explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3037: Radon

2025-01-14T18:51:53Z

Just a wee rat: Undo revision 362084 by Ban me I dare you (talk)

{{comic
| number = 3037
| date = January 13, 2025
| title = Radon
| image = radon_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x291px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A good ²³⁸Umbrella policy should cover it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PLANET INSURANCE SALESMAN - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Ponytail]] approaches [[Cueball]] about the concentration of {{w|radon}} in his basement. This refers to a common phenomenon where the levels of radon gases can build up in enclosed spaces over time; they form out of traces of {{w|uranium}} embedded in the surrounding bedrock/soils of most basements, and in the silicate minerals used in the concrete of the foundation. This uranium (over time, and in most cases via the midpoint of thorium) releases radon as a gas whilst experiencing alpha decay, although the time in which this occurs is noticeably long. Uranium-238, the isotope mentioned in the title text, has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, which is about the age of the Earth. Over the whole Earth, roughly 2.8 ppm of the planet is made of uranium<ref>https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/uranium-mining-overview</ref>; this is about 0.00028% of the planet, which weighs about 5.9722*10^24 kilograms<ref>https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html</ref>. Even so, if uranium existed in the Earth's crust alone - about 1% of the Earth's total mass itself - this would imply that there is  1.672216*10^19 kilograms of uranium across the entire planet. Thus, radon gas is not ''that'' uncommon a phenomenon, and {{w|Radon mitigation|radon mitigation}} techniques are frequently employed to keep the air safe and breathable. Basements, in particular, are known to accumulate radon gas if they are kept sealed over long enough time; that is, the windows and doors are closed. Small cracks in the house's foundation may allow some radon gas to seep inside, which can be cleared if the basement is properly ventilated. Radon is denser than air, but its concentrations are higher in the basement than elsewhere in a building because of the combination of its being generated more there, and the relatively poor air circulation usual in basements. Radon mixes completely with air, and does not "settle out". Undisturbed, the concentration of radon reaches a steady state in a given area, between accumulation from being generated, and removal by air circulation and by radioactive decay.

The actual amount of uranium experienced in any given environment, according [[Randall|Randall's]] own [[Radiation|Radiation chart]], is 10 microsieverts worth of radiation, on average, over a year; the amount in one's body, in contrast, is about 390 microsievert over that same timeframe, again on average. The lowest dose linked to any serious risk is in the millisievert range, over thousands of times ''stronger'' than any of these sources. Thus the ''radiation'' from radon buildup in a normal house is not of concern, as long as it is properly managed in time. Instead it is radon's ''toxicity'' that is the problem, both from the radon itself and its "daughter" isotopes, that poses a danger to humans.

In the comic Cueball is getting his house inspected; this is common in preparation for selling the home. Inspector Ponytail finds an excessive level of radon in the basement. Often when problems are found in a home, it's due to the age of the building, since technology has improved over time and building codes have added requirements in parallel.

But rather than inquire about the age of the home, Ponytail asks about the age of the planet on which it was built. The answer would be the same for all houses on Earth.{{cn}} Apparently she's an interplanetary inspector, testing properties on many different planets with different levels of radon - maybe even different solar systems, since most planets in a system form within a few million years of each other. Earth's age of 4.5 billion years is about the same as the half-life of U-238, so radon levels are high because much of the original uranium is still in the process of decaying.

The sun found in our solar system is an example of a G-type main-sequence star, also known as a yellow dwarf. In 4 to 7 billion years, the Sun's outer layers will expand, turning it into a red giant. This process will render the Earth uninhabitable for humans within approximately 5 billion years.

The title text for this comic mentions {{w|umbrella insurance}}, which is what insurance companies in the United States pay when the payment extends over their own policies. It makes a joke with the isotope representation of Uranium-238 being 238U, and is something that Cueball might need to consult with after handling the issue of radon gas in his home; most states in the United States, for instance, require property disclosure forms to be filled out if radon levels surpass a certain threshold.<ref>https://www.eli.org/sites/default/files/files-pdf/Final%202022%20Radon_0.pdf</ref>

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

:[Cueball is on the left, and is approached by Ponytail, who is reading a Geiger counter in her hand and is holding a toolbox in her other hand.]
:Ponytail: Radon levels in your basement are pretty high.
:Ponytail: When was the planet under this home built?

:[Ponytail stops walking and lowers the Geiger counter]
:Cueball: Uhh, about 4½ billion years ago, I think?
:Ponytail: Oof. I was afraid of that.

