explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1332: Slippery Slope

2018-03-17T02:49:22Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1332
| date = February 19, 2014
| title = Slippery Slope
| image = slippery_slope.png
| titletext = Sure, taking a few seconds to be respectful toward someone about something they care about doesn't sound hard. But if you talk to hundreds of people every day and they all start expecting that same consideration, it could potentially add up to MINUTES wasted. And for WHAT?
}}

==Explanation==
The "{{w|Slippery slope}}" argument hinges on the idea that if A happens, then B will follow as a minor but expected consequence. B will lead on to C, C leads onto D, and so on. Each consequence gets progressively worse until you reach an undesirable situation. A slippery slope argument propagates that A should not be allowed, because if it is, then the resulting chain of consequences will lead to the undesirable situation. A contemporary and logically flawed example of this is gay marriage, which has had a largely very similar response. In the 60's interracial marriage was illegal, and people suggested that if allowed it would lead to pedophiles marrying children, men marrying men, people marrying their pets, sisters, etc. Another example of the slippery slope argument is the issue of illegal immigration, where if we allow people into the country illegally and give them citizenship, then they will steal jobs and then take over the United States. These arguments are largely made out of baseless fear and prejudice.

In the comic, [[White Hat]] uses a slippery slope argument to [[Cueball]], to justify being inconsiderate to people . He argues that if he expends minor effort being considerate to one person, he will be expected to be considerate to everyone he meets, which - he wishes to argue - is an undesirable situation. Thus, he justifies being inconsiderate as avoiding the slippery slope. This idea is extended in the title text, where he continues extrapolating the train of thought to come to the conclusion that minutes of time would be "wasted". Randall is exposing the greater issue that makes these arguments absurd because Cueball is saying that if he has to be considerate to one person, he will have to extend that courtesy to everyone.

This could be a reference to many arguments in which the slippery slope argument is used to deny people rights.

In the title text, the same idea is added to include that seconds is not a terribly large amount of time to be nice to a few people, but those few seconds multiplied by tens (he says ''hundreds'') of people could mean that a person would waste several minutes per day, as if several minutes were a big amount of time.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat talking to Cueball.]
:White Hat: Yeah, but if I'm considerate toward one person about one thing, what's next?
:White Hat: Being nice to ''other'' people about ''other'' things?
:White Hat: Where does it ''end?''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Logic]]

Talk:1952: Backpack Decisions

2018-02-08T15:10:32Z

198.41.230.82: EXPLAINED MY DECISION TO ADD WIKI LINKS TO THIS GUY IN THE COMMENTS, NAMED LINKER

Great, now I can't decide how to write the transcript [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 15:00, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

And I now want a new backpack. I'm fine with the one I have, but *I want a new one dammit!* But I can't decide which one [[User:Jdluk|Jdluk]] ([[User talk:Jdluk|talk]]) 15:08, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

The knapsack optimization problem is famous for being NP-hard ([[wikipedia:Knapsack problem|Knapsack problem]]). Seems to be an allusion to it. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.191|162.158.91.191]] 15:53, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
: Nope, see below. The knapsack problem is about optimizing the amount of stuff put into something, while Cueball goes through a [[wikipedia:buying decision process|buying decision process]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:49, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
:: But the buying decision process could be solved by a variation of the knapsack optimation problem: You can choose several features, but cannot combine all of them. The difficulty would be linear in the number of available backpacks (but this would/could be a very large number - for all the other listed items like car, phone, college, appartment, laptop there is less choice available and the decision can be made way faster) and nonlinear in the number of criteria. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.191|162.158.91.191]] 10:18, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

This comic is an illustration of the [[wikipedia:law of triviality|law of triviality]] aka the bike-shed effect. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:42, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

: I don't believe the bike-shed effect is related, since that would imply that he is focusing on unimportant issues instead of important ones. In this case, the problem is trying to satisfy a number of important needs that are not fully met by any one backpack, forcing him to decide which can be left unsatisfied by any particular backpack. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:59, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

