explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1628: Magnus

2016-01-11T15:55:17Z

Hammy2211:

Attempted to write the transcript. Hope I did an okay job... {{unsigned ip|‎198.41.235.41}}
:It was great. I just added some descriptions of the panels. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:01, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Might Ronda Rousey being knocked unconsious be a reference to her recent loss to Holly Holm, where Rousey indeed was knocked unconcious? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.141|162.158.202.141]] 10:27, 11 January 2016 (UTC)
:The word reference means "a thing you say or write that mentions somebody/something else; the act of mentioning somebody/something". Since the comic doesn't mention Holly Holm, there is no reference. I think there isn't even an allusion (something that is said or written that refers to or mentions another person or subject in an indirect way). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.17|108.162.221.17]] 13:46, 11 January 2016 (UTC)
:Besides, the phrasing is "knocked out". That needn't be a combat/contact-sport 'KO' in which Rousey was rendered actually unconscious in an intentional/explicable manner, according to the activity, but could just be telling us which of the two passed through to the next round of a bracketed competition of some other kind. (Either of a form that remains unspecified or, as the most recently mentioned competition, in an earlier iteration the hot-dog-eating contest. Either way, 11yo Stewart wasn't highly ''expected'' to win, whatever the match conditions, but the outcome needn't be so against form as it might have in a pugilistic match.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 15:13, 11 January 2016 (UTC)
::Since nothing is mentioned about which sport and Rousey is mentioned for the first time and it is a surprise she looses (on a KO) it is obvious to me that it refers to her fighting skill and a real KO. And if it was one of her first KO in that match is could easily be a reference especially if it was not expected. These two last things I do not know anything about though... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:41, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Magnus' App is available here: http://www.playmagnus.com/. There are also numerous youtube videos of him playing against himself at various ages. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.240|198.41.242.240]] 10:33, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

JFK was not 10 in 1961 as that is when he became President and you have to be at least 35 to do that. [[User:Momerath|Momerath]] ([[User talk:Momerath|talk]]) 15:26, 11 January 2016 (UTC)
:Whops. That went to fast, thanks for correcting it. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:39, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Maybe I misunderstood some special reference or way to put it here, because as it links to the correct wiki page, it seems the author knew what he was talking about but:
" Michael Phelps who is the most decorated Olympian competitor of all time, with a total of 22 medals in three Olympiads." is still a very strange formulation imo. As correctly linked an Olympiad is the time span between two Olympic Games (aka 4 years). First of all Phelbs won the Medals from 2004 to 2012 so if one really would want to write that in olympiads it would be closer to two. Even so I think it very strange to ever talk about the olympic medals over the course of such a timespan as they were won at three distinct events, while countless other medals were won in the time span. I would rather change it to "olympic games" or something. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.139|141.101.91.139]] 15:51, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Does anyone else actually kind of want this to exist? I mean, it would certainly settle a lot of playground discussions. :P [[User:Hammy2211|Hammy2211]] ([[User talk:Hammy2211|talk]]) 15:55, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

50: Penny Arcade

2015-10-14T15:19:03Z

Hammy2211: Removed the redundant phrase mentioned in the "incomplete/incorrect explanation" description.

{{comic
| number = 50
| date = January 17, 2006
| title = Penny Arcade
| image = penny_arcade.jpg
| titletext = Of course, Penny Arcade has already mocked themselves for this. They don't care.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Penny Arcade}} is a popular web comic that focuses on the video game culture. The character above is Tycho Brahe, one of the two main characters of Penny Arcade (the other being Jonathan "Gabe" Gabriel). Penny Arcade has a reputation for making obscure references to video games without explaining, expecting the reader to be as well-versed in gaming culture as they are. Hence, the attitude shown in this comic.

'Seiken Densetsu' as mentioned in the strip probably refers to {{w|Seiken Densetsu 3}}, an {{w|Action role-playing game}} (Action-RPG) released for the {{w|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}} (SNES) in Japan in 1995. The game was never released in the North American region or officially translated to English. However, many North American game players may recognize Seiken Densetsu 2, the predecessor in the series, by its North American name: {{w|Secret of Mana}}.

