explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2003: Presidential Succession

2018-06-06T12:00:53Z

Framingmarc: Added 2 Astrronauts to the list

{{comic
| number = 2003
| date = June 6, 2018
| title = Presidential Succession
| image = presidential_succession.png
| titletext = Ties are broken by whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|United States presidential line of succession}} is the order of people who serve as president if the current incumbent President is incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

The {{w|Presidential_Succession_Act#Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1947|Presidential Succession Act of 1947}} was an act by the U.S. Congress that revised the presidential order of succession to its current order. This act, though never challenged in the courts, may not be constitutional for two reasons. First, it is unclear whether members of Congress can be designated in the line of succession. Secondly, the act allows for a cabinet officer to be "replaced" as acting President by a new Speaker of the House or a new President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

The full text of the Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission can be found here: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06_continuity_of_government.pdf

The first 6 members of Randall's list are included in the current line of succession. After the top 6, his list ranges from politicians, to actors who have played Presidents, to athletes.

Randall's list omits the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as well as many other cabinet positions. Perhaps he does not find those people qualified to become President of the United States, or is concerned about the constitutionality of lawmakers becoming President.

This is another comic in the continuing line of comics about American politics, especially after the election of Donald Trump as President in 2016.

==Order of succession==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!#
!Randall's order
!Current order by the 1947 Act
!Notes
|-
|1
|President
|President
|Not generally considered part of the line of succession, as incumbents cannot "succeed" to their own post.
|-
|2
| Vice president
| Vice president
|
|-
|3
|Secretary of State
|Speaker of the House of Representatives
|
|-
|4
|Secretary of Defense
|President pro tempore of the Senate
|
|-
|5
|Secretary of Homeland Security
|Secretary of State
|
|-
|6
|Attorney General
|Secretary of the Treasury
|
|-
|7
|Five people who do not live in Washington DC, nominated at the start of the President's term and confirmed by the Senate
|Secretary of Defense
|{{w|Washington, D.C.}} is the capital of the United States, and is where the {{w|White House}}, the President's residence, is located. Presumably this provision covers the case where much of the government, including positions 1–6 here, are killed by a natural disaster or attack in Washington, D.C.

It is unclear if these 5 people have to have any qualifications whatsoever.
|-
|8
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Attorney General
|Academy Award-winning American actor
|-
|9
|State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census
|Secretary of the Interior
|At the time of publishing, the last {{w|United States Census}} was the 2010 Census. {{w|2010_United_States_Census#State_rankings|Link}} to state populations.
|-
|10
|Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor
|Secretary of Agriculture
|Oscars, or {{w|Academy Awards}}, are annual film awards awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
|-
|11
|Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar
|Secretary of Commerce
|The {{w|Governors Awards}} are an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present lifetime achievement awards within the film industry. As this award is a lifetime achievement award, it does not seem possible that an actor could win this award for simply playing someone named Oscar.
|-
|12
|{{w|Kate McKinnon}}, if available
|Secretary of Labor
|Comedic actress famous for being a cast member on {{w|Saturday Night Live}}. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions.
|-
|13
|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)
|Secretary of Health and Human Services
|The {{w|Billboard Hot 100}} is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine.
|-
|14
|The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time
|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
|The top 5 US astronauts with the most space time are: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Kelly_(astronaut) Scott Kelly] (879 total days), [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Whitson Peggy Whitson] (665), [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_L%C3%B3pez-Alegr%C3%ADa Michael López-Alegría] (215)
|-
|15
|{{w|Serena Williams}} (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)
|Secretary of Transportation
|As of the time of publishing, Serena Williams was the top female tennis player (though not the world #1 ranking, because she took time off for pregnancy). She is arguably the greatest female tennis player of all-time, winning 39 {{w|Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam}} titles, including 23 women's singles titles.

If her most recent defeat was to a non-US player, it is unclear whether that person would still qualify for President.
|-
|16
|The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs
|Secretary of Energy
|MVP stands for {{w|Most Valuable Player}}. The 4 listed leagues are the major sports leagues in the United States, the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA), the {{w|National Football League}} (NFL), {{w|Major League Baseball}} (MLB), and the {{w|National Hockey League}} (NHL).

As of the time of publishing, the most recent MVPs for the listed sports are {{w|Russell Westbrook}} (NBA), {{w|Tom Brady}} (NFL), {{w|José Altuve}} and {{w|Giancarlo Stanton}} (MLB has two, one for the American League and one for the National League), and {{w|Connor McDavid}} (NHL).
|-
|17
|{{w|Bill Pullman}} and his descendants by absolute primogeniture
|Secretary of Education
|American actor, known for playing President Thomas J. Whitmore in the 1996 film ''{{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day}}''.

