explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3034: Features of Adulthood

2025-01-08T18:42:19Z

172.70.42.167: /* Events */ There is already a citation right there in that exact sentence

{{comic
| number = 3034
| date = January 6, 2025
| title = Features of Adulthood
| image = features_of_adulthood_2x.png
| imagesize = 704x620px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I don't dig pit traps and cover them with sticks and a thin layer of leaves nearly as much as I expected; I find a chance to do it barely once a month.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Unexpectedly created by an adult BOT digging pit traps - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a graph comparing the (mostly) common ideas of adulthood from a young person's perspective with reality of it. The plot is fully populated, with many issues (both common and uncommon) matching expectations pretty well, as well as features that much rarer than expected (like encounters with quicksand, crocodiles and explosives), and some very common issues that don't occur to young people, such as deciding what to eat, dealing with weird noises and smells.

It is clear that much of the 'lower-right triangle' (things that don't come up nearly as often as expected) are ''direct'' references to fictional scenarios on film or TV, particularly the type of fiction likely the type of fiction that [[Randall]] consumed as a child (probably including cartoons and action movies). In contrast, the complimentary 'upper-left triangle' largely consist of the type of mundane adult activity that children don't see or notice in real life, and which often aren't interesting enough to be disproportionately common in fiction.

==Events==

{| class="wikitable"
! Event
! Expected frequency in adulthood
! Actual frequency in adulthood
! Notes
|-
| {{tvtropes|FormalFullArrayOfCutlery|Which fork you're supposed to use for what}}
| 0%
| 0%
| Traditional, formal dining involves different types of {{w|forks}} for different courses of a meal. Learning which fork to use for which course might be taught in {{w|etiquette school}}, and is perceived as a signifier of social class (though this is likely an exaggerated concern). Dining has generally become less formal in Western society since the mid-20th century; as a result, most people are used to only using a single fork, or at most two, for their meals. This means that, for most people, the issue rarely comes up, even in adulthood.
|-
| {{tvtropes|CartoonBomb|Lit fuses}}
| 40%
| 0%
| Explosives with visible lit fuses are commonly seen in movies and TV shows, particularly in cartoons. In reality, the average person is unlikely to deal with explosives at all. When explosives are used, they're usually electrically detonated, or sometimes use a concealed fuse (e.g. {{w|grenade}}s). Visible, burning fuses are sufficiently obsolete that most people will never encounter them directly.
|-
| {{tvtropes|PalatePropping|Shoving a stick}} in a {{w|crocodile}}'s mouth to wedge it open
| 80%
| 0%
| Placing a vertical stick in a crocodile’s mouth is a popular TV trope to prevent the crocodile from {{w|Crocodile attack|biting down}} (usually on the stick placer). Crocodile attacks on humans are common only in specific geographical areas, meaning that most people will never encounter them. Even when such an encounter happens, using a stick in that way would almost certainly be ineffective.
|-
| {{w|Quicksand}}
| 100%
| 0%
| Quicksand is {{tvtropes|QuicksandSucks|common in adventure fiction}}, but it's quite rare in real life (nor does it generally behave the way it's depicted in such fiction). The average person is unlikely to ever encounter it.
|-
| {{w|Car chase}}s
| 35%
| 5%
| Car chases are frequently seen in movies and TV shows involving police, including real-life police shows, but unless you're a police officer or criminal trying to evade them, you'll probably never be involved in one.
|-
| {{w|Grappling hook}}s
| 100%
| 5%
