https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.240.55&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T13:28:36ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1544:_Margaret&diff=97023Talk:1544: Margaret2015-07-06T15:36:38Z<p>108.162.240.55: </p>
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<div>I love how 'God' is referred to as an 'it' instead of the usual anthropomorphism. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 00:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
:That may be appropriate when god is uncapitalized, but it is ill-fitting for "God". Capitalized God is never genderless in regular speech or composition, so this sounds either like non-native writing (which is fine if it is later corrected) or someone making a statement (which is inappropriate unless the comic makes the same statement). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 20:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Or thirdly i wrote "it" because this comic lacks any religious specificity or theological discussion, so it was left generic. This page does not speak to a specific religions interpretation of God, I highly doubt all monotheistic religions, historic and present, refer to God as male. If it is a Christian God it does not speak to the aspect, as the holy spirit is female in the original text. Yes if this was a theological discussion you might be right to impose a gender, but this comic that does not delve into any theological issues. As to "making a point" you are the one making a point, as to your own correctness, the nature of this God, and making false assumptions about the English language. As someone who is a native speaker I know that "it" can be used as impersonal or personal and is SUPPOSED to be used when the gender is unknown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 21:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC) <br />
:::Historically, "he" was used for unknown gender. Today, it's "he or she". I don't know your gender, but I can't correctly call you "it". I also don't know the sex of South Africa's head of state, and I won't look that up until after posting this. Can I call him or her "it" because I am uncertain? For a generic god, lower-case god is fine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::WRONG the use of it only as an impersonal pronoun is modern, he was never generic, and is not today http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/pronouns-personal-i-me-you-him-it-they-etc http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it . Nextime someone challanges your preconseptions, check before calling them out. 00:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::"It" is not being using impersonally in this case. "Impersonal" doesn't mean "no gender", it means "no agent". For example, "it is raining", "it is snowing", "it is windy", and so on. Using it as a pronoun proper is by definition not impersonal. So, definitions that call "it" impersonal have nothing to do with this. If "he" was never generic, explain all of the quotes (many of them hundreds of years old) that begin with "he who...". Also, note that the possessive form of "it" was actually usually rendered as "his" until the word "its" came into common parlance, another clue of the historical use of the gender as default. Other languages that haven't lost their gender system, like Spanish, still use masculine as default.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:01, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::Here's a good example of "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, from 1611: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given." I could produce more, but the point is simply to dispel the assertion that "he" was never generic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::::: Not generic, just assumed that the audience is male :) also from the definition that no one could read "person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 16:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::I disagree. "Whosoever" is pretty generic, and its gender is independent of the audience. That definition is for uses like "who is it?", which are used in questions (like that example) and indirect questions (like "I don't know who it is"). Using that for this case reminds me of those "DRIVERS SHOCKED BY NEW RULE IN [STATE]" ads. I looked at one of them out of curiosity (clicking on it cost them money, after all), and looked at the disclaimer at the bottom. It specifically justified the use of "rule" in the advertisement by citing a dictionary entry like this one from Webster: "a piece of advice about the best way to do something". But, we all know that even though the dictionary says that, it makes no sense to apply that definition to "NEW RULE IN CALIFORNIA!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.103|108.162.221.103]] 16:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Sorry i could not see any argument? Concede defeat? Dictionary is kinda the winner on this, it is a word, and not even a tricky use of a word. And about it being only for lower case god, that's not true either. I bet you would write the following sentences.<br />
::::::*I like the god with the Nickleback t-shirt. I like HIS taste in music.<br />
::::::*I like the god in the bachelorette party with a pink feather boa. SHE relay looks like she is ready for a good time.<br />
::::::*I like the Snake God. IT would look good with an argyle vest, pleated pants, suspenders and a bow tie.<br />
::::::*Ohh, look at the cute baby god I can never have one because I am shooting blanks. Is IT a girl or a boy?<br />
::::::As you can see it is all about assumed gender and audience, you just assume you know what God is. Read closely and after you notice i broke every rule suggested, and wrote the sentences as you would have wanted them :), maybe we should go by the dictionary.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::One last thing She/he is not even a word as / is not a letter. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:19, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I never added s/he; that was someone else who, like me, thought "it" was unnatural. But, would you say it's isn't a word because ' isn't a letter? First off, don't tell me about dictionaries if you can't spell "really", "bachelorette", capitalize "I", and so on. As one who has studied two foreign languages very deeply, Japanese through current materials and Latin through materials using very antiquated English, I have learned that using special-case dictionary definitions creates incomprehensible text unless you are using them in the correct context. You are using it in the incorrect context for this situation. The first two examples are irrelevant because I never said lower-case god was required to be genderless. I disagree with the capitalization of the third one. If it were a proper noun, we would know the gender. If it were truly genderless, that would not be an exception. The fourth one falls perfectly in line with the rules of English, which I laid out; the sentence you used "it" in was a direct question. The three addenda I would add to that rule, although you haven't addressed them, are: "it" can be used for identification ("it's John", "it was a strange man from Boston"), as it has some extra declarative force; we can freely refer to animals as "it", probably partly because it's so hard to sex some animals, and partly because we don't like to anthropomorphize our food; children can sometimes be called "it", as in "The child opened its eyes". Show me an example of real, published English that breaks this rule, and you may have a point. So far, you have nothing.<br />
::::::::You where picked on too much as a kid, I am sure God is a big enough "man" not to get offended, even if you are not. It is what the word means. People call animals it because we don't have to worry about them being offended, as they where never called "it" in the playground. In other words we are not concerned with there gender, just as this case. Therefore a god (and the Snake God is capital in this case because it is a entity or title - not a descriptor, see God of Lightning), especially a foreign god (as there is less of a close association with the speaker) that looks like a snake would likely be referred to as it, but just to prove my point i used Amoebae, though i could have used any term that does not clearly define the sex, like joipgsdfgjkpsdfgjsdkjgdsk. Face it you are arguing with someone who bested you. My lack of syntax in this discussion just shows that i am spending far less time on this than you, oh and that you where bested by an idiot like me. I could go on and make a list of all the incorrect things you said, like anthropomorphize when animals don't need to be made human to have sex, but i am smart enough to know what you meant, even though i inconsistently capitalize i as pushing the shift key just takes too long. by the way, you just gave more cases at the end of your argument as to why "it" is correct, thanks, or is it easy to sex a god that has not even been defined. LOL (lots of love) ;) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.174|108.162.221.174]] 16:39, 4 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::: I'm afraid it is right; it has bested me, because it said so. Until then, I was in the lead. Unfortunately for me, it has learned that claiming victory is all that is necessary, rather than putting together a credible and coherent argument with legitimate examples. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.161|108.162.220.161]] 17:23, 4 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::::You said it is used when it is hard to sex, I said that it is hard to sex the God in this comic due to it being undefined. Therefore you either refute the second argument, which is only my personal interpretation of this silly little comic and not something I would argue for, or admit defeat. Logic 101 for you :) By the way this is just the internet, don't get so emotional, I am sure you are a good person at heart, just loosen up and have some fun. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 15:36, 6 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::::::If you ever referred to your wife or husband as "it", you may be in trouble. If you refer to someone not of your race as "it", you sound extremely racist. If you call a politician "it", you are making a political statement. Using "it" to refer to a transgender person is extremely offensive. This isn't really that hard. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.161|108.162.220.161]] 13:35, 4 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::I don't mean to pick a fight, really. I just feel that using "it" to refer to a capitalized God is extremely unusual. So much so that both I and the initial commenter immediately noticed and commented on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Mister God, This Is Anna<br />
I though it was Anna, not Margaret... but it turns out that {{w|Mister God, This Is Anna}} is a different book... --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 13:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Judy Blume<br />
The text in the comic comprises titles of Judy Blume's novels:<br />
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great<br />
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. <br />
* Then Again, Maybe I Won't <br />
* The Pain and the Great One<br />
<br />
;the the<br />
Why the double "the the" in the Title text?{{unsigned ip|<br />
Maybe it's supposed to be "thee"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.115}}<br />
: Look out! It's an {{w|anacoluthon}}! [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it's a typo? ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.116|173.245.51.116]] 12:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's supposed to be 'the The Great One' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.122|108.162.219.122]] 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Another take on a rarely-used joke<br />
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I've seen this threat/insult God line used before, but rarely, and never in this manner.<br />
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In one episode of the sitcom One Foot In The Grave, the grumpy old man protagonist is incapacitated. Upon waking up in hospital he finds a bearded patient in a white gown looking down upon him, and for a few seconds believes himself to be dead. He speaks three lines: 'Oh, it's you.' Then in a much angrier tone 'I've been waiting to see you for a very long time.' He then proceeds to grab the patient around the neck and attempt to throttle him while screaming in anger about every misfortune and annoyance in life.<br />
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One episode of The Outer Limits features a very old man who has spent his entire life fighting to survive - with such determination and success that he almost overturns the supernatural structure of nature, which should prohibit immortality. At episode's end he finally loses, having resorted to every trick fair and foul in his quest to live another day. In the final shot a mysterious force approaches to collect his soul - and the ghost of the man is seen, readying himself for a fight as he speaks the final line at the oncoming form: "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me."<br />
