explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1678: Recent Searches

2016-05-09T19:09:10Z

Jv: added info on actual GIF to XLS search

{{comic
| number = 1678
| date = May 9, 2016
| title = Recent Searches
| image = recent_searches.png
| titletext = autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to the practice of finding answers to computer problems using {{w|Google}}. It shows a list of search queries, each of which suggests the author is perversely misusuing or overextending some computer technology or technologies. The overall impression is of someone technically sophisticated enough to shoot themselves in the foot, and who does not learn any larger lessons despite doing so repeatedly. It is unlikely any of the searches would give useful answers, because no two people would be perverse in these extremely specific ways. The title text is another possible entry in this list. A complication in attempting to solve computer problems this way would be presented by Google's search term autocorrection, which for several years has replaced technical terms with unrelated language from recent popular culture.

{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
! width=20% | Search
! Explanation
|-
| Google translate syntax highlighting
| {{w|Syntax highlighting}} can be used when editing source code to make the code more readable and easier to understand. {{w|Google Translate}} is used to translate text from one {{w|natural language}} to another. The joke here is that syntax highlighting doesn't make sense in the context of translating natural languages.

Alternatively, this could imply that the user is attempting to translate code from one programming language to another using Google translate.
|-
| Autodetect mixed bash zsh
| {{w|bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Linux}}. The way to execute commands is almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible.
|-
| CPU temperature sensor limits
| The CPU's temperature sensors exist to tell you when your CPU is becoming dangerously overheated (normally because of a faulty fan or overclocking). Someone who searches for information about the limits of those sensors is presumably expecting to misuse their CPU.
|-
| GIF to XLS
| .GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a file extension used to store images and sequences of images to be displayed as an animation. .XLS is the file extension for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The joke is that the complete difference between the two types of file makes any kind of conversion all but impossible, so the search is useless. (Although, in fact, this search turns up a number of results along the lines of OCR programs that can convert a table in a GIF image to spreadsheet format.)
|-
| Clock speed jumper sample rate
| On a motherboard, jumpers can be used to alter the clock speeds of various motherboard functions (such as the CPU or the front side bus). These jumpers should be modified when the computer is off. However, this search is asking how often the motherboard checks the status of the clock speed jumpers, implying that they intend to change these jumpers while the computer is powered on.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+reinstall+keybinding Clean reinstall keybinding]
| This refers to keybinding, the practice of mapping a certain key to a certain function (e.g., pressing PRTSC will take a screenshot). Creating a keybinding for a task usually implies that the task is repeated often. A "clean reinstall" (presumably of an operating system) is however not generally something that should be repeated often, implying that the user is regularly breaking the OS with their tinkering.
|-
| Cron job to update crontab
| {{w|Cron}} is a utility that allows you to schedule commands or scripts to be run periodically. These scheduled jobs are read from a ''crontab'' file. A job that updates the crontab (therefore creating new jobs, removing old ones or editing existing ones) is highly unusual and unlikely to be what you actually want to do.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=fsck+chrome+extension fsck Chrome extension]
|
This is probably a search for an interface to the Unix '''f'''ile'''s'''ystem che'''ck'''er {{w|fsck}} via third-party software added to Chrome. Repairing a filesystem this way would be inadvisable. {{Citation needed}} This might indicate confusion about the meaning of the term "online filesystem repair", in which "online" means "while the filesystem is in use" rather than "over the internet". Alternatively, the user might want to repair an installation of the operating system Chromium, in a manner less drastic than the {{w|factory reset}} preferred by Google.
|-
| Recursive font
| An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|Recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. {{w|PostScript}} (the language {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written in) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language. This could create effects like fonts with complicated fractal borders and fill patterns - but the increase in processing time would contribute to seeming brokenness of the computer (or printer) rendering the font.
|-
| Regex matching valid EBNF
| EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|Formal Language|formal languages}}. It is far too complex for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=Hardlinks+Turing+complete Hardlinks Turing complete]
| In some filesystems, for example {{w|ext4}} and {{w|NTFS}}, a single file may be referenced by different names anywhere in the filesystem. These filenames are termed "hard links" to the file because they are automatically resolved by the operating system to the file metadata. "Soft" or "symbolic" links are resolved indirectly via a filename, which may reside anywhere. A file is deleted when the last hard link to it is unlinked; a soft link exists independently of its target.