:[A frameless panel]
:Ponytail: This planet was contaminated with uranium when it formed. You really should have let it fully decay before building.
:Ponytail: Wait another 100 billion years and these rocks will be fine.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head]
:Cueball: But the Sun will burn out in 5 billion years.
:Ponytail (off-panel): Yikes, you built around a short-lived yellow star? What a mess.
:Ponytail (off-panel): Hope you have good insurance.
==References==
{{reflist}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

104: Find You

2025-01-14T18:48:58Z

Just a wee rat: Undo revision 362081 by Ban me I dare you (talk)

{{comic
| number = 104
| date = May 19, 2006
| title = Find You
| image = find you.jpg
| titletext = I'm like the Terminator, except with love!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic depicts [[Cueball]] climbing on a rope in a cavern. The text indicates that one of his loved ones used to be afraid of being taken away from him and being forgotten. It is not explicitly made clear whether the loved one in question is a woman with whom he is in love, a family member, or a relation of some other kind, but presumably the loved one is his partner.

Cueball had promised that he would always come looking for this person, but then they were actually taken from him. He reiterates that he was serious about his promise, and that he hopes they are not afraid, because he's coming to find them.

It's not clear exactly in what manner his loved one was taken from him, only that they were torn from his arms and vanished from this world. Though there are many other possible interpretations, this might be read to indicate that they have died and that Cueball is descending a cavern in search of the underworld where they have been taken.

The title text compares Cueball to the apparently unstoppable Terminator, from {{w|The Terminator|the 1984 film}} of the same name, in which Kyle Reese, talking to Sarah Connor, gives the following description of the Terminator: "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." The implication is that Cueball, motivated by love, can't be persuaded to stop looking for his loved one by any means, and that he will never stop looking until he finds them.

This may be a continuation of [[98: Fall Apart]].

==Transcript==
:[The panel is black with rough-edged white passages running down through it. Cueball is climbing onto a rope that is dangling down one of these passages. White text is in the black sections.]
:You were afraid that you would disappear, that you would be lost and forgotten.
:I held you tight against the dark and said that I would always come for you.
:Then one day it happened. You were torn from my arms and vanished from this world.
:Maybe you don't remember my promise. But I meant every word.
:I hope you're not afraid, wherever you are.
:You don't need to be.
:I'm not.
:I will find you.

== Trivia ==

Until 2023-09-28 or before, the image for this comic was rotated 180 degrees due to the EXIF metadata.

For technical reasons (see discussion below), some browsers displayed the image correctly, and some did not, during the time it was rotated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Terminator]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

2453: Excel Lambda

2025-01-14T18:48:18Z

Just a wee rat: Undo revision 362082 by Ban me I dare you (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2453
| date = April 21, 2021
| title = Excel Lambda
| image = excel_lambda_new.png
| titletext = Extremely rude how Turing's later formulations of the halting problem called me out by name specifically.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is computing and [[Ponytail]] criticizes him in a way that is reminiscent of the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality series]], although not as harsh. Cueball has lots of strange [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|computer problems]], and this will most likely result in another one.

The comic begins with Ponytail finding out that {{w|Microsoft Excel}} is adding a {{w|Anonymous_function|lambda function}} to their function library. This was [https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/announcing-lambda-turn-excel-formulas-into-custom-functions/ba-p/1925546 announced by Microsoft] for Beta users in December of 2020. A lambda function is a fundamental mathematical structure that can be used to define all possible computations, in what is known as {{w|lambda calculus}}. They are commonly found in programming languages such as {{w|Lisp}}, {{w|Python}}, and many others. A lambda function is also called an {{w|anonymous function}} because in most languages it can be passed to other functions (including another lambda function) without needing to be given any formal name.

Finding that Excel is adding a lambda function pleases Ponytail. Cueball claims that the lambda function is unnecessary, as when he needs arbitrary computation he just adds a block of columns to the side of his sheet and has a {{w|Turing machine}} process it. This would technically work as lambda calculus is formally equivalent to Turing machines. People have created [https://www.felienne.com/archives/2974 Turing machines in Excel], although not for practical purposes.

Ponytail finds his solution absurd and is convinced Cueball is "doing computing wrong". But he claims that all computing is equally wrong, citing the {{w|Church-Turing thesis}}, a hypothesis which says that a function can be computed by executing a series of instructions if and only if that function is computable by a Turing machine. A classical Turing machine uses an infinitely long strip of tape as its memory; for Cueball, the large Excel column acts as the "tape". All ways of computing are "equally wrong" since, according to this thesis, they can all be translated to or from a Turing machine.

Ponytail and Cueball appear to have different ideas of 'computing'. Ponytail, like most programmers, probably includes efficiency and readability as important characteristics of 'doing computing right'. Cueball appears interested only in {{w|computability}}, a more theoretical point of view than Ponytail's.

Ponytail then says that Turing would change his mind if he saw Cueball's spreadsheet, presumably because of the extreme complexity of Cueball's code in the spreadsheet. Cueball's final statement is that Turing could ask him to stop, but would not be able to prove if he actually will stop.