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The final (non-revival) episode of Red Dwarf ends with Death himself coming to collect the supreme coward Rimmer, incarnate as the traditional black-robed figure with a scythe. Rimmer knees him in the groin mid-sentence and flees.<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 15:31, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;hot<br />
Margaret is kinda hot.<br />
Is it normal to be sexually attracted to an xkcd character ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.29}}<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 14:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC) See also title text of comic [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]]<br />
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;transformers<br />
This is almost an exact quote from the end of transformers age of extinction... Optimus prime rhetorically asks his makers of they are scared, then follows with you should be because I'm coming for you {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.173}}<br />
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;stirring the pot<br />
Ooh, ooh, let's say that the "second Megan" in [[1496: Art Project]] was this [[Margaret]] girl! I'm sure everyone can agree to that!!! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:24, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. The "other" Megan has straight hair like Megan!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Cut it out<br />
Cut out the excessive use of topic headlines. <br />
On point, the description correlating to an action movie trailer is hard to read, lacks focus, and includes a synopsis of the comic. The synopsis should not remain as that's what the transcript is for. Also, the part describing the book titles should say that it was likely inspiration for the Title Text, not the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 17:32, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Margaret Downy Reference?<br />
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Could it be a reference to Margaret Downey, former President of Atheist Alliance International? (Would explain the "or not" in the mouseover text and the wry rephrasing of a traditional prayer.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.165|108.162.237.165]] 18:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, it is obviously to the character from the books--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Margaret - throwaway name?<br />
I've noticed quite a few similarities between Margaret and "Danish" - i.e. the thick hair, the sadistic attitude... They the same person, or was Margaret just a throwaway name used for the purposes of satirizing Blume's novels? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.22|141.101.99.22]] 17:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way should this be Danish. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. [[Danish]] has long but straight hair, like Megan but longer!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Judy Blume is a current topic<br />
Judy Blume, author of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" just this month put out a new novel ("In The Unlikely Event"). I suppose a month's lead time is stretching a bit, but an episode of Commonwealth Forum from the 7th of this month just aired on KQED. It featured Judy Blume and Molly Ringwald talking about Judy's novels, new and otherwise. It seems slightly too coincidental to be coincidence, but that might just be me. Is this worth mentioning? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.179|162.158.56.179]] 03:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;Batman v. Superman<br />
So was I totally off thinking this may have had something to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer where graffiti "False God" on a statute of Superman. Batman stares at Superman, saying: "Tell me, do you bleed? You will." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.29|108.162.221.29]] 04:47, 1 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1544:_Margaret&diff=969341544: Margaret2015-07-03T21:04:56Z<p>108.162.240.55: Not related to the comic at all, and found in the comment log, where it belongs</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1544<br />
| date = June 29, 2015<br />
| title = Margaret<br />
| image = margaret.png<br />
| titletext = Otherwise known as Margaret the Destroyer, I will bring pain to the the Great One. Then again, maybe I won't.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
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This comic uses the starting lines of an innocent children's book and creates irony by delivering a dark message.<br />
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In the book ''{{w|Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.}}'' by {{w|Judy Blume}}, the opening lines are "Are you still there, God? It's me, Margaret. I know you're there, God. I know you wouldn't have missed this for anything! Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot..." These lines describe a prayer, in which [[Margaret]] privately speaks to God, expressing gratitude and seeking guidance.<br />
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Margaret asks God if they are scared, and states that they should be. This is similar to threats delivered in super violent action movies, such as Taken, in which the protagonist or antagonist speaks directly to their opponent, issuing threats and indicating that they are coming after their opponent. The final panel is a shot of Margaret standing imposingly in a dark landscape, and a caption over the top of the image says "Margaret is coming for you", making this comic reminiscent of an action movie trailer. The irony is that "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret." is a very innocent book, especially when compared to this type of action movie.<br />
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The title text is a mashup of three of Blume's other books: ''{{w|Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great}}'', ''{{w|The Pain and the Great One}}'', and ''{{w|Then Again, Maybe I Won't}}'', and likely the inspiration for the dark lines in the comic.<br />
<br />
*I know you're listening" may refer to an earlier xkcd comic, [[525: I Know You're Listening]]. <br />
*The idea of turning an innocent children's book into a violent movie was previously touched in [[633: Blockbuster Mining]]. <br />
*Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret was previously referenced in the title text of [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]].<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Margaret, shown in full body, is alone. She is talking while looking out towards the reader.]<br />
:Margaret: Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret.<br />
:Margaret: I know you're listening.<br />
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:[Zoom in on her face and torso.]<br />
:Margaret: Are you scared, God? <br />
:Margaret: Are you?<br />
<br />
:[Zooming so far in that not even her whole face is visible.]<br />
:Margaret: You should be.<br />
<br />
:[Zooming far out showing her in a white silhouette against a black sky, standing on the white earth.]<br />
:Margaret: ''Margaret is coming for you''.<br />
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==Trivia==<br />
*There seems to be a typo in the title text with double the:<br />
**''I will bring pain to '''the the''' Great One''<br />
**It could however also be a reference to the book ''The Pain and the Great One'', so this is the "The Great One"<br />
**Maybe it was supposed to be thee "The Great One".<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]] <br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Margaret]]</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1544:_Margaret&diff=96932Talk:1544: Margaret2015-07-03T20:49:36Z<p>108.162.240.55: one fix up to make it cover all cases</p>
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<div>I love how 'God' is referred to as an 'it' instead of the usual anthropomorphism. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 00:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
:That may be appropriate when god is uncapitalized, but it is ill-fitting for "God". Capitalized God is never genderless in regular speech or composition, so this sounds either like non-native writing (which is fine if it is later corrected) or someone making a statement (which is inappropriate unless the comic makes the same statement). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 20:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Or thirdly i wrote "it" because this comic lacks any religious specificity or theological discussion, so it was left generic. This page does not speak to a specific religions interpretation of God, I highly doubt all monotheistic religions, historic and present, refer to God as male. If it is a Christian God it does not speak to the aspect, as the holy spirit is female in the original text. Yes if this was a theological discussion you might be right to impose a gender, but this comic that does not delve into any theological issues. As to "making a point" you are the one making a point, as to your own correctness, the nature of this God, and making false assumptions about the English language. As someone who is a native speaker I know that "it" can be used as impersonal or personal and is SUPPOSED to be used when the gender is unknown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 21:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC) <br />
:::Historically, "he" was used for unknown gender. Today, it's "he or she". I don't know your gender, but I can't correctly call you "it". I also don't know the sex of South Africa's head of state, and I won't look that up until after posting this. Can I call him or her "it" because I am uncertain? For a generic god, lower-case god is fine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::WRONG the use of it only as an impersonal pronoun is modern, he was never generic, and is not today http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/pronouns-personal-i-me-you-him-it-they-etc http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it . Nextime someone challanges your preconseptions, check before calling them out. 00:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::"It" is not being using impersonally in this case. "Impersonal" doesn't mean "no gender", it means "no agent". For example, "it is raining", "it is snowing", "it is windy", and so on. Using it as a pronoun proper is by definition not impersonal. So, definitions that call "it" impersonal have nothing to do with this. If "he" was never generic, explain all of the quotes (many of them hundreds of years old) that begin with "he who...". Also, note that the possessive form of "it" was actually usually rendered as "his" until the word "its" came into common parlance, another clue of the historical use of the gender as default. Other languages that haven't lost their gender system, like Spanish, still use masculine as default.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:01, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::Here's a good example of "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, from 1611: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given." I could produce more, but the point is simply to dispel the assertion that "he" was never generic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::::: Not generic, just assumed that the audience is male :) also from the definition that no one could read "person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 16:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::I disagree. "Whosoever" is pretty generic, and its gender is independent of the audience. That definition is for uses like "who is it?", which are used in questions (like that example) and indirect questions (like "I don't know who it is"). Using that for this case reminds me of those "DRIVERS SHOCKED BY NEW RULE IN [STATE]" ads. I looked at one of them out of curiosity (clicking on it cost them money, after all), and looked at the disclaimer at the bottom. It specifically justified the use of "rule" in the advertisement by citing a dictionary entry like this one from Webster: "a piece of advice about the best way to do something". But, we all know that even though the dictionary says that, it makes no sense to apply that definition to "NEW RULE IN CALIFORNIA!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.103|108.162.221.103]] 16:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Sorry i could not see any argument? Concede defeat? Dictionary is kinda the winner on this, it is a word, and not even a tricky use of a word. And about it being only for lower case god, that's not true either. I bet you would write the following sentences.<br />
::::::*I like the god with the Nickleback t-shirt. I like HIS taste in music.<br />
::::::*I like the god in the bachelorete party with a pink feather boa. SHE relay looks like she is ready for a good time.<br />
::::::*I like the Snake God. IT would look good with an argyle vest, pleated pants, suspenders and a bow tie.<br />
::::::*Ohh, look at the cute baby god I can never have one because I am shooting blanks. Is IT a girl or a boy?<br />