:: Yes, you are right. I had the comparison chart in mind and incorrectly connected the dots here. The correct description of the situation is of course [[wikipedia:analysis paralysis|analysis paralysis]]. Snap decisions apparently aren't infallible, either. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 19:38, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

:: Now that you point out your reasoning, I can see where someone might think deciding on a backpack is less important than buying a car or picking a college, which is consistent with the bike-shed effect. You deserve points for thinking of it, even though I think it really is more important to Cueball in this case. In fact, I'm surprised that Cueball didn't have a laptop in hand, calculating a composite feature weighted score per backpack to totally geek things up! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 22:05, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

The description completely identifies the author with his figure. Mixes them up. That's very bad form and impolite. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.236|162.158.88.236]] 21:39, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
:: On top of that, it makes no sense. Nothing in this comic says anything about laptop choices. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.111|162.158.178.111]] 03:08, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:::Agree. Removed that part and marked it as incomplete, again. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

:::I'm confused by this series of comments. I thought the first one was talking about mixing up references to Cueball and Randall. Then the next comment mentions the lack of content related to laptop choices. First of all, I don't understand how laptop choices are related to the Randall vs Cueball issue (if I interpreted it correctly), and furthermore the bar graph specifically includes a bar for choosing a laptop - that means laptop choices in my book! What am I missing here? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:59, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

Do we really need a Wikipedia link to explain what 'yelling' is? Really? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.26|162.158.155.26]] 11:50, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:Unless we want to have a link for every word I don't think so. I removed it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:22, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:Do we really need one for 'all caps'? [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 14:04, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
::The all caps article explains not only what all caps is, but also its connotation to mean shouting. So I think it's a good inclusion. (Maybe the one for yelling was too much though.) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.82|198.41.230.82]] 15:10, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

1952: Backpack Decisions

2018-02-08T15:08:42Z

198.41.230.82: FIXED UP THE LAST GUY'S GRAMMAR AND RAMBLING.

{{comic
| number = 1952
| date = February 7, 2018
| title = Backpack Decisions
| image = backpack_decisions.png
| titletext = "This one is perfect in every way, except that for some reason it's woven from a tungsten mesh, so it weighs 85 pounds and I'll need to carry it around on a hand cart." "That seems like a bad--" "BUT IT HAS THE PERFECT POCKET ARRANGEMENT!"
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]], probably representing [[Randall]], is having issues choosing a good backpack. He notices their different features and is indecisive. After presumably spending a long time choosing, he is able to narrow his choices down to two backpacks, only to discover that another backpack had the extra feature of being waterproof, a criterion he has not up to then been accounting for. This has made him more indecisive. Frustrated by the extra information load, he considers giving up on backpacks to take another look at messenger bags. Disregarding that thought, he decides to start over, evaluating all of the backpacks again considering the new information. Clearly he is spending a lot of time on this, and the chart below shows that he spends more time unsure of what backpack to pick than of any other major choice, such as a college or a car. This is unusual, since differences between backpacks impact one's life much less than those between colleges or cars.{{Citation needed}}

On the other hand, a backpack and its features, or lack thereof, might impact a person on a more ongoing and intimate basis than a college choice (which was a long time ago) or a car (if your view of cars mainly concerns their function). A perfectionist technology geek, such as Cueball (or Randall) is implied to be, would likely remember, every time he used his backpack, the satisfaction of having found the perfect backpack, or the disappointment of being unable to do so.

The title text is Cueball having a conversation about a backpack, which seems (absurdly) to be made of heavy tungsten mesh. In fact, at 85 pounds (39 kg), it is so heavy that Cueball thinks he will need to carry it around in a cart, defeating the purpose of the backpack. However, Cueball considers it simply because of the perfect pocket arrangement, which he cannot use anyway, due to the backpack's heaviness. The explanation about the pocket arrangement is written in {{w|All caps|all caps}}, indicating that Cueball is yelling, probably out of frustration due to not being able to find a backpack with the right combination of features for so long.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a store display with 17 backpacks and a couple of boxes on the shelf. He has pulled two backpacks down, and they sit at his feet along with a messenger bag (or satchel) behind him. He thinks to himself:]
:It's down to two: the one with the charger pocket and the one with—
:Wait, that other one is ''waterproof!''
:Ugh. Do I even ''want'' a backpack?
:Maybe I should be looking at messenger bags again.
:OK, starting over.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Amount of time I’ve spent paralyzed by indecision over choosing the right…
:[A bar graph is shown. Each label is followed by a black bar representing the amount of time:]
:College [short bar that is 40 pixels wide]
:Phone [short bar that is 26 pixels wide]
:Apartment [short bar that is 33 pixels wide]
:Car [shortest bar, 20 pixels wide]
:Laptop [second longest bar, 46 pixels wide]
:Backpack [longest bar, 202 pixels wide]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1874: Geologic Faults

