explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T09:50:52Z

PhantomLimbic: On spellings of "colocated"

I'm wondering whether this could be a joke about autocorrect/suggested completion as found in smartphone texting apps.
[[User:Dromaeosaur|Dromaeosaur]] ([[User talk:Dromaeosaur|talk]]) 08:06, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:But would autocorrect replace Texas with Hexxus?--[[User:Blaisorblade|Blaisorblade]] ([[User talk:Blaisorblade|talk]]) 09:02, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia Will Wheaton is not from Washington [[Special:Contributions/162.158.133.150|162.158.133.150]] 08:56, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I think the starting point is the ambiguity of the standard "Name all 50 states" challenge. I'm no native speaker but "Name" means both "invent a new name" and "give the correct name for", and Randall is misunderstanding this on purpose. Maybe that's obvious to some, but it seems the sort of thing worth explaining here?--[[User:Blaisorblade|Blaisorblade]] ([[User talk:Blaisorblade|talk]]) 09:02, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

"Colocated" is technically misspelled (it's either "co-located" or "collocated"), though that could be for the sake of matching it to "Colorado." However, the word is used in many situations other than "co-location center" (e.g. workers being collocated in the same office), so unless Colorado is particularly notable for its co-location centers, I don't think it makes sense to claim that that's what it's specifically referring to. –[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 09:36, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:Hmm, it looks like "colocated" is a spelling used specifically within the industry, so perhaps the claim is warranted after all. –[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 09:50, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T09:38:38Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ Removed second copy of Bandana/Alabama

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.
Randall has taken a map of the United States of America labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| Washington
| Will Wheaton is an actor from Washington
|-
| Organs
| Oregon
|
|-
| Cafeteria
| California
|
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| Nevada
| Fallout New Vegas is set in Nevada
|-
| Idolatry
| Idaho
|
|-
| mount -a
| Montana
| A command to mount all disk volumes
|-
| Wysiwyg
| Wyoming
| Acronym What You See Is What You Get.
|-
| Uhaul
| Utah
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Haul U-Haul] is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| Arizona
| Verizon has a shared "Rizon" with Arizona. Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| New Mexico
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste Namaste] is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| Texas
| The antagonist of Ferngully. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest FernGully] is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar".
|-
| Okay
| Oklahoma
| OK is the state's abbreviation.
|-
| Candice
| Kansas
|
|-
| Colocated
| Colorado
| Refers to computer servers located in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation_centre co-location center]
|-
| Nebrunswick
| Nebraska
| New Brunswick, A Canadian province
|-
| Dakota
| South Dakota
|
|-
| More Dakota
| North Dakota
|
|-
| Minestrone
| Minnesota
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| Wisconsin
| A type of wood [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panelling#Wainscot_panelling panelling] covering only the lower half of a wall
|-
| Iota
| Iowa
|
|-
| Sk8rbois
| Illinois
| "Skater Boys." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sk8er_Boi Sk8tr Boi] is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| Missouri
| The single different letter might be borrowed from Montessori, as in Montessori schools.
|-
| Arkanoids
| Arkansas
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| Louisiana
|
|-
| Misstate
| Mississippi
|
|-
| Bandana
| Alabama
|
|-
| Thennessy
| Tennessee
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennessy Hennessy] is a brand of cognac
|-
| Kennedy
| Kentucky
|
|-
| That Other One
| Indiana
|
|-
| Mishy
| Michigan
|
|-
| Oh Hi
| Ohio
|
|-
| Pencilmania
| Pennsylvania
|
|-
| Newark
| New York
| A mispronunciation of New York. Possible reference to William Gibson's works.
|-
| Vermouth
| Vermont
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermouth Vermouth] is an Italian alcoholic beverage
|-
| New Hamper
| New Hampshire
|
|-
| Spanish Maine
| Maine
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Main Spanish Main] was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Masseuses
| Massachusetts
|
|-
| Roald Dahl
| Rhode Island
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
|-
| Connectfour
| Connecticut
|
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| New Jersey
|
|-
| Delorean
| Delaware
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine time machine] in Back to the Future movies
|-
| Maybelline
| Maryland
|
|-
| District of Colubrids
| District of Columbia
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colubridae Colubridae] are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C. District of Columbia], although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| West Virginia
|
|-
| Virjayjay
| Virginia
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| North Carolina
| A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline song] by Neil Diamond
|-
| South Caroline
| South Carolina
| Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'
|-
| George
| Georgia
|
|-
| Fyoridor
| Florida
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| Alaska
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| Hawaii
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
| Alabama => Bandana |
| Alaska => Alberta |
| Arizona => Verizona |
| Arkansas => Arkanoids |
| California => Cafeteria |
| Colorado => Colocated |
| Connecticut => Connect Four |
| Delaware => Delorean |
| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |
| Florida => Fyoridor |
| Georgia => George |
| Hawaii => Kawaii |
| Idaho => Idolatry |
| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |
| Indiana => That Other One |
| Iowa => Iota |
| Kansas => Candice |
| Kentucky => Kennedy |
| Louisiana => Loisa |
| Maine => Spanish Maine |
| Maryland => Maybelline |
| Massachusetts => Masseuses |
| Michigan => Mishy |
| Minnesota => Minestrone |
| Mississippi => Misstate |
| Missouri => Mossouri |
| Montana => mount -a |
| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |
| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |
| New Hampshire => New Hamper |
| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |
| New Mexico => Namaste |
| New York => Newark |
| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |
| /South Carolina => South Caroline |
| Ohio => Oh Hi |
| Oklahoma => Okay |
| Oregon => Organs |
| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |
| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |
| South Dakota => Dakota |
| /North Dakota => More Dakota |
| Tennessee => Thennessy |
| Texas => Hexxus |
| Utah => Uhaul |
| Vermont => Vermouth |
| Virginia => Virjayjay |
| Washington => Willwheaton |
| West Virginia => Wyvern |
| Wisconsin => Wainscot |
| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T09:36:06Z

