https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.246.221&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T16:17:56ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=505:_A_Bunch_of_Rocks&diff=182265505: A Bunch of Rocks2019-11-05T03:40:04Z<p>108.162.246.221: Add theory/link to surreal numbers</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 505<br />
| date = November 17, 2008<br />
| title = A Bunch of Rocks<br />
| image = a_bunch_of_rocks.png<br />
| titletext = I call Rule 34 on Wolfram's Rule 34.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] awakens to find himself trapped for eternity in an endless expanse of sand and rocks. At first, he uses this time to derive all of mathematics and physics, including {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|general relativity}}. Next Cueball creates a computer that can process any possible function, out of rocks and rules for the interaction between rocks. He then simulates a particle followed by the interactions between particles, followed by the entire universe. The amount of time it takes to simulate the change in the universe merely from one instant to the next takes an extremely long time, as the time it takes to update just one row of rocks would be eons, assuming a realistic time to place each rock.<br />
<br />
Cueball is using the rocks to build a {{w|cellular automaton}}, a computational model based on simple rules to advance from one state to the next. Certain cellular automata are {{w|Turing-complete}}, which means that they can be used to represent any conceivable algorithm if expanded infinitely, including simulating the physics of the universe. He specifically seems to be running Wolfram's {{w|Rule 110}}, which is capable of universal computation. When using Rule 110 for universal computation, one builds a background pattern, which can be seen in the comic as the pattern of smaller triangles, and then performs computation by sending out "rockets" to collide and interact with each other. Cueball can simulate the functioning of an entire universe because he has unlimited time and space (and rocks).<br />
<br />
Cueball then apologizes for any flaws we see in the simulation. This implies that the audience is living in Cueball's simulation, making Cueball essentially God, and that he might make mistakes along the way.<br />
<br />
The final frame cuts to a classroom where a bored student stares at his hands waiting for class to end. Cueball admonishes the student for thinking that class is lasting forever, the joke being that the boredom felt in a classroom is nothing compared to the boredom that inspires Cueball to spend his endless time toiling to keep the universe moving. Indeed, the minutes of lecture actually took many "billions and billions of millennia" for Cueball to simulate.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that {{w|Rule 34 (Internet meme)|Rule 34}} should be called on {{w|Elementary cellular automaton#Random initial state|Wolfram's Rule 34}}. Rule 34 (see [[305: Rule 34]]) is a humorous rule of the Internet which states "If you can imagine it, there is porn of it. No exceptions." Wolfram's Rule 34 is a cellular automaton. Therefore, the title text says that either someone has made pornography featuring the cellular automaton in question, or someone has used the cellular automaton to produce pornography.<br />
<br />
===Graphs===<br />
The three diagrams in the "Physics, too. I worked out the kinks..." panel are, from left to right:<br />
# The {{w|Normal distribution}} of the {{w|Gaussian curve}} marking the points that represent a standard deviation of σ and 2σ. This is one of the fundamental building blocks of statistics. In quantum mechanics particles are viewed as inherently random, therefore the time at which a particle will decay, the position of a particle and its velocity are all calculated using similar curves. A deviation of at least σ occurs 32% of the time where a deviation of 2σ or more occurs about 5% of the time.<br />
# The {{w|Inclined plane#History|Epitaph of Stevinus}}, an explanation of the mechanical advantage of using an {{w|inclined plane}}. The inclined plane is one of the six classical {{w|simple machine}}s, one of the fundamental building blocks of mechanical and civil engineering.<br />
# The last graph is unknown. It may represent coupled pendulums, {{w|length contraction}}, or a hypothetical solution to something we haven't derived yet.<br />
<br />
The graph that represents particle interaction is a {{w|Feynman Diagram}}. This shows the interaction of subatomic particles that collide and exchange some momentum via a photon. The slope of the middle line represents the distance moved and the time lost/gained during the interaction.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
The Swiss patent office line refers to {{w|Albert Einstein}}, who was employed as a Swiss patent clerk while coming up with his theory of special relativity. This joke is also referenced in [[1067|1067: Pressures]]. Also, there is a standing joke that very few important inventions have come from Switzerland, since the country hadn't been involved in the world wars, and thus has not been part of the weapons race, nor was it a driving force in the preceding Industrial Revolution.<br />
<br />
In the center of the comic, the binary numbers pointing to the particle are both 42. This is a reference to the comedic answer to the ''Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything'' from the ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series.<br />
<br />
Cueball mentions that if we see an artifact flutter in and out of reality he must have made a mistake in the last "billions and billions of millennia." This implies that the small period of time the artifact is present in his time is much longer than our universe has existed. That is a ''very'' long time. However, because it was a really long time, the difference could be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect more than just a small mote of dust disappearing].<br />
<br />
The line "I've rederived modern math in the sand and then some," is possibly referring to "Surreal Numbers: How two ex-students turned on to pure mathematics and found total happiness" by Donald Knuth. The {{w|Surreal number}}s are a system of numbers that includes the familiar real numbers, but are infinitely more dense. Knuth wrote a novelette about a young couple who find themselves stranded on a deserted island (much like Cueball), and spend much of their time deriving the properties of this number system from a few base axioms.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a desert with lots of rocks lying around. He is narrating his own situation. The first panel spans the entire width of the comic. The first line of text is written to the left of him, the second line to the right.]<br />
:So I'm stuck in this desert for eternity.<br />
:I don't know why. I just woke up here one day.<br />
<br />
:[The next four panels take up the second line of the comic.]<br />
:[Cueball stand in the desert.]<br />
:I never feel hungry or thirsty.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball walks in the desert.]<br />
:I just walk.<br />
<br />
:[Zooming out while Cueball continues to walk in the desert.]<br />
:Sand and rocks<br />
<br />
:[Zooming far out as Cueball again just stands in the desert. First line of text, above him, is a continuation of the text in the previous panel. The second line is below him.]<br />
:stretch to infinity.<br />
:As best as I can tell.<br />
<br />
:[The next three panels take up the third line of the comic. The last takes up half the width.]<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in the desert, in a contemplative position. First line of text above him the second below.]<br />
:There's plenty of time for thinking out here.<br />
:An eternity really.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is sketching stuff in the sand. First line of text above him the second below.]<br />
:I've rederived modern math in the sand<br />
:and then some.<br />
<br />
:[Three different graph types are depicted. First line of text above them the second below.]<br />
:Physics too. I worked out the kinks in quantum mechanics and relativity.<br />
:Took a lot of thinking, but this place has fewer distractions than a Swiss patent office.<br />
<br />
:[The next eight panels take up the fourth and fifth line of the comic. All pictures are the same size.]<br />
:[Cueball is walking along the desert, laying out rocks on a line. Four has been deployed, he is laying down the fifth and has a sixth in his other hand.]<br />
