explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3194: 16 Part Epoxy

2026-01-16T19:26:17Z

Torzsmokus: Typo

{{comic
| number = 3194
| date = January 14, 2026
| title = 16 Part Epoxy
| image = 16_part_epoxy_2x.png
| imagesize = 511x595px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by boiling down a gorilla glue gorilla. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic refers to {{w|epoxy}} — substances used as adhesives, sealants, and coatings, named for the chemical substructure {{w|epoxide}}, which is the precursor component to these substances turning from liquids to solids.

[[File:FiveMinEpoxy.jpg|thumb|A typical 2-part epoxy applicator.]]Many types of epoxy are multi-part (usually two-part), where the components, such as {{w|resin}} and a {{w|Epoxy#Curing|hardener}}, are stored separately. For ease of use, this can be in parallel syringes (of equal volume, or proportionately different widths to maintain the correct mixing ratio) such that the user squeezes out both of the separate chemicals onto the initial surface, or into a container, by depressing both syringes simultaneously. The user then thoroughly mixes the components, as quickly as possible. The mixture is spread over the surface(s) to be joined or protected, and/or into the gaps to be filled, and if there are separate surfaces involved they are quickly positioned and hed in place. The combined epoxy quickly cures, usually within a few minutes. This comic presents a fictitious 16-part epoxy, with the same apparent logic of parallel deposition in mind, with many components that are implausible or make fun of common problems people have when using epoxy in real life.

The title text, as with a couple of the substances involved, references how not all epoxies and glues work on every material, and that applying them on others can also require special techniques or products to gain the best advantage. Some industrial or industrial-grade adhesives contain solvents (e.g. {{w|tetrachloroethylene}}, which is used in E6000 glue) that release harmful vapors as they cure. If used improperly, this can result in the release of chemical vapors in an enclosed space along other dangerous side-effects, while also ''still'' not adhesing as intended.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Real?
!Explanation
|-
|Resin
|{{Yes}}
|A liquid which turns into a polymer when mixed with a hardener.
|-
|Hardener
|{{Yes}}
|A thick liquid which is mixed with resin to create a durable polymer which is commonly used as a glue.
|-
|Filler
|{{Yes}}
|An optional addition to the hardener and resin which changes the properties of the polymer.

Some epoxies are sold as products known as 'fillers', used to repair and cover cracks, holes, and imperfections.
|-
|Softener
|{{Yes}}
|The word is probably being used in humorous contrast to the "hardener" component, and perhaps also by analogy with laundry products that contain a fabric softener alongside a detergent. However, {{w|plasticizer|plasticizers}} are often added to polymers to make them more pliable, and thus to increase their impact resistance. These plasticizers tend to be lost over long periods of time (e.g. by evaporation or degradation), which contributes to old plastic becoming brittle.
|-
|Rosin
|{{Yes}}
|While this looks like a joke entry, this is actually a different kind of resin which is extracted naturally rather than synthesized from other chemicals. Rosin (a kind of '{{w|Flux (metallurgy)|flux}}') is one of two parts that make up rosin-core solder, used in electronic work, where the rosin is located in the center (the "core") of the wire-like solder, similar to how graphite is in the core of a pencil. When heated hot enough to melt, it {{w|Soldering#Flux|cleans corrosion and oxides from the surfaces}} of the metal parts to be joined, creating bare metal surfaces that can be 'wet' by the solder. In rosin-core solder, the two substances are touching rather than kept completely separate, since they're both in solid form, and don't react with each other even when they're heated to melt them. In this respect they differ from common combination epoxy chemicals that will be both liquids that cure together on contact even at room temperature. Rosin is also frequently applied to the bows of string instruments like violins or cellos to improve the sound, as immortalized in the famous song "{{w|The Devil Went Down to Georgia}}" or the folk song {{w|Old Rosin the Beau}}.
|-
|Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else
|{{No}}
|One key annoyance with sticky substances is the difficulty of removing them when they are inadvertently applied to skin. In this case, the polymer bonds solely to skin instead of anything else, making it mostly only really useful for a practical joke. Some epoxies are specifically designed for gluing skin, usually for medical purposes, but none are known to bond to skin exclusively.{{acn}} This may be a reference to {{w|cyanoacrylate|cyanoacrylate adhesives}} ("super glues"), which famously bond quite aggressively to skin while often failing to bond the target materials.
|-
|Stuff that will crack and turn white over a few days, for decorative appearance
|{{Maybe|Not effective as epoxy}}
|'Crackle effect' is a real thing for crafters, and can be created by mixing paint and glue, but is not recommended if you want two surfaces to adhere, since most paint is made to be non-adherent in order to be durable{{acn}}. Poor finish, where an intended smooth uniform surface cracks or discolors, can be a frustrating problem when applying epoxy mixtures to visible surfaces, especially when the problem only appears some time after you've congratulated yourself on a job well done.
|-
|Placebo
|{{Maybe|Not in the field of adhesives}}
|The {{w|placebo effect}} happens when somebody is told that something has a certain effect, when in reality it has no mechanism of action to produce that effect. This is commonly used in medical studies to determine whether a medication actually does something, as opposed to simply having a {{w|psychosomatic effect}}. Using this term to describe a type of polymer suggests it would make someone believe it is gluing things together without actually doing anything, which is unlikely. Alternatively, this could refer to a component or filler that claims to serve a specific purpose while having no true benefit, causing the perception of benefit to the consumer (presumably causing better reviews).
|-
|Minced duct tape
|{{Maybe|Not intentionally}}
|{{w|Duct tape}} is widely used as a way to join and/or cover things, sometimes in contexts where an epoxy might provide a more high-quality solution. [[Randall]] is pretending that having very small pieces of tape in the mix would add to the epoxy's ability to hold things together. In reality, cutting duct tape into small pieces would weaken it and make it ''less'' effective at sticking things together. In the UK, the word 'minced' can also mean 'made worthless', which would also not bode well for the adhesive.
|-
|Acetone fragrance
|{{No}}
|{{w|Acetone}} is a volatile solvent used in a number of glues and paints (including nail polish), but it weakens epoxy and can even be used to remove uncured epoxy. It has a strong, distinctive smell, and is actually toxic, making fragrance an odd reason for adding it to any product. It ''would'' give the epoxy a familiar "chemical smell" that people associate with industrial compounds. The use of 'X fragrance' in an ingredient list, instead of simply listing the ingredient X, usually implies that the actual ingredient is some (cheaper) substitute for X with a similar scent. Since acetone is already inexpensive, perhaps some substitute has been discovered that provides the smell without weakening this glue, though other joke entries value humour over adhesion.
|-
|Powdered bar magnets
|{{Maybe|Yes, but not in resin}}
|This might still work if the pieces could somehow be aligned correctly, as each tiny piece of magnet would still be a magnet in its own right, capable of attracting the other tiny magnets, and thus resisting tension forces. However, it would be much worse than a normal bar magnet, since the magnetic force would be weaker than those that held the original bar together. The micro-magnets would tend to clump together, which might strengthen the glue, but wouldn't help it to bond to surfaces very much unless the surfaces themselves were strongly magnetic.
|-
|Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{Maybe|Not in epoxy}}
|This appears to be a reference to {{w|ethylene-vinyl acetate|Poly (ethylene-vinyl acetate)}}, some formulations of which can be used as the adhesive in hot-glue guns. Vinyl acetate is an ester, so the inclusion of that term is redundant. The cadence of the constructed word may also be a reference to the television episode {{w|Lucy Does a TV Commercial}} and its memorable product "Vitameatavegamin". It also resembles the kind of thing often seen in ingredients lists for common household products such as soaps and cleaners, which are fairly meaningless to the average person buying them.
|-
|2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{Maybe|Unclear}}
|This sounds almost exactly the same as the above item, but {{w|2-Polyprenyl-6-hydroxyphenol methylase|a name with a "2-" prefix}} generally indicates that the initial bit of the name is a {{w|functional group}} attached to the ''second'' position along a chemical chain (often being the carbon-carbon 'spine' of a molecule, in large-molecule organic chemistry), rather than attached to its end. Because the molecule name is (possibly deliberately) malformed, it's hard to tell what is supposed to be attached to the second carbon of what subunit.
|-
|Salt and pepper to taste
|{{Maybe|Not for taste, but salt can be useful}}
|Salt and pepper are two incredibly popular condiments which are used to enhance a dish's flavor, and "salt and pepper to taste" is a phrase found in many food recipes. But the taste of your epoxy should not be your concern. Do not eat epoxy.{{citation needed}} However, salt, sand or other fine grains are sometimes recommended to add a bit of grit to an adhesive. Generally glues or epoxies need the bonded materials to be firmly held together while the glue cures. But when first pressed together, any excess glue is squeezed out and can cause the surfaces to slip around and need to be re-aligned. Any extra friction in the epoxy can help alleviate that.
|-
|Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas
|{{No}}{{Citation Needed}}
|{{w|Gorilla Glue}} is a popular brand of superglue which uses {{w|gorillas}} as its mascot. In this case, the label refers to the blood of a fictional breed of gorillas called “Gorilla Glue” gorillas, implying that Gorilla Glue is derived from or incorporates material taken from these animals. The epoxy ingredient list humorously treats this blood as a real component, despite Gorilla Glue being a modern synthetic adhesive. Although animal products have historically been used in some traditional glues, Gorilla Glue contains no such ingredients.