PhantomLimbic: Colocated comment

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T09:30:54Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ Added for Thennessy, Spanish Maine, Sk8terbois

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.
Randall has taken a map of the United States of America labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| Washington
| Will Wheaton is an actor from Washington
|-
| Organs
| Oregon
|
|-
| Cafeteria
| California
|
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| Nevada
| Fallout New Vegas is set in Nevada
|-
| Idolatry
| Idaho
|
|-
| mount -a
| Montana
| A command to mount all disk volumes
|-
| Wysiwyg
| Wyoming
| Acronym What You See Is What You Get.
|-
| Uhaul
| Utah
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Haul U-Haul] is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| Arizona
| Verizon has a shared "Rizon" with Arizona. Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| New Mexico
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste Namaste] is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| Texas
| The antagonist of Ferngully. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest FernGully] is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar".
|-
| Okay
| Oklahoma
| OK is the state's abbreviation.
|-
| Candice
| Kansas
|
|-
| Colocated
| Colorado
| Refers to computer servers located in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation_centre co-location center]
|-
| Nebrunswick
| Nebraska
| New Brunswick, A Canadian province
|-
| Dakota
| South Dakota
|
|-
| More Dakota
| North Dakota
|
|-
| Minestrone
| Minnesota
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| Wisconsin
| A type of wood [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panelling#Wainscot_panelling panelling] covering only the lower half of a wall
|-
| Iota
| Iowa
|
|-
| Sk8rbois
| Illinois
| "Skater Boys." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sk8er_Boi Sk8tr Boi] is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| Missouri
| The single different letter might be borrowed from Montessori, as in Montessori schools.
|-
| Arkanoids
| Arkansas
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| Louisiana
|
|-
| Misstate
| Mississippi
|
|-
| Bandana
| Alabama
|
|-
| Thennessy
| Tennessee
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennessy Hennessy] is a brand of cognac
|-
| Kennedy
| Kentucky
|
|-
| That Other One
| Indiana
|
|-
| Mishy
| Michigan
|
|-
| Oh Hi
| Ohio
|
|-
| Pencilmania
| Pennsylvania
|
|-
| Newark
| New York
| A mispronunciation of New York. Possible reference to William Gibson's works.
|-
| Vermouth
| Vermont
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermouth Vermouth] is an Italian alcoholic beverage
|-
| New Hamper
| New Hampshire
|
|-
| Spanish Maine
| Maine
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Main Spanish Main] was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Masseuses
| Massachusetts
|
|-
| Roald Dahl
| Rhode Island
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
|-
| Connectfour
| Connecticut
|
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| New Jersey
|
|-
| Delorean
| Delaware
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine time machine] in Back to the Future movies
|-
| Maybelline
| Maryland
|
|-
| District of Colubrids
| District of Columbia
| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colubridae Colubridae] are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C. District of Columbia], although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| West Virginia
|
|-
| Virjayjay
| Virginia
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| North Carolina
| A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline song] by Neil Diamond
|-
| South Caroline
| South Carolina
| Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'
|-
| George
| Georgia
|
|-
| Fyoridor
| Florida
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| Alaska
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| Hawaii
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii.
|-
| Bandana
| Alabama
|
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
| Alabama => Bandana |
| Alaska => Alberta |
| Arizona => Verizona |
| Arkansas => Arkanoids |
| California => Cafeteria |
| Colorado => Colocated |
| Connecticut => Connect Four |
| Delaware => Delorean |
| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |
| Florida => Fyoridor |
| Georgia => George |
| Hawaii => Kawaii |
| Idaho => Idolatry |
| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |
| Indiana => That Other One |
| Iowa => Iota |
| Kansas => Candice |
| Kentucky => Kennedy |
| Louisiana => Loisa |
| Maine => Spanish Maine |
| Maryland => Maybelline |
| Massachusetts => Masseuses |
| Michigan => Mishy |
| Minnesota => Minestrone |
| Mississippi => Misstate |
| Missouri => Mossouri |
| Montana => mount -a |
| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |
| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |
| New Hampshire => New Hamper |
| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |
| New Mexico => Namaste |
| New York => Newark |
| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |
| /South Carolina => South Caroline |
| Ohio => Oh Hi |
| Oklahoma => Okay |
| Oregon => Organs |
| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |
| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |
| South Dakota => Dakota |
| /North Dakota => More Dakota |
| Tennessee => Thennessy |
| Texas => Hexxus |
| Utah => Uhaul |
| Vermont => Vermouth |
| Virginia => Virjayjay |
| Washington => Willwheaton |
| West Virginia => Wyvern |
| Wisconsin => Wainscot |
| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

1734: Reductionism

2016-09-19T08:22:21Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ More detail on Great Vowel Shift

{{comic
| number = 1734
| date = September 16, 2016
| title = Reductionism
| image = reductionism.png
| titletext = "I've noticed you physics people can be a little on the reductionist side." "That's ridiculous. Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More on the two entries in the comic. Especially the I/E note. Is this true generally or was it for the sound in rEductionsm like in rIductionsm? Is this a reference to the Great Vowel Shift?}}
{{w|Reductionism}} is an approach that seeks to understand the world by breaking problems into simpler pieces. This approach can disregard emergent properties which appear only from the individual parts working together.

