explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1719: Superzoom

2016-08-12T16:32:36Z

CrazyPianoMan1: Grammar and formatting

{{comic
| number = 1719
| date = August 12, 2016
| title = Superzoom
| image = superzoom.png
| titletext = *click* Let him know he's got a stain on his shirt, though.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing off his new Super zoom camera to [[White Hat]]. These are cameras with large zoom lenses, often up to 25x or higher magnification. He is very excited and starts by exclaiming how they can take detailed photos of the moon, and (on better models) relatively large photos of Jupiter. He then uses it for bird watching, which is a popular use for these cameras. He also is able to photograph an airplane, and make out the airline, both possible on these cameras, though it is unlikely he would be able to make out the registration number.

Finally, White Hat decides to buy a superzoom camera like Cueball's, and [[Cueball]] tells him a shop in town that sells them. This is where it takes a turn for the unlikely; as [[Cueball]] points the camera in the direction of this store, he is able to make out not only the worker inside but also (in the title text) the stain on his shirt. Even with the ability of these cameras, it would be unlikely for Cueball to be able to make out a specific worker inside the store, let alone a stain on their shirt.

It could also be implied that since Cueball knows the cashier in the store, mentions the price of the camera, and knows that there are cameras in stock, he is in fact advertising for this store, and his overenthusiasm is an attempt to convince White Hat to buy a camera. While this tactic is reminiscent of many commercials and advertisements on television, it is not common in real life.

==Transcript==
[White Hat and Cueball are walking. Cueball is playing with a camera]

Cueball: I love these superzoom cameras. For a few hundred dollars you can take pictures of moon craters and Jupiter's clouds.

Cueball: And birds! See that speck up there?

[Camera clicking]

Cueball: Peregrine falcon!

[*click*]

Cueball: It's banded, too. Want the number?

Cueball: And see that plane?

[*click*]

Cueball: 787 Dreamliner

[*click*]

Cueball: Japan Airlines.

[*click*]

Cueball: Registration is-

White Hat: OK, I'm sold- I want one.

[*click*]

Cueball: They're in stock at the place on Union Road.

[*click*]

Cueball: Hey, Kevin's working today! He's great.

{{comic discussion}}

1635: Birdsong

2016-01-27T15:59:59Z

CrazyPianoMan1: /* Explanation */ Edited misspelling of "lyrebid" to "lyrebird"; edited "...he conditioned birds to respond expect certain stimuli for rewards and particular behaviors..." for understanding.

{{comic
| number = 1635
| date = January 27, 2016
| title = Birdsong
| image = birdsong.png
| titletext = Maybe if I put it in a box for a while with a speaker playing some pleasant pastoral music, I can reprogram it.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows [[Cueball]] walking along singing with a bird in the background; Cueball is apparently enjoying the perfect morning and the birdsong. In the next panel, it becomes apparent that the bird is actually singing the words to the song "{{w|Smooth (song)|Smooth}}" ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Whgn_iE5uc official video]) by {{w|Santana (band)|Santana}} featuring {{w|Rob Thomas (musician)|Rob Thomas}}. The bird's singing begins to annoy Cueball, so he chases the bird with a net and attempts to catch it. The bird continues with its song.

The comic is a play on the words 'bird' and 'song'. Birds, of course, don't actually sing: the sounds they make are territorial challenges, mating cries, etc. But in Western cultural traditions, particularly the pastoral one, imagining these sounds as 'song' is part of seeing nature as beautiful and harmonious. Ironically, the fact that this bird is really singing urban pop music, is perceived by Cueball to be an intrusion. Playing pastoral music to 'reprogram' the bird is of course an even more unnatural intervention - all with the purpose of restoring the pastoral naturalness of the morning.

The title text of "reprogramming" the bird by placing it in a box also refers to {{w|B. F. Skinner|B.F. Skinner}} and his development of {{w|Programmed learning|programmed learning}} through his theories of operant conditioning and behaviorism in psychology. By famously using birds in so-called Skinner boxes, he conditioned birds to respond to certain stimuli and expect rewards for particular behaviors, leading to an understanding of many impulsive behaviors in humans like addiction. Cueball apparently hopes to "correct" the bird and its song through this method.