{{w|Turing completeness}} is the {{w|computational complexity}} required to simulate any other Turing complete system (given an infinite amount of memory). Recently there have been cases where unexpected mechanisms from card games to text parsers were proved to be Turing complete. Hardlinks being Turing complete would imply that creating and deleting hardlinks alone is enough to statisfy the requirements of Turing completeness.
|-
| Opposite of safe mode
| {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode of an operating system or application which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous" mode where the purpose is to cause problems rather than fix them.
|-
| Predictive touchpad
| {{w|Predictive text}} is a feature of many smartphone keyboards that predicts the most likely word the user wishes to type, and then gives the user the option to place the word in the sentence without typing the whole word. A {{w|touchpad}} is a computer pointing device, similar to a {{w|computer mouse}}. The idea of a "predictive touchpad" seems absurd because, as opposed to typed words, there are not a limited number of swipe combinations that are possible on a touchpad. A "predictive touchpad" implies that a computer could predict where the user was going to move the mouse or click, which is clearly unreasonable. {{Citation needed}}
|-
| Google docs from bootloader
| Google docs relies on programs and libraries much more complex than a bootloader could run.
|-
| Hardware acceleration red channel only
| {{w|Hardware acceleration}} means that certain calculations are not performed by the computer's {{w|CPU}} but by a "specialized" processor, e.g. a {{w|GPU}} which is part of the graphics adapter. This speeds up output, especially if complex 3D calculations are required and reduces CPU load. To use this function only on a single color channel seems pretty useless, but one may want to troubleshoot a program that displays only red when hardware acceleration is enabled.
|-
| autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
| Automatically executing code from the internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service only serves to show that a user is who they claim to be, not whether or not their code can be trusted, so this would provide little protection.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:[Coloured and styled as the logo]
:Google

:[Google Search bar, with a drop down box with faded text, implying recent searches]
:Google translate syntax highlighting
:Autodetect mixed bash zsh
:CPU temperature sensor limits
:GIF to XLS
:Clock speed jumper sample rate
:Clean reinstall keybinding
:Cron job to update crontab
:fsck Chrome extension
:Recursive font
:Regex matching valid EBNF
:Hardlinks Turing complete
:Opposite of safe mode
:Predictive touchpad
:Google docs from bootloader
:Hardware acceleration red channel only

:[Bold, below page outline]
:I have no idea why my computers are always broken

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1585: Similarities

2015-10-02T18:37:01Z

Jv:

;Origins

I've heard 50 Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fan fiction, but don't know how The Martian came to be. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.115|108.162.216.115]] 05:56, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

-- Still missing from the explanation is what kind of brand ''The Martian'' is about... -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.217|162.158.114.217]] 08:18, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:NASA? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.238|108.162.229.238]] 08:22, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:A Mars bar? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 09:09, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:I'm going with NASA. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 09:30, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:The Martian has a feel a lot like Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and other Mars stories. [[User:Jv|Jv]] ([[User talk:Jv|talk]]) 18:37, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

: It is Twilight fan-fiction. The original version is still availble for free. They just renamed the characters and removed references to Christian being a sparkling vampire and published it as a new book.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.115.22|162.158.115.22]] 08:43, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
::Allegedly removed by the author, first from the fan fiction sites and then her personal site just prior to publication! And you're right, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/02/11/the-most-scandalous-part-of-fifty-shades-of-grey-isnt-the-sex-and-bondage/ the original is 89% similar to the published trilogy]. Names have been changed to protect the author from legal battles, and [http://www.avclub.com/article/holy-crow-fifty-shades-grey-crazy-similar-its-twil-215185 crucial changes from "holy cow" to "holy crap"] were also made.
::[http://www.literarykiss.com/2012/10/communication-in-fifty-shades-of-trey.html I even found a few graphs about its literary horror and crap references, for people like me who are easily amused. Unfortunately it's so bizarre I'm feeling the effects of Poe's law here. Is it really that bad, or is this some parody? I'll never read the books to find out. --[[User:Fedora-tionOfPlanets|Fedora-tionOfPlanets]] ([[User talk:Fedora-tionOfPlanets|talk]]) 11:28, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

