explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1679: Substitutions 3

2016-05-11T18:26:56Z

Bmmarti3:

The title text may be a reference to the Mayan city discovered by a 15 year old, but that city hasn't yet been visited by Channing Tatum and his friends or Mr Tatum. https://translate.google.com/translate?tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journaldemontreal.com%2F2016%2F05%2F07%2Fun-ado-decouvre-une-cite-maya [[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.34|198.41.239.34]] 13:32, 11 May 2016 (UTC)

Here's the code for the full set of substitutions from all three comics, to be inserted in the Chrome extension the page listed, which can be found here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/replacerator/gaajhenbcclienfnniphiiambbbninnp?hl=en

<div style="font-size: 25%;">{"virtual boy":"virtual boy","like hundreds":"like hundreds","kinda probably":"kinda probably","haunted":"haunted","very large":"very large","beyond the grave":"beyond the grave","airbender":"airbender","cat":"cat","delusional":"delusional","river spirits":"river spirits","is guilty and everyone knows it":"is guilty and everyone knows it","dance-off":"dance-off","destroy":"destroy","the big bang theory":"the big bang theory","dog":"dog","eating contest":"eating contest","atomic":"atomic","poem":"poem","physically physically expands":"physically physically physically expands","this guy":"this guy","poem":"poem","friggin' awful":"friggin' awful","blade runner":"blade runner","magic spell":"magic spell","spherical":"spherical","homestar runner":"homestar runner","tons of horsemeat":"tons of horsemeat","final":"final","ménage à trois":"ménage à trois","minutes":"minutes","Tumblr post":"Tumblr post","lots of signs":"lots of signs","psychic reading":"psychic reading","avenge":"avenge","will never be known":"will never be known","Channing Tatum and his friends":"Channing Tatum and his friends","friggin' awful":"friggin' awful","uncontrollably swerving":"uncontrollably swerving","elf-lord":"elf-lord","way to kill werewolves":"way to kill werewolves","Pokédex":"Pokédex","spaaace":"spaaace","blood-soaked":"blood-soaked","tunnels I found":"tunnels I found","suddenly":"suddenly","surprising (but not to me) (but not to me)":"surprising (but not to me) (but not to me) (but not to me)","sexual sexual tension":"sexual sexual sexual tension","frigging' awful":"frigging' awful","poem":"poem","drunkenly egged on":"drunkenly egged on","probably won't":"probably won't","interplanetary war":"interplanetary war","find pokémon":"find pokémon","these dudes I know":"these dudes I know","minutes":"minutes","I'm really sad about":"I'm really sad about"}</div>

::Is there a way to easily enable/disable the extension?[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])

I would put it somewhere more convenient if I knew a site for it. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.158|141.101.104.158]] 13:46, 11 May 2016 (UTC)
:This reminds me an awful lot of the title text in the previous comic [[1678: Recent Searches]] regarding autoexec code posted by verified twitter users. :-p [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:48, 11 May 2016 (UTC)

It would be wonderful if the celebrity injunction was about a ménage à trois and somehow all the hype was Randall's fault. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.133|141.101.70.133]] 15:13, 11 May 2016 (UTC)
Great. Now I have to update this:https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-substitutions/jkgogmboalmaijfgfhfepckdgjeopfhk?hl=en&gl=001 --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 18:24, 11 May 2016 (UTC)

1537: Types

2015-06-12T12:27:59Z

Bmmarti3: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1537
| date = June 12, 2015
| title = Types
| image = types.png
| titletext = colors.rgb("blue") yields "#0000FF". colors.rgb("yellowish blue") yields NaN. colors.sort() yields "rainbow"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Initial draft.}}

This comic is a series of programming jokes about a ridiculous new programming language:

# <code>2 + "2"</code> uses the <code>+</code> operator on a number and a string. In a normal language, this would result either the number <code>4</code> (addition), or <code>"22"</code> (string concatenation); however, the new language converts the string to an integer, adds them to produce <code>4</code> and converts back to a string.
# <code>"2" + []</code> adds a string to an array (a list), this time. This first inexplicably converts the string to a number again, and then it literally adds the number to the list by appending it (this would make sense if it was <code>[] + 2</code>, but usually not the other way around). And then the result is converted to a string again.
# <code>(2/0)</code> divides <code>2</code> by <code>0</code> and quite reasonably results in <code>NaN</code> (not a number).
# <code>(2/0)</code> adds <code>2</code> to <code>NaN</code>. <code>2</code> is "added" to the string <code>"NaN"</code> (again, the number is converted to a string for apparently no reason), which produces <code>"NaP"</code>, as if <code>2</code> was added to <code>"N"</code> to produce <code>"P"</code> (as per alphabetical order).
# <code>""+""</code> looks like it is concatenating (adding) an empty string to another empty string, which should produce an empty string. However, the entire thing is treated as one string (with the start quote being the first one and the end quote being the very last one), which produces the egregious '<code>"+"</code>'.
# <code>[1,2,3]+2</code> seems to test whether it's sound to append <code>2</code> to the list <code>[1,2,3]</code>, and concludes that it doesn't fit the pattern, returning the boolean value <code>false</code>.
# <code>[1,2,3]+4</code> returns <code>true</code> for much the same reason.
# <code>2/(2-(3/2+1/2))</code> is a floating point joke. Floating point numbers are notoriously imprecise. With precise mathematics, <code>(3/2+1/2)</code> would be exactly 2, hence the entire thing would evaluate to <code>2/0</code> or <code>NaN</code> in Randall's new language. However, the result of <code>(3/2+1/2)</code> is "just slightly off," which makes the result "just slightly off" of <code>NaN</code> (which would be ridiculous in a real language). The ironic thing is that fractions with 2 in the denominator are ''not'' the kind of numbers that typically suffer from floating point impreciseness.
# <code>range(" ")</code> normally wouldn't make any sense. However, the new language appears to interpret it as ASCII, and in the ASCII table, character #32 is space, #33 is <code>!</code>, and #34 is <code>"</code>. So, instead of interpreting <code>" "</code> as a string, it seems to be interpreted as <code>34, 32, 34</code> (in ASCII), and then <code>range</code> appears to transform this into <code>34, 33, 32, 33, 34</code> (the "ranges" between the numbers), which, interpreted as ASCII, becomes <code>['"', '!', ' ', '!', '"']</code>.
# <code>+2</code> appears to be applying a unary <code>+</code> to the number <code>2</code>, which should just be <code>2</code>. However, the code is adding <code>2</code> to the line number <code>10</code> in this context.
# <code>2+2</code> should, obviously, be <code>4</code>. However, the interpreter simply reports that the calculation is "Done" without giving the actual result. In the subsequent lines, all <code>2</code>s are replaced by <code>4</code>s, so apparently the number 2 itself has been increased by 2.
# <code>range(1,5)</code> would normally return <code>[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]</code>. However, since the value of <code>2</code> has been changed to <code>4</code>, it returns <code>[1, 4, 3, 4, 5]</code>, and this even affects the line number (which is 14 instead of 12).
# <code>floor(10.5)</code> should return <code>10</code> (the "floor" of a decimal number is that number rounded down). However, it instead returns... a picture of the number on a "floor."

==Transcript==
My new language is great, but it has a few quirks regarding type:
<pre>
[1]> 2+"2"
=> "4"
[2]> "2"+[]
=> "[2]"
[3]> (2/0)
=> NaN
[4]> (2/0)+2
=> NaP
[5]> ""+""
=> '"+"'
[6]> [1,2,3]+2
=> FALSE
[7]> [1,2,3]+4
=> TRUE
[8]> 2/(2-(3/2+1/2))
=> NaN.0000000000000013
[9]> range(" ")
=> ('"','!'," ","!",'"')
[10]> +2
=> 12
[11]> 2+2
=> DONE
[14]> RANGE(1,5)
=> (1,4,3,4,5)
[13]> FLOOR(10.5)
=> |
=> |
=> |
=> |
=> |___10.5___
</pre>

