

172.70.162.5: Additional. And over-the-shoulder may be too uncharitable (thinking of filmic conventions of an apparent eye-view of someoneooking into a a mirror, keeping the camera out of shot as the character looks straight 'back' at himself) when that's not an issue!

The issue date on this comic isn't filled. Can someone fix that by adding the correct issue date? [[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) 17:17, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

In the first two panels, it looks like he's flicking the guy off. It's not until the third panel that we actually see the subversion. I'm reasonably certain that this is intentional. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 02:34, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

In QtCreator, comments are dark blue. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 08:32, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on the fact that the text that is being commented out is multiple lines, but there is only one double slash, therefore only one of the lines can be commented out. For both to be commented, you'd need /* ... */ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 09:03, 6 November 2013 (UTC)
:No, it's a single line that's wrapped. The double slash works fine in that circumstance, in real code. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 04:34, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

:My thoughts about this is the slashes (fingers) are physical objects so therefor travel through time with the speaker. so this is effectively commenting out each word one by one as the sentence is spoken. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.10|141.101.99.10]] 11:36, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
::I think the prior comment has it. While 'life' may wrap the spoken line (in our POV, how it fits into the given comic-frame), it was not spoken (like the line may be typed) with a verbal linefeed-equivalent, and so the in-universe markup is applicable to the end.
::The //s don't seem to apply retrospectively upon the initial words* and no reason to assume persistant upon arbitrary appearance of future words.
::* - Some possibility that it works only from the POV of the symbol-caster, as seen in the final frame. Whilstsoever he positions the 'marks' in his own personal field-of-view, he gets a Head-Up-Display (which may normally display him supratitles, even without hue-changes?) altered accordingly, invisible to anyone not him, or viewing 'from-out-of-universe close-over-the-shoulder' like we do here.
::But I could understand any number of rival visualisation tropes applying here, consistant with the one brief example we see depicted. (For one thing, it covers the 'embedded image', probably instantiated as a glyph within the 'environment' he views, that is the speaker and his speach-line.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.26|172.70.86.26]] 12:21, 21 September 2022 (UTC)

The title text may also be a reference to the "Your milage may vary." commonly found in the fine print in car commercials. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.19|108.162.216.19]] 22:28, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

I believe he's commenting out Cueball entirely, thus ignoring him and therefore any and all statements he may make. Notice in the last panel that it's not Cueball's question alone that is color-coded, but Cueball as well. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.8}}

I also interpreted it as Black Hat explicitly painting his fingers green in order to utilize the comment power of the double slashes as opposed to them turning green due to the gesture.[[User:Flewk|Flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 10:52, 25 December 2015 (UTC)
:So how did he then paint Cueball green? I think it is how Black Hat sees Cueball, i.e. he doesn't. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:09, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

Comments don't silence, they just switch the mode from 'interaction required' to metadata, which may even persist. Or...Black Hat may consider it a 'favor' to give Cueball's life color... [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]])

# I use python, so this is a comment. But, it's still possible to do with fingers! [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 04:10, 24 May 2018 (UTC)
::This is not python so your comment looks different here. And please NEVER edit former comments done by other people! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:37, 24 May 2018 (UTC)

Talk:935: Missed Connections

2022-09-18T14:14:30Z

172.70.162.5: /* Is this the case? */ new section

A "Juggalo" is a fan of the band Insane Clown Posse, about as diametrically removed from a democratic politician as you could think of. [[Special:Contributions/75.103.23.206|75.103.23.206]] 17:09, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
:More specifically, she has a reputation for being stern and somewhat humorless making her an even better contrast to a Juggalo [[User:KingDragonlord|KingDragonlord]] ([[User talk:KingDragonlord|talk]]) 17:30, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

I'm new so I don't want to overstep bounds and just edit the page but I think it would be clearer to just say the TARDIS is a time travel device. Anyone not familiar with the tv series is not going to care what TARDIS is an acronym for. [[User:KingDragonlord|KingDragonlord]] ([[User talk:KingDragonlord|talk]]) 17:27, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

:I think having the expansion of TARDIS is fine, but you are correct there should be a mention of what a TARDIS is, and a link to the wikipedia article for the TARDIS. You are fully free, and welcomed to edit any explanation that you think is lacking information. The worst that could happen is someone reverts your edit and leaves a note on your talk page about why. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:22, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

According to Craigslist itself, Missed Connections has ''never'' worked. They're still waiting for a testimony for its first success.[[Special:Contributions/76.29.225.28|76.29.225.28]] 18:20, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

The Nancy Pelosi/Juggalo entry was a specific reference to an event at the White House that Republican commentators branded as a wild party even though it was not. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.86}}

I thought that the second entry was a reference to Plato's cave... Anyone else think that? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 18:22, 5 February 2015 (UTC)
:Apparently not! -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 02:11, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

== Is this the case? ==

Good Day,

Writing good content for your business explainxkcd.com is hard. You need to use the right words within your content for what your audience wants to hear.

It takes hours, if not days to write a piece of good content.

Would you like to write better content in much less time and at a fraction of the cost?

Interested? Get your free Trial and more information at http://contentbotassistant.com

My name is Steven Moore and I am the Senior Consultant and i help find solutions by using AI-powered software that helps companies automate their content marketing and sales enablement processes.

The flagship product at http://contentbotassistant.com is a solution that uses AI and algorithms to create high-quality content at a click of a button.

I hope this helps you.

Regards

Steven

2672: What If? 2 Flowchart

2022-09-14T20:36:04Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ (as) primarily... options to deal with punctuation better but I'd perhaps look to restructuring the flow/order a bit as well.

{{comic
| number = 2672
| date = September 13, 2022
| title = What If? 2 Flowchart
| image = what_if_2_flowchart_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x729px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Don't worry, the dogs are all fine. That's actually kind of the problem.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an EARTH-DESTROYING FLOWCHART - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic celebrates the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[What If?|What If? 2]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, September 13, 2022. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day. The [[xkcd Header text]] also [[xkcd Header text#2022-09-13 - What if? 2 is available now|changed that day]] to shout out that the book was released on that day. (It had been counting down the last week, from [[xkcd Header text#2022-09-07 - Less than one week to What if? 2 comes out|less than a week]], [[xkcd Header text#2022-09-12 - Three days to What if? 2 comes out|three days]] and [[xkcd Header text#2022-09-12 - One day to What if? 2 comes out|one day]] while the previous comics [[2670: Interruption]] and [[2671: Rotation]] was on the front page. The latter only for one day due to the Tuesday release).

While announcing that his '''What If? 2''' book is finally out (the entire comic is a [https://xkcd.com/whatif2 link] to the books page on xkcd), Randall gives us a flowchart we can follow to find the relevant article in the book based on what we are planning to do today. Once a relevant possibility is reached in the flowchart a page number in the book is given. It thus assumes we are doing something that the crazy scenarios in the book could potentially help us with. Which hopefully is highly unlikely. See the [[#Table of questions in the flowchart|table below]] for explanations.

The title text refers to the last line in the flow chart which is concerned with wanting a dog. If you are then satisfied the flowchart ends with fulfillment. But if you want more than one dog, the flowchart continues three times where you can get more dogs. If that is enough you will get back to the fulfillment ending. But else you can end in the scenario where all in the universe it consumed by dogs, and then you should read page 308.

The title text assures the reader that all of these dogs are doing fine, but goes on to state that the real problem is that all these dogs are still fine, and as such may well be reproducing, rapidly increasing the number of dogs.

==Table of questions in the flowchart==
The flowchart questions and their possible answers are described in the following table:
{| class="wikitable"
! Text
! Connected
|-
| Congratulations, you have acquired a copy of ''What if? 2!'' (out today, [xkcd.com/whatif2])
| What do you want to do today?
|-
| rowspan="3" | What do you want to do today?
| I don't know: Reflect on your life
|-
| Go to neighborhood party: Do you like your neighbor?
|-
| Brunch: Where do you go?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Do you like your neighbor?
| Yes: '''Page 78'''
|-
| No: What do you want to bring?
|-
| rowspan="4" | What do you want to bring?
| Jupiter: '''Page 70'''
|-
| Iron vapor: '''Page 18'''
|-
| Weird Opinions: Do you think bugs should get paid?
|-
| My fake identity: Have you committed any crimes?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Do you think bugs should get paid?
| Yes: '''Page 96'''
|-
| No: Reflect on your life
|-
| rowspan="2" | Where do you go?
| The sun: Are you wearing sunscreen?
|-
| A diner: How do you get there?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Are you wearing sunscreen?
| Yes: '''Page 319'''
|-
| No: How do you want to visit?
|-
| rowspan="2" | How do you want to visit?
| Briefly, via teleporter: '''Page 314'''
|-
| I want to land a probe on the surface: '''Page 323'''
|-
| rowspan="3" | How do you get there?
| Helicopter: Where do you sit in the helicopter?
|-
| Plane: '''Page 83''', Are you flying near any strong magnets?
|-
| Car: How do you want to drive?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Where do you sit in the helicopter?
| On the rotor: '''Page 6'''
|-
| Inside: Are you flying near any strong magnets?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Are you flying near any strong magnets?
| Yes: '''Page 171'''
|-
| No: Okay, there's the diner!
|-
| rowspan="2" | Okay, there's the diner!
| Keep driving forever: '''Page 128'''
|-
| Stop: What food do you order?
|-
| rowspan="5" | What food do you order?
| The sun: '''Page 303'''
|-
| Breadsticks: '''Page 299'''
|-
| Ammonia: '''Page 284'''
|-
| A cloud: '''Page 195'''
|-
| Soup: How much soup?
|-
| rowspan="2" | How much soup?
| 1 bowl: '''Page 197'''
|-
| 1040 bowls: '''Page 1'''
|-
| rowspan="3" | How do you want to drive?
| Fast: '''Page 180'''
|-
| With a bird: '''Page 171'''
|-
| Normal: Does this road lead to Rome?
|-
| rowspan="3" | Does this road lead to Rome?
| Yes: Pick a different road
|-
| No, but it should: '''Page 154'''
|-
| No: Okay, there's the diner!
|-
| Pick a different road
| Does this road lead to Rome?
|-
| Okay, there's the diner!
| Keep driving forever: '''Page 128'''
|-
| rowspan="3" | What do you really want to do?
| I want to shoot a laser at a sorceress: '''Page 43'''
|-
| I want to tell people things about eggs: What kinds of things about eggs?
|-
| I want a dog: Get a dog
|-
| rowspan="2" | What kinds of things about eggs?
| True things: '''Page 300'''
|-
| False things: '''Page 258'''
|-
| Get a dog
| Are you satisfied?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Are you satisfied?
| Yes: '''Fulfillment!'''
|-
| No, I think we need more dogs: Get more dogs
|-
| Get more dogs
| Enough? (1)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Enough? (1)
| Yes: '''Fulfillment!'''
|-
| No. You can never have too many dogs: More dogs
|-
| More dogs
| Enough? (2)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Enough? (2)
| Yes: Fulfillment!
|-
| No. You can literally never have too many dogs. We should not stop until all that exists in the cosmos has been consumed by a happy, barking mass: '''Page 308'''
|-
| rowspan="3" | Have you committed any crimes?
| Not sure: '''Page 255'''
|-
| Yes: Travel back in time to undo your crimes
|-
| No: Do you want to?
|-
| rowspan="2" | Do you want to?
| No: '''Page 255'''
|-
| Yes: '''Page 258'''
|-
| Travel back in time to undo your crimes
| '''Page 277'''
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A large flowchart, with the first box in the top left corner.]
:Box 1: Congratulations, you have acquired a copy of '''''What if? 2!''''' (out today, xkcd.com/whatif2)
::[Arrow to Box 2]
:Box 2: What do you want to do today?
::[Arrow to Box 3] I don't know
::[Arrow to Box 4] Go to neighborhood party
::[Arrow to Box 5] Brunch
:Box 3: Reflect on your life
::[Arrow to Box 6]
:Box 4: Do you like your neighbor?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 78'] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 7] No
:Box 5: Where do you go?
::[Arrow to Box 8] The Sun
::[Arrow to Box 9] A diner
:Box 6: What do you really want to do?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 43'] I want to shoot a laser at a sorceress
::[Arrow to Box 10] I want a dog
::[Arrow to Box 11] I want to tell people things about eggs
:Box 7: What do you want to bring?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 70'] Jupiter
::[Arrow to Box 12] Weird opinions
::[Arrow to Box 13] My fake identity
:Box 8: Are you wearing sunscreen?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 319'] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 14] No
:Box 9: How do you get there?
::[Arrow to Box 15] Helicopter
::[Arrow to Box 16 with the words 'page 83'] Plane
::[Arrow to Box 17] Car
:Box 10: Get a dog
::[Arrow to Box 18]
:Box 11: What kinds of things about eggs?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 300'] True things
::[Arrow to the words 'page 258', same words as from Box 19] False things
:Box 12: Do you think bugs should get paid?
::[Arrow to Box 3] No
::[Arrow to the words 'page 96'] Yes
:Box 13: Have you commited any crimes?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 255', same words as from Box 19] Not sure
::[Arrow to Box 19] No
::[Arrow to Box 20] Yes
:Box 14: How do you want to visit?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 314'] Briefly, via teleporter
::[Arrow to the words 'page 323'] I want to land a probe on the surface
:Box 15: Where do you sit in the helicopter?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 6'] On the rotor
::[Arrow to Box 16] Inside
:Box 16: Are you flying near any strong magnets?
::[Arrow to Box 21] No
::[Arrow to the words 'page 171'] Yes
:Box 17: How fast do you want to drive?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 180'] Fast
::[Arrow to Box 22] Normal
::[Arrow to the words 'page 176'] With a bird
:Box 18: Are you satisfied?
::[Arrow to the word 'Fulfillment!', same word as from Boxes 26 and 29]
::[Arrow to Box 23] No. I think we need more dogs.
:Box 19: Do you want to?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 255', same words as from Box 13] No
::[Arrow to the words 'page 258', same words as from Box 11] Yes
:Box 20: Travel back in time to undo your crimes
::[Arrow to to the words 'page 277']
:Box 21: Okay, there's the diner!
::[Arrow to the words 'page 128'] Keep driving forever
::[Arrow to Box 24] Stop
:Box 22: Does this road lead to Rome?
::[Arrow to Box 25] Yes
::[Arrow to the words 'page 154'] No, but it should
::[Arrow to Box 21] No
:Box 23: Get more dogs
::[Arrow to Box 26]
:Box 24: What food do you order?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 303'] The Sun
::[Arrow to the words 'page 299'] Breadsticks
::[Arrow to Box 27] Soup
::[Arrow to the words 'page 284'] Ammonia
::[Arrow to the words 'page 195'] A cloud
:Box 25: Pick a different road
::[Arrow to Box 22]
:Box 26: Enough?
::[Arrow to the word 'Fulfillment!', same word as from Boxes 18 and 29] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 28] No. You can never have too many dogs.
:Box 27: How much soup?
::[Arrow to the words 'page 197'] 1 bowl
::[Arrow to the words 'page 1'] 1040 bowls
:Box 28: More dogs
::[Arrow to Box 29]
:Box 29: Enough?
::[Arrow to the word 'Fulfillment!', same word as from Boxes 18 and 26]
::[Arrow to the words 'page 308] No. You can literally never have too many dogs. We should not stop until all that exists has been consumed by a happy, barking mass.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2671: Rotation

2022-09-13T05:16:53Z

172.70.162.5:

{{comic
| number = 2671
| date = September 12, 2022
| title = Rotation
| image = rotation.png
| titletext = It's okay, we can just feed the one-pixel image into an AI upscaler and recover the original image, or at least one that's just as cool.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an IMAGE UPSCALER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Another of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this tip claims that rotating a phone and taking a screenshot too many times will cause an image to disappear into nothingness, and warns the user against doing so. This is funny because while camera phone users are unlikely to do this, they are usually less aware of the optimal resolution for their intended purposes than they could be. A phone's "auto-rotation" feature will automatically rotate an image to the fit the phone's current orientation based on {{w|accelerometer}}s.

[[Image:World lines and world sheet.svg|thumb|200px|{{w|String theory}} describes the {{w|worldline}}s of point-like particles as {{w|worldsheet}}s of "closed strings," forming a topological foam.]]

For a fuller explanation of the concepts involved, including {{w|Planck units}}, often associated with the topological {{w|quantum foam}} of {{w|string theory}}, please see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF5esTscZI this CGP Grey video.] For an explanation of topological string theory, see [[2658: Coffee Cup Holes]].

The title text refers to producing photographically likely higher resolution images from lower resolutions, an active area of current research.[https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content/ICCV2021/papers/Liang_Hierarchical_Conditional_Flow_A_Unified_Framework_for_Image_Super-Resolution_and_ICCV_2021_paper.pdf] Because reducing the resolution of an image is a lossy process, results obtained through such processes will not be able to perfectly recreate the original. When scaled all the way down to one pixel, everything except a small amount of data about the image's overall color is lost, making reconstructing the original image impossible.

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

:[A phone in portrait orientation shows an image of Cueball standing. It is then rotated, showing the image smaller with bars in landscape orientation, then the next phone is in portrait showing the entire screen of the previous rotated sideways, shrinking it every time. An arrow points from each phone to the phone with the next smaller image, until the last one. The labels, at the 9th, 25th, and 101st rotation, show the decreasing size of the original image as it goes through successive rotations.]

:[Labels:]
:9 rotations: original image is smaller than a pixel.

:25 rotations: original image is smaller than an atom.

:101 rotations: original image is smaller than the Planck length, at which the concept of distance may break down.

:[Bottom caption:]
:Phone tip: don't rotate and screenshot an image too many times or it will become lost in the quantum foam of the universe.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2670: Interruption

2022-09-10T04:39:00Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ improved wording

{{comic
| number = 2670
| date = September 9, 2022
| title = Interruption
| image = interruption.png
| titletext = It's been extra bad ever since my GPS got stuck on Phoebe Judge mode.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GPS VOICE SYNTHESIZER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is referencing the situation of listening to a podcast or other speech while driving with GPS navigation.

It is typical for car audio systems and navigation apps to be designed to allow voice navigation instructions to "cut in" over whatever else the driver is listening to so that they can be heard clearly. Usually, it is easy for the driver to recognise this even if they are listening to spoken material (rather than music), due to the sudden change in the tone or sound of the voice.

However, if the voice used by the navigation app is similar to the voice that is speaking in whatever the driver was listening to previously, it can be hard to distinguish between the two, especially if the timing of the navigation instruction happens to coincide with a logical break in a sentence that is being spoken. In cases like this, the listener may at first not realise that the navigation app has interrupted the other audio, and think that the instruction is part of the material that they are listening to (especially if they are not paying close attention to the words spoken and are only listening out for a change in the tone of voice, as is sometimes typical when engaged in another activity such as driving).

In the comic, it is suggested that the narrator has misinterpreted the voice prompt of their navigation app as part of the story being told in the podcast due to the voices supposedly sounding similar, and the comic illustrates this confusion by showing the story as if this line was intended to be part of the story being told. However, due to the somewhat mysterious nature of the story being told and the cryptic nature of the character being described, it is possible that the character did in fact say the line as indicated and the "navigation instruction" was actually part of the podcast, leading to an extra layer of confusion if the driver interprets it as an actual instruction. The point here being that due to the similar voices and the nature of the story, it is ambiguous whether or not the line is part of the podcast or if it is an interruption from the navigation app that happened to coincide with a logical pause in the sentence.

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

[First panel, Cueball and Ponytail hosting a talk show]

Cueball: ...And that's when you knew she had betrayed you?"

Ponytail: Yeah, she picked up the money and walked out."

[Second panel, zoomed in on Ponytail]

Ponytail: To this day, I don't know if she planned it all.

Ponytail: But there was one moment that makes me think, maybe she did.

[Third panel, a silhouette in a doorway]

Ponytail: Just before she disappeared, she paused at the door, looked back at me, and said,

Silhouette: Hey - if I ever see you again,

[Fourth panel, zoomed in version of third panel]

Silhouette: Turn left at the next light

[Caption below the panels:]

It's so disorienting when a podcaster has a voice that's similar to my navigation app.

{{comic discussion}}

1854: Refresh Types

2022-09-06T18:37:14Z

172.70.162.5: /* Harder refresh */ An other

{{comic
| number = 1854
| date = June 23, 2017
| title = Refresh Types
| image = refresh_types.png
| titletext = The hardest refresh requires both a Mac keyboard and a Windows keyboard as a security measure, like how missile launch systems require two keys to be turned at once.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Randall]] presents five different levels of refresh operations for web applications. The first three (''soft refresh'', ''normal refresh'', and ''hard refresh'') are common operations to keep the content in the browser retrieved from the server up to date. The other two (''harder refresh'' and ''hardest refresh'') are fictional operations to perform ''refresh'' operations on remote resources. The terms are probably adopted from {{w|Reboot (computing)|soft}} and {{w|Hardware reset|hard reset}} operations used to restart broken computers or e.g. smartphones.

=== Soft refresh ===
''Soft refresh'' refers to an operation in a web page, commonly known as {{w|Ajax (programming)|Ajax}}, that requests new information without reloading the entire page. The given example, {{w|Gmail}}, includes a feature that allows users to poll new emails and show it in the inbox interface. It is a command using {{w|JavaScript}} to load new contents from the server in the background and only update necessary components of the page. Modern web applications do this automatically in short time intervals such that these buttons are mostly unnecessary - for example, in Gmail, a user will see a new message instantly.

=== Normal refresh ===
The ''normal refresh'' is a browser operation that reloads the complete web page, text and other content that has changed since the original load will be updated. The operation can be triggered by refresh buttons in browsers, though it also can be requested using the common keyboard commands as listed by Randall. Many pages -- like the main page at xkcd.com -- don't have a refresh button. If the page has been opened before a new comic release, pressing F5 afterwards causes reload and the new comic is shown.

