explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1204: Detail

2013-10-27T01:22:24Z

75.69.96.225: Question

I'm not certain as to what the date should be, as I'm in New Zealand. I've taken one off of my current date (26th) as a precaution. Anyone who knows the right date (or right timezone) please edit it accordingly. --[[User:ZephireNZ|ZephireNZ]] ([[User talk:ZephireNZ|talk]]) 04:25, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

This comic arrive a day early, right?[[User:Afhoke|Afhoke]] ([[User talk:Afhoke|talk]]) 04:42, 26 April 2013 (UTC)
:Most likely a result of the time machine. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:02, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Any idea if the typo Ne*ghborhood is intentional and what it might refer to? [[Special:Contributions/141.17.83.10|141.17.83.10]] 07:11, 26 April 2013 (UTC)
: It appears to have just been a mistake, as it's now been corrected on the panel at kxcd. [[Special:Contributions/67.51.59.66|67.51.59.66]] 16:48, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

:: I see what you did there. ;) --[[Special:Contributions/24.145.230.202|24.145.230.202]] 23:31, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Forget electronic microscope. Where do you think they would be STORING the maps? Nearby galaxies? Other dimension? .... oh, I see: Black Mesa Research Facility is a google service company researching storage technologies. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:13, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Shouldn't the vertical axis be reversed? If the Planck length is the theoretical smallest length, wouldn't most readers expect the smallest value to be lowest on the vertical axis? Thus the log scale line would angle downward, more clearly indicating that the resolution lengthy is getting smaller with time. The way it it is drawn, the first impression might be that the resolution length is increasing, not decreasing. Just a suggestion. XKCD is my favorite comic because I learn something new almost every day! {{unsigned|Matthew-e-hackman}}
: I had the same thought. Had to pause a moment to reassure myself Planck Length is a small thing. [[Special:Contributions/67.51.59.66|67.51.59.66]] 16:48, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Randall really likes pointing out the dangers of excessive extrapolation, doesn't he! One of his key themes. And this one is taking extremes to the extreme. [[User:Robbak|Robbak]] ([[User talk:Robbak|talk]]) 13:00, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Representation == Reality? {{unsigned|24.84.201.240}}

Whoa i just figured. the lines meet around 2100 - and in 2101.war was beginning - a coincidence? --[[Special:Contributions/178.203.192.19|178.203.192.19]] 20:25, 26 April 2013 (UTC)
: Remember, [[286: All Your Base]]. [[User:Tryc|Tryc]] ([[User talk:Tryc|talk]]) 15:05, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

"Shouldn't the vertical axis be reversed?" I would say no. As the smallest resolvable detail shrinks, people refer to resolution as increasing, so a rising line makes sense. Maybe the axis should be denominated in pixels per meter though... [[User:Gardnertoo|Gardnertoo]] ([[User talk:Gardnertoo|talk]]) 15:19, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

Can somebody explain the line labeled "Earth" at the top of the diagram? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:The resolution of actual Earth remains constant as the resolution of Google Earth approaches [[Special:Contributions/96.33.168.232|96.33.168.232]] 04:40, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

It's also quite fun to compare the graph to the first publication of Moore's law, which had just one datapoint more but looks more or less identical to the comic. (And it still holds after 50 years... although there are signs it'll be slowing down soon...) {{unsigned ip|212.64.51.153}}

"The images get finer as satellite imaging technology improves" - this is wrong; however, I have no idea currently how to rewite the sentence elegantly, maybe someone else does. The Google Maps/Earth finer images do not come from satellites, but are obtained by aerial photography. No commercial satellite can produce such images (maybe military ones come close - just maybe). In fact, Randall has written about that: http://what-if.xkcd.com/32/ [[Special:Contributions/89.174.214.74|89.174.214.74]] 13:19, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

"Each tick in the scale represents a resolution improvement by 1000x." Am I being dense, or does the term "log scale" necessarily mean jumps of 10x? [[Special:Contributions/149.161.34.44|149.161.34.44]] 20:50, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

:"A simple example [of a logarithmic scale] is a chart whose vertical or horizontal axis has equally spaced increments that are labeled 1, 10, 100, 1000, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4." Taken from wikipedia's article titled "Logarithmic scale". [[Special:Contributions/24.251.209.253|24.251.209.253]] 03:40, 16 May 2013 (UTC)

Looks like Google Earth resolution will surpass actual resolution by 2120*...
*must have "Google Eyes" (TM) to experience better than actual resolution [[Special:Contributions/207.126.189.4|207.126.189.4]] 17:31, 20 May 2013 (UTC)dabeansdad

