https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.215.69&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T08:34:09ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1690:_Time-Tracking_Software&diff=121494Talk:1690: Time-Tracking Software2016-06-07T05:30:19Z<p>108.162.215.69: </p>
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I don't know how to interpret the "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." on the List of sexually active popes wiki page.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.224|141.101.104.224]] 10:19, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:They're asking you to become a pope, and be sexually active. Then you can get arrested, and do a helicopter prison escape to start the 'List of helicopter prison escapes involving sexually active popes.' {{unsigned ip|162.158.26.140}}<br />
:It's because we can't know for sure if every single pope is secretly sexually active or if it's just limited to the ones caught red-handed. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.5|141.101.98.5]] 11:35, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Another interpretation: seduce the pope. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.99|162.158.85.99]] 15:39, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Those ''estimated'' percentages have a strangely high degree of precision, I'd think limiting them to whole number percentages would do. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.58|141.101.98.58]] 11:48, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Replacing lightsabers in Star Wars movies may be a reference to this amusing video of the sword fight in The Princess Bride where swords are replaced with light sabers.<br />
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYVQooRSlzg {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.69}}<br />
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The Jack and Diane remix with one line repeated may be a reference to svantana's brilliant re-do of a Human League number: http://svantana.bandcamp.com/track/you-were-workin-as-a-waitress-in-a-cocktail-bar [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.109|108.162.245.109]] 13:31, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
**This is the greatest thing in the history of all remixes. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.49|173.245.54.49]] 03:01, 7 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Look what {{w|List of helicopter prison escapes involving sexually active popes|some loser tried to actually make}}, to no one's surprise..... [[User:Schiffy|<font color="000999">Schiffy</font>]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|<font color="FF6600">Speak to me</font>]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|<font color="FF0000">What I've done</font>]]) 17:07, 6 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Anyone took a copy before the page was deleted? {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.49}}<br />
::I just took a look on the Wayback Machine, and unfortunately the first and only archive is after the deletion. If anyone knows of any other archive websites....-[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 05:30, 7 June 2016 (UTC)</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1689:_My_Friend_Catherine&diff=121410Talk:1689: My Friend Catherine2016-06-04T15:18:41Z<p>108.162.215.69: </p>
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I can't get any work done because My Friend Catherine is sitting on my leopard. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:07, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I genuinely expected to see leopard in the alt text.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
::I also came straight here to write a note on the leopard after seeing the title text, but Mikmek beat me too it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not so sure that it does conflict with car->cat. This is "my cat"->to " my friend Catherine", i.e. car->cat->my friend Catherine wouldn't happen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.137|108.162.237.137]] 15:15, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:You would have to make sure that "my cat" came before "cat" in the script, else it would first replace all cats with cars and thus never see the phrase "my cat".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
::The substitution was the other way replacing car with cat, so it is the other way around that if there was some "my car" they would also become my friend Catherine in stead of my cat. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Being a dog person, my dog-->my friend Doug would also be a fun substitution. [[User:Jake|Jake]] ([[User talk:Jake|talk]]) 15:43, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Is the cat-on-my-keyboard in the title text possibly a reference to that old Keyboard Cat video?[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J---aiyznGQ] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.80|108.162.221.80]] 20:06, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Don't think so—cats seem to have a tendency to sit on computer keyboards when their owners aren't using them. <span style="background:#0064de;font-size:12px;padding:4px 12px;border-radius:8px;">[[User talk:AgentMuffin|<span style="color:#f0faff;">~AgentMuffin</span>]]</span><br />
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For an even creepier substitution, try "great aunt Catherine". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 03:06, 4 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Oh great, I have to change the chrome extension again. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 15:18, 4 June 2016 (UTC)--</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1689:_My_Friend_Catherine&diff=121409Talk:1689: My Friend Catherine2016-06-04T15:17:46Z<p>108.162.215.69: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~--><br />
I can't get any work done because My Friend Catherine is sitting on my leopard. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:07, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I genuinely expected to see leopard in the alt text.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
::I also came straight here to write a note on the leopard after seeing the title text, but Mikmek beat me too it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not so sure that it does conflict with car->cat. This is "my cat"->to " my friend Catherine", i.e. car->cat->my friend Catherine wouldn't happen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.137|108.162.237.137]] 15:15, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:You would have to make sure that "my cat" came before "cat" in the script, else it would first replace all cats with cars and thus never see the phrase "my cat".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
::The substitution was the other way replacing car with cat, so it is the other way around that if there was some "my car" they would also become my friend Catherine in stead of my cat. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Being a dog person, my dog-->my friend Doug would also be a fun substitution. [[User:Jake|Jake]] ([[User talk:Jake|talk]]) 15:43, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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<br />