As the title text admits, they know they behave like this, and have this reputation, but they don't care, and even refer to it in their own comic.

==Transcript==
:[A color drawing of Tycho, a man with wild brown hair in blue and cyan colored shirt. He has a big open mouth and holds one arm up while the other may be in his (unseen) pocket. He has two speech bubbles,]
:Tycho: You know what? If you've never played the 1995 SNES RPG 'Seiken Densetsu' don't even bother reading today's strip.
:Tycho: We don't need your kind here.

==Trivia==
*This was the 47th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[49: Want]].
**The next was [[54: Science]].
*This comic kept it's original title: "Penny Arcade"
**It was the first comic to do so since [[46: Secrets]] four comics back.
**And apart from that comic, it was the first title to do so as well as to not include the word "Drawing" since [[31: Barrel - Part 5]] ten comics further back.
**Apart from the the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal, there were only three other comics without the word "Drawing" in the title before these last six.
*It is the first of the last six comics on LiveJournal which all had a title without the word "Drawing" in it.
**Five of these had exactly the same title on both sites.
**Only 11 comics have the same title on both sites.
**Apart from the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal, there were only three other comics without the word "Drawing" in the title before these last six
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "I'm actually pretty fond of Penny Arcade, when I get the jokes."
*This comic was one of the last 11 comics posted on LiveJournal.
**These 11 comics were [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd|posted both on LiveJournal and xkcd]] after the [[xkcd]] site opened on the 1st of January 2006.
**This comic was posted on the same day on both sites.
**They were not all posted on the same day though.
*During the start-up of xkcd several of the comics were released on days that deviated from the normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday scheme.
**This one was thus '''released on a Tuesday'''.
**It was the last of a series of three where the release day was shifted to one day later.
**This one was though posted quite early, 1:53 am, so it could almost have become a normal Monday comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 47]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

Talk:704: Principle of Explosion

2015-10-08T17:09:26Z

Hammy2211:

Could Mrs Lenhart be Miss Lenhart's mother, perhaps? This makes Cueball-1 Miss Lenhart's brother (and thus possibly "Cueball Lenhart", unless he's a half-brother or step-brother or the like). Of course with provably two Cueballs in this situation (and assuming they aren't twins, unless #2... no, we won't go there) we can't therefore assume that any particular lone Cueball is related. However, if "Cueball is a Lenhart AND Cueball is not a Lenhart" then.... well, lock up your mothers... <smirk> [[Special:Contributions/31.111.50.225|31.111.50.225]] 22:01, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

^ genealogy makes my head durt. [[Special:Contributions/103.9.42.158|103.9.42.158]] 20:22, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

Hey, what do waffle cones and box wine have to do with each other? Wouldn't the cones just get soggy? Just wondering. Anonymous 18:30, 9 December 2014 (UTC)
:This is what I came here to figure out. "Oh, right, for the wine" makes it sound like it's supposed to be obvious. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.177|108.162.210.177]] 00:51, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
::Logically the waffle cones are unrelated to the wine, it's a separate item. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 00:55, 18 May 2015 (UTC)
::I thought the joke was that Cueball's mother was cheap and tasteless because she enjoys drinking boxed wine out of waffle cones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.172|108.162.238.172]] 17:24, 28 September 2015 (UTC)
:::Using the principle of explosion, boxed wine and waffle cones are very much related, and are essentially the same thing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.210|108.162.229.210]] 01:29, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Gah, unpaired parentheses... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.150|108.162.221.150]] 05:48, 17 August 2015 (UTC)
:I added the end parenthesis, just for you. Although, now I'm wondering if double parentheses are really the best alternative... --[[User:Hammy2211|Hammy2211]] ([[User talk:Hammy2211|talk]]) 17:09, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

704: Principle of Explosion

2015-10-08T16:58:26Z

Hammy2211: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 704
| date = February 19, 2010
| title = Principle of Explosion
| image = principle_of_explosion.png
| titletext = You want me to pick up waffle cones? Oh, right, for the wine. One sec, let me just derive your son's credit card number and I'll be on my way.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] explains the {{w|principle of explosion}}, a classical law of logic, that says that if you start out with propositions ({{w|axiom}}s) that contradict each other, it is possible to derive (prove) any statement you want in the language you are working in, true or false. (In math for example, if you assume that √2 is a rational number, you can 'prove' things that are obviously false, such as the fact that some numbers must be both even and odd. Consequently, you can draw the conclusion that √2 must be an irrational number (provided such a thing exists at all! - luckily, it does and obeys the same calculation rules as for rational numbers; this is how {{w|proof by contradiction}} works.))