| A grappling hook is a device, typically made of metal, with multiple hooks and feature to allow it to be secured to the end of a rope. It can be thrown to either grab an object at a distance and pull it toward you, or to anchor the rope to an elevated point (such as on a cliff or building) to aid in climbing. The latter use is quite common in action and adventure fiction. While such devices do exist in real life, they generally have specialty uses that the average person is unlikely to encounter.
|-
| People offering free drugs
| 30%
| 10%
| Children being warned about illicit drugs have often been cautioned that drug dealers would inevitably approach them and offer them free drugs, in order to encourage an addiction and gain a reliable customer. In real life, drug dealers virtually never work that way, and are unlikely to part with their product unless payment has been made. Most people are introduced to drugs by friends or acquaintances, who might offer some for free, but that's only likely in specific social groups and situations.
|-
| {{w|Parachute}}s
| 80%
| 10%
| {{w|Parachuting}} allows people to jump out of planes at altitude, or from other elevated heights, and slow their descent enough to land safely. This is dramatic enough to come up often in adventure fiction. Parachutes are, of course, used in real life, but are specialized enough that most people will only encounter them if they put the money and effort into recreational skydiving.
|-
| {{w|Barrels}}
| 95%
| 10%
| Wooden or {{w|Drum (container)|metal}} storage containers are frequently used as concealment, improvised weapons and (sometimes explosive) obstacles in popular media. While barrels are actually quite common, they're large enough that the majority of people rarely have a reason to interact with them, unless they happen to work in a job that either sells or uses liquids in large quantities.
|-
| {{w|Middle name}}s
| 15%
| 20%
| A second (or occasionally also third or more) {{w|given name}}, common in some traditions. In most Anglophone countries, having a middle name is common, but most people only use them in formal situations where a full name is required (as when filling out legal documents). This is true to the point where most people don't know the middle names of most of their acquaintances, or even if they have one. In consequence, both as a child and as an adult, middle names will be encountered occasionally, but not regularly
|-
| {{w|Food fight}}s
| 50%
| 20%
| A common trope in fiction has a young people eating together (often in a cafeteria), and someone playfully begins throwing food, causing others to retaliate, until the whole room devolves into a food fight. Such a fight is inherently messy and irresponsible, but is unlikely to actually hurt anyone seriously, and so represents youthful hijinks. Such events aren't unknown in real life, but aren't necessarily pleasant (food is wasted and people might miss their meal as a result, you might end up covered in food all day, clean-up is a big job, punishments are likely to be handed out, and clothes might be permanently stained), so they aren't nearly as common as someone raised on fiction might imagine.
|-
| {{tvtropes|TwinSwitch|Twins switching places}}
| 90%
| 20%
| In fiction, if a pair of identical twins are introduced, it's almost inevitable that they'll trade places at some point, each trying to pass for the other, whether as a prank, or for some more serious purpose. Actual identical twins are quite rare (roughly 1 in 300 live births), even identical twins might not look exactly alike, and many twins get tired of being confused for one another at a young age, and so have no interest trying to trade places as adults. Frankly, a real life percentage above 0% may be a joke.
|-
| {{w|Flat tire}}s
| 10%
| 25%
| Anyone who drives a vehicle with tires faces the possibility of a tire going flat, due to either wear or road damage. This is usually merely an inconvenience, as it requires stopping to change or patch the tire, but a person lacking the knowledge or equipment to do so might have to call for help and/or be stranded until help arrives. Young people tend to be aware of this possibility, but it may happen a bit more often that they'd expect.
|-
| {{w|Briefcase}}s
| 70%
| 25%