Is the cat-on-my-keyboard in the title text possibly a reference to that old Keyboard Cat video?[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J---aiyznGQ] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.80|108.162.221.80]] 20:06, 3 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Don't think so—cats seem to have a tendency to sit on computer keyboards when their owners aren't using them. <span style="background:#0064de;font-size:12px;padding:4px 12px;border-radius:8px;">[[User talk:AgentMuffin|<span style="color:#f0faff;">~AgentMuffin</span>]]</span><br />
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For an even creepier substitution, try "great aunt Catherine". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 03:06, 4 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Oh great, I have to change the chrome extension again. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 15:17, 4 June 2016 (UTC)..</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1619:_Watson_Medical_Algorithm&diff=1204741619: Watson Medical Algorithm2016-05-20T04:02:33Z<p>108.162.215.69: /* Explanation of steps */ sprinklers and patient on fire?</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1619<br />
| date = December 21, 2015<br />
| title = Watson Medical Algorithm<br />
| image = watson_medical_algorithm.png<br />
| titletext = Due to a minor glitch, 'discharge patient' does not cause the algorithm to exit, but instead leads back to 'hunt down and capture patient'.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
IBM's {{w|Watson (computer)|Watson}} is a natural language system designed to answer questions posed by humans. Recently, {{w|IBM}} has extended Watson to act as a {{w|clinical decision support system}}, using image analytics to aid {{w|physicians}} in medical decision making. <br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Randall]] uses a {{w|flowchart}} (as he [[:Category:Flowcharts|often does]]) to represent a guide to the algorithm used by Watson, including bizarre techniques including surgical alteration of a patient to match a height and weight chart or squeezing the patient to make sure fluids come out of them. Like [[416: Zealous Autoconfig]], this comic pokes fun at a rigid, poorly-designed setup that ends up potentially doing more harm than good. The computer's behavior in this comic can be compared to the health-care robot named Baymax in the movie {{w|Big Hero 6 (film)|Big Hero 6}}.<br />
<br />
Modern {{w|medicine}} involves both standard processes and clinical judgment based around years of advanced training. An algorithm like this would have to be incredibly complicated in order to simulate the clinical judgment of a good doctor. Below is a [[#Explaination of steps|detailed description of each step]], but here is a list of some of the more strange steps:<br />
*The algorithm depicted treats a patient as more of a machine or mechanical system than a living being, especially through decisions such as:<br />
**Injecting oxygen into patients with low {{w|Oxygen saturation (medicine)|oxygen saturation}}, rather than treating the root cause.<br />
**Removing and inspecting a skeleton, then diagnosing the patient's condition with a bone count. This is likely a reference to [http://buttersafe.com/2015/10/15/a-serious-case-of-spookiness/ A Serious Case Of Spookiness] from the [http://buttersafe.com/ Buttersafe] web-comic, a comic Randall links to from below the comics on {{xkcd}}.<br />
***In the book ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' there is an explanation ''Colors of light'' for the electromagnetic spectrum, where [[Ponytail]] as a doctor looks at a full body x-ray of [[Cueball]] and exclaims that ''... It looks like your body is full of bones'' to which Cueball replies ''Oh no! Is there any cure?'' Well if he meets Watson he might have them all removed... This comic came out about a month after the book so it may be viewed as a kind of reference to the problem with too many bones.<br />
**{{w|Dissecting}} a doctor "for parts" after consulting him or her for advice.<br />
**Removing extra limbs from a patient if the count is 100 or more (This might be a reference to different number systems used in computers, as 100 is read in binary as four.)<br />
**Determining whether the "build environment" of the patient is sane. This is most probably a reference to the {{w|configure script}} used in the {{w|GNU_build_system|GNU build system}}, which emits "checking whether build environment is sane" as one of its status messages.<br />
**Rinsing the whole patient with a {{w|Saline (medicine)|saline solution}}.<br />
**Removing organs from a patient regardless of response to an {{w|organ donation}} request.<br />
*Other decisions appear to be entirely unrelated to the conditions upon which they are predicated:<br />
**If the patient doesn't rate their {{w|Pain scale|pain on a scale}} from 0-10, {{w|Genome project|sequence their genome}}, apply a {{w|tourniquet}}, and perform an {{w|autopsy}}<br />
**If the patient's phone's battery is low, {{w|Defibrillation|defibrillate}} until the battery is charged, sync photos, then administer general anesthesia<br />
**If the patient is successfully comforted after an oxygen injection, check their medical history and apply {{w|Skin grafting|skin grafts}}<br />
**If green fluid is released from the patient, begin to {{w|Cauterization|cauterize}}<br />
**If the patient has less than 100 limbs, check their {{w|Vitamin D}} level<br />
<br />
Although there are two options where the patient is {{w|Inpatient_care#Planning_for_patient_discharge|discharged}} the patient should be very lucky to make it there alive. <br />
<br />
The option at the bottom left is only reached after your skeleton is removed (and nothing is mentioned about putting it back, even if that would help). <br />
<br />
The other discharge option is to the right, three boxes down, and can only be reached if you survive having an oxygen saturation of less than 50 % (less than 80-90 % can be a serious problem, see [[#Explaination of steps|table below]]), and a very dangerous oxygen injection. Then you have to have a skin graft and a good D vitamin level. It is also best that you have a fully charged phone else you will be subject to defibrillation (which may very likely kill you, if it will continue until your phone is charged to above "low" level - which is probably not even possible). <br />
<br />
You can also reach this discharge option another way, but that would only be after your organs were removed... But if you get through this you could reach the discharged option alive. Sadly there is a little glitch mentioned in the title text:<br />
<br />
