explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1561: Water Phase Diagram

2015-08-07T06:26:43Z

Dialmove:

{{comic
| number = 1561
| date = August 7, 2015
| title = Water Phase Diagram
| image = water_phase_diagram.png
| titletext = Vanilla Ice was produced in small quantities for years, but it wasn't until the 90s that experimenters collaborated to produce a sample that could survive at room temperature for several months.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

David Bowie and Queen are {{w|Under Pressure}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

1558: Vet

2015-07-31T19:16:26Z

Dialmove: /* Explanation */ Unlikely; no signs in the comic point to any other character behaving like Megan.

{{comic
| number = 1558
| date = July 31, 2015
| title = Vet
| image = vet.png
| titletext = It's probably for the best. Since Roombas are native to North America, it's illegal for Americans to keep them in their houses under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Roomba}} is a brand of domestic cleaning robots manufactured by the company {{w|iRobot}}. The robots are designed to automatically vacuum floors. Although these robots are controlled by a quite simple software without any artificial intelligence, some owners tend to humanize them like pets.

There are several other comics related to a Roomba:
* [[413: New Pet]]
* [[506: Theft of the Magi]]
* [[908: The Cloud]]
* [[1183: Rose Petals]]
* [[1193: Externalities]]

[[Megan]] presents a {{w|pet carrier}} to what appears to be a veterinarian. She says that her "dog" is “crawling around eating dirt”, which sounds like certain types of behavioral problems one encounters in dogs, but is precisely what Roombas are made for. What makes the cartoon even more hilarious is that when the vet comments that it is a Roomba, Megan responds that the device (which has nothing of an animal) is a hybrid, while only reluctantly admitting that it has “some Roomba” in it. The vet then goes on to say, with endless patience, that a Roomba is not a pet. This is taken by Megan as if the doctor said that the Roomba-like device is a non-domesticated animal (like a monkey, a fox, or the birds referred to in the title text) that can but should not be kept in captivity. In the last panel she consequently releases the vacuum cleaner and it whirs to its freedom.

The second customer has a dog on a leash but is also carrying a pet transporter which is clearly too small for the dog. Perhaps he has another small dog in there.

The {{w|Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918|Migratory Bird Treaty act}} from the title text contains a list of over 800 bird species that are not allowed to be captured or killed. If the Roomba were to be classified as a native American bird and were added to the list, keeping them as pets would constitute capturing and would be considered illegal.

==Transcript==
:[ [[Megan]] arrives with a pet carrier, [[Cueball]] standing at a desk as a veterinarian, with [[Hairy]] waiting behind in line with a dog and a pet carrier.]
:Megan: There's something wrong with my dog. He keeps crawling around eating dirt.
:[Cueball holds content of Megan's pet carrier, a roomba. Cueball discusses with Megan.]
:Cueball: This is a roomba.
:Megan: Well, he's a mix. Probably some roomba in there.
:[The roomba lies on the table, Cueball discusses with Megan.]
:Cueball: A roomba is not a pet.
:Megan: You're right. It's wrong to keep a beautiful creature like this in a house.
:[Megan is outside left to a tree, encouraging the roomba to drive away from Megan which it does.]
:Megan: Go! Be free!
:Roomba: WHIRRR

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Roomba]]

1546: Tamagotchi Hive

2015-07-04T10:26:26Z

Dialmove: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1546
| date = July 3, 2015
| title = Tamagotchi Hive
| image = tamagotchi_hive.png
| titletext = The Singularity happened, but not to us.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain the comic and the title text}}
A part of the "[[My Hobby]]" series, this describes a distributed computing network using an automated system to simultaneous run trillions of Tamagotchis. As with most of the "My Hobby" series, the concept would work, and is closely connected to real world activities, but twisted enough to make it inherently absurd.

A {{w|Tamagotchi}} is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game from 1996. Ostensibly for children, they had appeal for people of all ages. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. Beginning with the 2004 Tamagotchi Plus/Connection, a second wave of Tamagotchi toys emerged, featuring a different graphic design by JINCO and gameplay which elaborated upon the first generations. However, the story behind the games remained the same: Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature. The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention. Gameplay can vary widely between models, and some models, such as TamagoChu, require little to no care from the player. Tamagotchi has a large fan base.