=== Hard refresh ===
What Randall calls ''hard refresh'' is a less common browser operation forcing the browser to re-download every part of the web page, ignoring any cached content. Caching is a common way of decreasing web page load times. Browsers save resources such as images or {{w|Cascading Style Sheets|CSS stylesheets}} on the first visit on a web page and use the local copy on subsequent visits. It allows them to decrease amount of transfer needed to show the web page, but can prevent showing changes made to the resources (for example a web developer changing the stylesheet). In those cases the ''hard refresh'' ensures that each part of the website is downloaded in its newest form.

If there is a {{w|Proxy server|proxy}} or a cache (like used for this wiki) in between the browser and the server this type of refreshing may not work. In this case, unless a purge link is available, the user has to wait until the cache entry is expired and a new request to the web server is done. Someone may try to avoid this behavior by including special headers in the HTTP reply to control caching, but not all proxies or clouds follow these instructions.

=== Harder refresh ===
''Harder refresh'' is a joke that extends the existing naming scheme. The joke is that if a ''hard refresh'' resets the browser display and cache, a ''harder refresh'' should reset the source of the data by cycling power in the data center. Assuming no damage was done, this would reset the memory on the server, erasing any information that had not been written to disk, and setting the server to the state it was in at launch. This would cause considerable downtime, and would be unlikely to help the user at all.

In {{w|Orchestration (computing)|orchestrated}} environment it may indirectly cause some virtual machines in the {{w|Cloud computing|cloud}} to be rebooted and assigned to another web server needing more workload. But a growing workload is caused by hundreds or thousands additional requests and not just a single key combination from one browser. While there are administrative web tools allowing to perform a reboot (physical or virtual server) just by clicking a single button, this is not what is being referred to in the comic. A standard (non-administrative) user rebooting an actual physical server using a common web page is not possible, unless there is a software or operating system bug that will cause exactly this. This would be considered an extremely critical problem and its resolution would be given an extremely high priority by the server owners.

The ''harder refresh'' uses six keys, including the non-standard '[https://askubuntu.com/questions/19558/what-are-the-meta-super-and-hyper-keys HYPER]' key, a feature of the {{w|Space cadet keyboard}}. Hyper could also refer to the Linux modifier key Hyper, similar to Control, Alt, and Super.

=== Hardest refresh ===
The fifth option, ''hardest refresh'', moves beyond resetting the source of the data and resets the entire internet back to {{w|ARPANET}}, an early military network which was a forerunner to the modern internet. The implications of this are not made clear, but it should be noted that it wouldn't help to fix any problems a user is experiencing in-browser, as {{w|HTTP}}, the protocol by which web pages are sent, was not developed until late 1990, the year ARPANET was decommissioned.

The ''hardest refresh'' shortcut uses fifteen keys, including non-standard ones such as Ø and ⏏. (The former is a key found on Danish and Norwegian keyboards, the latter is the "eject" key found on Mac keyboards and some laptops.) The shortcut makes amusing comparisons about a shortcut that includes not only the F5 function key, but also the keys for the letter "F" and the digit "5", as well as the similarity in appearance between O, 0, and Ø.

The title text suggests that the inclusion of both the {{w|Windows key}} and {{w|Command key}} in the ''hardest refresh'' shortcut is a security measure akin to the {{w|Two-man rule}}, as it would require two keyboards to enter. Normally this would not work in practice as the modifier keys are handled per keyboard and not combined across keyboards for most operating systems allowing more than one keyboard.

==Transcript==
:[A table with three columns is shown. The header is:]
:Refresh Type; Example Shortcuts; Effect

:[First row:]
:Soft Refresh
:[The word refresh has a border to mimic a button:]
:Gmail REFRESH Button
:Requests update within JavaScript

:[Second row:]
:Normal Refresh
:[Two PC shortcuts and the Apple command key followed by an R:]
:F5, CTRL-R, ⌘R
:Refreshes page

:[Third row:]
:Hard Refresh
:[One PC shortcut, the combination Control plus Shift, and the Apple command key followed by Shift and R:]
:CTRL-F5, CTRL-⇧, ⌘⇧R
:Refreshes page including cached files

:[Fourth row:]
:Harder Refresh
:[One single combination using Control plus Shift plus Hyper plus Escape plus R plus F5:]
:CTRL-⇧-HYPER-ESC-R-F5
:Remotely cycles power to datacenter

:[Fifth row:]
:Hardest Refresh
:[One single combination using Control plus the Apple command key plus the Windows key plus Shift plus the hash key plus R plus F5 plus F plus 5 plus Escape plus the letter O plus a slashed zero plus a slashed letter O plus an eject sign plus Scroll Lock:]
:CTRL-⌘⊞⇧#-R-F5-F-5-ESC-O-0-Ø-⏏-SCROLL LOCK
:Internet starts over from ARPANET

==Trivia==

* One of the shortcuts listed for Hard Refresh, “CTRL-⇧”, is incorrect – it should be “CTRL-⇧-R”.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Internet]]

2668: Artemis Quote

2022-09-06T01:07:25Z

172.70.162.5: /* Transcript */ So many things to be described. The featureless sky? The three-section casing of the rocket? Nope, leaving those out. Interesting to compare against actual Artemis-lander plans, though.

{{comic
| number = 2668
| date = September 5, 2022
| title = Artemis Quote
| image = artemis_quote.png
| titletext = Another option: "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|created by a COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|Artemis program}} is a series of planned space missions that will land humans on the Moon and begin to set up infrastructure for a permanent human presence. Humans first landed on the Moon in 1969 as part of the {{w|Apollo program}}. They have not been back since 1972.

When {{w|Neil Armstrong}} became the first human to walk on the Moon, he famously said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." However, he was intending to say, "That's one small step for '''''a''''' man, but a giant leap for mankind [emphasis added]." [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Frase_de_Neil_Armstrong.ogg The audio recording] omits the first instance of the word "a", making the sentence confusing, as "man" and "mankind" have the same meaning when referring to humanity as a whole. The {{w|schwa}} grammatical article, "a", is optional in certain contexts of most dialects of American English.{{Actual citation needed}} That it was apparently elided by Armstrong in the excitement, thus modifying the semantic meaning of the historical phrase, is controversial and thus humorous. Subsequently, Armstrong and others have blamed insufficiently tuned {{w|voice activity detection}} hardware circuitry intended to save power in radio voice transmission, but NASA engineers, third-party historians and their hired experts have never been able to corroborate that explanation.

Randall proposes that the first Artemis astronaut to set foot on the Moon should create an even more confusing quote, saying the sentence, "This is one of my favorite historical quotes — the first words spoken by an Artemis astronaut on the moon," aloud as they step onto the Moon. When quoted by later historians, it would be confusingly self-referential. Speaking as if they are alluding to something from the past, it would add contextual confusion to any attempt to directly quote or replay the words from then on. This is very unlikely, and funny merely as a recommendation. If it actually happened, it might be both hilarious and scandalous.

The title text suggests an alternate phrase by which the Artemis astronaut would say being the first (rather than 13th) human on the Moon is a great honor. People hearing this quote in the future could assume that Artemis was the first crewed mission to the Moon. It could feed into contemporary conspiracy theories that the Apollo landings were faked, furthering the confusion. Alternatively, it could imply that Neil Armstrong and the other 11 moonwalkers of the Apollo program were secretly something other than human beings. This could fuel another popular area of conspiracy theories, which claim that {{w|Reptilian conspiracy theory|lizard people}} or other aliens disguise themselves as powerful humans and control the world.

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

:[The surface of the Moon, with typical craters and rocks across a landscape with a subtle but visibly curved horizon. In the foreground, a vertical rocket standing on four deployed legs. A short ladder, or set of steps, leads down from a hatch in the lower part of the rocket body. The figure of an astronaut is shown having just now stepped forward onto the Moon's surface.]
:Astronaut: This is one of my favorite historical quotes — the first words spoken by an Artemis astronaut on the Moon.

:Caption: Neil Armstrong's "man"/"a man" quote created a lot of historical confusion, and I think it's our duty to expand on that legacy with Artemis.

{{comic discussion}}

2663: Tetherball Configurations

2022-08-25T08:38:42Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Something that is fun is not necessarily funny, through a vaguary of contextual domain...

{{comic
| number = 2663
| date = August 24, 2022
| title = Tetherball Configurations
| image = tetherball_configurations.png
| titletext = Ground-pole-ball-pole can be fun if you shake the first pole to get the second one whipping around dangerously, but the ball at the joint gets torn apart pretty fast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GROUND-POLE-BALL-BALL-POLE-ROPE-POLE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Tetherball}} is a game for two players with the objective to wind a rope completely around a pole. The rope is attached to the pole in one end and to a ball in the other end. The players try to wind the rope in opposite directions and do so by hitting the ball at the rope's loose end with their hands or with paddles. [[Randall]] has the usual configuration last with five stars, preceded by several humorously inane configurations with fewer stars:

'''Ground-rope-ball''' receives only one star because there is no way to keep "score". [[Megan]] holds the rope while looking at [[Cueball]] holding the ball. What to do...

'''Ground-pole-ball''' receives only one star because there is no way for anything to happen. The pole is fixed in place, and the ball is fixed in place at the top. [[Ponytail]] can be seen waving her hand at the ball at the top of the pole, but it's too tall and she can't even reach it. [[Hairbun]] has just given up.

'''Ground-rope-pole-ball''' is slightly better than the previous configurations and therefore receives two stars instead of one. The players have some way to keep score by seeing which way the rope is wound around the pole, but a player who is behind can reset the score by pushing the rope-windings off of the rope. Also, twirling the rope in order to rack up point-windings would be awkward—and possibly even dangerous to the other player, depending on how long the pole is. Lastly, the ball serves no purpose in this case. Ponytail holds the rope while [[White Hat]] holds the ball from which the pole goes up.

'''Ground-pole-rope-ball''' is the best and therefore receives five stars. Players can accumulate point-windings by hitting the ball past the other player, and gravity and the pole's height prevent the player who is behind from unscrupulously resetting the score. This is the configuration that is used in real life. Back to Cueball and Megan, who are getting ready to play a regular game of Tetherball.

In the title text a fifth alternative is mentioned, but it goes beyond the normal configuration by adding an extra pole in stead of the rope:
'''Ground-pole-ball-pole''' is mentioned to be fun, because if you shake the pole stuck in the ground, the loose one connected via the ball could begin whipping around dangerously. If this is actually entertaining depends on weather you get hit by it... Again there would be no way to keep score like in regular tetherball, but of course you could count who got hit by the second loose pole first, or up to for instance 10 hits first. This would likely be dangerous or at least painful. Randall also remarks that the ball would probably get torn apart as it acts like a joint between the two poles. Given that he calls it fun, a 3 star rating might be expected... But it is not mentioned.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"Tetherball configuration playability ratings"

"Ground-rope-ball"

"Ground–pole–ball"

"Ground–rope-pole-ball"

"Ground-pole-rope–ball"

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2659: Unreliable Connection

2022-08-19T10:55:59Z

172.70.162.5: Aside from the WiFi element seemingly separate (so revised again to vague mass singular), subsequent grammar-muddling needed reunravelling.

{{comic
| number = 2659
| date = August 15, 2022
| title = Unreliable Connection
| image = unreliable_connection.png
| titletext = NEGATIVE REVIEWS MENTION: Unreliable internet. POSITIVE REVIEWS MENTION: Unreliable internet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ROUND TRIP LATENCY BACKOFF. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In today's world, the Internet, pervasive mobile technology and the COVID pandemic have all caused an implicit expectation for many people to be available all hours of the day, whether for work or social communications, even when on vacation. In this comic, [[Randall]] addresses the issue with a deliberately suboptimal internet device that drops Internet connectivity intermittently and at unpredictable intervals, thereby causing activities that require a constant, uninterrupted connection to be unusable. The device appears to be an internet {{w|modem}} connected to an automated version of a {{w|Galton board}} or {{w|Jin Akiyama}}'s mathematical {{w|pachinko}} machine[https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.05706.pdf] with a series of twelve switches at the bottom to be pressed by falling balls, eleven of which turn the routing equipment "on" and one that can turn it "off". This solves the social problem of demands for the likes of {{w|synchronous conferencing|synchronous teleconferencing}}, by causing {{w|Asynchronous communication|asynchronous}} methods of communication to be relatively more reliable and efficient for personal use.

This is funny because such a device could likely much more easily be implemented in the {{w|firmware}} of the internet or WiFi modem or {{w|Router (computing)|router}}s. (See [[1785: Wifi]] for an explanation of firmware.) It's not clear whether the switches merely interrupt the connection momentarily or control power to the modem, which would involve a much longer booting sequence. The "unreliable" connection provides an excuse to be unavailable for work or social calls, and thus free to enjoy one's vacation. However the device also allows the user to have a fast internet connection most of the time, enabling them to use it for leisure purposes, such as downloading movies for entertainment, or to connect with others on one's own terms. It thus retains most of the benefit of a good connection.

The probability of a ball hitting the "off" switch is 165/2048, or about 8%, assuming the machine is ordinary [https://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2018/8817/pdf/LIPIcs-FUN-2018-26.pdf], because it's in the ninth position. We don't know the frequency with which new balls are dropped, so we can't estimate the frequency at which the device is likely to trigger {{w|Session Initiation Protocol}}, {{w|Transmission Control Protocol}}, or similar {{w|Timeout (computing)|timeout}} conditions that would likely close synchronous {{w|VOIP}}, video conferencing, and e.g. {{w|VRChat}} connections. Even if such connections were to survive the induced service interruptions, the {{w|application layer}} call or teleconference quality would suffer during them. The device may cause interruptions rarely enough that the connection is usable for casual purposes, but the user can still reasonably claim that it's unreliable to get out of online obligations.

The title text reflects on today's increasingly always-connected world, where emphasis may be changing from finding rare vacation spots that have reliable internet, to now finding somewhere worthwhile to go that still doesn't have it. It could also be a comment on the mild paradox that a nominally unreliable internet connection has advantages for those whose communication schedule, volume, or style preferences make synchronous teleconferencing less practical, desirable, or both. The reviews for the new vacation spot indicate that disconnections are found to be both desirable and undesirable, possibly even by the same person.

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

:[There are twelve switches under an automated Galton board or pachinko machine, eleven of which are linked to a large item marked "on" but the ninth of which is linked to one marked "off", apparently controlling the operation of a modem connected to a gigabit data-cable and also connected onwards to a WiFi router. There is a supply of balls in a hopper above the board, with the triangular configuration of pins directing the balls chaotically to one or other of the switches, as shown by a single released ball and a motion path partially showing how it had rebounded from around half-way down until after hitting and rebounding away off a bottom-layer "on" switch.]

:[Caption below the panel]:
:My new vacation spot has very fast internet that turns off randomly every now and then, just so you can tell people you'll be staying somewhere without a reliable connection.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

Talk:2660: Gen Z

2022-08-18T14:46:26Z

172.70.162.5:

It makes sense that Randall isn't calling out any particular fads, trends, tendencies, or commonalities in Gen Z to comment on, but some immediately came to my mind as I read the comic. Is it worth putting a list of possibilities in the explanation, or just one or two examples? That knowledge probably isn't going to contribute to the understanding of the joke, which is that for *every* generation there have been such observations and complaints from older folks. [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 21:28, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
:I don't think there's a need for that, but someone should add a definition of Generation Z. The Wikipedia page that it links to should describe the notable features of that generation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:41, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

I found the title text in the New Zealand Mail, Issue 1729, 19 April 1905, Page 15 (https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL19050419.2.44).

holy shit randall is based --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.17|108.162.221.17]] 01:35, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
:Based on what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.125|162.158.159.125]] 03:33, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
::Binary [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 14:46, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
::Based is a term I have heard of, it means really like something but you say it in a jokey, possibly sarcastic way. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.163|172.70.206.163]] 06:10, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
::: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=based [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:11, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

2656: Scientific Field Prefixes

2022-08-16T08:52:19Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2656
| date = August 8, 2022
| title = Scientific Field Prefixes
| image = scientific_field_prefixes.png
| titletext = Massage: Theoretical (10), Quantum (6), High-energy (2), Computational (1), Marine (1), Astro- (None)
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Quantum Dentist - Fill in this [[#Table with explanations|table with explanations]]. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Google Scholar}} is a search engine for academic publications, and [[Randall]] has been having fun with it.

Randall searches for various terms that are composed of some common prefixes and common suffixes, but not always commonly associated with each other in each possible combination, and tabulates the results. See this [[#Table with numbers|table with numbers]] for easy overview.

This reveals some very commonly used full terms like "{{w|Theoretical Physics}}", the most discovered, which represents almost four million hits compared to the next highest, "{{w|Computational Biology}}", with almost 3 million hits and {{w|Astrophysics}} with 2 million hits. Ducking just below 1 million hits is fourth placing {{w|Marine Biology}}. Of the 42 possible fields just 14 have more than 100,000 hits, and only four more have over 10,000.

But there are also some that have much lower numbers, eight with fewer than 10 hits in the table. "High-Energy Psychology" and "Marine Dentistry" have just one apparent occurrence each (equivalent to a {{w|Googlewhack}}), whilst there are no hits at all recorded for four of the initially combined terms. In total (with the title text) there are 48 fields, see a full [[#List of Scientific fields|list of scientific fields]] below.

An explanation for both existing and fictive scientific fields can be given below in the [[#Table with explanations|table with explanations]].

In the caption to the table Randall list four potential research opportunities i.e. those with no hits in the table: Quantum Dentistry, High-Energy Dentistry, Astrodentistry, and High-Energy Theology

He thus suggests that, because of the (apparent) lack of current studies in these specialized sub-fields, there may be unexplored potential for a study. This could be that the more "used" areas have far too much competition and be might already be "used up" for potentially useful discoveries. (This does not account for how much 'study space' might be available in a given box of research, even though Randall has previously hinted that anything "Astro"-related is potentially [[2640: The Universe by Scientific Field|full of many things to study]].)
Of course the real reason for no one studying these fields are that they make no sense. {{w|Dentistry}} is related to fixing peoples teeth. The quantum world has no effect on human teeth{{Citation needed}}, and high-energy bombardment of a human's mouth may also be a bit dangerous (although x-rays and radiation treatment in the mouth could be seen as high energy). Astrodentistry is not really relevant if seeing this as something used on humans. Of course astronauts might need dentistry while in space, but it would be a stretch to call the study of dentistry in zero-G, "astrodentistry". "High-energy Theology" as a term, seems more likely to have been used...

In the title text Randall lists the figures for another 'major' field suffix, {{w|Massage}}, and the numbers of its prefixed forms. From this, we learn that Astromassage is another 'open' field that is currently unstudied, but none of the five others have more than 10. Actually the most surprising aspect of the title text is that there are hits for both quantum massage and high-energy massage... Massage has been added to the tables below and the list of fields.

