explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1630: Quadcopter

2016-01-15T15:20:08Z

Devedrus: /* Explanation */ Corrected strange grammar/sentence structure re: drone as a metphir for dangerous animals; added possible ironic element

{{comic
| number = 1630
| date = January 15, 2016
| title = Quadcopter
| image = quadcopter.png
| titletext = I always have to turn off nature documentaries when they show these scenes.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Wik links and references missing.}}

There is large controversy over {{w|Quadcopter|quadcopters}}, which are usually referred to as ''{{w|Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones}}''. People worry that they will spy on people and essentially interfere with their lives in places they do not want them.

Recently, ever since drones became more commonly known, companies have begun selling remote-controlled drones. [[Cueball]] is teaching a class on flying these, because it can be tricky. This comic takes people's worries to the extreme, suggesting that the drones become sentient and can cooperate together to grab a human being and fly off with him.

This happens to the Cueball teacher, while his students ([[Megan]], [[Ponytail]] and another Cueball-like guy) do nothing to help him. Afterwards they discuss if they should have done something, but then take the view that now that the drones are sentient, they have become a part of nature, and that you should not interfere but just "let nature take its course". This is a common comment in nature programs about wild life, where the speaker tries to explains why the team that was there to film the poor animals dying did nothing to help them - because they will not interfere with nature.

This comics shows how hypocritical that comment is, because if a lion decides to kill and eat humans, that would be natural, but we would do anything in our power to kill this lion, and not just let it run of with our children or the old and weak people. So in such a case with Cueball being taken by wild quadcopters we would not just let nature takes its course.

Note that Cueball had a tame quadcopter as a pet on the ground behind him. This may be a reference to people who raise dangerous animals which are cute when just small fluffy pups (tigers or bears for instance) but suddenly they attack for no discernable reason when they become big enough (perhaps we just smell too great).

There is, perhaps, a more insidious interpretation of this comic: while the Cueball student never speaks, he does carry a remote control, and could be the one controlling the drones. Thus Ponytail's statement may be completely ironic in that the teacher's predicament is (both literally and figuratively) man-made, and the comic mocking the human tendency to anthropomorphize (biopromorphize? biomorphize?) technology.

The title text refers back to the above as [[Randall]] confesses that he has to turn of any nature documentaries which show scenes of animals killing their prey, while the speaker tells that this would be part of nature. It seems that it is actually that sentence rather than the killing that puts him off. And thus explains the comics punch line about just letting people be taken away to be killed by animals or quadcopters

Sentient quadcopters where part of the game in [[1608: Hoverboard]], where [http://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png one quadcopter is speaking to the other] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crate to the left.

How to solve the problem with too many drones where mentioned in [[1523: Microdrones]].

Just over a week before this comic was releases another comic also had as subject a situation where our technological inventions begins to take control over us, see [[1626: Judgment Day]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball to the left talks to Megan, Ponytail and a Cueball-like guy, with a remote control. They are standing to the right. Behind Cueball, on the ground, there is a quadcopter.]
:Cueball: Welcome to Quadcopter flying school.

:[Cueball looks over his shoulder as three other quadcopters fly in towards him from above and left. The other three is in the same position.]
:Cueball: Today we'll be learning the basics of-
:Cueball: ...Uhh..

:[In this frameless image the three quadcopters all grabs hold of Cueball, two in each of his arms, one takes hold of his legs. And then they lift him up from the ground. He is thus hanging almost horizontally, with his head over Megan and his feet over the place where he stood before. The other three just stands there looking up at him.
:Cueball: Um

:[Cueball is carried off by quadcopters, his head has already exited the top right corner, only his legs and the last quadcopter still in the frame. The other three have turned around looking up and right after him.]