Blood has been [https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/blood-glue historically used in glue], though not typically that of gorillas.
|-
|Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours
|{{No|Probably not}}
|Another common annoyance when using an adhesive is that each glue type only forms an adhesive bond with certain materials. In this case, the polymer would bond with every material except for the one you were using, causing great distress and leaving you in a fix. This is similar to "Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else" above.
|}

==Transcript==

Standard 16-Part Epoxy

[An epoxy applicator with a single push bar and sixteen differently-colored chambers, each labeled]

Resin (coloured beige)

Hardener (mango yellow)

Filler (darker yellow)

Softener (cream)

Rosin (very light red)

Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else (yellow-dark green)

Stuff that will turn white and crack over a few days, for decorative appearance (light blue)

Placebo(white)

Minced duct tape(grey with a tint of green)

Acetone Fragrance(beige-yellow)

Powdered bar magnets(brown)

Polyethylvinylesteracetate(blue-white)

2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate(blue-white but slightly darker)

Salt and pepper to taste(light grey)

Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas(red)

Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours(beige)

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with color]]

3092: Baker's Units

2025-07-03T17:57:59Z

Torzsmokus: Origin of the EU 12 stars symbol

{{comic
| number = 3092
| date = May 21, 2025
| title = Baker's Units
| image = bakers_units_2x.png
| imagesize = 349x310px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 169 is a baker's gross.
}}

==Explanation==
A '{{w|Dozen#Baker's dozen|baker's dozen}}' is an expression referring to 13 units, as opposed to the normal 'dozen', meaning 12. This stems from a tradition in medieval times whereby salespeople would include 13 items when selling a 'dozen'. This was due to them having to pay penalties (in some regions, {{w|Ducking stool|draconian}} ones) when customers were [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/obscure-medieval-laws/ sold too little bread], which could easily be done unintentionally with items like loaves of bread which would vary slightly in weight. To avoid the customer complaints and the penalty, bakers added a safety margin of one extra loaf that allowed them to still serve the correct weight of bread.

[[Randall]] proceeds to apply this principle to other things involving the number 12. That is, "simply" applying a count of 13 of a thing, or adding one to the most prominent quantity.

; Baker's foot

: Imperial feet are 12 inches long, so a 'baker's foot' would be 13 inches long.

; Baker's noon

: Noon is 12 o'clock (also 12:00 in {{w|24-hour clock}} notation). A 'baker's noon' would be 1 o'clock PM (13:00 in 24-hour notation). Local noon has often been a vital piece of information for those who need to know when the working daylight is half-way through, or specifically for noting the {{w|Solar time|local solar maximum}} for astronomical or navigation purposes, whilst 1 PM does not usually merit any note beyond that of any other hour — except during daylight saving time, when baker's noon may be closer to local noon than 12 o'clock. In some locations, bakeries that operate on sundays close their business around noon - the baker's noon would be an inconvenience instead of a safety margin for these businesses.

; Baker's dodecahedron

: A {{w|dodecahedron}} is a solid shape having 12 faces ("dodeca" = "twelve"). The best-known kind is the regular dodecahedron, a {{w|Platonic solid}} whose faces are regular pentagons (the shape that most {{w|Dice#Polyhedral dice|d12}}s take the form of), but there are others such as the {{w|rhombic dodecahedron}} and {{w|Pyritohedron#Pyritohedron|pyritohedron}}. A 'baker's dodecahedron' would have thirteen faces, making it, in fact, a tridecahedron, typically a form with some combination of triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons and/or hexagons. One way of forming a tridecahedron is to truncate one vertex of a dodecahedron, essentially "replacing" it with an additional small face. Tridecahedrons are not Platonic solids, and their use in dice-based games (though not impossible) would result in an unbalanced skew of possibilities, as well as one extra result (perhaps zero or thirteen) that a gaming system might not be designed to anticipate.

; Baker's New Year's Eve

: Under the {{w|Gregorian calendar}}, years have 12 months and, in most Western traditions, New Year's Eve is celebrated on the last day of the 12th of these. Therefore a baker would celebrate 'baker's New Year's Eve' at the end of an extra 13th month, on January 31 (possibly implying that their New Year would shift by one month each year, relative to everyone else's calendars). There are proposed calendars that have 13 months in every year, such as the {{w|International Fixed Calendar}}.

; Baker's octave

: In {{w|12 equal temperament|12-tone music systems}}, octaves contain 12 half-steps, also known as semitones. (A half-step is the distance between adjacent notes, such as F and F#.) A 'baker’s octave' would have 13 semitones, corresponding to a minor ninth, and would cause problems in musical composition as baker's octaves are dissonant instead of consonant. However, Randall's musical notation actually shows a ''major'' ninth, with ''fourteen'' semitones. If he wanted thirteen semitones, Randall could have used D♭ instead of D, or drawn a bass clef instead of a treble clef. Another way would have been to shift two notes up to make the pair E and F, or one note down to make it B and C, as these pairs are actually 13 semitones apart. Alternatively, he could keep the difference between the octave notes the same (preserving the ratio of 2:1), but split it into 13 semitones making notes slightly less than a standard semitone apart, requiring a complete overhaul of notation.

; Baker's jury

: Trial juries in the Anglo-Saxon law tradition ({{w|Common Law}}) consist of 12 peers. The 'baker’s jury' would have 13 peers. This might be considered to make little practical difference, though it does mean that in situations where a jury is allowed to present a majority verdict instead of requiring unanimity, the odd number of jurors would prevent exact ties. (Note that {{w|Trial by jury in Scotland|Scottish juries}}, start with the expectation of there being 15 jurors, and may well end up reduced to 13 or even 12.)

; Baker's EU flag

: The {{w|Flag of Europe}} has 12 stars forming a circle (symbolising unity and perfection, inspired by the traditional depiction of {{w|Mary, mother of Jesus}} as the {{w|Woman of the Apocalypse}});
: unlike in the US flag, the stars do not represent member states. The flag was first adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955, when it already had 13 members;
: today there are over 40. The European Communities adopted the Flag of Europe in 1986 before the EC turned into the European Union, which currently 27 member states. A 13th star could potentially be added to make a 'baker's EU flag' without major damage to the symbol. In the United States, 13 stars in a circle is associated with the {{w|Betsy Ross flag}}, the first U.S. flag, in which each star represented a state.

; Baker's magnesium

: Magnesium is element number 12, with 12 protons (and, typically, 12 neutrons) in its nucleus. Aluminum is element number 13, signifying one extra proton (although also having ''two'' extra neutrons, in a typical atom). This is perhaps more importantly, for our purposes, reflected in the two elements' configuration of electrons that dictate their relatively different chemistries and behaviour in various solutions, compounds, alloys, etc, through {{w|Valence (chemistry)|valence}} and availability of bond-types. 'Baker's magnesium' actually has more applications than standard magnesium in baking; such as {{w|sodium aluminium phosphate}}, used in some baking powders, and {{w|aluminum foil}} (often called tinfoil), sometimes used to protect pans or baked goods during baking, but it does not have as much actual nutritional value and is not quite so obviously a direct replacement/upgrade to its non-Baker 'original' as most of the other examples.

; Baker's gross

: In the title text, 144 (12x12) is a gross. Thus, 169 (13x13) would be a 'baker's gross', an addition of not just one but 25 units.

==Transcript==
:Baker's units
:[A formation comprising 13 small circular items] - Baker's dozen
:[A ruler divided into 13 parts] - Baker's foot
:1:00 PM - Baker's noon
:[A polyhedron with 13 faces] - Baker's dodecahedron
:January 31st - Baker's New Year's Eve
:[Two notes on a staff 14 half-steps apart] - Baker's octave
:[13 people standing in a row] - Baker's jury
:[A flag with 13 stars forming a circle] - Baker's EU flag
:Aluminum - Baker's magnesium

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:3027: Exclusion Principle

2024-12-24T06:54:36Z

Torzsmokus: Philosophical nitpicking

It should be noted, that amusingly, since the quantum gravity has yet to be full explained thanks to the fact that gravity affects, and that for all we know, Exclusion Principle may be just as valid, if not more so, to be on the list as Gravity (even though Exclusion Principle should not, generally, be on this list.) {{unsigned|LilithRose|06:48, 21 December 2024}}
: I'm in agreement. "Fundamental Forces" aren't an unalterable fact about the physical universe - they are scientists' best explanation for the unalterable facts about the physical universe until we find a better one. As a result there could be an underlying reason for the exclusion principle being just as fundamental to the universe as electromagnetism - we just don't know it yet. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 12:39, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
:: Just to be clear, there *is* an underlying reason for the exclusion principle being just as fundamental to the universe as electromagnetism, and physicists know what it is. The only thing is the exclusion principle isn't a fundamental *force*, it's a different kind of fundamental thing.

:: In short, the exclusion principle necessarily arises as a property of certain particles in any system that includes quantum mechanics. If I had to try to give a rough outline of the reason why, I'd say it's something like this:

:: Suppose you construct an equation describing a quantum system with two particles that are in different positions but are otherwise identical. In many standard examples, this equation would look like the sort of wave equation you get in many problems that use the Schrodinger equation, where the square of the equation represents the probability of the two particles being observed in a particular state.

:: Now suppose those particles swap positions. What happens to the equation? Well, since the particles are identical, the observed probabilities must be the same; if there was an observable difference from merely swapping their positions, then the particles wouldn't be identical.

:: However, since the probabilities are the *square* of the equation, that actually leaves two possible solutions for what the equation could be, for exactly the same reason that the square root of 4 has the two possible solutions of 2 and -2. Similarly, the equation of the swapped particles can either be exactly the same as for the unswapped position *or* it could be negated. Which version you get depends on the properties of the particle itself. Particles where the swapped equation stays the same are called bosons. Particles where the swapped equation negates are called fermions.

