https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.158.121&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T14:07:39ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2150:_XKeyboarCD&diff=1742022150: XKeyboarCD2019-05-17T00:36:20Z<p>162.158.158.121: restoring escaped leopards</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2150<br />
| date = May 15, 2019<br />
| title = XKeyboarCD<br />
| image = xkeyboarcd.png<br />
| titletext = The key caps use LCD displays for all the vowels, so they can automatically adjust over the years to reflect ongoing vowel shifts while allowing you to keep typing phonetically.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LEOPARD USING AN XKEYBOARCD. Seems to be finished, could someone check it again before deleting this tag? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the same vein as the [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], the XKeyboarCD seems to be an overly inventive and borderline ludicrous keyboard intended for some unknown audience. It has an assortment of features (some fairly normal, some more exotic) which give it a..."diverse skill set". <br />
<br />
This is the second time that the "xkcd" has been used around a middle word, which uses some of the xkcd letters to form this word. The first was [[1506: xkcloud]] - XKC lou D, to spell ClouD with the C and D from XKCD, in that comic the letters where all lowercase. In this comic the Keyboard, has an X before the word and a C before the D with the xkcd letters capitalized.<br />
<br />
*'''54 Configurable Rubik's Keys'''<br />
The smaller cubes on a {{w|Rubik's cube}} resemble computer keys, so this feature makes fun of that by adding a spinnable Rubik's cube above the keyboard. The implication is that the keys would be 'configured' by solving the cube into the required state, although parity means that not all configurations could be reached by conventional means. To overcome this, the keys would need to be software-programmable, the equivalent of removing the stickers (or keycaps in this case), obviating the need to manipulate the cube as a twisty puzzle. Additionally, the rearmost keys would obviously be hard to see/reach.<br />
<br />
*'''Hardcoded Plastic Keys for the 5 Most Useful Emoji'''<br />
This feature parodies the feature of some laptop-keyboards where it is possible to dynamically assign emojis to a small touchscreen area. Which emojis would be "the most useful" is highly subjective. For example in the comic it shows the quite popular laughing with tears emoji, along with the octopus emoji and others. Notably, the "aerial tramway" was once the least-used emoji, and remains very rarely used.<br />
The large size and central position of the keys make their usefulness even more questionable.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Emoji<br />
! Name<br />
|-<br />
| 😰<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/ Anxious Face With Sweat]<br />
|-<br />
| 😂<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/face-with-tears-of-joy/ Face With Tears of Joy]<br />
|-<br />
| 🐙<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/octopus/ Octopus]<br />
|-<br />
| 🏇<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/horse-racing/ Horse Racing]<br />
|-<br />
| 🚡<br />
| [https://emojipedia.org/aerial-tramway/ Aerial Tramway]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
*'''Serif Lock'''<br />
{{w|Serifs}} are small lines on the ends of certain characters in fonts such as Times New Roman and Georgia. It is dependent on the font, not on the key pressed; "A" is represented by the same code regardless of its font. Since a given font almost always either has or doesn't have serifs, this key seems challenging to implement. This key could be implemented, however, by simply changing between a pair of fonts when it is pressed. What's more, the button is placed roughly where left shift is on most keyboards, liable to cause frustration.<br />
<br />
*'''Unlimited Key Travel'''<br />
On a keyboard, key travel refers to the distance the key moves between its unpressed and pressed states. In reality, laptop keys only move a few millimeters before bottoming out, and conventional keyboards up to about a centimeter. An increased key travel may make typing more comfortable. However, the usefulness of having unlimited key travel is unclear, and the question of how this would be physically possible in the keyboard depicted remains unanswered. <br />
<br />
*'''Diagonal Spacebar'''<br />
Instead of a wide key at the bottom that typists can hit easily with either thumb, we now have a tall, narrow key that requires being pressed with the right pinkie. This would not be a good change since most peoples' pinkies are their weakest finger.<br />
<br />
*'''Arrow Key (Rotate to Adjust Direction)'''<br />
