explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:519: 11th Grade

2025-12-19T00:54:15Z

Aqua-chestnut: comment

There's no claim in the title text about gaining "social skills and new perspectives". I suspect it's more about the chance that "that strange kid" might turn out to be the next {{w|Mark Zuckerberg}}, or some such.
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 21:25, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
:Or Eric Harris / Dylan Klebold. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.54|108.162.216.54]] 20:44, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Yep. Or that he knows a guy who can find you your first job. Or he's the one who tells you about his interest in x topic and sparks your interest in it as well, and maybe it turns into your future career. It could happen.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 01:50, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

I thought the comment about "that strange kid" was about Randall himself. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.36|108.162.212.36]] 07:18, 27 December 2014 (UTC)

Usually I'm that person people treat as "that strange kid." Really hoping to kick some serious ass in the future. Mostly the asses of all the rudefucks that bullied me all throughout grade school. In space. XD [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 06:31, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Funny, with a 'hmmmm....' that makes you ponder. The hovertext, to me, can be an afterthought, or a rimshot, or a deeper layer of the onion. I took 'career success' as one's career through life, as in path through life. Most of public instruction is outside->inside...putting a structure into someone. One weekend, you're intrigued by something, and you pour yourself into it to the exclusion of all else. This is inside->out, and that changes everything. And the strange kid in the corner might be you. [[User:Jorjor|Jorjor]] ([[User talk:Jorjor|talk]]) 15:19, 11 April 2018 (UTC)
:I can think of 2 possible things it could be: Either the "quiet kid" who ends up committing a school sh00ting, or a future spouse/love interest {{unsigned|XB70Valkyrie|00:09, 2 September 2024}}

I interpreted the comic as the doing something new/unusual being important. High school content is heavily affected by diminishing returns and overlearning. Anything that opens a new domain will have big effects. For someone who already know 50 programming languages, wasting a weekend on perl won't have much effect.
--[[User:Aqua-chestnut|Aqua-chestnut]] ([[User talk:Aqua-chestnut|talk]]) 00:54, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3137: Cursed Number

2025-09-08T13:13:42Z

Aqua-chestnut: added my interpretation

Warning! Do not read! 421827639108237885847650045004 --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 22:00, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:Oh no, too late! bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
::Well, at least you knew that reading the string "bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf" was the only antidote! [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Maybe it's safe if you read it scientifically? ~4.218276391088547650045x1029?--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 23:43, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Edit: NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 23:44, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Not pictured - an MTF team breaking into the compound and abducting the original authors while clean-up arrives with amnestics. {{unsigned|Xurkitree10|10:25, 4 September 2025}}
: An MtF team wielding Blahaj and Monster Energy, breaking into the compound and abducting the transphobic authors [[Special:Contributions/2601:19B:4287:6680:FD8B:1D14:2B2:50F4|2601:19B:4287:6680:FD8B:1D14:2B2:50F4]] 01:13, 6 September 2025 (UTC)

Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 23:50, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
: I'm a German. You <snicker> did this on purpose <guffaw> right? AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E|2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E]] 09:00, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:: What? That's {{W|The Funniest Joke in the World}}. [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 14:27, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Yeah, I—BAHAHAHAHA《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 21:11, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

This comic is the best comic in a while [[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug Pentium FDIV Bug] is a math error when handling specific rarely-encountered numbers. {footnote: over 30 years ago!!} No FDIV deaths are reported, but we might not know. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 00:20, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:ahaha 0.1+0.2 goes brrt (e.g. = 0,30000000000000004) [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:: FWIW the double-precision value closest to 0.1 is exactly 0.1000000000000000055511151231257827021181583404541015625 (that's 7205759403792794/256) [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 14:57, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

I have a different interpretation of this comic than the one in the explanation. See, I think it makes more sense that due to the infinite nature of numbers, it can be said that there may exist one that happens to be a severe cognitohazard, rather than there certainly being one such number in the comic's universe. [[User:HoneyBadger|HoneyBadger]] ([[User talk:HoneyBadger|talk]]) 01:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