:One day I started laying down rows of rocks.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball with a rock in his hand, continues to deploy rocks 16, in a more intricate pattern. There are grid-lines in the sand (5 rows, 6 columns), with each intersection either empty of filled with a rock. No rocks lay anywhere but at an intersection on the grid.]<br />
:Each new row followed from the last in a simple pattern.<br />
<br />
:[Zooming out showing even more laid out rocks. Cueball is seen directly from above, and we see his shadow falling on the grid of rocks (7 rows, 14 columns).]<br />
:With the right set of rules and enough space,<br />
<br />
:[Continues to zoom further out showing clear triangular patterns (with no rocks) in the laid out grid of rocks. Cueball is not seen. (8 rows, 42 columns). First line of text above the grid, the second line below.]<br />
:I was able to build a computer.<br />
:Each new row of stones is the next iteration of the computation.<br />
<br />
:[Zooming far out (no Cueball) with rows intersected by five clear V lines on top of them. The V's are drawn inside each other, with the smallest V at the top right, and the other V's starting just to the right of the previous one, and then continuing the same distance past the previous V, as the total length of the first V. The "*" in the first line of text above this grid, references to the footnote below written in a smaller font.]<br />
:Sure it's rocks instead of electricity, but it's the same* thing. Just slower.<br />
:<nowiki>*Turing-complete</nowiki><br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands in contemplative pose (on a clean white background - i.e. no dessert).]<br />
:After a while, I programmed it to be a physics simulator.<br />
<br />
:[A black panel with white drawings and text. A small white dot (a particle) is labeled by two arrows coming of two binary strings.]<br />
:Every piece of information about a particle was encoded as a string of bits written in the stones.<br />
:00101010<br />
:00101010<br />
<br />
:[A Feynman diagram showing two particles interacting. Two arrows going in and out with a snaking line between them.]<br />
:With enough time and space, I could fully simulate two particles interacting.<br />
<br />
:[The next two panels take up the sixth line of the comic. The second panel takes up three quarter of the width.]<br />
:[Cueball standing before the vastness of the desert, with his programmed lines of rock stretching to infinity.]<br />
:But I have <u>infinite</u> time and space.<br />
<br />
:[A black panel with white drawings and text. Depiction of two large galaxies, one with four jets coming out of its center, the other a flat disc. Several smaller galaxies and/or stars are shown around them.]<br />
:So I decided to simulate a universe.<br />
<br />
:[The next four panels take up the seventh line of the comic. They are of similar widths.]<br />
:[Cueball is walking by his grid of rocks, lines indicate he has just thrown another rock down in its place. It falls so hard it thinks into the sand that splashes out around it. The 14 rocks above him lies on the grid, four other below this grid, have not been used yet.]<br />
:The eons blur past as I walk down a single row.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom far far out to show multiple rows of rocks. It is not very clear that there are several triangular patterns (with no rocks) in different sizes in the laid out grid of rocks. There are about 50 rows and 90 columns. There are six large triangles on top of each other at the left edge. To the right there are three even larger triangles from top to bottom, the one in the middle further to the left than the one above, but further right than the bottom one.]<br />
:The rows blur past to compute a single step.<br />
<br />
:[Shows the placement of two particles in the simulation.]<br />
:And in the simulation...<br />
<br />
:[The two particles have moved just long enough as to not overlap with their the previous position which are shown as an after-image with faint gray lines. The text continues directly the one from the previous panel.]<br />
:another instant ticks by.<br />
<br />
:[The next two panels take up the eight line of the comic. They each take up half the width.]<br />
:[A Cueball like person (you) observes a mote of dust vanish.]<br />
:So if you see a mote of dust vanish from your vision in a little flash or something<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing between two rocks on the ground, while holding two rocks, one lifted up to his head. The first line of text is above him. It is a direct continuation of the text in the previous panel. The second line stands below to the right of him.]<br />
:I'm sorry. I must have misplaced a rock<br />
:sometime in the last few billions and billions of millennia.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands in the "clean" part of his infinite desert, in front of the vastness of his infinity of infinite lines or rocks.]<br />
:Oh and...<br />
<br />
:[A Cueball like student sitting in a classroom with his head in his hands, Megan sits behind him and a teacher points to the blackboard; A clock shows the time at five minutes to ten.]<br />
:If you think the minutes in your morning lecture are taking a long time to pass for <u>''you''</u>...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2223:_Screen_Time&diff=1822322223: Screen Time2019-11-04T23:51:54Z<p>108.162.246.221: /* Explanation */ some current stats on screen time (for context), introduce idea that screen time associated with some problems</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2223<br />
| date = November 1, 2019<br />
| title = Screen Time<br />
| image = screen_time.png<br />
| titletext = These new Bluetooth socks are great, but it's troubling to learn that I average almost 14 hours of Shoe Time a day.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BLUETOOTH-ENABLED SOCK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] is reading the report from a smartphone app showing the average time each day that he was NOT looking at his phone during the hours he was awake this last week. This is a reversal of the more expected behavior for a {{w|screen time|screen-time}} app, which would normally report the amount of time spent looking at the screen. The point is that as mobile phone usage becomes more prevalent, it may be easier to comprehend to report non-screen time.<br />
<br />
People in the US spent an average of 24 hours of non-work/education screen time per week in 2015, compared to 10 hours of active leisure, according to one estimate.[[https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2016/09/13/how-free-time-became-screen-time/ How free time became screen time]] Averaged per day that comes to 3.4 hours screen time and 1.4 hours active leisure.<br />
<br />
Screen time may be associated with various undesirable conditions, such as mental health difficulties like depression, decreased activity, reduced sleep quality and quantity.<br />
<br />
In Cueball's particular case, if we assume that he is awake 16 hours a day (the average for most people), then his non-screen time average of 2 hours 48 minutes means that he spent more than 80% of his awake time last week looking at a screen. This means that while his 6% improvement is positive, he still has quite a significant habit. His previous non-screen-time would have been 2 hours 38 minutes, so he has managed to shave 10 minutes off. Increased screen time often comes at the expense of decreased sleep time, so it may not be fare to assume a constant amount of sleep.<ref>[[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5279707 Digital media use in the 2 h before bedtime is associated with sleep variables in university students]]</ref><ref>[[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945717303507 Decreases in self-reported sleep duration among U.S. adolescents 2009–2015 and association with new media screen time]]</ref><br />
<br />
Ironically, in order for Cueball to use the app, he has to be looking at his mobile screen. The increasing use of mobile devices in modern society has been a cause for concern, with many people arguing this leads to addiction, other health risks, or people simply not talking to each other.<br />
<br />
The title text parodies the idea of a screen time app by describing a "shoe time" app, which would track the amount of time a person spends wearing shoes. It's unclear what the practical use for this would be, as there is little controversy about the prevalence of shoes in our society. Possibly an app that tracks the amount of time wearing ''specific'' shoes could be useful; for example, a person suffering medical problems from wearing the wrong footwear could track the amount of time they spend wearing particular shoes, and correlate this with their health to figure out which ones are causing problems.<br />
