https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.214.77&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T01:54:16ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:521:_2008_Christmas_Special&diff=119423Talk:521: 2008 Christmas Special2016-05-07T17:44:30Z<p>108.162.214.77: </p>
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<div>Santa actually really is Muslim. Saint Nicholas was from Turkey, although his remains have been somewhere in Italy for the past millennium.{{unsigned ip|121.222.232.156}}<br />
: Yeah, right. Living in what was later to be Turkey makes him a muslim. Islam was not even invented yet. [[User:Undee|Undee]] ([[User talk:Undee|talk]]) 11:44, 5 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
Of course you have to explain how St Nick who died in 343 CE could have been following a religion whose founder was born in 570 CE. But you knew that. I also think we can do somewhat better than "somewhere in Italy". His tomb is at Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.11}}<br />
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And also, equating Santa with St Nicholas is problematic at best. Santa came about as an amalgamation of many different figures from folklore, so even if St Nick were Muslim, at best you could call Santa part-Muslim.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.171|108.162.216.171]] 18:31, 8 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Since in muslim view Islam was not 'invented' but reintroduced, Adam and Eve were muslims, as are all newborns. They only stop being by accepting (a.k.a. growing up in)<br />
another faith. So yes, Santa might be a muslim (we don't see him running around with crucifixes as we'd expect from St. Nicholas). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]]<br />
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I always thought Black Hat was talking to Danish. The hair's longer and it makes a modicum more sense that way (at least to me) Anonymous 03:34, 4 December 2013 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.91}}<br />
:I see what you are saying (although I couldn't comment on whether the hair is longer) but the question sounds like something Megan would ask. Danish would have built the laser chainsaw. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 19:20, 10 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
::True... Anonymous 20:14, 13 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I don't see Black Hat in any of the panels... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.83|173.245.55.83]] 14:50, 22 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
::He is at the bottom line, first panel from left. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 23 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Just checked this image for any data in the black frames (like in [[SOPA]]). There is nothing; all pixels read #000000. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.53|108.162.216.53]] 20:52, 5 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I'm don't think "sublimate" means vaporize... And neither would vaporize fit with the rest the story... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.208|141.101.89.208]] 14:08, 14 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Sublimation is a specific type of vaporization. I don't think the exact nature of the board's destruction is important to the comic.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.171|108.162.216.171]] 18:31, 8 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Of all the black panels, i'm most curious about the contents of number 32. It would have made more sense if panel 31 read something like "From all of us to all of you, we wish you..."[[User:Mumiemonstret|Mumiemonstret]] ([[User talk:Mumiemonstret|talk]]) 09:37, 12 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Clones (cloned raptors) vs droids (cyborgs), and then victorious clones turning against their masters... Well, this raptors seem to be more independent then altered clones of Jango Fett but may be lightsabers aren't the only SW quote here.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.202|141.101.92.202]] 16:53, 24 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I changed "self-conscious" in the explanations for panel 13 and the title text to "self-aware". The former is generally understood to mean something along the lines of "nervous, especially in social situations" which doesn't describe the behavior of computers trying to wipe out humanity.<br />
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I feel like there should be some sort of way to view them probably via Easter egg [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.154|141.101.104.154]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=859:_(&diff=106640859: (2015-12-09T05:50:59Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */ Please, it's already demonstrated. You don't have to do it twice, it's killing me.</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 859<br />
| date = February 11, 2011<br />
| title = (<br />
| image = (.png<br />
| titletext = Brains aside, I wonder how many poorly-written xkcd.com-parsing scripts will break on this title (or ;;"'<nowiki/>'{<<[' this mouseover text."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
<br />
In programming, punctuation is often used to mark sections of code. Paired punctuation marks must always be matched up with a corresponding closing mark, otherwise a so-called {{w|syntax error}} occurs. The programming language {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}} (also featured in [[224: Lisp]]) is known for large numbers of nested/paired parentheses. Even in literary works intended only for human consumption, the absence of a matching closing parenthesis (as appears in this sentence or other "balanced" punctuation sets creates a mental expectation of eventual closure and completion that remains unfulfilled even long after the unmatched mark is encountered. See what I mean?<br />
<br />
There is also reference to [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost]] which could contain the missing parentheses.<br />
<br />
