explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2520: Symbols

2022-07-22T19:52:10Z

172.70.250.185: R_e as elastic limit? (sorry if I'm editing wrong)

Great work by whomever did this, but is it possible R_e is something else? I agree that the numerical aspect makes it seem like a fluid mechanics problem, but I've never seen the Reynolds number with a subscripted e... only a regular size e, such that it is Re, not R_e. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.93|108.162.237.93]] 20:36, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
: R sub e (not Re) is Effective Reproduction Number. This is related to infection rates. I'm pretty sure it's R sub e, not Re given that infection rates are very much on his mind right now.
:: It would be out of place relative to all the other entries, though, which are all physics related. IMO it's more likely this was an error.
: Earth's radius is abbreviated "R sub e" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.4|162.158.107.4]] 21:30, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
: Could be the remainder of a series (i.e. the error when using the first terms of the series as an approximation). Determining upper bounds on this error is usually very tedious.
: R sub e is tire effective rolling radius (or effective radius)--a radius based on the distance traveled by one rotation of a pneumatic tire. Re is similar to the unloaded radius (for radial tires) and normally larger than the loaded radius (distance from axle to ground).
: My first thought was that this referred to the "real part" operator, although that's typically represented by a plain Re (no subscript).

Re seems to be related to number theory, like in those papers where's they tediously prove that there are infinities of different sizes.

Extra vote for number theory theory, I've seen R_e most when referring to Real part of a function, which does often bring in tedious calculations

Re is almost definitely not meant to have any electronic structure meaning here. The subscript alpha in R_alpha is indexing over x,y,z (cartesian coordinates) as a transition dipole moment term.

T to the fourth power looks like blackbody radiation, any ideas what specifically that formula represents? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.22|162.158.203.22]] 20:40, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
:There's an equation for what reflects off a spherical object that is a quartic equation (although I'd expect concave reflectors, not convex ones, to risk skin-burn. Or, more likely something to do with UV (non-)absorbtion or generation, but I imagine someone knows ''exactly'' what it is, without someone like me just guessing wildly. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.82|141.101.99.82]] 21:05, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
This wiki does not seem to have a consistent formatting structure for lists

The ''NA'' could also soon become NAN (not a number) thus being only a step away from the dangerous arthmeric error. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.43|162.158.88.43]] 21:38, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

'''Bold Title'''
:Content starting with a tab

*'''Bold title''' content continues on same line

*Regular title
Content on a new line, but not starting with a tab

As well as tables and mixes of these formats. Maybe someone should pick one and apply it to all the explanations. I just noticed it because of the inconsistencies as people are quickly throwing something together for this new comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.4|162.158.107.4]] 21:02, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

I read the penultimate line as "Mg" and was trying to imagine a meaning for "megagrams per kilogram". Sloppy Greek letter there, Randall. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:17, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
::I find this criticism very unreasonable. Randall's "m" is written very differently, there are plenty of examples of it in this very cartoon to avoid confusion, and micrograms are far more commonly used than megagrams. I had no problem whatsoever recognizing the letter mu, and I don't see how this could be a problem for anyone already familiar with that letter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.85|162.158.90.85]] 11:11, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Why are partial derivatives considered graduate-level? They're typically covered in first level undergraduate science courses, along with gradients and such. [[User:FPSCanarussia|FPSCanarussia]] ([[User talk:FPSCanarussia|talk]]) 03:34, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

The reference to "micrometer" links to the Wikipedia page for the measuring device, but it should link to the page for the unit of length: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre [[User:Professor Frink|Professor Frink]] ([[User talk:Professor Frink|talk]]) 15:58, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Adding to “Micrometer/Micrometre” above: this “any” is not really correct:
:Of course, micrometers are used as a measurement of distance in other contexts, but any distance-measuring device capable of accurately measuring micrometer distances would also be expensive.
The “Micrometers” as seen in the Wikipedia article can measure distances of some micrometers accurately, but are not really expensive. Probably even cheaper than any equipment which can ''not'' measure distances. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.239|162.158.88.239]] 18:19, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

In certain circles (or, perhaps, between them as they roll), the typical Reynolds number is {{w|Reynolds Technology|just three digits}}... ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.95|162.158.159.95]] 20:04, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

"When radiative transfer is large enough to be the most important form of heat interchange, it is normally also large enough to sear the skin with thermal or ultraviolet burns." Radiative transfer is the dominant heat transfer from a (idle) human body in a 20C room. There is no risk of seared skin in this situation. As an aside if people understood the role of radiative heat transfer we'd have more comfortable and cheaper HVAC systems (and more underfloor heating).[[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.91|172.70.34.91]] 20:08, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

I cannot recall ever using Avogadro's constant in a stochiometric calculation. You do everything in mole or gram mole. NA implicitly cancels and never even appears.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.91|172.70.34.91]] 20:08, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

mSV (millisievert) is also likely to show up in other internet debates as well, usually related to Chernobyl, Fukushima, Three Mile Island, or [other such nuclear accidents|https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/brief-history-nuclear-accidents-worldwide]
Also likely to show up in any discussion on nuclear energy to alleviate global warming, especially given modern reactor designs to reduce such incidents.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:15, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

d⁄dx is not the symbol for a single variable derivative, but the symbol for a total derivative. Partial derivatives and total derivatives happen to be equal when the function depends on only one variable, but in general both partial and total derivatives are used in multivariate calculus [[Special:Contributions/198.41.231.172|198.41.231.172]] 05:56, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

I know arguments on the Internet often aren't logical, but the mSV really wouldn't make any sense in the context of arguing about 5G as that is non-ionizing radiation. [[User:Ullallulloo|Ullallulloo]] ([[User talk:Ullallulloo|talk]]) 14:37, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

eV may more specifically be a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.35.70|172.70.35.70]] 03:59, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

R_e could also refer to the elastic limit in solid mechanics, where it is the lowest stress at which permanent deformation will occur. At least my university (in Germany) uses that symbol. Interestingly, stress analysis can also involve a lot of numerical work, at least outside of simplified examples.