I believe Ponytail is not terrified by suggested title. That's more like she thinksthat Cueball will almost certainly read it and dares him to say otherwise. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.53|141.101.80.53]] 11:46, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
: I agree; the ''tell'' is italicized, and that emphasis indicates she's using an American idiom to indicate her enthusiasm for the idea. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.143|108.162.219.143]] 12:11, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

: To clarify: in English (American?) slang there are two ways to use "tell me you didn't/wouldn't X".
:A) "(''please/AUGH'') tell me you didn't X" can be translated as "I am horrified to think you did/would-do X, please reassure me you didn't/wouldn't do it:" (usually preceded by a pleading "please" or some exclamation of horror): "please tell me you didn't cross the streams", "ARGH! Please tell me you didn't tell Blackhatguy my email-address, living address and greatest fear!"
:B) (smugly/challenging) "tell my you didn't/wouldn't X" would be translated as "I know you well enough to be 99% sure that you actually _did_/_would_ do X, and I really enjoy your blushing right now because you realise I caught you red-handed, but you cannot lie about it to deny me": "Oh dear Randall, tell me you wouldn't watch a debate between the reanimated corpses of Feynman and Einstein. *Randall blushes in guilty admission* Haha I knew you would"
:[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.193|162.158.90.193]] 12:31, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

:I agree, that was my reading of it too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.141|108.162.221.141]] 12:48, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

: I also agree that she thinks it's a great book idea, I made the change. Not sure how I like the wording I jsed so please edit. [[User:Bbruzzo|Bbruzzo]] ([[User talk:Bbruzzo|talk]]) 12:53, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Considering the timing, I wouldn't be surprised if Randall did indeed saw the movie, but had the comics ready in advance and after the movie only added the title and published it. So the part about him not liking the movie based on comics is unfounded. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:47, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

:It also seems like pure speculation. Is Randall's opinion on Fifty Shades of Grey even known? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.114|108.162.216.114]] 15:08, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Is the sojourner used to communicate in the movie? It seems like it is just kept around to beetle around the hah module and the Lander is used for comms. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.180|141.101.98.180]]IB

Curiously, in Italian the third book of the series (fifty shades freed) has been actually translated as "Fifty Shades of Red". --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.23.193|162.158.23.193]] 13:22, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Is it of any relevance that "red" is a common safe-word for bdsm?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.79|141.101.80.79]] 15:29, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

1574: Trouble for Science

2015-09-08T13:16:52Z

Jv: clarified the nature of the published critiques in the first paragraph, highlighted the likely intent to contrast scientific vs. general public understanding of them

{{comic
| number = 1574
| date = September 7, 2015
| title = Trouble for Science
| image = trouble_for_science.png
| titletext = Careful mathematical analysis demonstrates small-scale irregularities in Gaussian distribution
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More details in each article, especially the one about antibodies and rodents.}}
The comic highlights the fact that several well-publicized scientific critiques have recently been published that raise questions about some commonly accepted scientific methods. For scientists, these critiques serve as reminders of the dangers of overconfidence in any method, hopefully leading those who have naively accepted results to remember that any scientific conclusion is by its very nature tentative and limited by methodological reliability. However, popular-press reporting of these papers may lead a general public of modest scientific literacy to the impression that science might be in trouble, as implicated by the title. Some of these methodological issues and shortcomings are well-known in the scientific community, but are for – better or worse – the best toolkit science has at its disposal today. This is however greatly exaggerated by the last (fictional) headline, which suggests that Bunsen burners in fact have a cooling effect, which is of course absolutely ridiculous, but would nevertheless change one more fundamental scientific belief drastically.

The title of five scientific articles are shown:

;Many commercial antibody-based immunoassays are unreliable
This sentence is true. See Kebaneilwe Lebani, [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:352531 Antibody Discovery for Development of a Serotyping Dengue Virus NS1 Capture Assay], 2014. In this PhD thesis, 11 references are given.

;Problems with the p-value as an indicator of significance
p-value is the probability that an event is observed just by chance. If p-value is under a threshold level (''α'', usually <5%, or <1% for being more conservative) one can assume that the event observed "exists".
The value used for ''α'' has been proposed by [http://web.lru.dk/sites/lru.dk/files/lru/docs/kap9/kapitel_9_126_On_the_origins.pdf Fisher] and is completely arbitrary.

