explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3043: Muons

2025-02-01T04:05:33Z

172.71.98.144: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3043
| date = January 27, 2025
| title = Muons
| image = muons_2x.png
| imagesize = 284x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Update: I've been banned from the physics department for the way I pronounce "Doppler effect."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE OMG PARTICLE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Muon|Muons}} are elementary sub-atomic particles, often released in {{w|air shower (physics)|air showers}} from high-energy {{w|cosmic ray}} protons causing nuclear decay in our upper atmosphere. These protons come from all over the universe from various interstellar events and have energies in excess of anything our species has created. Some of the muons created in these collisions are deflected away from us and decay quickly in the upper atmosphere. Other muons retain the high energy of the colliding protons and travel so fast that they emit {{w|Cherenkov radiation}} from outpacing photons in air, which is used to visualize air showers with telescopes. Muons usually decay very quickly, but because, in part, of {{w|time dilation}} these high-energy muons are able to penetrate densely deep into the earth. They are also used as a natural radiation source, more powerful than x-rays, for internal imaging, especially of large opaque structures.

Time dilation is the concept from {{w|special relativity}} where faster-moving objects travel through time faster than proportional, resulting in an appearance to an observer of it slowing down for them, as well as an ability to cross greater distances. Because the ‘regular speed’ muons are moving at a relatively normal speed, Cueball pronounces it properly, but because time slows down for the faster moving muons, Cueball adjusts this, and pronounces it much slower, as if he is being slowed down from talking about them.

Cueball is implying that when he says "muons", he is speaking in the same reference frame as them, with time traveling at the same speed for the listener and for the muon. In the same reference frame, muons decay very quickly. He implies that when he says "muuuoooons" very slowly, that he is now speaking in a reference frame where the muons have time dilated relative to the observer and appear to be aging very very slowly. If a relativistic muon were saying its own name, or if Cueball were in the same reference frame as the muon and the observer were not, (and there were a way to transmit sound at relativistic speeds), then the muon might sound like this, stretched out. This is the kind of reference frame in which muons are detected at the surface. We observe them, and we observe that time is passing slower for them than it is for us.

On average, a stationary muon decays after a bit over {{w|Muon#Muon_Decay|two microseconds}}. While moving at {{w|Muon#Muon_Decay|99.97% of the speed of light}}, their lifespan (from our perspective) stretches to nearly ninety microseconds (a {{w|Lorentz factor}} of ~40.8). If Cueball speaks at four syllables per second (a typical {{w|Speech tempo|speech tempo}} for English), it will take him about half of a second to name the "muons" created in the upper atmosphere; it will take him more than twenty seconds to name the fast-moving "muuuuuoooons."

The title text references the {{w|Doppler effect}}, the change in frequency of a wave when the observer is moving relative to the source. One common example of this is how the sound to a stationary observer of a fast car or airplane starts at a high pitched note but then drops to a low droning noise as it passes. By analogy with the time dilation example, Cueball likely imitates this change in pitch and speed of syllables whenever pronouncing the phrase "Doppler effect" ('Dop-llllerrrr eehfffffeeeehccccctttth'). Languages in Randall's native language family do not represent different words or sounds with different pitches, so speaking "Doppler effect" with the timing and pitch changes of a real doppler effect of a fast-moving object passing a listener, would be quite jarring and distracting to hear conversationally. Alternatively, he may be stretching out the "p" sound by saying "p-p-p-p", producing a spitting or {{w|Blowing_a_raspberry|"raspberry"}} sound, which would be highly offensive.{{cn}} For more on Doppler effect, see [[1531|BDLPSWDKS]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard, which contains a diagram depicting a muon passing through the atmosphere, a distance labeled with a cursive letter, the equation for the Lorentz factor, and some illegible text. He's facing away from the whiteboard and holding a pointer that points towards the diagram.]
:Cueball: ''Muons'' created in the upper atmosphere decay immediately, but fast moving ''muuuuuoooons'' are able to reach the surface due to their longer half-lives.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics tip: Remember to adjust your pronunciations to account for time dilation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Banned from conferences]]

3036: Chess Zoo

2025-01-15T12:15:04Z

172.71.98.144: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3036
| date = January 10, 2025
| title = Chess Zoo
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = chess_zoo_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x1221px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The zoo takes special care to keep kings separated from opposite-color pieces as part of their conservation program to prevent mating in captivity.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|
*Need to move the image in the trivia inside the explanation in a smooth way. It's not trivial, it's useful for the explanation.
*The '''Pawns''' bullet point needs to be cleaned up, too chaotic.}}
{{w|Zoo|Zoos}} are large encampments where various animals live in small enclosures. They're generally used as public exhibitions for amusement and education and as safe spaces for rescued and endangered animals. Many modern zoos deliberately allow different types of animals to mingle and interact, finding that it promotes enrichment and well-being. Naturally, in such cases, the zoo needs to be designed so that incompatible species (such as predators and prey) aren't allowed to interact, and good designs will allow animals space for rest and privacy when needed.