::::::As you can see it is all about assumed gender and audience, you just assume you know what God is. Read closely and after you notice i broke every rule suggested, and wrote the sentences as you would have wanted them :), maybe we should go by the dictionary.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::One last thing She/he is not even a word as / is not a letter. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:19, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::I don't mean to pick a fight, really. I just feel that using "it" to refer to a capitalized God is extremely unusual. So much so that both I and the initial commenter immediately noticed and commented on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Mister God, This Is Anna<br />
I though it was Anna, not Margaret... but it turns out that {{w|Mister God, This Is Anna}} is a different book... --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 13:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume<br />
The text in the comic comprises titles of Judy Blume's novels:<br />
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great<br />
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. <br />
* Then Again, Maybe I Won't <br />
* The Pain and the Great One<br />
<br />
;the the<br />
Why the double "the the" in the Title text?{{unsigned ip|<br />
Maybe it's supposed to be "thee"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.115}}<br />
: Look out! It's an {{w|anacoluthon}}! [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it's a typo? ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.116|173.245.51.116]] 12:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's supposed to be 'the The Great One' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.122|108.162.219.122]] 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Another take on a rarely-used joke<br />
<br />
I've seen this threat/insult God line used before, but rarely, and never in this manner.<br />
<br />
In one episode of the sitcom One Foot In The Grave, the grumpy old man protagonist is incapacitated. Upon waking up in hospital he finds a bearded patient in a white gown looking down upon him, and for a few seconds believes himself to be dead. He speaks three lines: 'Oh, it's you.' Then in a much angrier tone 'I've been waiting to see you for a very long time.' He then proceeds to grab the patient around the neck and attempt to throttle him while screaming in anger about every misfortune and annoyance in life.<br />
<br />
One episode of The Outer Limits features a very old man who has spent his entire life fighting to survive - with such determination and success that he almost overturns the supernatural structure of nature, which should prohibit immortality. At episode's end he finally loses, having resorted to every trick fair and foul in his quest to live another day. In the final shot a mysterious force approaches to collect his soul - and the ghost of the man is seen, readying himself for a fight as he speaks the final line at the oncoming form: "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me."<br />
<br />
The final (non-revival) episode of Red Dwarf ends with Death himself coming to collect the supreme coward Rimmer, incarnate as the traditional black-robed figure with a scythe. Rimmer knees him in the groin mid-sentence and flees.<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 15:31, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;hot<br />
Margaret is kinda hot.<br />
Is it normal to be sexually attracted to an xkcd character ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.29}}<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 14:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC) See also title text of comic [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]]<br />
<br />
;transformers<br />
This is almost an exact quote from the end of transformers age of extinction... Optimus prime rhetorically asks his makers of they are scared, then follows with you should be because I'm coming for you {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.173}}<br />
<br />
;stirring the pot<br />
Ooh, ooh, let's say that the "second Megan" in [[1496: Art Project]] was this [[Margaret]] girl! I'm sure everyone can agree to that!!! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:24, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. The "other" Megan has straight hair like Megan!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Cut it out<br />
Cut out the excessive use of topic headlines. <br />
On point, the description correlating to an action movie trailer is hard to read, lacks focus, and includes a synopsis of the comic. The synopsis should not remain as that's what the transcript is for. Also, the part describing the book titles should say that it was likely inspiration for the Title Text, not the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 17:32, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret Downy Reference?<br />
<br />
Could it be a reference to Margaret Downey, former President of Atheist Alliance International? (Would explain the "or not" in the mouseover text and the wry rephrasing of a traditional prayer.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.165|108.162.237.165]] 18:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, it is obviously to the character from the books--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret - throwaway name?<br />
I've noticed quite a few similarities between Margaret and "Danish" - i.e. the thick hair, the sadistic attitude... They the same person, or was Margaret just a throwaway name used for the purposes of satirizing Blume's novels? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.22|141.101.99.22]] 17:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way should this be Danish. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. [[Danish]] has long but straight hair, like Megan but longer!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume is a current topic<br />
Judy Blume, author of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" just this month put out a new novel ("In The Unlikely Event"). I suppose a month's lead time is stretching a bit, but an episode of Commonwealth Forum from the 7th of this month just aired on KQED. It featured Judy Blume and Molly Ringwald talking about Judy's novels, new and otherwise. It seems slightly too coincidental to be coincidence, but that might just be me. Is this worth mentioning? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.179|162.158.56.179]] 03:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Batman v. Superman<br />
So was I totally off thinking this may have had something to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer where graffiti "False God" on a statute of Superman. Batman stares at Superman, saying: "Tell me, do you bleed? You will." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.29|108.162.221.29]] 04:47, 1 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:199.27.133.49&diff=96929User talk:199.27.133.492015-07-03T20:23:36Z<p>108.162.240.55: Created page with "=Comments= ==Margret & God== Thanks, hopefully They will hold ground, just having a little fun in the talk section :) ~~~~"</p>
<hr />
<div>=Comments=<br />
==Margret & God==<br />
Thanks, hopefully They will hold ground, just having a little fun in the talk section :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:23, 3 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1544:_Margaret&diff=96928Talk:1544: Margaret2015-07-03T20:19:39Z<p>108.162.240.55: </p>
<hr />
<div>I love how 'God' is referred to as an 'it' instead of the usual anthropomorphism. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 00:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
:That may be appropriate when god is uncapitalized, but it is ill-fitting for "God". Capitalized God is never genderless in regular speech or composition, so this sounds either like non-native writing (which is fine if it is later corrected) or someone making a statement (which is inappropriate unless the comic makes the same statement). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 20:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Or thirdly i wrote "it" because this comic lacks any religious specificity or theological discussion, so it was left generic. This page does not speak to a specific religions interpretation of God, I highly doubt all monotheistic religions, historic and present, refer to God as male. If it is a Christian God it does not speak to the aspect, as the holy spirit is female in the original text. Yes if this was a theological discussion you might be right to impose a gender, but this comic that does not delve into any theological issues. As to "making a point" you are the one making a point, as to your own correctness, the nature of this God, and making false assumptions about the English language. As someone who is a native speaker I know that "it" can be used as impersonal or personal and is SUPPOSED to be used when the gender is unknown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 21:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC) <br />
:::Historically, "he" was used for unknown gender. Today, it's "he or she". I don't know your gender, but I can't correctly call you "it". I also don't know the sex of South Africa's head of state, and I won't look that up until after posting this. Can I call him or her "it" because I am uncertain? For a generic god, lower-case god is fine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::WRONG the use of it only as an impersonal pronoun is modern, he was never generic, and is not today http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/pronouns-personal-i-me-you-him-it-they-etc http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it . Nextime someone challanges your preconseptions, check before calling them out. 00:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::"It" is not being using impersonally in this case. "Impersonal" doesn't mean "no gender", it means "no agent". For example, "it is raining", "it is snowing", "it is windy", and so on. Using it as a pronoun proper is by definition not impersonal. So, definitions that call "it" impersonal have nothing to do with this. If "he" was never generic, explain all of the quotes (many of them hundreds of years old) that begin with "he who...". Also, note that the possessive form of "it" was actually usually rendered as "his" until the word "its" came into common parlance, another clue of the historical use of the gender as default. Other languages that haven't lost their gender system, like Spanish, still use masculine as default.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:01, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::Here's a good example of "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, from 1611: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given." I could produce more, but the point is simply to dispel the assertion that "he" was never generic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::: Not generic, just assumed that the audience is male :) also from the definition that no one could read "person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 16:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::I disagree. "Whosoever" is pretty generic, and its gender is independent of the audience. That definition is for uses like "who is it?", which are used in questions (like that example) and indirect questions (like "I don't know who it is"). Using that for this case reminds me of those "DRIVERS SHOCKED BY NEW RULE IN [STATE]" ads. I looked at one of them out of curiosity (clicking on it cost them money, after all), and looked at the disclaimer at the bottom. It specifically justified the use of "rule" in the advertisement by citing a dictionary entry like this one from Webster: "a piece of advice about the best way to do something". But, we all know that even though the dictionary says that, it makes no sense to apply that definition to "NEW RULE IN CALIFORNIA!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.103|108.162.221.103]] 16:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Sorry i could not see any argument? Concede defeat? Dictionary is kinda the winner on this, it is a word, and not even a tricky use of a word. And about it being only for lower case god, that's not true either. I bet you would write the following sentences.<br />
::::::*I like the god with the Nickleback t-shirt. I like HIS taste in music.<br />
::::::*I like the god in the bachelorete party with a pink feather boa. SHE relay looks like she is ready for a good time.<br />
::::::*I like the god that looks like a snake, IT would look good with an argyle vest, pleated pants, suspenders and a bow tie.<br />
::::::*Ohh, look at the cute baby god I can never have one because I am shooting blanks. Is IT a girl or a boy?<br />
::::::As you can see it is all about assumed gender and audience, you just assume you know what God is. Read closely and after you notice i broke every rule suggested, and wrote the sentences as you would have wanted them :), maybe we should go by the dictionary.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::One last thing She/he is not even a word as / is not a letter. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:19, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I don't mean to pick a fight, really. I just feel that using "it" to refer to a capitalized God is extremely unusual. So much so that both I and the initial commenter immediately noticed and commented on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Mister God, This Is Anna<br />