The title text implies that, if the patient is so lucky to ever reach one of the two places with the option "discharge patient", a minor glitch will cause the program to go back to the ''hunt down and capture patient'' option which thus force the patient and the program to repeat the process again in an infinite cycle, that will only end once the patient give another rating than 0-10 of their pain level on the 0-10 scale. Then the program will start to sequence their genome then apply a tourniquet and finally perform an autopsy, on what will, in the end, for certain be a deceased patient; but maybe the patient was still alive when the autopsy began... This will finally cause the patient to leave the cycle as a corpse. If the patient dies before giving a different option, the machine could get stuck, as it will never receive any answer to the pain level question... It could also get stuck trying to charge the patients phone battery by defibrilation <br />
<br />
This is the second comic in a row about health issues with the last comic being [[1618: Cold Medicine]].<br />
<br />
===Explanation of steps===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
| | <b >Step</b><br />
| | <b >Medically valid?</b><br />
| | <b >Conditions and following step</b><br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Draw Blood<br />
| |<br />
Phlebotomy is a normal early step in the diagnostic process, but not as first and unconditional step<br />
| |<br />
Record patient’s name<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Record patient’s name<br />
| |<br />
OK<br />
| |<br />
Measure Patient’s height and Weight<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Measure Patient’s height and Weight<br />
| |<br />
OK<br />
| |<br />
Consult Standard height/weight chart<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Consult Standard height/weight chart<br />
| |<br />
OK<br />
| |<br />
Surgically adjust patient to match<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Surgically adjust patient to match<br />
| |<br />
May be considered ethically dubious unless there are [http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/medical-information/procedures-and-treatments/limb-length-difference-and-limb-lengthening sound medical reasons] for doing so. Could be an allusion to {{w|Procrustes}}.<br />
| |<br />
Is patient coughing up blood?<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient coughing up blood?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
OK, coughing up blood is generally a sign that there is something wrong. Typical causes are respiratory tract infections (e.g. tuberculosis), lung trauma or pulmonary embolism.<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Gather blood and return it to body<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Is patient still here?<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient still here?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Not usually considered a step, but missing patients are a problem in some fields, psychiatry or intensive care for example.<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Record pulse rate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Hunt down and capture patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Hunt down and capture patient<br />
| |<br />
Valid if patient should not have left the bed/unit, but the wording is possibly dubious.<br />
| |<br />
Is patient still here?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Gather blood and return it to body<br />
| |<br />
Dangerous idea in this case due to likelihood of contamination, although if safely done autotransfusion is an accepted medical technique to ensure a matching blood supply prior to a major operation, or to enhance stamina (blood doping)<br />
| |<br />
Record pulse rate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Record pulse rate<br />
| |<br />
OK, but maybe a little late. <br />
| |<br />
Is patient screaming?<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient screaming?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Very important question, indicating patient is conscious, in pain, and aware pain is bad. First attenders can use it in classifying priorities (quiet patients may be more severely injured). Generally useful in assessing nerve damage, pain relief, etc.<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Ignore<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Check blood O<sub>2</sub> saturation<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 ` |<br />
Check blood O<sub>2</sub> saturation<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Only really indicated if the patient is in danger of hypoxia. Generally normal people should have a SpO2 of 98-100%, but in chronic lung disease this can fall as low to 80%, and in premature babies a SpO2 of 90% is usually targeted to avoid problems with retinopathy. If the SpO2 were to fall as low as 50%, the patient would definitely be dead or unconscious.<br />
| |<br />
&gt;50%: Remove and inspect skeleton<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
&lt;50%: Inject oxygen<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Remove and inspect skeleton<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Fatal if patient is still alive when beginning. Also not a valid medical procedure in any way as it is impossible to remove most of the long bones of the body without destroying all surrounding tissue.<br />
| |<br />
Too many bones: Is fluid coming out of patient?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Too few bones: Request consult with human doctor<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Request consult with human doctor<br />
| |<br />
Medically valid in the context of obtaining an opinion from a doctor in a different speciality who is better suited to treating the patient.<br />
| |<br />
Dissect doctor for parts<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Dissect doctor for parts<br />
| | <b >This may be considered ethically dubious.<span > </span></b>Possible reference to the Doctor Who episode “{{w|The Girl in the Fireplace}}”<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient (left)<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient (left)<br />
| |<br />
Acceptable, but patient would generally be dead by then.<br />
| |<br />
END STATE (before you read the title text)<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Is fluid coming out of patient<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Unintended fluid release is always a problem. How significant a problem depends on where the fluid came from and if it is supposed to be coming from there. Red generally is due to blood, yellow is due to pus/tissue fluid/lymph and green signifies bacterial infection or bile salts (biliverdin). Could also relate to normal fluids being lost (e.g. urine, saliva, sweat)<br />
| |<br />
No: Squeeze patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Yes: What color?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Squeeze patient<br />
| |<br />
Could be in the medical context is in providing external ventilation (see iron lung) or other means of removing fluid (e.g. squeezing pus from a boil).<br />
| |<br />
Is fluid coming out of patient<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=4 |<br />
What color?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=4 |<br />
Never underestimate the number of different types of fluid the body can produce.<br />
| |<br />