It can also be interpreted as a {{w|metaphor}}, which compares the reader with a Lisp {{w|Interpreter (Computing)|interpreter}}. The interpreter looks for the parenthesis until the end of the file, where it eventually halts, and prints out the error. The comic claims that if you read an unmatched parenthesis, you will look for it for the rest of the day too.<br />
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It also refers to this awkward feeling when you see something (like an unmatched parentheses, spelling error or a randomly-placed, comma.)<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the same issue as already highlighted in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]: if your scripts trust external input, you sometimes will be surprised. At the time of this comic, there were quite a few websites that would grab the latest xkcd comic three times a week and publish them on their own site. This comic likely broke at least some of the websites because of either the unmatched brace or the extra unmatched markup that is in the title text.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A frame with only text.]<br />
:(An unmatched left parenthesis creates an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1604:_Snakes&diff=105121Talk:1604: Snakes2015-11-16T06:03:31Z<p>108.162.214.77: </p>
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<div>i don't know how to add the omega sign for the units of the resistor in the transcript. i'll leave that to someone more skilled than myself [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 05:26, 16 November 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Just copy-and-paste! -N00b</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1604:_Snakes&diff=1051201604: Snakes2015-11-16T06:03:03Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1604<br />
| date = November 16, 2015<br />
| title = Snakes<br />
| image = snakes.png<br />
| titletext = The last band of color indicates the snake's tolerance for being held before biting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a n00b - Please change this content to something better when editing this page.}}<br />
<br />
The comic applies the color-coding band system of electrical resistors to snakes. Resistors have at least three bands to identify the measured resistance of the resistor in question in ohms, followed by an optional final band showing the tolerance as within the bounds of a certain percentage of the aforementioned resistance value. A red band followed by a yellow one identifies a 24 ohm resistor (the Omega symbol, "Ω”, stands for Ohms). The final tolerance pun could also be interpreted as related to electrical resistance as its semi-opposite.<br />
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The comic references a saying for identifying the dangerous North American coral snake by its red, yellow, and black stripes: "Red on yellow, angry fellow; red on black, friendly jack." Coral snakes are mimicked by nonvenomous species with similar coloring, such as the milk snake, but the color of the stripes are in a different order.<br />
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Therefore, Megan is actually holding a coral snake, which contain the most potent venom of any snake on earth. Luckily for her, the snake lacks an efficient method of delivery when compared to rattlesnakes or cobras, and must actually ''chew'' on the victim to release a fatal dose. Most people can remove the snake well before it can finish, so the survival rate is quite high.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Megan and Cueball are standing in some grass. Megan is holding a snake with red and black stripes]<br />
<br />
Megan: Red touches yellow, which I think means this is a 24&Omega; snake.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1600:_MarketWatch&diff=1047231600: MarketWatch2015-11-08T02:50:30Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1600<br />
| date = November 6, 2015<br />
| title = MarketWatch<br />
| image = marketwatch.png<br />
| titletext = Markets have been rocked by a second day of uncertainty after someone set up a giant Ouija board on the NYSE wall controlled collectively by the movement of the stock tickers.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
DC is {{w|Washington, D.C.}} The DC skyline shown here has the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}}, the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) and the {{w|United States Capitol}}, which are located in a line down the {{w|National Mall}}. The Washington Monument is not equidistant from the other two, so it would not be possible to get a view of the skyline that exactly matches the line shown.<br />
<br />
{{w|MarketWatchdeeznutshells }} is a web site focused on stocks and the {{w|Dow Jones Industrial Average}} (DJIA as written on the screen), commonly referred to as the Dow, is a {{w|stock market index}}, meaning that it is a general indicator of how the market is running (in this case, an aggregate of how 30 major industrial companies are doing). The stock market is famous for having unpredictable price swings, but for them to specifically make a tracing of the skyline of Washington, D.C. (or any recognizable image) would definitely weird out most investors.<br />
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As seen in [[276: Fixed Width]], unusual patterns can be addictive to the point of harming those involved in the pattern's creation. The joke, however, rests in the fact that stock investors probably have aa pattern rather than pursuing gains would be uncharacteristic. Although some investors follow superstitious behavior (such as making trades to 这地方实在是太美太独特了,so is you[呲牙]follow a pattern rather then make 今天去参加同学的微博已经开more obvious profits), many trades are now made by automated computer systems, which may recognize some types of patterns, but would not recognize the DC for the stock market to continue to follow such a pattern merely because of the efforts of the <i>human</i> traders.<br />