<br />
Possibly, the point being made is that use of phones have become so constant in our lives that using them for many hours a day is as unremarkable as using shoes for many hours a day. Or, since it's the socks that are Bluetooth-enabled, they may be reporting negatively about almost constant obstruction by shoes, whereas the socks would prefer to report a much lower "Shoe Time" score.<br />
<br />
Some cultures have the custom of taking shoes off when in the house, so those people would boast lower (and presumably more favorable) "Shoe Time" scores. It may also be a reference to the "{{w|shoe phone}}" on the television show ''{{w|Get Smart}}''. (If {{w|Maxwell Smart}} wore these socks, they could track his phone usage, because his phone was in his shoe).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is looking down at his phone. The text is what he reads on the screen, as shown by a zigzag line emanating from a starburst at the top of the phone.]<br />
:Phone: Screen time report:<br />
:Phone: While awake, you averaged 2<small>H</small> 48<small>M</small> per day looking at things other than your phone. That's up 6% from last week!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]<br />
:At some point, it starts making more sense to track '''''non'''''-screen time.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2223:_Screen_Time&diff=1822242223: Screen Time2019-11-04T23:31:05Z<p>108.162.246.221: /* Explanation */ simpllify sentences. Note that screen time may reduce sleep time</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2223<br />
| date = November 1, 2019<br />
| title = Screen Time<br />
| image = screen_time.png<br />
| titletext = These new Bluetooth socks are great, but it's troubling to learn that I average almost 14 hours of Shoe Time a day.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BLUETOOTH-ENABLED SOCK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] is reading the report from a smartphone app showing the average time each day that he was NOT looking at his phone during the hours he was awake this last week. This is a reversal of the more expected behavior for a {{w|screen time|screen-time}} app, which would normally report the amount of time spent looking at the screen. The point is that as mobile phone usage becomes more prevalent, it may be easier to comprehend to report non-screen time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In Cueball's particular case, if we assume that he is awake 16 hours a day (the average for most people), then his non-screen time average of 2 hours 48 minutes means that he spent more than 80% of his awake time last week looking at a screen. This means that while his 6% improvement is positive, he still has quite a significant habit. His previous non-screen-time would have been 2 hours 38 minutes, so he has managed to shave 10 minutes off. Increased screen time often comes at the expense of decreased sleep time, so it may not be fare to assume a constant amount of sleep.<ref>[[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5279707 Digital media use in the 2 h before bedtime is associated with sleep variables in university students]]</ref><ref>[[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945717303507 Decreases in self-reported sleep duration among U.S. adolescents 2009–2015 and association with new media screen time]]</ref><br />
<br />
Ironically, in order for Cueball to use the app, he has to be looking at his mobile screen. The increasing use of mobile devices in modern society has been a cause for concern, with many people arguing this leads to addiction, other health risks, or people simply not talking to each other.<br />
<br />
The title text parodies the idea of a screen time app by describing a "shoe time" app, which would track the amount of time a person spends wearing shoes. It's unclear what the practical use for this would be, as there is little controversy about the prevalence of shoes in our society. Possibly an app that tracks the amount of time wearing ''specific'' shoes could be useful; for example, a person suffering medical problems from wearing the wrong footwear could track the amount of time they spend wearing particular shoes, and correlate this with their health to figure out which ones are causing problems.<br />
<br />
Possibly, the point being made is that use of phones have become so constant in our lives that using them for many hours a day is as unremarkable as using shoes for many hours a day. Or, since it's the socks that are Bluetooth-enabled, they may be reporting negatively about almost constant obstruction by shoes, whereas the socks would prefer to report a much lower "Shoe Time" score.<br />
<br />
Some cultures have the custom of taking shoes off when in the house, so those people would boast lower (and presumably more favorable) "Shoe Time" scores. It may also be a reference to the "{{w|shoe phone}}" on the television show ''{{w|Get Smart}}''. (If {{w|Maxwell Smart}} wore these socks, they could track his phone usage, because his phone was in his shoe).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is looking down at his phone. The text is what he reads on the screen, as shown by a zigzag line emanating from a starburst at the top of the phone.]<br />
:Phone: Screen time report:<br />
:Phone: While awake, you averaged 2<small>H</small> 48<small>M</small> per day looking at things other than your phone. That's up 6% from last week!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]<br />
:At some point, it starts making more sense to track '''''non'''''-screen time.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2210:_College_Athletes&diff=1807432210: College Athletes2019-10-02T01:39:00Z<p>108.162.246.221: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2210<br />
| date = October 2, 2019<br />
| title = College Athletes<br />
| image = college_athletes.png<br />
| titletext = Their signature play is the three-point combinator, a recursive offense which is guaranteed not to halt and continues accumulating points until the buzzer.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Steph Curry. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic is about the [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB206|California Fair Pay to Play act], which was signed into law on September 30, 2019. It gives college athletes the rights to their name and face for financial gain, in contrast to NCAA rules which require that athletes be unpaid.<br />
<br />
In this comic, Cueball claims that all members of his college basketball team changed their name to Steph Curry, after the NBA Player of the same name. In particular, one player copied the name from the NBA player, then another member of the team copied the name from that player, and so on.<br />
<br />
<br />
This process is called "Currying", a play on both the name "Curry" used here, as well as the mathematical procedure called {{w|currying}}, wherein a multivariable function is broken down into a sequence of single-variable functions, each of which outputs a new function until the final variable is consumed. For example, the function f(x,y,z) can be curried into f(x)(y)(z), where f is a function that consumes x and produces a function f(x), which in turn consumes y, yielding the function f(x)(y), and that in turn is a function f(x)(y) which consumes the parameter z to finally produce f(x)(y)(z), which is equal to the original f(x,y,z). This is not commonly used in most areas of math except for foundational logic and pure functional programming.<br />
<br />
White Hat’s reference to ‘Stephs Curry’ is likely referring to State Attorneys General. Though commonly called ‘State Attorney Generals’, ‘generals’ is an incorrect pluralization, according to convention. <br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[Cueball, Ponytail and White Hat are having a conversation.]<br />
:Ponytail [checking phone]: Oh, huh. California passed a law giving college athletes full rights to their names and images.<br />
:White Hat: Good, I think?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: That's nothing. ''Our'' state gave college players rights to use the names and images of ''any'' California athletes.<br />
:Ponytail: It did not.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Sure it did!<br />
:Cueball: That's how our school fielded a basketball team made up entirely of Steph Currys.<br />
:White Hat: Or is the plural "Stephs Curry"?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: They didn't all copy the original Steph, though. One player got the rights to his name, then the next player got it from them, and so on.<br />
:Cueball: This process is known as "currying".<br />