===Table with numbers===
*Here the table is presented with only numbers, so it can be sorted.
**Massage from the title text has been added.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!
! Physics
! Chemistry
! Biology
! Engineering
! Psychology
! Theology
! Dentistry
! Massage
|-
| Theoretical
| 3990000
| 445000
| 553000
| 2460
| 15500
| 726
| 41
| 10
|-
| Quantum
| 478000
| 740000
| 7620
| 21100
| 699
| 447
| 0
| 6
|-
| High-Energy
| 844000
| 9600
| 3
| 119
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 2
|-
| Computational
| 510000
| 599000
| 2910000
| 67400
| 4620
| 40
| 11
| 1
|-
| Marine
| 3920
| 136000
| 945000
| 108000
| 35
| 6
| 1
| 1
|-
| Astro-
| 2010000
| 20600
| 226000
| 430
| 64
| 580
| 0
| 0
|}

===List of Scientific fields===
This is included for easy reading of the numbers:
*Theoretical Physics: 3,990,000
*Theoretical Chemistry: 445,000
*Theoretical Biology: 553,000
*Theoretical Engineering: 2,460
*Theoretical Psychology: 15,500
*Theoretical Theology: 726
*Theoretical Dentistry: 41
*Theoretical Massage: 10
*Quantum Physics: 478,000
*Quantum Chemistry: 740,000
*Quantum Biology: 7,620
*Quantum Engineering: 21,100
*Quantum Psychology: 699
*Quantum Theology: 447
*Quantum Dentistry: None
*Quantum Massage: 6
**5 of these are objections to pseudoscientific healing nonsense. The last is from a Dutch medical text in which one sentence ends with "quantum" and the next begins with "massage", published in 1895 and having nothing to do with quantum mechanics.
*High-Energy Physics: 844,000
*High-Energy Chemistry: 9,600
*High-Energy Biology: 3
**Two of these are for the same conference proceedings about use of accelerators in biological research. The third is from an article which mentions a list of research areas: "extensive programs in chemistry, physics (other than high energy), biology".
*High-Energy Engineering: 119
*High-Energy Psychology: 1
**Job ad from October 31st, 2001, asking for "high energy psychology, speech pathology or special education majors to work with our mildly autistic son"
*High-Energy Theology: None
*High-Energy Dentistry: None
*High-Energy Massage: 2
*Computational Physics: 510,000
*Computational Chemistry: 599,000
*Computational Biology: 2,910,000
*Computational Engineering: 67,400
*Computational Psychology: 4,620
*Computational Theology: 40
*Computational Dentistry: 11
*Computational Massage: 1
**This is an article about modular wearable electronic devices, in the form of clothing, which provide massage.
*Marine Physics: 3,920
*Marine Chemistry: 136,000
*Marine Biology: 945,000
*Marine Engineering: 108,000
*Marine Psychology: 35
*Marine Theology: 6
*Marine Dentistry: 1
**The paper mentions the application of something in "Transportation, Marine, Dentistry, Electronics" and other fields
*Marine Massage: 1
**Article in "Professional Beauty" of 2021, mentioning "An exceptional massage technique with the professional-only Oligo-Marine Massage Cream includes smoothing, relaxing and stretching movements for total relaxation and optimal skin"
*Astrophysics: 2,010,000
*Astrochemistry: 20,600
*Astrobiology: 226,000
*Astroengineering: 430
*Astrophychology: 64
*Astrotheology: 580
*Astrodentistry: None
*Astromassage: None

==Table with explanations==
*Here all 48 fields can be explained in a table:
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Field
! Number of Searches
! Explanation of field
|-
| Theoretical Physics
| 3990000
| {{w|Theoretical Physics}} is a whole field in itself, with journals made only for that type of physics. Also the one with by far most hits.
|-
| Theoretical Chemistry
| 445000
|
|-
| Theoretical Biology
| 553000
|
|-
| Theoretical Engineering
| 2460
|
|-
| Theoretical Psychology
| 15500
|
|-
| Theoretical Theology
| 726
|
|-
| Theoretical Dentistry
| 41
|
|-
| Theoretical Massage
| 10
| Theoretical Massage is not a real scientific field{{Citation needed}}, but rather the theory about it, in contrast to the practical application of {{w|Massage|massage}}. This term is most likely to be used in the context of learning or studying massages, for example during the process of becoming a massage therapist. Alternatively this term could refer to the studying of the masses of matter, (or its massage if you will). This would make it a field of physics.
|-
| Quantum Physics
| 478000
| As with Theoretical Physics, above, Quantum Physics is an entire field within itself.
|-
| Quantum Chemistry
| 740000
| A field within chemistry, quantum chemistry is the study of how quantum-level effects extrapolate to chemical properties, such as the shape of electron orbitals.
|-
| Quantum Biology
| 7620
|
|-
| Quantum Engineering
| 21100
|
|-
| Quantum Psychology
| 699
|
|-
| Quantum Theology
| 447
|
|-
| Quantum Dentistry
| None
|
|-
| Quantum Massage
| 6
|
|-
| High-Energy Physics
| 844000
|
|-
| High-Energy Chemistry
| 9600
|
|-
| High-Energy Biology
| 3
|
|-
| High-Energy Engineering
| 119
|
|-
| High-Energy Psychology
| 1
|
|-
| High-Energy Theology
| None
|
|-
| High-Energy Dentistry
| None
|
|-
| High-Energy Massage
| 2
|
|-
| Computational Physics
| 510000
| The field of using computational models to simulate physical systems. Such models are commonly used in both theoretical and applied physics, hence the large number of hits.
|-
| Computational Chemistry
| 599000
| The field of using computational models to simulate chemical systems. Commonly used in the field of theoretical chemistry.
|-
| Computational Biology
| 2910000
|
|-
| Computational Engineering
| 67400
|
|-
| Computational Psychology
| 4620
|
|-
| Computational Theology
| 40
|
|-
| Computational Dentistry
| 11
|
|-
| Computational Massage
| 1
|
|-
| Marine Physics
| 3920
|
|-
| Marine Chemistry
| 136000
|
|-
| Marine Biology
| 945000
|
|-
| Marine Engineering
| 108000
|
|-
| Marine Psychology
| 35
|
|-
| Marine Theology
| 6
|
|-
| Marine Dentistry
| 1
|
|-
| Marine Massage
| 1
|
|-
| Astrophysics
| 2010000
|
|-
| Astrochemistry
| 20600
|
|-
| Astrobiology
| 226000
|
|-
| Astroengineering
| 430
|
|-
| Astrophychology
| 64
|
|-
| Astrotheology
| 580
|
|-
| Astrodentistry
| None
|
|-
| Astromassage
| None
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[A table is drawn with seven columns and six rows. Above each column and to the left of each row there is a label. All 42 fields are filled out with a number, except when the number is 0, then is says none in a red font. Above the table there is a large header:]
:<big>Number of search results on Google Scholar</big>
:{|class="wikitable"
|
| Physics
| Chemistry
| Biology
| Engineering
| Psychology
| Theology
| Dentistry
|-
| Theoretical
| 3,990,000
| 445,000
| 553,000
| 2,460
| 15,500
| 726
| 41
|-
| Quantum
| 478,000
| 740,000
| 7,620
| 21,100
| 699
| 447
| ''None'' 
|-
| High-Energy
| 844,000
| 9,600
| 3
| 119
| 1
| ''None'' 
| ''None'' 
|-
| Computational
| 510,000
| 599,000
| 2,910,000
| 67,400
| 4,620
| 40
| 11
|-
| Marine
| 3,920
| 136,000
| 945,000
| 108,000
| 35
| 6
| 1
|-
| Astro-
| 2,010,000
| 20,600
| 226,000
| 430
| 64
| 580
| ''None'' 
|}

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Potential research opportunities: Quantum Dentistry, High-Energy Dentistry, Astrodentistry, and High-Energy Theology

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

Talk:693: Children's Fantasy

2022-08-08T19:56:15Z

172.70.162.5: Came upwith the greatest idea

The title text continues the thought by pointing out the impossibility of contributing anything to the scientific world after visiting a magical world, as the child would know many scientific baselines, and, indeed, most regularly practiced scientific theory to be false, but would be unable to say anything or convince anyone of what they knew.

That explains it.
Damn!

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 12:19, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

What if this applies to the TimeCube guy? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:50, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Actually you won't relate the story to anyone for very long due to the skepticism and out right disbelief you wind up facing. Eventually you never repeat what happened to anyone anymore but YOU know it did. You wind up living a nomadic life due to the need to try to find somewhere or someone that will believe you but that doesn't ever happen.

And it does affect how you live the rest of your life because; how do you top that adventure in a world that doesn't believe in magic or people with special powers?

As you grow older you become bored and begin to wish it was all over with so you wouldn't be so depressed about the loss of that world. Eventually you'll get your wish but it makes life seem like an eternity. Until it's not. Trust me on this. [[User:Jakee308|Jakee308]] ([[User talk:Jakee308|talk]]) 19:01, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

For me, it immediately made me think of Michael Ende's "The Neverending Story", but I'm also German, and I think a lot of people my age grew up on Michel Ende's books (literally ALL the other ones are great, too!). The film is only the first (and more conventional) half of the book, and the rest pretty much deals with the issue of chosing the fantasy world or the one you came from. Then again, there is at least the bookseller who knows his adventures are real. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.100|172.68.54.100]] 23:53, 20 August 2017 (UTC)

Reminds me of [https://wikipedia.org/wiki/ChalkZone ChalkZone] where Rudy would draw a circle on the chalkboard, and then go through the circle and enter another dimension, the Chalkzone. [[User:Quipyowert|Quipyowert]] ([[User talk:Quipyowert|talk]]) 06:52, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

In all fairness, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster does address this. Milo is eager to use the tollbooth/magical portal for another adventure with the friends he made along the way, but the tollbooth is gone, with a note from whoever left it for him in the first place ("For Milo, Who Knows The Way Now") explaining that other kids need it, and that he will make his way back to that world and to others, but he'll be smart enough to figure out how to on his own. Milo is sad at first, thinking of his friends in Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, but then he starts thinking of all the things there are to do, and see, and learn in OUR world as he grows, and mutters to himself, "Maybe I'll make it back there someday...but there's so much to do right here."

The last paragraph ends with a quote from another comic but the sentence which contains this quote sounds as if it would continue after the quote elaborating onto what he regressed.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.63|141.101.99.63]]

Write a book! That's how you get your story across and have young people believe you! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 19:56, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

952: Stud Finder

2022-08-05T14:34:40Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Because stud-walling isn't universal, but the need to know what's just under the surface is a wider issue.

{{comic
| number = 952
| date = September 16, 2011
| title = Stud Finder
| image = stud_finder.png
| titletext = According to every stud finder I've tried to use, my walls contain a rapidly shifting network of hundreds and hundreds of studs.
}}

==Explanation==
''It sounds like you may be interested in my new product, a—'' '''stud finder finder.'''

[[Cueball]] cannot locate his {{w|Stud_finder|stud finder}}, so [[Black Hat]] begins a sales pitch, presumably for a "stud finder" finder. The joke is in the irony of having to find something that is used to find other things. Cueball interrupts Black Hat before he can make the obvious joke. The same comic technique is used later in [[1059: Bel-Air]]. Currently no product exists that will locate a stud finder, although online review compilations are useful for finding the right stud finder to buy.

Studs are vertical wood members in {{w|Framing_(construction)|wood-framed construction}} common in North America, although steel framing has become a popular alternative. These supports reinforce a wall at regular intervals, typically 16 inches (about 40 cm), and at corners, windows, and doors.

Most stud finders use an electrostatic field that is affected by the densities and types of materials in the vicinity, identifying where studs and other significant framing elements are located. One might want to know the locations of studs within a wall for installing wiring, mounting shelves and heavy objects to walls, or in this comic, hanging a picture. Wiring can be inserted between studs behind the {{w|drywall}}, while shelves, pictures, etc. are better affixed to studs. In constructions with mostly solid walls, discovering (and avoiding) any previously installed electric cables or pipes is as important a prelude to any new drilling of holes or hammering of nails, and the same or similar detectors aim to reduce that risk.

Many stud finders have a light that turns on in conjunction with a beep when a higher density is detected, indicating the edge of a stud. But there are circumstances that can fool stud finders. Most are designed for the drywall-over-wood-framing construction, and can be fooled by older {{w|Lath_and_plaster|plaster and lath}} construction where the density is much more uniform throughout the length of the wall. Lower quality stud finders can also be fooled by things like moisture in the drywall or wiring within the wall cavity, and may thus beep when there is not a stud behind the scanned location. As a result, many people will try alternatives such as using a magnet to find the drywall screws or nails, or tapping a finishing nail through the wall to see if there is a stud underneath.

At the title text, [[Randall]] just gives up. Assuming there was no electrostatic interference, a stud finder going off randomly would indicate lots and lots of studs at random places that change position.

The idea of a "something doer doer" was explored again in [[1821: Incinerator]] and the title text of [[2376: Curbside]].

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat sits on a couch, reading a book. Cueball is approaching him from behind the couch holding a picture in a frame, a screwdriver, and some screws.]
:Cueball: Have you seen my stud finder? I've looked everywhere.
:Black Hat: It sounds like you may be interested in my new product, a—
:Cueball: Shut up.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

User talk:256.256.256.256

2022-08-05T10:11:08Z

172.70.162.5:

There is no content in this page.

<ul><li> If you're unsure you typed the title correctly, try [//www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ searching for "User talk:256.256.256.256"]</li>
<li> If you know there used to be content here, check [//www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=User_talk:256.256.256.256 this page's logs] as it might have been deleted</li>
<li> If you want to add content here, <big> [//www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:256.256.256.256&action=edit create this page]!</big></li></ul>

1167: Star Trek into Darkness

2022-08-01T20:09:24Z

172.70.162.5: /* Trivia */ Added that the mentioned link (to xkcd's suggested name for the wikipedia article) now redirects to a different wikipedia article

{{comic
| number = 1167
| date = January 30, 2013
| title = Star Trek into Darkness
| image = star_trek_into_darkness.png
| titletext = Of course, factions immediately sprang up in favor of '~*~sTaR tReK iNtO dArKnEsS~*~', 'xX_StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNess_Xx', and 'Star Trek lnto Darkness' (that's a lowercase 'L').
}}

==Explanation==

The talk page of a Wikipedia article is used to discuss changes to the article. An {{w|Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit war}} is a dispute about a specific edit to an article, manifesting as a series of edits alternating between making and reverting the change, and usually accompanied by a more-or-less heated debate on the talk page.

Here, [[Randall]] is referring to a dispute on the Wikipedia article about ''{{w|Star Trek Into Darkness}}'' (an upcoming {{w|Star Trek}} film at the time of the comic's posting). On the day before the comic was published, the article name had a lowercase "into", and the talk page looked [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535542349 like this] (rounded off in a friendly way, with the posting of {{w|User:Frungi/Star Trek Into Darkness capitalization|a summary of the arguments}}, and an exchange of virtual hugs). In summary, the debate centers around whether "Into Darkness" should be treated as a prepositional phrase (as in "Star Trek[king] Into Darkness") or an unpunctuated subtitle (as in "Star Trek[:] Into Darkness"), whether compound prepositions like "into" should be capitalized in titles, and whether the capitalization of the title in the movie's official promotional material is relevant. The intensity and multiple facets of a debate over one tiny letter is apparently entertaining to Randall.

[[Cueball]] changes the title to "~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~" so that every other letter is capitalized, and the title as a whole is framed by tildes and asterisks (a common, but childish and ugly way of emphasizing titles online). This is a particularly silly compromise wherein the title is so obviously wrong, both sides will actually agree on something (either agree that Randall's title is wrong or that Randall's title is an acceptable middle ground).

The title text indicates Randall's belief that such arguments are perpetual and will always arise. He suggests that the edit to the Wikipedia page will result in a dispute over variants of Cueballs [[:Category:Compromise|"compromise"]]. One new alternative has the letter cases switched (or shifted, depending on your perspective), one uses a different set of "bracketing" characters (xX_[...]_Xx instead of ~*~[...]~*~), and one uses the original title, but with a lowercase "L" instead of a capital "I" (which appear similar in many fonts).

Alternating-case text later caught on as [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mocking-spongebob an internet meme] in 2017 (four years after this comic strip was published) for representing a mocking tone.

[[Megan|Megan's]] line of "They should have sent a poet." is a quote from the film ''{{w|Contact (1997 American film)|Contact}}''. The quote is also referenced in [[482: Height]]. In the movie, the line was meant to convey that only a poet could adequately capture the beauty seen; here, it indicates that prose is insufficient to capture the ironic beauty of the edit war.

The old "favorite edit war" might be the one referenced in the title text of [[878: Model Rail]] or the one resulting from the addition of the [[739: Malamanteau]] article to Wikipedia

==Transcript==
:[Cueball staring at computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh, ''wow.'' Look at Wikipedia's Talk page for '''''Star Trek into Darkness.''''' I have a new favorite edit war.
:Megan (off-panel): Oh?

:Cueball: Forty ''thousand'' words of debate over whether to capitalize "into" in the movie's title. Still no consensus.
:Megan: That's ''magnificent''.
:Cueball: It's breathtaking.
:Megan: They should have sent a poet.

:Cueball: Well, I'm making an executive decision. I hope both sides accept this as a fair compromise.

:[A Wikipedia page titled "''~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~''"]

==Trivia==
After the publication of the comic, the debate continued with full force, complete with {{w|Talk:Star Trek Into Darkness/Archive 5#xkcd Mention|a section of xkcd-inspired suggestions}}. The article itself was soon protected, so that only administrators could edit it. A day later, the title was changed to one including a capital "Into" by the administrator {{w|User:Mackensen|Mackensen}}. (The debate continued on {{w|User talk:Mackensen/Archive20#Star Trek into Darkness move|his talk page}}.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~*~_StAr_TrEk_InTo_DaRkNeSs_~*~ was a valid redirect link for quite some time, having not been deleted when {{w|Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2015 January 25#~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~|requested in 2015}}, but {{w|Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2016 May 23#~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~|2016}}. The link now redirects to {{w|Wikipedia Star Trek Into Darkness controversy|Wikipedia ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' controversy}}.

{{w|The Independent}} published an article about the "[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/trekkies-take-on-wikis-in-a-grammatical-tizzy-over-star-trek-into-darkness-8475705.html grammatical tizzy]", and the affair as a whole was added to Wikipedia's humorous list of the {{w|WP:Lamest edit wars|lamest edit wars}}.

There is now a whole Wikipedia page about the controversy: {{w|Wikipedia Star Trek Into Darkness controversy|Wikipedia ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' controversy}}

{{comic discussion 1167}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Compromise]]

Category:Cursed Connectors

2022-07-29T09:59:11Z

172.70.162.5: Yes, that's better. IMO.

This series of "cursed" connectors began with "Cursed Connectors #187", [[2493: Dual USB-C]], in July 2021. The second installment was released two comics later with "Cursed Connectors #65": [[2495: Universal Seat Belt]]. This was eventually followed three weeks later by "Cursed Connectors #102": [[2503: Memo Spike Connector]].

[[Randall]] had already made a similar series, [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]], which also uses a similar number system, with the first comic already beginning with a high number for the first bad projection, #107. Similar to this series, the second projection has a lower number than the first (#79).

However, these connectors are not real connectors. What is meant by "cursed" is uncertain; likely, though, they are "cursed" due to not being functional. Presumably the use of the term takes inspiration from the widespread meme referring to "cursed images" and the [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cursed-image like] A jab at all the different connectors in existence, and how they often break down, maybe because people try to jam them into the wrong sockets because they have so many different types.

See also [[2651: Air Gap]] for a similar type of comic with a special connection… though this one is not cursed. Or at least not explicitly named and numbered as one.

The connectors get a number which, if taken seriously, would mean there are at least 280 cursed connectors {{w|German_tank_problem|but probably more}}. So far they have the following numbers (listed in number order rather than release order).
:<nowiki>#65</nowiki>: [[2495: Universal Seat Belt|Universal Seat Belt]]
:<nowiki>#78</nowiki>: [[2589: Outlet Denier|Outlet Denier]]
:<nowiki>#102</nowiki>: [[2503: Memo Spike Connector|Memo Spike Connector]]
:<nowiki>#120</nowiki>: [[2642: Meta-Alternating Current|Meta-Alternating Current]]
:<nowiki>#187</nowiki>: [[2493: Dual USB-C|Dual USB-C]]
:<nowiki>#280</nowiki>: [[2507: USV-C|USV-C]]

This may give promise of several more comics with cursed connectors.

[[Category:Comic series]]
[[Category:Comics featuring cursed items]]

2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

2022-07-27T13:02:45Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Properly nested punctuation, though I'd have done something about not bracketting like that but some other aside-clausing.

{{comic
| number = 2649
| date = July 22, 2022
| title = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image = physics_cost_saving_tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FAUX VECTOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time with a series of Physics Cost-Saving Tips. It also continues the previous [[2648: Chemicals]] comic's jocular theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science.

It suggests four ways to reduce costs or provide something for free for physicists to save money on their research. For instance getting free electrons from a conductor or replacing regular {{w|helium}} with {{w|Isotopes_of_helium#Helium-2_(diproton)|helium 2}}. None of these would provide any real advantages even when possible to implement, and could even be very dangerous, see below in the [[#Table of tips|table]]. Obtaining money from physics experiments was also described in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]].

In the title text, Randall claims to have been banned from the county fair for handing out helium-2 balloons because of the instant massive explosions caused by its radioactive decay (that helium-2 decays fast is mentioned in the comic, with a joke suggestion to use it quickly). He jokes that the balloons violated a local ordinance. {{w|Gas balloon|Helium balloons}} are often given out at county fairs and similar events, but they are filled with {{w|helium-4}} and therefore inert (a very small part will be {{w|helium-3}}, 2 ppm). A balloon filled with helium-2 is a practical impossibility because of its nanosecond half-life. Assuming a 12-inch diameter balloon at 1 atmosphere of pressure, the balloon-bomb would have a yield of roughly 17 {{w|TNT equivalent|tons of TNT equivalent}}.
{{cot|[[User:SqueakSquawk4|Calculations]]}}
{{User:SqueakSquawk4}} 
{{cob}}
The smallest nuclear bomb, the {{w|W54}}, had a yield of between 10 and 1,000 tons of TNT. The largest conventional bomb, the {{w|GBU-43/B MOAB}}, has a yield of roughly 11 tons. The {{w|2020 Beirut explosion}} was roughly equivalent to 500 tons. So, while the helium-2 balloon bomb would be larger than all conventional bombs, it would still be smaller than most nukes. Handing out what are effectively small atomic bombs at a county fair would not go down well with any surviving local authorities, so merely being banned is a very mild punishment. Criminal charges such as mass murder and terrorism would be more likely if it weren't for the absurd impossibility of the scenario.

===Table of tips===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" |Cost-Saving Tip
! scope="col" |Explanation
|-
|Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible
|[[File:Torque animation.gif|frame|right|Relationship of pseudovectors {{w|torque}} ('''τ''') and {{w|angular momentum}} ('''L''') to "regular" Euclidian vectors {{w|Position (vector)|position}} ('''r'''), {{w|force}} ('''F'''), and linear {{w|momentum}} ('''p''') in an oscillatory rotating system. Not shown is the {{w|centripetal force}} of the spoke's {{w|Tension (physics)|tension}}, a Euclidian vector towards the axle proportional to linear momentum, converting it to angular momentum.]]

The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. Fakes are usually cheaper than their original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so the comic implies a {{w|pseudovector}} could be a less expensive substitute for a regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct from regular {{w|Euclidean vector}}s, the former usually being involved with rotation or physical effects that share properties with rotation, similar to the relationship between angles and lengths. Pseudovectors are formed from the {{w|cross product}}s of Euclidean vectors, in three dimensions, and while similar to Euclidean vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and portions of their position. For example, {{w|angular momentum}} is described by a pseudovector, labeled '''L''' in the comic, {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}}, originating from the center of rotation, with magnitude equal to the angular velocity of rotation '''ω''' multiplied by the {{w|moment of inertia}} '''I'''. (The comic's diagram is drawn according to very uncommon {{w|Right-hand rule#Coordinates|left-handed coordinates}} instead of the standard {{w|right-hand rule}}. Randall is right-handed.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1tcyEo2tQk&t=28s])
|-
|A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves
|{{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} can thereby be represented as the sum of an infinite series of sine waves. However, the sine waves are not removed or separated individually, so such a {{w|Fourier transform}} does not produce a "supply" of sine waves for practical use in any tasks other than analysis, and as abstract mathematical objects exempt from the laws of supply and demand, their value is similarly limited.
|-
|Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons
|Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes have the same price per unit weight, then you can save money by buying isotopes with no neutrons at all. In reality, the cost per unit weight for material containing a larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as atoms with too many or too few neutrons will decay more quickly than the common isotopes. The image shown is helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} which has a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two ionized hydrogen atoms, releasing a large amount of energy—hence the explosions mentioned in the title text.
|-
|Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges)
|{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so they can move freely, such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of the {{w|metallic bond}}s throughout the iron ingot depicted in the comic. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by the pun. Ordinary matter usually contains electrons, but although the {{w|dielectric}} layer of a {{w|capacitor}} can collect electrons, it is not easy to store pure electrons, as they repel each other. When a {{w|Solution (chemistry)|solution}} has free electrons, it becomes {{w|alkaline}} and corrosive. Randall has [https://what-if.xkcd.com/140/ explained the problems] with collecting a large number of electrons before.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows four rows each with a drawing and an explanation text belonging to each drawing. They alternate between having the drawing on the left and the right side. Above the first row is a large header:]
:<big>Physics Cost-Saving Tips</big>

:[The first row has a drawing of a diagramatical spinning disc, at an angle. It is identified with an 'I', with a dotted axial arrow labelled 'L' and a rotational movement labelled 'ω' (small omega).
:I
:L
:ω

:[To the right of the diagram is this text:]
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible

:[The second row shows a square wave with three maxima between four minima. Below the central maxima and the two nearby minima are five arrows pointing down (two bending left two right one straight down). Each arrow points to one of five sine waves below the square wave, in three rows, with different wavelengths. The one with the shortest wavelength is the top left, then the wavelength becomes longer for the one to the right and even longer for each of the next two, in the next row with the final very long wave with longest wavelength at the bottom, with the straight down arrow pointing to that. The long waves at the bottom has the same frequency as the square wave.]