| Frequently used to carry documents and other small office equipment, they've historically been treated as part of the standard kit for a white collar worker. Often portrayed as {{tvtropes|BriefcaseFullOfMoney|a means to carry a large amount of cash}} or {{tvtropes|BriefcaseBlaster|conceal a firearm}}. The popularity of briefcases has been declining after the 1980s. In modern times, documents are likely to be kept digitally and people are far more likely to carry a laptop bag for work than a briefcase.
|-
| {{w|Martial arts}}
| 95%
| 25%
| A child raised on action films and TV shows is likely to assume that use of martial arts is a normal part of life for most adults. In reality, most adults aren't trained in martial arts, and those who are very rarely use them in an actual fight. Martial arts are generally encountered only in classes or competitions set up specifically for it.
|-
| {{w|Water damage}}
| 0%
| 25%
| Water getting into the wrong places can be a serious problem, causing damage to homes and other buildings, vehicles, infrastructure, and all kinds of property. Such damage can happen without much warning, can be hard to detect at first, and can be hard to deal with. While precautions are usually taken to prevent such things from getting wet, water incursion can still happen, due to weather events, flooding, plumbing leaks, accidental spills, and even condensation. Children are likely to be entirely unaware of this, but many adults have to deal with it at some point in their lives.
|-
| {{w|Backpack}}s
|
|
| Backpacks of various sizes are a versatile means to carry items. They are almost as popular in real life as in fiction, though the contents may be somewhat different.
|-
| My {{w|Transcript (education)|academic record}}
| 95%
| 30%
| A child's life revolves around school: it's where they spend a large fraction of their waking hours, classmates make up most of their social circle, class schedules dictate when and how they spend their free time, and parental figures often punish/reward children based on their academic performance. The child may assume that school will continue to be an ever-present all-ecompassing feature of their future life, with their grades constituting a "permanent record" that will follow them into adulthood.
In reality, academic records aren't anywhere near that important. Some entry-level jobs may consider a candidate's past grades, but they're a tertiary concern after job interviews and professional references. By the time a person reaches their late 20s, academic records become irrelevant and are supplanted by the person's professional résumé.
|-
| {{w|Adhesive}}s
| 15%
| 50%
| Adhesives such as {{w|glue}}, {{w|adhesive tape|tape}} and {{w|epoxy resin}} are used to bond items together, typically for use in arts and crafts. They also have widespread industrial applications.
|-
| {{w|Board game}}s
|
|
| Board games of various kinds (such as {{w|chess}}, {{w|checkers}}/draughts, {{w|Monopoly (game)|Monopoly}}, {{w|Parcheesi}}/{{w|Ludo}}, {{w|Risk (game)|Risk}}, {{w|Snakes & Ladders}}, Clue/{{w|Cluedo}}, {{w|Trivial Pursuit}} or [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3149/lost-valley-of-the-dinosaurs Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs]) were often a staple for family home entertainment, in the past. Although they still may exist, possibly at the back of a cupboard, the ubiquitous nature of video games and other entertainments may have suppressed the opportunity for the adults and/or children to unbox them to while away the hours during a rainy afternoon or provide fireside entertainment for the family and its guests between the evening meal and supper.
Ironically, many classic boardgames have often been converted to video games, either as faithful reproductions (that may even enable online play and remote participation) or just as a nostalgic/premade thematic flavor as applied to a largely solo screenbound distraction.
|-
| Tying {{w|knot}}s
| 85%
| 40%