Most computers have four {{w|arrow keys}}: up, left, right, and down. However, the XKeyboarCD just has one that can be rotated. This has the added bonus of allowing the arrow keys to point more than four different directions. While innovative, its utility is questionable given trackpoint devices which provide more intuitive joystick-like control. It also comes at the cost of compatibility with certain programs, such as older video games. It would also be awkward to operate as going from horizontally left to horizontally right, for example, would require the user to rotate the key first and then press it which wastes precious time when playing a video game. There is also the problem of allowing unlimited rotation, requiring the combination of a keyswitch and angle-selection mechanism (perhaps the keycap mounted on a long square rotatable rod, keying through dual opposing potentiometers and onto a conventional key switch). This would be mechanically complex which adds to the cost of the keyboard. <br />
<br />
*'''15 Puzzle-Style Numberpad'''<br />
A {{w|15 puzzle}} is a square containing fifteen smaller squares and one blank spot, which allows the squares to be moved around. The squares are shuffled and then reassembled as a game or pastime, and are usually labelled 1-15 (as is the case here) or, when assembled properly, create a picture. A {{w|Numeric keypad|numberpad}} in this style would be frustrating to use for typing numbers, as they could shift (or be shifted) around, but could provide a fun feature to use as a game. How this would be used to generate numeric input is unclear, but the presence of 16 positions suggests {{w|hexadecimal}} input is possible. Keyboard keypads do have around 15 keys, but only 0-9 usually have numbers whereas the XKCD keypad has numbers 10-15 instead of the more conventional arithmetic operators, enter, and decimal point.<br />
<br />
*'''Ergonomic Design'''<br />
The cylindrical portion of the keyboard is advertised as being an ergonomic design. Ergonomic keyboards do tend to be curved, to follow natural arm and finger movements more closely, and some ergonomic keyboards come in unconventional form factors, such as vertical keyboards, to allow the user's hands to rest in more neutral positions or to change positions throughout the day. However, the cylinder shape presented here requires the user to lift and twist his arms to reach certain keys, which would be an even more strenuous motion than typing on a standard keyboard. <br />
<br />
*'''Title Text'''<br />
The title text references sound changes in languages. Every language (and indeed, every dialect) routinely undergoes changes in its sounds and phonemes, in a mostly regular and systematic way. While not only vowels are affected, in languages with many vowels such as English, they're particularly likely to shift around and/or merge. While having dynamic keycaps that change can actually come in handy, the feature of only having vowels change in response to sound shifts is a bit less so.<br />
<br />
First, while changes in how we pronounce words are always ongoing, the way we write words down tends to stay relatively static, and thahs wiy wuhd faynd thaet werds biykahm ihncaampriyhehnsihbuhl duw tuw now laanger biyihng spehlld aes they wer bihfaor. Second, English only uses five glyphs (aeiou) and a variety of methods to represent four times as many vowel sounds, so the software would need to have a way to handling that (in some dialects "bird" and "turn" for example, have the same vowel but are represented by "ir" and "ur"). Third, vowel shifts are not ubiquitous: the {{w|Caught-cot merger}}, for example, is a phenomenon happening across some parts (but not all) of the US and UK. Therefore, while some people would say "caught" and "cot have the same vowel it should be spelled the same by the keyboard, but others would say they're two different vowels and should not be spelled identically. Fourth, sound shifts tend to occur over a relatively long period of time (in terms of human lifetimes), so a user would probably find the keycaps only change once or twice. All in all, this is not a very useful feature.<br />
<br />
An alternative explanation is that the keys actually map to the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} and converts what you type into English words (and the vowel changes). The IPA is an alphabet used in linguistics and language teaching, designed to represent every phoneme present in languages of the world unambiguously, with optional modifiers to indicate more subtle nuances in pronunciation, intonation and speech pathology. This alphabet consists of 107 letters and 56 modifiers (with some letters shared with the Latin and Greek alphabets), which would explain the large number of keys. In that case, the feature remains questionable since it only handles vowel shifts and not consonants, and anybody who'd use an IPA-keyboard would probably need to type out the phonology of other languages and appreciate not having to find a key has moved because English has undergone a vowel shift.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Headings above a drawing of a very special keyboard:]<br />