Absolute primogeniture is a form of succession where the oldest direct descendant receives the title. This is contrasted to {{w|Male-preference primogeniture}}, in which males come before females in the order of the throne, whether the males were born first or not. This may be a reference to the British law {{w|Succession to the Crown Act 2013}}, which changed the order of the throne from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This act allows {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge|Princess Charlotte}} to retain her place in line before {{w|Prince Louis of Cambridge|Prince Louis}}.
|-
|18
|The entire line of succession to the British throne
|Secretary of Veterans Affairs
|Unsure if this is constitutional, or what the Founding Fathers would have wanted (a Brit sitting as U.S. President!). The first 57 names on the list are {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne#Current_line_of_succession|here}}, as of the time of publishing. [https://lineofsuccession.co.uk/?date=2018-06-06 British Line of Succession on 6 June 2018] shows the list as it was at the comic's publication. In theory this entry includes several thousand people.
|-
|19
|The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest
|Secretary of Homeland Security
|The {{w|Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest}} is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition sponsored by {{w|Nathan's Famous}} held on July 4th. As of the time of publishing, the most recent men's winner is {{w|Joey Chestnut}} and the women's winner is {{w|Miki Sudo}}.
|-
|20
|All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament
|''None''
|Effective for a population up to 536,870,912 individuals (2^29), although additional rounds can be added should the population grow further.
|}

The title text mentions whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born. {{w|Europa}} is a moon of Jupiter, so most people would be very far from its surface when they were born. Alternatively, Randall could be playing on how Europa sounds like Europe.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
: A proposal for a new presidential line of succession
: Current politics aside, most experts agree the existing process is flawed. The presidential succession act of 1947 is probably unconstitutional on several counts, and there are many practical issues with the system as well.
: (for more, see the surprisingly gripping [https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-continuity-of-the-presidency-the-second-report-of-the-continuity-of-government-commission/ ''Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission'', June 2009]).
: Proposed line of succession:
:# President
:# Vice president
:# Secretary of State
:# Secretary of Defense
:# Secretary of Homeland Security
:# Attorney General
:# Five people who do not live in Washington DC, Nominated at the start of the president's term and confirmed by the Senate
:# Tom Hanks
:# State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census
:# Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor
:# Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar
:# Kate McKinnon, if available
:# Billboard year-end hot 100 singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)
:# The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time
:# Serena Williams (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)
:# The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs
:# Bull Pullman and his descendants by absolute primogeniture
:# The entire line of succession to the British throne
:# The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest
:# All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament.

: Title text: Ties are broken by whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born.

{{comic discussion}}

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-26T15:35:07Z

Framingmarc:

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ANGRY AUTOGYRO MAKER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro autogyro], this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.154|162.158.202.154]] 14:01, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it.]

:[Clockwise from top left:]
:* Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:* Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely [Arrow pointing to it]
:* Can often be flown without a license
:* Cheap
:* Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:* Can land vertically
:* Cannot hover
:* Never stalls
:* Extremely safe, unless you do the ''one'' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.
:* Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:* Sort of like a powered parachute
:* Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Autogyros are ''weird''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1695: Code Quality 2

2016-06-17T15:41:57Z

Framingmarc: Fix links

{{comic
| number = 1695
| date = June 17, 2016
| title = Code Quality 2
| image = code_quality_2.png
| titletext = It's like you tried to define a formal grammar based on fragments of a raw database dump from the QuickBooks file of a company that's about to collapse in an accounting scandal.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|first edits}}

The comic is a continuation of [[1513: Code Quality]], in which we see [[Ponytail]] being introduced to the {{w|source code}} [[Cueball]] has written, and where he is warning her that he is self-taught so his code probably won't be written the way she is used to.
She then continues to describe poetically the total mess of a code she encounters, using references to recipes created by corporate lawyers or the transcript of a couple arguing at IKEA.

The second panel makes a reference to "OCR" ({{w|Optical Character Recognition}}), a technique for recognizing text in a picture using software. In this case she is referring to a picture of a {{w|Scrabble}} game, which is a popular word-making game in which players have a pseudo-randomized set of letters and must arrange them on a grid to form interlocking words. OCR software is notoriously imperfect at the time of writing, and the criss-crossing semi-random words on a Scrabble board fed through an OCR program would likely produce dubious results, certainly not fit for current code standards. This is further compounded by Ponytail's suggestion that Cueball made rampant use of JavaScript reserved words in his declarations, which is [http://www.javascripter.net/faq/reserved.htm strictly forbidden] by the language. Scrabble's point system is based on the value of individual letters, combined with certain modifier squares on the game board which can boost points. "Triple points" is the highest class of modifier available in the game (though it can be for triple points on a specific letter, or the entire word) and is highly-sought-after by players.