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Buying and selling stocks based on patterns in the price charts is a common, but controversial, method of investing. Many {{w|day trader}}s and some professional investors still use stock patterns ({{w|head and shoulders (chart pattern)|head and shoulders}}, {{w|trend line (technical analysis)|trend lines}}, etc.) to make trades (see for instance [http://www.investopedia.com/university/charts/ Analyzing Chart Patterns]). Most professional investors and finance academics believe that this practice is random (see strong and weak {{w|efficient markets hypothesis}}).<br />
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In the title text it is noted that the markets again has been shaken by uncertainty (for the second day running, after the DC skyline incidence from the main comic). This time it was because someone at NYSE (the {{w|New York Stock Exchange}}) had set up a giant {{w|Ouija}} board that was controlled by the movement of the stock tickers. (Thus collectively as everyone at NYSE has influence on those.)<br />
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The ouija is also known as a spirit board, a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no" and a possibly a few other. A movable indicator indicates a spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance.<br />
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{{w|Ticker tape}} was an early way of transmitting stock price, and it was run through a '''stock ticker''' which printed abbreviated company names as alphabetic symbols followed by numeric stock transaction price and volume information. Today this has been replaced with electronics but the concept of the stock ticker lives on, however, in the scrolling electronic tickers seen on brokerage walls and on financial television networks.<br />
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Of course if the stock exchange begins to look to spirit boards people will get worried (also maybe by the cryptic messages from beyond they are receiving via the stock ticker) explaining the uncertainty. Of course some people might claim that this is not so far from how stock brokers decides what to do anyway…<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is a news presenter reporting on the days price swings in the DOW. To the left of her is a chart showing how the index suddenly went from "random" to tracing out Washington DC's sky line starting with the Lincoln Memorial, then the obelisk of the Washington Monument and finally the United States Capitol. After that the index goes back to normal "randomness". Two words are written at the top of the screen to the left and right:]<br />
:MarketWatch<br />
:DJIA<br />
<br />
:Ponytail:<br />
::Wild swings on the markets today <br />
::as investors noticed the DOW was<br />
::tracing out a silhouette of the DC<br />
::skyline, and everyone got too weirded<br />
::out to break the pattern until they<br />
::finished the capitol building.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=816:_Applied_Math&diff=57024816: Applied Math2014-01-09T00:02:44Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 816<br />
| date = November 8, 2010<br />
| title = Applied Math<br />
| image = applied_math.png<br />
| titletext = Dear Reader: Enclosed is a check for ninety-eight cents. Using your work, I have proven that this equals the amount you requested.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Donald Knuth}} is a {{w|computer scientist}} that has written several computer science textbooks and he offers {{w|Knuth reward check|monetary rewards}} for anyone finding errors in his publications. The first error found in each book is worth US$2.56. Other suggestions are worth less than $2.56, but a check is still sent out if Dr. Knuth finds them to be reasonable.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] uses a proof to invalidate logic itself. According to the logic symbols [[File:contradiction.png]] at the bottom of the proof, she has proved that "the proposition (statement) is true and the proposition is false," i.e. "something is both true and false." (Specifically, ∴ means "therefore", ''P'' represents that a proposition is true, ∧ stands for "and", and an overbar negates a proposition (so ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>'' represents that a proposition is false). If someone were to prove this, it would indeed derail the very foundation of logic and result in the {{w|principle of explosion}}, which is referenced in [[704: Principle of Explosion|a previous comic]].<br />
<br />
Since most of the content of computer science textbooks is fundamentally based on logic, Megan's proof obviously spells doom for Dr. Knuth's, as each instance of logic can now be considered an error. After Megan's friend confirms the validity of her proof, Megan writes a letter to Dr. Knuth to collect her money for the 1,317,408 errors in {{w|The Art of Computer Programming}} at $2.56 each. According to the amount Megan demands as a reward, she apparently considers this textbook to have an average of more than 400 instances of logic per page (if she has the latest edition of each volume).<br />
<br />
The title text is the reply from Dr. Knuth, in which he uses Megan's logic-disproving proof against her by claiming -- with no logical explanation -- that the amount of money she is in fact due as a reward is only 98 cents. He does this presumably to a) get out of paying her over three million dollars, b) demonstrate his contempt for or disbelief in her proof, and/or c) to show her, rather passive-aggressively, that she herself is not exempt from any ill effects resulting from her ridiculous proof.<br />
<br />
The title of the comic, "Applied Math," is a play on {{w|Applied mathematics}}, "mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry," as opposed to {{w|pure math}}, which focuses exclusively on abstract concepts. Instead of using math to calculate something like the speed of a falling object, Megan uses it for an ostensibly more frivolous reason: to gain a huge reward via a proof of dubious validity.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is standing at a whiteboard considering a logical proof. The proof assumes ''P'' and deduces ''P'' ∧ ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>''.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wow. I can't find fault with your proof.<br />
:[Ponytail is still looking at the white board, the frame expands to show Megan walking away, rubbing her hands together in an evil manner.]<br />