Several types of birds can mimic odd and unusual sounds, particularly the {{w|Lyrebird|lyrebird}} of Australia, known to reproduce all types of sounds from chainsaws, barking dogs, and certainly music.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking and talking, while a bird, flying above him is singing, with four notes floating around it to indicate this. The notes are clearly above and removed from Cueball's text.]
:Cueball (singing): The sun is shining, the birds are singing—

:[Cueball stops and looks up when the bird above him starts to sing using human language, four notes are floating around the text. The text of the bird's song is in ''italic text'' to indicate this.]
:Bird (singing): ''Got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah''

:[Cueball looks down and black smoke emanates from the top of his head. The bird now flies above the panel but still sings in human language, four notes are floating below the text.]
:Bird (singing - off-panel): ''Give me your heart, make it real''

:[Cueball is chasing the bird with a butterfly net, the bird is flying away from Cueball, continuing to sing, four notes are floating around the text.]
:Bird (singing): ''Or else forget about it''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1531: The BDLPSWDKS Effect

2015-05-29T16:43:28Z

CrazyPianoMan1: /* Explanation */ Changed "Ponytail" to "Cueball" in Sapir-Whorf paragraph (in addition to earlier, similar change in Doppler paragraph).

{{comic
| number = 1531
| date = May 29, 2015
| title = The BDLPSWDKS Effect
| image = the bdlpswdks effect.png
| titletext = This well-known effect has of course been replicated in countless experiments.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|New page}}
The BDLPSWDKS Effect in the title is an {{w|acronym}} for Bernoulli-Doppler-Leidenfrost-Peltzman-Sapir-Whorf-Dunning-Kruger-Stroop Effect, as explained by [[Ponytail]] in the comic. She stands in front of a slide that shows [[Cueball]] being subjected to this effect.

The effect mentioned appears to be a mashup of seven scientific principles (with nine scientists names included) from different scientific fields, with elements from each principle appearing in the resulting description of the effect:

The {{w|Leidenfrost effect}} refers to how liquid will produce an insulating vapor layer when in near contact with an extremely hot surface, causing it to hover over said surface. This is referenced by the firetruck lifting off on a layer of superheated gas.

{{w|Bernoulli's principle}} in fluid dynamics (also mentioned in [[803: Airfoil]]) states that an increase in the speed of a fluid with certain properties occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. This is referenced by the lifted firetruck hurtling rather than just speeding.

The {{w|Doppler effect}} in physics refers to the change in a wave's frequency for an observer moving relative to its source. Sound from the oncoming firetruck increases in pitch. In tonal languages, changes in pitch change the meaning, making it harder for Cueball to understand the word screamed by the driver.

The {{w|Peltzman effect}} refers to how regulations intended to increase safety are ineffective or counterproductive. Red means stop and green means go, so yelling "red" would induce the (usually) counterproductive behavior of starting to walk more, rather than less.

The {{w|Sapir–Whorf hypothesis}} states that a person's world view and cognitive processes are affected by the structure of the language the person speaks. Speaking a language without a word for "firefighter" would conceivably not contain a word for "firetruck" either, thus avoiding the association with danger firetrucks have, slowing down Cueball's reaction.

The {{w|Dunning–Kruger effect}} refers to unskilled people mistakenly perceiving themselves as more skilled than they really are, while skilled people underestimate their own abilities. Obviously, if Ponytail isn't fluent in the language, s/he'd take more time to process "green", as opposed to "red" in a well-understood language.

The {{w|Stroop effect}} refers to the phenomenon in which it is easier to name the color of the ink in which a word is written when the word refers to the same color as the ink than when the word refers to a different color. Firetrucks are red, this suggests that the driver shouting '''RED''' would get a faster response than the driver shouting '''GREEN'''.

Usually, for an effect to be considered real, the scientific method requires the effect to be replicated by different experimenters in different times and places. It is hard to imagine several scientists in different parts of the world creating the setup to replicate this effect; however the title text mentions it has been done countless times.

Furthermore, the opportunity of publishing this comic strip may (or may not) be related to the recently issued sequels of franchises such as `Mad Max` and `Carmageddon`, where it's not unusual to find heavy wheeled vehicles trampling pedestrians for fun, or simply because the drivers do not care.

==Transt==

:[Ponytail stands next to a screen displaying a firetruck hurtling toward Cueball on what appears to be a layer of gas.]