Cueball's final statement is a reference to the {{w|halting problem}} mentioned in the title text. It is the problem of determining whether a given Turing machine will halt. The problem has been shown to be undecidable, i.e., it is impossible to build an algorithm that computes whether any arbitrary Turing machine will halt or not. Because of the way Cueball has behaved, he has been specifically mentioned in Turing's later formulations of the halting problem. Cueball finds this very rude. This is of course a joke, since Turing has been dead since 1954, presumably long before Cueball was born. But it would be crazy indeed if a scientist became so mad at a person that they would mention this person by name in their formulation of a serious problem.

Over-complicated spreadsheets were also mentioned in [[2180: Spreadsheets]].

==Transcript==
:[In a narrow panel, Ponytail is walking in from the left, looking down at her phone]
:Ponytail: Oh cool, Excel is adding a lambda function, so you can recursively define functions.

:[Ponytail, holding her phone to her side stands behind Cueball, who is sitting in an office chair with a hand on a laptop standing on his desk. He has turned around to face her, leaning with the other arm on the back of the chair.]
:Cueball: Seems unnecessary.
:Cueball: When I need to do arbitrary computation, I just add a giant block of columns to the side of my sheet and have a Turing machine traverse down it.

:[In a frame-less panel Ponytail is standing in he same position behind Cueball, who has resumed working on his laptop with both hands on the keyboard.]
:Ponytail: I think you're doing computing wrong.
:Cueball: The Church-Turing thesis says that all ways of computing are '''''equally''''' wrong.

:[Ponytail is still behind Cueball, who has a finger raised in the air, and the other hand is on the desk. Cueball's head has a visible sketch layer which has not been erased.]
:Ponytail: I think if Turing saw '''''your''''' spreadsheets, he'd change his mind.
:Cueball: He can ask me to stop making them, but not prove whether I will!

==Trivia==
*In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/excel_lambda.png original version] of the comic, in the final panel, there was a gray pencil outline, slightly different to Cueball's head that had not been removed.
**This was later fixed in a re-upload.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Spreadsheets]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

1947: Night Sky

2025-01-14T18:47:30Z

Just a wee rat: Undo revision 362083 by Ban me I dare you (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1947
| date = January 26, 2018
| title = Night Sky
| image = night_sky.png
| titletext = There's a mountain lion nearby, but it didn't notice you because it's reading Facebook.
}}

==Explanation==
With the increasing ubiquity of connected devices in people's lives have come concerns about the social and mental effects this is having. A common trend in lifestyle advice is the idea of "{{w|Digital detox|unplugging}}" and getting away from technology, with the idea that this can improve one's sense of well-being, and allow a focus on the important things in life, such as asking the {{w|Meaning of life|"big" existential questions}}.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are taking one such activity: a nighttime walk without their phones. However, rather than being grandiose, the questions they ask are increasingly immediate to their current situation. Far from finding the experience liberating, they find it first frustrating, as they no longer have access to useful features of their phones, such as mapping with GPS, which would help them find their way, and a flashlight, which would let them see where they were going, and then unsettling, as without their devices to distract them they begin to imagine dangers, such as {{w|cougar|mountain lions}}, lurking in the darkness.

The fact that Megan enthusiastically affirms that those really ''are'' the "big questions" of life reveals that they are sarcastically teasing each other about their regrettable decision.

The reference to mountain lions might be related to the declaration that eastern cougars were [http://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20180126/once-common-in-nc-eastern-cougar-declared-extinct-last-sighting-80-years-ago officially declared extinct] the day before this comic was published.

The title text claims that technology is so omnipresent that even the threatening mountain lion has a phone and is reading Facebook (and, therefore, is not so threatening, since it now can not notice them). Alternatively, either Cueball or Megan might be teasing the other.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking under the night sky.]
:Megan: The internet is so overwhelming for me these days. It feels like everyone I know is yelling all the time.

:[Frame is zoomed out. Stars are visible in the sky.]
:Megan: That's why it's so nice to unplug. Leave the phones at home, go for a walk, and look up at the stars.
:Megan: It helps you focus on what really matters.

:[Frame is zoomed in again.]
:Cueball: Like "Where the hell are we?"
:Megan: And "Why did I leave my phone at home? It has my map and flashlight."
:Cueball: "Are there mountain lions around here? Did you hear a twig break?"
:Megan: Yeah, the big questions!