2018-02-08T12:09:25Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */ COMPLETED the article

{{comic
| number = 1874
| date = August 9, 2017
| title = Geologic Faults
| image = geologic_faults.png
| titletext = I live on a torn-bag-of-potato-chips-where-the-tear-is-rapidly-growing fault, which is terrifying.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic appears to be a successor to [[1714: Volcano Types]]. Similar to its predecessor, the comic explores several phenomena (in this case, geologic faults), both real phenomena and several made up for the point of a joke.

A {{w|Fault (geology)|fault}} is a geologic feature involving a planar fracture with displacement in a large mass of rock, including the boundaries of two {{w|tectonic plates}}.

Thrust faults were previously mentioned in [[1082: Geology]], and in the title text of [[1388: Subduction License]], [[Beret Guy]] tells [[Cueball]] he can't be a 'normal' roomate because in his motion he is creating a reverse fault.

====Real geologic faults====
;Normal fault
In a {{w|Fault (geology)#Dip-slip faults|normal fault}}, the hanging wall (the lower wall; right) moves downward relative to the footwall (the upper wall; left). The Earth's crust is extended in this type of fault.
;Reverse fault
A reverse fault is basically the opposite of a normal fault. The hanging wall (left) moves upward relative to the footwall (right), and the Earth's crust is compressed.
;Transverse fault
A transverse fault, also known as a {{w|transform fault}}, is where the two plates move parallel to each other, but in opposite directions.
;Thrust fault
A {{w|thrust fault}} is when older rocks are pushed (or thrust) on top of younger rocks. The angles are typically lower (more horizontal) than in reverse faults. A joke about this kind of fault is also feature in the comic [[1082: Geology]].

====Fictional joke faults====
;Taffy fault
This appears to involve one tectonic plate, that is being stretched out like a piece of {{w|Taffy (candy)|taffy}}. [https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/41229455/Crustal_thinning_recorded_by_the_shape_o20160113-25699-1vca65l.pdf20160115-19908-17j9qxl.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1502469630&Signature=hcKl8ViPa2JrofM%2Bob7qu9TmjP4%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DCrustal_thinning_recorded_by_the_shape_o.pdf Ductile crustal thinning] of this type actually occurs in rocks under tension at {{w|Brittle–ductile_transition_zone|sufficient depths}}. Such deformation is not a fault, however, as there is no fracture along which movement takes place.
;Splinted fault
This appears to be a normal or reverse fault to which someone has attached a large splint.
;Squeezed-bar-of-soap fault
Two plates seem to be moving towards each other, while a third smaller plate is squeezed between them and pushed upwards, depicting a slippery bar of soap sliding between hands that squeeze it.
;Apple power cable fault
The plate appears to have been twisted and bent so many times that parts of it are fraying, similar a frayed Apple {{w|MagSafe}} connector. A similar joke is used in [[1406: Universal Converter Box]].
;Brio fault
The Brio fault seems to be two tectonic plates which join together like the Brio train track pieces do. {{w|Brio (company)|BRIO}} is a company from Sweden that makes wooden toys.
;Torn-bag-of-potato-chips-where-the-tear-is-rapidly-growing fault
The title text refers to when a bag of chips gets a tear in it. When that happens, it will almost always continue to grow as people get chips out of the bag, sometimes very quickly. It would be frightening to live near a fault that behaved like this because that could cause major seismic events very quickly. If you were close enough to the fault, you might also be afraid that the crack would grow underneath you and you would fall into the bag of chips — or, rather{{Citation needed}}, the Earth.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon. Lacks small description for each item.}}
:[The comic shows nine different schematic views to present geographic faults and some more.]