In this comic [[Randall]] shows the first part of a dictionary entry on the word ''Reductionism''. In a real dictionary like [http://www.dictionary.com/ Dictionary.com] an [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reductionism entry] with similar build up looks like this:
:Reductionism
:Noun
:1. The theory that every complex phenomenon, especially in biology or psychology, can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon.
:2. The practice of simplifying a complex idea, issue, condition, or the like, especially to the point of minimizing, obscuring, or distorting it.
In the comic the ''n'' refers to {{w|noun}} and the "1." indicate that this is the first of more than one entries about the word.

The meta joke is that Randall is attempting to define the word ''Reductionism'' by taking the reductionist approach to its extreme. He thus breaks the word into its 12 individual letters explaining the origin of each individual letter, acting as if the word was nothing more than the "sum" of all its letters. In doing so he entirely fails to explain the actual meaning of the word.

The entire entry number 1. could in principle have 12 phrases one for each of the letters R, E, D, U, C, T, I, O, N, I, S and M, but here only the first two for R and E are included, the third (D) only just starts when the entry is cut off at the bottom of the panel. It could be argued that the two I's could share one explanation, but as a reductionist you might not even notice that the I had already been explained.

As it happens, every letter of the {{w|Latin alphabet}} (the writing system used by the {{w|English language}} and many other languages) is ultimately derived from {{w|Egyptian hieroglyphics}}, not just "R". But maybe the same sentence is used for all the {{w|consonants}} as the only word in the explanation for "D" is "is"; the same that starts the explanation for "R".

The second letter that is explained is "E", a {{w|vowel}}. In modern English spelling, the letter "E" is used – alone or in combination – to represent a number of different vowel sounds (compare "gene", "bed", "ear"). In the word "reductionism", the "E" can be pronounced as /ɪ/ ("riductionism"), /iː/ ("reeductionism") or /ə/ ("ruductionism"), depending on dialect and emphasis, but the comic is talking about the sound used to pronounce the letter itself, /iː/ ("long E"). It explains that this vowel sound was normally represented with the letter "I" until the 1500's. This is a reference to the {{w|Great Vowel Shift}}, a change in the pronunciation of many English vowels around that time. Before then, a word like "see" was pronounced /seː/ (approximately "seh", with not diphthong), while a word like "bite" was pronounced /biːt/ ("beet"). So in modern English pronunciation, the "long E" sound is the same as what the "long I" spelling used to represent.

In the title text, two people are speaking. The first speaker has noticed that "physics people can be a little on the reductionist side". (Randall would consider himself a physicist). The presumed physicist then says that it is a ridiculous notion. He challenges the other to "Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said." But by claiming he is not a reductionist by focusing on the individual words (which, even/especially in the case of "reductionist", are never used ''solely'' by reductionists) he is asking for an impossible comparison to be made, when proof of reductionism is clearly an emergent property of a fuller sentences, if not whole discourses. By insisting on focusing only upon individual words in this manner the speaker likely proves themself a reductionist, in the very act of trying to refute this accusation.

Reductionism has previously appeared [[1416:_Pixels#Holism.2C_Reductionism.2C_Mu|deep down]] in [[1416: Pixels]].

==Transcript==
:[The comic represents an entry in a dictionary for a word. Unlike normal comics not only capital letters are used, and thus here the capitalization of the comic is also used in the transcript. The entry is cut of through the bottom of the fourth line by the bottom of the panel, but the last line is still readable.]
:'''REDUCTIONISM'''•''n''. 1. "R" is a letter with
:origins in the Egyptian hieroglyphics. "E"
:stands for a vowel sound normally
:represented by "I" until the 1500's. "D" is

==Trivia==
*This comic was posted as normally on a Friday, but it was also posted the day after the previous comic [[1733: Solar Spectrum]].
**This marks the first time on xkcd where, in a week where only three comics where released, there was a release on both Thursday and Friday.
***The only other times there has been released comics on both Thursday and Friday has been in the series weeks where a five comic series has been released on five consecutive days from Monday to Friday.
**The reason that the previous comic's release day was postponed from the scheduled Wednesday release to a [[:Category:Thursday comics|Thursday release]] was because Randall noticed the extreme popularity of the previous comic from Monday: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]].
***Randall even explained this in the header text, see [[1732#Popularity_of_comic|this trivia item]] in the popular comics explanation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

1734: Reductionism

2016-09-19T07:26:24Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ punctuation

{{comic
| number = 1734
| date = September 16, 2016
| title = Reductionism
| image = reductionism.png
| titletext = "I've noticed you physics people can be a little on the reductionist side." "That's ridiculous. Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More on the two entries in the comic. Especially the I/E note. Is this true generally or was it for the sound in rEductionsm like in rIductionsm? Is this a reference to the Great Vowel Shift?}}
{{w|Reductionism}} is an approach that seeks to understand the world by breaking problems into simpler pieces. This approach can disregard emergent properties which appear only from the individual parts working together.

