explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

560: Lithium Batteries

2017-07-29T03:03:52Z

173.245.48.207: The concept of experiencing events in reverse is also explored in 1869: Positive and Negative Reviews.

{{comic
| number = 560
| date = March 25, 2009
| title = Lithium Batteries
| image = lithium_batteries.png
| titletext = I'm normally a pretty frugal person, but I still compulsively buy any R/C aircraft that's less than $30. In the last few years, this has become a problem.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] muses that his life would have been better if he aged in reverse; this idea is based on a timeline of the usage of {{w|Lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries}}. The reasoning is that each of these uses would come to realization when he most needed it; cheap {{w|RC planes}} as a child, a cellphone when he is a teenager and also later for when he is a successful businessman and finally a pacemaker when he is old.

The time-reversed aging is probably a direct reference to "{{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button}}", by {{w|F. Scott Fitzgerald}}, a "major motion picture" of which was released in December 2008, a few months before this comic appeared. Randall has used this theme before in [[270: Merlin]], referencing another backward-time-travelling character (in that case, from "{{w|The Once and Future King}}" by {{w|T. H. White}}).

Lithium-ion batteries have the highest energy density of any widely available battery, and for this reason are commonly used in portable electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, and also the newest airliners such as the {{w|Boeing 787 Dreamliner}}.

In the title text, Randall states that he is a big fan of cheap {{w|Radio-controlled aircraft|radio-controlled aircrafts}} (now powered by cheap lithium-ion batteries), which he desperately wishes would have been available when he was a child. That these have now become so cheap has undoubtedly been the inspiration for this comic.

As such, he has an uncontrollable, instinctive urge to make up for his childhood lack of RC aircraft by buying every one he sees compulsively, if they cost less than $30, in spite of him normally being a frugal person. ({{w|Frugality}} has been defined as the tendency to acquire goods and services in a restrained manner). This tendency has now become a financial problem since cheap RC aircraft has become more and more plentiful. The one in the comic is priced at only $10.

The concept of experiencing events in reverse is also explored in [[1869: Positive and Negative Reviews]].
==Transcript==
:[Caption above the timeline:]
:Timeline of commercial uses of lithium batteries:

:[The panel has a timeline that goes from past to present. The timeline has 4 notches on it. Reading from left to right, with the scale below the line and the description above each notch are the following:]
:Past

:[The first notch, closest to the past side, has a picture of an old man with a walking stick.]
:Pacemakers

:[The second notch has an image of a man in a car, who is talking on his cell phone.]
:Phones for Rich Business People

:[The third notch, has a teen talking on his cellphone.]
:Phones for Teenagers

:[The forth notch, closest to the present on the timeline, has an image of a radio controlled toy plane box with a price tag written on it.]
:Really cheap R/C planes and helicopters
:Box: $10

:Present

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Life would be so much better if I were
:one of those people who aged backward.

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

1869: Positive and Negative Reviews

2017-07-29T03:01:43Z

173.245.48.207: /* Explanation */ Time-reversed aging is also explored in 560: Lithium Batteries.

{{comic
| number = 1869
| date = July 28, 2017
| title = Positive and Negative Reviews
| image = positive and negative reviews.png
| titletext = This restaurant is great! I was feeling really sick, but then I ate there and felt better!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|New page}}

The comic shows reviews from people who purchased a made-up {{w|sports drink}} multi-pack containing twelve 20 oz (591 mL) bottles. The people who gave negative reviews are {{w|Merlin}} (the wizard from the legends of King Arthur) and B. Button (from the short story ''{{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button}}'' and its {{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|film adaptation}}). Merlin remembers the future; in the {{w|T. H. White}} novel series ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}'', he was born at the wrong end of time and has to live backwards. Benjamin Button was born with the physical appearance of an old man and grows younger as time progresses. They apparently perceive causation backwards: Merlin was thirsty then he drank the SmartQuench 9000, but he perceived it as drinking and then becoming thirsty, while BButton was {{w|Dehydration|dehydrated}} and was not anymore after drinking 3 bottles, but perceived it other way around.