:[Megan looks down again and the other two turns towards Megan. Cueball is gone and has only left his "tame" quadcopter behind on the ground.]
:Megan: Should we have helped?
:Ponytail: No. It's cruel, but we have to let nature take its course.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

1616: Lunch

2015-12-15T03:01:28Z

Devedrus: /* Explanation */ Correcting word usage (palatable vs palpable)

{{comic
| number = 1616
| date = December 14, 2015
| title = Lunch
| image = lunch.png
| titletext = I'm trying to be healthier, so after I eat this brick of cheese, I'll have a spoonful of grease-soaked vegetables.
}}

==Explanation==

The explanation is in the comic itself: Pizza seems way grosser if you imagine eating just the ingredients. Many people, for example, would find simply eating "a block of cheese" as repulsive (depending on the cheese and amount), but would not object if the same amount of cheese were integrated with a whole meal as in a cheese pizza. Tomato sauce is also typically something that is not served alone (especially not in a glass) though it is a common ingredient in many dishes. Bread may be eaten alone more frequently than the rest of the ingredients but doing so is popularly considered indulgent or not healthy due to bread only having simple carbohydrates and little other nutritional value. Salt is also never supposed to be served by itself, since it is a seasoning.

As should be obvious, the act of cooking makes many meals much more palatable.

The title text refers to a vegetable pizza, which is perceived as a healthier choice due to the presence of vegetables.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball and a Cueball-like guy are behind a table. Visible on the table are a loaf of bread, a glass with some liquid in it, an oblong box labelled "CHEESE" and a small heap]
:Friend: What're you having for lunch?
:Cueball: The usual - half a pound of cheese, white bread, a glass of tomato sauce, and some salt.
:Friend: Eww.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Pizza seems way grosser if you imagine eating just the ingredients.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1607: Supreme Court

2015-11-23T18:04:12Z

Devedrus: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1607
| date = November 23, 2015
| title = Supreme Court
| image = supreme_court.png
| titletext = Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy called the man's arguments that he could be either Alito or Ginsburg "surprisingly compelling, but ultimately unconvincing."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Slightly expanded explanation, along with transcript. Not sure who the person is, but one possibility proposed.}}

The {{w|Supreme Court of the United States}} is the highest judiciary body in the United States. Its decisions, along with the opinions of its justices, are often in the news, as in the case here. However, the Supreme Court has only nine members. Thus, a ruling that passed 9-1 (for a total of 10 votes) would indicate that an additional justice sneaked in to the court. The other nine justices know that, and make it clear that this tenth justice does not belong. V(Or at least he doesn't belong today. While the size of the Supreme Court has been nine justices since 1869, from 1863 to 1866, there were ten justices on the Supreme Court.)

This comic may also be a reference to a 2012 survey, commonly cited since, that [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-thirds-of-americans-cant-name-any-us-supreme-court-justices-says-new-findlawcom-survey-166730886.html?utm_expid=43414375-18&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D3%26ved%3D0CG4QFjAC%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.prnewswire.com%252Fnews-releases%252Ftwo-thirds-of-americans-cant-name-any-us-supreme-court-justices-says-new-findlawcom-survey-166730886.html%26ei%3D0FIyUK_yMIT66wGY3YDYDg%26usg%3DAFQjCNFKL_iBiZH9xdpl5Wz5kBrErYgssw two thirds of Americans cannot name a Supreme Court Justice], and general ignorance of Americans overall of their own political landscape, by implying that even Justices are not confident in the identity of other members.

The identity of this person is not known either to the reader or to the actual justices, and neither is the reason that the interloper's "vote" was counted (presumably, the nine actual justices voted that he didn't belong while he himself voted the other way).
The primary suspect, however, would seem to be Black Hat, as he has had preposterous and yet oddly successful run-ins with the US government before (e.g. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/494:_Secretary:_Part_1 Comic 494]-[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/498:_Secretary:_Part_5 Comic 498]).

The title text refers to {{w|Justice Kennedy}}'s reputation for being a moderate who is usually the swing vote in 5-4 decisions, which means that his vote can decide the outcome of the case. The joke in the title text is that he is weighing the arguments of both sides even though the non-justice is clearly not a justice and would not be allowed to make an argument if he were. The fictional Kennedy is committing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_to_moderation Golden Mean Fallacy], also seen in [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]], and makes the same jab at that fallacy. Sometimes, the views of the two sides are mutually exclusive, or the other side is just wrong.

