https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.69.22.134&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T07:50:28ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:cold_complaints_2x.png&diff=302301File:cold complaints 2x.png2022-12-22T05:25:16Z<p>172.69.22.134: Blanked the page</p>
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<div></div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2697:_Y2K_and_2038&diff=2985562697: Y2K and 20382022-11-11T18:35:21Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ comma</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2697<br />
| date = November 11, 2022<br />
| title = Y2K and 2038<br />
| image = y2k_and_2038_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 527x190px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years, but I've finally finished rebuilding all my software to use 33-bit signed ints.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Y2K-BRICKED BOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The Y2K bug, or more formally, the {{w|year 2000 problem}}, was the computer errors caused by two digit software representations of calendar years not correctly handling the year 2000, such as by treating it the same as 1900 or 19100. The {{w|year 2038 problem}} is a similar problem with timestamps in {{w|Unix time}} format, which will overflow their signed 32-bit binary representation in 2038.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2268:_Further_Research_is_Needed&diff=1879812268: Further Research is Needed2020-03-02T19:02:28Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2268<br />
| date = February 14, 2020<br />
| title = Further Research is Needed<br />
| image = further_research_is_needed.png<br />
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CONFIDENT RESEARCHER WHO BELIEVES THIS EDIT RESOLVES ALL REMAINING EXPLANATION ON THIS TOPIC. General niceness. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In most scientific fields, it's very common to end research papers with the caveat that "more research is needed", or words to that effect. This is particularly true when reporting results on a topic that's not well studied, and in which there's not enough literature to form a broad consensus. This is a very reasonable suggestion, an individual research project may produce results that suggest a certain conclusion, but it would be foolhardy to take something as established fact based on a single study. Individual studies may produce misleading information, they may have flaws that don't become evident until later, they may be based on assumptions that don't hold up, or the results may end up having an alternate explanation (as when a correlation is found, but does not establish specific causation). It's all too common for science reporters, particularly in low-quality outlets, to draw broad and bold conclusions from a single study, but actual scientists quickly learn to be more cautious. Peer-reviewed papers will generally make clear that conclusions are tentative, and may be modified or even overturned by future research. <br />
<br />
This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. Munroe jokes that he'd like to see researchers with "the guts" to make such a proclamation. In real life, doing so would likely damage the reputation of the study's authors, because it would belie both a breathtaking arrogance and a lack of understanding of the research process. If nothing else, studies need to be replicated, to establish that the initial data gathering was accurate. In addition, no single study could realistically address every aspect, variation and complication in a given topic. It's simply not feasible that a single paper could "[resolve] all remaining questions" on any given topic, and making such a ridiculous claim would badly damage a researcher's credibility. At the same time, if no further research were necessary, every researcher in the field, including the author who wrote the study, would need to either change fields or change careers. The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field, thus allowing the researchers to justify future funding for their research.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the statement most like this made by a real scientist was by {{w|Albert A. Michelson}}, at the 1894 dedication of the University of Chicago's Reyerson Physical Laboratory: "[I]t seems probable that most of the grand underlying principles have been firmly established and that further advances are to be sought chiefly in the rigorous application of these principles to all the phenomena which come under our notice." (Variants of this statement are sometimes misattributed to {{w|William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin}}.) Even this statement is couched in much less certainty than the concluding statement presented in this comic strip, and sure enough, just eleven years later, {{w|Albert Einstein}} wrote his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}. These four papers explained the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, turning established physics on its head. Ironically, Michelson made this statement despite the fact that he himself had upset a major of notion of established physics just seven years before, when the {{w|Michelson-Morley experiment}} demonstrated that the speed of light was constant, disproving the {{w|Aether_theories}} then prevalent in physics. This result in turn was part of the inspiration for Einstein's theory of special relativity.<br />
<br />
The Woodward Hoffman textbook on organic chemistry in chapter 12 of 'The Conservation of Orbital Symmetry', entitled "Violations," has made a statement very similar to the one in the comic as its conclusion: There are none! Nor can violations be expected of so fundamental a principle of maximum bonding.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is one more readable word, with a horizontal line below it, and then four numbered lines with unreadable text. Rare for xkcd the text is written with normal capitalization rather than in all caps.]<br />
:We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.<br />
:References<br />
:1.<br />
:2.<br />
:3.<br />
:4.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Research Papers]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2222:_Terminator:_Dark_Fate&diff=1820172222: Terminator: Dark Fate2019-10-31T04:06:34Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2222<br />
| date = October 30, 2019<br />
| title = Terminator: Dark Fate<br />
| image = terminator_dark_fate.png<br />
| titletext = I was sent here to stop the robot that was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to destroy the robot that was sent here to vacuum the floor.<br />
}}<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by JOHN CONNOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
It is a common trope in science fiction to go into the past to stop events from ever happening (this is seen in the ''{{w|Terminator (franchise)|Terminator}}'' series). This comic plays this trope to the extreme by having Cueball's future self come to stop him from watching ''{{w|Terminator: Dark Fate}}'', which leads to a Cueball from that timeline to come tell him to watch it, and then two more of himself come back in order to stop him from watching it, so on so forth, making the time travelling Cueballs go up by an exponential rate.<br />
<br />
The final pane also invokes the "killing Hitler" trope. {{w|Adolf Hitler}} was the leader of Nazi Germany during World War II, and it has been a common trope to "go back in time to kill Hitler" such as in [[1063: Kill Hitler]]. However, this Cueball is over 70 years too late to kill Hitler, as Hitler himself committed suicide in 1945, shortly before the end of WWII.<br />
<br />
The ''Terminator'' film series is famous for this time travel trope. The initial 3 films feature a time traveling robot sent from the dystopian future to kill a particular human, with the future resistance in turn sending a protector to ensure the human's survival. However, the series has never been consistent on even the most broad rules of how time travel effects the timeline, with each movie exploring different possibilities. This is another point of spoof for the comic, featuring multiple recursive time loops until it becomes a jumbled mess.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the exponential time travel, each link in the chain referencing a Terminator movie, eventually ending with the initial "dangerous robot" being a robotic vacuum. [[:Category:Roomba|Robotic vacuums]], such as the Roomba, are a common theme on xkcd.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[One Cueball is walking to the right. Another Cueball floats behind him from the left in a bubble which emits a burst of energy.]<br />
:ZAP!<br />
<br />
:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball, and pointing at him.]<br />
:Cueball (Future 1): I've traveled back in time to stop you from seeing ''Terminator: Dark Fate''!<br />
<br />
:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball]<br />
:Cueball (Present): But it looks so good! Reviews are actually decent! Mackenzie Davis! '''''Linda Hamilton is back!'''''<br />
<br />
:[Future Cueball standing next to Cueball]<br />
:Cueball (Future 1): I know, but you always think this, and you're always disappointed.<br />
:Cueball (Present): I ''guess''...<br />
<br />
:[Another Cueball appears in a bubble in the same way as the first, scaring Future Cueball 1, who is standing next to Cueball.]<br />
:ZAP!<br />
:Cueball (Future 2): Hi, I'm from the future where you didn't watch it and I realize I still kind of want to see it.<br />
:Cueball (Present): Let's go together!<br />
<br />
:[Another bubble appears from the right of the 3 Cueballs, this time containing two Cueballs.]<br />
:Cueball (Future 3): No! We're both of you from the future! We're here to stop you!<br />
<br />
:[Five more individually-wrapped Cueballs appear, surrounding the other 5 Cueballs.]<br />
:Cueball (Future 5): I'm here to stop '''''you!'''''<br />
:Cueball (Future 6): I'm here to stop the robot sent to stop you!<br />
:Cueball (Future 7): I'm here to protect you from...you? I lost track.<br />
:Cueball (Future 8): I'm here to kill Hitler. Did I get the right year?<br />
:Cueball (Future 9): I'm here to get tickets because in like 20 minutes you people buy them all.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Time travel]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction]]<br />
[[Category:Roomba]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hitler]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1818902199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-10-29T07:29:57Z<p>172.69.22.134: Move see also for comedic effect some centuries hence</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] is on top of a high mountain in a remote location (second comic in a row with knit cap). Knit Cap sees a WiFi network name listed on a handheld device, perhaps a cell phone. This is something you would expect in a city, but certainly not on a mountain top, hence the joke, that what produced these WiFi networks are unknown, but seem to be distributed randomly over the face of the Earth, disregarding nearness to technology. <br />
<br />
Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or WiFi) network names, called {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|Service Set Identifiers}} (SSIDs) are part of the joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomena instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest WiFi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many of them today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the {{w|IEEE 802.11}} wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. WiFi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
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The SSID displayed is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2187 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. 48 microhertz corresponds to a period of 4.1 per day, or a radio wavelength 41 times as far as the Earth is from the Sun. Or U2187 could be the {{w|Unicode}} character [https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2187/index.htm code for the Roman numeral 50,000 spelled "ↇ"] or a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate. The "join other network" option allows for manually typing SSIDs to attempt to connect with networks which are not configured to display their SSIDs.<br />
<br />
While the most likely explanation in an office environment might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKjnZe4B-M marsupial delivery drone,] television, cryptocurrency mining rig, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, [https://twitter.com/Theteamatx/status/1162762591677997056 offshore flying wind turbine,] fashion accessory, autonomous antimissile defense system node, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, distributed denial of service attack platform malware-infested coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, [https://x.company/projects/foghorn seawater dialysis station,] telecommunication facility, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, distributed exoskeleton, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSx_UywxF6o visiting interstellar] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2f0Wd3zNj0 colony(?) ship,] power-to-gas pipeline valve, [http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2340.html ransomware worm nest,] or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations, but this {{w|skywave}} propagation normally affects frequencies below 30 MHz, and never above 300 MHz, so they couldn't be the cause of receiving far away Wifi signals, which are 900 MHz and above.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. Location information can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ Wigle] or [https://openwifimap.net/ OpenWifiMap]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for WiFi is 802.11, which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. This [https://www.toshibatec.com/cnt/products_overseas/printer2/mobile_printer/b-fp3d/ portable Toshiba printer] supports the "802.11 a/b/g/n" WiFi protocols. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. (Please see also [[1785: Wifi]].) Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first WiFi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, rogue industrial espionage, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, the {{w|simulation hypothesis}}, or the supernatural. (It is worth noting that cryptic-sounding WiFi networks generated by a time-traveling alien entity as a trap was used as a plot device in the 2013 ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' episode "{{w|The Bells of Saint John}}.")<br />
<br />
<!-- The ''Tech Trivia'' caption is reminiscent of many of the comics in the [[:Category:Tips|Tips category]], and it seems like it could just as well have been named ''Tech Tip''. But since tip is not part of the wording, this comic cannot be added to the category. --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A person with a knit cap and a backpack is checking a phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape, with 5 snow covered mountain peaks behind, and a smaller peak connected to and just below that one. There seems to be no snow on those two peaks. Above is a view of the phone's screen as indicated with a zigzag line from the phone's screen to the frame with text. There is also a wifi icon at the top left and a padlock icon at the end of the second line of text. The bottom line is a gray font.]<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: <font color="gray"> Join other network </font><br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Computers]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2211:_Hours_Before_Departure&diff=180888Talk:2211: Hours Before Departure2019-10-05T20:58:23Z<p>172.69.22.134: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
... The title text isn't even a pun. Whoever wrote that needs to leave their pun hatred at the door and stick to what's actually there. [[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 19:04, 4 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Do astronauts get their passports stamped when leaving/entering in a rocket? It makes sense that they should. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.34|162.158.255.34]] 19:39, 4 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I think they don't even HAVE passports and also don't usually go through customs ... however, I don't know how if they have official exception or if they technically are breaking law. Apollo 11 crew did actually signed custom declaration when returning from Moon, however ... [https://www.space.com/7044-moon-apollo-astronauts-customs.html] -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:53, 4 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
The title text missed an opportunity for another twist - it should have said they astronauts have Global '''Re-'''entry! {{unsigned ip|162.158.122.30}}<br />
<br />