The use of p-values as a measure of statistical significance is frequently criticized, for example in [http://wiki.bio.dtu.dk/~agpe/papers/pval_notuseful.pdf Hubbard and Lindsay]. Randall has demonstrated this problem in the past in [[882: Significant]].
;Overfeeding of laboratory rodents compromises animal models

[http://tpx.sagepub.com/content/24/6/757.full.pdf Keenan et al.] makes this case.

;Replication study fails to reproduce many published results
A [https://explorable.com/replication-study Replication Study] is a study designed to replicate the results of a previous study by using the same methods for a different set of subjects and experimenters. It aims to recreate the results to gain confidence in the results of the previous study as well as ensuring that the findings of the previous study are transferable to other similar areas of study.

Randall is probably referring to this recent study: http://www.nature.com/news/over-half-of-psychology-studies-fail-reproducibility-test-1.18248

;Controlled trials show Bunsen burners make things colder
This is a joke, but possible in high temperature cases. There is probably some methodological error if putting something over the Bunsen burner flame (which is between 1000K and 2000K) makes it colder. If that thing were already much hotter than the flame (more than 2000 Kelvin), the Bunsen Burner's flame would equalize the temperature between the flame and thing resulting in cooling.

;Careful mathematical analysis demonstrates small-scale irregularities in Gaussian distribution

This is another joke, as the Gaussian probability distribution function is a very smooth curve, the well-known "bell curve". This smoothness is due to the fast decay of its Fourier transform (the characteristic function), which rules out the existence of "local" or "small-scale" irregularities.

==Transcript==
:[Five panels, each with the top part of a scientific article, where only the title is readable. Below is the list of authors and subheading and text in unreadable wiggles.]

:Many Commercial Antibody-Based Immunoassays Are Unreliable

:Problems With the p-Value as an Indicator of Significance

:Overfeeding of Laboratory Rodents Compromises Animal Models

:Replication Study Fails to Reproduce Many Published Results

:Controlled Trials Show Bunsen Burners Make Things Colder

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:1556: The Sky

2015-07-27T15:01:16Z

Jv:

Typical, I think nobody's actually going to try to explain this, and I get Save Conflicted. My (wordier) version. In case any of it is useful.
:The sky is ever changing, and can often give interesting views such as that illustrated in the comic. Cueball and Megan seem to be agreeing about this, and its pleasing nature.
:As (ignoring particularly unusual viewpoints, severe topography and obscuring vegetation/architecture) the sky is pretty much the upper hemisphere of any external view, it is inded a "half". It would seem to be redundant to say it is "one of my favourite halves", as that indicates both a list of at least two items to choose from ''and'' more than one 'favourite'. Being in 'the top two of a list of two' actually means nothing. But the other half could be the ground ''or'' the sea, ''or'' a composite of the two, so conceivably there ''might'' be more than two 'halves' to choose from in this case. Not that the statement makes much more sense.
:The title-text acknowledges the fact that the other half can have snakes (the land), shipwrecks (the sea) and rocks (either), in a manner that sounds like justifications for any non-sky 'halves' being interesting too, to the kind of people Cueball and Megan seem to be. But it also suggests that by removing all of these you'd be seeing sky, below, that people on the other side of the 'rocks' (the whole Earth) had been seeing as their own 'sky above'. At least until the effects of entirely removing the substance of the planet start to show, of course.
...for what it's worth. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.168|141.101.98.168]] 11:57, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

Maybe, maybe the comic is a slight refference to the recent observetory of plutos athmosphere. [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 12:55, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

Maybe this comic is related to comic [[1368]]? [[User:Gartenzaun|Gartenzaun]] ([[User talk:Gartenzaun|talk]]) 13:16, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
:Or this [[1524: Dimensions]]. Regarding the favourite of a small set.-[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:52, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

I can't defend this position properly (other than by appealing to shipwrecks) but I'm pretty sure "the other half" is the ocean (or water in general) and that this is a callback to something in early XKCD (the halves thing.) I don't care enough to find the reference though, so FFTI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.224|141.101.88.224]] 13:18, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

My read on the "halves" bit is the Biblical Genesis bit where the world was split into sky and sea, "And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day." -[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.112|173.245.56.112]] 14:36, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, this appears to be a biblical reference - [[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=GNT| this version]] explains it pretty clearly. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.177|108.162.249.177]] 14:41, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

I can't tell if the sky is a photograph with a digital filter or a painting. [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 14:49, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