:: This negation is what causes the exclusion principle (and indeed, the behaviors unique to fermions more generally), because it means certain combinations of fermions will subtract rather than add amplitude to the final wave function, decreasing the probability of those states occurring, and in some cases even fully zeroing out the amplitude, resulting in a zero probability of certain states happening at all.

:: For example, the most familiar case of this effect is how two electrons cannot be in precisely the same state in an atom. To see why that's true, suppose that really did happen. By the logic earlier, swapping those electrons must change the sign of the equation describing them, since this is true of all fermions. However, since the two electrons are in precisely the same state after the swap (note that not even their positions changed, unlike the earlier case discussed), it must also be the case that the resulting equation is exactly the same. The only solution for the conditions y=-x and also y=x is if x=y=0, meaning the probability of this happening is zero.

:: By contrast, that above logic doesn't apply to bosons, because swapping them doesn't need to negate their wave function, so there can be some probability of two or more bosons being in completely identical states, even including identical positions.

:: If you'd like a more detailed or precise explanation, most intro to quantum mecahnics textbooks have a chapter on the exclusion principle. [[User:Gertuviti|Gertuviti]] ([[User talk:Gertuviti|talk]]) 10:39, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

::: I would say the negation is caused by the underlying physical fact that causes the exclusion principle. The particles don't know about the equations, do they? 😏 [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 06:54, 24 December 2024 (UTC)

== Polymagnetic topologies as "color" charge, strong vs weak, etc? ==

I'm increasingly under the impression that these forces & principles, are each an expression of complex electromagnetic interactions? I've never quite understood why they're viewed as separate forces, instead of distinct-but-related expressions of a single type of force across complex topologies.

Particularly, I'm unclear why quark\gluon "color" interactions are seen as anything other than topologically-asymmetric fields interlocking; it just looks like the behavior of polymagnet fields, to me. (By the way, I'm glad there's now a common term, "polymagnetic", for the patterned fields that I'm sure many of us assembled while playing with tiny neodymium magnets & wire, as kids! Arranging multiple cores for a smaller, denser field, & observing that the patterns could interlock, felt like major 'Aha!' moments for me, at the time.)

I was so frustrated by my own feeling of "this complex thing I know very little about, really seems to have a very basic underlying principle that's being widely misconstrued", that [https://www.perplexity.ai/search/i-m-increasingly-under-the-imp-Q83bSr8pRXqMf64_VxKMZQ I've petitioned a mindless bot to hear my case.] (You'd have to scroll at least about halfway down, to get to any prompts even slightly interesting.) I'm probably wasting ''everyone's'' time with this, but it has been bothering me, more & more for ''decades,'' & my reading so far hasn't lessened that.

Why is everyone so insistent that these 'other' forces aren't magnetism? Seems like quite literally ''everything'' is magnetism, to me. Besides a formal education in the matter, what the heck am I missing, here?

[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:38, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

:I don't know what you mean by "complex topologies." Which topology? The reason we know the strong and weak interactions are not the electromagnetic interaction is that they have completely different gauge symmetries, among other reasons. The electromagnetic interaction has local symmetry group U(1), and the strong interaction has SU(3). Behaviorally-speaking, they are completely different in almost every respect, affecting different sets of particles, having different strengths, having different potentials, different ranges, carried by different fields, etc. Just as an example, an electron doesn't interact via the strong force ''at all.''

:It is likely that at extremely high energies, the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions are all unified. A theory describing this hypothetical union is called a grand unified theory or GUT, and detecting this experimentally is a major objective of modern physics. The unified "electroweak" interaction has already been observed at lower energies. But that doesn't mean the weak interaction is "just magnetism" or that electromagnetism is "just weak." They are both a consequence of a broken symmetry. The fully symmetric grand unified field would not resemble any one of the interactions that we see at lower energies but would be a symmetric combination of all of them. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 16:38, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

: I absolutely won't claim any kind of knowledge, but Richard Behiel's video series on quantum mechanics, culminating in his 3-hour video on electromagnetism as a gauge theory is INCREDIBLE and absolutely explained a lot to me[[Special:Contributions/172.71.191.51|172.71.191.51]] 23:24, 22 December 2024 (UTC)Bumpf

== Actually explaining the Pauli Principle ==

:"Electrons don't like to be in the same 'spot'" is plain wrong. "Same quantum number set" is the buzzword - remember, two electrons fit in the s orbital, one spin up, one spin down. "Spin-statistics theorem" is a good place to start to ponder about the why. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.95.145|162.158.95.145]] 09:40, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
:: Way too complicated, please change the universe so that "same spot" is good enough [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 12:35, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

== Do we need a category for quantum spin? ==
I'm seeing well over a dozen comics closely involved with spin in search. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.237|172.69.33.237]] 20:18, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
:Can there be more than one article in any given quantum spin category? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.24|162.158.74.24]] 20:38, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
::Only if they're on different wiki pages. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.83|172.70.211.83]] 21:06, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
:Probably. I sometimes wonder if Randall is riffing off of how bad Wikipedia's article on {{w|Spin (physics)}} is. For a good time, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(physics)#Higher_spins [[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.91|172.68.23.91]] 21:11, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

3027: Exclusion Principle

2024-12-24T06:49:44Z

Torzsmokus: Typo

{{comic
| number = 3027
| date = December 20, 2024
| title = Exclusion Principle
| image = exclusion_principle_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Fermions are weird about each other in a standoffish way. Integer-spin particles are weird about each other in a 'stand uncomfortably close while talking' kind of way.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COLLIDING ATOM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] lists the four {{w|fundamental forces}} of physics—{{w|gravity}}, {{w|electromagnetism}}, the {{w|weak interaction}}, and the {{w|strong interaction}}—then humorously adds a fifth force called "Electrons are weird about each other." This is a nod to how electrons cannot occupy exactly the same quantum state. The principle that underlies this is the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}} (also covered in [[658: Orbitals]], [[1862: Particle Properties]], and [[2351: Standard Model Changes]]), which says that no two electrons at the same position (within their {{w|Matter wave|de Broglie wavelength}}s) can have the same set of quantum numbers. The idea behind Pauli exclusion isn't really a conventional "force" like gravity or electromagnetism. Instead, it's a result of the fundamental quantum mechanical rules governing {{w|fermions}}, a class of particles that includes electrons. When combined with electromagnetism, it makes electrons repel each other more than mere electric charge would predict on its own.

This phenomenon is sometimes described via the {{w|exchange interaction}}, which can be tricky to explain to non-experts. Randall's joke is that physicists, frustrated with explaining the subtleties of quantum mechanics, have simply decided to create a "fifth force" to cover the weirdness of electrons. In reality, scientists cannot just invent new forces to patch up confusing behavior; they strive for genuine descriptions of how nature behaves, rather than rewriting the rules.

In the title text, Randall expands the idea from electrons to all fermions, which have half-integer {{w|Spin (physics)|quantum spin}} and obey the Pauli exclusion principle, and contrasts them with {{w|bosons}}, which have integer spin and can share the same space. He humorously likens fermions to people standing standoffishly far apart, while bosons are like those who stand uncomfortably close while talking—an imaginative analogy for the fundamental differences in their behaviors.

==Transcript==
:[Inside the panel, there is an underlined header and a numbered list, with the fifth and last item in red:]
:Fundamental Forces
:1. Gravity 
:2. Electromagnetism 
:3. The Weak Interaction 
:4. The Strong Interaction 
:''5. Electrons are weird about each other''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Big news: Physicists have finally given up trying to explain about the "exchange interaction" and agreed to just make the exclusion principle a force.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2958: Hatchery

2024-07-13T04:29:23Z

Torzsmokus: link

{{comic
| number = 2958
| date = July 12, 2024
| title = Hatchery
| image = hatchery_2x.png
| imagesize = 239x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anadromous fish are more vulnerable in rivers, since the lack of salt means you can quickly crack passwords using rainbow trout tables.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT EXECUTING REMOTE COD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Remote code execution}} is a type of {{w|software exploit}} that takes advantage of a bug to allow a remote user of a computer application to make it run code that it was not intended to execute. For example, a webserver with such a bug might allow a user of a web page to make it run a program that deletes system files or displays private information.

The joke arising from this comic is that if you remove the "e" from "code", you get "remote cod execution". This refers to killing ("executing") codfish remotely, using an exploit in a network application that allows you to view the {{w|hatchery}}.

The title text contains a pun on {{w|rainbow tables}}, referring to {{w|rainbow trout}}, one type of which ({{w|steelhead}}) is {{w|anadromous fish|anadromous}} (migrating up rivers to spawn -- {{w|salmon}} are another well known example). Rainbow tables are used when trying to crack hashed passwords; it's simply a file with many possible passwords and their corresponding hash values, which can be compared against retrieved hashed passwords. To prevent such comparisons, most modern password systems use "{{w|salt (cryptography)|salt}}", an extra random string that gets appended to the password before hashing so the same password will potentially have many different hashes, and it becomes infeasible to store all of them in a file. An additional pun is that rivers contain fresh water, so there's no salt (the chemical kind) and the fish are therefore more vulnerable.

The comic dialogue itself starts the whole chain of puns off by using the phrase "shooting fish in a barrel", which is figuratively used to mean that the task is extremely easy, but here becomes clear that he is literally {{w|Capital punishment|executing}} fish, without needing to be there in person.

{{w|Fish (Unix shell)|fish}} is also the name of a {{w|UNIX shell}}. Shells are popular targets for computer hackers as they are capable of being used to run arbitrary commands if sufficient access is gained through them.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is sitting at a computer desk, with Cueball standing behind him.]
:Black Hat: Shooting fish in a barrel.
:Computer: Blam!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:A new fish hatchery exploit allows remote cod execution.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computer security]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2919: Sitting in a Tree

2024-04-18T06:56:45Z

Torzsmokus: /* Explanation */ coincidence?