Yellow: Squeeze Patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Black: Activate Sprinklers<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Red: Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Green: Cauterize<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Activate sprinklers<br />
| |<br />
Not medically valid. Presumably a reference to how much cleaning up will be required by this stage. Or, since this occurs when fluids are black, the black fluids might indicate that there are ashes or charred tissue, indicate that the patient has caught on fire and sprinklers are needed to extinguish the fire.<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
| |<br />
Potentially very important if patient is behaving dangerously to themselves and others around them (due to mental health issues e.g. psychosis or drugs) and/or is moving too much to be given treatment. This would be likely due to what happened earlier.<br />
| |<br />
Apply cream<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Apply cream<br />
| |<br />
Medically valid as a form of barrier dressing to improve wound healing.<br />
| |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=4 |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=4 |<br />
Useful in the sense that it provides the doctor with the means to ensure that the patient is receiving adequate analgesia during conditions of chronic and acute pain.<br />
| |<br />
0-8: Massage scalp<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
9: Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
10: Laser eye removal<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Other response: Sequence genome<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Massage scalp<br />
| |<br />
This would belong more to the domain of palliative care and reflexology rather than being an accepted medical treatment.<br />
| |<br />
Patient is healthy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Patient is healthy<br />
| |<br />
A subjective assessment of the health patient is often helpful in ruling out certain diagnoses. For example, one is less likely to suspect cancer in a fit, healthy 30 year old than a thin, lethargic 50 year old.<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
| |<br />
Useful in the context of 'watchful waiting', in which the doctor may be unsure if the patient actually has a condition that they suspect that the patient has. By keeping the patient on the ward for a few days, the clinician can monitor the progression of symptoms and rapidly initiate adequate treatment if medically warranted.<br />
| |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Laser eye removal<br />
| |<br />
This is not a standard medical procedure, and not a good idea. This could be a pun on laser eye surgery where a laser is used to correct visual problems (e.g. short-sightedness), or laser hair and tattoo removal. Laser eye removal is also discussed in [[1681: Laser Products]].<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Sequence genome<br />
| |<br />
Useful in the association of extremely rare point mutations with an organic illness. See for instance the Genome 10K Project or the Cancer Genome Atlas. Or in diagnosing extremely rare mutations that are not picked up by most commercial DNA screening tests (e.g. kidney failure due to INF2 mutation).<br />
| |<br />
Apply tourniquet<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Apply tourniquet<br />
| |<br />
Useful to stop acute bleeding from an injured extremity, but if it is drawn too tightly it can cause neuromuscular damage.<br />
| |<br />
Perform autopsy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Perform autopsy<br />
| | The patient has died, and Watson is being ordered to determine the cause of death. Note that the only way to reach this state is from "apply tourniquet", implying the cause of death is strangulation via tourniquet.<br />
| | END STATE (taking the title text into account, the only possible one)<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Inject oxygen<br />
| |<br />
May be fatal as injecting gases directly to the blood vessels can cause a serious embolism if it blocks blood flow to the brain or coronary arteries. However, if the oxygen is injected slowly into the venous circulation, it may be survivable as the bubbles may simply collect in the lungs where the oxygen is then slowly reabsorbed into the blood.<br />
| |<br />
Comfort patient<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Comfort patient<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Psychological support to the patient and relatives is often useful after breaking news of a poor prognosis. It may also be useful in subduing the agitated or psychotic patient.<br />
| |<br />
Comforting successful: Review medical history<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Comforting unsuccessful: Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Review medical history<br />
| |<br />
Important early step, rather too late and conditional.<br />
| |<br />
Skin grafts<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Skin grafts<br />
| |<br />
Only indicated if massive areas of the skin are damaged (typically due to burns)<br />
| |<br />
Count number of limbs<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Count number of limbs<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Not really relevant in medicine, but may be of use to know the reason behind any missing or extra limbs on seeing the patient though a through review of the medical history will render this point moot. Probably a little late to be noticing this now.<br />
| |<br />
Fewer than 100: Measure Vitamin D<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
100+: Remove extra limbs<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Remove extra limbs<br />
| |<br />
Medically indicated in cases of polymelia either due to cosmetic purposes or because the extra limbs pose a direct threat to the health of the baby.<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Measure vitamin D<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Valid in diagnosis of bone related issues, for example if multiple or comminuted fractures were being counted as additional limbs/bones.<br />
| |<br />
Good: Check whether build environment is sane<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Bad: Blood loss?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Check whether build environment is sane<br />
| |<br />
Could be technical reference to the installation of the algorithm in the robot, or could relate to the sanity of:<br />
*The robot doctor<br />
*The patient undergoing this procedure (before or after reaching this part of the process)<br />
*The person who programmed the robot to perform this flowchart<br />
*The person who allowed this state of affairs to occur (I'm looking at you [[Black Hat]])<br />
<br />
This could also be a reference to the title text for [[371: Compiler Complaint]].<br />
<br />
NB: Whether the build environment is sane is irrelevant to the flowchart.<br />
| |<br />
Rinse patient with saline solution<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Rinse patient with saline solution<br />
| |<br />