:Ponytail: ...I hate you so much.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2209:_Fresh_Pears&diff=1806542209: Fresh Pears2019-09-30T18:08:19Z<p>108.162.246.221: A basic rough draft of the comic as I understand it.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2209<br />
| date = September 30, 2019<br />
| title = Fresh Pears<br />
| image = fresh_pears.png<br />
| titletext = I want to sell apples but I'm still working on getting the machine to do the cutting and grafting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Megan tries to purchase fresh pears from a vending machine. She asks Beret guy, presumably the creator of said machine why it's not working. He explains that it just takes a while to work. To the left we see the machine dispensing a seed into the dirt. Above it is a robotic arm and a hopper for collecting and dispensing the ripened pears.<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2209:_Fresh_Pears&diff=1806532209: Fresh Pears2019-09-30T18:02:19Z<p>108.162.246.221: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2209<br />
| date = September 30, 2019<br />
| title = Fresh Pears<br />
| image = fresh_pears.png<br />
| titletext = I want to sell apples but I'm still working on getting the machine to do the cutting and grafting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PEAR VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1305:_Undocumented_Feature&diff=180468Talk:1305: Undocumented Feature2019-09-26T02:46:46Z<p>108.162.246.221: Comment</p>
<hr />
<div><br />
<br />
:;Please never edit existing posts at the talk page! Just add your content! And NEVER edit foreign posts! Use the "Sign Button" on top of editor or type this at the END of your post <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. This will add the IP or User and a timestamp to the END of your post.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20&#58;53, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The last panel reminds me of Mastodon.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 02:46, 26 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This sound pretty cool... Anyone know if it's real or which tool it's in? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.222|173.245.55.222]] 05:53, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* its real, there are 8 other users, but must stay a secret. {{unsigned ip|108.162.231.233}}<br />
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* There is no secret chat room, stop looking for it. It doesn't exist. Look for your own island on the interweb, don't come spoil ours. [[User:scr_admin|scr_admin]]<br />
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* A little bit of googling around gave me a strong candidate. Apparently the relevant tool can even run on Windows 10 (found as part of said googling), although it requires mucking about with bat files and icons to achieve its full original functionality. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.160|172.68.54.160]] 05:34, 27 September 2018 (UTC)<br />
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* I found my own little secret chat room, but it's not to do with Windows, instead it's in MacOS 7. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.98|141.101.77.98]] 23:49, 12 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
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Okay, let's be honest: how many of us, upon seeing today's comic, immediately went here to see if it was real or not? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.4|108.162.245.4]] 07:47, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* I honestly did just that. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.137|173.245.53.137]] 08:06, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* I also just did that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.206|108.162.231.206]] 08:07, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* I didn't start up my VM to test it, but I came here to see if was real >.< [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.56|108.162.216.56]] 09:47, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* I also did that. But I take that, if it is real and someone uncovers it, it may destroy that community... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.123|173.245.53.123]] 10:28, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* Same here. If it is real, I sincerely hope Randall has a) wiresharked it to find out where this chat room resides so he can prod the admin if it ever goes down b) has a backup plan to migrate himself and his friends to some other private chat room. It won't have the same mystery surrounding it, but at least it's something. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.222|108.162.231.222]] 10:51, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:;Please never edit existing posts at the talk page! Just add your content! And NEVER edit foreign posts! Use the "Sign Button" on top of editor or type this at the END of your post <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. This will add the IP or User and a timestamp to the END of your post.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20&#58;53, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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It's not about Youtube, but Facebook, which just launched AUTOPLAYING video ads. Look at the title text, it's about Facebook's real name policy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.232|108.162.231.232]] 08:11, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* I wouldn't limit the scope of this commentary just to Facebook; YouTube's been doing autoplaying video ads for years. YouTube's also been asking for real names recently. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.200|108.162.212.200]] 14:26, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* The video ads thing is definitely related to Facebook, but the title text is probably a reference to Youtube recently asking continuously to switch to the real name of google plus account and not the nickname many used on YouTube. Edited the explanation accordingly, since there was no reference to the title text. Spesknight [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.216|108.162.231.216]] 09:08, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I just searched after reading - and found this site! -- {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.247}}<br />
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* The real secret place is here! {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.75}}<br />
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* So THIS is the secret chat [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.7|108.162.229.7]] 09:50, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* One day this place will be forgotten and so will we. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.197|108.162.231.197]] 09:52, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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anyone else recognizes the wonderful tcp-ip explanation movie of Ericsson [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hymzoUpM0K0 Dawn of the net] in frames 6 till 10? [User:Tesshavon|Tesshavon]] ([[User talk:Tesshavon|talk]])<br />
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* Tesshavon you're in my mind ! Also, the 6th frame is comes from one of the most common Friends posters (see e.g. here : [http://www.infinitydish.com/tvblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Friends-friends-69087_1024_768.jpg Friends] ) [[User:dandraka|dandraka]]<br />
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It's true. Small online communities offer a more folksy experience than the online giants. Some of the best places to hang out are BBS's that made it onto the Internet and have been there for 25+ years. {{unsigned ip|216.150.130.111}}<br />
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Well there's always IRC... {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.30}}<br />
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:;Please never edit existing posts at the talk page! Just add your content! And NEVER edit foreign posts! Use the "Sign Button" on top of editor or type this at the END of your post <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. This will add the IP or User and a timestamp to the END of your post.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20&#58;53, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I've rewritten all the explanation.<br />
As far as I'm concerned, I'd remove the incomplete box.<br />