Talk:2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-27T15:35:09Z

172.70.250.185: trying to make Randall's encoding worse ;p

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)
::The (almost) exact encoding style of the alt text also was used before, e.g. in works of fiction - the first I can think of is Howard Taylor's Schlock Mercenary (used for AI names) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.45|172.70.242.45]] 13:41, 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've repeatedly had my edits, longer and shorter, reverted completely away. I've occasionally started the same to manage the experience. Your opinion is a breathe of fresh air but I wouldn't be worried about increases in quality that shorten the text. One can even leave concepts in by replacing them with links. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.241|172.70.110.241]] 12:01, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
::One thing you learn, when contributing to a wiki, is that you better be prepared to [https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-kill-your-darlings Kill Your Darlings], or have them killed by others. The many's the time I've written something I'm (eventually) quite pleased about, but it gets wiped out either by someone disagreeing with my particular form of self-satisfaction, or just completely rearranging things and either crashing through the carefully crafted copy or ruthlessly removing my radient repartee. But such is life...
:And often I feel that whoever got in there with the first footprint of explanation has ''not'' done it the way I would (surprisingly often I had the same idea, but obviously there are so many ways to do it... but here I may disagree entirely rather than "I'll happily work with it, then, however different it is...") and I might be ''very'' tempted to replace it wholesale. I don'5 think I have ever done so, but I might tweak it a ''lot'', in bits and pieces. It may still upset an OP who finds it bears little relationship to what they submitted, but I try never to do anything beyond the general hum of the community. Coward that I am. But it can happen to anyone. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.44|172.70.86.44]] 17:01, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
:I'm not sure about 'overly long', but as it stands it takes an awfully long time to come to the point. I'd be inclined to lift the basic explanation (roughly equating to the paragraph starting 'The joke is...') to the top, and only after that dive into the niceties of how each system works and what specifically is going on in the examples in the comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.58|172.70.91.58]] 09:11, 27 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)
:I was also thinking that. But maybe qualified as "archaic but still commonly seen" (or similar), were my thoughts. I was wondering if it was a local perspective, though. 'Historical' US usage is rather sparser, I imagine, than the accumulation of Old World monuments/etc, from deeper back into the times it was more usual, so making only the "stylstically old" things predominantly use them (certain clock faces, etc). Meanwhile, even our programmes broadcast on the BBC still regularly close with the date in letters (anything from this year is "MMXXII") on the final frame/line of the credits, while our other broadcasters go with contemporary numerals in the same context. (I wonder, was 1999 "MIMIC", rather than "MCMXCIX"..? I think it was...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.221|141.101.98.221]] 11:58, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
::In mathematics, Roman numerals are archaic (obsolete, no longer in active use), common use is just for numbering (monarchs - themselves a somewhat archaic concept, generations of using the same name, events, sequels, volumes, paragraphs or appendices, etc.) or very occasionally for years (e.g. of construction) - "archaic" is correct even if you mean from the/an archaic period which may be the period when a civilization built the foundation for a later "classical" period ("Golden Age") (some exemptions may apply) or specifically the time of the Greek archaic era leading up to Classical (Hellenic) Greece, usually defined some time between about 800 and 480 BCE (they did (probably) originate from the Roman archaic period which overlaps with the Greek one) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.45|172.70.242.45]] 13:41, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

In case anyone is interested, I created a small encoder/decoder program (Python+PyQt): https://gist.github.com/MaurizioB/6bedeca961b5152006d030f56f817a2f [[User:Musicamanate|Musicamanate]] ([[User talk:Musicamanate|talk]]) 17:05, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

It's rather ironic that the hindu/arabic numerals contain zero, while roman numerals don't. By mixing a zero into the roman numerals things get confusing.

Ran500a100s 5ers1on of th1s en100o501ng 1s 4st 100o1000p50ete50y 50a100k1ng. He's ob6o5s50y forgotten that the 50etters 1, 5 and 10 are rea100y 4st 5ar1ants of 1 and 5 an500 999 not e11st 1n the 150ass99a50 50at1n a50phabet. "10" 1n part144ar 1s a Ger1000an99 1nno5at1on!
(sorry, 1 4st 100o445n't res1st, tho5gh 1 ''al1000ost'' 11sh 1 ha500 - b5t 1 500ef1n1te50y 50o5e the 10or500 999 - aka "did" 1n 5nen100o500e500 10r1t1ng) --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.185|172.70.250.185]] 15:35, 27 June 2022 (UTC)

2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects

2022-05-04T19:33:08Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 241764 by Ex Kay Cee Dee (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2611
| date = April 25, 2022
| title = Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects
| image = cutest_sounding_scientific_effects.png
| titletext = The Stroop-YORP number of a scientific paper is how many of the 16 finalist names (sans 'effect') it manages to casually sneak into the text.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A GUY WITH A Stroop-YORP Effect NUMBER OF 16! - Fill in the [[#Result of the twitter polls|Result of the twitter polls]] as it comes in! Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Randall]] has compiled [[:Category:Tournament bracket|yet another]] {{w|Tournament bracket|single-elimination tournament bracket}} for a knock-out competition, by public vote, between 16 different scientific effect names that he seems to consider worthy of being cute-sounding.

As of the release day, he is determining the result in a [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518701311763570689 series of Twitter polls]. These results are shown [[#Result of the Twitter polls|here]].

See [[#Effects|below]] for explanations for what each of the 16 effects are.

Several unrelated scientific effects were previously combined in [[1531: The BDLPSWDKS Effect]], which also included the Stroop effect (the last S).

In the title text, Randall coins the term "Stroop-YORP number" as a count of how many 'casual' references a future publication can sneak into it from the 16 finalist names for cutest effect. It specifies that it should be without the word effect after the words (sans 'effect').

Tongue-in-cheek 'counting scores' are familiar in the likes of the {{w|Erdős_number|Erdős}} and {{w|Bacon_number|Bacon}} numbers, both of which are referenced by [[599: Apocalypse]] (the latter only in the title text). In these cases the ideal is to get the ''lowest'' number, whereas here higher is better. The cross-field hybrid {{w|Erdős–Bacon number}} is one in which the desired score is the lowest sum of both values (neither being undefinable) by dint of having participated in both arenas of respective achievement, but not necessarily (or practically) in a single combined presentation.

For instance the Stroop-YORP number could be high for a wildlife paper. That could possibly use "butterfly" and "rabbit" (possibly needing the latter to be specifically 'cutaneous', to count), which may both be found in "little parks" with some "popcorn" seen littered around without too much "oddity"; and of course a (Dr.?) "fox" could be in the area, getting a score of 6. But other words may be a stretch, with an imaginative reference to a "woozle" possibly easier to employ than to evoke anything of the "nocebo".

On the other hand, for a space-science paper there may be more obvious (mis)uses for physics-related terms, and mentioning YORP might well be expected. But it may need creative thinking to introduce the rabbit or the more psychological idea of Stroopicity, etc, without reason to discuss the responses of animal or human payloads being sent there.

It is not actually obvious whether Randall intends the score to only be valid if the insertions are off-field and/or undetected, such as when someone is wagered that they can slip unrelated song lyrics or a 'hello' to Jason Isaacs into a public speech without the rest of the audience twigging.

A search of google scholar indicates many articles with a score of 2 (e.g. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87559129.2012.714435 this paper], which refers to butterfly shaped popcorn), but 3 or more seems to not be attested.