[[Randall]] has created a zoo for giant {{w|chess}} pieces, treating them as if they were animals. He designs the enclosures to allow interactions between different species, but prevents the possibility of one piece capturing another (which is treated as analogous to one animal attacking another), as well as of escape. In the [[#Trivia|Trivia]] section, a coloured version of the zoo shows where different types of pieces can move. The zoo is almost completely horizontally symmetrical from top to bottom with black pieces on the top and white pieces on the bottom. The only place that isn't completely symmetrical is the entrances to the bishop enclosures.

There are many subtle "jokes" in the image that play on how chess pieces move:
* '''Bishops''' can only move diagonally. Enclosures containing them do not have diagonal walls or corners which would allow them to slip out, and orthogonal portals into their enclosures are only one square wide and at least two squares long so that they can't get through. One bishop enclosure even has a portal open to the visiting people, letting it serve as a {{w|petting zoo}}. Opposing bishops can safely mingle as long as they are on opposite colors, since a bishop can never move to a square of the opposite color than the one on which it currently stands. This is enforced by these mingling enclosures only having two openings, each on opposite colored squares (i.e. an enclosure only has an opening for black pieces on white squares and one for white pieces on black squares).
* '''Knights''' move in an "L" shape (two squares along one orthogonal direction, then one more square in a perpendicular direction), leaping over other pieces and presumably walls. The walls of their enclosures have been designed to prevent escape by placing blocks where they would land if they leapt over the wall, or using double-thick walls. They can also be blocked by the same portals that block bishops, although they would need to be four blocks long instead of two.
* '''Rooks''' can only move along ranks and files. They have free roam of several enclosures, though diagonal walls are able to stop them, preventing them from accessing the center mingling bishops.
* '''Queens''' and '''kings''' can move along ranks and files as well as diagonally, so their enclosures must have the same precautions as would be required for both bishops and rooks.
* '''Pawns''' can only move forward (or diagonally forward when capturing), but upon reaching the final rank (the opponent's back rank), they are "promoted," becoming a knight, bishop, rook, or queen. The pawns are in a double-walled enclosure with no doors to prevent escape after promotion. It is unclear what would happen to the pawns after they are promoted. Whether they remain in the "pawn" enclosure or moved to their new enclosure according to their new piece type is unclear. Also unclear is how the pawns would be repopulated if all of them were to be promoted, leaving the pawn enclosure devoid of pawns. It appears that the pawns promoting is part of the zoo's attractions as mentioned in the Banner for the black pawns' enclosure that says: SHH! PAWNS PROMOTING. Comically, why zoo visitors need to be quiet is also uncertain. Does the noise distract, disturb or prevent the pawns from promoting? Perhaps the pawn promotion process produces a noise and if visitors are quiet they are more likely to hear the noise?
* A special feature of the enclosure, mentioned in the caption, is that there is at least one room for every type of pieces where other pieces cannot enter (except the king is always in a room with the queens). This means that even though some of the pieces can mingle with some of the other pieces they can also always retreat to a room where the other pieces cannot disturb them. For instance the top and bottom room with rooks can not be entered by any other type of pieces. In the two rooms right above and below the middle room, the bishops of the same color have their personal room. And also the two rooms to the right where black and white bishops co-exist on different colors, cannot be entered by any other type. (This is of course needed, since else there could be captures). The pawns have their own rooms top and bottom right. The knights have a separate room from which they can jump out to the rooms with either rooks or king/queens, but no other piece can enter their personal space to the left. And the king and his queens can retreat top or bottom left where the knights cannot enter. No piece can encounter all the others (even of the same color) but all pieces can meet at least one other type of pieces, the pawns though only after promotion. But they could not meet a king. This is similar to real zoos where separate enclosures are designed to be accessible only to one species (for example, through an opening too small for one of the species to pass through), allowing animals control over their interactions.

