explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:Five-Minute Comics: Part 4

2023-12-18T14:38:03Z

172.71.242.137:

How is this unpublished? Although only through an app, this comic has still been issued for distribution to the public, therefore, by definition, published. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|14:41, 29 December 2015}}
:Thanks for the great explanation (also by but not just by Forrest). I found the link to it from the explanation for [[940]], and though we really lacked this page. As I did not know all the info I just called it unpublished. And then I actually hoped that someone would explain this comic, and you all did, and it is a great work. Especially finding out why it is here etc. Thanks :-) And great that it was saved because some of them are really funny --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:06, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

I just wanted to add that the [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=74111 forum post about this comic] notes that this comic was accidentally posted by the site admins for xkcd, then later replaced with the current version of the comic, i.e. [[940: Oversight]]. The direct image URL for this comic now points to [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/five_minute_comics_part_4.png this image]. Thus, the comic was not published through the unofficial xkcd app or anything like that; the more likely scenario is that the app downloaded the comic when it became available and cached it, so when the comic was replaced with [[940: Oversight]], the app did not update it. 03:58, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

Isn't the joke in the first comic that one of the players is holding a tennis racquet and the other a baseball bat? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.227|141.101.66.227]] 08:07, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

Concerning the Muezzin calling for "submission" instead of prayer - has anyone noticed yet that the arabic word for "submission" is "Islam"? Seems more deliberate than accidental to me.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.58|141.101.76.58]] 14:03, 11 November 2017 (UTC)
:Of course it's deliberate. It's referring to submission to Allah - most deistic religions call for some form of submission to their God or gods.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 13:59, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
:Oh wait, sorry, I think I get what you mean now! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.79|172.70.86.79]] 14:15, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

I don't know if anyone else thought this, but in the last panel of the "Wizard of Oz" comic, I thought that Dorothy had some sort of knife sticking out of the top of her skull, presumably thrown by the robot as an attack. It took me a while to realise that it's actually (probably) just one of her pigtails. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.137|172.71.242.137]] 14:38, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

2861: X Value

2023-12-08T07:35:26Z

172.71.242.137:

{{comic
| number = 2861
| date = November 29, 2023
| title = X Value
| image = x_value_2x.png
| imagesize = 291x192px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The value of n is still unknown, but new results constrain it to fall between 8 and 10^500, ruling out popular 'n=1' and 'n=2' theories.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SET OF LOG(N) MATHEMATICIANS TRYING TO FIND THE VALUE OF Y - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In algebra, a {{w|Variable (mathematics)|variable}} is any symbol used to represent a number that has not been determined or chosen. The most familiar algebraic variable is ''x'' (the unknown input), with ''y'' often being the yet-to-be-determined output (its value being dependent on ''x''). According to the comic, the value of ''x'' has finally been found, being 4.1083. The joke is that a general-purpose variable, which may take different values in different scenarios, turns out to have a specific value, as though it were a constant. Constants in mathematics and other scientific fields are also often represented by a single symbol - some of the most well-known are {{w|Pi|''π''}} (3.14159...), ''e'' ({{w|E (mathematical constant)|Euler's number}}, 2.71828...), ''i'' ({{w|Imaginary number}}, equal to √-1), and ''c'' (the {{w|speed of light}} in a vacuum, 299,792,458 m/s (670,616,629 mph, 1,079,252,848.8 km/h, 1.8026x1012 {{w|FFF system|fur/ftn}})).

The specific number 4.1083 does not have any notable significance or special role in the contexts of physics, chemistry, finance, astronomy or cryptography. This number to 3 decimal places, 4.108, was referenced previously in comic [[899: Number Line]].

The '''title text''' declares the value of ''n'' is unknown. ''n'' is often used as an unknown/undetermined ''integer'' value. In {{w|Sampling (statistics)|statistics}}, it might be used to specify the size of a sample. For example, a list where ''n = 50'' would mean the list contains 50 data points, for which that number of iterations or a larger number of cross-comparisons might be expected.

According to the title text, however, the value of ''n'' ''has'' been narrowed down to somewhere between 8 and 10500, or one hundred quinsexagintacentillion. This narrowing-down isn't particularly narrow, although it is perhaps quite specific compared to the 'pre-narrowing' possibilities of being absolutely any finite value at all.

The title text also says that this narrowing has ruled out the (usually) simplest values of 1 or 2. Saying "n=1" or "n=2" is a popular way to disclaim or discredit a story implying causality. An anecdote followed by the disclaimer "n=1" typically involves a personal experience or observation that someone shares as a point of reference or evidence, but then acknowledges that it's just a single instance and may not be representative of a broader trend or truth.