There is a second joke in the title text, that the man is claiming to be two of the current justices, who would actually have been in the room at the same time as the impostor was claiming to be them. To add further absurdity to this, one of those justices the man was claiming to be was {{w|Justice Ginsburg}}, who is female.

==Transcript==
:[A female newscaster with long blond hair is sitting at her desk with a small image of scales shown to the left.of her] 
:Newscaster: Breaking news: The Supreme Court has ruled 9-1 that they don't know who this guy is or how he got in here, but he's definitely ''not'' a justice.

{{comic discussion}}

1607: Supreme Court

2015-11-23T18:03:18Z

Devedrus: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1607
| date = November 23, 2015
| title = Supreme Court
| image = supreme_court.png
| titletext = Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy called the man's arguments that he could be either Alito or Ginsburg "surprisingly compelling, but ultimately unconvincing."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Slightly expanded explanation, along with transcript. Not sure who the person is, but one possibility proposed.}}

The {{w|Supreme Court of the United States}} is the highest judiciary body in the United States. Its decisions, along with the opinions of its justices, are often in the news, as in the case here. However, the Supreme Court has only nine members. Thus, a ruling that passed 9-1 (for a total of 10 votes) would indicate that an additional justice sneaked in to the court. The other nine justices know that, and make it clear that this tenth justice does not belong. V(Or at least he doesn't belong today. While the size of the Supreme Court has been nine justices since 1869, from 1863 to 1866, there were ten justices on the Supreme Court.)

This comic may also be a reference to a 2012 survey, commonly cited since, that [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-thirds-of-americans-cant-name-any-us-supreme-court-justices-says-new-findlawcom-survey-166730886.html?utm_expid=43414375-18&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D3%26ved%3D0CG4QFjAC%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.prnewswire.com%252Fnews-releases%252Ftwo-thirds-of-americans-cant-name-any-us-supreme-court-justices-says-new-findlawcom-survey-166730886.html%26ei%3D0FIyUK_yMIT66wGY3YDYDg%26usg%3DAFQjCNFKL_iBiZH9xdpl5Wz5kBrErYgssw two thirds of Americans cannot name a Supreme Court Justice], and general ignorance of Americans overall of their own political landscape, by implying that even Justices are not confident in the identity of other members.

The identity of this person is not known either to the reader or to the actual justices, and neither is the reason that the interloper's "vote" was counted (presumably, the nine actual justices voted that he didn't belong while he himself voted the other way).
The primary suspect, however, would seem to be Black Hat, as he has had preposterous and yet oddly successful run-ins with the US government before (e.g. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/494:_Secretary:_Part_1 Comic 494]-[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/498:_Secretary:_Part_5 Comic 498])

The title text refers to {{w|Justice Kennedy}}'s reputation for being a moderate who is usually the swing vote in 5-4 decisions, which means that his vote can decide the outcome of the case. The joke in the title text is that he is weighing the arguments of both sides even though the non-justice is clearly not a justice and would not be allowed to make an argument if he were. The fictional Kennedy is committing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_to_moderation Golden Mean Fallacy], also seen in [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]], and makes the same jab at that fallacy. Sometimes, the views of the two sides are mutually exclusive, or the other side is just wrong.

There is a second joke in the title text, that the man is claiming to be two of the current justices, who would actually have been in the room at the same time as the impostor was claiming to be them. To add further absurdity to this, one of those justices the man was claiming to be was {{w|Justice Ginsburg}}, who is female.

==Transcript==
:[A female newscaster with long blond hair is sitting at her desk with a small image of scales shown to the left.of her] 
:Newscaster: Breaking news: The Supreme Court has ruled 9-1 that they don't know who this guy is or how he got in here, but he's definitely ''not'' a justice.

{{comic discussion}}