:Ponytail: You've show the inconsistency - and thus the invalidity - of basic logic itself.<br />
:Megan: Excellent, on to step two.<br />
:[Megan sits down at a desk and begins to write.]<br />
:Dear Dr. Knuth,<br />
:[She continues to write.]<br />
:I am writing to collect from you the $3,372,564.45 I am owed for discovering 1,317,408 errors in The Art of Computer Programming...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Knuth]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=816:_Applied_Math&diff=57023816: Applied Math2014-01-09T00:02:25Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */ added more explanation, clarified earlier explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 816<br />
| date = November 8, 2010<br />
| title = Applied Math<br />
| image = applied_math.png<br />
| titletext = Dear Reader: Enclosed is a check for ninety-eight cents. Using your work, I have proven that this equals the amount you requested.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Donald Knuth}} is a {{w|computer scientist}} that has written several computer science textbooks and he offers {{w|Knuth reward check|monetary rewards}} for anyone finding errors in his publications. The first error found in each book is worth US$2.56. Other suggestions are worth less than $2.56, but a check is still sent out if Dr. Knuth finds them to be reasonable.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] uses a proof to invalidate logic itself. According to the logic symbols [[File:contradiction.png]] at the bottom of the proof, she has proved that "the proposition (statement) is true and the proposition is false," i.e. "something is both true and false." (Specifically, ∴ means "therefore", ''P'' represents that a proposition is true, ∧ stands for "and", and an overbar negates a proposition (so ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>'' represents that a proposition is false). If someone were to prove this, it would indeed derail the very foundation of logic and result in the {{w|principle of explosion}}, which is referenced in [[704: Principle of Explosion|a previous comic]].<br />
<br />
Since most of the content of computer science textbooks is fundamentally based on logic, Megan's proof obviously spells doom for Dr. Knuth's, as each instance of logic can now be considered an error. After Megan's friend confirms the validity of her proof, Megan writes a letter to Dr. Knuth to collect her money for the 1,317,408 errors in {{w|The Art of Computer Programming}} at $2.56 each. According to the amount Megan demands as a reward, she apparently considers this textbook to have an average of more than 400 instances of logic per page (if she has the latest edition of each volume).<br />
<br />
The title text is the reply from Dr. Knuth, in which he uses Megan's logic-disproving proof against her by claiming -- with no logical explanation -- that the amount of money she is in fact due as a reward is only 98 cents. He does this presumably to a) get out of paying her over three million dollars, b) demonstrate his contempt for or disbelief in her proof, and/or c) to show her, rather passive-aggressively, that she herself is not exempt from any ill effects resulting from her ridiculous proof.<br />
<br />
The title of the comic, "Applied Math," is a play on {{w|Applied mathematics}}, "mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry," as opposed to {{w|pure_math}}, which focuses exclusively on abstract concepts. Instead of using math to calculate something like the speed of a falling object, Megan uses it for an ostensibly more frivolous reason: to gain a huge reward via a proof of dubious validity.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is standing at a whiteboard considering a logical proof. The proof assumes ''P'' and deduces ''P'' ∧ ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>''.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wow. I can't find fault with your proof.<br />
:[Ponytail is still looking at the white board, the frame expands to show Megan walking away, rubbing her hands together in an evil manner.]<br />
:Ponytail: You've show the inconsistency - and thus the invalidity - of basic logic itself.<br />
:Megan: Excellent, on to step two.<br />
:[Megan sits down at a desk and begins to write.]<br />
:Dear Dr. Knuth,<br />
:[She continues to write.]<br />
:I am writing to collect from you the $3,372,564.45 I am owed for discovering 1,317,408 errors in The Art of Computer Programming...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Knuth]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=816:_Applied_Math&diff=57022816: Applied Math2014-01-08T23:42:51Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 816<br />
| date = November 8, 2010<br />
| title = Applied Math<br />
| image = applied_math.png<br />
| titletext = Dear Reader: Enclosed is a check for ninety-eight cents. Using your work, I have proven that this equals the amount you requested.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Donald Knuth}} is a {{w|computer scientist}} that has written several computer science textbooks and he offers {{w|Knuth reward check|monetary rewards}} for anyone finding errors in his publications. The first error found in each book is worth US$2.56. Other suggestions are worth less than $2.56, but a check is still sent out if Dr. Knuth finds them to be reasonable.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] uses a proof to invalidate logic itself. Apparently she has proved (according to the logical notation [[File:contradiction.png]] at the bottom of the proof means "therefore, the proposition (statement) is true and the proposition is false". Specifically, ∴ means "therefore", ''P'' represents a given proposition being true, ∧ stands for "and", and an overbar negates a proposition (so ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>'' represents that proposition being false). It effectively means that something can be both true and not true at the same time. If this were proven true, it would indeed derail the very foundation of logic. It would result in the {{w|principle of explosion}}, which is referenced in [[704: Principle of Explosion|a previous comic]].<br />
<br />