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-04T14:16:10Z

Bmmarti3:

I assume "''Your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one." refers to the Manhattan Project? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.74}}
:Yes [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Chem wants absolutely no part of this conversation. [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Is she claiming that her heros have conquered death? [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 06:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Pestilence [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 07:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

also a possible reference to: https://xkcd.com/435/ ? {{unsigned ip|141.101.75.101}}

The stamp collecting quote is from Ernest Rutherford, not Richard Feynman. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.43}}

1052 also compares degrees --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 08:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

My assumption was that Cueball was giving a long and possibly rambling talk about physics starting with an anecdote about Feynman and ending with one about Rutherford. I didn't consider the quote to be wrongly attributed therefore. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.71}}

Please be aware that the proper way to link to wikipedia is to use [[Template:w]].--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|10:01, 04 May 2015}}

This may be Randall's indirect way of saying what he thinks of the anti-vaxxers. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Does the "killing Pestilence" thing also refer to ''Good Omens'' (co-authored by Pratchett), where Pestilence retired in 1936 "mumbling something about penicillin"? Homusubi

Isn't the comment about vaccines kinda reaching? I don't really see any evidence, even implied, that this comic is referencing the anti-vaccine movement in any way. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:I agree that the anti-vaxer comments are out of place. I don't think they should be included as part of the explanation. [[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])

Isn't the biologist talking in the title text? And isn't biology considered a squishy science? I think the title is directed at the physicist, telling him to get harder skin because he's so easily hurt emotionally. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 14:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1480: Super Bowl

2015-01-30T13:45:06Z

Bmmarti3:

So should this be tagged as a my hobby comic? Not sure since it is only in the title text. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 08:25, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
: Looking through all the comics, I believe this is the first comic to have "My hobby:" in the title text. [[615|There is one that follows the same pattern]], but merely has "Hobby:" in the title text, which is not itself categorized as a "My Hobby" comic, but the explanation states it is a reference to that category. Personally, I don't see any reason NOT to put both of these (but at least this one, since it does actually have the words "My hobby:" in it's text, if only in the title text) into said category. But I'm not the only user of this site - anyone else want to weigh in? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:55, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
I'm wondering - has he duplicated a comic title before? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:26, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
: It looks like this is the second comic title to be duplicated - the other pair appears to be [[Exoplanets]] ([[786]] and [[1071]]) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:40, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
It's actually the Superb Owl in my world.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.35|108.162.216.35]] 10:48, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
: OMG! I ''LOVE'' the Superb Owl!!! THOSE EYES!!!!! -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:53, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
The trouble with Arsenal is...--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 13:45, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1470: Kix

2015-01-07T13:16:09Z

Bmmarti3:

Is there a category:comics with strong language? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.71|108.162.225.71]] 11:36, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

From now on I don't think I'll ever see a box of Kix in the store without thinking, "Kid Tested, Mother Fucker!"[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 13:16, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1428: Move Fast and Break Things

2014-10-01T13:32:03Z

Bmmarti3:

catch me if I'm wrong here, but driving the hearse recklessly would probably be more likely to injure pedestrians on the way to the funeral - not the attendees, who are often behind the hearse (?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:05, 1 October 2014 (UTC)
:That really depends on how recklessly you're driving.--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 13:32, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1398: Snake Facts

2014-07-23T12:46:08Z

Bmmarti3:

I thought the Worlds longest snake was so long that it took up enough space to be in Brazil, Peru, and Chile at the same time.~~

Just a couple of thoughts: How big was the person whose digestive tract became the longest snake in the world? Also, does the grosser end of the digestive tract develop into the head of a venomous snake? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.223.29|108.162.223.29]] 06:57, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

The snake in the map shades Chile, BOLIVIA and Brazil, not Peru. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.125|108.162.229.125]] 08:25, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
:Updated the image to match the one on xkcd.com. [[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]] ([[User talk:Nialpxe|talk]]) 10:00, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, the shading (unless randell's updated after reading this) does track chili, up the Pacific Coast, across the border with Peru and veers east into Brazil.