I just keep it because it's likely that someone else will feel something is missing.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.180|173.245.53.180]] 15:27, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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If you're interested in a tightknit community out on the fringes of the Net, go join a MUD. Some are combat oriented, some are roleplay and chat oriented, all are text-based, and many have largely the same exact userbase as they had twenty years ago. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.228|108.162.212.228]] 15:48, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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* If you want a really small and odd community check out the Plato network, you have to emulate a terminal from the late 70's early 80's to use it. --[[User:DECtape|DECtape]] ([[User talk:DECtape|talk]]) 00:27, 15 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Hmm i think randall also wants to share his believs in the subcontext of the comic, the reason why we live on erth as a random error, the sysadmin who probably sees it all(=god), the question what will happen after all that is gone (his opinion, that our lives are compelty senseless)..etc. {{unsigned ip|108.162.254.161}}<br />
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* Anyone else think of comic 37 when reading the last panel (due to the ambiguity of whether he is talking about fucking "video ads" or "fucking video" ads)? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.227|173.245.50.227]] 18:31, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Yes, of COURSE I came here to see if it really exists! I don't know if there's actually a chatroom as described, but Usenet has become much smaller, has no ads, and doesn't require you to know the secret application to get in. IIf a text experience with no ads appeals, dump FB, come back to Usenet! Tell 'em Sea Wasp sent you! :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.186|108.162.219.186]] 19:15, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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*Shhh! You're forgetting the first rule of Usenet! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.6|173.245.54.6]] 17:57, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:;Please never edit existing posts at the talk page! Just add your content! And NEVER edit foreign posts! Use the "Sign Button" on top of editor or type this at the END of your post <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. This will add the IP or User and a timestamp to the END of your post.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20&#58;53, 18 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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It's obviously about life and religion. The sysadmin who never writes anything must be there to keep everything running, because else the chat would stop to exist. Like most religions contribute to a god who is never seen or heard. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.232|108.162.231.232]] 08:03, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I'm wondering if he got this idea from Starship Titanic. They had a very similar thing happen. [http://www.metafilter.com/98848/The-Post-That-Cannot-Possibly-Go-Wrong#3435156 See this epic MeFi comment from the self-described "main web hacker" behind Starship Titanic's web site.] [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.119|199.27.128.119]] 17:29, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I've made several edits to clean up the explanation. Not sure whether I should remove the incomplete tag or not. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.227|173.245.52.227]] 17:57, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Please don't do that. A comic at this size isn't complete within one or two days. Removing the incomplete tag is a minor issue, explaining is the major one. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:46, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I don't really see why the trivia should be there. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 20:29, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
:This content was moved from the explain section to a trivia section by me. It still needs some rework but it belongs to "old Windows utilities" like Randall is talking about here at the first panel.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:46, 19 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Reminds me of MUDs. I still check in on New Moon [http://eclipse.cs.pdx.edu/] a few times a year. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.236.25|108.162.236.25]] 16:15, 20 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I see what you mean. For me it's the Discworld MUD. But it could similarly (i.e. not exactly like the comic suggests) apply to some long-term Usenet groups that I (in)frequent. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 16:22, 20 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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It may not be the tool from the comic, but people here might be interested in: http://kurlander.net/DJ/Projects/ComicChat/resources.html {{unsigned|Jvfrmtn}}<br />
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If this chatroom was real I'd love to see it. I know ts not though. Of course what if there's a little fridge horror in this comic? Like a chatroom 98 sort of thing? Maybe the sysadmin or the people Cueball and the others are talking to are really ghosts or souls that were sucked into an old server forever doomed to spend their days talking to themselves until another unsuspecting user is sucked in.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.36|108.162.215.36]] 02:54, 23 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Ido: Can someone explain why the URL www.xkcd.com/test reference to this strip? looks like an undocumented feature to me :) {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.220}}<br />
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:It doesn't anymore… [[User:Varal7|Varal7]] ([[User talk:Varal7|talk]]) 19:03, 20 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
::It now displays to [[1367: Installing]]. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 01:11, 23 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I was doing some searching on the internet, and found, in addition to the one/few on this page, some people who said/implied that they have used this chat before, although, like anything on the internet, the claims may not be true. (Links: http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/436369-does-this-actually-exist [see comments 3, 12, and 14], http://pastebin.com/95nGh8Hk [Says it exists, but doesn't elaborate]) [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 22:02, 12 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I used to be part of something very similar to to what the comic describes (but not exactly the same). When AOL first started, it was a completely 'walled garden' with no access to the internet. Old folks will remember how popular brands used to advertise on TV that you should go to their 'AOL Keyword' instead of a web site URL. Check Wikipedia for more about this. Anyway, AOL had its own set of message boards, for many popular topics, which were not connected to the internet and could only be accessed by other AOL members. I was just a kid. I went exploring through a bunch of message boards about niche topics until I found one with a community that I came to like. We had all kinds of off-topic conversations, and, the moderators having long since gone, it came to resemble its original topical purpose very little. The ages were not kind to AOL, and our group grew smaller and smaller as the AOL service gained a connection to the real internet (including the WWW and Usenet) and not as many new people bothered to look at AOL-only message boards any more. Eventually, the Keyword that accessed our special board stopped working and it was dropped from the public directory that lists all the areas of AOL. But we found a workaround: AOL had its own quasi-URL system that was mostly only used internally in the software and not usually exposed directly through the UI. But, those of us who had directly bookmarked the message board could still access it that way, and we found a way to share the aol:// URL amongst ourselves. Just like in the comic, we couldn't figure out why the message board still worked at all, for many years after it was no longer publicly visible anywhere, and wondered if some sysadmins with a sense of humour at AOL were watching us. It was fun in a way, a secret place all to ourselves. But it was also kind of sad, when sometimes months would go where noone posted. The UI would sometimes get migrated to a newer version with no notice, and then rolled back again just as abruptly. Old messages would suddenly disappear, become resurrected and then disappear again. Eventually, the thing that finally killed it was that one by one, we each stopped paying for AOL as we found better ISPs and couldn’t justify the expense. It would have been easy enough to move to another web site or chat program, and at first, some of us tried to recreate it elsewhere, but it was never really the same, and we could never get the same group completely back together again. But I guess that's how life is anyway: people drift apart. Despite that, many of us still keep in touch and have become very close friends, some of us even in real life. It's good to have friends. xxj{{unsigned|Xxj}}<br />