{{comic discussion}}

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

2969: Vice President First Names

2025-01-14T18:24:03Z

Just a wee rat: Added who won the election

{{comic
| number = 2969
| date = August 7, 2024
| title = Vice President First Names
| image = vice_president_first_names_2x.png
| imagesize = 364x556px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [Political pundit on the ScrabbleTV News channel] "After four years of defying orthographic pressure, Joe ceded the top of the ticket to Kamala, who--after considering Josh, Mark, Andy, Roy, and Pete--picked Tim."
}}

==Explanation==
Randall observes that American {{w|Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidents}} since the 1980s have almost all gone by short first names. It should be noted that all of the "short" first names in this strip, with the exception of John (F. Kennedy) are diminutives (or initials) of longer names, but all represent the names which the candidates preferred and publicly used. This comic was published one day after {{w|Kamala Harris}} (who replaced Biden as presidential candidate) chose {{w|Tim Walz}} as her running mate for the {{w|2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election}}. Both the Republican and Democratic tickets are listed for 2024, since the 2024 election had not yet concluded when this comic was made. Either party winning would match the observation.

In the comic's caption, Randall amusingly describes this as an emerging "political consensus."

While not a "political" consensus per se, the observed phenomenon is a type of consensus — reflecting a multi-decade change in US societal norms — and is not simply a random coincidence.
* There has been a national US trend toward shorter names since the 1980s and 1990s, with a rise in the popularity of baby names like Ryan, Kyle, Amy and Lisa. (The trend has continued, with even shorter names like Ava, Mia and Max becoming more common in the 2000s and 2010s.)
* This has paralleled a trend in shorter business names, with companies like Dell, Cisco and eBay before the turn of the millennium and Google, Uber and Lyft after (cf. pre-1980 businesses like AT&T, BNSF or 3M which had to convert their very long names into acronyms to adapt). Product naming also began to simplify in the late 20th century, driven by marketing strategies that favored brevity and memorability, exemplified by Apple's iconic "iMac" and "iPhone" products.
* All of these naming trends reflect a ''general'' societal trend toward minimalism and less formality, also seen with corporate logos, product design (Apple), clothing design (Gap), furniture design (IKEA) and web/app design.

This societal shift may explain why many politicians with given names like Albert and Richard might have preferred to go by shorter, less formal sounding, more approachable names like Al and Dick, to match the zeitgeist.

That Vice Presidents have used shorter names than Presidents since the 1980s is an interesting coincidence (more discussion below). Most of the Presidents since the 1980s happened to have names (such as George, Barack and Kamala) that can't be easily shortened. And the exception, Donald Trump (which can be shortened to Don), did not become a politician until the nice age of 69, when he was already nationally famous using his full name.

The '''title text''' amusingly suggests (1) the existence of a ScrabbleTV News channel (named after {{w|Scrabble|the word game}}) staffed with (2) political pundits who (3) report Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign as being driven by orthographic (related to the writing of words) pressure to conform to the aforementioned political consensus. Having Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as VP violated this pattern, but elevating Harris to the presidency and selecting a short-named running mate restored it. Like Tim Walz, all of the final six candidates considered as Harris's running mate had short first names: {{w|Josh Shapiro}}, {{w|Mark Kelly}}, {{w|Andy Beshear}}, {{w|Roy Cooper}} and {{w|Pete Buttigieg}}.
* This could also be a subtle joke about political pundits tending to give confident, inaccurate hot-takes. (Biden's decision was driven, among other things, by worsening polling, rising concerns about his age, a poor debate performance against Trump and subsequent pressure from other leading Democrats.)

This is Randall's second recent comic about US politics and Kamala Harris, the first being [[2962: President Venn Diagram]] which was published right after she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket.

===Observations===
It is interesting that, even ignoring the stricter definition of having less than four letters in their name, only four pairings have a Presidential given (or adopted) name that is shorter than the Vice-Presidential one, and just two further cases (one of these not involved in winning an election) have equal length names.