:Introducing the <br />
:<big>XKeyboarCD</big><br />
:A keyboard for powerful users and their powerful fingers®<br />
<br />
:[The keyboard has many more keys than a usual Keyboard. Usual keyboards for stationary computers typically have a few of the rows with 21 keys, and then some with fewer. This Keyboard has 28 keys on the top row. The other rows have special keys that make it difficult to compare, but there is basically also room for 28 in the bottom row, except one spot where there is one key in a space for 2x2 keys. Begining from the bottom and coutning keys there are 27. Skipping those that take up space in two or more rows, when going to the next row from the bottom there are 23, then 24, then 18, then 27 and finally 28 keys in the top row, for a total of 147 keys (vs 105 on a regular keyboard). Then there are 54 extra keys above the keyboard to the left (27 shown) and 156 in 6 rows of 26 to the right for a total of 357 keys 330 shown. All six rows have keys all the way over with no empty space in between, as there are on regular keyboards. Also there are no space between the top row (with F1 button etc) and those below. At each side of the keyboard the keys do no align at the edges, which is normally the case. The keyboard has several special features, most of which are labeled. The only special features that is not labeled is a small square with 2x2 keys that are elevated a bit above all other keys. It is in the region above the normal position of the four arrows. All eight other special features have an arrow pointing to them from their labels. Here below is a description of the labeled items as well as a transcript of their labels. They are listed in the order of their labels first above and then below the keyboard going from left to right.]<br />
<br />
:[Five keys close to the QWERTY keys positions have colorful emoji on them. They each take up the space of 2x2 normal keys, although it is not clear if all the "normal" keys have the same size:]<br />
:Hardcoded plastic keys for the 5 most useful emoji<br />
:😰 😂 🐙 🏇 🚡<br />
<br />
:[A cube with 3x3 keys on each side hangs above the keyboard to the left supported by a small rod. Three sides are fully visible, 27 keys:]<br />
:54 configurable Rubik's keys<br />
<br />
:[Just right of the middle above the main keyboard is a cylinder with keys inside in 6 rows of 26 keys (126 in all). It either decreases in diameter into it making it look almost like a tunnel, or is drawn as if it almost disappear in the far distance, being much deeper than it should be.]<br />
:Ergonomic design<br />
<br />
:[In the region where the normal numberpad would be there are 15 numbers from 1 to 15 in a 4x4 grid leaving space for an empty key hole. There is a row of keys both above and below this grid. The numbers do not come in order from 1 to 15, but rather in a jumble. Also the empty hole is not a full key spot. Instead it is in the second row of numbers, with a bit more space to the left than to the right of the middle of the three keys.]<br />
:<br />
:{| class="wikitable"<br />
|+15 puzzle-style numberpad<br />
|-<br />
|1<br />
|8<br />
|4<br />
|12<br />
|-<br />
|7<br />
|<br />
|11<br />
|3<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|6<br />
|10<br />
|9<br />
|-<br />
|2<br />
|5<br />
|13<br />
|14<br />
|}<br />
<br />
:[To the left in the second row (below the Caps Lock position) the outer key is twice as wide as the other normal keys.]<br />
:Serif Lock<br />
<br />
:[An arrow points to the eight key in the bottom row, but is probably just referring to all the keys in general:]<br />
:Unlimited key travel<br />
<br />
:[There is a segment of the keyboard that seems to be empty of keys, but still white like the rest of the keys, not black as where keys are actually missing. It is where on a regular keyboard, the normal keys are separated from the special function keys. But it turns out it is indeed a long key going vertically:]<br />
:Diagonal spacebar<br />
<br />
:[Where the four arrow keys are on a regular keyboard there is a 2x2 key segment that only has one key in the middle with black background around it. It has an arrow head on it pointing right. That is if the key had not been turned about 45 degree counter clockwise, so the arrow points up to the right.]<br />
:Arrow key (rotate to adjust direction)<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Emoji]]</div>162.158.158.121https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2150:_XKeyboarCD&diff=174157Talk:2150: XKeyboarCD2019-05-16T07:18:11Z<p>162.158.158.121: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Since this is xkcd, can someone check whether this 15 puzzle is solvable? I seem to recall that 1/2 of possible permutations fail. And this is the sort of Easter egg we have come to expect from our lord and master Randall [[User:Cyclic3|Cyclic3]] ([[User talk:Cyclic3|talk]]) 13:51, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Unfortunately, it’s unsolvable.<br />