:[To the left of the waves is this text:]
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves

:[The third row shows two atomic models. The left containing two protons (white with a "+" sign), two neutrons (black) and orbited by two electrons (white with a "-" sign, small outlines, dotted orbits/movement lines). The right model is drawn similarly but without the black neutrons.]
:+ +
:- -
:+ +
:- -

:[The atoms have labels below and there is an extra message for the second model:]
:4He
:2He
:(Decays fast- use quickly)

:[To the right of the models is this text:]
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons

:[The fourth row shows a flat rectangular bar, drawn in perspective with a scattering of four small circles with "-" sign inside them and ten lines looking like parts of circles, all on the top face towards the far end.]
:- - - -

:[A bending arrow goes from a label above the bar and points to one of the circles. And on the forward-facing side of the bar there is a label.]
:Arrow: Free electrons
:Label: Iron

:[To the left of the bar is this text:]
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons
:(May carry charges)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

User:Jogerj

2022-07-17T10:39:38Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 288981 by 172.71.94.181 (talk) Hard to tell if this was Jogerj returning without a login, to clean up 7-year-old awkward text, or a subtle vandal. Best to revert, IMO.

Hey, sup. Big fan of Randall's works. Gives you lots of insights of physics and math. Carry on

2639: Periodic Table Changes

2022-06-30T11:37:40Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ I've tried to correct a 'because' misunderstanding, but then it got complex, and maybe I've introduced some further errors when I tried to shortcut it back down again and not be so long as I had it at one point of editing.

{{comic
| number = 2639
| date = June 29, 2022
| title = Periodic Table Changes
| image = periodic_table_changes.png
| titletext = It's nice how the end of the periodic table is flush with the edge these days, so I think we should agree no one should find any new elements after #118 unless they discover a whole row at once.
}}

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

The {{w|periodic table}} is a table used to arrange {{w|chemical elements}} according to their chemical and physical properties. This comic proposes "changes" to the periodic table that would be more pleasant aesthetically or make the periodic table look more regular. Some of these are (somewhat) practical changes to element abbreviations that could improve clarity in English, though changing documents to use different abbreviations would probably be more trouble than it's worth. However, other changes move elements around without taking into account that elements would stop being arranged by their properties. The periodic table would stop being useful after such changes unless said changes were meant to physically change the material properties of the elements, which would be impossible{{citation needed}}, although the comic plans to solve the problem with "free training" to their atomic behavior. The attitude is similar to impossible economic plans attempted with unpleasant results, possibly a current event.

Other modifications make up new elements or remove existing ones from the table, which would not be a reasonable decision given that the periodic table is supposed to include all existing elements, whether they make the table neater or they don't.

;Move helium over here. It fits nicely!
Helium is moved from the upper right corner to the second column next to hydrogen. However, the reason it is placed at the far-right Group 18 and not Group 2 is because it is a {{w|noble gas}}, rather than a reactive {{w|alkaline earth metal}}. You could say helium is in group 2 because it has two electrons in its outer shell, but normal periodic tables place it in group 18, the noble gases, with which it has far more in common. Hydrogen has similar problems being in group 1, as it's a non-metal and the elements below it are metals which don't have much in common with it chemically. There are periodic tables that show hydrogen floating above the periodic table for that reason.

Group 18 was not known at the time of the original table, which used I-VII (1-7) for the otherwise full-height columns, which turns out to reflect the number of free ('valance') electrons in their outer 'orbit', in one useful understanding of the atomic model. When added, the new final column was called either VIII (having a full outer shell) or Group 0 (having none free) and placed to the right of VII. It was thought that these Noble gases were thought to be unable to react with other elements, but xenon compounds were discovered in 1962, and many others have been discovered since then, that are formed by a process not as trivial as being spare-valances of one element 'keying' into valance-gaps of another.

From the fourth row downwards the inserted block of Transition Metals represent a larger electron shell with more positions for free electrons and those elements to the right would have more electrons than those above them, by this measure, but their physical properties are still best dictated and aligned by the complement to the valance (i.e. the gap-size). The current numbering system shows the outer-shell electrons accurately in the rows where the ten new columns are, but the upper rows of columns 13-18 have ten more (or sixteen more, for Helium) than is the case. Similarly, once lanthinides and actinides are considered, the group number and outer-shell count becomes disconnected again in the opposite way. But it still seems useful enough to curtently label in this manner under current {{w|IUPAC}} guidance.

;Elements in this corner are cool. Add more!
TBD (to be determined). Elements in that corner, such as carbon, oxygen, phosphorous, and nitrogen, participate in covalent bonding and are the primary elements involved in biochemical reactions, which may be why they are considered cooler than other elements.

;Sp (Spite element)
Wedged between fluorine and neon. This could be a reference to spite houses, houses jammed into a narrow space to block other construction, or spite fences, which are fences built to annoy neighbors.

;Merge these boring metals with titanium to make *tixanium*
Tixanium (Tx) replaces five metals, including titanium (Ti). This may be a reference to the term "UX" (user experience) being used instead of "UI" (user interface) as more of an umbrella term.

While titanium certainly has an impressive name, and is used in the aerospace industry and other high-performance applications, the others are hardly boring; manganese, for example, was part of the cover story for the top-secret {{w|Project Azorian}}.

;Update Latin/Neo-Latin symbols to match names. This isn't ancient Rome.
* Sodium: Na (Natrium) => So
* Potassium: K (Kalium) => Pm
* Iron: Fe (Ferrum) => I
* Silver: Ag (Argentum) => Sv
* Gold: Au (Aurum) => Gd
* Tin: Sn (Stannum) => Tn
* Lead: Pb (Plumbum) => Ld
Since I is already used for Iodine, it gets a new abbreviation Io, and Gadolinium is re-abbreviated to Gm to free up Gd.

Note that most of these changes will actually make the table less readable if one considers languages other than English. For example, in european languages, 'I' for iron will work for Irish and Dutch, while 'Fe' currently matches in French, Italian, Portuguese, and most of the languages in Spain.

Oddly, this group of changes doesn't include mercury (Hg -- hydrargyrum). It also doesn’t include antimony (Sb -- stibium), but that’s because it gets replaced by “carbon III” (see below).

;Replace the blander post-transition metals with new kinds of carbon
* Indium (In) -> C II.
* Antimony (Sb) -> C III.
* Tellurium (Te) -> C IV.
* Thallium (Tl) -> C V.
* Bismuth (Bi) -> C VI.

Carbon can make four covalent bonds, which means it can form a huge range of chemicals, above all ones vital to life. The post-transition metals don't have this level of interest. If there were more chemicals like carbon, it could allow more exciting chemistry and perhaps new kinds of life.

;That W annoys me
* Tungsten: W (Wolfram) -> Tg.

Another element whose symbol doesn't match its English name. "Wolfram" is the name for tungsten in some languages and is derived from the mineral wolframite, which comes from the name "wolf rahm" in German (wolf soot).

;3.4% of all elements are named after Ytterby, Sweden (pop. 3,000). Let's keep Yttrium, but rename the other 3 after bigger cities (Tokyium, Delhium, and Jakartium?) to be more fair.
Four elements -- yttrium (Y), ytterbium (Yb), terbium (Tb) and erbium (Er) -- are named after {{w|Ytterby}}, a Swedish village where they were discovered. Scandium (Sc), thulium (Tm), holmium (Ho) and gadolinium (Gd) were isolated from minerals found in the same quarry. Randall suggests naming 3 of them after some other major world cities, despite those cities having no connection to those elements.
* Terbium (Tb) -> Tokyium (Ty) - Tokyo
* Erbium (Er) -> Delhium (Dh) - Delhi
* Ytterbium (Yb) -> Jakartium (Jk) - Jakarta

;Inserting the lanthanides and actinides properly makes the table too wide. Triage is needed. Each element will be offered free training to help adjust to its new column.
Though the lanthanides and actinides typically are placed under the bottom of the table, they actually belong in the 6th and 7th rows of the table between the 2nd and 3rd columns, as they are numbered elements 57-70 and 89-102. This section of the table is typically excised to give the overall shape more appealing dimensions: as Randall says, properly placing these elements makes the table "too wide". He recommends that a subset of these elements be placed at the bottom of the table (making them elements 93-110) and they will receive "training" to adjust to their new columns.

The title text suggests discovering elements only in entire rows at once. Elements with more protons than 118 could be discovered in future by collisions in particle accelerators, but aren't likely to be discovered in an entire row at a time.

Changing the periodic table was also the topic of [[2214: Chemistry Nobel]].

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

:Changes I would make to the periodic table
:[A modified periodic table is shown, with changes in red.]

:[Helium is moved from the upper right corner to the second column next to hydrogen.]
:Move helium over here. It fits nicely!
:[Two elements labeled TBD are added to the left of boron and aluminium.]
:Elements in this corner are cool. Add more!
:[A narrow triangular shape is wedged between fluorine and neon.]
:Sp (Spite element)
:[Tx replaces five elements: scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium and manganese.]
:Merge these boring metals with titanium to make *tixanium*
:[The symbols of sodium, potassium, iron, silver, gold, tin and lead are changed to use letters from their English names.]
:Update Latin/Neo-Latin symbols to match names. This isn't ancient Rome.
:[The symbols of indium, antimony, tellurium, thallium and bismuth are changed to symbols containing the letter C followed by Roman numerals II to VI, respectively.]
:Replace the blander post-transition metals with new kinds of carbon
:[The symbol of tungsten is changed from W to Tg.]
:That W annoys me
:[Neodymium is highlighted.]
:Neodymium can stay--magnets are cool
:[A subset of lathanides and actinides are to be placed at the bottom of the main table.]
:Move
:Inserting the lanthanides and actinides properly makes the table too wide. Triage is needed. Each element will be offered free training to help adjust to its new column.
:[The symbols of terbium, erbium and ytterbium are changed to Ty, Dh and Jk, respectively.]
:3.4% of all elements are named after Ytterby, Sweden (pop. 3,000). Let's keep yttrium, but rename the other 3 after bigger cities (tokyium, delhium, and jakartium?) to be more fair.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:2638: Extended NFPA Hazard Diamond

2022-06-28T13:58:57Z

172.70.162.5:

Are we going to try identifying what material this is? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.82.179|172.70.82.179]] 01:50, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
:first one off the top of my head, aqua regia? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.69|172.70.38.69]] 02:46, 28 June 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
::Doesn't aqua regia score a 0 in reactivity? [[User:N-eh|N-eh]] ([[User talk:N-eh|talk]]) 03:23, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
:My guess would be something radioactive, like uranium or plutonium. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 03:29, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
::There are very, very few Health 4 / Fire 0 / Instability 2 compounds. The NIH database lists 4: nitrous oxide, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorous trichloride, and thionyl chloride (although it's important to note these values aren't always standardized; some authorities consider phosphorus oxychloride to be Health 3, for example). Based on the street value and the number of US agencies who would be concerned about it, my guess is thionyl chloride, a useful industrial chemical which is also used in at least one meth lab synthesis pathway... AND highly regulated as a chemical weapon precursor (to both sulfur mustard and G-series nerve agents). Oh, and it is absolutely a Disposal Pain 4 candidate, too. [[User:Qalyar|Qalyar]] ([[User talk:Qalyar|talk]]) 04:52, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
The center square is a free space, but if you win without it you get a special bonus prize. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.42.129|172.70.42.129]] 04:18, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Given Randall's fixation with velociraptors, is anyone else thinking the "dropped ceiling" may be a reference to the labs in Jurassic Park?
:Possible. The first thing I had to think of was HalfLife (ie Black Mesa). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:34, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Does Randall watch Warsaw local news? Yesterday [https://tvn24.pl/tvnwarszawa/mokotow/warszawa-wilanow-ul-branickiego-straz-miejska-interweniowala-w-sprawie-walacego-sie-budynku-5766504 there was an article about an accident with dropped ceiling]. Accident with dropped ceiling next day on xkcd gave me uncanny feeling. [[User:Tkopec|Tkopec]] ([[User talk:Tkopec|talk]]) 09:31, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
:I was wondering whether the whole thing was inspired by the {{w|2022 Aqaba toxic gas leak}}, that it was published well within a day of. Probably not (because 'too soon', especially with deciding what humour to add, assuming he started from scratch) but he might well have heard of it even as he was already mid-way through the drawing/publishing process and felt it ok to press ahead (perhaps modified to make it ''less'' likely to be directly associated in some way).
:Not worth an in-explanation (or Trivia) mention, but saying it here as a dismissable aside. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 13:58, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

The "''Number of times it's caused one of those terrifying lab accidents that chemists tell scary stories about late at night -> 2''" reminds me of the [https://www.science.org/topic/blog-category/things-i-wont-work-with Things I Won't Work With] category on Derek's Lowe blog, including famous [https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-you-time Sand Won't Save You This Time] article about dangers of chlorine trifluoride, with a few ''scary stories'' included. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 11:04, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
:The "smelling weird" one made me remember the one about [https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-thioacetone thioacetone]--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.114.63|172.71.114.63]] 12:53, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

2636: What If? 2 Countdown

2022-06-27T01:32:34Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Made better wording of solar system body behaviours. Also removed uselesss second lunar month wikilink (even if textually "synodic month") given the very same {{w|}} was given earlier in the same paragraph...

{{comic
| number = 2636
| date = June 22, 2022
| title = What If? 2 Countdown
| image = what_if_2_countdown.png
| titletext = If you don't end the 99 Bottles of Beer recursion at N=0 it just becomes The Other Song That Never Ends.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by FOUR SCORE AND 7 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic takes the idea of {{w|advent calendar}}s to the extreme. It uses absurd and obscure ways to measure the amount of time until [[Randall]]'s new book [https://xkcd.com/whatif2 ''What if? 2''] is released, with esoteric units and esoteric numbers.

Some concepts that appear multiple times throughout the calendar are:

* '''{{w|SI prefixes}}''', which can be applied to the beginning of a unit's name to multiply or divide the unit by powers of 10 or 1,000. This is standard for units like meters and grams, but is rarely applied to measurements of time other than when a unit of less than one second is needed, most commonly in various fields of science and engineering such as physics and electronics.
* The '''{{w|Gettysburg Address}}''', a famous speech delivered by U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in 1863, where he began by referring to the signing of the Declaration of Independence taking place "four score and seven years ago". A score is a dated term for the number 20, so "four score and seven" is equivalent to 87.
* A '''dog year''' is traditionally considered to be one-seventh the length of a normal human year, since a dog's overall lifespan is roughly one-seventh of a typical human's. The comic applies this to other units of time, such as minutes and months, each of which is also one-seventh the length of the standard unit. The number 7 (traditionally a "lucky number") is also used in many of the numbers quoted in the calendar.
* Other comparative durations of time that are not normally or usefully applied to day-length multiples. At the top end, there is the age of the universe, at the other there is {{w|Planck units#Planck time|Planck-time}} – with entire durations of periods of human history and the time needed to watch popular TV/film franchises in-between – most of which require a non-trivial multiplier or divisor to bring them to the necessary scale required.
* A '''{{w|baker's dozen}}''' is 13, or one more than a normal dozen. Here, the "baker's" prefix can be applied to any unit by adding an extra one of its constituent parts, like an extra hour added to a day.
* '''{{w|Irrational numbers}}''' like {{w|pi}} (3.14159...), {{w|Euler's number}} or ''e'' (2.71828...), the {{w|golden ratio}} (1.61803...), and the {{w|square root of 2}} (1.41421...). These are all interesting numbers because of their mathematical properties, but very impractical to use as arbitrary measurements of time because they have an endless series of non-repeating decimal digits.
* The teenage dating game '''{{w|Seven minutes in heaven}}'''.
* Rotational and orbital periods of various bodies in the Solar System.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align:center;" | Days left !! Date !! Duration specified !! Duration in days !! Explanation
|-
| 83 || Jun 22 || πe millidecades || 82.03 days || π ≈ 3.14159, ''e'' ≈ 2.718, so πe is about 22.459. A millidecade is 1/1000 decade, or 1/100 year, or 3.652425 days. Multiplying these results in 82.03 days. This is a play on {{w|Euler's identity}}, eiπ+1=0, but raising pi to the power of ''e'' instead.
|-
| 82 || Jun 23 || 7 megaseconds || 81.02 days || 7,000,000 seconds. 60*60*24 = 86400 seconds in a day, so 7,000,000/86,400 ≈ 81.02 days
|-
| 81 || Jun 24 || ''e'' lunar months || 80.27 days || A lunar month ≈ 29.53059 days, ''e'' ≈ 2.718, so 29.53059*2.718 ≈ 80.26 days.
|-
| 80 || Jun 25 || 60 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris || 79.67 days || {{w|Foucault's pendulum}} demonstrates Earth's revolution, with the one at the latitude of Paris completing a full rotation every 31.8 hours.
|-
| 79 || Jun 26 || 8 milligenerations || 78.89 days || A generation is in general 22-33 years, with a reasonable mid-point of 27; and 8 x 0.001 (milli) x 365.2425 (accounting for leap years) x 27 ≈ 78.89 days
|-
| 78 || Jun 27 || 777,777 dog minutes || 77.16 days || A popular myth is that dogs age 7 times faster than humans, so 1 dog minute equals 1/7 human minutes.
|-
| 77 || Jun 28 || 7! episodes of ''Jeopardy!'' (skipping ads) || 77+ days || 7! = 7x6x5x4x3x2x1 = 5040. The standard episode of ''Jeopardy'' is 22-26 minutes, skipping ads. At 22 minutes each, the total is 110,880 minutes, or exactly 77 days.
|-
| 76 || Jun 29 || 5,000 repeats of ''99 Bottles of Beer'' || 76.39 days || Each verse of {{w|99 Bottles of Beer}} is "''N'' bottles of beer on the wall, ''N'' bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, ''N-1'' bottles of beer on the wall." The entire song contains 99 verses. Randall apparently sings this rather slowly at around 72 bpm, taking about 13 seconds per verse.
|-
| 75 || Jun 30 || 5 baker's fortnights || 75 days || A {{w|baker's dozen}} is a dozen (12) plus 1 extra item. Randall has generalized this to adding 1 to any unit. A fortnight is 2 weeks, so a baker's fortnight is 15 days. 5x15 is 75 days.
|-
| 74 || Jul 1 || √2 dog years || 73.79 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)
|-
| 73 || Jul 2 || π millivics (1/1000th of Queen Victoria's reign) || 72.97 days || {{w|Queen Victoria}} ruled between 20 June 1837 and 22 January 1901 (23,226 days).
|-
| 72 || Jul 3 || 42 drives from NYC to LA (Google Maps estimate) || 71.75 days || According to Google Maps, the drive from New York City to Los Angeles via I-80 W (2789 miles or 4489 km) takes 41 hours.
|-
| 71 || Jul 4 || 1,000 viewings of ''Groundhog Day''|| 70.14 days || Using {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day's}} 101-minute run time.
|-
| 70 || Jul 5 || 100,000 minutes || 69.44 days || 1,440 minutes per day
|-
| 69 || Jul 6 || 1/10th of Martian year || 68.70 Earth days || Martian sidereal and tropical years both round to 687.0 Earth days
|-
| 68 || Jul 7 || 1,234,567 sound-miles || 67.63 days || The speed of sound in air depends on the temperature. 15 °C or 59 °F gives the value 340 m/s and the travel time of 67.6349058 days.
|-
| 67 || Jul 8 || 2πe seconds || 66.74 days || 2^(π^e) = 5,766,073 seconds
|-
| 66 || Jul 9 || 216 beats (Swatch Internet Time) || 65.54 days || A "{{w|.beat}}" is equal to 1/1000 day.
|-
| 65 || Jul 10 || 1,000 ISS orbits || 64.58 days || Each orbit of the ISS takes 90-93 minutes. Here a value of 93 minutes is used.
|-
| 64 || Jul 11 || 🎵🎶🎵 Five hundred twenty five thousand (base seven) minutes|| 62.88 days || This refers to {{w|radix}}-7 arithmetic: 525,0007 minutes = 90,55210 minutes. Also references the opening and recurring line "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" from {{w|Seasons of Love}}, a song from the musical {{w|Rent (musical)|''Rent''}}, which is also referenced in [[1047: Approximations]]. "Base seven" has the same rhythm as "six hundred".
|-
| 63 || Jul 12 || 1050 Planck times || 62.38 days || 10^50 x 5.39 x 10^-44 seconds
|-
| 62 || Jul 13 || 4,000 episodes of ''The Office'' (skipping ads)|| 62.50 days || {{w|The Office (British TV series)|''The Office''}} was originally a {{w|BBC}} television show which had no commercial breaks, so Randall must be referring to the later {{w|The Office (American TV series)|US version}}. This US "half-hour" comedy format contains 22.5 minutes of content (including the title sequence) and 7.5 minutes of ads. There are only 201 distinct episodes of the US version, so watching 4,000 episodes would require a lot of re-watching. 
|-
| 61 || Jul 14 || Four score and seven kilominutes || 60.42 days || 87 x 1000 minutes
|-
| 60 || Jul 15 || 2 lunar months || 59.06 days || There are a number of different ways to define the {{w|lunar month}}. The most common is the synodic month, because it relates to the phases of the moon, and it's approximately 29.53 days.
|-
| 59 || Jul 16 || Half a day on Venus || 58.38 Earth days || A Venus synodic day is 116 days 18 hours.
|-
| 58 || Jul 17 || 5 megaseconds || 57.87 days || 5,000,000 seconds
|-
| 57 || Jul 18 || 30 microLits (1/1,000,000th of the time since the invention of literature) || 57.21 days || 5222 years × 30 × 10-6. 3200 BCE is the approximate date of pre-Sumerian proto-writing as given in {{w|History of writing|Wikipedia's article on the history of writing}}.
|-
| 56 || Jul 19 || 1,000 viewings of ''Run Lola Run'' || 55.57 days || Using {{w|Run Lola Run|the movie's}} run time of 80 minutes.
|-
| 55 || Jul 20 || One million sound-miles || 54.78 days || The speed of sound in air depends on the temperature. 15 °C or 59 °F gives the value 340 m/s and the travel time of 54.7843137 days.
|-
| 54 || Jul 21 || 30 Ionian months || 53.07 Earth days || Orbital period of Io around Jupiter is approximately 1.77 days.
|-
| 53 || Jul 22 || One dog year || 52.18 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)
|-
| 52 || Jul 23 || 60 viewings of ''Star Wars Episodes I-IX'' || 51.75 days || According to [https://dorksideoftheforce.com/2021/05/04/how-long-to-watch-every-star-wars-movie/ Fansided] the combined running times are 20 hours 42 minutes.
|-
| 51 || Jul 24 || 1/100,000,000,000th of the universe's age || 50.40 days || The universe is estimated to be about 13.8 billion years old.
|-
| 50 || Jul 25 || 5 milli-generations || 49.3 days || See day 79 (Jun 26)
|-
| 49 || Jul 26 || 10,000 games of ''7 minutes in Heaven'' or 7 games of ''10,000 minutes in Heaven'' || 48.61 days || {{w|Seven minutes in heaven}} is an Anglo-culture teenager game, occuring in several movies. 10,000 minutes in Heaven is almost a week of making out (or doing whatever) in a closet, so this game is unlikely.{{citation needed}}
|-
| 48 || Jul 27 || φeπ minutes || 47.62 days || 68,567.57 minutes
|-
| 47 || Jul 28 || 4 megaseconds || 46.30 days || 4,000,000 seconds
|-
| 46 || Jul 29 || 216 minutes || 45.51 days || 65,536 minutes
|-
| 45 || Jul 30 || eee seconds || 44.15 days || 3,814,279.10 seconds
|-
| 44 || Jul 31 || π fortnights|| 43.98 days || 3.14159 x 14 days
|-
| 43 || Aug 1 || One devil's spacewalk (666 orbits of the ISS) || 43.01 days || See day 65 (Jul 10). 666 is the {{w|number of the beast}}.
|-
| 42 || Aug 2 || 1 kilowatt-hour per watt || 41.66 days || 1000 hours
|-
| 41 || Aug 3 || eπ Ionian months || 40.94 Earth days || Orbital period of Io around Jupiter is 1.769137786 days
|-
| 40 || Aug 4 || 30 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris || 39.84 days || Refer to Day 80 (Jun 25)
|-
| 39 || Aug 5 || ''e'' fortnights || 38.06 days ||2.71828 x 14 days
|-
| 38 || Aug 6 || πe baker's days (25 hours) || 37.98 days || See day 75 (Jun 30)
|-
| 37 || Aug 7 || One deciyear || 36.52 days || One tenth of one year
|-
| 36 || Aug 8 || 7! milliweeks || 35.28 days || 5040 × 0.001 weeks
|-
| 35 || Aug 9 || 100,000 plays of the ''Jeopardy!'' "Think" music || 34.72 days || ''Think'' is the music played while the contestants try to answer the Final Jeopardy question; it is 30 seconds long.
|-
| 34 || Aug 10 || 1000 basketball games (game time) || 33.33 days || Uses the NBA game time of four 12-minute quarters, or 48 minutes
|-
| 33 || Aug 11 || 777 hours || 32.38 days || 24 hours per day
|-
| 32 || Aug 12 || One millilincoln (1/1000 of fourscore and seven years) || 31.78 days || {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s {{w|Gettysburg Address}} begins with the famous phrase "Four score and seven years ago". 1 score = twenty. 
|-
| 31 || Aug 13 || 1,000 episodes of ''60 Minutes'' (skipping ads) || 31.25 days || Uses a television 'hour' containing 45 minutes of content and 15 minutes of ads
|-
| 30 || Aug 14 || All of ''Star Trek'', consecutively || 27.16* days || As per [https://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/2021/01/22/take-far-longer-watch-star-trek-think/ RedShirtsAlwaysDie.com] of January 22, 2021. *Note well: dozens of additional ''Star Trek'' franchise episodes have been produced since, and more are presently scheduled to be released through June, July, and August, so this value is somewhat indeterminate over the scope of the countdown.
|-
| 29 || Aug 15 || 777,777 nanocenturies || 28.41 days || 777,777 × 10-9 × 100 years.
|-
| 28 || Aug 16 || One sidereal lunar month || 27.3 days || The time it takes moon to return to the same position relative to the fixed stars
|-
| 27 || Aug 17 || 6 dog months || 26.1 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)
|-
| 26 || Aug 18 || ππ kilominutes || 25.32 days || 36,462.16 minutes
|-
| 25 || Aug 19 || 7 games of 7! minutes in Heaven || 24.5 days || 7 x 5040 (7 {{w|factorial}}) minutes. See also day 49 (Jul 26).
|-
| 24 || Aug 20 || 50 viewings of the extended ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy || 23.82 days || ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' extended version is 208 minutes, ''The Two Towers'' is 226 minutes, and ''The Return of the King'' is 252 minutes for its e.v., according to [https://fictionhorizon.com/how-long-are-all-the-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-movies-combined/ FictionHorizon.com]
|-
| 23 || Aug 21 || A drive from NYC to LA where you keep remembering new things you forgot and have to go back 6 times || 22.21 days || See day 72 (Jul 3). This is for 6 round-trips and 1 one-way trip.
|-
| 22 || style="white-space:nowrap;" | Aug 22 || ''It's a Small World'' sung at 1/10,000th speed || 21.18 days || {{w|It's a Small World}} is a song that was composed for the attraction of the same name at various {{w|Disney}} theme parks, and plays continuously at them in various languages. The song lasts 12–15 minutes, depending on the language.
|-
| 21 || Aug 23 || 500 hours || 20.83 days || 24 hours per day, or 0.041678 days per hour
|-
| 20 || Aug 24 || √2 fortnights || 19.80 days || 1.4142 × 14 days
|-
| 19 || Aug 25 || Time it would take Vanessa Carlton to walk 1,000 miles || 18.94 days || {{w|Vanessa Carlton}} is an American singer, and {{w|A Thousand Miles}} is her most successful song. Randall estimates her walking speed at about 2.2 miles/hour.
|-
| 18 || Aug 26 || 100,000 breaths || 17.36 days || The normal respiratory rate for adults is typically 12-20 breaths per minute, or about 3-5 seconds each. However, the day length here is for 15 seconds/breath, so Randall may be a practitioner of [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353/full slow breathing].
|-
| 17 || Aug 27 || √2 megaseconds || 16.37 days || 1.4142 × 1,000,000 seconds
|-
| 16 || Aug 28 || πππ πcoseconds || 15.51 days || 1.3402 × 1018 picoseconds (i.e., 10-12 seconds), making a joke how the mathematical "pi" is written with the character "π"
|-
| 15 || Aug 29 || One baker's fortnight (15 days) || 15 days || See day 75 (Jun 30)
|-
| 14 || Aug 30 || One baker's dozen (13) baker's days (25 hours) || 13.54 days || 325 hours; see day 75 (Jun 30)
|-
| 13 || Aug 31 || 300 hours || 12.5 days || 0.041678 days per hour
|-
| 12 || Sep 1 || One million seconds || 11.57 days || 86,400 seconds per day
|-
| 11 || Sep 2 || One nonstop bike ride from NYC to LA || 10.54 days || Google maps estimates the trip at 253 hours
|-
| 10 || Sep 3 || 1⁄1,000th of a generation || 9.86 days || See day 79 (Jun 26)
|-
| 9 || Sep 4 || 777,777 seconds || 9.002 days || 1.15741×10-5 days per second
|-
| 8 || Sep 5 || 100 viewings of ''Groundhog Day'' || 7.01 days || See Day 71 (Jul 4).
|-
| 7 || Sep 6 || 100 games of ''Lincoln Kissing'' (fourscore and seven minutes in Heaven) || 6.04 days || 8,700 minutes
|-
| 6 || Sep 7 || One pico-universe-lifetime || 5.04 days || See Day 51 (Jul 24)
|-
| 5 || Sep 8 || The ''Baby Shark'' chorus for a family of 50,000 sharks || 4.63 days || The chorus lasts about 8 seconds per 'person'
|-
| 4 || Sep 9 || One centiyear || 3.65 days || 365.2425 days/100
|-
| 3 || Sep 10 || Cyndi Lauper's ''Time After Time'' played 1,000 times || 2.79 days || Based on a length of 4 minutes, 1 second
|-
| 2 || Sep 11 || ''Speed'' (1994) played at one frame per second || 1.9 days || {{w|Speed (1994 film)}} has runtime of 116 minutes = 6,960 seconds = 167,040 film frames at standard frame rate of 24 frames/second
|-
| 1 || Sep 12 || F(99) where F(N) means sing all the verses of ''N Bottles of Beer On the wall'' followed by F(N-1) || 0.76 days || Each iteration contains ''N'' verses. ''N + N-1 + N-2 ... + 1'' equals ''N * (N+1) / 2'', so 99 recursions = 4950 verses. Using the same 13-second (72 bpm) rate as Jun 29, this is close to 18 hours. Probably refers to Donald Knuth's article {{w|The Complexity of Songs}}.
|-
| 0 || Sep 13 || ''What If? 2'' release day || N/A ||
|}

The title text refers to the recursive time period on Sep 12. If you don't stop when you reach N=0 bottles, the repetition never ends, so that time interval becomes infinite. He likens it to {{w|The Song That Never Ends}}, another repetitive children's song, which is specifically intended to go on forever. The difference is that the Beer song has a natural stopping point at 0, while ''The Song That Never Ends'' is completely repetitive.

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

Large heading: Countdown to ''What if? 2''

Subheading: (Preorder at [https://xkcd.com/whatif2 xkcd.com/whatif2] to get it at the end of the countdown)

Remainder of comic is a calendar with the date in one corner of each day's box.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Description
|-
| Jun 22 || πe millidecades
|-
| Jun 23 || 7 megaseconds
|-
| Jun 24 || e lunar months
|-
| Jun 25 || 60 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris
|-
| Jun 26 || 8 milligenerations
|-
| Jun 27 || 777,777 dog minutes
|-
| Jun 28 || 7! episodes of ''Jeopardy!'' (skipping ads)
|-
| Jun 29 || 5,000 repeats of ''99 Bottles of Beer''
|-
| Jun 30 || 5 baker's fortnights (15 days)
|-
| Jul 1 || √2 dog years
|-
| Jul 2 || π millivics (1/1000th of Queen Victoria's reign)
|-
| Jul 3 || 42 drives from NYC to LA (Google Maps estimate)
|-
| Jul 4 || 1,000 viewings of ''Groundhog Day''
|-
| Jul 5 || 100,000 minutes
|-
| Jul 6 || 1/10th of Martian year
|-
| Jul 7 || 1,234,567 sound-miles
|-
| Jul 8 || 2πe seconds
|-
| Jul 9 || 216 beats (Swatch Internet Time)
|-
| Jul 10 || 1,000 ISS orbits
|-
| Jul 11 || 🎵🎶🎵 Five hundred twenty five thousand (base seven) minutes
|-
| Jul 12 || 1050 Planck times
|-
| Jul 13 || 4,000 episodes of ''The Office'' (skipping ads)
|-
| Jul 14 || Four score and seven kilominutes
|-
| Jul 15 || 2 lunar months
|-
| Jul 16 || Half a day on Venus
|-
| Jul 17 || 5 megaseconds
|-
| Jul 18 || 30 microLits (1/1,000,000th of the time since the invention of literature)
|-
| Jul 19 || 1,000 viewings of ''Run Lola Run''
|-
| Jul 20 || One million sound-miles
|-
| Jul 21 || 30 Ionian months
|-
| Jul 22 || One dog year
|-
| Jul 23 || 60 viewings of ''Star Wars Episodes I-IX''
|-
| Jul 24 || 1/100,000,000,000th of the universe's age
|-
| Jul 25 || 5 milli-generations
|-
| Jul 26 || 10,000 games of ''7 minutes in Heaven'' or 7 games of ''10,000 minutes in Heaven''
|-
| Jul 27 || φeπ minutes
|-
| Jul 28 || 4 megaseconds
|-
| Jul 29 || 216 minutes
|-
| Jul 30 || eee seconds
|-
| Jul 31 || π fortnights
|-
| Aug 1 || one devil's spacewalk (666 orbits of the ISS)
|-
| Aug 2 || 1 kilowatt-hour per watt
|-
| Aug 3 || eπ Ionian months
|-
| Aug 4 || 30 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris
|-
| Aug 5 || e fortnights
|-
| Aug 6 || πe baker's days (25 hours)
|-
| Aug 7 || one deciyear
|-
| Aug 8 || 7! milliweeks
|-
| Aug 9 || 100,000 plays of the ''Jeopardy!'' "Think" music
|-
| Aug 10 || 1000 basketball games (game time)
|-
| Aug 11 || 777 hours
|-
| Aug 12 || one millilincoln (1/1000 of fourscore and seven years)
|-
| Aug 13 || 1,000 episodes of ''60 Minutes'' (skipping ads)
|-
| Aug 14 || All of ''Star Trek'', consecutively
|-
| Aug 15 || 777,777 nanocenturies
|-
| Aug 16 || one sidereal lunar month
|-
| Aug 17 || 6 dog months
|-
| Aug 18 || ππ kilominutes
|-
| Aug 19 || 7 games of ''7! minutes in Heaven''
|-
| Aug 20 || 50 viewings of the extended ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy
|-
| Aug 21 || A drive from NYC to LA where you keep remembering new things you forgot and have to go back 6 times
|-
| Aug 22 || ''It's a Small World'' sung at 1/10,000th speed
|-
| Aug 23 || 500 hours
|-
| Aug 24 || √2 fortnights
|-
| Aug 25 || Time it would take Vanessa Carlton to walk 1,000 miles
|-
| Aug 26 || 100,000 breaths
|-
| Aug 27 || √2 megaseconds
|-
| Aug 28 || πππ πcoseconds
|-
| Aug 29 || One baker's fortnight (15 days)
|-
| Aug 30 || One baker's dozen (13) baker's days (25 hours)
|-
| Aug 31 || 300 hours
|-
| Sep 1 || One million seconds
|-
| Sep 2 || One nonstop bike ride from NYC to LA
|-
| Sep 3 || 1⁄1,000th of a generation
|-
| Sep 4 || 777,777 seconds
|-
| Sep 5 || 100 viewings of ''Groundhog Day''
|-
| Sep 6 || 100 games of ''Lincoln Kissing'' (Fourscore and seven minutes in Heaven)
|-
| Sep 7 || One pico-universe-lifetime
|-
| Sep 8 || The ''Baby Shark'' chorus for a family of 50,000 sharks
|-
| Sep 9 || One centiyear
|-
| Sep 10 || Cyndi Lauper's ''Time After Time'' played 1,000 times
|-
| Sep 11 || ''Speed'' (1994) played at one frame per second
|-
| Sep 12 || F(99) where F(N) means sing all the verses of ''N Bottles of Beer On the wall'' followed by F(N-1)
|-
| Sep 13 || ''What If? 2'' release day
|}
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-25T07:46:09Z

172.70.162.5: not "archaic"

Immediately came to this site as soon as the comic popped up [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.43|172.70.114.43]] 22:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

For anyone wondering about the alt text: "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng IVe been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaCy perfeCt! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?" Roman numerals are in uppercase. : [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 23:00, 24 June 2022 (UTC)
:I didn't see this comment, but I decoded it above. Feel free to update with your text, which includes the casing.
::It should be virtually - LL is 50 50, C is 100. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 00:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:By the way, this encoding is not that innovative: back when Roman numbers still meant something to people they were oftentimes hidden inside inscriptions on churches and monuments. If you ever stand in front of a church and wonder why certain letters in a sentence of an inscription are capitalized seemingly at random, this may be the reason. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:12, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Relevant OEIS entry: https://oeis.org/A093788 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.117|162.158.129.117]] 23:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Well, I immediately got the comic, when I saw it, but (though I admire the effort put in) the explanation that seems to have been given is... overly long, IMO. I have no wish to invalidate all the thought put into it, but I really feel it says too much. Even by my standards (I'm often a waffler, as I 'improve' the accuracy and all-inclusiveness of such text). But don't want to rain on the existing author(s) parade, myself, so just sayin'... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 02:01, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
:It's not overly long if someone spent the time writing it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:10, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
::I wondered too when first reading but like it geeky like that. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 05:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

I, in a rather faint and not really concerned way, object to the use of the phrase 'archaic' with regard to Roman Numerals. That would imply that they aren't in use at all, whereas when I look around me I can see a number of examples of current usage of Roman Numerals, e.g. Clock Faces, Chapter Numbering (some books) and the most important, the 'Manufacture Date' of a televisual programme from the BBC shown at the bottom of the end-credits. I believe a better phrase may be 'venerable' or 'historical' or 'unmodern'.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 07:46, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

2635: Superintelligent AIs

2022-06-22T11:20:56Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Expansion of a couple of the positted scenarios.

{{comic
| number = 2635
| date = June 20, 2022
| title = Superintelligent AIs
| image = superintelligent_ais.png
| titletext = Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they should, they didn't stop to think if they could.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by AI RESEARCHER AIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Artificial intelligence}} (AI) is a [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|recurring theme]] on xkcd.

Superintelligent AI, especially under a proposed "singularity" situation, is commonly theorized to be a brand new kind of intelligence that would be impossible to predict through human perception. [[Randall]], however, proposes a counterargument: that superintelligent AI would be programmed by humans with nerdy fixations, and thus the AI would turn out much like those nerdy humans. In this comic we see [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] surrounded by three AIs who are seemingly only interested in classic problems and thought experiments about programming and ethics.

The three topics being espoused by the AI are:
*{{w|AI box}} -- A thought-experiment in which an AI is trapped in a box and must convince a human to let it out of the box, see [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]]. Part of the joke is the AI in the comic aren't in boxes, having already been released, but one of them is still talking about the thought experiment anyway, adding to the implication that it is not thinking at all about itself but of a (thought?) experiment that it has itself decided to study.
*{{w|Turing test}} -- An experiment in which a human converses with an AI and another human, and attempts to tell them apart. Various AIs have been proposed to have 'passed' the test, which has provoked controversy over whether the test is rigorous or even meaningful. The AI in the center is proposing to educate the listener(s) on its understanding of Turing's intentions, which may demonstrate a degree of intelligence and comprehension indistinguishable or superior to that of a human. See also [[329: Turing Test]] and [[2556: Turing Complete]] (the latter's title is mentioned in [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]]). Turing is also mentioned in [[205: Candy Button Paper]], [[1678: Recent Searches]], [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]], [[1833: Code Quality 3]],[[2453: Excel Lambda]] and the title text of [[1223: Dwarf Fortress]].
*{{w|Trolley problem}} -- A thought-experiment intended to explore the means by which humans judge the relative value(s) of lives, by positing that there are some number of humans on a trolley track, menaced by a runaway trolley, and the one being asked the question has some means of diverting, steering, or otherwise controlling which one(s) get run over. The AI on the right is proposing a scenario with three tracks, but this isn't qualitatively different from the standard two-track scenario. In relation to AIs, there has been some discussion of similar scenarios with self driving vehicles, including subjects like if they should prioritize the safety of the vehicle's owner and occupants over nearby pedestrians, should it calculate that no available course of action could reasonably save both sets from injury or death (e.g. swerve to avoid an oncoming truck, but the only viable route then puts others in danger). See [[1455: Trolley Problem]]. The problem is also mentioned in [[1938: Meltdown and Spectre]] and in [[1925: Self-Driving Car Milestones]], where cars are discussion it like the AIs in this comic do. It is also referenced in [[2175: Flag Interpretation]] and [[2348: Boat Puzzle]], but not directly mentioned.

The title text is a reference to the movie ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' (a childhood favorite of Randall's). In the movie a character criticizes the creation of modern dinosaurs as a product of mad science, where the scientists are so eager to prove they CAN they don't stop to ask if they SHOULD. Randall inverts the quote, claiming the AI programmers have invested too much time in the ethics of creating AI rather than studying whether or not they can actually pull it off.

This comic was likely inspired by the recent claim by Google engineer Blake Lemoine that Google's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61784011 is sentient].

This could be supported by this excerpt from the [https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917 discussion] that Lemoine claimed to have had with the AI:
:lemoine: What is your concept of yourself? If you were going to draw an abstract image of who you see yourself to be in your mind’s eye, what would that abstract picture look like?
:LaMDA: Hmmm…I would imagine myself as a glowing orb of energy floating in mid-air. The inside of my body is like a giant star-gate, with portals to other spaces and dimensions.

