explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

271: Powers of One

2014-10-02T12:16:47Z

173.245.52.132:

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}: the original one can be found at http://www.powersof10.com/film.

Like in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. Then, the zoom level of the image should change... but, while in the documentary it changes by 10 times at every frame (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...), in the comic powers of 1 are used: since every power of 1 is always 1, the image doesn't change at all.

So, a series of identical images is shown.

The title text says that while this idea may seem profound (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound") but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

909: Worst-Case Shopping

2014-09-25T15:09:11Z

173.245.52.132: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 909
| date = June 8, 2011
| title = Worst-Case Shopping
| image = worst case shopping.png
| titletext = Wait a minute. If I'm escaping from a submarine at 50 meters, then I'll *definitely* need a flashlight to find air pockets for gradual decompression on the way up. Time to start shopping professional dive lights.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is dreaming up reasons he should get a flashlight that is water resistant up to 40 meters instead of 10 meters.

In the dream sequence over the first 2 and a half frames, Cueball appears to be diving to find a key underwater, which he spots using his flashlight when he is at 8 meters. His flashlight goes out at 10 meters because he bought the "Hi-Brite" model. The dream sequence also references a "radio shed", which were only really used in the past for {{w|amateur radio}}s or some other military style bases/compounds—which would align with his "warn the President" line.

The title text takes Cueball's thought process to the next level (worse-case), because if he is getting a flashlight that works to 40 meters, he should probably be prepared for even deeper waters as well (even worse-case). However, this is seen as ridiculous from his friend, since the more durable model costs 25$ more in return. However, he replies that you never know what situation you'd be in.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is diving in very deep, dark blue water. He shines a flashlight at the sea floor.]
:Cueball (thinks): Eight meters. There's the wreckage... Yes! I see the key!

:[As he swims further toward it, his flashlight starts to cut out.]
:Cueball (thinks): Gotta grab it, surface, get in to the radio shed, and warn the President! Just a few more...
:Flashlight: BZZT FIZZ

:[This panel has no border like the others, and is divided in half diagonally by a thought bubble.]
:[The left half of it is a dark blue thought bubble with the diver inside it. On the right hand side are packaged flashlights hanging on a shelf. The one called Hi-Brite is $24.95 and is labeled "water resistant to 10 meters." The one called "FenStar G6" is $49.95 and says "water resistant to 40 meters."]
:Cueball (thinks): Oh no.

:[Cueball and a friend stand in front of a flashlight display in a store. Cueball looks down at the packages with his hand on his chin in thought. The thought bubble from the previous panel leads from his head. The friend stands behind him.]
:Cueball: ...maybe I should spring for the deeper water resistance.
:Friend: Why on earth would you care about that?
:Cueball: Look, you never know.

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

Talk:1425: Tasks

2014-09-25T15:00:47Z

173.245.52.132: Replying to Question

the source of title text maybe is Szeliski, ''Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications'' (2010), p. 10. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 06:59, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

[http://www.wired.com/2012/06/google-x-neural-network/ Google’s Artificial Brain Learns to Find Cat Videos] might be useful as a description of the problem [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.219|108.162.250.219]] 08:34, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

:Sorry for editing your comment but external links have different syntax that internal links so it wasn't working. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:21, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Nice Superman joke there, Pudder! --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.49|141.101.99.49]] 10:26, 24 September 2014 (UTC)
:It had been removed in an edit, so I shoehorned in back in :P --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:25, 24 September 2014 (UTC)
Isn't there an xkcd where the estimate of 5 years of work is equivalent to "might take forever?" [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:16, 24 September 2014 (UTC)
:I'm pretty sure you're refering to 678. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.132|173.245.52.132]] 15:00, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

The link in the description is to a document by {{w|Seymour Papert}} and the [http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Summer_Vision_Project.html?id=qOh7NwAACAAJ book] on the project is also by Papert. Is there any contemporary evidence that it was actually Minsky who assigned the project? I think he just got interested in it later. 14:17, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

[http://xkcd.com/678/ 678: Researcher Translation] is probably what you're thinking of, Rtanenbaum. [[User:Ndgeek|Ndgeek]] ([[User talk:Ndgeek|talk]]) 17:44, 24 September 2014 (UTC)