:TL;DR! Keep your comments short. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:57, 23 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
::If you really didn't read that, Dgbrt, you missed out (what are you, from Twitter? everything has to be 160 characters or the ADD kicks in?). It was worth it, for an old internet hand/AOLer. That is too often how life is, xxj; thanks for posting it. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by nostalgia for some old AOL and GameFaqs message boards, now... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.77|108.162.219.77]] 03:17, 28 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::This is a typical reaction to misuse my reaction. If you look at my contributions here you would know that I'm really NOT a TWITTER man. I don't like Twitter and AOL was always a big mess by it's time. But including some paragraphs, writing shorter sentences, and I wouldn't have posted my "TL;DR!" reply. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:30, 28 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The comic says it's an "old" Windows utility, but the UI in the picture can be from no older than Windows 95. Native Win95 software still runs on modern PCs without resorting to a VM, doesn't it? Did Randall forget how a window looked in Windows 3.1? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.77|108.162.216.77]] 06:49, 30 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: An old Windows 95 ''program'' may be able to run on modern systems, but an old ''utility'' may be very tightly tied to that particular system. --[[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 08:37, 1 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I think the reason for the cartoon is to explain chat room vs Facebook/twitter, and rather then say "IRC", which could be misunderstood (as being very large ?), he made up the hidden utility chat room.... this utilities chatroom would explain how there could be a small chatroom that is not filled with mindless *MERE USERS* ... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.205|108.162.249.205]] 06:17, 22 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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"whereas Ponytail is still using an old computer (as evidenced by the CRT monitor)." No, it doesn't. A modern computer can still perfectly use old CRTs. I did it myself a while back, while my LCD was being replaced. All it takes is a VGA connection, and I'm not sure whether modern computers are coming without any VGA connection at all, be it in the mobo or the GPU (at least high end GPUs are dropping VGA support). Anyway, that's not an evidence. It '''hints''' that Ponytail may be using an old computer. I shall fix it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.125|108.162.219.125]] 03:39, 7 February 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:Ponytail is using a modern computer; the panel is set years ago before "the internet aged". Also why do the sevens have lines through them? It's increasingly common these days, but is that a facility or a habit of Randall's?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 10:54, 25 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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<!-- Remember: The actual undocumented xkcd chat room can be found by [[1506:_xkcloud/Transcript|not contacting us]]. –'TisTheAlmondTavern', 13:45, 17 January 2017 (UTC) --></div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1435:_Presidential_Alert&diff=77495Talk:1435: Presidential Alert2014-10-19T14:04:25Z<p>108.162.246.221: </p>
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<div>Do you think this has to do with the Floss joke on Reddit at all? [[User:Kllrshrk|Kllrshrk]] ([[User talk:Kllrshrk|talk]]) 04:11, 17 October 2014 (UTC) Kllrshrk<br />
:I don't know about floss joke on reddit, tell me more [[Special:Contributions/103.31.5.112|103.31.5.112]] 04:32, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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::http://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2j6pxs/whats_the_joke_with_then_floss/ [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:38, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:Randall knows reddit; this is most likely a reference.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:34, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:I was thinking that it had something to do with the broadcast he did yesterday (Thursday Oct 16) on the subject of Ebola -- where he really said nothing, other than pamper a bit to the Fox News people, promising an Ebola-czar if he felt it would help [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I'm going to suggest that the hover text is based on a faked misunderstanding of First Amendment law... the President, as part of the government, can't suggest a preference for one religion over others, including when he's talking to his own children. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}<br />
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: Disagree: Mentioning "God" does not signal any preference of any particular religion -- there is (at least one) god in them all, albeit in religions with more than one god they have individual names where in religions with only one god they may not have a name at all [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:: First off, I said it was a FAKED misunderstanding. Second, no, not all religions have a god in them, capitalized or not. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}<br />
::: For a religion to exist there must be a belief in a superior being outside of the normal perception -- whether they are spirits or other forms of non-directly-observable the naming should entities should remain irrelevant as to whether they are gods or not -- it would help if you could mention one religion who has not gods or supernatural-god-like beings in it :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
::::Tell that to the Buddhists. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 14:04, 19 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:: There are arguments regarding talking about your capital-G God ((one) proper name of the generic christian god) as opposed to talking about your small-g god (who might have a specific name, whether Jehova, Allah, Osiris, Odin, Quetzovercoatl or, indeed, God). But that's for etymologists to discuss, probably. Or entomologists, when they're fed up talking about whether Bugs are bugs and are trying to relax by not talking shop. HTH, HAND. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 10:19, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
::: While continuing talking shop -- I beleive that both all christian religions as well as Jews are referring to God with a capital 'G' -- and Muslims are referring to Allah as "the one God", and hence capital G-God is not necessarily the christian God -- however if you ask ''"which God is he referring to"'' you may be mistaken for an atheist [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I read the comic a bit differently: supposing the President accidentally pressed "The Button" (started nuclear war), he would appear on television to tell the country about the impending catastrophe. However, once on TV he can't bring himself to tell everyone that he started a nuclear war by mistake, so he opts for something rather lame and exits -- it will all be over soon anyway.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.191|141.101.104.191]] 07:53, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Feeling a bit down today? --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:05, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I had the exact same idea - that he meant to tell them: "you're all gonna die soon" or something similar but decided not to and was desperately trying to find something else to say. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 18:33, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Where does the "President Cueball" come from? I assumed it was Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:07, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Also the fact that the title text is definitely about Obama implies that the comic features Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 12:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The alt-text seems like an unnecessary swipe at President Obama. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 09:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Everything that occurs here is necessary. [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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An phone app called Pushbullet recently began pushing xkcds to my phone, and Dashclock places the titles of pushes to my lock screen. Where I'm going with this, if you haven't guessed, is that I found my phone in my bed after 3 AM and blearily woke it to be greeted with a red lock screen reading '''Presidential Alert''' <br />
