explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1275: int(pi)

2026-01-11T05:34:54Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ expanded on alt-text

{{comic
| number = 1275
| date = October 9, 2013
| title = int(pi)
| image = int pi.png
| titletext = If replacing all the '3's doesn't fix your code, remove the 4s, too, with 'ceiling(pi) / floor(pi) * pi * r^floor(pi)'. Mmm, floor pie.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic purports to provide a tip to programmers, that the number "{{w|3 (number)|3}}" is cursed and shouldn't be used. There is no explanation given as to why the number 3 is cursed, and it could well have been chosen arbitrarily. The title text hints that the consequence for using the cursed number is non-functioning code, a pain for any programmer. The absurdity of the number 3 somehow being cursed is part of the humor.

To assist the programmer, the comic gives an example of how to avoid the use of the number 3, by using a slightly convoluted method of using <code>int(pi)</code>, which means the {{w|integer}} part of {{w|pi}}, without the {{w|fractional part}}. Pi, an {{w|irrational number}}, has a value starting <code>3.14159...</code>, making <code>int(pi)</code> equal to 3. This is demonstrated in a formula to calculate the {{w|Sphere#Enclosed volume|volume of a sphere}}, normally (4/3)*pi*(r^3), but converted for avoidance of the number 3 to (4/int(pi))*pi*(r^int(pi)).

For a number of reasons it is a good programming practice to use {{w|Variable (computer science)|variables}} and {{w|Constant (programming)|constants}} where a value is used in multiple places, however this is not typically used in the case of natural numbers. There are unusual situations where this type of programming is a valid method, however typically for more specific circumstances, and not a certain number being seen as cursed.

In the title text, Randall takes the joke a step further, suggesting the usage of {{w|floor and ceiling functions}}: <code>ceiling(pi)</code> would be pi rounded ''up'' to the next integer, which is {{w|4 (number)|4}}; and <code>floor(pi)</code> is pi rounded ''down'' to the next integer, which is 3. (Note that <code>int(n)</code> and <code>floor(n)</code> have the same value when <code>n</code> is greater than or equal to zero. For values less than zero, <code>int(n)</code> is equal to <code>ceiling(n)</code>.)

The joke here plays on the fact that basic rules of programming are confusing and novice programmers are often told to simply not do certain things without any explanation (see [[292: goto]]). This includes, in particular, a general proscription against "{{w|Magic number (programming)#Unnamed numerical constants|magic numbers}}" in the code. Replacing all significant magic numbers with named constants makes programs easier to read, understand and maintain. Randall takes this to an extreme by suggesting that certain numbers could be inherently problematic, but the general idea is perfectly believable.

The title text [https://youtu.be/TT6UbrfETPc?t=17 ''Mmm... Floor pie.''] is a quote from the eighth episode of the fifth season of {{w|The Simpsons}}, {{w|Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood}}.

See also {{w|Cargo cult programming}}.

==Transcript==
:[Inside a frame a formula is shown:]
:volume(r) = (4/int(pi))*pi*r^int(pi)

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Programming Tip: The number "3" is cursed. Avoid it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Comics with cursed items]]

317: That Lovin' Feelin'

2025-02-25T06:46:36Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ added links to other comics

{{comic
| number =317
| date =September 17, 2007
| title =That Lovin' Feelin'
| image =that_lovin_feelin.png
| titletext =Maybe there's no tenderness in her fingertips either, but at least SHE puts out.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the popular song by {{w|The Righteous Brothers}}, "{{w|You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'}}." The singer is talking about the cooling of his relationship with his significant other, and how the joy of their romance has been missing lately, and asks what they have to do to get it back. The actual first verse and chorus are as follows:

:''You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips''
:''And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips''
:''You're trying hard not to show it (baby)''
:''But baby, baby, I know it:''

:''You've lost that lovin' feelin'''
:''Ohh, that lovin' feelin'''
:''You've lost that lovin' feelin',''
:''Now it's gone, gone, gone, ohh-ohh.''

In this comic's parody of the song, [[Cueball]] decides that since his relationship with his ''current'' girlfriend is cooling, maybe he should try her sister instead. (And as mentioned in the title text, at least ''she'' will have sex with him.)

[[49: Want]], [[279: Pickup Lines]], and panel 20 of [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]] also have jokes centered around the same subject.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips

:Cueball: And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.

:[Cueball thoughtfully places his hand on his chin.]
:Cueball: Maybe I should try your sister instead.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Your sister]]

49: Want

2025-02-25T06:28:24Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ added links with other comics

{{comic
| number = 49
| date = January 14, 2006
| title = Want
| before = <big><big>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=11%3A41%20pm-,Drawing%20%2D%20Want,-(2%20Comments LiveJournal title]: '''Drawing - Want'''</big></big>
| image = want.jpg
| titletext = Well, she's pretty hot.
}}

==Explanation==
This was the forty-sixth comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[48: Found]], and the next one was [[50: Penny Arcade]]. It was among the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com|last eleven comics]] posted both on LiveJournal and on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] after the new site was launched. This comic was published on the same day across both sites, but not all of them shared the same posting day.

Cueball is making an honest profession of his feelings. This is often held up as a valuable thing in cementing a relationship. In the first three panels, he makes the kind of cliched poetic, romantic statements that would typically be expected. In the last panel, however, he undercuts all of this by crassly revealing that he also really wants to have sex with his paramour's sister. This theme would later be used in [[279: Pickup Lines]], [[317: That Lovin' Feelin']], and panel 20 of [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]].

In the title text, Cueball attempts to excuse his statement by reasoning that the sister is incredibly attractive.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing talking in the same position in all four panels. In the second panel, Cueball seems to have hair.]
:Cueball: I want to be brave enough to tell you how I feel.

:Cueball: I want to say "I love you" before I hang up the phone for once.

:Cueball: I want to drive all night with you, listening to mix tapes, not caring where we end up.

:Cueball: Oh, and I also really want to get with your sister.
:Cueball: I mean, DAMN.

==Trivia==
* This comic was [[:Category:Saturday comics|released on a Saturday]]. It was released only 19 minutes before midnight at 11:41 PM.
* This used to be one of the [[Footer comics|footer comics]] featured in the bottom segment of [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal| 46]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Footer comics]] 
[[Category:Your sister]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

279: Pickup Lines

2025-02-25T06:20:54Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ added some links

{{comic
| number = 279
| date = June 20, 2007
| title = Pickup Lines
| image = pickup_lines.png
| titletext = That shirt looks good on you, but it would look even better stuffed onto the neck of a vodka bottle and flung burning through our office building's window. Let's fucking do it and never look back.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic adds strange twists to some classic abysmally cheesy {{w|pickup line}}s. Warning, terrible puns ahead:

*"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together."
:[[Cueball]] is making a "your sister" joke. A different variation of this line is featured in [[1069: Alphabet]], and similar "your sister" jokes are made in [[49: Want]], [[317: That Lovin' Feelin']], and panel 20 of [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]].
*"Is your father a thief? Because he stole all of the stars in the sky and put them in your eyes."([http://www.jokes4us.com/pickuplines/isyourdadpickuplines.html Is Your Dad Pick Up Lines])
:A {{w|Volkswagen Jetta|Jetta}} is a car, and Cueball is implying that the father is an actual thief.
*"You must be tired, 'cause you've been running through my mind all night."
:He adds the word "Screaming," to make the word "running" be literal instead of figurative.

