1488: Flowcharts

2015-02-18T06:51:56Z

Agreenbanana: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1488
| date = February 18, 2015
| title = Flowcharts
| image = flowcharts.png
| titletext = Whoa, and if you overlay a Fibonacci spiral on a golden spiral it matches up almost perfectly!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is a start. I will be adding changes. Someone please explain golden spirals, fibonacci spirals, and the title text}}
This comic is a flowchart style. Intersetingly, the first option, "Do you like flowcharts?" loops back to itself until you choose NO.

After asking about flowcharts, the reader can choose either graphs or batteries. After batteries, the reader can choose to follow the arrow to the random comic button, or a slowly graying spiral. The spiral quickly becomes too difficult to see, but if contrast is increased, one can see that the graph is arranged on the spiral.

The title text and the faint image of a golden spiral parody the fact that the golden spiral is superimposed on nearly ''everything''. The golden spiral is a spiral that has the growth rate of the golden ratio, a number that has inspired both artists and mathematicians alike. However, people try to find the golden ratio in seemingly random objects, and they fall to confirmation bias when drawing a golden spiral on top that seemingly fits. The mobile site links to [http://xkcd.com/spiral/], where one can see exactly that- golden spirals Randall "found" in random photographs. The title text is funny because the mathematics of the famous Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio are actually one and the same- the limit of the ratios of each successive term in the sequence is equal to the golden ratio. So it matches up perfectly, not "almost" perfectly like the pictures in the mobile site link.

==List of Items in Flowchart==
{{incomplete}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Text
! Explanation
! Successor(s)
! Predeccessor
|-
| Start
| Start here
| Do you like flowcharts?
| Tired of flowcharts yet?
|-
| Do you like flowcharts?
| Asking whether or not the reader likes flow charts. Recursively returns to itself until the reader is annoyed enough to not like flowcharts.
| Do you like flowcharts?, Do you like graphs?
| Start
|-
| Data or Axis?
| This item is duplicated. It is asking which type of graph you prefer
| Data, line, access
| Do you like graphs?
|-
| Line
| This forms a line on top of the axis of time and happiness. It is positive slope.
|
| Data or Axis?
|-
| Axis
| Leads to A choice
| Time or your happiness?, X or Y?
| Data or axis?
|-
| Time or your happiness?
| Choose between your time and your happiness. Presumably, choose whichever you value more.
| Time, Happiness
| Data or axis?
|-
| Time
| You value your time more than your happiness. This forms the horizontal axis for the line graph.
|
| Time or your happiness?
|-
| Your happiness
| You value your happiness more than your time. This forms the vertical axis for the line graph.
|
| Time or your happiness?
|-
| X or Y?
| Which axis do you prefer?
| X, Y
| Axis
|-
| X
| Forms the horizontal axis for the [[w|Scatterplot scatterplot]].
|
| X or Y?
|-
| Y
| Forms the vertical axis for the scatterplot.
|
| X or Y?
|-
| Data
| Leads to a scatterplot. May be a series of AC current symbols leading into one another
|
| Data or Axis?
|-
| Scatter plots?
| Randall may have intended a line going from yes to the second Data or axis option
| Help charge a battery?
| Do you like graphs?
|-
| Help charge a battery?
|
| Are you A/C or D/C?
| Asks whether you have knowledge in [[w|AC current]] or [[w|DC current]]. No output is given for DC,l even though that would be the prefered method of charging a battery.
| Positive or Negative Phase?
| Help charging a battery?
|-
| Positive or Negative Phase?
| This is useless, because both choices lead to the same result.
| Positive or negative DC terminal?
| Are you A/C or D/C?
|-
| Positive or negative DC terminal?
| This box is actually a [[w|Rectifier bridge]], which is used to convert AC to DC. The single output leads to a battery. Since the battery is not connected to the other side of the rectifier, no current can flow.
| Battery
| Positive or negative phase?
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1488: Flowcharts