After Megan's friend confirms the validity of the proof, Megan writes a letter to Dr. Knuth to collect her money for the 1,317,408 errors in {{w|The Art of Computer Programming}} at $2.56 each, which have come about now that, according to Megan's new proof, basic logic is effectively meaningless. A computer science textbook would understandably contain a great deal of logic, and in fact, according to the amount Megan demands as a reward, this textbook apparently has more than 400 instances of logic per page (going by the latest edition of each volume).<br />
<br />
In the title text is the reply from Dr. Knuth in which he uses Megan's logic disproving proof against her by claiming -- with no logical explanation -- that the amount of money she is in fact due as a reward is only 98 cents, presumably to a) get out of paying her over three million dollars, b) demonstrate his contempt for her proof, or possibly his disbelief that it is valid, and/or c) to show her, rather passive-aggressively, that she herself is not exempt from any ill effects resulting from her proof.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is standing at a whiteboard considering a logical proof. The proof assumes ''P'' and deduces ''P'' ∧ ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>''.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wow. I can't find fault with your proof.<br />
:[Ponytail is still looking at the white board, the frame expands to show Megan walking away, rubbing her hands together in an evil manner.]<br />
:Ponytail: You've show the inconsistency - and thus the invalidity - of basic logic itself.<br />
:Megan: Excellent, on to step two.<br />
:[Megan sits down at a desk and begins to write.]<br />
:Dear Dr. Knuth,<br />
:[She continues to write.]<br />
:I am writing to collect from you the $3,372,564.45 I am owed for discovering 1,317,408 errors in The Art of Computer Programming...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Knuth]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=816:_Applied_Math&diff=57021816: Applied Math2014-01-08T23:41:44Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */ more in-depth explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 816<br />
| date = November 8, 2010<br />
| title = Applied Math<br />
| image = applied_math.png<br />
| titletext = Dear Reader: Enclosed is a check for ninety-eight cents. Using your work, I have proven that this equals the amount you requested.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Donald Knuth}} is a {{w|computer scientist}} that has written several computer science textbooks and he offers {{w|Knuth reward check|monetary rewards}} for anyone finding errors in his publications. The first error found in each book is worth US$2.56. Other suggestions are worth less than $2.56, but a check is still sent out if Dr. Knuth finds them to be reasonable.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] uses a proof to invalidate logic itself. Apparently she has proved (according to the logical notation [[File:contradiction.png]] at the bottom of the proof means "therefore, the proposition (statement) is true and the proposition is false". Specifically, ∴ means "therefore", ''P'' represents a given proposition being true, ∧ stands for "and", and an overbar negates a proposition (so ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>'' represents that proposition being false). It effectively means that something can be both true and not true at the same time. If this were proven true, it would indeed derail the very foundation of logic. It would result in the {{w|principle of explosion}}, which is referenced in [[704: Principle of Explosion|a previous comic]].<br />
<br />
After Megan's friend confirms the validity of the proof, Megan writes a letter to Dr. Knuth to collect her money for the 1,317,408 errors in {{w|The Art of Computer Programming}} at $2.56 each, which have come about now that, according to Megan's new proof, basic logic is now effectively meaningless. A computer science textbook would understandably utilize a great deal of logic, and in fact, according to the amount Megan demands as a reward, this textbook apparently has more than 400 instances of logic per page (according to the latest edition of each volume).<br />
<br />
In the title text is the reply from Dr. Knuth in which he uses Megan's logic disproving proof against her by claiming -- with no logical explanation -- that the amount of money she is in fact due as a reward is only 98 cents, presumably to a) get out of paying her over three million dollars, b) demonstrate his contempt for her proof, or possibly his disbelief that it is valid, and/or c) to show her, rather passive-aggressively, that she herself is not exempt from any ill effects resulting from her proof.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is standing at a whiteboard considering a logical proof. The proof assumes ''P'' and deduces ''P'' ∧ ''<span style="text-decoration: overline">P</span>''.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wow. I can't find fault with your proof.<br />
:[Ponytail is still looking at the white board, the frame expands to show Megan walking away, rubbing her hands together in an evil manner.]<br />
:Ponytail: You've show the inconsistency - and thus the invalidity - of basic logic itself.<br />
:Megan: Excellent, on to step two.<br />
:[Megan sits down at a desk and begins to write.]<br />
:Dear Dr. Knuth,<br />
:[She continues to write.]<br />
:I am writing to collect from you the $3,372,564.45 I am owed for discovering 1,317,408 errors in The Art of Computer Programming...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Knuth]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=74:_Su_Doku&diff=5701674: Su Doku2014-01-08T23:09:18Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 74<br />
| date = March 10, 2006<br />
| title = Su Doku<br />
| image = su doku.jpg<br />
| titletext = This one is from the Red Belt collection, of 'medium' difficulty<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Su Doku}} (Japanese for "single number", and now usually written as "sudoku") is a type of number puzzle, in which the player must place digits in a matrix field in the correct order. The most common arrangement is a 9&times;9 grid subdivided into nine 3&times;3 grids where no digit is allowed to appear twice in a horizontal or vertical row on that full 9&times;9 matrix. The number and combination of pre-filled squares determines the difficulty of the puzzle. When the puzzle is solved each row and column will contain the numbers 1 to 9 in a particular order.<br />
