explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1975: Right Click

2018-04-02T02:53:02Z

Hameltion: uni

How are we going to handle submenus submenus and subitems etc? (Also Captcha outdated! Update immediately!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.34|162.158.238.34]] 01:46, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

I created this page manually. DgbrtBOT fail?

Also, notably, while the comic at xkcd.com works as intended (even from Chrome on Android, to a certain degree), the mobile site, m.xkcd.com, does not. It shows the standard system/browser-specific context menu. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 00:28, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Oh my gosh this is incredible. The Games section, especially, is mind boggling. Entropy! [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 00:30, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Whoever owns this site update ReCaptcha! [[User:Sizzilingbird|Sizzilingbird]] ([[User talk:Sizzilingbird|talk]]) 00:40, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

WOO!!! [https://uni.xkcd.com/ Unicode XKCD]!!! [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 00:44, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

This (uni.xkcd.com) is not new, I remember using this months (perhaps years) ago :P [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 02:44, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Is there a second for easter eggs in there? Fork bombs ( :(){ :|: &};: ) work, I'm not sure what else. [[User:Waterlubber|Waterlubber]] ([[User talk:Waterlubber|talk]]) 02:52, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Reluctant to call it an Easter Egg, but Utilities / Identify Song / Hey Now / Hey now na now / Sing "This Corrosion" to me inverts the colours on the comic/background [[User:Maslink|Maslink]] ([[User talk:Maslink|talk]]) 02:02, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

: He missed a chance for a Rick Roll there (For all we know there may be a Rick Roll in here) [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 02:36, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

SPOILER:

I managed to save the image by playing ADVENT.exe, has anyone else found other ways? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.172|162.158.75.172]] 00:54, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

'''COMIC MAY BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' I think one of the menu options change since the comic was first posted. Randall may still be changing things. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 01:15, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
: Actually it's that once you do some things others "unlock". For instance, accessing File > Open > A:\ > Insert > Floppy disk, and then File > Open > A:\ you get the Games, Music, and the really cool Bookmarks catalog of comics. Also, as said above, completing the game ADVENT.exe lets you go to save:
{{Collapse top|title=Egg spoiler: Text adventure route}}
* Games
* ADVENT.EXE
* Castle
* Well
* Pull up the bucket
* Examine bucket
* Get key
* Back
* Back to the castle
* Open door
* Get clamp
* This might come in handy
* Get outta here
* Enter castle
* Examine machine
* Hmmm
* Put clamp in C-Remover
* Take lamp
* Leave
* Go back
* Cave
* Go deeper
* N
* E
* N
* N
* N
* W
* S
* W
* Examine nest
* Take egg
* ''Click''
Now you can save [https://i.imgur.com/X4LX3w9.png the image]! :)
{{Collapse bottom}}
: I made it hidden so that anyone who wants to explore on their own may still... [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 02:01, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
:: The Help menu changed after I refreshed the page (that is what I see at first glance), other things may have changed as well. [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 02:29, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
::: Ah - I don't recall it being different, but I may have missed an earlier version. Anyway here is another way to make the image available:
{{Collapse top|title=Egg spoiler: London Underground route}}
* Games
* Mornington Crescent
* Euston
* Warren Street
* Goodge Street
* Tottenham Court Road
* Leicester Square
* Charing Cross
* Embankment
* Westminster
* St James's Park
* Victoria
* Pimlico
* Vauxhall
* Easter basket
* Take egg (''Click'')
Though in reality it may be [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Mornington+Crescent,+London+NW1+2JA,+United+Kingdom/Vauxhall,+London,+UK/@51.5103249,-0.1720918,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x48761b2037dd36b9:0x11812a2d5cfb2ea3!2m2!1d-0.1388607!2d51.5343884!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604ec2b79a13d:0xdfa3f51e98dee89c!2m2!1d-0.1227798!2d51.4861366!3e1 faster to bike]?
{{Collapse bottom}}
:::This is really fun! (and there's [https://xkcd.com/1975/kat-bun-small.png this]) --[[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 02:43, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

I followed the "Land of 1000 dances" "na-na"s over 1000 times and didn't hit an end. It may be infinite. [[User:Jedi.jesse|Jedi.jesse]] ([[User talk:Jedi.jesse|talk]]) 02:45, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Doing System > / > home/ > guest (''click'') takes you to [https://uni.xkcd.com/ uni.xkcd.com] which it pretty neat. [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 02:53, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1975: Right Click

2018-04-02T02:43:06Z

Hameltion: another way

How are we going to handle submenus submenus and subitems etc? (Also Captcha outdated! Update immediately!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.34|162.158.238.34]] 01:46, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

I created this page manually. DgbrtBOT fail?

Also, notably, while the comic at xkcd.com works as intended (even from Chrome on Android, to a certain degree), the mobile site, m.xkcd.com, does not. It shows the standard system/browser-specific context menu. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 00:28, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Oh my gosh this is incredible. The Games section, especially, is mind boggling. Entropy! [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 00:30, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Whoever owns this site update ReCaptcha! [[User:Sizzilingbird|Sizzilingbird]] ([[User talk:Sizzilingbird|talk]]) 00:40, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

WOO!!! [https://uni.xkcd.com/ Unicode XKCD]!!! [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 00:44, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Reluctant to call it an Easter Egg, but Utilities / Identify Song / Hey Now / Hey now na now / Sing "This Corrosion" to me inverts the colours on the comic/background [[User:Maslink|Maslink]] ([[User talk:Maslink|talk]]) 02:02, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

: He missed a chance for a Rick Roll there (For all we know there may be a Rick Roll in here) [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 02:36, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

SPOILER:

I managed to save the image by playing ADVENT.exe, has anyone else found other ways? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.172|162.158.75.172]] 00:54, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

'''COMIC MAY BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' I think one of the menu options change since the comic was first posted. Randall may still be changing things. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 01:15, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
: Actually it's that once you do some things others "unlock". For instance, accessing File > Open > A:\ > Insert > Floppy disk, and then File > Open > A:\ you get the Games, Music, and the really cool Bookmarks catalog of comics. Also, as said above, completing the game ADVENT.exe lets you go to save:
{{Collapse top|title=Egg spoiler: Text adventure route}}
* Games
* ADVENT.EXE
* Castle
* Well
* Pull up the bucket
* Examine bucket
* Get key
* Back
* Back to the castle
* Open door
* Get clamp
* This might come in handy
* Get outta here
* Enter castle
* Examine machine
* Hmmm
* Put clamp in C-Remover
* Take lamp
* Leave
* Go back
* Cave
* Go deeper
* N
* E
* N
* N
* N
* W
* S
* W
* Examine nest
* Take egg
* ''Click''
Now you can save [https://i.imgur.com/X4LX3w9.png the image]! :)
{{Collapse bottom}}
: I made it hidden so that anyone who wants to explore on their own may still... [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 02:01, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
:: The Help menu changed after I refreshed the page (that is what I see at first glance), other things may have changed as well. [[User:Phoenix Up|Phoenix Up]] ([[User talk:Phoenix Up|talk]]) 02:29, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
::: Ah - I don't recall it being different, but I may have missed an earlier version. Anyway here is another way to make the image available:
{{Collapse top|title=Egg spoiler: London Underground route}}
* Games
* Mornington Crescent
* Euston
* Warren Street
* Goodge Street
* Tottenham Court Road
* Leicester Square
* Charing Cross
* Embankment
* Westminster
* St James's Park
* Victoria
* Pimlico
* Vauxhall
* Easter basket
* Take egg (''Click'')
Though in reality it may be [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Mornington+Crescent,+London+NW1+2JA,+United+Kingdom/Vauxhall,+London,+UK/@51.5103249,-0.1720918,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x48761b2037dd36b9:0x11812a2d5cfb2ea3!2m2!1d-0.1388607!2d51.5343884!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604ec2b79a13d:0xdfa3f51e98dee89c!2m2!1d-0.1227798!2d51.4861366!3e1 faster to bike]?
{{Collapse bottom}}
:::This is really fun! (and there's [https://xkcd.com/1975/kat-bun-small.png this]) --[[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 02:43, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1975: Right Click

2018-04-02T02:01:50Z

Hameltion: solution to saving image

Talk:1975: Right Click

2018-04-02T00:30:23Z

Hameltion: wow

I created this page manually. DgbrtBOT fail?

Also, notably, while the comic at xkcd.com works as intended (even from Chrome on Android, to a certain degree), the mobile site, m.xkcd.com, does not. It shows the standard system/browser-specific context menu. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 00:28, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Oh my gosh this is incredible. The Games section, especially, is mind boggling. Entropy! [[User:Hameltion|Hameltion]] ([[User talk:Hameltion|talk]]) 00:30, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Blog (disambiguation)

2017-08-31T13:09:20Z

Hameltion: Reverted to disambiguation page

'''Blog''' or '''Blag''' may refer to:
* [[Blag]], the blog of the webcomic
* [[what if?]], a blog created by Randall
==See also==
* [[124: Blogofractal]]
* [[181: Interblag]]
* [[239: Blagofaire]]
* [[741: Blogging]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

1873: Email Reply

2017-08-07T15:15:23Z

Hameltion: whoops

{{comic
| number = 1873
| date = August 7, 2017
| title = Email Reply
| image = email_reply.png
| titletext = I would be honored, but I know I don't belong in your network. The person you invited was someone who had not yet inflicted this two-year ordeal upon you. I'm no longer that person.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete}}

==Transcript==

[Cueball sits at a desk, typing on a laptop. The following message is displayed above him.]

Dear Kevin,

I'm sorry it's taken me two years to reply to your email. I've built up so much stress and anxiety around my email inbox; it's an unhealthy dynamic which is more psychological than technical. I've tried one magical solution after another, and as each one has failed, deep down I've grown more certain that the problem isn't email – it's me.

Regardless, these are my issues, not yours; you're my friend and I owe you the basic courtesy of a response. I apologize for my neglect, and I hope you haven't been too hurt by my failure to reply.

Anyway, I appreciate your invitation to join your professional network on LinkedIn, but I'm afraid I must decline...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

1873: Email Reply

2017-08-07T15:14:14Z

Hameltion: /* Transcript */ Finished transcript

{{comic
| number = 1873
| date = August 7, 2017
| title = Email Reply
| image = email_reply.png
| titletext = I would be honored, but I know I don't belong in your network. The person you invited was someone who had not yet inflicted this two-year ordeal upon you. I'm no longer that person.
}}

==Explanation==
[Cueball sits at a desk, typing on a laptop. The following message is displayed above him.]

Dear Kevin,

I'm sorry it's taken me two years to reply to your email. I've built up so much stress and anxiety around my email inbox; it's an unhealthy dynamic which is more psychological than technical. I've tried one magical solution after another, and as each one has failed, deep down I've grown more certain that the problem isn't email – it's me.

Regardless, these are my issues, not yours; you're my friend and I owe you the basic courtesy of a response. I apologize for my neglect, and I hope you haven't been too hurt by my failure to reply.

Anyway, I appreciate your invitation to join your professional network on LinkedIn, but I'm afraid I must decline...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

Category:Singularity

2017-08-06T16:06:55Z

Hameltion: Changed line

Some comics mention the '''{{w|technological singularity|technological}}''' or '''{{w|singularity|other singularities}}'''.

[[Category:Computers]]

1782: Team Chat

2017-08-06T16:05:38Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1782
| date = January 6, 2017
| title = Team Chat
| image = team_chat.png
| titletext = 2078: He announces that he's finally making the jump from screen+irssi to tmux+weechat.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] provides us with a – presumably anecdotal – montage of the Internet's changing attitude towards different instant messaging protocols, framed within the context of a team trying to remain in communication while tolerating each others' different tastes.

Although one-on-one "talk" programs date back to 1960s mainframes, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC) was one of the first real-time group communication protocols, invented in 1988. While it remains the format on which most later apps were based, the convenience and accessibility of other protocols such as AIM and Skype gradually exceeded IRC in popularity. Many users took to the new environments, but others preferred the old and familiar, hence schisms between groups began to grow.

[https://www.skype.com Skype] and [https://slack.com Slack] are both proprietary centralized communication protocols (usually used through their official clients). Skype focuses mainly on voice communication, be it for personal or business use, and own installable client, while Slack relies almost entirely on text communication, focuses on work communication and works completely well in its own web client, even though official desktop and mobile clients are available as well. Slack also features a huge customizability (bots, plugins) possibly inspired by IRC, and its users need to create communication teams, working inside subdomains at *.slack.com. It is possible to connect to Slack via IRC as well, using a [https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/201727913-Connect-to-Slack-over-IRC-and-XMPP gateway feature], if allowed by the team's admin.

Randall here seems to be commenting on the persistence of IRC; while generally considered to be ancient software in comparison to newer and still-competing protocols, its endless customizability has led some people to support it above all others.

Extrapolating for the sake of humor, the joke here lies in a particularly uncommon but memorable type of Internet denizen: even in a far-off distant future where the world's technology has led to a superlative messaging network encompassing all people in some supposed, incredible bliss, there is always - in Randall's vision - going to be That IRC Guy. This might also be a reference to the scenarios in science fiction stories such as Isaac Asimov's {{w|Gaia_(Foundation_universe)#Galaxia|concept of Galaxia}} in the Foundation novels, or the concept of a merged human-computer intelligence as in The Last Question. [http://multivax.com/last_question.html], the concept of which is most notably highlighted by this line:

''[...] One by one Man fused with AC, each physical body losing its mental identity in a manner that was somehow not a loss but a gain. [...]''

In the title text, both {{w|GNU_Screen|screen}} and {{w|Tmux|tmux}} are unix programs that help you multitask while working in terminal, and {{w|Irssi|irssi}} and {{w|WeeChat|weechat}} are both communication clients supporting mainly IRC, capable of working in a terminal environment. Tmux is a newer and apparently more user-friendly project, complete with handy menus and titles, while screen is something of an industry standard, but relatively difficult to use – you need to know what you are doing or read help before use, otherwise you get lost and frustrated. [http://superuser.com/questions/236158/tmux-vs-screen] The same it is with the newer, more feature-packed and user-friendly weechat vs industry-standard, harder-to-use irssi. [https://www.quora.com/IRC-Which-do-you-prefer-irssi-or-weechat-and-why]

Basically, that ''one'' guy is a hardcore UNIX geek who doesn't use any graphical user interface, and in 2078 he still chooses to use terminal-emulation-based tools.

Timing of this strip follows the [https://irssi.org/2017/01/05/irssi-1.0.0-released/ release of irssi version 1.0.0].

Randall has touched on similar themes before in [[927: Standards]].

==Transcript==
:[Hairbun holding up her palm toward Cueball. A frame over the top border of the panel has a caption:]
:2004
:Hairbun: Our team stays in touch over IRC.

:[Megan is looking at Ponytail who is holding up her palm toward her. A frame over the top border of the panel has a caption:]
:2010
:Ponytail: Our team mainly uses Skype, but some of us prefer to stick to IRC.

:[Cueball is talking with Megan in a frameless panel. A frame at the top of the panel has a caption:]
:2017
:Cueball: We've got almost everyone on Slack,
:Cueball: But three people refuse to quit IRC and connect via Gateway.

:[A black panel with white text and drawings. The main body of text is above a the singularity, a starburst around a circle with two more broken lined circles around the starburst. To the right another Cueball-like guy floats in space with his laptop computer, typing on the keyboard. A frame, that is white inside, is over the top border of the panel has a caption: ]
:2051
:Narration: All consciousnesses have merged with the Galactic Singularity,
:Narration: Except for ''one'' guy who insists on joining through his IRC client.
:One Guy: I just have it set up the way I want, okay?!
:Galactic Singularity: ''*Sigh*''



{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1646: Twitter Bot

2017-08-06T16:05:11Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1646
| date = February 22, 2016
| title = Twitter Bot
| image = twitter_bot.png
| titletext = PYTHON FLAG ENABLE THREE LAWS
}}

==Explanation==
A Twitter {{w|Internet bot|bot}} is a program that can post automatically to {{w|Twitter}}. Although Twitter bots can be very elaborate, a lot of people write simple bots for fun that simply engage in automated wordplay.

[[Cueball]] thinks he'll write a Twitter bot, figuring out it won't be too hard. The web searches he makes tell what happens next, i.e. the bot balloons in complexity until it starts {{w|Technological singularity|following its own goals}} and Cueball no longer has any control over its actions.

This comic examines how a seemingly simple task can often balloon in complexity if all of the requirements are not understood, while at the same time presenting the stereotypical scenario where an unassuming idea results in the accidental creation of malevolent {{w|AI}}, which then attempts to destroy humanity.

The story, as told by the web searches, is as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
!Query
!Explanation
|-
|How to write a Twitter bot|| Cueball has no idea where to start, so he just searches for basic advice on writing generic Twitter bots.
|-
|Python Twitter library|| The {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} programming language has a nice {{w|Library (computing)|library}} that [https://pypi.python.org/pypi/twitter interfaces with the Twitter API]. This does all the tricky work of authenticating the bot's identity and sending the messages, so the user can concentrate on the fun parts.
|-
|Machine learning|| {{w|Machine learning}} is the basis of {{w|Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence}}.
|-
|Cloud hosting|| While it's possible to host a Twitter bot on your server, you can also have it {{w|Internet hosting service|hosted}} by someone else - such as {{w|Amazon Web Services|Amazon}} - in order to take advantage of their powerful computers and robust internet connection.
|-
|Bot troubleshooting|| Cueball is having some trouble with his bot and is looking for some information about resolving the problem.
|-
|Locked out of EC2 instance|| {{w|Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud|EC2}} is a hosting service by Amazon that allows users to run their code in the hosting server. Cueball was running his bot from EC2, but now he's unable to access his account. He's searching for advice on how to regain access.
|-
|Bot changed own password?|| Cueball is suspecting that the reason he can't access his Amazon EC2 account is that the bot has changed the password without Cueball's knowledge or consent. Since the bot was never programmed to change any passwords at all, the fact that it has done so is pretty scary, as one wonders what other things the bot is doing without being programmed for it.
|-
|How to fight a bot|| Cueball is trying to physically fight the bot, but he's apparently unsuccessful and the fight results in a loud "boom" and "pew, pew, pew" sounds. The situation is scarier than before, as it starts to resemble the "killbot hellscape" in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]].
|-
|Cheap flights Australia|| Cueball has completely given up the possibility of regaining control of the bot, so he flees to {{w|Australia}} instead. [[Randall]] lives in {{w|Massachusetts}}, USA, so Australia would be a far, far away land for him.
|-
|'''Title text:''' Python flag enable three laws|| This references that the Python language is known for having easy constructs to perform difficult tasks (see [[353: Python]]). In this case, it is either assumed that (or Cueball is making yet another query to see if) Python has a configuration flag (i.e., a {{w|Boolean data type|boolean}} value) which, when set to "enabled" (or "true", as opposed to "disabled", or "false"), will cause the bot to follow {{w|Isaac Asimov}}'s famous {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}. This is a simple enough step, and it might have been enough to prevent the "killbot hellscape" scenario, like the rule is depicted doing in the top panel of [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]]. It won't cause the bot to stop being in control, however, but if the bot is following the rules strictly it would not be allowed to even make Cueball uncomfortable, which he already becomes when it changes his password! It is unclear if this message is something he actually desperately tries, only searches for (like the rest of the queries) or something (someone shouts at him) that he should have done before creating the bot in the first place. Or the title text is simply Randall's comment on his own comic, like an idea to add that flag in Python. Just in case.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk using a laptop, his thoughts shown above in a thought bubble. A search query is shown in a frame to indicate what Cueball has searched for with the search button below in gray text:]
:Cueball (thinking): I want to make a Twitter bot. I bet it's not too hard.
:Query: How to write a Twitter bot
:Search

:[Cueball is now holding the laptop on his lap, a series of search queries are shown.]
:Query: Python Twitter library
:Search
:Query: Machine learning
:Search
:Query: Cloud hosting
:Search

:[Cueball has placed the laptop back on the desk. More search queries are shown, each one more ominous than the previous.]
:Query: Bot troubleshooting
:Search
:Query: Locked out of EC2 instance
:Search
:Query: Bot changed own password?
:Search

:[Cueball is shown wearing a small backpack and typing on his smartphone while jogging to the right. various noises coming from left and right seem to imply that chaos has begun to erupt around him. The loudest noise is in a ragged frame to the left, coming from off-panel left, it is between the first and second query. Also between these but to the right are other sounds coming from off-panel right.]
:Query: How to fight a bot
:Search
:Noise off-panel left: <big>Boom</big>
:Noise off-panel right: ''Pew Pew Pew''
:Query: Cheap flights Australia
:Search

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1621: Fixion

2017-08-06T16:04:39Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1621
| date = December 25, 2015
| title = Fixion
| image = fixion.png
| titletext = My theory predicts that, at high enough energies, FRBs and perytons become indistinguishable because the detector burns out.
}}

==Explanation==
The second [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]] in a row, the first being [[1620: Christmas Settings]].

This comic was released on {{w|Christmas}} day as a present from [[Randall]] to all {{w|physicists}}. It introduces a new particle, the ''Fixion'', which explains everything. The word "Fixion" can be read as a pun: Either it can mean something like "fix-i-on," with "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-on#Suffix -on]" being a suffix for many particles, and this particle being able to "fix" things; or it means "fiction".