:Ponytail: The Bernoulli-Doppler-Leidenfrost-Peltzman-Sapir-Whorf-Dunning-Kruger-Stroop Effect states that if a speeding fire truck lifts off and hurtles towards you on a layer of superheated gas, you'll dive out of the way faster if the driver screams '''''"red!"''''' in a '''''non'''''-tonal language that '''''has''''' a word for "firefighter" than if they scream '''''"green!"''''' in a '''''tonal''''' language with '''''no''''' word for "firefighter" which you '''''think''''' you're fluent in but '''''aren't'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]

1531: The BDLPSWDKS Effect

2015-05-29T16:40:57Z

CrazyPianoMan1: /* Explanation */ Changed "Ponytail" to "Cueball" in the paragraph about the Doppler effect. Assuming, since Cueball is the subject in the presented experiment, he would be the character attempting to understand the driver, not Ponytail.

{{comic
| number = 1531
| date = May 29, 2015
| title = The BDLPSWDKS Effect
| image = the bdlpswdks effect.png
| titletext = This well-known effect has of course been replicated in countless experiments.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|New page}}
The BDLPSWDKS Effect in the title is an {{w|acronym}} for Bernoulli-Doppler-Leidenfrost-Peltzman-Sapir-Whorf-Dunning-Kruger-Stroop Effect, as explained by [[Ponytail]] in the comic. She stands in front of a slide that shows [[Cueball]] being subjected to this effect.

The effect mentioned appears to be a mashup of seven scientific principles (with nine scientists names included) from different scientific fields, with elements from each principle appearing in the resulting description of the effect:

The {{w|Leidenfrost effect}} refers to how liquid will produce an insulating vapor layer when in near contact with an extremely hot surface, causing it to hover over said surface. This is referenced by the firetruck lifting off on a layer of superheated gas.

{{w|Bernoulli's principle}} in fluid dynamics (also mentioned in [[803: Airfoil]]) states that an increase in the speed of a fluid with certain properties occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. This is referenced by the lifted firetruck hurtling rather than just speeding.

The {{w|Doppler effect}} in physics refers to the change in a wave's frequency for an observer moving relative to its source. Sound from the oncoming firetruck increases in pitch. In tonal languages, changes in pitch change the meaning, making it harder for Cueball to understand the word screamed by the driver.

The {{w|Peltzman effect}} refers to how regulations intended to increase safety are ineffective or counterproductive. Red means stop and green means go, so yelling "red" would induce the (usually) counterproductive behavior of starting to walk more, rather than less.

The {{w|Sapir–Whorf hypothesis}} states that a person's world view and cognitive processes are affected by the structure of the language the person speaks. Speaking a language without a word for "firefighter" would conceivably not contain a word for "firetruck" either, thus avoiding the association with danger firetrucks have, slowing down Ponytail's reaction.

The {{w|Dunning–Kruger effect}} refers to unskilled people mistakenly perceiving themselves as more skilled than they really are, while skilled people underestimate their own abilities. Obviously, if Ponytail isn't fluent in the language, s/he'd take more time to process "green", as opposed to "red" in a well-understood language.

The {{w|Stroop effect}} refers to the phenomenon in which it is easier to name the color of the ink in which a word is written when the word refers to the same color as the ink than when the word refers to a different color. Firetrucks are red, this suggests that the driver shouting '''RED''' would get a faster response than the driver shouting '''GREEN'''.

Usually, for an effect to be considered real, the scientific method requires the effect to be replicated by different experimenters in different times and places. It is hard to imagine several scientists in different parts of the world creating the setup to replicate this effect; however the title text mentions it has been done countless times.

Furthermore, the opportunity of publishing this comic strip may (or may not) be related to the recently issued sequels of franchises such as `Mad Max` and `Carmageddon`, where it's not unusual to find heavy wheeled vehicles trampling pedestrians for the lulz.

==Transcript==

:[Ponytail stands next to a screen displaying a firetruck hurtling toward Cueball on what appears to be a layer of gas.]

:Ponytail: The Bernoulli-Doppler-Leidenfrost-Peltzman-Sapir-Whorf-Dunning-Kruger-Stroop Effect states that if a speeding fire truck lifts off and hurtles towards you on a layer of superheated gas, you'll dive out of the way faster if the driver screams '''''"red!"''''' in a '''''non'''''-tonal language that '''''has''''' a word for "firefighter" than if they scream '''''"green!"''''' in a '''''tonal''''' language with '''''no''''' word for "firefighter" which you '''''think''''' you're fluent in but '''''aren't'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]