explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1583: NASA Press Conference

2015-09-29T13:27:38Z

173.245.55.78: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1583
| date = September 28, 2015
| title = NASA Press Conference
| image = nasa_press_conference.png
| titletext = Why are we spending billions to ruin Mars with swarms of robots when Elon Musk has promised to ruin Mars for a FRACTION of the cost?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain each of Beret Guy's questions. Also, what inane questions did real life reporters ask?}}
This comic is a reference to the press conference held by NASA on 28th September 2015, (the same day this comic was published), which confirmed the existence of liquid water at the surface of Mars. The comic was posted before the NASA press conference was held, although speculation about the announcement had already occurred.

The "questions" portion of the press conference is derailed by [[Beret Guy]], acting as a reporter for a network known only as "The News". He first comments he is holding a microphone so he is "real loud now." He then asks how this relates to other fields like medicine and sports. This may seem like an intelligent comment but the fields he mentions don't change at all with liquid water being on Mars.  Afterwards he asks if Mars has been "ruined" by getting wet, or if Mars will be okay when it dries out. (Some things, e.g. indoor furniture, can be damaged by water, but Mars is not one of those things.) When asked if he has any other questions he asks why {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke}} was being hassled at the {{w|Mos Eisley Cantina}}. This causes the other reporters to forget their original questions and to join in on the irrelevant discussion, much to the dismay of the NASA scientist.

This is probably meant to mock previous NASA press conferences, where reporters have asked inane questions {{Citation_needed}} that reveal their total ignorance of the field.

The title text refers to Elon Musk, who suggested [http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/11/us/elon-musk-mars-nuclear-bomb-colbert-feat/ nuking Mars] as a faster way of warming it up to make it habitable.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball is standing at a podium with the NASA logo on it]
:Cueball: That concludes the press conference. Any questions?
:Cueball: Yes, you, from... it just says "The News"?

:[Beret Guy is standing in a crowd holding a microphone]
:Beret Guy: Hi! I have a microphone so I'm real loud now.
:Beret Guy: How does this Mars data compare to data from other fields? Like medicine? Or sports?

:Cueball (offscreen): That question makes no sense.
:Beret Guy: If there's water on Mars, is it ruined?
:Beret Guy: Or will it be okay when it dries out?
:Cueball (offscreen): Any ''other'' questions?

:[The shot zooms out, now showing both Cueball at the podium and the crowd]
:Beret Guy: What were those guys hassling Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina trying to accomplish? I felt like I was supposed to understand that.
:Cueball: Anyone ''else?''
:Ponytail: That's now my question, too.
:Megan: Were they just picking a fight?
:Ponytail: If so, why did...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1583: NASA Press Conference

2015-09-29T13:26:09Z

173.245.55.78: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1583
| date = September 28, 2015
| title = NASA Press Conference
| image = nasa_press_conference.png
| titletext = Why are we spending billions to ruin Mars with swarms of robots when Elon Musk has promised to ruin Mars for a FRACTION of the cost?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain each of Beret Guy's questions. Also, what inane questions did real life reporters ask?}}
This comic is a reference to the press conference held by NASA on 28th September 2015, (the same day this comic is published), which confirmed the existence of liquid water at the surface of Mars. The comic was posted before the NASA press conference was held, although speculation about the announcement had already occurred.

The "questions" portion of the press conference is derailed by [[Beret Guy]], acting as a reporter for a network known only as "The News". He first comments he is holding a microphone so he is "real loud now." He then asks how this relates to other fields like medicine and sports. This may seem like an intelligent comment but the fields he mentions don't change at all with liquid water being on Mars.  Afterwards he asks if Mars has been "ruined" by getting wet, or if Mars will be okay when it dries out. (Some things, e.g. indoor furniture, can be damaged by water, but Mars is not one of those things.) When asked if he has any other questions he asks why {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke}} was being hassled at the {{w|Mos Eisley Cantina}}. This causes the other reporters to forget their original questions and to join in on the irrelevant discussion, much to the dismay of the NASA scientist.