:[Two planes with a slip fault drifting away to the left and right.]
:Normal fault
:[Two planes with a slip fault drifting against each other from left and right.]
:Reverse fault
:[Two planes moving sidewards.]
:Transverse fault

:[The left plane moves above the other to the right.]
:Thrust fault
:[Two planes drifting away and the connection between them gets smaller.]
:Taffy fault
:[On top of both planes a small piece with splints holds them together.]
:Splinted fault

:[The two planes pressing together with a piece in the middle moving topwards.]
:Squeezed-bar-of-soap fault
:[The right plane is connected to the left and swinging up and down.]
:Apple power cable fault
:[One side with a thin connector and the other with an evenly spaced hole connecting the planes together.]
:Brio fault

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Puns]]

1915: Nightmare Email Feature

2018-02-08T12:01:02Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */ COMPLETED the article

{{comic
| number = 1915
| date = November 13, 2017
| title = Nightmare Email Feature
| image = nightmare_email_feature.png
| titletext = "...just got back and didn't see your message until just now. Sorry! -- TIME THIS MESSAGE SAT HALF-FINISHED IN DRAFTS FOLDER: 3 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes."
}}

==Explanation==

Most modern email clients provide tools to help their users read, write and keep track of email efficiently. For instance, the user may receive a notification if the email body contains wording that suggests a file has been attached, but there is no actual attachment, in order to prevent forgetting to include the intended file in the email.

This comic suggests a similar feature, one which would inform not the user, but the recipient of the message, how long the email has been revised before being sent. This is an expansion of a common feature of collaboration tools used by law firms, and modern word processors such as Microsoft Word 2016. [[Randall]] calls this his nightmare email feature, implying he spends too much time in revision of what should be simple email messages and that making himself - or worse, the recipient - aware of the actual time would make him anxious.

In the shown case it seems that the recipient of the shown e-mail had asked to their latest meeting and asks if he want to do it again this weekend. It then took 47 minutes to write a short reply in which he ends up saying he enjoyed the thing referred to. But alas he has no time this weekend. And then let the other suggest a possible time for a dinner...or something. (Of course there could be more to the email above the panel, but it seems to be a very short answer to another e-mail, and it increases the nightmare for the writer (and the impact of the joke) if this was all that was written in 47 minutes).

If the text had been written out in less than 2 minutes, it would not have been a problem. But it seemed the writer of this e-mail had to think a lot about how it was phrased. This could lead the recipient to wonder what took so long. Was it that he did not enjoy it, but ended up writing this to be nice? He only writes he is busy this weekend, thus not giving any reason as to why. And the last part gives him the possibility to also "be busy" on whatever time is suggested for dinner. Also, "or something" is very non committing. All of this would also be true if it had been written in 2 minutes, but then at least there would not have been time to think a lot about how the reply was phrased.

The title text describes a similar uncomfortable feature, which would inform the recipient how long a message has been sitting in the user's ''drafts'' folder, thus highlighting their procrastination as well as demonstrating that "(...)didn't see your message until just now" is a lie, or at least it was only true when the original message was written, and now three days later another message should have been written instead. This feature would also be able to catch anyone who tries to avoid the feature depicted in the comic by saving the mail in "drafts" while doing revisions externally to the mailing software — either mentally or in another word processing program.

Randall has explored a related anxiety-inducing feature of instant messaging in [[1886: Typing Notifications]].

Applying the feature in the comic to this explanation: it sat incomplete in this wiki for approximately 2 months and 26 days (since the comic's creation), before an unregistered user removed its incomplete tag.

==Transcript==
:[A panel with a short email message, with the first line partly obscured by the top of the panel. Below that, in light gray font, is an information message from the email client.]
:Enjoyed it! I'm busy this weekend, but let me know if you're free sometime next week and want to get dinner or something.

