explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1401: New

2022-01-25T06:54:30Z

Scool computer: i kind of want a headcannon

Why are there three ''n'''s in ''headcannnon'' in the title text?
[[User:Keavon|Keavon]] ([[User talk:Keavon|talk]])

:Or as n increases the effort to convince others that the existence/correctness of headca(n)+on decreases? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 20:31, 30 July 2014 (UTC)arcturius

:I think it's as simple as 1 n in canon (what the pun is based on), 2 n's in cannon (in the comic), and just to keep the pattern going, 3 n's in cannnon (in the title text).--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.175|173.245.54.175]] 05:35, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

That reminds me on Neil Stephensons - The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer... Very nerdy! {{unsigned ip|108.162.254.21}}

Another very common usage of headcanon is when you REMOVE something from your headcanon - that is, pretend that it never happened, despite it being canon. Often it's case of not-really-good sequels. Or later edits: see {{w|Han shot first}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:35, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
:I thought that headcanon was everything fans imagined, not just what contradicts canon. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.204|141.101.105.204]] 16:32, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Anyone note that the computer is completely undamaged (from the cannonfire at least, no telling about when it strikes the floor), despite the desk being demolished? [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 13:14, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Worth mentioning the alternate term "fanon", at all? (Currently third but unlinking item {{w|Fanon|Wikipedia link}}, or the more dangerous (in the [[214|Comic 214]] sense) [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Fanon TVTropes link]... ) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:22, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

:I'd say no, fanon is headcanon that is accepted in huge parts of the fandom. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.204|141.101.105.204]] 16:32, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

New headcanon: Black Hat Guy always has a headcannon under his hat, and in this comic he is simply showing Cueball that he got a new one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 14:12, 30 July 2014 (UTC)Matthew
:Not true. In other comics where he hasn't had his hat, he did not have a cannon on his head. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 15:40, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Canon (in Greek: Kanon, Arabic: Qanon, Hebrew: Kaneh) means reed, or straight. Thus trustworthy. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_law#Etymology] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:38, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Black Hat is shown to have short dark hair. That's new xkcd canon. As far as I know, he'd always been shown wearing a hat completely covering his hair until now. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 15:33, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
: Not new. http://xkcd.com/377/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 15:40, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
:I always assumed black hat and white hat(perhaps all the cast) were aspects of Cueball,s psyc, a jungian zoo. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.167}}

Ra-Ra-Rasputin {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.170}}

"The title text is a pun on the homophones *canon* and *cannon*" ... uh, the whole entire COMIC is a pun on the homophones *canon* and *cannon*. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.149|173.245.56.149]] 18:16, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Kudos to the author(s) of the example using Quark. One of the best-written explanations on this wiki. [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] <small>([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]])</small> 22:42, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

''"Fans might wonder why, on a station that has "replicators" (devices that can create any food or drink out of energy on demand), anyone would patronize a bar"'' - perhaps because they might want to, you know, socialise with other people? Call me old-fashioned... --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.37|141.101.99.37]] 14:23, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Anyone know if this weeks what if is different depending on region? I only ask because it mentions my small town and I am skeptical based on past comics. [[1037: Umwelt]][[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.208|173.245.56.208]] 06:25, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Well, it doesn't mention anyplace close to me :-)
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 09:04, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

No one has explained why the comic is titled "New". Because Black hat says "NEW HEADCANNON:" rather than "I HAVE A NEW HEADCANNON:", I think he is speaking not English, but some programming language. Black Hat created the headcannon by saying "new Headcannon:", which is a command to instantiate an object of type Headcannon. This is similar to previous strips http://xkcd.com/353/ and http://xkcd.com/413/, which attributed supernatural creative powers to Python's "import" statement. But "new Headcannon:" isn't Python. I don't know language it is. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.178}}
:Best I can come up with is a Quick BASIC label, but if that were the case instantiating it would have required a precedant ''gosub'', not ''new''. [[User:Sailorleo|Sailorleo]] ([[User talk:Sailorleo|talk]]) 21:12, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
:It's English; he's just speaking in an informal context, and so is using the sort of colloquialisms that don't work in more formal registers and which look weird when written. "New headcannon" (or, indeed, "New headcanon") is just shorthand for "I have acquired/developed/accepted/stolen a new headcann?on". [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 23:45, 21 December 2016 (UTC)

Could the "headcannnon" refer to an idea that "blows your mind"? The trajectory of the "literal" cannon ball ends where Cueball's head was, so it went from head to head, not head to desk... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 22:34, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
:It seems more likely Black Hat is just being an asshole and shooting him in the face. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.205|108.162.249.205]] 02:51, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

I kind of want a headcannon. [[User:Scool computer|Scool computer]] ([[User talk:Scool computer|talk]]) 06:54, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:1401: New

2022-01-25T06:52:03Z

Scool computer: