explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1170: Bridge

2013-02-11T18:24:07Z

MIRanger:

I am ''definitely'' going to do this to someone!
~tartilc

Ahhh it's been a while since the last classic. This one is instant.
-Adam

Note that the Cueball's argument doesn't really defeat the idea behind the phrase. Jumping off the bridge JUST because your friends did is still bad idea. What you should do is analyse situation. In best case, FIND the logical reason why your friends jumped, although it's true that spending too much time analysing can be dangerous. Also, look WHERE are your friends jumping too and if they landed alive. In many catastrophic scenarios, panic can kill more people that the catastrophe. That said, statistically speaking, if all your friends jumped off the bridge, there probably IS reason why they did it and you WILL probably do the same - not because they jumped, but for the same reason they jumped. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:01, 6 February 2013 (UTC)
:But cueball didn't go for reasonably check why they jumped before making the decision. From what I understood, his argument, even if not the best idea, is to trust the friends judgement and jump too. Jump first, ask questions later. [[Special:Contributions/189.123.129.34|189.123.129.34]] 18:11, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

In Hong Kong, Moms use "jump off the building" instead of bridge. (Too many skyscrapers, tall apartments right here, only really rich people live in houses). Ok, next time I will argue with her with this when I am going to do something stupid LOL [[Special:Contributions/123.202.19.132|123.202.19.132]] 09:08, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I probably one of the people who will not jump right away, at least think and looking around first. Yes it need some time and may cost me, but that's me. [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 21:37, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Cueball's argument assumes that each of his friends made independent decisions to jump off a bridge. However, if his other friends were reasoning in a similar fashion to Cueball, they may have come to the conclusion that the bridge was on fire after only a single person jumped. This herd behaviour is exactly what the adage is to remind one of. --[[Special:Contributions/128.135.70.143|128.135.70.143]] 21:56, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I always was of the opinion that if '''all''' my friends DID jump off a bridge, I would probably jump off too, because I'd be far too depressed at the thought of all my friends being dead. Can you imagine living with that trauma? And who exactly is going to console you through it? All the likely candidates are dead! - [[User:KeithTyler|KeithTyler]] ([[User talk:KeithTyler|talk]]) 21:58, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, did a comic similar to this one in 1999: [http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1999-11-21/ Young Dilbert] --[[Special:Contributions/24.145.230.202|24.145.230.202]] 01:10, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I think the point is that if you choose your friends wisely you can trust their logic. If they ALL jumped, ther must be a reason, unless you hang out with morons.
-Adam
:Or they have been all influenced by some gas or radiation, so cannot reason logically. :-) [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 17:16, 8 February 2013 (UTC)
:Or, you know, blood control or something. Except I'm the A positive...maybe they'd have the sense not to let me jump. --Prairie

I can't help but notice: We've all heard this, right? So basically, a lot of persons repeat saying that after having heard another say it. Should it make them question their logic? Not really. Saying this adage is kind of a fine example where doing something just because so many others did it, is rather stupid.
-thelvin

I wonder what Cueball and his friends were going to do? On the face of it, it didn't appear to be anything all that dangerous. His mother, if she was using this argument out of reflex, probably just got her comeuppance for applying it in an inappropriate context. Poor mom. She probably already has too much on her hands, working for a living and raising a very intelligent kid, and now she has the extra chore of checking her metaphors carefully before use. This should push her right to that old favorite, "Because!"[[Special:Contributions/24.79.11.46|24.79.11.46]] 20:42, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

So Mom, got her comeuppance? Isn't this exactly what she wanted her son to do, examine what was going on and make a logical decision based on it... the fact that he said "their must be a reason", means she failed of course and must retrain him. So now she just has to say..."Ok, you can go as long as you can demonstrate to me the value of you attending (said function) and those that will be denied to you by not attending and doing something more socially responsible!18:24, 11 February 2013 (UTC) MI Ranger 11 Feb 2013

Talk:1151: Tests

2013-01-09T13:33:51Z

MIRanger:

I would buy one for the people I know, but they apparently cost 140$ upwards. Randall is a rich man. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:23, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

