explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2917: Types of Eclipse Photo

2024-04-09T10:25:21Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO:

The 'standard' and '2x' sized images had unexpected sizes, so a Trivia section has been automatically generated, and an imagesize parameter has been added (at half size) to render the image consistently with other comics on this website. --[[User:TheusafBOT|TheusafBOT]] ([[User talk:TheusafBOT|talk]]) 06:16, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

8920x6909?! [[User:JLZ0kTC5|JLZ0kTC5]] ([[User talk:JLZ0kTC5|talk]]) 06:21, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
Title text likely refers to this image [https://science.nasa.gov/resource/earth-eclipses-the-sun-apollo-12/], and may also refer to Alan Bean destroying the color tv camera on that same mission by pointing it inadvertently at the sun.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.140.145|172.69.140.145]] 07:03, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I've seen one in 1999. It was glorious. Huge shadow crossing a large lake at a million miles an hour.

Lots of pixels today [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 09:26, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Why did Munroe do this??? I opened the email (I get it emailed because I'm too lazy to check the website) and it crashed my computer. Three times. Surely it wasn't intentional... [[User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|By me.]] ([[User talk:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|talk]]) 10:25, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2752: Salt Dome

2023-03-20T22:39:28Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO:

Made a guess. [[User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|By me.]] ([[User talk:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|talk]]) 22:39, 20 March 2023 (UTC)

2752: Salt Dome

2023-03-20T22:30:26Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Started it off.

{{comic
| number = 2752
| date = March 20, 2023
| title = Salt Dome
| image = salt_dome_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x338px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The US uses hollowed-out salt domes to store the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and non-hollowed-out ones to store the Strategic Salt Reserve.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Tsunami or Tidal Wave - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Could be referring to how pressure in one area of the world can cause upwards pressure in another, causing salt domes to rise up.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2623: Goofs

2023-03-14T04:01:02Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: /* Goofs */ - Added factual information {{Citation needed}}

{{comic
| number = 2623
| date = May 23, 2022
| title = Goofs
| image = goofs.png
| titletext = The film is set in 2018, but when Commander Bremberly chases the hologram through Times Square, there's a billboard for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Depending on the date, that billboard would have been advertising either Infinity War or this movie.
}}

==Explanation==
IMDb is the {{w|Internet Movie Database}}, a website that contains detailed, user-contributed information about movies and TV shows. One of the sections in many entries is "[[#Goofs|Goofs]]". This may list bloopers, inconsistencies, implausible actions, anachronisms, etc. in the movie. While some people find enjoyment in searching for these errors, to others, the entries listed can often be overly pedantic and missing the point{{Citation needed}} (a problem that can often afflict sites that rely on users to provide their content [Hey! Who you calling a pedant?]). The comic makes fun of this with several goofs that simply point out differences between something in the movie and reality; but since the movie is fiction (in this case, a science fiction film that includes a space detective, a cybernetic dog, blimp drones, and a hologram kissing scene), one can say that these "goofs" might simply be more differences between the movie world and our own.

In the first goof, a named street doesn't actually exist in the city in which the movie is set. Unless the address is important to the plot (Manhattan has a number of streets with well-known characters - for example, the main theatre district is on Broadway, Fifth Avenue is a major shopping district, and Wall Street is known for large financial institutions), screenwriters can and do make up street names. It might actually be expedient to 'rename' a setting in many cases, to avoid issues such as fans showing up at said street and harassing the residents.

In the second example, they point out that there's no harpoon store at the location where the characters obtain a harpoon in the movie, and the nearest actual harpoon store doesn't have a display window. Movies take liberties with details like this for plot expediency, and is not considered a goof. Manhattan does not appear to have ''any'' notable harpoon stores,{{Citation needed}} with or without the kind of frontage described.

In the third example, the background of a scene is of an apartment in Downtown Vancouver (a cheap and popular filming location that frequently stands in for other cities). The goof points out that the real-life apartment does not belong to the character who supposedly lives in it. Fictional movie characters do not exist in reality,{{Citation needed}} and many scenes are set in fictional locations that are completely separate from their real-life filming locations. As such, this is only a "goof" if the scene is taken entirely literally.

The title text describes an actual anachronism. The film is set in 2018, but there's a billboard for the movie ''{{w|Avengers: Age of Ultron}}'', which came out in 2015, while the next Avengers film, ''{{w|Avengers: Infinity War}}'', came out in 2018. Assuming the movie was filmed before 2018, the filmmakers wouldn't have known what films would be current at the time it would be released, and certainly not the artwork they'd be using to promote them. They could have chosen to set it during the time of initial filming, but again, unless the specific date is significant to the plot, it's common to set (or rather, assume) a film takes place about the same time it's released. Generic advertisements for fictional (or {{w|Last Action Hero|parody}}) films might be put over egregiously obvious existing material, physically or in post-production editing, as might references to major brands – perhaps replaced by those agreed with from {{w|product placement}} partners.

The title text also mentions the possibility of a self-reference – the billboard could be for this film itself since it's being released at the same time it's set. This assertion that {{w|Blazing Saddles|in-universe self-reference}} is plausible for a movie production is likely another example of the goof's writer failing to understand the basic "premise of fiction". Most movies do not exist within the fictional world they portray,{{Citation needed}} and many audiences would find self-reference to be a far greater obstacle to suspending disbelief than an ad for the wrong Avengers movie.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An excerpt from an Internet Movie Database web page showing a list of goofs from a film. Each item has some small illegible text below it, which on the real IMDb would say something like "7 of 72 found this interesting | Share this". The first and third items have a faint yellow-tinted background. The third item is only partially visible at the bottom of the "screen".]
:[Heading:]
:<big> Goofs (78) </big>
:[List:]
:The space detective's office is on Chestnut Ave, but Lower Manhattan has no street by that name. Agent Glennifer pursues the cybernetic dog onto what is clearly Ludlow Street.
:The agents destroy the blimp drones in Union Square with harpoons from a store display rack. The nearest harpoon store is several blocks away and has no outdoor displays.
:The apartment in the background of the hologram kissing scene actually exists in downtown Vancouver. We called the owners, who confirmed they had no residents named [...]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Sometimes the IMDB "Goofs" section really seems to struggle with the whole premise of fiction.

==Goofs==
* There is no entry for a film featuring an agent called Glennifer or a commander named Bremberly on IMDb. Randall is clearly failing to do basic research.
* On the real IMDb, each item in the Goofs section would be listed under a category such as "Errors in geography" (which might apply to the three goofs listed in the main cartoon) or "Anachronisms" (which might apply to the goof in the title text). However, no such category is displayed here.
* On real Goofs pages, the information below each entry includes a public feedback listing (X of Y found this interesting) and a link entitled "Share this". In the comic, only unintelligible squiggles are included in their place, which really breaks the immersion of the purported "webpage". Of course, on a real IMDb page, all of the text would also be in the Verdana font, not Randall's handwriting.
* The comic features two entries with a yellow background, which is impossible. On IMDb, entries alternate between having white and gray backgrounds and only turn yellow when the mouse hovers over them.
* On IMDb, the number of goofs is located in a navigation box between the header and the goofs list. In the comic, the number is placed in the header, and there is no navigation box at all.
* A similar Goofs section exists in the [[explain xkcd]] wiki's page for this comic, [[2623: Goofs]], but it fails even more evidently to recreate the look of IMDb's Goofs page. Additionally, the last entry is recursive, which is clearly unprofessional.
* The penultimate entry is also recursive leading to a form of pairwise recursion and formal structure subject to analysis not typically associated with goofs sections in their generalized forms.{{Citation needed}}
* The word 'Goofs' does not represent, by way of lettering and orthography, a goof, which is unrelated to this movie genre {{Citation needed}}. Additionally, etymonline.com cites 'citation' as etymologically related to 'cite', forcing a citation loop, meaning 'cite' and 'citation' are the oldest words in the universe, coming into existence as soon as language was developed. {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed {{Citation needed }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Harpoons]]

2747: Presents for Biologists

2023-03-09T03:33:17Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added some semantic clarification

{{comic
| number = 2747
| date = March 8, 2023
| title = Presents for Biologists
| image = presents_for_biologists_2x.png
| imagesize = 396x353px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A lot of these are actually non-venomous, but I can see which species you mistook them for. If you pause the crane for a sec I can give you some ID pointers for next time!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SUPERVILLAIN - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this strip, [[Black Hat]] is a supervillain subjecting '{{w|James Bond}}' (portrayed by [[Hairy]], or very like him) to a death trap, similar to [[123: Centrifugal Force]] (presumably Mr. Bond managed to escape in that instance). This time, however, he also has another victim, [[Hairbun]], being subjected to the same device – a pit full of snakes, into which the victims are slowly lowered (upside-down and suspended by just one ankle) entirely at the whim or mercy of the antagonist.

While Bond voices typical defiance at Black Hat's scheme, Hairbun instead gushes over the sight of an unfamiliar snake species within the pit, asking Black Hat to lower her faster before that creature either escapes (there seemingly being very little to prevent any snake escaping the pit) or just moves to the other end of the pit.

The caption reveals that this iteration of Hairbun is a biologist. For her, the contents of this death trap would be happily considered a suitable birthday present, and apparently even these circumstances don't dampen the experience sufficiently to reduce her interest.

The title text explains how this iteration of Hairbun has expertly spotted that the supervillain included some less dangerous snakes, probably {{w|Coral snake#North American coloration patterns|in error}}. Ever the professional, she suggests the possibility of her advice to help him avoid these errors in the future. She would need a short stay of execution, to do so, but is apparently not particularly fazed by how things end up immediately afterwards.

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

:[Hairy and Hairbun are hanging upside down from ropes attached to one of their ankles. Underneath them, there is a pit with many snakes. Hairbun is pointing down, while Black Hat to the left is operating a lever.]
:Hairy: You won't get away with this!
:Hairbun: Ooh! Ooh! That one is a new species for me!
:Hairbun: Hey, can you lower me faster? It's getting away!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:There's a surprising amount of overlap between "Good presents for biologists" and "Things villains want to do to James Bond."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

Talk:2742: Island Storage

2023-02-27T23:03:03Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: /* Forget Hawaii Where is Antarctica? */

Hey at least New Zealand made it onto this map! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.48|172.70.178.48]] 17:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Of course the proper storage mode involves packing the continents back to Gondwada layout and then hiding them on the far side ;-) [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:59, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

It seems worth noting that the scale was distorted to make some islands fit. Greenland has a longitudinal height of 2671 km, but has been shrunken considerably in order to be wedged into a 1725 km gap in the Gulf of Mexico. [[User:Altay|Altay]] ([[User talk:Altay|talk]]) 19:58, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:I thought it was the size of Africa. ---[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 20:35, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:Maybe he started with a cursed projection that makes Greenland smaller. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:35, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Seeing the ?? next to the British Isles, I think part of the islands there are the Danish islands squeezed aside to make space. (Okney Islans, Fair Isle, Shetland, Hebrides, Føroyar, etc. are probaly used to fill the gaps...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.95.82|162.158.95.82]] 20:54, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:Those are all pretty small. I think it's more likely Svalbard/Spitsbergen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.181|172.70.131.181]] 02:09, 25 February 2023 (UTC)
::There's quite a lot of Nowegian islands, some of which are fairly large. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.184|172.69.79.184]] 07:37, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

Where do we mention the typo in the title text? (Should be "Scandinavian".) --[[User:Flicky|Flicky]] ([[User talk:Flicky|talk]]) 12:30, 25 February 2023 (UTC)
:I'll see what I think works. If all else fails, I could add a Trivia section (as I'm going to add an auxilliary reference), but maybe I don't need to... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.128|172.70.86.128]] 13:15, 25 February 2023 (UTC) EDIT: Edit done. But some further tweaks planned, if no-one else improves/revises it before I get there.

I think the additional island nudged into Scandinavia with Britain and Ireland might be Tierra del Fuego at the bottom tip of South America? It sure looks like it. [[User:XKCDFan|XKCDFan]] ([[User talk:XKCDFan|talk]]) 13:45, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

No, I believe Tierra del Fuego has been relocated to St. Lawrence Bay.

Isn't it Sjaelland, turned upside down to fit, since Ireland has taken its spot? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:48, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

As one who'll remain furious about Brexit until the second they repeal the bastard, I look at this with misty-eyed hope. It's a Yes from me. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 00:20, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

What's Brexit ?? [[User:I27.O.O.I|127.0.0.1]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 02:59, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:A few years ago BRitain voted to EXIT (hence "Brexit") the European union, to remain/return to being politically etc separate after the countries of Europe united - such as adopting the Euro as a shared currency. Brexit seems a largely unpopular concept, widely considered a bad idea with mostly downsides, even before the decision was made, so not sure how the hell it passed (I'm Canadian, an outsider to this living across the ocean, so I only know these broad strokes). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:01, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
::<People who did not like the EU>: We don't like the EU! We demand to leave!
::<Prime Minister> I shall try to change things so we all like the EU...
::<EU> Yeah, maybe some of that, but definitely not the other stuff.
::<People...> Boo, hiss! We'll start our own political party! With blackjack and hookers!
::<Various other people who tried this before> Yeah, we'll join that. Down with the establishment! (Which some of us are part of.) We demand a vote on the issue.
::<PM> That's a worrying amount of people who should be supporting me, and may split my vote. Ok, we'll have a vote, to settle the issue (less risky than the Opposition getting in).
::<People... + Various...> Great. So, anyway, we promise; an XBox in every home; chocolate cake will stay just as delicious but not be fattening; and those people you don't like..? They're about to camp out in your roof-space, ''unless'' you vote to Leave. [...paraphrased/analogous, the real arguments being many and varied]
::<Others> That's... just wrong. And what about the good reasons to stay? If we leave then...
::<People... interupting> You're scaremongering. We will create a perfect idyll. But if we don't leave, everyone will end up being forced to all the time speak French or German or Italian or Spanish... or Arabic!
::<Others> But..?
::<People...> Stop trying to scare us! Beware the scary EU instead!
::[...much more of this... 'Leave' promises/threatens, 'Remain' warns and tries to explain how the status quo is Ok. Most traditional political parties have some people wanting to Leave, some wishing to Remain, and some people don't care about Brexit but don't like the Remain-leaning PM]
::[Vote happens]
::[Around a third of voters vote Remain, marginally more vote Leave, the rest don't vote]
::[Or, roughly a quarter each are Remain, Leave, Didn't vote and Couldn't vote.]
::<People...> An overwhelming landslide! Right, lets Brexit. How do we do that again?
::[Arguments range amongst Brexiteers between total international isolation and just trying to get marginally better deal. Those who disliked the Prime Minister are already happy, because he quit and left the next couple of PMs try to herd the Brexit cats, etc, over the next half dozen years... and continuing still with 'minor' issues such as how to circle the square which is Ireland (seeing as it involves Eire, Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain)...]
::...opinions about whether this is the true tone of the timeline will vary, but I contend that it is at least not ''wrong''. Maybe someone can update us on attitudes and recollections upon these matters in another decade? <s>Or when it finally gets completely and sorted in a mutually satisfactory manner, if that happens earlier.</s> ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:56, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:::Well your opinion on BRExit is clear. In reality, the referendum about BRExit happened because there was no referendum for Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, which changed what the EU is about a lot and were only ratified in parliament. And majority of people viewed it as good idea ... until the terms of withdrawal became known. EU worked hard on using BRExit as an example preventing other countries from following, so the terms were quite hard. Also, lot of people were disappointed when some changes, like regarding immigration, which they hoped would be prevented by leaving EU happened anyway. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:33, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

Anyone else left thinking that this would severely mess up the ecology of a number of islands, particularly where species have evolved in the absence of predators found on the mainland? No? Probably just me, then.... [[User:Zoid42|Zoid42]] ([[User talk:Zoid42|talk]]) 15:21, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

== Where is Hawaii? ==

I don't see it mentioned in the list of where things were moved to. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.73|172.70.34.73]] 03:25, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:Agreed, I added it to the Incomplete tag (don't want to assume). Tiny at this scale, I suspect Gulf Of Mexico? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:01, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:Whoever put things away took it home with them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.152|172.70.91.152]] 09:59, 27 February 2023 (UTC)
::I'm pretty sure the original map didn't include Hawaii. There are other islands missing as well, in particular Fiji, Bermuda, etc. Perhaps the Mediterranean and its small islands is just the place for "everyone else". After all, if most of Indonesia fits there, might as well throw in all of the other islands as well. [[User:XKCDFan|XKCDFan]] ([[User talk:XKCDFan|talk]]) 19:00, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

== Forget Hawaii Where is Antarctica? ==

Did someone put it away on mars?

No. Antarctica is not shown on some maps, which is a rarity becoming less and less common. [[User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|By me.]] ([[User talk:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|talk]]) 23:03, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

2742: Island Storage

2023-02-26T22:28:57Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: transcript edit? good one?

{{comic
| number = 2742
| date = February 24, 2023
| title = Island Storage
| image = island_storage_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x435px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I always hate dragging around the larger archipelagos, but I appreciate how the Scandanavian peninsula flexes outward to create a snug pocket for the British Isles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A BAD MAP PROJECTOR FIRED - Are there any other islands we've forgotten?! Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic equates the world to a playroom in which the islands are the equivalent of scattered toys left out after playtime. It indicates that the loose islands can be properly stored away in the nooks and crannies of the larger landmasses, possibly so they can be easily located when the next person comes along to play with them.

This is another world map vandalized{{Citation Needed}} by Randall, similarly to the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|bad map projection series]]. This time, every major island, that is not considered a continent in its own right, is relocated into similarly-sized swathes of sea partly enclosed by the outlines of adjacent continents. The caption implies it's Earth's intended "storage mode", where everything 'loose' is neatly packed away. A similar comic is found at [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]].

New locations of various islands:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island(s)
! Original Location
! New Location
|-
| {{w|Kodiak Island}}
| South of mainland Alaska
| {{w|Cook Inlet}}
|-
| {{w|Vancouver Island}}
| West of mainland Canada
| {{w|Salish Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Canadian Arctic Archipelago}}
| North of mainland Canada
| {{w|Hudson Bay}}
|-
| {{w|Newfoundland (Island)|Newfoundland}}, {{w|Prince Edward Island}}, and {{w|Anticosti Island}}
| {{w|Labrador Sea|Off the eastern coast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of St Lawrence}}
|-
| {{w|Greenland}}
| {{w|Greenland Sea|Northeast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of Mexico}}
|-
| {{w|Hispaniola}} and {{w|Cuba}}
| {{w|Caribbean Sea}}
| Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Other Caribbean Islands
| Caribbean Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Venezuela}}
|-
| {{w|Iceland}}
| {{w|Sargasso Sea|Northern Atlantic Ocean}}
| {{w|Gulf of Lion|Coast of southern France}}
|-
| {{w|Great Britain}} and {{w|Ireland}}, {{w|Svalbard}}
| Northwest Europe
| {{w|Baltic Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sardinia}} and {{w|Sicily}}
| {{w|Tyrrhenian Sea|Off western coast of Italy}}
| Coast of Italy
|-
| {{w|Aegean Islands}}
| {{w|Aegean Sea}}
| Coast of Greece
|-
| {{w|New Guinea}}, {{w|Sumatra}}, {{w|Java}}, {{w|Sulawesi}}
| {{w|Solomon Sea}}, {{w|Natuna Sea}}, {{w|Java Sea}}, {{w|Sulawesi Sea}}
| {{w|Mediterranean Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Philippines}}
| {{w|Philippine Sea}}
| {{w|Black Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Novaya Zemlya}}
| {{w|Pechora Sea}}
| {{w|White Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Japan}}, {{w|Sakhalin}}
| {{w|Sea of Japan}}, {{w|Sea of Okhotsk}}
| Sea of Okhotsk
|-
| {{w|Taiwan}}, {{w|Hainan}}
| {{w|South China Sea}}
| {{w|Yellow Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Madagascar}}
| {{w|Mozambique Channel}}
| {{w|Red Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sri Lanka}}
| {{w|Laccadive Sea}}
| {{w|Persian Gulf}}
|-
| {{w|Borneo}}
| South China Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Thailand}}
|-
| {{w|New Zealand}}, {{w|Tasmania}}
| {{w|Tasman Sea|Off the coast of Australia}}
| {{w|Gulf of Carpentaria}}
|-
| {{w|Hawaii))
| Pacific Ocean
| {{w|Gulf of Mexico}}
|}

Though much of the apparent strange distortions of relocated islands are probably due to the relative changes in length/area/angle across differing parts of the planar-stretched map of the globe (depending upon the {{w|map projection}} being used), Randall is clearly also not averse to distorting the landmasses slightly, to fit, even the 'immobile' continental masses. He mentions in the Title Text that he likes to make use of the jutting outcrop of {{w|Scandinavia}} (though misspelled as it was in [[850: World According to Americans]]) by flexing it somewhat like one might do with a spring-clip, thus gripping tightly whatever islands he forces within the gap (in this instance, the British Isles and another currently unconfirmed island).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A map of Earth with the largest continents in their usual locations, and Antarctica off the map, but all of the major islands have been moved into various bays and seas. See explanation above for further details.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Reminder: If you're the last one using the Earth, please put the islands away when you're done.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO

2023-02-26T22:22:37Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: yaaaaaay got a user page

HI!!!!!

Young guy living in Australia, found dead after being killed.

Not really, but I've got a liking towards Randall. Or Munroe. Depends on what you call him.

Quite a niche audience, but explainxkcd helps with the... non-mathematically-inclined, non-dinosaurs-inclined, and non-specifically-70's-and-80's-inclined people. Good times. I think Randall half makes the comics for himself.

2742: Island Storage

2023-02-26T22:10:32Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added Hawaii, as per tag.

{{comic
| number = 2742
| date = February 24, 2023
| title = Island Storage
| image = island_storage_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x435px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I always hate dragging around the larger archipelagos, but I appreciate how the Scandanavian peninsula flexes outward to create a snug pocket for the British Isles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A BAD MAP PROJECTOR FIRED - Are there any other islands we've forgotten?! Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic equates the world to a playroom in which the islands are the equivalent of scattered toys left out after playtime. It indicates that the loose islands can be properly stored away in the nooks and crannies of the larger landmasses, possibly so they can be easily located when the next person comes along to play with them.

This is another world map vandalized{{Citation Needed}} by Randall, similarly to the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|bad map projection series]]. This time, every major island, that is not considered a continent in its own right, is relocated into similarly-sized swathes of sea partly enclosed by the outlines of adjacent continents. The caption implies it's Earth's intended "storage mode", where everything 'loose' is neatly packed away. A similar comic is found at [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]].