This is probably meant to mock previous NASA press conferences, where reporters have asked inane questions {{Citation_needed}} that reveal their total ignorance of the field.

The title text refers to Elon Musk, who suggested [http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/11/us/elon-musk-mars-nuclear-bomb-colbert-feat/ nuking Mars] as a faster way of warming it up to make it habitable.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball is standing at a podium with the NASA logo on it]
:Cueball: That concludes the press conference. Any questions?
:Cueball: Yes, you, from... it just says "The News"?

:[Beret Guy is standing in a crowd holding a microphone]
:Beret Guy: Hi! I have a microphone so I'm real loud now.
:Beret Guy: How does this Mars data compare to data from other fields? Like medicine? Or sports?

:Cueball (offscreen): That question makes no sense.
:Beret Guy: If there's water on Mars, is it ruined?
:Beret Guy: Or will it be okay when it dries out?
:Cueball (offscreen): Any ''other'' questions?

:[The shot zooms out, now showing both Cueball at the podium and the crowd]
:Beret Guy: What were those guys hassling Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina trying to accomplish? I felt like I was supposed to understand that.
:Cueball: Anyone ''else?''
:Ponytail: That's now my question, too.
:Megan: Were they just picking a fight?
:Ponytail: If so, why did...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1579: Tech Loops

2015-09-21T20:39:32Z

173.245.55.78: /* Description of he boxes */

{{comic
| number = 1579
| date = September 18, 2015
| title = Tech Loops
| image = tech_loops.png
| titletext = And when I think about it, a lot of "things I want to do" are just learning about and discussing new tools for tinkering with the chain.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Title text may be better explained?}}

The comic is about how much time a geek might spend on a computer just to maintain the system itself, rather than actually using it for something relevant. This can in the worst cases go all the way up to the point where maintaining the system becomes the main goal. Often the operating system (OS) needs periodic updates, which might break some apps which in turn need to be updated; apps themselves might need to be updated, which can create all sort of incompatibilities which the geek then needs to spend time fixing.

Most people consider computers as tools to achieve something else — e.g. to surf the web, play games, read news or balance their bank account — and they would rather not have to spend lots of time on maintaining the OS or the computer if they can avoid it.

Here, however, [[Randall]] finds he's spending most of the time using his computer just for the sake of maintaining the OS or the hardware on said computer. It's tools for the sake of tooling, rather than tools as helpers to build something else.

A hardware equivalent would be {{w|RepRap Project}}: get a 3D printer and end up spending all the time printing 3D parts for itself instead of creating something else like toys or art.

An alternative interpretation is how a simple task can get maddeningly tricky because of the inherent complexity of the system. An example of this appears in [[949: File Transfer]], where the simple task of sending a file from one computer to another gets practically impossible despite having all kinds of "cloud" tools available, many of them designed to perform much more complex tasks with one simple click. In this view, the part of the comic labeled "things I actually want to use my computer for" could refer to simple actions like transferring a file and all the rest of the graph are unsuccessful tiring attempts to solve the problem by installing increasingly complex tools which end up not solving the simple problem properly. This is similar to a traditional joke which can be found on [http://www.pfccheatsheet.com/fnpgmr90.htm this link].

In the title text Randall realizes that what he really wishes to do it often only to learn about and discussing new tools to improve the chain. So in this way it is for sure only a system to support it self. But on the other hand, then the box with things he actually wishes to use the computer for, is then not disconnected from the rest, but an integral part of it all.

Other comics about the same concept are [[349: Success]] and [[763: Workaround]].

==Description of the boxes==
There are 18 boxes in the chart, but only 12 different texts. 16 of the boxes are interconnected. Two are not connected to any other boxes.