:If the 15-puzzle is laid out ''like a numpad'' with 1 in the bottom left and the hole in the top right it ''is'' solvable. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.49|162.158.154.49]] 14:23, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Really? I got it on my fifteen puzzle.<br />
:It's also possible to do if you just put the blank in the upper left corner, so _123,4567,etc. Source: I just Googled and downloaded a solver with a very annoying input method (Why can't I just type the numbers?) [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 21:06, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Key travel" is the vertical distance a key moves when you press it. "Unlimited key travel" would make it very hard for it to register that a key has been pressed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.40|172.69.62.40]] 14:03, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Perhaps the XKCD Company has partnered with ExampleName.Website.<br />
:Doesn't "unlimited key travel" mean that the key will fall out from keyboard and get lost? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:51, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't get the title. Is "XLeoparCD" some kind of typing pun I'm missing? [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 14:05, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:You probably have the Substitutions filter on your computer and forgot about it. (I do too, it's great.) It's XKeyboarCD, and the capital letters spell XKCD (for if that wasn't obvious). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.77|172.68.132.77]] 14:10, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What are the supposedly 5 most useful emoji? I recognize the laughing/crying one on position two and an Octopus on position three. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.231|162.158.93.231]] 14:35, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: I think it's 'racehorse' & 'beer'. [[User:nachuo|nachuo]] ([[User talk:nachuo|talk]]) 14:44, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: The last one is 'aerial tramway'<br />
<br />
A friend of mine loves Rubik's Cubes, so I immediately went looking for a Rubik's Cube shaped keyboard... Instead I found Rubik's Cubes with keys glued to them, but they aren't functional. Anyone know of a cube-shaped keyboard? A 3x3 is enough for letters, numbers, & most common punctuation; a 4x4 could include most important keys found on a regular QWERTY keyboard. Surely this is already a thing? I was ready to say "Shut up and take my money!" <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:20, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: The closest thing I can find is the Twiddler or the DecaTxt. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.120|172.68.59.120]] 16:24, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Because of all of the moving parts in a functional Rubik's Cube, a working keyboard would have to have several separate wireless components, which might get expensive fast. I agree that it should be possible, but I don't think we should expect to see it in mass-production in the next five years or so. That said, someone might find an ingenious way to combine existing technologies into a similar product. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 01:25, 16 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: The directional arrow key would be the existing production Lenovo's red Track Point button. [https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/solutions/ht000611] So this is close to a "real" button. <br />
Confirmed that the numeric pad cannot be put into numerical order without removing keys and placing them in another order. <br />
There are 28 keys on the top row which usually is the function key row. Also the Ergonomic keyboard would cause serious physical and mental pain to everyone. <br />
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 22:32, 15 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder why the galaxy emoji from https://xkcd.com/2131/ isn't shown as one of the "5 most useful emoji"?<br />
<br />
In what dialect of English do the words “bird” and “turn” share a vowel sound? I asked three of my friends to say both words and we all pronounce the vowel sound differently (I mean, “bird” differently from “turn”; we all pronounced the individual word “bird” the same, and “turn” the same). The words “bird” and “tern” on the other hand, do seem to have the same vowel sound.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.37|173.245.54.37]] 03:27, 16 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Not sure where you're from, but to me turn and tern sound alike, making them homonyms. So yes, it's apparently a dialect thing; you and your three friends obviously speak the same dialect of English because you're all from the same area of the country. You probably should expand your sample beyond your closest friends. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:53, 16 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