There are a couple of "interaction" areas that could have been built into the zoo design while preventing piece capture or escape but have not. There is no reason bishops and knights of the same color couldn't occupy the same enclosure, so long as there are adequate walls to prevent knights from escaping their enclosure. Additionally, it would be possible to allow visitor access to the white-bishop-on-black and black-bishop-on-white enclosure, as well as allow visitor access to the knight enclosures, however it is not apparent whether this is a priority of the zoo.

Every visitor of the zoo is depicted as centered on a single square occupied only by themselves, just like a chess piece. This could perhaps imply an entire chess board "world", where humans and chess pieces coexist as separate species, both aligned to the grid.

The title text contains a pun on the word 'mating'. The phrase "mating in captivity" is typically used to refer to animals in zoos copulating, hopefully producing offspring. This is typically done for species that are endangered (in hopes of reintroducing them to the wild, and in the meantime maintaining a healthy population of their own), but in the relatively safe and nurturing environment of the zoo could become problematic if allowed to happen without a certain degree of planning. In a conservation program, much thought may be put to how to avoid inbreeding, overpopulation and social stresses amongst the animals (as well as the problems of feeding and housing all the offspring), and so males and females may be given limited and highly curated access to each other, strictly according to the identified breeding requirements.

In the context of chess, "mating" means delivering an attack from which the opponent's king cannot escape, thereby winning the game. Unlike captive breeding programs, "mating" in in this sense, would presumably eliminate a piece (or an entire side), rather than creating additional animals, and therefore is undesirable. To prevent this from occurring, kings are not kept in the same enclosure as any piece of an opposing color. In fact, only opposing bishops on opposite colors are shown as unallied co-residents of an enclosure, in this zoo, thanks to their particular method of wall-free separation.

==Transcript==
:[A large panel is shown. It contains what appear to be a chessboard, but it is much larger than the usual 8x8=64 chess board squares. But it is divided into squares that are alternatingly white or gray. In the part shown 29x43 = 1247 squares are visible. Although for the outer rows and columns only less than half of each square there can be seen, so only 27x41 = 1107 squares are fully shown. On the "board" there are many details. Above the panel there is a large caption with a caption giving an explanation:]
:<big><big>Chess Zoo</big></big>
:<big>Designed to give different types of pieces their own enclosures while letting them interact as much as possible without allowing captures</big>

:[Upon the board there has been drawn an enclosure by drawing black squares on the white/gray squares. These black squares are smaller than the underlying squares but centered on the middle of their square. The outer parts of this enclosure covers 25x39 = 975 squares. It is not an entire rectangle of the black squares, but the top, the right side and bottom is a full line of 25, 39 and 25 black squares. The left line is only a normal line for the top and bottom 6 squares. Then for the next 12 rows (top or bottom), the "solid" line is moved one step in (to the right) and only on every second row is here a black square on the outer line. Above this there is a gap of 5 squares without black squares on either of the two left most squares (and 7 rows in a row with no black squares on the outer most line). This created a section inside the enclosure connected directly to the outside, but this part is still closed off, with black squares forming walls on this inner section, that closes it off from the rest of the enclosure.]

:[Inside this enclosure there are many other squares that have the black squares on top forming several rooms that are either closed of from other rooms or connected in some places. And on the white and gray squares that do not have black squares in top, there may bee drawn chess pieces or humans on them.]

:[The top part of the image has enclosures for black chess pieces and the bottom for white ones. Smaller black squares form enclosures around the chess pieces while the characters are outside of them. In the middle of the image, to the right, there are black and white bishops next to each other on squares of opposite colors. Humans are only on the outside of the enclosure, mainly above (eight) and below (six) with only three to the right. The the left people can stand either outside normal (three), or inside one of the indentations (two). But they can also walk into the open part and there are nine inside like this.]

:[Banner on top of smaller black squares on the top right, above an enclosure with a knight and four pawns:]
:Banner: ''Shh! Pawns promoting.''

:[Jill near the center, standing in front of Blondie and pointing forward:]
:Jill: Look, mommy! Bishops!

===Detailed description===
:[The humans outside the actual part of the enclosure are listed here, and the rooms they are looking into are also described:]

:[Top row from the left: Over the fifth black square a boy with what appears to be a cap. Next to him Hairbun. Two squares over Cueball. They look into the blacks King and Queens only section. There are four queens in this room and the king. One of the Queens are on her way down a hall to a room below, with a fifth queen and a knight. Over black square 14 there is another Cueball next to Hairy looking into the black rook only section. There are three rooks, one of which is moving in a hall to the room below. Over black square 19 is White Hat and two squares on Danish next to Ponytail looking into the black pawns only section, the two women over the banner. One of the pawns has promoted into a knight four others are still on their way to promote. This room has double thickness walls with two black squares all the way around.]

