explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1918: NEXUS

2017-11-20T14:15:54Z

Jpd:

My first idea -- this is so draft I'm not even going to submit it into the Explanation: Could Cueball be associating NEXUS with the FernGully villain Hexxus? And the Cisco company/brand of IT products with Commander/Captain Benjamin Sisko from ''ST:DS9'' and Crisco vegetable shortening? I don't have time to look into the other things referenced, and I don't immediately recognize them, but feel free to build on this if you want. Or don't; I don't have time to care right now. '''--BigMal''' // 13:00, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

But Sisko saved Deep Space Nine! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.18|141.101.105.18]] 13:02, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

Ciscoes are a whitefish in the Salmonid family --13:08, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

The "Thong Song" is sang by an artist named "Sisqo". And ''The Caballero's Way'' written by O.Henry features a character named "the Cisco Kid". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 13:14, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

Cisco Kid went on to feature in Comics, films and a Depp Purple Song.

== a few more ==

o henry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cisco_Kid

fish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_(fish)

incan
http://emperorsnew.wikia.com/wiki/Kuzco

brak
http://brak.wikia.com/wiki/Sisto
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.202|141.101.76.202]] 13:14, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

----

I was really looking forward to coming over to ExplainXKCD.com and seeing the explanation "We don't get it, either." Disappointed again! [[User:Jpd|Jpd]] ([[User talk:Jpd|talk]]) 14:15, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

1873: Email Reply

2017-08-07T16:40:38Z

Jpd: /* Explanation */

{{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|Not very much meaning? - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} Cueball is sitting at his desk writing an email. He is responding to Kevin, who sent him an email ''two years'' ago. Cueball is so far behind in responding to his email, he goes to great lengths to apologize for it. Instead of blaming the email culture which creates enormous quantities of messages, he blames himself for not keeping up. At this point in the email, the reader assumes that Kevin's message really demanded a faster response, being personal and timely. Then Cueball reveals that the email is just the ubiquitous LinkedIn invitation. A less socially anxious person who understands the irrelevance of such an email would not worry about failing to respond to such a request at all, and certainly would not pour his heart out at failing to reply. The title text continues this, suggesting that Cueball feels not even worthy of the original invitation.

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

2017-08-07T16:39:25Z

Jpd: /* Explanation */

{{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|Not very much meaning? - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} Cueball is sitting at his desk writing an email. He is responding to Kevin, who sent him an email ''two years'' ago. Cueball is so far behind in responding to his email, he goes to great lengths to apologize for it. Instead of blaming the email culture which creates enormous quantities of messages, he blames himself for not keeping up. At this point in the email, the reader assumes that Kevin's message really demanded a faster response, being personal and timely. Then Cueball reveals that the email is just the ubiquitous LinkedIn invitation. A less socially anxious person who understands the irrelevance of such an email would not worry about failing to respond to such a request at all, and certainly would not pour his heart out at failing to reply.. The title text continues this, suggesting that Cueball is not even worthy of the original invitation.

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

1603: Flashlights

2015-11-13T14:55:16Z

Jpd: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1603
| date = November 13, 2015
| title = Flashlights
| image = flashlights.png
| titletext = Due to a typo, I initially found a forum for serious Fleshlight enthusiasts, and it turns out their highest-end models are ALSO capable of setting trees on fire. They're impossible to use without severe burns, but some of them swear it's worth it.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] has acquired or built a new high powered flashlight, which he wants to demonstrate to [[Megan]]. When Cueball refers to classic {{w|flashlights}} (battery torches) as dim and finnicky, this gives reason to assume that the flashlight he is holding is going to be ridiculously overengineered.

Indeed, when he switches it on outside the house, the intense light beam completely drowns out the scene. Only the reflected light from the forest lights up the part of Cueball and Megan's faces that are turned towards it.

Cueball comments that the flashlight lights up the entire forest, but Megan observes that it is the trees that are on fire, indicating that Cueball's flashlight is so overpowered that the energy of its beam is sufficient to cause the organic matter of trees to combust.

Of course, a flashlight that cannot safely be pointed at things is fairly useless for the traditional purpose of a flashlight, which would be to find things in the dark by directing light over them. This mundane and practical reasoning does not seem to matter to Cueball of course, who appears only interested in the intensity and brightness the device is capable of achieving.

The title text refers to {{w|Fleshlight}} a brand of male masturbation toys modeled after various female or male orifices. Cueball (or [[Randall]]) claims that he only arrived on a forum for Fleshlight enthusiasts due to a typo. An apart from the "e" vs. "a" in Fleshlight they are also fashioned to look like oversized flashlights. On that forum here he found out that the highest-end models of their product lines was also capable of setting trees on fire. This would probably happen due to violent vibrations inside the orifice. If you use one of these you should expect to obtain severe burns in a very unpleasant area. But some of the enthusiasts swears that it is still worth it... (Maybe they just tries to trick you into doing something stupid!)