| There are a large number of knots, with a similar variety of uses. Knowing the right types of knots can be highly useful in certain situations, but how often those situations come up heavily depends on individual circumstances. Camping, fishing and rock-climbing require tying specialty knots quite frequently, but for people who don't have such hobbies, their use is less common. The high expected frequency suggests that [[Randall]] was encouraged to learn knots as a child, possible due to involvement in {{w|scouting}}, or some other outdoor activity, and the emphasis suggested that they'd come up a lot. When interest in knot-heavy activities wanes, the application of knots tends to fall off as well.
|-
| {{w|Cable management}}
| 0%
| 50%
| Cable management is an annoying but often required task for most adults. Cable management is the act of tidying up the cables in and around a computer or other device. Most children are never involved in this task, and don't even realize that it exists until they're old enough to both be responsible for significant electronics and car about tidiness.
|-
| {{w|Laser}}s
| 90%
| 50%
|Lasers are common in sci-fi and spy stories, but are much less commonly interacted with in real life. However, in real life, they are a very interesting technology and equipment, and something Randall is interested in, so he is likely to interact with lasers much more than the average person. For a time, many people interacted with lasers on a regular basis (albeit without necessarily being aware of it), as they are used to read data from optical media such as DVDs and Blu-ray. As these media have fallen out of favour, the amount of these interactions will have reduced.
|-
| Dangerous driving situations
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pizza}}
|
|
| Often thought of as takeout or delivery food. A favorite of {{w|Spider-Man}} and the {{w|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles}}.
|-
| {{w|Star Wars}}
|
|
|
|-
| Cool toys
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Weather forecast}}s
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Batteries}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Power tools}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Video game}}s
|
|
| Generally thought of as a childish pastime in earlier times, it has become increasingly normalised for adults to play video games.
|-
| Figuring out what to have for dinner
|
|
| For many children, dinner is something that just 'arrives', having been decided by the relevant responsible carer. They may therefore not appreciate the thought that needs to go into that decision. Additionally, the range of foodstuffs available to affluent people in Western societies has significantly increased since Randall's childhood, which may induce choice paralysis when confronted with them.
|-
| {{w|Heating, ventilation and air conditioning|HVAC}} issues
| 20%
| 80%
| HVAC is an acronym that stands for 'heating, ventilation and air conditioning.' If one owns a home, problems with the heater or air conditioner can quickly make your home very uncomfortable (too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer) and becomes something you have to deal with right away. Thus HVAC issues become a much more frequent part of an adult's life than a child may assume.
|-
| {{w|Cooking}}
|
|
|
|-
| Secret {{w|password}}s
|
|
| Traditionally, in fiction, secret passwords have been portrayed as used for purposes such as espionage and admission to secret clubs. Nowadays many people do use secret passwords on a daily basis, but for more mundane purposes such as accessing websites and voicemail.
|-
| Laundry
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Tax}}es
| 100%
| 85%
| One of two inevitable things in life, {{w|Death and taxes (idiom)|the other being death}}
|-
| Customer service
|
|
|
|-
| Shopping
| 100%
| 90%
|
|-
| Unexplained smells or noises
|
| 100%
|
|-
| Pocket radio communicators
|
| 100%
| Examples include {{w|cell phone}}s, {{w|pager}}s and {{w|walkie-talkie}}s.
|-
| Bills
| 90%
| 100%
| Most households have to contend with electricity, water and telecommunication service bills.
|-
| Digging {{w|pit trap}}s (title text)
|
|
| Inside the Star Destroyer in [[1608: Hoverboard]] we see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Cueball cover a pit trap with leaves], so this is something Randall actually thinks about sometimes!
|}