New locations of various islands:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island(s)
! Original Location
! New Location
|-
| {{w|Kodiak Island}}
| South of mainland Alaska
| {{w|Cook Inlet}}
|-
| {{w|Vancouver Island}}
| West of mainland Canada
| {{w|Salish Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Canadian Arctic Archipelago}}
| North of mainland Canada
| {{w|Hudson Bay}}
|-
| {{w|Newfoundland (Island)|Newfoundland}}, {{w|Prince Edward Island}}, and {{w|Anticosti Island}}
| {{w|Labrador Sea|Off the eastern coast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of St Lawrence}}
|-
| {{w|Greenland}}
| {{w|Greenland Sea|Northeast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of Mexico}}
|-
| {{w|Hispaniola}} and {{w|Cuba}}
| {{w|Caribbean Sea}}
| Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Other Caribbean Islands
| Caribbean Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Venezuela}}
|-
| {{w|Iceland}}
| {{w|Sargasso Sea|Northern Atlantic Ocean}}
| {{w|Gulf of Lion|Coast of southern France}}
|-
| {{w|Great Britain}} and {{w|Ireland}}, {{w|Svalbard}}
| Northwest Europe
| {{w|Baltic Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sardinia}} and {{w|Sicily}}
| {{w|Tyrrhenian Sea|Off western coast of Italy}}
| Coast of Italy
|-
| {{w|Aegean Islands}}
| {{w|Aegean Sea}}
| Coast of Greece
|-
| {{w|New Guinea}}, {{w|Sumatra}}, {{w|Java}}, {{w|Sulawesi}}
| {{w|Solomon Sea}}, {{w|Natuna Sea}}, {{w|Java Sea}}, {{w|Sulawesi Sea}}
| {{w|Mediterranean Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Philippines}}
| {{w|Philippine Sea}}
| {{w|Black Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Novaya Zemlya}}
| {{w|Pechora Sea}}
| {{w|White Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Japan}}, {{w|Sakhalin}}
| {{w|Sea of Japan}}, {{w|Sea of Okhotsk}}
| Sea of Okhotsk
|-
| {{w|Taiwan}}, {{w|Hainan}}
| {{w|South China Sea}}
| {{w|Yellow Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Madagascar}}
| {{w|Mozambique Channel}}
| {{w|Red Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sri Lanka}}
| {{w|Laccadive Sea}}
| {{w|Persian Gulf}}
|-
| {{w|Borneo}}
| South China Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Thailand}}
|-
| {{w|New Zealand}}, {{w|Tasmania}}
| {{w|Tasman Sea|Off the coast of Australia}}
| {{w|Gulf of Carpentaria}}
|-
| {{w|Hawaii))
| Pacific Ocean
| {{w|Gulf of Mexico}}
|}

Though much of the apparent strange distortions of relocated islands are probably due to the relative changes in length/area/angle across differing parts of the planar-stretched map of the globe (depending upon the {{w|map projection}} being used), Randall is clearly also not averse to distorting the landmasses slightly, to fit, even the 'immobile' continental masses. He mentions in the Title Text that he likes to make use of the jutting outcrop of {{w|Scandinavia}} (though misspelled as it was in [[850: World According to Americans]]) by flexing it somewhat like one might do with a spring-clip, thus gripping tightly whatever islands he forces within the gap (in this instance, the British Isles and another currently unconfirmed island).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A map of Earth with the largest continents (except Antarctica) in their usual locations, but all of the major islands have been moved into various bays and seas.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Reminder: If you're the last one using the Earth, please put the islands away when you're done.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:2741: Wish Interpretation

2023-02-22T23:46:15Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: ..

To all you people reading the discussion, why can't I add my own person page? I mean, is a year too new? I think I know, [[User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|(but I'm not completely sure.)]] ([[User talk:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|talk]]) 23:29, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

Ironically, a banknote created by a genie would be counterfeit, although the odds of legal trouble over $20 are nonetheless low. 23:43, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

That's cool. Try https://what-if.xkcd.com/23/. Part 1. I need a new signature. [[User:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|(but I'm not completely sure.)]] ([[User talk:No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO|talk]]) 23:46, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

1905: Cast Iron Pan

2023-02-22T23:38:00Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: /* Explanation */ - Who decided to put 'citation needed' in there?

{{comic
| number = 1905
| date = October 20, 2017
| title = Cast Iron Pan
| image = cast_iron_pans.png
| titletext = If you want to evenly space them, it's easiest to alternate between the Arctic and Antarctic. Some people just go to the Arctic twice, near the equinoxes so the visits are almost 6 months apart, but it's not the same.
}}

==Explanation==
White Hat is discussing tips for maintaining {{w|Cast-iron cookware}}. Cast-iron cookware is well-loved and often promoted by cooking aficionados, but requires more effort and care to maintain than many other modern forms of cookware. This strip satirizes both the amount of effort involved, and the attitude of connoisseurs who look down on people who are unwilling to put in such effort. In typical xkcd fashion, the comic starts off somewhat realistic and escalates to absurdity.

===1st Panel===
[[White Hat]] tells the old myth (debunking articles: [https://lifehacker.com/go-ahead-and-use-soap-to-clean-your-cast-iron-pan-1658416503 Lifehacker], [http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-really-not-wash-your-cast-iron-with-soap-235237 The Kitchn], [http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html Serious Eats]), that "you shouldn't wash your {{w|Cast-iron cookware|cast iron pan}} with soap since it destroys the {{w|Seasoning (cookware)|seasoning}}", to [[Cueball]]. Seasoning is the process of treating the surface of a pan with a stick-resistant coating formed from polymerized fat and oil on the surface. Although it may not be a problem to use soap on your seasoned cast iron pan, you should still {{w|Seasoning_(cookware)#Care|proceed with care}} with how you treat it.
===2nd Panel===
White Hat starts to exaggerate; he tells him that if he ever as much as let soap touch the pan he should just throw it away, as that fact alone would prove that he would not be up to taking care of such a precious possession. This is a kind of scare tactic that might make Cueball believe this and anything else he tells him.
===3rd Panel===
White Hat continues to give dubious advice to the point of absurdity, and Cueball becomes more and more wary of it.

His next word of advice is to apply {{w|moisturizer}} to the pan daily to keep it fresh. Cueball asks why and is told that it is to avoid the pan getting {{w|Wrinkle|wrinkles}}. This implies that the pan would age like a human and get wrinkles. This is, of course, nonsense, but Cueball is not yet ready to dismiss White Hat's advice.
===4th Panel===
The final piece of advice is that twice a year Cueball should fill the pan with {{w|iron filings}} and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours. Both details are intended to be absurd. For one, {{tvtropes|NoodleImplements|neither the iron filings nor the sunlight appear to serve any actual purpose}}. Second, 24 continuous hours of direct sunlight is impossible to achieve in most places. North of the {{w|Arctic Circle}} (often shortened to simply "the {{w|Arctic}}") there will be at least one day a year where the sun does not set. While one might assume that a combined total of 24 hours over couple of days would be sufficient, White Hat implies that it's necessary to travel to very remote locations in very specific parts of the year to meet an extreme requirement. He further casts an unwillingness to meet this unreasonable standard as rendering a person unworthy of cast iron.

White Hat's strict tone "If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't ''deserve'' cast iron" might also suggest that cast iron is a special almost-legendary metal similar to {{w|Damascus steel}} or its fictional counterpart Valyrian steel and requires distant travel to obtain/maintain. This is likely a parody of the level of reverence cast iron cookware tends to receive in certain circles. Despite there being alternatives that are much easier to maintain, a significant number of cooks insist that cast iron has qualities that make it worth the amount of effort involved.

===Title text===
In the title text, White Hat mentions that, if you wish to evenly space the two 24 hours of sun each year, it is easiest to alternate between the Arctic and the {{w|Antarctic}} regions. But this will mean that you have to travel a long distance at least once a year; even if you already lived inside one of the {{w|Circle_of_latitude#Polar_Circles|Polar Circles}}, you would have to travel to the other at least once a year.

It is implied that you do not have to space them evenly. As he mentions, some people just go to the Arctic twice a year near the {{w|equinoxes}}. However, according to White Hat, this is not the same, probably because it doesn't lead to an exact six-month spacing and the sun would stay very low on the horizon and the sunlight would not be as intense.

In order to accomplish this other scheme, it also means that they would actually have to go very close to the {{w|North Pole}} (or {{w|South Pole}}), as this is the only place with midnight sun around the equinoxes. So, in principle, this would be much more cumbersome than just going inside the southernmost part of the Arctic region at the {{w|summer solstice}}, and similarly the northernmost part of the Antarctic region at the northern hemisphere's {{w|winter solstice}} (which will be the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere).

When looking at it like this, it may seem that White Hat actually means that you should always go to the poles, rather than just to a place with 24 hours of sunlight, in order to have the sun high in the sky as well.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is holding a pan by the handle pointing to the frying surface as he shows it to Cueball.]
:White Hat: Never clean a cast-iron pan with soap. It destroys the seasoning.
:Cueball: Got it.

:[White Hat shift the pan to his right hand and lowers it to his side holding a finger up in front of Cueball.]
:White Hat: If you ever let soap touch the pan, throw it away. You're clearly not up to taking care of it.
:Cueball: Wow, okay.

:[In a frame-less panel White Hat has taken the pan back to the first hand holding on the the edge while he holds his other hand close to the frying surface.]
:White Hat: Apply moisturizer to the pan daily to keep it fresh.
:Cueball: ...Moisturizer?
:White Hat: Do you want it to get all wrinkly?
:Cueball: ...I...guess not.

:[White Hat has shifted the pan to the second hand again holding it by the handle away from Cueball, while pointing at Cueball with the other hand.]
:White Hat: Twice a year, fill the pan with iron filings and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours.
:Cueball: Wait. 24 hours of sun?
:White Hat: If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't '''''deserve''''' cast iron.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]

Talk:2741: Wish Interpretation

2023-02-22T23:29:53Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: talked.

2741: Wish Interpretation

2023-02-22T23:28:46Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Transcript tag.

{{comic
| number = 2741
| date = February 22, 2023
| title = Wish Interpretation
| image = wish_interpretation_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x288px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "I wish for everything in the world. All the people, money, trees, etc." "Are you SURE you--" "And I want you to put it in my house."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Rain, Rain, Stay - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In wishing stories, a common theme is that the wisher will make a wish, but the granter will twist the words, making something bad happen which the wisher did not foresee, and so teaching the wisher, and the reader of the story, an important moral. However, as a characteristically Black Hat moment, he wishes for rain to disappear perpetually, which would be very bad. The genie, trying to teach him a lesson by twisting a good idea into bad, realises that it was bad nonetheless, and so he gets frustrated and offers $20 to leave, having an inability to complete his job, as Black Hat decided to be stubborn.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript| - Like, REALLY incomplete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

(Panel with Black Hat holding a genie lamp, and a Cueball figure as the genie, turbanless.)

Cueball: I will grant you one wish. But beware, I will twist the meaning of your words to teach you a lesson!

(Second panel; Cueball has arms crossed.)

Black Hat: Gotcha! Hmm. I'm tired of carrying an umbrella. I wish it never rained again.

(Third Panel; closeup on Cueball.)

Cueball: ... Okay. I'm supposed to twist your words to teach you a lesson, but that actually sounds very straightforwardly bad. Can you maybe try again?

(Fourth panel; Cueball and Black Hat.)

Black Hat: Fine. Just give me what I deserve.
Cueball: Oh my god. Have you read any stories about wishes?
Black Hat: Come on! I want to get what's coming to me.
Cueball: Listen, I'm just gonna give you $20 and call this even.
{{comic discussion}}

2741: Wish Interpretation

2023-02-22T23:22:30Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Transcript!

{{comic
| number = 2741
| date = February 22, 2023
| title = Wish Interpretation
| image = wish_interpretation_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x288px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "I wish for everything in the world. All the people, money, trees, etc." "Are you SURE you--" "And I want you to put it in my house."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Rain, Rain, Stay - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In wishing stories, a common theme is that the wisher will make a wish, but the granter will twist the words, making something bad happen which the wisher did not foresee, and so teaching the wisher, and the reader of the story, an important moral. However, as a characteristically Black Hat moment, he wishes for rain to disappear perpetually, which would be very bad. The genie, trying to teach him a lesson by twisting a good idea into bad, realises that it was bad nonetheless, and so he gets frustrated and offers $20 to leave, having an inability to complete his job, as Black Hat decided to be stubborn.

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

(Panel with Black Hat holding a genie lamp, and a Cueball figure as the genie, turbanless.)

Cueball: I will grant you one wish. But beware, I will twist the meaning of your words to teach you a lesson!

(Second panel; Cueball has arms crossed.)

Black Hat: Gotcha! Hmm. I'm tired of carrying an umbrella. I wish it never rained again.

(Third Panel; closeup on Cueball.)

Cueball: ... Okay. I'm supposed to twist your words to teach you a lesson, but that actually sounds very straightforwardly bad. Can you maybe try again?

(Fourth panel; Cueball and Black Hat.)

Black Hat: Fine. Just give me what I deserve.
Cueball: Oh my god. Have you read any stories about wishes?
Black Hat: Come on! I want to get what's coming to me.
Cueball: Listen, I'm just gonna give you $20 and call this even.
{{comic discussion}}

2741: Wish Interpretation

2023-02-22T23:16:27Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Aaaaaa this is such a bad one

2732: Bursa of Fabricius

2023-02-16T22:44:58Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Done, again! Just in case they weren't complete (I'm fairly new to the place), can I ask everyone to delete tags if the articles are complete? Because I've fixed up, like, 15 of these types of articles.

{{comic
| number = 2732
| date = February 1, 2023
| title = Bursa of Fabricius
| image = bursa_of_fabricius_2x.png
| imagesize = 298x399px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If an anatomical structure is named for a person, it means they were the only person to have it. Pierre Paul Broca had a special area of his brain that created powerful magnetic fields, enabling him to do 19th century fMRI research.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic claims that the 16th century anatomist {{w|Hieronymus Fabricius}} (for whom the organ was named) had that organ and therefore was able to fly like a bird. However, despite being found only in birds, this organ does not in fact contribute directly to flight. Also given that it only exist in birds, then it is doubtful that Fabricius also independently had this same anatomical feature.

Many scientific and mathematical discoveries, including anatomical structures, are named after the people who discovered or described them. For example, the {{w|islets of Langerhans}} were discovered by Paul Langerhans. Likewise, rare diseases are often named for the doctor who first describes the disease to the medical community, or for a researcher who identifies the specifics involved. They may attempt to set their own name to it, for posterity, or they are later honored in this manner by those who recognize their vital contribution to the field, such as with {{w|Parkinson's disease#History|Parkinson's disease}}.

In other cases, rare diseases are named for the first or most famous (possibly even the only) person known to have had the disease. For instance {{w|ALS}} is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease in the US because of baseball player {{w|Lou Gehrig}} having notably developed the condition. Outside of the US, it may be more known just as "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" (alternatively "motor neurone disease") or, for simplicity, the initials ALS (or MND).

The title text continues with the idea from the comic claiming that anatomical structures are solely possessed by the human for which they are named, in another similar example. {{w|Pierre Paul Broca}}, a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist, was known for his research on what is now known as {{w|Broca's area}}, a region of the brain used for speech and language processing. The premise being that, having this feature, he was uniquely gifted with the special ability to created powerful magnetic fields, enabling him to do {{w|fMRI}} research in the 19th century.

Broca did not{{Citation needed}} do fMRI research, a powerful method of non-intrusively imaging and analyzing the internal structures of the living human body (amongst other things), as it was not invented in his lifetime. Nor is it likely that this ability could be 'naturally' possessed by any individual, such as he. He did, however, physically study brains of known speech-impaired patients who had then subsequently died, determining what damage (in the area of the brain which was then to be named for him) was directly related to their specific group of ailments. Today, we can safely view this area in living people, using fMRI, and directly connect what we see with the current condition of patients. This increases our knowledge of the brain, as with the mythical abilities Randall gave Broca, but also possibly even allows us to help those currently under the effects of any observed damage (not necessarily possible by any 19th century physician, even with this superpowered form of vision to assist them).

In reality, if Broca was the only person to have ever possessed Broca's area then this might have meant that only he had ever had the power of speech (as we understand it), which would indeed give him a very special ability; but one begging a number of other vital questions, if only anybody else could have asked them...

This may also be a nod to the Discworld character [https://wiki.lspace.org/Bursar "Bursar"], a wizard at Unseen University who can fly because he once hallucinated that he could, and so now he can.

==Transcript==
:[An almost bald man with hair around the neck and a full beard, is shown flying in the top right part of the image, swooping down from the sky with arms outstretched in front of him while yelling. Three dotted lines behind him indicate his path. Two people look up at him from the bottom left corner, a man with a wide-brimmed hat and a black haired woman with a scarf over her hair, which is hanging down behind her. She is holding both her hands up to her mouth. At the top of the panel there is text:]
:The '''''bursa of Fabricius''''' is a lymphoid organ found only in birds and in 16th century anatomist Hieronymus Fabricius, to whom it conferred the power of flight.
:Hieronymus Fabricius: ''Wheee''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2731: K-Means Clustering

2023-02-16T22:44:05Z

{{comic
| number = 2731
| date = January 30, 2023
| title = K-Means Clustering
| image = k_means_clustering_2x.png
| imagesize = 320x385px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = According to my especially unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm, there are currently about 8 billion types of people in the world.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Ponytail]] is giving a talk about her research groups analysis of which different types of people there are in the world.

A popular class of wry observations use the {{wiktionary|snowclone}} "There are two types of people in the world... those who do A, and those who do B". Here B will usually, though not always, be some antithesis of A. The most self-referent version is the joke "There are two types of people in the world - those who divide people into two types, and those who don't". Other well known versions include: "There are three types of people in the world - those who can count, and those who can't", "There are two types of people in the world - those who can extrapolate... ", and "There are 10 types of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't."

Ponytail uses {{w|K-means_clustering|''k''-means clustering}} with k=3. This is a method of categorizing data. To explain how it works, imagine a set of people of various heights and weights, that should be split into 3 groups (which gives k the value 3). One way to do this would be to plot the data onto a scatter chart; then pick three points at random for reference; then sort the people according to which point they are closest to, forming 3 initial groups. After forming 3 groups, the average of the data point of every item in each group is found; these average data points are used as new reference points to once again categorize all the data into 3 new groups. This process is repeated until the data converges; that is, the data points no longer change groups even after new reference points are picked.

The ''k''-means algorithm is quite simple, which lends to its popularity, but it has a major drawback: the analyst has to determine how many groups (or clusters) to split the data into (that is, what to set k equal to). A value of k that doesn't match the underlying structure of data can yield a partitioning that's hard to explain in terms of properties that distinguish each cluster (in other words, their qualitative interpretation is unclear).

Ponytail's determination that there are three clusters is unsurprising if she herself falls into the category of those who use k=3 as a fixed value, which will inevitably result in three data clusters. However, the joke is that while one group's trait is "uses K=3", this logically means all the data that isn't in the group does not use k=3... except that with two other groups, then that description applies to both, meaning what distinguishes the other two groups from each other is unclear.

This could though easily have been fixed by saying those who use k-means clustering with k=3, those who use k<3 and those who use k>3. So splitting the rest up in just two groups would seem to be no problem... ''except'' for accounting for those who do not have a preconceived value of k at all! (Ideally, one perhaps finds the lowest practical k having the least amount of total scatter away from any cluster's focus, for which there are various competing solutions according to the details of the analysis.)

In the title text Ponytail, or maybe it is [[Randall]], claims that: "According to my especially unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm, there are currently about 8 billion types of people in the world."

This seems to be Randall saying that every human is unique and cannot be meaningfully clustered together in groups. The {{w|Day of Eight Billion|human population passed 8 billion on 2022-11-15}} two and a half months before this comic came out.

The title text uses the K-means algorithm with an absurdly exaggerated variant of this problem. If the number of clusters is equal to the number of data points, each point will be assigned to a separate cluster for which there is an exact match; in other words, each member is the sole member of its own group. With such parameters, it makes it impossible to meaningfully comment on similarities between any two members. This is humorous because it would make the result useless for the purposes for which clustering algorithms are typically used, such as making insurance risk pools or targets of advertisement campaigns. In assessing whether ''k'' or ''k±1'' clusters are more useful to describe data, a weighting related to the number of clusters, or the numbers of points per cluster, might encourage identical clusters (for exactly coincident member points) to be merged, as it should for near-identical source data such that it sufficiently embraces clustering - yet Randall's unconstrained algorithm seems to have no such metric and stops at the 'perfect' initial assumption where ''k≡n''.

Interestingly, by including the entire human population, the algorithm should be immune to bias in creating its input data. However, if every human is unique as Randall's algorithm claims, the only way to have the clusters converge is to "throw out" some traits of humans as unimportant. This may be objectionable to humans who disagree with that assessment. In contrast, in a supervised algorithm, the training data is tagged with traits that the trainers seek. These traits could be applied in a manner that is socially unacceptable, and lead to AI behavior that reflects the biases of the trainers.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is standing on a podium pointing a stick towards a poster hanging behind her. The writings and figures on the poster are illegible. But there seems to be a large scatter plot at the top with a heading above it. Also a couple of tables beneath this. She addresses an unseen audience in front of the podium.]
:Ponytail: Our analysis shows that there are three kinds of people in the world:
:Ponytail: Those who use '''''k'''''-means clustering with k=3, and two other types whose qualitative interpretation is unclear.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

2730: Code Lifespan

2023-02-16T22:42:21Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: finished article.

{{comic
| number = 2730
| date = January 27, 2023
| title = Code Lifespan
| image = code_lifespan_2x.png
| imagesize = 377x307px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Surely (no one/everyone) will (recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is/spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes)
}}

==Explanation==

This comic contrasts two scenarios involving [[Ponytail]] writing a computer program: in the first panel, she has taken great care to future-proof her code, while in the second, she decides not to under the assumption it will soon be deprecated and/or replaced. The captions below each panels note that, ironically, code that ''was'' written with future-proofing in mind will often quickly cease to be used, defeating the purpose of future-proofing, while the code that was ''not'' will often be used much longer than the original programmer(s) intended. This is a {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|''Catch-22''}} situation that many developers have experienced; the first one even has a name, {{w|YAGNI}}.

The second panel could be an allusion to the {{w|Year 2000 problem}}, although it is important to note that problem was not simply due to developers not thinking ahead but also because the developers were working with extremely limited computer resources at the time, promoting the use of 2-digit years.

The title text is a modular sentence with two parentheticals, each containing two alternative phrases. This allows for four permutations of the sentence, each of which may be said by programmers. The following two permutations may be the hoped-for ideals of software developers:

* "Surely everyone will recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is."
* "Surely no one will spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes."

However, reality often falls short of such hopes, in that insufficient numbers of people recognize code intended for re-use, and far more people than intended will attempt to maintain and adapt sloppy work. The former can occur because of uncertain or unclear assumptions which aren't clear when the time comes to re-use code capable of it, and the latter sometimes happens because the corner-cutting peculiarities of hasty work are often seen as far deeper necessities than they actually are. The remaining two permutations express these far less hopeful outlooks:

* "Surely no one will recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is."
* "Surely everyone will spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes."

==Transcript==

:[Two almost identical panels side by side depict a conversation between Ponytail and Cueball.]

:[Ponytail standing next to Cueball, with her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: It took some extra work to build, but now we'll be able to use it for all our future projects.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:How to ensure your code is never reused

:[Nearly identical situation to the first, but with the arm raised slightly less emphatically.]
:Ponytail: Let's not overthink it; if this code is still in use '''''that''''' far in the future, we'll have bigger problems.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:How to ensure your code lives forever

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

2729: Planet Killer Comet Margarita

2023-02-16T22:41:49Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Pretty sure that that transcript was done.

{{comic
| number = 2729
| date = January 25, 2023
| title = Planet Killer Comet Margarita
| image = planet_killer_comet_margarita_2x.png
| imagesize = 607x942px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'll take mine on the rocks, no ice.
}}

==Explanation==

A {{w|margarita}} is a popular cocktail made from {{w|tequila}}, {{w|agave}}, {{w|triple sec}}, and {{w|lime juice}}. The frozen margarita variety is blended with ice, and this comic suggests making an enormous drink using the ice from a {{w|comet nucleus}} – the one depicted having more than a passing similarity to the much studied {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}}. Based on the amount of ice in a typical comet, it extrapolates the quantity of the other ingredients. The mixed drink is big enough to fill {{w|Lake Mead}}, a massive reservoir on the {{w|Colorado River}} created by the water held by the {{w|Hoover Dam}}.

Beyond the unusual quantities and mixing method, Randall uses the general term "orange liqueur" here rather than specifying triple sec. Assuming that each oil tanker holds exactly the same amount of liquid, the tequila:triple sec ratio in the comic is 4:1, meaning more tequila is used than necessary (the ratio should be 5:2).