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A big thank-you to everyone to made my 4 AM wakefulness possible. – [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Anybody else old enough to remember this Spitting Image/Genesis video (http://youtu.be/1pkVLqSaahk)? [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:09, 17 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Regarding the title text, I don't think the joke is that the president would confuse "good night" and "God bless America." It is very common for the United States President to conclude evening speeches with something like "Good night. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America." For a similar example, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMzidfyxrI (which I just found as a random example). [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 22:25, 17 October 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1404:_Quantum_Vacuum_Virtual_Plasma&diff=73078Talk:1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma2014-08-06T20:18:00Z<p>108.162.246.221: The wikipedia articles say that EmDrive and QVPT are similar devices.</p>
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<div>This is another one of Randall's knocks on pseudoscience... I've seen things like this before, where the guy puts 1000's of volts between a piece of tinfoil and a wire and is amazed that the thing (weighing a few grams) flies around. I'd search for it for reference but it's late here and I'm tired [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.209|173.245.54.209]] 04:41, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Here is the article referenced: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140006052.pdf [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.83|199.27.128.83]] 05:24, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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20 kW is probably not from any reference, but just to summarize the history of claims in a vivid manner. The news surge was predicated about the prestige of the NASA organization attaching to any tiny lab under the aegis even though the paper was not in a peer-reviewed top journal but the very last presentation made at a multi-day conference. The NASA abstract differs wildly from the abstract of the same-date paper (or draft). http://rghost.net/57230791 \\ Other coverage from the skeptical side goes a bit into the history of similar microwaves-in-a-funny-shaped-can claims, where the reported thrust seems to diminish as the sensitivity of the measurement. http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ http://blogs.scienceforums.net/swansont/archives/15155 https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/C7vx2G85kr4 And finally may I close with a reference to Tooth-Fairy-(pseudo)science. http://www.skepdic.com/toothfairyscience.html [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.118|199.27.128.118]] 05:41, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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What I'm missing is any reference to NASA being the third party to conduct this experiment and the third to witness these results. So while this looks an awful lot like Tooth-Fairy-science, it still raises the question of what the hell is going on there? Usually these pseudo-science experiments fail on reproduction or are only reproduced by non-scientists. - Nine [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.59|141.101.104.59]] 06:46, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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More than a decade ago a few weird Italian guys already demostrated more than a twitch. Italian Army officials ("Esercito") were not that impressed. Their bizarre website http://Www.asps.it mostly dedicated to pseudo-religious stuff and fighting trolls, repeatedly states that technical details won't be shared until a patent is definitely granted. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.182|108.162.229.182]] 06:58, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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;Fancy way of building an (ordinary) photon drive<br />
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A bit of context:<br />
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The idea of using virtual particles/quantum foam as your reaction mass has been around for a while. This turns out to just be an overly-complicated way of building a photon drive. If you accelerate a charge (real or virtual), it'll spit out photons. If you interact with charged virtual particles in a way that results in real thrust (by accelerating them), the photons you get out are real photons, and you pay for them in the usual manner (they cost you energy).<br />
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If you're building a photon drive, a heating element and a mirror work just as well.<br />
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As for the anomalous thrust in the experiments, there are a huge number of ways that you can get that from an experiment that isn't set up sufficiently carefully. The fact that two different experiments got vastly different measurements is a very big hint that something was flawed with at least one of them (possibly both).<br />
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Among other things, generating intense microwaves involves large electric currents. If any part of your apparatus is made of metal (and lots of this was), ordinary EM forces produce quite a few contaminating effects that are a royal pain to account for, especially if you're trying to measure an effect much weaker than they are. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 09:26, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I don't like how the sciencey posts use a lot of scientific terms without explaining them. I thought the purpose of this site was to make xkcd accessible for all people, science laymen included, but sometimes these explanations obfuscate more than they help. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.188|141.101.99.188]] 10:46, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
: +1 -- I would suggest a rewrite of the explanation with that in mind. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 12:15, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I don't see any "joke on quantum superposition". Either explain what the jokes are or remove that claim? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.162|141.101.98.162]] 12:08, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
: That was a "correction" of "quantum supposition" which made more sense. Chad Orzel makes an ''actual'' joke about quantum superposition: "Most physicists I know have reacted to this with some linear combination of “heavy sigh” and “eye roll.”" Anyway, I have edited away the superposition by rewriting the description of the last panel. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.118|199.27.128.118]] 16:02, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I see a sex joke in "If you pumped 20 kw into me, I'd twitch a lot" and "I do a lot of things". {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.43}}<br />
:1. Sign your posts<br />
:2. Remind me never to have sex with you<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.209|173.245.54.209]] 14:08, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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;Not "a violation of conservation of momentum"<br />