This is yet another example of [[Beret Guy]]'s bartender job.

The title text refers to a pickup line like this: "That shirt looks good on you, but would look even better on my bedroom floor." But here the shirt is used as fuse for a {{w|Molotov cocktail}} thrown into their office.

==Transcript==
:[A bar. Beret Guy is the bartender, holding a can or mug. On the counter are a bottle and two mugs. In front of the counter are four barstools. Megan is to the left of the second barstool and Cueball is to the right, talking to her.]
:Cueball: If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put your sister and I together.

:[Another bar scene, shown from a different angle, with the bartender at left of panel and two barstools to the right. Cueball, standing, is talking to a different woman seated at the bar. Cueball points toward the front window of the bar.]
:Cueball: Is your father a thief? Because that's totally my Jetta you parked outside.

:[Another bar scene. A bar with one mug on it, and one barstool, are visible. Cueball stands talking to Ponytail.]
:Cueball: You must be tired, 'cause you've been running through my mind all night.
:Cueball: Screaming.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Your sister]]

1452: Jurassic World

2024-11-18T20:54:49Z

Hatman31: /* Trivia */ added recent appearance

{{comic
| number = 1452
| date = November 26, 2014
| title = Jurassic World
| image = jurassic_world.png
| titletext = Hey guys! What's eating you? Ha ha ha it's me! Oh, what fun we have.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip refers to ''{{w|Jurassic World}}'', the then new ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' movie, and the titular theme park. [[White Hat]] explains to [[Megan]] that, in their park, they have genetically engineered a better {{w|Tyrannosaurus}}. Megan doesn't feel that the historic Tyrannosaurus can be improved upon, but White Hat insists they've created an even more terrifying, smarter ''Tyrannosaurus'' for this new park.

White Hat refers to ''Tyrannosaurus'' as "two decades old", referring to the T-Rex in the original Jurassic Park, and that they improved it by further genetic engineering. Megan comments that she is fairly certain it is older than two decades, suggesting that she is referring to the actual Tyrannosaurus that lived millions of years ago.

In the final panel, White Hat introduces the "new" ''Tyrannosaurus'', who is immediately recognizable as the green ''Tyrannosaurus'' from {{w|Ryan North|Ryan North's}} ''{{w|Dinosaur Comics}}''; specifically, from the last panel of said webcomic - which in turn is from [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/interview-with-ryan-north-creator-of-dinosaur-comics-15523444/ clip art]. Anyone who has read so much as a handful of ''Dinosaur Comics'' will know that its ''Tyrannosaurus'' character "T-Rex" is about as far from smart and scary as it is possible for a ''Tyrannosaurus'' to be (see [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2739 this example] from the day this comic was released).

The title text is an example of what T-Rex (the character) would say to a couple of humans, and it's a poor joke which would only be funny when it's a talking T-Rex saying it. Despite his goofy mannerisms, he is still a carnivore who attacks (or at least accidentally steps on) humans, as can be seen in panel 3 and 4 of the webcomic.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat holding one hand up in front om him and Megan are walking together.]
:White Hat: In ''Jurassic World'', we've used genetic engineering to create a ''better'' dinosaur.
:Megan: Tyrannosaurus is the most charismatic animal that ever lived, and you think you'll ''upstage'' it?

:[White Hat now holds both his hands up in front of him as he and Megan walk on.]
:White Hat: ''Tyrannosaurus'' was cool, but it's two decades old!
:Megan: I think it's a ''little'' older than that.

:[In this frame-less panel White Hat points up as they continue to walk.]
:White Hat: We took ''Tyrannosaurus'' and we ''improved'' it. Made it scarier, deadlier, smarter.
:White Hat: Look–there it is!

:[White Hat (drawn without his hat) and Megan are dwarfed in the bottom left corner as they stare up at a facsimile of the green T-Rex from ''Dinosaur Comics''. They only reach T-Rex to it's knees.]

==Trivia==
*In the last panel [[Randall]] forgot to draw White Hat's hat so he looks like [[Cueball]], but from the first panel where White Hat walks with Megan and points up at the Dinosaur, it is clear that it is those two characters that are standing beneath it in this last panel.
**Note that in the two other comics with T-Rex, Randall put in a small Cueball under the foot of T-Rex in the fourth panel of [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]], and in the T-Rex [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd story line] from [[1350: Lorenz]], he also forgot to drawn [[Hairy|Hairy's]] hair, thus also there including Cueball though like here by mistake...
** The mistake can be explained that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4 the trailer] for the Jurassic World movie was released a day before this comic so Randall most likely created this comic on a very short notice.

*The entire ''Dinosaur Comics'' was parodied in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]], where Randall copied the drawings himself, and T-Rex has appeared in one of the story lines in [[1350: Lorenz]] (see this [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example story line] and the Dinosaur section under [[1350:_Lorenz#Themes|Lorenz themes]]), where the actual images from the first three panels of Ryan's comic are used, just like here where it is the last panel which is used. Later, T-Rex appeared in [[3012: The Future of Orion]].

*Unlike the surrounding comics, this comic does not have a 2x scale version. This is likely because T-Rex already appears at the highest resolution here, though [https://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4005 a higher-resolution render may exist].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics

2024-11-18T20:52:35Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ added recent appearance

{{comic
| number = 145
| date = August 18, 2006
| title = Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics
| image = dinosaur_comics.png
| titletext = Guys: while I was writing this, I accidentally swallowed a table-size slab of drywall. I know! Wacky.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a part of the [[:Category:Parody Week|Parody Week]], just joking about other {{w|webcomics}}. This series was released on five consecutive days (Monday-Friday), not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, and it comprises the following five {{w|parodies}}:
*[[141: Parody Week: Achewood]]
*[[142: Parody Week: Megatokyo]]
*[[143: Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee]]
*[[144: Parody Week: A Softer World]]
*[[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]]

{{w|Dinosaur Comics}} is a webcomic by {{w|Ryan North}}. The artwork never changes, save a few rare exceptions, and only the dialogue is different. [[Randall]] traced the comic's usual artwork, though the drawing of the house about to be squashed in panel 3 is a more rudimentary rendition, and the person about to be squashed in panel 4 has been changed into [[Cueball]] rather than a woman in bright yellow and pink clothes.

For those who haven't read it, this is a [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1387 typical strip], and [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2079 here's] a strip dealing with the same subject as this comic (but posted five years after it). See also [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2420 this particular example], where the title text actually refer to Randall and xkcd.

Randall makes several shots at recurring themes in Dinosaur Comics. T-Rex, the green {{w|Tyrannosaurus}}, is bold and enthusiastic, discussing various topics, a favorite of which appears to be linguistics (North got his degree in computational linguistics). This time, he is talking about "{{w|Singular_they|they}}" being used as a {{w|Grammatical_person|third person}} {{w|Grammatical number|singular}} {{w|Gender-specific_and_gender-neutral_pronouns|gender-free pronoun}} and how it should be more widely used, even though its acceptance varies. {{w|Dromiceiomimus}}, the white dinosaur in the third panel, usually responds calmly to T-Rex's discussions. T-Rex then elaborates on how singular "they" has been used for centuries (specifically since the fourteenth century), with the change in convention being relatively recent (having fallen out of "fashion" in the nineteenth century). Technically, the English language lacks {{w|Personal pronoun|personal pronouns}} that are {{w|Epicenity|gender-neutral}} in the singular third-person — that is, there are only gender-specific personal pronouns such as "{{w|He (pronoun)|he}}" and "{{w|She (pronoun)|she}}" — so when a gender-neutral pronoun is needed, {{w|Plural|plural}} pronouns such as "{{w|They|they}}" (which ''are'' gender-neutral) are often used instead. There is some debate about whether this is a grammatical error, which may result in the use of grammatically correct, but cumbersome, gender-neutral phrases such as "he or she", "him or her", "his or hers" and so on. To compensate for these shortcomings, other gender-neutral personal pronouns for the singular third-person have also been introduced, such as "he/she", "s/he" and "xe" instead of "he or she", or "hirs" instead of "his or hers." T-Rex considers these constructs to be "ridiculous" and points out that they can be avoided by simply using the singular "they" instead.