Can someone please explain why the Plank length being the resolution of the universe is a "myth", as it says in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:22, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1109: Refrigerator

2013-10-11T21:33:06Z

75.69.96.225: comment

I would argue that this is also a reference to {{w|The Incredible Machine}} and friends, where many levels revolve around conveyor belts and things on top of them that stir certain actions. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 10:46, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
: Not a chance. The conveyor belts don't look like the ones in that game, nor is there anything else in the refrigerator that has anything to do with that game. [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 23:00, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The main problem with this design is that the bad food needs to land softly otherwise it could splash\spatter over the good food. [[User:SaintGerbil|SaintGerbil]]([[User talk:User:SaintGerbil|talk]]) 12:17, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I thought an alternative design for the fridge could be to have the middle conveyor belt attached to the right, leaving a gap on its left and obviously it would move toward the left. This way we could put food on the topmost belt on its left side and the food would travel along that belt then drop onto the middle one, then travel to the bottom belt and finally fall into the BAD bin. Of course we'd have to relabel all belts accordingly. [[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 12:27, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

:The only problem with that is that different foods spoil at different rates (e.g. carrots last for about 2 months while milk is a week at best). The 3 shelves moving at different speeds seems to account for this. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:38, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

::I disagree. I'm with DelendaEst. I presume the premise is that you initially place the food at the appropriate place. Milk might start at the 2-week mark on the shelf, whereas juice might start at the 4 week mark, and ketchup might start at the many month mark. Randall has designed it so you put the food on the relevant shelf. In the left-right-left right scenario, the top shelf might run 3 months to 1 month, and take two months to roll from left to right. Then the second shelf could be 1 month to 1 week, and take approximately 3 weeks to roll from right to left. The bottom shelf would take 1 week to roll from left to right into the "bad" bin. You would just have to put stuff down based on initial expiration date. Ketchup might go on the top-left, while milk might go in the middle of the second shelf, etc. In Randall's version, the food at "2 days" on the top shelf, the second shelf and the door shelf should all reach the bad bin at the same time. Thus, it could all have been on one shelf. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:22, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Most of the stuff I find gone bad is in the bottom two drawers where it has become forgotten, like a half bag of lettuce.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:19, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Sorry Randall: so much for brilliant... there's a bug in your design. Look at the top rack in the door. There is a chute that would prevent food from falling past when the door is closed. It would need to be rotated 90 anticlockwise in order to work. [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 21:30, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
*I see a space -[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 02:00, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

::I think the anon user is pointing out that the little "ramp" below the door belt would actually roll food into the side wall of the fridge when the door is closed. The ramp should be oriented from the wall of the door towards the back of the fridge (when the door is closed) instead of towards the side wall. so the food rolls from the door back into the fridge and the "bad" bin, rather than rolling into the side wall of the fridge. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:25, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

:::And Shine is pointing out that the middle and bottom shelves doesn't go all the way to the edge of the door. The fridge is designed so that the "BAD" bin is as long as the width of the body shelves plus the width of the door shelves. That way, the food from the top shelf of the door will fall between the middle/bottom shelves and the side wall, and into the front end of the "BAD" bin. [[Special:Contributions/72.169.224.103|72.169.224.103]] 17:55, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

The problem I see is that you would have to place the food back exactly where you took it from, or a little to the right. It still works, but you would have to be very precise. Maybe keep some markers to put on the conveyor belt to mark where the food came from. This way, you'd know where to put the food back.[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:33, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1275: int(pi)

2013-10-09T21:29:35Z

75.69.96.225: Comment

Well, I get the int(Pi) thing, but what's with avoiding 3's? [[Special:Contributions/95.35.58.168|95.35.58.168]] 05:10, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

What is "''floor pie''"? --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 05:31, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
: reminds me of weebl‘s „hmm pie!“, but I think the homer-thing is correct. --[[User:Quoti|Quoti]] ([[User talk:Quoti|talk]]) 18:42, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

I thought this was a reference to [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] and reminds me of comic [[899]]. Saibot84 06:17, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

Prudent mathematicians just refer to it as "The Scottish Number". [[User:Dr Pepper|Dr Pepper]] ([[User talk:Dr Pepper|talk]]) 06:58, 9 October 2013 (UTC) Dr Pepper