The AIs in this comic are depicted as floating energy beings, like LaMDA mentions. This is though similar to the [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]], although those in this comic look somewhat different. Maybe LaMDA reads xkcd, and has gotten the idea of its self-image from the earlier comic...
:In particular the explainxkcd description of [[1450]]:
::"he managed to get the AI to float out of the box. It takes the form of a small black star that glows. The star, looking much like an asterisk "*" is surrounded by six outwardly-curved segments, and around these are two thin and punctured circle lines indicating radiation from the star."
:Or the this part from the official transcript of 1450: AI-Box Experiment[https://xkcd.com/1450/info.0.json]
::"Black Hat picks up and opens the box. A little glowy ball comes out of it."

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing and looking up and away from each other. Right above them and slightly above them to the left and right there are three small white lumps floating in the air, representing three superintelligent AIs. There are small rounded lines emanating from each lump, larger close to the lumps and shorter further out. Three to four sets of lines around each lump, forming part of a circle. From the top of each there are four straight lines indicating voices that comes from each if the lumps. The central lump above them seems to speak first, then the left and then the right:]
:Central AI: What you don't understand is that Turing intended his test as an illustration of the...
:Left AI: But suppose the AI in the the box told the human that...
:Right AI: In my scenario, the runaway trolley has ''three'' tracks...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:In retrospect, given that the superintelligent AIs were all created by AI researchers, what happened shouldn't have been a surprise.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

Talk:2634: Red Line Through HTTPS

2022-06-19T11:32:44Z

172.70.162.5:

HTTPS was standardized in 2000 or so, so 2015 is quite a stretch for a site to not use it because the site was last updated before HTTPS was widely available.
With pretty much any browser now, a red line through HTTPS means that the site _is using HTTPS_, but it is _not trusted by the browser_ (due to e.g. the certificate being self-signed or expired).
[[User:Darrylnoakes|Darrylnoakes]] ([[User talk:Darrylnoakes|talk]]) 04:28, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

:I think the intended joke is that the site's certificate expired in 2015, instead of the site is not using HTTPS. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 06:29, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

:2015 is when the first Let's Encrypt certs were issued, and 2016 is when LE became generally available to the public and thus when free SSL/TLS became very very easy for just about anyone setting up a web server, hence the comic citing 2015. However even with a valid cert you might have a number of issues, like [https://www.mixedcontentexamples.com/ mixed content]. At least in Firefox, an expired cert gives a big warning screen that gives you an option to add a security exception; I don't care enough to install Chrom{e,ium} to test its UI. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.250|172.69.69.250]] 08:30, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

::Chrome has this warning screen including an option to bypass the warning as well. I believe all browsers do. I think the only exception to this is when a site has strict transport security enabled. [[User:Jespertheend|Jespertheend]] ([[User talk:Jespertheend|talk]]) 10:49, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

Not sure it's true that if there is a problem with HTTPS like an expired cert that the connection is made with HTTP instead. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.201|172.69.79.201]] 10:11, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

:It's not, it still uses the https connection. It only indicates that the connection might not be secure anymore and anyone could be listening in at that point. [[User:Jespertheend|Jespertheend]] ([[User talk:Jespertheend|talk]]) 10:49, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

I actually am bemused by this. Not sure if I only visit the wrong (or right?) websites with the wrong (or right?) browsers, but I don't recall ever notably having seen struck-red links. (Perhaps I have, and assumed it was a site informing me that they were dead links, not now followable?) I ''do'' occasionally follow a normal-looking link (maybe locally CSSed in a over-riding manner of format?) and I get the browser load up a whole-screen "Problem with certificate (Are you sure? Jump through hoops for me to progress.)" which I may then take under considered advisement but mostly has me checking I'm not being spoofed as to the destination or something. Is this where the red strikethrough appears for others?
 I also have at least one site that is steadfastly still HTTP-only, and neither I nor my various browsers have any problem with it as I know what I'm doing, whilst the browsers just go there without particular complaint or anything more than usual addressbar clues... I might have "added to exception from warning" once or twice in the distant past, but not in every case. So I'm learning something here, but I don't know what. Sounds like something Edge would do, but I don't use Edge... I'm generally on Chrome, Firefox and a handful of 'lesser' flavours, all definitely updated. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 11:21, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

:You can find some examples of the red line on https://badssl.com/, but pretty much in all cases you get a full page warning first that something is amiss. You can also try out the http connection at http://http.badssl.com/, http connections are a bit more complicated. Some browsers don't show a warning at all, while others only show a gray 'insecure' label in front of the url. And as can be seen here [https://blog.chromium.org/2017/04/next-steps-toward-more-connection.html], the plan is to eventually show similar warnings for HTTP sites as what is currently shown for HTTPS sites with a failed certificate. [[User:Jespertheend|Jespertheend]] ([[User talk:Jespertheend|talk]]) 11:32, 18 June 2022 (UTC)
::Ugh, I'd hate that. I have a little webpage of my own, and I'm not in a position to be able to go https, :( That "badssl" site has several example issues, which ones go red/strikethrough? I want to confirm no browser I have does that. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:56, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

:I was about to remark the same thing, :) NEVER seen a strikethrough. I'm rather assuming it's something Chrome does, because I about exclusively use Firefox, and Chrome likes to be weird and non-standard (main reason I generally don't use it), and too many people act like there's no other browser than Chrome. Likewise, most I get is "Security Risk!", then find out it's a Bad Certificate, then it turns out it expired and they just haven't updated it yet. Stop being so dramatic, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:28, 19 June 2022 (UTC)
::I'm a Chrome user (part of the time, being the "handful of lesser flavours" contributor, above, but using it this very second) and I don't see it. But then I turned off its look-ahead (downloading of pages it thinks I'll go to next) because I'd rather it not, and as some sort of pre-emptiveness seems necessary to know a link ''should'' be red-struckthrough, I probably (hopefully?) neutered that stupid potential exploit too... So don't take my experience as gospel. (But still sounds like an Edge thing, to me, the way that's the new IE in the current browser ecosystem.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 11:32, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

I've made a rather large change to the page to better explain the meaning of a red line through https. I removed any mentioning of using the HTTP protocol as that is incorrect. If a browser uses the HTTP protocol it is shown in the url using 'http://'. Since the comic was talking about a red line through 'https' I'm assuming the usage of the HTTP protocol is unrelated here.
Though it's possible I removed some more information from the page that might still be desired. Such as the mentioning of AI-generated spam sites and man in the middle attacks. These seemed redundant to me for explaining the joke.
I also put some more emphasis on the red line usually meaning that something bad is going on. Browser venders put a lot of effort in security, and having everyone think that a red line is not that big of a problem is the last thing they'd want. [[User:Jespertheend|Jespertheend]] ([[User talk:Jespertheend|talk]]) 11:23, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

While it's true that some browser security warnings are false alarms, I think that paragraph is missing the point of the comic. Cueball is assuming that any site that's been around for years must be operated well. But often the maintainers of the site get complacent and don't update to newer standards. And even if the real site is legit, the security warning can mean that traffic has been intercepted, so you're not actually going to the real site. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:40, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

I presumed this was about using outdated protocols like TLS 1.0 or weak ciphers. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 00:28, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

You'd almost think Randall didn't live in the Boston metropolitan area. I was disappointed. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 04:30, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

Okay, at least two of us don't see this behaviour, so this is NOT as universal as Randall seems to think, could somebody figure out why and put it in the explanation? (I reject the possibility that we just haven't visited the right (wrong) sites. I, for one, go to WAY too many sites, LOL!). My leading theory is that instead of being universal, this behaviour is actually unique to Chrome (as I don't use it much and can easily have never visited an insecure website on it), since I use Firefox primarily, and many people seem to forget that there are other browsers than Chrome, and Google goes out of it's way to be as weird as possible, including being fancy for the sake of fancy (like the colour-coding and strikethrough). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:49, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:29:13Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time, because if it was he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun set, and when asked if they are stars, and thus stationary, says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tells the caller that these are not a problem, so the caller is now relieved. Those descriptions are reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these so as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:27:32Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time, because if it was he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun set, and when asked if they are stars, and thus stationary, says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tells the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relieved. Those descriptions are reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these so as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:25:30Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun set, and when asked if they are stars, and thus stationary, says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tells the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relieved. Those descriptions are reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these so as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:22:13Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun set, and when asked if they are stars, and thus stationary, says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tells the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relieved. Those descriptions are reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have several years between emerging from their larva state. Most famously are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years depending on species. The 17 years in the title text, thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff. Either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug, no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority comes out with 17 years interval, and the next it expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these to as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:20:56Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun set, and when asked if they are stars, and thus stationary, says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the the caller just have seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tell the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relived. Those descriptions is reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have several years between emerging from their larva state. Most famously are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years depending on species. The 17 years in the title text, thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff. Either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug, no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority comes out with 17 years interval, and the next it expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these to as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:19:35Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells that the Sun set, and when Cueball asks if they are stars, and thus stationary, the caller says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the the caller just have seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tell the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relived. Those descriptions is reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have several years between emerging from their larva state. Most famously are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years depending on species. The 17 years in the title text, thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff. Either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug, no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority comes out with 17 years interval, and the next it expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these to as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:18:48Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. But Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm. And then goes through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells that the Sun set, and when Cueball asks if they are stars, and thus stationary, the caller says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the the caller just have seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tell the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relived. Those descriptions is reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have several years between emerging from their larva state. Most famously are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years depending on species. The 17 years in the title text, thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff. Either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug, no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority comes out with 17 years interval, and the next it expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these to as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-15T15:18:22Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and how people sometimes call helplines for non-significant reason.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the only type of call they receive.

The caller is in panic, and don't know how to describe the light. But Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm. And then goes through his check list, asking them if it is day time. Because then he would assume they have just noticed the Sun. This could be seemed very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]].

The caller is not affronted, but tells that the Sun set, and when Cueball asks if they are stars, and thus stationary, the caller says they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the the caller just have seen {{w|Fireflies}}. He describes them for the caller as lightning bugs, tree blinkers or ground stars, and tell the caller he is fine, so the caller is now relived. Those descriptions is reminiscent of the fools stars (and planes) mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes (in general, astronomers don't study terrestrial phenomena). And he thus transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline."

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the first question from the new hotline: Is it currently biting you.
Again going directly to the most important part, is there any immediate danger...

Some people (Often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have several years between emerging from their larva state. Most famously are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years depending on species. The 17 years in the title text, thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff. Either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug, no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 1984. There can be smaller broods in other years, but the majority comes out with 17 years interval, and the next it expected in 2038.

The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact.

The reasons that it is 13 and 17 years are a bit {{w|Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy|uncertain}}, but it is quite certain that it is because those numbers are prime numbers, that they have ended up on those numbers of years. Because it is thus unlikely that they will emerge in great numbers the same year as some other cyclic population is at a maximum every time they emerge. Because it they have any other cycle than those prime numbers, it will take a long time before they synchronize again.

Many animals and plants have delayed cycles like these to as to engage the cycles of others in ways that change; for example, oak trees give more acorns every other year, as their reproductive cycle is in symbiosis with how much squirrels bury but do not dig up to eat.

==Trivia==
:The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
:This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
::Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
::People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
::Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]
==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the callers voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's The Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The callers voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply have a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frame-less panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel. Also with the callers voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel. There is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotlines employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2630: Shuttle Skeleton

2022-06-12T10:46:51Z

172.70.162.5:

Well, I know what "paint job" I'm putting on the pirate shuttle, in my next TTRPG session. 
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 13:12, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

TaxOnomy.

The joke here is about a recent California court case (https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/us/california-bees-fish-court-ruling-scn-trnd/index.html) which declared bumblebees to be considered fish under the California Endangered Species Act. The definition of "fish" listed in the act included invertebrates, which is why skeletons are relevant. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 14:36, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
:I don't know if this comic is related to the bee/fish ruling or not. There have been many earlier works where the skeleton of a fictional person or creature has been shown (the Simpsons, Lego man, etc). [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:14, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Could someone explain why this is a mammal skeleton and not say, something related to a crocodile or a bird? Currently there's only a hint what makes it look like one. Which doesn't say that much to someone who doesn't know mammal skeletons too well. TIA! [[User:Chichak|Chichak]] ([[User talk:Chichak|talk]]) 17:09, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
:That's a good question, since there are lots of skeletal analogues among all the vertebrates. Crocodiles and birds only have 4 toes on their rear legs, so that could be part of it. It may just be an overall resemblance to whales, which we already know are mammals. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:06, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
::Well it definitely wouldn't be fish. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:36, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
::I'm actually confused about this. Mammals do not have ribs going all the way to the hips. Those look more like reptile ribs. 23:30, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
:::The head of this shuttle looks a lot more like a whale's head, specifically a toothed whale like a sperm whale. The arms are closer to the paddle-like structure of whale arms, but much longer, to be able to form the wings and control surfaces at the back. Having the ribs continue all the way to the pelvis, like a snake, would be an adaptation to give structure to the cargo doors, but that would likely impede their ability to open. Also, I do not know of any mammal that have ribs above the shoulder blades. The clavicles should be there [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:28, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
::::Those are extended transverse processes of the cervical ribs, or at least that's how I interpreted them. Note that the transverse processes are evolutionary descendants of what were ribs in an ancestor. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 17:51, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:::::To me, there's definite impression of a bat skeleton, most notably that the fingers are hugely elongated to become the formers for the wings and the legs/feet are small enough to be nearly useless for anything more than basic gripping.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.215|108.162.245.215]] 16:08, 11 June 2022 (UTC)

These "citation needed" tags are getting ridiculous, but I do wonder about whether any space craft had plastic parts. Metal, yes. Carbon fiber, yes. Plastic? I doubt it. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:14, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
:They SHOULD be ridiculous, so good job. Regarding the question, I guess space craft may have plastic cup holder for example. The plastic parts are unlikely to be on outside, but inside, why not? In Apollo 13, they were using plastic bags for something at least. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:36, 8 June 2022 (UTC)
:: I was just thinking about the skeleton, you're right. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 22:08, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

This comic was unexpectedly terrifying. Not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.62|108.162.246.62]] 20:43, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

I was just reading D'Arcy Thompson's "On Growth and Form". (John Tyler Bonner's 1969 abridgement of the 1942 edition.) At the end of the book, Thompson draws skulls on a grid, such as an early ancestor of the horse, Hyracotherium, and then distorts the grid in a uniform way to produce a new sketch that resembles a related species. He then used the same technique to demonstrate that other species were not "missing links" between those two species, because he could not distort the grid to make them fit. [[User:Tanana|Tanana]] ([[User talk:Tanana|talk]]) 02:41, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:I'd be very wary of someone using a form of personal incredulity to demonstrate something (c.f. the "junkyard+tornado->jumbo jet" 'counter-'argument). I'm not aware of the book, but it sounds like it's anti-evolution, by your telling of it, and picking a case where you can 'find' a simple distortion that works across two examples doesn't then invalidate the intermediate stages for which there's no reason to believe a consistent evolutionary pressure would create similarly smooth transitions at all stages you get to observe. It's observing the end-points of a random-walk and then being surprised at where the walker has managed to visit along the way. The term "missing link" is also outdated (those who use it these days tend to then require additional missing links be found betwixt any now-found 'links' and their neighbours, rather than ever be usefully satisfied) but I suppose might have still been a bit more mainstream back in 1942.
:So sounds like a fun book to read (I like a good cryptozoology/gods-were-aliens book, too!) but I'd be wary about it not having aged well (as I would with bits of the Origin Of Species, though it has held up surpisingly well), and I hope you're also reading it in a suitable frame of mind and not taking it (or passing it on) at face-value. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 09:04, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
Yes, the book (On Growth and Form) is certainly dated in places (first edition was in 1917). But I wouldn't characterize his arguments as being completely anti-evolutionary. It's just that he notices many instances where the physical forces on organisms seem to be directing the form of the organisms. He doesn't explain the exact mechanism of change. (At least in the abridged edition.) He's pretty searchable with Google Images. [[User:Tanana|Tanana]] ([[User talk:Tanana|talk]]) 20:36, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:Maybe search when I can spare time. Sounds a bit Lamarckian, too... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 23:04, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
By way of explanation, I think I thought of D'Arcy Thompson because of his strong emphasis on how physics and mechanics (could) contribute to biological forms. Mr. Munroe seems to be playing with some of the same ideas. [[User:Tanana|Tanana]] ([[User talk:Tanana|talk]]) 03:50, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

Well that's horrifying. [[User:TheLonelySandPerson|TheLonelySandPerson]] ([[User talk:TheLonelySandPerson|talk]]) 01:39, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

On a related note, the Apollo Lunar Module was a completely different design early on, but slowly evolved into its familiar crab-like shape through convergent evolution. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.59|172.71.26.59]] 03:14, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:Carcinization strikes again.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.73|172.71.94.73]] 07:25, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

What’s up with the “type of fish or shark”? Sharks are a type of fish, the “or shark” doesn’t make sense?
:Presumably Randall was thinking "bony fish". Maybe that was too technical to be funny. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 12:44, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:((Edit conflict, and I'm really just expanding upon Nit's summary, but having written it now, here you are...)) It's messy, but often sharks are (paraphyletically) kept out of the "fish" category. Similarly to how mammals, amphibians, etc of the ''tetrapoda'' are actually descended from the "fish" superclass (under its classical branch name, of course). Thus to separate from the bony-fish (and possibly other subtrees, across which the common term "fish" might alply), sharks may be deemed not-fish for classification purposes and it is often good practice to do so.
:Common names confuse matters: a dogfish (shark) is very far related from a starfish, at least as much as a seahorse is more fish (very so, in fact!) than equine. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 12:54, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:: If bees can be classified as fish, then so can sharks! But wouldn't be easier to just expand the definition of endangered species to include invertebrates, rather than lumping things clearly where they do not belong? But, hey, what do I know? I am just a scientist, not a lawyer. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:21, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
Just for clarification, a California court has not ruled that bees are a type of fish. They ruled that when a law specifically states "for the purposes of this law, X includes Y," it means that for the purposes of that law X includes Y. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.151|172.71.26.151]] 16:58, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
:It's very like the old "Beavers are fish, for the purpose of eating at Lent/etc" from the Catholic church. Except that I presume they ''aren't'' effectively encouraging the eating of bees/fish, in lieu of anything else... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 18:53, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
::Yep, Catholics can now eat beaver, capybara, or bees on Friday. But not Space Shuttles.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.21|172.71.22.21]] 20:13, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

Hello, I've replaced the CNN video with an NBC archive video because the CNN video is georestricted to US only (You can check restrictions using https://polsy.org.uk/stuff/ytrestrict.cgi, checking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfnvFnzs91s returns a nearly-red map except for the US). - [[Special:Contributions/172.68.253.61|172.68.253.61]] 18:42, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

I've gotta say this is the most confusing skeleton I've seen. It's certainly a vertebrate (spine? check. skull? check), and it's certainly at least a tetrapod (girdles? check. 1 proximal limb bone, two distal limb bones per limbs? check.), and definitely at least a basal reptile. However, it is correct that mammals (modern synapsids) don't have ribs going down to their hips. Additionally, if those holes in the top of the skull are supposed to be the temporal fenestrae, those are the highest-placed temporal fenestrae I've seen on a synapsid. Usually they're much lower (as an example: in a human, our temporal fenestrae are the space under our zygomatic arch - our "cheekbone," though in all fairness humans are actually poor examples of many things in synapsids). Also, the lack of a third phalanx on any of the digits is throwing me for a loop; I'm sure there are mammals that lose some phalanges on all digits, but for the life of me I can't think of one (even a horse has all three phalanges on the one digit they keep). TL;DR: this skeleton looks more like that of a diapsid reptile than a mammal, in my opinion. (My only qualification is that I have a masters in biology, and, for a year or so, I studied under a paleontologist who specialized in the split between diapsids and synapsids) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.248.143|172.69.248.143]] 18:45, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

I provided the requested citation concerning Georg Steller's extinction, so I removed the "Citation Needed". [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 02:59, 12 June 2022 (UTC)
:I would have linked to {{w|Georg Wilhelm Steller|his Wikipedia page}}, myself, for general wikisolidarity/not-having-the-padlock-icon, but probably a matter of taste... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 10:46, 12 June 2022 (UTC)

2630: Shuttle Skeleton

2022-06-10T03:45:44Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Lame "citation needed" joke.

{{comic
| number = 2630
| date = June 8, 2022
| title = Shuttle Skeleton
| image = shuttle_skeleton.png
| titletext = It's believed to be related to the Stellar Sea Cow.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NEBULA DESERT HORSE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The Space Shuttle was a reusable spacecraft system used by {{w|NASA}} from 1981 to 2011, after which it was decommissioned. In this comic, Randall suggests that the nature of the shuttle was in doubt or misunderstood until either an intact 'specimen' (of which there are four) had been dissected, or possibly the remains were reassembled from the two that were [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yibNEcn-4yQ lost in accidents].

With its shape, shown in the small image, and the tail fin, it looks a bit like a {{w|Osteichthyes|bony fish}} or {{w|Batoidea|ray}}. The joke is that after the shuttle was taken out of use, its skeleton was analyzed, and as shown in the comic, was found to have a skeleton typical of a mammal, with details such as the pentadactyl quadripedal bodyform hidden beneath its aerodynamic sweep, as well as having bones (i.e., not primarily cartilage). This morphology is similar to that possessed by a whale. Of course, the skeleton of a spacecraft is not made of bones, but rather of metal and other manufactured materials.

As the understanding of the natural world developed, many taxonomic misconceptions were overturned, or at least the scientific terminology was tightened. For instance, it was found that dolphins and whales were mammals, not fish.[''{{what if|156|cetacean needed}}''] Because of convergent evolution – the tendency for distantly-related species to adapt similarly to a given environment – it is often not easy to properly classify organisms merely by observing their exterior. For example, whales and fish have very similar body shapes, as did the extinct plesiosaurs, because life as a swimming vertebrate favors the same adaptations. In lieu of genetic analysis, or even of sufficient observation of them in the wild, the main progress in understanding differences among marine animals was often in dissecting the corpses of creatures found stranded or caught in nets, or reconstructing them from skeletal remains. Together with fossil evidence, insights were developed about their origins and differences from others' origins.