==Effects==
;{{w|YORP effect}}: The YORP effect is the effect of sunlight on an asteroid with variations of shape and/or albedo, which can increase its rotation rate and/or modify its axis of rotation. It can cause objects to eventually spin apart or drastically change their orbit.
:It is an acronym of the names Yarkovsky, O’Keefe, Radzievskii and Paddack, who were instrumental in its discovery. More than a century ago, Yarkovsky determined that heat applied to a symmetrical rotating body would be asymmetrically re-emitted and apply a small but continuous thrust, and this was added to by considering the forces to non-symmetrical bodies.
;{{w|Nocebo effect}}: An effect in which a recipient of medication who believes that it will have negative side-effects is more likely to experience those negative side-effects, whether they can be really caused by the medication or not. Opposite of the {{w|placebo effect}}, which focuses on positive side-effects that arise beyond the true efficacy of a given treatment.
:''Nocēbō'' is Latin for “I shall harm”, coined to oppose ''placēbō'', “I shall please”.
;{{w|Woozle effect}}: If a study gets repeatedly cited and otherwise disseminated, then people will start to believe it regardless of whether it has any evidence behind it. And if there is not any evidence, it becomes an urban myth.
:Named after a Winnie-the-Pooh story in which Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet try to catch an imaginary animal called a woozle, and accidentally follow their own tracks in circles.
:A similar effect was discussed in [[978: Citogenesis]], wherein a sourceless statement on Wikipedia can become apparently credible via simple repetition.
;{{w|Stroop effect}}: The Stroop effect (referenced in [[1531: The BDLPSWDKS Effect]]) is a psychological phenomenon in which it is easier to name the visual color of a word when the word refers to its own color, than when the word refers to a different color; i.e. the fact that saying that '''Red''' is red is easier than to say that '''Blue''' is green.
:Named after {{w|John Ridley Stroop}}.
;{{w|Pockels effect}}: A phenomenon where an electric field passed through a medium can cause the medium's refractive index to depend upon the polarization and propagation direction of the refracted light, a property known as {{w|birefringence}}.
:Named after {{w|Friedrich Carl Alwin Pockels}}.
;{{w|Cheerios effect}}: A phenomenon where objects floating in a liquid appear to attract or repel each other.
:Named after the cereal Cheerios, which are an everyday demonstration of this phenomenon because many eat Cheerios in a bowl of milk.
;{{w|Hot chocolate effect}}: A phenomenon where the sound created by tapping a cup of hot liquid rises in pitch as a soluble powder is added.
;{{w|Perky effect}}: An experiment in which participants were asked to visualize an object while staring at a screen on which the outline of that object was subtly projected. Participants believed the projected shape to be only a product of their imaginations.
:Named after {{w|Cheves Perky}}.
;{{w|Bouba/kiki effect}}: An observation that people, despite different native languages, will relatively consistently assign names with certain sounds to blobby or spiky shapes, suggesting the association of sound and shape is non-arbitrary. ''Bouba'' and ''kiki'' were two of the words used in the experiment.
;{{w|Cutaneous rabbit effect}}: A phenomenon where, when tapped on one part of the body in rapid succession and then switching to another, the subject feels the tapping at locations in between the two.
:For example, if rapidly tapping the wrist then switching to the elbow, the subject will subjectively feel as if they are being tapped at progressive intervals between the wrist and elbow, when they are not.
;[https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smallfirmeffect.asp Small firm effect]: An economic theory that small firms usually perform better than larger ones
;{{w|Little–Parks effect}}: A phenomenon where a fluctuating magnetic field passed through a superconductor can slightly suppress its superconductivity, inducing small fluctuations in its electrical resistance.
:When juxtaposed against the "small firm effect", as in the bracket, one might get the impression that it is somehow related to urban architecture or civil engineering.
;{{w|Dr. Fox effect}}: A disputed theory that student evaluations of their teachers are likely unreliable, because they are largely based on the teacher's charisma instead of the quality of their content.
;{{w|Oddity effect}}: A theory that when fish assemble in shoals (large social groups), any that stand out appearance-wise will be attacked by a predator, explaining why shoals tend to have similar-looking members.
;{{w|Butterfly effect}}: The butterfly effect is the sensitivity of chaotic systems to small changes in initial conditions. The weather system of Earth is chaotic, and so an arbitrarily small change in air patterns (such as could be caused by the flapping of a butterfly's wing) could ultimately change the weather for the whole world.
;{{w|Popcorn effect}}: A phenomenon exhibited by crushed ore placed on a vibrating screen for separation in mineral processing, in which larger particles tend to bounce higher than smaller particles.

==Transcript==
:[A tournament bracket tree is shown with 16 scientific effect names, with 8 on the left and 8 on the right side. From both sides toward the middle the brackets reduce from eight to four, to two, then to one line where the latter join to a rectangle in the middle for the winners name of the final match. Above the bracket there is a title:]
:<big>Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects</big>

:[Left side:]
:YORP effect
:Nocebo effect

:Woozle effect
:Stroop effect

:Pockels effect
:Cheerios effect

:Hot chocolate effect
:Perky effect

:[Right side:]
:Bouba/kiki effect
:Cutaneous rabbit effect

:Small firm effect
:Little Parks effect

:Dr. Fox effect
:Oddity effect

:Butterfly effect
:Popcorn effect

==Trivia==
* Randall has created [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518701311763570689 Twitter polls] to determine the outcome of this version of his [[1819: Sweet 16|sweet 16]]:

===Result of the [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518698708824727554 Twitter polls]===
====First wave====
The first wave ran from April 25, 2022 at 5:19pm ET to the next day at 5:42pm ET.
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518701311763570689 '''YORP effect (67.7%)''' vs Nocebo effect (32.3%)], 8,996 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518702773075943425 '''Woozle effect (74.4%)''' vs Stroop effect (25.6%)], 8,517 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518704819720044544 Pockels effect (42.4%) vs '''Cheerios effect (57.6%)'''], 7,513 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518705352342228998 '''Hot chocolate effect (56.2%)''' vs Perky effect (43.8%)], 7,379 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518705724737662977 '''Bouba/kiki effect (64%)''' vs Cutaneous rabbit effect (36%)], 7,563 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518706168440541194 Small firm effect (18.4%) vs '''Little Parks effect (81.6%)'''], 7,209 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518706772999118848 '''Dr. Fox effect (67.5%)''' vs Oddity effect (32.5%)], 7,852 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1518707180320481280 '''Butterfly effect (56.5%)''' vs Popcorn effect (43.4%)], 7,825 votes

====Second wave====
The second wave started on April 26, 2022 at 5:56pm ET and ended around 11:56am ET.
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519073013781647365 YORP effect (35.7%) vs '''Woozle effect (64.3%)'''], 7,026 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519074868637147138 Cheerios effect (49.5%) vs '''Hot chocolate effect (50.5%)'''], 6,672 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519077131376074754 '''Bouba/Kiki effect (72.8%)''' vs Little parks effect (27.2%)], 7,466 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519079116993183749 Dr. Fox effect (47.9%) vs '''Butterfly effect (52.1%)'''], 6,752 votes

