explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2850: Doctor's Office

2023-11-08T12:30:28Z

172.70.85.222: Small MRTs

Why wouldn't Randal post this on a Monday instead of a Friday?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.65|162.158.166.65]] 22:05, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

added transccccccccc [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 22:06, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

Should [[699: Trimester]] be mentioned in the explanation anywhere?--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.58.190|172.69.58.190]] 02:11, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
:eh. probably. [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 02:15, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Here before fans inevitably figure out which crossword number it is [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 02:45, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

What terms, exactly, are malapropisms in the second panel? Did someone misuse a fancy word and nobody else bother to check it's meaning, or is there something I'm missing? [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 04:10, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
:You are correct. A "malaprop" is susing a word that sounds similar to the correct word. Beret Guy is just misunderstanding.[[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 11:42, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Rearranged the section about other similar comics, and added 1471 [Gut Fauna]. 699 [Trimester] is the only one explicitly confirmed to be an impostor. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.223|172.69.22.223]] 07:09, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Although I'm really very good at US/UK English differences, "doctor's office" always wrongfoots me. As doctors have surgeries, not offices, it adds to the overall feel of "not really a proper doctor" in the comic. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 13:53, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
:I know what you mean. And much of the US healthcare structure also seems to only work very well for those for whom it works at the expense of not working at all for most of the rest. I'd almost not be surprised to find a 'pop-up' surgery like this for either those ready and eager to pay or completely without the means and desperate (the latter might not have the MRI scanner at hand...).
:: The disparities in US health care [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17%2930398-7/fulltext are well documented] (apologies if you hit a paywall). As for the 'pop-up' surgeries/medical care "offices", you may be referring to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urgent_care_center urgent care centers], which are commonplace in the US now, and expensive but (maybe) better than going without. True 'pop-ups' (e.g., temporary facilities under canvas) are not unknown, and not just after natural disasters. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.100|172.71.142.100]] 17:02, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
:For all the problems with the UK healthcare systems (and the gods know that there are indeed some), I can't see Beret Guy's system working here, at the same level of hypothetical. (Same with policing matters.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.33|141.101.98.33]] 14:10, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
::Just imagine how Americans feel when we read about members of Parliament holding [https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/surgeries/ surgeries] for their constituents. Very confusing. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.7|172.70.127.7]] 15:58, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
::: It's helpful (at least to me) to read the [https://www.etymonline.com/word/surgery etymology of the word "surgery"], especially how, in British English, it came to mean "a (place for) consultation." Combine this with the realization that, whereas in the USA a physician holds a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Medicine doctorate degree], a physician in the UK holds a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Medicine,_Bachelor_of_Surgery bachelor's degree] - UK secondary school graduates, if they qualify, go directly to medical school, bypassing the bachelor's degree step forced on would-be physicians in the US. Thus, a "doctor's office" in the USA is a place where the physician holds a doctorate degree (technically "is a doctor"), and is found in an office processing the paperwork that dominates the doctor's day, whilst a "doctor's surgery" in the UK is a place where the physician might not hold a doctorate degree (technically "is not a doctor") and in which, in the modern day, surgeries seldom (never?) take place. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.82|172.71.150.82]] 07:33, 5 November 2023 (UTC)
::: "We [English] have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." - [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/04/03/common/ Oscar Wilde, 1887] [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.104|172.71.142.104]] 16:41, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
Maybe the "We're like librarians, but for your bones and blood" refers to medical studies, that involve a lot of rote memorization. Among the things medical students need to know by heart are the names of bones and blood vessels. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.186.18|172.71.186.18]] 00:17, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

The Google Maps stuff sounds a lot like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c6AADI7Pb4 Wiretapping the Secret Service can be easy and fun] to me. [[User:Jadatkins|Jadatkins]] ([[User talk:Jadatkins|talk]]) 15:24, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

I would argue that "making holes in you" is much more likely to refer to the use of needles and syringes, first to withdraw blood for lab analysis (to determine the root cause of being too hot), and subsequently to administer medication to combat whatever infection is detected. [[User:Joe Perez|Joe Perez]] ([[User talk:Joe Perez|talk]])
:I agree; I've made that addition. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:48, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

There are smaller MRTs just for arms and legs, about the size as shown in the comic. For example the GE Optima MR430s. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.222|172.70.85.222]] 12:30, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2734: Electron Color

2023-02-08T10:40:47Z

172.70.85.222:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Electrons are yellow, protons are red, and neutrons are gray. End of discussion.