While "he/she" and "s/he" are commonly used as a gender-neutral pronoun when gender is unknown, "xe" and "hirs" are often used for {{w|genderqueer}} individuals. Genderqueer persons do not subscribe to a "binary" definition of gender, where the only genders are male and female, and may identify as having, just to name a few examples, a gender between male and female, a combination of both male and female genders, no gender (terms for this include "genderless", "agender," and "neutrois"), a {{w|Third Gender|separate gender}} from male and female, an unnameable gender, or a "fluid" gender identity that shifts between multiple genders ("genderfluidity").

{{w|Utahraptor}}, the orange dinosaur, typically contradicts T-Rex, but Randall subverts this pattern and has him agree. The comic suggests that the perpetual disagreement stems from a 'rift' in the author's mind, which would be healed if only he lived in a world where there were a {{w|Beringia|land bridge between Asia and North America}}.

In the last panel, the narrator starts with "In a world…", a phrase made famous by {{w|Don LaFontaine}} in movie trailers. "In a world…" is also likely a reference to the recurring gag of Dinosaur Comics suddenly jumping to alternate worlds or time periods that have whatever conditions T-Rex and his friends have been discussing, to humorous effect.

The last sentence suggests that in this other world, everyone is {{w|bi-curious}}. This is a phenomenon in which people of a {{w|heterosexual}} or {{w|homosexual}} identity who, while showing some curiosity for a relationship or sexual activity with a person of the sex they do not favor, distinguish themselves from the {{w|bisexual}} label. Bi-curious has been used as the word of the day two days in a row on [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=311 May 11th] and [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=312 May 12th] 2004, so it's no wonder Randall put the word in this comic. The suggestion that "everyone is bi-curious" could be a reference to {{w|Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke's}} book ''{{w|Imperial Earth}}'', where bisexuality is the norm. Deliberately trite and awkward explorations of this subject matter are also a recurring theme in Dinosaur Comics.

Like [[xkcd]], Dinosaur Comics has [[Title text|title texts]]. Ryan's title texts are often bizarre non-sequiturs; the title text for the [http://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2593 2593rd comic], eleven years after the appearance of the first comic, read "the sixth panel and the second panel are just zoomed versions of each other. IT'S TRUE. I'M SORRY. I COULDN'T BEAR CARRYING THIS TERRIBLE SECRET ANY LONGER." The title text in this parody fits this pattern.

However, the sixth panel of that particular comic starts with the words, "AND SO GOD REWINDS TIME TO THE SECOND PANEL OF THIS COMIC", making that comic a more appropriate place for that title text than the average Dinosaur Comic. Also, [http://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2596 2596th comic] has the title text "see, this is what you get for reading MY comic! did xkcd award you any degrees today?? DIDN'T THINK SO. check and mate, randy", which is both relevant to the actual comic and mentions xkcd.

T-Rex from ''Dinosaur Comics'' later appeared in [[1350: Lorenz]] (see this [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example story line] and the Dinosaur section under [[1350: Lorenz#Themes|Lorenz themes]]), where the actual images from Ryan's comic are used instead of copies by Randall, in [[1452: Jurassic World]], where the last image from the actual comic was used, and in [[3012: The Future of Orion]].

==Transcript==
:[T-Rex, a large green Tyrannosaurus, holds out his small arms to each side and the tail pointing up while speaking with a wide open pink mouth showing all his teeth. All the text is written like on a typewriter with both caps and lowercase letters, which is not normal in xkcd.]
:T-Rex: THINGS I AM UPPITY ABOUT: "They" as a third-person singular gender-free pronoun.

:[Zoom in on T-Rex head holding his hands up under his mouth, and mouth even wider open so also the red tongue can be seen.]
:T-Rex: I'm all for it!

:[Zoom out to show T-Rex to the left, mouth almost closed, arms in normal position, the tail pointing up, and lifting his left leg ready to smash his foot down through the roof of a brown log cabin with chimney and porch with a blue car holding in front of the house to the right. Further right is a smaller white/yellow dinosaur, Dromiceiomimus, standing away from T-Rex, but turning its long neck toward him.]
:Dromiceiomimus: But isn't that terrible grammar?
:T-Rex: Only by recent convention! It's been in use that way for centuries, and its use is widely accepted! ALSO: This lets us avoid ridiculous constructs like "he/she", "s/he", "xe" or "hirs"!

:[T-Rex is moving left, so part of his head and his lifted right foot are outside the panels frame, pink mouth again partly open so tongue can be seen, but no teeth are drawn. Arms are still in normal position and the tail is pointing up. Beneath the part of his right foot visible, there is Cueball about to be squashed. Behind him an orange dinosaur, Utahraptor, has appeared. It looks like a smaller version of T-Rex, but with longer arms and very large claws on its rear legs. It has its pink mouth wide open to show its red tongue and teeth, also holding arm in front of it and the tail pointing up. It is moving forward standing only on one leg, the other lifted high up.]
:Utahraptor: T-Rex, I . . . agree.
:T-Rex: What?
:Utahraptor: That sounds good to me!

:[T-Rex stand with both legs down, but wide spread out. The tails is almost down to the ground, only the tip pointing up. The arms are still in front of it towards the left, but it has turned its head, mouth almost closed, toward right looking at Utahraptor, which now stands on both legs, but like it is leaning forward on its toes, stretching up with arms held high, mouth less open, but tongue and teeth visible.]
:Utahraptor: Normally I'd jump in with an objection, but I think your point makes sense.
:T-Rex: Could it be that the rift in our author's mind has finally healed? Is he no longer locked in perpetual war with the self-doubt that lurks in his subc-

:[The final part of the final words from T-Rex is interrupted in the previous panel and first finishes here after a narrator "speaks" before T-Rex with bold capital letters to the top right, and after to the bottom left. T-Rex is seen in full figure standing with wide open mouth, teeth and tongue visible, arms and tail up.]
:Narrator: '''IN A WORLD WHERE THERE IS STILL A LAND BRIDGE BETWEEN ASIA AND NORTH AMERICA FOR SOME REASON:'''
:T-Rex: -onscious?
:Narrator: '''ALSO HOW ABOUT IN THIS WORLD EVERYONE IS BICURIOUS'''

==Trivia==
*This was the [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=830 Dinosaur Comics strip] released the day before this comic
**Dinosaur Comics released MTWT, so there was no release on the Friday of this comics release.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Parody Week]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] 
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Sex]]

370: Redwall

2024-08-27T23:35:20Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ added another Redwall reference

{{comic
| number = 370
| date = January 14, 2008
| title = Redwall
| image = redwall.png
| titletext = My Redwall/Jurassic Park crossover fanfic is almost complete!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|Brian Jacques|Brian Jacques'}} series of books, ''{{w|Redwall}}'', which star sapient woodland animals in various high fantasy adventures.

