explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:55: Useless

2017-10-30T21:55:23Z

TheTimeBandit:

There seems to me to be a philosophical monologue going on here:
What is the root of love?
What is the angle of love?
What is the derivative of love?
What is the identity of love?

Unfortunately, I don't know much about the Fourier transform, so I'm at a loss for describing it in layman's terms. Anyone wanna lend a hand?

[[Special:Contributions/204.16.25.236|204.16.25.236]] 16:59, 13 February 2013 (UTC)MagnusVortex

:I think the better reading is:
:*What is the root of love? (i.e. Where does love come from?)
:*What are the signs of love? (Sine is a periodic function, and laypeople would confuse sin(heart) with sinning against love)
:*How do you derive love?
:*How do you identify love? (i.e. How do you know when you've fallen in love? How do you know when someone truly loves you?)
:The last one is a bit harder to interpret. Possible interpretations include:
:*What is the frequency/wavelength of love?
:*How often do you fall in love?
:*How do you transform love?
:*What is the spectrum of love? (gay, straight, bi, asexual, &c.)
:*How do you find love analytically?
:Randall Munroe would likely consider the possibility of multiple interpretations of the last one to be a feature, not a bug.
:I worry that most xkcd readers would not realize that Munroe is posing specific questions.
:—DrDnar [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.27|173.245.56.27]] 22:52, 29 June 2016 (UTC)

I believe the last one is: 
What is the frequency of love?

-JD [[Special:Contributions/132.3.25.79|132.3.25.79]] 18:02, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

For those of you who have used Mathematica, if you replace the heart with "Indeterminate", you'll find yourself in a similar situation: essentially all functions of Indeterminate yield Indeterminate. It can be frustrating. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:11, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

It is clear that the author has yet to study non-linear dynamics as this approach has already been covered in
Strogatz, S. H. (1988) Love affairs and differential equations. ''Math. Magazine'' '''61''',35.
Strogatz, S. H. (1994) Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Engineering. (Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts)
One is forced to conclude that love is chaotic.

-Boyd [[Special:Contributions/160.5.148.8|160.5.148.8]] 07:59, 10 October 2013 (UTC)

I feel like there's a pun within the alt-text: "Even the Identity matrix doesn't work normally" but I'm not sure I "get" the pun. It could simply be a reference to the fact that love tends to change who you are, in marriage the idea of two becoming one, or it could be referencing the Identity (0) directly. Even the Identity formula doesn't output zero. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 00:35, 24 September 2017 (UTC) Sam

These observations should have been enough of a warning to those of us who don't have "other approches" figures out to just stay away... it wasn't in my case. I regret that.--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:55, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:48: Found

2017-10-30T21:30:03Z

TheTimeBandit:

Talk about bare bones! --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 15:22, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one who sees a 3 in the grey/poka-dot area? Implying that there is some third person involved in the relationship? That view is supported by the title text, I think. [[User:FlyingSandals|FlyingSandals]] ([[User talk:FlyingSandals|talk]]) 03:07, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
:Nice find, dunno if Randall had this in his mind, but it could mean a future third person. The white (probably snowy) hill should also be explained. I did add the incomplete tag for future investigations. The sky isn't really a sky because the pink dots don't look like stars.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:00, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
Sad they are no more than that... for a second I thought they might be in a relationship ship... BFFs... lovers... but just people who found each other... a bit dry.--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:30, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:48: Found

2017-10-30T21:28:25Z

TheTimeBandit:

Talk:47: Counter-Red Spiders

2017-10-30T21:24:08Z

TheTimeBandit:

Any reason there is a "th" in the date? --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 15:29, 25 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oversight, getting everything polished right is hard. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:16, 25 August 2013 (UTC)
I wish people where identical in mass to as they are in this comic but still the same size... climbing arround effortlessly would be awsome...--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:24, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:45: Schrodinger

2017-10-30T21:20:21Z

TheTimeBandit:

There were no comments until you scrolled down. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.246|108.162.219.246]] 20:21, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:There were two comments before you scrolled down. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.130|173.245.56.130]] 12:02, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

...shit...--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:20, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:33: Self-reference

2017-10-27T21:54:56Z

TheTimeBandit:

* This comic is not exactly clear to me. What is the self-reference, or what is the humour? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:29, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
** I added a bit. Does that help clarify? Of course, one of the hallmarks of self-reference is that clarity tends to be lost. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:44, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
What if I don't find this humorous, then he's not squeezing humor! --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 00:09, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:But wouldn't it still be squeezing if he tried? That would mean that whenever he tries, he succeeds. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:08, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

But the most famous use of self reference is, of course, the sentence (this) where explainxkcd explained the sentence where explainxkcd explained xkcd's self reference of its own self reference.--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:54, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:39: Bowl

2017-10-27T21:52:52Z

TheTimeBandit:

How do we know that there isn't someone on the boat? They may be waiting for the boy to go to sleep before trying to escape.[[Special:Contributions/72.193.184.110|72.193.184.110]] 01:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, this is an alternate ending to the clasic early eighties adventure movie "Time Bandits", but I would not expect you to know that as "you are so mercilessly free from the ravages of intelligence".--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:52, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:39: Bowl

2017-10-27T21:50:53Z

TheTimeBandit:

How do we know that there isn't someone on the boat? They may be waiting for the boy to go to sleep before trying to escape.[[Special:Contributions/72.193.184.110|72.193.184.110]] 01:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, this is an alternate ending to the the clasic early eighties adventure movie "Time Bandits", but I would not expect you to know that as "you are so mercilessly free from the ravages of intelligence".--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:50, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:39: Bowl

2017-10-27T21:48:05Z

TheTimeBandit:

How do we know that there isn't someone on the boat? They may be waiting for the boy to go to sleep before trying to escape.[[Special:Contributions/72.193.184.110|72.193.184.110]] 01:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, this is an alternate ending the the clasic early eighties adventure movie "Time Bandits", but I would not expect you to know that as "you are so mercilessly free from the ravages of intelligence".
--[[User:TheTimeBandit|TheTimeBandit]] ([[User talk:TheTimeBandit|talk]]) 21:48, 27 October 2017 (UTC)