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

:[Shown is a scatter plot, with arrowed labels on the axes:]
:Y axis label: How often it comes up in my adult life
:X axis label: How often I expected it to come up in my adult life

:[First row of items (comes up very often, from least to most expected):]
:Unexplained smells or noises; customer service; pocket radio communicators; bills; shopping
:[Items row by row from the second row onwards:]
:Figuring out what to have for dinner; HVAC issues; secret passwords; laundry; cooking; taxes
:Weather forecasts; batteries; video games; power tools
:Cable management; dangerous driving situations; pizza; Star Wars; lasers; cool toys
:Adhesives; board games; tying knots
:Water damage; backpacks; my academic record
:Flat tires; briefcases; martial arts
:Middle names; people offering free drugs; food fights; parachutes; twins switching places; barrels
:[Last row (comes up very rarely, from least to most expected):]
:Which fork you're supposed to use for what; car chases; lit fuses; shoving a stick in a crocodile's mouth to wedge it open; grappling hooks; quicksand

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Board games]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1213: Combination Vision Test

2024-03-07T05:26:23Z

172.70.42.167:

Number is "42".
The 4 is composed of 2's and 3's and 7's.
The 2 is composed of 3's and 7's and 9's.
--[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:16, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:What about 7s? --[[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.34|81.23.24.34]] 06:13, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Also both have 5's. I'm not very good at this counting thing. That link below is way better, anyhow. --[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:28, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

http://i.imgur.com/BLIQR6w.png

Credit: http://www.reddit.com/user/silly-moose

: Thanks --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I'm not confident enough about this to write up an explanation, but given that synesthesia is a sensory experience where the senses blend into each other (hearing colors, tasting sounds, etc...) that a round shape or black and white (why is it not in color? that would help the joke imho) give the sense of a number to the synesthete. The alt text at least makes sense, seeing two big numbers fits with diplopia (double vision) and the squinting covers myopia (nearsightedness) so it is consistent with the main joke, but I feel like I'm really missing something in the main joke. [[User:Chexwarrior|Chexwarrior]] ([[User talk:Chexwarrior|talk]]) 06:43, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

In the original b&w image, I keep seeing an 8 on the right and a vague 0, 9, or 4 on the left. I'm not certain if the b&w actually has a definite "answer" or specific number(s) one is supposed to be seeing. I seem to recall an xkcd with an Ishihara test before (but can't find it so it may just be a confabulation), in which case this one may be a reference to that and actually have a referential "answer".

I'm not an optometrist, but Chexwarrior,'s explanation of the alt text seems correct to me. [[User:Plazma|Plazma]] ([[User talk:Plazma|talk]]) 07:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

On the left half, the number 9 is missing. Similarly, on the right the number 2 is missing. This makes the number 92 or 29 (any ideas?). There is a floating 2 in the bottom center, the origin is unknown but it does look like a decimal point but that yould defeat the purpose of the number 42 (any ideas?) --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

: There is also a floating 4 on the left. [[User:ConscriptGuide|ConscriptGuide]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGuide|talk]]) 18:22, 9 August 2023 (UTC)

I was thinking the explanation of the descriptive text (not alt-text) is as follows: the synesthesia is seeing numbers and associating colors with them. So when you look at the numbers in the image, you see certain colors, so the large numbers stand out because they are different colors from the background. But if you're colorblind, (hypothetically) then some of those number-colors might look the same and so the numbers (not sure why only one) would not be visible. [[User:Bplimley|Bplimley]] ([[User talk:Bplimley|talk]]) 07:18, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:Maybe if the synesthesia is as follows: Even numbers get one color and odd numbers get another color. I was actually able to see the 2 because of this effect, while I was in photoshop, zoomed in, and coloring the 3's. I know from myself that I have number to color synesthesia, but (in my case) that doesn't apply to a bunch of randomly placed digits like here, but only to complete numbers like "144" looks yellow, red, and white (in no particular order), while "38" looks grayish dark blue. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

::I seriously doubt ANYONE have so "hard" case of number to color synesthesia it can "color" a bunch of randomly placed digits like this. Like ... if your number-recognizing neurons are working on the small numbers, how can they work on the big numbers in the same time? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:01, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

::: Good catch! I'm not sure how exactly how synesthesia works, but even if the perceived number (due to a perceived colour) further incites a perceived colour, you can still have a combined diagnostic. You just have to make sure that the big number is made up of little ones of the same number; or, atleast made of other numbers which are of the same colour as the desired big number. The latter requires that you assume synesthesia is one way only (for instance - perceiving number triggers colour, but not vice versa) [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

::: No no, it pretty much works! I've got colored-grapheme synesthesia, and while the numbers don't jump out at me as easily as they would if they were made of real colors, I am able to see them pretty clearly if I lean close enough to my monitor to be able to take in all of the small numbers' shapes at once. I posted a description of what it looks like to me here: [http://otherthings.com/blog/2013/05/ishihara-eat-your-heart-out/#more-899 Rungy Chungy Cheese Bees] It's a bit harder for me to see because I'm an "associator" type of synesthete, as opposed to a "projector" type. But I imagine for a true projector synesthete this would be about as easy as a normal Ishihara colorblindness test. [[User:Otherthings|Otherthings]] ([[User talk:Otherthings|talk]]) 20:35, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