The first panel shows the similarity between the story of Martin the Warrior (from the book ''{{w|Mossflower}}'') and {{w|Aragorn}} from ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}. The joke is that while Martin and Aragorn introduce themselves separately, they then go on to describe their particular story, which turns out to be exactly the same for both of them. Subsequently Martin jinxes Aragorn. {{w|Jinx (children's game)|Jinx}} is a common children's game that is initiated by shouting "Jinx" after somebody speaks the same word or sentence at the same time as you. That person is then jinxed, with one form of the rules dictating that they are then not permitted to speak until unjinxed by some specific action (usually somebody saying their name). For a similar children’s game, see [[392: Making Rules]].

In ''LOTR'', orcs are unequivocally and without exception the bad guys, capable only of hate and violence (although to be fair, in some of Tolkien's unpublished writing, orcs are corrupted elves, so it is clear that they are not intrinsically bad). Similarly, Redwall's rats, foxes, ferrets, ermine, and weasels are mostly evil manipulators, while mice, rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs, and badgers are always the good guys. On several occasions, characters explicitly state that "vermin stays vermin." This is the overarching rule, notwithstanding the rare exception (e.g. Grubbage from {{w|Triss}}). Conversely, one of the so-called "good species" has never become evil in this book series. Though it is more likely than not that this is simply the result of a {{tvtropes|PlanetOfHats|planet of hats}} - where a single species all share the same characteristics and personality, so that authors / readers don't have to spend time fleshing out / getting to know every new character - Randall nevertheless indicates that this "moral absolute" is problematic and has some "racist undertones," regardless if it's intentional or not. (Note that Tolkien's work is probably not actually racist—the Easterlings are portrayed as non-evil people who were deceived by Sauron, and the Orcs deliberately modified into evil. However, Orcs do bear a startling similarity to the worst Mongol stereotypes.)

The second panel deals with the fact that ''Redwall'' mentions the name of {{w|Satan}} or {{w|The Devil}} 4 times, while it never mentions {{w|God}} or {{w|Jesus}}--somewhat surprisingly, given that the book is set in an abbey, and many of the inhabitants are religious brothers and sisters. [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] then points out that people who {{w|Religious debates over the Harry Potter series|protest against Harry Potter because of the series' witchcraft}}, should take note that Redwall explicitly mentions Satan, although it has had little to no negative feedback from more conservative readers.

In the third panel, Randall comments on ''Redwall'''s often-used theme of critical messages being left in riddles throughout the Abbey for the occupants to find when they are in need. Randall suggests that he would use {{w|Public-key cryptography|public-key cryptography}} to encode the messages, instead of the elaborate riddles used in the books (all of which are solved in a matter of days after being discovered more or less by chance, which doesn't exactly make for good security when dealing with sensitive and occasionally time-critical information).

In the title text, Randall jokes that he is making a crossover {{w|Fan fiction|fan-fiction}} with ''Redwall'' and ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}''.

Redwall was also referenced in [[1286: Encryptic]], [[1688: Map Age Guide]], and [[1722: Debugging]].

==Transcript==
:Notes from reading Redwall books for the first time since childhood.

:Some of this feels familiar.
:Aragorn: Hi, I'm Aragorn.
:Martin: I'm Martin.
:Aragorn and Martin: I'm here to reforge my broken sword so I can lead an army against the tyrant threatening my people. I live in a world of moral absolutes and racist undertones.
:Martin: Jinx!

:It startled me when characters mentioned Satan.
:Redwall: "By Satan's whiskers..."
:Redwall mentions God/Jesus 0 times.
:Redwall mentions Satan/The Devil 4 times.
:(Harry Potter protesters, take note.)

:Even as a kid this bothered me: Why does everyone leave critical secret messages as simple riddles? It's silly to assume the intended recipient will be the only one to find and solve them. I would do things differently.
:Matthias: The inscription is a message from Martin!
:Brother Methuselah: What does it say?
:Matthias: Hang on, it's encrypted with my public key.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Redwall]]

287: NP-Complete

2024-08-09T20:50:05Z

Hatman31: /* Trivia */ Replaced dead link with archive

{{comic
| number = 287
| date = July 9, 2007
| title = NP-Complete
| image = np_complete.png
| titletext = General solutions get you a 50% tip.
}}

==Explanation==
Another entry in the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. [[Cueball]] is embedding {{w|NP-complete|NP-complete problems}} in restaurant orders. Specifically, he is ordering appetizers not by explicitly stating the names, but by the total price of them all. This is a simplified example of the {{w|Knapsack problem|knapsack problem}}. This is a problem in combinatorial optimization, as follows: If you have a knapsack (backpack or rucksack) that can hold a specific amount of weight, and you have a set of items, each with its own assigned value and weight, you have to select items to put into the knapsack so that the weight does not exceed the capacity of the knapsack, and the combined value of all the items is maximized.

In {{w|Computational complexity theory|computational complexity theory}}, NP stands for "nondeterministic polynomial time," which means that problems that are NP take polynomial running time (i.e. the time a CPU would take to run the program would be polynomial in the input size) to verify a solution, but it is unknown whether finding any or all solutions can be done in polynomial time. Polynomial time is considered efficient; exponential and higher times are considered unfeasible for computation. NP-complete problems are ones that, if a polynomial time algorithm is found for any of them, then all NP problems have polynomial time solutions. In short, particular guesses in NP-complete problems can be checked easily, but systematically finding solutions is far more difficult.

The waiter's problem is NP-complete, since a given order's price can be found and checked quickly, but finding an order to match a price is much harder. This causes the order to effectively be an {{w|application layer}} {{w|denial-of-service attack}} / {{w|algorithmic complexity attack}} on the waiter, similar to {{w|Slowloris (computer security)|Slowloris}} or {{w|ReDoS}}. (Formal proofs of the NP-completeness of the knapsack problem can be found at the above link.) The most straightforward way for a human to find a solution is to methodically start by first listing all the (6) ways of choosing one appetizer, and their total costs, then list all the (21) ways of choosing two appetizers (allowing repeats), and then list all the (56) ways of choosing three appetizers, and so forth. As any combination of eight appetizers would be more than $15.05, the process need not extend beyond listing all the (1715) ways of choosing seven appetizers.

Another famous NP-complete problem is the {{w|Travelling salesman problem|travelling salesman problem}}, mentioned by Cueball at the end, referring to the waiter's claim that he has 6 more tables to get to. (see also [[399: Travelling Salesman Problem]]).