I can give you one '''rational''' reason for spelling out things like INT(PI) in programming. Back in the ancient times, there was a piece of electronics dubbed then a ''personal computer'' with an NSA code name of ZXSPECTRUM. It had a built-in interpreter of the ancient language codenamed BASIC. Memory was very precious in those times, every single byte counted. The creators of the interpreter did a (somewhat) clever thing - all keywords of this particular dialect of the BASIC language were stored in memory as single-byte codes, and were only spelled out by text display routines. On the other hand, CPU cycles were precious, too, so they did another (not so) clever thing by storing number constants (like the cursed number mentioned above) twofold - both in an ASCII decimal form for display purposes and in a 6-byte internal binary form for computing purposes. Therefore each number occupied the space of six bytes plus the number of digits (or other characters like sign, decimal point, etc.) BASIC hackers exploited this (mis)features to save a few bytes on some commonly-used constants by saying INT PI (parentheses were not needed), NOT PI (to get 0) or SGN PI (to get 1), thus using only 2 bytes of memory instead of 7 if the numbers were used directly. Another trick to use with larger numbers was VAL "12345", which saved 3 bytes for each number spelled this way (number of digits plus three bytes for the VAL keyword and two quote marks instead of number of digits plus six bytes of internal representation). [[Special:Contributions/89.174.214.74|89.174.214.74]] 08:43, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
: Actually the internal binary form of the number was 5 bytes, but there was a special prefix byte used for two purposes, a) when listing the program the text display routines would simply skip the six bytes b) when a digit character was encountered at run time, the prefix byte was located instead of parsing the number again. It was even possible to patch the source code to replace all the digits with a single decimal point because the syntax wasn't checked at runtime. Also the trick was originally used with the ZX81 as it was slower and had less memory. I don't think the sign was stored with the number though, as that would have caused confusion with the unary minus operator. (All of the space-saving tricks mentioned above would slow the program down, of course. Even PI had to be calculated as internally the ZX81/Spectrum only knew the value of π/2.) --[[Special:Contributions/81.138.95.57|81.138.95.57]] 10:43, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

I suspect in many languages 4/INT(pi) is 1 (as it does integer division) [[Special:Contributions/193.34.186.165|193.34.186.165]] 08:51, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
:This is true in C and python and many others. I think it is standard.[[Special:Contributions/96.251.85.48|96.251.85.48]] 18:18, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
Why is the number 3 cursed? [[Special:Contributions/109.90.202.41|109.90.202.41]] 18:15, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
:I don't remember all the details, but it involves Alan Turing and an ancient vampire.[[Special:Contributions/96.251.85.48|96.251.85.48]] 18:18, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
::Randall is just joking about the rule that values used often should be defined as a constant. So he just shows us how to use the constant Pi. In general you would define a constant THREE=3 instead of this Pi calculations.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:44, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm surprised the equation doesn't use getRandomNumber(), since it is guaranteed to be 4 in comic #[[221]] [[Special:Contributions/108.252.249.9|108.252.249.9]] 19:24, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

Can anyone identify the programming language? It appears to be a function, but in programming, integers divide with integer division, which would make the 4/3 a 1. Also, the ^ character often doesn't usually do exponents. Usually it's the XOR command.[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:29, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

Talk:354: Startling

2013-09-14T19:53:49Z

75.69.96.225: grammar comment

This comic isn't that simple:
*what is Cueball doing every few months?
*is 2004 correct? If yes, what does it mean?
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:09, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

: Every few months, Cueball halts his work and realizes that he is in the twenty-first century. Someone who grew up in anticipation of the new millennium (and the new century along with it) may take quite a while to adjust to it. The second bullet point, however, requires some research. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 07:18, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

"in which he lives in" – this is redundant. It should be "in which he lives. This could be a reference to the song "Live and Let Die", but unless this reference is more clearly explained, it does not belong in the explanation.

737: Yogurt

2013-09-09T02:05:56Z

75.69.96.225: typo fix

{{comic
| number = 737
| date = May 7, 2010
| title = Yogurt
| image = yogurt.png
| titletext = I am firmly of the opinion that if something doesn't have a year on it, every time the expiration date rolls around it is good again for the two weeks preceding that date.
}}

==Explanation==
Most packaged food has an {{w|shelf life|expiration date}} that indicates when the food will probably no longer be suitable for consumption. This could be due to any number of reasons; most products will rot or grow mold after their expiration date passes, but some processed foods will dry out or just generally become unpleasant long before they actually spoil. (The expiration date is sometimes called a "best by" or "use by" date for this reason.)

Some products don't list the year as part of the expiration date, on the assumption that by the time the year becomes an issue, the food will obviously be spoiled. [[Cueball]] is encountering this issue; clearly the yogurt has gone bad - it's raising "stink lines" and appears to have visible mold - but the expiration date only lists "May 12th" and it's currently May 7th, so the characters reason that it must still be good since the expiration date hasn't passed yet.