====Third wave====
The third wave started on April 27, 2022 at 6:54pm ET and ended around 12:54pm ET.
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519450011674759169 '''Woozle effect (71.2%)''' vs Hot chocolate effect (28.8%)], 8,237 votes
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519455938096373761 '''Bouba/Kiki effect (77.6%)''' vs Butterfly effect (22.4%)], 7,223 votes

====Fourth wave====
The fourth wave started on April 28, 2022 at 4:30pm ET and ended around 10:30pm ET.
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1519776107821740033 Woozle effect (46.1%) vs '''Bouba/Kiki effect (53.9%)'''], 10,774 votes

====Bonus wave====
* [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1520109683503161344 '''Bouba (57%)''' vs Kiki (43%)], 9,723 votes

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Tournament bracket]]

2325: Endorheic Basin

2022-05-04T02:05:57Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 233647 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 2325
| date = June 26, 2020
| title = Endorheic Basin
| image = endorheic_basin.png
| titletext = My biggest fear is that colonial engineers will try to flood me to generate electricity. My biggest hope is that I'll develop sailing stones.
}}

==Explanation==
Yet another comic with one of [[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. This time he attracts water so it flows to him rather than running out towards the nearby oceans. He thus claims he is an {{w|endorheic basin}}, hence the title.

An endorheic basin is a limited drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. The {{w|Caspian Sea}} in Asia is the largest such basin. It is debated if it is a lake or a sea (it is salty, but not connected to the oceans). If it is a lake then it is the world's largest lake.

Real-life endorheic basins do not attract water in any unusual ways. Rather, they form when low-lying, inland areas receive water from rivers and streams, but not enough to flood them completely and allow the water to overflow into an ocean. As the surface of the lake grows, so do the rate of evaporation and seepage into the ground, until they're equivalent to the inflow of water (at least, on a yearly average). Obviously, Beret Guy's inexplicable effect on water is distinct from the way actual endorheic basins function.

The panel showing Beret Guy after a shower looks similar to what could happen in a space station if you have liquid water in zero gravity. The water in this environment sticks to any surface it encounters.{{Citation needed}} See for instance the start of this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDJABZpVlI Water in zero gravity] and this one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TssbmY-GM Wringing out Water on the ISS - for Science!] to see how water reacts to human skin in zero gravity. It is thus almost impossible for him to dry off after a shower. It seems like the water that is attracted to him is still somewhat subject to gravity, as it pools downwards upon him; presumably he knows to finish showering before it floods over his face.

In fact he needs someone to come with a {{w|siphon}} to get rid of the water. A siphon is a hose or u-shaped pipe, where the downward pipe is longer than the upward section. Thus the water falling in the downward section creates a pull lifting the water in the upward section up to the highest point, from which it will flow down pulling more water up. As the endorheic basin caused by Beret Guy seems to have a limited reach, placing one end of the pipe sufficiently far outside creates a similar effect: The water outside Beret Guy's area of effect flows down under the influence of gravity, creating a pull lifting the water near him "up" out of the endorheic basin. Randall made a [[what if?]] about siphons in #143: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/143/ Europa Water Siphon].

As with real endorheic basins, if the water is allowed to sit, it will eventually evaporate, but he notes that he'll "develop salt flats". Water from rivers carry salts, typically in low concentrations, and if a lake lacks outflows, the salts build up over time, as the water evaporates. If a salt lake evaporates completely, it can create {{w|Salt pan (geology)|salt flats}} (or salt pans), like those near {{w|Salt Lake City}} in {{w|Utah}}, e.g. the {{w|Bonneville Salt Flats}}. These salts come in a variety of forms, including minerals. Sometimes, endorheic basins have high enough concentrations of dissolved minerals to be worth extracting, which is presumably what he means by "let me know if you need any minerals".

There may also be a contrived pun here, in that "flats" is a description of various types of footwear (among them: women's shoes that are not high-heeled and ballet shoes not specifically reinforced for advanced 'pointe' dancing), and the water would clearly leave the 'flats' on his feet.

In the title text, Beret Guy mentions his "biggest fear" due to his water attracting abilities is being flooded to by "colonial engineers" in order for them to use him and the water to generate electricity. This may be a reference to the {{w|Qattara Depression Project}}. The Qattara depression is a low-lying region near the Egyptian coast. For nearly a century, there have been proposals to dig a canal from the sea to flood this depression, deliberately creating a huge endorheic basin. By placing {{w|hydroelectric dam}}s along the canal, the proposals hoped to generation huge amounts of electricity. At least one proposal included the use of nuclear explosions to create the canal, which may help to explain why he considers this his biggest fear.

He then mentions that his "biggest hope", due to his ability, is that he will generate {{w|sailing stones}}. Sailing stones (also known as sliding rocks, walking rocks, rolling stones, and moving rocks), are a geological phenomenon where rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. The movement of the rocks occurs when large ice sheets a few millimeters thick and floating in an ephemeral winter pond start to break up during sunny days. Frozen during cold winter nights, these thin floating ice panels are driven by wind and shove rocks at speeds up to 5 meters per minute. The {{w|Racetrack Playa}}, an endorheic basin in Death Valley, is one of the most famous locations for sailing stones.

This comic came out just a bit more than a month after the previous comic with one of Beret Guy's strange powers, [[2310: Great Attractor]], in which strange forces exerted a pull on Beret Guy. It does not appear that he himself is drawn to water, and we cannot determine if the Great Attractor is drawn to him, so Newton's Third Law may be constantly being broken, along with the more obvious scientific impossibilities that surround Beret Guy.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, holding a glass of water up in one hand, is talking to Beret Guy, who has water surrounding his feet, with small droplets falling off the two small water triangles that cover his feet. The water in her glass is leaning towards Beret Guy.]
:Megan: Why are your feet wet?
:Beret Guy: I'm an endorheic basin!

:[Megan looks down at her glass as the water in it is flying out towards Beret Guy's arm, which he has stretched out towards the glass.]
:Megan: Huh?
:Beret Guy: Nearby water flows toward me, not the ocean.
:Beret Guy: See?
:Megan: Oh, cool.

:[At the top of this panel is a box with text being said by Beret Guy to Megan. Beneath it is a depiction of what he is explaining to Megan. Beret Guy is shown standing in a bathroom, with a towel around his waist. Almost his entire body is covered completely in water, except most of his head above mouth level, and both his feet are beneath the water bubble. He yells to someone outside the bathroom. A shower-tray or partially sunken bathtub can be seen to the left with a closed shower curtain across it. To the right of him is the sink with mirror above it. Further right is the door. The floor is tiled.]
:Beret Guy - narrating: The most annoying part is drying off after a shower.
:Beret Guy: Can someone bring me the siphon?