{{w|Distributed computing}} is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system is a software system in which components located on networked computers communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages. The components interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal. Examples of distributed systems vary from {{w|Service-oriented architecture|service-oriented architecture}} based systems to {{w|multiplayer online games}} to {{w|peer-to-peer}} applications. Distributed computing is often used for tasks that require resources which would otherwise be impossible or prohibitively expensive to manage with single computers. This may include large {{w|Bitcoin network}} mining operations, the {{w|Worldwide LHC Computing Grid}} or, yes, running trillions of simultaneous Tamagotchis using an AI protocol.

The singularity in the title text refers to {{w|technological singularity}} which would result in an {{w|intelligence explosion}} where artificial intelligence would take over. The image and the title text resemble the scenario in {{w|The Matrix}}, but the implication is that the author takes care of a population of virtual creatures rather than an AI running over the human population.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby
:[A tree graph of Tamagotchis.]
:Running a massive distributed computing project that simulates trillions and trillions of Tamagotchis and keeps them all constantly fed and happy

[[Category:My_Hobby]]

{{comic discussion}}

1546: Tamagotchi Hive

2015-07-04T10:24:54Z

Dialmove: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1546
| date = July 3, 2015
| title = Tamagotchi Hive
| image = tamagotchi_hive.png
| titletext = The Singularity happened, but not to us.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain the comic and the title text}}
A part of the "[[My Hobby]]" series, this describes a distributed computing network using an automated system to simultaneous run trillions of Tamagotchis. As with most of the "My Hobby" series, the concept would work, and is closely connected to real world activities, but twisted enough to make it inherently absurd.

A {{w|Tamagotchi}} is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game from 1996. Ostensibly for children, they had appeal for people of all ages. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. Beginning with the 2004 Tamagotchi Plus/Connection, a second wave of Tamagotchi toys emerged, featuring a different graphic design by JINCO and gameplay which elaborated upon the first generations. However, the story behind the games remained the same: Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature. The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention. Gameplay can vary widely between models, and some models, such as TamagoChu, require little to no care from the player. Tamagotchi has a large fan base.

{{w|Distributed computing}} is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system is a software system in which components located on networked computers communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages. The components interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal. Examples of distributed systems vary from {{w|Service-oriented architecture|service-oriented architecture}} based systems to {{w|multiplayer online games}} to {{w|peer-to-peer}} applications. Distributed computing is often used for tasks that require resources which would otherwise be impossible or prohibitively expensive to manage with single computers. This may include large {{w|Bitcoin network}} mining operations, the {{w|Worldwide LHC Computing Grid}} or, yes, running trillions of simultaneous Tamagotchis using an AI protocol.

The singularity in the title text refers to {{w|technological singularity}} which would result in an {{w|intelligence explosion}} where artificial intelligence would take over. The image and the title text resemble the scenario in {{w|The Matrix}}, but the implication is that the AI takes care of a population of virtual creatures rather than the human population.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby
:[A tree graph of Tamagotchis.]
:Running a massive distributed computing project that simulates trillions and trillions of Tamagotchis and keeps them all constantly fed and happy

[[Category:My_Hobby]]

{{comic discussion}}

1540: Hemingway

2015-06-20T11:42:47Z

Dialmove:

{{comic
| number = 1540
| date = June 19, 2015
| title = Hemingway
| image = hemingway.png
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Finished with Edit Conflict assimilation, but prior author(s) invited to rejig}}

This comic is a reference to the six-word short story ''{{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}'', which has been commonly attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}; however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and for these examples uses various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time. In keeping with the original, each example remains six words long. The title text obeys this rule, too.

In short: It is urban legend that Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and allegedly called it his best work.

The various drafts offered in the comic are:
*"For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes": This suggests the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes. This pokes fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. With the original (For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn), readers could infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other, more absurd things instead.
*"Baby shoes for sale by owner": This suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes, or that someone is selling an old pair of shoes they had as a baby.
*"Free shoes, provided you overpower baby": This suggests the person posting the ad doesn't in fact own the shoes, but rather is asking people to forcibly steal shoes from a baby wearing them.
*"For Sale: Weird baby's toe shoes: This might be a reference to [[1065: Shoes]], where shoes with toes were considered "creepy".
*"For Sale: Baby shoes / Prime eligible": This is a reference to Amazon, which offers Prime as a paid service to expedite shipping of items ordered on its website.
*"This weird trick covers baby feet!": This is modeled after common 'click bait' wording designed to get users to visit web pages, typically using words such as "This weird trick" or "secrets they don't want you to know" to artificially increase its apparent appeal.
*"For Sale: Baby shoes, just hatched": This plays on the meaning of the phrase "baby shoes", reframing it to mean a newly-born shoe (similar to "baby bird"), rather than its typical meaning of shoes designed for babies.
*"Sale: Seven-league boots (expedited shipping)": {{w|Seven-league boots}} are mythical boots that allow their user to move seven leagues (about 25 miles) per step. The "expedited shipping" part suggests that the boots will be shipped to the customer on the feet of a walking person, thus allowing the boots to be shipped much faster than if by airplane (except, of course, if the boots had to be shipped overseas).
*"Complete this survey for free shoes": This is another reference to common internet marketing campaigns, where users are incentivized to take surveys in exchange for small compensation such as free samples or coupons.
*"''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [Citation needed]": This is a reference to Wikipedia. "Citation needed" is used to mark claims that require additional evidence to justify as true. In this case, Randal is using this to question whether the short story was really written by Hemingway.
*"This is my greatest short story": This is a completely different style that could also have been used to write a short story in six words. Rather than telling a story about shoes, this is more "meta" by referencing itself and being a self-fulfilling (or self-defeating) prophecy. (The sequel was titled "Don't bother reading my other stories").
*"For Sale: Baby shoes (-1) [Cursed]": This is written like a description of a virtual item typically found in Roguelike games or MMOs. "-1" and "Cursed" are attributes of the item, which usually produce negative consequences that reduce its wearer's stats or abilities.
*"<Blink><Marquee>Baby shoes!</Marquee></Blink>": This is reminiscent of the style of HTML widely used in the 1990s. Both the <Blink> and <Marquee> tags make the text content ("Baby shoes!") appear more prominent and attention-grabbing. The normally invisible-and-rendered tag elements can be seen and are part of the six words count. This could have been due to 'sanitising' of uploaded text where HTML tags (other than any that are specifically allowed, like it appears Strikethrough formatting might be) are deliberately deactivated by the server. An interesting note: When this comic was first posted to xkcd.com, the '/' in the </Blink> tag was missing. This was fixed between the 19th and 20th of June, 2015, showing that this was, indeed, unintentional.
*"For Sale: Baby-sized saddle, bobcat": This is a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'.
*"Hemingway busted for Craigslist shoe scam": This is written like a news headline where Hemingway supposedly wrote about shoes in order to perpetrate a scam. {{w|Craigslist}} is a website where users can advertise and seek goods and services.

The title text continues the reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]], but inverts the situation. Rather than unexpectedly receiving a bobcat by package, this time the package contains a regular item instead of the expected bobcat.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above comic]
:Hemingway's Rough Drafts

:[A list of rough draft stories]
:For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes
:Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner
:<strike>Actually, There's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>
:Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby
:For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes
:For Sale: Baby Shoes ✓ Prime eligible
:<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>
:This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!
:For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched
:Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)
:Complete this survey for free shoes!
:''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [citation needed]
:This is my greatest short story.
:For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]
:<blink><marquee>Baby Shoes!</marquee><blink>
:For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat
:Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics|Color]]

1540: Hemingway

2015-06-20T11:35:06Z

Dialmove: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1540
| date = June 19, 2015
| title = Hemingway
| image = hemingway.png
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Finished with Edit Conflict assimilation, but prior author(s) invited to rejig}}

This comic is a reference to the six-word short story ''{{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}'', which has been commonly attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}; however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and for these examples uses various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time. In keeping with the original, each example remains six words long. The title text obeys this rule, too.

In short: It is urban legend that Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and allegedly called it his best work.