==Transcript==
:[Cueball carries a flashlight walking towards Megan who is sitting on a couch]
:Cueball: Remember how flashlights sucked when we were kids? Always dim and finnicky?
:Megan: I guess?

:[Cueball and Megan walking away to the left]
:Cueball: Well, I discovered there are now internet flashlight enthusiasts.
:Cueball: And the technology has... improved.
:Megan: OK, Let's see

:[It is dark outside where Cueball turns on the flashlight. The beam is very bright and very visible even seen from the side. Backscattered light reflects of Cueball and Megans face, turning them into bright white beings in the dark. Also the facade of the house and the stairs are visible like this, with deep dark shadows where anything is in the shadow. Megan averts her face from the light holds up a hand to cower her eyes. When the flashlight turns on it even makes a sound, written in white above the beam:]
:Flashlight: '''''FWOOSH'''''

:[Cueball and Megan look at what the beam falls on (outside the frame). Megan has taken her hand down. Both their faces are only lit up like a cresent moon. Cueball is holding the flashlight with both hands like it is pushing back on him. The text is written in white on the dark sky above them.]
:Cueball: See how it lights up the whole forest?
:Megan: ...the trees are on fire.
:Cueball: Real bright though.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Sex]]

1570: Engineer Syllogism

2015-08-28T20:13:44Z

Jpd:

{{comic
| number = 1570
| date = August 28, 2015
| title = Engineer Syllogism
| image = engineer_syllogism.png
| titletext = The less common, even worse outcome: "3: [everyone in the financial system] WOW, where did all my money just go?"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It can be improved.}}
A {{w|syllogism}} is a logical argument where two or more propositions lead to a conclusion through {{w|deductive reasoning}}. For example, one of the best-known syllogisms is:
# All men are mortal
# Socrates is a man
# Therefore, Socrates is mortal

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is an engineer who is attempting to make the following syllogism:
# I am good at understanding "numbers" (i.e., mathematics)
# The stock market is made of numbers
# Therefore, I am good at understanding the stock market

Since most engineers are purportedly good at math, proposition 1 seems to be true. It is also loosely true that the {{w|stock market}} is made of numbers, but only in the sense that every system can be given a post-hoc numeric characterization; the dynamics of the stock market are primarily human-driven. In this comic Cueball thinks that his skill at math will help him beat the stock market. Little does he know that the system can be unpredictable, so he ends up losing money as the financial instrument he's invested in loses value. This is due to the financial markets being largely controlled by humans making emotional decisions and not some calculable reason or logic. The fact that humans make emotional decisions is alluded to in the [[title text]] of [[592: Drama]].

Even if the propositions "I am good at understanding numbers" and "The stock market is made of numbers" were true in Cueball's interpretation, and even if the implicit premise that understanding a system's components implies understanding the system held, Cueball would still be wrong to conclude that "I am good at understanding the stock market": this would be a {{w|fallacy of the undistributed middle}}. The problem is that proposition 1 seems to say "I am good at understanding all math". However, the "all" is not present, so Cueball may not necessarily understand the math underlying the stock market.

This comic may also refer to the 1998 movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_%28film%29 Pi] where the main character repeats to himself several times his assumptions that the world is all numbers and thus he, a great mathematician, should be able to predict the stock market, which is all numbers.

The title text could be a reference to the recent {{w|2015 Chinese stock market crash}} which largely effected most other world financial markets, particularly during the week of August 24-28, during which this comic was published, or more broadly to economic depressions in general. Alternatively, Cueball could cause a global stock market crash if he is an engineer responsible for vital stock market related software and/or hardware. Another alternative meaning behind the title text would be a reference to high-frequency quantitative trading, which relies more on financial technology engineering than sophisticated financial knowledge, which significantly contributed to the {{w|2010 Flash Crash}}.

==Transcript==

:[An white frame with text inside two lying down "{" type parenthesis]
:An engineer
:syllogism.

:[Cueball is at his desk in front of his computer, with his hands on his knees, thinking.]
:Cueball, thinking: 1: I am good at understanding numbers.

:[Cueball takes one hand to his chin, still thinking.]
:Cueball, thinking: 2: The stock market is made of numbers.

:[Cueball lifts both arms from his legs, still thinking.]
:Cueball, thinking: 3: Therefore I-- ''Wow'', where did all my money just go?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]