Tepid sponging may be indicated if the patient has a high fever. Could also refer to internally rinsing patient with saline solution i.e. providing intravenous sodium chloride to boost circulating volume or to perform peritoneal dialysis.<br />
| |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Invalid in medical terminology, could be a technological metaphor for the patient's consciousness or stamina. "Your life-force is running out"<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Defibrillate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Sync photos from camera<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Defibrillate<br />
| |<br />
Indicated in cases where there is ventricular fibrillation, and to a lesser extent in atrial fibrillation (chemical cardioversion with adenosine is usually preferred), but would not help with a phone.<br />
| |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
|-<br />
| | <br />
Sync photos from camera<br />
| |<br />
Definitely invalid. Could refer to the robot attempting to backup photos from a camera before attempting to repair it/attempting to back-up patient's consciousness.<br />
| |<br />
Administer general anesthesia<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Administer general anesthesia<br />
| |<br />
Valid, but not at this stage. Only used when the procedure will invoke unnecessary distress or pain to the patient if they were to be awake beforehand.<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient (right)<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient (right)<br />
| |<br />
Acceptable if coming from above, but the option from below (see below) would mean that the patient would be dead by then.<br />
| |<br />
END STATE (before you read the title text)<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Blood loss?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Useful. Patient may die if this clinical sign is missed.<br />
| |<br />
Minor: Patient address changed?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Substantial: Apply cream<br />
|-<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Patient address changed?<br />
| width="33%" rowspan=2 |<br />
Useful to ensure that the organisation has current contact details for the patient in the event that they may need to contact the patient (e.g. to arrange further appointments)<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Request organ donation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Patient is healthy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Request organ donation<br />
| |<br />
Generally done prior to registering an individual for a driving licence or to a medical practice, or to the relatives of the deceased if consent had not been acquired beforehand.<br />
|Remove organs<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Remove organs<br />
| |<br />
The only organs which can be safely removed from a living person without resulting in serious, chronic medical issues are the kidneys/lungs (only one can be removed), spleen, part of the liver (as long as one lobe is left it can regrow to its original size) and colon (usually consisting of the appendix only). With some serious lifestyle modifications, the pancreas, pituitary gland, frontal lobe of brain, half of the brain, adrenal glands, bladder and most of the gut can be removed. The heart can be removed from the body and replaced with an artificial pump for a few months at the most. However, such organ removals are only indicated if there is a genuine clinical need to do so due to the non-negligible risk of death associated with these operations.<br />
| Discharge patient (right)<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Title text<br />
| |<br />
The glitch in the algorithm causes it to continue in spite of having just discharged the patient<br />
| Hunt down and capture patient.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Heading: A guide to the medical diagnostic and treatment system used by IBM's '''Watson''' system<br />
:[A flowchart with the following steps is shown, starting from "start":]<br />
:{| class="wikitable"<br />
| | <b >Step</b><br />
| | <b >Following step</b><br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Start<br />
| |<br />
Draw Blood<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Draw Blood<br />
| |<br />
Record patient’s name<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Record patient’s name<br />
| |<br />
Measure Patient’s height and Weight<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Measure Patient’s height and Weight<br />
| |<br />
Consult Standard height/weight chart<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Consult Standard height/weight chart<br />
| |<br />
Surgically adjust patient to match<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Surgically adjust patient to match<br />
| |<br />
Is patient coughing up blood?<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient coughing up blood?<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Gather blood and return it to body<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Is patient still here?<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient still here?<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Record pulse rate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Hunt down and capture patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Hunt down and capture patient<br />
| |<br />
Is patient still here?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Gather blood and return it to body<br />
| |<br />
Record pulse rate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Record pulse rate<br />
| |<br />
Is patient screaming?<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient screaming?<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Ignore<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Check blood O<sub>2</sub> saturation<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 ` |<br />
Check blood O<sub>2</sub> saturation<br />
| |<br />
&gt;50%: Remove and inspect skeleton<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
&lt;50%: Inject oxygen<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Remove and inspect skeleton<br />
| |<br />
Too many bones: Is fluid coming out of patient?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Too few bones: Request consult with human doctor<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Request consult with human doctor<br />
| |<br />
Dissect doctor for parts<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Dissect doctor for parts<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient<br />
| |<br />
END STATE (before you read the title text)<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Is fluid coming out of patient<br />
| |<br />
No: Squeeze patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Yes: What color?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Squeeze patient<br />
| |<br />
Is fluid coming out of patient<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=4 |<br />
What color?<br />
| |<br />