Whut: Citation of earlier explanation: "...think preparation for a journey over four times longer than the longest of current modern airline flights" ... There are 40,000 km around Earth and 380,000 km to the Moon. So it is almost 10 times around the Earth, and no airline flies even half the distance around the Earth. Have changed that part of the explanation to mention the 10 times around the Earth, each way, instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:29, 4 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It may have taken them less than three hours from arrival at the launch site to departure, but remember that it took them three weeks to return to society once they got back. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 00:11, 5 October 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2210:_College_Athletes&diff=180737Talk:2210: College Athletes2019-10-02T01:00:36Z<p>172.69.22.134: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
This was posted ''way'' earlier than usual. Still technically Wednesday 00:02 UTC, but usual posting is mid-late afternoon UTC. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 01:00, 2 October 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1806052207: Math Work2019-09-29T15:18:43Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ todo</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. <br />
We may need something about the recent popularity(? Check Google Trends) of the phrase "They did the math" with a link to e.g. r/theydidthemath.<br />
Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here." People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math. <br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball as a physicist is doing something instead quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving many kinds of constraints for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult, but can be depending on the details. Cueball clearly thinks a solution is possible but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it provides {{w|aesthetic}} pleasure, usually associated with being easy to understand. A proof is elegant when it is both easy to understand and correct, and mathematical solutions are profound when useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, or by a {{w|computer algebra system}} such as [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x%2By%3D10%2C+x-y%3D4&lk=3 WolframAlpha.com.] Linear equations are a typical kind of more general constraint satisfaction problems, which in turn are {{w|mathematical optimization}} problems, where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example) indicates the extent to which constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to, for example, the laws of {{w|supply and demand}}, arising in the general context of civilization and ecology (both of which have properties associated with beauty and mathematical elegance.) Problems solved by economics are examples of {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. When economic laws are not sufficiently satisfying constraints, that is a {{w|market failure}}, which indicates that more artificial and manual mathematical work is required, instead of the naturally arising or otherwise automatic methods contemplated by Cueball. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the graphic elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart, where the radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent category labels or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us, let alone their values. The only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges may be the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton University.] In that wedge game, angles represent a potential number of gigatons of atmospheric carbon mitigation (out of about 38 for the circle) and radius indicates uptake, or the extent to which the mitigation solution is effective. <br />
<br />
That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under specific assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants. If such market-based approaches to distributed constraint satisfaction are successful, then the work in finding the solution would be performed not entirely by physicists, chemical engineers, mathematicians, or intentional crowdworkers playing a game to achieve the optimal solution(s), but instead in even larger part by far more widely distributed crowdworkers who are simply making their own, ideally self-interested choices regarding their demand for {{w|desalination|desalinated}} and {{w|drinking water|potable water}}, {{w|carbon-neutral fuel|carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuel}} and carbon-negative {{w|carbon sequestration|sequestration}} in {{w|fiber-reinforced composite}} lumber, both made from {{w|ocean acidification|carbonate dissolved in seawater}}, and for recycling the carbon in power plant flue exhaust for the {{w|Energy storage|storage of renewable energy}} such as off-peak {{w|wind power}}. The relative beauty, elegance, and simplicity of the possible solutions to such problems is subjective, and might involve strong differences of opinion between outside observers, mathematicians and engineers involved with the details, and {{w|Villain#Sympathetic villain|fossil fuel barons}}, respected and enriched by society for their part in meeting energy demand. (See "All Chemistry Equations" in [[2034: Equations]].)<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an automatic equation solver to find the unknowns. Equation solvers are not often considered beautiful ways to address purely mathematical problems, even if they are often the most efficient and in that sense elegant solutions to applied problems in engineering. Using a formal solver with symbolic, numeric, or both methods requires making sure that the constraints (e.g. equations) are entered correctly, with parentheses balanced in their correct locations for the solution to succeed. While the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and pure physics may not be associated with automatic solvers in spreadsheets, general optimization methods are considered elegant in applied physics and engineering, with [http://entsphere.com/pub/pdf/1957%20Jaynes,%20ShannonMaxEntBoltzmann.pdf Jaynes (1957)] cited more than 12,000 times on Google Scholar, including by [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234147180_Maximum_Entropy_Image_Restoration_in_Astronomy a paper cited] by the [https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.01286 first black hole image astronomers] for example.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2208:_Drone_Fishing&diff=180589Talk:2208: Drone Fishing2019-09-28T16:51:26Z<p>172.69.22.134: reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
So kite fishing is a thing for recreational deep sea fishing. I think some people are experimenting with using drones instead of kites. I think I've also read about using a drone to allow long "casts" when shore fishing. This seems to be Randall just mixing all that up in a fun (?) way.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.105|172.69.63.105]] 16:04, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What kind of bait do you use to attract a drone, anyway? Or would you use some kind of electronic lure? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:01, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Isn't this comic a reference to How To? There was a comic in that book about fishing while suspended from drones. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.73|172.69.63.73]] 21:47, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could this comic possibly be a reference to [[2148: Cubesat Launch]]?--[[User:XRENEGADEx|XRENEGADEx]] ([[User talk:XRENEGADEx|talk]]) 23:11, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:And/or the space junk removal experiments? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.18|172.68.143.18]] 03:23, 28 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nobody notices drone fishing is an actual thing? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.22|172.69.55.22]] 01:44, 28 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It isn't clear to me that this would be illegal, at least the "fishing" part, although caught drones would have to be returned. Unless the airspace has been reserved, kites and drones have equal access to the airspace. Perhaps the extra dangling strings could be seen as a deliberate attempt to trap drones, but any justification ("testing kite tail designs", "testing ion content in the air" etc.) could be sufficient to make these OK. Likewise, the kite owner could complain about the drones being "armed" with unjustifiably sharp propellers and such "designed" to damage the kite. Umm, are drone fights a thing (yet)?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.154|108.162.241.154]] 12:16, 28 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Mini-drone racing has been a thing for years, but IRL fights are considered gauche in the extreme. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 16:51, 28 September 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805782207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:49:45Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ more explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, or by a {{w|computer algebra system}} such as [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x%2By%3D10%2C+x-y%3D4&lk=3 Wolfram Alpha.] Linear equations are a typical kind of more general constraint satisfaction problems, which in turn are {{w|mathematical optimization}} problems, where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example) indicates the extent to which constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to, for example, the laws of {{w|supply and demand}}, arising in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems solved by economics are examples of {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. When economic laws are not sufficiently satisfying constraints, that is a {{w|market failure}}, which indicates that more artificial and manual mathematical work is required, instead of the naturally arising or otherwise automatic methods contemplated by Cueball. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the graphic elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart, where the radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent category labels or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us, let alone their values. The only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges may be the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton University.] In that wedge game, angles represent a potential number of gigatons of atmospheric carbon mitigation (out of about 38 for the circle) and radius indicates uptake, or the extent to which the mitigation solution is effective. That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants. If such distributed constraint satisfaction games are successful, then the work in finding the solution would be performed not entirely by mathematicians, but likely in even larger part by unwitting crowdworkers who are simply making their own, ideally self-interested choices regarding their demand for desalinated potable water, carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuel, carbon-negative {{w|carbon sequestration|sequestration}} in composite {{w|plastic lumber}} derived from carbonate dissolved in seawater, and recycling the carbon using renewable energy such as {{w|wind power}}.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805772207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:32:38Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ Alpha</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, or by a {{w|computer algebra system}} such as [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x%2By%3D10%2C+x-y%3D4&lk=3 Wolfram Alpha] Linear equations are a typical kind of more general constraint satisfaction problems, which in turn are {{w|mathematical optimization}} problems, where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example) indicates the extent to which constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to the laws of supply and demand, in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems including those solved by the laws of supply and demand are {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart where radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent a label or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us. However, the only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges{{fact}} is the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton.] In that wedge game, angles represent a potential number of gigatons of atmospheric carbon mitigation (out of about 38 for the circle) and radius indicates uptake, or the extent to which the mitigation solution is effective. That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805762207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:30:38Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ finish sentence</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, or by a {{w|computer algebra system}}. Linear equations are a typical kind of more general constraint satisfaction problems, which in turn are {{w|mathematical optimization}} problems, where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example) indicates the extent to which constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to the laws of supply and demand, in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems including those solved by the laws of supply and demand are {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart where radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent a label or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us. However, the only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges{{fact}} is the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton.] In that wedge game, angles represent a potential number of gigatons of atmospheric carbon mitigation (out of about 38 for the circle) and radius indicates uptake, or the extent to which the mitigation solution is effective. That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805752207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:27:48Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ explain better</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, or by a {{w|computer algebra system}}. Linear equations are a typical kind of more general constraint satisfaction problems, which in turn are {{w|mathematical optimization}} problems, where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example) indicates the extent to which constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to the laws of supply and demand, in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems including those solved by the laws of supply and demand are {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart where radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent a label or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us. However, the only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges{{fact}} is the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton.] In that wedge game, That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805742207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:23:48Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ fix template</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, by a {{w|computer algebra system}}, or using a more general constraint satisfaction problem where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example, or more generally that all constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to the laws of supply and demand, in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems including those solved by the laws of supply and demand are {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart where radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent a label or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us. However, the only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges{{fact}} is the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton.] In that wedge game, That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=1805732207: Math Work2019-09-28T13:22:42Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ explain dcs</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2207<br />
| date = September 25, 2019<br />
| title = Math Work<br />
| image = math_work.png<br />
| titletext = I could type this into a solver, which MIGHT help, but would also mean I have to get a lot of parentheses right...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by TWO UNKNOWNS. We do not yet explain constraint satisfaction solutions performed without work. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is observing a {{w|physicist}}, [[Cueball]], who is staring at some (in the comic unreadable) equations and diagrams on a {{w|chalkboard}}. White Hat is neither a physicist nor a {{w|mathematician}}, and seems to glorify those professions. He wishes he understood Cueball's work and "the beauty on display here". People who profess a love for mathematics often cite the beauty they see in pure math, how things work out so perfectly, as the reason they love math.<br />
<br />