:I'm pretty sure it's a digital painting. For one thing, there's a little artistic license in the transition from sunset at the left to evening stars at the top right. [[User:FourViolas|FourViolas]] ([[User talk:FourViolas|talk]]) 14:58, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

I think it's important that Megan says the sky is ONE of her favorite halves, and that the explanation "at least at their present location...the ground is dark, flat, and otherwise boring" is thus too simplistic. The ground where they are standing is in silhouette (it's presumably sunrise or sunset), but I think the implication is that C. and M. (who are obviously not finding words adequate to express how they feel about what they're seeing), are awed by the beauty of Nature, regardless of whether it's sky, sea (shipwrecks), land (rocks) or living things (snakes).[[User:Jv|Jv]] ([[User talk:Jv|talk]]) 15:01, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

1552: Rulebook

2015-07-17T21:26:24Z

Jv: added thoughts about intentional fouls

{{comic
| number = 1552
| date = July 17, 2015
| title = Rulebook
| image = rulebook.png
| titletext = It's definitely an intentional foul, but we've decided it's worth it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|first draft}}

This comic a reference to the film ''{{w|Air Bud}}'' and to a lesser extent, the other films in its {{w|Air Bud (series)|series}}. In the film, a golden retriever becomes the star player on a basketball team. The opposing team contests the legality of having a dog as a player, but the referee, having reviewed the rulebook, responds "Ain't no rules says a dog can't play basketball." The same scenario is parodied in [[115: Meerkat]].

Here, the opposing team uses the rulebook logic against the first team. Rulebooks are considered the final arbiter of decisions in many games. However, the flawed reasoning that anything not prohibited in the rules is therefore permitted would allow any number of activities that are not specifically discussed in the rule book, such as killing the opponent's dog and eating it, as [[Ponytail]] suggests in this comic. By the same logic, Ponytail is suggesting it would be permitted for her team to do so.

The title text acknowledges that this would probably contravene the general language regarding "{{w|technical foul}}s" (rules about interfering with other players), but the penalty for a foul is, in the opponents' view, worth the benefit of eliminating the presumably very adept basketball-playing dog. This ignores other rules that may cover the proposed killing, such as the laws of the jurisdiction where the game takes place.

Given the title text, possibly Randall is poking fun at the practice of intentional fouls, which is especially common in basketball. Although a foul is by definition against the rules, a team will deliberately violate the rules (and accept the penalty) as a strategy to gain some perceived advantage--especially a team that is behind in the late minutes of a basketball game.

Rule books are also mentioned in

:* [[330: Indecision]]
:* [[393: Ultimate Game]]

==Transcript==

:[Dog wearing jersey number 9]

:Ponytail: There's nothing in the rulebook that says we can't kill and eat your dog.

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

1524: Dimensions

2015-05-14T02:33:43Z

Jv: Integrated good ideas from discussion, removed ambiguous idea about whether time must be first in the list of favorites, reorganized and tightened the writing

{{comic
| number = 1524
| date = May 13, 2015
| title = Dimensions
| image = dimensions.png
| titletext = I would say time is definitely one of my top three favorite dimensions.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Too much like a discussion. Needs a rewrite.}}
Our world is {{w|Dimension|3-dimensional}} (like in a box; length, width and height.) But in modern {{w|physics}}, {{w|space}} and {{w|time}} are unified in a four-dimensional continuum called {{w|Spacetime|spacetime}} where time becomes the fourth dimension.

It is to this 4-dimensional spacetime that [[Cueball]] refers in his monologue to [[Megan]], while he is philosophizing about his life in these four dimensions.

What Cueball comments on is that whereas we can, to some extent, determine in which direction we wish to move (at least on the surface of the Earth) in the three dimensions of space (up-down, left-right, forward-backward), we cannot help but being pushed ''inexorably forward'' through time. So it is quite lucky for Cueball that he thinks this is OK.

Being pushed constantly in one of the other directions would very soon be lethal. Suddenly if you where pushed over a cliff or in front of a truck, or also if you were pushed hard enough {{w|Between a Rock and a Hard Place|against a rock}}. But even if you avoided any of these you would die soon enough if it was some constant direction, because then you would soon leave the Earth if you travel in a tangent to the surface, as the Earth is approximately spherical. (see [[1376: Jump]] especially the title text).