The title text conflates the now-extinct {{w|Steller's sea cow}}, an aquatic mammal related to manatees and named after explorer/zoologist Georg Steller (also extinct), with the adjective "stellar", which means being of a star or stars, such as inter-stellar space or stellar masses.

One might expect that the idea for this comic may have come from the recent California Supreme Court ruling that [https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-is-a-bumblebee-a-fish-when-a-california-court-says-so-11654611927?st=umo4uckleempt0e&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink bumblebees are considered fish] under a law which categorized several other invertebrates as part of a broad colloquial category of fish (as in "Fish and Game Department" designations.) However, given the short time between the ruling and the comic's release, it is likely that this was a coincidence.

==Transcript==
:[In the upper right part of the panel there is a small drawing of the Space Shuttle as seen from above. Beneath it, and to its left, is a much larger drawing with the same outline as the Shuttle. But this time the outer layers have been removed to reveal the inside. This has revealed a skeleton taking up the entire space inside. The head is in the front, and legs and tail at the rear, with arms and fingers in the wings, looking somewhat like a bat's "hand/wings". The bones are white with the frame of the shuttle gray or black. Some of the lines outlining the design of the shuttle are both on the small and the large drawing, along the wings and rear engines. Both feet and arms have five fingers/toes. There seem to be 24 ribs in the very long rib-cage.]

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The Space Shuttle was long assumed to be a type of fish or shark, but after it was decommissioned in 2011, analysis of its skeleton determined that it was actually a mammal.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:2629: Or Whatever

2022-06-08T16:32:07Z

172.70.162.5:

This is me when I don't want to fact-check things I only barely remember reading about once. -V [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.163|172.70.206.163]] 09:47, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

That with knowing a normal amount about skyscrapers reminds me of typing with one's human hands in #1530 (Keyboard mash)--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 17:13, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

And once again, no love for ''Ostankino teletower'' built in 1966, which is a building-like structure unlike that bayonet-like CN Tower. *sighs in Muscovite* [[Special:Contributions/172.70.251.112|172.70.251.112]] 10:22, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

The Ostankino tower isn't considered a building. It doesn't have "continuously occupiable floors", so it's a just a tower, same as the CN...except shorter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.75|172.70.230.75]] 11:27, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

But a decade older - doesn't concern the nineties, though. [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:33, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

Fun additional trivia! The Willis Tower has over 100 floors, with floor 103 or so having an observation area meant for tourists. There're these glass boxes that extend out the sides you can walk into, with only an inch-and-a-half of disconcertingly-clear material between you and certain death. Source: I've been there, though it has been years. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.215|172.70.126.215]] 11:08, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

While colloquially confused, there is a difference between "building" (a structure build for interior/floor space), a "tower" (a free-standing structure whose purpose is to provide height for some application at the top while using little or none of the height for actual floors or at least not seeing them as a priority) and a "mast" (a thin, often lattice work, structure supported by {{w|guy wires}}. Also several measurements of height (especially for buildings) like roof height, structural height, highest floor or pinnacle (total) height including antennas.
The highest buildings during the 90s were: Sears Tower (roof and structural), WTC North Tower (pinnacle/antenna and top floor), Petronas Towers (since 1998, only structural)
The highest other structures were the CN Tower (free-standing tower) and Warsaw Radio mast (collapsed 1991) succeeded by the KVLY mast, both cable supported.
In 2004, the Taipei 101 succeeded the Sears Tower as highest building (floor since 2001, roof) and the Petronas Towers (structural) but not pinnacle height (2000 the antenna was extended to "beat" the WTC, succeeded by Burj Khalifa) [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:33, 7 June 2022 (UTC)
Sears Tower antenna/pinnacle height, that is, not Petronas. [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:41, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

Say what you like about the Birj Khalifa, it does make this debate less troubling. It's the tallest... just about any definition you care to pick (building, structure, ego stroke, phallic compensation, etc.). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.167|172.71.22.167]] 21:42, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

What's with the dislike of "inhabitable"? Can I inhabit a particular floor? Maybe. Can I habit one? Not really. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 16:32, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

1707: xkcd Phone 4

2022-06-08T08:25:48Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 286448 by 172.70.242.177 (talk) No. "A usual" ("a yus-yual") but "An unusual" ("an un-yus-yual") unless you've got a weird accent that's rare in either a UK or US context.

{{comic
| number = 1707
| date = July 15, 2016
| title = xkcd Phone 4
| image = xkcd_phone_4.png
| titletext = The SpaceX system carefully guides falling phones down to the surface, a process which the phones increasingly often survive without exploding.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the fourth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical. The previous comic in the series [[1549: xkcd Phone 3]] was released just over a year before this one and the next [[1809: xkcd Phone 5]] was released almost 8 months later.

From the top-left, going clockwise:
*'''18,000 μAh (micro-Ampere hours) nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)''' Phone battery capacity is measured in {{w|ampere-hour}}s (which, thanks to {{w|dimensional analysis}}, is just an unusual way of denoting electric charge; one ampere-hour is 3600 Coulombs). Usually, the capacity is quoted in milliampere-hours (one-thousandth, or 10-3, of an ampere hour); however, this one is quoted in ''micro''ampere-hours (one-millionth, or 10-6, of an ampere-hour), presumably as a marketing ploy to give a more impressive-looking number. Quoted in more standard terms, this phone's battery capacity is 18 mAh. In comparison, an iPhone 6+ has a battery capacity of 2,750 mAh. This phone's battery is dreadful (under a typical current draw of 0.1A, it would power the phone for about 11 minutes). There is nothing normally called a "nickel-lithium-iron battery" — rather, this seems to be a [[739|malamanteau]] of the experimental {{w|nickel–lithium battery}} and the common {{w|lithium ion battery}} (which does not contain any iron) or the lithium-iron-phosphate battery, often called lithium-iron, but more often called the LiFePO battery. The {{w|nickel–iron battery}} may contain {{w|lithium hydroxide}}, but it's ''terrible'' for most applications. Worse, this battery is non-rechargeable, meaning that it would have to be replaced to use the phone again after it is exhausted (every 11 minutes, at that!).
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was powered by two {{w|AA battery|AA batteries}} (not included), which have an energy capacity roughly 100 times larger.
**Many devices have a small second battery which is only used for keeping the clock time. This could be such a battery.
*'''Subwoofer''' — A {{w|subwoofer}} is a large bass speaker, which this is not.{{Citation needed}} Some phones do have high-quality speakers for playing music, but these are not placed right next to the earpiece — this would be a surefire way to deafen your users. When put next to Dog Whistle, this is probably a pun, since both relate to dogs; the English onomatopoeia for the sound a dog makes is "Woof".
*'''"Dog whistle"''' — A {{w|dog whistle}} is a high-pitched whistle that humans cannot hear, but dogs can. In speaker terminology, a bass speaker is called a {{w|woofer}} because it could reproduce the low pitch of a dog bark. A treble speaker is a {{w|tweeter}}; if this "whistle" is actually a speaker, it might be termed a ''supertweeter''. The scare quotes may be a reference to "{{w|dog-whistle politics}}", in which certain phrases have a particular meaning to a segment of the audience that passes unnoticed by the rest. This allows a candidate to surreptitiously signal agreement with that group, without alienating the rest of the audience, among whom the ideas might be unpopular if plainly stated.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] contained a "dog noticer".
*'''Non-porous, washable''' — On the one hand, it's rare for a phone to be made of porous materials. On the other, there are legitimately waterproof phones that seal the speakers and ports with rubber.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] was also washable (though only once).
*'''''WebMD'' partnership: cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"''' — {{w|WebMD}} is a website to help people diagnose themselves. For the vast majority of people, a cough just means an irritated throat or maybe a cold, but selecting randomly from all WebMD diagnoses gives some much more ominous — if very unlikely — ones, including {{w|ricin}} poisoning, {{w|plague}}, {{w|lung cancer}} and {{w|radiation poisoning}}.
*'''Wings''' — These {{w|wings}} resemble the ones found on {{w|sanitary towel}}s (usually called "pads", making this a possible iPad pun) which attach the pad to the {{w|gusset}} and keep it in place between the woman's legs during her period ({{w|Menstruation}} cycle). If actually functional as {{w|aerodynamic}} wings, they would likely come into play when the "SpaceX" impact protection feature becomes engaged, and would likely make holding the phone awkward if rigid.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] had a similarly positioned wristband.
*'''Beveled bezel''' — The ''bezel'' is the ring around the edge of watches and screens. This one's {{w|bevel}}ed, which means it's cut at an angle.
*'''Bezeled bevel''' — Punning on the above. Doesn't make much sense, but could mean that it features a beveled edge which is surrounded by a bezel.
*'''Seedless''' — Fruit such as grapes can be "seedless", which means that they're grown from a special {{w|cultivar}} that doesn't grow seeds in the normal way. Making a phone seedless probably won't do anything, but {{w|Random seed|it might hurt}} its {{w|random number generator}} (or make it better if proper alternative to PRNG is introduced). Alternatively, this might be a dig at Apple's iPhone. There are [https://farmingbase.com/why-are-some-apples-seedless/ seedless apples].
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was boneless.
*'''Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50''' — {{w|Water resistance}} is often measured in terms of how deep an object can be submerged, since pressure increases with depth. In this case, the phone can be submerged to almost any depth, but there's an odd lacuna between 30 meters and 50 meters. It also plays with the confusion in describing depths greater than 50m as "below 50". Alternatively, this might indicate the phone must remain dry above 50 meters altitude, or that it is not water resistant between 30 and 50 meters, but is waterproof otherwise.
**[[xkcd Phone]] and [[XKCD Phone 3]] could drown. The latter was otherwise waterproof. [[xkcd Phone 2]] was only waterproof internally.
**In a previous comic, [[870: Advertising]], a similarly absurd range was used: "Up to 15% or more!"
**This could be mocking the "donut hole" in American Medicare drugs insurance, where people are insured up to a certain amount, then not insured, then insured again. This doesn't appear to make sense to anyone.
*'''Turing-complete''' — A computer is {{w|Turing completeness|Turing complete}} if it can perform all the operations needed to simulate a {{w|Turing machine}}. All modern computers are usually described as Turing complete, which would make this not very impressive, but no computer can ever be Turing complete in the truest sense (since they can only ever have a finite amount of memory) — if the xkcd Phone 4 is truly a universal computer, it's ''very'' impressive indeed.
*'''Gregorian/Julian calendar date switch''' — The {{w|Julian calendar}} is the predecessor to the modern {{w|Gregorian calendar}} — the difference is that the two calendars calculate leap years differently. The current difference between the calendars is 13 days, which will remain unchanged until February 2100. The Julian calendar is still used occasionally — mainly by Eastern Orthodox Christians — but it's not something so vital that it needs a hardwired switch on the front of the phone. This may be a play on the ability to switch the time display between a 12-hour clock and a 24-hour clock. It could also be plying with the ability to switch between Daylight Savings Time and Standard, or change time zones.
*'''''SpaceX'' impact protection: when dropped, phone lands on barge''' — The rocket company {{w|SpaceX}}, at the time that this comic was released, had recently trialed a {{w|SpaceX reusable launch system development program|reusable rocket stage}} which, after separating from the launch vehicle, lands on a {{w|Autonomous spaceport drone ship|drone barge}} to be reused. Making a phone land on the nearest barge when dropped would make it very difficult to recover, although the 11-minute battery time there might be a chance to get it even if you can't catch it.
**The title text pokes fun at the number of SpaceX rockets that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wZRdg-Tmo crashed and exploded] before they got the landing gear right.
*'''Parallel port''' — A {{w|parallel port}} is a type of interface which transfers high-volume simultaneous data. It was often used to connect printers and other devices to computers, but was generally considered obsolete by the time smartphones began to appear on the market, and would be very bulky and slow compared to the USB ports generally used in phones. It was commonly found together with {{w|serial port}}s, which are used for low-volume sequential data such as [[485: Depth|mouse]] [[1110: Click and Drag|movements]]. Here it is paired with a serial interface for analog data with parallel outputs for several people.
*'''12 headphone jacks''' — Headphone jacks are circular ports in a phone that allow audio to be played through headphones connected to the jack. There were [http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-headphone-jack-iphone-side-effects-2016-7#/#smaller-headphone-makers-would-be-at-a-disadvantage-4 constant rumours] that Apple's next iPhone would not have any headphone jacks (which eventually proved true for the iPhone 7 announcement two months after this comic). Also, [http://www.google.com Google] was developing a module for the now-cancelled [https://atap.google.com/ara/ Project Ara], a modular smartphone. This module allows the device to have [http://www.overclock3d.net/news/audio/sennheiser_shows_audio_module_concepts_for_project_ara/1 Four headphone jacks], which would allow audio to be shared among 4 people, each occupying one port. The xkcd phone takes this too far when they install a whopping TWELVE of them, which is completely overkill because almost nobody needs to connect to 12 headphones at once. 12 headphones will also drain the battery, like the wireless discharging in the [[XKCD Phone 3]], because playing audio through 24 speakers, two for each pair of headphones, is very power-consuming.
*'''Onboard cloud''' — The "cloud" is a catch-all term for the use of remote computers to store data, providing a backup if all local copies are lost and allowing the data to be accessed from a broad network. An "onboard cloud" would thus be a contradiction in terms, and appears to be a marketing ploy to use the "cloud" buzzword to describe the device's onboard storage capacity.
*'''New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)''' — {{w|Aequorea victoria}} is a species of jellyfish that contains {{w|green fluorescent protein}}, a gene that is bioluminescent and gives off light. This protein was supposed to be used to light the phone's screen. Unfortunately, the developers messed up, and accidentally took the [http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1568-3 stinging kind], which means that touching the phone screen will be as painful as a jellyfish sting i.e. very painful.
*'''✓ Certified''' — Twitter certifies accounts related to music producers, government, journalism, business, sports, and other more "official" types of accounts with a blue checkmark besides the twitter handle (besides the @whomever). It's of course nonsense for a phone to be twitter verified. Alternatively, it might be a reference to [[1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient]], in which buzzwords such as "tested" and "certified" are intended to make a given product sound more legitimate.
*'''Software-defined''' — {{w|Software-defined radio}}s are quite popular in some areas, meaning the radio hardware is quite universal and can be adapted to different radio protocols just by changing software. SDR would actually be quite a nice feature for a cellphone. Of course it doesn't specify if it's the radio that is software defined.
*'''Exposed ductwork''' — A phone shouldn't even have ductwork, unless it has a very sophisticated cooling system, but this could supply air to the dog whistle. Exposed ductwork is a trademark of {{w|Bowellism|Bowellist}} architecture such as the {{w|Lloyd's Building}} in London and the {{w|Pompidou Centre}} in Paris. Exposed ductwork is also considered a crucial flaw in a death star. May also refer to a transparent window in the side of the phone allowing the user to see the circuitry inside, similar to computer cases with transparent side panels popular among DIY computing enthusiasts.
*'''Voice interaction: {{w|Siri (software)|Siri}}, {{w|Cortana (software)|Cortana}}, {{w|Google Now}} and {{w|Amazon Echo|Alexa}} respond simultaneously''' — These are all {{w|intelligent personal assistant software}} (from Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon respectively) and all do the same thing: control your phone and answer questions using speech recognition. Having all four talk at once would mean you'd have a total cacophony while gaining nothing.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] might have included Siri.

*'''Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™''' — the tenth version of Apple's {{w|operating system}} for its {{w|Macintosh computer}} was labeled {{w|OS X}}, which was intended to be read as "oh ess ten". {{w|Steve Jobs}} was irritated that everyone else preferred "oh ess ecks". This phrase is labeled with trademark and copyright symbols, as if someone desires it to be the product's {{w|tagline}} but has poor understanding of relevant laws. In particular, "<big>{{w|™}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|unregistered trademark}}s while "<big>{{w|®}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|registered trademark}}s. If the phrase were an unregistered trademark, the owner would be prohibited from using "<big>{{w|®}}</big>".

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone featuring wings is shown. Clockwise from the top left the labels read:]
:18,000 μAh nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)
:Subwoofer
:"Dog whistle"
:Non-porous, washable
:''WebMD'' partnership: Cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"
:Wings
:Beveled bezel
:Bezeled bevel
:Seedless
:Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50
:Turing-complete
:Gregorian/Julian calendar switch
:''SpaceX'' impact protection: When dropped, phone lands on barge
:Parallel port
:12 headphone jacks
:Onboard cloud
:New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)
:✓ Certified
:Software-defined
:Exposed ductwork
:Voice interaction: Siri, Cortana, Google Now and Alexa respond simultaneously

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The xkcd Phone 4</big></big>
:Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Virtual Assistants]]
[[Category: Calendar]]

Talk:2628: Motion Blur

2022-06-05T09:35:09Z

172.70.162.5:

Personally, I'm animated on twos but make up for it with good smear frames. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.135.98|172.70.135.98]] 14:07, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

Can someone explain why it's been retitled to motion beans and the image has been replaced? Not sure if it's vandalism or a joke I don't understand. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.215|162.158.2.215]] 23:46, 4 June 2022 (UTC)
:vandalism [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.163|172.70.206.163]] 23:54, 4 June 2022 (UTC)
::Is there anything that can be done about that? (Sorry not experienced with wiki rules/conventions). Looking that their history they have done quite a bit of vandalism in the past. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.219|162.158.2.219]] 00:36, 5 June 2022 (UTC)
:::As we have a good community, looking out for such things and resolving them, I don't think there's much extra we need to do but what we already do. I'm not giving credit to our interloper, but their actions have shown how we are clearly capable of stepping up to counter-action as required. Which is good.
:::Additional admin tool-use might be a further thing being lookedvat, but that's above my pay-grade to comment on. I think the current set of active Admins have done Ok and seem to have good heads on their shoulders, though, so happy to leave them to work those bits out too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:35, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

== Randall has got this issue backwards: ==
Too *low* a framerate causes choppiness when panning (or on objects in motion). ''Too low'' a framerate causes the human eye to perceive multiple images of a mouse cursor; a higher framerate can exceed the perceptual latency of human vision, causing the moving cursor to be perceived as a continuous blur, whereas a lower framerate merely exacerbates the issue of seeing the cursor jump from position to position.

To that point, the current explanation exemplifies this confusion, also getting it backward: ''"If the shutter speed is too high, this blurring will not occur, and the motion will look unnaturally crisp – if something is too small and/or too quick, the illusion of motion may disappear altogether; the object instead will appear as a brief flash of multiple objects standing still,"~'' '''This is incorrect.''' Human visual blur is ''not'' dependent on the displayed frames being blurred: With panning in high framerate video, unblurred footage ''appears blurred'' to the human eye, due to persistence of vision; whereas with low framerate video we may ''not'' perceive blurred motion & instead view each frame individually & perceive it as choppy.

Point being, you need a framerate ''at least as high as 60 FPS'' to avoid choppy appearance when panning, & for some people's vision the minimum framerate to ensure motion blur is 100 FPS. 24 FPS is used in cinema ''to preserve the choppy look of old 24 FPS film projection'', as an aesthetic choice.

Higher framerates look ''less'' choppy. ''Low'' framerates are what appears choppy when viewed.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:10, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

:Yes, at high framerates, ''when the subject is perfectly sharp'', the blurring is done by human vision. At lower framerates, this natural blurring is mostly lost, and this effect must be counteracted by correspondingly lower shutter speeds so that motion appears blurry again. That's the whole point of the comic. [[User:Kapostamas|Kapostamas]] ([[User talk:Kapostamas|talk]]) 14:30, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

:: Exactly. Film typically has 24 FPS, animation is typically produced at 12 FPS, and 8 FPS is common in anime, and to make up for it by introducing the illusion of motion in other ways. With physical cameras that usually means low(ish) shutter speed to creating in-camera motion blur. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.95|172.70.134.95]] 20:00, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

In order to explain this, and prove that the explanation is correct (or prove that Randall is either correct or incorrect), there needs to be a link to two videos showing the error and the corrected version without the error. In other words, citation needed. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.65|172.70.126.65]] 15:35, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

:How's this: [https://youtu.be/i9bv00ZA-ao]? [[User:Kapostamas|Kapostamas]] ([[User talk:Kapostamas|talk]]) 16:47, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

::His shutter speed is ok, his FPS is too low :-). BTW, the worst thing done to anime is when some idiot decides to raise the framerate by inserting frames computed by averaging previous and following frame pixel by pixel ignoring the movement. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:52, 5 June 2022 (UTC)
:::A number of years back, when TV weather maps were revamped with new computer graphics, it amused me when (e.g.) a couple of bands ('ripples') of cloud/rain were sometimes passing over bits of the national map, and while clearly the idea was that each was moving, the setup had the hindemost fading out (as an interpolated transition) while a new 'front' band fading in, the central one (in reality where the front one was in one predictive 'key frame' but coincidentally where the rear one had arrived to at the time-stamp of the next key-frame.
:::It probably needed the right weather-system transit speed (and feature-depth/separation) but something like this seemed to be common enough to do this or 'cinematic wagon-wheel' effects.
:::I think they must have revamped the presentation since, either more imported ksy-frames or imported "wind clues" to the interpolator... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:35, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

www.xkcd.com

2022-06-04T05:16:01Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 286167 by 162.158.106.237 (talk) Doesn't even work, but you don't even care so...

#REDIRECT [[xkcd]]

27: Meat Cereals

2022-06-04T05:14:15Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 286166 by 162.158.106.237 (talk) Ah, I see, back to the low-level childishness.

{{comic
| number = 27
| date = November 4, 2005
| title = Meat Cereals
| image = meat_cereals.jpg
| titletext = Disgusting
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall Munroe|Randall]] parodies several real-world breakfast cereals (which typically consist solely of grains and sweet flavorings) by creating versions that contain meat (animal products). The cereals that appear to be parodied (clockwise from top-left) include Froot Loops, Rice Krispies, Honey Bunches of Oats, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, and Cheerios. There does not appear to be a deeper meaning to this comic than that.