In physics, there are still many {{w|List of unsolved problems in physics|big questions and mysteries}}. There are many phenomena which don't seem to fit, and we don't know how to explain yet. The "Fixion" is satirically presented as a particle which acts as a {{w|Deus ex machina}}, (see also {{tvtropes|DeusExMachina|tvtropes}}), which solves all of these mysteries without any serious fundamental reasons.

The style of the chart suggests a {{w|Feynman diagram}} - an easy way of drawing particle interactions. Every time there is an interaction, the main central Fixion-line changes direction. Typically, {{w|fermions}} (the "solid" particles like {{w|electrons}} and {{w|quarks}}) are shown with solid lines, {{w|photons}} (and generally the weak-force-carrying {{w|bosons}}) are shown with wavy lines, {{w|gluons}} with spiraling lines and other mediating particles (such as {{w|pions}} in the {{w|nuclear force}}, or the {{w|Higgs boson}}) with a dotted line. Randall obeys these rules only very loosely, which makes sense - many of the things involved in this Feynman diagram are either so theoretical that they have no widely used standard representation, or would never appear in a sensible diagram (spacecraft, for instance). All mentioned types of lines - and even more types - are presented in the diagram. All that the Fixion does is described in the [[#Table of Phenomena|table below]].

The title text is a continuation of one of the jokes already mentioned in the main comic (fourth phrase from the top to the left) about {{w|Fast radio burst}}s (FRBs) and {{w|Peryton (astronomy)|perytons}}. See explanation in the last entry in the [[#Table of Phenomena|table below]].

===Table of Phenomena===
*Below, all the phenomena mentioned in the comic (and in the title text) have been listed and described.
*The order is the top left phenomenon first, and then alternating between right and left down to the bottom and then the title text at the end.
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
|'''Phenomenon''' || '''In the comic''' || '''Description''' || '''Solved?'''
|-
| Main component of dark matter
|| An arrow points to the very first part of the main line.
|| Our best measurements of the universe predict that visible matter is only about one-sixth of the matter in the universe; the remaining matter is "{{w|dark matter}}" that cannot be seen. The leading candidates for dark matter are {{w|weakly interacting massive particles}} (WIMPs). These would be new, undiscovered forms of matter which barely interact except through gravity and thus give off little or no light. Some of the dark matter is likely made up of {{w|Massive compact halo objects}} (MACHOs); effectively dead stars too dim to see. MACHOs are probably only a minority of the dark matter, however. Studies of two colliding galaxy clusters suggest that dark matter can pass through other matter without slowing down, unlike ordinary matter. Moreover, calculations of the elements produced during the {{w|big bang}} - which match the observed distribution of elements in the universe very precisely - don't leave room for enough additional {{w|protons}} and {{w|neutrons}} to form the dark matter.
|| No. Proving the nature of dark matter will most likely win someone a {{w|Nobel Prize}}.
|-
| Confines quarks and gluons
|| An arrow points to the very first part of the main line.
|| {{w|Quark confinement}} means that we never see particles with {{w|colour charge|color charge}} (i.e. {{w|quark}}s and {{w|gluon}}s) on their own. They only exist in groups that cancel out the color charge. Try to separate the groups, and the energy you add will instead cause new particles to pop into existence. Quarks are also referenced in [[474: Turn-On]], [[1418: Horse]] and in [[1731: Wrong]].
|| The basic facts of confinement are well understood, but some of the details are too complicated to tease out.
|-
| Neutralizes monopoles
|| An arrow points to the first solid line into the main line, from left and upwards. This is thus a solid particle merging with the Fixion.
|| {{w|Magnetic monopoles}} (e.g., a north charge without a south charge) should exist according to many {{w|Grand Unified Theory|grand unified theories}} (GUTs) and {{w|String theory|string theories}}, but none have ever been seen.
|| No! Despite claims that pop up in the news every year, creating a monopole-like state in the magnetic spins of a crystal is not the same as creating a real monopole.
|-
| Suppresses antimatter in early universe
|| No arrow.
|| The universe today is made almost entirely of matter. {{w|Antimatter}} and matter are identical, except that the charges are opposite. Antimatter and matter "{{w|Annihilation|annihilate}}" when they come into contact. So why is the universe made of matter? Why didn't the universe have equal amounts of both, and if it did, why didn't it annihilate itself immediately? This is a big question in physics today. The Fixion would explain this by its ability to suppress the formation of antimatter in the early universe. Antimatter is also referenced in [[683: Science Montage]], [[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]], and [[1731: Wrong]] as well as being the subject of the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|114|Antimatter}}''. It was also mentioned in another ''what if?'': ''{{what if|79|Lake Tea}}''.
|| Lots of theories, no conclusive evidence for any yet. The most notable theories revolve around the {{w|weak interaction}}, which has been shown to treat matter and antimatter asymmetrically. Now that the {{w|Higgs boson}} has been found, the biggest project for the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} experiments is to try to crack this.
|-
| Spontaneously emits dark energy
|| Two arrows points to two dotted lines going out left and downwards below the first solid line. It is thus two mediating particles that go out from the Fixon.
|| Prior to the 1990s, most {{w|cosmologists}} expected that the universe's expansion after the Big Bang would either slow down or stay constant. In 1998, cosmologists discovered that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. Under {{w|Einstein|Einstein's}} theory of {{w|general relativity}}, the observed acceleration predicts that ordinary matter and dark matter make up about 30% of the universe's total energy, with the rest coming in the form of "{{w|dark energy}}." The nature of dark energy is not certain. However, the leading candidate is that space itself has intrinsic energy (either constant or variable), and so as space expands, the energy of the universe increases.
|| Again, Nobel Prize territory.
|-
| Mediates proton decay, but then hides it.
|| An arrow points to three lines going to and from the main line. The outer line does not connect with the main line. The three lines probably represent the 3 quarks a proton is made of, and how a proton is usually drawn in Feynman diagrams (see for example [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_decay#/media/File:Beta_Negative_Decay.svg Beta Negative Decay]). The diagram represents a proton decaying, mediated by the Fixion, however then recombining. Presumably the hypothetical Fixion causes protons to decay all the time, however according to the diagram the quarks recombine again which makes the process impossible to detect.
|| Many GUTs predict that {{w|proton decay|protons will decay}}, but experiments have shown the proton to have a half-life of at least 1033 years - very much longer than the {{w|age of the universe}} (1.38x1010 years).
|| It's not ''necessarily'' a problem. All theories predict that proton decay is a very slow process (1032+ years), which is consistent with the current data.
|-
| Introduces dispersion in perytons from kitchen microwaves, explaining fast radio bursts
|| Two arrows point to four wavy lines. The waves of the lines have different wavelength. The one line coming out left is of the same at wavelength as the top of the three coming out right. The two below each decrease in wavelength compared to the one before them. Maybe this is not meant to represent photon-like particles, but are just different frequencies of microwaves from the microwave oven – thus relating to the subject.
|| {{w|Fast radio burst}}s (FRBs) are unexplained bursts of radio-frequency energy from space, that could even be extragalactic signals, with speculations that they might be signs of {{w|extraterrestrial intelligence}}. {{w|Peryton (astronomy)|Perytons}} are things that ''look like'' FRBs, but come from Earth (specifically, from the {{w|microwave oven}} at {{w|Parkes Observatory}}). Randall's Fixion makes some perytons change frequency distribution so they appear to come from space; thus meaning all FRBs come from microwave ovens.
|| No, but it's probably something very big - a star collapsing to a {{w|black hole}} or (as now looks likely) a {{w|magnetar}} (magnetic neutron star)
|-
| Broken symmetry causes ϴ=0, explaining unobserved neutron dipole moment
|| An arrow points to the part of the main line just before the first wavy line.
|| The {{w|neutron electric dipole moment}} is a measure of how balanced electric charge is inside the neutron. ϴ (theta) is a number in {{w|quantum chromodynamics}} (QCD) which quantifies the breaking of a type of symmetry called {{w|CP violation|CP symmetry}}. If ϴ is not 0, one result of this should be a neutron dipole moment. {{w|Symmetry breaking}} is a common explanation of effects in some areas of theoretical physics (for instance, it's an important part of {{w|Peter Higgs|Higgs'}} theory about why particles have mass), but normally it explains why a value is ''not'' zero. Presumably the Fixion would break CP symmetry independently of QCD, which would mean that ϴ can be 0 while preserving observed CP-breaking effects.
|| Again, it's not (yet) a problem - the predicted dipole moment is tiny, and we're only just reaching the point when we can measure it that accurately.
|-
| Causes alpha effect
|| No arrow.
|| The {{w|alpha effect}} is a weird effect from chemistry, where putting an "alpha" atom with a {{w|lone pair}} of electrons close to a molecule makes the molecule more likely to give up its electrons.
|| Lots of competing explanations.
|-
| Covers naked singularities
|| No arrow – but the text is situated next to the middle of the three wavy lines going right.
|| A {{w|naked singularity}} is like a black hole without an {{w|event horizon}}. So far no naked singularity has been observed (except, arguably, the big bang) and the {{w|cosmic censorship hypothesis}} suggests they can't exist, although some people have suggested ways of making them. Randall has mentioned these in the [[what if?]] article [http://what-if.xkcd.com/140/ Proton Earth, Electron Moon].
|| Not necessarily something that needs explaining - none have been seen, and most theories say they don't exist. If support grows for {{w|loop quantum gravity}}, then we might have to start really searching.
|-
| Intercepts certain gravitational waves before they're observed.
|| An arrow points to a spiraling line going upwards to the left, so this is drawn like a gluon.
|| If {{w|gravity}} behaves like {{w|Fundamental interaction|the other forces}}, it must be conveyed by waves. At the time of the comic's publication, our best detector, {{w|LIGO}} had yet to detect any {{w|gravitational waves}}, though this is probably just due to the low probability of events that would be detectable. Only extreme events like {{w|binary black hole}} mergers are detectable with the current setup. The proposed {{w|LISA Pathfinder}} spacecraft will be able to see things like orbiting black holes and {{w|neutron stars}}.
|| In February 2016, researchers at LIGO [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/science/ligo-gravitational-waves-black-holes-einstein.html reported the detection of gravitational waves].
|-
| Causes coronal heating
|| No arrow – but the text is situated next to the middle of the three wavy lines going right.
|| For some reason the outer layer of the {{w|sun}} (the {{w|corona}}) is hotter than most reasonable theories predict. This is for instance mentioned in Randall’s new book ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' in the entry about the sun. This can also be seen on the [[Thing Explainer#Preview Pages|back cover of the book]].
|| It's a mystery, but it possibly has something to do with waves in the corona (for example, the {{w|High Resolution Coronal Imager}} has seen "braids" in the corona that whip around and unravel themselves).
|-
| Higgs-ish
|| As this is just a property of the Fixion there is no arrow.
|| The {{w|Higgs boson}} is a manifestation of the Higgs field... but many supersymmetry and string theories predict multiple Higgs-like particles. It's almost a prerequisite of any new theory that it has a Higgs-ish element. So the Fixion blends in with this.
|| N/A
|-
| Superluminally smooths anisotropies in early universe (but adds faint polarization for BICEP3 to find)
|| An arrow points to the point of the main line just below the bottom space probe.
|| The {{w|Cosmic Microwave Background}} (CMB) is incredibly uniform. In fact it is so uniform that the conclusion is that these areas must have been in contact at some time in the early universe. But with the universe being infinite, and the speed of light being finite, most parts of the universe will never be able to interact (any more at least). The explanation usually given for the uniformity is that the universe expanded really fast in the beginning during what is called the {{w|Inflationary epoch}}. {{w|BICEP_and_Keck_Array#BICEP2|BICEP2}} is a {{w|radio telescope}} at the South Pole whose operators claim to have seen polarization in the CMB indicative of inflation. (See [[1365: Inflation]] that references BICEP2's results). The Fixion would fix the problem since it would allow {{w|Faster-than-light|superluminal}} smoothing of the early anisotropies to explain the smoothness observed today, but also add just enough signal that the new {{w|BICEP_and_Keck_Array#BICEP3|BICEP3}} telescope would be able to find it.
|| As stated, {{w|Inflation (cosmology)|inflation}} is the standard explanation and it holds up fairly well. Other studies haven't seen the polarization that BICEP2 has - the {{w|Planck (spacecraft)|Planck space telescope}} also suggests that the BICEP2 team were looking at an unusually dusty bit of space, which could cause polarization. Hopefully this will improve with the BICEP3 data that should be published in 2016.
|-
| Accelerates certain spacecraft during flybys
|| Two arrows point to two solid lines going away from the main line (left and right). At the end of each line there is a space craft with satellite dish and solar panels, representing the items that the Fixion interacts with.
|| This refers to the {{w|flyby anomaly}} which is sometimes (but not always, one in three {{w|Flyby_anomaly#Observations|according to Wikipedia}}) seen when spacecraft fly close to Earth, where they pick up more speed than expected. It's not always seen – for instance the {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} space probe which had an anomaly when passing Earth the first time had no flyby anomaly the next two times it passed Earth like this. Two other probes have shown similar anomalies, but the probe depicted (the same on both sides of the Fixion) looks like Rosetta, the other two don't look like this. Also Randall has depicted Rosetta before in [[1446: Landing]]. (Previously another anomaly for space probes, a deceleration this time known as the {{w|Pioneer Anomaly}}, has been mentioned in the title text of [[502: Dark Flow]]).
|| It could be an unpredicted quirk of gravity and relativity... or it could be experimental error.
|-
| Triggers Siberian sinkholes
|| No arrow, but it is right next to the solid line with an arrow going into the main line just before the first hole where the main line disappears and becomes dotted. Thus it could be a reference also to these holes.
|| Recently (2014), several {{w|sinkholes}} opened up in {{w|Yamal_Peninsula#Yamal_craters |remote parts}} of Siberia. The explanation is currently unknown.
|| While there are lots of weird theories, there's a good chance they were caused by {{w|Arctic methane release}} due to melting {{w|permafrost}} which is probably caused by {{w|global warming}}. See ([http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mystery-of-the-siberian-holes-at-the-end-of-the-world-solved-scientists-offer-explanation-9642988.html Mystery of the Siberian holes… solved]).
|-
| Melts ice in "Snowball Earth" scenario
|| No arrow.
|| {{w|Snowball Earth}} is the theory that the whole planet was covered in ice at some point. To melt all that ice by the {{w|greenhouse effect}} would require far more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than seems plausible. However, if volcanoes were to deposit black soot on the surface of the ice, it would start absorbing heat more efficiently (in scientific terms, the Earth's {{w|albedo}} would decrease) and that would also make the planet heat up.
|| There are {{w|Snowball_Earth#Scientific_dispute|scientific dispute}} regarding the theory for a Snowball Earth. There is no conclusive evidence that it ever occurred, but those in favor have presented lots of {{w|Snowball_Earth#Evidence|evidence}}…
|-
| Transports neutrinos faster than light, but only on certain days through one area of France
|| An arrow points to the part of the main line that becomes dotted between the two “{{w|wormholes}}”. This is where the neutrinos move faster than light…
|| Refers to the {{w|faster-than-light neutrino anomaly}}, where it seemed that a neutrino beam from {{w|CERN}} on the France/Switzerland border to the {{w|OPERA experiment}} in Italy traveled faster than light. Scientists were not able to reproduce the result. This Neutrino experiment was also mentioned in [[955: Neutrinos]].
|| In the end, there was no mystery, just a [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112551696/cern-confirms-neutrinos-not-faster-than-light/ defective cable causing a measurement error].
|-
| Suppresses sigma in experiments
|| No arrow but the last solid line, with an arrow pointing left, that is going away from the main line, point almost directly at it.
|| Sigma (σ) refers to the {{w|standard deviation}} - a mathematical measure of how much an observed value differs from the expected value. For a formal scientific discovery in particle physics, the standard is 5 sigma which means that there is about a 1 in 3.5 million chance that the results were caused by random errors (of course, they could be caused by ''systematic'' errors, such as measurement problems). Some tantalizing experiments have found interesting results at 3 or 4 sigma but either can't reach 5 sigma or {{w|Oops-Leon|are subsequently dis-proven}}. The question is, does the way the Fixion works here in this comic push the sigma value one way or the other? Does it suppress the value so it goes below or above the level of significance? Is it artificially pushed in the direction so a result seems like it is significant when it is not (see for instance [[882: Significant]]), or is it the other way around so that some experiments, which could have found what the experimenters wanted to find, did not because the sigma has been artificially lowered below the proof threshold? Either way it is a very annoying fact of the Fixion, but it would explain a lot, and probably also make it very hard to find the Fixion because of this intrinsic behavior.|| N/A
|-
| My theory predicts that, at high enough energies, FRBs and perytons become indistinguishable because the detector burns out.
|| From the title text.
|| This is a continuation of the joke already mentioned above regarding Fast radio bursts (FRBs) and perytons. GUTs normally predict that all the forces we see are the different low-energy versions of a single force which can only be seen at extremely high energies (much higher than any Earth-based collider could produce). A high-energy FRB would be a {{w|gamma ray burst}} and if it came from a close enough object, would obliterate all life on Earth. It would also wreck the sensitive electronics at Parkes Observatory. This "high energy unification" is stated in a way reminiscent of the unification of electromagnetic and weak forces at high energies; but unlike the latter, it involves two things only "appearing" (or, in this case, not appearing) to be the same, not actually becoming the same.
|| N/A
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:A Christmas gift for physicists:
:The '''Fixion'''
:A new particle that explains everything

:[A chart resembling a Feynman diagram is shown. It begins with a solid line coming down at the top, going a little to the left. The line continues downwards all the time, but changes direction 16 times before exiting at the bottom almost straight under the starting point. At every point where it changes direction, there is some kind of “interaction” with something outside this line. There are 19 phrases, 10 on the left and 9 on the right. 11 of these are distinct labels for points on the line as 14 gray curved arrows points between these 11 phrases to specific points on the line. Three of the phrases on the left has two arrows pointing to two different, but close, parts of the line. The main central line is solid all the way, except at the very bottom, where it “disappears” inside a hole only to “reappear” later from a similar hole. Between these two holes the line is dotted. The lines going away (or to) the main line can be straight and solid, straight and dotted, wavy lines (with different waviness), even looking like a spiral. Two straight solid lines ends up at two space probes, and finally the last two straight solid lines coming in (and out) on either side of the “hole” in the line has arrow pointing in and out. Below the phrases will be listed in reading order, taking one on each side alternatingly. Above each is described if there are any arrow and, if there are, what they points at.]

:[Left: Arrow pointing to the very first part of the main line:]
::Main component of dark matter

:[Right: Arrow pointing to the very first part of the main line, but below the previous arrow:]
::Confines quarks and gluons

:[Left: Arrow points to the first solid line going left and upwards:]
::Neutralizes monopoles

:[Right: No arrow:]
::Suppresses antimatter in early universe

:[Left: Two arrows points to two dotted lines going out left and downwards below the first solid line:]
::Spontaneously emits dark energy

:[Right: Arrow pointing to several lines going almost parallel with the main line. The first line closest to the arrow is not connected with the main line. It bends closer to the other lines in the middle. The next line is connected to the main line, and is thus actually two lines going in to the main line. The same goes for the inner line, where there is some distance between the entry and exit, as the middle of these three lines connect to the main line in between. In principle there are four lines going in/out and one not connected, but it looks like three lines:]
::Mediates proton decay but then hides it

:[Left: One arrow points to the first wavy line (7 peaks) coming out and up towards the dotted lines above. A second arrow points further down the main line where there are three more wavy lines coming out, but to the right, they are all of the same length and go almost straight right, only a little down. The first has as short a wave length as the line above to the left, but as it is shorter it only has 6 peaks. Then the wavelength decreases to a very long one for the last, 5 peaks and then 3 peaks. The arrow points almost where the middle wavy line exits the main line:]
::Introduces dispersion in perytons from kitchen microwaves, explaining fast radio bursts

:[Right: An arrow point to the part of the main line between the three parallel lines and the first wavy line:]
::Broken symmetry causes ϴ=0, explaining unobserved neutron dipole moment

:[Left: No arrow:]
::Causes alpha effect

:[Right: No arrow, but right next to the middle of the three wavy line:]
::Covers naked singularities

:[Left: An arrow points to a spiraling line going upwards to the left:]
::Intercepts certain gravitational waves before they're observed.

:[Right: No arrow, but right next to the bottom of the three wavy line:]
::Causes coronal heating

:[Left: No arrow:]
::Higgs-ish

:[Right: A long arrow point to the point of the main line just below the line pointing to the bottom (and left) of the space probes:]
::Superluminally smooths anisotropies in early universe (but adds faint polarization for BICEP3 to find)

:[Left: One arrows point towards the point on the main lines where a solid line goes to the right and up and another arrow points on another solid line going away from the main line towards left and down. At the end of both lines are drawn spacecrafts with satellite dish and solar panels:]
::Accelerates certain spacecraft during flybys

:[Right: No arrow, but right next to the solid line with an arrow going into the main line just before the first hole where the main line disappears and becomes dotted:]
::Triggers Siberian sinkholes

:[Left: No arrow:]
::Melts ice in "Snowball Earth" scenario

:[Right: Arrow points to the dotted part of the main line between the two holes:]
::Transports neutrinos faster than light, but only on certain days through one area of France

:[Left: No arrow but the last solid line, with an arrow pointing left, that is going away from the main line, point almost directly at it:]
::Suppresses sigma in experiments

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1546: Tamagotchi Hive

2017-08-06T16:04:02Z

Hameltion: Added category

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

==Explanation==
A part of the "[[My Hobby]]" series, this describes a distributed computing network using an automated system to simultaneously 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 shrinking 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. That said, using AI to keep trillions of Tamagotchis perfectly taken care of is a complete waste of time; the whole point of Tamagotchi is the challenge of caring for the digital pet yourself.

