2538: Snack

2022-10-13T04:01:32Z

Ravenclawinaleatherjacket: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2538
| date = November 5, 2021
| title = Snack
| image = snack.png
| titletext = Although grad students, suddenly reminded that food exists, tend to just grab and devour both without further discussion.
}}

==Explanation==
Many psychological studies involve participants being asked to make decisions under varying conditions, to determine how those conditions influence decision making. A common example is to give subjects a choice between eating a healthy snack (such as an apple) or a tasty snack (such as a cookie), which may be used as a simple proxy for whether they're prioritizing long-term health or short-term gratification. In most cases they are not made aware of the nature of the experiment, as knowing the premise of the study is liable to influence their behavior and alter the results. Instead subjects may deliberately be given a false impression of the purpose of the study, or they may be offered a choice under conditions where they're not aware that they're part of an experiment at all.

Examples of experiments like this are the {{w|Stanford marshmallow experiment}} and [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8656339/ this study].

This sort of psychological study is most commonly done by universities, which means that using university students as subjects is generally the most convenient option. This means both that psychological studies tend to be heavily skewed towards the demographics of college students, and that university students have a pretty good chance of being invited to participate in a study at some point.

The joke in this strip is based on the premise that psychology majors are sufficiently aware of such studies that it would make them suspicious of any circumstances which ''could'' be part of a study. If they've studied (or even conducted) such experiments, anything that reminded them of such a study could cause them to become suspicious. In [[Cueball]]'s case this is exaggerated into outright paranoia, and [[Ponytail]] is apparently playing on that to prank him, offering options that could easily be part of such an experiment just to spook him into suspicion.

Studies done on humans are subject to important ethical controls, particularly if the subjects are not fully informed of the study's purpose. "IRB" stands for {{w|Institutional Review Board}}, which is a committee (for example, at a university) which must approve such research to ensure that there's no significant risk of doing harm to the subjects of the study.

The title text jokes that graduate students have so much work to do that they are liable to forget to eat entirely and stereotypically too impoverished to afford adequate amounts of food; when presented with an offer of free food, they don't ponder the implications or potential ulterior motives; they just eat it quickly and get back to work.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail, holding a cookie up in one hand and an apple up in the other, addresses an alarmed Cueball. His alarm is shown by seven lines radiating away from his head, and he also holds his arms stretched out.]
:Ponytail: Hey, do you want a cookie? Or an apple?
:Cueball: '''''Who are you!? Did the IRB approve this!? Is everyone here an actor!?'''''

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The best prank you can play on psych majors is just to offer them a snack.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

2112: Night Shift

2019-02-18T05:53:28Z

Ravenclawinaleatherjacket: Added some more details on the effects of blue light

{{comic
| number = 2112
| date = February 15, 2019
| title = Night Shift
| image = night_shift.png
| titletext = Help, I set my white balance wrong and suddenly everyone is screaming at each other about whether they've been to Colorado.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BORED SCREAMING RESIDENT OF COLORADO (YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO COLORADO). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Many electronic devices have settings to adjust display color and intensity. "{{w|Night Shift (software)|Night shift}}," or similar modes make the display less blue. This may be useful in the evening, since blue light interferes with melatonin, the hormone which regulates the sleep cycle. This comic re-imagines such a mode as influencing the content of messages to encourage sleepiness—or, at least, to dampen [[386: Duty Calls|the emotional response that might keep someone up too late at night]].

In the title text, the reverse has occurred. By setting his {{w|Color balance|white balance}} incorrectly, the opinions that Randall is reading are more intense, even about "simple" things as having visited Colorado or not.

This strip then references the fact that on the internet, very few people answer in the singulars of 'Yes' or 'No' or another equally short and definable answer. This may be because there is little perceived value in such a short but factual answer, when you have the opportunity to voice your opinion, sometimes at length. Also in many cultures indirect expression is the norm, or polite; a short direct answer is considered less acceptable, especially in the negative.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Comments with peoples' profile pictures in front of them are shown in white comment boxes on a gray background.]
: Cueball: The Atlantic Ocean is big
:: Ponytail: The Pacific is even bigger
:: Cueball With Full Body Profile Picture (WFBPP): They're both very big

: Megan: A lot of people have TVs
:: Hairbun: Some people don't
:: Megan: Yeah, that's true

: Cueball: 24 isn't a prime number
:: Cueball WFBPP: Neither is 25

: Hairbun: Have you ever been to Colorado?
:: Megan: No
:: Cueball WFBPP: No
:: Cueball: Yeah
:: Ponytail: No

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My phone has a night shift mode to help me sleep, but instead of reducing the intensity of blue light, it reduces the intensity of opinions.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2538: Snack

2112: Night Shift