:[Back to the situation from the first panel, although Megan has lowered her glass a bit. The glass seems to be as full as in the first panel though, even though Beret Guy now also has water on his arm where it was pulled out off Megan's glass in panel 2.]
:Beret Guy: But I have to get rid of it or I'll develop salt flats.
:Beret Guy: Anyway, let me know if you need any minerals!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Geography]]

407: Cheap GPS

2022-05-04T02:03:04Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 233918 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 407
| date = April 7, 2008
| title = Cheap GPS
| image = cheap gps.png
| titletext = In lieu of mapping software, I once wrote a Perl program which, given a USB GPS receiver and a destination, printed 'LEFT' 'RIGHT' OR 'STRAIGHT' based on my heading.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|GPS}} is a system allowing people to find their location and from that, speed on Earth. It was first developed for the U.S. military, but now it sees international usage for everyday navigation. Many motorists today have GPS devices (sometimes just called GPS's) that can give driving directions electronically.

{{w|Hunt the Thimble|Hot and Cold}} is a children's activity/game where one person searches for an unknown object, and the rest must respond "Hot" or "Cold." Other words, such as "warm" and "cool" can be used to describe their distance more accurately. The closer the player is to the mystery object, the "hotter" they are.

This GPS would be extremely difficult to use, as it gives no directions, only telling you how close you are to reaching your destination. The series of instructions spoken ("cold," "warm," "hot," then "cold" again) suggests that Cueball either missed a turn, or that he just passed his destination.

Randall describes a past engineering project of his that can only describe turns "as the crow flies." So, for example, if he was driving north with the destination to the northeast, the GPS would tell him to turn right even if no such turn was legally possible. Perhaps not very functional, but it ''is'' a pretty cool thing to build.
While cars go fast and are only allowed to, or able to, use a very limited number of all roads and trails in the world, this is less so for pedestrians. As a consequence, for hikers, an app that just shows the direction you should be walking in 'as the crow flies' is actually quite a common and useful tool, since a lot of small roads suitable for pedestrians do not show up on maps. Of course, just printing 'left' or 'right' is much more primitive than showing an arrow in the correct direction (compass-like), and often less helpful since on one cross section there can be multiple trails to the right.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball driving down the road, with a GPS reading "COLD."]
:GPS: COLD... WARM... HOT! COLD...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Programming]]

406: Venting

2022-05-04T02:02:32Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 235679 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 406
| date = April 4, 2008
| title = Venting
| image = venting.png
| titletext = P.P.S. I can kill you with my brain.
}}

==Explanation==
This is yet another xkcd comic referencing ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}'', but it's not so much about ''Firefly'' itself as about {{w|Summer Glau}}. Summer Glau is an American actress best known for playing {{w|River Tam}} in ''Firefly'' and ''{{w|Serenity (film)|Serenity}}'', as well as Cameron in the ''{{w|Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles}}'' series.

[[Cueball]] says that he gives a long and seemingly well-researched reply to a stupid comment on a blog when he feels angry as a way to vent. What we see of his comment begins with Cueball describing the original comment's incoherent and inconsistent spelling and grammar. Then, he proceeds to rip apart the commentator by citing their historical and political ignorance. He signs his comment as 'Summer Glau', after which he reminds the blogger to watch the next season of ''Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles series''.

One likely reason that he uses 'Summer Glau' is that she is worshiped by geeks the world over, even those incapable of writing coherent blog posts or comments. CrackMonkey74 would not risk responding negatively to the post, just in case it was actually written by Summer Glau, as they don't want everyone to hate them for attempting to argue with her. In this way, Cueball is assured of the last word in this argument, which makes for a most satisfying vent.

Another possible explanation is that River Tam has a genius-level intellect and is also mentally disturbed. Given xkcd's trend of comparing ''Firefly'' characters to their respective actors (especially in [[The Race]]), Cueball is probably using Summer Glau's name simply because an exhaustively researched blog comment seems like something River Tam -- and thus possibly Summer Glau -- would do.

The title text refers to the famous dialogue delivered by River Tam in ''Firefly'' Episode 11: "{{w|Trash (Firefly)|Trash}}".

==Transcript==
:When I need to blow off steam, I find a particularly stupid blog comment and reply with an exhaustively researched word-by-word rebuttal, which I sign 'Summer Glau'.
:Cueball (typing): In conclusion, on examining the above post by CrackMonkey74, after carefully working my way through the haze of spelling errors (documented in section 3), abuse of capitalization (section 4), and general crimes against grammar and syntax (sections 7-8), I have demonstrated that, beneath it all, the work betrays the author's staggering ignorance of the history and the workings of our electoral system. While the author's wildly swerving train of thought did at one point flirt with coherence, this brief encounter was more likely a chance event (see statistical analysis in table 5) than a result of even rudimentary lucidity.
::-Summer Glau
:P.S. Don't forget to check out the next season of the ''Sarah Connor Chronicles'' this fall on Fox!

==Trivia==
*Cueball's statement has been widely reused by many bloggers after the release of this comic.
*The name ''CrackMonkey74'' also appears in [[202: YouTube]] as one of the clueless YouTube commentators, and later appears in [[574: Swine Flu]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Terminator]]

404: Not Found

2022-05-04T02:01:58Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 234501 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 404
| date = April 1, 2008
| title = Not Found
| image = not found.png
}}

==Explanation==
There is no image for xkcd comic numbered 404. [[Randall]] did, however, not skip a day!

The previous comic [[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] was released Monday March 31st 2008, and he put the next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], up as scheduled on Wednesday April 2nd 2008, which leads some to see the 404 as an {{w|April Fools' Day}} joke released in between, as comic [[404: Not Found]] released on Tuesday April 1st 2008.

This was thus the first [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' comic]] released by Randall (not counting the unnumbered [[Syndication]] released the previous year). The next (and first real) April Fools' Day comic was not released until [[880: Headache]] on Friday April 1st 2011, although Randall did make other jokes in the years in between{{citation needed}}.

"404" is the HTTP Response Code for "{{w|HTTP 404|Not Found}}." Randall deliberately skipped comic number 404 in xkcd. Therefore, when people go to {{xkcd|404}}, they get a "404 Not Found" error page. (This does not work in all browsers. In newer versions of Internet Explorer, a message about the link being broken occurs without the 404 code.)

Randall has stated that he considers 404 [https://web.archive.org/web/20190311150907/https://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya an official, actual comic, albeit a rather avant-garde one], and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on xkcd.com. He once again displays this in the 2018 April Fools' joke, [[1975: Right Click]], where you can access all of his comics up to Right Click from the right click menu, and the menu includes this one specifically due to the strange "title"!

It may seem like a random coincidence that {{xkcd|403}} came out the day before April 1st 2008. And for sure it must have been by chance that it would come out close to that date when Randall began posting on xkcd. But when Randall noticed this fact, at some point prior to that date, he would, however, have had a chance to influence the release date. In November 2007, less than half a year before this April 1st, he released the [[:Category:1337|1337 series]] over five consecutive days. That would have moved the release date of 403 from Friday the 4th of April to the Monday it was actually released - making it possible to skip comic 404 as if it came out on April 1st without skipping a comic on a normal release day. There was at least one other series in 2007 to use all five days of a week ([[:Category:Choices|Choices]]), so maybe he had this planned for a long time?