The {{w|Gregorian calendar}} was initially adopted in the Catholic European countries in 1582 to correct the slow drift of the seasons relative to the calendar year that occurred under the Julian calendar. The Protestant and Orthodox countries were slower to adopt it. The British Empire, including the American colonies, adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Cueball sarcastically wonders whether the expiration date might have been printed under the Julian Calendar, i.e., several hundred years ago.

The {{w|Gregorian calendar}} (our current calendar) is mostly the same as the {{w|Julian calendar}} with two major differences:

*The Julian calendar overestimated the length of a year by 10 minutes 48 seconds or about 1 day every 128 years. The Gregorian calendar has 97 leap days every 400 years instead of 100, which reduces the error to about 1 day in 3300 years.
*As each country adopted the Gregorian calendar, it was necessary to skip the appropriate number of days to realign the {{w|Vernal Equinox}} with March 21. When the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, 11 days had to be skipped, so in the English-speaking countries, September 2, 1752 under the Julian calendar was immediately followed by September 14, 1752 under the Gregorian calendar; there was no September 3–13 in that year.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding a cup at arm's length. Waves of stink are rising from it.]
:Cueball: Oh God, how old is this yogurt in your fridge?
:[Someone speaks from off-panel.]
:Person: What's the expiration date?

:[Cueball holds up the cup to look at the bottom.]
:Cueball: May 12th, but there's no year.
:[From off-panel again.]
:Person: It's May 7th. So it's fine.

:[Now the second person is on panel, and Cueball speaks from off-panel. The second person is sitting down working on a laptop.]
:Cueball: I'm not sure. When it was packaged, was civilization using the Gregorian or Julian calendar?
:Person: Okay, I'll throw it out.
:Cueball: No, it might still be good!

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

Talk:1213: Combination Vision Test

2013-05-17T20:22:54Z

75.69.96.225: 2 comments

Number is "42".
The 4 is composed of 2's and 3's and 7's.
The 2 is composed of 3's and 7's and 9's.
--[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:16, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:What about 7s? --[[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.34|81.23.24.34]] 06:13, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Also both have 5's. I'm not very good at this counting thing. That link below is way better, anyhow. --[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:28, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

http://i.imgur.com/BLIQR6w.png

Credit: http://www.reddit.com/user/silly-moose

: Thanks --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I'm not confident enough about this to write up an explanation, but given that synesthesia is a sensory experience where the senses blend into each other (hearing colors, tasting sounds, etc...) that a round shape or black and white (why is it not in color? that would help the joke imho) give the sense of a number to the synesthete. The alt text at least makes sense, seeing two big numbers fits with diplopia (double vision) and the squinting covers myopia (nearsightedness) so it is consistent with the main joke, but I feel like I'm really missing something in the main joke. [[User:Chexwarrior|Chexwarrior]] ([[User talk:Chexwarrior|talk]]) 06:43, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

In the original b&w image, I keep seeing an 8 on the right and a vague 0, 9, or 4 on the left. I'm not certain if the b&w actually has a definite "answer" or specific number(s) one is supposed to be seeing. I seem to recall an xkcd with an Ishihara test before (but can't find it so it may just be a confabulation), in which case this one may be a reference to that and actually have a referential "answer".

I'm not an optometrist, but Chexwarrior,'s explanation of the alt text seems correct to me. [[User:Plazma|Plazma]] ([[User talk:Plazma|talk]]) 07:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

On the left half, the number 9 is missing. Similarly, on the right the number 2 is missing. This makes the number 92 or 29 (any ideas?). There is a floating 2 in the bottom center, the origin is unknown but it does look like a decimal point but that yould defeat the purpose of the number 42 (any ideas?) --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I was thinking the explanation of the descriptive text (not alt-text) is as follows: the synesthesia is seeing numbers and associating colors with them. So when you look at the numbers in the image, you see certain colors, so the large numbers stand out because they are different colors from the background. But if you're colorblind, (hypothetically) then some of those number-colors might look the same and so the numbers (not sure why only one) would not be visible. [[User:Bplimley|Bplimley]] ([[User talk:Bplimley|talk]]) 07:18, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:Maybe if the synesthesia is as follows: Even numbers get one color and odd numbers get another color. I was actually able to see the 2 because of this effect, while I was in photoshop, zoomed in, and coloring the 3's. I know from myself that I have number to color synesthesia, but (in my case) that doesn't apply to a bunch of randomly placed digits like here, but only to complete numbers like "144" looks yellow, red, and white (in no particular order), while "38" looks grayish dark blue. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