I though it was Anna, not Margaret... but it turns out that {{w|Mister God, This Is Anna}} is a different book... --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 13:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume<br />
The text in the comic comprises titles of Judy Blume's novels:<br />
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great<br />
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. <br />
* Then Again, Maybe I Won't <br />
* The Pain and the Great One<br />
<br />
;the the<br />
Why the double "the the" in the Title text?{{unsigned ip|<br />
Maybe it's supposed to be "thee"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.115}}<br />
: Look out! It's an {{w|anacoluthon}}! [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it's a typo? ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.116|173.245.51.116]] 12:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's supposed to be 'the The Great One' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.122|108.162.219.122]] 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Another take on a rarely-used joke<br />
<br />
I've seen this threat/insult God line used before, but rarely, and never in this manner.<br />
<br />
In one episode of the sitcom One Foot In The Grave, the grumpy old man protagonist is incapacitated. Upon waking up in hospital he finds a bearded patient in a white gown looking down upon him, and for a few seconds believes himself to be dead. He speaks three lines: 'Oh, it's you.' Then in a much angrier tone 'I've been waiting to see you for a very long time.' He then proceeds to grab the patient around the neck and attempt to throttle him while screaming in anger about every misfortune and annoyance in life.<br />
<br />
One episode of The Outer Limits features a very old man who has spent his entire life fighting to survive - with such determination and success that he almost overturns the supernatural structure of nature, which should prohibit immortality. At episode's end he finally loses, having resorted to every trick fair and foul in his quest to live another day. In the final shot a mysterious force approaches to collect his soul - and the ghost of the man is seen, readying himself for a fight as he speaks the final line at the oncoming form: "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me."<br />
<br />
The final (non-revival) episode of Red Dwarf ends with Death himself coming to collect the supreme coward Rimmer, incarnate as the traditional black-robed figure with a scythe. Rimmer knees him in the groin mid-sentence and flees.<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 15:31, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;hot<br />
Margaret is kinda hot.<br />
Is it normal to be sexually attracted to an xkcd character ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.29}}<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 14:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC) See also title text of comic [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]]<br />
<br />
;transformers<br />
This is almost an exact quote from the end of transformers age of extinction... Optimus prime rhetorically asks his makers of they are scared, then follows with you should be because I'm coming for you {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.173}}<br />
<br />
;stirring the pot<br />
Ooh, ooh, let's say that the "second Megan" in [[1496: Art Project]] was this [[Margaret]] girl! I'm sure everyone can agree to that!!! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:24, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. The "other" Megan has straight hair like Megan!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Cut it out<br />
Cut out the excessive use of topic headlines. <br />
On point, the description correlating to an action movie trailer is hard to read, lacks focus, and includes a synopsis of the comic. The synopsis should not remain as that's what the transcript is for. Also, the part describing the book titles should say that it was likely inspiration for the Title Text, not the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 17:32, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret Downy Reference?<br />
<br />
Could it be a reference to Margaret Downey, former President of Atheist Alliance International? (Would explain the "or not" in the mouseover text and the wry rephrasing of a traditional prayer.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.165|108.162.237.165]] 18:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, it is obviously to the character from the books--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret - throwaway name?<br />
I've noticed quite a few similarities between Margaret and "Danish" - i.e. the thick hair, the sadistic attitude... They the same person, or was Margaret just a throwaway name used for the purposes of satirizing Blume's novels? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.22|141.101.99.22]] 17:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way should this be Danish. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. [[Danish]] has long but straight hair, like Megan but longer!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume is a current topic<br />
Judy Blume, author of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" just this month put out a new novel ("In The Unlikely Event"). I suppose a month's lead time is stretching a bit, but an episode of Commonwealth Forum from the 7th of this month just aired on KQED. It featured Judy Blume and Molly Ringwald talking about Judy's novels, new and otherwise. It seems slightly too coincidental to be coincidence, but that might just be me. Is this worth mentioning? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.179|162.158.56.179]] 03:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Batman v. Superman<br />
So was I totally off thinking this may have had something to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer where graffiti "False God" on a statute of Superman. Batman stares at Superman, saying: "Tell me, do you bleed? You will." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.29|108.162.221.29]] 04:47, 1 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1544:_Margaret&diff=96926Talk:1544: Margaret2015-07-03T20:08:58Z<p>108.162.240.55: </p>
<hr />
<div>I love how 'God' is referred to as an 'it' instead of the usual anthropomorphism. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 00:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
:That may be appropriate when god is uncapitalized, but it is ill-fitting for "God". Capitalized God is never genderless in regular speech or composition, so this sounds either like non-native writing (which is fine if it is later corrected) or someone making a statement (which is inappropriate unless the comic makes the same statement). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 20:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Or thirdly i wrote "it" because this comic lacks any religious specificity or theological discussion, so it was left generic. This page does not speak to a specific religions interpretation of God, I highly doubt all monotheistic religions, historic and present, refer to God as male. If it is a Christian God it does not speak to the aspect, as the holy spirit is female in the original text. Yes if this was a theological discussion you might be right to impose a gender, but this comic that does not delve into any theological issues. As to "making a point" you are the one making a point, as to your own correctness, the nature of this God, and making false assumptions about the English language. As someone who is a native speaker I know that "it" can be used as impersonal or personal and is SUPPOSED to be used when the gender is unknown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 21:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC) <br />
:::Historically, "he" was used for unknown gender. Today, it's "he or she". I don't know your gender, but I can't correctly call you "it". I also don't know the sex of South Africa's head of state, and I won't look that up until after posting this. Can I call him or her "it" because I am uncertain? For a generic god, lower-case god is fine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::WRONG the use of it only as an impersonal pronoun is modern, he was never generic, and is not today http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/pronouns-personal-i-me-you-him-it-they-etc http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it . Nextime someone challanges your preconseptions, check before calling them out. 00:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::"It" is not being using impersonally in this case. "Impersonal" doesn't mean "no gender", it means "no agent". For example, "it is raining", "it is snowing", "it is windy", and so on. Using it as a pronoun proper is by definition not impersonal. So, definitions that call "it" impersonal have nothing to do with this. If "he" was never generic, explain all of the quotes (many of them hundreds of years old) that begin with "he who...". Also, note that the possessive form of "it" was actually usually rendered as "his" until the word "its" came into common parlance, another clue of the historical use of the gender as default. Other languages that haven't lost their gender system, like Spanish, still use masculine as default.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:01, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::Here's a good example of "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, from 1611: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given." I could produce more, but the point is simply to dispel the assertion that "he" was never generic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::: Not generic, just assumed that the audience is male :) also from the definition that no one could read "person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 16:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::I disagree. "Whosoever" is pretty generic, and its gender is independent of the audience. That definition is for uses like "who is it?", which are used in questions (like that example) and indirect questions (like "I don't know who it is"). Using that for this case reminds me of those "DRIVERS SHOCKED BY NEW RULE IN [STATE]" ads. I looked at one of them out of curiosity (clicking on it cost them money, after all), and looked at the disclaimer at the bottom. It specifically justified the use of "rule" in the advertisement by citing a dictionary entry like this one from Webster: "a piece of advice about the best way to do something". But, we all know that even though the dictionary says that, it makes no sense to apply that definition to "NEW RULE IN CALIFORNIA!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.103|108.162.221.103]] 16:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Sorry i could not see any argument? Concede defeat? Dictionary is kinda the winner on this, it is a word, and not even a tricky use of a word. And about it being only for lower case god, that's not true either. I bet you would write the following sentences.<br />
::::::*I like the god with the Nickleback t-shirt. I like HIS taste in music.<br />
::::::*I like the god in the bachelorete party with a pink feather boa. SHE relay looks like she is ready for a good time.<br />
::::::*I like the god that looks like a snake, IT would look good with an argyle vest, pleated pants, suspenders and a bow tie.<br />
::::::*Ohh, look at the cute baby god I can never have one because I am shooting blanks. Is IT a girl or a boy?<br />
::::::As you can see it is all about assumed gender and audience, you just assume you know what God is. Read closely and after you notice i broke every rule suggested, and wrote the sentences as you would have wanted them :), maybe we should go by the dictionary.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I don't mean to pick a fight, really. I just feel that using "it" to refer to a capitalized God is extremely unusual. So much so that both I and the initial commenter immediately noticed and commented on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Mister God, This Is Anna<br />
I though it was Anna, not Margaret... but it turns out that {{w|Mister God, This Is Anna}} is a different book... --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 13:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume<br />
The text in the comic comprises titles of Judy Blume's novels:<br />
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great<br />
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. <br />
* Then Again, Maybe I Won't <br />
* The Pain and the Great One<br />
<br />
;the the<br />
Why the double "the the" in the Title text?{{unsigned ip|<br />
Maybe it's supposed to be "thee"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.115}}<br />
: Look out! It's an {{w|anacoluthon}}! [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it's a typo? ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.116|173.245.51.116]] 12:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's supposed to be 'the The Great One' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.122|108.162.219.122]] 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Another take on a rarely-used joke<br />