''{{w|Armageddon_(1998_film)|Armageddon}}'' is a movie starring {{w|Bruce Willis}} about a team of astronauts and oil drill engineers on a mission to blow up an asteroid that's on a collision course with the Earth. The oil drill would be used to drill a hole deep into the asteroid, into which they'll drop a nuclear bomb to destroy it. The comic suggests using the same technique to explode the comet nucleus to get the ice. It should be noted that consuming any cocktail which has been infused with the radioactive byproducts commonly resulting from the detonation of a thermonuclear weapon may pose health risks which exceed those typically associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages in general.{{Actual citation needed|It would be the relatively small primary charge that creates the radioisotopes, the thermonuclear secondary stage is practically uncontaminating beyond the initial pulse of ionizing radiation and any external matter boosted by the neutron flux. To quantify the risks of alcohol vs the mean radioisotope contamination seems like a question to ask Randall to talk to his contacts about.}}

In the title text, he asks for it "{{w|on the rocks}}", with no ice. In the context of normal cocktails, "on the rocks" means to serve with ice. Here the cocktail is served from the drained basin of Lake Mead, which has rock as a substrate - hence "on the rocks." In addition the comet nucleus contains lots of rocky material, so "on the rocks" with Randall's planet killer cocktail would also be served with literal rocks in it.

In the header, it says "Today's comic was drawn for Daniel Becker, based on [https://what-if.xkcd.com/162/ his winning question] submitted to the [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2] contest." As explained in the What If? entry melting a comet on Earth has enough negative effects on the climate to negate the cooling effect a couple thousand times over – thus this margarita may in fact proudly wear the title "planet killer".

Assuming an average oil tanker size of 25.8 million gallons, this provides approximately 1,700 servings of tequila per adult on the planet. Therefore it is a planet killer in terms of alcohol poisoning and killing off all humans of adult drinking age.

==Transcript==

:<big>The Planet Killer</big>
:Comet Ice Margarita

:Ingredients
:4,000 oil tankers full of tequila
:1,000 tankers full of orange liqueur
:1,000 tankers full of agave
:The juice from 20 trillion limes
:One comet nucleus

:Instructions
:(1) Drain Lake Mead, combine ingredients behind Hoover Dam
:(2) Detonate comet using Bruce Willis's drilling rig from ''Armageddon'' (1998)
::''Boom''
:(3) Dispense drink through Hoover Dam turbines

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Food]]

2728: Lane Change Highway

2023-02-16T22:39:49Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Just in case you didn't know, title texts shouldn't be added to transcriptions! So this article's complete!

{{comic
| number = 2728
| date = January 23, 2023
| title = Lane Change Highway
| image = lane_change_highway_2x.png
| imagesize = 374x530px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I just think lane markers should follow the local magnetic declination.
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Highway}}s are large roads designated for high-speed traffic. Like in [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]], [[Randall]] proposes an ineffective highway design, which reportedly got him fired.

Highways normally have several, but not a fixed number of lanes; more lanes may be included on parts of the highway with higher traffic flow, and the design decision can interact with entrances and exits to the highway. One common structure is to merge a lane from the right to the left after an entrance, to remove the extra lane created by the merge of the entry ramp. Drivers are expected to merge into one of the lanes further left before the lane on the right ends.

Here, Randall has designed a highway where the lanes are not aligned to the road, thus constantly expanding to the left and requiring merges from the right. This is highly impractical, as each individual lane merge is a difficult maneuver compared to normal driving; being forced to perform these near-constantly is a large hindrance at the least and a large danger at the most.

Effectively every car would have to drive with their left turn blinker on constantly in order to drive in a regular straight line. Alternatively cars could stage their lane changes which would make them swerve gently back and forth across the road. Since everyone will choose a different strategy, the road would be chaos. People would almost never try to make a right lane change since lanes to the right end sooner.

The title text refers to local {{w|magnetic declination}}, the angle between the magnetic north pole and the true (geographic) north pole. Magnetic declination varies over time due to polar wandering and so the lane markers on the highway would need to be regularly updated to account for this.

==Transcript==
:[In a white panel a black road starts at the bottom left and curves gently towards the right until the middle of the panel, where it begins curving slightly to the left ending in the top right corner. The road has space for four lanes divided by lane markers, but the markers does not follow the direction of the road but goes more from left to right than the road, even though they do follow the general curve of the road, but never the actual direction of the road. This results in all these lanes to end near the right edge of the road. Every time the lane gets too near the edge the lane lines stop and on the end of the lane there is a curving arrow pointing left. Below the arrows the word "Merge" is written. This happens seven times on this small patch of highway. At the bottom and top there are the lane marker lines entering and exiting, so there are always four lanes. After the three starting at the bottom, seven new ones begin, the last just below the top, where the final merge arrow also is, stopping the last of the right lines from exiting at the top.]
:Merge
:Merge
:Merge
:Merge
:Merge
:Merge
:Merge

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I got fired from my traffic engineering job for building a highway where you could only travel by lane changes.

==Trivia==
* A faint grey outline is visible under the caption, as if text was rewritten over a semitransparent layer, which was never deleted.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Engineering]]

2727: Runtime

2023-02-16T22:38:20Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Mushrooms' explanation made much sense! Deleted tags !

{{comic
| number = 2727
| date = January 20, 2023
| title = Runtime
| image = runtime_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = At least there's a general understanding all around that Doctor Who is its own thing.
}}

==Explanation==

The comic presents two separate conversations, which boil down to the same premise and yet differing conclusions. In one, a particular TV show is being watched, in the other a film franchise.

While it is finding its feet, a new season of a television show (perhaps commissioned, on the back of some perceived interest in the story it will tell, for a dozen or so episodes of around 50 minutes - i.e. about ten hours) is not necessarily going to get everything right in the writing style, the slant it puts on the subject matter, the cast of characters or other production values. Or at least not for mass appeal to the everyman, for whom [[Cueball]] is the archetypal representative. Nevertheless, many series ''do'' get further seasons and greatly improve. [[White Hat]] (the optimist, and clearly won over by the production) is on the way to successfully convincing Cueball to view a particular series, or perhaps to continue to watch it after becoming jaded by its early failure to live up to its hype. It sounds reasonable to Cueball, just from his friend's recommendation, to get over the hump and appreciate it "when it gets good".

On the other hand, many television shows achieve their highest popularity in their first season. The first season is usually when unknown stars achieve their breakout and become popular, when mysteries and cliffhangers that capture the imagination are introduced, and when interesting plotlines that engender viewer interest develop (often which two members of a love triangle will fall for each other). While the next few seasons are often considered the "golden age" of such series (as all of the interest is fresh, plot lines and mysteries are not yet resolved, and actors and writers are in their stride and not yet burned out) it is rare for a popular or well regarded TV series to have a first season that is considered bad.

A series of films, however, is seemingly a different matter. By substituting 10+ hours of filmed-for-television with something more cinematic, the prospect of getting over the exact same scale of 'hump' in a long-running set of sequels (eight films at a not unreasonable average length of 85 minutes each would ''also'' require a bit more than ten hours of commitment), is not at all enticing. However, since the average movie runs about 131 minutes, 10 hours of TV run time (about 15 episodes each with 40 minutes of show - the 40 minutes being the one hour time slot minus commercials) would only last the same as about four and a half movies, not eight. TV shows on modern streaming services such as Netflix tend to be longer (55 minutes per episode) but also fewer episodes per season (10-13) and so are still only as long as four to five movies. Watching four or so movies seems much less of a burden, many modern film franchises (among them the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Star Trek and the Harry Potter series) have successfully gone well beyond four films.

The real reasons for this difference are that:
* A television series that gets good can be expected to run for at least five seasons, whereas nine movies is already quite long for a movie series. Sitting through eight bad movies in order to understand two or three good ones is not a worthwhile tradeoff.
* The longer run-time of a movie generally means that a film series will focus on one specific plotline in each entry, whereas televised series are or can be more episodic (the characters are involved in a different situation each time) and can also interweave plotlines throughout individual episodes or episode arcs, so that less time per episode is spent on plots viewers dislike.
* In the US, a film typically begins shooting from a completed script with only minor revisions conducted once filming starts; whereas in television, writers are usually engaged throughout most of a series' season and can more quickly change unpopular elements in future episodes.

The mention of “after the first 8 movies” might be a reference to the long-running Fast and the Furious franchise, which now has 9 movies (plus a couple of spin-offs) at the time of this comic’s publication. The more recent movies are well-reviewed (rated “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), even though the first four were widely panned by critics. Someone like Randall, who may have ignored the franchise when it first came out in 2001, may be wondering if he should watch the more recent ones that critics generally like; and, if so, does he need to catch up on the initial movies first?

The title text talks of the long-running British TV series that is ''{{w|Doctor Who}}''. The original Doctor Who, running from 1963-1989 was typically low budget, for its time and locality, though initially considered cutting edge in many ways. Compared to more modern classics, and especially Hollywood sci-fi, it would be noticeably not as good. The revived series (2005-present) has a much higher production budget and is typically much more aligned to modern viewers, who may willfully ignore or not even know of the older episodes. Someone just starting to watching Doctor Who sequentially from the ''very'' first season (broadcast in 1963) would have to watch hundreds of episodes (26 'seasons', by some counts) before the series "gets good" to modern eyes, if the {{tvtropes|GrowingTheBeard|"good" point}} is the 2005 series revival, or even quite a few to reach any given key point in the original run. Thus Doctor Who is considered to be its own thing, and unlike other shows where the fans recommend you suffer through a poor first season to enjoy improvement in subsequent seasons, {{w|Whovians}} might recommend potential new fans to begin with the 2005 reboot (technically the 27th season), which was produced to appeal to all new-comers without even necessarily any cultural knowledge of what had been broadcast up until the long hiatus a decade and a half before.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon to recommend that even within the 2005 reboot of Doctor who, that new viewers don't start at the beginning (season 1 or 27 if counting the original series), but instead start at season 5 (or 31 including the originals), when the Doctor regenerated to his 11th incarnation (due to higher budgets and production values by that point, and the start of a new story arc with new characters being introduced), and later on go back to watch the earlier seasons.{{Actual citation needed|...because, come on, Ten(nant) had some iconic stuff to more than rival Matt Smith's initial term. The best reason to start with the opening of Smith's era instead was that it was a (mostly) fresh start with no hangover Companions, etc, so you didn't need to know about Rose's prior time so much. But Matt and Karen didn't start off brilliantly, so you'd still have to bear with a few 'finding their feet' episodes until it started dealing with Pandorica-level awesomeness (assuming you *liked* the Pandorica stuff, which isn't universally accepted). What I'm saying here is "horses for courses" on this *whole* paragraph, but not going to remove it.}}

There is also the wrinkle that anyone wishing to start with the original run would be out of luck, seeing as many early episodes - before the late-70s - were {{w|Doctor Who missing episodes|lost forever}}. ([https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/MissingEpisode/DoctorWho TV Tropes link]).
The BBC didn't see any value in keeping them as they couldn't rerun them, so random episodes would be disposed of or recycled for various reasons, and those episodes are gone, making many stories incomplete. Some have been recovered because fans recorded them, or because tapes were sent to overseas stations for rebroadcast and never discarded (in fact, the ''audio'' for every single episode has been preserved) but most lost episodes remain lost.

It is vague about Randall's precise opinion, but even the most dedicated fan would acknowledge that it has had a varying quality/charm/consistency/etc, according to one's personal tastes for such things. Comparing the original run (pre-Millenium, featuring seven key actors sequentially taking on the title role over more than four decades, and another for a standalone TV-movie) with the revived series (continuing the pattern with a similar number of additional title-actors in just half the time), and any number of 'show-runners' (producers, main writers, etc) is one possible point of contention, probably more suited to British viewers. Possibly, in Randall's case, it is just the (perceived) ups and downs in the more recent era, which has been more consistently screened in the US.

==Transcript==
:[Two situations are depicted between White Hat and Cueball.]
:[Situation 1:]
:White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first season it gets really good.
:Cueball: Oh yeah, I've heard that!
:[Situation 2:]
:White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first 8 movies, they get really good.
:Cueball: Haha, what? I'm not going to sit through '''''eight''''' bad movies!
:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how it's way more normal and socially acceptable to suggest someone spend 10-15 hours watching something when it's TV rather than movies.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]

2726: Methodology Trial

2023-02-16T22:36:50Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Nothing incomplete!

{{comic
| number = 2726
| date = January 18, 2023
| title = Methodology Trial
| image = methodology_trial_2x.png
| imagesize = 339x459px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you think THAT'S unethical, you should see the stuff we approved via our Placebo IRB.
}}

==Explanation==

When testing the efficacy of a potential medical treatment, researchers compare subjects who received the treatment against subjects who received a {{w|placebo}}. Usually each subject does not know whether they received the treatment or placebo, and neither do the practitioners, until the end of the trial. This distinguishes the actual effects of the treatment from the effects of simply participating in a study. People who receive a placebo (or an ineffective treatment) often believe their treatment is working due to such causes as paying more attention to one's health or expecting to feel better. This misattribution of effect to a non-treatment is called the "placebo effect".

In this comic a team of researchers appears to have studied some medical treatment, using a placebo controlled test. They present their findings in which a particular subset of participants (out of at least four distinct groups) shows an apparently significant result. The graph shows that three groupings have results whose error-bars indicate that they might easily have zero (or neutral) true effects, if not negative ones. But, even at the lowest extent of the accepted uncertainty, the fourth stands out as definitively having some degree of positive effect (of whatever kind this particular graph is plotting).

However, it is revealed that the 'treatment' they were given was also a placebo. Their own study was the subject of a placebo controlled test conducted on their methodology. They were the placebo group, while a different team presumably used the exact same methodology to study the real treatment. Thus, all of this team's findings were due to the placebo effect, or else the trial size and scope allowed a purely statistical 'blip' to occur, instead of there being any real merit to the "treatment". This indicates that their methodology shouldn't be used for any real world applications. This may be a subtle dig at the recent {{w|aducanumab}} Alzheimer's drug trial controversy, where post-hoc reanalysis of one subgroup of patients revealed a surprising result when the overall trial had otherwise failed.

The particular flaw in the methodology appears to be dividing too few subjects into too many sub-groups, allowing a chance cluster of anomalous results to overly influence an apparent result. The researcher did find significance in one sub-group, even though in reality there was no signal, just noise, since it was all placebo groups. This references the same p-hacking problem as [[882: Significant]]. Only in this case the researcher themself is the subject of the real trial.

If the non-placebo study had the exact same size and design (as it should have, in such a meta-study), it would cast doubt upon whether any similar-looking findings in London were significant. Especially if they also found that the same subgroup were again exhibiting the sole significant effect, which might reveal an inbuilt flaw in the procedure. On the other hand, it could just further show how likely any particular grouping was to falsely show a result; if all groups had apparently benefited, the chances are that most of them were correct, whether or not [[2268: Further Research is Needed]].

Treatments ''can'' be more effective on specific subgroups of the population; for example, an anti-cancer drug might only work against specific mutations that cause cancer. But any such result needs to have appropriate statistical significance and new subjects from that subgroup should be tested to ensure the result is repeated.

The title text points out how the experiment has almost certainly violated some set of ethical standards, because one researcher offers what he believes to be genuine treatment to a large number of participants only for a third party (the offscreen speaker) to replace all his medicine with placebos, ultimately deceiving the patients. The title text implies that it was approved by a genuine Institutional Review Board (IRB), the group which decides whether a proposed experiment is ethical to perform. However they also have a "placebo IRB", presumably made up of people who have no qualifications to make such judgements well, or perhaps not made up of people at all, but simply a mechanism for generating random decisions.

However, such a methodology trial using all placebos wouldn't necessarily be unethical. In addition to using a placebo, most studies are "double blind" meaning neither the patients nor the doctors/nurses treating them know who is getting the placebo and who is not; only the researchers conducting the study know. This is so doctors/nurses cannot inadvertently let the patients know who is getting real medicine (by acting with remorse around patients they know are not being treated, or being more cheerful with patients they know who are). It is considered perfectly ethical for doctors to give patients what they believe is medicine but is not (the placebo). This is because without the double blind procedure it may not be possible to identify real medicines from ones that have no effect, and the impact of preventing real medicine from being used by millions is greater than the deceit towards the small number receiving a placebo in the experiment. By extension it could be ethical to have the researcher conduct a trial with two placebos without knowing it. For instance if the London team and the team in the comic were finding beneficial effects in new drugs that other researchers found had no effect (or finding other drugs didn't work when others had evidence they did) then it may be worth investigating if their shared methodology has the flaw demonstrated in the article. That way regulatory agencies could exclude their flawed data when they make decisions on what drugs to approve, while the two teams could shift to a better methodology and return to contributing to medical science.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball stands in front of a poster holding a pointer. The poster shows a scatter plot with four points and error bars, with one data point labeled "Subgroup" is marked with an asterisk and is placed somewhat higher up than the other three points.]
:Cueball: However, we see clear evidence that the treatment is more effective than the placebo for some subgroups.
:Off-panel voice: Thank you.
:Off-panel voice: However, we can now reveal that the '''''London''''' team was studying the real treatment. Both groups in your study got a placebo.
:Cueball: Aw, '''''maaan...'''''
:[Caption below panel]
:Researchers hate it when you do placebo controlled trials of their methodology.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

2723: Outdated Periodic Table

2023-02-16T22:34:35Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Nothing incomplete!

{{comic
| number = 2723
| date = January 11, 2023
| title = Outdated Periodic Table
| image = outdated_periodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 360x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Researchers claim to have synthesized six additional elements in the second row, temporarily named 'pentium' through 'unnilium'.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows figure 6.14 from a science text book, which displays ''The periodic table of the elements'', but with only the first four elements ({{w|hydrogen}}, {{w|helium}}, {{w|lithium}} and {{w|beryllium}}) shown. [[Randall]] claims, in the caption, that you can use the layout of an included {{w|periodic table}} to date a publication based upon the elements present or missing. In this case, his book was somehow published just half an hour after the {{w|Big Bang}}, at which time those four elements were the only ones present. The joke here is that he has conflated elements being absent from the periodic table because they have not yet been discovered, with them being absent because they do not yet exist.

From about 10 seconds until about 20 minutes after the Big Bang, the phase that is known as the {{w|Big Bang nucleosynthesis}} occurred. At that time, hydrogen ions (single protons) provided for helium in abundance and traces of lithium. Some berylium-7 was also formed, which is an unstable {{w|Isotopes of beryllium|isotope}}, and with a half life of 53 days, an appreciable amount of what had been created would still be there several months after the Big Bang, and certainly most of what was created would be there half an hour after.

The conclusion is that Randall's science book was published when those four elements were the only ones in existence, and before the point where practically all the beryllium had decayed. After that point, only the three first would be present, until star formation began and started the process of {{w|Stellar nucleosynthesis}}.

Of course no life as we know it could exist until long after stellar nucleosynthesis had created all the other elements needed to support {{w|carbon-based life}}. And no life, as we could even imagine, would be able to exist for the first 370,000 years after Big Bang as atoms (in a form that could eventually form molecules) could not exist until the {{w|Recombination (cosmology)|recombination}} phase of the universe, due to the high energy of {{w|cosmic background radiation}}. Carbon-based textbooks could not exist either.

Even now, many {{w|Chemical elements|elements}} do not occur naturally on Earth and have to be {{w|Synthetic element|synthesized}} to be practically studied, or deduced from what was seen during their often short lives. Others were always very hard to detect, collect enough in pure form or purify enough to properly discover them. Until these elements were discovered, one way or another, they were not included in the periodic table. Various versions of the periodic table had left spaces for these {{w|Mendeleev's predicted elements|expected elements}}, but these gaps have now all been filled, and all recent modifications have been either additions to the end of the prior version of the table or changes of {{w|List of chemical element naming controversies|the names given}} to recent additions.

The Periodic Table has been under continuous revision since its invention by Dimitri Mendeleev in 1869. As printed scientific textbooks do not update themselves after being published,{{Citation needed}} dating a publication by its Periodic Table is therefore possible, though in order to make the attempt one would need to know when various elements were discovered, isolated and named; when the {{w|Chemical_symbol#Symbols_and_names_not_currently_used|symbols}} for particular elements were adopted and changed; when various elements were moved to different Groups; and when the Periods used in the tables were revised due to advances in knowledge of atomic structure. Determining the age of the work by checking which elements are present could be done, but would be less accurate.

The title text refers to how yet-undiscovered elements are given a {{w|systematic element name}} as a temporary name, until a more permanent name is decided upon. The names are based upon a standard group of Greek and Latin roots (depicting the decimal digits used to 'spell out' an element's unique {{w|atomic number}}, i.e., the number of protons) and adding an "-ium" at the end. The claim in the title text is that, in the textbook with the figure, researchers claim they have synthesized six additional elements in the second row, temporarily named 'pentium' (atomic number "5") through to 'unnilium' ("one zero", or "10"), just as element "118" was provisionally called "ununoctium". At the time of release of this comic, element 118 is currently the last confirmed element and has been officially called {{w|oganesson}}. The title text of [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]], the previous comic to draw a periodic table, also refers to this.

Element number five is, in our time and reality, actually well known as {{w|boron}}. (Its 'provisional' name of {{w|Pentium}} was also used for a series of microprocessors launched by Intel in the 1990s.) "Unnilium", element number 10, is {{w|neon}}, a member of the group of {{w|noble gas}}es, which (along with fellow group member helium) was discovered only at the very end of the 19th century. Despite helium being one of the first elements to exist, and still one of the most common in the universe (roughly 24%, by mass, with hydrogen being around 75% and every other element combined being the remainder), it did not appear in the earliest periodic tables. It was only first detected from afar, as a constituent of the Sun, about thirty years before it was finally physically discovered in an actual lab here on Earth. (This is likely because helium is both inert and light.) It is also possible that neon's provisional name in 'early science' might have been something more along the lines of "decium", all else being equal.

Since life could not have existed at the time this book should have been published, the idea of researchers synthesizing elements, or indeed the existence of books or even researchers, is of course just part of the joke.

==Transcript==

:[Subheading]: Figure 6.14
:[Title]: The periodic table of the elements

:[The following four rectangles featuring the large element abbreviation, with the full element name written below, in a typical periodic table style]
:[Top row, far left]: H Hydrogen
:[Top row, far right, detached from any other box]: He Helium
:[Bottom row, attached directly below the "H" box]: Li Lithium
:[Bottom row, attached directly to the right of "Li"]: Be Beryllium

:[Caption below the panel]:
:You can spot an outdated science textbook by checking the bottom of the periodic table for missing elements. For example, mine was published half an hour after the Big Bang.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Science]]

2722: Etymonline

2023-02-16T22:34:07Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Nothing incomplete!

{{comic
| number = 2722
| date = January 9, 2023
| title = Etymonline
| image = etymonline_2x.png
| imagesize = 458x280px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = NOTE TO FUTURE ETYMONLINGUISTS: Our best guess is that 'blimp' is onomatopoeia. The 'B-Limp' thing is a folk etymology.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic depicts an entry from a dictionary written in the far future (at least the year 2384 based on the textual reference). The entry gives the definition of the word "etymonline" and makes it clear that this word has simply supplanted the word "{{w|etymology}}" in the intervening centuries.

It references the internet service known as [https://www.etymonline.com/ Etymonline], or the Online Etymology Dictionary, and implies that Etymonline as a source became synonymous with the concept of etymology.

The caption to the comic states that it is ironic that the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English. Perhaps Etymonline grew into such a comprehensive and reputable source that it deserved the all-encompassing identification with the concept of etymology (through {{w|metonymy}}); or it simply gained such ubiquity and market dominance that it became, to all intents and purposes, the only service people used to meet their etymological needs and popular usage abandoned the original term in favor of the name for the tool associated with learning a word's origin. All we know is that the brief etymology given in the entry cites "modification" of a more archaic English form (the one we are familiar with), without any mention of the digital resource. This is a mild failure on the part of the dictionary entry, since the suffix "online" should at least have been noted as the modifier resulting in the current form. Perhaps a discussion of the specific internet service was not relevant in the entry, or the very concept of "online" has been so superseded by whatever its successors or usurpers might have become that it was lost to common, or indeed academic, knowledge.

The entry about etymonline uses, as an example of the use of the word, a quote regarding the etymology (etymonline) for the word {{w|Blimp}}. This example is a quote from a book from the year 2384 called ''Jovian Blimps: a History'', dating the definition entry as being from some time after that work was published. It also states that, by that year, the word blimp no longer refers to a kind of airship still used on Earth (at the actual time of this comic's release) but instead to "Sky-cities" floating in the atmosphere of {{w|Jupiter}}. Although it is still known that Blimp was ''once'' used for Earth airships, while presuming that the reader is overwhelmingly aware of the Jovian examples.

The title text plays with this (replacing "etymologist" with the derived term "etymonlinguist"). Following on from the fictional citation's assertion that the origin for those historic airships being called Blimps is unknown, we get a comment from some present-day scholar (directed to the author of the futuristic entry) clarifying what they know about the etymology of the word "blimp". It references two theories of the etymology: that it is simply onomatopoeia; or that it was constructed from the phrase "Type B - Limp". It rejects the latter as a folk etymology, i.e. a back-formation, consistent with {{wiktionary|blimp|the explanation}} on Wiktionary and the {{w|Blimp#Etymology|Etymology section}} on the Blimp article upon Wikipedia. It is interesting to note that the current [https://www.etymonline.com/word/blimp Etymonline entry] only lists the B-Limp origin and does not mention onomatopoeia at all, though it does at least acknowledge that the origin is "obscure".

Already, a day after the release of this comic, the words mentioned in here trended on Etymonline, see more in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of a dictionary definition that is askew in the frame to imply that it is printed or written on physical paper rather than a digital resource.]

:'''etymonline''' (n) et・y・mon・line /,ɛt.əmɒn'lain/ The history and derivation of a word. Altered form of English ''etymology'', from Old French ''ethimologie'', from Latin ''etymologia''. Quotation: "Before it came to refer to Jupiter's sky-cities, the term 'blimp' was used for 20th century Earth airships, but its etymonline before that is unknown." –''Jovian Blimps: A History'' (2384)

:[Caption below comic:]
:Ironically, the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English.

==Trivia==
*Already the day after this comic was released the words Blimp and Etymology was among the top trending word at the top of Etymonline.
**On day two, 2023-01-11, Blimp was the top trending word with Etymolgy in third place.
**Neither of these words was in the top six of trending words on the day the comic was released [https://web.archive.org/web/20230109202315/https://www.etymonline.com/ 2023-01-09].
**Here an example screenshot of the Etymonline page 2023-01-11:
[[File:2722 Etymonline - trending word.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Airships]]

2724: Washing Machine Settings

2023-02-16T22:32:10Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Nothing incomplete!

{{comic
| number = 2724
| date = January 13, 2023
| title = Washing Machine Settings
| image = washing_machine_settings_2x.png
| imagesize = 308x524px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I guess the engineers who built my dishwasher MIGHT have some insight into how to load it, but instead of reading the booklet they gave me, it seems easier to experiment for years and then get in arguments so heated that I get banned from Quora.
}}

==Explanation==

The comic strip depicts Cueball (possibly [[Randall]]) standing in front of a washing machine, wondering which settings to use for his particular wash load. He ponders as to the intended meaning behind the word "Delicate" and decides to look up detailed information on what the settings do and when to use them. A thought then occurs to him that there should be a location where people could crowd-source data on what settings they have found work best for various clothing items, before realizing that that would likely have already been done by the manufacturers beforehand and the results put into the product manual.

Labels on appliances tend to be terse, often using single words that make the intended interpretation challenging. In this case Cueball likely is trying to wash something that is both "delicate" and has "colors", but is forced to choose between them, even though there would ideally be a washer setting that anticipates the need for both considerations at once. Due to the laconic vagueness in the choice of wording for the dial (or button/menu), the "(Light)" may refer to the setting being intended for lightly or pastel colored clothing, that the setting is meant for delicate fabric, or that it is a quick, surface-level wash (i.e. as opposed to deep cleaning), though a separate "half load"/”economy" button (or similar) often exists that abbreviates the appropriate phases of each main washing cycle accordingly.

The title text proposes deliberately ignoring the manual for a dishwasher and continuing to use the internet and other people for information on household devices. This might refer to the tendency for people to not read manuals and instead post their queries online awaiting answers, which sometimes gets disparaging comments to [[293: RTFM|read the manual]]. It also references [http://quora.com Quora], a website which allows users to publicly ask questions and answer the questions of others. The website is not typically known for its debates, although the situation in this comic could probably lead to one, as it is quite opinion-dependent with no true correct answer (even the suggested settings given in the manual, written by the makers themselves, could be prone to disagreement as users might find the settings to have adverse effects on their clothing, or discover an even better setting that the makers might not have had). Although Quora moderation is notably inconsistent, being inflammatory (as people tend to be in debates that progress too long) could lead to one's account being reported and banned, like on a typical social network or forum.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is standing in front of a large combination washing machine/dryer, holding a coat, wondering.]
:Cueball: Okay, do I want "Colors (light)" or "Delicate"? Does delicate mean less agitation? Or a slower spin?
:Cueball: I should Google, I bet clothing experts have experimented with various settings/clothing combos.
:Cueball: Ooh, someone should make a tool that indexes people's results by washer model, so you can look up what settings to use for a given...

:[Caption below the panel]:
: Every now and then I forget that product manuals exist and spend a while reinventing them.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2717: L6 Lagrange Point

2023-02-16T22:30:43Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Completed transcript.

{{comic
| number = 2717
| date = December 27, 2022
| title = L6 Lagrange Point
| image = l6_lagrange_point_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x400px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's difficult to orbit L6 stably due to gravitational perturbation from Akron and Toledo.
}}

==Explanation==

In celestial mechanics, the {{w|Lagrange point}}s are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Or in simpler terms, positions in space where objects can float motionless relative to the defining bodies.

There are five traditional Lagrange points. Two form equilateral triangles with the two massive objects (in this case the Earth and the Sun), and three more are collinear with the massive objects. The L1, L2, and L3 points are unstable, as any drifting off the point (e.g. due to the gravity of other bodies) might quickly increase the tendency to depart the area. However, there are quasi-stable {{w|Halo orbit}}s around these points, like the one used by the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}. The L4 and L5 points can actually retain objects stably over long periods, resulting in the Sun-Jupiter L4 and L5 points capturing the {{w|Trojan (celestial_body)|Trojan Asteroids}}.

Randall claims that a sixth Lagrange point has been discovered outside of {{w|Cleveland}}, {{w|Ohio}}. This is pretty obviously farcical,{{Citation needed}} as this would be part of the Earth and thus not gravitationally balanced between Earth and the Sun, though it is balanced by the countering forces that hold anything stable on the surface of any body: {{w|gravity}} and {{w|electromagnetism}}. The joke here is that there actually is a small village named {{w|LaGrange, Ohio|LaGrange, OH}} (population 2,595 in 2020) just outside Cleveland ([https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lagrange,+OH+44050/ map]). However, the village name is spelled with a capital G, unlike {{w|Joseph-Louis Lagrange}} after which the Lagrange points were named.

There is, however, a {{w|Lagrange,_Maine|Lagrange in Maine}}, a {{w|Lagrange,_Virginia|Lagrange in Virginia}} and a {{w|Lagrange_Township,_Bond_County,_Illinois|Lagrange Township in Illinois}} which all use the lower case g in their spelling like Joseph-Louis Lagrange. There are also {{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_(disambiguation)|twenty-six other communities}} in the United states with a spelling of LaGrange or La Grange, as well as four in France and two in Australia with one of the three spellings. This includes {{w|La_Grange,_Texas|La Grange, Texas}} which became famous as the title of a {{w|La_Grange_(song)|ZZ Top song}}.

The title text mentions {{w|Akron}} and {{w|Toledo,_Ohio|Toledo}}, two other large cities in Ohio. It says that their gravitational influence is the reason why orbits around the LaGrange L6 are unstable. The Lagrange points are solutions for a simplified three-body system, and orbits around them may be disrupted if additional bodies such as moons or planets are close enough or massive enough to cumulatively exert significant gravitational forces over time (the Moon does factor into the Earth-Sun L1 and L2 Lagrange points, especially, but that can be accounted for in the station-keeping measures already required). Trying to orbit around a point on the ground would, of course, run into much more serious problems, {{w|lithobraking|such as the ground.}}

==Transcript==
:Grey on white diagram of the Earth orbiting the Sun, not to scale. Earth is depicted as a circle with pale grey continents on darker grey seas, and shows a view from above the North Pole without any Arctic ice. The sun is drawn surrounded by radially symmetrical exaggerated wave pattern.
:Also in grey, approximate locations of Lagrange points 1 to 5 are marked with dots and labels: "L1" "L2" "L3" "L4" "L5".
:In black, a point on the Earth's surface within the boundary of a continent that could be North America. Also in black, an arrow pointing towards the point, and the label "L6".
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Huge space news: Astronomers have discovered a new Lagrange point just outside Cleveland.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]

2720: Biology vs Robotics

2023-02-16T22:30:00Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Finished article. Again !

{{comic
| number = 2720
| date = January 4, 2023
| title = Biology vs Robotics
| image = biology_vs_robotics_2x.png
| imagesize = 546x260px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Sorry, I've just always had these random things I don't like--like olives, or robots drilling holes in me without warning.
}}

==Explanation==

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is walking along next to a robot holding a conversation – from this we can infer the robot is {{w|sentience|sentient}} or even {{w|sapience|sapient}}. Cueball is complaining to said robot about the problems of biology, especially his own biology, whining that "biology is the worst" and "bodies have all these random problems". The human body does have many challenges, ranging from the {{w|Recurrent laryngeal nerve|mildly inefficient}} to the {{w|Stroke|lethal-without-warning}}, and culminating in irreversible senescence and (unless you're [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gift_of_Il%C3%BAvatar Tolkien]) obligate mortality. The robot, an abiological entity ([https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/robotic-future/0/steps/26359 some] {{tvtropes|BrainInAJar|exceptions}} {{w|Biorobotics|apply}}) responds by posing a question which may or may not be intended as rhetorical.

The robot thus highlights an advantage that biological bodies have – i.e., the ability to heal themselves, while metal robots like this one don't and probably must seek out repairs. However, Cueball immediately points out that this ability only works "sometimes", and is often painful. First and foremost, one must actually survive a hole if they wish to heal from it, as death comes with some pretty big impacts on their continuing ability to do so.{{Citation needed}} Secondly holes can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, in many widths and depths with many further complications (including the aforementioned death). For example, a small hole made for an earring would be easy to close, whereas one carved by {{w|List of the largest cannon by caliber|a 91.4cm mortar shell}} would be less easy to heal. There is also ambiguity in what counts as a hole. Is a cut a hole? Is surgery, etc? This variability is likely why Cueball says "Sometimes".

He also states that "it" is "not exactly fun". This is either sarcasm or an understatement, as {{w|Gunshot wound|some holes}} can really hurt. "It" is implied to be the holes themselves, as while the healing process can hurt, the formation of the hole (such as being shot) is often a '''lot''' more painful.{{Citation needed}}

The title text is Cueball apologizing for his whining, explaining his frustration with certain things such as particular fruits and unexpected robotic incursions. He appears to equate these two issues, where most normal people would consider one a minor irritation, and the other a serious threat (though he may be deliberately making this comparison sardonically). Even when a robot is used purposefully for cutting into a human (such as robotic surgery), it should be expected and consented to. There are few situations where cutting open a human without consent would be considered socially, morally, legally or cybernetically acceptable in most countries {{Citation needed}} (one example would be a trained medic trying to saving an unconscious person’s life by urgently cutting into them {{w|tracheotomy|in some way}}).

Part of the humor may also derive from the fact that Cueball is complaining about things which the Robot could only dream of for its own future (self-repair, automatic recharging from abundant naturally occurring proteins [food], self-replication without external construction, etc). This is similar to [[1839: Doctor Visit]] where the doctor marvels at the fact that "your body has been moving around for years and still works at all. My USB cables fray after like a month". Some people argue {{Citation needed}} that self-replicating, self-repairing sentient robotics would in their complexity be quite similar to biological systems and might even suffer from similar problems.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking to the left with a robot following behind him. It is a bit shorter than Cueball and is made out of three rectangles, one almost a square representing the head with a part representing where it can see the surroundings and a small antenna on the back. This is connected with a thin neck to a large rectangle representing the torso. This torso has three smaller rectangles, one on the front and one on the back, and a larger one on the side. The latter could represent some sort of arm. Below this is a thin rectangle with, probably, eight small wheels, four are visible. Motion lines indicate that the robot is rolling after Cueball. Cueball is holding both arms up with his palms up, while walking and talking to the robot:]
:Cueball: Ugh, biology is the worst. Bodies have all these random problems.

:[Same setting but with Cueball walking with his arms down. A scatter burst, from the top front of the robot's "head", indicates that it speaks to Cueball:]
:Robot: Is it true that if someone makes a hole in you, it just closes up on its own?

:[Same setting but in a wider panel. The scatter burst, indicating that the robot is speaking, now comes from the top rear end of the robot's "head".]
:Cueball: Only '''''sometimes'''''. And it's not exactly '''''fun'''''.
:Robot: Noted. I'll try to avoid perforating your surface.
:Cueball: Thanks! It's kind of a pet peeve.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Food]]

2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-02-16T22:29:19Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: The article was complete already !

{{comic
| number = 2721
| date = January 6, 2023
| title = Euler Diagrams
| image = euler_diagrams_2x.png
| imagesize = 370x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Things Leonhard Euler created ( most of math ( overlapping circle diagrams ) a cricket bowling machine ) Things John Venn created
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing a diagram titled "{{w|Venn diagram}}" he made about something to an unseen audience. An off-panel person informs Cueball that it is an {{W|Euler diagram}}, and starts to explain why, prompting Cueball to forestall the interruption and state that {{w|List of things named after Leonhard Euler|many things}} are named for {{w|Leonhard Euler}} (specifically {{w|Euler's constant}} and {{w|Euler's function}} apart from Euler diagram) and he just wants to call the diagram a Venn diagram to give {{w|John Venn}} a more equal share of the fame. His off-screen friend refuses, and mockingly states that numbers are now called "Euler letters".

This may be in response to the fact that [[Randall]] has made several comics about both [[:Category:Euler diagrams|Euler diagrams]] and [[:Category:Venn diagrams|Venn diagrams]] and has sometimes used the term Venn diagram for an Euler diagram, like in [[2090: Feathered Dinosaur Venn Diagram]]. Maybe this was on purpose, as Cueball did here, or by mistake. In either case Randall has probably heard a lot from fans and friends when he made these comics, and thus this could be seen as a response.

A Venn diagram is a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets. It shows overlap of items in different categories (sets) by using overlapping circles (or other shapes) to stand in for categories. If an item is within a certain circle, it is in the category the circle represents. So in a Venn diagram of "animals" and "furry things", "cat" would be in the overlap between both circles, "frog" would be inside only "animals", and "kiwifruit" would only be in "furry things". "Crystals" would be outside both
circles.

[[File:Euler Diagrams title text.png|300px|thumb|right|The title text as a Venn (and, simultaneously, an Euler) diagram]]

{{w|John Venn}} was not the first to invent the idea of drawing regions whose overlap shows the intersection of sets -- that was popularized by Euler (although he may not have been the first to do it) and was known as {{w|Euler Diagram}}s. Venn's innovation, roughly 100 years later, was to consistently draw ALL intersections of sets, even those intersections that had no members. In a Venn diagram, all 'circles' must overlap with all other circles, even if there are no items in the overlap. This is easy enough for 2 and 3 sets, but as the number of sets increases, the diagrams can get [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22159-logic-blooms-with-new-11-set-venn-diagram/ rather complicated]. [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wiki/tctianchi/pyvenn/venn6.png This] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Supranational_European_Bodies the relationships between the European countries] are examples of this issue. The sets can start looking very non-circular. An Euler diagram is required to depict only the non-empty combinations/sets, and therefore does not have this constraint. The diagram in the comic does not have any overlap between the left and right sections so, while it is an Euler diagram, it is not a Venn diagram.

The title text is an example of a "written" Venn diagram, with Leonhard Euler creating "{{w|Contributions of Leonhard Euler to mathematics|most of math}}", both of them having created overlapping circle diagrams, and John Venn creating a {{w|cricket}} {{w|bowling (cricket)|bowling}} machine. In his Wikipedia article it is stated that ''He built rare machines. A certain machine was meant to bowl cricket balls.'' See the title text drawn as a diagram in the inserted picture.

On a side note, if Euler letters were a thing, then they would be digits. And numbers would be Euler words!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard with both arms raised holding his palms up towards and unseen audience. A person from the audience talks to him from off-panel. The whiteboard shows an Euler diagram with two large circles overlapping in the middle and a third smaller circle overlapping only the top right part of the right circle. There are lots of illegible text on the board. Three lines of text are in the left circle only, one line is in the shared part of the two circles, two in the bottom part of the right circle, two lines in the overlap with the small circle and one line only in the small third circle. Above the circles are two more lines of illegible text and above those a large heading and one readable word below that, just above the first illegible text:]
:Venn Diagram
:of
:Off-panel voice: Actually, that's an ''Euler'' diagram, because-
:Cueball: Come '''''onnnn.'''''
:Cueball: '''''Everything''''' is named after Euler. Euler's constant, Euler's function.
:Cueball: Can't we let John Venn have this?
:Off-panel voice: No.
:Off-panel voice: Also, numbers are now "Euler letters."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Euler diagrams]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2711: Optimal Bowling

2023-02-16T22:28:36Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: The graphs where analysed pretty well; I've never played bowling, but I could understand it !

{{comic
| number = 2711
| date = December 14, 2022
| title = Optimal Bowling
| image = optimal_bowling_2x.png
| imagesize = 306x670px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you want to bowl a strike, the optimal place is almost certainly inside a bowling alley, although with a little luck any establishment uphill from one could also work.
}}

==Explanation==

This series of line graphs purports to advise players on how to improve their odds of achieving a strike in the sport of {{w|bowling}} – presumably {{w|ten-pin bowling}}, the most popular version of the sport in the United States. Among the parameters being measured — those being angle of throw, throwing speed, spinning speed, and weight of the ball — all four graphs encompass a range far larger than would be useful for reference by a bowler. The latter three in particular are on {{w|logarithmic scale}}s, leading up to values that are impossible for a human to achieve.{{Citation needed}}

The first line graph indicates that a bowler has the greatest chance of achieving a strike by aiming the ball directly at the pins, with the chance of a strike decreasing rapidly as the ball is aimed to the left or the right. The closer you aim to the pins, the more likely it is you hit them.{{Citation needed}} While a novice bowler may have difficulty achieving a 0° angle roll, their roll would still not come close to a -90° or 90° angle (due left or due right), much less a -180° or 180° angle (which, in either case, would be the opposite direction from the pins). Unlike with the other graphs, it is physically possible for a bowler to aim the ball at any angle, albeit not permissible under bowling rules; aiming the ball at an angle which deviates significantly from 0° would most likely cause the ball to end up in the gutter, while more violent or wildly aimed actions could create a risk of the ball going into one of the other lanes or missing the lanes entirely, which could annoy, anger, or even endanger other bowlers and employees of the bowling alley.

The second graph indicates that a bowler has the greatest chance of achieving a strike by throwing the ball about 5–20 m/s (11–45 mph, 18–72 kph), with the chance of a strike decreasing as the speed is increased or decreased. Most bowlers cannot throw more than 45 m/s (100 mph or 160 kph).{{Citation needed}} According to the graph, any throw faster than 100 m/s would cause equipment damage, and then widespread destruction several orders of magnitude later. (Possibly a reference to {{what if|1|Relativistic Baseball}}.) The graph ends at the {{w|speed of light}}, as it is physically impossible to throw anything faster.

The third graph concerns the rotational speed of the ball. The "ball explodes" section is a reference to one of [[Randall]]'s favorite equations, which is that an object cannot spin faster than the square root of its specific tensile strength. Spinning the ball any faster than this limit would cause the bowling ball to lose its structural integrity and explosively disintegrate. At particularly high speeds, the material of the ball would be flung outwards at a significant fraction of the speed of light, causing, as in the second graph, widespread destruction (possibly a reference to {{what if|92|One-Second Day}}.)

The fourth graph in this comic illustrates a bowler's probability of a strike with a ball whose mass ranges from 100 kg (2.2 pounds) to close to 1010 kg (over 22 billion pounds), and continues by indicating that balls even larger than that would cause "equipment damage" (up to 1020 kg) or the creation of a black hole (starting from around 1025 kg and up). In reality, a ball would be very likely to cause equipment damage at much lower masses than 1010 kg.{{Citation needed}} The last entry on the x-axis of this graph is 1040 kg, which is about 5 billion times the mass of the {{w|Sun}}. The {{w|United States Bowling Congress}} requires all bowling balls to weigh no more than 16 pounds (that is, a mass of no more than 7.257 kg), with no minimum weight. Hence, if the x-axis of the graph ran from, say, 0 to 8 kg, the graph might actually impart some useful information.

The title text continues the trend of providing unhelpful information by stating that the optimal place to stand when trying to bowl a strike is inside the bowling alley, but mentions the possibility of "any establishment uphill from one" working, with a little luck. This suggests the possibility of rolling the bowling ball downhill, in to the bowling alley and the pins.

==Transcript==
:[The header is surrounded on either side by small drawings of two bowling pins and a bowling ball.]
:Data for Optimal Bowling

:[Four line graphs are depicted. Each has a numbered one-word general description in a box at the top, an unlabeled y-axis, and a labeled x-axis. The relevant curve and other comments on each graph are in red.]

:1. Aim
:[The graph's x-axis is labeled from -180° to 180°.]
:Release Direction
:[The red curve on the graph is just above the x-axis at all points except for a steep peak around 0°. The red curve is labeled:]
:Relative Probability of Strike

:2. Speed
:[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 10-1 to 108, with the last point on the x-axis labeled "Speed of Light".]
:Ball Speed (m/s)
:[The red curve on the graph starts at the x-axis for 10-1, reaches its peak around 10, then declines and becomes a dashed line ending around three-quarters of the peak around 102. The remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]
:Equipment Damage [from approximately 102 to approximately 105]
:Widespread Destruction [from approximately 105 to the end of the axis]

:3. Spin
:[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 0 to 1012.]
:Spin (RPMs)
:[The red curve on the graph starts about halfway from its peak for 0, reaches its peak somewhere between 0 and 1,000, then declines and becomes a dashed line around 1,000, soon after which the remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]
:Ball Explodes [from approximately 10,000 to approximately 107.5]
:Widespread Destruction [from approximately 107.5 to the end of the axis]

:4. Weight
:[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 100 to 1040.]
:Ball Mass (kg)
:[The red curve on the graph starts just above the x-axis for 100, rises steeply and drops steeply ending just above the x-axis, then becoming a dashed line, all before reaching 1010. The remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]
:Equipment Damage [from approximately 109 to approximately 1022]
:Black Hole Created [from approximately 1025 to the end of the axis]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2714: Cold Complaints

2023-02-16T22:26:07Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Fixed the transcript, deleted tag.

{{comic
| number = 2714
| date = December 21, 2022
| title = Cold Complaints
| image = cold_complaints.png
| imagesize = 740x254px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Our investigation into whining-based remedies became the first study to be halted by the IRB on the grounds that the treatment group was 'too annoying.'
}}

==Explanation==

When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.