The title text refers to the fact that NP-complete problems have no known polynomial time general solutions, and it is unknown if such a solution can ever be found. If the waiter can find an efficient general solution to this, he will have solved one of the most famous problems in mathematics. This problem is one of the six remaining unsolved {{w|Millennium Prize Problems}} stated by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000, for which a correct solution (including proving that such a solution doesn't exist) is worth US$1,000,000. A 50% tip is slightly less than fair.{{cn}}

For those curious, there are exactly two combinations of appetizers that total $15.05 and solve the problem posed in the comic strip:
#A combination of two orders of hot wings, one order of mixed fruit, and one sampler plate
#Seven mixed fruit orders (this solution was not intended - see [[#Trivia|trivia]] below)

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Embedding NP-Complete problems in restaurant orders
:[A menu is shown.]
:'''Chotchkies Restaurant'''
:Appetizers
::Mixed Fruit 2.15
::French Fries 2.75
::Side Salad 3.35
::Hot Wings 3.55
::Mozzarella Sticks 4.20
::Sampler Plate 5.80
:Sandwiches
::Barbecue 6.55
:[Megan, another person, and Cueball are sitting at a table. Cueball is holding the menu as well as a thick book and is ordering from a waiter. Megan is facepalming.]
:Cueball: We'd like exactly $15.05 worth of appetizers, please.
:Waiter: ...Exactly? Uhh...
:Cueball: Here, these papers on the knapsack problem might help you out.
:Waiter: Listen, I have six other tables to get to—
:Cueball: —As fast as possible, of course. Want something on traveling salesman?

==Trivia==

*"Chotchkies" (slightly misspelt) is Yiddish slang for little accessories and trinkets. It is also the name of the restaurant in the 1999 Mike Judge-directed comedy ''{{w|Office Space}}''.

*In [https://web.archive.org/web/20150817221154/http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/math-horizons/the-mathematics-behind-xkcd-a-conversation-with-randall-munroe-0 an interview] with the Mathematical Association of America, Randall said that the trivial answer to this problem was a mistake. Randall explains in ''[[xkcd: volume 0]]'' that this was due to him using a Perl script with a bug ("You can't compare IEEE floats for equality").

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Programming]]

148: Mispronouncing

2024-08-09T20:40:27Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ RW

{{comic
| number = 148
| date = August 25, 2006
| title = Mispronouncing
| image = mispronouncing.png
| titletext = My pal Emad does this all the time. 'Hey man, which way to the airpart?'
}}

==Explanation==
This is the sixth comic in the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. His "hobby" in this one is deliberately mispronouncing words while talking. Hobbies in the ''My Hobby'' series are generally annoying or weird, but with an element of cleverness. Here, [[Cueball]] persists in mispronouncing his words despite the second character's attempt to correct him. Interestingly, when Randall started the xkcd blog in October 2006, 6 weeks after the publication of this comic, he named it "[[Blag]]". He has used that name in several other comics, such as [[181: Interblag]] and [[239: Blagofaire]]. Today, if someone visits https://blag.xkcd.com they get redirected to blog.xkcd.com, but the slogan at the top still says "xkcd - The blag of the webcomic".

In the title text, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] explains that he got the idea for this comic from one of his friends; it's unclear whether the friend's mispronunciations are purposeful like those in the comic.

==Transcript==
:[Caption at top of panel:]
:My hobby:
:Mispronouncing words

:[Cueball and a friend are talking:]
:Cueball: Yeah, did you see what he said on his wobsite?
:Friend: ...his what?
:Cueball: Wobsite.
:Friend: ... I think you mean "website."
:Cueball: Why don't you write about it in your blag?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1010: Etymology-Man

2024-08-09T20:18:32Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ grammar

{{comic
| number = 1010
| date = January 30, 2012
| title = Etymology-Man
| image = etymology_man.png
| titletext = I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Aquaman were here instead--HE'D be able to help.
}}

==Explanation==
This became the first comic in a two comic series about the [[:Category:Etymology-Man|Etymology-Man]]. The second followed two comics later in [[1012: Wrong Superhero]].

This comic is a take on the traditional appearance of a super hero when a disaster strikes. In this case, Etymology-Man arrives, who apparently has the power of {{w|Etymology}} — the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. As Etymology-Man is explaining the history of the words "{{w|tsunami}}" and "tidal wave", at one point referencing the {{w|2004 Indian Ocean tsunami}} and {{w|2011 Tōhoku tsunami}}, the water starts rising around them. As the waters continue to rise, he continues to only explain the words, rather than attempting to save them as a superhero should. This, intentionally or unintentionally, is a dig at academics who prefer to talk about issues when taking action is more appropriate.

Also, the title text is a play on how useless {{w|Aquaman}} is (perceived to be) compared to other superheroes, as his powers — breathing underwater, speed swimming, and communicating with sea life — are very difficult for writers to make relevant. Indeed, in the case of a flood, Aquaman and his aquatic allies would be able to assist with evacuations.

The irony of the situation comes from the fact that Etymology-Man ''also'' has the power of flight and could in fact save Cueball and Ponytail if he was not so busy talking about the origin of the word "tidal wave".

Inexplicable is the fact that Cueball and Ponytail both know exactly who this "superhero" is, and ergo presumably realize that what he is telling them is useless, but they don't even attempt to get to safety. There are few possible explanations for this: perhaps they are simply accepting their fate instead of trying to escape, or even that learning cool word facts takes precendence over saving their own lives, or they have been distracted by Etymology-Man's lecture and were caught by surprise by the fast tidal wave.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are facing each other, with wavy lines around them to indicate they are experiencing the shaking of an earthquake.]
:Cueball: Earthquake!
:Ponytail: We should get to a higher ground - There could be a tidal wave.

:[A frame-less panel with Cueball and Ponytail, with Cueball taking a pedantic pose and raising a finger.]
:Cueball: You mean a tsunami. "Tidal wave" means a wave caused by tides.

:[A crash is heard, followed by Etymology-Man flying in while wearing a cape.]
:Etymology-man: You know, that doesn't add up.
:Cueball and Ponytail: Etymology-man!

:[Etymology-man takes a pedantic pose.]
:Etymology-man: What ''does'' "tidal wave" mean? There are waves caused by tides, but they're "tidal bores", and they're not cataclysmic.
:It can refer to the daily tide cycle, but that's obviously not what people mean when they say "a tidal wave hit".
:It's been obvious for centuries that these waves come from quakes. So why "tidal"?

:[Panel zooms in on Etymology-man.]
:Etymology-man: Remember that until 2004, there weren't any clear photos or videos of tsunamis. Some modern writers even described them rearing up and breaking like surfing waves [sic]
:Of course, in 2004 and 2011, it was made clear to everyone that a tsunami is more like a rapid, turbulent, inrushing tide - exactly what historical accounts describe.

:[Water begins to rush in. Etymology-man keeps his pedantic pose.]
:Etymology-man: Maybe those writing about Lisbon in 1755 used "tidal wave" not out of scientific confusion, but because it described the wave's form — a description lost in our rush to expunge "tidal wave" from English.

:[The water is now waist-deep. Etymology-man continues to drone on, but the others start to panic.]
:Etymology-man: "Tsunami" is now the standard, and I'm not trying to change that. But let's be a tad less giddy about correcting "tidal wave" - especially when "tsunami" just means "harbor wave", which is hardly...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Etymology-Man]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Earthquakes]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Pedantic]]

1748: Future Archaeology

2024-08-06T18:33:45Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ RW & RM unnecessary text

{{comic
| number = 1748
| date = October 19, 2016
| title = Future Archaeology
| image = future_archaeology.png
| titletext = "The only link we've found between the two documents is that a fragment of the Noah one mentions Aaron's brother Moses parting an ocean. Is that right?" "... yes. Yes, exactly."
}}

==Explanation==
This Wednesday comic is a direct continuation of the previous comic [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] from Monday about a {{w|time travel|time-traveler}} (the black floating energy Sphere) who has come back from far in to the future to see {{w|spiders}} (only known from {{w|fossils}} in their time). See [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] for a more complete explanation of this part of the joke. This [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|series]] ended with this comic. Both comics in this series have titles of a noun followed by a field of research.