:::: It didn't work at all for me. I've got coloured-grapheme synesthesia too, but all the colours were too different - I have no real pattern for even and odd numbers, so I never saw the big numbers. I looked at your link, you got a nice contrast! [[Special:Contributions/121.219.96.178|121.219.96.178]] 02:29, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

<Nitpicking> The alt text is slightly off the mark isn't it? Wouldn't a diplopic(?) person see two images of the diagnostic rather than two numbers in the same diagnostic? Also, you needn't be colour blind to fulfill the condition of perceiving only one digit. Your synesthesia might have a colour blindness, while your optical system does not. </Nitpicking> [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:07, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I think that as no two... synaesthetes? ...have exactly the same 'conversion routine' in place that one can't assume the colour dominance of either digit, under an (actual, or synaesthetic) colour-blindness condition. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to hear "Well, the left hand side smells a bit like a 4, but the right ''sounds'' like a 2..." ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.207.61|178.98.207.61]] 12:54, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I will take some LSD and look at this and report back later! [[Special:Contributions/46.166.163.150|46.166.163.150]] 16:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I don't think myopia actually makes sense, unless you're reading the comic on a large screen 30 or 40 feet away. The comic is most probably near you, if you're near-sighted you should see it in focus without squinting. [[Special:Contributions/64.223.217.58|64.223.217.58]] 17:19, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:As a myopic person, I can say that you are generalizing too much. Without glasses, I can see no thing in focus unless it is 2-4 inches from my face[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I see a big zero!

In the end this test couldn't work, colorblindness is due to a physical effect in the eyeball where synesthesia works in the brain, if someone had both synesthesia and colorblindness then the two numbers in the circle above would be the _only_ color they could see (although being colorblind they may not understand it to be a color at that point) [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 19:37, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:It's a JOKE. Sure it does not work for many more reasons. But the combining of all this things is hard to understand and it did last a couple of hours until the first people did understand. In my opinion this is one of the BEST jokes Randall ever did.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:47, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
::Yah, I laughed pretty hard when I saw it last night. Still worth explaining all the intracacies, like people wondering what's wrong with "Locate City" nukes [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 20:10, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:Actually, there's research on that. People with colorblindness and synesthesia do "see" some numbers in colours that they don't recognise from their everyday experience. (That's because as you said, colorblindness happens at the receptor level and synesthesia happens in the brain). Check out this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html?quote=222 --- Mel
:: Sorry, wrong link. I meant this talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW_lsSx5w14 --- Mel
:I am not colourblind and my synesthesia STILL gives me colours that don't exist, so I'm sure colourblind people's colourblindness wouldn't necessarily translate to their synesthesia. [[Special:Contributions/121.219.96.178|121.219.96.178]] 02:29, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

As a colorblind person, I would like to point out that it is not obvious to everybody that a normal person sees neither large number. At first glance, I assumed that normal people see both numbers, colorblind people see neither, and synthesesia allows colorblind people to see one.[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
: No, even normal people can't see the numbers because the image is just black and white. But that's just the first joke. Synthesesia in this comic just do see colours on black and white pictures.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:36, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
::Shouldn't the big-4 and big-2 have it's own color? The big-4 might then blend with the background 4's.
:::What's with the extraneous little-2 underneath the big numbers also?[[Special:Contributions/50.8.61.60|50.8.61.60]] 21:32, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
::::We are just talking about "colorblind persons" here. I am trying to help them to understand because they even they can`t see that the original picture is just B/W. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:12, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I'm not convinced that this cartoon works. I have a friend who is synaesthetic, and she can't see the big numbers. The thing is, if someone has the sort of synaesthesia where they see numbers in colours, then they see each digit in a different colour, and so there is no reason why primes (or any other particular group of digits) would stand out for them. Yes, I know it's a joke, but the joke doesn't work if it doesn't take into account how synaesthesia works.
:I might do some fiddling with various colour palette overlays, but I think that if there is a large cluster of a few colours which don't appear elsewhere in the image, the synaesthete could probably pick up the pattern. However, the actual function of synaesthesia is not really important in this, I suppose. {{unsigned ip|86.14.71.242}}

