Talk:2981: Slingshots

2024-09-05T09:46:17Z

SystemParadox: Regular slingshot for spacecraft

Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.236|172.71.150.236]] 03:02, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 04:27, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
We don't put tables in the transcript, which is supposed to be screen-readable. Tables are not screen-readable. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:25, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:I now see the hidden "Tables are bad?" content in the incomplete transcript notice! Cute! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:33, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

We should clarify that it's the American Dennis and not the British one. There are differences, which I learned the hard way :(

[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 06:48, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm really surprised that "regular slingshot" is "no" for spacecraft instead of something like "not yet". [[User:SystemParadox|SystemParadox]] ([[User talk:SystemParadox|talk]]) 09:46, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2880: Sheet Bend

2024-01-12T21:17:47Z

SystemParadox:

Why is this called a "sheet" bend? [[User:SystemParadox|SystemParadox]] ([[User talk:SystemParadox|talk]]) 21:17, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

2095: Marsiforming

2019-01-07T14:09:44Z

SystemParadox:

{{comic
| number = 2095
| date = January 7, 2019
| title = Marsiforming
| image = marsiforming.png
| titletext = It has so many advantages--it preserves Martian life, requires fewer interplanetary launches, and makes it much easier to field-test Mars rovers.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MARS ROVER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1113: Killed in Action

2018-11-14T10:08:19Z

SystemParadox:

The title text is essentially the beginning of the hanging paradox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexpected_hanging_paradox
:It's not quite the same--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 17:03, 27 September 2012 (UTC) thing.
:The unexpected hanging paradox only applies when you have a measure of foreknowledge. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 05:50, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

I think there's also a strong indication that this is mocking cop films from the 80's/90's, such as Lethal Weapon, where a character would always die just before retirement.
--[[Special:Contributions/46.246.31.111|46.246.31.111]] 07:08, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

This one is a variant of the old Czech joke: "The study has proved that statistically the most casualties happen in the last car of a train. Therefore the committee suggests to make all trains one car shorter." --[[User:Mity|Mity]] ([[User talk:Mity|talk]]) 09:59, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
:On the other hand, adding a vacant car to the end of the train could be a reasonable approach.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.174|173.245.50.174]] 21:55, 7 September 2015 (UTC)

This comics's explanation is complete bollocks, I think. Of course it is NOT a "fact that such a room exists". This comics parodies trope often used in cop movies - an elderly cop goes to work for the last time before his retirement, packs things, plans fishing the next day ... only to be called to one more case (possibly with a new, young and brash partner). And despites his efforts not to screw anything and stay clear of danger, he is either mortally wounded or screws big time and is degraded. So much clichè, that if someone says "It's my last day or service", you might be sure one of the two options above happens. See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony for all the use cases and examples. [[User:Edheldil|Edheldil]] ([[User talk:Edheldil|talk]]) 10:25, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
:I added the tv trope to the explanation. Didn't even see your comment at first, but why didn't you just change and add to the explanation yourself? That would be the whole point of the wiki. --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 10:34, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

To add a little irony to the irony, the dead cop actually IS in a "locked, heavily guarded room." (There's a Sufi story along those lines.) The real solution to the retirony risk would be for their retirement day to fall within a 12 month window, chosen by some randomly generated number chosen before the shift begins. Thus they could avoid building up a hazardous "retirony field" focused around the point-source retirement day. Sort of like this thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_ring [[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 12:11, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
:...But that doesn't eliminate the "retirony field", it only dispurses it over a larger area. The retirony claim would shift to "(s)he was due to retire this year" times the number of retirees within that retirement window. Assuming these tragic events are "uniformly distributed" the probability they'll happen will be present right up to the end of one's active tour of duty, no matter what. Shorten the train, indeed. :) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:29, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
::How about simply not planning your retirement at all, and instead just spontaneously quitting at some point? [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:38, 27 September 2012 (UTC)
:::Yeah, that would work. Writing it into a collective agreement might be a bit iffy...[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 11:20, 28 September 2012 (UTC)
::In some (read >=1) US jurisdictions (or maybe all, I just saw one story on reddit where it was explained) there is the possibility for officers who served a certain amount of time to keep working, but they have the right to quit at any time at a moment's notice without repercussions of any kind. Iirc the officers referred to someone in this state as having "pulled the pin", analogous to removing the safety pin on grenades hich would allow you to just drop it and let it blow up. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.61|162.158.89.61]] 07:01, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
:Alternative route: declare someones retirement '''on the day of their retirement'''. Make sure to forbid them in the day of their retirement from taking any missions, no matter how much they need the cop! [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:17, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
:That would not work. Working on Dec 30th, you would know for sure that Dec 31st would be your retirement date. So you cannot retire on Dec 31st. With that in mind: working on Dec 29th, you would know for sure that Dec 30th would be your retirement date. With that in mind: working on Dec 28th, you would know for sure that Dec 29th would be your retirement date. With that in mind.... --[[User:Oscar|Oscar]] ([[User talk:Oscar|talk]]) 13:02, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
An unstated but related phenomenon is "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias Confirmation Bias], where something significant stands out in our mind, causing us to overreact or use bad judgement. In this case, the confirmation bias makes it seem like cops are always killed on their last day, so they create such a room.
:Actually, all cops who are killed on the job are killed on their last day!
::Not necessary true in all movies. Detective [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Hopkirk Marty Hopkirk], for example, continued fighting crime after dead. [http://hellsing.wikia.com/wiki/Seras_Victoria Seras Victoria] changed the classical police officer uniform for a special force one but was still reffered as "police girl". I'm sure there are more examples. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:16, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
^then show us these other examples if you're so sure. [[Special:Contributions/71.23.180.37|71.23.180.37]] 23:28, 30 December 2012 (UTC)Realist

There is an easy solution: as soon as a cop is "getting too old for this shit", surely he's going to retire soon. So, to avoid the chance of retirony, you fire him immediately. This has the side effect of meaning you no longer need to pay any pensions. And, just as in every other case of "let's run this public service like a for-profit corporation", it can't possibly have any downsides. If people try to point out that such a policy will make it very hard to maintain a loyal and dedicated police force, you just call them socialists and soft on crime. Eventually they'll start gathering statistical proof that it was a bad idea, but all you have to do is maintain that the science still isn't 100% in because this one retired astrophysicist disagrees with all of the economists, so it would be rash to do anything. Keep that up for a decade or two, retire, and then blame all the problems on your successor. Everybody wins! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 06:01, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

What is the "yet another new idea"? My curiosity has been trolled by this vague statement [[User:SystemParadox|SystemParadox]] ([[User talk:SystemParadox|talk]]) 10:08, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2981: Slingshots

Talk:2880: Sheet Bend

2095: Marsiforming

Talk:1113: Killed in Action