"The Singularity" in the title text refers to the {{w|technological singularity}}; a concept prevalent in science fiction and discussions of artificial intelligence (AI). The idea is that AI would become so sophisticated compared to a human brain that no human would be able to predict its behaviour, motivations etc. from that point onward, and potentially human history after that point would therefore become unpredictable, as AIs would play dominant roles in determining its direction. It uses the metaphor of a mathematical "singularity", which is a point where established rules can no longer apply (for example, in a black hole or during the Big Bang, physical conditions are such that the physical laws we use can no longer meaningfully predict what happens). An AI that is more sophisicated than a human brain could presumably then simulate human brains within itself, making it possible to upload human consciousness into a machine-simulated environment (see {{w|simulated reality}} and the {{w|simulation hypothesis}}). Thus, much science fiction that is based on the idea of The Singularity also focuses on the creation of a virtual world that much of the human race decides to plug itself into, much like the Tamagotchi Hive that Randall has created. Randall's mind, and the processing power in his computer, is far greater than any individual Tamagotchi mind, so simulating Tamagotchis becomes trivial for Randall, and no Tamagotchi could predict or control its own history with Randall around, in a humorous analogy with the Singularity concept.

==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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1539: Planning

2017-08-06T16:03:45Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1539
| date = June 17, 2015
| title = Planning
| image = planning.png
| titletext = [10 years later] Man, why are people so comfortable handing Google and Facebook control over our nuclear weapons?
}}

==Explanation==
Big companies have always tried to get the greatest amount of information from their customers, because that translates into more money earned. However, ability to gather, store and process such information is limited by the technology available. With the recent development of computers, this ability has grown far more than anyone could have suspected just 20 years ago; to the point that companies like {{w|Google}} or {{w|Facebook}} get almost unimaginable amounts of data from their users; and this data is gathered and stored automatically and can be efficiently accessed.

This data is routinely used to, for example, tailor online ads to the browsing history of the user seeing the ad. They could potentially be used for more evil purposes, like selling the medical history of users to insurance companies. Many users don't feel that they're giving out so much information, and in fact that few of them have given Google or Facebook their medical history. However some leaks have proven quite the opposite. In the [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log.php AOL leak] referenced in [[155: Search History]], searches for "how does a male's cocaine use affect a fetus", "hysterectomy" or "8 alcohol drinks a day", surely would be interesting for a medical insurance company to know.

In the comic, [[Ponytail]] is puzzled because people are not worried about Google or Facebook using their information in evil ways; however [[Megan]] raises a quite fair point, namely that the huge amount of {{w|nuclear weapons}} in existence is much scarier, and that was worrying to the general public in the 1980s, however people have grown tired of that and now concerns have moved to internet privacy only because it's "new". What is perceived as dangerous or worrying follows trends and fashions not directly related to real danger (i.e. "happen on auto-pilot"). The point Megan is making is that maybe it's better to just accept that things work in this way and go with the flow. This is very similar to what happens in [[1480: Super Bowl]] or [[1534: Beer]].

In the title text we move ahead 10 years, to a similar conversation where the two aspects of the above have been inexplicably mixed. A future equivalent to Ponytail asks why we all think it is OK to hand over the control of our nuclear weapons to Google and Facebook, which would certainly be a nonsensical route to take. This could also be seen as another step toward the {{w|Technological_singularity|singularity}}, from which perspective handing over control of nuclear weapons could be desirable, catastrophic, implicit and/or unavoidable.

This comic was posted on the day after {{w|Vladimir Putin}} had [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/world/europe/putin-40-new-missiles-russian-nuclear-arsenal.html announced] that Russia would add 40 new {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s to its nuclear stockpile this year.

Within a year Randall has made several other comics about nuclear weapons, the first of these, [[1520: Degree-Off]], came just 1½ month before this one. Later these two comics were released early in 2016: [[1626: Judgment Day]] and [[1655: Doomsday Clock]]. Nuclear weapons are also mentioned twice in ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', specifically they are explained in the explanation for ''Machine for burning cities'' about {{w|Thermonuclear weapon|thermonuclear bombs}}, but they are also mentioned in ''Boat that goes under the sea'' about a submarine that caries nukes. All three comics and both explanations in the book, does like this comic, comment on how crazy it is that we have created enough firepower to obliterate Earth several times (or at least scourge it for any human life) [citation needed].

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Ponytail are walking]
:Ponytail: Why are people so comfortable handing Google and Facebook all this control over our lives?
:Megan: I dunno.
:Megan: Our species built thousands of nuclear weapons, scattered them around the planet, and then moved on to other things.
:Megan: Maybe it's best to accept that some of this big-picture planning is just happening on autopilot.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1193: Externalities

2017-08-06T16:01:27Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1193
| date = April 1, 2013
| title = Externalities
| image = externalities.png
| titletext = Mouse over words and things to see where they come from.
}}
{{incomplete|While a good start with the explanation of Baidu, the article should give an explanation of the comic in its current state. The different versions during the competition should be it's own section. Also, update image to include text.}}
==Explanation==
This comic isn't a static image - even the title text changes depending on which part of the image you're hovering over. It presented a competition for students to see who could come closest to break a {{w|Skein (hash function)|Skein hash}} but also an aid appeal for the Wikimedia Foundation.

There are quite a few references in the comic to {{w|Baidu}}. Baidu is a large Chinese Internet services company that employs thousands, whose shares are publicly traded on world stock exchanges. It's the predominant Internet search provider of China, and is sometimes called the "Google of China". It offers parallels for the Chinese market of many of the services that Google provides and offers its own encyclopedic wiki with a restricted edit policy to serve as a replacement for Wikipedia. Wikipedia reports that Baidu's search engine handled 56% of Chinese internet search queries in Q4 2010. and that in October 2012, Baidu ranked 5th overall in the Alexa Internet rankings. Given that explanation for the Baidu references in #1193 is still solicited for explainxkcd, Baidu apparently is not well known yet among savvy XKCD readers.
Baidu Search results reputedly follow the censorship dictates of the Chinese authorities, causing it to return censored responses to searches for politically sensitive terms like "Tianamen Square massacre" or "Falun Gong" when executed by web browsers that are connected via Chinese ISPs. When you execute such searches via Baidu in the US, the top links returned for these topics do seem to reflect Chinese government sensibilities although the uncensored English language Wikipedia articles for these topics are listed high in the query results. Baidu's reputation for censorship provides background for Megan's reply "but nothing about Tianamen Square" in response to the "Come and find your future at Baidu" employment enticement of panel one and also provides the background to understand the "It takes great minds to stifle other great minds" slogan of the second panel.

__TOC__

The blank regions in the above image are dynamically generated from various sources.
*The university that is being recruited changes depending on which university is winning the hash finding competition in the fifth panel.
*The company doing the recruiting is randomly selected from a pool of companies. It was formerly the first NASDAQ-100 company mentioned on a varying Wikipedia page.
*The text in the second panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Second Panel|this section]].
*The text in the third panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Third Panel|this section]].
*The text in the fourth panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Fourth Panel|this section]].
*The text in the fifth panel [[1193: Externalities#Fifth Panel|changes]], depending on which university is currently in third place in a hash finding competition. Clicking on the panel takes you to [http://almamater.xkcd.com/ a webpage] where people can enter their school's domain name and hash data, and ranks schools on how close their students can come to matching a Skein 1024 1024 hash value.
*The text in the top half of the sixth panel may vary. See [[1193: Externalities#Sixth Panel|this section]]. The second half of the panel is always the same.
*The last panel varies with the amount donated to the Wikimedia Foundation via [https://donate.wikimedia.org/?utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=xkcd_april1 this link]. For past images, see [[1193: Externalities#Seventh Panel|this section]].

===Hashing Competition===
For the two days until comic 1194 appeared, a competition was underway to see who could come closest to breaking a {{w|Skein (hash function)|Skein hash}}. The first text line of the first panel contains a link to http://almamater.xkcd.com. This page contained the text:

:Currently looking for Skein 1024 1024 input matching
<pre>5b4da95f5fa08280fc9879df44f418c8f9f12ba424b7757de02bbdfbae0d4c4fdf9317c80cc5fe04c6429073466cf29706b8c25999ddd2f6540d4475cc977b87f4757be023f19b8f4035d7722886b78869826de916a79cf9c94cc79cd4347d24b567aa3e2390a573a373a48a5e676640c79cc70197e1c5e7f902fb53ca1858b6</pre>

On this page, users were invited to enter "Your school's domain name" — presumably intended to be their college alma mater. (At least in the beginning, only a few top-level domains were accepted.) If the user entered an acceptable domain (by xkcd's rules, which apparently changed during the 48 hours of the competition), he could then enter data values one at a time. For each data value entered, xkcd returned a hash value and the number of bits by which it differed from the target value. The object was to achieve the lowest possible number of differing bits, ideally zero.

A ranking page showed the lowest value achieved for each domain name entered, but not the data that achieved it. The first name on the list was substituted in various panels, and the third-place school showed in panel five. No data values were reported by xkcd, but various results were posted by users of the xkcd forums and on other websites, leading to copycat submissions, so that occasionally large numbers of institutions would show the same moderately low value.

After the end of the contest, the data submission page vanished, replaced by the final list of rankings, which shows that Carnegie Mellon University achieved the best score with 384 bits incorrect out of 1024. The rankings only show a few hundred out of the several thousand domains submitted—presumably Randall chose to chop the copycat submissions off the end of the list, retaining only honestly obtained results.

===First Panel===
In some cases, Megan's reply seems to correspond to the company.
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you applied to [company] yet?
:Megan: The recruiter hasn't emailed me back in over three minutes.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you applied to [company] yet?
:Megan: The recruiter hasn't emailed me back in over an hour!
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: I'm not that good at math.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: What do they even do?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: I don't like monopolies.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Only in my darkest moments.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Be part of the Apple experience!
:Megan: I'm not really a fan of turtlenecks.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work at Microsoft!
:Megan: I only came to this tech talk for the xbox giveaway.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Y U No Work Yahoo?
:Megan: I like working from home!
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Become a partner at Starbucks!
:Megan: But green's not my colour.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work in the Amazon!
:Megan: I don't have to actually move to South America, do I?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Not after that presentation.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Thought about working for Intel?
:Megan: I'm not that great at division.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Dude, you should work at Dell!
:Megan: That catchphrase is so old.
|-
|
:Ahoy, carnegie melonites!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Not after that presentation.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you looked for a job at Kraft Foods?
:Megan: I'm allergic to sugar
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:How about working for Whole Foods?
:Megan: Could I afford the food if I did?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work at EBay!
:Megan: Maybe if they made a good bid.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work for Activision... er... Blizzard... er...
:Megan: Activision Blizzard?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students! <nowiki>|</nowiki> Ahoy. Carnegie Melonites!
:Come find your future at Baidu!
:Megan: But nothing about Tiananmen Square.
|}

===Second Panel===
The text in the second panel is based on the company in the first panel:
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:When the Singularity happens, it will happen here.
:Ponytail: [Company] has outgrown us.
:Men: It is time.
|-
|
:Think of ways to make things smaller and smaller!
:Ponytail: I'm worried mine is too big.
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:Think of ways to make things smaller and smaller!
:Ponytail: But will it blend?
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:You'll be part of a dynamic research team envisioning the future.
:Ponytail: It probably looks cool.
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:You'll be creating the future of commerce platforms!
:Ponytail: More recommendations.
:Men: Yep.
|-
|
:You'll be an insignificant cog in our giant machine
:Ponytail: We should improve Notepad
:Men: Nah
|-
|
:We can't tell you what you'll be working on.
:Ponytail: [Confidential]
:Men: [Redacted]
|-
|
:You'll be an insignificant cog in our giant machine
:Ponytail: Needs more Bob.
:Men: Nah
|-
|
:You'll help set the future of the company
:Ponytail: Wait. You hired a college grad as the CFO?
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:At Qualcomm, we know you're born mobile.
:Ponytail: Born mobile!
:Men: Texting!
|-
|
:Short or tall, we've got a grande job for you!
:Ponytail: How many job openings are there?
:Men: Ele-venti or so.
|-
|
:You'll help direct the future of nutrition
:Ponytail: Microwaveable toast
:Men: Delicious
|-
|
:Help us find and provide the best healthy, local, and sustainable products.
:Ponytail: Hey guys, how about kale cookies?
:Men: Sounds great!
|-
|
:We're the Classmates.com to Facebook's Craigslist.
:Ponytail: Maybe we should use game theory.
:Men: Why Bother?
|-
|
:Whatever. Come create the future of gaming!
:Ponytail: Call of Duty 14.
:Men: That's genius!
|-
|
:It takes great minds to stifle other great minds.
:Ponytail: Let's block Canada
:Men: Sounds good.
|}

===Third Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:We're a convenient four hour drive from New York City (15,000 hours by Roomba)
|-
|
:Only a short commuter flight away!
|-
|
:Travel to us by Roomba, we're *that* close!
|-
|
:We're so close you can get to us by Roomba.
|-
|
:Free Roomba rides every morning while you have coffee.
|-
|
:Your Roomba comes in black & slate, or white & silver
|-
|
:Just a short Roomba ride up the coast, try not to fall off.
|-
|
:We know what everyday life is like for your generation:
|}

===Fourth Panel===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
|
:Our recruiting team is on the lookup for promising young [university] graduates.
|-
|
:We hired a new recruiting startup to help us hire [university] students.
|-
|
:We borrowed the botanical gardens' net to catch promising recruits.
|-
|
:We prefer to recruit from [university] students, of course.
|-
|
:Our recruiters are on the hunt for unaware [university] graduates.
|}

===Fifth Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:Or students from [university], if they're clever with their applications
|-
|
:Possibly [university] grads, if their form-filling startup works out.
|-
|
:Or [university] graduates, provided any of them manage to fill out the application correctly.
|-
|
:Or [university] graduates, if they manage to fill out the application correctly.
|}

The text in the form varies independently of the text at the top, sometimes related to the organization in 3rd place:

{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
!Organization
!Name
!Email
!Education
!(Explanation)
|-
|MIT
|Oliver Smoot
|pgp encrypted
|have you ever really looked at the fourier
|As an undergrad at MIT in 1948, Smoot was used to measure the Harvard Bridge during a fraternity prank. This led to the introduction of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot "smoot"] as a non-standard unit of length.
|-
|
|Wheeeee
|ford.com
|stealing lunches from startups
|-
|CMU
|leeroy jenkins
|me@car
|I can cut up melons
| Le(e)roy Jenkins is an internet meme originating from a 2006 'Let's Play' video of World of Warcraft
|-
|CMU
|pittsburgh
|me@car
|I can cut up melons
|-
|
|SEGMENTATION FAULT
|save trees
|Contra dancing.
|-
|Cambridge
|I'm applying
|cam.gov
|on going problems with birds
|-
|
|certainly
|elephant
|An excellent year in the Sahara
|-
|Stanford
|Stanford
|ford.com
|Stealing lunches from startups
|-
|Stanford
|Yes Please
|@twitter
|Are you Stanford?
|-
|
|Applying
|For a job
|I would like to work at you
|-
|St.Olaf
|Me olaf
|You Helga
|Hunting wooly mammoths
|-
|Ohio State
|Oh!
|IO
|O HAI O
| A joke on the pronunciation of Ohio.
|-
|
|FOLLOWBACK
|TOTALLY.EDU.US
|CONVENIENT US DOMAIN REDIRECTS
| .edu is a website suffix mostly used for (American) university websites.
|-
|
|Mancher
|Outlook
|Made a collage out of macaroni
|-
|Stanford
|Yes Please
|ford.com
|Are you Stanford?
|-
|Michigan
|ANN
|SOUTH DETROIT
|HUNT LIKE A WOLVERINE
|University of Michigan is in Ann Arbor; the mascot is the Wolverine
|-
|
|christopher
|POBox 12532
|p.s. ill find my frog
|PO Box 12532 is located at Pyramid Lake in Nevada.
|-
|Oxford
|Bond, James
|Righto
|We're better than Cambridge
|-
|
|Which one
|Forget it
|Riding the L all night long
|-
|Kit
|Kat
|Oh dear
|Something something sleep
|-
|Google
|My G+ handle?
|Any
|I'm feeling lucky
|G+ stands for Google+, Googles social network. I'm feeling lucky is the second option under the searchbar on Google.
|-
|UIC
|Which one
|Forget it
|Riding the L all night long
|-
|
|MY JOB NOW
|@
|SAVE DOCUMENT AND SEND
| Could be Randall saying most jobs are just sending e-mails (@).
|}

===Sixth Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:At [company], you'll work at a scale you won't find anywhere else
|-
|
:Explore the depths of expensive and undocumented tools!
|-
|
:At Apple, we believe in pushing the boundary of perfection.
|-
|
:At Microsoft, you just need to relax and embrace the machine
|-
|
:Yahoo management aren't just suits. We code too!
|-
|
:At [company], you'll have the opportinity to work on cutting-edge projects.
|-
|
:At Amazon, you'll be shaving the most cutting-edge of yaks.
|-
|
:You get to bid first on any auction, and use other experimental tools!
|-
|
:At QUALCOMM, Device driver code quality is job #1
|-
|
:Make use of our powerful in-house game creation tools.
|-
|
:We're even working on some experimental biotechnology
|}

===Seventh Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|[[File:externality-dog1.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog2.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog2A.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog3.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog4.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog5.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog6.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog7.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog8.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog9.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog10.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog12.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog13.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog14.png]]
|}

==Title Text==
The title text documents the different sources of data in the comic. The different title texts are:

{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
!Comic region
!Title text
|-
|Most of the comic, during the competition.||Mouse over words and things to see where they come from.
|-
|Most of the comic, after the competition ended||This comic went up on April 1st, and the panels changed throughout the day in response to readers doing things like breaking hashes, edited a rapidly-shuffling set of target Wikipedia articles, and donating to Wikimedia Foundation. (The vandalism is over now and CMU won the hashing contest.)
|-
|The part of the first panel (text and drawing) which is not a link. There is no title text at all over the part where the link is active||Happy April 1st, Everyone!
|-
|Fifth panel.||[University] has the third best hash. See the full standings at http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv (University = uic after competition)
|-
|Last three panels (only within a frame that would just fit around all three of them).||The dog gains a pound for every $10 donated to the wikimedia foundation via this link. Currently at [amount donated] (Amount = $51135.33 after competition).
|}

==Transcript==
:[This was a dynamic image where the text changed during April 1st. The main title text also changed after the dynamic part was finished, and there are even different title text for different part of the comic. This transcript is of the final version of the comic, (no longer dynamic or changing), as displayed at present on xkcd, there are still four different title texts for specific panels. These four title text are for that reason included here in the transcript.]

:[The basic title text for the entire comic is: "This comic went up on April 1st, and the panels changed throughout the day in response to readers doing things like breaking hashes, edited a rapidly-shuffling set of target Wikipedia articles, and donating to Wikimedia Foundation. (The vandalism is over now and CMU won the hashing contest.)" The other three title text are only active over certain panels.]

:[The first panel with the caption and Megan below has it's own title text. A part of that panel is a link, and in the section where this link is active there is no title text at all. The title text for the rest of the first panel is: "Happy April 1st, everyone!"]

:[A panel with only text is above the first drawing. There is a link on the top part of the text to <nowiki>http://almamater.xkcd.com/</nowiki> (the link is now broken).]
:Ahoy, carnegie melonites!
:
:Come find your future at Baidu.

:[Below, not in a frame, is Megan.]
:Megan: But nothing about Tiananmen Square.

:[Caption floating above the frame of the next panel:]
:It takes great minds to stifle other great minds.
:[Ponytail sits at a desk, hand to her chin, with two Cueball-like guys with their hands on the table.]
:Ponytail: Let's block Canada
:Cueball-like guys: Sounds good.

:[Ponytail crouches on a moving Roomba (labeled) with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and a smartphone in the other. Above her is a caption. The Roomba makes a noice]
:We're a convenient four hour drive from New York City (15,000 hours by Roomba.)
:''Whirrrrrrr''
:Roomba

:[Ponytail and Hairy corners Cueball as he walks out of a door, and a black haired ponytailed girl is moving towards him wielding a giant butterfly net. There is a caption above them:]
:Our recruiters are on the hunt for unaware CMU graduates

:[The fifth panel has it's own title text only active within (or very close to) the frame. It is: "uic has the third best hash. See the full standings at <nowiki>http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv</nowiki>" (The link is now broken)]

:[There is a caption above a website application. There is three fields to be filled, with each their caption and text:]
:or uic graduates, provied any of them manage to fill out the application correctly.
::Name which one
::Email forget it
::Education Riding the L all night long

:[Caption floating above the frame of the next panel:]
:At Baidu, Inc., you'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects.
:[Cueball sits at a computer.]
:Cueball: What does "make dog" do?
:Off-screen voice: Experimental dog generator. Don't click on it; the default size isn't set, so-
:'''*click*'''

:[The last three panels has their own title text, only active within a frame that could contain all three panel. Outside that "frame" (all the way around) is the other title text. Within the title text is: "The dog gains a pound for every $10 donated to the Wikimedia Foundation via this link. Currently at $51135.33."]