===Contextual table of names===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidential and Vice-Presidential names, for the period within the comic, in chronological order.
! Year !! President !! Vice-President
|-
| 1952 (also 1956) || '''Dwight''' David "Ike"<ref name="ike">"Ike" was a shared nickname within the ''Ei''senhower family ("Big Ike", "Little Ike"), which became {{w|Ike for President (advertisement)|commonly used}} for himself, though never became a full replacement of his chosen (re-arranged) 'first' name.</ref> {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower}} ''born David Dwight "Little Ike" Eisenhower'' || '''Richard''' Milhous {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}}
|-
| 1960 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | '''John''' "Jack" Fitzgerald {{w|John F. Kennedy|Kennedy}} || '''Lyndon''' Baines {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1963<ref name="dallas">JFK's assassination meant LBJ acceded to the role, but under the Constitution as in effect at the time, he could not appoint a new Vice-President prior to his subsequent re-election bid.</ref> (Not in comic.) || colspan="2" | '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson
|-
| 1964 || '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson || '''Hubert''' Horatio {{w|Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey}} Jr.
|-
| 1968 (also 1972) || ‎'''Richard''' Nixon || '''Spiro''' Theodore {{w|Spiro Agnew|Agnew}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1973<ref name="watergate">Changes occuring within a Presidential term, in response to an emerging political scandal</ref> || '''Richard''' Nixon || '''Gerald''' Rudolph {{w|Gerald Ford|Ford}} Jr ''born Leslie Lynch King Jr.''
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1974<ref name="watergate"/> || ‎'''Gerald''' Ford || '''Nelson''' Aldrich {{w|Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller}}*
|-
| 1976 || ‎James "'''Jimmy'''" Earl {{w|Jimmy Carter|Carter}} Jr. || '''Walter''' Frederick "Fritz" {{w|Walter Mondale|Mondale}}
|-
| 1980 (also 1984) || '''Ronald''' Wilson {{w|Ronald Reagan|Reagan}} || '''George''' Herbert Walker {{w|George H. W. Bush|Bush}}
|-
| 1988 || '''George''' H.W. Bush || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James Danforth "'''Dan'''" {{w|Dan Quayle|Quayle}}
|-
| 1992 (also 1996) || style="background-color:lightyellow" |William "'''Bill'''" Jefferson {{w|Bill Clinton|Clinton}} ''born William Jefferson Blythe III'' || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Albert "'''Al'''" Arnold {{w|Al Gore|Gore}} Jr.
|-
| 2000 (also 2004) || '''George''' Walker {{w|George W. Bush|Bush}} || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Richard "'''Dick'''" Bruce {{w|Dick Cheney|Cheney}}
|-
| 2008 (also 2012) || '''Barack''' Hussein {{w|Barack Obama|Obama}} II || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Joseph "'''Joe'''" Robinette {{w|Joe Biden|Biden}} Jr.
|-
| 2016 || '''Donald''' John {{w|Donald Trump|Trump‎}}‎ || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Michael "'''Mike'''" Richard {{w|Mike Pence|Pence}}
|-
| 2020 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | "'''Joe'''" Biden || '''Kamala''' Devi {{w|Kamala Harris|Harris}}
|-
| 2024 ({{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats}} lost) || '''Kamala''' Harris || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Timothy "'''Tim'''" James {{w|Tim Walz|Walz}}
|-
| 2024 ({{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republicans}} won) || '''Donald''' J. Trump || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James David "'''JD'''" {{w|JD Vance|Vance}} ''born James Donald Bowman''
|}

:Complete titles are given in the first occurance, providing a full context of options for identification purposes; subsequent mentions may be reduced to their 'typical' name. Any relevent self-acknowledged sobriquets are inserted in quotes.
:Bold is used to indicate the individual's actually most commonly used single given name, as referenced within the comic. Surnames (also commonly used, with or without the title or other disambiguation) are wikilinked upon their first appearance.
:Italics indicates birth names, where different.
:Darkened rows show transitions not made via a {{w|List of United States major party presidential tickets|'ticket'}} at the end of each 4-year electoral cycle.
:Yellow cells echo the comic's highlights indicating '''given names''' being four or fewer characters in length.
<references/>

==Transcript==
:[A table is shown in a panel.]
::[To one side, there is a single 'key' square, shaded yellow, given a label:] "Four letters or fewer"
::[Table header has no 'first column' cell, leaving a bite out of it]
::[Second column cell:]President
::[Third column cell:]VP
::[Further rows are of the pattern of: years, presidential names and vp names]
:::[Year:] 2024 [President (question mark then two rows of names):]? [name1:] Kamala [name2:] Donald [VP, shaded yellow (two rows of names then question mark):] [name1:] Tim [name2:] JD [question mark:] ?
:::[Year:] 2020 [President, shaded yellow:] Joe [VP:] Kamala
:::[Year:] 2016 [President:] Donald‎ [VP, shaded yellow:] Mike'''
:::[Year:] 2008 [President:] Barack‎ [VP, shaded yellow:] Joe'''
:::[Year:] 2000 [President:] George [VP, shaded yellow:] Dick'''
:::[Year:] 1992 [President, shaded yellow:] Bill''' || '''Al'''
:::[Year:] 1988 [President:] George [VP, shaded yellow:] Dan'''
:::[Year:] 1980 [President:] Ronald‎ [VP:] George
:::[Year:] 1976 [President:] Jimmy [VP:] Walter
:::[Year:] 1974 [President:] Gerald [VP:] Nelson
:::[Year:] 1973 [President:] Richard [VP:] Gerald
:::[Year:] 1968 [President:] Richard [VP:] Spiro
:::[Year:] 1964 [President:] Lyndon [VP:] Hubert
:::[Year:] 1960 [President, shaded yellow:] John [VP:] Lyndon
:::[Year:] 1952 [President:] Dwight [VP:] Richard

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Since the 1980s, a political consensus has emerged: vice presidents should have short first names.