{{comic
| number = 2919
| date = April 12, 2024
| title = Sitting in a Tree
| image = sitting_in_a_tree_2x.png
| imagesize = 591x320px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = First comes blood / Then we perish / Then comes Death in his Eternity Carriage.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PAIR OF BOTS SITTING IN A TREE E-D-I-T-I-N-G - ♫First come comments, ♫Then these made neat, ♫But ONLY when it's accurate, then should you the tag delete!♫}}

“[Name] and [name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” is the start of a common US schoolyard taunt to tease others about their alleged romance. As the comic notes, the rhyme can use a range of normal seven-letter {{w|gerund}}s - nouns made by ending a verb in “ing".

Like other schoolyard taunts, the goal may be to elicit a reaction of frustration, anger or embarrassment. It may also just be chanted at a random set of two kids, such as part of a {{w|counting-out game}}.

This comic lists a diverse group of eighteen seven-letter gerunds which Cueball and Megan could be accused of performing in a tree, and organizes them into three categories: Normal, Slightly Worrying and Very Alarming. Each list of gerunds has an illustration of its last one: kissing, ironing and smiting, respectively.

Normal:
:'''{{w|Reading}}'''
:'''{{w|Singing}}'''
:'''{{w|Playing}}'''
:'''{{w|Sharing}}'''
:'''{{w|Hugging}}'''
:'''{{w|Kissing}}''' is the activity illustrated in the panel.

Slightly worrying:
:'''{{w|Sobbing}}''' is an act of weeping heavily, e.g. due to a setback in one's relationship, or perhaps due to being stuck up a tree.
:'''{{w|Itching}}''' is feeling a sensation on one's skin that makes one want to scratch or rub it, and may happen due to mosquito bites or other bugs, or perhaps an allergic reaction to tree bark.
:'''{{w|Pruning}}''' is cutting off the branches of a tree, which is very dangerous if one is sitting on said branch.{{Citation needed}}
:'''{{w|Banking}}''' is conducting financial business with a bank, or if one works for the financial institution, conducting financial business with a customer cohort.
:'''{{w|Post#Communications|Posting}}''' is to publish posts on social media. An antiquated definition is to send {{w|mail}} using a postal service.
:'''{{w|Ironing}}''' is smoothing clothes with an iron and a flat surface, like an ironing board. This is the activity illustrated in the panel.

Very alarming:
:'''{{w|Molting}}''' is shedding one's skin. Many insects molt in trees, such as cicadas, grasshoppers, and termites.
:'''{{w|Whaling}}''' is hunting whales, which has been outlawed in the US since the 1980s. Whales aren't usually found in trees.[''{{w|List of cetaceans|cetacean needed}}''] And since the letter 'W' is three syllables when sung aloud, this is the only gerund in the comic that doesn't have the standard seven syllables of the traditional taunt.
:'''{{w|E-filing}}''' is submitting one's tax returns online, common in the US. This comic was published a few days before the US tax deadline. E-filing could quite reasonably be done from a tree using a laptop or other portable computing device.
:'''{{w|Melting}}''' is turning from a solid state to a liquid state, which is usually fatal. It wouldn't be odd for a snowman in a tree to melt.
:'''{{w|Radiography|X-raying}}''' is using {{w|X-ray}} radiation to image someone or something for medical or security purposes, not normally conducted in trees. With enough radiation, the X-rays could be fatal.
:'''{{wiktionary|smite#English|Smiting}}''' is striking down, destroying or killing, often with divine power called from a god. This is the activity illustrated in the panel.

The title text continues the S-M-I-T-I-N-G version of the chant with a parody of the traditional {{w|Children's song#Game songs|next verses}}, "...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage" (which reflects the common social expectations that any kissers might follow the path of). Instead, the parody appears to be a dark prophecy about the grim ramifications of smiting directed by the tree-ensconced kids:
# blood
# the {{w|Mass fatality incident|mass fatality}} of the taunt singers
# the vehicular arrival of a {{w|Death (personification)|personified Death}}.

It might indeed be alarming to hear schoolkids singing about their own bloody death from divine judgment, channeled by their tree-ensconced peers. It might not be out of place if the kids are all part of a death cult, and the children in the tree are believed to have the power to direct divine punishment.

The last line may be an allusion to the Emily Dickinson poem "[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47652/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death-479 Because I Could Not Stop For Death]", which refers both to Death riding in a carriage and to eternity. The comic was posted in April, National Poetry Month.

Coincidentally{{citation needed}}, the combination of "Death" from the title text and "E-Filing" is similar to the "{{w|Death and taxes (idiom)|Death and Taxes}}" idiom.

==Transcript==
:[Three children are singing. A kid with a bowl cut and a young Hairy are pointing with their fingers, while Jill stands in the middle. A pair of connected eighth notes and a detached eighth note are shown.]
:Kid with a bowl cut, Jill and Hairy: [Name] and [Name], sitting in a tree...

:[Label above the panel:]
:Normal
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch holding hands and kissing, with a heart above them.]
:R-E-A-D-I-N-G
:S-I-N-G-I-N-G
:P-L-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-H-A-R-I-N-G
:H-U-G-G-I-N-G
:K-I-S-S-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Slightly worrying
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch each ironing a cloth on an ironing board, with steam arising from the irons.]
:S-O-B-B-I-N-G
:I-T-C-H-I-N-G
:P-R-U-N-I-N-G
:B-A-N-K-I-N-G
:P-O-S-T-I-N-G
:I-R-O-N-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Very alarming
:[Cueball and Megan, her hair being {{tvtropes|MadnessMakeover|uncharacteristically wild}}, sitting on a tree branch smiting with glowing hands, with two falling fireballs and fire below them. Cueball's hands are raised up, while Megan has her left hand up and her right hand pointing to her right.]
:M-O-L-T-I-N-G
:W-H-A-L-I-N-G
:E-F-I-L-I-N-G
:M-E-L-T-I-N-G
:X-R-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-M-I-T-I-N-G

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Kids]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Romance]]

2839: Language Acquisition

2023-10-10T07:12:41Z

Torzsmokus: Letters on the blocks

{{comic
| number = 2839
| date = October 9, 2023
| title = Language Acquisition
| image = language_acquisition_2x.png
| imagesize = 193x239px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My first words were 'These were my first words; what were yours?'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THESE WERE MY FIRST WORDS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Language acquisition}} is the process by which humans, generally infants, learn a language.

There are many theories as to how this process works, but Randall takes this phrase literally, saying that infants learn languages one new word at a time. This may be true when learning a second language, but is typically not true for infants learning their native language (mother tongue). It is a common milestone to celebrate a child's "[https://www.parents.com/baby/development/talking/baby-talk-a-month-by-month-timeline1/ first word]", but typically these would be simple words, such as "mama" or "dada".

The child's sentence is twelve words, all unique. This implies these are the only words known so far.

Interestingly if this sentence is true, the child has learned the word for 12 before learning the words for any other numbers.

[[2567: Language Development]] has had a similarly obscure take on language acquisition.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A child, drawn as a smaller Hairy, stands next to some blocks with letters on them (A, B, ə). Megan and Cueball stand to the right of him.]
:Child: Vocabulary update: I learned another word today, bringing my total to twelve.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with babies]]

2838: Dubious Islands

2023-10-07T07:05:25Z

Torzsmokus: Fix

{{comic
| number = 2838
| date = October 6, 2023
| title = Dubious Islands
| image = dubious_islands_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x1040px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Running for office in Minnesota on the single-issue platform 'dig a permanent channel through the Traverse Gap because it will make this map more satisfying.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DUBIOUSLY LARGE ISLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The definition of "island" is a piece of land completely surrounded by bodies of water. In most cases we don't count rivers and canals as the surrounding bodies{{citation needed}}, although small pieces of land like Manhattan are exceptions.

Randall has ignored this, so he considers large parts of North America as "dubious" islands because they're separated from other parts of the continent by major rivers, canals, and large lakes.

The repetition between the title "Dubious Islands" and the in-image label "Dubious Islands of North America" emphasizes the "Dubious-ness" of this map. "Dubious" means "thought not to be completely true or not able to be trusted" (per Cambridge Dictionary).

Randall's map's "Dubious Islands" are indeed not to be trusted -- they leave out many rivers and canals which would break them into many additional "islands". For example, southern Nova Scotia, southern New Jersey, and the nearly 60-mile-long "Grand Strand" of South Carolina are also islands by the sense used here in recognizing the Cape Cod Canal as creating an island.

These and many other omissions would be errors -- except that Randall clearly labelled his islands "Dubious" (not to be trusted) from the start, and he is presumably well-aware of this map's inaccuracy.

The {{w|Parting of the Waters}} explains the connection between the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers shown.

{{w|Isa Lake}} drains into both the Snake River (via the Lewis River) and the Madison River (via the Firehole River), explaining the connection there.

It is unclear why {{w|Divide Creek}} which connects Hudson's Bay to the Columbia River is not shown on this map.

The title text suggests that a new island could be created by digging a canal through the {{w|Traverse Gap}}, and this is Randall's platform when running for office in Minnesota. This is unnecessary and would create little benefit to residents,{{Citation needed}} but constituents who like interesting maps might vote for him.