It is perhaps an interesting point that the very next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], includes the line "So, you found me after all."

In [[1969: Not Available]], the error message 404 is referenced in the caption.

This is featured in a few comics to come, including [[1975: Right Click]] (in File > Open > C:\ > Bookmarks/ > Comics > comic num 404).

==Transcript==
:[Instead of the regular xkcd site layout, just a white page that states on top center:]
:404 Not Found

:[Page-wide divider line]

:[Below that in a smaller font:]
:nginx

==Trivia==
*The web comic Comic JK made this spoof of this missing comic in total xkcd style:
**The [https://web.archive.org/web/20100925103935/http://comicjk.com/comic.php/404 comic 404] that could have been.
*The "image of this comic," displayed at the top, is what appears when going to https://www.xkcd.com/404/
**But only in some browsers...
**In Chrome and Firefox this works, but in Explorer the page revealed is a standard page with a message from explorer:
***"The webpage was not found"
[[File: not found ie.png]]
***It thus leaves the xkcd page.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:No Image URL]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

402: 1,000 Miles North

2022-05-04T01:59:52Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 234098 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 402
| date = March 28, 2008
| title = 1,000 Miles North
| image = 1000_miles_north.png
| titletext = Twister would've been a much better movie if they'd cut out the bad-guy storm chaser and all the emotional romance crap. All you need for a good movie are tornados and scientists. Actually, that's all you need for anything.
}}

==Explanation==
Spoofing off of {{w|tornado chasers}} are these permafrost chasers, who are just like tornado chasers, but they are chasing very boring[[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]] permafrost. {{w|Permafrost}} is a layer of ground that never thaws, unlike ground closer to the equator, where the ground freezes in winter and thaws in the spring.

The title text references the 1996 movie ''{{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}'' about a crazy group of tornado chasers trying to drop a probe-releasing device named Dorothy (based on the real-life project {{w|TOtable Tornado Observatory|TOTO}}) into the heart of a tornado. However, much of the story was about Bill and his ex, both chasers, falling back in love, another chaser who is fighting Bill for research grants and fame, and a tornado that likes to chase people. [[Randall]] comments that the movie would have been better if they had lost all of the above except the tornadoes and the scientist, which is basically all you need for a good movie. And then he continues his musings by saying that tornadoes and scientists "are all you need for anything."

This seems to be the first comic mentioning tornadoes, but since then they have become a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd, and in the next two tornado comics, [[640: Tornado Hunter]] and [[752: Phobia]], tornadoes and tornado chasers are actually featured.

==Transcript==
:[A van (almost exiting the frame to the right) and a pickup truck behind the van are driving on a road where dust blows up behind the tires. There are three mountain peaks in the background. In the rear of the truck is a cylindrical-shaped object. Above the truck there are two frames with yellow background and text. The top frame is at the height of the mountains, the other just above the truck.]
:1,000 miles north of tornado alley
:A new breed of scientists has emerged.

:[At the base of a mountain (or glacier front) to the right, Cueball runs towards Ponytail (as shown with a curling line behind his raised leg). He is carrying a laptop in his arms, and he has a headset with antenna and microphone on. Ponytail is holding a probe in both hands, maybe drilling it into the ground. Grass and small rocks are drawn around them. At the top is another frame with yellow background and text.]
:Half researchers, half adrenaline junkies
:Ponytail: What's the reading?
:Cueball: 3.9 meters down, gradient's off the charts!

:[The pickup truck is shown in a zoom in from the side. Cueball is driving very fast, while holding a Walkie-talkie up to his head. The cylinder in the rear, from the first frame, now clearly turns out to be some kind of instrument with a small parabolic disc and a smaller antenna, and there are some labels and a text is written across it, although it is difficult to read. At the top is another frame with yellow background and text.]
:Risking everything for the thrill of the hunt
:Cueball: The freeze line is shifting! We've never seen anything like it!
:Cylinder: Riwan

:[Ponytail is holding a large video camera down towards a tiny spot of grass on the ground. He is standing in a barren field with one small mountain to the left and three small mountain peaks to the right in background. Behind him is a large box connected to a small radio with a long antenna. Cueball speaks to him over his walkie-talkie, his voice coming from the radio via a zigzag line. At the top is a final frame with yellow background and text.]
:Permafrost chasers
:Ponytail: I'm getting some great footage here!
:Cueball: Dammit, Harding, it's not worth your neck! Get the hell out of there!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]

401: Large Hadron Collider

2022-05-04T01:59:19Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 234661 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 401
| date = March 26, 2008
| title = Large Hadron Collider
| image = large_hadron_collider.png
| titletext = When charged particles of more than 5 TeV pass through a bubble chamber, they leave a trail of candy.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} (LHC) is the world's largest particle accelerator, used in physics research, and particularly for finding the {{w|Higgs Boson}}. The Higgs Boson is one quantum excitation of the Higgs Field, in the same way as the photon is a quantum of the electromagnetic field. Interaction between particles and the Higgs field can explain why other particles have mass. The Higgs Boson was first detected in 2012, and confirmed to exist in March 2013. It was the last particle of the {{w|Standard Model}} of Physics to be experimentally confirmed.

At the time of this comic's writing, the LHC was nearing completion, and the comic imagines experimental physicists starting up the LHC for the first time. It has taken many years to complete, and its intended purpose was to be able to measure the Higgs Boson. In the comic, the experiment fails to observe the Higgs Boson. The researchers can only wait for the theorists to determine what may have happened, if something went wrong, or if they can come up with a testable hypothesis. In 2012, and after many years of experimentation and observation, the Higgs Boson was observed at CERN's LHC. This comic imagines what the researchers may have done with the LHC in between tests.

After the experiment failed, the bored physicists try frying pigeons with the proton stream and instead end up giving a helicopter cancer, both of which are impossible. This is because the stream is contained within the LHC, and non-organic entities can't get cancer{{Citation needed}}. However, the proton stream could cause considerable damage to pigeons or humans, as the U-70 synchrotron did to {{w|Anatoli Bugorski}} in 1978.

At that time there was also a big concern by some people that the LHC could produce {{w|Micro black hole|microscopic black holes}}. However, {{w|Cosmic ray|cosmic rays}} regularly strike Earth's atmosphere with particles at higher energies; thus, if the proposed doomsday scenario were possible, it should have already happened. Many jokes were published like this video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INodNZY5ytE "LHC End of The World Black Hole"].