:'ve restored the capital G's: the stain is named after {{w|Hans Christian Gram}}, so should be capitalized. [[Special:Contributions/81.174.149.183|81.174.149.183]] 09:19, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Do E. coli bacteria mask the response of Staphylococcus? Do the responses go through the gift wrapping? The gift from the guy should have shown Gram-positive, because of Staphylococcus. Thus the mistake. --[[Special:Contributions/79.201.88.62|79.201.88.62]] 13:08, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Of course, the dye used in Gram-staining is DYE and will color hands, clothing, (wrapping) paper, and floors. Megan might not have a bunch of bacteria coated presents (except for the one from That Guy in the title text), and instead she has just ruined her own Christmas. Or made it more awesome, YMMV[[User:FredG|FredG]] ([[User talk:FredG|talk]]) 16:50, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

:Given that she colored the wrappings, most presents should be still fine. Especially considering you usually wrap the present INCLUDING the original packaging. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:27, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

I found this funny, especially with it seemingly be tangentially related to [[761|Depth-First Search (DFS)]]. [[User:Genux|Genux]] ([[User talk:Genux|talk]]) 00:42, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

Most species of Staphylococcus (such as S. epidermidis) are harmless; most strains of E. coli (with the notable exception of O157) are harmless. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 09:13, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

Is it just me or does the one on the left on the third frame seems to be purple (Gram-positive)? [[Special:Contributions/189.123.131.245|189.123.131.245]] 02:35, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

I just noticed that her hands are stained purple in the last frame. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 16:12, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:I don't know...they look pink to me.--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 22:30, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

In mine they are pink (might be your monitor), and if you compare the second and third frame the striped present is not purple (Gram-positive) it is in fact pink as the rest (just dark due to the stripes on the wrapping paper). My question is why are her hands not stained purple in the second panel/frame... is she more careful with the first dye and not the second? Also, with "that Guy" referring to Santa are they implying that he pets his Reindeer and they have E-Coli on them like any other animal (lack of hands to try to wipe it away). ~~MIRAnger

Talk:1156: Conditioning

2013-01-09T12:54:47Z

MIRanger:

... the main problem with this idea is that the probability of any particular driver to driver repeately around that place is not so high. Of course, if similarly conditioned animals would be on multiple places ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:48, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
:Depending on the animal (species), and assuming a stable or growing "local wildlife" population, the conditioned ones may 1) eventually fan out (including migration) and teach other individuals or 2) breed, teach their offspring, and the offspring will fan out. Eventually -- we can only hope -- the average density EVERYWHERE per square mile of individuals would be above a given threshold to be effective 24/7. Problem solved! --BigMal27 / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 12:19, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

Up the ante in rural areas by using not crumbs, but bacon, or deer musk ... nah, that would be evil.[[Special:Contributions/24.79.11.46|24.79.11.46]] 13:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

If anything this would just get drivers to close their windows and not solve the problem because loud bass still penetrates car windows. {{unsigned|12.235.98.130}}
:If I were a bass-loving driver, I still wouldn't want birds and squirrels (et cetera) coming at my car! Better to kill the "music" or avoid the area. But it appears to be a hollow victory due to the comment below. --BigMal27 / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.178|192.136.15.178]] 20:50, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

The general problem I see: once drivers get educated, animal conditioning has to be kept up, or animals will forget about basses, which would be the exact same nuisance it is trying to address. Otherwise, wildlive would forget to associate basses with food, and thus fail to educate drivers. Kind of a Volterra cycle. Edit: the paragraph before is not mine, someone forgot to sign.[[Special:Contributions/46.142.12.21|46.142.12.21]] 18:59, 4 January 2013 (UTC) madd

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but wouldn't attracting lots of animals towards cars with thumping bass lead to a lot more road kill? Which wouldn't really be a desired side-effect of the machine... [[Special:Contributions/46.142.12.21|46.142.12.21]] 18:59, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Of course the conditioning has to be kept up! That's why you run the machine while you are AT WORK! --Schmammel

The side effect of "Road Kill" would also contribute to the desired response... most dirvers who listen to excessive base (music) tend to also not want to hit or splatter an animal across their vehicle (don't see a lot of Pickup Trucks with gun racks thumping out the base) [[User:MIRanger|MIRanger]] ([[User talk:MIRanger|talk]]) MIRanger