I found this number years ago, while reading a hexadecimal dump of an image file, and yes, it is just as potent, possibly more so, in hexadecimal. Want to know what it is? It starts (in hex of course) DEADFACEABEDEFACEDAFADEDBADBEADEDBEDAD before going off into more ‘normal’ digits. [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044|2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044]] 03:42, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:Oh, magic numbers. What about a ''0x31124837h'' pointer?  [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

SCP nerd here, I think the article should link to a different SCP. SCP-033 isn't really a good example of a cognitohazard, since it affects written/digital storage, not the mind/brain. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-012 SCP-012] for example would be a closer fit. (CW: somewhat graphic self harm) --[[User:Muno|Muno]] ([[User talk:Muno|talk]]) 04:45, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:Speaking of SCP, there's one that's very similar to this. Unfortunately it's only available in Japanese, [http://scp-jp.wikidot.com/scp-1051-jp SCP-1051-JP]. It is about large prime numbers that causes death if viewed while being recognized as a prime number. [[Special:Contributions/124.144.180.57|124.144.180.57]] 16:29, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

If one supposes that reading the cursed number inside another number is also bad, then for you to have at most a 1/2 chance of reading it in a string of numbers with the bounds given in the comic, you would have to read 1.8*10^21 digits strung together [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 05:15, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:Taking an average reading speed of 40 digits per second, that would take the reader a trillion years. [[Special:Contributions/46.144.8.194|46.144.8.194]] 07:25, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
::Good. Trillion years divided by 9 billion people still gives 111.(1) years of non-stop reading. [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

This also exists for computer science in the form of weird code《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 21:11, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash features a visual "virus" that causes neurological damage to hacker's minds when they see a carefully crafted image. This XKCD might be a slight reference to this, too. {{unsigned ip|91.233.139.14|10:31, 4 September 2025}}
:Another literary example would Max Barry's ''{{w|Lexicon (novel)|Lexicon}}''. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 11:28, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:Strange that nobody mentioned [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-001 SCP-001]. Also {{w|BLIT_(short_story)|BLIT}} is related obviously --[[Special:Contributions/2A06:C701:4D78:0:7F56:89BF:2BB3:1DA0|2A06:C701:4D78:0:7F56:89BF:2BB3:1DA0]] 12:13, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

Wait, it's a real, nonnegative number? Dammit, I was WAY off! [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:13, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
:I take psychic damage when I see -1 after spending way too much time writing a function that only expects positive integers with no error handling (I'm not very good) [[Special:Contributions/174.77.66.51|174.77.66.51]] 16:58, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
::Speaking of bad error handling, one of the first programs I made was a country-building simulator. I had a friend play it. A prompt asked how much of the national budget to put into the navy. My friend misunderstood the prompt COMPLETELY and typed in "boats" and the program proceeded to spam output with "boatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboats" millions of time, took up all the processing time and made the PC unusable until the entire OS crashed. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 20:36, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Should we include Roko's Basilisk in the list of information hazards? Just feels like it's relevant. {{unsigned ip|216.93.213.106|16:59, 4 September 2025}}
: Or manual breathing. [[Special:Contributions/172.58.113.84|172.58.113.84]] 17:19, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

According to jewish mysticism, there is a name of god of length 216 letters/numbers that let you conjure. Also referred to in the movie Pi {{unsigned|DaveK|18:30, 4 September 2025}}

New around here but... I just added a paragrap explaining that 128-bit numbers (or up to 39 decimal digits) are more common than Randall suggests. I'd be surprised if he was surprised by this. Start of a new series...? Or maybe I'm overthinking it. [[User:Tsgsh|Tsgsh]] ([[User talk:Tsgsh|talk]]) 20:46, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Is this comic possibly in reference to the recent developments in the Busy Beaver problem? (Taken ad absurdum, of course.) --[[Special:Contributions/2600:8800:FF0E:400:1455:42BD:D223:A669|2600:8800:FF0E:400:1455:42BD:D223:A669]] 00:20, 5 September 2025 (UTC)

I feel like there's a separate joke here. Mathmeticians are going insane, so they form a (questionable) theory that a cursed number is the cause -- when in fact it likely has something to do with the field of mathematics itself. I remember my math professor from college saying something along the lines of "Math isn't a mentally safe profession, quite a number of us loose our minds."