==Trivia: Other ways to shorten names==
Politicians can also use a more casual name by using an already less unwieldy middle name (as with {{w|Mitt Romney|Willard Mitt Romney}}, but doubly-averted in Dan Quayle's case). Even when they're not shortened to four or fewer letters, names can be made more casual in other ways (as with {{w|Bernie Sanders|Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders}}). As well, some politicians were commonly called by short nicknames even if they did not run under those names (Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower).

Some of these may have been adult decisions, a personal choice to mark adulthood (or a change of career) by a more character-distinguishing variation, others may have been 'imposed' upon them by family, friends or peers over time and become happily accepted as the norm by the recipient without any great personal consideration.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Kamala Harris]]

1705: Pokémon Go

2024-08-21T11:22:56Z

Just a wee rat:

{{comic
| number = 1705
| date = July 11, 2016
| title = Pokémon Go
| image = pokemon_go.png
| titletext = Still waiting for the Pokémon Go update that lets you capture strangers' pets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Pokémon GO}} is an {{w|augmented reality}} (AR) smartphone game, where players walk around the real world, guided by a virtual map sprinkled with {{w|Pokémon}}, trying to find and capture these creatures from the first to ninth generations (i.e. Pokémon from the first to ninth series of games released), then leveling them up and/or evolving them, and using them in battle, similar to the classic Pokémon games for handheld consoles. These Pokémon are randomly placed around the world in the AR format so that they can only be seen through the phone. [[Randall]] is playing a prank on all players happening upon his real Pokémon figures as they are so consumed with this new game that they assume that they are from the game, not realizing that they should not be able to see them before they take out their phones, and then after doing this wondering why their phone is having trouble loading them.

Due to the popularity of the Pokémon franchise, after Pokémon GO's release in the United States on July 6, 2016, many fans of the series have been walking around with their smartphones out to capture and battle Pokémon. Some players are so eager to capture rare Pokémon (for example, [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Vaporeon_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29 Vaporeon]) that they will [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3693814/Chaos-Central-Park-gamers-leap-cars-leave-engines-running-catch-rare-POKEMON.html leave their cars amid traffic with the engines running.]

Randall jokes that he has replicated the AR properties of the Pokémon in the app (that is, when you encounter a Pokémon, it is a small computer-generated sprite placed over your phone's rear camera image that moves about your screen, giving the appearance of a "real" Pokémon in front of you). Randall's real life plastic models of various Pokémon have been constructed so they would seem to fit on a smartphone screen due to perspective, he has embedded a [[332: Gyroscopes|gyroscope]] in them so they wobble about their base giving them the appearance of basic computer-created movement, and as a final touch he has added a subtle underlighting which is also part of the game, and gives them a slightly computer-generated look compared to the real world around them. These effects combined fool avid Pokémon GO players into taking out their smartphone to capture the Pokémon for their game, when in fact it is just a toy sitting in front of them, and they should have known this as mentioned above. In this comic Randall displays the Pokémon called {{w|Squirtle}} which looks like a little turtle.

This comic is part of the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. In this case, the hobby is pranking players of Pokémon GO by replicating the appearance of the augmented reality mechanic.

In the title text, Randall is still waiting for an update that allows capture of strangers' pets - besides the obvious, playing by the rules of Pokémon only wild (not any with an owner) Pokémon can be caught. However, in the {{w|Pokémon Colosseum}} games, through the use of a specialized device the player steals from the villains, the player can capture other trainers' Pokémon. This is also a callback to an earlier strip wherein [[Black Hat]] wishes for a Pokéball that works on strangers' pets (see last entry in [[1086: Eyelash Wish Log]]).

Pokémon Go was again the topic of [[2220: Imagine Going Back in Time]] more than 3 years later.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball walks in to the frame from the left. On the sidewalk in front of him is a small Pokémon figure looking like a standing turtle with a long squirrel like tail, known as Squirtle. Lines around it indicate that it is moving forth and back (wobbling), and circle lines below indicate that there is light below it. The exact position of the Pokémon and these lines around it change through all four images, but stays almost in the same position.]

:[Cueball takes out his smart phone and points its camera at the Pokémon while looking at the screen.]

:[Cueball shakes his smart phone violently up and down indicated with four to five gray drawings of his arm and phone below and above one solid black copy of the hand and phone. There are also two gray lines above and below the outer gray phones to indicate this shaking.]

:[Cueball has lowered his smart phone and just stands there looking at the wobbling Pokémon.]
:Cueball: '''''???'''''