“Bird” and “turn” share a vowel sound pretty much in a Scottish dialect - but “turn” and “tern” are very distinct. I would also suggest the expression “Unlimited key travel” is a pun on genuine travel passes (train, bus, tram) where a monthly pass will get you unlimited travel for a month. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.121|162.158.158.121]] 07:18, 16 May 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.158.121https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2145:_Heists_And_Escapes&diff=1735982145: Heists And Escapes2019-05-05T06:16:09Z<p>162.158.158.121: /* Explanation */ Typo</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2145<br />
| date = May 3, 2019<br />
| title = Heists And Escapes<br />
| image = heists_and_escapes.png<br />
| titletext = The interactive experience is built on a single theological framework that unites Dante, George R. R. Martin, every major heist movie, and Erin Gloria Ryan's "Kevin is dead" Home Alone theory.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by Dead people trapped in an Escape room. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Randall is trying to create the "greatest {{w|escape room}} game of all time". <br />
<br />
The top six panels show a stylized version of various options where people try to get in or out of rooms:<br />
<br />
* Escape rooms: An escape room is a type of puzzle/adventure game where people are locked in a room, or set of rooms, (discounting emergency exits) and have a certain amount of time to solve the puzzles and leave.<br />
* {{w|Heist film|Heist movies}}: In heist movies, the thieves are trying to get in to a room, usually to steal what's inside.<br />
* ''{{w|Home Alone}}'' (1990): This refers to the first movie in a franchise, where the home that the burglars tried to rob was protected by someone from the inside, Kevin McCallister (also mentioned in the title text).<br />
* The Battle of Winterfell: This refers to the {{w|The Long Night (Game of Thrones episode)|3rd episode}} of the 8th season of ''{{w|Game of Thrones}}'', aired five days before the publication of this comic. Here the dead tried to enter the {{w|keep}} (the middle room in the picture), but the keep already contained a crypt, with some dead inside, who could also try to leave that internal "room" as well.<br />
* ''{{w|Inception}}'' (2010): In the movie ''Inception'' the protagonists could enter the dream world of others, and while in those dreams they could entering the dream of someone inside the dream. ''Inception'' can be categorized as a "heist" movie, as the main characters are thieves who steal information from their victim's subconscious.<br />
* ''{{w|Divine Comedy|The Divine Comedy}}'' (1320): This refers to {{w|Dante Alighieri|Dante}}'s work - in particular its first part ''{{w|Inferno (Dante)|Inferno}}'', which depicts Hell as nine concentric circles. {{w|Purgatorio|Purgatory}} and {{w|Paradiso (Dante)|paradise}} are similarly concentric, but they are not likely to need to be escaped.<br />
<br />
At the end, Randall proposes a combination of all of these things, and also combining it with others, to form the "greatest escape room game of all time":<br />
<br />
* ''{{w|The Truman Show|Truman Show}}'': The protagonist of this movie was living in a constructed reality show, although he did not know it.<br />
* Kevin McCallister's house/subconscious: Refers to the 8-year-old boy who is the main character in the movie ''Home Alone'' who protects his home from the burglars.<br />
* {{w|Styx}}: A river in Greek mythology that forms the boundary between Earth and Underworld ("Hades"). It is necessary to cross the river Styx to enter or exit the Underworld. Hell is often likened to the underworld.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to [https://www.thedailybeast.com/home-alone-is-so-much-better-if-kevin-mccallister-is-dead this article], which claims that Kevin McCallister is dead, and is actually a ghost.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Seven different room scenarios are shown with characters attempting to get inside or outside, each with a label below them.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball and Ponytail trying to exit a room.]<br />
:Escape rooms<br />
<br />
:[Cueball and Megan trying to enter a room.]<br />
:Heist movies<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, presumably representing Kevin, standing in the middle of a room while two people are trying to enter.]<br />
:''Home Alone'' (1990)<br />
<br />
:[A room is shown inside a larger room. Two characters try to enter from outside and two others try to exit from the inner room while Megan and Cueball are standing between them.]<br />
:The Battle of Winterfell<br />
<br />
:[Four rooms are shown inside of each other. Two characters try to enter from outside while three Cueballs in each room are standing while asleep.]<br />