2697: Y2K and 2038

2022-11-11T23:09:23Z

172.70.85.222: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2697
| date = November 11, 2022
| title = Y2K and 2038
| image = y2k_and_2038_2x.png
| imagesize = 527x190px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years, but I've finally finished rebuilding all my software to use 33-bit signed ints.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Y2K-BRICKED BOT (MADE JAN 1, 1970). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Year 2038 problem.gif|thumb|An animation of the 2038 bug in action. The {{w|integer overflow}} error occurs at 03:14:08 UTC on 19 January 2038.]]

The Y2K bug, or more formally, the {{w|year 2000 problem}}, was the computer errors caused by two digit software representations of calendar years incorrectly handling the year 2000, such as by treating it as 1900 or 19100. The {{w|year 2038 problem}} is a similar issue with timestamps in {{w|Unix time}} format, which will overflow their {{w|Signed number representations|signed}} 32-bit binary representation on January 19, 2038.

While initial estimates were that the Y2K problem would require about half a trillion dollars to address, there was widespread recognition of its potential severity several years in advance. Concerted efforts among organizations including computer and software manufacturers and their corporate and government users reflected unprecedented cooperation, testing, and enhancement of affected systems costing substantially less than the early estimates. A major problem had struck IBM mainframes on and after August 16, 1972 (9999 days before January 1, 2000) that caused magnetic tapes that were supposed to be marked "keep forever" instead be marked "may be recycled now." But on New Year's Day 2000, few major errors actually occurred. Those that did usually did not disrupt essential processes or cause serious problems, and the few of them that did were usually addressed in days to weeks. The software code reviews involved allowed correcting other errors and providing various enhancements which often made up at least in part for the the cost of correcting the date bug.

It is unclear whether the 2038 problem will be addressed as effectively in time, but documented experience with the Y2K bug and increased software modularity and access to source code has allowed many otherwise vulnerable systems to already upgrade to wider timestamp and date formats, so there is reason to believe that it may be even less consequential and expensive. The 2038 problem has been previously mentioned in [[607: 2038]] and [[887: Future Timeline]].

The caption in this comic provides a punchline: everyone should have completed their "Y2K recovery" as it has been a full 22 years since the year 2000. It is highly unlikely that there are more than a very few consequential older systems that still suffer from this bug, and systems built since already handle years after 1999 correctly.

The title text refers to replacing the 32-bit signed Unix time format with a hypothetical new 33-bit signed {{w|Integer (computer science)|integer}} time and date format, which is very unlikely as almost all contemporary computer data structure formats are allocated no more finely than in 8-bit bytes. Taking 20 years to develop and implement such a format is not entirely counterproductive, as it would add another 68 years of capability, but it is far more counterproductive than upgrading to the widely available and supported 64-bit Unix time replacement format and software compatibility libraries.

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

[A timeline rectangle with 37 short dividing lines between the two ends, defining it into 38 minor sections, with the label "2000" above, associated with the leftmost edge, "2038" associated with the rightmost edge and "2019" directly over the centremost division that starts the section which covers that year, which is also extended to form a dotted line divided the whole height of the timeline into two equal 19-section halves. The left half has the label "Recovering from the Y2K bug" and the right half is labeled "Preparing for the 2038 bug". A triangular arrowhead labeled "Now" is also above indicating a rough position most of the way through the section that would represent the year 2022.]

[Caption:] Reminder: By now you should have finished your Y2K recovery and be several years into 2038 preparation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Timelines]]