Here is a list of all the items explained individually:
* Tool: In this context, a tool is mostly any general purpose computer program. Typical tools are text editors and calendar applications. Randall is presumably spending all his time installing and maintaining tools but never using them for their intended purpose.
** There are two tools which both are related to the updater and both have one entry and one exit. The first tool has an entry from the most active library (most arrows) and the second has an exit to the VM.
* Updater: An application designed to automatically download and install new versions of an already installed program. Referenced in [[1197: All Adobe Updates]]. The time spent in updating an application can't be used to get productive work from the application.
** The updater has one entry from a tool, but also exits to another tool. Two other exits goes to the most active library (most arrows) and to the repository which is the only box without exits.
* {{w|Repository (version control)|Repository}}: For programmers a repository is a database where programs are stored. All modifications of the programs are preserved for posterity, in the same way as the Wikipedia {{w|Help:Page history|View history}} tab.
** There are three entries but as the only of the connected boxes this box has no exits. Thus the info stored here never leaves, and can thus not be accessed again by the loop.
* Library: In this context, a {{w|Library (computing)}} is a part of a computer program which is developed separately, with the idea that the library will be used for more than one program and therefore saving effort, as the library has to be developed only once. Often, programs require specific versions of specific libraries that can or can not be available. A typical example of a library often required and not always available is Microsoft's {{w|Framework Class Library}}, more known as {{w|.NET Framework}}.
** There are six libraries. Four of them has one entry and one exit arrow and twice one library exits only to another library. The top left is the most active with two entries and three exits making it the second busiest box in the chart. But most important is the bottom right library that starts everything since this is the only of the interconnected boxes that does not itself have any entry. From this library you can reach all the other connected boxes starting from it's only connection: Awful hack from 2009.
* VM: A {{w|Virtual machine}} is a computer program designed to emulate a complete computer. Probably a reference to [[1305: Undocumented Feature]], combined with the next item "Chat client".
** It has two entries as it obviously both need a tool and a hardware workaround to function. It exits to the chat client already mentioned.
* Chat client: an {{w|Online chat}} program, probably a reference to [[1305: Undocumented Feature]], combined with the previous item "VM".
** It has to entries, one from the most active library (most arrows) and one from the already mentioned VM. It exits to the repository which is the only box without exits.
* IRC for some reason: {{w|Internet Relay Chat}}.
** It is connected in a loop (entry and exit) only with Awful hack from 2009.
* Custom settings: Some programs (and especially web sites) assume a fixed setup in the user's computer. Many web pages even state plainly that they are only intended to work in one single browser with some settings enabled. This is a nuisance for users, and it becomes helplessly burdensome when the user must install several programs requiring different settings.
** Is connecting two libraries, exiting to the most active library (most arrows).
* Hardware workaround: Sometimes a problem can be solved by hardware changes. Removing TV tuner or telephone modem cards, changing an USB device from one port to another, opening and closing the CD tray, etc. are operations that, in many cases, have led to solving a problem; most of the time with no one knowing exactly why such an operation should or could have any effect in the computer's behavior.
** Has one entry from the most active library (most arrows) and two exits to VM and Awful hack from 2009
* Awful hack from 2009: An example of an awful hack can be found in [[1479: Troubleshooting]]. When an awful hacks is necessary, it is often because less awful alternatives do not exist; so awful hacks tend to remain useful for many years. An example can be the 256-caracter limit in the Windows path for a file, which has been inherited from MS-DOS and is still there up to Windows 10{{Citation needed}}.
** This is the most busy box with three entries and three exits. It has an entry from the only box that does not it self have any entries, the bottom right library. Another entry is from the Awful hack from 2009. It also form a simple entry exit loop with IRC for some reason, that box is not connected to any other boxes. And finally it exits to two libraries. One of these leads to the most active library (most arrows). From this hack all connected boxes can be reached, except the library that only has entry into the hack.
* DLL needed by something: Acronym for {{w|Dynamic-link library}}. Although DLL is a term used by Microsoft Windows, all modern operating systems use dynamic libraries, each with its own name. A dynamic library is a part of a program which is not loaded when the program starts, but rather it's attached "dynamically" to the running process when it is needed. This has the advantage that the dynamic library is not loaded at all if it's not needed, and also several processes which need the same dynamic library can share the same copy in memory.
** This box only leads to two question marks, and not to any of the other items.
* Things I actually want to use my computer for: All the other stuff is thus only there to make it possible to use the computer for these purposes.
** But this box is not in any way related to all the tools libraries etc. mentioned here above. Which are thus in reality not needed at all.