The joke is that Cueball, the actual physicist, is actually doing something quite simple and relatable: Avoiding hard work. Solving for two unknowns isn't necessarily difficult but can be, depending on how they relate to each other. Cueball clearly thinks it's possible to do but would rather find an easier route. The same could be said about the field of mathematics in general: A proof is beautiful to a mathematician when it's easy to understand and the result is profound when it's useful.<br />
<br />
A mathematical problem involving two unknowns could be a {{w|system of linear equations}} which can often be solved on paper, a blackboard, in a spreadsheet with solver functions, by a {{w|computer algebra system}}, or using a more general constraint satisfaction problem where the minimization of a difference from a goal state (such as that all of the constraining equations are true, for example, or more generally that all constraints are met. Sometimes such problem solving activity arises naturally from economic transactions according to the laws of supply and demand, in the general context of civilization and ecology. Problems including those solved by the laws of supply and demand are {{w|distributed constraint optimization}} processes. Other distributed constraint optimization systems can be {{w|crowdsourcing}} games, such as {{w|FoldIt}} and {{w|Galaxy Zoo}}.<br />
<br />
Of the elements on the blackboard, the most distinctive appears to be a pair of wedges from a pie chart where radius of the slices is being used to represent another variable than the angles which all pie charts use to represent a primary variable. Since the cartoon is in black and white, the use of color to represent a label or additional variable can be ruled out. Such black-and-white wedges represent two variables, the meaning of which may be unknown to us. However, the only distributed constraint optimization game which uses such wedges{{citation needed}} is the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton.] In that wedge game, That game is an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, for example under some specific sets of assumptions about the market in [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants.<br />
<br />
The title text continues Cueball's thought process, with the possibility of using an equation solver to solve the equations. An equation solver or computer algebra system is a computer program which can be used to solve equations or systems of equations, and is typically not an especially beautiful way to address mathematical problems. Cueball would need to make sure that the equations are entered correctly, with parentheses in the correct places, when inputting them into the solver; again this is an issue far removed from the {{w|mathematical beauty|beauty of mathematics}} and physics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat is watching Cueball from a couple of meters away. Cueball is contemplating the formulas and diagrams that fills the blackboard he stands in front of. Cueball holds a chalk in his hand. None of the content on the blackboard is readable, but there is a diagram in the shape of a circle and a another pie shaped diagram. Both are thinking with large thought bubbles above their heads, with small bubbles connecting them and the larger bubble]<br />
:White Hat (thinking): Amazing watching a physicist at work, exploring universes in a symphony of numbers.<br />
:White Hat (thinking): If only I had studied math, I could appreciate the beauty on display here.<br />
<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Oh no. This has '''''two''''' unknowns. That's gonna be really hard.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Ughhhhhhh.<br />
:Cueball (thinking): '''''Think.''''' There's gotta be a way to avoid doing all that work...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2207:_Math_Work&diff=180539Talk:2207: Math Work2019-09-27T17:51:48Z<p>172.69.22.134: reply</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This makes me think of my profession (software engineer) - Normie: "Oh wow, that looks complicated!" Me: wires two pre-existing libraries together and calls it a day [[User:Baldrickk|Baldrickk]] ([[User talk:Baldrickk|talk]]) 09:39, 26 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Image of Blackboard<br />
I was looking at the blackboard and was wondering if there were any Easter eggs on it.<br />
Here is the result of my badly cropped photoshopping skills.<br />
[https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kGCrQehNGksE2cSK1WvTJcgdwaZ5cdWe]<br />
idk if it would help to sharpen the image.<br />
--[[User:DarkAndromeda31|DarkAndromeda31]] ([[User talk:DarkAndromeda31|talk]]) 01:25, 26 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The only thing that really jumps out at me are the wedges, as portions of pie charts where radius also controls area, evoking the {{w|climate stabilization wedge}} game [https://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/game from Princeton] where the total area of the disk needing to be mitigated is something like 38 gigatons of atmospheric carbon, and the various mitigation solutions have angles representing potential and radius indicating uptake, the proportion of which represents gigatons mitigated as the wedge area. We can offer that game as an example of a bivariate optimization problem which might not have to be manually solved by anyone, if we assume that the local market for [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ritJrcDKyXNe4Kp2dHBWiFuyBEHvn_81/view surplus potable water, carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuel, and carbon-negative composite lumber for centuries-to-millenia scale sequestration along with wood timber displacement for reforestation] represents locally satisfiable economic demand for N shipping containers of [https://x.company/projects/foghorn Project Foghorn] [https://www.docdroid.net/WlkWabq/ioc-part-1-prototype-article-in-press.pdf plants] and M shipping containers of [https://www.docdroid.net/SRxC3bd/power-to-gas-efficiency.pdf power-to-gas upgrades for natural gas] power plants. That's an example of how a locally market-driven system can solve a bivariate optimization without anyone doing the actual math work in a spreadsheet or otherwise. The economic solution is not necessarily optimal, because even [https://twitter.com/jsalsman/status/1118030378747351040 as powerful as the free market can be,] it isn't necessarily going to find the bivariate optimums for every point on the planet (although it will likely converge asymptotically in some sense) and defectors such as fossil fuel producers are interested in delaying the optimum solution. <br />
:Is that nontangential enough? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.18|172.68.143.18]] 20:49, 26 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Yes that was far out :-) I'm sure there is nothing interesting hidden in the image. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:36, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does [https://www.wolframalpha.com/ Wolfram Alpha] constitute such a problem solver? Cause both Randall and this site has used it on several occasions. But I have not ever really used such things, and do not know if Wolfram can be used as Cueball thinks about in the comic. But if it could, it could be worth mentioning as a method sometimes used by Randall. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:[https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x%2By%3D10%2C+x-y%3D4&lk=3] is the first bivariate system of equations example. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 17:51, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I only just now noticed that Randall always puts the crossbars on the I in the word "I" and not otherwise. Looking back, he has nearly always done this, even since the first few comics. That's quite a principled yet subtle stance on letterforms. (There are some exceptions, however, such as comic #87, and a period that goes at least from comic #128 to comic #180. I wonder if it would be too typography-nerdy to put them all in a category.) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.231.85|198.41.231.85]] 14:47, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Those "crossbars" would be serifs, whereas he normally uses a sans serif font. A sans serif would be quicker/easier to write by hand, but he probably realized early on (perhaps subconsciously) that an I by itself without serifs looks too much like a random line or a numeral 1 so he treats the solo I like a special letter, with serifs. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 15:16, 27 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Thank you, person who sees beauty in grammar (Jkrstrt). I thought something looked off when I said "often site the beauty they see" but I didn't catch it until you sighted the error and made it cite instead. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 15:10, 27 September 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2206:_Mavis_Beacon&diff=180372Talk:2206: Mavis Beacon2019-09-23T21:07:10Z<p>172.69.22.134: 2205-6</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
== So the # key, then? ==<br />
<br />
Shifted or not? The implication is that it is, since that's where ‘~’ is. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.41|141.101.99.41]] 18:44, 23 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
: On a typical German QWERTZ layout keyboard, the tilde key '~' can/must be entered via <span style="border: 1px solid black">AltGr</span>+<span style="border: 1px solid black">+</span>; alternatively, <span style="border: 1px solid black">Ctrl</span>+<span style="border: 1px solid black">Alt</span>+<span style="border: 1px solid black">+</span> should work when there is no <span style="border: 1px solid black">AltGr</span> key. On certain "dead key" keyboard layouts, there even is no single and direct '~' key: To type a tilde, one would have to press <span style="border: 1px solid black">AltGr</span>+<span style="border: 1px solid black">+</span> followed directly by a space or to double-tap <span style="border: 1px solid black">+</span> while holding <span style="border: 1px solid black">AltGr</span>. This would mean even more complicated or pretty much impossible key combinations that would be needed to be pressed at the same time. However, holding <span style="border: 1px solid black">AltGr</span> or <span style="border: 1px solid black">Ctrl</span>+<span style="border: 1px solid black">Alt</span> to try and type a tilde would probably cancel out the "single" <span style="border: 1px solid black">Alt</span> key necessary for the comic's secret key code. So, once you've managed to type a tilde, it likely wouldn't count any more for the key combo, making it impossible to type this key combination on such keyboard. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 19:26, 23 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The link from Friday's comic to this new one is missing. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 19:21, 23 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
: This page was created by the bot only a short while ago. I may be wrong, but I think those links will be set automagically by such bot at some point after the creation of this page. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 19:31, 23 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Trochees ==<br />
To tie this to a recurring theme in Mr. Munroe's comics... "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing - Heroes on the half shell." [[User:Ryanker|Ryanker]] ([[User talk:Ryanker|talk]]) 20:14, 23 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Other ==<br />
Currently, the button on Comic #2205 to go to this comic is missing - someone with more technical expertise than me, please fix this [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 21:07, 23 September 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2206:_Mavis_Beacon&diff=1803652206: Mavis Beacon2019-09-23T19:39:48Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2206<br />
| date = September 23, 2019<br />
| title = Mavis Beacon<br />
| image = mavis_beacon.png<br />
| titletext = There are actually lowercase-like 'oldstyle' forms of normal numbers with more pronounced ascenders and descenders, which is why some numbers like '5' in books sometimes dangle below the line. But the true capital numbers remain the domain of number maven Mavis Beacon.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an END BOSS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' is a computer game first released in 1987, with the goal of teaching touch-typing and improving typing speed on a computer keyboard. Unlike many video games, ''Mavis Beacon'' contains no combat and therefore does not feature any "{{w|Boss_(video_gaming)#Final_boss|end boss}}" (a very powerful enemy encountered as the final challenge of the game). In many video games, defeating major opponents "unlocks" special features, such as improved weapons. Also, playing ''Mavis Beacon'', although it may improve typing skill, has no effect on how typing works on one's computer.<br />
<br />
However, [[Cueball]] asserts that after 30 years of playing ''Mavis Beacon'', he encountered and defeated such a boss. In this case, Cueball claims that defeating this "end boss" unlocked an ability to type esoteric "capital numbers," which Randall depicts as more extravagant versions of the familiar numerals. (Although Latin letters have different capital and lower-case forms, numerals do not.)<br />
<br />
Typing such numerals is said to require pressing the Alt, tilde (~), Scroll Lock, and numeral keys at the same time. Some keyboard layouts do not have a scroll lock key or a separate tilde key, and in any event pressing four keys at once would be quite difficult. In addition to this, many keyboards are incapable of pressing certain combinations of keys, especially combinations of more than 3. Needless to say, pressing those four keys does not, in fact, do anything like what the comics describes in any known computer system, though some of those keys together (i.e. "Alt ~" or "Alt numeral-key") might activate other operating system shortcuts.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall states that [https://www.bamagazine.com/Text-type-typeface-s/105.htm lowercase numerals do exist], however, "capital numerals" are a guarded secret of Mavis Beacon. {{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}} was the character created as the typing instructor for the ''Mavis Beacon'' game, and does not actually exist as a real-life person. Additionally, as a typing instructor, this person (even if she actually existed) would not be able to change typographical standards.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk in front of his computer.]<br />
:Computer: Congratulations.<br />
:Computer: Use this power wisely.<br />
:Computer: Key Code (Secret!!): <span style="border: 1px solid black">Alt</span> + <span style="border: 1px solid black">Tilde</span> + <span style="border: 1px solid black">Scroll Lock</span> + Number<br />
:[stylized versions of the Arabic numerals 0-9]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:After 30 years, I finally beat the end boss of ''Mavis Beacon'' and unlocked the ability to type capital numbers.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2205:_Types_of_Approximation&diff=1802812205: Types of Approximation2019-09-21T02:02:25Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ different sorts of approximation - tie together, reduce duplication on cosmology</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2205<br />
| date = September 20, 2019<br />
| title = Types of Approximation<br />
| image = types_of_approximation.png<br />
| titletext = It's not my fault I haven't had a chance to measure the curvature of this particular universe.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROXIMATOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
In physics and engineering, problem solving typically requires {{w|approximation}}s, as physical properties of the universe can be difficult to model. For example, in introductory physics classes, theories are introduced in frictionless environments. The level of precision required in a calculation or approximation varies depending on the context.<br />
<br />
In the comic, [[Cueball]], the physicist, generally dealing with theoretical constructs can use straight math, is introducing a problem with the assumption that the particular curve is a (perfectly) circular arc with a radius represented by R. Engineers have to deal with real things, whose dimensions may be known to a certain tollerance. [[Megan]], the engineer, also assumes that the curve is similar to a circle, with a deviation factor of 1/1000.<br />
<br />
The joke arises when [[Ponytail]], the cosmologist, uses the much less precise approximation of {{w|pi}} (&pi;) equal to 1. Pi is an irrational number, usually truncated to 3.14. The closest order of magnitude to that is 10 to the 0 power, or 1.<br />
<br />
Ponytail offering to use 10 instead of 1 alludes to [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_problem Fermi approximations], as shown in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/ Paint the Earth]. Numbers are rounded to the nearest order of magnitude (1, 10, 100, etc.) using a base 10 logarithmic scale. On this scale, "halfway" between 1 and 10 would be &radic;<span style="text-decoration:overline;">10</span> ≈ 3.16. Thus, numbers between about 0.316 and 3.16 are rounded to 1, between 3.16 and 31.6 are rounded to 10, and so on. At about 3.14, pi falls close to this cutoff point, and so by using this form of estimation it doesn't really matter to Ponytail whether pi is approximated to 1 or 10.<br />