:''Inception'' (2010)<br />
<br />
:[Smaller rooms are recursively shown inside of larger ones, with two characters trying to escape from each.]<br />
:''The Divine Comedy'' (1320)<br />
<br />
:[At the bottom a more complicated combination of various rooms shown in gray, with arrows labeled with question marks showing escape routes for two characters in black.]<br />
:[Labels of various rooms and obstacles in gray:]<br />
:Truman Show<br />
:Bank<br />
:Room<br />
:Vault<br />
:The dead<br />
:Kevin McCallister's house<br />
:Kevin McCallister's subconscious<br />
:Styx<br />
:Dante's Inferno<br />
:[Label in the bottom in black:]<br />
:My plan for the greatest escape room game of all time<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Game of Thrones]]</div>162.158.158.121https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2142:_Dangerous_Fields&diff=1733122142: Dangerous Fields2019-04-29T09:49:11Z<p>162.158.158.121: added in definition of gerontology</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2142<br />
| date = April 26, 2019<br />
| title = Dangerous Fields<br />
| image = dangerous_fields.png<br />
| titletext = Eventually, every epidemiologist becomes another statistic, a dedication to record-keeping which their colleagues sincerely appreciate.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an INEXORABLE PROCESS. Percentages needed to be added (like [[1895: Worrying Scientist Interviews]]). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is a graph of fields of study, ordered by how likely one is to die because of something that that field studies, with mathematics being the least dangerous and gerontology being the most. Gerontology, the scientific study of old age, is shown as much more dangerous than the other fields, so it is far on the right side of the graph. The joke is in the distinction between the danger of studying the thing, and the overall death rate from the thing. Studying ageing doesn't put you at much more risk of ageing than the general population. However, studying volcanoes is likely to put you in dangerous environments.<br />
<br />
===Fields===<br />
*{{W|Mathematics}} is such a pure non-physical field that the probability of it being the direct cause of death is extremely low. The study of it might cause death through workplace disputes or absent-mindedly wandering in front of traffic while pondering (as in [[356: Nerd Sniping]]).<br />
<br />
*{{W|Astronomy}}, the study of stars and space. Astronomy is slightly more dangerous than mathematics though, since it studies physical objects instead of abstract concepts. In addition to meteor or asteroid impacts, astronomical phenomena that might cause death include solar flares, nearby supernovae, distant magnetar quakes, a solar nova (the likelihood of which will increase over the next billion-odd years), perturbations in earth's orbit, increased or decreased solar radiation, alien invasion. Given that the density of magnetars and potentially hostile alien civilizations in the potentially lethal radius is (like the radius itself) completely unknown, and not all past mass extinctions are explained, this one might be misplaced a bit. Although these are all rare events, just one could kill all living and potential future astronomers. That non-astronomers would also be affected seems little consolation.<br />
<br />
*{{W|Economics}} is the study of markets. Markets can kill you by depriving you of goods and services you need to survive. Goods can become unavailable (e.g., cartels, embargos) or unaffordable (through job loss, inflation), in depressions or recessions. The study of such markets usually does not involve great risk, unless the markets are illegal (e.g., illicit drug markets), the economy being studied has put people under great stress, or one's findings are really unpopular.<br />
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*{{W|Law}} in this context refers to the rules people have to follow in society, and given the nature of laws (civil and criminal), the odds that your death is related to law is usually low. Possible causes of death more-or-less directly related would include prosecution for a capital crime, persecution under legal authority (such as being killed by an officer of the law), attack by a guard, or for lack of medical treatment, while incarcerated, or death by exposure after expulsion from one's repossessed or otherwise legally confiscated home. However, when large groups of people are dispossessed, or have the protection of law removed, casualties can be quite high. For instance, the {{w|Partition of India}} in 1947 resulted in 200,000 to 2 million deaths. The laws of the {{w|Great Leap Forward}} contributed to the starvation of tens of millions of Chinese, disproportionally many of them lawyers and law professors. Perhaps most ironically, a lawyer who committed a capital crime in a country which practices capital punishment (such as the United States, China or Iran), and was executed for it would be directly killed by the thing s/he studies.<br />