:[Down the right side from the top: To the right of black square 12 from the top another Cueball looking into the blacks bishops only section with three bishops, two on gray squares and one on a white square. To the right of black square 26 from the top another White Hat and another Hairy are looking into the white bishops only section with two bishops both on white squares. Above this room is a room with both white and black bishops, with the three white bishops on gray squares and the three black bishops on white squares.]

:[Bottom row from the right: Under the fourth black square from the right another Cueball looking into the White pawns only section, there are three pawns, none of them has promoted, bu their is also no banner- This room also has double thickness walls. Under the tenth black square to the 13th are four people in a row, from the right, another White Hat, another Hairy, another Hair Bun and another Cueball. They look into the white rooks only section. There are four rooks, one of them on the way into a hall towards the room above. Under the 21st black square from the right Megan is looking into the white King and Queens only section. There are three Queens with the King. A fourth queen is in a room above, where she is together with a knight.]

:[Up the left side from the bottom: The the left of black square three from the bottom another Hairy is looking into the white King and Queens only section. The seventh black square from the bottom it moved on space to the right. In the hole left there another Cueball is standing so he can see the passage where the white King and Queen can move into a room where also white knights can be, and there is one knight and one queen. To the left of outer wall 27 squares up, is Blondie, she is standing in the normal row left of the wall, but at a place where there is an indentation, so she is not next to the nearest black square. Se looks into the black knights only section with only one knight present. Four squares above her another Ponytail is standing in an indentation in the wall looking into the room where the black King and Queens can be together with the black knights, there is a queen and a knight. Four squares above this another Hairy is seen. He seems to have turned away from the wall walking to the left, so he is not looking into the black King and Queens only section behind him.]

:[The opening into the enclosure from the left to the end: Three squares in at the bottom over a black square one higher than the nearest another Megan walks to the right, next to her another Cueball walks the same way, he is not directly over a black square. And one further left below in one if the indentations another Ponytail. They are all above the white knights only section, with only one knight present. Above the first of the two Cueball's at the top of the opening in an indentation is Knit Cap looking into the black knights only section. At the bottom four squares further in than Ponytail is a person standing in an indentation with very large hair looking into a room where both white knights and rooks can be together, one of each is present. One further square in but two above him is another Blondie and next to her Jill pointing at the room with white and black bishops together, as she calls out. This room is the one where they are on their own color square, three white on white and three black on gray squares. Above them is the room where both black knight and black rooks can be together, with three knights and one rook. One square further in and one below them is another Cueball looking in to a section only accessible to white rooks next to the bishops room. There is one rook there. But below this part of the room it opens up and has both white rooks (3) and white bishops (5) with three bishops on white and two on gray squares. A similar room is above these last three persons with a black rook in the near part not accessible to bishops but then black rooks (1) and black bishops (3) can be together in the rest of that room. All bishops on gray squares.]

:[In total there are 9 Cueballs, 5 Hairys, 3 White Hats, 3 Ponytails, 2 Megans, 2 Hairbuns, 2 Blondies, 1 Knit Cap, 1 Danish, 1 Jill, 1 kid with a cap, 1 man with lots of hair, for a total of 31 humans.]

:[In total there are the following black pieces 1 king, 5 queens, 6 knights (one a promoted pawn), 5 rooks, 11 bishops and 4 pawns (together with the promoted knight). A total of 32 black pieces. There are the following white pieces: 1 king, 4 queens, 3 knights, 9 rooks, 13 bishops and 3 pawns for a total of 33 white pieces. 65 pieces in all. Similar number of each type of pieces as there are humans, 31, 32 and 33 for a total of 96 squares occupied by something that are "alive".]

===Visual-aspects-reliant representation of the comic===
:[Layout (H is a human; # is a smaller black square; chess pieces on the top half are black and below that white, unless otherwise noted):]
HH H HH H HH
#########################
# # #########
# Q Q # R ## ##
# K # R##P P##
H# #Q# Q##### ## P ##
### ### #R## P ##
## ###### # ## N ##
### # ##### # #########
H# Q # #### # ########
### N# ##### # #
# # R B # #
####### #### # B B#H
H # # N N## B R# #
### N # ## B# B #
# # ## # # # #
### # #N# ### ###B## ####
########### # B# B#
#H# # # # #R# # #
##B # B # [White bishops]
H HH B # B # [Black bishops]
HH H## B # B # [Left bishop: white, right bishop: black]
# #H# #H# # # B # B B#
########### R# # #
### # # # ### ## #### ###
# N# ## # #B # #
### # ##R R #B #H
# # ## R B # #H
####### R#### # B #
# # BB# #
###QN # N ##### B # #
# # #### # ########
### # ##### # #########
H## ###### # ## ##
### ### # ##P ##
# # # #####R## ##
# K Q# ## P P##
H# Q # RR ## ##
# Q # R #########
#########################
H HHHH H