<br />
Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter. This number is an irrational starting with 3.14 when the geometry is flat. But in curved spaces, the ratios are different. Almost every number can be pi depending on the curvature of the place the circle is residing. The cosmologist doesn't know the curvature of the universe, and so traditional values of Pi may not be more accurate.<br />
<br />
This is a parody of the tendency of {{w|cosmology}} to use much rougher approximations in their work. In general, astronomers deal with masses and distances that are so vast that approximations that would be ridiculous elsewhere still yield reasonable answers in astronomy. <br />
<br />
Approximating Pi as 1 may also refer to the habit astronomers have of changing the units of measure such that important constants (such as the speed of light or the gravitational constant) are equal to 1, which highly simplifies the formulas without compromising the math. In this case, the number pi is a dimensionless factor, not a directly measured quantity, which means the math will not work.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Three nearly identical panels showing the lower-left portion of a wheel and hub diagram with symbols and an equation, each with a different character holding a pointer up to the diagram and a label above the panel with the character's profession:]<br />
<br />
:[Physicist Approximations]<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We'll assume the curve of this rail is a circular arc with radius ''R''.<br />
<br />
:[Engineer Approximations]<br />
<br />
:Megan: Let's assume this curve deviates from a circle by no more than 1 part in 1,000.<br />
<br />
:[Cosmologist Approximations]<br />
<br />
:Ponytail: Assume pi is one.<br />
:Off-panel voice: Pretty sure it's bigger than that.<br />
:Ponytail: OK, we can make it ten. Whatever. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2203:_Prescience&diff=1800102203: Prescience2019-09-17T04:09:17Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2203<br />
| date = September 16, 2019<br />
| title = Prescience<br />
| image = prescience.png<br />
| titletext = Lots of people called their ships unsinkable before the Titanic. Voicing your hubris doesn't make failure more likely, just more memorable.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a REALLY BIG METEORITE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, Cueball states that it's been a long time since there's been a really big meteor impact. Due to the {{w|Gambler's Fallacy}}, this is taken to be Cueball implying that a big meteor impact is coming soon. The joke is that if there does happen to be an impact, it makes him look incredibly prescient and smart, whereas if there isn't one, no one really cares.<br />
<br />
Prescience means to predict the future. Although only one method is scientifically recognized, there are at least three possible sources of prescience recognized by people.<br />
<br />
The first of the two main ways of predicting the future involves a mix of common sense and historical knowledge. By understanding the past, the direction of the future can be guessed at with varying levels of accuracy. This type of prescience is also known sometimes as future modeling, statistical prediction, and even wisdom to name a few.<br />
<br />
The second way to predict the future is not scientifically recognized, but remains popular in culture and fiction. It can involve magic, psychic power, higher powers (gods), and other such methods. Collectively, they are labeled supernatural; any method to predict the future using this class of method cannot be easily measured by science.<br />
<br />
Although not technically a way to predict the future, the third way to predict the future is through superstition. The method involved in this comic effectively boils down to "speak the name of evil, and you will summon it." This superstition can have surprising power in people's lives, however. A woman planning her outdoor wedding may feel the urge to hit her friend if they say "Gosh, I hope it doesn't rain on that day." A doctor working in the Emergency Room may feel the need to kick anyone who says "Wow, it's really quiet around here." Such thoughts spoken aloud do not have the power to control the weather or cause people to seriously injure themselves. Yet people often react emotionally as if not speaking the name of 'evil' will keep it away. This comic may reflect that emotional reaction when the off-screen character yells at Cueball: "WILL YOU STOP THAT?!".<br />
<br />
The title, Prescience, has a double meaning. The first meaning is about the prescience that would appear if one actually predicts a natural disaster this way. The second meaning involves the fact that it is spelled pre-science - since there are many more scientific ways to predict meteor impacts, even though they aren't entirely accurate.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the {{w|RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic''}}, a ship which was thought to be unsinkable until it, well, sunk, which makes the story particularly ironic. The story of the sinking of the ''Titanic'' has been memorialized in popular culture, including in a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|1997 film}}. Here Randall suggests that many ships were considered unsinkable, and that doesn't make the ship more likely to sink. However, it does increase the value of the story, by making the ending less expected.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that few among the ship's builders or crew boasted the ''Titanic'' to be unsinkable. Most of the boasting came from the news media when the ship was finished and dedicated (the ship's builders did, however, boast that the ship exceeded all safety standards of the time). In addition the hubris was only one small part of the fame of the sinking of the ''Titanic''; the ''Titanic'''s status as a world record setter for most massive ship ever built, the incredible wealth of most of its passengers, and the fact it sank on its maiden voyage all contributed to the fame and hype behind the great maritime tragedy.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Single panel comic showing Cueball sitting in a cushioned chair, reading a book and talking to an off-screen character:]<br />
:Cueball: You know, it's been a while since there's been a really big meteor impact.<br />
:Off-screen: '''''Will you stop that?!'''''<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I say this kind of thing every so often, because I don't believe it affects the outcome and it has a slim chance of looking ''incredibly'' prescient.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2203:_Prescience&diff=1800092203: Prescience2019-09-17T04:08:47Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2203<br />
| date = September 16, 2019<br />
| title = Prescience<br />
| image = prescience.png<br />
| titletext = Lots of people called their ships unsinkable before the Titanic. Voicing your hubris doesn't make failure more likely, just more memorable.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a REALLY BIG METEORITE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, Cueball states that it's been a long time since there's been a really big meteor impact. Due to the {{w|Gambler's Fallacy}}, this is taken to be Cueball implying that a big meteor impact is coming soon. The joke is that if there does happen to be an impact, it makes him look incredibly prescient and smart, whereas if there isn't one, no one really cares.<br />
<br />
Prescience means to predict the future. Although only one method is scientifically recognized, there are at least three possible sources of prescience recognized by people.<br />
<br />
The first of the two main ways of predicting the future involves a mix of common sense and historical knowledge. By understanding the past, the direction of the future can be guessed at with varying levels of accuracy. This type of prescience is also known sometimes as future modeling, statistical prediction, and even wisdom to name a few.<br />
<br />
The second way to predict the future is not scientifically recognized, but remains popular in culture and fiction. It can involve magic, psychic power, higher powers (gods), and other such methods. Collectively, they are labeled supernatural; any method to predict the future using this class of method cannot be easily measured by science.<br />
<br />
Although not technically a way to predict the future, the third way to predict the future is through superstition. The method involved in this comic effectively boils down to "speak the name of evil, and you will summon it." This superstition can have surprising power in people's lives, however. A woman planning her outdoor wedding may feel the urge to hit her friend if they say "Gosh, I hope it doesn't rain on that day." A doctor working in the Emergency Room may feel the need to kick anyone who says "Wow, it's really quiet around here." Such thoughts spoken aloud do not have the power to control the weather or cause people to seriously injure themselves. Yet people often react emotionally as if not speaking the name of 'evil' will keep it away. This comic may reflect that emotional reaction when the off-screen character yells at Cueball: "WILL YOU STOP THAT?!".<br />
<br />
The title, Prescience, has a double meaning. The first meaning is about the prescience that would appear if one actually predicts a natural disaster this way. The second meaning involves the fact that it is spelled pre-science - since there are many more scientific ways to predict meteor impacts, even though they aren't entirely accurate.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the {{w|RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic''}}, a ship which was thought to be unsinkable until it, well, sunk, which makes the story particularly ironic. The story of the sinking of the ''Titanic'' has been memorialized in popular culture, including in a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|1997 film}}. Here Randall suggests that many ships were considered unsinkable, and that doesn't make the ship more likely to sink. However, it does increase the value of the story, by making the ending less expected.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that few among the ship's builders or crew boasted the ''Titanic'' to be unsinkable. Most of the boasting came from the news media when the ship was finished and dedicated (the ship's builders did, however, boast that the ship exceeded all safety standards of the time). In addition the hubris was only one small part of the ''Titanic'''s fame; the ''Titanic'''s status as a world record setter for most massive ship ever built, the incredible wealth of most of its passengers, and the fact it sank on its maiden voyage all contributed to the fame and hype behind the great maritime tragedy.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Single panel comic showing Cueball sitting in a cushioned chair, reading a book and talking to an off-screen character:]<br />
:Cueball: You know, it's been a while since there's been a really big meteor impact.<br />
:Off-screen: '''''Will you stop that?!'''''<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I say this kind of thing every so often, because I don't believe it affects the outcome and it has a slim chance of looking ''incredibly'' prescient.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=179824Talk:2199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-13T23:55:21Z<p>172.69.22.134: ?</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Reminds me of [https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Doctor-Who-Wifi-SSIDs.jpg these] :) [[User:BytEfLUSh|BytEfLUSh]] ([[User talk:BytEfLUSh|talk]]) 00:17, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It would be nice to check to see if this SSID exists already (using LocationAPI.org, Combain Positioning Service, Google location services, Wiggle, etc.). Could also be interesting to track use of this SSID over time. Of course takes a while for any changes to show up in the search engines. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.166|108.162.245.166]] 02:17, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Is there a way to make a https://github.com/freifunk/openwifimap-api/blob/master/API.md query out of a URL? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.82|162.158.255.82]] 14:45, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Soon those names will be e.g. "StarLink_6514". ;) [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 09:46, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could the 46UHZ be a reference to the frequency band, i.e. 5GHz? Maybe this WiFi network was originally configured to operate on an unknown-to-us 46&mu;Hz band. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.88|172.68.38.88]] 18:49, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: 46 microHz would be in the submarine communications area. Unlikely to exist on a mountain top. {{unsigned ip|162.158.123.199|10:23, 8 September 2019}}<br />
: Furthermore, since the data transmission rate is limited by the signal frequency, a 46 microHz signal would have extremely dismal performance - many magnitudes slower than 56K dialup modems. At ~6 hours per cycle, you probably couldn't even get 1 byte of data per day. I don't think that would be useful at all! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 20:52, 8 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I live in the middle of the forest, even in the winter when there are no leaves to block the way there's only one house even within sight, and yet there are five 802.11* networks in my scan right now. I mean, they're all mine, but still...—[[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 23:09, 7 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain in a remote location. He sees" How do we know that Knit Cap is a "he"? We don't, actually . . . . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 12:19, 8 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My favorite ISP is linksys! [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 17:42, 8 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Knit Cap may just have forgotten they have a Toshiba device in their backpack, set to 'hot spot' mode, so it would seem like this cryptic WiFi network is following them, making them feel spooky for no reason. -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 07:57, 9 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This "explanation" is mostly incomprehensible to non-tech people. Can someone create a site ExplainExplainxkcd? Or translate the jargon into English? {{unsigned ip|162.158.39.11|04:54, 9 September 2019}}<br />
: I agree the explanation has devolved into a history lesson in wireless communications, and most of the latter paragraphs are largely unnecessary. The alternate explanations paragraph seems to have grown into a list of ridiculous possibilities. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 12:43, 9 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Trivia could be a reference to number radio stations that were allegedly tuned on the first receivers before regular broadcasts started. I've heard such (false, obviously) claim somewhere, but cannot find it anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.32|172.68.50.32]] 11:23, 11 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
u2187 could refer to a [https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2187/index.htm unicode character]?<br />
:That's funny, it renders on Android Chrome but not OSX Safari. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.166|162.158.146.166]] 21:44, 12 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What is 48 UHz in lightspeed wavelength? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 23:55, 13 September 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=819:_Five-Minute_Comics:_Part_1&diff=179687819: Five-Minute Comics: Part 12019-09-11T19:12:18Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Comic #6 */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 819<br />
| date = November 15, 2010<br />
| title = Five-Minute Comics: Part 1<br />
| image = five minute comics part 1.png<br />
| titletext = The wolves thin the RAID arrays, removing the slowest and weakest disks to keep the average seek speed high.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
This is the first of three "five-minute comics" Randall posted during a week in November 2010. The introduction to the comic explains everything you need to know about the circumstances behind it. <br />
<br />
Randall obviously made more than three of these five minutes comics, and one of them was published later, for a short period of time by a mistake, but an android xkcd browser picked it up while it was on-line and saved it. Since then it has been added to explain xkcd. So here is a complete list of all four comics in the entire [[:Category:Five-minute comics|Five-minute comics]] series:<br />
*[[819: Five-Minute Comics: Part 1]]<br />
*[[820: Five-Minute Comics: Part 2]]<br />
*[[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]]<br />
*[[Five-Minute Comics: Part 4]]<br />
<br />