These islands are possibly Randall's humorous interpretation of what continued climate change-induced sea level rise might cause. But this seems unlikely since some of the connections shown are over 7000' in elevation, a water level that would leave almost all of North America (and many of these "islands") completely submerged.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Title:] Dubious Islands of North America
:[Subtitle:] And the waterways that separate them

:[A map of mainland North America, down to the Panama isthmus. It is internally separated by various waterways, given labels or otherwise.]

:[Separating land approximating Nunavut (with some Northern Territories) from neighbouring Canada:] Mackenzie Athabasca Churchill

:[Comprising the much of the remainder of Canada, much of the northern United States (including Alaska), additionally separated by:] Columbia Snake Madison Missouri Chicago [Unlabelled, some of the Great Lakes and the channel past Quebec]
::[An incursive gap near the central point, from the north:] Nelson Red
::[An internal label, with arrow:] Traverse Gap
::[An incursive gap near the central point, from the south:] Mississippi
::[A separate fragment of land south of the Madison, in the western half of the land-mass, bordered to its south by:] Yellowstone
::[A small fragment off the southen part of the western edge, an arrow and a label:] Chehalis/Black Lake

:[Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and parts of the adjacent US, disconnected by:] Champlaw Hudson
::[Label with an arrow on the east coast:] Cape Cod Canal

:[A small triangle of territory, further isolated by:] Erie

:[Most of the Eastern Seaboard of the US, additionally divided off by:] Tombigbee
::[Fragment of land shorn from the northern part of the eastern edge, label with arrow:] Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
::[Fragment of land shorn from the tip of Florida, label with arrow:] Okeechobee Waterway

:[Strip of land west of the Tombigbee, bounded also to its west by:] Mississippi
::[Fragment of land immediately to its south, with a nearby label and arrow:] Atchafalaya

:[The remainder of the continent; comprising much of the US, all of Mexico and various central American territories, with a final tip of the eastwards-bending isthmus:] Panama Canal

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]

2838: Dubious Islands

2023-10-07T07:04:51Z

Torzsmokus: Citation needed

{{comic
| number = 2838
| date = October 6, 2023
| title = Dubious Islands
| image = dubious_islands_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x1040px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Running for office in Minnesota on the single-issue platform 'dig a permanent channel through the Traverse Gap because it will make this map more satisfying.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DUBIOUSLY LARGE ISLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The definition of "island" is a piece of land completely surrounded by bodies of water. In most cases we don't count rivers and canals as the surrounding bodies[[citation needed]], although small pieces of land like Manhattan are exceptions.

Randall has ignored this, so he considers large parts of North America as "dubious" islands because they're separated from other parts of the continent by major rivers, canals, and large lakes.

The repetition between the title "Dubious Islands" and the in-image label "Dubious Islands of North America" emphasizes the "Dubious-ness" of this map. "Dubious" means "thought not to be completely true or not able to be trusted" (per Cambridge Dictionary).

Randall's map's "Dubious Islands" are indeed not to be trusted -- they leave out many rivers and canals which would break them into many additional "islands". For example, southern Nova Scotia, southern New Jersey, and the nearly 60-mile-long "Grand Strand" of South Carolina are also islands by the sense used here in recognizing the Cape Cod Canal as creating an island.

These and many other omissions would be errors -- except that Randall clearly labelled his islands "Dubious" (not to be trusted) from the start, and he is presumably well-aware of this map's inaccuracy.

The {{w|Parting of the Waters}} explains the connection between the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers shown.

{{w|Isa Lake}} drains into both the Snake River (via the Lewis River) and the Madison River (via the Firehole River), explaining the connection there.

It is unclear why {{w|Divide Creek}} which connects Hudson's Bay to the Columbia River is not shown on this map.

The title text suggests that a new island could be created by digging a canal through the {{w|Traverse Gap}}, and this is Randall's platform when running for office in Minnesota. This is unnecessary and would create little benefit to residents,{{Citation needed}} but constituents who like interesting maps might vote for him.

These islands are possibly Randall's humorous interpretation of what continued climate change-induced sea level rise might cause. But this seems unlikely since some of the connections shown are over 7000' in elevation, a water level that would leave almost all of North America (and many of these "islands") completely submerged.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Title:] Dubious Islands of North America
:[Subtitle:] And the waterways that separate them

:[A map of mainland North America, down to the Panama isthmus. It is internally separated by various waterways, given labels or otherwise.]

:[Separating land approximating Nunavut (with some Northern Territories) from neighbouring Canada:] Mackenzie Athabasca Churchill

:[Comprising the much of the remainder of Canada, much of the northern United States (including Alaska), additionally separated by:] Columbia Snake Madison Missouri Chicago [Unlabelled, some of the Great Lakes and the channel past Quebec]
::[An incursive gap near the central point, from the north:] Nelson Red
::[An internal label, with arrow:] Traverse Gap
::[An incursive gap near the central point, from the south:] Mississippi
::[A separate fragment of land south of the Madison, in the western half of the land-mass, bordered to its south by:] Yellowstone
::[A small fragment off the southen part of the western edge, an arrow and a label:] Chehalis/Black Lake

:[Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and parts of the adjacent US, disconnected by:] Champlaw Hudson
::[Label with an arrow on the east coast:] Cape Cod Canal

:[A small triangle of territory, further isolated by:] Erie

:[Most of the Eastern Seaboard of the US, additionally divided off by:] Tombigbee
::[Fragment of land shorn from the northern part of the eastern edge, label with arrow:] Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
::[Fragment of land shorn from the tip of Florida, label with arrow:] Okeechobee Waterway

:[Strip of land west of the Tombigbee, bounded also to its west by:] Mississippi
::[Fragment of land immediately to its south, with a nearby label and arrow:] Atchafalaya

:[The remainder of the continent; comprising much of the US, all of Mexico and various central American territories, with a final tip of the eastwards-bending isthmus:] Panama Canal

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:2832: Urban Planning Opinion Progression

2023-09-23T19:43:11Z

Torzsmokus: 💊

Somebody has been watching Not Just Bikes on YouTube...
:Orange Pilled!!🙂 [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 19:43, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

I would be very interested in having a discussion based on the "livability" comment. If a city is a place to LIVE, then these are fair comments, assuming that travel outside the local area is minimal. But if a city is a place to WORK, like a lot of downtown areas in the Eastern US, then this doesn't hold up as well. People don't live in these areas, they just travel to them on a regular basis.
:Talk about missing the forest for the trees
:Agree, downtown areas SHOULD be places to work, live, shop, and play. Eastern US downtowns USED to be that way, until White Flight screwed everything up and created "car culture". It's long past due for cities to change back. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 15:59, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
::You can't really blame white flight considering the same thing happened in both 'racially homogenous' cities in the U.S. and in Canada. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.251|172.70.174.251]] 17:22, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
: One thing that always bugs me about these discussions is that they tend to be so city-centric in thinking. Bikes simply aren't a practical mode of transportation in a lot of areas, dating back to pre-car days. I live in a rural area of the southern midwest, and "town" is a concentration of places that people in the area go to, and always has been. Only really wealthy people had houses in town, and even then they were often "Sunday Houses" where you would stay during your weekend trip to town for groceries and church BECAUSE it was such a hassle before cars. There's a "historic" (read: tourist-friendly) walkable town square in the center of many towns in my area, but these are as a rule businesses, some of which have loft apartments because the owner lived there too as some of the town's few constant residents. Even the parking lots are basically paved versions of the spaces where people would park their wagons and tie their horses back in the day, placed near things like general stores because hauling groceries for several blocks is a pain in any era. [[User:Scorpion451|Scorpion451]] ([[User talk:Scorpion451|talk]]) 18:59, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

:Places meant for work and work alone are called 'industrial parks'. People's well-being in offices can significantly benefit from green spaces and other amenities like bars and shops.
:Especially if they feel safe walking to and from those shops. --[[User:Melle|Melle]] ([[User talk:Melle|talk]]) 16:54, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

The explainxkcd explanations have gotten kinda funny, but I wanted to add that some european cities have sidewalks wider than roads, and it’s a much different experience. People like openness. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.55|162.158.62.55]] 17:46, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

1613: The Three Laws of Robotics

2023-07-08T16:11:27Z

Torzsmokus: /* Explanation */ c.n.

{{comic
| number = 1613
| date = December 7, 2015
| title = The Three Laws of Robotics
| image = the_three_laws_of_robotics.png
| titletext = In ordering #5, self-driving cars will happily drive you around, but if you tell them to drive to a car dealership, they just lock the doors and politely ask how long humans take to starve to death.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic explores alternative orderings of sci-fi author {{w|Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov's}} famous {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}, which are designed to prevent robots from taking over the world, etc. These laws form the basis of a number of Asimov works of fiction, including most famously, the short story collection ''{{w|I, Robot}}'', which amongst others includes the very first of Asimov's stories to introduce the three laws: {{w|Runaround (story)|Runaround}}.

The three rules are:
#A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
#A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
#A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

In order to make his joke, [[Randall]] shortens the laws into three imperatives:
#Don't harm humans
#Obey Orders
#Protect yourself

And then implicitly adds the following to the end of each law regardless of order of imperatives:
#''[end of statement]''
#_____, except where such orders/protection would conflict with the First Law.
#_____, as long as such orders/protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

This comic answers the generally unasked{{citation needed}} question: "Why are they in that order?" With three rules you could rank them into 6 different {{w|permutation|permutations}}, only one of which has been explored in depth. The original ranking of the three laws are listed in the brackets after the first number. So in the first example, which is the original, these three numbers will be in the same order. For the next five the numbers in brackets indicate how the laws have been re-ranked compared to the original.