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*{{W|Criminology}} is very similar to law, but is the study of crime, meaning it's more dangerous than just "law." Criminologists may be directly involved with criminals in the course of their studies, increasing their exposure to potentially life-threatening behavior.<br />
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*{{W|Meteorology}} is the study of weather. Encountering powerful weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and thunderstorms brings distinct possibility of injury and death. Curiosity to see a storm in person, or (if working for television news) exposing yourself to the weather event in order to file a report, may expose you to lightning, wind-blown projectiles, cold, water, etc., any of which can negatively affect your survival. Less dramatic weather also kills - hot weather can lead to heat stroke and dehydration.<br />
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*{{W|Chemistry}} is the study of chemicals and reactions of those chemicals. Since, under terrestrial conditions, everything is made up of chemicals (and chemists often use especially reactive or dangerous chemicals), the likelihood of a chemist's death being caused by chemistry (e.g., explosions, poisoning, chemical burns, suffocation) is not insignificant.<br />
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*{{W|Marine biology}} is the study of ocean life. Many marine creatures are venomous, many are very large. Death could result from storms, boat accidents, drowning, diving accidents, exposure to pathogenic bacteria, toxins (such as those produced by cone snails, and "red tide" dinoflagellates), allergies to shellfish, or water pollution, in addition to such perhaps more obvious (but overwhelmingly rarer) risks as shark attacks.<br />
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*{{w|Volcanology}} involves the study of {{w|volcanoes}}, {{w|lava}}, and {{w|magma}}, with obvious risks to the scientists studying them in the field. At least 67 scientists have been killed in volcanic eruptions, as of 2017 ("[https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/volcanologists-lose-their-lives-in-pursuit-of-knowledge Volcanologists lose their lives in pursuit of knowledge]").<br />
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*{{w|Gerontology}} involves the study of aging, and of growing old in general. As everyone ages and eventually dies{{Citation needed}}, those who study gerontology are not immune to dying in old age even if they evade all the other possible causes of death - thus making it the most likely among all shown fields. A gerontologist still can die from something else first, but without the inherent risk factors of other professions such as active volcanoes or underwater diving they're more likely to survive to retirement and thus meet their death of old age.<br />
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*The title text is about {{w|Epidemiology}}: the study of health and disease conditions in populations. In the event of an epidemic, there is a strong chance that epidemiologists in the search for the causation, transmission and treatment will be exposed and become victims of the disease in their own right. However, the title text refers more broadly to the role of epidemiology in maintaining detailed statistical records of diseases and other causes of death, such that eventually any epidemiologist (whatever the cause of death) will become one of his/her own statistics.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[A line chart is shown going from left to right with two arrows on either side. On the line are ten dots spread out unevenly from close to each end. The first four dots are clustered together on the left side. Then follows 5 more dots unevenly spaced, all to the left of center. On the far right of the line, near the end, there is one dot. Beneath each dot there goes a line down to a label written beneath each line. Above the chart there is a big title and below that an explanation. Below that again, there is a small arrow pointing to the right with a label above it.]<br />
:<big>Probability that you'll be killed by the thing you study</big><br />
:By field<br />
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:[Arrow pointing right, labeled:]<br />
:More likely<br />
<br />
:[Labels for the ten dots from left to right:]<br />
:Mathematics (0 pixels from first field, 0.00% of overall range of fields)<br />
:Astronomy (9px, 1.35%)<br />
:Economics (16px, 2.40%)<br />
:Law (22px, 3.30%)<br />
:Criminology (77px, 11.56%)<br />
:Meteorology (96px, 14.41%)<br />
:Chemistry (156px, 23.42%)<br />
:Marine Biology (166px, 24.92%)<br />
:Volcanology (206px, 30.93%)<br />
:Gerontology (666px, 100.00%)<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]</div>162.158.158.121