Since [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] now have access to the Sphere from the future, they ask if it knows who will win the election. This is a reference to the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}}, which pitted the ''very'' controversial [[Donald Trump]] against former United States First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, who was also involved in several {{w|Hillary_Clinton_email_controversy|controversies}}. This comic was released about three weeks before election day. (The election was the subject of the comic released the day before the election [[1756: I'm With Her]], in which [[Randall]] endorsed Clinton directly.)

Sadly for Megan and Cueball, the sphere has come back from so far into the future that even spiders have gone extinct. (Whether humans also have is unclear, see discussion about this in [[1747: Spider Paleontology]]). The Sphere makes this clear by stating that its civilization hardly knows anything about our era, and they know little about our history and culture. (And by the way it only came back for the spiders, anyway). The idea is that history is filtered in similar fashion to fossils. What is contemporaneously important, like a {{w|spider web|spider's web}}, {{w|Feathered dinosaur|dinosaur feathers}} (see previous comic), or the United States presidential election may not survive. The Sphere tells them that only two written accounts have been reconstructed (note that they are not found in their entirety). And they do not know whether they even represent real events or myths. One of the two is indeed a myth, as it is about a man building a boat to survive a great flood. Megan recognizes this as being about {{w|Noah}} and his famous {{w|Noah's Ark|Ark}} from the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}}, as Cueball refers to. The other is a reference to a popular pop song.

The joke is that, in the future, the 2000 {{w|Aaron Carter}} hip hop song "{{w|That's How I Beat Shaq}}" ([http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/aaroncarter/thatshowibeatshaq.html lyrics] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhhWA9GF0M video]) is considered as valuable a historical document when researching humans as parts of the {{w|Bible}}. While secular historians consider the story of the Flood to be mythical, they still use it to infer facts about the early history of the Middle East, simply because there are a fairly small number of texts surviving from that era. "That's How I Beat Shaq" is, likewise, a fictional story including some true elements; it's just that as long as there are abundant sources documenting life in the year 2000, there's no reason to consult the song in any historical context. Yet it is the latter story that the time traveler assumes to be a clearly religious one, while seeing the former as a relatively straightforward survival story. A further layer of humor is that "That's How I Beat Shaq" is an archetypal {{w|David and Goliath}} story—the story of David and Goliath of course being a Biblical one as well.

In fact, the Spheres civilization believes Shaq ({{w|Shaquille O'Neal}}, a 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) tall professional basketball player) to be a god, who was then defeated by Aaron, a 14-year-old (and rather small kid) at the time of the release of his single in 2001. He beats Shaq on the basketball court one on one. Megan comments that the pop song may have been mangled by the {{w|Aeon|eons}}.

The title text expands on the joke by letting the Sphere explain that the only connection they have found between their two historical documents is via the biblical story of {{w|Moses}}. As Moses is one of God's chosen prophets and leaders, like Noah and {{w|Abraham}} before him, these two stories appear close together in the Bible, though not close together chronologically, and it would be likely that their document with the Flood story also has some parts about Moses. Moses had an older biological brother named {{w|Aaron}} and the Sphere's civilization has hastily concluded that Moses' brother and Aaron Carter are the same. According to the Bible, God {{w|parting of the Red Sea|parted the Sea of Reeds (commonly mistranslated as Red Sea)}} for Moses and the {{w|Israelites}}. This is often referred to, either erroneously or out of simplification, as Moses having parted the Red Sea. Along with Noah's Flood, this is one of the two major times in the Bible that God effects grand change on a body or bodies of water.

This comic was published the day after the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'', thus referring indirectly to a new possible flood history. It was the first what if? post in almost three months, the longest break between two post during 2016 (and third longest of all time at the time of its release), and it thus seems reasonable that there should be some kind of connection between that and this comic. A later comic ([[1750: Life Goals]]) also referenced this what if? post more or less directly. In this comic, Randall managed to combine no less than four of his favorite recurring subjects with [[:Category:Time travel|time travel]], [[:Category:Spiders|spiders]], [[:Category:Politics|politics]] and [[:Category:Religion|religion]].

==Transcript==
:[The Sphere, a time-traveler depicted as a solid floating black energy sphere surrounded by six outwardly-curved segments (first seen in the previous comic), is floating in front of Megan and Cueball who is walking after it towards the right part of the panel. The Sphere looks like this in all panels, but in the zoom in from panel two more details can be seen. A voice emanates from the Sphere.]
:Megan: Since you're from the future, do you know who wins the election?
:Sphere: Haven't the faintest idea. Hardly any text has been recovered from your era, so we know little about your history and culture.
:Sphere: We're mostly here for the spiders, anyway. 

:[A close-up of the Sphere, still depicted as a black sphere, but not perfectly round at this zoom level and also clearly with some white dots in the dark area. It is still surrounded by six narrow rays with irregular dots between the rays.]
:Sphere: There are only two written accounts we've reconstructed.
:Sphere: We don't know whether they describe real events or myths.

:[The Sphere is now on the left side of Megan and Cueball who has stopped walking and has turned to look at the Sphere.]
:Sphere: One is a story about a man who built a boat to survive a great flood.
:Megan: Oh yeah. Noah.
:Cueball: We do like our flood narratives.

:[The Sphere has drifted further away from Megan and Cueball.]
:Sphere: The other is an account of how a man named Aaron Carter defeated a god named Shaq.
:Megan: That one may have been mangled a bit by the eons.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Time traveling Sphere]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Spiders]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Basketball]] 
[[Category:Songs]]

2919: Sitting in a Tree

2024-04-19T17:56:22Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ +788 connection

{{comic
| number = 2919
| date = April 12, 2024
| title = Sitting in a Tree
| image = sitting_in_a_tree_2x.png
| imagesize = 591x320px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = First comes blood / Then we perish / Then comes Death in his Eternity Carriage.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PAIR OF BOTS SITTING IN A TREE E-D-I-T-I-N-G - ♫First come comments, ♫Then these made neat, ♫But ONLY when it's accurate, then the tag you should delete!♫}}

“[Name] and [name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” is the start of a common US schoolyard taunt to tease others about their alleged romance. As the comic notes, the rhyme can use a range of normal seven-letter {{w|gerund}}s - nouns made by ending a verb in “ing".

Like other schoolyard taunts, the goal may be to elicit a reaction of frustration, anger or embarrassment. It may also just be chanted at a random set of two kids, such as part of a {{w|counting-out game}}.

This comic lists a diverse group of eighteen seven-letter gerunds which Cueball and Megan could be accused of performing in a tree, and organizes them into three categories: Normal, Slightly Worrying and Very Alarming. Each list of gerunds has an illustration of its last one: kissing, ironing and smiting, respectively.

Normal:
:'''{{w|Reading}}'''
:'''{{w|Singing}}'''
:'''{{w|Playing}}'''
:'''{{w|Sharing}}'''
:'''{{w|Hugging}}'''
:'''{{w|Kissing}}''' is the activity illustrated in the panel.