The various drafts offered in the comic are:
*"For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes": This suggests the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes. This pokes fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. With the original (For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn), readers could infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other, more absurd things instead.
*"Baby shoes for sale by owner": This suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes, or that someone is selling an old pair of shoes they had as a baby.
*"Free shoes, provided you overpower baby": This suggests the person posting the ad doesn't in fact own the shoes, but rather is asking people to forcibly steal shoes from a baby wearing them.
*"For Sale: Weird baby's toe shoes: This might be a reference to [[1065: Shoes]], where shoes with toes were considered "creepy".
*"For Sale: Baby shoes / Prime eligible": This is a reference to Amazon, which offers Prime as a paid service to expedite shipping of items ordered on its website.
*"This weird trick covers baby feet!": This is modeled after common 'click bait' wording designed to get users to visit web pages, typically using words such as "This weird trick" or "secrets they don't want you to know" to artificially increase its apparent appeal.
*"For Sale: Baby shoes, just hatched": This plays on the meaning of the phrase "baby shoes", reframing it to mean a newly-born shoe (similar to "baby bird"), rather than its typical meaning of shoes designed for babies.
*"Sale: Seven-league boots (expedited shipping)": {{w|Seven-league boots}} are mythical boots that allow their user to move seven leagues (about 25 miles) per step. The "expedited shipping" part suggests that the boots will be shipped to the customer on the feet of a walking person, thus allowing the boots to be shipped much faster than if by airplane (except, of course, if the boots had to be shipped overseas).
*"Complete this survey for free shoes": This is another reference to common internet marketing campaigns, where users are incentivized to take surveys in exchange for small compensation such as free samples or coupons.
*"''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [Citation needed]": This is a reference to Wikipedia. "Citation needed" is used to mark claims that require additional evidence to justify as true. In this case, Randal is using this to question whether the short story was really written by Hemingway.
*"This is my greatest short story": This is a completely different style that could also have been used to write a short story in six words. Rather than telling a story about shoes, this is more "meta" by referencing itself and being a self-fulfilling (or self-defeating) prophecy. (The sequel was titled "Don't read my other short stories").
*"For Sale: Baby shoes (-1) [Cursed]": This is written like a description of a virtual item typically found in Roguelike games or MMOs. "-1" and "Cursed" are attributes of the item, which usually produce negative consequences that reduce its wearer's stats or abilities.
*"<Blink><Marquee>Baby shoes!</Marquee></Blink>": This is reminiscent of the style of HTML widely used in the 1990s. Both the <Blink> and <Marquee> tags make the text content ("Baby shoes!") appear more prominent and attention-grabbing. The normally invisible-and-rendered tag elements can be seen and are part of the six words count. This could have been due to 'sanitising' of uploaded text where HTML tags (other than any that are specifically allowed, like it appears Strikethrough formatting might be) are deliberately deactivated by the server. An interesting note: When this comic was first posted to xkcd.com, the '/' in the </Blink> tag was missing. This was fixed between the 19th and 20th of June, 2015, showing that this was, indeed, unintentional.
*"For Sale: Baby-sized saddle, bobcat": This is a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'.
*"Hemingway busted for Craigslist shoe scam": This is written like a news headline where Hemingway supposedly wrote about shoes in order to perpetrate a scam. {{w|Craigslist}} is a website where users can advertise and seek goods and services.

The title text continues the reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]], but inverts the situation. Rather than unexpectedly receiving a bobcat by package, this time the package contains a regular item instead of the expected bobcat.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above comic]
:Hemingway's Rough Drafts

:[A list of rough draft stories]
:For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes
:Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner
:<strike>Actually, There's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>
:Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby
:For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes
:For Sale: Baby Shoes ✓ Prime eligible
:<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>
:This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!
:For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched
:Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)
:Complete this survey for free shoes!
:''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [citation needed]
:This is my greatest short story.
:For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]
:<blink><marquee>Baby Shoes!</marquee><blink>
:For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat
:Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics|Color]]

1520: Degree-Off

2015-05-04T06:51:36Z

Dialmove:

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Unfinished}}

Cueball and two girls appear to be on a game show called Degree-Off, where representatives of different fields, in this case, physics, biology, and chemistry, explain why their fields are best. The host asks Physics to go first. He lightheartedly tells a story about Richard Feynman, finishing with a quote. Biology goes next, showing that through their efforts, biology has helped reduce disease. She accuses physics of creating a new weapon of destruction (likely referring to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project Manhattan Project]), insisting that biologists are the true heroes. Physics is taken aback, having believed it would be a fun activity, which Biology refutes, saying he must have been thinking of Stamp Collecting, which was mentioned in the earlier quote. Chemistry does not speak during the comic.

==Transcript==
:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...

:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball: Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T18:18:01Z

Dialmove: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
In the {{w|Pokémon}} franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). When Trainers do battle, the anime's dub has immersed the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory, which is accompanied by throwing the ball containing the selected Pokémon to the ground, which releases the Pokémon at full size.

In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}}, which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stands Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps. Each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. (The name "induction" comes from logic and discrete mathematics, and is thus unrelated to physical phenomenon; but the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon is most likely a word play connecting the two ideas).

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. Since, as title text notes, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T18:15:46Z

Dialmove: Explaining "induction"

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
In the {{w|Pokémon}} franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). When Trainers do battle, the anime's dub has immersed the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory, which is accompanied by throwing the ball containing the selected Pokémon to the ground, which releases the Pokémon at full size.

In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}}, which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stands Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps. Each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. (The name "induction" comes from logic and discreet mathematics, and is thus unrelated to physical phenomenon; but the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon is most likely a word play connecting the two ideas).

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. Since, as title text notes, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]