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Please can someone senior in this community update this as I don't want to get I to an edit war. Unfortunately the media has been conflating the idea between the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmDrive |EmDrive]] and a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_vacuum_plasma_thruster |Quantum vacuum plasma thruster]] as Roger Shawyer has been talking about both. NASA tested the idea of a Quantum vacuum plasma thruster which does not violate conservation of momentum<br />
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--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.213|173.245.56.213]] 15:06, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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: NASA did not test "the idea of a Quantum vacuum plasma thruster" -- In 2013, a very small group of researchers at NASA tested a pair of RF devices supplied to them for 2 days (and 6 days of setting up the tests). One was supposed to produce thrust in empty space while the other wasn't. But both devices were tested in air and very similar results recorded for both. Therefore either the test was flawed or the devices did not operate sufficiently different from each other to measure. Thus the "idea" was not tested, only the supplied devices and the testing protocol. In that the devices were allegedly designed to demonstrate designs to take advantage/not take advantage of the so-called "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," then to the extent where NASA might have tested a new physics principle, they certainly did not validate it. They also tested (in 2014) a much different Shawyer-type microwaves-in-a-can RF load, and got similar results. The details of the testing (and a misleading section on the vacuum capabilities of the chamber and a weird part on interplanetary trajectories) are in the pre-print.<br />
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: But as for conservation of momentum, the principle claim is that the "Quantum vacuum plasma thruster" imparts momentum on the microwave cavity while balancing opposite momentum goes where? Since the vacuum has no state of motion and no momentum, not here. Since no microwaves or other particles are emitted, not here. Thus the claim violates conservation of momentum. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.118|199.27.128.118]] 15:55, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:After reading both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_vacuum_plasma_thruster Quantum vacuum plasma thruster] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmDrive EmDrive], it seems that they're the same type of device. In particular, scroll down near the bottom of the EmDrive article, and you can see that they're using "interacting with virtual particles" as one of the justifications for it working. Both articles also cite several of the same experiments in their introductions. The physical description of both devices was similar (resonant microwave cavities), differing only in specific cavity geometry.<br />
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:And yes, they would have had to be tested in vacuum for a serious test. If you have strong electric fields in air, the air will move (because you'll bleed charge into it, and it'll then be accelerated by the electric field; that's how those tinfoil "lifter" devices work). You'd also have to put it in an RF-absorbing chamber, to avoid resonant interactions with the chamber walls (which can cause your device to be displaced from what you think its neutral position should be; force only costs power while you're moving, so this would look like deflection with no net power applied after the system stabilizes). -[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 20:17, 6 August 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.246.221https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1404:_Quantum_Vacuum_Virtual_Plasma&diff=73028Talk:1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma2014-08-06T09:26:15Z<p>108.162.246.221: /* Fancy way of building an (ordinary) photon drive */ new section</p>
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<div>This is another one of Randall's knocks on pseudoscience... I've seen things like this before, where the guy puts 1000's of volts between a piece of tinfoil and a wire and is amazed that the thing (weighing a few grams) flies around. I'd search for it for reference but it's late here and I'm tired [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.209|173.245.54.209]] 04:41, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Here is the article referenced: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140006052.pdf [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.83|199.27.128.83]] 05:24, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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20 kW is probably not from any reference, but just to summarize the history of claims in a vivid manner. The news surge was predicated about the prestige of the NASA organization attaching to any tiny lab under the aegis even though the paper was not in a peer-reviewed top journal but the very last presentation made at a multi-day conference. The NASA abstract differs wildly from the abstract of the same-date paper (or draft). http://rghost.net/57230791 \\ Other coverage from the skeptical side goes a bit into the history of similar microwaves-in-a-funny-shaped-can claims, where the reported thrust seems to diminish as the sensitivity of the measurement. http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ http://blogs.scienceforums.net/swansont/archives/15155 https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/C7vx2G85kr4 And finally may I close with a reference to Tooth-Fairy-(pseudo)science. http://www.skepdic.com/toothfairyscience.html [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.118|199.27.128.118]] 05:41, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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What I'm missing is any reference to NASA being the third party to conduct this experiment and the third to witness these results. So while this looks an awful lot like Tooth-Fairy-science, it still raises the question of what the hell is going on there? Usually these pseudo-science experiments fail on reproduction or are only reproduced by non-scientists. - Nine [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.59|141.101.104.59]] 06:46, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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More than a decade ago a few weird Italian guys already demostrated more than a twitch. Italian Army officials ("Esercito") were not that impressed. Their bizarre website http://Www.asps.it mostly dedicated to pseudo-religious stuff and fighting trolls, repeatedly states that technical details won't be shared until a patent is definitely granted. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.182|108.162.229.182]] 06:58, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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== Fancy way of building an (ordinary) photon drive ==<br />
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A bit of context:<br />
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The idea of using virtual particles/quantum foam as your reaction mass has been around for a while. This turns out to just be an overly-complicated way of building a photon drive. If you accelerate a charge (real or virtual), it'll spit out photons. If you interact with charged virtual particles in a way that results in real thrust (by accelerating them), the photons you get out are real photons, and you pay for them in the usual manner (they cost you energy).<br />
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If you're building a photon drive, a heating element and a mirror work just as well.<br />
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As for the anomalous thrust in the experiments, there are a huge number of ways that you can get that from an experiment that isn't set up sufficiently carefully. The fact that two different experiments got vastly different measurements is a very big hint that something was flawed with at least one of them (possibly both).<br />
<br />
Among other things, generating intense microwaves involves large electric currents. If any part of your apparatus is made of metal (and lots of this was), ordinary EM forces produce quite a few contaminating effects that are a royal pain to account for, especially if you're trying to measure an effect much weaker than they are. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 09:26, 6 August 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.246.221