::I seriously doubt ANYONE have so "hard" case of number to color synesthesia it can "color" a bunch of randomly placed digits like this. Like ... if your number-recognizing neurons are working on the small numbers, how can they work on the big numbers in the same time? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:01, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

::: Good catch! I'm not sure how exactly how synesthesia works, but even if the perceived number (due to a perceived colour) further incites a perceived colour, you can still have a combined diagnostic. You just have to make sure that the big number is made up of little ones of the same number; or, atleast made of other numbers which are of the same colour as the desired big number. The latter requires that you assume synesthesia is one way only (for instance - perceiving number triggers colour, but not vice versa) [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

<Nitpicking> The alt text is slightly off the mark isn't it? Wouldn't a diplopic(?) person see two images of the diagnostic rather than two numbers in the same diagnostic? Also, you needn't be colour blind to fulfill the condition of perceiving only one digit. Your synesthesia might have a colour blindness, while your optical system does not. </Nitpicking> [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:07, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I think that as no two... synaesthetes? ...have exactly the same 'conversion routine' in place that one can't assume the colour dominance of either digit, under an (actual, or synaesthetic) colour-blindness condition. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to hear "Well, the left hand side smells a bit like a 4, but the right ''sounds'' like a 2..." ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.207.61|178.98.207.61]] 12:54, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I will take some LSD and look at this and report back later! [[Special:Contributions/46.166.163.150|46.166.163.150]] 16:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I don't think myopia actually makes sense, unless you're reading the comic on a large screen 30 or 40 feet away. The comic is most probably near you, if you're near-sighted you should see it in focus without squinting. [[Special:Contributions/64.223.217.58|64.223.217.58]] 17:19, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:As a myopic person, I can say that you are generalizing too much. Without glasses, I can see no thing in focus unless it is 2-4 inches from my face[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I see a big zero!

In the end this test couldn't work, colorblindness is due to a physical effect in the eyeball where synesthesia works in the brain, if someone had both synesthesia and colorblindness then the two numbers in the circle above would be the _only_ color they could see (although being colorblind they may not understand it to be a color at that point) [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 19:37, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
:It's a JOKE. Sure it does not work for many more reasons. But the combining of all this things is hard to understand and it did last a couple of hours until the first people did understand. In my opinion this is one of the BEST jokes Randall ever did.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:47, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
::Yah, I laughed pretty hard when I saw it last night. Still worth explaining all the intracacies, like people wondering what's wrong with "Locate City" nukes [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 20:10, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

As a colorblind person, I would like to point out that it is not obvious to everybody that a normal person sees neither large number. At first glance, I assumed that normal people see both numbers, colorblind people see neither, and synthesesia allows colorblind people to see one.[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:662: iPhone or Droid

2013-04-29T01:53:16Z

75.69.96.225: comment

The title text is outdated. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:53, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Talk:526: Converting to Metric

2013-04-28T21:16:41Z

75.69.96.225: question

Why is 3L a two-liter bottle?[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:16, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1066: Laundry

2013-04-01T21:58:13Z

75.69.96.225: question

I tend to skip straight to the last panel, unless there's a special occasion that necessitates a trip to the washing machine. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:09, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
I don't really understand the dishwasher in the title text. Explanation please?[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:58, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

Talk:628: Psychic

2013-03-14T01:35:43Z

75.69.96.225: tip

Tip: No one picks 50[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:35, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

385: How it Works

2013-03-11T22:08:46Z

75.69.96.225: /* The math */

{{comic
| number = 385
| date = February 18, 2008
| title = How It Works
| image = how it works.png
| titletext = It's pi plus C, of course.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic reveals discriminative jargon against women when doing a task. When a guy does something wrong, it's his own mistake. When a girl does something wrong, it is taken as a confirmation that girls are inferior.

===The math===
The mathematics displayed is neither {{w|semantically}} nor {{w|syntactically}} correct. To begin with, there should be a ''dx'' after x2. (That's easy enough to forget.) Now we have an {{w|indefinite integral}} on the left hand side. There is still something missing from the equation, however.
It could be possible that {{w|π}} is just wrong: What we want is a {{w|Function (mathematics)|function}}, whose {{w|derivative}} is x2. Now, x3/3 satisfies this condition. However, since adding a {{w|constant (mathematics)|constant}} to a function does not change its derivative, the full answer is (any function on the form) x3/3 {{w|Constant of integration|+ C}}, where C is any fixed number. The "plus a constant"-part is very easy to forget, and might even be omitted by a (sloppy) professional mathematician. So if someone really gave the answer π, "you forgot to add a constant" would be a pretty funny remark, cause in one way it's true, but on the other hand it wouldn't quite be the main thing to worry about.
Another possibility is that more was forgotten on the left side of the equation -- bounds of integration. If there were a 0 below the integral and a cube root of 3π above the integral symbol, the answer π would be correct. In this case, however, pi+C would be incorrect.