In this comic [[Randall]] shows the first part of a dictionary entry on the word ''Reductionism''. In a real dictionary like [http://www.dictionary.com/ Dictionary.com] an [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reductionism entry] with similar build up looks like this:
:Reductionism
:Noun
:1. The theory that every complex phenomenon, especially in biology or psychology, can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon.
:2. The practice of simplifying a complex idea, issue, condition, or the like, especially to the point of minimizing, obscuring, or distorting it.
In the comic the ''n'' refers to {{w|noun}} and the "1." indicate that this is the first of more than one entries about the word.

The meta joke is that Randall is attempting to define the word ''Reductionism'' by taking the reductionist approach to its extreme. He thus breaks the word into its 12 individual letters explaining the origin of each individual letter, acting as if the word was nothing more than the "sum" of all its letters. In doing so he entirely fails to explain the actual meaning of the word.

The entire entry number 1. could in principle have 12 phrases one for each of the letters R, E, D, U, C, T, I, O, N, I, S and M, but here only the first two for R and E are included, the third (D) only just starts when the entry is cut off at the bottom of the panel. It could be argued that the two I's could share one explanation, but as a reductionist you would not even notice that the I had already been explained.

As it happens, every letter of the {{w|Latin alphabet}} (the writing system used by the {{w|English language}} and many other languages) is ultimately derived from {{w|Egyptian hieroglyphics}}, not just "R". But maybe the same sentence is used for all the {{w|consonants}} as the only word in the explanation for "D" is "is"; the same that starts the explanation for "R". The second letter that is explained is "E", a {{w|vowel}}. In this case it explains that this vowel sound was normally represented with the letter "I" until the 1500's, a reference to the {{w|Great Vowel Shift}}.

In the title text, two people are speaking. The first speaker has noticed that "physics people can be a little on the reductionist side". (Randall would consider himself a physicist). The presumed physicist then says that it is a ridiculous notion. He challenges the other to "Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said." But by claiming he is not a reductionist by focusing on the individual words (which, even/especially in the case of "reductionist", are never used ''solely'' by reductionists) he is asking for an impossible comparison to be made, when proof of reductionism is clearly an emergent property of a fuller sentences, if not whole discourses. By insisting on focusing only upon individual words in this manner the speaker likely proves themself a reductionist, in the very act of trying to refute this accusation.

Reductionism has previously appeared [[1416:_Pixels#Holism.2C_Reductionism.2C_Mu|deep down]] in [[1416: Pixels]].

==Transcript==
:[The comic represents an entry in a dictionary for a word. Unlike normal comics not only capital letters are used, and thus here the capitalization of the comic is also used in the transcript. The entry is cut of through the bottom of the fourth line by the bottom of the panel, but the last line is still readable.]
:'''REDUCTIONISM'''•''n''. 1. "R" is a letter with
:origins in the Egyptian hieroglyphics. "E"
:stands for a vowel sound normally
:represented by "I" until the 1500's. "D" is

==Trivia==
*This comic was posted as normally on a Friday, but it was also posted the day after the previous comic [[1733: Solar Spectrum]].
**This marks the first time on xkcd where, in a week where only three comics where released, there was a release on both Thursday and Friday.
***The only other times there has been released comics on both Thursday and Friday has been in the series weeks where a five comic series has been released on five consecutive days from Monday to Friday.
**The reason that the previous comic's release day was postponed from the scheduled Wednesday release to a [[:Category:Thursday comics|Thursday release]] was because Randall noticed the extreme popularity of the previous comic from Monday: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]].
***Randall even explained this in the header text, see [[1732#Popularity_of_comic|this trivia item]] in the popular comics explanation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

1734: Reductionism

2016-09-19T07:24:42Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ Great Vowel Shift

{{comic
| number = 1734
| date = September 16, 2016
| title = Reductionism
| image = reductionism.png
| titletext = "I've noticed you physics people can be a little on the reductionist side." "That's ridiculous. Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More on the two entries in the comic. Especially the I/E note. Is this true generally or was it for the sound in rEductionsm like in rIductionsm? Is this a reference to the Great Vowel Shift?}}
{{w|Reductionism}} is an approach that seeks to understand the world by breaking problems into simpler pieces. This approach can disregard emergent properties which appear only from the individual parts working together.

In this comic [[Randall]] shows the first part of a dictionary entry on the word ''Reductionism''. In a real dictionary like [http://www.dictionary.com/ Dictionary.com] an [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reductionism entry] with similar build up looks like this:
:Reductionism
:Noun
:1. The theory that every complex phenomenon, especially in biology or psychology, can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon.
:2. The practice of simplifying a complex idea, issue, condition, or the like, especially to the point of minimizing, obscuring, or distorting it.
In the comic the ''n'' refers to {{w|noun}} and the "1." indicate that this is the first of more than one entries about the word.

The meta joke is that Randall is attempting to define the word ''Reductionism'' by taking the reductionist approach to its extreme. He thus breaks the word into its 12 individual letters explaining the origin of each individual letter, acting as if the word was nothing more than the "sum" of all its letters. In doing so he entirely fails to explain the actual meaning of the word.