Yellow: Squeeze Patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Black: Activate Sprinklers<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Red: Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Green: Cauterize<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Activate sprinklers<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
| |<br />
Apply cream<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Apply cream<br />
| |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=4 |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
| |<br />
0-8: Massage scalp<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
9: Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
10: Laser eye removal<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Other response: Sequence genome<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Massage scalp<br />
| |<br />
Patient is healthy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Patient is healthy<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
| |<br />
Ask patient to rate pain level<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Laser eye removal<br />
| |<br />
Admit for observation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Sequence genome<br />
| |<br />
Apply tourniquet<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Apply tourniquet<br />
| |<br />
Perform autopsy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Perform autopsy<br />
| | [End state, and if taking the title text into account, the only possible one]<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Inject oxygen<br />
| |<br />
Comfort patient<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Comfort patient<br />
| |<br />
Comforting successful: Review medical history<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Comforting unsuccessful: Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Review medical history<br />
| |<br />
Skin grafts<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Skin grafts<br />
| |<br />
Count number of limbs<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Count number of limbs<br />
| |<br />
Fewer than 100: Measure Vitamin D<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
100+: Remove extra limbs<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Remove extra limbs<br />
| |<br />
Subdue patient<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Measure vitamin D<br />
| |<br />
Good: Check whether build environment is sane<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Bad: Blood loss?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Check whether build environment is sane<br />
| |<br />
Rinse patient with saline solution<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Rinse patient with saline solution<br />
| |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Defibrillate<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Sync photos from camera<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Defibrillate<br />
| |<br />
Is patient phone battery low?<br />
|-<br />
| | <br />
Sync photos from camera<br />
| |<br />
Administer general anesthesia<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Administer general anesthesia<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Blood loss?<br />
| |<br />
Minor: Patient address changed?<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Substantial: Apply cream<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 |<br />
Patient address changed?<br />
| |<br />
Yes: Request organ donation<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
No: Patient is healthy<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Request organ donation<br />
|Remove organs<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Remove organs<br />
| Discharge patient<br />
|-<br />
| |<br />
Discharge patient<br />
| |<br />
[End State: See title text]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/1/15/20151222113107!watson_medical_algorithm.png original comic] was updated after it was first posted.<br />
**The decisions for number of limbs were swapped so it made sense. <br />
**In the corrected version it was only if you had more than 100 limbs that Watson would remove the extra limbs.<br />
**Before it removed limbs if you had less than 100 (i.e. always, and now never.)<br />
**This actually opened up (a slim) chance to survive to the right discharge patient box. Although it would not matter according to the title text...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Flowcharts]]<br />
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Sarcasm]]</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1679:_Substitutions_3&diff=119902Talk:1679: Substitutions 32016-05-11T18:24:48Z<p>108.162.215.69: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~--><br />
<br />
The title text may be a reference to the Mayan city discovered by a 15 year old, but that city hasn't yet been visited by Channing Tatum and his friends or Mr Tatum. https://translate.google.com/translate?tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journaldemontreal.com%2F2016%2F05%2F07%2Fun-ado-decouvre-une-cite-maya [[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.34|198.41.239.34]] 13:32, 11 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's the code for the full set of substitutions from all three comics, to be inserted in the Chrome extension the page listed, which can be found here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/replacerator/gaajhenbcclienfnniphiiambbbninnp?hl=en<br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: 25%;">{"Google Glass":"virtual boy","a unknown number":"like hundreds","allegedly":"kinda probably","ancient":"haunted","at large":"very large","behind the headlines":"beyond the grave","candidate":"airbender","car":"cat","cautiously optimistic":"delusional","congressional leaders":"river spirits","could not be reached for comment":"is guilty and everyone knows it","debate":"dance-off","disrupt":"destroy","doctor who":"the big bang theory","drone":"dog","election":"eating contest","electric":"atomic","email":"poem","expands":"physically expands","facebook ceo":"this guy","facebook post":"poem","first-degree":"friggin' awful","front runner":"blade runner","gaffe":"magic spell","global":"spherical","homeland security":"homestar runner","horsepower":"tons of horsemeat","latest":"final","meeting":"ménage à trois","minutes":"years","new study":"Tumblr post","no indication":"lots of signs","poll":"psychic reading","rebuild":"avenge","remains to be seen":"will never be known","scientists":"Channing Tatum and his friends","second-degree":"friggin' awful","selfdriving":"uncontrollably swerving","senator":"elf-lord","silver bullet":"way to kill werewolves","smartphone":"Pokédex","space":"spaaace","star-studded":"blood-soaked","subway system":"tunnels I found","successfully":"suddenly","surprising":"surprising (but not to me)","tension":"sexual tension","third-degree":"frigging' awful","tweet":"poem","urged restraint by":"drunkenly egged on","vows to":"probably won't","war of words":"interplanetary war","win votes":"find pokémon","witnesses":"these dudes I know","years":"minutes","you won't believe":"I'm really sad about"}</div><br />
<br />