==Trivia==
*User [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] made the [https://pasteboard.co/64VsBMA5af8l.png following depiction] of the board with colors showing which rooms the different pieces can enter by mixing colors.
**It was uploaded here with help, as D5xtgr could not at the time upload files:
[[File:3636 Chezz Zoo-with colors.png]]
*This is a version of xkcd 3036 "Chess Zoo" with partially-transparent coloured overlays illustrating the range of movement each piece has. Warm colours (red, brown, orange, yellow) are used for the black pieces, and cool colours (blue, teal , cyan, green) for the white pieces to show contrast. Because some regions are accessible to multiple pieces, these overlays overlap in places, producing colours that are combination or mixture of the originals.
**The text taken from the page where the original image was posted.
*Jake Ouellette made an [https://cadencecode.com/play/zooofchess interactive simulation of the chess zoo], which has several more jokes embedded in it.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

3011: Europa Clipper

2024-11-15T16:07:18Z

172.71.98.144: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3011
| date = November 13, 2024
| title = Europa Clipper
| image = europa_clipper_2x.png
| imagesize = 333x356px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They had BETTER make this a sample return mission.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a JOVIAN DESSERT. Please consider deleting this tag too soon, but refrain from doing so.}}

[[File:Animation of Europa Clipper trajectory around Jupiter.gif|thumb|right|The ''Europa Clipper's'' projected course around {{w|Jupiter}}, represented as the stationary <span style="color:green;">green</span> dot. In <span style="color:gold;">gold</span> is Jupiter's moon {{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}}, in <span style="color:cyan;">cyan</span> is the moon {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} — the primary target of the spacecraft's study — and in <span style="color:#FF4500;">orange-red</span> is the innermost of Jupiter's four {{w|Galilean moons|"Galilean"}} moons, {{w|Io (moon)|Io}}. The spacecraft's track is shown in <span style="color:magenta;">magenta</span>. Jupiter's largest moon {{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}} is not shown, but its gravitational pull affects the ''Clipper's'' trajectory. A mission goal is to achieve a 6:1 {{w|orbital resonance}} with Europa [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin-Ozimek/publication/383115312_AAS_24-433_Europa_Clipper_Mission_Analysis_Pump_Down_Trajectory_Design/links/66bcd845311cbb094938dbd6/AAS-24-433-Europa-Clipper-Mission-Analysis-Pump-Down-Trajectory-Design.pdf by September 2034]. ]]

The ''{{w|Europa Clipper}}'' space probe was launched from the {{w|Kennedy Space Center}} in Florida on [https://europa.nasa.gov/mission/about/ October 14, 2024]. It is expected to arrive at Jupiter and begin exploration of Jupiter's moons, particularly {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}, in April of 2030.

Europa is an icy moon. Water ice covers its surface. Around 15 to 25 kilometers (10 to 15 miles) beneath the ice, there is expected to be liquid water which may contain some [https://europa.nasa.gov/why-europa/ingredients-for-life/ basic forms of life]. To sample this liquid, its icy crust would need to be breached. The thickness of the ice dwarfs the ''Europa Clipper's'' 31 meter span.

Europa's surface of ice over liquid water could be (loosely) compared to the caramelized crust on the popular dessert {{w|crème brûlée}} (a comparison that may have been prompted because the {{w|Cassini-Huygens}} probe, after landing on Saturn's moon Titan in January of 2005, found that its surface had what was described as [https://www.sciencenews.org/article/world-unveiled-cr%C3%A8me-br%C3%BBl%C3%A9e-titan a "crème brûlée" consistency]). The hard surface of the caramel cream dessert is traditionally cracked open with a {{w|Tableware#Spoon|spoon}}, and so [[Randall]] posits that such equipment will be deployed by the ''Europa Clipper''.

In truth, no such spoon is present on the probe, and Europa's icy crust is too thick to be penetrated by a spoon of such size. Advanced measures are needed to prevent contamination of liquid water by Earth's organisms such as {{w|tardigrade}}s, {{w|deinococcus radiodurans}}, or {{w|bacillus subtilis}}. The ''Europa Clipper's'' course has been charted to avoid any contact with the surface of Europa (although it will fly through some sparse material it ejects into space) so as to prevent {{w|Planetary protection|contamination by microorganisms from Earth}}.