Particles of {{w|matter}} can have a positive or negative {{w|electric charge}}. Particles have associated {{w|antiparticle}}s with opposite charge. For example {{w|electron}}s are negatively charged particles, and their antiparticles are {{w|positron}}s, which are positively charged. Antiparticles can be {{w|Feynman_diagram|interpreted}} as if they were the associated particle moving backward in time: positrons are interpreted as electrons moving backward in time. This is analogous to negative reviews being interpreted as positive reviews from people traveling backward in time.

The caption seems to say that there are only positive experiences—some going forward, some backward in life. However, Randall gives an example in the title text of a positive review which is actually about a negative experience by a person traveling backward in time (the person ate at a restaurant then got sick). The conclusion is there are both positive and negative events, but the way they are perceived depends on both the event and whether one sees it going forward or backward in time.

Time-reversed aging is also explored in [[560: Lithium Batteries]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[A picture with four small bottles and a larger one is shown. The text to the right reads:]
:SmartQuench 9000
:Sports Drink
:20 oz  12-pack

:[Below is a list with reviews; a picture for the user (avatar) and the name below, the rating (in stars) and the text to the right.]
:---Customer reviews---
:Amy 2015 [4 of 5 stars] Perfect after a run
:Anon513 [5 of 5 stars] My favorite flavor
:Merlin [1 of 5 stars] Drinking this made me thirstier
:Mike63 [4 of 5 stars] Good price
:B Button [1 of 5 stars] Drank 3 bottles on a hot day and got dehydrated!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Physics tells us that negative reviews are really just positive reviews from people traveling backward in time.

==Trivia==
*The use of the phrase 'physics tells us...' may be alluding to the way people use 'physics' or 'science' to justify nonsense. See [[1240: Quantum Mechanics]] and [[1475: Technically]].
*There are many examples of [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MerlinSickness "Merlin Sickness"] in fiction. Merlin was mentioned earlier in [[270: Merlin]].

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Food]]

1283: Headlines

2015-09-30T03:29:20Z

173.245.48.207: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1283
| date = October 28, 2013
| title = Headlines
| image = headlines.png
| titletext = 1916: 'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY, AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE FINDS. [PICS] [NSFW]
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirizes the sensationalist language used in Internet headlines. Many websites generate ad revenue for getting visitors ("getting more clicks"), so some unscrupulous editors seek to manipulate their readers using tantalizing yet formulaic and crass headlines, designed to attract readers rather than summarize the article's contents. You might recognize this technique from those ridiculous text advertisements — "local mom discovers 1 weird tip to reduce belly fat." The practice is nothing new: {{w|tabloid journalism}} has been doing this for many years (e.g. ''{{w|National Enquirer}}''). The numbers shown at the headline are also often wrong and not covered by the article.

Signs of a dishonest headline include giving undue weight to trivial topics, or appealing to readers' emotions or needs (fear, outrage, pity, lust, laziness) instead of offering serious information. In severe cases, it may be a {{w|bait-and-switch}}, claiming to offer something it isn't. By failing to give a useful summary of the story, whilst attempting to force the reader to click on every story on the off-chance that it's interesting, they amount to an intentionally deceptive form of spam.

[[Randall]] parodies the formula in this comic with such trivializing headlines for important historical events:

*1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:{{w|Albert Einstein}} published his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}, which changed views on space, time, mass, and energy, and laid the groundwork for much of modern physics. They included his papers on {{w|special relativity}} and on {{w|mass–energy equivalence}} ("E = mc<sup>2</sup>"). He had an infant son in 1905 (born May 1904).
:The use of the term "dad" helps readers tune in emotionally. "Proving scientists wrong about everything" is obviously an inflation of Einstein's achievements. Einstein was awarded the {{w|Nobel Prize}} in 1921 for his work on the {{w|photoelectric effect}}; his work on relativity was still not accepted by many physicists at that time.
*1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:{{w|Sinking of the RMS Titanic}}. "should have died" seems to be referring to six passengers whose survival was downright miraculous, though the wording is (deliberately) ambiguous to imply the six passengers ''deserved'' to have died. Possibly referred to here is the survival of {{w|J. Bruce Ismay}}, chairman and managing director of the White Star Line (the company responsible for the Titanic), who was condemned as a coward for leaving the sinking liner.
*1916: 'Physicist dad' turns his attention to gravity, and you won't believe what he finds. [PICS] [NSFW]
:Einstein published his theory of {{w|General relativity}}, which is a vast generalization of the theory of {{w|Special relativity}} from 1905 and provides a model for gravity. In 1916 Einstein had two sons who lived in Zurich while he lived in Berlin.
:[NSFW] is "Not Safe for Work" - a tag to identify explicit images. Here it is used to trick readers hoping to find pornography.
:[PICS] tells the potential viewer that there are images embedded
*1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:The {{w|Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}} was passed, guaranteeing voting rights for women in all US states. The prediction of new prohibitions is a reference to alcohol prohibition under the authority granted to the federal government by the {{w|Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}}. While the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified before women's suffrage was guaranteed by the Nineteeth, alcohol prohibition was widely seen as an issue driven by women's opinions (hence the suggestion that more things would be prohibited now that women had the vote).
*1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:{{w|Penicillin}} was discovered.
*1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]
:This is a reference to the {{w|Wall Street Crash of 1929}}, the most devastating stock market crash in history and the beginning of the Great Depression. The "embarassing reactions" may be a reference to the suicides of people suddenly impoverished by the depression.
:[GIFS] indicates that the post will contain an animated GIF image - a crude form of short video
*1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1945 is the year that World War II ended. It's also the year that many war crimes committed by Nazi Germany were discovered or declassified.
*1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1948 is when the Soviet Union established the {{w|Berlin Blockade}}, preventing food and other critical supplies from reaching occupied Berlin. In response, Western forces organized the {{w|Berlin Airlift}}.
*1955 - Avoid polio with this one weird trick
:The {{w|polio vaccine}} was developed.
:"One weird trick" is a common phrase used in Internet ads: see [http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/07/how_one_weird_trick_conquered_the_internet_what_happens_when_you_click_on.html this article] for more information. It may also refer to the fact that polio viruses were used as the first vaccines.
*1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:The Soviet Union launched {{w|Sputnik 1}}, the world's first artificial satellite. A ''nip slip'' is when a woman unintentionally exposes all or part of one or both of her nipples; in the context of the internet, it generally refers to a photograph capturing such a moment.
*1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:{{w|Martin Luther King Jr.}} and {{w|Robert F. Kennedy}} were both assassinated in 1968.
:Assassinations are rare and considered to be always tragic, so "ranking" them trivializes the political and emotional depth of the events.
*1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:{{w|Apollo 11}} performed the first manned lunar landing. During this historic trip newspapers printed as many pictures of astronauts as they could.
*1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. See {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster}} for details. This was the first shuttle mission that included a teacher on board as part of the crew ({{w|Christa McAuliffe}}, ''{{w|Teacher in Space Project}}''), so there were many children -- a New York Times poll put the number at 48% of 9-13 year olds in the US -- watching this particular launch live as teachers around the country had TV sets in their classrooms showing the ill-fated launch in real time. The launch was not shown on most mainstream TV stations; only {{w|CNN}} broadcast it live.
*1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [video]
:{{w|Fall of the Berlin Wall}}.
:[video] indicates a link to a video
*Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid
:A 90s kid is someone born in the late 80s or early 90s (and spent most their childhood in the 1990s). Headlines like [http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/25-ways-to-tell-youre-a-kid-of-the-9 this one from BuzzFeed] toy with their readers' sense of nostalgia. The parody headline is funny because it starts precisely on the first day of the 1990s, meaning that the only "90s kids" that it would apply to would be newborns. This is a reference to a common joke about the 90s not having a concrete identity in some ways like the 70s or 80s did in terms of popular culture, and yet those born in that decade always seem to have long lists of things that make you a "90s kid".

This topic is re-used in [[1307: Buzzfeed Christmas]].

==Transcript==
:20th Century Headlines
:Rewritten to get more clicks

:1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]
:1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1955 - Avoid Polio with this one weird trick
:1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [video]
:Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:1541: Voice

2015-06-24T02:52:35Z

173.245.48.207:

The premise of this comic reminds me of a sci-fi short story I read many years ago but have never been able to track down. A young girl's doll (?) comes to life, and it explains that it is a entity that can inhabit inanimate objects. Some things happen that I have forgotten, and while walking down the road, the girl is almost struck by a runaway car. The entity takes control of the car and steers it away from her. It decides that, having saved the girl's life, it has every right to take control of her - leaving our poor protagonist in the worst kind of "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" scenario as the story ends. Perhaps Randall Munroe read the same story. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.212|141.101.98.212]] 12:08, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
:To me it reminds me of the movie "Being John Malkovich", especially the end, where the main character is forever trapped in the other person's body, unable to talk. Kind of the-other-way-around, but a similar concept. [[User:Linuspogo|Linuspogo]] ([[User talk:Linuspogo|talk]]) 12:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