<br />
[[Randall Munroe|Randall]] presents just a {{w|binary}} sudoku puzzle. A normal sudoku uses 9 digits, usually 1 to 9, and so fits conveniently into our normal "decimal" counting system (ten digits). <br />
<br />
The joke is that the binary system has only two digits (0 and 1), and therefore binary sudoku puzzles would be trivially easy and thus pointless. The puzzle in the comic would be completed by filling 0 in the top-left and 1 in the bottom-left empty box. The only other possible grid would have the 0s and 1s swapped. This fulfills the criteria of having no repeated digits in any row or column. Square sudoku puzzles can only be formed with a square number of digits (4, 9, 16 ...), on grids with a cube number of positions (8, 27, 64 ...). Thus this is not a completely natural extension of of the sudoku puzzle to two digits, and could be considered a {{w|Latin square}} problem.<br />
<br />
The title text appears to reference a series of published sudoku puzzle books called the "Martial Arts Sudoku". The difficulty of each book is denoted by a martial arts belt color, with each color representing a certain skill level. Since a red belt is a rather high level (second only to a black belt), the fictional authors of this sudoku collection apparently consider this incredibly simple puzzle is rather difficult.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A square divided into 2x2 squares, the top-right one has an 1 in it, the bottom-right one has a 0, the two left ones are empty.]<br />
:Binary Su Doku<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Some Su Doku puzzles use the {{w|hexidecimal}} system with 16 digits (0-9 and A-F) and a 16x16 grid for more difficulty. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=74:_Su_Doku&diff=5701574: Su Doku2014-01-08T23:08:06Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */ Clarified explanation of title text</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 74<br />
| date = March 10, 2006<br />
| title = Su Doku<br />
| image = su doku.jpg<br />
| titletext = This one is from the Red Belt collection, of 'medium' difficulty<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Su Doku}} (Japanese for "single number", and now usually written as "sudoku") is a type of number puzzle, in which the player must place digits in a matrix field in the correct order. The most common arrangement is a 9&times;9 grid subdivided into nine 3&times;3 grids where no digit is allowed to appear twice in a horizontal or vertical row on that full 9&times;9 matrix. The number and combination of pre-filled squares determines the difficulty of the puzzle. When the puzzle is solved each row and column will contain the numbers 1 to 9 in a particular order.<br />
<br />
[[Randall Munroe|Randall]] presents just a {{w|binary}} sudoku puzzle. A normal sudoku uses 9 digits, usually 1 to 9, and so fits conveniently into our normal "decimal" counting system (ten digits). <br />
<br />
The joke is that the binary system has only two digits (0 and 1), and therefore binary sudoku puzzles would be trivially easy and thus pointless. The puzzle in the comic would be completed by filling 0 in the top-left and 1 in the bottom-left empty box. The only other possible grid would have the 0s and 1s swapped. This fulfills the criteria of having no repeated digits in any row or column. Square sudoku puzzles can only be formed with a square number of digits (4, 9, 16 ...), on grids with a cube number of positions (8, 27, 64 ...). Thus this is not a completely natural extension of of the sudoku puzzle to two digits, and could be considered a {{w|Latin square}} problem.<br />
<br />
The title text appears to reference a series of published sudoku puzzle books called the "Martial Arts Sudoku". The difficulty of each book is denoted by a martial arts belt color, with each color representing a certain skill level. Since a red belt is a rather high level (second only to a black belt), the authors of this would apparently think this incredibly simple puzzle is rather difficult, which is an absurd notion.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A square divided into 2x2 squares, the top-right one has an 1 in it, the bottom-right one has a 0, the two left ones are empty.]<br />
:Binary Su Doku<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Some Su Doku puzzles use the {{w|hexidecimal}} system with 16 digits (0-9 and A-F) and a 16x16 grid for more difficulty. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=775:_Savannah_Ancestry&diff=57014775: Savannah Ancestry2014-01-08T23:00:13Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 775<br />
| date = August 4, 2010<br />
| title = Savannah Ancestry<br />
| image = savannah_ancestry.png<br />
| titletext = She's a perfectly nice lady from a beautiful city, and there's no reason to be mean just because she thinks a quarterback is a river in Egypt.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is apparently trying to teach [[Megan]] something mathematical, feels frustrated at his lack of success, blames that lack of success entirely on his student, and appears to use evolutionary psychology, specifically a popular trope/myth about women being bad at abstract thinking, as an excuse. Evolutionary excuses in this context are trying to lay blame somewhere other than either participant, and so can be seen as comforting, but of course they falsely place all women in an inferior position to all men, at least when it comes to "abstract math". She naturally objects to the excuse, rightly calls it bullshit sexism, and indicates this isn't the first time she's heard him say something similar. This criticism of evo-psych is well explained in [http://www.alternet.org/story/104149/caveman_sex%3A_how_evolutionary_psych_pushes_sexist_stereotypes|Caveman Sex: How Evolutionary Psych Pushes Sexist Stereotypes by Martha McCaughey].<br />
<br />