I would put it somewhere more convenient if I knew a site for it. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.158|141.101.104.158]] 13:46, 11 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:This reminds me an awful lot of the title text in the previous comic [[1678: Recent Searches]] regarding autoexec code posted by verified twitter users. :-p [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:48, 11 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It would be wonderful if the celebrity injunction was about a meeting and somehow all the hype was Randall's fault. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.133|141.101.70.133]] 15:13, 11 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
Great. Now I have to update this:https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-substitutions/jkgogmboalmaijfgfhfepckdgjeopfhk?hl=en&gl=001 --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 18:24, 11 May 2016 (UTC)</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1061:_EST&diff=1161621061: EST2016-04-02T23:34:51Z<p>108.162.215.69: /* Other features */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1061<br />
| date = May 28, 2012<br />
| title = EST<br />
| image = est.png<br />
| titletext = The month names are the same, except that the fourth month only has the name 'April' in even-numbered years, and is otherwise unnamed.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic pokes fun of attempts to "fix" the calendar by making it simpler or more rational, which inevitably result in a system just as complicated. This is an example of the paradox in complexity theory that if you attempt to simplify a system of problems by creating a new system of evaluation for the problems you often have instead made the problem more complex than it was originally.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] advertises his idea for a "Universal Calendar for a Universal Planet". He combines {{w|calendar#Calendars in use|calendar}} definitions with {{w|Time zone|time zone}} definitions. The abbreviation '''EST''' in this comic stands for ''Earth Standard Time'' (hence the title), but it is in itself a joke on the American {{w|Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Standard Time}}. In the rest of the explanation EST refers to the comic's Earth Standard Time!<br />
<br />
===Length of year===<br />
Because there are approximately 365.2422 days in a {{w|solar year}}, various calendars use different means to keep the calendar year in sync with the solar year and the seasons. The Julian Calendar, for example, has leap days every four years, giving it an average year length of 365.25 days. The most widely used system is the {{w|Gregorian Calendar|Gregorian Calendar}}, which also has leap days every four years, but skips leap days in years divisible by 100 unless the year is also divisible by 400, the latter additions come from Earth's {{w|axial precession}}. This gives it an average year length of 365.2425 days, which is very close to the length of a solar year (see detailed explanation in this video: ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82p-DYgGFjI Earth's motion around the Sun, not as simple as I thought]''.<br />
<br />
{{w|Calendar reform|Other calendars}} have been proposed, such not counting leap days and special "festival days" as a day of the week, in order to make every date fall on the same day of the week every year. <br />
<br />
*At "24 hours 4 minutes", EST days are longer, though there are only 360 of them in the year. The extra 4 minutes over the course of 360 days adds up to one standard day, so Randall's EST calendar would at this point have a year that is 361 standard days long. The 24 hours plus 4 minutes length may be a reference to {{w|sidereal day}}, whose duration is 24 hours ''minus'' 4 minutes.<br />
<br />
*Running the clock backwards for 4 hours after every full moon gives 8 additional hours at each full moon, twelve or thirteen times in a year. Because a thirteenth full moon will occur once every 2.7 solar years on average, this modification adds 4.1228 standard days to an EST year, bringing it to 365.1228 days.<br />
<br />
*The doubling of the non-prime numbers of the first non-reversed hour after each solstice and equinox is a final, very complicated way to bring Randall's EST year in extremely close sync with the solar year. There are 17 prime numbers between 0 and 59 and 43 non-primes. There are 2 equinoxes and 2 solstices each year, so a total of 4x43 = 172 minutes will occur twice. This brings the average length of Randall's EST year to 365.2422 standard days, equal to the solar year to four decimal places.<br />
<br />
===Claimed benefits===<br />
Many of the claimed benefits for the calendar are highly dubious:<br />
*While it is fairly ''simple'' to describe, EST is far from simple to understand or put in practice. Clocks in particular would have to regularly undertake very complicated processes like running backwards or duplicating non-prime minutes.<br />
*EST does appear to be fairly ''clearly defined''.<br />
*EST fails completely to be ''unambiguous''. Following each full moon, four hours occur three times, twice forward and once backward. Several minutes are also duplicated, making times during those periods ambiguous.<br />
*The only way EST is ''free of historical baggage'' is that it breaks free of any sensible bits of historical baggage; it keeps such things as the 30-day month and 12-month year, but adopts a different (and variable) length of day that would make it wildly out of sync with the Earth's day-night cycle.<br />
*EST is ''compatible with old units'', as far as seconds, minutes, and hours are concerned, though not for days, months, or years.<br />
*EST is indeed very ''precisely synced with the solar cycle''. The joke is that this has nothing to do with the day/night cycle or the Earth's yearly orbital cycle; the {{w|solar cycle}} is a period of magnetic fluctuation within the sun, lasting 11 Earth years.<br />
*EST is ''free of leap years'', though some EST years are 8 hours longer than others on account of having an extra full moon.<br />
*A calendar ''amenable to date math'' makes it easy to find the length of time between two dates and times by having standardized periods of time. The complex variability of the length of EST years, days, and hours mean it is only ''intermittently'' amenable to date math, which is to say not at all.<br />
<br />
===Other features===<br />
The features of the calendar get increasingly bizarre as the description proceeds:<br />
<br />
*The {{w|Epoch (reference date)|Epoch}} for EST is set by reference to the {{w|Julian calendar}}, which was superseded by the {{w|Gregorian calendar}}. The Julian calendar is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.<br />
<br />
*The different zone for the United Kingdom is a reference to 1 yard being equal to 0.9144 meters, a pun on using {{w|imperial units}} instead of the {{w|metric system}}. This has been the joke before in [[526: Converting to Metric]] and is also mentioned in [[1643: Degrees]].<br />
<br />
*Randall does not like {{w|Daylight saving time}} (DST) very much, as also mentioned later in [[1268: Alternate Universe]] and [[1655: Doomsday Clock]], a comic released the day after the start of DST in the spring of 2016. See Narnian time below.<br />