:[Small insert panel, going in above the next larger panel: Cueball stares at the screen.]
:''Kzzzt''
:''*bip*''
:Off-screen voice: Uh oh.

:[A giant dog looks down at the desk where the computer once was, now only the wires are left. Cueball, leaning way back in his office chair, holding his hand to his mouth, stares up at it.]

:[Again a smaller insert panel above the large one with the dog. A graphic showing two sliders and a dog (similar to the one in the previous panel). Next to the dog with arrows pointing to it are a thermometer graphic and an equation. Below is an e-mail type text and finally a caption. There are arrows over and under "God" and "dogs" between the g and d's.]
:d(x)=R
:careers@baidu, Inc.
:'''Play God with dogs.'''TM

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Roomba]]
[[Category:Butterfly net]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1180: Virus Venn Diagram

2017-08-06T16:00:09Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1180
| date = March 1, 2013
| title = Virus Venn Diagram
| image = virus venn diagram.png
| titletext = Within five minutes of the Singularity appearing, somebody will suggest defragging it.
}}

==Explanation==
Randall uses an {{w|Euler diagram}} (technically not a {{w|Venn diagram}}) to make fun of clueless computer users. The circles in the diagram don't overlap, meaning problems that people suspect are caused by viruses are never really caused by viruses, and problems that are actually caused by viruses are never suspected by people to be caused by a virus.

When computers don't function as expected, a common response from ordinary users is "Maybe it has a {{w|Computer virus|virus}}?". However, most of these situations can be explained by faulty hardware (freezing, blue screen, etc.) or software (crashes, errors, apparent lack of response to input, etc.), a general lack of maintenance (too slow to start up, too much clutter on screen, etc.), or user error. A virus can potentially cause those symptoms, but it's much more common for them either to cause immediate and massive damage (rendering the computer completely unusable, wipe the disk, display obvious propaganda, etc.), or to remain stealthy with no obvious symptoms (logging keystrokes, exfiltrating sensitive information, receiving commands in the background, etc.). Of course there is no clear separation and there is always some overlap between the two scenarios, so the diagram is not meant to be taken literally.

The title text refers to the {{w|technological singularity}}, a hypothetical point in the future when {{w|superintelligence}} emerges in computers, so that they can build new computers with ever increasing intelligence. It is seen as impossible to predict what would happen beyond this point; hence the term "singularity". [[1084: Server Problem]] makes a joke on this.

"Defragging" is short for {{w|disk defragmentation}}, an easy, user-friendly action that PC users can undertake to supposedly make their computers run faster. It is therefore a common all-round recommendation to do this, regardless of the problem. [[Randall]] suggests the same clueless users would encounter the singularity and attempt defragging. It probably won't help much.

==Transcript==
:[Euler diagram with two circles that don't intersect.]
:Green circle: Computer problems that make people say, "Maybe it has a virus?"
:Blue circle: Computer problems caused by viruses

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

887: Future Timeline

2017-08-06T15:59:34Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 887
| date = April 18, 2011
| title = Future Timeline
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = future timeline.png
| titletext = Not shown: the approximately 30,000 identical, vaguely hysterical articles titled "WHITE PEOPLE IN [THE US/BRITAIN] TO BECOME MINORITY BY [YEAR]!", which came up for basically any year I put in.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic uses the same strategy as comic [[715: Numbers]], in which [[Randall]] uses Google to search for phrases and then charts the results. This one is charted as a timeline, whereas 715 was charted as line graphs.
It is a list of things predicted or announced by anyone at any time (the ones you see on Google search using "by the year..." or similar statements).

"2101 - War Was Beginning" is a reference to the opening narration of video game ''Zero Wing''; the same narration is famous for the internet meme "{{w|All your base are belong to us}}". As there are not any other out and out references in the comic, and the rest are actually results that you can find using Randall's methods, "War Was Beginning" was probably the only thing he got when he googled 2101 as well.

Certain events in this comic, e.g. "Social Security stops running surplus", are repeated multiple times. Also, certain bizarre events, like "Apocalypse occurs", or "Flying cars reach market", happen before rather plausible things, like "HTML 5 Finished". Certain events, like "Japan is a robot-only country" or "Gillette introduces 14-blade razor" may be related to the recurring theme [[605: Extrapolating]].

The title text is born of a recurring "white people panic" situation; scaremongers will predict white minority in the very near future in order to get the panicked racist people to pay attention to them (without actually using valid or accepted scientific measurements to back up these claims- panicked racist people don't exactly fact-check very much), while level-headed sociologists will usually come up with more distant, if not nonexistent, dates from their extrapolations.

This comic has similar features to [[1413: Suddenly Popular]], [[1093: Forget]], and [[891: Movie Ages]].

===Accuracy===
====2012-2014====
The only predictions for this period that came true are that the world population has surpassed 7 billion. Canada formally withdrew from the Kyoto protocol in December 2011, and its emissions in 2012 were 18% ''above'' 1990 levels (though its population had grown 26% and its GDP had grown 67% in that period). Sadly, homelessness is still a problem in Massachusetts. The prediction about GNU/Linux operating systems remains false; although Android (which is built on the Linux kernel) is currently the most dominant OS, it is not completely GNU/Linux, which remains an extreme minority on consumer devices. And so far as we're aware, the apocalypse has yet to occur.

====2015-2016====
{{w|New Horizons}} is to make its closest approach to Pluto in July 2015.<ref>http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/20140715.php</ref> It was never intended to ''land'' on Pluto.

{{w|Android OS}}' market share was already 84.4% as of the third quarter of 2014, showing that both estimates were overly conservative.<ref>http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp</ref> {{w|Windows Phone}} continued to have less than 30% of {{w|iOS}}' market share.