But the twist is that he turns out not to be talking about her lower-case savannah ancestors, the ones in the African savannah of eons ago (so he now claims, anyway), but rather of her very recent "ancestors", better called parents, who live in the city of Savannah, Georgia, USA. They apparently know each other well. The implication is now much more personal: that her mother didn't prepare her. Of course, Randall uses only upper case everywhere, so he has avoided making a comment on the man's veracity in what he intended to say.<br />
<br />
Teasing people about their mothers in the USA, specifically about their mothers' stupidity or fatness, is a common enough theme in popular culture that there is a series of jokes that start with the words "Yo mama" that exemplify the genre. The title text is apparently Megan starting to defend her mother, but then lapsing into a Yo Mama joke without the introducing words, showing that her mother is stupid enough to think that a quarterback (one of the positions played in American football) would be a river in Egypt. This is a conflation of the Yo Mama joke "Yo mama so stupid she thinks a quarterback is a refund!" and the common pun, "Denial (sounds like "The Nile") is a river in Egypt".<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are at a blackboard with equations and graphs on it.]<br />
:Cueball: Look, I'm doing my best, but the fact is your savannah ancestors just didn't prepare you for doing abstract math.<br />
:Megan: See, that's just the kind of bullshit sexism that discredits evo-psych. Your "evolutionary histories" always seem tuned to produce 1950's gender roles.<br />
:Cueball: Evolutionary? What? I meant Savannah, Georgia.<br />
:Megan: ...Hey! Let's leave my mom out of this.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1068:_Swiftkey&diff=570131068: Swiftkey2014-01-08T22:43:36Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1068<br />
| date = June 13, 2012<br />
| title = Swiftkey<br />
| image = Swiftkey.png<br />
| titletext = Although the Markov chain-style text model is still rudimentary; it recently gave me "Massachusetts Institute of America". Although I have to admit it sounds prestigious.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Swiftkey is a product that is installable only on Android-based phones and tablets. Swiftkey have noticed their inclusion in xkcd and have created a blog post for other users to comment with their default phrase when they hit the "central prediction key". The results are pretty funny. [http://www.swiftkey.net/swiftkey-on-xkcd]<br />
<br />
The statement “I am so sorry - that's never happened before” appears to be a sexual reference, something that a guy might say after a particularly unsatisfying sexual encounter in an attempt to convince his sexual partner to give sleeping with him another try some time, even though they didn’t like it that time. Since this is apparently Cueball's typical sentence, he presumably has texted that phrase many times before.<br />
<br />
In the title text, a {{w|Markov chain}} refers to a system that transitions between a countable number of states, based only on the current state and none of the previous ones that led up to it. Swiftkey follows this property since it provides outputs based only on the most recently entered word or words, not the whole sentence.<br />
<br />
"Massachusetts Institute of America" is a nonexistent organization. The name appears to have formed by combining "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" and either "[Field] Institute of America" (e.g. Mining) or "United States of America". This illustrates the memoryless property of a Markov chain; after generating "Masschusetts Institute of", Swiftkey may have attempted to predict the next word using only the last "of" or "Institute of". Since it was not considering the word "Masschusetts" at all, the word "America" was viewed as the most likely follow-up.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball shows off phone to Megan.]<br />
:Cueball: Have you tried SwiftKey? It's got the first decent language model I've seen. It learns from your SMS/Email archives what words you use together most often.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Spacebar inserts its best guess. So if I type "The Empi" and hit space three times, it types "The Empire Strikes Back".<br />
:Megan: What if you mash space in a blank message?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: I guess it fills in your most likely first word, then the word that usually follows it...<br />
:Megan: So it builds up your "typical" sentence. Cool! Let's see yours!<br />
:Cueball: Uh—<br />
<br />
:SwiftKey: I<br />
:SwiftKey: Am<br />
:SwiftKey: So<br />
:SwiftKey: Sorry—<br />
:SwiftKey: That's<br />
:SwiftKey: Never<br />
:SwiftKey: Happened<br />
:SwiftKey: Before.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=899:_Number_Line&diff=57012899: Number Line2014-01-08T22:39:55Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 899<br />
| date = May 16, 2011<br />
| title = Number Line<br />
| image = number line.png<br />
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.<br />
<br />
*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).<br />
<br />
*'''0.<span style="text-decoration: overline;">99</span>'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.<span style="text-decoration: overline;">99</span>.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])<br />
<br />
*The '''{{w|golden ratio}}''' or "phi" is the number (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2, about 1.61803. It has many interesting mathematical properties, mostly relating to geometry, and has occasional appearances in nature, such as spirals formed by the seeds in sunflowers. It is also subject to many less credible claims, such as the belief that phi appears in {{w|Parthenon}} (a well-disputed claim) or that rectangles proportioned after phi are somehow more aesthetically pleasing. Basically, awesome math clouded with pareidolic pseudoscience.<br />
<br />
*'''Forbidden Region''' and '''Unexplored''' are both map jokes.<br />
<br />
*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...<br />
<br />
*'''2.9299372''' is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)<br />
<br />
*'''{{w|Gird}}''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].) Gird could be a reference to any or all of:<br />