The comic begins with introducing the original set, which we already know will give rise to a balanced world, so this is designated as green.:
;Ordering #1 - Balanced World: If they are not allowed to harm humans, no harm will be done disregarding who gives them orders. So long as they do not harm humans, they must obey orders. Their own self-preservation is last, so they must also try to save a human, even if ordered not do so, and especially also if they would put themselves to harm, or even destroy themselves in the process. They would also have to obey orders not relating to humans, even if this would be harmful to them; like exploring a mine field. This leads to a balanced, if not perfect, world. Asimov's robot stories explore in detail the advantages and challenges of this scenario.

Below this first known option, the five alternative orderings of the three rules are illustrated. Two of the possibilities are designated yellow (pretty bad or just annoying) and three of them are designated red ("Hellscape").

;Ordering #2 - Frustrating World: The robots value their existence over their job and so many would refuse to do their tasks. The silliness of this is portrayed in the accompanying image, where the robot (a {{w|Mars rover}} looking very similar to {{w|Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity}} both in shape and size - see [[1091: Curiosity]]) laughs at the idea of doing what it was clearly built to do (explore {{w|Mars}}) because of the risk. In addition to the general risk (e.g. of unexpected damage), it is actually normal for rovers to cease operating ("die") at the end of their mission, though they may survive longer than expected (see [[1504: Opportunity]] and [[695: Spirit]]).
;Ordering #3 - Killbot Hellscape: This puts obeying orders above not harming humans, which means anyone could send them on a killing spree. Given human nature, it will probably only be a matter of time before this happens. Even worse, if the robot prioritizes obeying orders above human safety, it may try to kill any human who would prevent it from fulfilling those orders, even the person who originally gave them. Given the superior abilities of robots, the most effective way to stop them would be to counter them with other robots, which would quickly escalate to a "Killbot Hellscape" scenario where robots kill indiscriminately without any thought for human life or self-preservation.
;Ordering #4 - Killbot Hellscape: This is much the same as #3, except even worse as robots would also be able to kill humans in order to protect themselves. This means that even robots not engaged in combat might still murder humans if their existence is threatened. It would be a very dangerous world for humans to live in.
;Ordering #5 - Terrifying Standoff:This ordering would result in an unpleasant world, though not a full Hellscape. Here the robots would not only disobey to protect themselves, but also kill if necessary. The absurdity of this one is further demonstrated with the very un-human robot happily doing repetitive mundane tasks but then threatening the life of its user, [[Cueball]], if he as much as considers unplugging it.
;Ordering #6 - Killbot Hellscape: The last ordering puts self-protection first, which allows robots to go on killing sprees as long as doing so wouldn't cause them to come to harm. While not as bad as the Hellscapes in #3 and #4, this is still not good news for humans, as a robot can easily kill a human without risk to itself. A human also cannot use a robot to defend it from another robot, as robots can refuse combats that involve risk to themselves - this means a robot would happily stand by and allow its human master to be killed. According to Randall, this still eventually results in the Killbot Hellscape scenario.

The title text shows a further horrifying consequence of ordering #5 ("Terrifying Standoff"), by noting that a self-driving car could elect to kill anyone wishing to trade it in. Since cars aren't designed to kill humans, one way it could achieve this without any risk to itself is by locking the doors (which it would likely have control over, as part of its job) and then simply doing nothing. Humans require food and water to live, so denying the passenger access to these will eventually kill them, removing the threat to the car's existence. This would result in a horrible, drawn-out death for the passenger, if they cannot escape the car. It should be noted that although the car asked how long humans take to starve, the human would die of dehydration first. In his original formulation of the First Law, Asimov created the "inaction" clause specifically to avoid scenarios in which a robot puts a human in harm's way and refuses to save them; this was explored in the short story {{w|Little Lost Robot}}.

Another course of action by an AI, completely different than any of the ones presented here, is depicted in [[1626: Judgment Day]].

==Transcript==
:[Caption at the top of the comic:]
:'''Why Asimov put the Three Laws'''
: '''of Robotics in the order he did.'''

:[Below are six rows with first two frames and then a label in color to the right. Above the two column of frames there are labels as well. In the first column six different ways of ordering the three laws are listed. Then the second column shown an image of the consequences of this order. Except in the first where there is a reference. The label to the right rates the kind of world that order of the laws would result in.]

:[Labels above the columns.]
:Possible ordering
:Consequences

:[The six rows follows below. First the text in the first frame, then a description of the second frame, including possible text below and finally the colored label.]

:[First row:]
:1. (1) Don't harm humans
:2. (2) Obey Orders
:3. (3) Protect yourself
:[Only text in square brackets:]
::[See Asimov’s stories]
:'''Balanced world'''

:[Second row:]
:1. (1) Don't harm humans
:2. (3) Protect yourself
:3. (2) Obey Orders
:[Megan points at a mars rover with six wheels, a satellite disc, an arm and a camera head turned towards her, what to do.]
:Megan: Explore Mars!
:Mars rover: Haha, no. It’s cold and I’d die.
:'''Frustrating world'''

:[Third row:]
:1. (2) Obey Orders
:2. (1) Don't harm humans
:3. (3) Protect yourself
:[Two robots are fighting. The one to the left has six wheels, a tall neck on top of the body, with a head with what could be a camera facing right. It has something pointing forward on the body, which could be a weapon. The robot to the right, seems to be further away into the picture. (it is smaller with less detail). It is human shapes, but made op of square structures. It has two legs and two arms, a torso and a head. It clearly shoots something out of it’s right “hand”. This shot seems to create an explosion a third of the way towards the left robot. There are two mushroom clouds from explosions behind both robots (left and right). Between them there are one more explosion up in the air close to the left robot, and what looks like a fire on the ground right between them. Furthermore there are two missiles in the air, one above the head of each robot. Lines indicate their trajectory. There is not text.]
:'''Killbot hellscape'''

:[Fourth row:]
:1. (2) Obey Orders
:2. (3) Protect yourself
:3. (1) Don't harm humans:
:[Exactly the same picture as in row 3.]
:'''Killbot hellscape'''

:[Fifth row:]
:1. (3) Protect yourself
:2. (1) Don't harm humans
:3. (2) Obey Orders
:[Cueball is standing in front of a car factory robot, that is larger than him. It has a base, and two parts for the main body, and then a big “head” with a small section on top. To the right something is jutting out, and to the left in the direction of Cueball there is an arm in three sections (going down, up and down again) ending in some kind of tool close to Cueball.]
:Car factory robot: I'll make cars for you, but try to unplug me and I’ll vaporize you.
:'''Terrifying standoff'''

:[Sixth row:]
:1. (3) Protect yourself
:2. (2) Obey Orders
:3. (1) Don't harm humans:
:[Exactly the same picture as in row 3 and 4.]
:'''Killbot hellscape'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Mars rovers]]

Talk:2793: Garden Path Sentence

2023-06-23T20:48:23Z

Torzsmokus: Pipe

The bot didn't upload the most recent comic so I tried to do it myself, but I think I screwed it up :([[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 18:31, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I think the term "bird strikes" should be interpreted as a plural noun, given the two Xs on the map. Something like "After bird strikes, judge ... overturned but rights and lands safely" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.8|172.69.59.8]] 20:30, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I don't think the current interpretation is wrong, but "olive garden" could be the lower-case-when-not-a-comics-headline descriptor for, you know, an actual garden of olive trees. That makes more sense when referring to green walkways. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:33, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Can someone also parse the alt-text? I still can't figure it out. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.176|162.158.154.176]] 20:39, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Going by the picture I think the "bird" that struck the judge may be the plane.

[[User:*anonymouse*|*anonymouse*]] please reconsider your edits; before them, I think I understood the meaning, but your supposed clarification messed it up :( the paragraph you removed seemed more plausible to me, and it also contained some useful wiki links to {{w|bird strike}} and {{w|vacated judgement}}. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 20:47, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2793: Garden Path Sentence

2023-06-23T20:47:10Z

Torzsmokus: *anonymouse*’s edits

The bot didn't upload the most recent comic so I tried to do it myself, but I think I screwed it up :([[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 18:31, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I think the term "bird strikes" should be interpreted as a plural noun, given the two Xs on the map. Something like "After bird strikes, judge ... overturned but rights and lands safely" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.8|172.69.59.8]] 20:30, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I don't think the current interpretation is wrong, but "olive garden" could be the lower-case-when-not-a-comics-headline descriptor for, you know, an actual garden of olive trees. That makes more sense when referring to green walkways. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:33, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Can someone also parse the alt-text? I still can't figure it out. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.176|162.158.154.176]] 20:39, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Going by the picture I think the "bird" that struck the judge may be the plane.

[[User:*anonymouse*]] please reconsider your edits; before them, I think I understood the meaning, but your supposed clarification messed it up :( the paragraph you removed seemed more plausible to me, and it also contained some useful wiki links to {{w|bird strike}} and {{w|vacated judgement}}. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 20:47, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

2793: Garden Path Sentence

2023-06-23T20:35:57Z

Torzsmokus: /* Transcript */ plane on map

{{comic
| number = 2793
| date = June 23, 2023
| title = Garden Path Sentence
| image = garden_path_sentence.png
| imagesize = 273x273px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Arboretum Owner Denied Standing in Garden Path Suit on Grounds Grounds Appealing Appealing
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE OLD WHO MAN THE BOAT.}}

A {{w|garden-path sentence}} is which the first or most obvious attempt at parsing a sentence leads to bad grammar or the wrong meaning. A classic example of a garden path sentence is "the old man the boat", leading to an initial incorrect parsing of "the old man" ??? "the boat". The actual way to parse this sentence is to treat "man" as a verb, meaning "take one's place at", so thus the sentence means (old people are captaining the boat).