This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have readily available effective treatments, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)

The title text describes a similar study, but where the {{w|institutional review board}} (IRB) halted the study because the participants were too annoying. This is ironic since they were supposed to whine annoyingly for the sake of the experiment. IRBs are expected to review the ethics of a research project, with particular attention paid to the well-being of the subjects. Whining is not usually considered dangerous,{{citation needed}} but in this case it was presumably so intolerable to the Board (or perhaps the control group, who were presumably forbidden from whining while sick) that they had to put a stop to it.

==Transcript==

:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen, with popped sleep bubbles coming from the left side of his head. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen speaking.]
:Ponytail: Well, it's not COVID or flu. Probably one of the other viruses.
:Hairy: Ughh

:[A zoomed out version of the image, Ponytail cannot be seen]
:Ponytail: There's not much you can do to speed up recovery other than rest, hydrate, and whine and complain and be a gigantic baby about it.

:[Same as previous panel]
:Hairy: Whine and complain?
:Ponytail: Yeah. You need to act like you're the first person ever to have a cold.

:[Hairy lying on a couch wrapped in a blanket, with a lot of paper tissues around]
:Off-screen voice: Are you '''''sure''''' that's what she said?
:Hairy: Unbelievable. Here I am, the only person ever to feel bad, and you're '''''doubting''''' me?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2715: Pando

2023-02-16T22:23:53Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Transcript completed !

{{comic
| number = 2715
| date = December 23, 2022
| title = Pando
| image = pando_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x372px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The presents under the tree are actually a single gift connected by an underground ribbon system.
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Pando_(tree)|Pando}} is a {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}} tree colony in {{w|Fishlake National Forest}}, Utah. Depending on the measurement method,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWAA-SrrFUQ] Pando is the largest living organism on earth, and is thereby also the largest tree on earth. By dry mass (mass not including water), Pando is the largest living thing humans have found. There is [https://www.forbes.com/sites/linhanhcat/2019/02/22/largest-organism-in-the-world/ one fungus in Oregon] which may weigh more including water, but a fungus is [[1749: Mushrooms|not a tree]].

Pando is a tree colony, a type of {{w|clonal colony}} made of trees. Clonal colonies all form from the same seed or other origin, and are all genetically identical. Tree colonies spread using their extensive root system. Under all trees are {{w|Root|roots}}, which gather nutrients and water from soil. On clonal trees (such as the {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}}, Pando's species), when roots from one tree surface they can form another stalk/tree, remaining the same genetic stock; this is unlike propagation by seeds. This clone then grows its own root network and is part of the clonal colony. Crucially, the linking roots between 'generations' of the plant do not naturally separate, so all effective clones stay attached. Each such stalk still has an individually limited lifespan of decades to centuries, but the colony can persist and propagate in this manner for millennia. For example, the only known wild example of {{w|Lomatia tasmanica|''Lomatia tasmanica'', also known as King's lomatia}}, is a clonal shrub thought to be at least 43,600 years old, and Pando itself is thought to be around 14,000 years old.

{{w|Christmas}} is a celebration on the 25th of December, traditionally commemorating the birth of {{w|Jesus}}. The celebration is often claimed to be built heavily upon pagan traditions,[https://chefin.com.au/blog/these-6-christmas-traditions-are-actually-pagan-customs/] (though this is disputed by some historians[https://historyforatheists.com/2020/12/pagan-christmas/]) as well as on annual social customs. It has evolved into a more secular event for many. This comic was published on the 23rd of December, two days before Christmas, or [[Christmas Eve Eve]].

The concept of a {{w|Christmas tree}} is rooted in various pre-Christian folkloric traditions and, in the modern era, may be adapted or adopted as desired by local and personal circumstances. It need not be an {{w|evergreen}} tree with an angel or star atop, though that is the oft-depicted image, but can be any handy plant or artificial substitute strewn with decorations and/or {{w|Christmas lights|lights}} as the owner wishes. People and places often compete to hold the record for the largest Christmas tree. At time of writing, the officially tallest Christmas tree was a 64.36 m (221 ft) tall {{w|Douglas-fir}} that was displayed in {{w|Northgate Station (shopping mall)|Northgate Shopping Center}},{{Actual citation needed}} Seattle, WA in 1950.[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77271-tallest-christmas-tree][https://www.historylink.org/File/21359] The one with the most area is likely the [https://www.italybyevents.com/en/events/umbria/world-largest-christmas-tree-gubbio/ Christmas tree display] in {{w|Gubbio}}, a town in {{w|Umbria, Italy}}, where hundreds of trees on a mountain face are lit up with light to form a Christmas tree shape.

In this comic, [[Randall]] proposes putting Christmas lights all the way around Pando to turn it into (technically) a Christmas tree. As Pando is the world's largest tree, if this plan were carried out, it would safely take the record for largest Christmas tree and hold it for quite some time. In the inset map, Randall has drawn the path of the Christmas lights as a {{w|convex hull}} around the edge of Pando. [https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Wgz5CxvxHC7FKMHWp5zkPQuQsZevBqU&usp=sharing Roughly tracing Pando on Google Maps] reveals its perimeter to be roughly 2.77 km or 1.72 miles, or roughly 9,000 ft. Allowing a little wiggle-room for differing levels of accuracy, and possibly the extra length required to suspend the shallow {{w|catenary}} loops of the lights and wrap them around the various supporting branches, 9,300 ft of Christmas lights seems about right.

The title text suggests that similarly to how trees that make up Pando are interconnected by underground roots, the gifts under the proposed Christmas tree are interconnected by underground ribbons. It may also be a reference to fungus, which often grow beneath trees, and can be connected by vast underground mycelial networks, suggesting that the christmas presents are the fruiting bodies of a similar network (perhaps a reference to comic 2246).

==Transcript==

:[The main comic frame is a profile view of a number of separated trees, of varying heights and maturity, across each of which (of those with sufficient height) has apparently been draped a single chain of decorative lights that goes from off-image at one side to off-image at the other.]

:[Inset in the bottom right is a mini-map implicating that these light-linked 'trees' are actually all risers from a single large superorganism (as a shaded complex but contiguous shape labelled "Pando"), the map has a "N"orth pointer, a scale bar indicating the length of "1,000 ft" (approximately a third of the shaded mass's full width) and a convex hull perimeter line tightly fitting the shaded area that has an indicative arrow from a label informing us that its length would be "9,300 ft".]

:[Caption below:] Christmas Science Fact: Pando is approximately 9,300 feet of lights away from being the world's largest Christmas Tree.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] 
[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Facts]]

2705: Spacetime Soccer

2023-02-16T22:22:57Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: The article was complete already ! Again ! People are just too scared !

{{comic
| number = 2705
| date = November 30, 2022
| title = Spacetime Soccer
| image = spacetime_soccer_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x280px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Spacetime Soccer, known outside the United States as '4D Football' is a now-defunct sport. Infamous for referee decisions hinging on inconsistent definitions of simultaneity, it is also known for the disappearance of many top players during... [more]
}}

==Explanation==

This comic proposes Spacetime Soccer, an impossible{{Citation needed}} sport consisting of a "regular" soccer field with a gravitational well in the center of it. This comic was likely published in relation to the {{w|2022 FIFA World Cup}} which, due to numerous controversies surrounding policies and conditions in the host country, {{w|Qatar}}, was prevalent in the 2022 news cycle for weeks.

Judging by the size of the blackest part of the indentation, presuming that indicates the event horizon of the {{w|black hole}}, the radius of the {{w|event horizon}} would be approximately 9.6 meters and the singularity's mass 6.5×1027 kilograms, or more than 1082 times the mass of the Earth [[https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/schwarzschild-radius]].

Not only would it be impossible for human players to travel through more than three spatial dimensions at will, it would also be very difficult to keep track of score and rules such as offsides.

{{w|Offside (association football)|Offside}} is a rule in soccer that applies to players who are in certain positions relative to the boundaries of the {{w|Football_pitch|pitch}}, the ball, and the second-last opponent on the opposing team. Players in such positions are eligible for being judged guilty of an offside offence if they become involved in the ongoing play before rectifying their status. It is of special importance to know the different players' positions at the exact moment the ball gets passed, rather than when the passed ball may be received or the offside player is otherwise considered active. But in relativistic spacetime there is no universal definition of an exact moment, beyond a single point, as time may run at different speeds for multiple observers in varying situations (where they are moving relative to each other, are influenced by differing local gravity or – as seems very likely in this example – both). An additional joke is that even in regular soccer, the offside rule is notoriously difficult to fully understand (or explain to someone).

The title text is written in the style of the beginning to a Wikipedia article on the topic. It alludes to the fact that most countries in the world refer to the sport with that particular obscure offside rule as football (or some translation thereof, like fútbol or Fußball) while the USA, Canada, Ireland, Japan and Australia tend to call it soccer, which comes from the British shortening of "association football", because they already used the name "football" for gridiron football, Gaelic football, or Australian football (which share a common ancestry with the other sport, along with "rugby football", hence the name).

==Transcript==
:[On a gray "rubber sheet" visualization of a gravity well is drawn some of the lines of a standard Association Football (Soccer) pitch. Visible features of the standard pitch are the outside borders, the goals and the small and large boxes around each goal. Absent are the corner quarter circles, the penalty spots and associated D, and the center line. The central circle is lost/concealed by the curvature of the gravity well. There are a number of other lines encircling and radial to the gravity well, they are visually identical to the familiar pitch markings so it is unclear whether these are intended to be drawn on the pitch or merely indications of the shape of the surface, or both, for the purpose of helping players to avoid the well. The lengthwise field boundary line on the visible far side partly follows/is partly followed by a suitable radial line before splitting off and conspicuously curving within the respective lip of the well to rejoin the radial line emerging at the complimentary angle in the opposing half of the field. A total of twenty figures can be seen on the pitch. Two are standing near the goal mouths, while the rest are distributed fairly evenly around the field, ten on each side of the middle. As they are all white stick figures on the gray surface, it is impossible to say which are on each team or if one is the referee. Five are within the inner circle around the well, and are distorted or tilted by the increased slope of the surface. A ball with motion lines is landing by the feet of one player who is running up one wing near, but left, of the central part of the field. This player is close to but not within the deeper part of the well. The players seems to be both women and men, as several look like Cueball and some like Hairy, and also many look like Megan and some like Ponytail. The color of the field becomes darker the deeper it goes into the well, from the normal gray color that extends from the two ends of the pitch to about halfway to the center of the field, in six steps until it is almost black at the deepest part of the well that is visible over the rim of the near part of the field.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Spacetime Soccer got a lot of criticism for how many players fell into the gravity well, but what ultimately doomed it was the advanced mathematics required to figure out the offsides rule.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Soccer]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2709: Solar System Model

2023-02-16T22:22:13Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: The article was complete already !

{{comic
| number = 2709
| date = December 9, 2022
| title = Solar System Model
| image = solar_system_model_2x.png
| imagesize = 270x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Earth is, on average, located in the habitable zone, but at any given time it has a certain probability of being outside it, which is why life exists on Earth but is mortal.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic parodies the analogy of {{w|Bohr model|early-20th century models of atomic structure}} to the structure of the solar system. Electrons were thought to be orbiting the nucleus "like planets around a sun" until it was discovered that their locations are probabilistic. The comic flips this on its head: instead of the atomic structure model lacking a known causal relationship, it is now the planetary system that is quantum mechanical in nature, split into probabilistic {{w|Atomic orbital|orbitals}}.

[[Miss Lenhart]] is shown here to be teaching an astronomy class, and claims that it was thought that the planets moved around the sun like electrons around the nucleus before this model was superseded by the probabilistic quantum mechanical view of orbital locations for ''planetary'' movement.

This is another one of the comics where Lenhart tries to fool her class, as in for instance [[1519: Venus]]. Most likely it is not to be taken to be true that her world is like this, or that she believes in it. She just likes to mess with her students.

If what she said was to be taken literally it would suggests that in this reality not only do electrons have distinct bodies that orbit a nucleus, but also that atomic structure was known before the correct planetary one.

In reality, the description of probabilistic orbitals is applied to the electrons in an atom; quantum uncertainty effects are not large enough to notice at the planetary scale{{Citation needed}}. However, such a concept has been prominently featured in the video game ''{{w|Outer Wilds}}'', with its Quantum Moon. {{w|Immanuel Velikovsky}} proposed that our solar system's planets could jump between orbits suddenly, quantum-mechanically, in the same way that electrons do around atomic nuclei. This proposal was not well received in academia. Real astronomers do talk about probability distributions of orbiting bodies, especially in the context of collision calculations, but it's not because the position of a satellite or asteroid is in a quantum superposition of states; rather, it is our less than infinite accuracy of measurement and knowledge of those orbits, plus their evolution under the influence of less-predictable effects like space weather or other still unidentified additional factors, that makes long-term estimates progressively more uncertain.

The title text is Miss Lenhart trying to use the first joke to set up another that builds on the first. She says that the consequence of planets having probabilistic locations would mean that they would spend some time in the lower-probability locations closer to or further from the Sun. The Earth's real orbit is in a so called {{w|Circumstellar habitable zone|habitable zone}} where the temperature allows liquid water and thus allows life as we know it to exist. A probabilistic Earth would spend most of its time in the habitable zone, which is why life exists, but then, in short periods when it is outside the zone, some life would die. The title text claims this is why life on Earth is mortal, thus indirectly implying that life only dies in the periods where Earth leaves the habitable zone, and that life staying in the habitable zone would be immortal.

There was already an orbital model parody made in [[2100: Models of the Atom]], which featured the planetary one, but at that time it was solely for the humorous insertion of 'facts' into the subject of atomic theory.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is teaching a class. In front of her sits a student with curly hair at his desk pen ready on the paper to write notes. The front of the next table behind him can be seen. Behind Lenhart is a white board with two drawings and a large underlined header at the top. The drawing beneath the header shows a solar system with a radiating sun and two planets orbiting with the orbits shown and the planets marked with small circles, one on either side of the sun, both above the sun. Beneath this is another sun in the middle of either a group of four eight-like shapes, or a diagram similar to the usual depiction of the {{w|Atomic_orbital#Orbitals_table|''4fxyz'' or ''4fzx2 - zy2'' orbitals}}. Lenhart points at the board with a pointing stick while looking out over the class.]
:Miss Lenhart: Early 20th century models of the solar system imagined that planets circled the Sun like electrons in an atom.
:Miss Lenhart: We now know planets have no precise location, but instead occupy probabilistic ''orbitals''...
:Header: Astronomy

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2702: What If 2 Gift Guide

2023-02-16T22:21:31Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: The article was complete already - thanks, Mushrooms

{{comic
| number = 2702
| date = November 23, 2022
| title = What If 2 Gift Guide
| image = what_if_2_gift_guide_2x.png
| imagesize = 500x878px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = BABIES OR LITERATURE BUT NOT BOTH: Baby shoes
}}

==Explanation==

[[Randall]] is again promoting his new book, ''[https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2]'', and starts by explaining the kind of recipient who might appreciate it, basically anyone who is into science or anything in the universe... So basically anyone.

Then he also gives both direct and humorously indirect instructions of how to obtain the book for them, the latter method making a jocular (but not completely wrong) presumption that almost any text-input widget leads to some relevant search-engine result. Also the entire comic is a link to the ''What If? 2'' page on xkcd that's included in the comic. As always, clicking anywhere on the image will take you there (including actually clicking on the link).

He also suggests some other tongue-in-cheek gift ideas for several other subtypes of gift-receiver, most of which are, in keeping with the ''What If'' ethos, somewhat dangerous or impractical. A number directly reference things previously mentioned or depicted by xkcd.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Interest !! Gift Idea !! Explanation
|-
| Engineering || The {{w|International Prototype of the Kilogram|platinum cylinder}} formerly used to define the kilogram || This is an object of historical relevance of which only six exist, making it a very expensive or illegal gift. With the {{w|2019 redefinition of the SI base units|redefinition of the SI base units}} in 2019, {{w|2019_redefinition_of_the_SI_base_units#Kilogram|the kilogram}} is now defined using only natural constants rather than a physical standard. It took some time before this last SI unit was redefined, 3 years prior to this comic's release. The old prototypes are no longer as important as they were when they were actually used to define the kilogram. But they are still historical artifacts with enormous value, even apart from the value of a kilogram of platinum (about $32 000 at time of writing).
|-
| Biology || The genomes of the scientists who headed the human genome project || The "International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium," as the {{w|Human Genome Project}} team was known, involved scientists from twenty institutions in six countries. In the US, it was initially led by DNA structure co-discoverer {{w|James Watson}} who was succeeded by {{w|Francis Collins}}. In the UK, the project was led by {{w|John Sulston}}. The teams from other countries' institutions were less prominent and performed substantially less work on the initial sequencing. James Watson's genome was sequenced in 2007. The genome of {{w|Craig Venter}}, the CEO of {{w|Celera Genomics}}, was used as the exemplar for Celera’s sequence. While the “race” between Celera and NIH was declared a tie by then-President Clinton, in actuality, Celera had some 85+% coverage while NIH was about 50%.
|-
| Physics || A beam of neutrinos delivered through the earth by the LHC || {{w|Neutrino}}s interact very weakly with other particles, to the point that they almost always pass straight through matter completely unaffected. This means that particle accelerators (such as the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}, or LHC) can send neutrinos to any other point on Earth by aiming the particle beam into the ground, and the neutrinos pass straight through the Earth. This point is referenced in the What-If article "{{what if|73|Lethal Neutrinos}}". The low interactivity of neutrinos would also mean that the recipient would be unable to perceive their gift, making this a poor present for anyone except the small proportion of physics aficionados who already have a neutrino detector on-hand.
|-
| Animals || Surprise wildlife encounter (gift-wrapped box with a bobcat inside) || This is a reference to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Bobcats xkcd's rich history of mailing boxed bobcats to people]. This gift would place the recipient in a perilous situation, and, although definitely a wildlife encounter, is not a good gift.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| Law || A vacation to that area of Idaho where you can commit crimes with impunity due to a court district boundary error || This refers to the "{{w|Zone of Death (Yellowstone)|Zone of Death}}", a 50-square-mile area of Yellowstone National Park that is in the physical boundaries of Idaho, but in the legal jurisdiction of Wyoming. Because a jury in the United States must be composed of residents of the same district ''and'' state in which the crime was committed, but no one lives in this small area of a National Park, anyone who committed a crime here could not (according to a legal theory not fully tested in the courts) receive a trial, and thus could not legally be punished for said crime in any circumstance. This is an interesting legal loophole, but going to this area does not provide any more value than hearing about it, and could scare your law-enthusiast friend.
|-
| Chemistry || A necklace of element samples whose symbols spell out the recipient's name (note: names like "Katherine" and "Brandon" may cause radiation accidents.) || Novelty necklaces are a common and innocuous gift. Using element symbols to replace letters in a name is a common gimmick (famously used in the title and credits of {{w|Breaking Bad}}). Using real samples of the given elements could be difficult, as elements can be expensive, highly reactive, or toxic. Reactivity and toxicity can be dealt with by containing them in well-sealed containers (which would also be necessary for elements that are liquid or gas at room temperature), but those elements that are radioactive could be dangerous, even if fully contained, and some have short enough half-lives that a sample wouldn't persist long enough to be used as a gift. "Katherine" would be made from Potassium (highly reactive), Astatine (rare, '''radioactive''' and has a short half-life), Hydrogen (gaseous at room temperature, flammable), Erbium, Iodine (sublimes into a gas at room temperature), and Neon (gaseous at room temperature). "Brandon" would be made from Boron, Radium ('''radioactive'''), Neodymium, Oxygen (gaseous at room temperature), and Nitrogen (gaseous at room temperature). The problems with element samples could be partially alleviated by allowing compounds rather than pure elements, but the radioactivity would still be a problem, and neon does not form compounds and as such is always gaseous. Additionally, the letters J and Q do not appear in the periodic table symbols, while M does not appear on its own (only followed by six other characters, with "o" as the only vowel amongst them), so a name like John, Quinn or Mike would be problematic.
|-
| Puzzles || Two goats and a new car || This is a reference to the "{{w|Monty Hall problem}}", in which a game show contestant has to choose between three doors, two of which conceal goats and one of which conceals a car, and wins whatever prize is revealed. (See [[1282: Monty Hall]], for another cartoon inspired by this problem.) This gift places the recipient within a puzzle which is typically discussed hypothetically rather than happening in real life. Although many people would consider a new car a ''great'' gift, those who would appreciate a gift of goats are less common.
|-
| Technology || Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000) || This is a direct callback to [[2699: Feature Comparison|one of the previous week's comics]], which humorously suggested that this device is a better option than most of the current popular communication technologies. While an interesting example of the history of communication technology and coming from a time when experimentation was common and standards were few, it isn't very useful now, because it is no longer supported, has a communication range of 100 meters (sending text messages via radio) and one can only use it to communicate with users of the same device. However, technology enthusiasts could find it interesting as a collectors' item, so by all means it is one of the most plausible gift ideas on this list.
|-
| Space || Webb telescope personal photoshoot || The Webb telescope belongs to NASA, the ESA and the CSA, and is currently very far from Earth. It is designed to capture distant space objects in previously unseen detail. If the photoshoot implies photographing a nearby human, it is not designed to do this, even if the difficulties of sending a human about a million miles to its location could be overcome. On the other hand, if it means photographing the recipient on the earth's surface, Webb would have to point at the warm Earth and expose its optics to the Sun, permanently crippling the telescope ([https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faqLite.html Which is forbidden by NASA.]) and it would not have sufficient resolution to make out the subject in any case. These circumstances make it a highly impractical gift, to all intents and purposes to the point of impossibility.

On the other hand, a gift experience of being allowed to take your own snapshot of Webb in position, perhaps with a [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10442913/James-Webb-Space-Telescope-seen-Earth-settles-orbit.html robotic telescope], might be an attractive gift to a space enthusiast! So might a chance to use the Webb telescope to take pictures of whatever celestial objects one chooses, as time on the Webb telescope is very carefully allocated.
|-
| Literature || Stephen King's writing desk (he's still using it so you'll have to fight him) || {{w|Stephen King}} is an author lucky enough to have legendary status while still alive. The desk of a famous author who has died would become an object of historic significance and would likely be either kept for exhibition or auctioned by their respective estate, but as Stephen King is still alive, he would probably object to his desk being subjected to the same.
|-
| Philosophy || Out-of-control trolley || This is another gift that places the recipient in the situations that they like discussing hypothetically. The {{w|trolley problem}} is a thought experiment in which one is asked to decide between allowing a trolley to kill five people or taking an action that causes it to kill one. Presenting someone with such a hypothetical problem may or may not be not a good gift, but [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sl5KJ69qiA forcing them to live through it in real life] is a terrible gift. (See [[1455: Trolley Problem]] for another cartoon inspired by this problem.)
|-
| Psychology || A nice gift with a note saying you don't expect anything in return || This unkind attempt at psychological manipulation is intended as a joke, and is not a viable option on this list. Unlike normal gift giving, which could induce the Benjamin Franklin effect, causing the gift giver to like the recipient more, explicitly stating that the giver doesn't expect anything is an attempt to manipulate or guilt-trip the recipient (as is common for people with personality disorders) by increasing pressure to reciprocate. The joke here comes from the idea of giving a psychologist a note relating to the psychology of gift-giving, manipulation, and personality disorders, but this would not be to their enjoyment and should not be done in real life.
|-
| (Title text) Babies or literature but not both || Baby shoes || This is a reference to the six-word story {{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}, sometimes falsely attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Someone involved with babies, such as expecting or new parents, would find baby shoes a valuable gift for their child. Someone interested in literature would see the reference to a famous work. But someone who understands the reference and also enjoys babies might be sad, since the story implies the seller was expecting a baby but something went tragically wrong.
|}

==Transcript==

What If? 2 Gift Guide

What if? 2 makes a good gift for anyone who's into science, absurd ideas, or just the universe in general. To order, go to xkcd.com/whatif2, or just type "what if 2" into some random box on your device; it will probably work.

Here are some other gift ideas for hard-to-shop-for science enthusiasts:

Interest - Gift Idea

Engineering - The platinum cylinder formerly used to define the kilogram 
Biology - The genomes of the scientists who headed the human genome project 
Physics - A beam of neutrinos delivered through the earth by the LHC 
Animals - Surprise wildlife encounter (gift-wrapped box with a bobcat inside) 
Law - A vacation to that area of Idaho where you can commit crimes with impunity due to a court district boundary error 
Chemistry - A necklace of element samples whose symbols spell out the recipient's name (note: names like "Katherine" and "Brandon" may cause radiation accidents.) 
Puzzles - Two goats and a new car 
Technology - Cybiko® Wireless Handheld Computer for Teens (2000) 
Space - Webb telescope personal photoshoot 
Literature - Stephen King's writing desk (he's still using it so you'll have to fight him) 
Philosophy - Out-of-control trolley 
Psychology - A nice gift with a note saying you don't expect anything in return. 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Bobcats]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

2693: Wirecutter Recommendation

2023-02-14T22:33:53Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added title text, deleted tag.

{{comic
| number = 2693
| date = November 2, 2022
| title = Wirecutter Recommendation
| image = wirecutter_recommendation_2x.png
| imagesize = 430x333px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Their 'best philosophy of epistemology' picks are great, but you can tell they're struggling a little in the 'why you should trust us' section.
}}

==Explanation==
''[https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter Wirecutter]'' is a product review website, owned by ''The New York Times''. As such, ''Wirecutter'' is best used for comparing brands and models of consumer products. The comic, however, lists things that ''Wirecutter'' should ''not'' recommend, or that one should not choose based on ''Wirecutter'' reviews.

The first panel shows [[Cueball]] telling [[Ponytail]] that he decided to go with ''Wirecutter'''s recommendation when buying something unspecified. The second panel shows a list of different contexts for this conversation, ranking them from "Fine" to "Very Bad".

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Thing Being Chosen!!Judgment!!Explanation
|-
|Vacuum cleaner||Fine||Vacuum cleaners are an everyday household item. Many brands and models are available offering a range of functionality at different prices. This is exactly the kind of thing where ''Wirecutter'''s reviews are helpful when deciding which kind to buy.
|-
|Headphones||Fine|||Headphones are also fairly ubiquitous, and ''Wirecutter'' would likewise be useful in such a scenario.
|-
|Electric scooter||Fine||While less common than the two above, electric scooters are still a popular electrical product, so ''Wirecutter'' is a decent choice for advice.
|-
|Favorite movie||Weird||Most people would say that your choice of favorite movie should be based on your own experiences, rather than someone else's opinions. Reviewing movies is a very different endeavor to reviewing products, and one would not expect ''Wirecutter'' to be particularly proficient with it. While a movie review website may be a reasonable source of recommendations on whether to see a particular movie at all, it would seem strange to choose one's own favorite movie based on a website's recommendation. In fact, though, precisely this kind of thing does happen, through mechanisms such as social proof and norm internalization.
|-
|Personal style||Weird||Not only does the term "personal style" encompass a vast range of topics, it is also (predictably) a deeply personal thing. These two factors mean that not only will ''Wirecutter'''s recommended likely not fully discuss every factor of your personal style, it also isn't the kind of service you'd use to choose something as nebulous and personal as your "personal style."
|-
|Neighborhood||Weird||It can be assumed this means "the neighborhood one lives in." In this case, it is odd to rely on ''Wirecutter'' for recommendations on where to live, as it is a product review website and since a respectable portion of that decision is up to personal circumstances, preferences, and local conditions that a national newspaper (even one with the resources of the ''New York Times'') will not be able to see. In a best case scenario, ''Wirecutter'' is recommending neighborhoods based on empirical data, such as local economic growth. There are [https://www.businessinsider.com/us-news-best-places-to-live-in-america-2016-3 publications] [https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2022/07/28/the-best-and-most-affordable-places-to-live-in-america-in-2022/?sh=566a26ca6bbf that] [https://money.com/best-places-to-live/ rank] the "best cities to live in", which could relate to this topic.
|-
|Pet||Weird||While the ''type'' of pet may be more easy to rank on a website (especially with a pro/con system), picking an ''individual pet'' is an extremely personal decision that probably can't be considered covered by a product review website like ''Wirecutter''.
|-
|College major||Bad||The major someone chooses in college typically has a significant impact on the rest of their career, and choosing one is no trivial task that should depend on personal experience and preference. Like with some of the other topics, this is far too personal and important to be chosen by a product review site. As with "Neighborhood", any recommendations can only be based on empirical data like employment availability, tuition cost vs. expected salary, etc. [https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/top-ten-college-majors Rankings] [https://www.mydegreeguide.com/best-college-majors/ like] [https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/save-money/best-college-majors/ this] do exist, however, and are often used by prospective students to weigh the pros and cons of prospective majors.
|-
|Career||Bad||One's optimal career choice is subject to a wide range of highly personal factors, including your talents, ambitions, and capabilities. It is highly unlikely that a hardware review site like ''Wirecutter'' would be capable of accounting for every one of these factors for every conceivable viewer. Could be related to [https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs rankings] [https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-best-jobs-in-america-in-2022-ranked/ like] [https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/12/these-are-10-best-us-jobs-of-2022-according-to-new-research.html this].
|-
|Religion||Bad||Do ''not'' base your religious worldview on the electronic device equivalent to Yelp. The idea of ''Wirecutter'' reviewing religion has appeared in a previous comic, [[2536: Wirecutter]].
|-
|Spouse||Very Bad|| In general, people pair off when choosing spouses. This would mean that ''Wirecutter'' would be required to either find one potential spouse for every reader (cumbersome, to say the least) or would recommend ''one'' spouse for multiple (possibly millions of) partners. Even assuming an accelerated divorce rate, it would be impossible for the choice spouse to actually accomplish the role.
Perhaps [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/24/wirecutter-recommends-the-best-partner this parody] by ''The New Yorker'' inspired this comic.
|-
|Dreams||Very Bad|| There are two possible definitions of "dream" that may be referred to here.
* When it comes to "the series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep," most people cannot consciously control what they dream about, so recommending this sort of dream is somewhat pointless. Further, as this information is largely inaccessible outside of the mind of the dreamer, ''Wirecutter'' has limited ability to make meaningful suggestions.
* On the other hand, if Cueball is relying upon ''Wirecutter'' to recommend "a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal," he is allowing one of the most personal and individual aspects of his life — something which may give life itself a sense of meaning — to be dictated by a consumer product review site. As with many entries here, this is something that most people have to come up with or discover for themselves; relying on a third party to recommend one FOR him is deeply unlikely to bring about long-term satisfaction.
|-
|Favorite child||Very Bad|| Assuming this is a reference to the reader's own children, it can be difficult and furthermore bad practice for a parent to choose their "favorite" child, and using ''Wirecutter'' to do this analysis is near impossible. And a website that purports to know more about how to judge the relative merits of your own family than you would be... interesting.
The alternative interpretation of assuming that this is from "all children, everywhere" is more difficult. There are approximately 1.3 billion persons under the age of 18, most of whom have at least one good quality,{{citation needed}} and defining a useful ranking in such a situation is functionally impossible.
|-
|Site for product recommendations||Very Bad|| This is a topic of which the authors, editors, and publishers of ''Wirecutter'' have a vested interest and clear bias. This implies that the people at ''Wirecutter'' would be self-serving when it comes to recommending recommendations, specifically.

Alternatively, they could be recommending ''another'' review site, which could call into question their judgment and make you wonder why you should trust them at all.
|-
|}

The title text references {{w|epistemology}}, a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge and truth, for which [[Randall]] says ''Wirecutter'''s recommendations are great. Broadly speaking, epistemology attempts to answer the question "how do I know that what I know is true?", a very similar question to 'why you should trust us', which ironically the Wirecutter staff struggles to answer despite (or perhaps {{w|I know that I know nothing|because of}}) ostensibly having picked the best philosophies of epistemology.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other. Cueball has his palm raised.]
:Cueball: I just went with the one Wirecutter recommended.

:[A panel of four categories with topics next to them]

:[Fine category]
:Vacuum cleaner
:Headphones
:Electric scooter

:[Weird category]
:Favorite movie
:Personal style
:Neighborhood
:Pet

:[Bad category]
:College major
:Career
:Religion

:[Very bad category]
:Spouse
:Dreams
:Favorite child
:Site for product recommendations

Title text: Their 'best philosophy of epistemology' picks are great, but you can tell they're struggling a little in the 'why you should trust us' section.

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

2737: Weather Station

2023-02-14T22:29:47Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Fixed the transcript, deleted tag.

{{comic
| number = 2737
| date = February 13, 2023
| title = Weather Station
| image = weather_station_2x.png
| imagesize = 359x401px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Pour one out for precipitation data integrity,' I say, solemnly upending the glass into the rain gauge.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a THERMOMETER GETTING BLASTED BY A HAIR DRYER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{W|Weather station}}s are usually equipped to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasts and studies on the weather and climate. An {{w|anemometer}} is a device often found in such stations that measures wind speed and direction. The anemometer shown in the comic is a typical three-cup anemometer, whose spin rate is proportional to the wind speed. Thus spinning the cups quickly by hand can create an impression of fast winds and thereby excite any computers that happen to be monitoring the data and enjoy extreme weather.

Combining the speed of winds in a F1 tornado (73~112 mph; 117~180 km/h) and the speed ratio of typical three-cup anemometers (1/2~1/3) gives a cup speed of ~16m/s, comparing the diameter of the anemometer to that of Cueball's arm gives an upper estimate of 0.5 meters (~two feet), [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=16m%2Fs%2F%280.5m*pi%29 topping out at roughly 10 turns per second], which is within a reasonable range for a human{{actual citation needed}}.

The title text continues the trend of messing with weather equipment, this time by messing with {{w|rain gauges}}. "{{w|Libation|Pouring one out}}" usually refers to the act of pouring a liquid, usually alcohol, on the ground as a symbol of reverence for a deceased friend or relative. Thus Cueball is mourning the now destroyed (aka "deceased") integrity of the precipitation data by pouring a glass of liquid into the gauge.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing halfway up a stepladder on the top of a weather station, spinning an anemometer quickly.]
:''SPIN SPIN SPIN''

:[In the lower-right corner of the panel, an array of computers are shown on server racks, connected to each other by cables. A sound is coming from one of the computers:]
:''WHEEE!''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Whenever I see one of those little weather stations, I have to fight the urge to climb up and spin the anemometer real fast to make a computer somewhere think it's in a tornado.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Weather]]
[[Category: Tornadoes]]

2699: Feature Comparison

2023-02-12T22:45:15Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: the transcript was complete

{{comic
| number = 2699
| date = November 16, 2022
| title = Feature Comparison
| image = feature_comparison_v3.png
| imagesize =
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Below the Web, and the Dark Web, a shadowy parallel world of Cybiko users trade messages on the Translucent Neon Plastic Web.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic compares different remote communication services, including the relatively well-known {{w|Twitter}}, {{w|Discord}}, {{w|Mastodon (software)|Mastodon}}, {{w|Facebook}} (FB), {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Signal (software)|Signal}}, {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Tumblr}}, {{w|Reddit}}, and {{w|SMS}} mobile telephone text messages. It also includes the less well-known {{w|Cybiko}}® wireless handheld computer for teens. For each of these, it purports to indicate which of various features they support. The comic illustrates how feature comparison charts and infographics can be abused by sellers who are trying to make their products look better than they really are, compared to their competitors. The comic may have been inspired by the recent surge in users looking for an alternative to Twitter, due to its purchase by {{w|Elon Musk}}, and the subsequent mass firings and resignation of its staff.

The Cybiko was a handheld computer designed for teens and released in 2000, which featured its own two-way radio text messaging capabilities along with built-in games and a music player. Additional information about it is available at [http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Cybiko the Dead Media Archive], as the device has not been manufactured since 2003. The chart suggests that the Cybiko has an advantage over all of the other listed communication services, as it is capable of all eight of the table's listed features, with none of the others being close.

The features compared are {{w|Private message|direct messaging}}, {{w|group chat}}s, {{w|file transfer}}, built-in {{w|video game|games}}, instances of the software run by individual users instead of the corporation producing it, lack of a {{w|Server (computing)|central server}} requirement, {{w|mesh networking}}, and wireless message delivery without an active internet connection.

Mesh networking is a form of connectivity that reduces or removes the need for a centralized server or predefined gateways to a communications 'backbone'. Nodes communicate directly with any nodes that happen to be contactable, and from there may connect through to whatever nodes are in mutual contact, or to be found further afield, either in real-time or asynchronously. The Cybiko has this ability, as well as wireless message delivery because it communicates directly to other devices via radio, hence the ability to operate without any internet connectivity at all. There are several {{w|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking|ongoing projects for distributed social networking}}, but all of these additionally require a hardware layer to provide signalling via their respective protocols. The Cybiko provides such via its decentralized radio capabilities.

The comic does not mention the downsides of the Cybiko, that being purchasing one, and finding friends who own one, can be its own challenge, as it was discontinued nearly 20 years ago. Additionally, the comparison can be considered apples to oranges, since Cybiko is a ''device'' rather than a ''service''; a fairer comparison would be to a modern {{w|smartphone}}, which can provide most of these features via multiple apps, including ones written especially for such rival services. Even ignoring the above, some of the Cybiko's "advantages" come with their own drawbacks: while not requiring a central server nor the Internet, for example, is touted as a plus, the Cybiko instead relies on having other devices in proximity to relay messages, meaning that unless the person you are sending to is nearby, it will not function. This is not an issue on any of the other options.

This comic contains several errors. Mastodon doesn't support file transfer. Discord does not provide for user-run instances itself, only user-moderated and administrated instances. (There are two third party Discord server implementations, but it is unclear whether those could be counted as run by users.) Slack does not provide for user-run instances itself. Reddit does not provide for user-run instances at all, only user moderation and administration. IRC does require at least one central server,[https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1459.html] and relegates file transfer support to client extensions. Signal is heavily used in user-run instances via a diverse ecosystem of code forks; many of these don't require a central server, a couple use mesh networking. Reddit occasionally does have built-in games. Finally, SMS has a form of group chats, (Tumblr used to have a form of group chat, but it was [https://staff.tumblr.com/post/661879317474721792 removed in September of 2021]).

The comic has been updated twice to fix some of these errors. The first version suggested Mastodon did not support user-run instances and required a central server, and that Reddit supported file transfer. This was changed once shortly after publication to add a check mark under "Mastodon" for "User-Run Instances". A second change was made some time later to check "Doesn't Require Central Server" for Mastodon and uncheck "File Transfer" for Reddit.

The title text refers to the translucent plastic covers that were popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

==Transcript==

:[A table with checkmarks to indicate which features various messaging services have. Each column is labeled with a service name and its logo beneath, except that for the last column, the device's longer name is written higher than all the other services' names, with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the device below it.]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Twitter
! Discord
! Mastodon
! FB
! Slack
! Signal
! IRC
! Tumblr
! Reddit
! SMS
! Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000)
|-
! Direct messages
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
! Group chats
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓
|-
! File transfer
| || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || || || || ✓
|-
! Built-in games
| || ✓ || || ✓ || || || || || || || ✓
|-
! User-run instances
| || ✓ || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓ || || ✓
|-
! Doesn't require central server
| || || ✓ || || || || ✓ || || || || ✓
|-
! Mesh networking
| || || || || || || || || || || ✓
|-
! Wireless message delivery works without internet
| || || || || || || || || || ✓ || ✓
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

2700: Account Problems

2023-02-12T22:40:18Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: am i doing something wrong? THERE ARE TWO MANY JOKE TAGS!

{{comic
| number = 2700
| date = November 18, 2022
| title = Account Problems
| image = account_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 538x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] asks [[Ponytail]] to help him because he can't log in to his account. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]] in the past, Ponytail replies with dread. Cueball promises that "It's a normal problem this time", and Ponytail agrees to look at it. But then Cueball reveals that he has included a {{w|Null character|null string terminator character}} in his password when creating an account and now he can't log in.

In computer systems, every {{w|Character (computing)|"character"}} (letter, digit, punctuation, etc.) is represented as an integer. For example the lowercase letter 'a' is represented as the number 97, and the digit '1' is represented as the number 49 (when using the {{w|ASCII}} character encoding or {{w|Unicode}} character encoding). A {{w|String (computer science)|"string"}} refers to a sequence of characters, and can be used to store arbitrary text (for example names, messages, passwords). Strings can be arbitrarily long, so some mechanism must be used to record their length. One approach is to store the length explicitly ({{w|String_(computer_science)#Length-prefixed|Pascal string}}). Another approach is to mark the end of the string using a specific character, usually the {{w|null character}} (which is represented as the number 0); such strings are called {{w|null-terminated string}}s, and are used by the {{w|C (programming language)|C programming language}}. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. A limitation of null-terminated strings is that they cannot be used to represent text containing embedded null characters. This is usually not a problem, because normal text never contains null characters. However, if somehow a null character were to end up in the string, it would cause problems: any code that uses that string would assume this null character marks the end of the string, so the string would effectively be cut off.

Account registration systems often place requirements on passwords in an attempt to encourage users to pick stronger passwords. For example, they might ask that the password include at least one "special character" (such as <code>!@#$%^&*</code>). Cueball misunderstood this requirement as referring to characters such as the null character (which is more accurately referred to as a {{w|ASCII#Control_characters|control character}}). Cueball managed to type the null character as part of his password somehow (on some systems it is possible to type the null character using {{w|Null_character#Representation|certain keyboard shortcuts}} such as <code>Ctrl</code>+<code>Space</code>, <code>Ctrl</code>+<code>@</code>, <code>Ctrl</code>+<code>2</code>, or <code>Alt+0</code> {{w|Alt_code|using the number pad}}), but the software running the registration system was poorly written and could not cope with this – it allowed him to create an account with that password, but then when he tried to log in with the same password the system didn't accept it.

It's unclear how that particular situation might arise in real software, but here is a similar situation that can easily happen in practice: Suppose a website's registration form allows the user's new password to have up to 20 characters, but due to a programmer error the login page only accepts passwords with up to 18 characters. If the user picks a medium-length password (say with 12 characters), all is well. But if the user picks a password with 20 characters, they will be able to register but they won't be able to log in (which is what happened to Cueball). Some additional situations are described [[#Trivia|below]].

The title text describes a password which is "just" every Unicode character concatenated into a single string. {{w|Unicode}} is a standard for representing characters from many writing systems, and it has 149,186 characters[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode#Versions] as at the time of this comic (with new characters being added over time). A password consisting of all of those characters would be extremely long; it would be impractical to type by hand, and would be too long for pretty much all account registration systems. (A "codepoint" is the number assigned to a character, and {{w|UTF-8}} is a common encoding system for representing each Unicode codepoint as a sequence of {{w|byte}}s.) Also, since Unicode includes the null character, the password would have the same issue as Cueball's password. Further, if the account registration system treats the null character as a string terminator (as in C), then the password would be equivalent to an empty password (assuming it contains the Unicode codepoints in order, starting with the null character).

==Trivia==

* User input containing unsafe characters has previously appeared in the famous comic [[327: Exploits of a Mom]].

* Here are some additional situations where passwords with special characters might stop working:
** The registration form allows passwords to contain null characters, but the login form strips null characters (for example because it was written by a different developer/team, or because it has been updated over time). When Cueball tries to log in, the login form strips the null characters, so the resulting password can ''never'' match such a stored password (which contains a null character).
** The password system accepts Unicode characters at first, but is later changed to only accept ASCII passwords. Users who included non-ASCII characters like é or ö in their password become locked out of their account because they are no longer allowed to submit those characters.
** Passwords containing non-ASCII characters are in general problematic, because it might not be possible to type them on the keyboard used for logging in. For example, on Mac OS a logged-in user can change their password to one that contains emojis, but the keyboard on the login screen does not have good support for typing emojis.[https://medium.com/@hvost/why-you-should-not-use-emojis-in-your-passwords-b8db0607e169][https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/202143/i-included-emoji-in-my-password-and-now-i-cant-log-in-to-my-account-on-yosemite].
** A business network may have multiple systems that connect to a central database of usernames and passwords. If the systems have different password handling rules, a user might find that some of the systems don't support their password (for example because the password contains a character which is forbidden on a particular system).

* There are several techniques that can be used to safely handle passwords and other user inputs that might contain unsafe characters such as the null character:
** Validate: Check whether the user input contains unsafe characters, and if it does display an error message to the user.
** Sanitize: Remove unsafe characters from the user input to prevent them from causing problems.
** Encode/quote/escape: Replace each unsafe character with an appropriate sequence of characters (depending on the context). For example, a null character can be included in a {{w|URL}} by encoding it as <code>%00</code>. This technique is not very relevant to password handling, but is relevant for example when {{w|Cross-site_scripting#Non-persistent_(reflected)|including user input in generated web pages}} or [https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/security/threats/sql-injection/ passing user inputs to database queries].
** For the specific case of null characters: Use a string representation that supports null characters (e.g. Pascal strings), and be very careful not to pass such strings to functions that can't handle embedded null characters.

* Failure to handle strings containing null characters correctly can result in security vulnerabilities. For example, including a null character in crafted input may allow a user to read or write files that they are not supposed to be able to access.[https://insecure.org/news/P55-07.txt][https://elixirforum.com/t/static-and-session-security-fixes-for-plug/3913]

* In C, a string is usually stored in a block of memory that is allocated to have a known size. The maximum size of string that can be stored in such a buffer is one character less than the buffer's size, since the last character is used for the null terminator. Language functions that operate on strings, such as those that return the length of a specified string or which compare two strings, look for the terminator as a marker. However, there is a risk in using this feature: if that terminator is somehow overwritten by some other value, a function which assumes that there is still a stopping point may go far beyond the intended region of memory before it happens to find an unrelated terminator or otherwise is forced to stop looking. This can have serious security implications, as well as the potential for bugs and crashes. Instead, safe programming uses versions of the string functions that include a specification of the maximum allowed length. For example, the <code>strlen()</code> function takes a pointer to a string, counts the number of characters until it encounters a null terminator, and returns that number: the length of the string not including the terminator. The <code>str'''n'''len()</code> function takes a pointer to a string and a maximum length, and counts characters until it either finds a terminator or reaches the maximum.

* The number of the xkcd comic is 2700. When interpreting this as two concatenated octal numbers \27 + \00 it represents both the {{w|End-of-Transmission-Block_character|ETB}} as well as the null character, both of these characters possibly leading to problems when processed in legacy systems (e.g. mainframe computers). When interpreting 2700 as hexadecimal 0x27 + 0x00 numbers it represents the ' character and the null character - a sequence that could lead to [[327: Exploits of a Mom|SQL injection]] when it is placed in unescaped form inside of a SQL command.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball carries an open laptop over to Ponytail, holding in in both hands. The screen shows a box filling the screen with some text on lines. Ponytail is sitting in an office chair with her laptop at her desk. She has turned her head away from the computer looking at Cueball's screen.]
:Cueball: Can you help me with my account?
:Ponytail: Oh no.

:[Cueball holds his laptop up in front of Ponytail who has turned the chair so she faces him, with her hands in her lap. Her table is not drawn.]
:Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.
:Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?

:[Cueball holds both hands out palm up towards Ponytail who is sitting with his laptop in her lap typing on it.]
:Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-
:Ponytail: '''''How?!'''''
:Cueball: They said to use special characters!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

2704: Faucet

2023-02-12T22:39:34Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: does anybody even check if the tags are legitimate?