** [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4<br />
** iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6<br />
** George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7<br />
** [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen<br />
<br />
*'''Site of the Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the {{w|Battle of Wolf 359}}, a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek.<br />
<br />
*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".<br />
<br />
*'''8''' is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.<br />
<br />
*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.<br />
<br />
*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity. It could also be a reference to {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems}}, which Randall has used as comic fodder before [http://xkcd.com/468/]. Gödel's theorems roughly assert that a number theory could never be fully complete. The equivalent for just a sheer list of numbers is {{w|Cantor's diagonal argument}}, which is a "proof of the uncountability of the real numbers." Therefore, if Wikipedia ever did have a "{{w|List of numbers}}," it would perforce forever be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. Both Gödel's incompleteness theorems and Cantor's diagonal argument feature prominently in <i>{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}</i> by Douglas Hofstadter, to whom Randall devoted a later comic[http://xkcd.com/917/].<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]<br />
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)<br />
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)<br />
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!<br />
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region<br />
:[Line at Euler's number.] e<br />
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)<br />
:[Line at π.] π<br />
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians <br />
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108<br />
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]<br />
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)<br />
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime<br />
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia]]</div>108.162.214.77https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=899:_Number_Line&diff=57011899: Number Line2014-01-08T22:39:16Z<p>108.162.214.77: /* Explanation */ Added explanation about Gödel's incompleteness theorems to title text portion</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 899<br />
| date = May 16, 2011<br />
| title = Number Line<br />
| image = number line.png<br />
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.<br />
<br />
*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).<br />
<br />
*'''0.<span style="text-decoration: overline;">99</span>'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.<span style="text-decoration: overline;">99</span>.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])<br />
<br />
*The '''{{w|golden ratio}}''' or "phi" is the number (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2, about 1.61803. It has many interesting mathematical properties, mostly relating to geometry, and has occasional appearances in nature, such as spirals formed by the seeds in sunflowers. It is also subject to many less credible claims, such as the belief that phi appears in {{w|Parthenon}} (a well-disputed claim) or that rectangles proportioned after phi are somehow more aesthetically pleasing. Basically, awesome math clouded with pareidolic pseudoscience.<br />
<br />
*'''Forbidden Region''' and '''Unexplored''' are both map jokes.<br />
<br />
*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...<br />
<br />
*'''2.9299372''' is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)<br />
<br />
*'''{{w|Gird}}''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].) Gird could be a reference to any or all of:<br />
** [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4<br />
** iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6<br />
** George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7<br />
** [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen<br />
<br />
*'''Site of the Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the {{w|Battle of Wolf 359}}, a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek.<br />
<br />
*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".<br />
<br />
*'''8''' is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.<br />
<br />
*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.<br />
<br />
*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity. It could also be a reference to {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems}}, which Randall has used as comic fodder before [http://xkcd.com/468/]. Gödel's theorems roughly assert that a number theory could never be fully complete. The equivalent for just a sheer list of numbers is {{w|Cantor's diagonal argument}}, which is a "proof of the uncountability of the real numbers." Therefore, if Wikipedia ever did have a "{{w|List of numbers}}," it would perforce forever be incomplete. Both Gödel's incompleteness theorems and Cantor's diagonal argument feature prominently in <i>{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}</i> by Douglas Hofstadter, to whom Randall devoted a later comic[http://xkcd.com/917/].<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]<br />
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)<br />
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)<br />
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!<br />
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region<br />
:[Line at Euler's number.] e<br />
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)<br />
:[Line at π.] π<br />
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians <br />
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108<br />
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]<br />
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)<br />
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime<br />
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia]]</div>108.162.214.77