==The tech loops==
:The flow chart described:
:→ means supports (key)
:<br/>
:Things I actually want to use my computer for [isolated box with no links into or out of, by any of the following]
:
:DLL needed by something → ? [two exits to unknowns]
:
:Library (1) → Awful hack from 2009 →
::Awful hack from 2009 → IRC for some reason → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop)
::Awful hack from 2009 → Library (2) → Library (3) → Repository
::Awful hack from 2009 → Library (4) → Library (5) → Custom Settings → Library (6) →
:::Library (6) → Chat Client → Repository
:::Library (6) → Hardware Workaround →
::::Hardware Workaround → VM → Chat Client → Repository
::::Hardware Workaround → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop)
:::Library (6) → Tool (1) → Updater →
::::Updater → Repository
::::Updater → Library (6) → (Loop)
::::Updater → Tool (2) → VM → Chat Client → Repository
:
:(Note the Repository node leads to nowhere)

==Transcript==
:[A flow chart 18 boxes linked (or not) with arrows going in several different directions. At the top is an arrow pointing to the right with text under. The rest of the text in the chart is written inside the boxes.]
:[Under arrow:]
:Supports

:[Going from the top below the tip of the arrow and reading left to right and top to bottom the following text is written in the boxes that all are in some way connected with each other. The number of arrows going in and out of each box is noted behind the text in square brackets as [in, out]:]
:Updater [1, 3]
:Tool [1, 1]
:Tool [1, 1]
:Repository [3, 0]
:Library [1, 1]
:Library [2, 3]
:Library [1, 1]
:Chat Client [2, 1]
:VM [2, 1]
:IRC for some reason [1, 1]
:Custom Settings [1, 1]
:Hardware Workaround [1, 2]
:Library [1, 1]
:Awful hack from 2009 [3, 3]
:Library [1, 1]
:Library [0, 1]

:[The last box in the lower middle is not connected to any other boxes but has two exit arrows pointing to two questionmarks.]
:DLL needed by something [0, 2]
:?
:?

:[Box alone at the top right corner, with no connections:]
:Things I actually want to use my computer for [0, 0]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every now and then I realize I'm maintaining a huge chain of technology solely for the purpose to support itsel

==Trivia==
*In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/2/2b/20150921141046%21tech_loops.png first version] of this comic is said "soley" instead of "solely" in the caption. This was corrected later on the release day.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1388: Subduction License

2014-06-30T13:55:01Z

173.245.55.78: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1388
| date = June 30, 2014
| title = Subduction License
| image = subduction_license.png
| titletext = 'Dude, why can't you just be a normal roommate?' 'Because I'm coming TOWARD you!'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

In {{w|structural geology}}, {{w|subduction}} is the mechanism by which one {{w|tectonic plate}} disappears under another, usually creating an {{w|island arc}}, a {{w|volcanic arc}} or a {{w|mountain range}} on the second one.

In this comic, the beret guy claims to have a "''subduction license''", something that would enable him to start a subduction: he enters his roommate's space, slowly disappears under the plate of his roommate, and in the process creates mountain ranges on the floor, disrupting his roommate's work.

Xkcd has previously mentioned atypical licenses in [[410|comic 410]].

The title text plays on the double meaning of the word "normal", which in {{w|structural geology}} refers specifically to mountain-building faults that form when plates or other crustal blocks relax away from one another (e.g., the {{w|Tetons}}). However, since in {{w|subduction}} the plates are necessarily moving toward one another (as noted in the roommate's response in the title text), the mountain building is not due to normal (i.e., extensional) faults, but rather to compressional faults.

A "{{w|thrust fault}}" is a type of compressional fault that is itself part of the extended geologic play on words that drives [[1082: Geology]]. In this comic, "''I'm coming toward you''" may reflect a confusion, in beret guy's mind, between ''subduction'' and ''seduction''.