The entire entry number 1. could in principle have 12 phrases one for each of the letters R, E, D, U, C, T, I, O, N, I, S and M, but here only the first two for R and E are included, the third (D) only just starts when the entry is cut off at the bottom of the panel. It could be argued that the two I's could share one explanation, but as a reductionist you would not even notice that the I had already been explained.

As it happens, every letter of the {{w|Latin alphabet}} (the writing system used by the {{w|English language}} and many other languages) is ultimately derived from {{w|Egyptian hieroglyphics}}, not just "R". But maybe the same sentence is used for all the {{w|consonants}} as the only word in the explanation for "D" is "is"; the same that starts the explanation for "R". The second letter that is explained is "E" a {{w|vowel}}. In this case it explains that this vowel sound was normally represented with the letter "I" until the 1500's, a reference to the {{w|Great Vowel Shift}}.

In the title text, two people are speaking. The first speaker has noticed that "physics people can be a little on the reductionist side". (Randall would consider himself a physicist). The presumed physicist then says that it is a ridiculous notion. He challenges the other to "Name ONE reductionist word I've ever said." But by claiming he is not a reductionist by focusing on the individual words (which, even/especially in the case of "reductionist", are never used ''solely'' by reductionists) he is asking for an impossible comparison to be made, when proof of reductionism is clearly an emergent property of a fuller sentences, if not whole discourses. By insisting on focusing only upon individual words in this manner the speaker likely proves themself a reductionist, in the very act of trying to refute this accusation.

Reductionism has previously appeared [[1416:_Pixels#Holism.2C_Reductionism.2C_Mu|deep down]] in [[1416: Pixels]].

==Transcript==
:[The comic represents an entry in a dictionary for a word. Unlike normal comics not only capital letters are used, and thus here the capitalization of the comic is also used in the transcript. The entry is cut of through the bottom of the fourth line by the bottom of the panel, but the last line is still readable.]
:'''REDUCTIONISM'''•''n''. 1. "R" is a letter with
:origins in the Egyptian hieroglyphics. "E"
:stands for a vowel sound normally
:represented by "I" until the 1500's. "D" is

==Trivia==
*This comic was posted as normally on a Friday, but it was also posted the day after the previous comic [[1733: Solar Spectrum]].
**This marks the first time on xkcd where, in a week where only three comics where released, there was a release on both Thursday and Friday.
***The only other times there has been released comics on both Thursday and Friday has been in the series weeks where a five comic series has been released on five consecutive days from Monday to Friday.
**The reason that the previous comic's release day was postponed from the scheduled Wednesday release to a [[:Category:Thursday comics|Thursday release]] was because Randall noticed the extreme popularity of the previous comic from Monday: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]].
***Randall even explained this in the header text, see [[1732#Popularity_of_comic|this trivia item]] in the popular comics explanation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

1707: xkcd Phone 4

2016-07-18T12:52:51Z

PhantomLimbic: /* Explanation */ Corrected explanation of "dog-whistle politics"

{{comic
| number = 1707
| date = July 15, 2016
| title = xkcd Phone 4
| image = xkcd_phone_4.png
| titletext = The SpaceX system carefully guides falling phones down to the surface, a process which the phones increasingly often survive without exploding.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Not everything explained}}

This is another entry in the xkcd Phone series (see [[1363: xkcd Phone]], [[1465: xkcd Phone 2]] and [[1549: XKCD Phone 3]]), and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical.