The successful deployment of any spacecraft's instrument is considered a cause for celebration because deployable spacecraft instruments often fail to correctly extend, unfurl or undock. The ''Clipper'' has a magnetometer that will be used at the end of a 8.5 meter boom (not apparent in the comic which, spoon extension aside, is an otherwise fairly accurate depiction) as part of its study of the moons' environment.

<div style="display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin: 1em 0;">
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 0 1em;">
[[File:Europa_-_Perijove_45_(cropped).png|200px|alt=Europa]]
<div>Europa</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 0 1em;">
[[File:2014_0531_Crème_brûlée_Doi_Mae_Salong_(cropped).jpg|200px|alt=Crème brûlée]]
<div>Crème brûlée</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 0 1em;">
[[File:Europa_Clipper_spacecraft_model.png|200px|alt=The Europa Clipper spacecraft]]
<div>The ''Europa Clipper'' spacecraft</div>
</div>
</div>

The title text expands on the joke by stating that the spacecraft "had BETTER" return samples of Europa to Earth. However, the ''Europa Clipper'' is not a {{w|sample-return mission}}.

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

:[A space probe with two rectangular solar panels, a circular dish of the front, and a very large spoon extending beneath, longer than the span of both solar panels]

:[Below the panel:]
:Good news: NASA's '''''Europa Clipper''''' is en route to Europa and has successfully deployed its crème brûlée spoon.

==Trivia==
Initially, the ''Europa Clipper'' mission was planned to include a lander component, but it was removed from the project early on. The Europa Lander proposal lags significantly behind the Clipper in development and has not secured funding. An actual sample return mission is currently far into the future of {{w|Ocean Worlds Exploration Program|the pertinent plans for exploration}}.

In {{w|Arthur C. Clarke}}'s novel ''{{w|2010: Odyssey Two}}'', the monolith aliens tell humanity ''"All these worlds are yours — except Europa. Attempt no landing there."'' Contrary to the suggestion of the comic, no landing or any other physical interaction beyond observation of the surface and analysis of the ejecta of Europa is planned.

In {{w|Greek mythology}}, {{w|Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa}} was a {{w|Phoenician}} princess whom {{w|Zeus}}, the king of the gods, abducted after transforming himself into a bull. The name of the continent Europe may derive from this legend, though alternative theories suggest it originates from ancient Greek words meaning "wide-gazing" or "broad face." Additionally, there is an {{w|Oceanid}} named {{w|Europa (Greek myth)|Europa}} (with a sister named {{w|Asia (Oceanid)|Asia}}), one of the many daughters of the {{w|Titans}}, {{w|Oceanus}} and {{w|Tethys (mythology)|Tethys}}. The name Europa is also used in {{w|Europa (Greek myth)|other mythological}} and {{w|Europa (Roman province)|geographical}} contexts. Jupiter's moon Europa was named after the Phoenician princess, following the tradition of naming Jovian moons after Zeus's lovers.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Food]]

1176: Those Not Present

2024-11-12T10:53:15Z

172.71.98.144: /* Explanation */ Added more detail to explanation

{{comic
| number = 1176
| date = February 20, 2013
| title = Those Not Present
| image = those not present.png
| titletext = 'Yeah, that squid's a total asshole.' [scoot scoot]
}}

{{incomplete|short explanation}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (likely representing [[Randall]]), is sitting listening to a conversation with three other people. As the talk progresses, each member contributes gossip about a different group absent from the table, and talking mostly negatively about their qualities and goals. As Cueball notices this, he has decided to leave conversations deemed toxic, by scooting his chair a little bit more farther from the table any time somebody badmouths someone not present. In each panel, he scoots progressively further away, with the previous conversation diminishing as he moves, until he reaches another conversation with [[Megan]], [[Hairy]], and [[Beret Guy]], discussing a blurry video about {{w|giant squids}}. He asks to join them, as this conversation seems far more interesting to him than one criticizing people behind their backs.

The title text jokes that the second group, is, unfortunately, also criticising the giant squid. As the squid is not present, Cueball starts to scoot his chair even more, to hopefully find a non-toxic conversation somewhere else. It is unclear if he is moving to back to where he came from (as possibly the first group seem to be less toxic than the second), or even further onwards (to seek out a new and more palatable conversation).