Moving forward in time will also eventually be lethal by causing old age. It also may place you in dangerous times when natural or man-made disasters have happened (or placing you in the path of a moving truck), but it is only possible to avoid these dangers by sidestepping them in one of the three spatial dimensions.

In the title text Cueball then continues to muse about his favorite dimensions and places time in his top three dimensions. This initially seems to mean that one of the three space dimensions must be his least favorite. But since in space there is no difference between the three dimensions, it's not obvious why any one would be preferred over another. There are a couple of possible ways to think about this:

(1) Cueball could also be referring to a naive view of three spatial dimensions in a fixed reference system (like on earth), where the three directions can be different. In a {{W|Cartesian coordinate system}}, as often seen in geometry textbooks, the X and Y axes form a horizontal plane and the Z axis is the vertical one. In this case, perhaps his three favorite "dimensions" could be X, Y and time, as he could easily move along these three axes, but moving along the Y axis (e.g. flying over the ground - or falling down a cliff) requires special arrangements or is outright dangerous.

(2) Since Cueball is a comic strip character living in the plane, a better explanation may be that since he only exists in two spatial dimensions, these are his "favorite" ones along with time (or "movement" from panel to panel, see below), with the third spatial dimension being outside his experience. The conditional verb ("Of the four dimensions I '''''could''''' have spent my life...") also suggests this interpretation, since actually Cueball has spent his entire life in 3 dimensions (height, width and time).

In {{W|M-theory}}, a theory that unifies all consistent versions of {{w|superstring theory}}, spacetime is eleven-dimensional, which would make a place in the top three a somewhat more interesting position. However, these extra dimensions are not currently detectable.

Interestingly, [[Randall]] has already made a [http://www.wired.com/2014/11/xkcd-guide-to-dimensions/ comic] about this exact topic in the December 2014 issue of Wired magazine. This issue is about multiple dimensions, and Randall's section is about imagining higher dimension. The article is a mix of xkcd-style comics and captions explaining them. The comic in question show Cuball saying, "Of all the dimensions I could have spent my life being pushed inexorably through, I guess "time" isn't the worst." In panel #15 of the Wired comic series, Randall considers how dimensions can be represented in a two-dimensional comic strip: a character moving within a panel represents movement in space but movement from panel to panel represents movement in time.

Previously Randall has made a comic about a man who was pushed sideways (although that was by the gravity which affected him wrongly) - so he was pushed both through time and fell sideways: [[417: The Man Who Fell Sideways]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting up against a tree, Megan lies with her hands behind her neck in front him under the foliage of the tree.]
:Cueball: Of the four dimensions I could have spent my life being pushed inexorably forward through, I guess "time" isn't the worst.

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:1524: Dimensions

2015-05-13T16:32:58Z

Jv:

The explanation says his favourite co-ords could still be x,y and z. Shouldn't that really by r, phi, theta since that's the best system for a spherical Earth? Also, I don't think you need to mention special relativity, even in classical physics you consider time to be the fourth dimension, you just lack a co-ordinate transformation between space and time. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.193|141.101.98.193]] 15:22, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

This almost seems to be making fun of the frivolity with which people discuss the existence of multiple dimensions without realizing what that actually means. Anyone else get that feeling?

Reminds me of http://xkcd.com/417/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patema_Inverted which make fun of dimensions too.
:Great - I will add 417. please sign you comment with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki> ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:57, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

My first thought about Title Text was that moving sideways (standard x or y axis) would be bad, but not as bad as moving upwards (standard z axis). Z direction would be my least favourite! --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.57|141.101.104.57]] 08:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

The explanation looks more and more like a discussion. Four dimensions or eleven? I see that string theory "predicts 10 or 26 dimensions" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime). I think someone (but not me) should rewrite the discussion in a more comprehensive way.[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 08:35, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

We might had a link to the 2 what-if related to move steadlily in one direction : http://what-if.xkcd.com/135/ and http://what-if.xkcd.com/64/

Isn't the alt text a reference to the fact that a cartoon only has two physical dimensions? That's how time can be in his top three. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 09:09, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