<br />
I've seen this threat/insult God line used before, but rarely, and never in this manner.<br />
<br />
In one episode of the sitcom One Foot In The Grave, the grumpy old man protagonist is incapacitated. Upon waking up in hospital he finds a bearded patient in a white gown looking down upon him, and for a few seconds believes himself to be dead. He speaks three lines: 'Oh, it's you.' Then in a much angrier tone 'I've been waiting to see you for a very long time.' He then proceeds to grab the patient around the neck and attempt to throttle him while screaming in anger about every misfortune and annoyance in life.<br />
<br />
One episode of The Outer Limits features a very old man who has spent his entire life fighting to survive - with such determination and success that he almost overturns the supernatural structure of nature, which should prohibit immortality. At episode's end he finally loses, having resorted to every trick fair and foul in his quest to live another day. In the final shot a mysterious force approaches to collect his soul - and the ghost of the man is seen, readying himself for a fight as he speaks the final line at the oncoming form: "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me."<br />
<br />
The final (non-revival) episode of Red Dwarf ends with Death himself coming to collect the supreme coward Rimmer, incarnate as the traditional black-robed figure with a scythe. Rimmer knees him in the groin mid-sentence and flees.<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 15:31, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;hot<br />
Margaret is kinda hot.<br />
Is it normal to be sexually attracted to an xkcd character ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.29}}<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 14:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC) See also title text of comic [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]]<br />
<br />
;transformers<br />
This is almost an exact quote from the end of transformers age of extinction... Optimus prime rhetorically asks his makers of they are scared, then follows with you should be because I'm coming for you {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.173}}<br />
<br />
;stirring the pot<br />
Ooh, ooh, let's say that the "second Megan" in [[1496: Art Project]] was this [[Margaret]] girl! I'm sure everyone can agree to that!!! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:24, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. The "other" Megan has straight hair like Megan!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Cut it out<br />
Cut out the excessive use of topic headlines. <br />
On point, the description correlating to an action movie trailer is hard to read, lacks focus, and includes a synopsis of the comic. The synopsis should not remain as that's what the transcript is for. Also, the part describing the book titles should say that it was likely inspiration for the Title Text, not the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 17:32, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret Downy Reference?<br />
<br />
Could it be a reference to Margaret Downey, former President of Atheist Alliance International? (Would explain the "or not" in the mouseover text and the wry rephrasing of a traditional prayer.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.165|108.162.237.165]] 18:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, it is obviously to the character from the books--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret - throwaway name?<br />
I've noticed quite a few similarities between Margaret and "Danish" - i.e. the thick hair, the sadistic attitude... They the same person, or was Margaret just a throwaway name used for the purposes of satirizing Blume's novels? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.22|141.101.99.22]] 17:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way should this be Danish. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. [[Danish]] has long but straight hair, like Megan but longer!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume is a current topic<br />
Judy Blume, author of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" just this month put out a new novel ("In The Unlikely Event"). I suppose a month's lead time is stretching a bit, but an episode of Commonwealth Forum from the 7th of this month just aired on KQED. It featured Judy Blume and Molly Ringwald talking about Judy's novels, new and otherwise. It seems slightly too coincidental to be coincidence, but that might just be me. Is this worth mentioning? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.179|162.158.56.179]] 03:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Batman v. Superman<br />
So was I totally off thinking this may have had something to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer where graffiti "False God" on a statute of Superman. Batman stares at Superman, saying: "Tell me, do you bleed? You will." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.29|108.162.221.29]] 04:47, 1 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1544:_Margaret&diff=96924Talk:1544: Margaret2015-07-03T20:05:05Z<p>108.162.240.55: </p>
<hr />
<div>I love how 'God' is referred to as an 'it' instead of the usual anthropomorphism. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 00:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
:That may be appropriate when god is uncapitalized, but it is ill-fitting for "God". Capitalized God is never genderless in regular speech or composition, so this sounds either like non-native writing (which is fine if it is later corrected) or someone making a statement (which is inappropriate unless the comic makes the same statement). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 20:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Or thirdly i wrote "it" because this comic lacks any religious specificity or theological discussion, so it was left generic. This page does not speak to a specific religions interpretation of God, I highly doubt all monotheistic religions, historic and present, refer to God as male. If it is a Christian God it does not speak to the aspect, as the holy spirit is female in the original text. Yes if this was a theological discussion you might be right to impose a gender, but this comic that does not delve into any theological issues. As to "making a point" you are the one making a point, as to your own correctness, the nature of this God, and making false assumptions about the English language. As someone who is a native speaker I know that "it" can be used as impersonal or personal and is SUPPOSED to be used when the gender is unknown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 21:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC) <br />
:::Historically, "he" was used for unknown gender. Today, it's "he or she". I don't know your gender, but I can't correctly call you "it". I also don't know the sex of South Africa's head of state, and I won't look that up until after posting this. Can I call him or her "it" because I am uncertain? For a generic god, lower-case god is fine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::WRONG the use of it only as an impersonal pronoun is modern, he was never generic, and is not today http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/pronouns-personal-i-me-you-him-it-they-etc http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it . Nextime someone challanges your preconseptions, check before calling them out. 00:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::"It" is not being using impersonally in this case. "Impersonal" doesn't mean "no gender", it means "no agent". For example, "it is raining", "it is snowing", "it is windy", and so on. Using it as a pronoun proper is by definition not impersonal. So, definitions that call "it" impersonal have nothing to do with this. If "he" was never generic, explain all of the quotes (many of them hundreds of years old) that begin with "he who...". Also, note that the possessive form of "it" was actually usually rendered as "his" until the word "its" came into common parlance, another clue of the historical use of the gender as default. Other languages that haven't lost their gender system, like Spanish, still use masculine as default.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:01, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::Here's a good example of "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, from 1611: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given." I could produce more, but the point is simply to dispel the assertion that "he" was never generic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::: Not generic, just assumed that the audience is male :) also from the definition that no one could read "person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 16:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::I disagree. "Whosoever" is pretty generic, and its gender is independent of the audience. That definition is for uses like "who is it?", which are used in questions (like that example) and indirect questions (like "I don't know who it is"). Using that for this case reminds me of those "DRIVERS SHOCKED BY NEW RULE IN [STATE]" ads. I looked at one of them out of curiosity (clicking on it cost them money, after all), and looked at the disclaimer at the bottom. It specifically justified the use of "rule" in the advertisement by citing a dictionary entry like this one from Webster: "a piece of advice about the best way to do something". But, we all know that even though the dictionary says that, it makes no sense to apply that definition to "NEW RULE IN CALIFORNIA!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.103|108.162.221.103]] 16:54, 1 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Sorry i could not see any argument? Concede defeat? Dictionary is kinda the winner on this, it is a word, and not even a tricky use of a word. And about it being only for lower case god, thats not rrue either. I bet you would write the following sentences.<br />
*I like the god with the Nickleback t-shirt. I like HIS taste in music.<br />
*I like the god in the bachelorete party with a pink feather boa. SHE relay looks like she is ready for a good time.<br />
*I like the god that looks like a snake, IT would look good with an argyle vest, pleated pants, suspenders and a bow tie.<br />
*Ohh, look at the cute baby god I can never have one because I am shooting blanks. Is IT a girl or a boy?<br />
As you can see it is all about assumed gender and audience, you just assume you know what God is. Read closely and after you notice i broke every rule you suggested, and wrote the sentences as you would have wanted them :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 20:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I don't mean to pick a fight, really. I just feel that using "it" to refer to a capitalized God is extremely unusual. So much so that both I and the initial commenter immediately noticed and commented on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 23:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Mister God, This Is Anna<br />
I though it was Anna, not Margaret... but it turns out that {{w|Mister God, This Is Anna}} is a different book... --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 13:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume<br />
The text in the comic comprises titles of Judy Blume's novels:<br />
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great<br />
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. <br />
* Then Again, Maybe I Won't <br />
* The Pain and the Great One<br />
<br />
;the the<br />
Why the double "the the" in the Title text?{{unsigned ip|<br />
Maybe it's supposed to be "thee"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.115}}<br />
: Look out! It's an {{w|anacoluthon}}! [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it's a typo? ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.116|173.245.51.116]] 12:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's supposed to be 'the The Great One' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.122|108.162.219.122]] 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Another take on a rarely-used joke<br />
<br />
I've seen this threat/insult God line used before, but rarely, and never in this manner.<br />
<br />
In one episode of the sitcom One Foot In The Grave, the grumpy old man protagonist is incapacitated. Upon waking up in hospital he finds a bearded patient in a white gown looking down upon him, and for a few seconds believes himself to be dead. He speaks three lines: 'Oh, it's you.' Then in a much angrier tone 'I've been waiting to see you for a very long time.' He then proceeds to grab the patient around the neck and attempt to throttle him while screaming in anger about every misfortune and annoyance in life.<br />
<br />
One episode of The Outer Limits features a very old man who has spent his entire life fighting to survive - with such determination and success that he almost overturns the supernatural structure of nature, which should prohibit immortality. At episode's end he finally loses, having resorted to every trick fair and foul in his quest to live another day. In the final shot a mysterious force approaches to collect his soul - and the ghost of the man is seen, readying himself for a fight as he speaks the final line at the oncoming form: "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me."<br />