Possible grammatically correct interpretations of the sentences in this comic are:

After bird strikes (a plane that a) judge (is traveling in), (judge) who ordered (restaurant) Olive Garden path (legal) sentence in (court) case of green walkways vacated (judgment), (airplane) overturns but rights (flips back over) and lands safely (without incident)

The sentence is saying that a judge was traveling in an airplane (as shown by the picture on the newspaper) which was hit by birds ({{w|bird strike}}), but the plane righted itself and landed safely (as shown by the image of the map). This judge seemed to be part of a court case involving the restaurant {{w|Olive Garden}}, relating to green walkways nearby, and he {{w|Vacated judgment|vacated}} the judgement, overturning the sentencing in the case.

This comic also pokes fun at newspaper headlines, which typically do not have punctuation, leading to such ambiguities.

The title text is also an example of a garden path sentence. The meaning is probably the following: Arboretum owner denied (legal) standing in garden path (law)suit on (reason) grounds (that the garden) grounds (are) appealing, (the owner is) appealing

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Newspaper, with a picture of a plane next a judge, and a picture of a map with the path of an airplane, with the following headline]
:After bird strikes judge who ordered olive garden path sentence in case of green walkways vacated overturned but rights and lands safely

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

2784: Drainage Basins

2023-06-03T08:32:27Z

Torzsmokus: /* Explanation */ citation needed ''Italic text''

{{comic
| number = 2784
| date = June 2, 2023
| title = Drainage Basins
| image = drainage_basins_2x.png
| imagesize = 659x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = After a pail of water was thrown on the Wicked Witch of the West outside Salt Lake City, Utah's Great Salt Lake was measured to be 7 parts per trillion witch by volume.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LIQUID 90s KID. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Alex Mack was the main character in the Nickelodeon show ''{{w|The Secret World of Alex Mack}}'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120516025126/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-02/news/tv-45351_1_alex-mack] who developed superpowers after being drenched by an experimental substance. One of these is the ability to turn into a puddle of liquid.

A {{w|drainage basin}} is an area of land where all flowing water converges to one or more outlets to the same body of water. A depiction of drainage basins is a {{w|Drainage divide|watershed map}}, which for the United States is shown in the comic.

When Randall sees a map of the US's major drainage basins, he thinks of Alex turning into liquid and flowing as part of the basin she happens to be in at the time.

The title text refers to the {{w|Wicked Witch of the West}}, a character from ''{{w|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz}}''. When a bucket of water is thrown on her, she dissolves into a puddle. If this happens in the {{w|Great Basin}}, she'll flow into Utah's {{w|Great Salt Lake}}. If its dissolved particles are measured, a tiny fraction will be witch. Seven trillionths of its 18.93 cubic km volume is about 130 liters, which is approximately twice the volume of a typical human being — Randall is likely including the Witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the East as well. Randall does however assume that Oz is somewhere within the Great Basin, when it's usually known {{citation needed}} to be another world entirely.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:US Drainage Basins [Crossed Out]
:Where Alex Mack Will End Up [Below, in red]

:[Map of the United States, with the following drainage basins labeled:]
:Pacific Ocean
:Great Basin
:Arctic Ocean
:Various Basins
:Hudson Bay
:Gulf of Mexico
:Atlantic Ocean

:[Caption below the panel:]
:How I still think of these maps, deep down

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red corrections]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:US maps]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

2759: Easily Confused Acronyms

2023-04-06T06:04:06Z

Torzsmokus: Lidar correction

{{comic
| number = 2759
| date = April 5, 2023
| title = Easily Confused Acronyms
| image = easily_confused_acronyms_2x.png
| imagesize = 557x444px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Lever' was originally an acronym for Load Emplification by the Vimulated Emission of Radiation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RIGHT OMPLIFICATION BY THE BIMULATED OMISSION OF TADIATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] compared the Acronym "Laser" with various other five-letter acronyms. He first explained the "Laser" and "Maser" correctly, but the following three are simply the full name of "Laser" with the first word and initials changed. The replacement first word is correct for these acronyms, but the other words formed from changing the first letter are nonsense.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
!Acronym !! Comic !! Actual
|-
| {{w|LASER}} || Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation || Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation
|-
| {{w|MASER}} || Microwave Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation || Microwave Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation
|-
| {{w|SONAR}} || Sound Omplification by the Nimulated Amission of Radiation || SOund NAvigation and Ranging
|-
| {{w|RADAR}} || Radio Amplification by the Dimulated Amission of Radiation || RAdio Detection And Ranging
|-
| {{w|LIDAR}} || Light Implification by the Dimulated Amission of Radiation || LIght Detection And Ranging
|-
| {{w|LEVER}} (title text) || |Load Emplification by the Vimulated Emission of Radiation. || ''(not an acronym)''
|}

Laser and maser are true-to-life acronyms. The remaining 3 words' true meanings are as follows: sonar is short for "sound/sonic navigation and ranging", radar for "radio detection and ranging", lidar for "light detection and ranging". (Note that these 3 each include the second letter from their first word in the acronym.)

The three false definitions simply suppose that all 5 of the acronyms follow the same model and swap out the necessary letters to fit, in a square-peg-round-hole manner.

The title text extends this to the 5-letter word "lever". This is an ordinary word (derived from an Old French word ''levier'', which means "to lift"), not an acronym at all. {{w|Lever}}s have been used since time immemorial (even [https://quatr.us/physics/levers-simple-machines-physics.htm animals have been known to use them)], and predates high-tech uses of radiation by millennia (it's one of the {{w|simple machines}} that {{w|Archimedes}} studied in Ancient Greece).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Easily-confused acronyms cheat sheet

:Laser

:Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation

:Maser

:Microwave Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation

:Sonar

:Sound Omplification by the Nimulated Emission of Radiation

:Radar

:Radio Amplification by the Dimulated Amission of Radiation

:Lidar

:Light Implification by the Dimulated Amission of Radiation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Science]]
[[Category: Language]]

2746: Launch Window

2023-03-07T08:36:13Z

Torzsmokus: /* Explanation */ more scrub

{{comic
| number = 2746
| date = March 6, 2023
| title = Launch Window
| image = launch_window_2x.png
| imagesize = 501x256px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Confirmed, we have to scrub." "Ugh, okay. I'll get the bucket and sponge."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WINDEX-SCRUBBED LAUNCH WINDOW - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Launch window}} is a brief period of time in which a spacecraft can be launched from Earth's surface such that the spacecraft can reach its destination with the minimal amount (or an amount lower than a threshhold of acceptance) of energy expenditure.

This comic takes the concept of a "launch window" in a more literal direction, implying that they have an actual (glass?) window that is only open at certain times. One character suggests moving the rocket outside in order to avoid issues that arise from dealing with the window, but gets pushback because moving the rocket outside would cause them to have to deal with more (again, literal) bugs.

The title text is a play on the two meanings of ''scrub'': 1. to rub with a (usually wet) sponge or brush to clean 2. to cancel (here: the launch of the rocket)

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

[First panel: Ponytail and Hairy can be seen sitting behind a console]

Ponytail: The launch window will only be open for another 90 minutes. We may have to scrub.

[Second panel: Slightly zoomed out, left from Ponytail and Hairy, Cueball can be seen behind a console as well]

Cueball: You know, given all our issues with the launch window,

[Third panel: Cueball turns around, facing the others]

Cueball: Have we thought abot moving the rocket outside?

Ponytail: Ugh, no. It's so sunny out.

Hairy: And there are bugs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]

2746: Launch Window

2023-03-07T08:35:15Z

Torzsmokus: /* Explanation */ scrub!

{{comic
| number = 2746
| date = March 6, 2023
| title = Launch Window
| image = launch_window_2x.png
| imagesize = 501x256px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Confirmed, we have to scrub." "Ugh, okay. I'll get the bucket and sponge."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WINDEX-SCRUBBED LAUNCH WINDOW - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Launch window}} is a brief period of time in which a spacecraft can be launched from Earth's surface such that the spacecraft can reach its destination with the minimal amount (or an amount lower than a threshhold of acceptance) of energy expenditure.

This comic takes the concept of a "launch window" in a more literal direction, implying that they have an actual (glass?) window that is only open at certain times. One character suggests moving the rocket outside in order to avoid issues that arise from dealing with the window, but gets pushback because moving the rocket outside would cause them to have to deal with more (again, literal) bugs.

The title text is a play on the two meanings of ''scrub'': 1. to rub with a sponge or brush to clean 2. to cancel (here: the launch of the rocket)

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

[First panel: Ponytail and Hairy can be seen sitting behind a console]

Ponytail: The launch window will only be open for another 90 minutes. We may have to scrub.

[Second panel: Slightly zoomed out, left from Ponytail and Hairy, Cueball can be seen behind a console as well]

Cueball: You know, given all our issues with the launch window,

[Third panel: Cueball turns around, facing the others]

Cueball: Have we thought abot moving the rocket outside?

Ponytail: Ugh, no. It's so sunny out.

Hairy: And there are bugs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]

2663: Tetherball Configurations

2022-08-25T05:44:00Z

Torzsmokus: Typos

{{comic
| number = 2663
| date = August 24, 2022
| title = Tetherball Configurations
| image = tetherball_configurations.png
| titletext = Ground-pole-ball-pole can be fun if you shake the first pole to get the second one whipping around dangerously, but the ball at the joint gets torn apart pretty fast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GROUND-POLE-BALL-BALL-POLE-ROPE-POLE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Tetherball is a game for two players with the objective to wind a rope completely around a pole. The rope is attached to the pole in one end and to a ball in the other end. The players try to wind the rope in opposite directions and do so by hitting the ball at the rope's loose end with their hands or with padels. Randall has the usual configuration last with five stars, preceded by several humorously inane configurations with fewer stars:

'''Ground-rope-ball''' receives only one star because there is no way to keep "score".