{{comic
| number = 2704
| date = November 28, 2022
| title = Faucet
| image = faucet_2x.png
| imagesize = 315x414px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's okay, they can figure out which control positions produce scalding water via a trial-and-error feedback loop with a barely-perceptible 10-second lag.
}}

==Explanation==

A variety of {{w|Tap (valve)#Nomenclature|faucet}} controls have been designed for the control of a shower or sink's water output; however, Randall seems to find all the existing options to be inadequate in some way and posits in this comic that designers share a desire to create a more ideal design. The comic shows one such designer, looking unkempt and rambling like a madman as he explains to an off-screen character how his new faucet design works. The off-screen character promptly tells him that he should get some sleep, a request which the designer ignores in favor of continuing the search for the "perfect" water faucet.

In general, a faucet's output has two independent parameters: flow velocity and temperature; some particularly frustrating faucet controls only offer one degree of freedom which simultaneously turns up the flow rate and the temperature, and thus cannot fully explore the shower-space (making it sometimes difficult to find a comfortable setting). Some faucets can adjust both parameters but only have a single lever which must be angled along degrees of freedom which are not always labeled clearly or intuitively, and this may also irk Randall. Other faucets have two independent controls for the flow of cold water and hot water; however, while these are highly granular, it can be difficult to adjust the parameters independently e.g. change the temperature without changing the flow, or changing the flow without changing the temperature.

While two-handle faucets may seem simple in the abstract, they are imperfect in practice. In older houses or those with hot water systems based on tankless or instant hot water heaters, the hot water pressure is rarely the same as the cold water pressure. This can cause problems with cold water flowing back into the hot line, creating temperature drifts, unexpected changes in temperature based on slight input changes, and non-reproducibility in shower settings.

Newer systems include {{w|thermostatic mixing valve}}s which are designed to alleviate these problems; ideally, they contain one control for temperature and one for flow, which would seem to fit the "non-confusing" brief and solve Randall's problems. However, designing a system technically functional and making it intuitive (and making it work in practice for all water supply systems) is non-trivial, so Randall may have had trouble with even these faucets in the past.

The experience of a shower being affected by a significant change in usage of water elsewhere in the building (a running washing machine clicking into or out of a rinse-cycle, or the sudden use of a flush-toilet) is a typical one in any place without deliberately over-engineered plumbing. Purpose built hotels ''may'' have an in-built degree of resilience of this kind, but over many temporary stay-overs by guests (each new set having to become familiar with the plumbing) will develop wear and tear that later guests will not be automatically aware of — including the gradual wearing off of the traditional red and blue arrows intended to show the polarity of hot-and-cold controls.

The title text is a hyperbolic and slightly sarcastic explanation of the merits of a faucet system, presumably from its designer. It describes that the user can identify an undesirable result, e.g. of scalding water, through a trial-and-error feedback loop. But, with a decidedly long delay in response time as the scalding (then non-scalding) mix works its way through the system, it means that they are left waiting for any adjustments made to prove themselves as useful (or not) whilst still experiencing the prior state of the water.

==Transcript==
:[A designer with short, messy hair and a scuffed face stands in front of a whiteboard. He is holding a pen and is sketching with it above his head. His other empty hand is also held up above his head, possibly touching part of the sketch. On the whiteboard are various scribbles, pieces of illegible text, drawings of waves, arrows, and side views and cross sections of a faucet. In the center of the whiteboard, drawn with soft, sketched lines is the faucet, the designers empty hand is touching it. It has a vertical wall-mounted square base with a semicircle above. Attached to the semicircle is a tightly curled helical tube that curls twice, this is the one the designer is drawing on at the moment. Below it is a drawing of a spout with a stream of water going almost to the bottom of the board. On the floor around the designers feet is an upright beverage can, a large piece of crumpled paper, and 6 smaller pieces of crumpled or ripped paper and one larger flat piece of paper. He talks to someone off-panel, who replies from a star burst on the right border of the panel.]
:Designer: ...So you tighten the spiral to make the water hotter, and to adjust the flow rate you just-
:Off panel voice: You need to sleep.
:Designer: '''''No! I can do this!'''''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every designer's dream is to finally invent a non-confusing faucet control.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Dreams]]

2703: Paper Title

2023-02-12T22:38:20Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: what was that tag for?

{{comic
| number = 2703
| date = November 25, 2022
| title = Paper Title
| image = paper_title_2x.png
| imagesize = 557x261px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.
}}

==Explanation==

Many if not most scientific research papers present a {{w|hypothesis}} and the result of testing the hypothesis. It is a common misconception that ''only'' that kind of research should be considered "science", but it is one of the key elements of the {{w|scientific method}}. Scientific papers should also have titles which describe the content of the papers, which may or may not reflect the full hypothesis in some abbreviated form. See also [[2456: Types of Scientific Paper]].

[[Cueball]] is writing a research paper with a {{w|clickbait}}, {{w|puffery}} and insufficiently descriptive title of "Check out this cool microbe we found." His colleague [[Megan]] asks him whether science is supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and testing it. Cueball agrees, changing the title to "Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data." However, that is still an overly promotional and insufficiently descriptive clickbait title, purporting to be a study of the authors' own competence, which would be highly unusual because of the lack of objectivity due to the authors being the subject of investigation. [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]] is a recurring theme on xkcd, recently considered within science publications in [[2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value]]. The title of a research article describing a novel organism will often contain the author(s) proposed {{w|Linnaean taxonomy|Linnaean}} name for it, which is granted as their prerogative within certain limitations.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8808/]

{{w|Empirical research|''Empirical investigations''}} and ''{{w|analysis}} papers'' almost always state and test a hypothesis, but there are many kinds of scientific papers which usually do not, including ''{{w|literature review}}s'', which qualitatively summarize the results of other papers; ''{{w|meta-analysis|meta-analyses}}'', which quantitatively summarize the results and quality of other work; ''observational reports'' (or ''{{w|case study|case studies}}'' — not to be confused with {{w|observational study|observational studies}}, a kind of empirical analysis), which present data and a chronicle of its collection often without analysis, testing, or interpretation; ''{{w|Conference proceeding|conference papers}}'', which present preliminary work without peer review; ''definition papers'', which attempt to formalize terms used in divergent ways in prior work; ''{{w|Dialectic#Hegelian dialectic|syntheses}}'', which present alternative views combining multiple and often conflicting concepts; ''{{w|Comparison|comparative studies}}'', which compare and contrast a class of concepts; ''{{w|Interpretive discussion|interpretive}} papers'', showing a different perspective on previous work; ''{{w|technical report}}s'', which may present information on a specific procedural topic or progress and results, if any, in a field; ''opinion'' and ''editorial essays'', which are intended to argue a point of view persuasively; ''book reviews,'' which summarize monographs or biographies; and ''grant proposals'', which make the case for funding a project. Mathematical or logic research papers which don't involve empirical observations or uncertainty would be considered technical reports in other fields. Engineering work can be reported as an empirical investigation or a technical report. Empirical research articles which do present and test a hypothesis are usually written in [https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethods/chapter/writing-a-research-report-in-american-psychological-association-apa-style/ American Psychological Association (APA) style].

Cueball seems to want to author an observational report, but Megan would prefer an empirical investigation or analysis, perhaps because they may be more likely to be accepted by peer reviewed journals, and as such are more prestigious than mere conference papers, "letters" or "communications" as observational reports are often published. However, research articles describing the discovery of new {{w|microbe}}s in prestigious peer-reviewed journals are often published as observational reports,[https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.004029][http://calamar.univ-ag.fr/mangroveSAE/articles/2022/Volland%20et%20al%202022.pdf][https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10482-021-01656-x] so Megan's concerns may be unfounded; even if so, the editors of any reputable journal would almost certainly require a far more descriptive and less overtly promotional title from Cueball. The question remains whether an initial submission with a catchy clickbait title might get more prompt attention from editors and reviewers.

In the title text, a {{w|conflict of interest}} statement says that the authors hope their results are correct because "we all want to be cool people who are good at science." A scientific publication's potential conflict of interest usually refers to the authors' financial, familial, or other external interests in the research outcomes. The disclosure statement does not describe a conflict between the authors' {{w|Extrinsic motivation#Extrinsic|extrinsic motivation}}s and factors influencing the accuracy and neutrality of their work; in fact it claims the opposite, an alignment between their {{w|intrinsic motivation}}s and the goal of producing high quality work, which should go without saying.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan is standing behind and looking over the shoulder of Cueball who is sitting in his office chair at his desk typing on the keyboard. A line from the keyboard goes up to text boxes above them, showing a paper title followed by a cursor:]

:Paper title:
: ''Check out this cool microbe we found''|

:[Pan to only showing Megan who has taken a hand up to her chin. Cueball replies from off-panel.]
:Megan: Isn’t science supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and then testing it?
:Cueball - off panel: Oh. Yeah, I guess.

:[Same setting as in the first panel, but now the title has changed:]

:Paper title:
: ''Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data''|

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Clickbait]]

2435: Geothmetic Meandian

2023-02-12T22:37:20Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added a formula without {{math}}, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 2435
| date = March 10, 2021
| title = Geothmetic Meandian
| image = geothmetic_meandian.png
| titletext = Pythagorean means are nice and all, but throwing the median in the pot is really what turns this into random forest statistics: applying every function you can think of, and then gradually dropping the ones that make the result worse.
}}
==Explanation==

There are a number of different ways to identify the "{{w|average}}" value of a series of values, the most common unweighted methods being the {{w|median}} (take the central value from the ordered list of values if there are an odd number - or the value half-way between the two that straddle the divide between two halves if there are an even number) and the {{w|arithmetic mean}} (add all the numbers up, divide by the number of numbers). The {{w|geometric mean}} is less well-known but works similarly to the arithmetic mean. The geometric mean of ''n'' positive numbers is the ''n''th root of the product of those numbers. If all of the numbers in a sequence are identical, then its arithmetic mean, geometric mean and median will be identical, since they would all be equal to the common value of the terms of the sequence. However, if the sequence is not constant, then {{w|Inequality_of_arithmetic_and_geometric_means#Geometric_interpretation|the arithmetic mean will be greater than the geometric mean}}, and the median may be different than either of those means.

The geometric mean, arithmetic mean and {{w|harmonic mean}} (not shown) are collectively known as the {{w|Pythagorean means}}, as specific modes of a greater and more generalized mean formula that extends arbitrarily to various other possible nuances of mean-value rationisations (cubic, etc.).

{{w|Outlier}}s and internal biases within the original sample can make boiling down a set of values into a single 'average' sometimes overly biased by flaws in the data, with your choice of which method to use perhaps resulting in a value that is misleading, exaggerating or suppressing the significance of any blips.

In this depiction, the three named methods of averaging are embedded within a single function that produces a sequence of three values - one output for each of the methods. Being a series of values, Randall suggests that this is ideally suited to being ''itself'' subjected to the comparative 'averaging' method. Not just once, but as many times as it takes to narrow down to a sequence of three values that are very close to one another.

It can be shown that the xkcd value of 2.089 for GMDN(1,1,2,3,5) is validated:

{|-border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
!
! Arithmetic mean
! Geometric mean
! Median
|-
! F1
| 2.4 || 1.974350486 || 2
|-
! F2
| 2.124783495 || 2.116192461 || 2
|-
! F3
| '''2.080325319''' || 2.079536819 || 2.116192461
|-
! F4
| 2.0920182 || 2.091948605 || '''2.080325319'''
|-
! F5
| '''2.088097374''' || 2.088090133 || 2.091948605
|-
! F6
| 2.089378704 || 2.089377914 || '''2.088097374'''
|-
! F7
| '''2.088951331''' || 2.088951244 || 2.089377914
|-
! F8
| 2.089093496 || 2.089093487 || '''2.088951331'''
|-
! F9
| '''2.089046105''' || 2.089046103 || 2.089093487
|-
! F10
| 2.089061898 || 2.089061898 || '''2.089046105'''
|}

The function GMDN in the comic is properly defined in the second row since F acts on a vector to produce another three vector, however GMDN in the last line is shown to produce a single real number rather than a vector and is thus missing a final operation of returning a single component. Each row in this table shows the set Fn(..) composed of the average, geomean and median computed on the previous row, with the sequence {1,1,2,3,5} as the initial F0. While GMDN is not differentiable, due to the median, this can be interpreted as somewhat similar to a heat equation which approaches equilibrium through averaging. Interestingly, the maximum value alternates between the average and the median (highlighted in bold in the table), while the minimum value alternates between the geomean and the median. This holds for many inputs thus providing the basis for a possible proof-by-induction of convergence on the range (see discussions).

The comment in the title text about suggests that this will save you the trouble of committing to the 'wrong' analysis as it gradually shaves down any 'outlier average' that is unduly affected by anomalies in the original inputs. It is a method without any danger of divergence of values, since all three averaging methods stay within the interval covering the input values (and two of them will stay strictly within that interval).

The title text may also be a sly reference to an actual mathematical theorem, namely that if one performs this procedure only using the arithmetic mean and the harmonic mean, the result will converge to the geometric mean. Randall suggests that the (non-Pythagorean) median, which does not have such good mathematical properties with relation to convergence, is, in fact, the secret sauce in his definition.

The question of being unsure of which mean to use is especially relevant for the arithmetic and harmonic means in following example.
* Cueball has some US Dollars and wishes to buy Euros. Suppose the bank will exchange US Dollars to Euros at a rate of €5 for $6 (about 0.83333€/$ or 1.20000$/€).
* Megan has some Euros and wishes to buy US Dollars. Suppose the bank will exchange Euros to US Dollars at a rate of $7 for €6 (about 0.85714€/$ or 1.16667$/€).
[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] decide to complete the exchange between themselves in order to save the {{w|Bid-ask spread}} of the {{w|Exchange rate}} which is the cost the bank imposes on Cueball and Megan for its service as a {{w|Market maker}}.
* Cueball offers to split the difference by averaging the rates €5:$6 and €6:$7 yielding a rate of €71:$84 (about 0.84524€/$ or 1.18310$/€).
* Megan offers to split the difference by averaging the rates $6:€5 and $7:€6 yielding a rate of €60:$71 (about 0.84507€/$ or 1.18333$/€).
In one direction (€/$), Cueball is using the arithmetic mean but Megan is using the harmonic mean while in the other direction ($/€), Megan is using the arithmetic mean but Cueball is using the harmonic mean. This creates two new exchange rates which are closer than the orginal rates, but the new rates are still different for each other. Megan and Cueball can then iterate this process and the rates will converge to the geometric mean of the original rates, namely:
* sqrt((5/6)*(6/7)) = sqrt(5/7) = 0.84515€/$ or
* sqrt((6/5)*(7/6)) = sqrt(7/5) = 1.18322$/€.

There does exist an {{w|arithmetic-geometric mean}}, which is defined identically to this except with the arithmetic and geometric means, and sees some use in calculus. In some ways it's also philosophically similar to the {{w|truncated mean}} (extremities of the value range, e.g. the highest and lowest 10%s, are ignored as not acceptable and not counted) or {{w|Winsorized mean}} (instead of ignored, the values are readjusted to be the chosen floor/ceiling values that they lie beyond, to still effectively be counted as "edge" conditions), only with a strange dilution-and-compromise method rather than one where quantities can be culled or neutered just for being unexpectedly different from most of the other data.

The input sequence of numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5) chosen by Randall is also the opening of the {{w|Fibonacci sequence}}. This may have been selected because the Fibonacci sequence also has a convergent property: the ratio of two adjacent numbers in the sequence approaches the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio#Relationship_to_Fibonacci_sequence golden ratio] as the length of the sequence approaches infinity.

Here is a table of averages classified by the various methods referenced:

{|border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
|+ averages using various methods
! Method
! Value
! Formula
|-
! Arithmetic
| 2.4 ||
|-
! Geometric
| 1.9743504858348
| Multiply all numbers, then take it to the nth root, where n is the number of terms.
|-
! Median
| 2 ||
|-
! GMDN
| 2.089 ||
|}

==Transcript==

F(x1,x2,...xn)=({x1+x2+...+xn/n [bracket: arithmetic mean]},{nx,x2...xn, [bracket: geometric mean]} {x n+1/2 [bracket: median]})

Gmdn(x1,x2,...xn)={F(F(F(...F(x1,x2,...xn)...)))[bracket: geothmetic meandian]}

Gmdn(1,1,2,3,5) [equals about sign] 2.089

Caption: Stats tip: If you aren't sure whether to use the mean, median, or geometric mean, just calculate all three, then repeat until it converges

==Trivia==
Geothm means "counting earths" (From Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-), combining form of γῆ (gê, “earth”) and ἀριθμός arithmos, 'counting'). Geothmetic means "art of Geothming" based on the etymology of Arithmetic (from Ancient Greek ἀριθμητική (τέχνη) (arithmētikḗ (tékhnē), “(art of) counting”). This is an exciting new terminology that is eminently suitable for modern cosmology & high energy physics - particularly when doing math on the multiverse. However, it is unlikely this etymology is related to the term "geothmetic meandian" as coined by Randall, as it can be more simply explained as a portmanteau of the three averages in its construction: '''geo'''metric mean, ari'''thmetic mean''', and me'''dian'''.

The following Python code (inefficiently) implements the above algorithm:

<pre>
from functools import reduce

def f(*args):
args = sorted(args)
mean = sum(args) / len(args)
gmean = reduce(lambda x, y: x * y, args) ** (1 / len(args))
if len(args) % 2:
median = args[len(args) // 2]
else:
median = (args[len(args) // 2] + args[len(args) // 2 - 1]) / 2
return mean, gmean, median

max_iterations = 10
l = [1, 1, 2, 3, 5]
for iterations in range(max_iterations):
fst, *rest = l
if all((abs(r - fst) < 0.00000001 for r in rest)):
break
l = f(*l)
print(l[0], iterations)
</pre>
Here is a slightly more efficient version of the Python code:

<pre>
from scipy.stats.mstats import gmean
import numpy as np

def get_centers(a, tol=0.00001, print_rows = True):
a = np.array(a)
l_of_a = len(a)
if l_of_a == 1:
return a[0]
elif l_of_a > 2:
result = all(
(
np.abs(a[0] / a[1]) <= tol,
np.abs(a[0] / a[2]) <= tol,
np.abs(a[1] / a[2]) <= tol,
)
)
if result:
return a[0]
res = [np.mean(a), np.median(a), gmean(a)]

if print_rows:
print(res)
return get_centers(res, tol)

</pre>

And here is an implementation of the Gmdn function in R:

Gmdn <- function (..., threshold = 1E-6) {
# Function F(x) as defined in comic
f <- function (x) {
n <- length(x)
return(c(mean(x), prod(x)^(1/n), median(x)))
}
# Extract input vector from ... argument
x <- c(...)
# Iterate until the standard deviation of f(x) reaches a threshold
while (sd(x) > threshold) x <- f(x)
# Return the mean of the final triplet
return(mean(x))
}

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Tips]]

2735: Coordinate Plane Closure

2023-02-12T22:22:07Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: what was that tag for?

{{comic
| number = 2735
| date = February 8, 2023
| title = Coordinate Plane Closure
| image = coordinate_plane_closure_2x.png
| imagesize = 271x376px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 3D graphs that don't contact the plane in the closure area may proceed as scheduled, but be alert for possible collisions with 2D graph lines that reach the hole and unexpectedly enter 3D space.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a "Math Notice," which is presumably a warning or reminder for mathematicians or others who interact with the field of mathematics, in a similar way to how a "Travel Notice" may prewarn drivers of planned road closures for repairs (or [https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/ rocketry]). It also has similarities to that of a {{w|Notice to mariners}} or {{w|NOTAM|air missions}}, where nautical or aeronautical navigation might be impinged by a clear area (or volume) that should be kept clear from in the near future, and to notices from websites or software providers about planned maintenance, which alert users about upcoming outages. Specifically, this notice advises those who are using the coordinate plane to avoid drawing any graphs in the area with a hole until the damage is patched or fixed.

The joke may have been inspired as a response to the {{w|2023 China balloon incident}}, which occurred a few days earlier. This had occasioned one of the largest temporary flight restrictions, with a closed airspace as a response, in U.S. history.

{{w|Coordinate planes}} are used in math for drawing graphs. The joke here is that a small section has been "closed for maintenance," likening the concept of a coordinate plane to an actual physical platform used by math, which is therefore vulnerable to damage such as is shown in the comic. In reality, the coordinate plane cannot be damaged as it is not a tangible thing.{{citation needed}}

Closure in mathematics can be a term relating to sets, specifically operations on sets, and a coordinate plane is a particular set of numbers. A set is closed under an operation if all the "answers" to the operation are also in the set. The coordinate plane is said to be closed under vector addition for example - adding together any two coordinates produces another coordinate in the plane. Many functions and operators may be said to have closure on the real plane, and this comic may be a pun on that term. However, if there actually is a hole in the plane, then suddenly the plane will no longer exhibit closure.

Also related to closure is the {{w|closure problem}}. Put simply, the closure problem is to find the highest or lowest weight of a closure in certain types of graphs. This comic may also be talking about the closure problem, as it talks about a hole in the graph, and to minimise it would be referring to the closure problem.

Closure can also be used in another sense, relating to the topology of a set; roughly speaking, a description of what parts of the set are "close" to others. In this sense, if one takes the closure of a plane with a hole, the result is indeed an intact plane, provided the hole is sufficiently (infinitesimally) small.

The title text notes that 3D graphs that cross the relevant x and y coordinates, but with non-zero z coordinates whilst in that zone, should be fine, since the hole only exists in the plane where z = 0. However, if they pass close - i.e. the z coordinate is small in this region - they should be wary of two dimensional graph lines suddenly becoming three-dimensional and interfering with them. This could be because they have intentionally entered three-dimensional space to avoid the closure, or possibly they have inadvertently been 'launched' above/below the plane by the torn and warped edges of the surface. This is similar to warnings to road traffic in open lanes being warned of traffic merging from lanes that have been closed due to works or any other general warning of increased congestion upon a parallel route used as a diversion.

The concept of 2D objects suddenly entering 3D space — in a way that creates interesting drama and conflict — is the subject of a book, Flatland, that Randall is familiar with, as it was the subject of [[721: Flatland]].

==Transcript==
:[A coordinate graph is shown with both axes unlabeled but with two labeled ticks. In the middle of the shown area of the graph there is a hole torn in the white "fabric" of the graph's plane. It has jagged edges and lines runs away from the hole in all directions. The area visible through the hole is covered in thin gray lines, and the edges of the hole cast shadows onto the surface below. Two points are marked on the graph at coordinates (X,Y) of (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5). These two dots marks two of the corners of a square drawn with gray dotted lines, The square completely surrounds the hole. Above the graph there is a very large heading, with black danger triangles with exclamation marks in them, on either side of the heading. Below this there are three lines of text. And below the graph there are four more lines of text.]
:<big>⚠ Math Notice ⚠</big>
:The coordinate plane will be closed Thursday between (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5) to repair a hole.
:Labels on Y-axis ticks: 1 2
:Labels on X-axis ticks: 1 2
:If your graph uses this area, please postpone drawing until Friday or transform it to different coordinates.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Math]]

2736: Only Serifs

2023-02-12T22:21:07Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added title text, deleted tag.

