explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2328: Space Basketball

2020-07-04T04:00:17Z

Unicodepepper: Improved wording of title text interpretation

{{comic
| number = 2328
| date = July 3, 2020
| title = Space Basketball
| image = space_basketball.png
| titletext = My shooting will improve over the short term, but over the long term the universe will take more shots.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a METEORIC BASKETBALL. Should discuss expected time to make 30 shots in a row at 30% (and other percentages), and odds of meteorite impact, and NBA Jam and Space Jam. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic strip is another one of Randall's [[:Category:My Hobby|strange hobbies]] (released within the same week as his last hobby comic, [[2326: Five Word Jargon]]). Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or perhaps just due to his difficulties in making friends (cf. [[1917: How to Make Friends]]), Randall wishes to play basketball but has nobody to play with, and so he chooses to play against {{w|outer space}}. His goal is to make thirty baskets in a row before the universe puts a meteor through his hoop.

Randall estimates that his success rate at {{w|free throw|free-throw shooting}} is approximately 30%. Some of the world's best basketball players have free-throw percentages over 90%, and even professional players with reputations of being "poor" free-throw shooters (e.g. Shaquille O'Neal) are above 50%.

However, the chances of Cueball making 30 shots in a row is (0.3)^30, or about 1 in 5 quadrillion. The odds of a meteor killing you (according to one study) are around 1 in 250,000. Assuming the chances of a meteor killing you is equal to the chances of a meteor going through the hoop, Cueball's free throw percentage would have to be around 66% for the sides to remain even.

In the title text, Randall assumes that he would get better at free throwing shooting with practice, but also estimates that there would be more meteors. Another possible interpretation is that the universe will continue throwing meteors through the hoop long after he's dead, so the universe will always win in the very long term.

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

:[Cueball is standing in front of a basketball hoop, holding a basketball.]

:Cueball: Okay, here are the rules:
:Cueball: I have to make 30 shots in a row before a meteor falls through the hoop.
:Cueball: I'm a 30% free throw shooter so the odds are actually pretty even.
:Cueball: Ready...go!

:[Caption below panel:]
:My hobby: playing basketball against space

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2328: Space Basketball

2020-07-04T03:59:38Z

Unicodepepper: Added alternate interpretation of title text

{{comic
| number = 2328
| date = July 3, 2020
| title = Space Basketball
| image = space_basketball.png
| titletext = My shooting will improve over the short term, but over the long term the universe will take more shots.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a METEORIC BASKETBALL. Should discuss expected time to make 30 shots in a row at 30% (and other percentages), and odds of meteorite impact, and NBA Jam and Space Jam. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic strip is another one of Randall's [[:Category:My Hobby|strange hobbies]] (released within the same week as his last hobby comic, [[2326: Five Word Jargon]]). Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or perhaps just due to his difficulties in making friends (cf. [[1917: How to Make Friends]]), Randall wishes to play basketball but has nobody to play with, and so he chooses to play against {{w|outer space}}. His goal is to make thirty baskets in a row before the universe puts a meteor through his hoop.

Randall estimates that his success rate at {{w|free throw|free-throw shooting}} is approximately 30%. Some of the world's best basketball players have free-throw percentages over 90%, and even professional players with reputations of being "poor" free-throw shooters (e.g. Shaquille O'Neal) are above 50%.

However, the chances of Cueball making 30 shots in a row is (0.3)^30, or about 1 in 5 quadrillion. The odds of a meteor killing you (according to one study) are around 1 in 250,000. Assuming the chances of a meteor killing you is equal to the chances of a meteor going through the hoop, Cueball's free throw percentage would have to be around 66% for the sides to remain even.

In the title text, Randall assumes that he would get better at free throwing shooting with practice, but also estimates that there would be more meteors. Another possible interpretation is that the universe will continue throwing meteors through the hoop even long after he's dead, so the universe will always win in the very long term.

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

:[Cueball is standing in front of a basketball hoop, holding a basketball.]

:Cueball: Okay, here are the rules:
:Cueball: I have to make 30 shots in a row before a meteor falls through the hoop.
:Cueball: I'm a 30% free throw shooter so the odds are actually pretty even.
:Cueball: Ready...go!

:[Caption below panel:]
:My hobby: playing basketball against space

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Talk:1896: Active Ingredients Only

2017-09-30T03:50:33Z

Unicodepepper:

Seems Randall has a cold again, like two years ago... :D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:03, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

Why would taking a medication without binding agents be dangerous? Also, would something like a gelcap count as an inactive ingredient? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.153|162.158.62.153]] 13:28, 29 September 2017 (UTC)
: Yes. If an ingredient is not intended to produce a therapeutic effect on the body, then it is inactive: "Inactive ingredients are components of a drug product that do not increase or affect the therapeutic action of the active ingredient" https://www.google.com/search?q=inactive+ingredient -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:08, 29 September 2017 (UTC)
: Binders hold the tablet together, so that instead of taking a powder and possibly missing some grains that fall away or stick to something (which would be dangerous if you need all the medicine for some life threatening condition) you can take the whole tab and get exactly the intended amount of active ingredient. They are also used to make tabs with minuscule quantities of active ingredient larger so that instead of fumbling with an incredibly tiny tablet it is large enough to be easily held and seen, and since the explanation just says "serious problem" not necessarily "dangerous" I could see having to take a single grain of sand sized medicine as being problematic.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.100|108.162.237.100]] 14:45, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

Could this comic be a reference to this image? [[https://i.redd.it/q7jcyf21c8ty.jpg]] It was the first thing I thought about when I saw it.