From the top, going clockwise:
* '''18,000 μAh (micro-Ampere hours) nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)''' Phone battery capacity is measured in {{w|ampere-hour}}s (which thanks to the magic of {{w|dimensional analysis}}, is just an unusual way of denoting electric charge, which equals 3600 Coulombs). Usually, the capacity is quoted in milliampere-hours (one-thousandth, or 10-3, of an ampere hour); however, this one is quoted in ''micro''ampere-hours (one-millionth, or 10-6, of an ampere-hour), presumably as a marketing ploy to give a more impressive-looking number. Quoted in more standard terms, this phone's battery capacity is 18 mAh. In comparison, an iPhone 6+ has a battery capacity of 2,750 mAh. This phone's battery is dreadful (under a typical current draw of 0.1A, it would power the phone for about 11 minutes). There is nothing normally called a "nickel-lithium-iron battery" - rather, this seems to be a [[739|malamanteau]] of the experimental {{w|nickel–lithium battery}} and the common {{w|lithium ion battery}} (which does not contain any iron) or the lithium-iron-phosphate battery, often called lithium-iron, but more often called the LiFePO battery. The {{w|nickel–iron battery}} may contain {{w|lithium hydroxide}}, but it's ''terrible'' for most applications. Worse, this battery is non-rechargeable, meaning that it would have to be replaced to use the phone again after it is exhausted (every 11 minutes, at that!).
** [[XKCD Phone 3]] was powered by two {{w|AA battery|AA batteries}} (not included), which have an energy capacity roughly 100 times larger.
** Many devices have a small second battery which is only used for keeping the clock time. This could be such a battery.
* '''Subwoofer''' - A {{w|subwoofer}} is a large bass speaker, which this is not. Some phones do have high-quality speakers for playing music, but these are not placed right next to the earpiece - this would be a surefire way to deafen your users. When put next to Dog Whistle, this is probably a pun, since both relate to dogs; the sound a dog makes, at least in English, is "Woof".
* '''"Dog whistle"''' - A {{w|dog whistle}} is a high-pitched whistle that humans cannot hear, but dogs can. In speaker terminology, a bass speaker is called a {{w|woofer}} because it could reproduce the low pitch of a dog bark. A treble speaker is a {{w|tweeter}}; if this "whistle" is actually a speaker, it might be termed a ''supertweeter''. The scare quotes may be a reference to "dog-whistle politics", in which certain phrases have a particular meaning to a segment of the audience that passes unnoticed by the rest. This allows a candidate to surreptitiously signal agreement with that group, without alienating the rest of the audience, among whom the ideas might be unpopular if plainly stated.
** [[xkcd Phone 2]] contained a "dog noticer".
* '''Non-porous, washable''' - On the one hand, it's rare for a phone to be made of porous materials. On the other, there are legitimately waterproof phones that seal the speakers and ports with rubber.
** [[xkcd Phone 2]] was also washable (though only once).
* '''''WebMD'' partnership: cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"''' - {{w|WebMD}} is a website to help people diagnose themselves. For the vast majority of people, a cough just means an irritated throat or maybe a cold, but selecting randomly from all WebMD diagnoses gives some much more ominous - if very unlikely - ones, including {{w|ricin}} poisoning, {{w|plague}}, {{w|lung cancer}} and {{w|radiation poisoning}}.
* '''Wings''' - These {{w|wings}} resemble the ones found on {{w|sanitary towel}}s (sometimes called "pads", making this a possible iPad pun) which attach the pad to the {{w|gusset}} and keep it in place between the woman's legs during her period ({{w|Menstruation}} cycle). If actually functional as {{w|aerodynamic}} wings, they would likely come into play when the "SpaceX" impact protection feature becomes engaged, and would likely make holding the phone awkward if rigid.
** [[XKCD Phone 3]] had a similarly positioned wristband.
* '''Beveled bezel''' - The ''bezel'' is the ring around the edge of watches and screens. This one's {{w|bevel}}ed, which means it's cut at an angle.
* '''Bezeled bevel''' - Punning on the above. Doesn't make much sense, but could mean that it features a beveled edge which is surrounded by a bezel.
* '''Seedless''' - Fruit such as grapes can be "seedless", which means that they're grown from a special {{w|cultivar}} that doesn't grow seeds in the normal way. Making a phone seedless probably won't do anything, but {{w|Random seed|it might hurt}} its {{w|random number generator}}.
** [[XKCD Phone 3]] was boneless.
* '''Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50''' - {{w|Water resistance}} is often measured in terms of how deep an object can be submerged, since pressure increases with depth. In this case, the phone can be submerged to almost any depth, but there's an odd lacuna between 30 meters and 50 meters. It also plays with the confusion in describing depths greater than 50m as "below 50". Alternatively, this might indicate the phone must remain dry above 50 meters altitude.
** [[xkcd Phone]] and [[XKCD Phone 3]] could drown. The latter was otherwise waterproof. [[xkcd Phone 2]] was only waterproof internally.
** The previous comic [[870: Advertising]] presented a similarly absurd range: "Up to 15% or more!"
* '''Turing-complete''' - A computer is {{w|Turing completeness|Turing complete}} if it can perform all the operations needed to simulate a {{w|Turing machine}}. All modern computers are usually described as Turing complete, which would make this not very impressive, but no computer can ever be Turing complete in the truest sense (since they can only ever have a finite amount of memory) - if the xkcd Phone 4 is truly a universal computer, it's ''very'' impressive indeed.
* '''Gregorian/Julian calendar date switch''' - The {{w|Julian calendar}} is the predecessor to the modern {{w|Gregorian calendar}} - the difference is that the two calendars calculate leap years differently. The current difference between the calenders is 13 days, which will remain unchanged until Februari 2100. The Julian calendar is still used occasionally - mainly by Eastern Orthodox Christians - but it's not something so vital that it needs a hardwired switch on the front of the phone.
* '''''SpaceX'' impact protection: when dropped, phone lands on barge''' - The rocket company {{w|SpaceX}} recently trialed a {{w|SpaceX reusable launch system development program|reusable rocket stage}} which after separating from the launch vehicle, lands on a {{w|Autonomous spaceport drone ship|drone barge}} to be reused. The alt-text pokes fun at the number of SpaceX rockets that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wZRdg-Tmo crashed and exploded] before they got the landing gear right.
* '''Parallel port''' - A {{w|parallel port}} is a type of interface which transfers high-volume simultaneous data. It was often used to connect printers and other devices to computers, but was generally considered obsolete by the time smartphones began to appear on the market, and would be very bulky and slow compared to the USB ports generally used in phones. It was commonly found together with {{w|serial port}}s, which are used for low-volume sequential data such as [[485: Depth|mouse]] [[1110: Click and Drag|movements]]. Here it is paired with a serial interface for analog data with parallel outputs for several people.
* '''12 headphone jacks''' - Phones often include a single headphone jack to allow the user to privately listen to a call, play music, etc. Twelve of them would be pointless overkill, especially given the difficulty of getting twelve people close enough to all use their headphones. Presumably joking about the [http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-headphone-jack-iphone-side-effects-2016-7#/#smaller-headphone-makers-would-be-at-a-disadvantage-4 constant rumours] that Apple's next iPhone will not have any headphone jacks, and the weird vents on the bottom of the phone. It could also be a reference to one of the more [http://www.overclock3d.net/news/audio/sennheiser_shows_audio_module_concepts_for_project_ara/1 talked-about modules] for the upcoming [https://atap.google.com/ara/ Project Ara] phone from [http://www.google.com google] which gives 4 headphone jacks - not only allowing sharing between four people, but more usefully, would allow full surround-sound recording/playback at any location (something often limited to recording studios).
* '''Onboard cloud''' - The "cloud" is a catch-all term for the use of remote computers to store data, providing a backup if all local copies are lost and allowing the data to be accessed from a broad network. An "onboard cloud" would thus be a contradiction in terms, and appears to be a marketing ploy to use the "cloud" buzzword to describe the device's onboard storage capacity.
* '''New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)''' - {{w|Aequorea victoria}} jellyfish contain a protein called {{w|green fluorescent protein}}, the gene for which has been isolated and can be used in many ways. Unfortunately, the developers of this phone took the wrong gene, and ended up getting [http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1568-3 one of the hundreds of proteins from jellyfish venom], which will presumably mean that touching the screen becomes a painful experience.
* '''✓ Certified''' - Twitter certifies accounts related to music producers, government, journalism, business, sports, and other more "official" types of accounts with a blue checkmark besides the twitter handle (besides the @whomever). It's of course nonsense for a phone to be twitter verified. Alternatively, it might be a reference to [[1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient]], in which buzzwords such as "tested" and "certified" are intended to make a given product sound more legitimate.
* '''Software-defined''' {{w|Software-defined radio}}s are quite popular in some areas, meaning the radio hardware is quite universal and can be adapted to different radio protocols just by changing software. SDR would actually be quite a nice feature for a cellphone. Of course it doesn't specify if it's the radio that is software defined.
* '''Exposed ductwork''' - A phone shouldn't even have ductwork, unless it has a very sophisticated cooling system, but this could supply air to the dog whistle. Exposed ductwork is a trademark of {{w|Bowellism|Bowellist}} architecture such as the {{w|Lloyd's Building}} in London and the {{w|Pompidou Centre}} in Paris. Exposed ductwork is also considered a crucial flaw in a death star. May also refer to a transparent window in the side of the phone allowing the user to see the circuitry inside, similar to computer cases with transparent side panels popular among DIY computing enthusiasts.
* '''Voice interaction: {{w|Siri (software)|Siri}}, {{w|Cortana (software)|Cortana}}, {{w|Google Now}} and {{w|Amazon Echo|Alexa}} respond simultaneously''' - These are all {{w|intelligent personal assistant software}} (from Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon respectively) and all do the same thing: control your phone and answer questions using speech recognition. Having all four talk at once would mean you'd have a total cacophony while gaining nothing.
** [[XKCD Phone 3]] might have included Siri.