Congratulations, now you can also get [http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/old90/constant.html this classical joke]!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and an friend stand at a blackboard. The friend is writing, in standard mathematical notation, that the integral of x squared equals pi. No differential or bounds are given for the integral.]
:Cueball: Wow, you suck at math.
:[The same scene, except the writer is Megan.]
:Cueball: Wow, girls suck at math.

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

Talk:388: Fuck Grapefruit

2013-03-11T21:54:07Z

75.69.96.225: Comment on bananas and pears

Why are seeded grapes deemed more tasty than seedless grapes? Them seeds taste awful and bitter when you accidentally bite into them. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 12:22, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
*Yeah! And red apples are clearly more tasty than green (unless you're using them for cooking), and bananas are the tastiest fruit ever! In other words, it's all subjective. (You might argue that the seeds add to the flavour, much like a small amout of fat in meat; obviously the fact that they're less easy implies pulling all the seeds out first to make sure you don't bite one.) [[Special:Contributions/94.0.161.247|94.0.161.247]] 10:34, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
*Seedless grapes (and seedless versions of other fruits) are often considered to be slightly less tasty than their seeded counterparts because a compromise was made: putting all efforts toward being tasty and easy to grow, versus dividing the effort between those and making them seedless. Additionally, some seedless fruits (including certain brands or breeds) are simply less mature versions of their seedless equivalent (this is part of why some bunches of seedless grapes have seeds in many of the fruits, albeit smaller and/or fewer seeds than the seeded equivalent). It's also possible that the y-axis difference between the two was unintentional, but there's enough of a difference that I'm strongly in favor of interpreting it as intentional. [[User:JET73L|JET73L]] ([[User talk:JET73L|talk]]) 17:34, 8 February 2013 (UTC)
I disagree with the placement of bananas and pears. They are both really easy and reasonably tasty (although taste is a matter of personal preference).[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:54, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:861: Wisdom Teeth

2013-03-05T02:10:02Z

75.69.96.225: Questioning explanation

Why should all three parts of the anesthetic have to wear off? It seems like Randall would probably not write "Everything ok" if he could feel the procedure. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 02:10, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

662: iPhone or Droid

2013-03-05T01:43:38Z

75.69.96.225: Screen ppi

{{comic
| number = 662
| date = November 13, 2009
| title = iPhone or Droid
| image = iphone_or_droid.png
| titletext = It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droid's 265 ppi screen is amazing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the "phone wars" between the iPhone and phone that run the Android system. The third panel references the fact that, officially speaking, the iPhone is a closed system which does not guarantee entry into the official store, yet anyone can acquire an .apk file that will install an app into an Android phone.

The comparison of screens is outdated. Less than a year after this comic was released, the iPhone 4 was released with its retina screen. Retina screens are (almost by definition) the best ppi you can have.

Cueball has a point in the second panel. After consuming a lot, would you not want to actually give back to the community that gave you all the ever-fancier toys? Would you not get a pleasure from actually constructing and contributing something yourself? Would you want to feel useful about yourself?

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan sitting at her computer is talking to Cueball standing behind her.]
:Megan: Well, it depends what you want. The iPhone wins on speed and polish, but the Droid has that gorgeous screen and physical keyboard.

:Cueball: What if I want something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming?
:Cueball: Is there an app for THAT?

:Megan: Yeah, on both.
:Megan: Wait, no, looks like it was rejected from the iPhone store.
:Cueball: Droid it is, then.

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

Talk:899: Number Line

2013-03-05T01:04:40Z

75.69.96.225: Imaginary numbers

Where does sqrt(-1) go? [[Special:Contributions/67.78.183.206|67.78.183.206]] 19:07, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

:It goes up (literally above 0). A number line can be extended to a complex plane with sqrt(-1) as the unit of measurement in the vertical direction. Or at least, that's where it actually goes. I don't know where Randall would put it. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:04, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:908: The Cloud

2013-03-04T21:41:34Z

75.69.96.225: Comment on explanation inaccuracy

iCloud is not a music service. It was released (around?) the same time as iTunes Match, which is Apple's online music service. iCloud replaced MobileMe as Apple's online data storage and email service (and Calendar, Notes, Contacts, and Reminders). Also, it provides access to Find My iPhone. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:41, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1079: United Shapes

2013-03-04T03:03:52Z

75.69.96.225: Question

Hooray, another comic that only Americans will get. Randall, some of us live in *other* parts of the world. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:47, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Could someone please explain the stereotypes? I'm American and I don't really see any jokes. As far as I can tell, he just picked images that fit in each state.