==Transcript==
:Every time someone says something negative about a person who's not in the room, I scoot my chair back a few inches.
:[Cueball, Ponytail and two other people are sitting at a table drinking.]
:Person: ''He's'' not so bad, but his ''friends''...
:[Cueball scoots away from table.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:Ponytail: His band is never gonna take off if...
:[Cueball scoots further away.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:[Megan, Beret Guy, and Hairy come into view.]
:Off-screen: Yeah, his sister is even ''weirder''.
:Off-screen: Did you see she had...
:''Scoot scoot''
:Beret Guy: ...and there's a video, but it's blurry...

:[Cueball turns around and leans his arm on his chair.]
:Cueball: What're you talking about?
:Hairy: Giant squid!
:Cueball: Mind if I join you?

==Trivia==
*In the first panel, the word "friends" was originally misspelled as "frends".

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

Talk:2370: Prediction

2024-03-17T16:28:24Z

172.71.98.144: 1-1/e

Is that a JoJo's reference?!1!! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.213|172.68.142.213]] 23:18, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
: Dunno who or what JoJo is (unless Jojo Siwa? But how would that be relevant?), but this is at least 70% likely to be a reference to the current election season in the USA and 538's (and others') predictions of Donald Trump's chance of winning the election in 2016 and 2020. In 2016, if I recall correctly, Trump had about a 30% chance to win (and thus Clinton had a 70% chance to win), and when 538's model launched earlier this year, the chances were basically the same (28-71 (with a 1% of an electoral college split because the USA's election system is phenomenally stupid)). Since then, Trump's chances of winning legitimately (538 does not attempt to model the chances and effects of election interference or votes not being counted) have slipped to about a 15% chance of winning which sounds bad, but will still happen in approximately 1 of every 7 tries, or about the number of Mondays in a week. Not great, but not impossible, either....)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.194|162.158.75.194]] 23:36, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
::Yare yare, not knowing about Jojo's Bizzare Adventure. I can see where OP is coming from but I don't think Randall watches anime...
::Now, let's talk about another misconception: lot of people intuitively think that an if event has chance of 1/7, it will almost surely happen at least once in seven tries. In reality, that chance is just 66%. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:17, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
:::The 1/7 thing surprised me, which is good for me. Of course I checked the math. (6/7) ^ 7 = 34%, about. So it is not 50-50, it is 66-34.
:::It may not be critical or may be obvious but in the comic, it seems to be understood that Event A or Event B may happen but not both, which "of course" affects how probability works. The difference between flipping one coin or two coins.
:::If it is about the election, then if most people decide early to vote or not, and for whom, then the election isn't really random. However, the poll is random; they pick a few people out and ask their intention. The picking is unreliable even in a large sample (another probability surprise) and so is whether the people picked answer truthfully about their voting intention. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.155|141.101.98.155]] 11:42, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
::: Generalizing, if you replace 7 with an arbitrary number bigger than 23, it will always be 63 point something percent. With smaller numbers it's a bit bigger, but 63% is generally a good estimate. It's one of my favorite math facts; the number itself is actually a derivative of e, as in Euler's number. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.144|172.71.98.144]] 16:28, 17 March 2024 (UTC)
::Yup, this is another politics comic. It's very similar to [[1131: Math]], and also reflects similar frustrations as the more recent [[2357]], although from a different angle (2357 was about lack of respect for polls, while this one's about poor grasp of odds and probability in the context of election models). [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 04:09, 10 October 2020 (UTC)

I don't know of Randall's got a series of White Hat comics sitting ready (the last one being [[2368]]) but he didn't want it to look like a 'series' so padded with something else. If we've got another such dialogue before the end of next week, it may be a sign he's recently had a particularly bad conversation/message-session with someone and just wanted to vent a bit. And I wouldn't blame him, if that's so. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.82|141.101.107.82]] 00:24, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
:(PS, pre-post edit, but not for the want of trying: CAPTCHA wanted me to identify tractors. Two obvious tractors, no tractors on ''any'' of the other tiles (definitely) but one of them had a road-roller. Refused to accept the two tractors only, and I'm refusing to support the presumably incorrect Id of the roller, so come back to edit this in, do my own venting, and perhaps I'll get a better CAPTCHA when I retry in a moment... (Thanks to an Edit Conflict after I was finished fighting the Captcha I'm able to come back to tell you that the next one was Stairs, and I aced that one! But gotta suffer at least one more, yet...)) Also [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.82|141.101.107.82]] 00:24, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
::According to the latest episode of QI XL (oh, hang on, [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ngdd have a linky]]) they suggest that being asked to do an actual Captcha for "I'm not a robot" means that you weren't exhibiting human-enough browsing activity ''before'' clicking that box. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.154|141.101.98.154]] 20:41, 10 October 2020 (UTC)