So the cursed number is a red-herring. The title text alludes to this fact: that mathematicians will intentionally go down paths that lead to insanity because they feel drawn towards it. {{unsigned ip|67.190.17.105|14:16, 5 September 2025}}

Regarding the bit in the explanation about representations of the cursed number in different bases, presumably it is the specific string of characters that is cursed. Otherwise, I could declare 10 to be in the cursed number base, and then ... chaos. Surely someone would have done that by now. And if it *is* a specific string of characters, the cursed number thus has a different value in different bases - consider that if the cursed string is 123, then I could write that in base 10 to have a value of 123d, or I could write that in base 4 to have a value of 99d, etc. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.254.46|163.116.254.46]] 16:52, 5 September 2025 (UTC)

10^22 has 23 digits (one 1 and twentytwo 0s), so "greater than a 10^22, or 10 sextillion" should be corrected to "greater than 10^21, or a sextillion". [[Special:Contributions/84.208.77.216|84.208.77.216]] 19:30, 5 September 2025 (UTC)

I think part of the humor/joke is that mathematics had so few PSA in real life compared to other scientific fields. The only one I can think of was about what probabilities mean during covid. [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB91:BC0:8481:AC39:BD12:6AEC:364C|2607:FB91:BC0:8481:AC39:BD12:6AEC:364C]] 22:06, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
: I agree. I think the idea is similar to XKCD 208 ("Everybody Stand Back. I know Regular Expressions."). Here the mathematicians' efforts to put bounderies on seemingly pointless numbers has some real world importance.[[User:Aqua-chestnut|Aqua-chestnut]] ([[User talk:Aqua-chestnut|talk]]) 13:13, 8 September 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T16:18:15Z

Aqua-chestnut: signed my comment

? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 14:44, 15 August 2025 (UTC)
: Cueball has misunderstood the purpose of archaeology as being to study things in order to devise improved versions of them. As a result, he has ended up 'inventing' Bronze Age technology. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:13, 15 August 2025 (UTC)
:: And in the title text, he imagines the reason everyone dismisses it is because 'Big Knap' is conspiring to stop him destroying their profits. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:27, 15 August 2025 (UTC)
: I think the joke is misunderstanding "archaeology research" to mean doing research to extend ancient technology. [[Special:Contributions/2601:18E:C380:4FC0:D4F5:8EE1:51F6:82AF|2601:18E:C380:4FC0:D4F5:8EE1:51F6:82AF]] 15:12, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

It's the kind of research project I can easily imagine my university Classics prof, Trevor Hodge, being on board with. He was very keen on students trying to reproduce ancient tech for themselves, with an eye towards them appreciating the challenges involved and that those people were intelligent and knowledgeable. One of his grad students was an acquaintance of mine, doing a thesis along the lines of "The Two-Bladed Bronze Axe in the Aegean: Tool or Weapon?", and I'd be astonished if the project didn't include constructing one. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 14:47, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

Possibly referencing new copper tools in Minecraft? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.205.246|104.28.205.246]] 15:35, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

My understanding of the joke is that archaeology enthusiasts are obsessed with using traditional tools. Consequently, Cueball revealing there are other methods of manufacturing tools, would disrupt the entire archaeology enthusiasts community and the surrounding industry. In retrospect, I am probably wrong. [[User:Aqua-chestnut|Aqua-chestnut]] ([[User talk:Aqua-chestnut|talk]]) 16:07, 15 August 2025 (UTC)
: Alternatively, the joke might be that the event is taking place in the Paleolithic age, and Cueball's discovery of copper would advance it to the Neolithic, consequently disrupting the Paleolithic economy. In retrospect, this is also wrong because copper first appeared in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_historic_inventions#Neolithic_and_Late_Mesolithic 5000 BC according to Wikipedia] [[User:Aqua-chestnut|Aqua-chestnut]] ([[User talk:Aqua-chestnut|talk]]) 16:18, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T16:16:43Z

Aqua-chestnut: comment. my thoughts on what the joke could be

Talk:3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T16:07:06Z

Aqua-chestnut: added my understanding of the joke