<br />
*{{w|Narnia (world)|Narnian time}} is a reference to the fictitious world of Narnia in CS Lewis's {{w|The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe}} and its sequels. In Narnia, time passes much more quickly than in the real world. You could be in Narnia for several days and only a few minutes would have passed in the real world. However, synchronizing this effect would be impossible because it is not a consistent rate; it fluctuates wildly based on the whims of drama and magic. This and the DST mentioned above should be seen as a pair. Because when a country goes into DST time may not pass, which is basically what happens (more or less) when a child enters into Narnia. Whereas in EST Narnian time is synchronized to normal time, which DST is but for the one hour difference in the real calender. <br />
<br />
*The Gregorian calendar does not include the year "0"; after "1" BC the next year is "1" AD. Randall's invention fixes this according to correct Mathematics, only to reintroduce the problem immediately by arbitrarily omitting the year 1958. The year 1958 is significant because January 1, 1958 is the epoch (time zero) in {{w|International Atomic Time}} (TAI), which is part of the basis for {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}} (UTC). (The main difference is that TAI doesn't add leap seconds.)<br />
<br />
*The title text's concept of only naming the fourth month ''April'' in the even numbered years, and then leave it unnamed the other years, may be a reference to the ancient (Pre-Babylonian Exile) [http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm Jewish Calendar], which did not name the months, rather assigning them numbers from 1 to 12 (or 13 in leap years, where an extra month was added instead of an extra day). The names used by Jews today are the names of the Babylonian months, derived from various Babylonian deities or events in Jewish history or on the calendar.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption and text above the main panel:]<br />
:xkcd presents<br />
:<big>Earth Standard Time</big><br />
:(EST)<br />
:A universal calendar for a universal planet<br />
:<font color="gray">EST is...</font><br />
:<font color="gray"><small>Simple • Clearly defined • Unambiguous</small></font><br />
:<font color="gray"><small>Free of historical baggage • Compatible with old units</small></font><br />
:<font color="gray"><small>Precisely synced with the solar cycle • Free of leap years</small></font><br />
:<font color="gray"><small>Intermittently amenable to date math</small></font><br />
<br />
:[A list of the details concerning EST:]<br />
:<u>Units</u><br />
:{|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Second:<br />
| 1 S.I. second<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Minute: <br />
| 60 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Hour:<br />
| 60 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Day: <br />
| 1444 minutes<br><small>(24 hours 4 minutes)</small><br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Month: <br />
| 30 Days<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Year: <br />
| 12 months<br />
|}<br />
<br />
:<u>Rules</u><br />
:For 4 hours after every full moon, run clocks backward.<br />
:The non-prime-numbered minutes of the first full non-reversed hour after a solstice or equinox happen twice.<br />
<br />
:{|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Epoch<br />
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
| Time Zones<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | <small>00:00:00 EST</small> <br />
| <br />
| <small> The two EST time zones are</small> <br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | <small> January 1, 1970<br>= 00:00:00 GMT</small> <br />
| <br />
| &nbsp;&nbsp;<small>''EST'' and ''EST (United Kingdom)''</small> <br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | <small> January 1, 1970<br>(Julian calendar)</small> <br />
| <br />
| <small> These are the same except that the<br>UK second is 0.9144 standard seconds</small> <br />
|}<br />
<br />
:{|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Daylight saving: <br />
| Countries may enter DST, but no time may pass there.<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Narnian Time: <br />
| Synchronized✔<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Year Zero:<br />
| EST ''does'' have a year <span style="font-family:consolas">0</span>. (However, there is no 1958.)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Time]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>108.162.215.69https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=876:_Trapped&diff=115854876: Trapped2016-03-29T21:25:51Z<p>108.162.215.69: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 876<br />
| date = March 23, 2011<br />
| title = Trapped<br />
| image = trapped.png<br />
| titletext = Socrates could've saved himself a lot of trouble if he'd just brought a flashlight, tranquilizer gun, and a bunch of rescue harnesses.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The 911 operator references {{w|Allegory of the Cave|Plato's cave}}. This is a reference to an allegory by {{w|Plato}} in which he creates a world in which prisoners are chained against a wall and know only the shadows that cross the wall and how they create their own reality from those shadows. They would create words for the things they were seeing, but that would only correspond to the shadows and not the physical things themselves. <br />
<br />
[[Cueball]]'s brain seems to be unaware it is in his body, and is freaked out by the fact that all the information it receives is through Cueball's sensory organs. The brain has no means of verifying that the information received from the senses indeed corresponds to the actual outside world, and is thus in Plato's cave.<br />
<br />
The title text continues with the Plato's cave and takes it literally; [[Randall]] is saying that {{w|Socrates}}, Plato's teacher, should have just gone into the cave and brought the prisoners out instead of dealing with the extended allegory. The {{w|tranquilizer gun}} is for the prisoners, so they don't completely freak out while being taken out of the cave.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is on the phone.]<br />
:Cueball: Hello? 911? I'm trapped!<br />
:Cueball: It's dark and I can't see anything except these two distorted splotches of light!<br />
:Cueball: Help!<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail, a 911 operator is in an office, wearing a headset.]<br />
:Ponytail: Splotches of light? Your... eyeballs?<br />
:Cueball (over phone): I think that's what they are! There's meat everywhere!<br />
<br />
:Ponytail: ...so you're a brain.<br />
:Cueball (over phone): Yes!<br />
:Ponytail: Yeah, we all are. You're not trapped. Use your body to walk around and experience reality.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: But everything's just signals in my sensory cortices! How can I be sure they correspond to an external world?!<br />
:Ponytail (over phone): I'm sorry, but we can't send a search-and-rescue team into Plato's cave.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]</div>108.162.215.69