<br />
The final (non-revival) episode of Red Dwarf ends with Death himself coming to collect the supreme coward Rimmer, incarnate as the traditional black-robed figure with a scythe. Rimmer knees him in the groin mid-sentence and flees.<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 15:31, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;hot<br />
Margaret is kinda hot.<br />
Is it normal to be sexually attracted to an xkcd character ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.49.29}}<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.87|108.162.221.87]] 14:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC) See also title text of comic [[1354: Heartbleed Explanation]]<br />
<br />
;transformers<br />
This is almost an exact quote from the end of transformers age of extinction... Optimus prime rhetorically asks his makers of they are scared, then follows with you should be because I'm coming for you {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.173}}<br />
<br />
;stirring the pot<br />
Ooh, ooh, let's say that the "second Megan" in [[1496: Art Project]] was this [[Margaret]] girl! I'm sure everyone can agree to that!!! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:24, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. The "other" Megan has straight hair like Megan!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Cut it out<br />
Cut out the excessive use of topic headlines. <br />
On point, the description correlating to an action movie trailer is hard to read, lacks focus, and includes a synopsis of the comic. The synopsis should not remain as that's what the transcript is for. Also, the part describing the book titles should say that it was likely inspiration for the Title Text, not the comic. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 17:32, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret Downy Reference?<br />
<br />
Could it be a reference to Margaret Downey, former President of Atheist Alliance International? (Would explain the "or not" in the mouseover text and the wry rephrasing of a traditional prayer.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.165|108.162.237.165]] 18:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, it is obviously to the character from the books--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Margaret - throwaway name?<br />
I've noticed quite a few similarities between Margaret and "Danish" - i.e. the thick hair, the sadistic attitude... They the same person, or was Margaret just a throwaway name used for the purposes of satirizing Blume's novels? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.22|141.101.99.22]] 17:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No way should this be Danish. This [[Margaret]] has already been used once before as mentioned, and she has curly hair. [[Danish]] has long but straight hair, like Megan but longer!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:18, 29 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Judy Blume is a current topic<br />
Judy Blume, author of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" just this month put out a new novel ("In The Unlikely Event"). I suppose a month's lead time is stretching a bit, but an episode of Commonwealth Forum from the 7th of this month just aired on KQED. It featured Judy Blume and Molly Ringwald talking about Judy's novels, new and otherwise. It seems slightly too coincidental to be coincidence, but that might just be me. Is this worth mentioning? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.179|162.158.56.179]] 03:40, 30 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Batman v. Superman<br />
So was I totally off thinking this may have had something to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer where graffiti "False God" on a statute of Superman. Batman stares at Superman, saying: "Tell me, do you bleed? You will." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.29|108.162.221.29]] 04:47, 1 July 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1526:_Placebo_Blocker&diff=969161526: Placebo Blocker2015-07-03T18:23:46Z<p>108.162.240.55: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1526<br />
| date = May 18, 2015<br />
| title = Placebo Blocker<br />
| image = placebo blocker.png<br />
| titletext = They work even better if you take them with our experimental placebo booster, which I keep in the same bottle.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{Incomplete|Grammar correction required, work on making the explanation more simple, as well as a summary of the article: Genetics and the placebo effect}}<br />
This comic is a joke about the difficulty of testing a drug that is supposed to block the placebo effect.<br />
<br />
In a classic experiment there is a test group and a control. The control group is used to isolated a variable that the experiment can not be devised to avoid. For example, when people are treated for a illness they generally show improvement relative to an untreated patient, regardless of the effectiveness of the treatment. This is called the {{w|placebo}} effect. Because scientists wish to determine the effectivity of the treatment, they wish to isolate it from the placebo effect. Therefore, in many drug trials one group is given a placebo (an ineffective treatment) and one group is given the real treatment. This comic specifically refers to a study published in May 2015, the same month in which the comic was released, about possible mechanisms for the placebo effect. <br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] states to [[Hair Bun Girl]], with a citation from the real world, that his team created a Placebo Blocker, a drug designed to prevent the placebo effect. Cueball begins to design a test for this new drug. Following the typical experimental design, patients would be split into two groups a control group, and the group that receives the treatment. The first group would receive the ''Placebo Blocker'' drug, while the second would get a placebo pill. Cuball knows that the treatment given to the control group is supposed to be designed so that it is not influenced by the variable trying to be isolated. As the placebo is the treatment that will have an effect, it can not be used as a control treatment against a placebo blocker. Cueball tries to design around this by having the first group receive the Placebo Blocker drug and the placebo, while the second receives placebo pill and something else that counteracts the placebo effect, and fails as that would also be the Placebo Blocker. Cueball and Hair Bun Girl think about this trial until they both develop headache from frustration. Cueball then kindly offers Hair Bun Girl a sugar pill. While this might have helped cure the headache via the placebo effect had he told her it was a headache treatment, by revealing the pill as merely a sugar pill, it may suppress or reduce the effect.<br />
<br />
In title text, Cueball mentions that his sugar pills against headache works even better together with the new experimental placebo ''boosters''. Incidentally, he indicates that he keeps those in the same bottle with his sugar pills. Assuming someone believes placebo ''boosters'' are in the jar this this would allow them to take the sugar pills and receive a greater placebo effect, as the placebo effect is based upon faith in the treatment, regardless of whether there are placebo ''boosters'' in the jar.<br />
<br />
It is possible but unlikely that:<br />
* Cueball's sugar pills are, in fact, the Placebo Blockers themselves and that, seeing Hair Bun Girl has a headache, Cueball is inspired to somehow use the opportunity as an experiment to test the Blockers<br />
* Cueball is suggesting Hair Bun Girl take a "placebo booster" which is really a "placebo blocker", thus testing the blocker he mentioned earlier in the comic.<br />
<br />
Questionable neuroscience research is also discussed in [[1453: fMRI]].<br />
<br />
===Placebos===<br />
The {{w|placebo}} effect refers to the phenomenon in which patients given an inactive treatment such as a sugar pill can still show improvement relative to an untreated patient. The placebo effect is thus very important to consider when testing new drugs, since even ineffective drugs can have a positive effect on the patients due to the placebo effect. Modern drug experiments are hence conducted as {{w|Blind experiment#Double-blind trials|double-blind trials}}, where the patients are randomly given either the treatment or a placebo without either they or the administering doctors knowing who receives the new drug and who received the placebo pill.<br />
<br />
Generally the patients need to believe that they are receiving an active treatment, but one [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591 study] showed that the effect can occur even if the patients are told that they are receiving a placebo pill. The key factor seems to be that the patients most believe that a positive effect will occur. For example, (1) patients experience a greater effect if they believe that the treatment is expensive and (2) patients who know that they have not been given an active treatment will experience the effect if they are told that placebos can have a positive effect through the power of the mind.<br />
<br />
Several reasons for the placebo effect have been proposed, from study artifacts - such as under-reporting of negative outcomes by patients who think they are being treated, to neurological explanations for how mental state can translate into physical outcomes.<br />
<br />
Placebo-blockers do actually already exist. A side-effect of the opiate antagonist {{w|Naloxone}} is that it [http://healthland.time.com/2009/08/26/a-neurological-explanation-for-the-placebo-effect/ blocks the placebo effect].<br />
<br />
===Mechanisms of the placebo effect===<br />
Kathryn T. Hall, Joseph Loscalzo, and Ted J. Kaptchuk. (2015) ''[https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.MOLMED.2015.02.009 Genetics and the placebo effect: the placebome.]'' Trends in Mol Medicine. Volume 21, Issue 5, May 2015, Pages 285–294<br />
<br />
It is possible to test the placebo blocker by giving the test group a placebo blocker and one control group that receives no treatment what so ever, as a lack of treatment is the variable that an actual placebo is designed to control for, and another control group a placebo, to show the strength of the placebo effect in the experiment. Still it might be hard to determine if the pills are having a negative effect or blocking the placebo effect, so multiple trials with multiple diseases may have to be done.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Hair Bun Girl is standing in front of Cueball who does all the talking. Below them is a footnote.]<br />
:Cueball: Some researchers* are starting to figure out the mechanism behind the placebo effect.<br />
:Cueball: We've used their work to create a new drug: A ''placebo effect blocker''.<br />
:Footnote: * Hall et al, DOI: 10.1016/J.MOLMED.2015.02.009<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Cueball who now holds his arms out.]<br />
:Cueball: Now we just need to run a trial! We'll get two groups, give them both placebos, then give one the ''real'' placebo blocker, and the other a...<br />
:Cueball: ...wait.<br />
<br />
:[Hair Bun Girl holds her chin, while Cueball just stand there for a beat panel.]<br />
<br />
:[Hair Bun looks again at Cueball who begins to take the lid off of a medicine bottle.]<br />
:Hair Bun Girl: ...My head hurts.<br />
:Cueball: Mine too.<br />
:Cueball: Here, want a sugar pill?<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1413:_Suddenly_Popular&diff=778511413: Suddenly Popular2014-10-25T04:38:01Z<p>108.162.240.55: /* List of the phrases */ Google Books Ngram Viewer</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1413<br />
| date = August 27, 2014<br />
| title = Suddenly Popular<br />
| image = suddenly_popular.png<br />
| titletext = Are Your Teens Practicing Amplexus? Learn These Six Telltale Signs!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
Many phrases that used to be of mainly academic interest become popular when an important event or global trend is described with such phrases in the media. [[Randall]] presents a timeline of past examples, and predicts phrases that may be popularised in the near future. The past events are a mix of buzz words and words learned through disasters, crime and terrorism. The future events seem to be all related to natural disasters or other kinds of serious issues, except ''{{w|Amplexus}}'' — which is the joke of the title text — showing that no matter how many disasters there are, people are generally more concerned about their teenagers' sex lives.<br />
<br />
The title text is also an example of a {{w|clickbait}} headline. Many organizations will post a link on social media to their content with a sensationalized headline in order to draw readers in. In this case, the headline is geared towards parents who are worried about their children being sexually active in this new ''Amplexus'' way. Such headlines are the internet's analog to television news' {{w|Promo (media)|promos}} ("A new trend among teens is sweeping the nation, but is it dangerous? Details at 11:00.").<br />
<br />