The third panel continues Ponytail's rant, this time referencing naval weather forecasts, avian interference and indentation. A weather forecast is a complex, multidimensional array of data used in predicting or assessing the atmospheric conditions of a geographical area over a set time. One such example of a "naval weather forecast" [https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/wxmap_cgi/cgi-bin/wxmap_DOD_area.cgi?area=efs_nvg_nlant&set=EFS may be this one], which would generally be unreadable to an untrained individual. Transcribing it would be a long and typing-intensive process which could result in an even more unreadable product, further complicated by a {{w|woodpecker}} (a bird noted for its rapid successive pecking motions) "hammering" (pecking) the Shift key on the keyboard, which would result in many letters being randomly capitalized. Indentation is the practice of shifting a section of text further from the starting margin, which in coding is typically used to organize functions and statements, but if done "randomly" would only serve to scramble the code hierarchy.

The fourth panel references famous poet {{w|E. E. Cummings}} and user name suggestions. E. E. Cummings was noted for his "unusual" style of poetry which combined words and phrases in ways that were a-typical for English speech, resulting in constructs that might easily confuse someone who doesn't natively speak the language. Websites that offer membership often also require that users create a pseudonym (known as a "username") for use in tracking/authenticating their actions on the site, as well as identifying them to the site's community. Many of these sites also require usernames be unique. On popular sites, many common words, phrases and names have already been reserved by users, so when signing up for them many people run into situations where the name they want has already been taken. On many sites where this happens, the site may suggest alternate usernames, usually based on the one that was entered to begin with. For example, if the username "Hedgeclipper" is already reserved, the site may recommend "Hedgeclipper1234" or "H3dg3clipp3r" instead, depending on the algorithm behind the suggestions. An E. E. Cummings poem written entirely out of these semi-random suggestions would make the resulting poem even more "unusual" than his work is already considered.

The last panel's metaphor involves {{w|Markov chaining}}, {{w|Chatterbot|chat-bots}} (presumably), bus schedules and potential [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Air-India-plane-unfit-to-fly-may-be-scrapped-after-bus-crash/articleshow/50307194.cms gross vehicular negligence]. Applied Markov chaining is a process used in many computer algorithms that try to simulate real-world concepts such as speech simulation and decisions-making. It's inherent randomness also makes it a candidate for unpredictable things such as stock market analysis and speech recognition. Bus schedules are [http://elb-jpinstances-1463028547.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/ccg3/XSLT_STT_REQUEST?mode=direct&line=ccg:01065:%20:H:y15&sessionID=0&requestID=0&itdLPxx_template=tableResults&type_stt=any&language=en&coordOutputFormat=WGS84%5Bdd.ddddd%5D&outputFormat=0&name_stt=10111816&contentFilter=allstops often complicated and full of notation], and are notorious for confusing people who are not used to reading them. Chat-bots using applied Markov chains to recognize and respond to speech/text rely on the input being clear and well-organized in plain language. "Feeding" bus schedules to such a bot would likely result in the returns being complete gibberish and unreadable. The issue is further complicated when Ponytail suggests that the schedules are from a city where "the [http://www.heapsoffun.com/pictures/20120106/funny_bus_crash_1002.jpg buses] [http://data.whicdn.com/images/45882595/original.jpg crash] [http://blog.taxiforsure.com/wp-content/uploads/indian-traffic-bus.jpg constantly]", which would be horrifying if it happened so [http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/842/unexplainable.jpg regularly] that the schedules actually took [http://baddogneedsrottenhome.com/images/emails/527927c6cbfff.jpg crashes] into account. Even more horrifying would be the further unpredictability of the output of the chat-bot from such unpredictable input.

Cueball finally comments that "...it runs fine for now" which indicates he knows the code has problems but it reluctant to fix them because it's more-or-less serving its function. Ponytail quips back that "So does a [http://scarboroughwhat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bitch-im-a-burning-bus.jpg burning bus]", which is technically true, but the "for now" part implies that disaster and injury could result at any moment, as would likely happen on a burning bus.

==Transcript==
Side view of Ponytail sitting at a computer in all five panels.

First panel, tall vertical. 
Ponytail: Ugh, I hate reading your code. 
Offscreen: I know, I know.

Second panel is wider, shows her in an office chair. 
Ponytail: It's like you ran OCR on a photo of a Scrabble board from a game where Javascript reserved words counted for triple points. 

Third panel zooms in and shows just her head. 
Ponytail: It looks like someone transcribed a naval weather forecast while woodpeckers hammered their shift keys, then randomly indented it. 

Fourth panel, similar to second, though slightly narrower. 
Ponytail: It's like an e e cummings poem written using only the usernames a website suggests when the one you want is taken. 

Fifth panel zooms in, shows her head and the screen. 
Ponytail: This looks like the output of a Markov bot that's been fed bus timetables from a city where the buses crash constantly. 
Offscreen: Whatever, it runs fine for now. 
Ponytail: So does a burning bus.

{{comic discussion}}