"Being pushed in one of the other directions could be lethal, if you where pushed hard enough against a rock, over a cliff or in front of a truck..."
Being pushed in the dimension of time is also ultimately fatal though. Push someone through time for long enough and they'll certainly die. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.8|141.101.92.8]] 09:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Why the hang up on fixed coordinate systems even though there isn't even a practical way to establish one. (To the best of my knowledge distance can only be measured relative to some object.) it's more likely that the top three dimensions would be along the lines of North/South, East/West and time which is a much more practical point of view.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 11:32, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

''So if it is in the top three out of four, it must be number one...''.
I don't agree. What if Randall would hate going to Zazane galaxy or Ottzello galaxy (X axis), but wouldn't mind going to Xanthrus spiral or Rizoku galazy (Y axis) [http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/spore/images/6/61/INTERGALACTIC_MAP-2.png/revision/latest?cb=20100616044044]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 13:50, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

I was going to say that if we think of three dimensions simplistically as length-width-height, it might make sense for someone to have a least-favorite spatial dimension--maybe width, since we're always fighting increases in that one. But, I REALLY like the idea above that time would be in the "top three" dimensions for a TWO-dimensional comic-strip character! (Note that Randall plays with this in the Wired comic series linked above, noting that in a comic strip, a small movemement indicates movement through space, but a large one--like between panels--indicates time: see panel #15 in the series) Clever and Randall-esque idea!! I suggest adding this idea to the main text and taking out some of the other discussion around this point.[[User:Jv|Jv]] ([[User talk:Jv|talk]]) 16:32, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1524: Dimensions

2015-05-13T16:32:26Z

Jv:

The explanation says his favourite co-ords could still be x,y and z. Shouldn't that really by r, phi, theta since that's the best system for a spherical Earth? Also, I don't think you need to mention special relativity, even in classical physics you consider time to be the fourth dimension, you just lack a co-ordinate transformation between space and time. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.193|141.101.98.193]] 15:22, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

This almost seems to be making fun of the frivolity with which people discuss the existence of multiple dimensions without realizing what that actually means. Anyone else get that feeling?

Reminds me of http://xkcd.com/417/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patema_Inverted which make fun of dimensions too.
:Great - I will add 417. please sign you comment with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki> ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:57, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

My first thought about Title Text was that moving sideways (standard x or y axis) would be bad, but not as bad as moving upwards (standard z axis). Z direction would be my least favourite! --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.57|141.101.104.57]] 08:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

The explanation looks more and more like a discussion. Four dimensions or eleven? I see that string theory "predicts 10 or 26 dimensions" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime). I think someone (but not me) should rewrite the discussion in a more comprehensive way.[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 08:35, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

We might had a link to the 2 what-if related to move steadlily in one direction : http://what-if.xkcd.com/135/ and http://what-if.xkcd.com/64/

Isn't the alt text a reference to the fact that a cartoon only has two physical dimensions? That's how time can be in his top three. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 09:09, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

"Being pushed in one of the other directions could be lethal, if you where pushed hard enough against a rock, over a cliff or in front of a truck..."
Being pushed in the dimension of time is also ultimately fatal though. Push someone through time for long enough and they'll certainly die. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.8|141.101.92.8]] 09:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Why the hang up on fixed coordinate systems even though there isn't even a practical way to establish one. (To the best of my knowledge distance can only be measured relative to some object.) it's more likely that the top three dimensions would be along the lines of North/South, East/West and time which is a much more practical point of view.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 11:32, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

''So if it is in the top three out of four, it must be number one...''.
I don't agree. What if Randall would hate going to Zazane galaxy or Ottzello galaxy (X axis), but wouldn't mind going to Xanthrus spiral or Rizoku galazy (Y axis) [http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/spore/images/6/61/INTERGALACTIC_MAP-2.png/revision/latest?cb=20100616044044]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 13:50, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

I was going to say that if we think of three dimensions simplistically as length-width-height, it might make sense for someone to have a least-favorite spatial dimension--maybe width, since we're always fighting increases in that one. But, I REALLY like the idea above that time would be in the "top three" dimensions for a TWO-dimensional comic-strip character! (Note that Randall plays with this in the Wired comic series linked above, noting that in a comic strip, a small movemement indicates movement through space, but a large one--like between panels--indicates time: see panel #15 in the series) Clever and Randall-esque; I suggest adding this idea to the main text and taking out some of the other discussion around this point.[[User:Jv|Jv]] ([[User talk:Jv|talk]]) 16:32, 13 May 2015 (UTC)