==Explanations==<br />
====Comic #1====<br />
In astronomy, an "approach" is when two bodies come abnormally close to one another, but not close enough to crash. {{w|Jupiter}}, as most probably know, is the fifth planet in our solar system. Its approach to Earth in September 2010 was the closest seen in many years - in fact, the next time it will come that close will be in 2022. In the comic, this is indicated by Jupiter hovering right above Earth and talking to the characters.<br />
:Of course, Jupiter is not only planet-sized, but is ''enormous'' compared to Earth; in fact, Earth would fit quite comfortably into the {{w|Atmosphere of Jupiter#Great Red Spot|red spot}} of Jupiter.<br />
:Gravitational slingshots are used by deep-space probes to gain speed by approaching a planet and then leaving that planet; the gravity fields of the sun and the planet changes the trajectory of the probe, and the end result is an extremely fuel-efficient way of gaining speed during space travel. Jupiter is commonly used for this purpose because it's the most massive planet in our solar system.<br />
<br />
====Comic #2====<br />
The comic in the middle left features the lyrics to the Johnny Cash song {{w|A Boy Named Sue}}, but with "Sue" replaced with "Trig." Inexplicably, [http://wiki.name.com/en/Trig Trig] is a name that people actually give their children. The most notable example in the US - and probably the inspiration for Randall drawing this comic - is Trig Palin, the son of Alaskan politician Sarah Palin. Trig is also a widely accepted abbreviation for the mathematical field of {{w|trigonometry}}, and it sounds similar to "twig," so one can imagine how a person with such a name might be ridiculed.<br />
<br />
====Comic #3====<br />
A child getting trapped in a well is an alien experience to some parts of the Western world, but it's quite a serious problem in places where wells are commonplace. Here, though, rather than attempt to rescue the little girl, Cueball instead tries to grant her wish of owning a pony before her imminent demise; a pony is a stereotypical thing for a little girl to want. Of course, since ponies don't fit into wells too easily, he has to stuff it in, which appears to be quite painful for the pony.<br />
<br />
====Comic #4====<br />
The server room of a large datacenter is an unusual place to return "back to nature", to say the least. {{w|Reintroduction}} refers to the process of taking a population of animals raised in captivity and bringing them back to the wild; this is a delicate process, as being raised in captivity affects the natural development of skills the animal needs to survive. In fact, Wikipedia has a page specifically about the challenges of {{w|wolf reintroduction}}.<br />
:Needless to say, reintroducing wolves to a server room is neither a good idea nor OSHA-approved.<br />
:Cueball may also be referencing a computer program named "reintroduction" or something similar when he says "We started a reintroduction program"<br />
:The title-text refers to the wolves thinning the RAID array. A {{w|RAID|RAID array}} is a way of spreading data redundantly across multiple hard drives, such that 100% of the data is still recoverable if some number of drives go down. This number can be set arbitrarily, as long as you have at least one more disk than the number you want, but it reduces your total storage space accordingly. The seek speed of a drive is how fast it can find a specific point of data on its platter; thus, the wolves are essentially killing the slowest drives, implementing a kind of natural selection to "evolve" the drives to be faster.<br />
:"Thinning the RAID array" is a play on words. In the ecological sense, it refers to eliminating some members of the population to allow the remaining ones to more successfully thrive. In the datacenter sense, "thin provisioning" refers to the practice of marking an intent to use disk storage for a specific purpose, but allowing it to be used for something else until actually needed (as opposed to "thick provisioning" which immediately reserves the storage space, even if unused).<br />
<br />
====Comic #5====<br />
Directly below the previous comic, Cueball is telling a "yo mama" joke. Such jokes are usually told in jest, and aren't really targeted at a particular person's mother; however, in this case, Cueball ''was'' attempting to make an honest observation about the listener's mother, and when he discovers his mistake, he realizes that she is, in fact, quite a nice person. Alternatively, Cueball is insulting the femininity of the listener's mother, and the masculinity of the listener's father.<br />
<br />
====Comic #6====<br />
{{w|Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart}} wrote an opera called ''{{w|The Magic Flute}}'', though the comic seems to attribute it to {{w|Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach}}. {{w|Richard Wagner}} wrote a series of operas called {{w|Der Ring des Nibelungen}}, or, more commonly, the ring cycle. Here, Randall interprets the ring cycle as some kind of motorcycle, while the teleporting magic flute comes from video games: in both ''The Legend of Zelda'' and ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', the player can obtain a magic flute item that has teleportation powers. In the Magic Tree House series, the magic flute is an actual magical flute that does magic when played, although it does not teleport people. <br />
:The caption implies that even Randall is not sure what meaning this comic has.<br />
:However, as he has made a mash up of Mozart, Bach and Wagner - this must be intentional - so ''he'' does not attribute the Magic Flute to Bach!<br />
:Also, due to the anachronistic nature of this comic, it could imply a pun, where they are going "Bach to the future."<br />
<br />
====Comic #7====<br />
This comic shows how people rate the "hotness" of girls. Glamour magazines have desensitized many people to photo-edited models with large amounts of make-up, so the model gets a "meh" reaction. The girl in biology class, by contrast, is not only "real" by comparison, but is actually a viable choice for dating, so she is given a 2 star rating. If the same girl from bio class is wearing your shirt, that usually means you've had sex the night before, and she spent the night at your apartment, hence the need to get dressed in one of your shirts; this possibility earns the highest rating, 4 stars.<br />
:Here it starts taking a turn for the worse. If wearing one of ''your'' shirts means she spent the night with ''you'', logically, wearing one of your ''mom's'' shirts means she spent the night with ''your mom''. This earns a "Wat!" reaction.<br />
:Finally, human skin is not generally designed to detach from its owner{{Citation needed|reason=Prove it|date=November 2015}}. If the girl from your bio class is wearing your mom's skin like a suit, it means she probably murdered your mom and skinned her. This is a reference to serial killer {{w|Ed Gein}}, who (among other things) made suits out of the skin of some of his victims. To this, Cueball can only scream.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
Because of a family illness, instead of regular comics, this week I'll be sharing some strips that I drew as part of a game I played with friends. Each comic had to be written and drawn in five minutes. -- Randall<br />
<br />
====Comic #1====<br />
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing each other.]<br />
:Cueball: Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in decades.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball points behind Megan, and she turns around.]<br />
:Cueball: In fact, here it comes now!<br />
<br />
:[Jupiter, about the size of the characters' heads, hovers into the frame at about head-height.]<br />
:Jupiter: Hey, guys.<br />
<br />
:[Jupiter continues to hover through the frame as the characters watch it go.]<br />
:Jupiter: Anyone need a gravitational slingshot?<br />
:Megan: No, I'm good.<br />
:Jupiter: Aight.<br />
<br />
====Comic #2====<br />
:[Cueball sits on a box, playing a guitar.]<br />
:Cueball: ...Now I don't blame him 'cause he ran and hid,<br />
:Cueball: but the meanest thing that he ever did<br />
:Cueball: was before he left, he went and named me "Trig."<br />
<br />
====Comic #3====<br />
:[Cueball looks down a well.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh God, a little girl is trapped down this well!<br />
<br />
:[Cueball runs off screen.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball returns, leading a pony.]<br />
:Cueball: It's okay, we got you that pony you always wanted!<br />
<br />
:[Cueball tries to cram the pony down the well with the aid of a large stick.]<br />
:Cueball: Get... in... there...<br />
:Cueball: Ugh!<br />
<br />
====Comic #4====<br />
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a server room. ]<br />
:Cueball: I like to get back to nature by coming out here to the server room.<br />
:Cueball: The warmth, the whirr of the drives, the drone of the fans, the howl of the wolves...<br />
:Megan: Wolves?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we started a reintroduction program.<br />
:Wolf: Awoooooo<br />
<br />
====Comic #5====<br />
:[Cueball stands by himself in the frame.]<br />
:Cueball: Yo momma's so masculine that she... oh, wait, that's your dad.<br />
:Cueball: Is your mom the lady over by the door? Aww, she looks nice!<br />
<br />
====Comic #6====<br />
:[Cueball runs toward another man who is wearing a powdered wig, holding a gun in one hand, and a flute in the other. Behind him, someone is chasing him on a motorcycle.]<br />
:Cueball: Bach, activate the magic flute and teleport us home! Wagner's right behind me on his Ring Cycle!<br />
<br />
:Why did I ''draw'' this?<br />
<br />
====Comic #7====<br />
:Hotness Ratings:<br />
:[A close up of a girl with wavy hair.]<br />
:Incredibly made-up girl on magazine cover.<br />
:Girl: Airbrush!<br />
:[Inset of Cueball: "Meh."]<br />
<br />
:[An average girl.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class.<br />
:[Inset of Cueball: "Two stars."]<br />
<br />
:[Girl with mussed hair in over-sized men's shirt.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing one of your shirts.<br />
:Girl: Want some breakfast?<br />
:[Cueball: "Four stars."]<br />
<br />
:[Girl with another sort of shirt speaking to an older lady.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing one of your mom's shirts.<br />
:Girl: Thanks for the great night.<br />
:[Cueball: "Wat!"]<br />
<br />
:[Creepy-looking girl.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing your mom's skin like a suit.<br />
:Girl: Give Mommy a hug!<br />
:[Cueball, screaming: "AAAAAAAA"]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Five-minute comics| 01]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Five-minute comics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Music]]<br />
[[Category:Your Mom]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=819:_Five-Minute_Comics:_Part_1&diff=179686819: Five-Minute Comics: Part 12019-09-11T19:10:09Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Comic #6 */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 819<br />
| date = November 15, 2010<br />
| title = Five-Minute Comics: Part 1<br />
| image = five minute comics part 1.png<br />
| titletext = The wolves thin the RAID arrays, removing the slowest and weakest disks to keep the average seek speed high.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
This is the first of three "five-minute comics" Randall posted during a week in November 2010. The introduction to the comic explains everything you need to know about the circumstances behind it. <br />
<br />
Randall obviously made more than three of these five minutes comics, and one of them was published later, for a short period of time by a mistake, but an android xkcd browser picked it up while it was on-line and saved it. Since then it has been added to explain xkcd. So here is a complete list of all four comics in the entire [[:Category:Five-minute comics|Five-minute comics]] series:<br />
*[[819: Five-Minute Comics: Part 1]]<br />
*[[820: Five-Minute Comics: Part 2]]<br />
*[[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]]<br />
*[[Five-Minute Comics: Part 4]]<br />
<br />
==Explanations==<br />
====Comic #1====<br />
In astronomy, an "approach" is when two bodies come abnormally close to one another, but not close enough to crash. {{w|Jupiter}}, as most probably know, is the fifth planet in our solar system. Its approach to Earth in September 2010 was the closest seen in many years - in fact, the next time it will come that close will be in 2022. In the comic, this is indicated by Jupiter hovering right above Earth and talking to the characters.<br />
:Of course, Jupiter is not only planet-sized, but is ''enormous'' compared to Earth; in fact, Earth would fit quite comfortably into the {{w|Atmosphere of Jupiter#Great Red Spot|red spot}} of Jupiter.<br />
:Gravitational slingshots are used by deep-space probes to gain speed by approaching a planet and then leaving that planet; the gravity fields of the sun and the planet changes the trajectory of the probe, and the end result is an extremely fuel-efficient way of gaining speed during space travel. Jupiter is commonly used for this purpose because it's the most massive planet in our solar system.<br />
<br />
====Comic #2====<br />
The comic in the middle left features the lyrics to the Johnny Cash song {{w|A Boy Named Sue}}, but with "Sue" replaced with "Trig." Inexplicably, [http://wiki.name.com/en/Trig Trig] is a name that people actually give their children. The most notable example in the US - and probably the inspiration for Randall drawing this comic - is Trig Palin, the son of Alaskan politician Sarah Palin. Trig is also a widely accepted abbreviation for the mathematical field of {{w|trigonometry}}, and it sounds similar to "twig," so one can imagine how a person with such a name might be ridiculed.<br />
<br />
====Comic #3====<br />
A child getting trapped in a well is an alien experience to some parts of the Western world, but it's quite a serious problem in places where wells are commonplace. Here, though, rather than attempt to rescue the little girl, Cueball instead tries to grant her wish of owning a pony before her imminent demise; a pony is a stereotypical thing for a little girl to want. Of course, since ponies don't fit into wells too easily, he has to stuff it in, which appears to be quite painful for the pony.<br />
<br />
====Comic #4====<br />
The server room of a large datacenter is an unusual place to return "back to nature", to say the least. {{w|Reintroduction}} refers to the process of taking a population of animals raised in captivity and bringing them back to the wild; this is a delicate process, as being raised in captivity affects the natural development of skills the animal needs to survive. In fact, Wikipedia has a page specifically about the challenges of {{w|wolf reintroduction}}.<br />
:Needless to say, reintroducing wolves to a server room is neither a good idea nor OSHA-approved.<br />
:Cueball may also be referencing a computer program named "reintroduction" or something similar when he says "We started a reintroduction program"<br />
:The title-text refers to the wolves thinning the RAID array. A {{w|RAID|RAID array}} is a way of spreading data redundantly across multiple hard drives, such that 100% of the data is still recoverable if some number of drives go down. This number can be set arbitrarily, as long as you have at least one more disk than the number you want, but it reduces your total storage space accordingly. The seek speed of a drive is how fast it can find a specific point of data on its platter; thus, the wolves are essentially killing the slowest drives, implementing a kind of natural selection to "evolve" the drives to be faster.<br />
:"Thinning the RAID array" is a play on words. In the ecological sense, it refers to eliminating some members of the population to allow the remaining ones to more successfully thrive. In the datacenter sense, "thin provisioning" refers to the practice of marking an intent to use disk storage for a specific purpose, but allowing it to be used for something else until actually needed (as opposed to "thick provisioning" which immediately reserves the storage space, even if unused).<br />
<br />
====Comic #5====<br />
Directly below the previous comic, Cueball is telling a "yo mama" joke. Such jokes are usually told in jest, and aren't really targeted at a particular person's mother; however, in this case, Cueball ''was'' attempting to make an honest observation about the listener's mother, and when he discovers his mistake, he realizes that she is, in fact, quite a nice person. Alternatively, Cueball is insulting the femininity of the listener's mother, and the masculinity of the listener's father.<br />
<br />
====Comic #6====<br />
{{w|Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart}} wrote an opera called ''{{w|The Magic Flute}}'', though the comic seems to attribute it to {{w|Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach}}. {{w|Richard Wagner}} wrote a series of operas called {{w|Der Ring des Nibelungen}}, or, more commonly, the ring cycle. Here, Randall interprets the ring cycle as some kind of motorcycle, while the teleporting magic flute comes from video games: in both ''The Legend of Zelda'' and ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', the player can obtain a magic flute item that has teleportation powers. In the Magic Tree House series, the magic flute is an actual magical flute that does magic when played, although it does not teleport people. <br />