'''Ground-pole-ball''' receives only one star because there is no way for anything to happen. The pole is fixed in place, and the ball is fixed in place at the top. [[Ponytail]] can be seen hitting the pole, but this will only make it vibrate and achieve no lasting effect.

'''Ground-rope-pole-ball''' is slightly better than the previous configurations and therefore receives two stars instead of one. The players have some way to keep score by seeing which way the rope is wound around the pole, but a player who is behind can reset the score by pushing the rope-windings off of the rope. Also, twirling the rope in order to rack up point-windings would be awkward—and possibly even dangerous to the other player, depending on how long the pole is. Lastly, the ball serves no purpose in this case.

'''Ground-pole-rope-ball''' is the best and therefore receives five stars. Players can accumulate point-windings by hitting the ball past the other player, and gravity and the pole's height prevent the player who is behind from unscrupulously resetting the score. This is the configuration that is used in real life.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"Tetherball configuration playability ratings"

"Ground-rope-ball"

"Ground–pole–ball"

"Ground–rope-pole-ball"

"Ground-pole-rope–ball"

{{comic discussion}}

2481: 1991 and 2021

2021-06-26T04:57:40Z

Torzsmokus: Not incomplete any more. Nothing really “happens” in the comic, they just talk.

{{comic
| number = 2481
| date = June 26, 2021
| title = 1991 and 2021
| image = 1991_and_2021.png
| titletext = "Oh, and our computers all have cameras now, which is nice during the pandemic lockdowns." "The WHAT."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ILLEGAL LASER POINTER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a Cueball from 2021 discussing the future's technology with White Hat, who is apparently living in 1991. White Hat is awed by the advances in technology, but is not expecting that the law "combating" laser attacking on passenger aircraft is not the most important thing mentioned.

"Laser attacks on airplanes" ''sound'' dramatic and important, and White Hat is perhaps thinking that {{w|laser weapon}}s have been developed and are now in the hands of US citizens, like ordinary guns. In reality, the "lasers" in question are low-powered laser pointers, aimed at passenger airliners as a (dangerous) prank. When the beam hits the airplane, it can blind the pilot. A law ([https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/39A 18 USC §39A]) was thus passed to criminalize this. Laser pointers are not able to damage the plane itself, much less shoot it from the sky.{{citation needed}}

The robot fighting TV shows mentioned include ''{{w|BattleBots}}'', {{w|Robot Wars (TV series)|''Robot Wars''}}, and possibly {{w|MegaBots Inc.|''MegaBots''}}, in which machines armed with a variety of weapons fight in an arena.

By any reasonable measure, the most important technologies on the list are the increased range of cordless phones and the ability to easily share news stories. The first of these has led to a dramatic change in how people communicate, with a large amount of communication now remote, which was not as convenient in the 90s and impossible a few decades prior. Sharing of news stories person-to-person is partly blamed for the spread of {{w|fake news}}; misinformation has become more and more politically significant in the past few years. The joke is that the impact of a technology on society isn't really about how exciting or dangerous it might look at first glance.

The title text horrifies 90s White Hat, who is blissfully unaware of [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]]. On release, the title text was not actually included as such. It was instead included as the text of a "see also" link, which is often invisible to readers and is activated by clicking the comic. Such links have been used in the past for larger versions of the comic or for related information on other sites. Here, it linked back to the comic itself, and was evidently a mistake.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball (with a time travel aura) is talking to White Hat]

:White Hat: Welcome to 1991!
:White Hat: So you're from 2021? What happens with technology over the next 30 years?

:Cueball: We passed a federal law to combat laser attacks on airliners, and there are TV shows where robots battle.
:Cueball: Also, cordless phones are longer range now, and it's really easy to send news stories to your friends.
:White Hat: Wow, okay.

:Cueball: Now, try to guess which of those things turn out to be important.
:White Hat: ...is it not the lasers?
:Cueball: It is not the lasers.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2423: Project Orion

2021-02-11T08:37:11Z

Torzsmokus: Trochee

If you read xkcd long enough, the comics always tend toward being about conversations tending toward something. (Okay, that’s not true; there’s one other comic like this and it was a conversation tending toward being about species tending toward being built like crabs. Still funny to think about, though.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.244|108.162.215.244]] 01:09, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
:All xkcd comics eventually become conversations about conversations. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 01:15, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Just wanted to point out that "dusty plasma fission fragment rockets" is a [[856:_Trochee_Fixation|series of trochees]].[[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.117|162.158.183.117]] 05:45, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
: TIL trochee means something different for English than for Greek, Latin, Hungarian etc. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 08:35, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2423: Project Orion

2021-02-11T08:35:37Z

Torzsmokus: Trochee

If you read xkcd long enough, the comics always tend toward being about conversations tending toward something. (Okay, that’s not true; there’s one other comic like this and it was a conversation tending toward being about species tending toward being built like crabs. Still funny to think about, though.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.244|108.162.215.244]] 01:09, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
:All xkcd comics eventually become conversations about conversations. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 01:15, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Just wanted to point out that "dusty plasma fission fragment rockets" is a [[856:_Trochee_Fixation|series of trochees]].[[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.117|162.158.183.117]] 05:45, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
: TIL trochee means something else for English than for Greek, Latin, Hungarian etc. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 08:35, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2389: Unread

2020-11-24T13:58:19Z

Torzsmokus: %

I have 27,333 unread emails. On the level of "Your email is important to me. Please wait and it'll get read eventually." [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:25, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Oh hai! https://i.imgur.com/FXt1AYq.png lol [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.195|172.68.142.195]] 10:17, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

This graph seems way off to me. It says 'percentage of messages', so the highest point should be at the far left. At some point, you will have a single message saying "Welcome to WhateverMessagingService", which will initially be unread, therefore 100%. When he's standing at the beginning looking at the icon that says 2 messages, that's probably 2 out of 3, or 2 out of 4. It could be back up at 100% depending on the service (does it auto-delete read notifications?), but it's likely lower than at the start. But for the first few weeks, I'd expect to see a series of tall peaks, gradually getting lower as the number of old read messages slowly increases, with flat valleys inbetween where everything is read. Then as you get into the habit of putting off reading them, the valleys start getting shallower until they swallow the peaks, and you get a slowly rising curve that eventually levels off pretty high.
This graph seems to rise forever at the end, which makes sense for a graph of the ''number'' of messages, but not for a ''percentage''. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:34, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

:It says 'percentage **marked** unread' [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 13:58, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Which is why everyone needs filters for sub-mailboxes. Of those 27,333 , 27 000 go into the "IgnoreThisCrap" mailbox, 300 go into "Respond by the end of the next Sprint," and 33 remain as candidates for reading maybe after lunch. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 11:36, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Should the incomplete tag be deleted? This seems complete to me. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.124|141.101.98.124]] 11:43, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T13:57:10Z

Torzsmokus: Probably typo

{{comic
| number = 2381
| date = November 4, 2020
| title = The True Name of the Bear
| image = the_true_name_of_the_bear.png
| titletext = Thank you to Gretchen McCulloch for fielding this question, and sorry that as a result the world's foremost internet linguist has been devoured by the brown one. She will be missed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE BEAR WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The Canadian Internet linguist {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} [https://twitter.com/gretchenamcc/status/1113195661275611137 tweeted] about [https://www.charlierussellbears.com/LinguisticArchaeology.html the theory] that the word for bear became taboo in some branches of Indoeuropean languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been like "the brown one" and words for bear derive from words for "brown".

The Indoeuropean root for bears is *rkto-, which has been inferred from languages that use words derived from it. In the comic, Gretchen McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved into English, but pronouncing it seems to actually summon a bear, showing that abandoning that word was a fairly wise move for the forefathers of German languages speakers.

Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word Arth is the same as the Welsh for the word bear. Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indoeuropean branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indoarian (Sanscrit) branches do, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms.

Use of True Names appears to be highly effective in the Xkcd universe as evidenced in the previous comic [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple]]

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

:[Megan is looking down at her phone.]
:Megan: Wow - according to the internet, we don't know the true name of the bear.
:Cueball: What?

:[Gretchen comes on-panel.]
:Megan: Apparently there was a superstition that saying its name would summon it. "Bear" and "bruin" mean "the brown one." Its actual name has been lost.
:Cueball: Wow.
:Ponytail: Gretchen, is this for real?

:[Zoom-in on Gretchen.]
:Gretchen: Well, sort of
:Gretchen: The Proto-Indo-European root was *rkto-
:Gretchen: It was lost in the Germanic languages like English, but survived elsewhere, e.g. Greek "arktos" and Latin "ursus"

:[Back to the second panel, with Megan holding her phone down, Ponytail with her hands in the air, and Gretchen with his hand on his chin.]
:Megan: So could we figure out what the word would have been in English?
:Gretchen: Hmm. I mean, we'll never know, but given Germanic sound shifts, a reasonable guess might be "arth"?
:Ponytail: ''No!!''

:[The panel zooms in again to Gretchen.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): ''Stop! AAAAA!''
:Gretchen: What??
:Ponytail (off-panel): Don't ''say'' it!

:[Ponytail is holding her palms out. Megan is no longer in the panel.]
:Ponytail: What have you ''done''?
:Off-panel noise: <big>'''''ROAR'''''</big>
:Gretchen: Oh
:Gretchen: Oh no

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
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