I did wonder if 'the World's longest snake' was a reference to the south American highway, part of the pan American highway. Parts were completed in the 1950's making it 'over 60years old', and does track chili as per the 'snakes' body into Peru but the brazilian section is connected elsewhere, neatly crushing my wild theory. :-( [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.161|141.101.99.161]] 09:39, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

The first factoid contains a common misconception about evolution, namely that species evolve ''only'' in small steps. It's entirely possible that a small mutation caused a protein that appeared in snakes' saliva to suddenly be ''very'' poisonous to the snake's prey or enemies. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.98|108.162.231.98]] 11:13, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
:It is possible, but unlikely. Snake venom is not a single chemical, but a mixture of several enzymes and toxins. There is a lot of variation in protein structure and enzymatic properties of the constituents of different snakes' venom, which suggests a gradual shift from one or two simpler lytic enzymes to a complex mixture. Each protein could have mutated separately, but the composition of the venom of each species almost certainly developed over a prolonged period of time. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.223.29|108.162.223.29]] 11:34, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
::I don't think the implication was that every venom evolution happened in one fail swoop. I believe he was pointing out that instead of people thinking that venom evolution started with bad breath (minuscule unnoticeable changes) more likely started with a reasonably poisonous mutation that actually benefited a snakes survival.--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 12:46, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1377: Fish

2014-06-04T12:36:26Z

Bmmarti3:

I took it to mean that we are the camouflaged fish and the extraterrestrials are the shark. We have been naturally selected to be hard to find through some means, probably by distance from a predator life form or just being tiny, and have thus not encountered any of them. -- [[User:Irino|Irino]] ([[User talk:Irino|talk]]) 06:57, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

So, Fermi's paradox is a good defense for why you caught no fish, even though "there's plenty of fish in the sea." [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 09:06, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

The most probable predator to civilizations is another civilization. There may be civilization out there which is so scary everyone is quiet so they don't find him. Wait ... WE may be that civilization. Half of civilization in our galaxy fears the battleships from our sci-fi shows because they thinks they are real and the other half fears that civilization with that kind of shows is going to build real battleships soon.
Ok, seriously, I already commented elsewhere ... we don't have anything so valuable it would be worth the resources needed for sending attack fleet here. We would need to REALLY piss someone off to be attacked. At least ... physically. Hey, those telescopes searching for signals from other civilization ... how good antivirus protection they have? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

:We don't have anything valuable so long as another civilization doesn't need and earth sized supply of calcium, potassium, sodium, nickle, and iron.--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 12:34, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1377: Fish

2014-06-04T12:34:51Z

Bmmarti3:

I took it to mean that we are the camouflaged fish and the extraterrestrials are the shark. We have been naturally selected to be hard to find through some means, probably by distance from a predator life form or just being tiny, and have thus not encountered any of them. -- [[User:Irino|Irino]] ([[User talk:Irino|talk]]) 06:57, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

So, Fermi's paradox is a good defense for why you caught no fish, even though "there's plenty of fish in the sea." [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 09:06, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

The most probable predator to civilizations is another civilization. There may be civilization out there which is so scary everyone is quiet so they don't find him. Wait ... WE may be that civilization. Half of civilization in our galaxy fears the battleships from our sci-fi shows because they thinks they are real and the other half fears that civilization with that kind of shows is going to build real battleships soon.
Ok, seriously, I already commented elsewhere ... we don't have anything so valuable it would be worth the resources needed for sending attack fleet here. We would need to REALLY piss someone off to be attacked. At least ... physically. Hey, those telescopes searching for signals from other civilization ... how good antivirus protection they have? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

We don't have anything valuable so long as another civilization doesn't need and earth sized supply of calcium, potassium, sodium, nickle, and iron.--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 12:34, 4 June 2014 (UTC)