:The caption implies that even Randall is not sure what meaning this comic has.<br />
:However, as he has made a mash up of Mozart, Bach and Wagner - this must be intentional - so ''he'' does not attribute the Magic Flute to Bach!<br />
:Also, the fact that they are going forward in time, where they have already been, could imply a pun, as they are going "Bach to the future."<br />
<br />
====Comic #7====<br />
This comic shows how people rate the "hotness" of girls. Glamour magazines have desensitized many people to photo-edited models with large amounts of make-up, so the model gets a "meh" reaction. The girl in biology class, by contrast, is not only "real" by comparison, but is actually a viable choice for dating, so she is given a 2 star rating. If the same girl from bio class is wearing your shirt, that usually means you've had sex the night before, and she spent the night at your apartment, hence the need to get dressed in one of your shirts; this possibility earns the highest rating, 4 stars.<br />
:Here it starts taking a turn for the worse. If wearing one of ''your'' shirts means she spent the night with ''you'', logically, wearing one of your ''mom's'' shirts means she spent the night with ''your mom''. This earns a "Wat!" reaction.<br />
:Finally, human skin is not generally designed to detach from its owner{{Citation needed|reason=Prove it|date=November 2015}}. If the girl from your bio class is wearing your mom's skin like a suit, it means she probably murdered your mom and skinned her. This is a reference to serial killer {{w|Ed Gein}}, who (among other things) made suits out of the skin of some of his victims. To this, Cueball can only scream.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
Because of a family illness, instead of regular comics, this week I'll be sharing some strips that I drew as part of a game I played with friends. Each comic had to be written and drawn in five minutes. -- Randall<br />
<br />
====Comic #1====<br />
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing each other.]<br />
:Cueball: Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in decades.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball points behind Megan, and she turns around.]<br />
:Cueball: In fact, here it comes now!<br />
<br />
:[Jupiter, about the size of the characters' heads, hovers into the frame at about head-height.]<br />
:Jupiter: Hey, guys.<br />
<br />
:[Jupiter continues to hover through the frame as the characters watch it go.]<br />
:Jupiter: Anyone need a gravitational slingshot?<br />
:Megan: No, I'm good.<br />
:Jupiter: Aight.<br />
<br />
====Comic #2====<br />
:[Cueball sits on a box, playing a guitar.]<br />
:Cueball: ...Now I don't blame him 'cause he ran and hid,<br />
:Cueball: but the meanest thing that he ever did<br />
:Cueball: was before he left, he went and named me "Trig."<br />
<br />
====Comic #3====<br />
:[Cueball looks down a well.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh God, a little girl is trapped down this well!<br />
<br />
:[Cueball runs off screen.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball returns, leading a pony.]<br />
:Cueball: It's okay, we got you that pony you always wanted!<br />
<br />
:[Cueball tries to cram the pony down the well with the aid of a large stick.]<br />
:Cueball: Get... in... there...<br />
:Cueball: Ugh!<br />
<br />
====Comic #4====<br />
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a server room. ]<br />
:Cueball: I like to get back to nature by coming out here to the server room.<br />
:Cueball: The warmth, the whirr of the drives, the drone of the fans, the howl of the wolves...<br />
:Megan: Wolves?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we started a reintroduction program.<br />
:Wolf: Awoooooo<br />
<br />
====Comic #5====<br />
:[Cueball stands by himself in the frame.]<br />
:Cueball: Yo momma's so masculine that she... oh, wait, that's your dad.<br />
:Cueball: Is your mom the lady over by the door? Aww, she looks nice!<br />
<br />
====Comic #6====<br />
:[Cueball runs toward another man who is wearing a powdered wig, holding a gun in one hand, and a flute in the other. Behind him, someone is chasing him on a motorcycle.]<br />
:Cueball: Bach, activate the magic flute and teleport us home! Wagner's right behind me on his Ring Cycle!<br />
<br />
:Why did I ''draw'' this?<br />
<br />
====Comic #7====<br />
:Hotness Ratings:<br />
:[A close up of a girl with wavy hair.]<br />
:Incredibly made-up girl on magazine cover.<br />
:Girl: Airbrush!<br />
:[Inset of Cueball: "Meh."]<br />
<br />
:[An average girl.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class.<br />
:[Inset of Cueball: "Two stars."]<br />
<br />
:[Girl with mussed hair in over-sized men's shirt.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing one of your shirts.<br />
:Girl: Want some breakfast?<br />
:[Cueball: "Four stars."]<br />
<br />
:[Girl with another sort of shirt speaking to an older lady.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing one of your mom's shirts.<br />
:Girl: Thanks for the great night.<br />
:[Cueball: "Wat!"]<br />
<br />
:[Creepy-looking girl.]<br />
:Girl in your bio class wearing your mom's skin like a suit.<br />
:Girl: Give Mommy a hug!<br />
:[Cueball, screaming: "AAAAAAAA"]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Five-minute comics| 01]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Five-minute comics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Music]]<br />
[[Category:Your Mom]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1796442199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-11T08:57:58Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ sva</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] is on top of a high mountain in a remote location (second comic in a row with knit cap). Knit Cap sees a WiFi network name listed on a handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. This is something you would expect in a city, but certainly not on a mountain top, hence the joke, that what produced these WiFi networks are unknown, but seem to be distributed randomly over the face of the Earth, disregarding nearness to technology. <br />
<br />
Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or WiFi) network names, called {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|Service Set Identifiers}} (SSIDs) are part of the joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomena instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest WiFi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many of them today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. WiFi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The SSID displayed is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2187 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2187 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate. The "join other network" option allows for manually typing SSIDs to attempt to connect with networks which are not configured to display their SSIDs.<br />
<br />
While the most likely explanation in an office environment might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKjnZe4B-M marsupial delivery drone,] television, cryptocurrency mining rig, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, autonomous antimissile defense system node, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, distributed denial of service attack platform malware-infested coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, distributed exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, power-to-gas pipeline valve, [http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2340.html ransomware worm nest,] or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. Location information can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ Wigle] or [https://openwifimap.net/ OpenWifiMap]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for WiFi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. This [https://www.toshibatec.com/cnt/products_overseas/printer2/mobile_printer/b-fp3d/ portable Toshiba printer] supports the "802.11 a/b/g/n" WiFi protocols. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first WiFi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, rogue industrial espionage, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, the {{w|simulation hypothesis}}, or the supernatural. (It is worth noting that cryptic-sounding WiFi networks generated by a time-traveling alien entity as a trap was used as a plot device in the 2013 ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' episode "{{w|The Bells of Saint John}}".)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A person with a knit cap and a backpack is checking a phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape, with 5 snow covered mountain peaks behind, and a smaller peak connected to and just below that one. There seems to be no snow on those two peaks. Above is a view of the phone's screen as indicated with a zigzag line from the phone's screen to the frame with text. There is also a wifi icon at the top left and a padlock icon at the end of the second line of text. The bottom line is a gray font.]<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: <font color="gray"> Join other network </font><br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Computers]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1796302199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-11T02:53:25Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ marsupial delivery drone</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] is on top of a high mountain in a remote location (second comic in a row with knit cap). Knit Cap sees a WiFi network name listed on a handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. This is something you would expect in a city, but certainly not on a mountain top, hence the joke, that what produced these WiFi networks are unknown, but seems to be distributed randomly over the face of the Earth, disregarding nearness to technology. <br />
<br />
Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or WiFi) network names, called {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|Service Set Identifiers}} (SSIDs) are part of the joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomena instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest WiFi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many of them today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. WiFi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The SSID displayed is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2187 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2187 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate. The "join other network" option allows for manually typing SSIDs to attempt to connect with networks which are not configured to display their SSIDs.<br />
<br />
While the most likely explanation in an office environment might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKjnZe4B-M marsupial delivery drone,] television, cryptocurrency mining rig, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, autonomous antimissile defense system node, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, distributed denial of service attack platform malware-infested coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, distributed exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, power-to-gas pipeline valve, [http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2340.html ransomware worm nest,] or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. Location information can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ Wigle] or [https://openwifimap.net/ OpenWifiMap]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for WiFi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. [https://www.toshibatec.com/cnt/products_overseas/printer2/mobile_printer/b-fp3d/ This Toshiba WiFi printer] supports the "802.11 a/b/g/n" WiFi protocols. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first WiFi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, rogue industrial espionage, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, the {{w|simulation hypothesis}}, or the supernatural. (It is worth noting that cryptic-sounding WiFi networks actually being generated by a time-traveling alien entity as a trap was used as a plot device in the 2013 ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' episode "{{w|The Bells of Saint John}}".)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A person with a knit cap and a backpack is checking a phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape, with 5 snow covered mountain peaks behind, and a smaller peak connected to and just below that one. There seems to be no snow on those two peaks. Above is a view of the phone's screen as indicated with a zigzag line from the phone's screen to the frame with text. There is also a wifi icon at the top left and a padlock icon at the end of the second line of text. The bottom line is a gray font.]<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: <font color="gray"> Join other network </font><br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Computers]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794902199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T15:07:19Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ autonomous distributed denial of service malware-infested coffee pot</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain in a remote location. He sees a Wifi network name listed on his handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or Wifi) network names, called SSIDs, are the source of a joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomenon of some sort instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest Wifi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many devices today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. Wifi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The name of the network displayed, called its {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID, which stands for "service set,"}} is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2178 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. While the most likely explanation might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a television, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, autonomous distributed denial of service malware-infested coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, autonomous exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, interstate power-to-gas pipeline valve, or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. {{w|Spyware}} such as "war-drivers" collects network location information, which can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ wigle.net]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for Wifi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first Wifi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, or the supernatural.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794892199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T15:05:09Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ reword</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain in a remote location. He sees a Wifi network name listed on his handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or Wifi) network names, called SSIDs, are the source of a joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomenon of some sort instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest Wifi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many devices today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. Wifi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The name of the network displayed, called its {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID, which stands for "service set,"}} is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2178 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. While the most likely explanation might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a television, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, autonomous coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, autonomous exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, interstate power-to-gas pipeline valve, or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. {{w|Spyware}} such as "war-drivers" collects network location information, which can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ wigle.net]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for Wifi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first Wifi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, or the supernatural.