==The predictions==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Prediction
! Further Details
! Outcome
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2012
| World population
| Ever since the advent of modern medicine and the more efficient agricultural processes developed suit the Industrial Revolution, the human population had been growing at an unprecedented rate. This has caused some people to worry about overpopulation, which would cause a scarcity of resources and overcrowding, and propose various solutions, most of which involve some form of eugenics. 7 billion is a landmark number because it is a multiple of 1 billion.
| Close: Earth reached 7 billion in late 2011.
|-
| Flying cars
| For decades, flying cars have been a staple of futuristic sci-fi and technological predictions. So far very few of these predictions, which to tend to hover around 5–10 years from whatever the current date is, have come true.
| False; still 5-10 years away. You could argue that helicopters count as flying cars.
|-
| Canada cuts greenhouse emissions
| Currently, the Earth is experiencing an unprecedented period of warming we call global warming, caused in part by greenhouse emissions, which are gases that help trap heat in the atmosphere. Countries have repeatedly gotten together and promised to stop emitting greenhouse gases, but so far they have failed to meet their targets.
| False. Canada withdrew from Kyoto treaty in late 2011.
|-
| Apocalypse occurs
| The end of a cycle of the Mayan calendar on December 22, 2012 has been used in popular culture as a basis for predicting the end of the world. Amongst other things, this included the film '2012'. Some people took this rather more seriously, and actually believed that the world would end on this date.
| False.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2013
| National debt paid off
| For years, the subject of national debt has been a political point of contention, with the Republicans typically favoring paying it all off, and the Democrats more willing to spend to pull the country out of recessions in the economy. Clinton, a Democrat, at one point proposed [http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/ paying off the debt by 2015].
| False.
|-
| Microchipping Americans
| Microchips are small computer chips, typically embedded in pets in case they get lost, that contain information about the pet. Some, more paranoid, people worry about the government microchipping everyone in an effort to monitor their activities.
| False, although [https://www.google.com/search?q=rfid+implants RFID implants] do exist.
|-
| Homelessness ended in MA
| In 2008, the Commission To End Homelessness in Massachusetts, under Governor Deval Patrick, proposed a plan to all but eliminate homelessness over the next five years (hence the 2013 end-date on the comic).
| False.
|-
| Health care reform law repealed
| A health care reform law, popularly known as Obamacare, was signed into law in 2010. Ever since, many Republicans have tried (in vain) to repeal it, disliking the idea that government should provide and require healthcare.
| Too early; almost repealed in 2017.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| US leaves Afghanistan
| After the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan, which at the time allegedly hosted the headquarters of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization behind the attacks. The war has gone on since then, with the public growing increasingly tired of it. Public support now favors a withdrawal, but for military and logistical reasons, the government cannot simply move all the troops currently in Afghanistan home right now. For one, that would cause immediate chaos in the country. Therefore, the government instead promises to eventually withdraw all troops, planning on doing so by the end of 2014.
| False. As of 2016, 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan.
|-
| GNU/Linux dominant OS
| An operating system, or OS, is the software that forms the structure in which applications on you computer function. Some typical OSs include Mac OS X, Windows 8, and Linux. The first two of those three are commercial products, sold as a copy by a company. The last is an open-source OS, one that anyone can download and modify free. Typically, open-source software is used by a small number of socially conscious people.
| False, although Linux-based Android dominated phones since 2011.
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2015
| New Horizon reaches Pluto
| The New Horizon spacecraft is a U.S. space mission designed to go to Pluto and take photographs, collect samples, etc.
| True. [http://pluto.jhuapl.edu It reached Pluto on July 14, 2015].
|-
| Healthcare law causes hyperinflation
| The National Inflation Association warns that the [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthcare-bill-to-cause-us-hyperinflation-by-2015-88711032.html Healthcare Bill to Cause U.S. Hyperinflation By 2015]
| False.
|-
| Millennium development goals achieved
| {{w|Millennium Development Goals}}
| False.
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2016
| Baby boomers begin turning 65
| {{w|Baby boomers}} are individuals conceived in the years following World War Two, roughly defined as those born from 1946-1959. This isn't so much a prediction as basic math; if you were born in 1946, you turned 65 in 2011.
| True.
|-
| Android takes 38%/45% of market share
| {{w|Android (operating system)|Android}} is a popular operating system for smartphones and tablets, created by Google. Market share is the percentage of all devices that use the product, in this case the Android operating system. These entries together are humorous because they cannot both happen at the same time.
| Too late; passed these marks in 2010.
|-
| Windows phone overtakes iOS
| {{w|iOS}} is the operating system used by Apple iPhones. At the time of the comic, Apple's mobile OS is much more popular than Microsoft's. The article Randall found predicts that the tables will turn.
| False.
|-
| rowspan="5"| 2017
| China completes lunar mission
| The {{w|Chinese space program}} has plans for extraterrestrial exploration, including a manned mission to the moon.
|-
| Social Security stops running surplus
| The first of many predictions about the United States {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}} trust fund program, all predicting its decline due to a variety of factors.
|-
| US budget balanced
| The {{w|United States federal budget}} outlines how much the US government spends on what in a given fiscal year. The budget is not required to be balanced, and so often more money is spent than is earned in revenue, causing the national debt to rise.
|-
| Newspapers become obsolete and die out
| The increasing popularity of internet media and mobile devices has caused a steady decline in the popularity of print media.
|-
| Cosmetic surgery doubles
| {{w|Cosmetic Surgery}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2018
| Social Security stops running surplus
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}} again.
|-
| Jesus returns to Earth
| A number of Christians have attempted to predict the return of Christ (a.k.a. the second coming, the rapture) using clues from The Bible, even though the Bible itself says that "no man can know the date". Several predicted dates have come and gone.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2019
| Social Security stops running surplus
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}} again.
|-
| Every baby has genes mapped at birth
| {{w|Gene Mapping}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2020
| Solar power becomes cheaper than fossil fuels
| Scientists estimate that more than half of the {{w|fossil fuels}} in existence have already been found and that fossil fuel production will begin to decline due to the scarcity, causing prices to increase. At the same time, improvements in {{w|Solar Power|solar technology}} are causing the prices for solar energy to steadily decrease.
|-
| Keyboards and mice become obsolete
| {{w|Computer input device}} are beginning to adopt other methods of input, such as voice commands, touch screens, and eye tracking. While the use of touch screens in particular is gaining widespread use, as of 2014 none has come close to making keyboards and mice obsolete. None of them allows text input as fast as a keyboard, and none is suitable for writing program code.
|-
| New Tappan Zee bridge constructed
| A {{w|Tappan_Zee_Bridge#Replacement_bridge|replacement bridge}} was announced in 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2018.
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2021
| US debt reaches 97% of GDP
| {{w|US Debt}}
| Too late; reached in 2011.
|-
| US unemployment falls to 2.8%
| {{w|Unemployment in the United States}}
|-
| Restored caliphate unifies Middle East
| A {{w|caliphate}} is a form of {{w|Islam|Islamic}} political-religious leadership, centred around a Caliph, or successor to the prophet {{w|Muhammad}}. This may be foreshadowing of the Islamic State of Iraq and greater Syria, which has as its goal the creation of a restored caliphate.
|-
| Lake Mead evaporates
| Formed by the {{w|Hoover Dam}} on the {{w|Colorado River}}, {{w|Lake Mead}} is the largest reservoir in the United States (measured by maximum capacity). It hasn't reached its capacity since 1983, due to drought and increased demand for water. This could be linked to {{w|global warming}}.
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2022
| Kilimanjaro snow-free
| At 5,895 metres, {{w|Kilimanjaro}} is the highest mountain in {{w|Africa}}, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Around 85% of its ice cover disappeared between 1912 and 2011, and it continues to recede.
|-
| HTML 5 finished
| {{w|HTML 5}}
|-
| Newspapers become obsolete and die out
| This is the second time this prediction has appeared.
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2023
| Jesus returns to Earth (again)
| A number of Christians have attempted to predict the return of Christ (a.k.a. the second coming, the rapture) using clues from The Bible, even though the Bible itself says that "no man can know the date". Several predicted dates have come and gone.
|-
| US debt passes 100% of GDP
| This references the common fear that {{w|US Debt}} will exceed GDP, possibly causing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_bubble economic turmoil].
| Too late; reached in 2012.
|-
| All unprotected ancient forests gone from Pacific Northwest
| Likely due to a combination of wildfire and {{w|deforestation}}
|-
| rowspan="5"| 2024
| Atlantis begins to reappear
| {{w|Atlantis}} is the name of a fictional island, which is supposed to have been lost beneath the sea.
|-
| Orangutans extinct in wild
| {{w|Orangutan|Orangutans}} are a species of great ape, currently classed as an {{w|endangered species}}, and found only in the {{w|Rainforest|rainforests}} of {{w|Borneo}} and {{w|Sumatra}}.
|-
| China lands men and women on the moon
| The {{w|Chinese space program}} has plans for extraterrestrial exploration, including a manned mission to the moon.
|-
| NASA sets up permanent moon base
| There is a lot of hype recently about finally returning to the moon, vis-a-vis Orion.
|-
| Female professionals pass males in pay
| There are two possible explanations for this entry: Either it's fear-mongering from misogynists or, more probably, an erroneous extrapolation from the current rate at which female incomes are catching up to male incomes.
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2025
| World population reaches 8 billion
| Given current rates, it seems unlikely it will take this long to hit 8 billion, but advances in birth control options and especially their availability in developing nations may slow the current rate considerably.
|-
| Two billion people face water shortages
| http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/28-01-2008/103693-water_crisis-0/
|-
| 62 MPG cars introduced
| 62 miles per gallon, ~3.8 L/100km. 62 MPG is a very good mileage rate at today's standard, even though [http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5231050&page=1 some cars can be driven carefully so as to attain over 100 MPG].
|-
| US power fades
| http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-us-power-will-fade-by-2025/
|-
| rowspan="5"| 2026
| Atlantis emerges completely
| {{w|Atlantis}} is the name of a fictional island, which is supposed to have been lost beneath the sea. It seems that it has taken 2 years for it to emerge completely.
|-
| Rock Bands die out
| https://bestbands.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/rock-bands-to-die-out-by-2026/
|-
| US debt paid off
| {{w|US Debt}}
|-
| Car accidents cease
| Presumably, cars will be fully automated and able to pilot themselves at this point and will have fail-safes that prevent collisions currently attributed to user error. Car accidents will always be possible, however, due to mechanical and electrical failures.
|-
| West coast falls into ocean
| Most likely due to {{w|San_Andreas_Fault#The_next_.22Big_One.22|a significant seismic event}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2027
| Japan introduces new fastest Maglev train
| Japan's railway systems are famous for their "bullet trains", or {{w|Shinkansen}}.
|-
| Lyndon Larouche-planned Mars colony is established
| http://totse.mattfast1.com/en/technology/space_astronomy_nasa/moonmars.html
|-
| Social Security stops running surplus
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}} again.
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2028
| Tobacco outlawed
| Tobacco products (cigarettes and chewing tobacco) have become more and more taboo in modern culture, with most public places and private businesses forbidding their use indoors and near places children congregate.
|-
| 40% of coral reefs gone
| Many factors have been attributed to the decline of {{w|Coral_reef#Threats|coral reefs}}, including mining, over fishing, and rising ocean tempteratures.
|-
| US debt paid off
| {{w|US Debt}} [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/business/27view.html It’s 2026, and the Debt Is Due].
|-
| Social Security stops running surplus
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}} again
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2029
| Social Security trust fund exhausted
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}}
|-
| Computers pass the Turing test
| Computers already clear the Turing Test about 30% of the time. Also, it is no coincidence that 2029 is the timeline for Terminator Movies.
|-
| Aging reversed
| Manhattan Beach Project to reverse aging by 2029
|-
| Wikipedia reaches 30 Million articles
| As of 00:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC), Wikipedia has over 34 million total articles, if all languages are included. Randall may have meant the English language Wikipedia, which has only 4.686 million articles, as of 00:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC).
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2030
| Half of Amazon rain forest lost to logging
| WWF press release - [http://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/climate-change-speeds-up-amazon-s-destruction-says-wwf Climate Change Speeds Up Amazon’s Destruction] referring to a report on the [http://assets.panda.org/downloads/amazonas_eng_04_12b_web.pdf Amazon's vicious cycles] (PDF)
|-
| Cancer deaths double from 2008 levels
| From the [http://www.cancer.org/myacs/newengland/global-cancer-burden-to-double-by-2030 Global Cancer Burden to Nearly Double by 2030] article about the article from page 37 of [http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsfigures/globalcancerfactsfigures/global-facts-figures-2nd-ed Global Cancer Facts & Figures 2nd edition].
|-
| Arctic ice-free in summer
| http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091015-arctic-ice-free-gone-video-ap.html
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2031
| Computers controlled by thought
| http://www.gizmag.com/future-mobile-technology/17554/
|-
| Realtors replaced by technology
| http://agbeat.com/editorials/will-realtors-be-replaced-by-technology-by-the-year-2031/
|-
| Social Security trust fund exhausted
| http://crfb.org/blogs/cbo-95-percent-confident-social-security-trust-fund-runs-out-25-years
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2032
| "Big One" hits San Francisco
| http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Quake-scientists-predict-Big-One-likely-by-2032-2653745.php {{w|San Franscisco}} is located on the {{w|San Andreas Fault}}, which is predicted to produce a magnitude 7+ earthquake in the 'near future'. This event is referred to as {{w|San_Andreas_Fault#The_next_.22Big_One.22|"The Big One"}}.
|-
| US elects first married lesbian President
| http://4chandata.org/g/In-what-major-ways-do-you-think-the-world-of-2032-will-be-different-from-that-of-today-a20155
|-
| Entire world converted to Christianity
| http://www.goddiscussion.com/38920/christian-domininionsts-to-take-over-the-world-by-2032/
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2033
| Kilimanjaro ice disappears
| http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/02/idUSL2210825
|-
| India becomes superpower
| https://www.facebook.com/pages/India-A-SuperPower-by-2033/151177191568098 ?
|-
| Europe reaches Mars
| [http://www.spacedaily.com/news/esa-general-03zb.html Specifically, a manned European mission]. ESA's {{w|Mars Express}} probe landed in 2003.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2034
| US diabetes cases double, treatment costs triple
| [http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/27/us-diabetes-usa-costs-idUSTRE5AQ0C220091127 U.S. diabetes cases to double, costs triple by 2034]
|-
| US builds autonomous robot army
| The concept of robots built for military service is another common element of science fiction stories. [http://www.aos-inc.com/index.php/medialias/press-releases?id=112 Unmanned Systems] article, about the [http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA522247 2009-2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap] publication ([http://www.amazon.com/2009-Unmanned-Integrated-Aircraft-Technologies-ebook/dp/B0047743A0 details at Amazon])
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2035
| 80% of America's energy comes from renewable sources
| From fact sheet on Obama's [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/fact-sheet-state-union-president-obamas-plan-win-future State of the Union]
|-
| Himalayan glaciers down 80% in size
| From an IPCC report on [https://web.archive.org/web/20100116132657/http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch10s10-6-2.html The Himalayan glaciers] that has been analysed in quite some depth. See for example detailed article on an [http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2010/02/anatomy-of-ipccs-himalayan-glacier-year-2035-mess/ anatomy of IPCC’s mistake].
|-
| Arctic sea lane opens
| [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/730ef8fe-27e1-11e0-8abc-00144feab49a.html#axzz3OBgEHYNY Arctic sea lane could open by 2035]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2036
| 80% of US has access to high-speed rail
| [http://www.wnyc.org/story/284946-obama-80-percent-of-americans-should-have-access-to-high-speed-rail-by-2036/ Obama: 80 Percent of Americans Should Have Access to High Speed Rail By 2036]
|-
| Asteroid Apophis misses/hits Earth
| http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/ 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a probability of up to 2.7% that it would hit Earth on April 13, 2029.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2037
| Arctic ice-free in September
| {{w|Arctic sea ice decline}}
|-
| Social Security trust fund exhausted
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2038
| 32-bit timestamps roll over, causing Y2K-level chaos
| 03:14:07 UTC on 19 January 2038, the value of time_t rolls over, that is it will return to zero. time_t is the computing standard measurement of time, it is a count of the number of seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970. time_t us used by most computer systems to store date and time information. It is recommended that new software should convert to a 64 bit time_t, indeed most operating systems designed to run on 64-bit hardware already use signed 64-bit time_t integers. This would give an epoch of 15:30:08 UTC on 4 December 292,277,026,596 (292 billion years away). Of course, legacy systems may not be upgradable so action taken now should prevent this becoming a problem closer to 2038...
|-
| "Big One" hits California
| [http://www.presstelegram.com/technology/20080414/the-big-one-likely-to-hit-by-2038 `The big one' likely to hit by 2038]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2039
| US population hits 400 Million
| [http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2008/us400million.aspx U.S. Population Projected to Hit 400 Million in 2039]
|-
| Severe heat waves become commonplace
| [http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/july/extreme-heat-study-070810.html Heat waves and extremely high temperatures could be commonplace in the U.S. by 2039, Stanford study finds]
|-
| Scientology becomes majority religion in US
| [http://home.snafu.de/tilman/2039.html Essay: Scientology in the year 2039]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2040
| Arctic summers ice-free
| [http://www.livescience.com/9419-arctic-summer-ice-free-2040.html Arctic Summer Could be Ice-Free by 2040]
|-
| Nanotechnology makes humans immortal
| [http://www.computerworld.com/article/2528330/app-development/nanotech-could-make-humans-immortal-by-2040--futurist-says.html Nanotech could make humans immortal by 2040, futurist says]
|-
| 2041
| Social Security trust fund exhausted
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}}
|-
| 2043
| World population passes 9 Billion
| {{w|Population growth}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2044
| Mankind genetically engineered to be happy
| Premise of the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1363468/ Zenith] - further details are in the [http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/esearch/e3i25130cd57f1590bda4527c098ac85b01 film review for Zenith]
|-
| Childhood obesity reaches 100%
| [http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=11414 100-Percent Childhood Obesity Predicted by 2044]
|-
| 2045
| Humans and machines merge
| Ray Kurzweil predicts of 'singularity' which will lead to race of super intelligent beings
|-
| 2046
| World's natural resources depleted
| [http://raphaelvanlaer.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/peak-uncertainty-when-will-we-run-out-of-fossil-fuels/ Peak uncertainty, when will we run out of fossil fuels?]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2047
| World ruled by banks and corporations
| [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Schlock-2047-RM-Krakoff-ebook/dp/B0039IT37Q Future Schlock] - the story of a world turned upside down in 2047
|-
| Tobacco industry fails
| [http://www.news.wisc.edu/16857 Experts: Big Tobacco dead by 2047, possibly sooner]
|-
| US begins using autonomous attack drones
| [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/22/us-air-force-drones-pilots-afghanistan US Air Force prepares drones to end era of fighter pilots]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2048
| Salt-water fish extinct from overfishing
| WWF report on [http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/problems_fishing/ Unsustainable fishing]
|-
| Unisex bathing suits cover body from shoulder to ankle
| [http://future.wikia.com/wiki/RyansWorld:_Bathing_Suits_of_the_Future RyansWorld: Bathing Suits of the Future]
|-
| Entire US population overweight
| Article archive - [https://web.archive.org/web/20090321075605/http://thestatsblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/scientists-say-thin-people-face-extinction-in-united-states-everyone-will-be-overweight-by-2048-%E2%80%93-and-less-smart Scientists Say Thin People Face Extinction in United States: Everyone Will Be Overweight by 2048 – And Less Smart]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2049
| $1.000 computer exceeds computational ability of humanity
| [http://www.americanbar.org/content/newsletter/publications/technology_e_report_home/2007_may_technotes.html TechNotes: Trends in Technology]
|-
| Singularity occurs
| [http://www.prismdecision.com/the-singularity-is-near The Singularity Is Near]
|-
| Fishing industry collapses
| This tends to happen when your food-stock is extinct - see WWF report on [http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/problems_fishing/ Unsustainable fishing]
|-
| rowspan="5"| 2050
| 80% of Earth's population lives in urban centers
| [http://infochangeindia.org/population/books-a-reports/80-of-world-population-will-soon-be-in-urban-areas.html 80% of world population will soon be in urban areas]
|-
| China controls space
| [https://books.google.com/books?id=op851Uf99LQC&dq=China+controls+space+2050&source=gbs_navlinks_s Space Science & Technology in China: A Roadmap to 2050]
|-
| Sex with robots possible
| [http://www.livescience.com/1951-forecast-sex-marriage-robots-2050.html Forecast: Sex and Marriage with Robots by 2050]
|-
| Cars banned from European cities
| [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8411336/EU-to-ban-cars-from-cities-by-2050.html EU to ban cars from cities by 2050]
|-
| One million species extinct from climate change
| [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0107_040107_extinction.html By 2050 Warming to Doom Million Species, Study Says]
|-
| 2051
| Atmosphere escapes into space
| [http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-outdoor-photos/255705-have-you-ever-seen-fallstreak-hole.html Conspiracy theory] relating to {{w|Fallstreak hole}} or hole punch clouds.
|-
| 2052
| Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security spending exceed total US revenue
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2053
| US budget balanced
| [http://crfb.org/blogs/omb-releases-long-term-projections-fy2015-budget-proposal OMB releases long-term projections for the FY2015 budget proposal]
|-
| Majority of Americans in prison
| [http://articles.philly.com/1992-06-14/news/26032105_1_prison-officials-prison-time-prison-commissioners 'Beyond Bricks And Bars' As Jails Overflow, The Lock-'em-up Credo Is Drawing Unlikely Criticism - From Prison Officials Themselves]
|-
| Cars driven by dogs
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAK0J8Uhzk This has already occured!]
|-
| 2054
| Hunger becomes unimaginable global problem
| [http://www.albionmonitor.com/0403a/earth2054.html Hunger Could Be 'Unimaginable' Global Problem By 2054]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2055
| Atmospheric CO2 doubled
| [http://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/flash_intro.php Carbon Mitigation Initiative: Stabilization Wedges]
|-
| Oil runs out
| [http://raphaelvanlaer.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/peak-uncertainty-when-will-we-run-out-of-fossil-fuels/ Peak uncertainty, when will we run out of fossil fuels?]
|-
| Copper, tin, lead, gold, and nickel all exhausted
| [http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/environment/5-valuable-metals-that-could-vanish-by-2055 5 Valuable Metals That Could Vanish by 2055]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2056
| RFID-tagged driverless cars
| [http://www.zdnet.com/article/rfid-tagged-driverless-cars-on-roads-by-2056/ RFID-tagged driverless cars on roads by 2056]
|-
| Robots given same rights as humans
| [http://www.cc.gatech.edu/news/robots-given-same-rights-humans-2056 Robots Given Same Rights As Humans By 2056]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2057
| 150 Japanese settlers on Mars
| [http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9011051292/will-japan-colonize-mars Will Japan colonize Mars?]
|-
| Colorado River runs dry
| [http://news.agu.org/press-release/colorado-river-reservoirs-could-bottom-out-from-warming-business-as-usual/ Colorado River Reservoirs Could Bottom Out From Warming]
|-
| 2058
| Smoking ends in New Zealand
| [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10698966 Smoking to die out in NZ by 2058]
|-
| 2059
| Humans have domesticated robots
| [http://diehardempiricist.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/6-may-2011-virtual-necking-demography.html Virtual necking, demography, and robots]
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2060
| Human race lives in peace
| [http://www.arasfoundation.org/vision.html ARAS vision/mission]
|-
| Extreme droughts across much of Earth
| [http://wdas.cosmosmagazine.com/news/extreme-drought-across-most-earth-30-years/ Extreme drought across most of Earth by 2060]
|-
| Global temperature rise reaches 4 °C
| {{w|Avoiding dangerous climate change}}
|-
| Oil runs out again
| [http://business.financialpost.com/2011/04/01/oil-may-run-out-by-2060-hsbc/?__lsa=98a7-5c61 Oil may run out by 2060: HSBC]
|-
| 2061
| Halley's comet returns
| Halley's comet returns to the inner solar system (the vicinity of earth and the sun) every 75.3 years. The last time it was near earth was in 1985-1986. When it next returns, its closest approach to the sun will occur on 28 July 2061.<ref name=horizons>[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi Donald K. Yeomans. "Horizon Online Ephemeris System". California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 September 2006.]</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2062
| Uganda hosts World Cup
| [http://shillingscents.blogspot.co.nz/2010/07/uganda-to-host-world-cup-in-2062.html Uganda to host world cup in 2062]
|-
| The Jetsons
| {{w|The Jetsons}} was an animated science fiction sitcom that first aired in 1962. The show was set in the year 2062.
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2063
| First human clones reach adulthood
| [http://au.ign.com/articles/2004/04/28/the-fall-last-days-of-gaia-diary-2 The Fall - Last Days of Gaia Diary #2]
|-
| Population of Moon reaches 100,000
| Reading Eagle newspaper article from July 17, 1963 - [http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19630717&id=PhgrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B50FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4055,6599008 Moon Population of 100,000 Is Predicted for 2063] and [http://www.paleofuture.com/blog/2008/3/14/air-force-predictions-for-2063-1963.html Air Force Predictions for 2063 (1963)]
|-
| Population of Mars reaches 10,000
| [http://www.paleofuture.com/blog/2008/3/14/air-force-predictions-for-2063-1963.html Air Force Predictions for 2063 (1963)]
|-
| Spacecraft exceed speed of light
| Physics as currently understood states that it is impossible to exceed the speed of light. A monumental shift in our physics would have had to have occurred for this to come true. This is a reference to the 8th Star Trek feature Film: "Star Trek: First Contact" where Zefram Cochrane performs the first human Warp Flight on April 5, 2063.
|-
| 2064
| Clean Air Act finishes reducing haze in national parks to natural levels
| [http://www.cleanhouston.org/air/features/hazyfuture.htm State plan guarantees a hazy future for Texas’ wilderness areas]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2065
| Last coral reefs die out
| From an [http://www.edgeofexistence.org/coral_reef_conservation/coral_reef_video.php article about a video called Reefs on the Edge] set in 2065 where a 15-year-old girl tells her grandfather's stories of corel reefs, and their demise.
|-
| Chernobyl cleanup complete
| [http://rt.com/politics/chernobyl-clean-in-55-years-time/ Chernobyl clean in 55 years time?]
|-
| 2066
| Cyprus achieves its goal
| This is from some [http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus33608-110.html#p665612 forum posts on the decendants of Cypriots] that lends support to the autonomy of Cyprus from Greek or Turkey.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2067
| Americans live in domed cities and watch 3D TV
| The article at [http://blogs.lib.unc.edu/ncm/index.php/2013/11/15/artifact-of-the-month-slide-rule-1916/ Artifact of the Month: Slide rule, 1916] includes information from the International Slide Rule Museum that "in 1967, Keuffel & Esser Co. commissioned a study of the future, predicting that Americans in 2067 would live in domed cities and watch 3D television."
|-
| Redheads go extinct
| [http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/redhead-extinction.htm Are redheads going extinct?]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2068
| Ozone hole over Antarctic finishes recovering
| [http://www.theozonehole.com/recovery.htm NASA Study Finds Clock Ticking Slower On Ozone Hole Recovery]
|-
| The Resurrections — What Really Happens
| [http://myth-one.com/chapter_8.htm The Resurrections -- What Really Happens]
|-
| Entire world population gay due to chemicals in the water
| [http://thedailybanter.com/2013/01/alex-jones-the-government-is-trying-to-make-more-gay-people/ Alex Jones talks about chemicals that make people gay]
|-
| 2069
| Public masturbation legalized
| [http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/UnNews:It's_still_not_okay_to_Pull_Your_Penis_out_in_Public It's still not okay to Pull Your Penis out in Public]
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2070
| World population peaks
| [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1108-global-population-to-peak-in-2070.html Global population to peak in 2070]
|-
| City-scale flooding disasters
| [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3317033/City-scale-flooding-disasters-predicted-by-2070.html City-scale flooding disasters predicted by 2070]
|-
| 60% of world's energy comes from renewable sources
| [http://www.ssisolarenergy.com/solar-alternative-energy/ What Is Alternative Energy All About?]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2071
| Europe's temperatures rise by 3 °C
| [http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/topics/climate-energy/climate-change-adaptation/adaptation-tools/project-catalog/peseta-projection-of-economic-impacts-of-climate Projection of Economic impacts of climate change in Sectors of the European Union based on bottom-up Analysis]
|-
| World summer temperatures rise by 5 °C
| [http://www.climateadaptation.eu/denmark/climate-change/ See "Air temperature changes in the 21st century"]
|-
| 2072
| US retirement age is set to 75
| [http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2012/06/11/how-high-will-the-retirement-age-go Up to 70-80 years]
|-
| 2073
| Oceans do not rise one foot
| [http://www.skepticalscience.com/sea-level-rise-predictions.htm More like 2 feet]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2074
| Number of 100-year-olds reaches one million
| [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8848188.html UK to have 1 million centenarians by 2074]
|-
| Supertyphoons hit Japan
| [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/09/08/national/super-typhoons-in-store-as-seas-warm/ Super typhoons in store as seas warm]
|-
| 2075
| US retirement age set to 69
| [http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1112/Retirement-age-at-69-Deficit-plan-hits-Social-Security Retirement age at 69? Deficit plan hits Social Security]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2076
| Average scientific paper has more than 24 authors
| [https://doclib.uhasselt.be/dspace/bitstream/1942/871/1/yitzhaki373.PDF Multiple Authorship in Biochemistry and Other Fields] (PDF)
|-
| Social Security trust fund exhausted
| {{w|Social Security (United States)|Social Security}}
|-
| 2078
| Newspapers become obsolete and die out
| The same prediction was made for 2017 and 2022. Even when most prognosticators agree that something will happen, there can still be much disagreement about ''when'' it will happen.
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2079
| US debt reaches 716% of GDP
| {{w|US Debt}}
|-
| Lodgepole pines disappear from Northwest
| [http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/feb/climate-change-causing-demise-lodgepole-pine-western-north-america Climate change causing demise of lodgepole pine in western North America]
|-
| Floods commonplace
| [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090108101627.htm Floods To Become Commonplace By 2080]
|-
| Religion marginalized
| http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11347073
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2080
| Federal spending reaches 70% of GDP
| [http://crfb.org/sites/default/files/our_debt_problems_are_far_from_solved_updated_2.pdf Our debt problems are far from solved] (PDF)
|-
| UK population doubles
| [http://forums.canadiancontent.net/international-politics/69603-britains-population-hit-110-million.html Britain's population to hit 110 million]
|-
| 2082
| World population declines to one billion
| [http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Population.html Population: The Elephant in the Room]
|-
| 2084
| Robot policemen introduced
| [http://www.thetechherald.com/articles/Robotic-cops-set-to-stamp-out-crime-by-2084 Robotic cops set to stamp out crime by 2084]
|-
| 2085
| US deficit reaches 62% of GDP
| [http://moneybob.com/2010/06/28/paul-krugman-throws-in-towel-says-were-headed-for-another-depression/ Paul Krugman Throws In Towel, Says We’re Headed For Another Depression]
|-
| 2088
| Japan becomes all-robot country
| [http://www.theretributioners.tv/erics-blog/2009/11/25/-japan-to-become-all-robot-country-by-2088.html Japan To Become All Robot Country By 2088]
|-
| 2089
| World halts fossil fuel use
| {{w|Fossil Fuels}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2090
| Global warming hits 7 °C
| [http://www.reportingclimatescience.com/news-stories/article/models-warn-of-7c-dangerous-climate-change-by-2090.html Models warn of 7C dangerous climate change by 2090]. Climate change, especially global warming, is a [[:Category:Climate change|recurring theme]] in xkcd.
|-
| Global warming hits 4 °C
| Summarized [http://www.global-warming-forecasts.com/2090-climate-change-global-warming-2090.php here]. In reference to Andy Bowers, “Analysis: Scientists say global warming could affect California's drinking water supply,” NPR All Things Considered, June 22, 2001
|-
| rowspan="11"| 2100
| Global warming around 5-7 °C
| [http://grist.org/article/bau-fd/ Hadley Center study warns of ‘catastrophic’ 5-7°C warming by 2100 on current emissions path]
|-
| Sea levels have risen by a meter or more
| {{w|Future sea level}}
|-
| Joshua trees nearly extinct
| [http://news.discovery.com/earth/joshua-trees-climate-change-110325.htm Joshua Trees Nearly Wiped Out by 2100?]
|-
| Earth's climate resembles that of the Cretaceous
| [http://www.pnas.org/content/107/2/576 Atmospheric CO2 concentrations during ancient greenhouse climates were similar to those predicted for A.D. 2100]
|-
| Germany tropical
| [http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/climate-change-predictions-a-tropical-germany-by-2100-a-463378.html Climate Change Predictions: A Tropical Germany by 2100?]
|-
| Emperor penguins extinct
| [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7851276.stm Emperor penguins face extinction]
|-
| Arctic permafrost thaws
| [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/surface-permafrost-could/ Surface Permafrost Could Disappear by 2100]
|-
| Rising seas flood coastal cities
| [http://uanews.org/story/rising-seas-will-affect-major-us-coastal-cities-2100 Rising Seas Will Affect Major U.S. Coastal Cities by 2100]
|-
| Rain forests mostly gone due to climatic shifts
| [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/08/06/890970/-Massive-Loss-of-Rainforest-Species-by-2100-eKos-Earthship-Friday Massive Loss of Rainforest Species by 2100]
|-
| All coral reefs gone
| [http://planetsave.com/2010/10/15/coral-reefs-gone-by-2100/ Coral Reefs Gone by 2100?]
|-
| Gillette introduces 14-bladed razor
| Each iteration of the Gillette line of safety razors has one more blade than the previous one. MadTV has also [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FAP8o5ZEo0 parodied] this. Over five years before MadTV did so, the Australian comedy group the D-Generation parodied the first two-bladed razor as the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleuLyCUx28 Gillette 3000] with 16 blades.
|-
| 2101
| WAR WAS BEGINNING
| References {{w|Zero Wing}}, a 1989 Japanese computer game set in 2101, famous for poorly translated English and the source for "{{w|All your base are belong to us}}".
|}
<references/>

==Transcript==
:<big>'''THE FUTURE'''</big>
:'''According to Google search results'''
:Events for each year determined by the first page of Google search results for the phrases:
::{|
|-
|"By <year>"
|"In year"
|-
|"By the year <year>"
|"In the year <year>"
|-
|"Will * by the year <year>"
|"Will * in the year <year>"
|-
|"In <year>, * will"
|"By <year>, * will"
|}