Typically areas for oil and mineral exploration are in subduction zones. Area of Alaska, expecially around the Cook Inlet require a license for exploration. [http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/leasing/Documents%5CBIF%5CExploration_Licenses%5CSW_CookInlet%5CSWCI_Ch3.pdf AlaskaDNR]

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is looking at some mail he has received while Cueball is at his computer desk at the other side of the room.]
:Beret Guy: Sweet! I finally got my subduction license!
:Cueball: Your what?

:[Beret Guy starts sinking into the ground, causing it to ripple.]
:Cueball: ...What are you doing?

:[Beret Guy sinks further, forming a miniature mountain range in front of him. Cueball is frantically trying to keep his computer steady as his desk tilts.]
:Cueball: ''Stop it! Stop it!''

:[Beret Guy is waist-deep, and snow caps have formed on the mountains. Cueball is falling backwards from his desk, and the monitor unplugs itself from his computer.]
:Cueball: '''AUGH!'''

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1321: Cold

2014-02-01T18:16:25Z

173.245.55.78:

Isn't the point of this one the fact that the cold days standing out being part of the point. People use rare cold snaps to question global warming, but they're ignoring the fact that the cold snap wouldn't be that out of the ordinary years ago.

I really hate when articles on science get a POV tag. Science isn't politics (hint: evolution and gravity aren't POV either). Related to the comic, I just had a similar rant on Facebook in the last week or two where I linked to [http://www.skepticalscience.com/print.php?r=54 this article] when someone said it was too cold for Global Warming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 12:24, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
:Actually evolution ''is'' a POV. For a start, it absolutely depends on the non-scientific assumption/philosophy/belief that there is nothing other than the material universe. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.227|108.162.222.227]] 01:59, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

I really hate it when people think the global warming scam is science, when it really is nothing more than politics masquerading as science. The IPCC has been proven to be a bunch of liars, and really there's nothing left but a bunch of whining left-wing lunatics who are desperately clinging to their hope of continuing to use this lie to raise energy prices/taxes. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.17|108.162.219.17]] 12:55, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
:Well you're wrong, and apparently delusionally paranoid about what the political left wants, but the bigger question is why is this in a wiki discussion page? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.117|108.162.249.117]] 13:21, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
::No, ''you'' are wrong, and still buying into the AGW myth that has been proven false (IPCC and others were basically caught lying). Why is this in a wiki discussion page? Well, apparently Randall has decided to use his webcomic as a vehicle to promote a left-wing agenda, so discussion of it here is totally legit. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.17|108.162.219.17]] 14:03, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
:::I think the most important words there are "his comic", so it's his call on what he writes. Also, honestly, the idea that climate change is a scam to control energy prices is pretty absurd.[[User:Pennpenn|Pennpenn]] ([[User talk:Pennpenn|talk]]) 13:39, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
::::Also, I thought it was well-known that Randall was a liberal. He's made it pretty clear in the past which side of the fence he's on politically. But that's beside the point, and I agree with 108.162.249.117: You honestly would have to deliberately choose to ignore the whole of the scientific community to believe that the concept of climate change is some sort of political scam. It really isn't - you can see evidence of it everywhere, if only you were to open your eyes and take a look around you. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 01:38, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
:::::Evidence of what? That's what makes insistence so irrational and, when pushing policy, dangerous. With a millionth of geologic time in empirical evidence and tons of extrapolation, you've got daisy-chained assumptions all the way to end-times superstition. It's downright medieval. If the "scientific community" actually speculated that warming might lengthen growing seasons, expand habitability and bring other benefits, the effort might look somewhat objective. But instead, the only understanding of warming is ineluctable catastrophe straight out of a Hollywood screenplay. Seriously, step back and contemplate how insane that is. Every five years someone claims the world has five years left. Actually, I'd say "it was five years ago people claimed hurricane intensity would increase because reasons," but it was nine years ago, and nothing happened. Well, intensity dropped. And yet, ironically, like the characters in this strip, people desperate to believe in a meteorological eschatology will seize at anything -- anything at all -- to threaten and shame others for not accepting that industry means carbon dioxide means temperature change means ??? means doom. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.86|108.162.221.86]] 23:50, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