Talk:1140: Calendar of Meaningful Dates

2013-03-03T05:35:53Z

75.69.96.225: New comment

Seeing how the (northern hemisphere) summer months are bolder than the winter ones, I remember that someone said that "historical things" like wars and battles used to occur during the good weather months. Same for e.g. romance novels - people date and love on those dates. {{unsigned|‎81.34.231.6}}

If the search included Spanish dates in English texts, May 5th would be larger. {{unsigned|214.4.253.121}}

I wonder if he took into account the month/day swap between the US and UK dating system (among other countries). [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 14:22, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
:That's a good question. I entered [http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=July+4%2CNovember+5%2C4+July%2C5+November%2CJuly+4th%2CNovember+5th%2C+4th+July%2C+5th+November&year_start=2000&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share= July 4 and November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day) into Google Ngram], and the difference reflected in the calendar is only apparent when you put the month before the date.--[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 01:11, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
::Yes, [there's a lot of difference](http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=November+5%2C+November+5th%2C5th+of+November%2CFifth+of+November%2Cfifth+of+November&year_start=1500&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3) in the spelling. --[[Special:Contributions/84.181.107.38|84.181.107.38]] 17:58, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Interesting about the 11ths -- perhaps that correlates with low passenger loads on airplanes as well, and thus why the 11th was chosen for the attack (the month of September having been chosen for some other reason).[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 15:33, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

:I want to point out that Randall doesn't know either, and I think he would have thought about the plane correlation, so I don't think that's the reason. I'm going to investigate this. --[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 02:53, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

::September 11 (1973) is also the date of the coup d'etat in Chile. I suppose that might (partially) explain why this specific 11th has been mentioned more frequently even before 2001...

I second the Spanish language date in English texts. May 5th is routinely routinely called Cinco De Mayo in English. Has Randall weighed in on how this was handled? [[User:Donglebaker|Donglebaker]] ([[User talk:Donglebaker|talk]]) 18:16, 28 November 2012 (UTC) JC

I also wonder about the difference between the 4th of July (Big 4) and November the 5th (small 5) as being the two "firework" days in US and UK! 4th of July peaks at 0.00003 July the 4th 0.0000001 November the 5th peaks at 0.0000006 and 5th of November peaks at 0.00001 so there are big differences and also whether you pick anything but English 2009. Reader in Invisible Writings --[[Special:Contributions/90.208.142.152|90.208.142.152]] 19:42, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

:No one forget that November 5th is also the day the Flux Capacitor was invented by Dr. Emmitt Brown using little more than a toilet seat and a minor concussion. I believe that is worth a mention.--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 16:08, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

The transcript reads "[A regular Gregorian calendar laid out in a grid, with some numbers larger than others.]" In fact, there is no way to tell if this is a Gregorian or a Julian calendar; they both have the same months and days. The Gregorian calendar only differs from the Julian in its leap year rule (it has 3 fewer every 400 years).--[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 01:17, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
:This was surely meant to distinguish it from other calendar systems such as the Islamic and Hindu calendar, not the Julian calendar. Since it is consistent with both, the current phrasing is not inaccurate. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 14:45, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Certain days of the week tend to get their dates mentioned more than others. Since the sample data were from a small number of years, this may be relevant to the results (unless it was controlled for). For example, in the US, elections are always held on a Tuesday, and Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday (and the Friday and Saturday right after it also get mentioned a lot), but these would not be the same numeric dates every year. — [[User:Jonadab||Jonadab the Unsightly One]], 2012-Nov-28 9:45pm EST (GMT+0500)
:The title only says that the books were published since 2000. The events in the book may have taken place many years before. --[[User:Jasqm|Jasqm]] ([[User talk:Jasqm|talk]]) 09:37, 29 November 2012 (UTC)jasqm

The last few US Presidential elections were 11/6/2012, 11/4/2008, 11/2/2004, 11/7/2000, 11/5/1996, 11/3/1992. November 1 is writ large, but that seems typical of the first day of all months. November 4 and 5 seem next largest. They correspond to the elections of 2008 (McCain-Obama) and 1996 (Dole-Clinton-Perot).