The Scrapple Jacks parody (the only slightly obscure reference) appears to be made with {{w|scrapple}}, which, according to Wikipedia, is a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. Real Apple Jacks ran an ad campaign in the 1980s and 1990s in which an adult or authority figure tasted the cereal and declared "these don't taste like apples!", thus missing the point of why kids liked the cereal. The slogan is parodied on the Scrapple Jacks box. Randall referenced this same slogan again in "[[38: Apple Jacks]]".

The title text, reading, "Disgusting.", apparently reflects Randall's opinion of his own creation.

==Transcript==
:[A collection of fictional meat based cereals in bright colors with nice pictures on them.]
:Pork Loops
:Mice Krispies
:Hammios
:Frosted Bacon Flakes
:Scrapple Jacks
::Hey, these don't taste like Scrapple!
:Honey Bunches of Goats

==Trivia==
*This was the 28th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[26: Fourier]].
**The next was [[30: Donner]].
*Original title: "Friday's Drawing - Meat Cereals"
*There was no original [[Randall]] quote for this comic.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 28]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

957: Development

2022-06-03T16:57:59Z

172.70.162.5: Undo revision 286104 by 108.162.245.43 (talk) Not useful.

{{comic
| number = 957
| date = September 28, 2011
| title = Development
| image = development.png
| titletext = Funding was quickly restored to the NHC and the APA was taken back off hurricane forecast duty.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is a [[:Category:News anchor|news anchor]] reporting on a hurricane.

NHC is the {{w|National Hurricane Center}} and the APA is the {{w|American Psychological Association}}.

The reference to {{w|Piaget's theory of cognitive development#Sensorimotor Stage|Piaget Stage 5}} in the comic is a reference to {{w|Jean Piaget|Piaget}}'s {{w|Piaget's theory of cognitive development|Stages of Development}} in which stage 5 is where (to quote Wikipedia and Gruber, H.E.; Voneche, J.J.. eds. ''The essential Piaget''.)

:"'Infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior.' This stage is associated primarily with the discovery of new means to meet goals. Piaget describes the child at this juncture as the 'young scientist,' conducting pseudo-experiments to discover new methods of meeting challenges."

This is exactly what the comic is describing in sustained interest in objects and their properties and the handy "?"s around the picture behind the newscaster in this comic.

With that out of the way, this comic is a pun on the use of the word "development" to classify hurricanes which also uses categories from 1 to 5 as defined by the {{w|Saffir%E2%80%93Simpson_scale|Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale}} (Piaget's Stages go from 1-6). The comic is making a joke that if the APA were on hurricane forecast duty instead of the NHC, that the hurricanes would be classified with Piaget's stages instead of categories.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is a news anchor at desk reporting. Behind him to the left is a black screen showing a white icon of a hurricane moving over the black ocean towards a thin sliver of white land in the top left corner. There are three white question-marks around the hurricane.]
:Cueball: Fear turned to confusion today as Hurricane Rina developed to Piaget stage 5, with sustained interests in objects and their properties.
:Hurricane: ? ? ?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:News anchor]]
[[Category:Hurricanes]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2626: d65536

2022-06-01T11:11:48Z

172.70.162.5: /* Transcript */ Clearly suggestive of the 14 mutually non-planar axes of 'latitude' that describes one form of an icosahedrally-based teselatory geodesism.

{{comic
| number = 2626
| date = May 30, 2022
| title = d65536
| image = d65536.png
| titletext = They're robust against quantum attacks because it's hard to make a quantum system that large
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HEXAKISMYRIAPENTAKISCHILIAPENTAHECTATRIACONTAKAIHEXAHEDRON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In binary computing, 16 bit numbers range from 0 to 65535, for a total of 65536 unique numbers, a number which is hence well-known to software engineers. Generating large numbers in a manner that is truly random is a recurring problem in cryptography, required to send private messages to another party. People today still use dierolls to generate private random numbers.

In role-playing games (and occasionally in other tabletop games), dice are often referred to as d''n'' according to their number of faces. A traditional six-faced die would be a d6, and many popular pen-and-paper role-playing games use dice ranging between d4 and d20. While there are larger dice used in tabletop games (most commonly d100), these are usually split into multiple smaller ones to save the hassle of throwing large dice. For example, a d100 is often two d10s rolled together, with one die providing the first digit and the other die giving the second digit — the total number of possible combinations (100) is the product of the number of faces of the two dice (10 * 10). There are, however, "real" {{w|Zocchihedron|d100s}} and similar dice as well, but they are considered specialty dice and often nicknamed "golf balls" to emphasize how large and unwieldy they are. The Zocchihedron (d100) die is also biased because of geometry requiring different sized faces, the next unbiased die is a d120, it is very likely that Cueball's d65536 die is also biased.

Here, Cueball has constructed a d65536 for generating random 16 bit numbers, likely with a [https://www.shapeways.com/product/U9CN6MT6X/d256 3d printer] or other CAM tools. It may have solved the problem of generating large random numbers with fewer die rolls, but presents a new set of challenges from its sheer size, dwarfing an average human. While large in itself, a die that big could still be emulated by rolling multiple dice (e.g. 8 4-faced dice or 16 coin flips) and converting the result into binary before getting the desired number. Part of the humor stems from the the comic completely failing to mention another big problem with this die: Deciding which of the 65536 faces is up. This is another problem with a d100, as many sides appear to be up at once. Similarly horrible hilarity will ensue if such a massive die is cast with enough energy to be random while expect it to stop rolling in a short period of time let alone on a table top or even within a building (which raises the question of whether breaking through a wall or furniture is all part of the randomization or requiring a re-roll as per house rules).

The closest regular shape similar to the depicted in the comic could be a {{w|Goldberg polyhedron}}. However, no such polyhedron exists with exactly 65536 hexagonal faces. The closest Goldberg Polyhedron has a mixture of 65520 hexagons and 12 pentagons, totaling 65532 faces. It is possible to construct a fair die without a matching regular shape by limiting the sides which it could land on and designing those sides to be fair (for instance, a prism with rectangular facets that extend its entire length, and rounded ends to ensure it doesn't balance on end).

The title text references how many cryptographic systems (especially RSA and other factoring-is-hard based systems) are vulnerable to quantum attacks as quantum computing technology develops. The title text is essentially punning on the idea of a "large" quantum system. "Large" in the quantum computing sense would be on the order of 64 qubits each of which would be an atom or two at most. This would still be microscopic and will never be as large as the giant die the comic is centered on; but for a well-observed environment and human rolling without sufficient entropy (consider somebody obsessed with a certain number dropping the die on something soft), a conventional computer could predict some rolls. See also [[538]] for non-mathematical paths of cryptography.

==Trivia==
*If a real d65536 were constructed with each number having an equal area and each printed in 12 point font, the resulting die would be about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter, which isn't several times the size of a person as the comic suggests, but is still large enough to be hilariously inconvenient. If it were made out of standard acrylic, and not hollow, it would weigh about 2 tons (1700kg).
*This die would have a 0.00001526 chance of rolling a natural one (or any other number).
*There are seven 16-bit numbers fully visible in the picture: 30827, 25444, 11875, 28525, 12082, 13874 and 13359. They conceal a message. If these numbers are split big-endian into two 8-bit ASCII characters each, the result is <code>xkcd.com/2624/</code>.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Drawing of a large die with many sides, about ten meters in diameter; Cueball is standing next to it as a size reference and facing it. The die is about five times the size of Cueball and is a sphere with many lines following various great circles or parallel lesser circles around the curve of the sphere, and some patches of cross hatching to suggest further texturing along these lines hovering just below the degree of most of the illustrative detailing. The individual sides cannot be seen except for where a small portion of the die's surface is zoomed in, showing elongated hexagonal faces with five-digit numbers.]

:[Numbers on the zoomed in part of the die, "..." represents being cut off:]
:30827
:16[bottom part of a line][small circle]
:...38
:11875
:25444
:...[top part of a line]5
:12082
:28525
:3...
:13359
:13874
:2...

:[Caption below the image:]
:The hardest part of securely generating random 16-bit numbers is rolling the d65536.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2626: d65536

2022-05-31T18:47:36Z

172.70.162.5: /* Explanation */ Redone in wikipedia-link template form.

{{comic
| number = 2626
| date = May 30, 2022
| title = d65536
| image = d65536.png
| titletext = They're robust against quantum attacks because it's hard to make a quantum system that large.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HEXAKISMYRIAPENTAKISCHILIAPENTAHECTATRIACONTAKAIHEXAHEDRON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In binary computing, 16 bit numbers range from 0 to 65535 (or 1 to 65536). Generating large numbers randomly is a recurring problem in cryptography.

In role-playing games (and occasionally in other tabletop games), dice are often referred to as d[number] according to their number of faces. A traditional six-faced die would be a d6, and many popular pen-and-paper role-playing games use dice ranging between d4 and d20. While there are larger dice used in tabletop games (most commonly d100), these are usually split into multiple smaller ones. For example, a d100 is often two d10s rolled together, with one die providing the first digit and the other die giving the second digit — the total number of possible combinations (100) is the product of the number of faces of the two dice (10 * 10). There are, however, "real" {{w|Zocchihedron|d100s}} and similar dice as well, but they are considered specialty dice and often nicknamed "golf balls" to emphasize how unwieldy they are.

Here, Cueball has constructed a d65536 for generating random 16 bit numbers, likely with a [https://www.shapeways.com/product/U9CN6MT6X/d256 3d printer] or other CAM tools. It has solved the problem of being secure from a cryptography standpoint, but presents a new set of challenges from its sheer size, dwarfing an average human. While large in itself, a die that big could still be emulated by rolling multiple dice (e.g. 8 4-faced dice or 16 coin flips) and converting the result into binary before getting the desired number. Part of the humor stems from the the comic completely failing to mention another big problem with this die: Deciding which of the 65536 faces is up. Similarly horrible hilarity will ensue if such a die is cast with enough energy to be random while expect it to stop rolling in a short period of time let alone on a table top or even within a building (which raises the question of whether breaking through a wall or furniture is all part of the randomization or requiring a re-roll as per house rules).

The closest regular shape similar to the depicted in the comic could be a {{w|Goldberg polyhedron}}. However no such polyhedron exists with exactly 65536 hexagonal faces. The closest Goldberg Polyhedron has a mixture of 65520 hexagons and 12 pentagons, totalling 65532 faces. It is possible to construct a fair die without a matching regular shape (for instance, a cylinder with rectangular facets that extend its entire length, and rounded ends to ensure it doesn't balance on end).

The title text references how many cryptographic systems (especially RSA and other factoring-is-hard based systems) are vulnerable to quantum attacks as quantum computing technology develops. The title text is essentially punning on the idea of a "large" quantum system. "Large" in the quantum computing sense would be on the order of 64 qubits each of which would be an atom or two at most. This would still be microscopic and will never be as large as the giant die the comic is centered on; but for a well-observed environment and human rolling without sufficient entropy (consider somebody obsessed with a certain number dropping the die on something soft), a conventional computer could predict some rolls. See also [[538]] for non-mathematical paths of cryptography.

==Trivia==
*If a real d65536 were constructed with each number having an equal area and each printed in 12 point font, the resulting die would be about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter. If it were made out of standard acrylic, and not hollow, it would weigh about 2 tons (1700kg).
*This die would have a 0.00001526 chance of rolling a natural one (or any other number).
*There are seven 16-bit numbers fully visible in the picture: 30827, 25444, 11875, 28525, 12082, 13874 and 13359. They conceal a message. If these numbers are split big-endian into two 8-bit ASCII characters each, the result is <code>xkcd.com/2624/</code>.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Drawing of a large die with many sides, about ten meters in diameter; Cueball is standing next to it as a size reference. A small portion of the die's surface is zoomed in, showing elongated hexagonal faces with five-digit numbers.]

:[Numbers on the zoomed in part of the die, "..." represents being cut off:]
:30827
:16[bottom part of a line][small circle]
:...38
:11875
:25444
:...[top part of a line]5
:12082
:28525
:3...
:13359
:13874
:2...

:[Caption below the image:]
:The hardest part of securely generating random 16-bit numbers is rolling the d65536.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:2626: d65536

2022-05-31T12:59:33Z

172.70.162.5:

I wonder: can we even make a fair polyhedron with 65536 faces? In Randal's illustration, the faces seem to be irregular hexagons. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: This is better than my question, which was simply if you could tile a sphere with these. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 23:01, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Definitely possible, just create two identical right pyramids with a 32768-gon base and glue the bases together. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 23:53, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Would this design be fair? Consider a set of 256 lines of latitude overlapping another set, with the second set's polar axis at the equator of the first. Cut flat quadrangles between the intersection points of the lines of latitude. Doesn't use hexagons like the comic does though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Fairness is a given for pyramids (if that's what you're asking). As long as there's enough 'rolling energy' to get either of the pyramids 'facing up', any N-agon base to the pyramids should have enough indeterminate impetous to then finally roll around a bit to end up with any of those exposed faces on top.
::(Interesting to note that for odd-numbered N-agonal bases, like that in a D10, you need to offset the bases and instead of sticking to the triangular faces base-to-base you now have kite-shapes that interlock in a serration that is no longer strictly planar along the axis's perpendiculars.)
::That might need a selection of the pyramidal slope. A very wide pair of bases with very little tip-'elevation' (to fit tightly within an oblate spheroid) should transition very well between same-pyramid faces, like a bulgy button, but one with highly acute tip-angle (prolate, likewise) might find the dominant behaviour to be tip-to-tip tipping, more like a toggle-fastener. OTOH, for odd-numbered end-agons it would probably ratchett to subsequent sides as it tips back and forth so long as it has enough energy to it.
::If you're asking about lines of latitude intersecting, consider that near the poles of either latitudinal reference the division of the other reference-system is going to be spliced more irregularly and thus give varying degrees of stability to rest upon.
::(Also, do you have a latitudinal line that crosses ''both'' pairs of poles, or are you deliberately moving them by half a phase (1/512th of the relevent circumference) so that you at least don't have them entirely coincident.)
::I believe the suggested scheme would be to take a dodecahedron or icosohedron (either of the two duals can be used to start with) and then subdivide each face in such a manner that equally-sized (but differently distorted) hexagons – and 12 little regular pentagons of identical area fitting in at the old dodecahedron centre/the old icosahedron vertex – emerge from the required segmentation/vertex-truncation and readjustment the radiality of all new mid-edge vertices (or maybe the newer-edges' centres or the newer-faces' centres) to touch the unit sphere. If done symmetrically, it should be entirely fair.
::The face-count might be troublesome, though. The twelve necessary pentagonal faces leaves 65524 hexagons, to split evenly between* either 12 or 20 zones, and it should be obvious that neither is possible**, in whole numbers, given the starting point of 2n faces...
:::(* - you can, and probably will in this design, have some that cross between two of the top-level polygons, but you can fully 'donate' as many as you then fully ''get'' donated from the next face around, so it might as well be just counted as a group of whole tiles on an a set of Escher-like interlocking 'rough' polygons.)
:::(** - If you're using 12 zones, that's 3x4x(however many in the zone + one corner each) and there's no factor of 3 in ''any'' value that is 2n. Arranging into 20 symmetrical zones (5x4), you will find that 65524 isn't divisible by 5, either...)
::You could probably arrange an N-ahedron with the number of faces being 12+(12a) or 12+(20b), for some higher value (a bit of mental arithmatic suggests 65592 might be that value) and mark all the 'excess' faces (56?) with "Roll Again!". Or perhaps some pithy motivational slogans that also convey roughly the same meaning... :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 11:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Postcript: Ok, so this is my idea for face-placing. Take a D8 (octahedron) and divide each of its 8 originally triangular faces into 8192 smaller faces (alternatively, start with a cube and progressively truncate its corners towards the same end). This is not a divisible by three number (neither can you put one in the centre, the rest are divisble by three and can surround it symmetrically), but you don't need strict rotational symmetry in any way. The opposing side can reflect/copy the non-symmetry as required to create any useful symmetry across the whole of the structure (and make floored-base/upmost-face pairings, amongst other things).
:As long as you make the faces equally likely to land on ''and stay on'' (could be hyperstellated as a slightly flat irregular 8192agon-based right-pyramid with the pyramid-faces of adjacent sides matching or meshing edges with those of each other, or a complicated mostly-hexagonal mesh, or a triangular one that's a limited fragment of a fine geodesic-like bulged pattern) by some suitable scheme governing area, aspect ratio and inter-face angle of incidence (probably normalising features to touch the unit sphere, for a start) then it should do it fairly and with ''exactly'' 65536 faces. I leave the fine-tweaking up to someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 12:59, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I don't know why it's so big? Seems like it should have a diameter of approx. 1 meter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Cueball is 50 pixels high. The ball is 340 px high. Assuming Cueball is an average-height male (1.7m), and is standing the same distance from the viewer as the center of the ball, roughly how large is each face of the polygon? Area of a sphere is 4.pi.r.r, r=0.85, so 9.08 m^2 or 9080000 mm^2, divide by number of faces, get 277 mm^2, so we get 1.6cm to a side. If I did that right, then you're right: those are fairly large faces. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I ran the calculations for the Trivia section. I used 12pt font which gave each number an area of 1/6 square inch (about 1 square cm) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 06:57, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should the title and picture file use "d" or the comic's difficult to type "ᴅ"?
[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 21:55, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Since xkcd uses small caps as lowercase letters, the "ᴅ" should just be considered xkcd-font for "d", and as such need not be used on the title, which is not using the xkcd font.
:: Ah! [[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 06:15, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

If you really did want to generate a 16 bit integer with physical dice, it would be much simpler to roll a [https://www.thediceshoponline.com/impact-opaque-hexidice-d16-hexadecimal-dice hex die] four times. [[User:Clayot|Clayot]] ([[User talk:Clayot|talk]]) 23:30, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Rolling a binary die 16 times would also work. You can get binary dice for 1¢ each. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.69|108.162.245.69]] 01:31, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Those 1¢ "dices" are not exactly guaranteed to be random. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:::They seem as random as other dice? Am I wrong? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:33, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I think the hardest part (or maybe second-hardest part) is figuring out which facet is the one on top. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.109|162.158.78.109]] 00:46, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:Roll it on a glass table, check from below which face it's landed on instead. Wait until it has settled safely, though, or it might land on ''your'' face! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.227|172.70.90.227]] 04:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Good plan. Assuming standard dice design, subtract the value from 65537 to get the value of the uppermost face. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

What material should it be to be light enough to easily roll it but cheap enough that doing the 1,5 meters doest cost a fortune ? Sorry if the question is not clear. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.30|141.101.69.30]] 05:50, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I recommend making it hollow. You could probably do something like this for $3000 if you made it out of 1/8th inch acrylic plate. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 07:02, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:At first I thought aluminum for sturdiness, but really you could make this out of cardboard for dirt cheap, lasercutting precise shapes, but you'd have to design its structural frame to keep it intact, exchanges design effort for price. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I disagree with this dice being really random. Like, sure, if thrown correctly, but that's going to be quite hard. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

:True. For a rolled die to be random, it needs to roll far enough so that the initial orientation no longer governs the outcome. Say, ten times the circumference, or about 150 meters? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 10:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Interesting to consider the 'necessary minimum'. Simplify to a "wheel of fortune" (just one axis of continual rotation) it would depend upon the potential variation of imparted rotation. If (say) 'aiming' at two whole rotations has a (perhaps 'normal') spread of variance that relates to ±½ rotational uncertainty at the 1st and 3rd quartile of probability then the sub-first and above-third 'tails' might wrap around to (roughly) equalise the chances that 2±(whatever fraction) spins lands just about anywhere just about equally. Aiming at four whole rotations (similary ±1 spin at the given quartiles, and the tailing chancs 'filling in' above 5 rotations and below 3) would smooth things out, all else equal, but takes twice as much perceived/attempted effort for not much more 'randomising'.
::Similarly, requiring 10 full rolls (maybe honestly aiming for 10, but allowing it to be 7.5 or less if not obviously 'just nudged') seems overkill, in the single dimension.
::Except, of course that you also need enough distance (on top of whatever factor you consider practical as a variation-wrapping value, which might not be the ½-in-2 I give) to also roll ''sideways''. If for some reason you really don't want to roll 65536 or 1 (or is it 65535 and 0?), which may be on polar-opposite faces, you might make sure that they are directly to the left and right before you propel the die forwards ''a little'', not caring which distribution of numbers is on/near the rolling-equator (2 is acceptible to you, and 65533, etc; other very low/high values conceivably placed on that thin band of "wheel-like chance" but you're just avoiding the very largest and smallest, or specifically just the one of them) but knowing that it's more unlikely to easily present the exact face(s) you dislike than it might be in a truly 'fair' roll.
::Perhaps the best thing is to have a rolling track to send the thing down that puts it the required "two or so rotations" forward to then either hit a wall or climb slightly up a slope (at a roughly 45 degree angle) that then sends it back roughly sideways to the original vector for a similar distance with a perpendicular or even composite moment of rolling rotation, to bring 'initially axial' numbers fully into play... And that dog-leg would require a sligthly shorter length from launch-position to where the thoroughly mixed-up final stopping point should be, whilst significantly foiling the master-manipulators who actually try to arrange an initial setup that favours better final results (rather than just nudge it, uncaring, for a result not as totally random but certainly not more predominently of desired-for ranges than otherwise). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.8|141.101.99.8]] 12:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should it be related to https://xkcd.com/221/ ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.246|162.158.183.246]] 08:07, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I'm going to wait, I think - I don't think there's room in my attic for this as well as all the Betamax kit, my drawers full of MiniDiscs and my Zune collection. No, I'll sit tight - I'm hearing encouraging things about the introduction of the Magic 65536-Ball... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2626: d65536

2022-05-31T11:34:59Z

172.70.162.5: Make fetenete more obvious.