The phrase "..and put food in our normal mouths" (trying to pass as a human but getting it wrong) reminded me of 629: Skins "..been driving my car and having a job all day .. didn't meow once." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.105|173.245.53.105]] 16:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

;every six years

6 years back it was june 22, 2009 -> [[600|Comic 600]]. I guess there is no link between those comics , but I would not be surprised if there was. [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:44, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: anyway, I'm looking forward to the comic of june 22, 2021 ;) [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
::Do you realize that xkcd is fiction? Do you realize that Homer and Marge Simpson have not been married for 27 years, since Bart has been 10 during these 27 years? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.94|173.245.50.94]] 13:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
:::The author of this comic has a habit of doing things as suggested by the commenter that you mock. Stay on topic. This is not a place for picking fights.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 14:49, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Does this look like a continuation of the same conversation from two comics ago? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:57, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: Not to me. It's the same characters chatting casually, but there's nothing else linking both comics. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:11, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

By the way, I'd think that, even if Ponytail can't control her voice, she still can write whatever she wants. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: "Voice" in one sense could mean the use of vocal cords and mouth to produce audible speech, but in a more general sense it can be used to describe any verbal or nonverbal communication. (eg right now I am voicing my opinion on this subject) I suspect the latter is being implied here, although like most of the comics it's open to interpretation. [[User:Tahg|Tahg]] ([[User talk:Tahg|talk]]) 21:10, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

;Animorphs reference?

xkcd has mentioned that franchise before- https://xkcd.com/1380/
It centers around an alien race named the Yeerks that effectively possess a host by entering the brain. There is a single character in that series (Marco's mother) that is on rare occasions able to break through the Yeerk's control to use her own voice. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 15:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, this was my first impression of the comic. --Elimist--
:The Yeerks have full access to the host's thoughts, feelings, and memories. They are literally wrapped around the brain. They are completely indistinguishable and would not act suspicious in a personality sense. The only things that give them away are their required actions, such as returning to the pool every few days, or if they get caught in a conversation with their conspirators. The only reason Jake's status as host was discovered in one novel was because the Yeerk had only just entered his brain and didn't have time to fully acquire his memories. The Yeerk's sudden and unexpected exposure to what he believed to be the Andalite bandits lead him to have an emotional outburst. Had he been given any amount of time to adjust to his new host, he would have gone unnoticed until he had to return to the pool. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.153|108.162.210.153]] 18:49, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

My first thought was Randal must be talking about party obsessed people who are in fact out of control over their acting and helpless having to go out even if they don't have a reason to --floydheld--

This reminded me of the movie "The Host", where a human body is used to receive a voyaging alien entity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.123|108.162.219.123]] 18:37, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

'''Ponytail as filler character:'''
"Note on Ponytail: She is mainly a filler character..." - maybe she has never got her own voice because she is used as a filler character? If that's the case then in that brief moment we "hear" the real Ponytail. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.94}}

Removed the Yeerk mention, because while Yeerk hosts can occasionally act against their controller this isn't how they work, so this really probably isn't a reference to Animorphs (as much as I like the books). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 23:29, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

When I first read it, I interpreted it as some other intelligence was being suppressed by Ponytail, rather than the other way around, as it is currently being explained. (Although on further reflection, this doesn't make as much sense. I still wanted to put it in as a consideration, though.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.107|108.162.218.107]] 02:13, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

'''Possible Stephen Hawking reference?''' It has been reported (can't find the link at the moment) that S.H. sometimes says things he didn't mean to say as a result of his software's autocomplete. Apparently his children have also had fun with this. Sorry for the lack of reference :s [[User:Glen442|Glen442]] ([[User talk:Glen442|talk]]) 14:30, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
:[http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/06/17/stephen-hawkings-son-says-he-programmed-curse-words-into-his-fathers-voice-box/ Reference] [[User:Glen442|Glen442]] ([[User talk:Glen442|talk]]) 14:51, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Could this be about multiple personality disorder? First thing that came to my mind when seeing it. Know it's not quite like this, but it is a comic.