Slightly worrying:
:'''{{w|Sobbing}}''' is an act of weeping heavily, e.g. due to a setback in one's relationship, or perhaps due to being stuck up a tree.
:'''{{w|Itching}}''' is feeling a sensation on one's skin that makes one want to scratch or rub it, and may happen due to mosquito bites or other bugs, or perhaps an allergic reaction to tree bark.
:'''{{w|Pruning}}''' is cutting off the branches of a tree, which is very dangerous if one is sitting on said branch.{{Citation needed}}
:'''{{w|Banking}}''' is conducting financial business with a bank, or if one works for the financial institution, conducting financial business with a customer cohort.
:'''{{w|Post#Communications|Posting}}''' is to publish posts on social media. An antiquated definition is to send {{w|mail}} using a postal service.
:'''{{w|Ironing}}''' is smoothing clothes with an iron and a flat surface, like an ironing board. This is the activity illustrated in the panel.

Very alarming:
:'''{{w|Molting}}''' is shedding one's skin. Many insects molt in trees, such as cicadas, grasshoppers, and termites.
:'''{{w|Whaling}}''' is hunting whales, which has been outlawed in the US since the 1980s. Whales aren't usually found in trees.[''{{w|List of cetaceans|cetacean needed}}''] And since the letter 'W' is three syllables when sung aloud, this is the only gerund in the comic that doesn't have the standard seven syllables of the traditional taunt.
:'''{{w|E-filing}}''' is submitting one's tax returns online, common in the US. This comic was published a few days before the US tax deadline. E-filing could quite reasonably be done from a tree using a laptop or other portable computing device.
:'''{{w|Melting}}''' is turning from a solid state to a liquid state, which is usually fatal. It wouldn't be odd for a snowman in a tree to melt.
:'''{{w|Radiography|X-raying}}''' is using {{w|X-ray}} radiation to image someone or something for medical or security purposes, not normally conducted in trees. With enough radiation, the X-rays could be fatal.
:'''{{wiktionary|smite#English|Smiting}}''' is striking down, destroying or killing, often with divine power called from a god. This is the activity illustrated in the panel.

The title text continues the S-M-I-T-I-N-G version of the chant with a parody of the traditional {{w|Children's song#Game songs|next verses}}, "...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage" (which reflects the common social expectations that any kissers might follow the path of). Instead, the parody appears to be a dark prophecy about the grim ramifications of smiting directed by the tree-ensconced kids:
# blood
# the {{w|Mass fatality incident|mass fatality}} of the taunt singers
# the vehicular arrival of a {{w|Death (personification)|personified Death}}.

It might indeed be alarming to hear schoolkids singing about their own bloody death from divine judgment, channeled by their tree-ensconced peers. It might not be out of place if the kids are all part of a death cult, and the children in the tree are believed to have the power to direct divine punishment.

The last line may be an allusion to the Emily Dickinson poem "[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47652/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death-479 Because I Could Not Stop For Death]", which refers both to Death riding in a carriage and to eternity. The comic was posted in April, National Poetry Month. Munroe also referenced "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" in [[788: The Carriage]].

The combination of "Death" from the title text and "E-Filing" is similar to the "{{w|Death and taxes (idiom)|Death and Taxes}}" idiom.

==Transcript==
:[Three children are singing. A kid with a bowl cut and a young Hairy are pointing with their fingers, while Jill stands in the middle. A pair of connected eighth notes and a detached eighth note are shown.]
:Kid with a bowl cut, Jill and Hairy: [Name] and [Name], sitting in a tree...

:[Label above the panel:]
:Normal
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch holding hands and kissing, with a heart above them.]
:R-E-A-D-I-N-G
:S-I-N-G-I-N-G
:P-L-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-H-A-R-I-N-G
:H-U-G-G-I-N-G
:K-I-S-S-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Slightly worrying
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch each ironing a cloth on an ironing board, with steam arising from the irons.]
:S-O-B-B-I-N-G
:I-T-C-H-I-N-G
:P-R-U-N-I-N-G
:B-A-N-K-I-N-G
:P-O-S-T-I-N-G
:I-R-O-N-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Very alarming
:[Cueball and Megan, her hair being {{tvtropes|MadnessMakeover|uncharacteristically wild}}, sitting on a tree branch smiting with glowing hands, with two falling fireballs and fire below them. Cueball's hands are raised up, while Megan has her left hand up and her right hand pointing to her right.]
:M-O-L-T-I-N-G
:W-H-A-L-I-N-G
:E-F-I-L-I-N-G
:M-E-L-T-I-N-G
:X-R-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-M-I-T-I-N-G

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Kids]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Romance]]

2896: Crossword Constructors

2024-02-20T19:29:20Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ +wikilinks

{{comic
| number = 2896
| date = February 19, 2024
| title = Crossword Constructors
| image = crossword_constructors_2x.png
| imagesize = 285x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Also, we would really appreciate it if you could prominently refer to it as an 'eHit'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a THREE-LETTER WORD THAT STARTS WITH B - Add meanings of words given, if any. Also check whether any of these words are albums or songs already. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is inspired by a common situation when people try to make crossword puzzles. Here, [[Cueball]], [[Hairbun]], and [[White Hat]] are {{w|crossword puzzle}} constructors, but some of the words they would like to use would result in awkward sequences of letters crossing them which are not English words or familiar names, such as "aete", "eni", etc. However, they have an idea to write a letter to persuade prominent singers ({{w|Taylor Swift}}, {{w|Ed Sheeran}}, {{w|Nicki Minaj}}, {{w|Ariana Grande}} and {{w|The Weeknd}}) to choose these awkward sequences of letters as titles of their future albums, thereby letting Cueball, Hairbun, and White Hat write clues about those albums and use those letter sequences as answers.

The particular sequences of letters that are selected are notable for their exclusive usage of the most common English letters. They also all begin and end with a vowel. These are two features that are common in "crosswordese", i.e. words which appear significantly more often in crosswords than in reality. Examples of crosswordese that are actually used include the words "{{w|OREO}}", "{{w|Épée|EPEE}}", and "{{w|Yoko Ono|ONO}}". However, none of these words are actual common English words {{cn}} and are unlikely to be album names (especially when taking {{w|Ed Sheeran discography|Ed’s albums}} into consideration).

The title text lists another sequence of awkward letters, "ehit". Thus, Cueball, Hairbun, and White Hat ask these singers to refer their hits (popular songs) as "eHit"s, adding the "e" for electronic such as in e-mail and e-dating. This is also a reference to common crossword entries like "E-TAIL" or "E-MAG" which are often criticized for using the prefix "E" to create words that no one really uses.

===Possible unintended meanings of words===
*aete: {{w|Apple_event#Object_Model|AppleEvent Terminology Extension}}
*eni: {{w|Eni|Eni S.p.A.}}, Italian multinational energy company; the name of an {{W|Eniola_Aluko|England footballer}}
*oreta: ''{{w|Oreta}}'', moth genus in family {{w|Drepanidae}}
*aroe: {{w|Aroe}} may refer to: The Aru Islands Regency, islands in eastern Indonesia; Aroe, an alternative name for Aroi, Patras, in western Greece
*oine: {{w|Kusumoto Ine}}, also known as O-Ine, Japanese physician
*aen: {{w|AEN}} may refer to: Acute esophageal necrosis, a rare esophageal disorder; and more
*enta: ''[[wikt:enta|enta]]'' (French verb) third-person singular past historic of ''[[wikt:enter#French|enter]]'' (to graft, to implant)
*aerae: ''[[wikt:aerae|aerae]]'' (Latin noun) genitive/dative singular and nominative plural of ''[[wikt:aera#Latin|aera]]'' (era)