{{w|Global catastrophic risks|Global catastrophic risk}} is a theme throughout this comic. Randall predicts a large asteroid impact/near miss and a volcanic eruption, followed by an {{w|impact winter}} or {{w|volcanic winter}}. An insect borne, global pandemic without a cure also strikes, and then the {{w|technological singularity}} occurs.<br />
<br />
This comic has similar features to [[887: Future Timeline]].<br />
<br />
==List of the phrases==<br />
Below the phrases are listed with the closest year from the time-line noted behind the phrase. Note that this year does not necessarily match with the in-real-life relevant year. This may be found in the explanation of the phrase below. [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=world+wide+web%2Cdna+evidence%2Cmilitia+movement%2Csupermax%2Cbutterfly+ballot%2Cal-qaeda%2Cwi-fi%2Ctsunami%2Cviral%2Cradicalize%2Cmetadata&case_insensitive=on&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=0&share=&direct_url=t4%3B%2Cworld%20wide%20web%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3BWorld%20Wide%20Web%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bworld%20wide%20web%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BWORLD%20WIDE%20WEB%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cdna%20evidence%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3BDNA%20evidence%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BDNA%20Evidence%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cmilitia%20movement%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bmilitia%20movement%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BMilitia%20Movement%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BMilitia%20movement%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Csupermax%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bsupermax%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BSupermax%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BSUPERMAX%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BSuperMax%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cbutterfly%20ballot%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bbutterfly%20ballot%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BButterfly%20Ballot%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BButterfly%20ballot%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cal%20-%20qaeda%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bal%20-%20Qaeda%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BAl%20-%20Qaeda%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cwi%20-%20fi%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3BWi%20-%20Fi%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bwi%20-%20fi%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Ctsunami%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Btsunami%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BTsunami%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BTSUNAMI%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cviral%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bviral%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BViral%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BVIRAL%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cradicalize%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bradicalize%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BRadicalize%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cmetadata%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bmetadata%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BMetadata%3B%2Cc0 Google Books Ngram Viewer] can show the relative frequency of those words in function of the year.<br />
<br />
; {{w|World Wide Web}} – 1994<br />
: Though first proposed in 1989, and the first test being completed in 1990, it took until around 1994 for the {{w|World Wide Web|world wide web}} to start becoming well known.<br />
<br />
; {{w|DNA profiling|DNA Evidence}} – 1995<br />
: Prominent coverage of the {{w|O. J. Simpson murder trial}} in 1994 brought widespread discussion of {{w|DNA profiling|DNA Evidence}}, making it famous and showing its limitations.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Militia Movement}} – 1996<br />
: After the standoffs at {{w|Ruby Ridge}} in 1992, Idaho and the {{w|Branch Davidians}} compound in Waco, Texas between U.S. Government Agencies and militias in 1993, people started becoming more aware of their presence, culminating with the 1995 {{w|Oklahoma City Bombing}} on the second anniversary of the fire at the Branch Davidians compound.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Supermax prison|Supermax}} – 1997<br />
: Super-Maximum security prisons. Possibly referring to the 1997 film {{w|Con Air}}, starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and John Malkovich, in which prisoners being transferred to a new Supermax prison seize control of their transport plane. Also possibly referring to {{w|Timothy McVeigh}} and {{w|Terry Nichols}}, perpetrators of the aforementioned Oklahoma City bombing, who were incarcerated at {{w|ADX Florence}}, the former from the time of his arrest to 1999, and the latter from the time of his conviction to the present day.<br />
<br />
[[File:Butterfly Voters View.jpg|thumb|A butterfly ballot]]<br />
; {{w|butterfly ballot|Butterfly Ballot}} – 2000<br />
: In the {{w|United States presidential election in Florida, 2000|United States presidential election in 2000, Florida}} had a major recount dispute that took center stage in the election. Thus, the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election was not known for more than a month after balloting, because of the extended process of counting and then recounting of Florida presidential ballots. The {{w|butterfly ballot}} was the type of ballot design {{w|United States presidential election in Florida, 2000#Palm Beach County's butterfly ballots|used in Palm Beach County, Florida}}, and was a central issue in the election controversy. Evidence suggests that many voters who intended to vote for Gore or Bush actually marked their ballots for Pat Buchanan or spoiled their ballots, because of a confusing layout of the ballot.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Al-Qaeda}} – 2002<br />
: The {{w|September 11th terrorist attacks}} brought the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation into the spotlight almost overnight.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Wi-Fi}} – 2003<br />
: Wi-Fi, though developed in the 1990s, first became popular in the early 2000s.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Tsunami}} – 2006<br />
: There were a number of tsunamis around this time period, in particular the {{w|Boxing Day Tsunami}} which caused 230,000 deaths, and the {{w|2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami}}. These were some of the first tsunamis to be widely captured on camera, bringing these previously obscure seismic events into the public eye. <br />
<br />
; {{w|Viral}} – 2009<br />
: In this context, the word viral is used to describe anything which spreads rapidly and widely on the internet. In particular an online video clip is said to have 'Gone Viral' or become a {{w|Viral video}} if it racks up a high number of views over a short time. This phenomenon has become especially prevalent due to users sharing content on {{w|Social media}}.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Radicalization|Radicalize}} – 2011<br />
: Due to the ongoing {{w|Syrian Civil War}}, and the relative ease with which one can travel from Europe to Syria by way of Turkey, there is growing concern about the risk of young Muslims in Europe (and, to a lesser extent, the United States) becoming {{w|radicalization|radicalized}} by indoctrination from fundamentalists either in their communities or on the Internet.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Metadata}} – 2013<br />
: Following the highly publicised 2013 leaks by {{w|Edward Snowden}} of information regarding the {{w|NSA}}'s indiscriminate surveillance of global communication metadata, awareness of the privacy value of such data became widespread, where once it was mostly familiar to IT professionals.<br />
<br />
<br />
''From this point on, phrases were in the future at the time of publication.''<br />
<br />
<br />
; {{w|Lahar}} – 2016<br />
: A lahar is a mudslide caused by the eruption of a volcano that was covered with snow or ice. Randall is speculating on a future natural disaster being caused by such an incident. {{w|Bárðarbunga}} volcano covered with the {{w|Vatnajökull}} glacier on Iceland increased activity just a few days before publishing of this comic and may erupt in the near future.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Insect-borne disease|Insect-Borne}} – 2019<br />
: Some {{w|Category:Insect-borne diseases|diseases are insect-borne}}, meaning specific species of insects are the main vector in spreading to humans. {{w|Malaria}} is an example of an {{w|insect-borne disease}}. Randall predicts some deadly insect-borne disease will emerge around this time.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Earth-crosser|Earth-Crossing}} – 2021<br />
: Earth-crossers are asteroids that cross the orbit of Earth. Most of them remain harmless because their orbit doesn't actually intersect the earth's orbit in 3 dimensions, or for the foreseeable future, they will cross when Earth is not there. For this phrase to become popular, an Earth-crosser might have to reach the heretofore-unreached "threatening" level, rating a 5 or more on the {{w|Torino Scale}}, due to a significant chance of a large impact. As of 2014, there are no threats of that level known in the early 2020s. If the next two phrases are connected to this one, Randall is predicting a significant asteroid impact.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Thermohaline circulation|Thermohaline}} – 2022<br />
: Thermohaline circulation is the largest group of interconnected ocean currents, which stabilize global climate by equalizing the temperature and salinity of oceans around the world. If this phrase becomes popular, it implies the thermohaline circulation would have slowed or changed significantly. This might be caused by asteroid impact or by polar ice melting. The latter scenario was apocalyptically dramatized in the movie {{w|The Day After Tomorrow}}.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Snow blindness|Snow-Blindness}} – 2024<br />
: Snow blindness is an eye condition caused by excessive UV light reflected from snow and ice. This can lead to corneal damage and blindness (temporary, if treated properly). This phrase becoming popular might suggest a long {{w|impact winter}} (from the asteroid) or severe {{w|ozone depletion}} in cold regions of the world.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Amplexus}} – 2025<br />
: A form of non-penetrative reproduction carried out by some animals, for example frogs, involving grasping the partner with front legs. This may be connected to the other posts (some change in human society) or it may simply be a joke at how new sexual language/fads appear and hit mainstream media from time to time (for example a number of acts gained fame from Sex and the City). This also ties in with the title text, which imagines a sensationalist headline suggesting teenagers may be doing this.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Aquaplaning|Controlled Hydroplaning}} – 2028<br />
: Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle tire comes in contact with a puddle in such a way that the water builds up between the tire and the road surface. The film of water, having a much lower coefficient of friction than the road surface, causes the tire to lose traction. Typically, in this scenario, the driver isn't planning to hydroplane and loses control of the vehicle. In theory, controlled hydroplaning would be achieved when the driver plans for it ahead of time. This could be necessary if, in this hypothetical future, most of the roads are flooded since the impact winter (after only four years) ends and thus a great thaw causes all roads to become wet all the time.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Paradoxical reaction|Paradoxical Reaction}} – 2031<br />
: "paradoxical reaction" is a medical term for when the outcome of a medical treatment, typically the taking of a drug, is the opposite of that expected. For example if taking a pain relieving medication made the pain worse. For this term to suddenly become well known, a large scale or particularly notable case must have taken place (such as the insect-borne disease of 2019). Or, this and the following (and maybe the last as well) phrases may refer to the events from {{w|The Evitable Conflict}} by Isaac Asimov (and its very loose but much more popular film adaptation {{w|I,_Robot_(film)|I, Robot}}) where robots, instructed with the {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}, take over the world to prevent humans hurting each other. The paradoxical reaction is that these laws were specifically designed to, among other things, prevent robots from taking over the world in the first place.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Desertion|Drone Desertion}} – 2033<br />
: Desertion is the abandonment of a post or duty, usually military in nature. With the increasing use of autonomous drones by the military this hints at an event where drones 'decide' to desert, possibly due to unspecified advances in {{w|Artificial Intelligence}} and {{w|Robot Rights}}. Or maybe they just start following the {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Human hair growth|Rapid Hair Growth}} – 2034<br />