:::Amongst other falsehoods 108.162.219.17 tells this science denier whopper: "the AGW myth that has been proven false (IPCC and others were basically caught lying)." It is you who is telling lies 108.162.219.17 - wittingly or otherwise. But hey if you disagree then tell us exactly how, in your mind, AGW Theory has been "proven false". {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.124}}

Although it doesn't directly mention it, this is partly related to people's confusion over the difference between 'weather' and 'climate' - the former being what the conditions are at a given moment in time, and the latter referring to long-term trends.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.228|141.101.98.228]] 14:52, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

I think the one with whit wolly hat is whitehat [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 16:10, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Can anyone provide an exact URL for (or procedure for finding) the data shown in the upper-right panel? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.71|108.162.221.71]] 18:00, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

Randall has cherry picked data for his conclusion and the graph in the comic. The full history is available from the NWS. The one for my home town can be found here http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/climo/below0.php The 1970's were unusually cold, which makes the present seem warmer by comparison. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.254|108.162.210.254]] 16:33, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Apparently Randall hasn’t seen this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/All_palaeotemps.png

To quote Michael Z. Williamson:
29 years in the last century is not an "average" of the last 300 million years.

Any finding based on that "average" is complete bullshit. You may as well use 1300-1305 hours on Apr 23 as your "average." You'll be about as accurate, and save time over actual data collection. {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.67}}

The claim that 0 Fahrenheit / -17 Celsius is ''really fucking cold'' is supported by [[526: Converting to Metric]]. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 00:41, 25 January 2014 (UTC)
:We've been getting some ball-chilling winter with the cold fronts suddenly appearing in Florida, which is a drastic change from the sweaty weather just last week. I've added "fuckfuckfuckcold" to my personal lexicon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 04:16, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

Is that possibly WHITE HAT not CUEBALL (except for the last panel)? {{unsigned ip|108.162.240.18}}

The one in black is not black hat.
He sits around memorising weather data, and lack malice. [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 18:29, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

Can anyone provide an exact URL for (or procedure for finding) the data shown in the upper-right panel? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.71|108.162.221.71]] 18:00, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

;rcc-acis.org/climatecentral

The source [http://rcc-acis.org/climatecentral rcc-acis.org/climatecentral] provided by Randall doesn't work. What's wrong? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:30, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
:The source quoted on [http://xkcd.com/1321/ xkcd] is no long a URL, but simply "'rcc-acis/climatecentral'" [[User:Boxy|Boxy]] ([[User talk:Boxy|talk]]) 03:07, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
::ClimateCentral made some graphs based on rcc-acis data for a few dozen cities. Here is the link [http://www.climatecentral.org/news/extreme-cold-events-in-a-climate-context-16931#cities In Much of U.S., Extreme Cold is Becoming More Rare][[User:Jamesprescott|Jamesprescott]] ([[User talk:Jamesprescott|talk]]) 19:16, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

Oh Dear. I can't believe what I'm reading. Either you guys are being ironic or Randall needs to expand his comic to encompass some of you.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.235|141.101.99.235]] 09:00, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
I'm really surprised that so many people could love xkcd (apparently) but also hate science. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.197}}

:Despite missing links in evolution tree and missing {{w|Quantum gravity}} theory, we know much more about both that about the climate. Climate politics isn't actually based on science, as scientists failed to produce results fast enough. I would really like to see science result on global warming, but with the amount of money at stake, I don't believe I can. Maybe later. Also, it's a pity that the global warming discussion shadowed REAL ecologic problems. I don't need global warming to see that burning fosil fuels is bad idea. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:25, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
::Not quite so fast, there. '''Can you tell me anything you know about evolution, any one thing that is true? I tried that question on the geology staff at the Field Museum of Natural History and the only answer I got was silence. I tried it on the members of the Evolutionary Morphology Seminar in the University of Chicago, a very prestigious body of evolutionists, and all I got there was silence for a long time and eventually one person said, "I do know one thing -- it ought not to be taught in high school".' Dr. Colin Patterson (Senior Paleontologist, British Museum of Natural History, London). Keynote address at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, November 5, 1981.'' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.227|108.162.222.227]] 01:59, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