''{{w|Enta da Stage}}'' is the debut album by American East Coast hip hop group Black Moon. 
''öine'' means nocturnal/nightly in Estonian, and features in the titles of a number of albums by artists from that country.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a table and typing on his laptop, with small movement lines above his hands indicating typing. White Hat and Hairbun are standing behind him and looking at what he writes. The text he writes can be seen above them. The list of words at the end are written in two columns with four words in each. Here below, the second column of words is written below the first:]
:Dear Ms. Swift, Mr. Sheeran, Ms. Minaj, Ms. Grande, and Mr. Weeknd,
:We are a group of crossword puzzle constructors, and we would like to suggest some titles for your future albums:
:*Aete
:*Eni
:*Oreta
:*Aroe
:*Oine
:*Aen
:*Enta
:*Aerae

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2892: Banana Prices

2024-02-20T19:25:37Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ better grammar

2892: Banana Prices

2024-02-09T22:13:44Z

Hatman31: /* Explanation */ Add reference to 605

{{comic
| number = 2892
| date = February 9, 2024
| title = Banana Prices
| image = banana_prices_2x.png
| imagesize = 564x378px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's a linear extrapolation, Michael. How big could the error be? 10%?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an IMPERIAL BANANA THERMAL DETONATOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Qyk9DSUw ‘It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $10?'] is a line from an {{w|Arrested Development}} episode (Season 1, Episode 6, "Charity Drive", 2003) that became well known as a meme used to mock out-of-touch elites. The character who spoke this line -- Lucille Bluth, a rich socialite -- didn't know whether a banana cost $10 in 2003 because she never did any grocery shopping "because we have people for that." According to the graph, the banana price at the time of that episode was actually just under 25 cents.

'''This comic illustrates a whole suite of ways to violate statistical best practices and to 'lie with data.' And the additional use of an "unreliable narrator" device gives this comic several layers of meaning.'''

To initially mislead the reader and to ultimately demonstrate how easy it is to be fooled by various methods of 'lying with data,' Randall impressively combines several statistical 'sins' in one graph, such as:
* false precision
* extrapolating an order of magnitude deeper into the future than is advisable
* referring to a logarithmic extrapolation as linear
* ignoring historical norms and high variability in making future predictions
* logarithmic scales when they're inappropriate and misleading
* articulating multiple potential scenarios that are actually highly correlated with each other.

At first, the comic looks like a wry observation that the irony of this sitcom line will be obsolete in a century or two. This comic shows a graph of three, different, projected, future prices for bananas over the next 250 years. One extrapolates from the current inflation rate in general. Another uses the more specific inflation rate for fresh fruit, which is made from less data but is more relevant than a general rate dominated by the cost of housing. The final line is a "linear" extrapolation from 50 years of historic banana prices. The comic seems to say that it will take a century or two before the irony of the sitcom quote becomes anachronistically meaningless. This prediction depends on these particular extrapolations being accurate.

(While these extrapolations look linear, they are in fact logarithmic, since a linear extrapolation on a graph with a logarithmic scale is actually a logarithmic extrapolation. The graph is drawn to a logarithmic vertical scale on the vertical (left) axis, which makes it possible to visualize exponential price-rise as the dotted line.)

Upon closer inspection though, it's apparent that the graph-maker-cum-caption-writer is making some absurd assumptions about inflation continuing at its current level of about 3.5%. The caption writer, in this case, is an unreliable narrator who is ''also'' humorously out-of-touch like Lucille Bluth, but in a different way. If inflation returns to its recent historic norm of 1%, then it will actually take 300 years for the price of a banana to rise past $10. But as recently as 2022 the rate of inflation was as high as 6% in the US, a rate at which the banana would reach $10 in a mere 60 years (if it were sustained for 60 years). Even a short period of high inflation would be equivalent to a long period of low inflation. Simply assuming a constant 3% inflation rate for the next 100 years -- despite historical evidence -- is extremely simplistic.

Another, more subtle, illustration of false precision is the graph's use of three different assumptions for the extrapolation of banana prices. At first glance, using three different trend lines seems to show a "range" of potential scenarios and acknowledge the prediction's uncertainty. However, all three underlying trends are correlated: general inflation is highly correlated to fruit price inflation and banana price inflation. Using three different trends that are all highly correlated is scant better than using just one.

An additional example of "lying with data" is the use of a logarithmic graph for economic data. It's highly unusual to graph economic data logarithmically, as economic variables rarely show exponential change over time -- and even when they do, it's easier to show that change on a normal linear graph. If this same set of extrapolations were shown on a linear graph, the absurdly accelerating slope of the extrapolations would give away how ridiculous these extrapolations are.

(The main exception is financial market analysis, in which some traders like to use logarithmic graphs as one of many tools to perceive and predict hidden price trends that don’t show up in normally scaled charts.)

Finally, the reference to "BLS/St. Louis Fred" -- a widely respected source of economic data -- appears to lend credibility to the graph, but the only data that is truly credible is the historic price data. It's one more example -- citing respected sources -- of a way to fool unsuspecting readers into giving a prediction more credibility than it deserves.

The title text is a wink from Randall about this unreliable narrator by using the ignorant tone of Lucille Bluth to wryly acknowledge that, in fact, that error of the extrapolations greatly exceeds 10%. Just as Lucille was very wrong about a $10 banana (a price threshold), so too is the Lucille of the title text very wrong about the 10% error (a proportional change). It does so in the form of a meta-joke about the false precision of extrapolations, while continuing the theme of the speaker's extreme ignorance. Assuming that the error couldn't be more than 10% shows that the Lucille speaker continues to be hilariously off-base, presuming far more accuracy from a multi-century prediction than is warranted.

Besides the inflation example, another way the extrapolation could be wrong was if -- in the next 100 years -- there were a massive banana crash or extinction {{w|Banana#Pests, diseases, and natural disasters|as has happened}} {{w|Gros Michel banana|before}} due to the banana's lack of genetic diversity, in which case the sharply reduced supply of bananas could send the price past $10 very quickly.

Overall, the comic is a clever commentary about the false precision of extrapolation and how easy it is to be fooled by it, illustrating its point by initially misleading the reader with its own false precision, and wrapping it all in a pop-culture reference. Any economic extrapolation into the distant future based on past data points is just an educated guess likely to be quite wrong, with an expected error far in excess of 10%. (A rare example of a field in which 75-year predictions are highly accurate is demographic age charts, since the number of babies born this year is causal of the # of 75-year-olds alive in 75 years.)

Log scales and their peculiarities are a recurring xkcd theme, and this is the second comic in a row to play with logarithms (the prior one being [[2891: Log Cabin]]). It's also the second comic in the last four to involve predictions across centuries (i.e. [[2889: Greenhouse Effect]]). Another comic whose subject is extrapolation is [[605: Extrapolating]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A graph with the x-axis showing time, from the years 1950 to around 2275. The y-axis is a log scale showing the price of a banana from $0.10 to over $10.00. A label called "Price of a banana (BLS/St. Louis ''Fred''[https://fred.stlouisfed.org/])" show a rising trend in the price of a banana. There are two dots on that trend. One is labeled "Episode airs" and the other one "Now". 3 extrapolations shown as dashed lines labeled "General inflation rate", "Fresh fruit price trend" and "Banana price trend" extend until reaching the $10 mark, indicated by 3 dots.]

:[Caption above the graph:] "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost? $10?"

:[Caption below the panel:] That line probably has another century or so left.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Extrapolation]]