https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=TJRyan02 2026-04-29T15:54:21Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2554:_Gift_Exchange&diff=222550 2021-12-13T17:35:11Z

<p>TJRyan02: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2554<br /> | date = December 13, 2021<br /> | title = Gift Exchange<br /> | image = gift_exchange.png<br /> | titletext = In addition to having all their budgets in a spreadsheet with consistent formatting, they just love expressing preferences on a well-calibrated numerical scale.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a SURVEY - Please rank this comment on a scale of &lt;thunderstruck frowny face&gt; to &lt;maniacally grinny face&gt; when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> Many political scientists would see creating a fair gift exchange as a really tricky problem, since it involves different valuation of various goods (one person might like socks while another person would not), a possible incentive to misrepresent how much you value things (&quot;You're going to have to offer me a LOT to give up these socks, because I really like them&quot;), arbitrary order effects (who goes first matters), and more. These problems have a lot of political analogues in the political science topics of social choice and institutional design, and many political scientists dedicate years of their life to figuring out the best solutions.<br /> <br /> The &quot;It's ok if it's complicated&quot; line is funny because many of best theoretically best solutions a political scientist might come up with would be very complicated--far more so than the typical person would want to think about.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [Blondie is talking to Cueball.]<br /> <br /> Blondie: Ugh, I have to organize a fair gift exchange for my survey-loving family.<br /> <br /> Blondie: Do you want to help?<br /> <br /> Blondie: They said it's &quot;okay if it's complicated&quot;.<br /> <br /> [Text below the panel]: The perfect gift for a political scientist<br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

TJRyan02