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794882199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T15:02:30Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ better in bold</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain in a remote location. He sees a Wifi network name listed on his handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or Wifi) network names, called SSIDs, are the source of a joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomenon of some sort instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest Wifi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many devices today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. Wifi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The name of the network displayed, called its {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID, which stands for "service set,"}} is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' — 33 characters long, which is one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2178 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. While the most likely explanation might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a television, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, autonomous coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, autonomous exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, interstate power-to-gas pipeline valve, or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. {{w|Spyware}} such as "war-drivers" collects network location information, which can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ wigle.net]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for Wifi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first Wifi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, or the supernatural.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794872199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T15:01:42Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ —</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the comic, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain in a remote location. He sees a Wifi network name listed on his handheld device, perhaps a cellular telephone. Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or Wifi) network names, called SSIDs, are the source of a joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomenon of some sort instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest Wifi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many devices today. In 1998, {{w|Lucent}} introduced the [https://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wavelan-IEEE.html WaveLAN IEEE], the first {{w|integrated circuit}} chip set supporting the IEEE 802.11 wireless {{w|LAN}} protocol, spinning off {{w|Agere Systems}} to produce them in 2000. Wifi followed mid-1990s short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}} and radio internet protocols like the 1980s {{w|KA9Q}}, with roots going back to the earliest {{w|ticker tape}} digital telegraphy systems from the mid-1850s. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
The name of the network displayed, called its {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID, which stands for "service set,"}} is ''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ'' — 33 characters long, which is one character more than are allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. Or U2178 could be a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. While the most likely explanation might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a television, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, fashion accessory, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, autonomous coffee pot, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|satellite}}, vending machine, telecommunication facilities, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, autonomous exoskeleton, visiting interstellar civilization, interstate power-to-gas pipeline valve, or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate.<br />
<br />
Network names can be used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. {{w|Spyware}} such as "war-drivers" collects network location information, which can be searched in tools like [https://wigle.net/ wigle.net]. The {{w|Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} (IEEE) committee number for Wifi is {{w|IEEE 802.11|802.11}} which is composed of sub-committees like {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}}, designing the 60 GHz Multiple Gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}} working on {{w|MIMO|multiple input, multiple output}} (MIMO) bandwidth enhancements. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that the first Wifi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than an alien visitation, a software bug, time travel, trans-multiverse or trans-dimensional communication, hardware misconfiguration, or the supernatural.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794562199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T12:14:49Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ try links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
There are in many places cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} networks that pop up in strange places and it may not be obvious where the router is located. In this comic, [[Randall]] is joking that those networks are an unexplained phenomenon (as opposed to the more probable explanation that they come from widespread servers or wireless devices).<br />
<br />
In the picture, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain. Checking his phone, he sees a WiFi network in this remote location. While the [https://www.wi-fi.org/download.php?file=/sites/default/files/private/Infographic_20_years_of_Wi-Fi_0.pdf history of WiFi spans 20 years,] manifesting as the subsequent, but not successor, to short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}}. The earliest things from the {{w|Internet of Things}} connected to WiFi networks and advertising cryptic wireless network addresses tended to be printers. Today, new [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} are building on wireless network technology to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The name of the network (or {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID}}) is Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate. Toshiba makes many products, including large office printers. It's very common for devices to have embedded wireless access points that include the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The maximum length of an SSID is 32, Randall's has 33 characters. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ, which is a number reminiscent of frequency, and may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the hypothetical device operates, or on which it wishes it might some day operate. <br />
<br />
Network names are used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the {{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}. Google {{w|street view}} equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. {{w|Spyware}} such as {{w|war-drivers}} also collect network location information, which can be searched in tools like https://wigle.net/. The {{w|IEEE}} committee number for WiFi is 802.11. That committee is composed of sub-committees such as {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}} and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}}, but sometimes WiFi technologies come from different committees, such as {{w|IEEE 802.20}}. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} which is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2199:_Cryptic_Wifi_Networks&diff=1794552199: Cryptic Wifi Networks2019-09-07T12:12:22Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ mesh</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2199<br />
| date = September 6, 2019<br />
| title = Cryptic Wifi Networks<br />
| image = cryptic_wifi_networks.png<br />
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
There are in many places cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} networks that pop up in strange places and it may not be obvious where the router is located. In this comic, [[Randall]] is joking that those networks are an unexplained phenomenon (as opposed to the more probable explanation that they come from widespread servers or wireless devices).<br />
<br />
In the picture, a character with a knit cap is on top of a high mountain. Checking his phone, he sees a WiFi network in this remote location. While the [https://www.wi-fi.org/download.php?file=/sites/default/files/private/Infographic_20_years_of_Wi-Fi_0.pdf history of WiFi spans 20 years,] manifesting as the subsequent, but not successor, to short-range wireless networks like {{w|Bluetooth}}. The earliest things from the {{w|Internet of Things}} connected to WiFi networks and advertising cryptic wireless network addresses tended to be printers. Today, new [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} are building on wireless network technology to provide internet connectivity services.<br />
<br />
The name of the network (or {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|SSID}}) is Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate. Toshiba makes many products, including large office printers. It's very common for devices to have embedded wireless access points that include the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The maximum length of an SSID is 32, Randall's has 33 characters. The code might indicate a model U2178 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ, which is a number reminiscent of frequency, and may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the hypothetical device operates, or on which it wishes it might some day operate. <br />
<br />
Network names are used to track the geographic locations of mobile devices, for example in the ({{w|Wi-Fi positioning system}}). Google street view equipment records locations of networks to assist with {{w|geolocation}}. War-drivers also collect network location information, which can be searched in tools like https://wigle.net/. The {{w|IEEE}} committee number for WiFi is 802.11. That committee is composed of sub-committees such as {{w|IEEE 802.11ad|802.11ad}} and {{w|IEEE 802.11ay|802.11ay}}, but sometimes WiFi technologies come from different committees, such as {{w|IEEE 802.20}}. The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} which is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A human with a knit cap and a backpack is checking his phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape.]<br />
<br />
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks<br />
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ<br />
:Phone: [in gray] Join other network<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785582193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-26T04:54:54Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ typo</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
In the comic, [[Megan]] has found a genie lamp. A genie (or {{w|Jinn}}) in a lamp is a supernatural, immortal being from many fairy tales, beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who grants one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the worst Marty McFly Halloween costume.<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor {{w|Michael J. Fox}}, is a main character of the science fiction film about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago, starting a series of sequels. The films are popular, so many people dress up as McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}. McFly's outfit in the original film consists of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, checkered shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes, used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an absolute worst costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while {{w|Reflexive relation|reflexive}} and {{w|Transitive relation|transitive}}, is not {{w|Well-founded relation|well-founded}} (or {{w|Symmetric relation|symmetric}} or necessarily {{w|Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric}} or {{w|Connex relation|(semi-)connex}} for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a {{w|Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion}}, the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be {{w|Omnipotence paradox|technically unable}} to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she might be able to see the truly worst costume without being restricted to only those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
The title text can also be interpreted as [[Randall|Randall's]] wish to know about the worst costume. So this is not Megan but Randall who has the wish to see this costume. The best we can do today is to look through all the available photos of McFly costumes. But even if one of those could be agreed upon to be the worst, there is no guarantee that there is not even worse versions that is not documented for posterity. In this interpretation, what Randall really would like is to use a dangerous genie wish to get around these difficulties. <br />
<br />
An additional, subtle pun plays on the word "well". In European folklore, {{w|Wishing_well|water wells}} are often associated with spirits which may grant wishes, similar to genies. Thus, Megan's explanation of why she made a simple request of the genie is a statement of her "well-ordering principle"; her principle for ordering wishes from wells. (See also the [[:Category:Well|Well series]]).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and crossed arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785572193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-26T04:54:23Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ checkered shirt</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
In the comic, [[Megan]] has found a genie lamp. A genie (or {{w|Jinn}}) in a lamp is a supernatural, immortal being from many fairy tales, beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who grants one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the worst Marty McFly Halloween costume.<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor {{w|Michael J. Fox}}, is a main character of the science fiction film about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago, starting a series of sequels. The films are popular, so many people dress up as McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}. McFly's outfit in the original film is consists of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, checkered shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes, used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an absolute worst costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while {{w|Reflexive relation|reflexive}} and {{w|Transitive relation|transitive}}, is not {{w|Well-founded relation|well-founded}} (or {{w|Symmetric relation|symmetric}} or necessarily {{w|Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric}} or {{w|Connex relation|(semi-)connex}} for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a {{w|Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion}}, the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be {{w|Omnipotence paradox|technically unable}} to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she might be able to see the truly worst costume without being restricted to only those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
The title text can also be interpreted as [[Randall|Randall's]] wish to know about the worst costume. So this is not Megan but Randall who has the wish to see this costume. The best we can do today is to look through all the available photos of McFly costumes. But even if one of those could be agreed upon to be the worst, there is no guarantee that there is not even worse versions that is not documented for posterity. In this interpretation, what Randall really would like is to use a dangerous genie wish to get around these difficulties. <br />
<br />