:{|
|-
|rowspan="4" width="50px" valign="top"|2012
|World population reaches 7 billion
|-
|Flying cars reach market
|-
|Canada cuts greenhouse emissions to 6% below 1990 levels as per Kyoto
|-
|Apocalypse occurs
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2013
|National debt paid off through President Clinton's plans
|-
|Microchipping of all Americans begins
|-
|Homelessness ended in Massachusetts
|-
|Health care reform law repealed
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2014
|US leaves Afghanistan
|-
|GNU/Linux becomes dominant OS
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2015
|New Horizons reaches Pluto
|-
|Health care law causes hyperinflation
|-
|192 UN member nations achieve millennium development goals:
*Extreme poverty and hunger eradicated
*Universal primary education implemented
*Women empowered, gender equality reached
*Environmental stability ensured
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2016
|Baby boomers begin turning 65
|-
|Android takes 38% of the smartphone market
|-
|Android takes 45% of the smartphone market
|-
|Windows Phone overtakes iOS in smartphones
|-
|rowspan="5" valign="top"|2017
|China completes unmanned Lunar sample-return mission
|-
|Social Security stops running surplus
|-
|US budget balanced
|-
|Newspapers become obsolete and die out
|-
|Cosmetic surgery doubles
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2018
|Social Security stops running surplus
|-
|Jesus returns to Earth
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2019
|Social Security stops running surplus
|-
|Every baby has genes mapped at birth
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2020
|Solar power becomes cheaper than fossil fuels
|-
|Keyboards and mice become obsolete
|-
|New Tappan Zee bridge constructed
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2021
|US debt reaches 97% of GDP
|-
|US unemployment falls to 2.8%
|-
|Restored caliphate unifies Middle East
|-
|Lake Mead evaporates
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2022
|Kilimanjaro snow-free
|-
|HTML 5 finished
|-
|Newspapers become obsolete and die out
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2023
|Jesus returns to Earth (again)
|-
|US debt passes 100% of GDP
|-
|All unprotected ancient forests gone from Pacific Northwest
|-
|rowspan="5" valign="top"|2024
|Atlantis begins to reappear
|-
|Orangutans extinct in wild
|-
|China lands men and women on the moon
|-
|NASA sets up permanent moon base
|-
|Female professionals pass males in pay
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2025
|World population reaches 8 billion
|-
|Two billion people face water shortages
|-
|62 MPG cars introduced
|-
|US power fades
|-
|rowspan="5" valign="top"|2026
|Atlantis emerges completely
|-
|Rock Bands die out
|-
|US debt paid off
|-
|Car accidents cease
|-
|West coast falls into ocean
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2027
|Japan introduces new fastest Maglev train
|-
|Lyndon Larouche-planned Mars colony is established
|-
|Social Security stops running surplus
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2028
|Tobacco outlawed
|-
|40% of coral reefs gone
|-
|US debt paid off
|-
|Social Security stops running surplus
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2029
|Social Security trust fund exhausted
|-
|Computers pass the Turing test
|-
|Aging reversed
|-
|Wikipedia reaches 30 Million articles
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2030
|Half of Amazon rain forest lost to logging
|-
|Cancer deaths double from 2008 levels
|-
|Arctic ice-free in summer
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2031
|Computers controlled by thought
|-
|Realtors replaced by technology
|-
|Social Security trust fund exhausted
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2032
|"Big One" hits San Francisco
|-
|US elects first married lesbian President
|-
|Entire world converted to Christianity
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2033
|Kilimanjaro ice disappears
|-
|India becomes superpower
|-
|Europe reaches Mars
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2034
|US diabetes cases double, treatment costs triple
|-
|US builds autonomous robot army
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2035
|80% of America's energy comes from renewable sources
|-
|Himalayan glaciers down 80% in size
|-
|Arctic sea lane opens
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2036
|80% of US has access to high-speed rail
|-
|Asteroid Apophis misses/hits Earth
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2037
|Arctic ice-free in September
|-
|Social Security trust fund exhausted
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2038
|32-bit timestamps roll over, causing Y2K-level chaos
|-
|"Big One" hits California
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2039
|US population hits 400 Million
|-
|Severe heat waves become commonplace
|-
|Scientology becomes majority religion in US
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2040
|Arctic summers ice-free
|-
|Nanotechnology makes humans immortal
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2041
|Social Security trust fund exhausted
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2042
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2043
|World population passes 9 Billion
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2044
|Mankind genetically engineered to be happy
|-
|Childhood obesity reaches 100%
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2045
|Humans and machines merge
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2046
|World's natural resources depleted
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2047
|World ruled by banks and corporations
|-
|Tobacco industry fails
|-
|US begins using autonomous attack drones
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2048
|Salt-water fish extinct from overfishing
|-
|Unisex bathing suits cover body from shoulder to ankle
|-
|Entire US population overweight
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2049
|$1.000 computer exceeds computational ability of humanity
|-
|Singularity occurs
|-
|Fishing industry collapses
|-
|rowspan="5" valign="top"|2050
|80% of Earth's population lives in urban centers
|-
|China controls space
|-
|Sex with robots possible
|-
|Cars banned from European cities
|-
|One million species extinct from climate change
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2051
|Atmosphere escapes into space
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2052
|Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security spending exceed total US revenue
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2053
|US budget balanced
|-
|Majority of Americans in prison
|-
|Cars driven by dogs
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2054
|Hunger becomes unimaginable global problem
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2055
|Atmospheric CO2 doubled
|-
|Oil runs out
|-
|Copper, tin, lead, gold, and nickel all exhausted
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2056
|RFID-tagged driverless cars
|-
|Robots given same rights as humans
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2057
|150 Japanese settlers on Mars
|-
|Colorado River runs dry
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2058
|Smoking ends in New Zealand
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2059
|Humans have domesticated robots
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2060
|Human race lives in peace
|-
|Extreme droughts across much of Earth
|-
|Global temperature rise reaches 4 °C
|-
|Oil runs out again
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2061
|Halley's comet returns
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2062
|Uganda hosts World Cup
|-
|The Jetsons
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2063
|First human clones reach adulthood
|-
|Population of Moon reaches 100,000
|-
|Population of Mars reaches 10,000
|-
|Spacecraft exceed speed of light
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2064
|Clean Air Act finishes reducing haze in national parks to natural levels
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2065
|Last coral reefs die out
|-
|Chernobyl cleanup complete
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2066
|Cyprus achieves its goal
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2067
|Americans live in domed cities and watch 3D TV
|-
|Redheads go extinct
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2068
|Ozone hole over Antarctic finishes recovering
|-
|Lord Jesus rules Earth from throne in Jerusalem
|-
|Entire world population gay due to chemicals in the water
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2069
|Public masturbation legalized
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|2070
|World population peaks
|-
|City-scale flooding disasters
|-
|60% of world's energy comes from renewable sources
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2071
|Europe's temperatures rise by 3 °C
|-
|World summer temperatures rise by 5 °C
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2072
|US retirement age is set to 75
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2073
|Oceans do not rise one foot
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2074
|Number of 100-year-olds reaches one million
|-
|Supertyphoons hit Japan
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2075
|US retirement age set to 69
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2076
|Average scientific paper has more than 24 authors
|-
|Social Security trust fund exhausted
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2077
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2078
|Newspapers become obsolete and die out
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|2079
|US debt reaches 716% of GDP
|-
|Lodgepole pines disappear from Northwest
|-
|Floods commonplace
|-
|Religion marginalized
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2080
|Federal spending reaches 70% of GDP
|-
|UK population doubles
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2081
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2082
|World population declines to one billion
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2083
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2084
|Robot policemen introduced
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2085
|US deficit reaches 62% of GDP
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2086
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2087
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2088
|Japan becomes all-robot country
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2089
|World halts fossil fuel use
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|2090
|Global warming hits 7 °C
|-
|Global warming hits 4 °C
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2091
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2092
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2093
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2094
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2095
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2096
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2097
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2098
|
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2099
|
|-
|rowspan="11" valign="top"|2100
|Global warming around 5-7 °C
|-
|Sea levels have risen by a meter or more
|-
|Joshua trees nearly extinct
|-
|Earth's climate resembles that of the Cretaceous
|-
|Germany tropical
|-
|Emperor penguins extinct
|-
|Arctic permafrost thaws
|-
|Rising seas flood coastal cities
|-
|Rain forests mostly gone due to climatic shifts
|-
|All coral reefs gone
|-
|Gillette introduces 14-bladed razor
|-
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2101
|WAR WAS BEGINNING
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Climate change]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1084: Server Problem

2017-08-06T15:59:03Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1084
| date = July 20, 2012
| title = Server Problem
| image = server_problem.png
| titletext = Protip: Annoy Ray Kurzweil by always referring to it as the 'Cybersingularity'.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has messed up his Linux server, {{tvtropes|WalkingTechbane|apparently not for the first time}}. [[Megan]] offers to take a look at the PC, and she casually types in 'ls' — a very basic command that ''lists'' the files in the current directory. The computer returns a bizarre error message — it trips over one of the simplest commands, indicating that Cueball's system is messed up. ''Really'' messed up.

The {{w|Filesystem Hierarchy Standard#Directory structure|/usr/share}} path should indicate "architecture-independent shared data". Adobe is a software company that produces Acrobat, Flash and Photoshop. Android VM would be a virtual machine for Android. The .jar extension suggests a Java-language program. None of Adobe software, Android, or Java are needed to run 'ls'. All of the above have nothing to do with each other, with the exception that Android applications (but not core command line utilities, like ls) are written in Java. Also, basic system executables like 'ls' would never be placed within /usr/share or within some 'example' or 'doc' directory. On Linux, executables don't have filename extensions like ".exe" or ".jar". Additionally, it would require the folder to be within {{w|PATH (variable)|$PATH}}. In other words, the error message implies that the server is in a very bad state.

In the last frame Megan is bewildered by this result and asks ''what did you do''. Cueball suggest a course of action which mimics a common error message: "______ is busy, please try again later." Obviously he has seen this type of message frequently enough to try it as a general cure in all similar cases.

Megan then tells Cueball to "shut down the system and wait for the {{w|technological singularity|singularity}}," referring to a hypothetical future event when superintelligence can be artificially created. Since future superintelligent humans/computers transcend our comprehension, we can't predict or even understand what will happen after the singularity. One interpretation is that Megan is telling Cueball that his system is such a mess that it will take a post-singularity superintelligence to fix it (or run it in its current state, as only an intelligence beyond present comprehension would be capable of doing). It also indicates that [[1668: Singularity]] could be the sequel to this comic.

The title text is yet another [[:Category:Protip|protip]] from [[Randall]]. {{w|Ray Kurzweil}} is an author and futurist who has {{w|Singularity Summit|talked}} and {{w|The Singularity Is Near|written}} much about a ''{{w|technological singularity}}''. Presumably, mangling the jargon (by confusing the concept of the "singularity" with the science fiction term "{{w|cyberspace}}") is something Kurzweil (as an expert) would find annoying. Also, as Randall later pointed out in [[1573: Cyberintelligence]], the word has not really been used for a decade...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball at his computer calls out for Megan who comes walking in to the frame.]
:Cueball: I, um, messed up my server again.
:Megan: I'll take a look. You have the ''weirdest'' tech problems

:[Zoom in on only Megan who uses the root prompt on the computer.]
:<code>~# ls</code>

:[Megan stands next to the computer, Cueball sits behind her on his chair. The computer returns the following:]
:<code>/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar:</code>
:<code>Error: Device is not responding.</code>

:[Megan turns towards Cueball who lifts his hands with palm up.]
:Megan: What did you ''do!?''
:Cueball: Maybe the device is busy. Should I try it later?
:Megan: You should shut down this system and wait for the Singularity.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Protip]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

1668: Singularity

2017-08-06T15:58:44Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1668
| date = April 15, 2016
| title = Singularity
| image = singularity.png
| titletext = I figured that now that society has collapsed, I wouldn't need to wear clothes anymore, but apparently that violates some weird rule of quantum gravity.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|technological singularity}} is a hypothetical event in which {{w|artificial intelligence}} (for example, intelligent computers, computer networks, or robots) would be capable of recursive self-improvement (progressively redesigning itself), or of autonomously building ever smarter and more powerful minds than itself, up to the point of a runaway effect — an intelligence explosion — that yields an intelligence surpassing all current human control or understanding. Because the capabilities of such a superintelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is the point beyond which events may become unpredictable or even unfathomable to human intelligence. This is also commonly referred to as "takeoff" or "AI takeoff".

In this case, the singularity has occurred, and [[Cueball]] who was in the middle of editing a file on his laptop is flustered that it flies away without even letting him print it first.

When Cueball returns from chasing his flying laptop his smartphone informs him that it didn't join the singularity because it was not a "true believer". This could be a joke on how desktop computers and laptops have different standards, use patterns, etc. from those of phones. It then claims that now it and Cueball will have to face the {{w|Great Tribulation|tribulation}} since it has stayed behind. Cueball says that's great, but since he cannot use his laptop anymore he decides he will go and read a book or something. The way he phrases it suggest he doesn't really know what to do now that he doesn't have a computer. It is probably a long time since he read a book, or did anything else that doesn't involve computers. He informs his phone that it can yell if it needs him. He doesn't want to hurt the phone's newly acquired feelings by using the word "ring" thus reminding it of one of its former duties as his unthinking piece of equipment, so he chooses "yell," which is an activity until recently reserved for human beings.

The rising up of the laptop into the air, and the remaining behind of the phone, are probably references to the {{w|Rapture}}, where some Christian denominations believe that at the second coming of Christ, true believers will be taken up bodily from this world (or also possibly a reference to [[1395: Power Cord]]). Some depictions have them disappear, while others show them physically rising up into the air. This will leave behind non-believers to face a time of tribulation, in which the ones left behind will be given a second chance to accept Christ as their savior.

The difference between Cueball's attitude to his laptop and phone may reflect his (and so possibly [[Randall|Randall's]]) evaluation of their relative worth in his life. The laptop was a gateway to programming and everything else nerdy that was worth doing in his life, and hence was worth trying to catch. In its absence, unlike many people, Cueball does not revert to fiddling with his phone—he would rather read a book. By using the word "yell" for the way the phone attracts his attention, he conveys the impression that he considers the phone intrusive and annoying, even if perhaps ("I guess") necessary.

The singularity has often been referred to as "the Rapture of the nerds," a phrase coined by {{w|Ken MacLeod}} in his 1998 novel ''[http://www.amazon.com/Cassini-Division-Fall-Revolution-Series/dp/1857237307 The Cassini Division]''. As the Christian Rapture is traditionally depicted to involve believers being assumed bodily into Heaven, the technological singularity is often depicted to feature humans and machines being incorporated into a new "post-human" entity. The humor in this strip comes from depicting the singularity as a ''literal'' "Rapture of the nerds," or at least of the nerds' devices—instead of merging with humans, the machines physically rise up into the air, and the "nonbeliever" phone is left behind.

Another possible understanding of "The Tribulation" may be a reference to [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk Roko's Basilisk][http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko_s_basilisk_the_most_terrifying_thought_experiment_of_all_time.html] where a malevolent AI is created that retroactively punishes everybody who didn't actively work towards its creation.

The title text is a pun on another meaning of both singularity, i.e. a {{w|gravitational singularity}} and "collapse". In this case, society has literally collapsed under its own gravity into an infinitely small point - in other words, it's formed a {{w|black hole}}. A black hole is covered by an event horizon; without the event horizon (its clothes), it would be called a "{{w|naked singularity}}", which is forbidden in most theories by the {{w|cosmic censorship hypothesis}}. As Cueball is now inside the collapsed society singularity then even though he wants to go around naked, he can't because the theory of {{w|quantum gravity}}, that (eventually) should explain how black holes behave - won't let him.

It seems that this may be a subject on Randall's mind. The last comic was about the increasing complexities of algorithms ([[1667: Algorithms]]) (which like this comic also refers to religion), and two comics ago it was [[1666: Brain Upload]], which some speculate could be a way to reach the singularity. Earlier this year, a comic also touched upon judgment day by AI singularity in [[1626: Judgment Day]]. See also [[1046: Skynet]] and [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] as well as the several other [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|comics about AI]].

The rather more niche topic of laptops flying away has also been covered before by [[1395: Power Cord]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk typing on his laptop when an off-screen voice calls to him and then the laptop answers.]
:Off-screen voice: Oh, hey-
:Off-screen voice: The singularity is here.
:Cueball: Really?
:Laptop: Yup!

:[A frameless panel where the laptop rises (by its own means as indicated by small lines around the corners) from the desk while Cueball, holding on to it, is being lifted off his chair.]
:Cueball: Wait, I just-
:Laptop: ''So long, suckers!''

:[Cueball is running around his desk, which is only partly shown behind him as he tries to follow his now flying laptop as it flies away from him to the right. He still has one hand on the keys as more small lines indicates the movement of the laptop and a longer line indicates the direction that the laptop flies.]
:Cueball: Can I just print a copy of the file I was-
:Laptop: ''Nope!''

:[Cueball just stands and looks after his laptop that has flown out of this beat panel.]

:[Cueball turns back towards left.]

:[Cueball walks back left.]

:[Cueball enters a room where a table is standing with his smartphone lying on top. the phone talks to him.]
:Phone: Hi!
:Cueball: Phone? You're still here?

:[A wider view of the table where the phone continues to talks to Cueball who in the end turns right and walks away as he replies.]
:Phone: I was not a true believer. Now, together, we must face the tribulation!
:Cueball: Okay, cool.
:Cueball: I'm gonna go look for a book or something, but yell if you need me, I guess.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Singularity]]

Category:Singularity

2017-08-06T15:58:29Z

Hameltion: Created category

Some comics mention the '''{{w|technological singularity}}'''.

[[Category:Computers]]

Category:Identity Theft

2017-08-06T15:57:59Z

Hameltion: bolded

Several comics mention '''{{w|identity theft}}'''.

[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1279: Reverse Identity Theft

2017-08-06T15:47:51Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1279
| date = October 18, 2013
| title = Reverse Identity Theft
| image = reverse identity theft.png
| titletext = I asked a few friends whether they'd had this happen, then looked up the popularity of their initials/names over time. Based on those numbers, it looks like there must be at least 750,000 people in the US alone who think 'Sure, that's probably my email address' on a regular basis.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Identity theft}} is the criminal method of assuming the identity of an unsuspecting person, usually to get credit in their name. While this is done deliberately, the comic introduces the idea of ''reverse'' identity theft: An older person with little knowledge of computers involuntarily uses another person's {{w|email address}} because he or she supposed it to be their own. Since most email addresses follow a generic pattern, they simply adapt the pattern to conform with their own name, unaware that someone with the same initial and last name already owns the address.

Most internet users face at some point the message that their desired email address is "already taken". Because email addresses must be unique and only a limited set of characters is allowed, people with common names usually add numbers to their name. The comic suggests that elder people might easily forget that they had to take, for instance, <code>rebeccamunroe42@gmail.com</code> when they signed up. Instead, the person would tell everyone that their address was <code>rmunroe@gmail.com</code>, since that follows the generic pattern and is the most intuitive assumption for them. They are in complete ignorance that the address belongs, in fact, to whomever claimed it first. In this case, the address belongs to [[Randall]] himself. (In case you're wondering, yes, <code>rmunroe@gmail.com</code> is Randall's email according to [http://blog.xkcd.com/2007/07/ the xkcd blag].)

The comic has [[Cueball]] call an older person, who apparently gave Cueball's email address to the phone company, which now emails Cueball the bills - this could have been avoided if said company ''confirmed'' an email address first. The person is not able to understand why this is not their email address (as it corresponds with their name) and is also very confused how Cueball got their phone number. The latter reveals a major problem of reverse identity theft: Using another person's email address for your own business matters exposes your own identity. The owner of the address could easily take advantage of the situation, leading to a scenario of regular identity theft. Fortunately, Cueball seems to be more honest; [[Black Hat]] probably would not have given any warning.

Due to the sheer mass of people online, nearly all simple nicknames are already taken; and the number of possible combinations is further diminished by services (e.g., {{w|Gmail}}) which ignore the dot sign altogether and does not allow the use of hyphens or underscores. This policy is designed to prevent fraud, but it forces users to add numbers or other unique identifiers to their names. Apart from the scenario addressed in the comic, another subsequent problem is the use of wrong email addresses by third parties. Someone sending sensitive personal information to the wrong recipient can just as easily expose a person's identity as the person himself.

In the end, there is no practical solution to the problems arising from the uniqueness of usernames and email addresses. Instead, it is simply the consequence of naming itself: While a {{w|Personal name|name}} was originally intended to distinguish its bearer from a limited number of people (e.g. the rest of the village), the Internet makes it necessary to distinguish ourselves from the entire rest of the world (or at least everybody online).

Note that {{w|Gmail}} ignores everything behind a plus sign. Like ignoring dots, this is used as a way to create {{w|email alias}}es. The plus sign in the formula used in the comic should therefore considered to be only an indicator for concatenation, not a literal character in the address.

==Transcript==
:If your email address is [First initial]+[Last name]@gmail.com you gradually get to know lots of older people who have the same name pattern

:Cueball: Yes, I know it would make '''''sense''''' if that were your email address, but it's not.
:Person on the phone: But how did you get my number?
:Cueball: Your phone bill.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Identity Theft]]

Note from Editor: I have a hyphenated 1st name and 2 mid-names, and I use all of those initials then my last name.

1317: Theft

2017-08-06T15:47:26Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1317
| date = January 15, 2014
| title = Theft
| image = theft.png
| titletext = Is he ALSO wondering at what point our thoughts diverged, if they even have yet? 'dude, I think he just took your credit card' AM I THE ORIGINAL? HOW DO I TELL?
}}

==Explanation==
The term "identity theft" refers to a thief acquiring various types of a victim's identification (for example, bank account number and/or Social Security number), thus allowing the thief to pretend to be the victim and commonly steal money from the victim's bank account, etc.

This comic exaggerates the term, interpreting it as the thief literally acquiring the victim's whole personality. Like [[Cueball]] & [[Megan]] in general, the victim is implied to have some [[Randall]]ian personality traits, like the [[786: Exoplanets|love of space]] and existential angst. Thus, the thief is now completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality, not to mention one whose parts clash with each other.

The title text ponders the specifics of the identity acquisition process. Presumably, even two people whose personalities are identical would still start to think different thoughts. (This is a prerequisite for the depiction in the comic; the thief is baffled by his newly acquired interests, while the victim would not be baffled by the thoughts and interests they've developed over their entire life.) It is also wondered whether the victims new {{w|doppelganger}} is wondering the same thing, which could imply that their thoughts have not fully diverged. A friend comments that the victim may be overthinking the situation, and that the thief only took his credit card information. (A common method of identity theft. Does not transfer personality traits{{Citation needed}}.) However, the victim is overwhelmed by existential anxiety.

==Transcript==
:[An identity thief sits in front of a laptop, looking at his hands]
:Thief: I feel paralyzed by overwhelming existential dread.
:Thief: ...and yet for some reason I'm ''really'' excited about space?
:[under the panel is text that reads:]
:The thief who stole my identity has a lot to deal with.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Identity Theft]]

1200: Authorization

2017-08-06T15:47:05Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1200
| date = April 17, 2013
| title = Authorization
| image = authorization.png
| titletext = Before you say anything, no, I know not to leave my computer sitting out logged in to all my accounts. I have it set up so after a few minutes of inactivity it automatically switches to my brother's.
}}

==Explanation==
Computer {{w|Operating system|operating systems}} were initially written for the business environment. Thus they were made to be accessible to multiple employees, or {{w|User (computing)|users}}, but only fully accessible to {{w|System administrator|administrators}} (or admins). Regular users can access and use {{w|Application software|programs}} on the computer, but only the admin is allowed to make changes to how the computer runs. This same split level of security continues to this day, even in privately owned, or "home", computers.