The title text makes another joke about the effects of highly energetic particles, claiming that when they pass through a {{w|bubble chamber}} (an older particle detection device), they leave a trail of candy. TeV means {{w|Tera-|tera}}{{w|Electronvolt|electronvolt}} and equals 1012 eV. 5 TeV is {{w|Electronvolt#Energy comparisons|about the energy}} of the LHC. It is of the order of the energy of a flying mosquito and would never be able to convert a liquid to candy or anything macroscopic.

==Transcript==
:The Large Hadron Collider, CERN...
:Megan: Okay, moment of truth. "click"
:Large Hadron Collider: "VVVVVRRMMMMMM"
:Cueball: Do you see the Higgs Boson?
:Megan: Nope.
:Cueball: Huh.
:Megan: Well, then.
:Cueball: Until the theorists get back to us, wanna try hitting pigeons with the proton stream?
:Megan: Already on it. Cool! I just gave a helicopter cancer.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]

399: Travelling Salesman Problem

2022-05-04T01:58:29Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 233840 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 399
| date = March 21, 2008
| title = Travelling Salesman Problem
| image = travelling_salesman_problem.png
| titletext = What's the complexity class of the best linear programming cutting-plane techniques? I couldn't find it anywhere. Man, the Garfield guy doesn't have these problems...
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Travelling salesman problem|travelling salesman problem}} is a classic problem in computer science. An intuitive way of stating this problem is that given a list of cities and the distances between pairs of them, the task is to find the shortest possible route that visits each city exactly once and then returns to the origin city. A naïve solution solves the problem in {{w|Factorial|O(n!) time}} (where n is the size of the list), simply by checking all possible routes, and selecting the shortest one. However, this approach will take a long time as the number of possible routes increases exponentially as more nodes are included.

A more efficient {{w|Dynamic programming|dynamic programming}} approach yields a solution in O(n22n) time. These times are given using {{w|Big O notation}}, which is commonly used in computer science to show the efficiency or complexity of a solution or algorithm.

The joke is that the salesman selling online (say on {{w|eBay}}, {{w|Amazon Marketplace}}, or other virtual marketplace) does not have to worry about this problem, since he does not need to travel (which makes the time to find the best solution O(1)), to which the travelling salesman angrily responds, "Shut the hell up."

The title text wonders about the time complexity of the {{w|Cutting-plane method|cutting-plane method}}, which is sometimes used to solve optimization problems.

The last sentence suggests the downside for Randall of drawing comics about computer science; he sometimes encounters problems to which he cannot find the answer, whereas authors of simpler comics such as {{w|Garfield}} do not have this problem. This is also likely a reference to [[78: Garfield]], which parodies Garfield's simplicity.

The map almost certainly depicts the United States, with the locations highlighted suspected to be (from left to right): Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago (cut off), Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

This is so far the only comic featuring the Brown Hat character.

Also see earlier strip [[287: NP-Complete]].

==Transcript==
:[There is a linked black web, with a path in red; it appears to be a map of the United States.]
:Brute-force solution:O(n!)
:[The web continues in this one. A man with a brown hat and a case is drawing it.]
:Dynamic programming algorithms: O(n22n)
:[Another man, with a brown hat too, is at a computer, looking back over the chair.]
:Selling on eBay: O(1)
:eBay salesman: Still working on your route?
:Drawing salesman: Shut the hell up.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Programming]]

398: Tap That Ass

2022-05-04T01:57:48Z

172.70.250.185: Undo revision 233841 by X. K. C. D. (talk)

↑{{comic
| number = 398
| date = March 19, 2008
| title = Tap That Ass
| image = tap_that_ass.png
| titletext = Hey, when you're done draining the syrup, just leave the hole, okay?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball either accidentally or purposefully exploits the double meanings of "tap." The phrase "tap that ass" is a colloquialism for "to have intercourse with that person" and is most likely how the reader expects the phrase to be used. However, throughout the comic, Cueball uses the phrase ambiguously.

In the first panel, it is possible that [[Cueball]] is using "tap that ass" sexually. However, it is more likely that he is using "tap" to mean "pick" or "choose," in which case he would be the one choosing the next committee chair. "That ass" refers to one of the individuals in the meeting room to be picked for the position.

In the second panel, "tap" is referring to wiretapping. The Cueball character with the headphones on has just unplugged his headphone. This suggests that he and his colleague at the phone were just done with the wiretapping. In this scenario, it is strange that the colleague is still on the phone instead of hanging up. However, it would be much stranger to wiretap someone in plain eyesight, unless that person is blind. "Ass" likely refers to the person they have just wiretapped. Cueball says he'd tap that ass "without a warrant," suggesting that they had one in this situation.

In the third panel, "tap" is referring to extracting sap from trees. A sexual connotation would make no sense in this context. "That ass" refers to the maple tree.

The final panel reveals that Cueball was purposefully implying the sexual meaning of "tap that ass" all along, even though he framed it in a non-sexual context. He reaffirms his previous statement from the third panel by turning toward the direction of the third panel (thus implicitly breaking the fourth wall) and asserting "I'd have sex with that tree." "That tree" refers to the tree from the previous panel.
Alternatively, Cueball may have finally realized that he indeed wanted to have sex, but instead of using the euphemism "tap that ass," he says it literally.

The title text features a request from Cueball from the last panel to Cueball from the third panel. He asks Cueball not to plug up the hole left behind from tapping the tree, so he can have sex with it.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball in a hallway looking in on a board meeting.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass to be the new committee chair.
:[Cueball wearing headphones with a briefcase and a laptop. Another man on a telephone.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass without a warrant.
:[Cueball with his hand on his chin, looking at a tree.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass and extract delicious maple syrup.
:[Cueball standing in a blank frame.]
:Cueball: I'd have sex with that tree.

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

2613: Bad Map Projection: Madagascator

2022-04-29T18:20:37Z

172.70.250.185: bring back the explanation

{{comic
| number = 2613
| date = April 29, 2022
| title = Bad Map Projection: Madagascator
| image = bad_map_projection_madagascator.png
| titletext = The projection's north pole is in a small lake on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles, which is off the top of the map and larger than the rest of the Earth's land area combined.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SUSSY BAKA - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is another comic in the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] series. This time, Randall used the classic {{w|Mercator projection}} but instead of placing the North Pole on top and the South Pole on the bottom it is oriented so that the top is the island of {{w|Mahé, Seychelles|Mahé}}. This is valid, as Earth is pretty much symmetrical{{citation needed}}, but the axis choice is unusual. Since the Mercator projection tends to visually distort areas near the top and bottom of the resulting map, this gives some areas, notably Madagascar, very unusual shapes.