An additional, subtle pun plays on the word "well". In European folklore, {{w|Wishing_well|water wells}} are often associated with spirits which may grant wishes, similar to genies. Thus, Megan's explanation of why she made a simple request of the genie is a statement of her "well-ordering principle"; her principle for ordering wishes from wells. (See also the [[:Category:Well|Well series]]).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and crossed arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785332193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:33:54Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ move comma</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is a main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being from many fairy tales, beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who gives one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the worst Marty McFly Halloween costume. McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785322193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:32:56Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ reword for precision and clarity</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is a main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being, from many fairy tales beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who gives one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the worst Marty McFly Halloween costume. McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785312193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:30:34Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ fairy tales</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being, from many fairy tales beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who gives one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785302193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:29:19Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ link Aladdin</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being from many stories, beginning with {{w|Aladdin}}, who gives one or more wishes to the person who frees it, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785292193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:24:06Z<p>172.69.22.134: +Category:Comics to make one feel old</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to the person who frees it from the lamp, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785282193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:23:10Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ reword to clarify</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the science fiction film series about time travel ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'', which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to wear {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to the person who frees it from the lamp, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785272193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T21:20:27Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ link Public opinion</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'' (which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago.) As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 when it is traditional in the USA to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to the person who frees it from the lamp, such as by polishing or opening the lamp. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a [[wikipedia:Public opinion|common or widely-shared opinion]], the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be [[wikipedia:Omnipotence paradox|technically unable]] to fulfill the wish, at least without, for example, changing one or more persons' preferences or modifying the space-time continuum to retroactively change the quality of some costumes of the past.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie. The genie is exasperated, and has his hands raised.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=178511Talk:2193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T12:38:27Z<p>172.69.22.134: done</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Still a "trap": POOF, you're now the worst McFly cosplayer; here's a mirror.<br />
:She asked about people who 'tried' to dress as Marty McFly. So unless Megan has ever tried to dress as him, I don't think she can be the answer.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:10, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Are* costumes well-ordered? Even leaving aside the subjectivity of any ranking, there are several different criteria which could be used, and many ways of combining them. (What if the costume which looked least like Marty wasn't the ugliest, nor the one showing least effort?) — Also, may be worth qualifying the explanation of Halloween by mentioning the USA; some other countries don't celebrate it, and of those that do, not all do trick-or-treating or dressing-up &c. [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 00:23, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Saying there are different criteria kind of overlaps with saying the ranking is subjective. But far worse, even individual preferences are preorders aka quasiorders, which absolutely does mean that there may not be a worst, or even a set of costumes tied for worst. However, the fact that you can always find someone (e.g. on Amazon Mechanical Turk, or off the street, or on a wiki somewhere) to give you another opinion means that well-foundedness can be rescued with their {{w|mean opinion score}}. I wonder if the genie is powerful enough to know the asymptotic MOS ranking right away, or if it will have to wait for enough Amazon Mechanical Turk HITs to be completed. Given that there must have been at least tens of thousands of consumes so far, that could take quite a long time to achieve p<0.05. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.248|172.69.22.248]] 04:00, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I've spent way too much time on this, but the more I do, the more I think Randall is trying to say something about the simulation hypothesis, related to the theme on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th5uJNB7VU8 ''Watch Room''] (warning: somewhat creepy but otherwise ok sci-fi short.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 12:32, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I hope this Munroe lowkey challenging the internet, that we might actually celebrate our infamous king (or girl marty queen) of crappy costume. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 00:37, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "worst McFly" and "even" sounds like there should be a math pun in there somewhere, but I don't see it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.11|172.69.63.11]] 01:36, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"It's been over 30 years since Back to the Future came out." That makes me feel old. Isn't that something that Munroe does regularly? Should that be mentioned in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 10:42, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, I am sure there have been at least two comics where the often surprising ages of things formed a central part of the theme, but I can't remember enough about them to find them. Anyone? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.82|162.158.255.82]] 11:55, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Just see [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old]] :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 12:29, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks {{done}} [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 12:38, 24 August 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1785102193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T12:36:58Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ Category:Comics to make one feel old</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}'' (which was released, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|we are reminded]], over thirty years ago.) As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. Her own criteria might apply to some pairs of costumes but not others, leading to technical ambiguity as to which is the worst, and no way to say whether any of the candidate possibilities are as bad as the others.<br />
<br />
While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a common or widely-shared opinion, the title text contemplates organizing a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined, such as with a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least a set of costumes tied for worst place according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. There is no way to exclude the possibility that even an omniscient and omnipotent genie might be technically unable to fulfill the wish, at least without changing one or more person's preferences, creating a terrible costume on the spot, or modifying the space-time continuum to cause worse costumes to have existed.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=178509Talk:2193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T12:32:31Z<p>172.69.22.134: up too late</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Still a "trap": POOF, you're now the worst McFly cosplayer; here's a mirror.<br />
:She asked about people who 'tried' to dress as Marty McFly. So unless Megan has ever tried to dress as him, I don't think she can be the answer.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:10, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Are* costumes well-ordered? Even leaving aside the subjectivity of any ranking, there are several different criteria which could be used, and many ways of combining them. (What if the costume which looked least like Marty wasn't the ugliest, nor the one showing least effort?) — Also, may be worth qualifying the explanation of Halloween by mentioning the USA; some other countries don't celebrate it, and of those that do, not all do trick-or-treating or dressing-up &c. [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 00:23, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Saying there are different criteria kind of overlaps with saying the ranking is subjective. But far worse, even individual preferences are preorders aka quasiorders, which absolutely does mean that there may not be a worst, or even a set of costumes tied for worst. However, the fact that you can always find someone (e.g. on Amazon Mechanical Turk, or off the street, or on a wiki somewhere) to give you another opinion means that well-foundedness can be rescued with their {{w|mean opinion score}}. I wonder if the genie is powerful enough to know the asymptotic MOS ranking right away, or if it will have to wait for enough Amazon Mechanical Turk HITs to be completed. Given that there must have been at least tens of thousands of consumes so far, that could take quite a long time to achieve p<0.05. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.248|172.69.22.248]] 04:00, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I've spent way too much time on this, but the more I do, the more I think Randall is trying to say something about the simulation hypothesis, related to the theme on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th5uJNB7VU8 ''Watch Room''] (warning: somewhat creepy but otherwise ok sci-fi short.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 12:32, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I hope this Munroe lowkey challenging the internet, that we might actually celebrate our infamous king (or girl marty queen) of crappy costume. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 00:37, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "worst McFly" and "even" sounds like there should be a math pun in there somewhere, but I don't see it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.11|172.69.63.11]] 01:36, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"It's been over 30 years since Back to the Future came out." That makes me feel old. Isn't that something that Munroe does regularly? Should that be mentioned in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 10:42, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, I am sure there have been at least two comics where the often surprising ages of things formed a central part of the theme, but I can't remember enough about them to find them. Anyone? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.82|162.158.255.82]] 11:55, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Just see [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old]] :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 12:29, 24 August 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1784972193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T11:40:44Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ tense</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection is based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a widely-shared opinion, the title text contemplates a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1784962193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T11:39:48Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ not semi-connex either</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|(semi-)connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection were based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a widely-shared opinion, the title text contemplates a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1784872193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T08:09:09Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ better to call it a fact because it's always provable when it's not an axiom</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitivity|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection were based on the preferences of any one person. Luckily, people's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, will almost always be able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1784862193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T07:54:46Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ principle is just its name; technically it's a provable theorem in some formulations and an axiom in others, but that doesn't help explain the comic</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical proposition stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitivity|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection were based on the preferences of any one person. Luckily, people's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, will almost always be able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=1784852193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T07:50:19Z<p>172.69.22.134: /* Explanation */ possible but not certain</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2193<br />
| date = August 23, 2019<br />
| title = Well-Ordering Principle<br />
| image = well_ordering_principle.png<br />
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}.<br />
<br />
In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong.<br />
<br />
In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects.<br />
<br />
The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains.<br />
<br />
The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical principle stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitivity|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection were based on the preferences of any one person. Luckily, people's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, will almost always be able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.]<br />
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.<br />
:Megan: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.<br />
:Genie: OK, and?<br />
<br />
:[Megan, holding the lamp to her side, talking to the genie, who is floating in the air.]<br />
:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.<br />
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.<br />
<br />
:[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.]<br />
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?<br />
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.<br />
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Fiction]]</div>172.69.22.134https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2191:_Conference_Question&diff=178243Talk:2191: Conference Question2019-08-19T11:36:24Z<p>172.69.22.134: reply</p>
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I don't know to what "Word of Power" in the title text refers. A quick Google revealed something from Skyrim and something from D&D, but I have the feeling there must surely be a more original source for it, even if it is just a common term in folklore or something. [[User:Pureawes0me|Pureawes0me]] ([[User talk:Pureawes0me|talk]]) 07:45, 19 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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: I think it means "magic word". The next step, "Unforgivable Curse", is from Harry Potter; a magic spell against someone that will get you jail time. (C. S. Lewis had an apocalyptic option, the "Deplorable Word".) So Harry Potter's schoolteacher demonstrates the Unforgivables on spiders... and on students. (You find out why.) Also I think the title text is the platform speaker's response to Beret Guy. rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.183|162.158.158.183]] 09:12, 19 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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:: Yeah, I understand the "Unforgivable Curse" part - it's more "Word of Power" I'm struggling with. I agree that the title text could potentially be a response by the speaker, and I've updated the page to reflect this. [[User:Pureawes0me|Pureawes0me]] ([[User talk:Pureawes0me|talk]]) 10:20, 19 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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::: It's from tabletop roleplaying games; [https://dungeonsdragons.fandom.com/wiki/Power_word some of the earliest high level spells from the original edition of Dungeons and Dragons were "Power Word Kill," "Power Word Blind," and "Power Word Stun."] These spells have been carried forward into newer editions where they are extremely unpopular because they were designed for campaigns when most monsters had a tiny fraction of the number of hit points typical today, and unlike essentially all of the fifth edition spells, they don't do anything when they don't work, and they don't work based on facts which are theoretically unknowable to the players. So, they kind of have a reputation of the worst high level spells, and are sometimes included in magic items which turn out to be, well, like fruitcake, if you know what I mean. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.134|172.69.22.134]] 11:36, 19 August 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.22.134