{{comic
| number = 2736
| date = February 10, 2023
| title = Only Serifs
| image = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==

This is a play upon the main difference between {{w|serif}} and {{w|sans-serif}} fonts. Serifs are ticks, or end-bars, at the ends of lines that make up letters, commonly used in most books and newspapers and also seen in {{w|Calligraphy|calligraphic}} lettering (written with a flat-nibbed pen) and {{w|Signwriter|signwriting}} (often painted and detailed with fine brushes). Rather than mere lines, there are (for example) "feet" put at the bottom of a letter such as A, and possibly also at angles such as its peak. (In the comic, the first three elements appear to be of such an "A", with the text as a whole appearing to be "Aa Bb Cc Dd"). Fonts that use this visual decoration are called "Serif" fonts, while others do not and are thus "Sans Serif" fonts ("sans" being French for "without"). Randall is suggesting a font using ''only'' these accent pieces and skipping the "body" of the letters entirely. Of course, this renders the text basically unreadable.{{Citation needed}}

As for the title text, {{w|Times New Roman}} is a widely available and recognized typeface with serifs, being one of the most commonly used fonts of its type. {{w|Comic Sans}} is a ''mostly'' sans-serif typeface (hence the “Sans” in the name) designed to look like (non-{{w|cursive}}, or {{w|Block letters|block}}-style) handwriting, more akin to a basic and unadorned lettering written freehand by thick-nibbed pen, paintbrush, spraycan or chalk/marker upon a blackboard/whiteboard. Many graphic designers {{w|Comic_Sans#Opposition|dislike Comic Sans}} due to a history of amateurs using it in contexts where its informal style is inappropriate, simply in order to vary the font away from the standards of Times or Arial styles (two major serifed and non-serifed families of font, respectively). Defenders claim that it is easier for dyslexics to read, and that it works well in less formal, typically children's contexts. Randall is suggesting here that if you want to severely anger a bunch of graphic designers (i.e. enough to beat you up), then you should try removing the characteristic and aesthetic serifs on Times New Roman and add them instead to the hated Comic Sans – which would probably make it look even worse to a graphic designer.

Randall has had numerous careers and hobbies where he has delighted in exploring novel methods of resolving disputes, all of which has satisfied nobody and led to him being disinvited to numerous [[514|events]].

The font is probably one of the many variants of {{w|Caslon}}, with its variety of A-serifs; some variants (3, 540) having the double-seriffed C.

==Transcript==
:[A graphic consisting of three light-grey horizontal lines, reminiscent of the ruled paper used for handwriting, or the background to a font display. Superimposed on these ruling lines are a bunch of incomprehensible marks, looking like they might be the fragmentary remains of actual letters. These marks tend to line up with the top, middle, and bottom ruling lines. Underneath the graphic is an explanatory caption.]

:Instead of serif or sans-serif,
:my new font is '''''only''''' serifs.

Title text: If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Language]]

988: Tradition

2023-02-08T22:41:19Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Deleted Tag

{{comic
| number = 988
| date = December 9, 2011
| title = Tradition
| image = tradition.png
| titletext = An 'American tradition' is anything that happened to a baby boomer twice.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic uses the source of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to say that the 20 most played Christmas songs in the US between 2000 and 2009 were all released between the 1930s and 1970s. It conspicuously excludes a number of more modern songs that seem ubiquitous, but this is because those songs do not appear on the ASCAP list.

"Popular release" in this context means release to the general public, not the version of the song which is most popular.

The {{w|Post–World War II baby boom|Baby Boomers}} were born in a period of time after {{w|World War II|the second World War}} after the troops came home and, thankful for their lives, went on to produce lots of children.

The data appears to come from [http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/1123_holidays_songs.aspx an ASCAP survey conducted in 2009].

The title text points out that many "traditions" actually have no historical precedent, they're just routines that have been spread by lots of people. The Baby Boomers, since they made up a ''huge'' fraction of the US population, were able to accidentally ground many "traditions" that their parents made up in American society just by consensus among themselves.

==Transcript==
:The 20 most-played Christmas songs (2000-2009 radio airplay) by decade of popular release
:[A bar chart labeled on the X-axis with the decades "1900s" through "2000s" labeled. Each bar has, as one unit, a labeled song. A section of the graph between 1947 and 1962 has a dark-gray extension column, containing the label "Baby Boom" between a pair of arrows pointing at the edges .
:"1900s", "1910s", "1920s", "1980s", "1990s", and "2000s" are empty.
:"1930s" has "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
:"1940s" has "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Winter Wonderland", "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", "Let it Snow", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I'll be Home for Christmas", and "White Christmas".
:"1950s" has "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Blue Christmas", "Little Drummer Boy", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Silver Bells", "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", "Sleigh Ride", and "Frosty the Snowman"
:"1960s" has "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
:"1970s" has "Feliz Navidad"
The songs are coloured red and green, with no red touching red, nor green green. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, Blue Christmas, Winter Wonderland, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Let It Snow, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, I'll be Home for Christmas, Holly Jolly Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, and Feliz Navidad are red. Jingle Bell Rock, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Little Drummer Boy, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Silver Bells, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, and It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year are all green.]
:Every year, American culture embarks on a massive project to carefully recreate the Christmases of Baby Boomers' childhoods.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Christmas]]

988: Tradition

2023-02-08T22:40:51Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added colours to the transcription.

{{comic
| number = 988
| date = December 9, 2011
| title = Tradition
| image = tradition.png
| titletext = An 'American tradition' is anything that happened to a baby boomer twice.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Color missing from transcription}}
This comic uses the source of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to say that the 20 most played Christmas songs in the US between 2000 and 2009 were all released between the 1930s and 1970s. It conspicuously excludes a number of more modern songs that seem ubiquitous, but this is because those songs do not appear on the ASCAP list.

"Popular release" in this context means release to the general public, not the version of the song which is most popular.

The {{w|Post–World War II baby boom|Baby Boomers}} were born in a period of time after {{w|World War II|the second World War}} after the troops came home and, thankful for their lives, went on to produce lots of children.

The data appears to come from [http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/1123_holidays_songs.aspx an ASCAP survey conducted in 2009].

The title text points out that many "traditions" actually have no historical precedent, they're just routines that have been spread by lots of people. The Baby Boomers, since they made up a ''huge'' fraction of the US population, were able to accidentally ground many "traditions" that their parents made up in American society just by consensus among themselves.

==Transcript==
:The 20 most-played Christmas songs (2000-2009 radio airplay) by decade of popular release
:[A bar chart labeled on the X-axis with the decades "1900s" through "2000s" labeled. Each bar has, as one unit, a labeled song. A section of the graph between 1947 and 1962 has a dark-gray extension column, containing the label "Baby Boom" between a pair of arrows pointing at the edges .
:"1900s", "1910s", "1920s", "1980s", "1990s", and "2000s" are empty.
:"1930s" has "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
:"1940s" has "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Winter Wonderland", "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", "Let it Snow", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I'll be Home for Christmas", and "White Christmas".
:"1950s" has "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Blue Christmas", "Little Drummer Boy", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Silver Bells", "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", "Sleigh Ride", and "Frosty the Snowman"
:"1960s" has "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
:"1970s" has "Feliz Navidad"
The songs are coloured red and green, with no red touching red, nor green green. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, Blue Christmas, Winter Wonderland, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Let It Snow, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, I'll be Home for Christmas, Holly Jolly Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, and Feliz Navidad are red. Jingle Bell Rock, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Little Drummer Boy, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Silver Bells, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, and It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year are all green.]
:Every year, American culture embarks on a massive project to carefully recreate the Christmases of Baby Boomers' childhoods.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Christmas]]

2735: Coordinate Plane Closure

2023-02-08T22:19:10Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added extra information on the closure problem.

{{comic
| number = 2735
| date = February 8, 2023
| title = Coordinate Plane Closure
| image = coordinate_plane_closure_2x.png
| imagesize = 271x376px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 3D graphs that don't contact the plane in the closure area may proceed as scheduled, but be alert for possible collisions with 2D graph lines that reach the hole and unexpectedly enter 3D space.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NOTAM generator - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a "Math Notice," which is presumably a warning or reminder for mathematicians or others who interact with the field of mathematics, in a similar way to how a "Travel Notice" may prewarn drivers of planned road closures for repairs (or [https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/ rocketry]). Specifically, this one advises those who are using the coordinate plane to avoid drawing any graphs in the area with a hole until the damage is patched or fixed. This comic invents this concept of Math Notices, and is also very similar to that of a {{w|Notice to mariners}} or {{w|NOTAM|airmen}}, where nautical or aeronautical navigation might be impinged by a clear area (or volume) that should be kept clear from in the near future. The comic also resembles notices from websites or software providers about planned maintenance, which alert users about upcoming outages.

{{w|Coordinate planes}} are used in math for drawing graphs. The joke here is that a small section has been "closed for maintenance," likening the concept of a coordinate plane to an actual physical platform used by math, which is therefore vulnerable to damage such as is shown in the comic. In reality, the coordinate plane cannot be damaged as it is not a tangible thing.{{citation needed}}

Closure in mathematics can be a term relating to sets, specifically operations on sets, and a coordinate plane is a particular set of numbers. A set is closed under an operation if all the "answers" to the operation are also in the set. The coordinate plane is said to be closed under vector addition for example - adding together any two coordinates produces another coordinate in the plane. Many functions and operators may be said to have closure on the real plane, and this comic may be a pun on that term. However, if there actually is a hole in the plane, then suddenly the plane will no longer exhibit closure.

Also related to closure is the {{w|closure problem}}. Put simply, the closure problem is to find the highest or lowest weight of a closure in certain types of graphs. This comic may also be talking about the closure problem, as it talks about a hole in the graph, and to minimise it would be referring to the closure problem.

Closure can also be used in another sense, relating to the topology of a set; roughly speaking, a description of what parts of the set are "close" to others. In this sense, if one takes the closure of a plane with a hole, the result is indeed an intact plane, provided the hole is sufficiently (infinitesimally) small.

The title text clarifies some of the unwanted effects of drawing a graph into the hole, stating that two-dimensional graph lines might accidentally become three-dimensional and interfere with the graphs made there.

==Transcript==

:<big>⚠️ Math Notice ⚠️</big>[emojis written without color]

:The coordinate plane will be closed Thursday between (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5) to repair a hole.

:[A coordinate graph is shown, with a gray hole between (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5). There are small fractures around the hole. The hole is highlighted with two dots in the corners of a hollow rectangle with split border lines.]

:If your graph uses this area, please postpone drawing until Friday or transform it to different coordinates.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Charts]]

2735: Coordinate Plane Closure

2023-02-08T22:10:48Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Added extra information on closure.

Talk:688: Self-Description

2023-02-06T23:46:50Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO:

This is one of the comics with a direct link at the bottom of xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/173.26.186.224|173.26.186.224]] 04:18, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

I do wish they said 'comic' rather than 'image' as for the longest time, I assumed 'image' only referred to the individual box, which doesn't make each one necessarily linked.[[Special:Contributions/24.70.188.179|24.70.188.179]] 06:52, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

:Anyone know what language Randall may have used to create this image? Perhaps Python? and how do you prevent it from entering an infinite feedback loop? [[User:Saibot84|Saibot84]] ([[User talk:Saibot84|talk]]) 23:02, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

::I'd do it in Perl, but that's because I'm a bit partial to Perl. I don't think it matters too much. It could even be a semi-manual process.
::However, whatever way it's done, if there was a loop (or a flip-flop state, i.e. more black pixels overall means less black pixels on a graph, which means less black pixels overall, without a point of stability) then I'd detect for that and work out which "immutable" parts (e.g. lengths of drawn axes) could be altered by an appropriate number of pixels to have another go at looking for stability. In Perl, that'd be detected by something like a simple "$coverage{$no_of_black_pixels}++" for every state visited, with an "if (exists $coverage{$no_of_black_pixels}) { reject_and_renew() }"-style check before that, probably "die"ing the program to let me read the log of rejections that led there and let me choose a basic change (or other mutable element) that could lead us in the right direction.
:::In an [http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/math-horizons/the-mathematics-behind-xkcd-a-conversation-with-randall-munroe interview], Randall Munroe explains that he did it completely by hand, counting the black pixels with Photoshop and iterating manually. Notice that, once you chose the radius of the disc, the width and scale for the rectangles of the second panel, and the text, decorations and legend, it is fairly easy to write the equations satisfied by the amount of black ink each panel. It turns out to be a set of linear equations, easily solved. This is for the continuous problem (say, if the comic strip were drawn with Bezier curves and a vector image). For the discrete problem, you have to iterate a little bit from this first insight, but not that much. [[Special:Contributions/138.96.199.247|138.96.199.247]] 10:15, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
::As a more simple example, if the original title-text hadn't turned out to be one where a certain stated number of characters made the text that same number of characters, I'd add, remove or change a word (or item of punctiation!) towards something that worked. As a dumb example of the way I'd do it: "This sentence has <foo> characters." has 35, there, including the five of "<foo>", so "thirty-five" would be six too many, "forty-one" would be 39-long, "thirty-nine" makes it "forty-one", and we know that loops back. I could be more intelligent and choose a number where own_length==(what it depicts, minus thirty), where the easy answer is "32" in digits. But there's no obvious set of number words that obet that rule, so let's change the sentence to "There are <foo> characters in this sentence.", and see where ''that'' leads us. Quick answer? 39+length of added number words. If I'm right, that's "forty-nine".
::Of course, there are multiple loop-backs with a self-referential image. But while it would be 'obvious' if extra spaces were inserted (or some removed!) to make a line of text fit itself in a self-referential way, an image has more "neutral space" (or 'fill') that can be changed with no effect on itself but (in a non-linear way and deminishing returns, especially with the multiple levels of recursion in the third panel) can shuffle values in the rest, perhaps to hit upon a self-consistent result overall. Narrowing or widening the panes (thus making more/less white space, and only slightly different black space) could change the ratio enough to hit a solution. Or altering the radius of the pie-chart by a pixel or three (while obviously also updating the angle filled in) could help. And if it didn't work with a pie-chart, for some reason, a big block of text saying "x% black vs y% white", or similar, could have possibly set up a result. The problem is not finding a method of solving the problem, but that there are way too many ways. But once you hit one that doesn't look forced, that'd be good enough and you could roll with it.
::Still, I'm rather in awe of the ''concept'' of the comic. I know I could repeat it (or something very like it), but to think of the idea ''in the first place'' is, I think, the most amazing thing about what we have here...
::Too wordy? Meh... There are three-hundred and twenty-one 'e's in this entry. [[Special:Contributions/31.111.35.144|31.111.35.144]] 19:39, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
::(Post-script: of course "three-hundred and twenty" would also have worked, there, assuming I counted correctly in the first place! [[Special:Contributions/31.111.35.144|31.111.35.144]] 19:39, 15 May 2013 (UTC))

This could be another reference to the mysterious 242 inside joke which is mentioned in another comic's title text (forgot which one)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.253|141.101.98.253]] 14:43, 22 January 2014 (UTC)
: 903:Extended Mind [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.82|172.68.78.82]] 01:49, 14 January 2017 (UTC)

Should I make a picture of the mentioned dependency graph and put it in the article? Basically it would be like a less ugly version of [http://goo.gl/photos/99xQJzqdMFGqa38j8 this]. {{unsigned ip|Fabian42}}
:I don't think this would explain anything from the comic and I can't find a "dependency graph" mentioned.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:23, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
::In the mouseover text: "The graph of panel dependencies" Also this wiki explains everything in every possible detail, so I think it would be ok to include. The page is short for the amount of complexity in this comic anyway. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:36, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
:::Yup, I should have read everything before answering. Maybe some wiki articles should be mentioned too: {{w|Dependency graph}}, {{w|Circular dependency}}, and of course {{w|Dependency hell}}. The paragraph here definitively needs an enhancement. Your edits are welcome and a nice picture I can upload for you. And when necessary you also can set the incomplete tag.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:06, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

I created a composite image showing the original comic, then the scatterplot enlarged to the size of the original, then iterate a couple more times. Is there a way to upload and link images here, and would that be a useful addition to the explanation? [[User:Matchups|Matchups]] ([[User talk:Matchups|talk]]) 16:00, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

The time used to draw something like this out on paper must have been mind-boggling. [[User:QATEKLYXM|Klyxm]] ([[User talk:QATEKLYXM|talk]]) 4:05, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

SMBC did it first.

Dammit, my gimmick didn't work. 10:46 - ADST

688: Self-Description

2023-02-06T23:46:15Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 688
| date = January 13, 2010
| title = Self-Description
| image = self_description.png
| titletext = The contents of any one panel are dependent on the contents of every panel including itself. The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and each node has a loop. The mouseover text has two hundred and forty-two characters.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is {{w|Self-reference|self-referential}}, because every graph is dependent on the whole comic. If you were to change anything in the comic, you would change the ink distribution, and would therefore have to update all three graphs. This would result in further changes that would have to be considered.

In the first panel's {{w|pie chart}}, "this image" refers to the entire comic image, the one that can be downloaded from xkcd (and the entire comic as displayed here above). This is a little confusing as it would be easy to misunderstand this meaning, and believe that the first panel only refers to itself. The title text though makes it clear that it is the entire comic that is called image here. The image size is 740x180 or 133200 pixels. Out of those, 14228 pixels are black (gray pixels are accounted based on their brightness). The ratio of black pixels to the size of the image is 0.1068, so the pie chart segment describing black part should be about 38.5 degrees wide, which is indeed true for the pie chart in the image.

In the second panel the amount of black used in each panel is displayed in a {{w|bar chart}}. This actually makes this panel the one that uses most black. The first panel (including the border) has 4944 black pixels, the second 6180 and the third 3103. The first bar is about 70 pixels high, the second about 87 and the third about 43, which roughly checks out. It is hard to measure the exact height of the bars as the axis and bars themselves are not straight.

The third panel features a {{w|scatter plot}} labeled "Location of black ink in this image." It is the first {{w|Quadrant (plane geometry)|quadrant}} of a {{w|Cartesian coordinate system|cartesian plane}} with the zeroes marked. The graph is the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes, so the last panel also has to contain an image of itself having an image of itself ad infinitum thus displaying the {{w|Droste effect}}, a type of visual {{w|recursion}}.

The title text refers to the comic's own self-reference, but it is also self-referencing because of the character count in it. It would be difficult to write this sentence, as just one more character would not be solved by writing 243, as "three" has two more characters than "two", and "four" has only one more character...

"The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and every node has a loop." This means that if we draw a dot corresponding to each panel, and then we draw arrows connecting the dots to indicate dependencies, the resulting {{w|graph}} is {{w|complete graph|complete}} (meaning that all the points are connected to one another) and bidirectional (meaning that if point A has an arrow to point B, then point B also has an arrow to point A). "Every node has a loop" means that each point also has an arrow connecting to itself.

This is an observation of the interdependent relationship between description and creation that pertains to all things perceived by humans, including the concept of "Self".

Self-reference was used very early for instance in [[33: Self-reference]], but never so famously as here. See [[:Category:Self-reference|other self-references here]].

==Transcript==
:[A pie chart which is mainly white with a black slice of about 30 degree towards the bottom left. The two sections are labeled with a line going from the label to the sections. The line going into the black section turns white in in this last part.]
:Fraction of this image which is white
:Fraction of this image which is black

:[A bar graph labeled with a label over the Y-axis. There are three black bars with a label below each bar. Bar 1 is of medium height, bar 2 highest and bar 3 the lowest.]
:Amount of black ink by panel:
:1 2 3

:[A scatter-plot with a label over the Y-axis. In the bottom left corner of the graph, the two axis has a tick just away from the origo, and these are labeled with zeros. The graph shows the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes. The scale is too small to actually read any of the text in this representation, which would of course be the same as that noted here for the two previous panel and for this panel here below:]
:Location of black ink in this image:
:0
:0

==Trivia==
*This comic has seen interest from several computer programmers who have [https://mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/121160/reproducing-the-xkcd-self-description-comic taken up on the challenge] to recreate this comic. Jon McLoone of the Wolfram blog [https://blog.wolfram.com/2010/09/07/self-description/ seems to have done it] quite well.
*The {{w|Mathematical Association of America}} [https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/math-horizons/the-mathematics-behind-xkcd-a-conversation-with-randall-munroe-0 interviewed] [[Randall Munroe]] about this topic.
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|six footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.
*This is one of the comics available as signed prints at the xkcd store.
*A T-shirt based on this comic is available in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/self-reference xkcd store].
*The comic might be inspired by [https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2007-07-05 SMBC].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Pie charts]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

688: Self-Description

2023-02-06T23:45:28Z

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 688
| date = January 13, 2010
| title = Self-Description
| image = self_description.png
| titletext = The contents of any one panel are dependent on the contents of every panel including itself. The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and each node has a loop. The mouseover text has two hundred and forty-two characters.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is {{w|Self-reference|self-referential}}, because every graph is dependent on the whole comic. If you were to change anything in the comic, you would change the ink distribution, and would therefore have to update all three graphs. This would result in further changes that would have to be considered.

In the first panel's {{w|pie chart}}, "this image" refers to the entire comic image, the one that can be downloaded from xkcd (and the entire comic as displayed here above). This is a little confusing as it would be easy to misunderstand this meaning, and believe that the first panel only refers to itself. The title text though makes it clear that it is the entire comic that is called image here. The image size is 740x180 or 133200 pixels. Out of those, 14228 pixels are black (gray pixels are accounted based on their brightness). The ratio of black pixels to the size of the image is 0.1068, so the pie chart segment describing black part should be about 38.5 degrees wide, which is indeed true for the pie chart in the image.

In the second panel the amount of black used in each panel is displayed in a {{w|bar chart}}. This actually makes this panel the one that uses most black. The first panel (including the border) has 4944 black pixels, the second 6180 and the third 3103. The first bar is about 70 pixels high, the second about 87 and the third about 43, which roughly checks out. It is hard to measure the exact height of the bars as the axis and bars themselves are not straight.

The third panel features a {{w|scatter plot}} labeled "Location of black ink in this image." It is the first {{w|Quadrant (plane geometry)|quadrant}} of a {{w|Cartesian coordinate system|cartesian plane}} with the zeroes marked. The graph is the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes, so the last panel also has to contain an image of itself having an image of itself ad infinitum thus displaying the {{w|Droste effect}}, a type of visual {{w|recursion}}.

The title text refers to the comic's own self-reference, but it is also self-referencing because of the character count in it. It would be difficult to write this sentence, as just one more character would not be solved by writing 243, as "three" has two more characters than "two", and "four" has only one more character...

"The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and every node has a loop." This means that if we draw a dot corresponding to each panel, and then we draw arrows connecting the dots to indicate dependencies, the resulting {{w|graph}} is {{w|complete graph|complete}} (meaning that all the points are connected to one another) and bidirectional (meaning that if point A has an arrow to point B, then point B also has an arrow to point A). "Every node has a loop" means that each point also has an arrow connecting to itself.

This is an observation of the interdependent relationship between description and creation that pertains to all things perceived by humans, including the concept of "Self".

Self-reference was used very early for instance in [[33: Self-reference]], but never so famously as here. See [[:Category:Self-reference|other self-references here]]. See also: [[:688: Self-Description|more self-descriptions here]].

==Transcript==
:[A pie chart which is mainly white with a black slice of about 30 degree towards the bottom left. The two sections are labeled with a line going from the label to the sections. The line going into the black section turns white in in this last part.]
:Fraction of this image which is white
:Fraction of this image which is black

:[A bar graph labeled with a label over the Y-axis. There are three black bars with a label below each bar. Bar 1 is of medium height, bar 2 highest and bar 3 the lowest.]
:Amount of black ink by panel:
:1 2 3

:[A scatter-plot with a label over the Y-axis. In the bottom left corner of the graph, the two axis has a tick just away from the origo, and these are labeled with zeros. The graph shows the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes. The scale is too small to actually read any of the text in this representation, which would of course be the same as that noted here for the two previous panel and for this panel here below:]
:Location of black ink in this image:
:0
:0

==Trivia==
*This comic has seen interest from several computer programmers who have [https://mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/121160/reproducing-the-xkcd-self-description-comic taken up on the challenge] to recreate this comic. Jon McLoone of the Wolfram blog [https://blog.wolfram.com/2010/09/07/self-description/ seems to have done it] quite well.
*The {{w|Mathematical Association of America}} [https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/math-horizons/the-mathematics-behind-xkcd-a-conversation-with-randall-munroe-0 interviewed] [[Randall Munroe]] about this topic.
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|six footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.
*This is one of the comics available as signed prints at the xkcd store.
*A T-shirt based on this comic is available in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/self-reference xkcd store].
*The comic might be inspired by [https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2007-07-05 SMBC].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Pie charts]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Recursion]]