I saw the number 12 without checking here first, and I'm not a synesthete. Anyone see something similar? [[Special:Contributions/71.176.19.228|71.176.19.228]] 00:13, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
:Reading it on an iPad, by zooming right out, I can get occasional brief flashes of the number while moving my eyes - though I initially read it as 92, probably because I couldn't look directly at it. I can't work out what it is that makes it jump out at me, though - maybe my eyes are catching the pattern of sevens, or something? --[[Special:Contributions/123.243.65.31|123.243.65.31]] 09:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
:: I also read it as 92, but without any tricks. Just by painfully staring at the image my brain makes out lines and curves, till i found the 92. Is that normal? :D [[Special:Contributions/88.70.142.19|88.70.142.19]] 13:23, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
::: I can see the 2 vaguely (probably because the numbers making it up are a bit smaller and denser), and would have said "92" too, but only at gunpoint. So it IS normal. Wait, I'm not normal :D [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.137|108.162.230.137]] 11:33, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

In the last image, I think it would be better to have the background, the 4, and the 2 be made of different shades of 3 different colors to make it clear why someone who is colorblind would only see one of the numbers. Say, the background is different shades of green, the 4 is blue, and the 2 is red. That is, if I'm understanding this comic correctly. [[Special:Contributions/184.170.166.111|184.170.166.111]] 07:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

This would be incredibly confusing to a synesthete. Wouldn't he/she see the big 4 and 2 as being colors of their own? And then, of course, its component numbers would be made of so many different colors. I think we need a real synesthete to look at this. [[Special:Contributions/71.176.19.228|71.176.19.228]] 15:11, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
:I have heard from real synesthete people that there are too many chaotic numbers on the picture. I did add an explanation on the bottom of the main page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:37, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
::I experience the same. But what about [[User:Otherthings]] who claims he sees all colors at once. Different synesthesia or fake? Also, when examining numbers to invoke colors, you forget past colors, unless the subject has a photographic memory and won't lose the colors? Even then s/he still needs to look at every single digit in the image in individually. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 08:03, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
::: I think you're the closest to right. I have sound-to-image synesthesia, so when I hear a sound, it brings to mind a certain image. However, this image is only in my mind's eye. And as I've gotten older, I've become less able to hold on to that image in my head. The images follow a sort of dream logic. Anyway, even though I have a different type of synesthesia, it stands to reason that this type should work similarly. It seems to me that they would, when reading each digit, get an impression or be reminded of the corresponding color. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.36|108.162.216.36]] 00:31, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

What does it mean if I can see multiple giant numbers? When I looked at this, I immediately saw a giant 58 - and had no idea what 58 was supposed to mean. Then I could see other numbers as well, of varying mixed sizes.

PLEASE understand that this Black and White "color perception test" can not work. Nobody can see that Big Numbers. And this is just only the first part of this joke.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:00, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

I think it should say "one digit" or "two digits", rather than one or two "numbers", as 42 is just one number (consisting of two digits), though of course it _could_ be read as the two numbers 4 and 2, that just happen to be placed next to each other. I know this is less important when it doesn't actually work :P

In response to people saying no one can see the big numbers - I saw them easily. I don't have any particularly special condition, though (that I know of), but I saw the '42' before I even read the caption. It jumps out at me whenever I shift my point of focus slightly. Surely I'm not the only one? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.251|141.101.98.251]] 04:53, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

I saw this asked a few places so: I see different colors for letters and words (c, a, t and cat have unrelated colors) and similarly for numbers. So I would see the same color for big and little twos but different colors for the other components. No contradiction here, it just depends on what I'm focusing on. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.42.167|172.70.42.167]] 05:26, 7 March 2024 (UTC)