:<span style="color:gray">Total time spent revising this email before sending: 47 minutes 12 seconds</span>
:<span style="color:gray">...</span>

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My nightmare email feature

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Email]]

1947: Night Sky

2018-02-08T11:21:27Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */ COMPLETED the article

{{comic
| number = 1947
| date = January 26, 2018
| title = Night Sky
| image = night_sky.png
| titletext = There's a mountain lion nearby, but it didn't notice you because it's reading Facebook.
}}

==Explanation==
With the increasing ubiquity of connected devices in people's lives have come concerns about the social and mental effects this is having. A common trend in lifestyle advice is the idea of "{{w|Digital detox|unplugging}}" and getting away from technology, with the idea that this can improve one's sense of wellbeing, and allow a focus on the important things in life, such as asking the {{w|Meaning of life|"big" existential questions}}.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are taking one such activity: a nighttime walk without their phones. However, rather than being grandiose, the questions they ask are increasingly immediate to their current situation. Far from finding the experience liberating, they find it first frustrating, as they no longer have access to useful features of their phones, such as mapping with GPS, which would help them find their way, and a flashlight, which would let them see where they were going, and then unsettling, as without their devices to distract them they begin to imagine dangers, such as {{w|cougar|mountain lions}}, lurking in the darkness.

The fact that Megan enthusiastically affirms that those really ''are'' the "big questions" of life reveals that they are sarcastically teasing each other about their regrettable decision.

The reference to mountain lions might be related to the declaration that eastern cougars were [http://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20180126/once-common-in-nc-eastern-cougar-declared-extinct-last-sighting-80-years-ago officially declared extinct] the day before this comic was published.

The title text claims that technology is so omnipresent that even the threatening mountain lion has a Facebook account and ready internet access. (And, therefore, is not so threatening, since it now can not notice them.) Alternatively either Cueball or Megan might be teasing the other.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking under the night sky.]
:Megan: The internet is so overwhelming for me these days. It feels like everyone I know is yelling all the time.

:[Frame is zoomed out. Stars are visible in the sky.]
:Megan: That's why it's so nice to unplug. Leave the phones at home, go for a walk, and look up at the stars.
:Megan: It helps you focus on what really matters.

:[Frame is zoomed in again.]
:Cueball: Like "Where the hell are we?"
:Megan: And "Why did I leave my phone at home? It has my map and flashlight."
:Cueball: "Are there mountain lions around here? Did you hear a twig break?"
:Megan: Yeah, the big questions!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

1952: Backpack Decisions

2018-02-08T11:11:19Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */ MINOR - A WORD

{{comic
| number = 1952
| date = February 7, 2018
| title = Backpack Decisions
| image = backpack_decisions.png
| titletext = "This one is perfect in every way, except that for some reason it's woven from a tungsten mesh, so it weighs 85 pounds and I'll need to carry it around on a hand cart." "That seems like a bad--" "BUT IT HAS THE PERFECT POCKET ARRANGEMENT!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BACKPACK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]], probably representing [[Randall]], is having issues choosing a good backpack. He notices their different features and is indecisive. After presumably spending a long time choosing, he was able to narrow his choices down to two backpacks, only to discover that another backpack had the extra feature of being waterproof, which made him even more indecisive. Frustrated by the extra information load, he gives up on backpacks and decides to take one more look at messenger bags — but since he has already done so, it might not be a fruitful choice. He decides to start over, meaning that if he does get back to backpacks, he might consider all of them again rather than take into account the fact that he had narrowed down his choices, since apparently he had not regarded such information as waterproofing. Clearly he is spending a lot of time on this, and the chart below shows that he spends more time unsure of what backpack to pick than of any other such major choice as a college or a car. This is unusual, since differences between backpacks impact one's life much less than those between colleges or cars.{{Citation needed}}