: Maybe some humans have developed a very rapid hair growth (presumably on the entire body) caused by the cold years of the impact winter.<br />
<br />
; {{w|Oath#Divine oath|I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress In Life And In Death}} – 2038<br />
: This is a {{w|Oath#Divine oath|divine oath}}. A possible explanation is that after the impact and the desertion of the drones predicted for 2033, a strong fraction has made their leader divine, and everyone now has to swear allegiance to this new God-Empress using this phrase - which would certainly make it a very "popular" phrase. The phrase [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GodEmperor God-Emperor] was popularized in the science-fiction work ''Dune'' in 1965 and has been repeatedly referenced since, notably in the tabletop game Warhammer 40,000 and the computer game Starcraft (and their related media).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Obscure words and phrases everyone suddenly becomes very familiar with.<br />
:[A time line to the left is marked of by several phrases to the right around the time they became familiar to the public:]<br />
::<-- World Wide Web<br />
::<-- DNA Evidence<br />
:1995 <br />
::<-- Militia Movement<br />
::<-- Supermax<br />
:2000 <br />
::<-- Butterfly Ballot<br />
::<-- Al-Qaeda<br />
::<-- Wi-Fi<br />
:2005 <br />
::<-- Tsunami<br />
::<-- Viral<br />
:2010 <br />
::<-- Radicalize<br />
::<-- Metadata<br />
:2015 <br />
::<-- Lahar<br />
::<-- Insect-Borne<br />
:2020 <br />
::<-- Earth-Crossing<br />
::<-- Thermohaline<br />
::<-- Snow-Blindness<br />
:2025 <br />
::<-- Amplexus<br />
::<-- Controlled Hydroplaning<br />
:2030 <br />
::<-- Paradoxical Reaction<br />
::<-- Drone Desertion<br />
::<-- Rapid Hair Growth <br />
:2035 <br />
::<-- I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress In Life And In Death<br />
:2040 <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>108.162.240.55https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1434:_Where_Do_Birds_Go&diff=77462Talk:1434: Where Do Birds Go2014-10-18T01:41:39Z<p>108.162.240.55: </p>
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<div>Hehe, are we suggesting that "bird" may be a phase of dihydrogen monoxide? I like that.<br />
--[[User:Stg|Stg]] ([[User talk:Stg|talk]]) 05:11, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I recommend we keep the answer out of the explain page since it wasn't included in the comic. Birds can google it themselves. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 06:25, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:Why are you so mean to poor birds? Do you know how hard is to type with beak? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:08, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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::It really is a pain. They have to hunt and peck.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 12:25, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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::Especially on a touch screen! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:57, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Really, they only have trouble with the newer capacitive touchscreens - the older resistive ones (used in e.g. Palm Pilot) were much easier to use with a beak-- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 20:08, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon#Navigation iron in pigeon beaks] makes it a bit easier for them to use capacitive screens, but not much. --[[User:Okofish|Okofish]] ([[User talk:Okofish|talk]]) 21:07, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::::Just one more thing that makes them man's best friend with rats, I mean wings with friends... umm words with friends... it's a bit too early for me... -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 09:36, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I added the thing about catcher in the rye, but now I think that might not be right.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:28, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:I haven't read Catcher in the Rye, but I purely read it as Superman & Clark Kent are the same thing, implying that birds and rain are the same thing. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:34, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Cueball assumes it's a question common to all of internet-accessed humans, making it seem like a beautiful thing. In the end, it turns out those are actually helpless birds asking this question worldwide, not people. I'd advise you add a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog] reference. <br />
The ice/catcher in the rye connection is far fetched. Judging by the Clark/Superman comparison, Randall suggests that birds turn into the rain as part of the water/ice phases and not hide from it. Because Clark doesn't go when Superman arrives, he turns into Superman. [[User:Dulcis|Dulcis]] ([[User talk:Dulcis|talk]]) 08:01, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:Actually, I think Clark will end up on bottom of the phone booth. Superman must assume that noone will steal his disguise while he will do the rescuing ... meanwhile, there is lot of water in birds, but also lot of other molecules, so the transformation wouldn't work. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:08, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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::In older continuity, "Clark" (or at least his clothing) would get folded up, compressed and tucked into a pocket on the underside of the cape.... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.117|199.27.128.117]] 16:36, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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[https://www.google.com/webhp?q=where%20do%20birds%20go%20when%20it%20rains the google query] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.100|141.101.98.100]] 08:14, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Birds can use the internet? Before we know it, they will start tweeting. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 11:58, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:ICY what you did there -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:41, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:And then they'll move on to Facebeak, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:11, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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How do we know that is a pokedex? It looks more like a tablet to me. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.202|173.245.56.202]] 12:05, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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So for the transcript, I'm thinking until the full text in every screen snippet is transcribed and each source result website is identified, it will be technically incomplete - any commentary on this (?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:43, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: While maybe technically incomplete, surely we have to be sensible, and take the decision to omit text which isn't really relevant to the comic. Take the top right screenshot as an exampe, I would argue that the following should be omitted: Top left word??, Search Replies, Previous Page, Next Page, social media share/like text, Username, Text in geen, UserID: 520655, United States.. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:19, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: Agreed, as I believe I did when creating what is there right now, and as I summarized below at the same time you were writing your reply -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:31, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Alright, well, I did for the first 20 screen snippets what I think would be good to do for the remaining ones (find the source site and page, then quote what seems to be the pertinent question and answer text that is visible in the snippet, disregarding usernames, dates, categories and similar meta data). It could probably also be done for at least ten more with a bit more effort, but I don't wanna waste my time if the community just says "WAYY TOO MUCH! DELETE!!") -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:29, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I also kind of think that the transcript should have the links to the source sites (since they are screen snippets), while the explanation should have the translations for any non-english text and any needed explanation for differences in cultural context. Regardless, having links to the source sites seems unnecessary to have in BOTH places, but they're links, so... they don't take up any more room, I suppose... -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:40, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: Great job on the transcript. Personally I like the link to original source as you've done, though perhaps other would disagree. I'm tempted to say it should also be in the explanation, as that is where I assume others would expect that type of information to be. I'm actually quite impressed at what a quality page this is after only a matter of hours, especially given that it isn't the simplest comic. Images, tables, translations, original sources... Beautiful! --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:42, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: welp, I've done all I think I can do - there's one more under the Japanese one that is almost definitely from a Yahoo! Answers site, but I can't make out enough of it to identify it positively, so, its identity might be lost to Randall's archive forever *sniffle* -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:34, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: I could help out with the Dutch translation, and I could make a stub for the German one (It'd probably be wise to have a *real* German check that one though) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.86|108.162.254.86]] 16:00, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I love how this comic will inevitably increase the internet searches and queries for "Where do birds go when it rains." If this weren't the question that united us before, it certainly is now. XKCD making a difference![[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.206|108.162.219.206]] 18:24, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Not only will it increase the searches, but since it has a transcription of all of the other searches, it's the top result on Google today, too! -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:34, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The pale posting near the bottom that begins "Burung Dapat Bertahan...Hujan ?" is either Malay or Indonesian and means something like "Can birds survive...rain?" [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 23:23, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: So here is the link: https://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101215231444AAAVxSM [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 00:22, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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This search phrase will get a sky high [http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html Pigeon Rank] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.5|108.162.217.5]] 23:41, 15 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Well, there's the explanation! -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 09:38, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The non-capitalization of the German nouns in the given example is perhaps caused by the input device. I can never write proper German on my Nokia cell phone, for example, as it only capitalizes after a period/full stop. [[User:Gearoid|Gearoid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 10:57, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Usually there is a shift-key type function somewhere - is this a smart phone? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:34, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
::On some phones it is indeed a pain in the ass to capitalize mid-sentence words (as on mine), but I'm not aware of any where it's impossible to do so. Based upon that assumption it has to be classified as "laziness", I think. And as Gearoid said: "it" capitalizes. I'm quite sure you could do it manually by yourself in some way or another.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.65|141.101.64.65]] 12:17, 16 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I don't know whether birds use Google, but they certainly tweet. ;-){{unsigned ip|108.162.229.201}}<br />
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One of the screenshots is from Fairfax Underground? I live in Fairfax County! (Not underground though.) :) [[User:Flarn2006|Flarn2006]] ([[User talk:Flarn2006|talk]]) 23:12, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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This is all wrong! We know where we go when it rains, we just want to know where people think we go... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.55|108.162.240.55]] 01:41, 18 October 2014 (UTC) tweet</div>108.162.240.55