:[Caption below the comic:]
:My hobby: Building plastic Pokémon with subtle underlighting and a gyroscope to make them drift back and forth, then leaving them sitting around to mess with Pokémon Go players.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

1576: I Could Care Less

2024-08-15T15:42:18Z

Just a wee rat:

{{comic
| number = 1576
| date = September 11, 2015
| title = I Could Care Less
| image = i_could_care_less.png
| titletext = I literally could care less.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the dichotomy between the literal meaning of the phrase "I could care less" and its idiomatic meaning in American English as an expression of indifference, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care synonymous with "I could'''n't''' care less."] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUsPnKD1gk&t=14s Many] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw&t=1m2s people] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&t=1m7s argue] that this use is incorrect and the phrase should only be "I couldn't care less," which is the original form of the expression and remains the [http://blog.dictionary.com/could-care-less/ standard form in British English]. This is the opinion expressed, for example, by the Weird Al Yankovic song "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc Word Crimes"]: <blockquote>Like I could care less 
That means you do care 
At least a little</blockquote>
However, linguists point out that the strict application of logic to an idiom is inappropriate: many expressions seem on the surface to mean the opposite of the meaning they are used to convey (e.g. "head over heels"), and they [http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/03/18/why_i_could_care_less_is_not_as_irrational_or_ungrammatical_as_you_might.html defend "I could care less" on those grounds]. The psychologist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker Steven Pinker] argues in ''The Language Instinct'' that the phrase is sarcastic (cf. "Big deal!"), [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/giveadamn.html while linguist John Lawler explains] it as a "Negative Polarity Item," a phrase that is practically only used in negated form, allowing the explicit negation to be omitted (a pattern often found in French).

In this comic, Megan feels alone because there is unavoidable difference between her understanding of her own words and the listener's interpretation, so while she sees discussion of semantics as being of potentially high social and emotional value, she doesn't think it has objective value. However, ironically, at the end of the comic, the meaning of "I could care less" with regards to Ponytail's behavior is ambiguous: either Megan is brushing off Ponytail's pedantry because she doesn't care about it (she couldn't care less) or she is hurt by Ponytail's focus on the details of her words rather than the emotional cues she should have learned over the course of their relationship (she actually could care less).

The title text refers to another word often used in ways some consider incorrect: "literally" (see [[725: Literally]]). The sentence is also ambiguous, as it may mean that 'literally' or 'figuratively,' the speaker could or couldn't care less. Further, it implies that [[Randall]] considers the argument over whether literally may be properly used to mean 'figuratively' is petty in the same way. Later in [[1735: Fashion Police and Grammar Police]] Ponytail is once again on the side of the grammar police and also in this comic the word literally is used.

Alternatively, it could mean that Megan cares too much about Ponytail's correction, considering her response to it.

In a further alternative, the title text could amount to a self-ironical evaluation on Randall’s part to the effect that he himself might be devoting too much of his time and energy to the meaning of the phrase in question, as evidenced by the comic itself.

The inverse image of Megan floating through space in the fourth panel, as well as her long introspection, is a reference to the five-part "Choices" series, starting at [[264: Choices: Part 1]].

==Transcript==
:[The first three panels are slim compared to the next row below, and they only takes up the same space as the first two of the three panels below this row. Similarly the bottom row, also with three panels, take up less space, although more than the top row. But in this bottom row the empty space in the comic is to the left vs. to the right in the top row.]

:[Megan and Ponytail are walking together, Megan in front holds her arms out to the side.]
:Megan: ...Anyway, I could care less.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail holding up her hand (which can atypically be seen), finger pointing up.]
:Ponytail: I think you mean you '''couldn't''' care less. Saying you '''could''' care less implies you care at least some amount.

:[Back to Megan and Ponytail walking, both have their arms down.]
:Megan: I dunno.

:[The next panel supposed to be to the right of this is missing, instead the comic jumps to the next row. This fourth panel has inverted brightness, with a white Megan floating in a black void, with white text above her.]
:Megan: We're these unbelievably complicated brains drifting through a void, trying in vain to connect with one another by blindly flinging words out into the darkness.

:[Back to Megan and Ponytail walking.]
:Megan: Every choice of phrasing and spelling and tone and timing carries countless signals and contexts and subtexts and more,
:Megan: and every listener interprets those signals in their own way.
:Megan: Language isn't a formal system. Language is glorious chaos.

:[Zoom in on Megan's head.]
:Megan: You can never know for sure what any words will mean to anyone.
:Megan: All you can do is try to get better at guessing how your words affect people, so you can have a chance of finding the ones that will make them feel something like what you want them to feel.
:Megan: Everything else is pointless.

:[They have stopped walking as Megan holding a hand out has turned around facing Ponytail.]
:Megan: I assume you're giving me tips on how you interpret words because you want me to feel less alone.
:Megan: If so, then thank you.
:Megan: That means a lot.