The title text is Cueball having a conversation about a backpack, which seems to be (absurdly) made of heavy tungsten mesh. In fact, at 85 pounds (39 kg), it is so heavy that Cueball thinks he will need to carry it around in a cart, defeating the purpose of the backpack. However, Cueball considers it simply because of the perfect pocket arrangement, which he cannot use anyway due to the backpack's heaviness. The explanation about the pocket arrangement is written in {{w|All caps|all caps}}, indicating that Cueball is {{w|Screaming|yelling}}, probably out of frustration due to not being able to find a backpack with the right combination of features for so long.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands in front of a store display with 17 backpacks and a couple of boxes on the shelf. He has pulled two backpacks down, and they sit at his feet along with a messenger bag (or satchel) behind him. He thinks to himself:]
:It's down to two: the one with the charger pocket and the one with—
:Wait, that other one is ''waterproof!''
:Ugh. Do I even ''want'' a backpack?
:Maybe I should be looking at messenger bags again.
:OK, starting over.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Amount of time I’ve spent paralyzed by indecision over choosing the right…
:[A bar graph is shown. Each label is followed by a black bar representing the amount of time:]
:College [short bar that is 40 pixels wide]
:Phone [short bar that is 26 pixels wide]
:Apartment [short bar that is 33 pixels wide]
:Car [shortest bar, 20 pixels wide]
:Laptop [second longest bar, 46 pixels wide]
:Backpack [longest bar, 202 pixels wide]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1952: Backpack Decisions

2018-02-08T11:10:13Z

198.41.230.82: /* Explanation */ ADDED MORE EXPLANATION TO THE EXPLANATION

{{comic
| number = 1952
| date = February 7, 2018
| title = Backpack Decisions
| image = backpack_decisions.png
| titletext = "This one is perfect in every way, except that for some reason it's woven from a tungsten mesh, so it weighs 85 pounds and I'll need to carry it around on a hand cart." "That seems like a bad--" "BUT IT HAS THE PERFECT POCKET ARRANGEMENT!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BACKPACK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]], probably representing [[Randall]], is having issues choosing a good backpack. He notices their different features and is indecisive. After presumably spending a long time choosing, he was able to narrow his choices down to two backpacks, only to discover that another backpack had the extra feature of being waterproof, which made him even more indecisive. Frustrated by the extra information load, he gives up on backpacks and decides to take one more look at messenger bags — but since he has already done so, it might not be a fruitful choice. He decides to start over, meaning that if he does get back to backpacks, he might consider all of them again rather than take into account the fact that he had narrowed down his choices, since apparently he had regarded such information as waterproofing. Clearly he is spending a lot of time on this, and the chart below shows that he spends more time unsure of what backpack to pick than of any other such major choice as a college or a car. This is unusual, since differences between backpacks impact one's life much less than those between colleges or cars.{{Citation needed}}

The title text is Cueball having a conversation about a backpack, which seems to be (absurdly) made of heavy tungsten mesh. In fact, at 85 pounds (39 kg), it is so heavy that Cueball thinks he will need to carry it around in a cart, defeating the purpose of the backpack. However, Cueball considers it simply because of the perfect pocket arrangement, which he cannot use anyway due to the backpack's heaviness. The explanation about the pocket arrangement is written in {{w|All caps|all caps}}, indicating that Cueball is {{w|Screaming|yelling}}, probably out of frustration due to not being able to find a backpack with the right combination of features for so long.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands in front of a store display with 17 backpacks and a couple of boxes on the shelf. He has pulled two backpacks down, and they sit at his feet along with a messenger bag (or satchel) behind him. He thinks to himself:]
:It's down to two: the one with the charger pocket and the one with—
:Wait, that other one is ''waterproof!''
:Ugh. Do I even ''want'' a backpack?
:Maybe I should be looking at messenger bags again.
:OK, starting over.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Amount of time I’ve spent paralyzed by indecision over choosing the right…
:[A bar graph is shown. Each label is followed by a black bar representing the amount of time:]
:College [short bar that is 40 pixels wide]
:Phone [short bar that is 26 pixels wide]
:Apartment [short bar that is 33 pixels wide]
:Car [shortest bar, 20 pixels wide]
:Laptop [second longest bar, 46 pixels wide]
:Backpack [longest bar, 202 pixels wide]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]