The Mercator projection became the standard projection for world maps during the 1800s because it is conformal - the angle between two places on the map is the same as the angle between them in the real world. During the age of sail, when navigation was performed by compass - this was a very valuable feature, since once could plot a course between two locations by measuring the direction from one to another on the map and then accounting for the difference between the magnetic and actual north poles to determine what direction to sail in. In the mid-20th century this trend was {{w|Mercator_projection#Criticism|criticized}} because the distortion towards the north and south poles gave an inaccurate impression of relative sizes. The most common example given of this distortion is that on a Mercator map of the world Greenland looks to be larger than Africa, when in real life Africa is 14 times larger. Thus the reference to making Madagascar larger in this projection rather than Greenland.

[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]

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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]

Talk:2268: Further Research is Needed

2022-03-21T00:36:42Z

172.70.250.185: the current explanation seems to misunderstand the comic, presenting the most brazen interpretation of the closing lines featured here as fact

First! —[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.145|172.69.63.145]] 14:56, February 14, 2020
:Please sign your comments. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 23:59, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

I got two things to say:
* What the heck is the "Woodward Hoffman textbook on organic chemistry"? I can't find it anywhere online.
*I think it's a reference to [https://archive.org/stream/WoodwardAndHoffmannTheConservationOfOrbitalSymmetryAcademicPressVerlagChemie1970/Woodward%20and%20Hoffmann%20The%20Conservation%20of%20Orbital%20Symmetry%20%28Academic%20Press%2C%20Verlag%20Chemie%2C%201970%29_djvu.txt]Conservation of Orbital Symmetry (1971)], whose chapter "Violations" starts with "There are none!" Unfortunately, the "Conclusions" chapter doesn't fully fit the criteria. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.196|162.158.63.196]] 17:23, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
* ''[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-579 In the event of an unsuccessful Action 10-Israfil-B, no further <s>action</s> research will be necessary.]''
[[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 23:59, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

Paper title: "Constructive proof of P=NP". Conclusion: "No further research is needed" ... because anyone who read this paper can get so rich they won't need to do any research for rest of life, spent on nice tropical island. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:58, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
: ... other paper with similar property: "Experimental disapproval of second thermodynamic law" -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:01, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
:: Sorry, but when experimental disproofs (we really hope one comes by soon) appear, entire research streams into how to optimise the disapproval begins. "No further research required" apply far more to constructive disproofs for theory (i.e. like maths) rather than for the empirical sciences. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.119.67|162.158.119.67]] 19:22, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
::: You missed the joke being that "no further research is needed" was applied to the researcher - that is, that the researcher doesn't need to do any research - instead of on the field/topic. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:33, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

Can someone make a category called "Research" or "Research Papers"? Other comics with this topic include: [[2012: Thorough Analysis]], [[2025: Peer Review]], [[2215: Faculty:Student Ratio]], [[1594: Human Subjects]] and [[1574: Trouble for Science]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.83|172.69.33.83]] 00:59, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
:Done. Is easy. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:08, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
::I thought a similar one already existed, since there have been quite a few comics talking about scientific study papers. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:03, 16 February 2020 (UTC)

Here is a list of a bunch of papers that could have done this (but for some it might not have been known at the time): https://mathoverflow.net/questions/347540/what-are-examples-of-collections-of-papers-which-close-a-field [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 02:16, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

Regarding topics that might reach a conclusion: The first subset that comes to mind is religious matters (e.g. "God works in mysterious ways -- let's not think about this too much.") The second subset that comes to mind is game theory regarding games that have been solved. (e.g. there's not much left to be said about tic-tac-toe.)

: Further research is needed to see why humans continue to play tic-tac-toe when it's so widely known how to avoid losing. And into how anyone ever wins. And why on earth Google has an online version, with 3 different difficulty levels. Seriously though, there is actual research into how to have the best chance of beating a player who isn't very good (meaning someone who is bad enough to lose occasionally), which involves not only game theory, but also psychology about what mistakes an opponent is most likely to make. Finally, there are newer, more complex, variants, such as playing on a 4x4 grid or in 3D, and new ones can always be developed so that the field is never closed.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.162|172.68.47.162]] 00:08, 16 February 2020 (UTC)
::Okay, what about a game of Nim? any variant that doesn't change the game so far as to be unrecognizable can easily be solved with backwards recursion. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.34|172.68.211.34]] 06:01, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
:::3 players. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 15:05, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
:::Further research needed is into why Wikipedia editors keep missing the sentence "When played as a misère game, Nim strategy is different only when the normal play move would leave only heaps of size one. In that case, the correct move is to leave an odd number of heaps of size one (in normal play, the correct move would be to leave an even number of such heaps)" and posting lengthy comments on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Nim#Is_it_just_me? the Wikipedia Nim talk page] about the strategy (for normal play) resulting in losing in a misère game.

Leaving this explanation "incomplete" would be perfectly meta. Please don't ever remove that incomplete tag [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.142|162.158.134.142]] 16:46, 16 February 2020 (UTC)
: I think it would have been even better to have the explanation say: "We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this comic. No further explanation is needed." and leave it at that. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:59, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

How about a subject where rather than further research not being needed to answer questions, further research is undesirable, as further investigating some matter could potentially trigger catastrophic results, such as allowing the invention of technology that would do great harm if available, ranging from being usable in crimes that can't be traced or stopped, or somehow destroying the world, or that further looking into some matter is likely to somehow drive the researcher insane?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.21|162.158.74.21]] 06:42, 17 February 2020 (UTC)
: You are only considering ideas that might run afoul of the ethics committee if it ran. Those are old hat. It is far more interesting and fruitful to point out that we have some examples of the diametrically opposite situation. e.g. the safety and efficiency of vaccines are so great that papers ought to end with "We should not wait for further research in order to recommend that vaccines be mandated." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.119.67|162.158.119.67]] 19:27, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

If further research really isn't needed on the topic (although obviously papers get things wrong and results need to be reproduced as a check, so let's say this is that), then the next funding can go to someone else's research, and ''that'' is Good For Science. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.92|162.158.155.92]] 12:15, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

I'm imagining a book titled "There are a finite number of primes", chapter 3 "Proof" reads "This page intentionally left blank" :-) --[[User:OliReading|OliReading]] ([[User talk:OliReading|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

there is a joke about cold fusion in there somewhere.--[[User:Artemis1101|Artemis1101]] ([[User talk:Artemis1101|talk]]) 15:55, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

There's a [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.9b00184 very good paper] published around a month before this comic which says something very close: "...we do not see any justification for such efforts, and we believe that researchers should focus their energy on other research directions." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.180|162.158.106.180]] 23:31, 2 December 2020 (UTC)
: Correction: just about exactly a month, funny enough! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.180|162.158.106.180]] 23:32, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

The comic's description alleges that the paper here claims to thoroughly explore all there is to its topic, but the last line only speaks of remaining questions that were supposed to be solved therein (which even leaves open whether this paper is the first one to assail those remaining questions).
Thus, if only one question, or a few related ones, had been left, one paper could indeed conclusively answer the last questions to a topic, especially if it only finishes what others have started.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.185|172.70.250.185]] 00:36, 21 March 2022 (UTC)