Probabilities are hard to understand intuitively when you're actually talking about a one-time event. If you roll a d6 a whole bunch of times, you'll get each face about 1 out of 6 times. But it's not like we can hold the election 100 times, and then we can see if Biden wins around 52 of them to prove Nate Silver right or wrong. Also, elections aren't random processes like rolling dice -- there are human beings making conscious decisions how to vote, and we like to believe that we understand human motivations and can predict what people will do, at least in aggregate (fields like economics and marketing depend on this). Unfortunately, it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future (thank you, Yogi Berra). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:44, 10 October 2020 (UTC)

Vote folks. [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 07:14, 10 October 2020 (UTC)

How do we know that Cueball doesn’t have a number of pre-recorded messages and he just chooses the one that suits the situation? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.54|162.158.155.54]] 09:26, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
:We don't! 02:42, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
::So that's impossible then? :p [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.103|162.158.158.103]] 09:20, 11 October 2020 (UTC)

For the first time since I've been reading this site, the explanation has left me more baffled than the comic. Five hours previous to me making this comment, somebody edited the explanation to add a highly technical reference that I assume may be British English, because it sure ain't American. What does "passing a flat check with a DC of" refer to? What is the formula for a flat check? And is it any different than what we in America would call a rubber check, and is passing one (essentially committing a form of counterfeiting) illegal where you are from?[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:53, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
:It's a role-playing or board game reference. I googled it, and found this: https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=333 [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:24, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
:Also, in the UK, it’s “cheque” not “check” [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 11:15, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Roll Charisma. DC 15.
Ok. *rolls* NAT 20! --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.202|108.162.216.202]] 18:19, 11 October 2020 (UTC)

The first sentence of the last paragraph is in the past tense, and will be correct when the U.S. elections are over. The next sentence is in the present tense. I'm not sure which is better, but we should be consistent. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:31, 11 October 2020 (UTC)

I feel compelled to point out that if the conversation had not gone as he ‘predicted’ he never would have mentioned his ‘prediction’ at all. Responses to this comment will be exactly what I predict, you’ll see when I tell you what I predicted. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.161|172.68.189.161]] 19:32, 11 October 2020 (UTC)

This reminds me of hearing about several years ago in Italy there were a bunch of little earthquakes, and they asked some scientists if that meant there were was a big earthquake coming, and they said probably not but they couldn't be certain, then a big earthquake happened and some people died, then they put the scientists on trial for manslaughter.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.36|162.158.75.36]] 07:48, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

Interesting. Here I was thinking this was related to Trumps assertion that he doesn't think Scientists have any idea what will happen with the global climate situation, but no one has made any reference to it at all so far. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.167|162.158.166.167]] 09:23, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

:My immediate thought, as others have pointed out was that this was a commentary on the criticism of 538 (and other statistical models) after the 2016 election. For example, Donald Trump tweeted out a criticism of 538 yesterday talking about how wrong they were and Nate Silver responded. https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1315296563212832768 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.228|108.162.216.228]] 12:25, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

People who have been declared stupid have no obligation to react sensibly.
People feel no obligation to try to educate stupid people.
But declaring oneself to be on the clever side feels so good.
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.194|162.158.92.194]] 11:14, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

The title text implies that you are discussing with a dishonest person ("you have to consider the probability of them paying up"). So I think this comic is about people who purposely distort facts and claim that the opponent are confused. A red herring. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.244|141.101.105.244]] 11:22, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

:Rather, it's just saying again more about how you need to factor in probability into things correctly, and in general an idiot like this isn't trustworthy. It's not about them being dishonest about whether they are misunderstanding probability though. It does raise the question though about what the terms of the bet are so that it would be advantageous for you, and how to consider that they are basing their predictions of what will happen on a simplification and misunderstanding of predictions that you give them yourself, and they'd thus be reluctant to bet with you when they think you just said which way it is going to happen, and thus any such bet you make with them afterwards, they'd either think the way you want to bet is guaranteed for you to win, or it wouldn't make sense as you would be trying to bet the way you said wouldn't happen, which would likely make them think you are being dishonest somewhere, unless they are even more crazy and stupid than shown here. At best you would bet on something you convinced them is 50/50 with you taking the more likely side of the bet.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.245|162.158.74.245]] 11:10, 14 October 2020 (UTC)