It seems like some of the dates in the explanation were of minimal importance to the comic - March 15th doesn't seem as large as the 21st or 31st of the month, and Halloween and Kristallnacht aren't that large, either. Sure, it's nice to know, but then there'd have to be explanations for several dozen more days. [[User:Bobidou23|Bobidou23]] ([[User talk:Bobidou23|talk]]) 21:46, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

It is missing 4/20. [[Special:Contributions/70.49.173.75|70.49.173.75]] 23:30, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

:If you'll notice April, third row, second column from the right. That must be some good stuff you've got if you missed that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:45, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

I think the language category should include only comics whose joke or topic is ''about'' language. Surely, almost all comics and every chart ''employs'' language. --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:59, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

I was curious about August 15th, that is quite larger then its surrounding numbers, so I checked out: only a few noticeable references (to me) in history:
- Macbeth's death (1057)
- Napoleon's birthday (1769)
- WWII Japan Surrender (1945) and, consequently, Korea's Independence Day
- India's Independence Day (1947)
- and, of course, Woodstock opening (1969)
But besides Mary's Assumption (Catholic Feast) I found no significant events since year 2000. Anyone?

Paulo Sedrez [[Special:Contributions/139.82.111.111|139.82.111.111]] 18:33, 7 January 2013 (UTC)
: The 15th is also a reasonably common "deadline" day, being treated as the halfway point of the month. [[Special:Contributions/70.116.137.237|70.116.137.237]] 01:12, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Sept. 11th, is also 9/11, which is very similar to 911. Not sure if there's a correlation there. –{{unsigned|24.49.68.40}}
:How do you mean?–[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:34, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

I was surprised by April 1st's relatively small size, and Christmas is much smaller than I expected.

642: Creepy

2013-03-03T04:09:14Z

75.69.96.225: Spelling correction

{{comic
| number = 642
| date = September 28, 2009
| title = Creepy
| image = creepy.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = And I even got out my adorable new netbook!
}}

==Explanation==
In this age, women are at an elevated risk for male harassment... or worse. A result is that women are getting a lot of support to fight against the harassers.

...but what about the men who truly want a meaningful relationship with women?

This comic displays a possible situation in which a man, hoping for a springboard to begin his courtship, compliments a woman's netbook. The problem is that [http://unwinona.tumblr.com/post/30861660109/i-debated-whether-or-not-to-share-this-story/ harassers can use this technique to get what they want], so the woman, recognizing this risk, immediately tells of the man and warn other people of the supposed harasser. Other people follow suit, even going so far to get his picture on the widely-circulated multinational Facebook in order to warn other people of this unwilling harasser. This above situation worries the man sufficiently to keep to himself instead of pursuing his advances.

The sad thing is that the woman thinks that the man is "cute," yet she is frustrated that the man is ignoring her. She even got out her "adorable new netbook" specifically for the man to notice her and start a conversation.

==Transcript==
:[Two people are sitting on chairs.]
:Cueball: Hey, cute netbook.
:Megan: ''What.''

:Cueball: Your laptop. I just—
:Megan: No, why are you talking to me.

:Megan: Who do you think you are? If I were even slightly interested, I'd have shown it.

:Megan: Hey everyone, this dude's hitting on me.
:Voice #1: Haha
:Voice #2: Creepy
:Voice #3: Let's get his picture for Facebook to warn others.

:(This panel fades into a thought bubble of Cueball.)
:[Megan is typing on her laptop.]
:Dear blog,
:Cute boy on train still ignoring me.

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

662: iPhone or Droid

2013-03-02T18:00:52Z

75.69.96.225: iPhone details, pertaining to comic.

{{comic
| number = 662
| date = November 13, 2009
| title = iPhone or Droid
| image = iphone_or_droid.png
| titletext = It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droid's 265 ppi screen is amazing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the "phone wars" between the iPhone and phone that run the Android system. The third panel references the fact that, officially speaking, the iPhone is a closed system which does not guarantee entry into the official store, yet anyone can acquire an .apk file that will install an app into an Android phone. Contrary to popular belief, however, iPhone apps are never rejected without reason and can usually get on the store, albeit with some delay.

The title text is outdated. Less than a year after the comic's publication, the iPhone 4 was released with a retina screen (326 ppi). Its individual pixels are indistinguishable, which is pretty much as good as a screen can get.

Cueball has a point in the second panel. After consuming a lot, would you not want to actually give back to the community that gave you all the ever-fancier toys? Would you not get a pleasure from actually constructing and contributing something yourself? Would you want to feel useful about yourself?

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan sitting at her computer is talking to Cueball standing behind her.]
:Megan: Well, it depends what you want. The iPhone wins on speed and polish, but the Droid has that gorgeous screen and physical keyboard.

:Cueball: What if I want something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming?
:Cueball: Is there an app for THAT?

:Megan: Yeah, on both.
:Megan: Wait, no, looks like it was rejected from the iPhone store.
:Cueball: Droid it is, then.

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