This can be seen in a {{w|Truth Table}}:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! P
! ¬P
! P ∧ ¬P
! P ∧ ¬P ⇒ Q
|-
| T
| F
| F
| T
|-
| F
| T
| F
| T
|}

The formula P ∧ ¬P ⇒ Q is true in every possible interpretation. No matter what propositions are substituted for P and Q the implication is true. So if a single example of a contradiction were found, then every proposition would be true, (and simultaneously false).

Cueball's friend then proceeds to misinterpret (perhaps intentionally) that you can derive any ''fact'' about the physical world. His formula of {{w|propositional logic}} in the third panel reads "'''P''' and not '''P'''", where '''∧''' is the formal logic symbol for "and" and '''¬''' is the symbol for "not". '''P''' stands for a proposition. As "'''P''' and not '''P'''" is shorthand for "'''P''' is both true and false", this forms a contradiction from which the principle of explosion can begin. Humorously and to Cueball's bewilderment he then successfully manages to 'derive' his mom's phone number. His mom turns out to be [[Miss Lenhart]] (now a Mrs?), and to his vexation she asks his friend out.

Waffle cones are a variety of {{w|ice cream cone}}. The rest of the title text is just more of the main comic's derivation joke, since Cueball's "friend" is apparently a cheap bastard who can't spare five bucks to buy his own ice cream cones. (Unless he is smart enough to exploit the system of universe.)

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to his friend.]
:Cueball: If you assume contradictory axioms, you can derive anything. It's called the principle of explosion.
:Friend: ''Anything?'' Lemme try.

:[Cueball's friend is writing on a piece of paper on a desk.]

:[Cueball's friend is holding up a piece of paper to Cueball, while holding a phone.]
:Friend: Hey, you're right! I started with '''P∧¬P''' and derived your mom's phone number!
:Cueball: That's not how that works.

:[Cueball is looking at the piece of paper, while his friend is talking to someone on a phone.]
:Friend: Mrs. Lenhart?
:Cueball: Wait, this ''is'' her number! How—
:Friend: Hi, I'm a friend of— Why, yes, I ''am'' free tonight!
:Cueball: ''Mom!''
:Friend: No, box wine sounds lovely!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

Talk:659: Lego

2014-03-26T21:34:00Z

Hammy2211:

This is one of my favorite xkcd strips, and one that I happily point to in any discussion involving organ donation. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 08:05, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm... Where did the philote of the house go though? The pattern may be gone, but was the philote called back to outside?
Yes, I'm one of the seven fans of xenocide. 04:08, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Anyone interested in the issues raised in this comic would do well to look up the problem of the Ship of Theseus.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.53|108.162.216.53]] 17:03, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

For me, once you accept the fact of evolution, and therefore that all life on earth emerged from a common ancestor, it is patently obvious that the relevance of religion to what happens to my "composition" (self) after death is ... zero. To wit: "If you want to know what happens when you die, go look at some dead stuff." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:22, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

The point of this comic is excellent, but it is dampened for me by the fact that Lego doesn't sell general-purpose blocks any more, it's all precision kit crap. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:30, 23 January 2014 (UTC)
:[http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3498752&mr:keyword=&mr:trackingCode=A0545167-7315-E311-A497-90E2BA285E75&mr:match=&mr:adType=pla&mr:filter=56911854646&cagpspn=plat_5739898&mr:referralID=NA&mr:ad=35201231326&mr:device=c&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID5739898&KPID=5739898 Hi.] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:38, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

The first time I read this strip, I immediately thought back to one of my all-time favorite books. The basis of Unwind by Neal Shusterman is essentially the idea behind this strip, except from an opposite point of view. --[[User:Hammy2211|Hammy2211]] ([[User talk:Hammy2211|talk]]) 21:34, 26 March 2014 (UTC)