* '''Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™''' - the tenth version of Apple's {{w|operating system}} for its {{w|Macintosh computer}} was labeled {{w|OS X}}, which was intended to be read as "oh ess ten". {{w|Steve Jobs}} was irritated that everyone else preferred "oh ess ecks". This phrase is labeled with trademark and copyright symbols, as if someone desires it to be the product's {{w|tagline}} but has poor understanding of relevant laws. In particular, "<big>{{w|™}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|unregistered trademark}}s while "<big>{{w|®}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|registered trademark}}s. If the phrase were an unregistered trademark, the owner would be prohibited from using "<big>{{w|®}}</big>".

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone featuring wings is shown. Clockwise from the top left the labels read:]

:18,000 μAh nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)

:Subwoofer

:"Dog whistle"

:Non-porous, washable

:WebMD partnership: Cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"

:Wings

:Beveled bezel

:Bezeled bevel

:Seedless

:Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50

:Turing-complete

:Gregorian/Julian calendar switch

:SpaceX impact protection: When dropped, phone lands on barge

:Parallel port

:12 headphone jacks

:Onboard cloud

:New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)

:✓ Certified

:Software-defined

:Exposed ductwork

:Voice interaction: Siri, Cortana, Google Now and Alexa respond simultaneously

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The XKCD Phone 4</big></big>
:Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Smartphones]]

Talk:1692: Man Page

2016-06-10T07:30:18Z

PhantomLimbic: Dashes and the halting problem

I do not entirely understand how wikis work; however, I have attempted to add a transcript. I apologize if anything breaks. I also apologize if this is not how I should be apologizing.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.135|108.162.241.135]] 04:27, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The Pope flag is referencing the time of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy Avignon Papacy] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.243|108.162.237.243]] 04:56, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The horrible thing about this comic is that somebody is sure to have implemented this program by the end of the day... {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.140}}

"Behavior Not Defined" might be a reference to undefined behavior, where a program is allowed to do anything including make demons fly out your nose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undefined_behavior [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.12|108.162.219.12]] 06:48, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.36|162.158.135.36]] 06:58, 10 June 2016 (UTC) Søren Mors

I thought Ansel was a deliberate misspelling of ANSI, the most common 8 bit codepage. {{unsigned ip|162.158.135.36}}

The commit "Revision as of 07:08, 10 June 2016" reverted an IMO good explanation for the debug option with a bad one. Consider changing it back. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 07:20, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I don't think `blerp -a -d -t -p "AVIGNON"` is a valid call to blerp, because the syntax line syntax is utterly off. For example, the first line has an unclosed open [, whereas the second line – in addition to having the corresponding unmatched ] – plays with the fact that even though {} is usually used to list a set of required items, {} is also how `find` (which might do something similar to blerp, and is in fact mentioned in -v) denotes its results when passed to an exec. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.30}}

Command line options do not normally use n-dashes; they use hyphens. Another problem with this option is that n-dashes and m-dashes cannot usually be displayed properly in the fixed-width fonts commonly used for command line terminals. The usual custom is to use two hyphens to represent a dash (which for proportional font display will often be converted to either an n-dash or m-dash).