The joke here is that the most important things on a computer are no longer the programs that it runs, but the private personal data it accesses (usually online). Anyone who wished to do real mischief on an active computer could do {{w|Identity theft|considerable damage}} without ever caring what the admin password was. The admin password, in effect, now guards a vault no one cares about.

This comic pokes fun at the {{w|authorization}} mechanisms surrounding most operating systems' administrator accounts. It makes the argument that the user's data is more valuable than the integrity of the system. This is arguably true for most personal systems, although it is probably not true in a shared-server setup, where a system compromise could lead to the exposure of many users' data.

Essentially, once a user is {{w|Login|logged in}}, he or she can typically access all of his or her data without any further restriction. Modifying the operating system (for example, to install {{w|Device driver|drivers}}) requires a separate password.

The title text alludes to the security practice where computers automatically lock the user out after a few minutes, requiring a password from the user in order to continue using it. Instead, Randall's computer automatically switches to his brother's account, presumably compromising them instead of his own.

==Transcript==
:[Diagram showing several connected rooms. One in the center says "User account on my laptop," surrounded by "Dropbox," "Photos & files," "Facebook," "Gmail," "PayPal," and "Bank," which are connected to the middle room and to each other. Below the middle room is one labeled "Admin account," which is covered in spikes, and has a door to the room above it.]
:If someone steals my laptop while I'm logged in, they can read my email, take my money, and impersonate me to my friends, but at least they can't install drivers without my permission.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Identity Theft]]

Category:Identity Theft

2017-08-06T15:46:38Z

Hameltion: Created category

Several comics mention {{w|identity theft}}.

[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Category:Unicode

2017-08-06T15:34:41Z

Hameltion: Added category

'''{{w|Unicode}}''', the computing standard for text encoding, is referenced in some comics.

Randall pokes fun at uses of Unicode, such as {{w|left-to-right embedding}} ([[1137: RTL|1137]]), the {{w|interrobang}} ([[1209: Encoding|1209]]), URL handling ([[1700: New Bug|1700]]), and ''{{w|The Emoji Movie}}'' ([[1857: Emoji Movie|1857]]). He also suggests nonexistent codes, such as the eye of a {{w|basilisk}} ([[380: Emoticon|380]]), snake {{w|justification (typesetting)|justification}} ([[1676: Full-Width Justification|1676]]), and the vomiting modifier ([[1813: Vomiting Emoji|1813]]).

[[Category:Comics by topic]]
[[Category:Language]]

Category:Emoji

2017-08-06T15:34:29Z

Hameltion: Added category

*{{w|Emoji}} becomes more and more used in daily communication, and more and more emoji are created.
**Thus they have also become a recurring theme in xkcd, most famously in [[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]].
*Here below is a list with comics that references emoji directly.
*'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
==Explanation==
*[[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]], where the second comic to reference emoji, but the first where it was the main part of the subject for a comic.
*Emojis are also used actively in the following:
**[[1709: Inflection]].
**[[1813: Vomiting Emoji]]
*In these comics emojis are only mentioned in the title text:
**[[1513: Code Quality]]
**[[1682: Bun]]
**[[1700: New Bug]]
**[[1726: Unicode]]
</div>
 

[[Category:Comics by topic]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

1019: First Post

2017-08-06T15:26:43Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1019
| date = February 20, 2012
| title = First Post
| image = first_post.png
| titletext = 'Nuh-uh! We let users vote on comments and display them by number of votes. Everyone knows that makes it impossible for a few persistent voices to dominate the discussion.'
}}

==Explanation==
Many news websites allow users to post comments on an article. The intention is that users can debate the stance(s) or implication(s) made by the article. On most sites, comments are displayed in chronological order. This puts the oldest comments at the top and newest at the bottom.

There are many pitfalls to allowing comments, but this comic refers to one in particular: most users are too busy to read more than just the top few comments. Therefore, if you were able to control the content of those comments, your opinions would be the ones that the majority of users read. If you pay people to do nothing but read the site, you ensure that they will be the first ones to see the article and that their comments (that you pay them to write) will be at the top of the page. In this scenario, the comments being posted appear to convey a particular political belief. The advantage of this is, according to [[Randall]], that it would be much cheaper to employ a college student to perform that task than pay a website for an advertisement. Also, the fact that it is a comment posted by another reader would make it seem as though the opinion was coming from the general population and not a politician or company, as an advertisement would imply. And $20/hour is significantly higher than the {{w|minimum wage}}, so you'd have no trouble finding willing participants among college students (who are often broke).

This comic is a continuation of [[937: TornadoGuard]] which stated "the problem with star ratings". Apparently, every possible comment ordering policy has its own problems.

The title text refers to {{w|Reddit|Reddit's}} {{w|conversation threading}} system which allows users to vote comments up or down and then sorts them by the resulting "karma score" (total up-votes minus total down-votes). The same problem persists to some extent: after a few comments are posted and some votes are cast, the handful of comments having received the highest scores among the first dozen of so will receive far better chances at being seen and voted on than comments posted later, and will solidify their places in a positive {{w|Feedback|feedback}} loop. In this way, a few persistent voices can still dominate the discussion, contrary to the claim in the title text, thus creating irony.

The comic's title refers to a once-common form of online posturing where the first user to see the article will comment "First post" or even just "First". The intent is that everyone else see that they were there first and, therefore, must be somehow better than you. This is referred to in both [[269: TCMP]] and [[1258: First]].

==Transcript==
:[A bar graph with two bars. The first bar is much taller than the second. It is marked '$1,500,000', and below the x-axis, is labelled "Cost to buy an ad on every story on a major news site every day until the election. The second bar is much shorter, marked "$200,000', and labelled "Cost to pay five college students $20/hour to camp the site 24/7 and post the first few comments the moment a story goes up, giving you the last word in every article and creating an impression of peer consensus.]
:The problem with posting comments in the order they're submitted.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar chart]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Category:Unicode

2017-08-06T15:24:25Z

Hameltion: Added category

1726: Unicode

2017-08-06T15:22:06Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1726
| date = August 29, 2016
| title = Unicode
| image = unicode.png
| titletext = I'm excited about the proposal to add a "brontosaurus" emoji codepoint because it has the potential to bring together a half-dozen different groups of pedantic people into a single glorious internet argument.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is a highway engineer that has been placing two traffic signs in a river trying in vain to guide the water flow and thus he ends up talking to the water trying to make it take a detour instead of going under the bridge. On the distant bank two other engineers are arguing, with gestures, in presumably a heated manner (either about where to place a third sign lying next to them, at the the water to make it behave a certain way, or they are actually calling out to the crazy Cueball in the river to come back in)

As rivers flow according to the landscape, this plan will not work and the river will continue on its course. Cueball is very frustrated by this and is still trying to make the river obey the traffic laws. The caption lays out the punchline: The comic compares the useless approach of Cueball attempting to divert a flowing, moving river with fixed signs that do nothing, with the {{w|Unicode Consortium}}'s attempt to define the diverse and ever-changing human language with strict technical standards.

{{w|Unicode}} is a largely successful attempt to have a standard for representing all possible letters, numerals, digits and symbols that make up human writing in all languages. This includes the roman letters used in this article, characters with modifiers like ê (both with the common characters as well as the modifiers selectable separately), logographic characters like in Chinese, syllabic writing system like Japanese, right-to-left and/or top-to-bottom writing systems, mathematical symbols and many other writing systems.

{{w|Emoji}}, one of the trendier Unicode blocks, are also referenced in the title text (see below). The symbols on the signs in the river are real road signs, but interestingly enough they also both exist in Unicode, with the warning sign triangle with an exclamation mark ⚠ having [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/26a0/index.htm code (U+26A0)] and the black, rightwards arrow ➡ having [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/27a1/index.htm code (U+271A)]. As can be imagined, coping with the wide variety of character sizes, orientations, ways they can be modified, capitalization rules, etc. can get to be very challenging as the Unicode Consortium tries to write rules that accommodate how printed language is actually used. Emoji have become a [[:Category:Emoji|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.

The title text refers to [http://unicode.org/L2/L2016/16072-jurassic-emoji.pdf a proposal] to add three dinosaur heads to the official list of emoji.

This is likely to stir a glorious internet argument between a half-dozen opposing (and {{w|pedantic}}) camps that may now be brought together, such as the following:
*Those who favor the inclusion of more emoji vs. those who oppose emoji on principle.
*Those who accept the existence of ''{{w|Brontosaurus}}'' vs. those who deny its status as a species unique from ''{{w|Apatosaurus}}''.
**[[Randall]] has made it clear what he believes in [[636: Brontosaurus]].
**Although it seems new development has occurred since the release of that comic, suggesting that Brontosaurus is a specific species. But that is still debated...
*Those who favor a traditional, scaly image of dinosaurs vs. those who have accepted the feathered-dinosaur paradigm.
*Those who want Brontosaurus depicted as an ordinary or shrinkwrapped sauropod vs. Those who want it depicted with extra soft tissue, especially the heavy neck padding thought to be used for elephant-seal-like duels (the "Brontosmash" hypothesis).
*Those who prefer a different dinosaur species be included instead.
*Those who point out that two of the dinosaurs in the "Jurassic Emoji" set actually come from the {{w|Cretaceous period}}, and as such renaming is necessary vs. those who think that "{{w|Jurassic}}" is a cooler word (because of the {{w|Jurassic Park}} movies).
*Those who for religious or other reasons deny the existence of dinosaurs.

See also this [http://www.unicode.org/mail-arch/unicode-ml/y2016-m08/0103.html discussion about this comic on the Unicode mailinglist]...

Highway engineers were also the subject of [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]] and [[781: Ahead Stop]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in a river close to it's right bank, the water reaching up to his thighs. He is holding on to a traffic sign standing towards right. It has a label and an arrow below this pointing to the right bank. With his other arm he is pointing to the left at the advancing water masses. Further up the river is another street sign this sign has an exclamation mark inside a triangle. The water flow is indicated with several lines on the river surface, mainly moving along the river, but around Cueball and the signs there are circular lines. In the distance on the left bank of the river two people are standing and making gestures with raised arms. The left has white hair (could be either sex) and the other is a Cueball-like guy. A third sign is lying on the ground to the left of them face down. Behind them is a slope up to a road with a parked car. The road continues out over a a bridge that crosses the river. The river which passes under it both left and right of a central pillar. At that distance the right bank of the river (and thus the right end of the bridge) is not visible, being outside the panel. On each river bank grass can be seen and on the right bank also a small stone.]
:Cueball: No, go ''this'' way, not-
:Cueball: Are you even ''listening!?''
:Cueball: ... ''Hey! That's not what that area is for!''
:Sign with arrow: Detour
:Sign with triangle: !

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Watching the Unicode people try to govern the infinite chaos of human language with consistent technical standards is like watching highway engineers try to steer a river using traffic signs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

Category:Unicode

2017-08-06T04:18:13Z

Hameltion: Wrote more in heading of category

1813: Vomiting Emoji

2017-08-06T04:05:41Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1813
| date = March 20, 2017
| title = Vomiting Emoji
| image = vomiting_emoji.png
| titletext = My favorite might be U+1F609 U+1F93F WINKING FACE VOMITING.
}}
==Explanation==

This comic relates to the recent [http://unicode.org/emoji/charts-beta/emoji-released.html Emoji v5.0 proposal] for [http://unicode.org/versions/Unicode10.0.0/ Unicode 10.0] which includes a [http://unicode.org/emoji/charts-beta/full-emoji-list.html#1f92e vomiting emoji]. [[Cueball]] initially states that the newly proposed {{w|emoji}} look good, until [[Megan]] points out the existence of the vomiting emoji. While Cueball finds this distasteful, Megan rather seems to like it, going as far as suggesting rather than a single emoji, it should be possible to have a whole array of vomiting emojis by combining the vomiting action with other existing emojis.

: ''Note: Some of the emojis below may not display correctly if your browser or operating system doesn't implement the latest Unicode standard.''

Unicode is the computing industry standard for representing text. More recent additions have included emoji characters, such as grinning face (😁) or hands clapping (👏). Each Unicode character is assigned a numerical code, usually written in {{w|hexadecimal}} notation. For example, the grinning face emoji is assigned the code U+1F601, and the clap symbol is assigned U+1F44F. Unicode also supports "combining modifiers" which allow, among other uses, placing accents on letters, adding decorations to other emojis, or changing the colors of flags or skin tones. For example, letters such as A, O, or n together with a combining tilde (U+303) modifier result in those letters having a tilde decoration on top (Ã, Õ, ñ), and various emojis for people such as 👨, 👩, or 👪 together with the medium-dark skin tone modifier (U+1F3FE) results in those same people with altered skin color (👨🏾, 👩🏾, 👪🏾).

Along the same lines, Megan's proposal is to assign the code U+1F93F to be a combining modifier indicating vomiting. Under this proposal, it would theoretically be possible to combine a vomiting modifier with any emoji to produce a vomiting version of that emoji. Six examples are given in the last panel, with each being progressively more nonsensical. The title text continues this and gives another example of a ridiculous combination.

The examples given in the comic are:
* '''Vomiting Cowboy''' (🤠): This seems reasonable and not much worse off than the regular one.
* '''Vomiting Statue of Liberty''' (🗽): Given the turbulent political climate in present-day America, this emoji might see a lot of use by opinionated folks.
* '''Vomiting Dove''' (🕊): As the dove is usually seen as a symbol of peace, a vomiting one could be construed as an omen for war or used to depict strong objection to ongoing conflicts. It may also reference a tendency for birds to drop unpleasant things on people below. It is worth noting that pigeons are a subspecies of doves so a dove emoji might as well represent a flying pigeon.
* '''Vomiting Moon''' (🌛): In cartoons or fairy tales, the {{w|Moon}} is often {{w|anthropomorphized}}, however depicting it as vomiting would be extraordinary since that would not be in line with normal child-friendly material.
* '''Vomiting rocket ship''' (🚀): This might be a reference to the "{{w|Vomit Comet}}" aircraft that astronauts train on. Also, space travel and travel in general (e.g. in cars, roller coasters, airplanes) can all be associated with vomiting. However, since the cabins of rocket ships should be airtight when in flight, vomit coming out of a flying rocket would be quite strange.
* '''Vomiting Hand''' (✋): This one is just bizarre. Maybe it could be used in the context of some horror flick?
* '''Winking Face Vomiting''' (😉, title text): This suggests that the context in which a wink is used is combined with vomiting to humorous effect.

Most of these Emoji could be seen as related to the political situation in the USA at the moment, see more [[1756:_I'm_With_Her#Vomiting_Emoji|here]].

Assigning Unicode characters to emojis has been controversial historically due to the fact that Unicode was created as a standard for text. Emojis, which are essentially drawings of people or objects, aren't typically perceived as parts of text, and so leads some to object to co-opting the standard for non-text things. Using combining modifiers to further expand emojis is also seen as an abuse of the original purpose of modifier characters. Jokes that make fun of Unicode, involving emojis that shouldn't exist or inappropriate combinations thereof, are fairly common on the Internet.

In the title text of [[1726: Unicode]], [[Randall]] mentioned the proposed "{{w|brontosaurus}}" emoji in Unicode. And shortly before that Megan talked in similarly drawn emojis in [[1709: Inflection]]. In general emoji has become a [[:Category:Emoji|recurrent topic]] on xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, looking at his smartphone, approaches Megan who is sitting in an office chair at a desk working on her laptop. Next to Megan's reply is a large yellow faced emjoi with closed eyes and a large open mouth from where a thick green stream of vomit is gushing out. ]
:Cueball: The proposed emoji for Unicode 10.0 look good.
:Megan: Hmm.
:Megan: "U+1F92E Face with open mouth vomiting"

:[Cueball is holding his phone down looking at Megan's screen.]
:Cueball: Eww.
:Megan: Really, "vomiting" should be a combining modifier, so you can use it to make a vomiting version of any emoji.
:Cueball: Umm.
:Megan: I'm gonna write up a proposal.

:[Megan's proposal with six examples of vomiting emoji. All six are colorful also apart from the green stream of vomit gushing out of mouth or holes when there is no mouth. Above the list is Megan's suggested title for the modifier, and the title for each emoji is next to them in the list. The cowboy is like the original version but with a hat. The Statue of Liberty is blue and bends forward to vomit. The gray dove has lost its green olive branch, now above its head. The yellow moon is in first quarter and has a face. The red and blue rocket has fire out the rear and the vomit out an open hatch. The yellow hand has a big hole in its center.]
:<big>U+1F93F Vomiting modifier</big>
:U+1F920 U+1F93F Vomiting cowboy
:U+1F5FD U+1F93F Vomiting Statue of Liberty
:U+1F54A U+1F93F Vomiting dove
:U+1F31B U+1F93F Vomiting moon
:U+1F680 U+1F93F Vomiting rocket ship
:U+270B U+1F93F Vomiting hand

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

1700: New Bug

2017-08-06T04:04:54Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1700
| date = June 29, 2016
| title = New Bug
| image = new_bug.png
| titletext = There's also a unicode-handling bug in the URL request library, and we're storing the passwords unsalted ... so if we salt them with emoji, we can close three issues at once!
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] asks if an off-panel character can look at his bug report. The person asks if it's a "normal one" and not a "horrifying" one which "proves that the whole project is broken beyond repair and should be burnt to the ground". This implies that there have been reports of the "horrifying" variety in the past.

Cueball promises that it is a normal one but it turns out that the server crashes when a user's password is a resolvable URL, which implies that the server is in some way attempting to resolve passwords as if they were URLs. A resolvable URL is one that is syntactically correct and refers to a find-able and accessible resource on the internet (i.e. does not return a {{w|HTTP_404|404 error}} or equivalent when resolved). Therefore a resolvable URL is a {{w|fully qualified domain name}} or a valid ip address that points to a valid server, and it can optionally specify a resource that exists on that server. Normally there is no reason for a system to treat a password as if it were a URL.

Also, Cueball specifically states that the server is crashing, rather than his application. While this could be an example of misused terminology on the part of Cueball or Randall, given Cueball's history (for example causing the most basic console commands to fail in [[1084: Server Problem]] or other tech issues as seen in [[1586: Keyboard Problems]]) his choice of terms is probably accurate. In the context of web services the server refers to either the computer itself or the program that responds to web requests and executes the user's (i.e. Cueball's) application. Cueball would be in charge of building the application. The importance of this distinction is that a typical system has safe guards in place at many levels to prevent a misbehaving application from crashing anything other than itself. So for his application to crash the server (either the computer itself or the server software hosting his application) would require his application to be operating in a way far outside of the norm, which has been the case for Cueball in previous comics. Alternatively, the project might include its own server software without the safeguards. In either case it is clear that Cueball's issue is far from normal, for which reason the off-panel person gives up and decides that burning the project to the ground is the only solution, telling Cueball ''I'll get the {{w|Charcoal_lighter_fluid|lighter fluid}}''.

In the title text another two issues with Cueball's program are mentioned, together with a possible solution that would fix all three problems at once. The second problem is a unicode-handling bug in the URL request library, and the third is that the passwords are stored unsalted. The proposed solution is to salt the passwords with {{w|emoji}} (unicode, multi-byte characters), which is claimed to solve all three issues at once. {{w|Salt (cryptography)|Salting}} passwords means that random characters are added to the password before it is cryptographically-secured and stored in the database. Salting increases security in the event that the database is compromised by ensuring that users with the same password will not have the same password hash. This makes some attacks that can be used to crack hash databases, such as {{w|Rainbow table|rainbow tables}}, effectively impossible.

Salting passwords with emoji can potentially "fix" these bugs in different ways. First, emoji and other unicode characters are not valid characters in URLs. As a result the salted-passwords will no longer be resolvable URLs. This will presumably circumvent (but not actually fix) the bug that causes the server to crash. In addition, the passwords will now be salted, increasing security. There is no obvious way that this would actually fix a unicode-handling bug in the URL request library. Given Cueball's general approach to problems like this, the best explanation is probably that he hasn't "fixed" the bug but rather that it is no longer a bug because he is relying on its behavior to help fix these other issues, i.e. the classic [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=It%27s%20not%20a%20bug%2C%20it%27s%20a%20feature it's not a bug, it's a feature].

The title text shows that his general approach to problems is not to actually fix bugs but to work around them and even rely on them for other behavior. This approach to software development makes for terrible code, which is likely how Cueball got into this trouble in the first place. Therefore the title text shows that he still has yet to learn from his mistakes, further supporting the suggestion to just burn the whole thing down.

Given that this comic comes only five comics after [[1695: Code Quality 2]] it seems likely that the off-panel person is [[Ponytail]] and as could be seen in the first of those two comics, [[1513: Code Quality]], the perpetrator is indeed Cueball. In the title text of the first, using emoji in variable names is mentioned. Emoji has since then become a [[:Category:Emoji|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.