:[Megan and Ponytail resume with their walking.]
:Megan: But if you're just running my sentences past some mental checklist so you can show off how well you know it,

:[Megan and Ponytail continue walking.]
:Megan: then I could care less.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Pedantic]]

1576: I Could Care Less

2024-08-15T15:37:15Z

Just a wee rat: Added "Word Crimes" link

{{comic
| number = 1576
| date = September 11, 2015
| title = I Could Care Less
| image = i_could_care_less.png
| titletext = I literally could care less.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the dichotomy between the literal meaning of the phrase "I could care less" and its idiomatic meaning in American English as an expression of indifference, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care synonymous with "I could'''n't''' care less."] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUsPnKD1gk&t=14s Many] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw&t=1m2s people] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&t=1m7s argue] that this use is incorrect and the phrase should only be "I couldn't care less," which is the original form of the expression and remains the [http://blog.dictionary.com/could-care-less/ standard form in British English]. This is the opinion expressed, for example, by the Weird Al Yankovic song "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc Word Crimes"]: <blockquote>Like I could care less 
That means you do care 
At least a little</blockquote>
However, linguists point out that the strict application of logic to an idiom is inappropriate: many expressions seem on the surface to mean the opposite of the meaning they are used to convey (e.g. "head over heels"), and they [http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/03/18/why_i_could_care_less_is_not_as_irrational_or_ungrammatical_as_you_might.html defend "I could care less" on those grounds]. The psychologist Steven Pinker argues in ''The Language Instinct'' that the phrase is sarcastic (cf. "Big deal!"), [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/giveadamn.html while linguist John Lawler explains] it as a "Negative Polarity Item," a phrase that is practically only used in negated form, allowing the explicit negation to be omitted (a pattern often found in French).

In this comic, Megan feels alone because there is unavoidable difference between her understanding of her own words and the listener's interpretation, so while she sees discussion of semantics as being of potentially high social and emotional value, she doesn't think it has objective value. However, ironically, at the end of the comic, the meaning of "I could care less" with regards to Ponytail's behavior is ambiguous: either Megan is brushing off Ponytail's pedantry because she doesn't care about it (she couldn't care less) or she is hurt by Ponytail's focus on the details of her words rather than the emotional cues she should have learned over the course of their relationship (she actually could care less).

The title text refers to another word often used in ways some consider incorrect: "literally" (see [[725: Literally]]). The sentence is also ambiguous, as it may mean that 'literally' or 'figuratively,' the speaker could or couldn't care less. Further, it implies that [[Randall]] considers the argument over whether literally may be properly used to mean 'figuratively' is petty in the same way. Later in [[1735: Fashion Police and Grammar Police]] Ponytail is once again on the side of the grammar police and also in this comic the word literally is used.

Alternatively, it could mean that Megan cares too much about Ponytail's correction, considering her response to it.

In a further alternative, the title text could amount to a self-ironical evaluation on Randall’s part to the effect that he himself might be devoting too much of his time and energy to the meaning of the phrase in question, as evidenced by the comic itself.

The inverse image of Megan floating through space in the fourth panel, as well as her long introspection, is a reference to the five-part "Choices" series, starting at [[264: Choices: Part 1]].

==Transcript==
:[The first three panels are slim compared to the next row below, and they only takes up the same space as the first two of the three panels below this row. Similarly the bottom row, also with three panels, take up less space, although more than the top row. But in this bottom row the empty space in the comic is to the left vs. to the right in the top row.]

:[Megan and Ponytail are walking together, Megan in front holds her arms out to the side.]
:Megan: ...Anyway, I could care less.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail holding up her hand (which can atypically be seen), finger pointing up.]
:Ponytail: I think you mean you '''couldn't''' care less. Saying you '''could''' care less implies you care at least some amount.

:[Back to Megan and Ponytail walking, both have their arms down.]
:Megan: I dunno.

:[The next panel supposed to be to the right of this is missing, instead the comic jumps to the next row. This fourth panel has inverted brightness, with a white Megan floating in a black void, with white text above her.]
:Megan: We're these unbelievably complicated brains drifting through a void, trying in vain to connect with one another by blindly flinging words out into the darkness.

:[Back to Megan and Ponytail walking.]
:Megan: Every choice of phrasing and spelling and tone and timing carries countless signals and contexts and subtexts and more,
:Megan: and every listener interprets those signals in their own way.
:Megan: Language isn't a formal system. Language is glorious chaos.

:[Zoom in on Megan's head.]
:Megan: You can never know for sure what any words will mean to anyone.
:Megan: All you can do is try to get better at guessing how your words affect people, so you can have a chance of finding the ones that will make them feel something like what you want them to feel.
:Megan: Everything else is pointless.

:[They have stopped walking as Megan holding a hand out has turned around facing Ponytail.]
:Megan: I assume you're giving me tips on how you interpret words because you want me to feel less alone.
:Megan: If so, then thank you.
:Megan: That means a lot.

:[Megan and Ponytail resume with their walking.]
:Megan: But if you're just running my sentences past some mental checklist so you can show off how well you know it,

:[Megan and Ponytail continue walking.]
:Megan: then I could care less.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Pedantic]]