While "check whether input halts" clearly alludes to the halting problem, it may not actually be impossible, depending on what blerp actually does and what sort of input it accepts. (It says nothing about actually ''reporting'' the result, and it makes no guarantees that it will itself halt.)

—[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 07:30, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1585: Similarities

2015-10-06T10:50:47Z

PhantomLimbic: shades of red

;Origins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As you've given me a spoiler for the film, I've added a spoiler warning [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 16:52, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

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

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

: My first thought was that it's a reference to menstruation. And isn't there an infamous tampon scene in the book/movie? [[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 10:50, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1484: Apollo Speeches

2015-02-09T17:06:58Z

PhantomLimbic: Re: ChimpComp?

[http://watergate.info/1969/07/20/an-undelivered-nixon-speech.html Speech] for reference[[User:Blawho|Blawho]] ([[User talk:Blawho|talk]]) 06:40, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Any chance the scenario with extra astronauts coming back is a reference to Scott Card's Xenocide, in the book they find a way for FTL travel but some odd things happen on the first voyage including extra people coming back ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocide#Outside click if you're not afraid of spoilers])? {{unsigned ip|188.114.98.29}}

Probably it could also be a reference to Tarkowski's movie "Solaris"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.92.93}}

:: It's also similar to the premise of the comic ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chimpanzee_Complex The Chimpanzee Complex]''. Probably just a coincidence, though. – [[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 17:06, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

1484: Apollo Speeches

2015-02-09T17:03:51Z

PhantomLimbic: sp "Laying" -> "Lying"

{{comic
| number = 1484
| date = February 9, 2015
| title = Apollo Speeches
| image = apollo_speeches.png
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}
As explained in the comic, {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} staffer {{w|William Safire}} wrote [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html two speeches] for the United States President to deliver, depending on whether or not the {{w|Apollo 11}} return launch was successful. The reason for two different speeches having been written was that the return launch had an outcome that could not be predicted with certainty. Such an uncertain event could be called a contingency, making the speeches "[http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/centennials/nixon/exhibit/nixon-online-exhibit-disaster.html contingency speeches]".

The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed are a couple pages from the real contingency speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the Moon. Lying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft goes missing altogether, which is relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following highly unlikely or impossible contingencies:
* The astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it to Mars, which is clearly impossible: while the crew could have redirected the ship while sending insulting messages to Earth, the spacecraft lacked the power to fly to Mars by several orders of magnitude.
* Upon landing, more astronauts than expected were found in the ship;
* The ship had hit the {{w|USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet''}} and crushed Nixon;
* The ship had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.

The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the irony of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.

==Transcript==
:[Commentary above the Speeches]
:In 1969, Nixon staffer William Safire wrote a speech for the president to deliver if the Apollo 11 return launch failed, stranding the doomed astronauts on the moon.
:Uncovered in 1999, it is often called the greatest speech never given.
:Today, the ''full'' set of Safire's contingency speeches has been found.

:'''In event astronauts stranded on moon'''
:Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
:[Here, several lines from the original speech are cut]
:In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
:Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever

:'''In event spacecraft goes missing'''
:Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins went to the moon as ambassadors of peace for all mankind, and all mankind prays that they may yet return safely home.
:We are separated from the moon by a vast gulf of space, against which their tiny vessel appeared as but a drifting speck. For a few brief seconds, we took our eye off them, and despite days of desperate searching, never again was their vessel sighted from Earth.
:While these men are lost, they are not forgotten, and their sacrifice will not

:'''In even astronauts abscond with spacecraft'''
:We do not know what led Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to betray the trust we placed in them, abandon their mission, and steer their vessel toward Mars. Nor do we know what compelled them to transmit such hurtful messages back to Earth, heaping contempt on their onetime home.
:But whatever the cause of their dereliction, I call upon the United States to commit itself, before this year is out, to launching a mission to chase down Apollo 11 and return its crew to earth to face justice. We must not rest until

:'''In event spacecraft returns with extra astronauts'''
:While there is much we do not understand, tonight all of earth is united in celebrating the safe return of our brave explorers.
:We of course have many questions, and in the days and weeks to come we will demand answers. How many souls were truly aboard Apollo 11 when it launched? Who are the six men now in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet? What happened

:'''In event spacecraft hits U.S.S. Hornet, crushing Nixon'''
:'''President Agnew''': Tonight, we have experienced a great national triumph and a great national loss. We take joy in the safe return from the moon of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but that joy is tempered with sorrow as we mourn our president’s tragic death beneath their wayward capsule.
:Richard Nixon wholeheartedly supported our courageous astronauts as they carried the hopes and prayers of Earth to the heavens, and in the moment of their homecoming, he himself has departed on that ultimate voyage. As we grieve, we must rededicate ourselves to the cause for which our president

:'''In event spacecraft accidentally sold for scrap and crushed with astronauts inside'''
:My fellow Americans, I am as shocked and appalled as you at this stunning and

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