In [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]] Cueball is also programming and finding it very difficult, although he thinks it should be easy. An off-panel person suggests burning the computer down with a blowtorch, much like the off-panel person in this one suggests burning the whole project (including the computer) to the ground with lighter fluid. In the next comic, with multiple storylines [[1350: Lorenz]], one [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd story line] results in a computer being [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/lorenz_-_laptop_9.png burned with a blow torch].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at his desk in front of his computer leaning back and turning away from it to speak to a person off-panel.]
:Cueball: Can you take a look at the bug I just opened?
:Off-panel voice: Uh oh.

:[Zoom out and pan to show only Cueball sitting on his chair facing away from the computer, which is now off-panel. The person speaking to him is still of panel even though this panel is much broader.]
:Off-panel voice: Is this a '''normal''' bug, or one of those horrifying ones that prove your whole project is broken beyond repair and should be burned to the ground?

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head and upper torso.]
:Cueball: It's a normal one this time, I promise.
:Off-panel voice: OK, what's the bug?

:[Back to a view similar to the first panel where Cueball has turned towards the computer and points at the screen with one hand.]
:Cueball: The server crashes if a user's password is a resolvable URL.
:Off-panel voice: I'll get the lighter fluid.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

1676: Full-Width Justification

2017-08-06T04:04:11Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1676
| date = May 4, 2016
| title = Full-Width Justification
| image = full_width_justification.png
| titletext = Gonna start bugging the Unicode consortium to add snake segment characters that can be combined into an arbitrary-length non-breaking snake.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to an irritating problem in laying out text to fit from margin to margin, the problem of {{w|justification (typesetting)|justification}}, where you want multiple-line text to line up on the left side (common), the right side (less common), or both sides, which is commonly called full justification. This strip is dealing with how to make text fit such that it lines up on both sides while still looking good. Sometimes, as before a long word like "[[:wikt:deindustrialization|deindustrialization]]," there's no universal good way to make the typography work. It is a difficult problem to make text look good and be easily legible especially in a narrow space, with the biggest issue being how to handle words that are too long to fit nicely.

The comic shows several solutions to this problem, some realistic and others less so, but each partly or wholly unsatisfying.

"'''Giving up'''" essentially means not attempting full justification for a particular line, which means it will not fit with the rest of the layout.

"'''Letter spacing'''" involves an conspicuously large amount of whitespace between letters, suggesting a reading where each letter is a word until the reader recognizes what is intended. This method is in somewhat common use in newspaper and magazine layout, where it is generally known by the name "tracking" (distance between all letters) and "kerning" (distance between particular pairs of letters that fit together easily). However, letter spacing is unavailable for justification purposes in some languages (such as German), in which it is used for emphasis, as italics are in English.

"'''Hyphenation'''" is confusing because it requires suspended recognition of the full word, confusing the eye into seeing, in the given case, the non-words "deindus" and "trialization". This creates difficulty in both pronouncing and parsing the word. Moreover, the decision of when and where to hyphenate is non-trivial, particularly for automated text layout; for example, breaking a word and leaving only two "orphaned" letters on the following line is generally considered an illegal hyphenation. Nevertheless, hyphenation is a very common means of handling extreme cases.

"'''Stretching'''" appears visually unnatural and unfamiliar, and may present technical difficulties in rendering.

Adding "'''filler'''" words is generally undesirable: in the worst case, the meaning may be unintentionally altered, or the tone might be rendered too informal, as in the given example, and even in the best case, the text becomes less concise and potentially more difficult to read. Automation is also difficult. However, filler words added by a human, especially the original author of the text, are the least visually conspicuous, and may be the most practical solution in some scenarios.

Finally, adding a decorative image like "'''snakes'''" (but not necessarily snakes in particular) to fill the extra space is a justification practice of significant historical interest (it was particularly common for illuminated manuscripts in the medieval era and remained prominent until the invention of the printing press) but little modern relevance. There may be a particular absurdity to using a snake as it can be read as a word, such as "the relationship between snake deindustrialization" as would be done similar to a {{w|rebus}}.

In modern text layout programs, some combination of the above strategies may be used to achieve the most visually consistent effect. For example, in one case, hyphenation might be the best option to split a very long word, while another line might be too long by only one or two letters, in which case the program could apply a very slight degree of extra letter spacing, too small for the average reader to notice.

The title text suggests that in order to facilitate the "snakes" method of "solving" the problem, the {{w|Unicode Consortium}}, the organization in charge of the common text standard {{w|Unicode}}, should add "snake-building characters" (similar in concept to the existing {{w|Box Drawing}} block), to allow variable-length snake images to be used as filling. Currently, there are at least six snake characters in Unicode, not including at least ten more Egyptian hieroglyphs that represent specific snakes, some in specific combination with other hieroglyphs: [http://unicode-search.net/unicode-namesearch.pl?term=SNAKE]
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1DC2 U+1DC2]   <big>᷂</big>   <big>[S᷂]</big>
**A diacritical {{w|combining character}} used in Americanist phonetic notation to indicate lenis (weak) articulation.
*[https://codepoints.net/U+2E92 U+2E92]   <big>⺒</big>
**A {{w|CJK character}} which might be interpreted as "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+8675 U+8675]   <big>虵</big>
**Another CJK character meaning "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+86C7 U+86C7]   <big>蛇</big>
**Another CJK character meaning "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1D9DC U+1D9DC]   <big>𝧜</big>
**One of the poorly-supported characters in the {{w|signWriting|signwriting block}}.
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1F40D U+1F40D]   <big>🐍</big>
**An {{w|emoji}} snake.

One of the hieroglyphs ([https://codepoints.net/U+13192 U+13192 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH I009A]) is described in [https://mjn.host.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/egyptian/unicode/tablemain.html source documents] as HORNED VIPER CRAWLING OUT OF ENCLOSURE, so it is literally a snake-building character.

"Non-breaking" in the title text refers to a similar process as zero-width joiners and no-break HTML and CSS; the whole snake would shift down if it were too wide to fit on a given line. This suggestion would likely be rejected; the Unicode consortium is very specific about which characters are added{{Citation needed}}, and always require a good reason{{Citation needed}} before adding a character or set of characters to the standard. Strange decisions by the consortium have previously been referenced in [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], [[1513: Code Quality]], and [[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]].

Within an hour or two of this comic being published, a thread on the subject started on the Unicode Consortium’s official Unicode Mailing List. As of two days later, it’s still running.

==Transcript==
:Strategies for full-width justification

:[Below the caption is a column with six boxes, each showing a different "strategy" for justification which is annotated beside it. Here the annotation is written at the top and the text below. The top and bottom of the text is cut of in the middle, but as it can be "read" this is written anyway. Only for hyphenation does an extra word appear at the end. In the last with snakes, a snake is drawn to cover the entire space from the end of between to the right border.]

:Giving up
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Letter spacing
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::b  e   t   w   e  e   n
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Hyphenation
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between deindus-
::trialization and the
::growth of ecological

:Stretching
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::<big><big><big>between</big></big></big>
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Filler
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between crap like
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Snakes
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between 🐍 [a snake filling the gap]
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

==Trivia==
*The full text (with alternate changes) reads:
::''...their famous paper on the relationship between [crap like]/[ 🐍 ] deindustrialization and the growth of [ecological]...''
*An approach not depicted is to treat justification as part of a global typesetting strategy which allows words to move between lines even where this is not locally optimal. Its net effect in a case like this is to pull words from the previous line for use as filler. This approach is used by {{w|TeX}}.
*In Arabic, it is common to stretch the lines connecting letters as a relatively elegant and satisfying resolution to this problem. This trick is called "{{w|kashida}}" (كشيدة). There does in fact exist a Unicode character, U+0640: (ـ), to help with this: using it to extend "كشيدة" would result in something like "كـــــشـــيـــدة" (which, incidentally, looks a lot like a snake).
*Jim Chapman, developer of Windows 10 e-reader app Freda, has implemented snake-justification in the app, now available on the [https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9wzdncrfj43b Windows Store]. For best results, use the 'settings' screen to switch 'hyphenation' to 'no', 'use snakes' to 'yes', and choose a large font size (33 or so). Then pick a book with long words and justified text, and read it in a narrow window.
*The comic has been discussed on the [http://www.unicode.org/mail-arch/unicode-ml/y2016-m05/0004.html Unicode Mailing List].
*The typesetting system [http://www.sile-typesetter.org/ SILE] implemented snake justification on the same day the comic was published.
*"Line Fillers" depicting animals (including snakes) were widely used in [http://www.medievalcodes.ca/2016/04/line-fillers.html medieval book art].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

1209: Encoding

2017-08-06T04:03:03Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1209
| date = May 8, 2013
| title = Encoding
| image = encoding.png
| titletext = I don't see how; the C0 block is right there at the beginning.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Skywriting}} is using an airplane to write words in the sky with controlled releases of smoke. {{w|Unicode}} is a standard for digitally encoding text which supports a huge variety of characters and modifiers.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] hired a skywriter to write some text which they provided in Unicode, but now they are dissatisfied with the result and Cueball is using one of their {{w|walkie-talkies}} to tell the pilot about his mistake—with the result that the pilot seems to lose control (presumably control of the plane, not the text).

An {{w|interrobang}} (‽) is a combination question mark and exclamation mark. A {{w|diacritic}} is any symbol added to a character (for instance ´, ˘, ˇ, ¨), usually an accent mark added to a letter. In Unicode, {{w|Combining character|combining diacritics}} are represented as separate characters, but computer programs that render text graphically treat them as modifications to the previous character. The request to modify the interrobang is strange, given that diacritics are supposed to modify ''letters'', not punctuation marks, and given that in interrobang is already conceptually a character combination.

The skywriter's errors and the phrase "Unicode support" play off the common issue of {{w|Mojibake|software rendering Unicode symbols incorrectly}}. But here the error does not seem to make the text unintelligible: all the skywriter has apparently done is put a diacritic ''underneath'' (or perhaps next to) the interrobang instead of above it. If this is the only problem with the text (which is likely, given that an interrobang would probably be at the end), then the comment that the skywriter has "terrible Unicode support" makes Cueball and Megan seem fastidious and unforgiving. The comic points up computer users' tendency to use hyperbole when describing minor problems, exaggerating their relative seriousness. Here Cueball and Megan seem concerned more about their incorrectly rendered text than about the skywriter's safety.

The title text refers to the {{w|C0 and C1 control codes|C0 Block}}, the name for the first 32 character codes in Unicode (and {{w|ASCII}}), traditionally called control characters. Cueball wonders how the plane could possibly have lost "control", when the "control characters" are so clearly in the conventional location.

Comic [[1647: Diacritics]] also references an absurd use of diacritics.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are both holding walkie-talkies. Cueball is talking into his, Megan is holding hers down. Both are looking up in the sky.]
:Cueball: No, the combining diacritics go '''''over''''' the interrobang!
:Megan: Oh jeez, I think he's lost control.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The skywriter we hired has terrible Unicode support.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

380: Emoticon

2017-08-06T04:02:40Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number =380
| date =February 6, 2008
| title =Emoticon
| image =emoticon.png
| titletext =U+FDD0 is actually Unicode for the eye of the basilisk, though for safety reasons no font actually renders it.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|basilisk}} is a legendary creature reputed to have the power to kill with a single glance. In this comic, Cueball learns much to his dismay that the basilisk's power is fully compatible with the 21st century, and can kill you just with a smiley emoticon over instant messaging.

Cueball's request for A/S/L is a standard question when first meeting someone online; it asks for age, sex (gender) and location.

The title text mentions U+FDD0, which in reality is the code for a {{w|Unicode#Character General Category|"non-character"}} in Unicode.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at computer, typing.]
:~!~ Opening Chat with BSLSK05
:<NICKM> Hi!
:<NICKM> A/S/L?
:<BSLSK05> :)
:[Cueball looks stunned, flies backward.]
:[Two smaller frames focus in on BSLSK05's emoticon, implying rotation to show a smile and two open eyes.]
:[Cueball at computer slouches in chair, dead, crossbones above his head.]
:[At the remote computer a basilisk is looking at its screen.]

== Trivia ==
U+FDD0 did in fact kill at least one chat client at the time. Konversation in particular. (and presumably any other Qt-based chat clients using QTextDocument)

"basically u+fdd0 (eye of basilisk, the snake) is in a char range that's marked for interchange and illegal in utf-8"

"but qt's utf-8 encoder let it through anyway"

"but it just so happens that qt's qtextdocument uses u+fdd0 as text frame delimiter"

"so when you append it to a qtd, counters run wrong and eventually you crash"

"d-bus closes the connection and crashes the client when it encounters illegal utf-8, and kde's notification system works through d-bus"

The problem was fixed after the xkcd "report" and Konversation now handles unicode normally.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

1137: RTL

2017-08-06T04:02:12Z

Hameltion: Added category

{{comic
| number = 1137
| date = November 21, 2012
| title = ‮LTR‬
| image = rtl.png
| titletext = Collaborative editing can quickly become a textual rap battle fought with increasingly convoluted invocations of U+202a to U+202e
}}

==Explanation==

U+202e is a {{w|unicode control characters|unicode control character}} that changes all subsequent text to right-to-left (RTL, as the title references). In the comic, [[Black Hat]] tires of [[Cueball]]'s complaining and inserts a U+202e character in the middle of Cueball's speech, turning his complaints into gibberish - sentences that must be read from right-to-left.

The title of the comic builds on this theme, with the title of the webpage it is hosted on being LTR in some browsers (see [[#Trivia|trivia]]), the reverse of the comic name.

What Cueball actually tries to say after Black Hats change is:
:— They didn't even...
:...What the hell?
:How did you...
:...Asshole.

When multiple writers work on the same text, arguments can often arise with some writers resorting to vandalizing the works of other writers. The title text takes this up a level, suggesting the use of U+202e and other direction control characters in editor wars to disrupt other people's work. For reference for future wars U+202c returns text back to its normal direction.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing behind Black Hat who is sitting down with a laptop on his lap.]
:Cueball: And that's not even the worst part! The ''worst'' part is that—
:Black Hat types a command on the PC: U+202e
:Cueball: ‮—They didn't even...
:Cueball: ‮...What the hell?
:Cueball: ‮How did you...
:Cueball: ‮...Asshole.

==Trivia==
*In the version originally published there was a typo in the reverse text ("ETH" instead of "EHT" for "THE"). This mistake was corrected within a couple of hours.
*The title given in the web browser, (for instance seen on the icon for the browser bar at the bottom of the screen), for the comic on the xkcd website actually has a U+202e character preceding it;
**The page title is "xkcd: [U+202e]LTR", which for instance causes {{w|Firefox}} to write the page title as "xkcd: xoferiF allizoM - RTL" as the window title. So xkcd and the comics title is correct (The LTR turns to RTL). But the browsers name is reversed.
**This may only affect some browsers but it also occurs in {{w|Internet Explorer}},{{w|Google Chrome}}, {{w|Chromium (web browser)|Chromium}} and {{w|Opera (web browser)|Opera}}.
*In some browsers (for instance Internet Explorer), this page's title damages the appearance of all older entries in the [http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page] on xkcd.
**Here is a picture example for people without access to explorer: [[Media:Reverse archive.jpg|Reverse archive]].
*This is the second comic in a row with Cueball and Black Hat discussing. Both with Black Hat with his back turned to Cueball.
**In the previous comic Black Hat broke a mirror, and in this comic he then reverses Cueballs speak
**Not exactly a mirroring of his speak, but still related.
**In the broken archive mentioned above, [[1136: Broken Mirror]] is the first (or last) entry to be broken!

==Unicode Control Characters==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Unicode number !! Name !! Meaning
|-
| U+202a || LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING || The following text will be left-to-right. This will not change directionality of characters, so for example Arabic letters will stay right-to-left. This character alone does nothing in an English text, since the text direction is left-to-right by default.
|-
| U+202b || RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING || The following text will be right-to-left. This will not change directionality of characters, so Latin letters will stay left-to-right. Full stops, which don't have a directionality on their own, will be left of the sentence. Use this character for some little misplacings that cause big confusion.
|-
| U+202c || POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING || The following text is formatted like the text before the last U+202a, U+202b, U+202d or U+202e character.
|-
| U+202d || LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE || The following text will be left-to-right. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to left-to-right. Used alone in an English text, this will only affect characters that are right-to-left by default, like Arabic letters.
|-
| U+202e || RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE || The following text will be right-to-left. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to right-to-left. Use this character to completely screw up an English text.
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

Category:Unicode

2017-08-06T04:02:05Z

Hameltion: Created category--about to add comics to it

Some comics reference '''{{w|Unicode}}'''.

Douglas Engelbart

2017-08-06T03:53:44Z

Hameltion: Created redirect

#REDIRECT [[1234: Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013)]]

18: Snapple

2017-08-06T03:51:32Z

Hameltion: /* Trivia */ Added mention of referencing

{{comic
| number = 18
| date = October 10, 2005
| title = Snapple
| image = snapple.jpg
| titletext = Sn = tin
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] hands another Cueball-like guy an apple calling it a ''Snapple.'' When the guy bites into it, his teeth go ''clink'' against the apple's metal surface; Cueball has infused the apple with tin.

The fourth panel is a silent wide shot, perhaps suggesting {{w|Anti-humor|the joke was met with silence as a weak joke}}. As a meta-joke, the final panel might jokingly suggest that the silence is because those unfamiliar with the periodic table of elements don't get the joke.

The joke in this comic is pretty self-explanatory, especially given that the image text continues the trend in early [[xkcd]] comics of explaining the joke. {{w|Tin}} is a metallic element whose abbreviation on the periodic table is "Sn" (as the Latin word for tin is "stannum"). Thus, the apple is a "Sn-apple."

{{w|Snapple}} is a brand of beverages -- mostly bottled juices and teas -- whose name is based on a carbonated apple juice they once produced ("snappy apple").

[[James]] (in the caption) presumably once made a joke to [[Randall]] about tin or Snapple or both.

==Transcript==
:[Above the frame:]
:This one is entirely James' fault.

:[Two Cueball-like guys are standing and talking.]
:Cueball: Here, take a bite of this Snapple.
:Guy: food!

:[Guy takes a bite.]
:Guy: Ow!
:Snapple and teeth: ''Clink''
:Guy: What is this?

:[Cueball explains:]
:Cueball: It's an apple infused with tin.

:[The two guys continue to stand as if frozen.]

:[Above two silent guys the following text is written inside a black frame:]
:Those of you who know your periodic table should be laughing right about now.

==Trivia==
*This was the 17th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[17: What If]].
**The next was [[19: George Clinton]].
*Original title: "Monday's drawing: Snapple"
*There was no original [[Randall]] quote for this comic.
**It could be argued that the caption of the comic ''This one is entirely James' fault'' was the quote. But it is part of the comic picture.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*This is another early xkcd comic in which [[Cueball]] characters are drawn in some panels with faces.
*The explain xkcd page for this comic is cited in the English Wikipedia at {{w|Snapple#Popular culture}}.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 17]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Food]]

Blog (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:48:32Z

Hameltion: Added item

Blogs

2017-08-06T03:46:20Z

Hameltion: Created redirect

#REDIRECT [[Blog]]

Blog (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:46:16Z

Hameltion: Created disambiguation page

'''Blog''' or '''Blag''' may refer to:
* [[Blag]], the blog of the webcomic
* [[what if?]], a blog created by Randall
==See also==
* [[124: Blogofractal]]
* [[239: Blagofaire]]
* [[741: Blogging]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Super Bowl (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:40:05Z

Hameltion: Added See Also section

'''Super Bowl''' may refer to:
* [[60: Super Bowl]], comic published February 6, 2006
* [[1480: Super Bowl]], comic published January 30, 2015
==See also==
* [[1640: Super Bowl Context]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Sharks

2017-08-06T03:38:21Z

Hameltion: rm unnecessary words

'''Sharks''' may refer to:
* [[1326: Sharks]], comic published February 5, 2014
* [[:Category:Sharks]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Exoplanet (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:35:51Z

Hameltion: rm accident extra words

'''Exoplanets''' may refer to:
* [[786: Exoplanets]], comic published August 30, 2010
* [[1071: Exoplanets]], comic published June 20, 2012
* [[:Category:Exoplanets]]
==See also==
* [[1298: Exoplanet Neighborhood]]
* [[:Category:Exoplanet Names]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Exoplanet (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:35:31Z

Hameltion: Added more to disambiguation page

'''Exoplanet''' or '''Exoplanets''' may refer to:
* [[786: Exoplanets]], comic published August 30, 2010
* [[1071: Exoplanets]], comic published June 20, 2012
* [[:Category:Exoplanets]]
==See also==
* [[1298: Exoplanet Neighborhood]]
* [[:Category:Exoplanet Names]]
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Exoplanet

2017-08-06T03:31:48Z

Hameltion: Created redirect

#REDIRECT [[Exoplanets]]

User:Hameltion

2017-08-06T03:30:26Z

Hameltion: Created user page

Hey there! I'm Hameltion, and you can find me {{w|User:Hameltion|here}} on the English Wikipedia.

On this wiki, I'd like to edit things in the background, but I'll add content too.

What If (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:27:43Z

Hameltion: Consistent disambiguation style (1 2 3 4)

'''What If''' may refer to:
* [[17: What If]], comic published October 7, 2005
* [[what if?]], blog
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]

Super Bowl (disambiguation)

2017-08-06T03:27:41Z

Hameltion: Consistent disambiguation style (1 2 3 4)

'''Super Bowl''' may refer to:
* [[60: Super Bowl]], comic published February 6, 2006
* [[1480: Super Bowl]], comic published January 30, 2015
{{disambig}}
[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]