::To those of you who claim climate change is a scam: Have you ever actually looked at any one of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of science papers, studies, documentaries and photo comparisons done on the polar ice caps and mountain glaciers around the world? Have you ever looked at the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia? Are you even aware that drastic and very sudden changes have happened to these things in just the last 20 years? (And in the case of the Reef, the two major bleaching events in 1998 and 2002 occurred over just a few DAYS each.) These are things that existed, mostly unchanged, for thousands of years and are suddenly disappearing or being damaged beyond repair. The evidence is overwhelming. I have a really hard time believing that anyone can be faced with such extreme evidence and choose to just plug their ears and go "LA LA LA, LIBERAL LIES" like you morons are doing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 01:47, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
:::(To be frank, the people I'm referring to here sound like they came from this comic: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/258:_Conspiracy_Theories ). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 01:56, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

:::You said it yourself. "Climate change". I agree that anyone denying the climate is changing is ... how did you said it ... moron. What I'm challenging is the belief that if we tax production of carbon dioxide (or implement some other of plans "against global warming"), the climate will change back. There's nothing scientific on that. Especially considering how low is chance that any taxing would actually lower amount of carbon dioxide produced globally ... usually, it only causes businesses to relocate. Another thing I'm challenging is the "unprecedented" bit often used by global warming proponents. Geologically speaking, climate changes happens often ... and scientists have very little or no data on previous changes. What is few thousands of years in history of Earth? (And in fact, we don't even have data for those thousands of years. We have data for few last hundreds top.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:37, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
::::Okay, it wasn't clear earlier that your point was about USING climate-change as a means to scare people into paying taxes, etc. I saw often-repeated arguments that climate-change ITSELF is a myth and a political football - that there's no proof it's happening. I can understand questioning political actions taken as a result of the science, but the fact that the climate is changing is undisputable.
::::As for whether this form of climate change is unusual in the grand scale of time, you're right that we don't have detailed records going back more than a few hundred years, and ecologically speaking, that's not a long time. But we DO have direct evidence that humans are responsible for a significant portion of the current change, including the incredibly sharp increase in global human population in just the last 100-150 years. And my point is that there really are people out there who firmly believe the scientific community is smoking crack and promoting some dastardly political agenda, and all the photos and documentation of mass coral bleaching events, glacier and ice-cap melt, species extinctions, etc., are all elaborate hoaxes. (Just like us landing on the moon, right?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 23:59, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

::::Amongst other climate science denier talking points Hkmaly sets up this straw man: "What I'm challenging is the belief that if we tax production of carbon dioxide... the climate will change back." The notion that if we reduced greenhouse gas emissions then the "climate would change back" is nothing but a climate science denier straw man. AGW Theory does not say that - it instead says that due to man-made greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere the globe will continue to warm the Earth no matter what we do, and also that if we reduced greenhouse gas emissions then future global warming will be mitigated.

::::Hkmaly also repeats this science denier falsehood: "And in fact, we don't even have data for those thousands of years." And if fact, you are wrong: we have temperature proxy data going back for not only thousands of years but for far longer than that too. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.124}}

Talk:1317: Theft

2014-01-15T05:19:24Z

173.245.55.78: Created page with "This comic seems to be about the idea that true identity theft would require the thief to take on the identity perfectly. The thief in the comic is Randall Munroe making fun o..."

This comic seems to be about the idea that true identity theft would require the thief to take on the identity perfectly. The thief in the comic is Randall Munroe making fun of himself and how he is often existential and is excited about space... 1st post--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.78|173.245.55.78]] 05:19, 15 January 2014 (UTC)