For example, someone might say, "I started eating a spoonful of honey every morning, and ever since then, I haven't caught a cold. It must be boosting my immune system." Then, realizing that this is just their personal experience, they add, "But of course, that's just my experience - n=1. It's not scientific evidence that honey prevents colds."

In this example, "n=1" is used to acknowledge that the claim is based on a single instance (n refers to the sample size in a study, with 1 indicating only one subject or data point) and may not be a reliable or generalizable conclusion.

If values of 1 or 2 have been ruled out, that implies that all causality claims based on observations technically have at least 8 observations (whether known or unknown). In the honey-cold example, that means at least 7 other people have had the same experience.

It is generally assumed that n is not one, as otherwise proving p = np would have been trivial.

==Transcript==
:[A math formula is circled.]
:<big><big>x = 4.1083</big></big>

:[Caption below the panel:]
: Big math news: They finally figured out the value of x.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

1084: Server Problem

2023-12-08T07:17:48Z

172.71.242.137: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1084
| date = July 20, 2012
| title = Server Problem
| image = server_problem.png
| titletext = Protip: Annoy Ray Kurzweil by always referring to it as the 'Cybersingularity'.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has messed up his {{w|Linux server}} (which can have the prompt ~# or ~$), {{tvtropes|WalkingTechbane|apparently not for the first time}}. [[Megan]] offers to take a look at the PC and types in "ls" — a basic command that lists the files in the current directory. The computer returns a bizarre error message — it trips over one of the simplest commands, indicating that Cueball's system is messed up. ''Really'' messed up.

On Linux, most commands are executables usually found in either /bin or /usr/bin. The /usr/share folder, on the other hand, is where "architecture-independent shared data" is stored. Adobe is a software company that produces Acrobat and Photoshop. "android_vm" would likely be a virtual machine for Android. The .jar extension suggests a Java-language program. None of the above items are related to the command "ls", nor do they have anything to do with each other, with the semi-exception that Android is based on Java. Executables should also never be found within /usr/share or within directories named "example" or "doc" - indeed, by default Linux does not even look in the /usr/share directory for items that can be run unless the user {{w|PATH (variable)|tells it to do so by changing the $PATH variable}}. The presence of "ls.jar" within a folder called "android_vm" suggests Cueball was attempting to boot up a virtual Android device, but somehow wound up directing the Linux server to use the executable files meant for the virtual system instead of the correct ones in /bin or /usr/bin.

In the last frame Megan is bewildered by this result and asks ''"What did you do!?"''. Cueball suggest a course of action which mimics a common error message: "[X] is busy, please try again later." Obviously he has seen this type of message frequently enough to try it as a general cure in all similar cases (even scarier, there is a good possibility that his tech issues are so bizarre that it often works for him).

Megan then tells Cueball to "shut down the system and wait for the {{w|technological singularity|singularity}}," referring to a hypothetical future event when superintelligence can be artificially created. Since future superintelligent humans/computers transcend our comprehension, we can't predict or even understand what will happen after the singularity. One interpretation is that Megan is telling Cueball that his system is such a mess that it will take a post-singularity superintelligence to fix it (or run it in its current state, as only an intelligence beyond present comprehension would be capable of doing). It also indicates that either [[1782: Team Chat]] or [[1668: Singularity]] could be the sequel to this comic. Since the singularity is a hypothetical event that may never happen, or may happen at a date unimaginably far in the future, Megan is essentially telling Cueball to give up completely on fixing his server. This is her way of declaring that no human can fix or understand his server.

The title text is yet another [[:Category:Protip|protip]] from [[Randall]]. {{w|Ray Kurzweil}} is an author and futurist who has {{w|Singularity Summit|talked}} and {{w|The Singularity Is Near|written}} much about a ''{{w|technological singularity}}''. Presumably, mangling the jargon (by confusing the concept of the "singularity" with the science fiction term "{{w|cyberspace}}") is something Kurzweil (as an expert) would find annoying. Also, as Randall later pointed out in [[1573: Cyberintelligence]], the prefix "cyber" has not really been used for a decade...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball at his computer calls out for Megan who comes walking in to the frame.]
:Cueball: I, um, messed up my server again.
:Megan: I'll take a look. You have the ''weirdest'' tech problems.

:[Zoom in on only Megan who uses the root prompt on the computer.]
:<code>~# ls</code>

:[Megan stands next to the computer, Cueball sits behind her on his chair. The computer returns the following:]
:<code>/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar:
:Error: Device is not responding.</code>

:[Megan turns towards Cueball who lifts his hands with palm up.]
:Megan: What did you ''do!?''
:Cueball: Maybe the device is busy. Should I try it later?
:Megan: You should shut down this system and wait for the Singularity.

== Trivia ==

* This is the first comic to have a high-resolution (pixel-doubled) version of its image.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Protip]]
[[Category:Singularity]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]